Do you miss it?

The other day, while we were sitting in the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant (eating cheesecake of course), a pregnant women walking past the table.

My mom looked at the women, who appeared to be out for one last time with her girlfriends before the baby arrived, and then she looked at me saying "Wow, she looks like she will have the baby any day now". Then she asks me "Aren't you glad those days are over?"

I thought for a second to myself and answered her, "Actually no. Yes, I was uncomfortable at times but I really enjoyed being pregnant." Its true. I really did. Yes, I have a beautiful little boy that I can hold in my arms now, but I really did enjoy having him in my belly. It was a blessing.

I don't know if it was the long road Jeff and I had to endure before we found out about Drew or I was enjoying myself knowing that this is most likely my last time being pregnant or the time of year (not dealing with the hot, humid weather). I'm not sure, but I do know it was a wonderful experience from the moment the pregnancy stick said yes (yeah, it really said "yes" rather then two lines) to the first time I held him in my arms.

Oh, I can have that now!

Its amazing how once you get into a routine, you just go with it.

When I found out I was pregnent, I modified my diet immediatly. I cut out lunch meat, hot dogs, caffine (except a very small amount of chocolate), made sure to eat more veggies and fruit and all kinds of adjustments to make sure I was giving my child a healthy start.

After Drew was born, I started to realize that I could eat restricted items again. It wasn't immediate for certain things, but after 9/10 months of being pregnant, its hard to realize that you could go back to your pre-pregnancy diet. I'm not going crazy, since I have to shed my pregnancy pounds, but it feels great to be able to eat certain things again.

I was craving a rubin sandwich from about month 6 through the end, so that was a given that I would have one as soon as I could. The other thing that took some time to realize I could have again was a regular tea or a chai from Starbucks. About a week after having the baby, I was continuing to drink decaf tea. Then all of a sudden, it felt like a switch went on, I realized I could have regular tea again. Duh! Also, its nice to be able to treat myself to a Starbucks chai again!

Its been like one big discovery for the past few weeks figuring out what I can have again. Who knows what I will discover I can have today!!

38 Week Check Up

This week, I reach the 38 week mark and I think its amazing. I had my check up and everything looks great. All my vitals are where they should be and I feel good.

I have had an increase of those practice contractions, where my belly gets really hard for a few seconds, but that's about it. I don't feel anything else that would go with a contraction.

The doc says Mr Drew has dropped, which is a good sign but no dilation. She did explain that I could go two weeks past my due date (which I knew I could already). If I go one week past the due date, we have an ultrasound. So, if I happen to go that long, at least I'll be able to see him before his grand entrance.

Other then then, he's moving around good, his heartbeat is strong and we are enjoying end together.

Wordless Weds - The Kids Room

Jeff's Nesting Phase

So, I'm going to call what Jeff is going through as his nesting phase. I'll give him that because of the timing. I'm giving him space to do what he has to do since I know I must be driving him crazy with me going through my phase. But, our phases are a little different.

Jeff has the urge to buy a new car. It won't be a brand new car, but a vehicle to replace his cute little VW Jetta. He's mentioned it once or twice before about wanting to get a bigger car for the expanding family, but now all of a sudden the need to take care of this has hit him hard. The reason he feels the Jetta isn't appropriate any longer is the limited backseat room. Zack even made the announcement about a year ago that he doesn't like the Jetta because there isn't enough room for him (he likes my mini-van better).

Jeff's Jetta when he first purchased it

Over the weekend he was looking online for vehicles, making calls and doing his thing. He's narrowed down the search and we have an appointment on Thursday to look at vehicles in person and crunch numbers. I know the timing is close to other life changes, but it eases Jeff's concerns and it'll make my life easier.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Another busy weekend for me. I don't mind, it keeps my mind focused. Also, I had made sure there was time to sit back, relax and put my feet up too. So, I guess it was a combo weekend to be more precise.

Let's see, where to start. Ahh, Friday night.......

Since Friday was my dad's official birthday, we had to have cake. Since it was his big day, I let him pick out what kind he wanted and right away, with no hesitation, his answer was ice cream. So, we had a delicious Dairy Queen cake Friday evening. He Also opened up some presents too, since what's having a birthday cake without gifts, right?

