Doc Appointment

Just had a great appointment today. Doctor came in and felt my belly and said this baby is big and almost ready to come out! :) He thinks I'll go early and we'll check to see if I'm dilated at my 37 weeks appointment. He'll also strip my membranes to try and help me go into labor on my own. That would be great if some of these tricks work and I go on my own. I really want to try and VBAC. I understand I might not be successful, but I want to give it a shot.

Since this baby is coming sooner or later (and I'm kind of hoping sooner) we really need to get stuff together. I've been nesting all day. All the laundry is folded and some of it is even put away, haha. I'm going to go through baby clothes tomorrow and see about washing everything and packing a few things for the hospital. I also started packing my hospital bag today. Nothing big, just a few travel size things I already had. Hopefully we can stay on top of things, now that we're actually trying, and be ready when this baby comes.

I was looking through a few old pictures on iPhoto and came across a few from when Annabelle was born. I honestly can't believe we're getting ready to do this again, but I'm thrilled. I really am. It took me almost 35 weeks to get to that point but I'm so excited to have this baby and have a family of 5!

I can't wait to duplicate these photos!! Just a few more weeks to go!

 A family photo (I look bad, and Dom looks sad...we'll have to make the next one a little better! haha)

 

 My momma holding Sweet Baby A

 Dommie holding his baby sister for the first time

 Sue and Annabelle

 Nick and the "BIG BRO"

 Andrew and Angela holding Adelina and Annabelle (Holy A names Batman!)

 Me and the BIG BRO. I think he's trying to give me a pretzel or something.

Nick, me and Annabelle

Just a few more weeks! :)

The LIST revisited

I made a list! Well a preliminary list...

Here's my list between the rest of today and tomorrow...

- Organize mail (we have mail ALL OVER THIS HOUSE)
- Fold laundry in basement - DONE
- Put away toys in basement - DONE
- Bring laundry up (too heavy...I'll see if I'm motivated later)
- Organize socks in bedroom (No joke....there's a lot of socks on our floor, it might take me an hour)
 

 Told you there were a lot of socks....

- Put laundry away (my least favorite part about doing laundry)
- Look at Annabelle's clothes (18 month go into storage, time to pull out the 24 month/2T clothes for this big girl!)
- Clean Annabelle's room (disaster area)
- Clean master bath (disaster area #2)
- clean master bedroom (disaster area #3)
- Put away table in living room
- move back sofa table
- load up old queen bed to move to mom and dad's on Sunday (totally can't do this alone, obviously)
- clean kitchen and do dishes
- clean first floor bathroom (not a disaster but still needs to be done)

Once those things are done, I can focus on actually getting out the baby stuff and organizing the nursery (that will hopefully begin construction this weekend. I'll try to take before and after pictures).

Let's do this!!! Back to the grind. Will be back tomorrow blog world!

Baby Names!

I thought that we had names narrowed down to 2 boy names and 2 girl names. I was wrong...

Nick told me last night that he doesn't like either of the boy names anymore. Not that he doesn't like them, but that he doesn't think they are right for our baby boy (which he is sure this is a baby boy, I'm still not convinced...).

So we went back to the drawing board. Then I had an idea this morning. I called him and told him of my new boy name and SHOCKER he likes it!! :)

So I think we have changed our baby names. The girl names MIGHT still be ok. We'll see if he changes his mind on those in the next few weeks, but I think we have a new boy name. And I think I'm going to keep it a secret this time...

Stay tuned!

Pool Party!

I wanted to throw my classmates a pool party send off to Term #3 and a few of my classmates wanted to throw me a baby Sprinkle so we combined them and had a lovely day yesterday!

I am so lucky to have met so many amazing people these past 8 months at Goldfarb. I know you've heard me say it a million times already but Goldfarb Accelerated Nursing Program is an intense program. INTENSE. You are getting a second Bachelor's degree in essentially 10 months. It's hard. You are taking 20 credit hours a term and you are stressed all the time. These people in the program with you become your second family. And I'm so thankful for all of them. ALL OF THEM. I've heard stories about the classes ahead of us that don't study together or help each other or care about each other. Our class is completely different. We don't want anyone to fail. We will study as late as we can to help make sure everyone gets it. If someone finishes a study guide early, they email it to everyone. We just care about each other.

