The Bump {11} - Recap: 28-32 weeks

As I am now nearing 33 weeks, this post is a little behind. Story of my life these days, for reals. I don't think I've ever felt more mentally and physically unmotivated and tired. Though these two feelings aren't necessarily simultaneous, they sure do stop a person from being any sort of productive, especially this pregnant woman! My guess is that starting a new full-time job has zapped all my energy. I have been working so hard to be 200% productive at work to show how much I am willing and able to do for the department but that just means I come home and want to do absolutely nothing. I have on many occasions come up with a really awesome list of things to complete after work with an insane timeline to make sure we stay on task. This list typically includes the mundane everyday tasks like making dinner, doing the dishes, tidying up, doing laundry, etc. However, the moment I step in the doorway, I take off my shoes and walk directly to the couch where I will sit for a moment or two. After these two fleeting moments, there's no way I want to get back up. Happens every time! As this little bump continues to grow, I expect my complete uselessness to continue. Good luck doing ALL the chores, Gspice! :-)

Though I really have very little complaints about my pregnancy thus far, there is one annoyance that I wish I could do away with. I have this irritating pain in my upper back (on either side) when I sit for even a few minutes. I have to sit at work, I sit at home, I sit when I drive....you get the idea. I sit a lot so have this pain a lot. I find that if I lean back far enough, the pain does go away, but it certainly looks weird if I lean so far back in my work chair......If only I could lay down! And lately, I have been every bit uncomfortable on the couch whether sitting or laying down. This has been the most frustrating! As you read earlier, I sit down as I get home from work and I have a hard time moving away from such a comforting spot. However, it turns rather uncomfortable very quickly. When I get uncomfortable sitting, I attempt to lay down. As my bump grows, this gets more and more tricky. And uncomfortable. Ugh. I know this is a part of the third trimester but I hoped it would stay away until much later. Oh well!

No matter what I've experienced thus far, this pregnancy has gone really smoothly. I might try to complain but honestly, I have been so very lucky. Mini Mr. is such a good little one already and blessing his mama with an easy pregnancy. Please, little one, make labor and delivery go just as smoothly :)

My most favorite thing still has to be his movement. If you can believe it, he still has enough room in there to be VERY mobile. He wiggles, kicks and hiccups a ton! This will be the part of pregnancy I will miss the most. It makes it all so real and enjoyable. Again, I think I can tell his position from all this wiggling - he's had his head down and feet up for quite awhile so we should be all good to go as long as he stays that way!

Now on to the exciting parts of this post! I haven't been as on top of this as I've been in the past so I have only two photos to show you. The first was taken a month ago when it still felt like summer. The second one was taken after my baby shower yesterday which I will blog about another day. Just proves how unmotivated I've been. Oops!

 

And perhaps even more exciting.....Mini Mr. Wiest has a name! He's really had a name for quite awhile already but we've kept it a secret.




Until now!

The Bump {10} - The Prego & Eggo List - SEPTEMBER

Oh how excited I've been for this month but oh how way less motivated I've been. It has been slow going for any progress on my part but I'm surprisingly okay with it. Any time I feel unmotivated, I try to do something at least somewhat productive. Like at this very moment - I'm blogging which is on my prego & eggo to-do list but what I really need to be doing is cleaning the house so it can be sprayed for bugs. Yeah, it's probably not completely necessary but our kitchen is a mess. But does this prego lady care? Not really. I'll try to get to it in the morning. We shall see :)

As with my other Prego List blog posts, here's a little snapshot of the fun things we did within the last month. Let me tell you, this was by far the most nervewrecking thing about moving in to a new place. I wanted so very badly to put up pictures and other decor but never did because I was deathly afraid of making a mistake. Turns out it wasn't that difficult! I started with one item and then realized, Holy Sh*! I can actually do this!

As far as the nursery goes, we got one step closer but we've still got MANY more to go. We've got the changing table put together but not the crib - I'd say we picked the right piece to put together first :) I also was able to buy a couple of the decor pieces but have yet to really decide where they'll be on the walls - I really need to see it all put together first. On tap - getting the glider finished and the crib put together fo sho. I think that will help.

We still have a TON to finish before Little Mr. arrives but I'm guessing a good amount of it won't actually get done. At this point, finishing even just a few things is making me feel good so we'll keep trekking!

Broadway Temptations!

Gary and I were tempted. Tempted by what, you ask?

An email from Broadway in Chicago, of course!

This is how we decided to take one last trip to Chicago before Little Mr. arrives. And by one last trip, I mean one last VERY QUICK trip to Chicago. We left by 8am on Saturday morning and were back home by 6:30pm Sunday night. Couldn't miss Breaking Bad!

Though this was such a quick trip, it was great! I L.O.V.E. spending time with Gspice in the city that has become so very special to us. We've made some of our most beloved memories in Chicago and it's always nice to go back.

