Yesterday I had my 36 week appointment. It is slowly sinking in that I have less than a month until this new chapter begins. We still need about two weeks to get everything ready for his arrival so no rushing the situation as of yet.
The 36 week appointment reassured us that I would not be going into labor anytime soon. Baby Roe seems to be rather content for the time being.
We have all of our Maternity Pictures now and we are both very happy how they turned out.
How I'm Feeling:
SLOW. LARGE. Comparable to a manatee. Prelabor cramping has begun and it takes my breath away every time. Luckily I can sense it coming and brace myself but there is no stopping it. The belly is HUGE. Typing at the computer is a challenge because I have to sit further away then I would like. I can no longer eat sitting on the couch. (Pregnancy has gotten me away from the "we have to sit at the dinner table for dinner" rule).
Sleeping is what I look forward to the least. I can't get comfortable. Obviously I can't sleep on my belly, you aren't supposed to lay on your back, it is painful to sleep on my right side, and that just leaves my left side... I wake up about every hour to either drink water or use the restroom. The past few nights Geoff has had to set his alarm for every few hours to check weather and a few times had to leave to go run irrigation at 3am. Did I mention the cat has been sleeping inside because of the cold weather AND because we have a raccoon that has been breaking into the porch, traumatizing her, making a mess and eating her food? Geoff is bringing home a live animal trap today....
How I'm Changing:
Hormones are flying and I am easily offended. Two things that I am not enjoying and neither is the husband.
As I said the belly is growing daily. Baby Roe is still head down and sizing above average. I have stopped going to the gym but have begun walking waddling slowing. I am unable to bend over and getting up and down from the floor took my breath away. Considering the bottom bar on the scale had to be moved to the next set of 50 yesterday I am looking forward to my return to the gym.
What I'm Eating:
Last night I had my first "Husband, I really need you to run by Publix at 8pm in your sweats to get me coconut milk ice cream and make sure you get two containers just in case you decide you want any." moment. It happened. I wasn't proud. It was amazing.
I have been cooking a ton of food lately to stock our freezer. So far I have black bean casseroles, quinoa veggie burgers, marinara sauce and red lentil soup. Cranberry Applesauce is on the list for today. I love cooking and never complain about it but I really hate the cleaning process. Only if dishes could wash themselves. "Husband, I really need you to..." is a common phrase apparently.
Everything Else:
I am hoping to have the nursery complete and everything ready to go by the end of next weekend. We are still waiting on the glider. A few hormone motivated emails to the company made them promise it would arrive by the 2nd week of April. I ordered it in December. So much for 6 week arrival time. I am going to do a big Target run tomorrow to stock up on toiletries, the remaining baby needs, cleaning products and snacks. Geoff's mom is going to take me to Orlando next week to do a final Ikea, Destination Maternity and Whole Foods trip. I think I will add Baby Cakes to that list....
I am starting to loose count at how far along I am. I am also starting to get comments similar to "you are going to pop any day now". There is a way to make a uncomfortable pregnant lady feel good about herself.... My kind self typically responds with I still have 7 more weeks, smile and walk away. There needs to be a book that everyone must read called "What Not To Say To A Pregnant Lady...If You Value Your Life".
I will get off my soap box.
Finally an update picture.
Last Friday, I had Brook Scott Photography take some maternity pictures of just me. I thought it was important to highlight my first pregnancy in our home. I am really excited to see all of the pictures. We are actually doing a couple photo shoot tonight as well. It is crazy to me to take pictures that focus on the belly instead of trying to hide it. I love this picture. There is a baby boy in there!
How I'm Feeling:
I am uncomfortable. I waddle. I can't pick up items off of the floor. I roll off the couch. I spend more time in the bathroom then anywhere else. I say all of this but I am loving my belly. I am grateful for how my body has handled these last trimesters. The nausea of first trimester is a distant memory. Thank goodness.
I still feel strong. I am not working out as hard or as often as I would like but I know I haven't lost my strength. I am really hoping all of this effort helps with labor and recovery.
I have also allowed myself to indulge in multiple pampering sessions. The soon to be Aunt April took me for a mani and pedi and I splurged in a prenatal massage. I even scheduled a second in two weeks. These sessions force me to do nothing besides relax. Something I am not good at.
How I'm Changing:
Baby Roe is growing and the belly is growing at a rapid rate. I catch my side profile in a mirror or window and it shocks me every time. He is still head down and he reminds me of this often. My ribs are very sore from his attempts at stretching. I feel like we are going to have a very active newborn. I get woken up in the middle of the night by a kick or a push. I will poke back and it is hilarious to see him react. Geoff tried to place his head on my belly while watching TV and got kicked. Kitty and him seem to have a game they play with her purring on my belly and him pushing her away. I could watch my belly move for hours.
I have had to invest in additional maternity clothes. Most still fit but even with this cold front are too warm. The maternity clothes business must be very profitable. The more flattering the dress the higher the price tag. Also way too many maternity clothes have horizontal stripes. Go figure....
What I'm Eating:
My appetite has increased but I am still getting full very quick. One hour later I am starving again. There is no longer the worry of me forgetting to eat. My current cravings have mostly consisted of roasted veggies and pasta. I have been cooking pasta at least three nights a week. At least. Also dark chocolate covered banana slices. Our grocery sells them in 100 calorie packs. They should be in 300 calorie packs. At least.
Everything Else:
I shared a nursery update picture on my Instagram. The glider still has not arrived. Apparently it has shipped. Maybe it will arrive before Baby Roe arrives...
We have been receiving some of the sweetest gifts in the mail. A huge thank you to everyone!
We have finally reached a point in a room renovation that I can say we are 98% done. We both have a bad habit of getting to the 80% mark, loosing steam and not coming back to a project for months. This room has been in the works for over 2 years. It was one of the first rooms we demoed and took the biggest chunk of our budget and time. This room is the kitchen. The heart of the home. Currently my favorite room in the house.
Here are the before pictures:
What you see is an unusable, small, dirty kitchen that was decorated with splatter painted cabinets. The layout wasn't productive and there were too many doors and walls.
Progress:
There was a lot of demo to be done. A full wall had to come down to create an open kitchen as well as a door. The window was closed in and the door leading out to the porch was removed. This was a complete gut job. We didn't save a single thing. The old appliances were donated but everything else had to go. Including the ceiling fan.
Once the cabinets were removed, there were layers of wall paper and linoleum to peel, scrape and pry off the floors, walls and ceiling.
Starting from a clean slate gives your design more options. We knew we would have to rewire the room and this provided the opportunity to locate the appliances, light fixtures and outlets where ever we desired.
To stay within budget we opted for higher end appliances and semi custom cabinets from Home Depot and open shelving that we installed ourselves. We had professionals install the tile on the floor and backsplash but the rest of the work was done ourselves. Tongue and grove boards were chosen over drywall. A combination of pendants, can lights and under cabinet lighting were used. A granite marble combination was chosen for the countertops and Restoration Hardware hardware was chosen for the cabinets.
The Final Product:
The two percent remaining? Filling the holes from the finishing nails and hanging a few more decorative items.
We went from an outdated, dirty kitchen to a space that is functional and represents our design styles. We are both very happy with how it turned out.