I got to see that a lot over these last 8 months. I was in danger of failing first term. You need a 78% to pass each class. Not a 77.99%, a 78%. Going into the final Pharmacology test I had an 80%. Going into the final Pathophysiology test, I had a 78%. I had to do great. And I had some amazing people to study with and I passed both classes. These people are amazing. And I'm so sad to not be moving on with them. I hope the class behind us (behind them I guess and it's now my class) is just as caring.

Some of these amazing people gave me some really sweet gifts for this baby. I told everyone not to get me anything. Hello! We're not working and we all just took out at least $25,000 in debt! But some of them got stuff for me anyway. Here are a few pics of the party yesterday and some of the gifts I've gotten.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come yesterday! If you couldn't come, I COMPLETELY understand!!! I'll be up to visit soon, I promise!

 Tony firing up the grill

 Machalla and Jen sittin' pool side

 Jess getting ready to wow us with her dive skills

 My momma hanging up some balloons

 Rachel and Jess having a beer and taking a break from the water

 Some folks lounging by the pool

 The onesies that my friends decorated! So cute!!

The other gifts I got (and 3 packages of diapers that I didn't bring up yet!)

 A close up of a really cute frame that a friend got me. Nick has already decided that 

Dom's pic will go in the giraffe, Annabelle's pic in the elephant, "new baby" in the top of the ark, 

and a family pic in the bottom of the ark. I can't wait to put it in the new nursery!

 A close up of the onesie by Rachel. Can you read it?? "Holy Unexpected Baby, Batman!" and there's

a batman logo she drew on the back!

 The one on the right is one of my faves (the back says, "You should See my MOM!")

This is adorable because it's SO true!! This baby has spent it's entire time cookin' at Goldfarb! :)

Machalla, me and Jen. The awesome girls who threw most of this party together. Thanks girls!!!

I'm going to miss everyone so much! I hope I can keep in touch with everyone. Thank you again to everyone who came, and if you couldn't come, I'm going to stalk you one of these days so we can hang out one more time!!!! :)

35 Weeks with Baby #3!

 

 

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How your life's changing:

Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.
From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. Sometime between now and 37 weeks, she'll do a vaginal and rectal culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). (Don't worry — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all.) GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection.

 This is also a good time to create a birth plan. Using our form will help you focus on specifics — like who'll be present, what pain management techniques you want to try, and where you want your baby to stay after you deliver. It will give you a starting point to discuss your preferences with your medical team. Childbirth is unpredictable, and chances are you won't follow your plan to the letter, but thinking about your choices ahead of time — and sharing your preferences with your caregiver — should take some of the anxiety out of the process.

 35 weeks! Wow!! I know I say that every week, but really this is crazy. Today has been my first day to just RELAX. And what have I done?? Cleaned the basement, folded all the laundry, cleaned the couch covers, and now I'm taking a quick break and then cleaning the upstairs. I'm kind of nesting, but really just trying to get stuff done. I don't feel super motivated to get it done but I know I'm quickly running out of time! If this baby comes when Annabelle did, I have 2 weeks to get everything ready. So I better make each day count, right?!

I have been having HORRIBLE heartburn and indigestion. To the point where I want to throw up because I can feel the burning in my throat and it's so bad. But I know the end is in sight so I just need to hold on a little longer. 

Well I have a few more quick posts to do and then I must get back to work! 

Happy 35 weeks little baby! We all can't wait to meet you! (Well Annabelle probably can...she's relishing her last few weeks as the baby, but don't worry, she loves babies so she'll warm up to you soon enough!) :-)

CROUP

Annabelle has croup. A bad case too.

She's struggling to breathe just sitting in her high chair or sitting on my lap. The doc said to start her on steroids asap. I'm waiting for Walgreens to tell me they are ready.