This trip consisted of:

Driving - for hours and hours!
Road construction - can you imagine 45 miles of construction on a busy interstate? You don't want to!
Free Noodles & Co. - it helps that we both have birthdays in September :)
Eating our favorite meal (NY Strip Steak at Hard Rock, of course!)**
Walking to my old stomping ground
and one last Book of Mormon show thanks to the Broadway in Chicago email!

**Our original plan for dinner was to eat somewhere new - I had seen a commercial on Bravo for GT Fish & Oyster and if you've been around me for any length of time recently, you'd know I am soooooooooooooooo craving Lobster Mac & Cheese. Well, that commercial featured their amazingly delicious looking Lobster Mac & Cheese. After making reservations and building up my excitement, I then saw how another restaurant makes theirs on Diners, Drivers and Dines. THEY used soft cheeses. THIS pregnant lady won't touch soft cheeses (because I'm not supposed to). Thus, I canceled the reservations for GT Fish & Oyster. It was a sad day.

Thanks for such an amazing time, Gspice! Can't wait for our next trip!

One thing I may never do again though is make such a whirlwind trip while being soooooooo very pregnant. I was practically a walking zombie before we even had dinner!

OH and we made an attempt to buy some things at IKEA. This, of course, had been planned out for MONTHS. Somehow, even before this trip was even thought of, we were going to buy two shelves and their little cubbies for our living room. It just a perfect coincidence that Chicago has an IKEA. Our only complication? Such a tiny little new vehicle with amazing gas mileage. I pulled out our trusty tape measure and with Gary's help, we measured the space and decided that we could successfully fit two of these large packages in our car. Well, when we started putting the shelves on the little rolly cart at IKEA, we freaked. They looked miles longer than our car and were sooooooooooooo heavy. We left IKEA with empty hands.

A Keepsake Box for Miss Emma

I have been searching and searching for Emma's keepsake box for YEARS! When we lost her two years ago, it was such a difficult time but we were so thankful for all the kind words and support from everyone. Add to that all of her adorable sonogram photos and the little onesie we got for her and we had lots of things we wanted to hold on to!

I am happy to say that I finally found what I've been looking for and it is sooooo beyond perfect.

Thanks, TwoGiggles!

The Bump {9} - Recap: 24-28 weeks

This month has been all of the bump. I have gained pound after pound and this little bump just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I have to constantly remind myself that I am short with a very short torso so where else does this little baby have to go but out...That doesn't stop me from the occasional meltdown with Gspice. I tearfully bombard him with "I'm so huge!" and "I can't possibly make it three more months!" and he just gently reminds me that "Everything is perfectly fine" and "You aren't actually that big" with a big hug and kiss while he wipes away my ridiculous tears. Seriously, what would I do without him? I'm such an emotional and crazy pregnant person! The cutest thing he's done this month? On a day that I was especially crabby and not feeling well, Gary sent me an email like usual (asking about work, how my day is going, how was Peach, etc) but ended it with "PS: you looked really pretty this morning." He's so sweet :)

Besides all my emotional hot mess tendencies, this past month has been super fascinating too. For one, Mini Mr. has become increasingly active. I didn't start feeling his kicks and punches as early as I would have liked, but I am so happy we can feel them now. It is a constant reminder that he's doing okay and Mommy doesn't need to worry so much.  Gary felt his kicks for the very first time at 25 weeks, 1 day. His expression was priceless - a look of shock, wonder, excitement. Such a sweet moment! I had been feeling them for awhile before that but I still get a kick out of watching my bump jump with his drop kicks and right hooks. It's pretty cool! I plan to start officially counting his kicks at 28 weeks to make sure he's still on track.

One thing I can tell from where his kicks and punches are landing is Mini Mr.'s position. My guess is that his head is down on my left side with his feet up near my right rib. It seems that is his favorite spot because all pain I have is always on my left side. My mid-upper back on my left side, my left leg will tighten much more quickly than the right, my left lower back, etc. I also had my first experience with rib pain on my left side. It just ached and ached! I'm guessing that he moved positions because on that day, I felt kicks on my upper left side. Crazy dude.

One thing I definitely notice nowadays is that I can't sit for too long. The moment I stand up after a longer sitting session (at my computer desk, on the couch, etc), it hurts terribly to walk! It's like I got punched in the you-know-what-region.

As far as non-bump-related news goes, I officially started my new job at Luther on Monday. However, that meant that all my other jobs had to go. I'm very happy that I will have one "normal" job rather than three part-time jobs but the three I had were good to me. I was able to do things I enjoyed, make money and still have somewhat of a life. However, it was hard not having a specific schedule and not being home a lot. And when I was home, I was always tired and completely unmotivated to do anything. That being said, I am definitely going to miss everyone I've worked with over the past couple of years.

Now that we'll both have a normal schedule, I am soooooooooo excited to start menu planning and getting a routine down before baby arrives. I know that he'll be all-but-routine, this is something I've been wanting to do forever. Little Mr. will get older and become part of our routine too and I'm just excited that we'll be able to be together as a family every night and on weekends.

And what everyone has probably been waiting for...................BUMP PHOTOS! Here's the latest installment. Like I said, my bump keeps getting bigger and bigger!