On Wednesday, our coworkers at Red Clay Interactive threw us a baby shower! It was a "What's It Going To Bee?" theme. We were so blessed by all of the little details and by the generosity of everyone. There was adorable bee decorations, great food, and cards for people to guess the gender and suggest names for the baby which they read out at the end.
(I should probably mention, because I can't remember if I already have or not, that I'm currently working as the front desk receptionist for Red Clay. They needed a temporary person, and I was cool with a temporary job, win-win).
So while I share baby shower pictures (taken by our coworker Greg Cruce), I thought I'd share all of the pregnancy info and answers to frequently asked questions that I've slacked on sharing thus far.
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| yummy yummy food |
How far along are you and when is your due date? As of this past Wednesday, I am 38 weeks along. My due date is August 9th...but I'm counting on the little one to bake past that.
Was the pregnancy planned/Was this pregnancy a surprise? I find this question incredibly amusing. My common response to this question is "it's not like we didn't know what we were doing!" LOL.
Is it a boy or girl? We don't know, we're choosing to go the surprise route. Our doctor and midwives don't know either. The ultra sound tech does not take pictures of...you know... or write it down when you don't want to know so that the doctor does not mess up and tell you. For now, we refer to him/her as Sprout.
Do you have a hunch as to the baby's gender? I'm leaning towards a boy...but of course this is not based on anything. It could be that I have an easier time picturing us with a boy.
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| A coworkers mom made these, aren't they cute? |
Do you have any pregnancy symptoms? Besides pregnancy brain (this is a real thing people!)...This has changed throughout my pregnancy. The first couple weeks (we figured it out very early) I felt great, was eating salads every day for lunch, no problems. Then several weeks of nausea set in. This was one of the worst things to me. Then the nausea went away and the throwing up commenced. Trash cans have not been my friend. I could just be standing there and all of a sudden throw up too. That lasted several weeks. (In my opinion, the throwing up was not half as bad as the nausea...I HATE being nauseous). I've had a few incidences where my blood pressure drops, I've gotten really light-headed and almost passed out. Luckily those have been few and far between. As of the last couple months, I've had raging heart burn and we've had to elevate our mattress with textbooks. I've also had a lot of back problems and pelvic pain. I see a chiropractor and that significantly helps. I also was sleeping GREAT until a couple months ago and then that sadly ended. I cannot fall asleep (of course having someone squirming and hiccuping inside of you right when you want to go to sleep doesn't help), and often do not fall asleep until my body just sort of gives out. The frequent trips to the bathroom don't help either. I consider this practice for tending to a newborn. So, exhaustion is on the list of symptoms. Naps do not help because it makes the not falling asleep at night even worse. I've also had very bad restless legs and some leg cramping, also at night, but that (knock on wood) has improved some the last couple weeks. Oh, and I have a hard time breathing...you know, compressed lungs and everything.
Do you have any food cravings/intolerances? This has changed some throughout my pregnancy. When I was really nauseous, most of what I ate was a cheese and cracker diet. Coke has been my go-to when I don't feel well (which is very unusual for me). I wanted nothing to do with any meat except fried chicken (like chicken strips from Chick-fil-a or Zaxby's). This has somewhat normalized now. One day I wanted a Zaxby's sandwich with a side of Taco Bell soft taco. There was one night that included a donut run (Dunkin Donuts... my cravings are very specific). I want all my usual favorite foods but with a great intensity. For the few weeks it has been anything sugary and cold. I LOVE popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and even ice. I've never been an ice chomper until now. I've loved fruit especially watermelon and strawberries, and have had a serious disinterest in vegetables, except green beans. The vegetable thing has improved and I'm trying to eat them... in between popsicles.
Have you been moody? Yeah. From my point of view (you can ask my husband his opinion later), I've felt relatively sane throughout this pregnancy except for a few days sprinkled here or there....until this month. I cry very easily these day which I chalk up to being exhausted, uncomfortable, and hormonal. Because of this, well I already knew but it has been confirmed several times, that I have the most patient, loving husband ever....I'm tearing up now.
Miscellaneous health things: Other than the above, the pregnancy has been very smooth. I'm measuring where I should be every appointment, Sprout's heart beat is good, I passed the glucose test and Group B Strep test. I'm slightly anemic but we're trying to fix that. I have an appointment every week now.
Have you had any strangers rub your tummy or say/ask you anything weird? No, I haven't had strangers rub my tummy but other people have and it doesn't faze me. My girls (I help lead a high school girls Bible study) have been doing it since the moment they found out I was pregnant so I'm just kind of immune to it. I can't think of anything weird that people have asked me but my girls call me "Baby Momma" and Tim "Baby Daddy" which I think is funny. Nobody has said anything offensive (that I can remember). The only thing that has gotten on my nerves (and ever so slightly) is when people have found out I'm due in August they proceed to tell me how miserable I was going to be with the summer heat (so offer me your pool people!). And, between popsicles and AC, I'm happy to report it hasn't been bad. I'm pasty from lack of sun, but hey, it's better than melting.
How is Sprout doing? Good, I assume, LOL. No indications otherwise. He/She has a future as a yoga instructor as indicated by the stretching and odd shapes my tummy takes. If you push on my tummy, he/she kicks or pushes back, usually. Sprout moves a lot (especially at night when I want to sleep), and can be encouraged to boogie when I eat a popsicle. Tim can hear the heartbeat when he puts his ear to my tummy, and I love that.
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| "This is how I roll" bib |
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| Not sure what to make of Nick's, interesting, card |
Are you nesting? I didn't think so until my sister and SIL informed me a couple weeks ago that my intense desire to have our house completely organized and decorated was in fact nesting. So, yes, I am.
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| UGA onesie - starting the kid out right :D |
Do you have names picked out? Yep. We have a couple options for each gender.
Are you telling people? Nope. :)
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| A bunch of people chipped in and got us our car seat!!! |
Anything new or any other current happenings? I'm currently working at Red Clay which means Tim is around the corner, literally. This has been a great blessing and we love eating lunch together. I'm really cherishing this time. My pregnancy is continuing as smoothly as it has been. I have weekly appointments that are uneventful (which is great!). We're trying to keep up with all the things that come with homeownership...our AC broke last night...it's fixed now... as well as our normal church commitments, and getting our ducks in a row for Sprout to arrive (car seat in the car as of this week!).
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| Laughing at the name suggestions, some were quite creative :) |
Is there anything we can pray for? Yes! Please pray for us as we transition into the world of parenthood. For a smooth, healthy labor and deliver, and for us to continually keep our eyes on God and his blessings as we experience the ups and downs of the journey we're on.
If you have any other questions you'd like me to answer, put them in the comments and I will try to answer them. :) I'm going to run to the restroom now....again.