My poor baby. I hate that she's sick. She's my baby!! And I hate when little ones get sick and just don't understand. I can't make her better. I can only wait it out with her and hope that she gets better soon.

She also has a yeast infection. I'm glad we diagnosed that because now we can get the good stuff to make that go away. Nick called me at work last Thursday (when I worked till midnight) and said when he put her to bed she had horrible diaper rash. He's been loading her up with desitin. When I saw her Friday morning I thought it was yeast. So we debated. Desitin or anti-fungal cream. We kind of went back and forth and nothing got better.

Now it's confirmed yeast and we have special cream. Hopefully that goes away quickly too.

Poor girl. When it rains, it pours. Hopefully she'll be on the mend soon and back to her perky self asap!

30x30 for real this time

FINALIZED 30 x 30

After going back to school and then discovering I was pregnant with baby #3, my 30 x 30 had to change. We had a lot of vacations we wanted to do and I really wanted to be debt free besides the house but there's no way that's going to happen now! And probably won't happen for awhile and I'm 100% ok with that. My new career and our PERFECT family of FIVE are totally worth it. But I still have to have a 30 x 30. I just have to! ;-) So here's an updated version. The only changes I made were getting rid of the vacations and being debt free. But this is it. No more changes. Just have to get to work!

Here we go:

1) Run a half marathon - DONE!

2) Watch the Star Wars Trilogy - This is another one of those that everyone talks about and I don't know what is going on. Nick says it's kind of like a futuristic Lord of the Rings. I hope he's right because I liked that. So maybe I'll like this too!

3) Learn a foreign language - ok this will be hard and I may be pushing it with this one, but I really want to do this!!

4) Have 2 of my 4 children - DONE!

5) Take up golf - still need to do this. No time. Between school, work and apparently always being pregnant, golf takes a back seat. Maybe next summer...

6) Write a short story - I don't know why I want to do this but I do...I love writing. I'm not great at it, but I think it would be fun and I want to give it a try. Nothing big, obviously, but a nice SHORT story. Maybe...

7) Complete an indoor triathlon - DONE!

8) Watch Gone with the Wind - DONE! And I loved it!!

9) Watch the Godfather - DONE!

10) Play in a poker tournament at a casino - still need to do this. I can do this anytime really...just need to practice a bit and go do it!

11) Decorate the kids rooms - This is a new one. The kids rooms in this house are so plain! I'd love to let them pick out something fun and do it for them! Whether it be paint, posters, stickers, whatever. Maybe by the time I'm 30!

12) Shoot a gun - DONE! I went to a shooting course with my neighbor Jeff. I wasn't any good at it. At all honestly. But I shot a gun and can cross it off my list. And I don't need to do it again. :) 

13) Go back to school - DONE!

14) Learn to drive a stick shift - really need to do this...it would be so helpful if I knew how!

15) Learn to french braid hair - DONE-ish...needs a little work but does look like a french braid!

16) Get into cooking - I love to cook but don't do it consistently. Need to do it regularly...

17) Finish entertainment center - DONE!

18) Register to vote in St. Louis City - DONE!

19) Consistently dedicated one night a month to a date night - We NEED this...between school and work and kids and life we never see each other. We need this and I'm looking forward to it!

20) Start a savings account - Don't get me wrong, we have investments and a 401K and life insurance and a Roth IRA but no savings account. I'd like to have a savings account, even if it's small.

21) Make my own recipe - maybe I'll do this over maternity leave...

22) Go back to Signature Room in Chicago - I left this trip on there because I think this one is doable. and I REALLY want to go!

23) Go on a family vacation with my whole family - I left this one too because I think this one is important and I really want to do this one too!

24) Start college funds for the kids - totally need to start this as soon as I graduate (which is before I'm 30!!)

25) Consistently have a clean house - ok, I'm horrible at this. Downright horrible. My house isn't DIRTY, it's just cluttered. All the time. But with Dom getting older and being able to help a bit more, we should be able to make this work. We need to since we're about to expand our family!