Saturday I was able to accomplish washing all of Mr. Drew's newborn and 0-3 month clothes, blankets, sheets and anything else I could get my hands on. I also had to mail out Zack's and Grandpa's Easter packages filled with lost of Easter surprises. So, in between all that, I was able to relax a little.

Then Saturday night, Jeff and I took my parents out to a lovely restaurant to continue my dad's birthday celebration. The restaurant is called Goten and its a Japanese, cook in front of you restaurant. None of us had ever been there and it was the perfect opportunity to check it out. The table sits about 8 people around a grill. You have some soup and salad while you wait for the cook. He comes out, introduces himself, double checks what you ordered and then puts on a little show while he cooks you supper. The amount of food was unbelievable too. Definitely worth the price! It was such a great evening.

Then Sunday my mom and I ran around and returned items we didn't use for the baby shower (like decorations, etc). So, it was busy, but I got lunch out of the deal!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend no matter what you did! Also, I hope the weather is getting nicer for you too. Ours is in a rut, chilly and windy for now, but there is now snow!!

Drew's Shower, Part 2

First, I have to explain that some photo's were lost (I don't want to point any fingers and blame anyone but it could have been a malfunctioning camera or operator error, but I don't want to get involved in that mess).

So, we don't have photo's of what the room, the favors or the tables, but I will share with you some of the pictures that were able to be saved since the operator switched camera's half way through the shower.
Me and the proud grandpa-to-be, my dad. He came to visit with friends and relatives and enjoy the party he and my mom hosted. He loves to ware his tux tee-shirt to casual gatherings. He wore the same shirt to Jeff and my wedding reception (since it was a casual BBQ). Isn't he adorable though?

The gift table. The first table with the arranged bags are the raffle prizes, but beyond that is all the goodies we had fun opening during present time. Oh, it was fun getting it all into the trucks and mini-van without worrying about the rain or getting things wet, but we managed!

Someone asked me if I had a favorite gift and I couldn't think of just one gift I loved more then another. I am just so grateful for everything we received, but the cutest arranged gift was from my grandma and her bff Louise. Above is a picture after we opened it up, but it had her homemade quilt, diaper bag, clothes, toys and receiving blankets all arranged in Drew's first wagon. She went with the John Deere tractor theme since it matches the baby's room theme.

This is my dad holding up the wall during present time. He had a great view of all the presents being opened and he guarded the cupcakes too.

My Auntie Vicki and her bff who is a great friend of the family too. My aunt is the one who cooks up the idea for the clothes line of different baby clothes for the baby shower gift. I know all my aunts pitched in, but she gets the full credit in my mind since she puts it all together.

Another picture of family. The women in the black shirt is my grandma's bff Louise, middle is my cousin Molly and then my grandma in the white shirt. Some people think that my cousin Molly is my little girl at functions who don't know who parents.

Isn't he the cutest little man? This is my cousin Sebastian who was born last September. He can't wait for his new buddy to be born soon so he can have someone to play with! And what's a baby shower without a baby anyways!

When we got home, the boys placed gifts in any open area. Here is a snapshot of Drew's area. The rest was placed in the living room (pictured below) and in the kitchen.

Almost everything has a home now between the baby's room, the living room, basement or our room. We still have a few things to pick up and arrange, but we are pretty much ready to welcome Drew. Yeah, I still have to wash the clothes, sheets, towels and blankets, but that won't take too long since the items are so tiny. We are heading to Babies R Us tomorrow night and I can't wait to hit the store and take care of business. When the room is complete, I'll show it off.

36 Week Check Up

Even though I don't officially hit the 36 week/9 month point until tomorrow, I had my check-up yesterday. I can't believe I'll be in my 9th month already. I hope these next few weeks fly by like the past months since I want to meet the little guy who has been going spastic inside my belly at times and has those darn hiccups everyday (I feel bad for him).

The check up went well. All my vitals are great. She asked if I was having any contractions and I just explained I've been having the practice ones where the belly tightens up, but nothing more.

We heard his heartbeat and a nice big kick while she was listening. He had just finished the hiccups before she put the listening devise on my belly and that would have been interesting to hear. Maybe next time.

My belly was measured and she said I'm in the 36-37 week range with my belly size (which I thought was good since its about right on target) and that she is predicting he weights about 6 1/2 pounds. She explained that sometimes the predictions are right on target or they are way off. I don't know which one makes me feel any better.

