A Learning Process

Since it's been almost 5 months (5 months!!) since my last blog post, I have A LOT to write about!  We'll see if Bailey lets me write for a little while :) First things first!  Here's a recent pic of my little cutie:  She's such a ham... until the camera comes out.  I was lucky to get this picture! I knew life would change once Bailey made her appearance, but oh my goodness, experiencing it was something else!  There've been highs, there've been lows, and everything in between.  The past few months have gone by incredibly fast, and I can only imagine how quickly it will go from here.  She'll be talking, walking, and driving before I know it! I'll get back to her in a bit; I wanna talk about my delivery! Here's what went down... I went in for my scheduled induction on August 6th, and when I got all settled in, the nurse informed me that there was a chance that I'd be sent home if things didn't progress enough.  After ...

OH MY GOODNESS!! Where does time go?!   It seems like just yesterday I was looking at the little stick and thinking, "Oh crap.  I guess this is really happening!  I wonder what Mark's reaction will be..."   Here's my latest pic at 38 weeks and three days: I'll probably take a final belly shot next Monday - the last time I'll be able to do  full hair and makeup for awhile without being totally exhausted lol! Here are some of my thoughts from this previous week... Annoyances! Some of you may already know this, but I am not the biggest fan of bratty and ill-behaved kids.  At Disneyland, the doctor's office, Target, restaurants, movies... it doesn't matter where we are, it just irritates me.  I'm human and I like my peace and quiet, just like anybody else :)  However, I do realize that it's often the parent's fault for allowing their little hellions to behave in such a horrible manner.   Case in point (this is p...

Quite a bit has happened in the past three weeks or so, and I'm sure a lot will happen in the next few weeks as well, but I'll start this blog off with my BIG OL' BELLY !! I'm a dork. Body Issues! Mark just took this picture of me last night (Sunday) at 36 weeks and one day.  As I look back at old pictures of me (even earlier on in this pregnancy), I'm missing my skinnier self!  My skinnier face, my skinnier arms, my skinnier midsection, etc.  Obviously, I am most excited about getting to experience and hold my baby girl, but the next best thing will be *slowly* getting my body back - or at least getting as close as I can after being pregnant for nine months ;)  Also, I SWEAR that my belly button is still an innie, albeit a very shallow innie.  That's seriously just a wrinkle in my shirt, I promise!  I felt the need to point that out :)  That raises a question though... say your innie turns into an outie, can they push it back in once yo...

I'll start this thing off right! Not bad for 7 1/2 months, right?! This pic was taken at 33 weeks and two days (yesterday) and like I've said before, I never realize how "big" my belly is until I see it in pictures!!  I have a lot of shortness of breath to show for it, but when I'm looking at it in the mirror, it never seems that big to me - but hey, I'll take what I can get! Speaking of shortness of breath... It is seriously a pain in the butt!!!!  I hate it.  It's my worst symptom!!  Even doing nothing at all, I feel like I can't get a nice deep breath in sometimes.  I have no actual breathing problems and my doc said this is all totally normal, but it's certainly annoying.  I'll be glad when I no longer have a small human pushing her way up into my lung space :) Blood types! I am blessed with having an A- blood type (which I learned is quite uncommon), so I got to take my first trip to Labor and Delivery for my Rhog...

Not much has happened between 27 and 30 weeks, but enjoy this one anyway :) Oh crap! Here's my big ol' belly bump at 30 weeks!  I think I look "meh" but that's Mark's fault for not getting my best angle.  Ha! I'm still tripped out by how big I'm getting, even though I'm still pretty small for 6 1/2 months !!  I've never seen myself this way before, so it takes awhile to get "used" to it, I suppose.  I've gained about 14 pounds - three of which I can attribute to my little cabbage Bailey ;)  When I look in the mirror, I don't really see my bump as much - it's not until I see it in pictures that I realize, "Oh crap!  It really is noticeable!" Non-Stress Tests and Ultrasounds! Since I am technically "high-risk" because of the whole blood clot thing 4 years ago, I get to visit my doctor's office for weekly non-stress tests (NSTs) and ultrasounds just to make sure Miss Bailey is do...

Only three more months?!  WHAT?!  Denial! I'll be honest, I still don't feel like I'm this pregnant.  However, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that our little bundle of joy will be here soon... she's been cooking for 27 1/2 weeks now, and is growing up a storm!  According to the Internet, she weighs almost two pounds (the size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 inches long.  I can imagine things are starting to get a bit cramped in there! Bump comparisons! Watch my belly magically vanish...   27 weeks (taken May 11th) 25 weeks 19 weeks 14 weeks 12 weeks (yeah, that was so not a baby bump) Looking back at these pictures makes me miss my pre-pregnancy body, but there's not much I can do at this point!  I'm only getting bigger, but it's all for a good reason!  Miss Bailey can't grow to her full potential without me getting bigger along with her :)   New wheels! A stroller coun...

I like the format that I used a couple of blogs ago, so here goes: Movement! I am now a whopping 25 weeks and a day pregnant.  Lil Miss Bailey weighs approximately a pound and a half, and is just living it up inside my belly.  Mark even felt her for the first time on Wednesday morning!  That was a rather momentous occasion for us :)  I've been feeling her on the outside for awhile now, but she usually likes to stop moving as soon as I say, "Baby!  Come feel her, she's moving around!"  It really trips me out when I see my belly move with the kicks - that's somethin' else.  Then I feel like I have an alien parasite living inside me.  As with my last blog post, she is still most active at night... this worries me a little. Nesting! I guess my nesting instinct is starting to kick in a little... Mark and I are slowly but surely clearing out and trying to organize the room that will soon be a nursery.  This involved us going through his ol...

I thought I'd do a quickie blog today since I haven't written anything since March freakin' 21st!  Time for an update! I am now 22 weeks and 4 days, if you all can believe it!  I, for one, am still getting used to this whole "being pregnant" thing lol.  However, Little Miss Bailey likes to remind me that, yes, she is indeed in there!  I feel nudges pretty regularly now, and I get a little antsy if I haven't felt her for awhile.  She is definitely still most active at night!  Plus, the larger my belly gets, the more real it becomes.  For instance, here's my 22 week picture: I mean, wow!  Look at that bump!  I guess there's no denying it now; I am with child ;) And... I think it's time for me to start using my self-tanning lotion.  I'm so pasty! My cravings haven't changed much from last time, either.  I seriously had a dream about donuts last night.  I got my Chick-fil-A fix last month, but that craving never goes ...

I have a feeling this is going to be another random blog, so be forewarned.  I'm not sure what exactly I want to write about, so let's just start with... Push Presents! Yeah, I didn't know what these were either until a few months ago.  Apparently, some mothers expect their significant others to get them a present in return for them giving birth (usually it's a new car, a makeover, diamonds, etc) .  I told Mark about this, and he didn't take it too seriously.  I'm not expecting a push present, but I did tell Mark that I might like some new shoes or something lol!  We all know that it's common for pregnant ladies to outgrow their shoes, so you never know, I may very well end up needing some new sandals after all.  That's a lot better than demanding Mark buy me a new tennis bracelet, right?  Push presents... sort of unnecessary in my opinion, but I wouldn't object to Mark getting me one ;) Overprotective parents! I was fortunate enough to not ...