26) Get into exercising 3x a week - can't wait to start exercising again...

27) Reach my goal weight - can't wait to join Weight Watchers again!!

28) Try every beer on the list at Growlers - But I hear Growlers is under new management and that it kind of sucks  these days...I hope I heard wrong...Either way, I've got 49 down and just 82 to go! :)

29) Read the Lord of the Rings trilogy - still at the same spot in the Fellowship!! Have a long way to go!

30) Become a nurse!! - April 20, 2013 I hope!!!!!

(Blue is done and Green is in progress....I have to count all that I can at this point!! I'm down to a year and some change!)

So there's my list. Not too many changes, but more doable I think. And more realistic. And more beneficial! So here's to my 30x30. I hope I can get to work and finish. I have 16 months. I can do, right??

First NST

I had my first NST last week. Everything is looking good! Baby was reactive right away which is nice and my fluid level is looking good. They want the level to be 10-20 ideally but they will take 6-23 and my level was 11.5. So it's fine. My kick counts are still good and they are happy with this baby!

I have to start twice weekly NST's now due to my diabetes. This week I go on Wednesday and Friday morning. I'm hoping things continue to go well. I had one scary NST with Dom that got me admitted to the hospital and got my induced the next day. I don't want to have to do that again. So keep your fingers crossed that this baby continues to be perfect!

34 weeks with Baby #3!

 I totally meant to write about this last week but I didn't, so I'm a little late on this one!! Oh well!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

How your life's changing:

By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable.

Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

If you notice itchy red bumps or welts on your belly and possibly your thighs and buttocks as well, you may have a condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP for short).

Up to one percent of pregnant women develop PUPPP, which is harmless but can be quite uncomfortable. See your practitioner so she can make sure it's not a more serious problem, provide treatment to make you more comfortable, and refer you to a dermatologist if necessary. Also be sure to call her if you feel intense itchiness all over your body, even if you don't have a rash. It could signal a liver problem.


34 weeks! I made it through school!!!! YAY!!! That was one of my biggest fears. I was afraid of bed rest or pre term labor or something that would prevent me from finishing this semester of school, but now I'm done! Woohoo! 

34 weeks and doing fine. I'm still contracting pretty much daily but never regularly and never really painfully. I'm convinced that I'll go early but my sister thought that with her second and she went into labor just a few days before her due date so who knows. That actually happened to my sister in law too...so shoot. They are probably right. I'll probably be close to my due date. 

Since I really want to VBAC, my doc scheduled my c-section for the morning of my actual due date. That way I get as good of a chance as I can get to go into labor on my own. So if I don't go early, this baby will come on October 4th in the morning. 

A Thursday would be nice. That way I'm in the hospital over the weekend. I hated having the majority of my stay during the week because you get so bored. I told Nick to go to work, which I'll do again and everyone else works. So you just sit by yourself. Having the rest of Thursday to recover and Friday morning would be nice, and then having the weekend where people can visit would be awesome. 

I feel like I'm really ready to have this baby but our house is not. I work a lot this week but plan to really get cracking on baby stuff around the house at the end of the week and Labor Day Weekend. Hopefully we can get the room started (I'll TRY and remember to take before and after pictures!) and start cleaning and putting away baby clothes. That will make this more real. 

I've been preparing mentally for awhile to have 3 kids and have Nick and I outnumbered but I've been so busy between school and work that I haven't REALLY thought about it. Getting clothes put away and packing my hospital bag (shoot! Gotta do that too!) will make this more real...

Only 6 weeks to go at the most!!! Happy 34 Weeks Baby #3! I can't wait to find out if you are my sweet baby girl or my sweet baby boy! (I'm still thinking you are a girl and Daddy is still sure you are a boy...can't wait to find out who is right!).  

We survivied!