But, the whole check-up went wonderfully. So, I'm on the weekly check-up schedule now which is great! I get to hear about my little boy weekly and also get out of work early once a week.

Drew's Shower, Part 1

Yesterday was the big day, Drew's Shower. The weather didn't corporate like we had hoped, it was rainy and chilly, but it was still a great day.

I have more pictures to come, but I was lucky enough to have two people taking pictures during the day, my mom and my SIL Sarah, so I have the pictures to share that Sarah took while I was opening gifts, while my mom burns a CD for me of the other images. I'll share those when I receive them! But for now, I'll share details about the day and share a few photo's at the same time.

My mom and I got there early to set up and so did my SIL and her sister who made the wonderful cupcakes for dessert. They were homemade and looked so professional. Everyone raved about the cupcakes and how delicious they were. There were 3 different flavors to chose from; lemon cake with lemon filling, black forest (choc cake with cherry middle) and spice cake with apple caramel filling and on top of each one, there was a candy piece indicating which one was which according to a chart. I was able to sneak one (the spice cake one) and they were to die for. They were moist and yummy! Those girls rock for what they did for the shower! I really appreciated it too.

Homemade Quilt from my Grandma with little froggies on it

There were so many people there (with a huge family, its to be expected though). Yeah, there were a handful who RSVP'd who didn't show up, but it just allowed more food for the ones who did attend. The food was a lovely spread of breakfast items (thanks mom & dad) and it was delicious.

Auntie Tammie handing out a raffel gift with Auntie Tracy calling out the numbers in the background

We did raffles to break up the gift opening part of the shower. Two of my aunts helped out with the raffles and the gift openings. It was much appreciated. We did the raffles instead of the normal shower games. We stole the idea from my cousins baby shower that took place last summer.

We received lots of presents for the baby along with many diapers (that was one of the raffles, bring diapers and get a chance to win a gift certificate to a local restaurant). We received lots of cute outfits ranging from Newborn to 12 months, all kinds of gadgets and gizmo's to help with the baby and so many things I can't think of right now to list. We do have to go get a few things we'd like, but not many. Yeah!

Clothes line of baby close ranging from 3 months to 12 months for Drew

It was such a lovely time. The morning just flew by. It was so nice to see all my friends and family together for the event. Someone had asked me if I was nervous (about the shower) and my reply was nope. Its all friends and family here, no need to be nervous. I did tell her I was excited, no nervous energy there.

After we got everything home we took a little rest and then Jeff and I dove right in with sorting everything out (my FIL helped too). We sorted everything out by location in the house and the next step is to put it all away. That'll be fun though, I can't wait.

Stranger Encounters

This past week I've experienced the random conversations with strangers about my growing belly. It could be that it started this late with winter clothing coming off and a pregnancy belly is now revealed to the world more often then before.

I didn't have any unknown person touch my belly (yet) and it could be because of my body language as I walk through the stores, but so far so good.

The first time was a nice women who approached me in CVS while I was there with my FIL. I noticed she looked at my belly and then asked me when my baby was due. I explained the end of April and that opened the flood gates for our conversation. We chatted about her grand baby that was due in July, the showers, how excited we were and so on. As we broke free of each other we both wished each other good luck. I turned to my FIL who was standing within an arm's length away and he asked me who that was. I shrugged my shoulders and said, I have no idea.

The second time this week, an encounter occurred at Walmart. I was walking in to return a shirt (that was too small in the belly area) and the women who was the greeter asked me right away when my baby was due. We chatted for awhile and she almost forgot to give me my sticker for my return.

I don't mind talking about my little boy, but the hard part is to remain cheerful and happy when you're tired. My focus was to go into these stores, do what I have to do and then leave. Now I have to factor in random conversations with strangers. I just feel lucky it didn't start until recently.

Wordless Weds - I can see this happening!

It Blows My Mind

At work, I have a few bosses. Its kind of a supervisor ladder if you will; I have my office manager, the 2nd in command and then the head hancho.

The head hancho we share with two other schools. So, he runs back and forth every day between the three schools. Since they are all college's, you can imagine all the drama with student issues and even employee situations he has to be involved with.

All through my pregnancy, the head hancho would ask me questions like how I was feeling, how things were going and checking in with me. I wasn't really expecting him to really pay much attention to my situation since he has so much on his plate from his job.

