Freedom!

Waking up this morning took me back to my childhood. It was just like waking up on Christmas morning. I could do anything I wanted to do today, within reason of course. Today I am 37 weeks - full term! I no longer have to stress about having a premie, I am going to have a termie!

This morning I got up, got ready, threw a load in the washer, organized the freezer and a couple of cabinets, and then I needed to sit down. I went to get my eyebrows waxed, get a pedicure, have lunch with a friend, and then back to the house for a nap. I got a much needed haircut, then back home to sit on the couch. Bryan & I also finally got to go on a date. We went to our favorite resaurant (Station 220) & had a delicious dinner. I even took a bite of his rare steak - I am so bad! Rare steak is my favorite, and I have missed it dearly during this pregnancy.

I have a ways to go before I get some stamina back. I am now experiencing what it feels like to carry baby weight, and to just be pregnant. It makes me happy.

This was my fortune from lunch today:

Dear Little Man - this is not an invitation for you to come now. Please stay comfy a while longer.
Love, Mama.

As my night winds down, I'm going to finish celebrating my freedom with some alcohol free wine (no, I did not feel awkward waddling in to Friar Tuck today), tv time & my couch. It's crazy that I even want to be on my couch right now. But I'm choosing to be here, not forced, and it feels damn good.

Free at last. Free. At. Last.

Bed Rest Birthday

While not the best birthday I've ever had, it wasn't too bad. I had kind of forgotten about my birthday until last week. My main focus has been on Thursday (Operation: Freedom!). But I woke up this morning and decided to do things a little different today, as much as I could, to make it feel more like a birthday. So what did I do differently you ask?


- I got dressed, in real clothes, including a bra!
- Bryan gave me some nice b-day gifts (my favorite being a "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament).
- I drank some coffee & had a fried egg sandwich.....WITH ham! OW!
- I wrote some thank-you's.
- I went to the doctor. OW OW!
- I laid out in the sun while listening to Four Tops radio on Pandora.
- I had a few visitors.
- I started Vampire Diaries, Season 3.
- Bryan grilled some yummy dinner.
- And all day long I got really nice phone calls, texts, emails & FB messages.


So all in all it was a pretty decent day. And if I weren't on bed rest, this is probably exactly what I would have wanted to do - take the day off and do nothing. I'll really celebrate come Thursday. Ah, Thursday. The day I've been counting down to for 57 days now. I'll be 37 weeks....Full Term!!

Approximately 26 more hours to go & I get to be a independent woman again. Not that I'm counting hours or anything.

36 Weeks + 4 Days

I got to go home this past weekend for the Bosch family shower. It was so nice getting out of Bloomington, and just getting a change in scenery. It felt wonderful to lay on other people's couches for a couple of days. And the shower was so nice. My friend, Kristen, did such a great job putting it together. So many cute details. She even got my dad, brother, uncles, cousins & grandpa to share their words of wisdom. Some made me tear up. It was very special.

Bosch Family Shower, 08/11/12 - Animal Theme

The woman who made my wedding cake made these cookies

Me and the hostess, Kristen Bosch

Showers

The things I've had to look forward to, besides my daily meals, are my showers. My DR said I could go as long as I lay for the majority of the time I'm there. Yeah, it stinks not being able to walk around and socialize, but it's so nice to be among people. I've had 2 awesome showers so far, and 1 more coming up with my family!

Nickel Family Shower, 7/22/12 - Jungle Theme

  

 

Bryan's grandma made this cute fruit spread.
  

Proof that I am taking it easy & that my kid has
awesome Converse socks.



Me with the hostesses, Jill Nickel & Ann Baugh.
They put together a cute shower!

Friend Shower, 8/4/12 - Sweet Pea Theme

My friend, Leslie, made the cake. Cute & delish!

Me & the hostess, Amanda Hager.
She did an amazing job. Loved the perfect, little details!

Me & my best buddy, Aidan.
He really just wants a sucker at this point.



 Stay tuned for pics from the Bosch Family Shower.

2 More Week, 2 More Weeks!

35 Weeks

2 more weeks. That is my chant these days.  I am now 35 weeks. Only 13 more days of BR. I can totally do this. I can tell little man is growing. His kicks and jabs are getting stronger each day. I don't mind, though. This is good. You may not know this about me, but I love lists. I love making them, and crossing off the things that I've accomplished. I'll even write something down that I've already done just so I can cross it off. Love lists. I've started making lists of all of the things I want & need to do. First on the list, a much needed haircut & pedicure. I can't wait to run errands, go on a date with my husband, visit friends, prune my flowers, pack my hospital bag, never be at my house! Oh, who am I kidding. I'll still be at my house. I'll probably go out on my first adventure, and need to come back home for a nap. But at least I'll have the freedom to do whatever I want, if I want.

Until I can do what I want, I must say thank God for the Olympics. It gives me hours of mindless television enjoyment all day long. I know more about the USA swimming and gymnastics teams than I ever thought I could. And quite frankly, I'm getting a gold medal in the bed rest Olympics. Speaking of tv, daytime television is terrible. I now know why I never watch live TV, and only watch what I DVR. Have you seen My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding or whatever it is called? OMG, I can't believe what the world is coming to. I'm not dissing the Gypsy culture (well maybe a little, sorry if you're a Gypsy). I do understand that everyone is different. But their behavior is just unacceptable. Lord have mercy. And why, WHY, is that crap on TV? And don't get me started on this Honey Boo Boo girl. That just makes me want to vomit. What I'm trying to say is, I hate TV.