Nick went out of town for the annual golf trip and I was on my own with Dom, Annabelle, Ruby and Peyton from Friday to Sunday afternoon. Oh and I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant. :)

But I had a TON of  help and we survived! It actually went pretty flawlessly. For me anyway. Nick left Friday afternoon and I had to work on Friday from 3-11:30 pm so Nick's mom picked up the kids from school and kept them overnight. So Friday was a breeze!

I picked them up around 8:30 am on Saturday and we headed back to the house. For some reason I was really nesting on Saturday. When Annabelle was down for a nap, I cleaned the first floor and switched out Dom's furniture (by putting it on a little rug and pushing it. I didn't exert myself too badly, I promise). In case you were wondering, the nesting is already over. I'm back to wanting to nap all the time...

We stayed at the house until about 2:40 and then we headed north to my mom and dad's. Now let me back up and tell you that this is no small golf trip. This is like every male on my dad's side of the family. They've been doing it for years (this is Nick's 4th or 5th year) and about 70 or 80 guys go. It's a big deal. A big weekend. So my dad was there and so was my brother in law. And since my sister lives in Springfield now, she came up with the girls. So when we went to my parent's house, it was 3 adults and 4 little ones. It was crowded! In a good way.

We got there a little after 3 and I was a little nervous about how Dom and Celia would play together. They love each other and are always talking about each other and sending each other pictures, etc. but when they actually get together...sometimes it's a different story. But that's being 3 and 4 years old I guess.

But they did really really well together! And the little girls did well too!

We had a wonderful dinner, mainly put on by Angela with help from Mom...I seasoned asparagus for the grill. That's all I did. But dinner was an awesome salad (my sister makes the BEST salad I swear), grilled shrimp, grilled vegetables (asparagus and corn on the cob), grilled salmon, and hot rolls. It was awesome. I ate so much. And lucky for me, it was mostly food I could eat!

After dinner the kids played some more and then we attempted some dessert. We tried making cookies from the cookie dough Mom bought from Dom's school and it did NOT turn out well. I don't know if we didn't let it thaw enough or if it was the cookie dough brand is just bad or what the problem was, but it was not good. So we settled for ice cream instead. The kids were ok with that. ;-)

After dinner, I stayed for a bit longer and then I headed home with Annabelle around 8:45. Dom was lucky and got to have a sleepover with Celia.

Sunday morning Annabelle slept in until 7:15, which was perfect, because then we got up, got dressed and headed back north. Mom wanted to go to 9:00 am mass and didn't want to leave Angela alone with the kids. So we headed up and got some donuts on the way (Old Town Donuts in Florissant = awesome; if you've never had it, you should!). We got there about 8:40 and Mom went to mass. We just hung out and the kids played some more (and each had a donut - of course).

When Mom got home we started prepping for brunch. Michelle came over with Eliza and Baby Tucker (her hubs, Adam is part of my family and also on the golf trip) and we added two more little ones to the party! We made breakfast and it was also awesome. We had watermelon, scrambled eggs with cheese, made from scratch plain and blueberry pancakes, sausage patties, coffee, orange juice and I don't even know what else. But it was good.

After brunch, I stayed until Nick got back (he had ridden with Dad out there so his car was at my parent's). Nick got home about 3 ish and we left shortly after that to go home.

It was a great weekend for both me and Nick and I had SO much help with the kids (thank you Sue and Mom and Angela!!!!) but it was great to get the four of us back in the same house again. I love having the whole family at home where we belong. I told Nick that I hope he had fun because that's probably his last trip out with the boys for awhile! Not trying to be mean, but I can't stay home with three of 'em for awhile!

Time for a BREAK!

Nursing school is done for the semester!!!!! I'm 2/3 of the way done with this program and in desperate need of a break! And now I get one! 4 beautiful months until I go back. Then 4 hellish months until I finish. I can do it!

Today was my last final of the semester. I have to say this was a MUCH better semester than last term. Last term and I was fighting to get a 78% and just PASS the classes and I ended up with a B, a C+ and 2 C's. This semester I was doing pretty well going into my HESI's (computerized state finals) and my lowest HESI grade was a 92.36% (and my highest was a 99.99% not to brag but heck yeah!). I finished this semester with 2 A's, a B+ and a B. WAY better than last term!

