Thirty-Four Weeks

Thirty Four Weeks means we're getting ready to head into the holidays, into Thanksgiving and all the Christmas wonders. This year we'll be staying put for the holidays seeing as we've got a baby on the way, and I don't exactly want to deliver a baby at a gas station in Bronson, lol. I'm finishing up the last few days at work before Thanksgiving and I'll be off for the entire week! Ready to finish that nursery!

November 13, 2013
34 Weeks, 1 Day

Yesterday I looked in the mirror and thought, man I'm beautiful.

Okay maybe that sounds weird, but my mom always says that none of her children ever had self-esteem problems, lol. And I'll also attribute it to the fact that our bathroom has this crazy great flattering lighting at about five or six in the afternoon and I was standing in that bathroom at the time.

But mostly I say that because I'm 8+ months pregnant and I have deep purple stretch marks even though I put lotion on and drink water like it's going out of style. I don't fit into any of my old clothes and I'm starting to grow out of the t-shirt that I ordered many sizes too large for my kids class at church. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a whale when I can't get off the couch and when I can't for the life of me figure out how to roll over in bed. Sometimes my mascara's in my face after I shower and I have dark circles... sometimes the mascara's not there and I still have dark circles. Some days I get tired just from sitting at my desk typing, like physically difficult to lift my hands to type while keeping my eyes open.

But this morning I got on the scale for my weekly weigh-in and I, for the first time in my life, (including the summer I gained 20 pounds when I lived in Alaska) I weighed 190 pounds. I'm a dietitian and I've gained 35 pounds (at least) at only 34 weeks. It's over the 'recommended' weight gain, and you know what, I think I look amazing.

I worked out with my 'good friend' Denise Austin last night and I feel like I'm in great shape. I'm carrying around a human being, and not peeing on myself when she kicks me in the bladder. I'd consider that success. I am tired some days, and others I'm repainting furniture in my garage and planting a garden at school.

But I'm growing a human!

I don't want to seem like I think gaining tons of weight when you're pregnant is the healthiest thing. If you've put on 150 pounds you may have gone a little overboard. I think pregnancy should be a time in your life where you work hard to take care of your baby and your body and when you eat all the vegetables and fruits and nuts that make your baby smart and healthy.

I also don't take all the credit for growing a human either. Kyle had a little to do with it all and well, the Lord is the one working this crazy miracle that people can actually grow other people. If you don't believe in miracles, think about how babies come to be and think again...

But today I weigh 190 pounds, my stomach is huge, my skin is stretched to the max. And I think I look amazing... and for that I'm very, very grateful.

November 17, 2013
34 Weeks, 5 Days
Today we had our final shower in our little town of Lindale. I can't tell you how loved we feel in this town. The girls came together and made some of the most delicious and beautiful treats for the party. It was neat to see a community of ladies that have become such a family for us over the past few years. And let me tell you what, we got some wonderful gifts because many of these ladies are moms or new moms and they totally knew exactly what we'd need. The decorations were wonderful the treat table was right out of a magazine and I didn't get one picture... oops. But I think some of the girls got pictures, so I'll share those later if I get any copies.

But oh we feel so very loved. Can't wait for this little girl to get here and meet all of her Lindale friends :)

November 18, 2013
34 Weeks, 6 Days

We have a stroller AND a car seat! I'm probably a little too excited about all this stroller/car seat business, but when you're mind is built like mine is, it's kind of a thing.

They say certain personalities or character traits are learned, but that some are just ingrained in us from the start. Example: Gatti-land was a popular arcade inside of a pizza place where birthday parties were quite popular growing up. You'd go to a friend's birthday party, eat pizza, eat cake, and then get 5-10 tokens to run around Gatti-land and play a million games. Or more like 5 or 10 games. There were the kids who ran to the first game they saw and put all their tokens in and had a blast and then ran to ask their parents for more tokens. That kid was not me. I would stroll around to the games, check out each one, see how many tokens I really thought the game was worth, and then choose carefully. Those 5-10 tokens would last quite a while. Sometimes my mom would offer to buy us more tokens, but I don't remember ever really wanting tons more. Seemed like we could save our money for better things than tokens right? (Mom correct me if I'm wrong here).

I tell that story because I feel like I grew up wanting to get a good deal and save money. Blame it on Gatti-land, blame it on the $100 I won on the radio in the 4th grade that I immediately opened a savings account with, blame it on the high prices of the American Girl doll magazine and the low prices of the thrift store where I bought my 'Samantha doll' desk that I loved so dearly.

Anyway, pair this with my obsession for rules and safety and it's an impossible task to find and purchase a car seat and stroller. Which one is safe, which one is the most versatile, which one is still reasonably priced? Why would anyone pay $700+ for a stroller, why would I buy a car seat without the best safety rating, what kind of stroller will work well in the rocks and mountains of Colorado and the little towns of East Texas?

So after a few weeks of chasing deals that disappeared all too soon before I could buy them, we snagged a deal of our own. Buy the top-rated stroller and converter bar for the infant car seat attachment, get the top-rated infant car seat for free... yes, thank you. Dear REI, we are friends now, and I may have wanted to dance when we were checking out. But I held it all in.

I was probably way too excited. We loaded the new baby gear into the trunk and headed home.

And then I stared at it all night. Done with the research, done with the sale tracking, ready to fill that little seat with a little, sweet, safe, price-conscious baby, lol.

34 Weeks and our baby is the size of a butternut squash. And for this week's bump pictures I made sure to include the new stroller... excited? Yes I told you I was, lol.

Thirty Four Weeks, how'd we get here so fast?!?