Yesterday morning, before his usual big Monday morning Deans meeting he asked me, 5 more weeks (to my due date), right? I had a big smile on my face and said, yup we are almost there!

But what blew me away was, he has been counting down just like me and was right on. I know he may be counting down since he will be short an employee for 6 weeks, but it just amazed me that he was right on target and seemed really excited for me.

Reading Challenges

Phew, its taking me awhile to get through my current book "Water for Elephants". Its not that its a bad book, its just so much is going on.

I just want to finish one last book before Drew comes along since I know in the beginning, I won't have time to sit and read. I will continue to add books to my pile to read, but I don't think I'll have time to read them right away.

The book is good, its interesting and written very well, but with our classes (birthing and breastfeeding), the running around, the cleaning, the prepping, I'm tired and at times just wanting to veg out without anything going on other then watching a simple TV show, its hard to pick the book up. I may read a few pages at night before we shut the lights off to go to bed, but once I get into the book and remember where I was in the story, my eyes start to get heavy.

But, I'll get through it! I have a little under 6 weeks until my due date and I should get through the book by then. If not, well I'll finish it when I can!

Cleaning Phase

Jeff made an observation over the weekend that I think he is absolutely correct about. It was Saturday night, as we were settling down to go to bed, and he said "I think you are in your cleaning phase of the pregnancy". I told him, yup I agree and it hit me hard.

So its official, I'm in the nesting phase. I want to clean and straighten everything in the house. If I could, I'd be out there doing yard work too, but its hard for me to bend over so I'll save all of that for after the baby arrives.

But, in the house, I want to clean, clean, clean! I want to make room for items from the shower, I want to finish the boys room (we have to wait for a part for the crib before we can do that), I want to find places for household items my FIL just places where ever HE thinks is a good place for them rather then actually putting them away and anything else I can put my hands on. I want to do a good spring cleaning in the bathroom, kitchen and living room, but I need to find cleaning products I can be around first (any ideas?).

Also, the thing is that delays me a little is once I get into a project, I get super tired. My back starts to ache and I lose steam, but then my second wind comes and watch out! But, my goal is to take care of one thing at a time and also build in some down time to relax.

It was amazing though how fast and quickly that feeling took over. I wasn't lazy before, but this nesting faze is definitely the real deal!

We Passed!

Well, that's what they tell us, but the real test will be when baby Drew arrives.

We finished our 7 week birthing/Lamaze classes this past Monday. I'm not sure if we will remember all the techniques while I'm in labor, but you never know. The hardest part for us is remembering which breathing method to use at which stage of labor. I'm thinking that as long as I use a techniques at some point, that is ok with me.

The best part is since we attended each class, we received a certificate for reimbursement for our insurance company. Sweet! That means the class will eventually be free for us, that is when ever the insurance company decides to cut us a check.

So, the classes were definitely an experience. I learned some things about the different epidurals, breathing patterns, watched some video's on birthing, learned how to bath and clean a boy (that was somthing I really needed to learn), was taught how to swaddle a baby and everything in between. I'm happy we went since it was a refresher for Jeff and hands on learning for me.

What a Sweetheart

Yeah, I'm talking about my husband. Yeah, at times he can be a pain, not listen, play those stupid video games and just not get what I try to tell him.

But, when he does little things to show that he cares or loves me, it just erases all the petty things.

The other day, I received a text message from him while I was at work. It put a huge smile on my face when I read it. He mentioned he doesn't say it enough and its way over-due but pregnancy agrees with me, that I have that glow that everyone talks about and it looks great on me. He also said that I am doing a great job taking care of our child and he is proud of me.

It just blew me away. I didn't respond with my usual saying of, OK what do you want. But I wrote him back that I think we will make a great team raising our child and that he was the best. Then his smart-ass response back was yeah I know. So, we were back to our "normal" harassing each other moods at that point, but, I just thought it was so sweet to get a random text from Jeff saying stuff like that.

Do you feel pregnant?

People look at my basketball size belly and ask, do you feel pregnant? Most of the time, no. This is the common question of the day.

When the little one isn't moving around, I don't feel the extra weight like I thought I would, so at times I don't feel preggers. Yesterday morning I was driving to work, and Drew was quite and so I felt like I did pre-pregnancy. Its a weird feeling now-a-days. I thought I would feel extremely bloated or something like that, but for the most part I don't.