Changing topics. This is my older cat, Lily. She will be 9 this month, which I can't believe. It's only fitting to pay her homage. She was the first cat I got on my own during college. She was the most curious kitten in the litter, and kept trying to jump out of the pen into my arms. She was the one I had to get. She is still that little kitten in many ways, and VERY curious. But she is often very mature and thinks she's above everyone else. She has lots of personalities. She loves to escape outside whenever the door opens. She loves to explore the counters and the top of the fridge when we're not looking (this is bad!), and she really loves to lick my cast iron skillet when it's not in use (very, very bad!). God only knows how often she did that before I caught on. The skillet is no longer out. She's kind of like a dog. She begs for food, and will even sneak bites off your plate if you're not looking. I have caught her with her whole head in my glass of milk many of times. She also loves to play hide and seek, but only for a couple of minutes. Then she gets embarrased she was caught playing a "baby game". She used to love me. Now she only loves Bryan, as you can see in this picture. She ignores me all day, but will come downstairs when Bryan comes home for lunch. Then it's right back upstairs to nap. The only time she pays me any attention is in the morning while I get ready. She loves to get ready with me. She sits on the counter and watches me, talks to me, drinks water out of the sink, then she kicks me to the curb. I get it, she is a lady with a schedule. She does the same things at pretty much the exact same time every day. It's after 12pm. I can tell you without going to look that she is asleep in my closet on my tank tops at this exact moment. I'm sure my daily presence is a huge annoyance to her life right now. But I love her, and all of her rottenness. Happy Birthday! 

I must add that she did bite Bryan's finger right after this picture was taken. That made me feel better.

Another Week Down

Yay! Another week has passed. I had better measurements at my DR appointment this week. And I no longer have to have cervical length checks. My DR said since I will soon start to shorten naturally to prepare for labor, there is no need to continue to check. So now I can live happily in Ignorance is Bliss Land. 3 more weeks of bed rest! I can see the light at the end of the "funnel".

Grandpa & Grandma B & Aunt Barb came over this week. I hadn't seen them since Father's Day, so that was very nice. Grandma & Aunt Barb washed all of the clothes/blankets he got from the Nickel  shower on Sunday. They even did my dishes! I made a pit stop through his room that night to smell all of the Dreft-y clean baby clothes. Ahhh. 

He now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (a cantaloupe), and is almost 18 inches long. He's still gaining weight, and his central nervous system and lungs are continuing to develop. Babies born between 34-37 weeks generally do just as well as term babies if they have no other health problems. They may need just a short time stay in the NICU, but generally they do just fine. In a couple of weeks I won't have to think about that at all. I got to see him again this week. I think my ultrasound tech feels bad for me for all of this, and the fact that I have to go in every week, so she likes to give me sneak peeks. He still had that foot above his head, but he did move it down to his nose by the time she was done. He was puckering his lips, and he has some hair. I won't get a sonogram again (I've definiely gotten more than you're typically supposed to get), so I was glad to get lots of good pictures of him.


And my random craving of the week-

Fruit Loops

33 Weeks

We've made it another week! 4+ weeks of bed rest, a little less than 4 weeks to go! 48 days until his due date. Once we get into August, we'll be in the home stretch. I had my weekly appointment this past Wednesday. No progress, no real change. My DR told me I can go to my showers as long as I don't do anything, and lay for the most part. That was very good news. I'm looking forward to all of the showers. It's a chance to actually get out and see people. I can feel like a person again!  


Things are going ok. I'm still uncomfortable from inactivity, but I can deal. It's mainly just my hips that really ache from laying on my sides the majority of each day. I've gotten into another Netflix show - Friday Night Lights (love it!). I'm about half way through another book. I'm going to cross-stitch some baby bibs (thanks, Caitlin!). I'm keeping somewhat busy. The weeks are starting to go by a little faster. OH - and I watched hours of A Baby Story the other day and didn't cry once! Progress, people! I try to avoid daytime TLC at all cost, but it sucked me in. Bryan is doing ok, too. He has definitely stepped up, and is taking control of everything. I do feel bad he has to do so much now, but he's handling it well. I know it's hard on him at times, but he is the one to remind me that it's only temporary. He just made me tuna salad and caprese salad. I think I'll keep him. My mom and mother-in-law came over last Saturday to shampoo carpets. That was a big help to me. We got a very nice treat this week, too. My Aunt Donna brought us Tavern fried chicken! It was delicious. I think when I bust out of this joint a dinner at the Tavern will be my first meal. Or maybe Black Dog. Or maybe both. I've been making lists of all of the foods I've been missing, and places I want to eat. Hey-it gets me through the day!


At 33 weeks, baby Nickel weighs a little over 4 pounds (a pineapple) and has passed the 17 inch mark. He is still plumping up. He is sitting very low these days. His head is down, which is good, but he tends to like his feet up by his head. This does not feel good when he stretches out. A lot of women have issues with their babies in their ribs & stomach. My baby likes to kick me low in my hips and pelvis. It doesn't really hurt, it's just awkward feeling. See the most up-to-date picture below. His toes are touching his head. Seriously, child, how is that comfortable?!



My contortionist baby

We listen to music some days. Mozart, Zac Brown Band, Moody Blues. Whatever I'm feeling. I'm not sure if he likes the music. He moves around a lot to Zac Brown Band (maybe a sign he's really into country, or he thinks it's terrible like his daddy). Right now we're jamming to some Four Tops radio on Pandora. I think he's groovin' in there :-)

32 Week Pic