The times I do feel pregnant are when I have to pick something up off the floor, tie my shoes, shaving my legs (when I have the ambition to do so), anything to do with my feet, when my belly gets in the way of others walking around me or when the baby is moving. But this isn't constant (except for Drew moving around), its only at certain times. So, I don't mind it.

Over all, my pregnancy has been smooth sailing (after the first trimester hormone adjustments) and I'm enjoying every last bit. I can't wait to meet the little boy that who has sparked this question.

Brotherly Love

Last weekend, while in Maryland, Zack was able to experience something he's never done before.

While we were in the NASA visitor center, watching a movie on the environment, baby Drew started moving around, kicking, pushing and doing what he does best.

Jeff was sitting next to me, so I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. Jeff felt some good kicks and noticed that the movement was lasting a little while. So, he tapped Zack on the shoulder (since he was sitting in front of us) and told him that the baby was moving around. Immediately, Zack jumped up and squeezed between Jeff and I. Jeff then placed Zack's hand on my belly.

It took a few seconds, but baby Drew showed his big brother, that he was definitely awake. Drew kicked hard and right away Zack looked up at me with wonderment in his eyes with an amazed look on his face that he was able to feel his baby brother for the first time.

He kept his hand there until the baby was done showing off. It was a good 5 minutes! At one point the baby moved so hard, it moved Zack's hand off my belly. Zack was so amazed.

I was so happy to have that little bond experience between the boys during the trip. It was just breath taking to see the joy in Zack's eyes with the experience. And I know, even more, he can't wait to meet his little brother in June (since that will be the next visit after Drew is due to come into this world).

He Surprised Me

We didn't make it to Vermont this weekend. So, Saturday morning my mom asked me to help her out with some baby shower errands.

While I was out, Jeff started on a 4 hour mission to assemble his youngest son's furniture. I wasn't sure he was going to put it together or not since when I left to go with my mom, he was heading to play video games.

But, when I walked in the house, I noticed the kids rooms light illuminating out into the hallway, music could be heard into the kitchen and I knew what he was doing. He was putting it all together! I was so excited! I went straight for the room with a huge smile on my face to check on the what was happening. I didn't get any photo's of the assembly process since when I walked into the room it was mostly done.

These two pictures are the best I could show for now. The room needs to rearranged since Zack's all-in-one giant bed has to be moved and some other furniture has to find another location in the house. When that happens, I'll be able to show the other side of the changing table from the other side since Zack's bed was in the way for photo's.

But for now, this is what I have to show. I can't wait until the room is all set with all the bedding in the crib and all the odds and ends inside the changing table. After that, we just wait for little Drew's arrival. I will be sure to show off the completed room too!

Pregnancy Weight

I've had about enough with one pregnancy "side-effect". Its not the back pain (granted I would love to not have it, but I deal with it), its not the tossing & turning at night, its not that I can't see my toes/shave my legs/trim my nails. Its the aspect that most everyone has to point out that I'm gaining weight.

Uh, ya think?!? I'm just shy being 30 weeks pregnant, I hope I'm gaining weight. This has been going on mostly at work since I announced being pregnant back in October.

One of my supervisors who has been on weight watchers pointed out that I'll have to be on weight watchers soon just like her. I have a certain driver, who most of the time I adore, but recently he has been giving me a hard time about my belly weight/eating a whole sandwich/snaking throughout the day. Also, another driver just the other day mentioned that my supervisor is losing weight and that I am putting it on (and did the gesture with his arms next to his body getting rounder). And there have been other remarks I can't think of at the moment.

So, I've had enough! I think I'm doing pretty good with my weight during the pregnancy. I've gained 26 pounds (well in my range), all in my stomach area. I eat relatively healthy. I try to stay active. My torso area isn't that long so the baby has to grow somewhere and in this case its out in front. Knock on wood, I've only had a slight swelling in my ankle area, so I really haven't gained much weight/water retention anywhere else but the belly area.

Jeff says its because people aren't used to me gaining the extra weight and they don't know how to react. Well, its none of their business. My thoughts are this, if I wasn't pregnant, would they feel compelled to tell me I'm gaining weight? I would think no. But, because I'm pregnant, they think its fair game to comment on the weight gain and they think its funny/cute/appropriate.

But as long as I feel good, my doc thinks I'm on track and the baby is healthy, I will try and keep my cool for the next few months. Wish me luck!!