And now I can focus on work, the house and the baby. Well and my other kids. And Nick. And you know, LIFE, but no more school for awhile. Thank goodness.

A quick thank you to the best husband EVER who made this last semester go almost flawlessly. He's amazing who takes care of so much and I'm so incredibly lucky to have him in my life. He's amazing no matter what, school or not. But he's been super supportive while in school (and even right now he's making dinner for the kids while I post this and then take a shower and go to work until midnight). Yeah, he's awesome. :)

Oh and if anyone wants to hang out since I've abandoned everyone this year, just call or text me now. :) I have a break until January 7th!

The List

Totally didn't happen last night. But I'm getting ready to get ready for my doc appointment. I'll make my list in the waiting room and get cracking when I get back!!

It's a PLAN! :)

Pregnancy Ticker

I'm procrastinating before getting ready for work and while looking at the tickers on the right side of my blog I noticed it said that I only have about 45 days to go until baby #3 gets here...

Well holy cow.

I'm NOT ready for that at all. I have so many things to do before this baby can come! SO many things!!!

As most of you know, I'm a list maker so it looks like I'll have to get in gear and make a list and get ready for this baby! I started working on cleaning out my bedroom today (we're adding a wall in our room to make it two separate rooms and one will be the new nursery) but then I got tired and took a 2 1/2 hour nap...oops!

SO here's my plan. I'll make a list tonight and get cracking tomorrow. I have all day tomorrow. I only have a 9:40 doc appointment and a little studying to do. I can do it!!!

45 days AT THE MOST. If this baby comes when Annabelle did, then I only have 24 more days. EEK!

Here we go...

Apple/Peach Picking

The other day I had a mini panic attack. I have these frequently, to be honest, and they are usually over really stupid things. But the other day I was thinking about the things we do with the kids and I decided that I'm a horrible mother. OK not horrible...I love my kids and treat them well with kisses and everything, but I don't take them to do anything special. I know I've been busy but that's no excuse. My kids are only little once. So I decided to change that.

I want to try and take the kids on fun little adventures. They don't have to be expensive things (and to be honest, they won't be expensive because we have very little money right now!) but I want them to be fun and to count.

So I told Nick about my revelation and he rolled his eyes (as usual) but decided to play along and we piled up and went apple/peach picking on Sunday. My mom offered to come along to help chase kids since I'm not so great at that these days, and we were off. We went to the Eckert's in Grafton, IL and it was fantastic.

There was so much to do! We picked apples and peaches and there was a big play area that the kids LOVED and there were goats to feed. They were in heaven. And it cost me $9.95 for my apples (my momma bought me my peaches). Not bad for a little family fun, right!?

Here are a few pics from our adventure!

Nick and Dommie on the top of the wagon.

Mom and Annabelle on the wagon. 

One of our last family pictures as a family of FOUR!

Annabelle checking out the apples on the way back from the orchard. 

Dommie playing on the John Deere tricycles.

Dommie feeding the goats. 

Me and Annabelle feeding the goats. Me NOT such a fan of this but Annabelle loved it. :) 

Mom and Annabelle reaching WAY UP HIGH to get a perfect apple (that I think Annabelle dropped as soon as Mom got it down!). 

As you can see, it was a good day. I'm looking forward to doing more things like this. Hopefully we can keep it up! School, work, 3 kids, etc will probably be very busy but I'm going to try my hardest!!!

School Days

Today was my first day of finals and Dommie's first day as a "doodlebug". It was a crazy morning.

I was so eager to get to school and study for a few more minutes that I totally forgot to take a picture at home with the good camera. Don't worry, I took a picture with my phone, but it's not the same. Tomorrow I have a little more time so we'll really talk about school tonight and see how his first day went.

I honestly can't believe he's that big that he's in a new class. He's growing up. I'm going to LOSE it when he starts kindergarten. Just saying.

But when I dropped him off, he ran right in and started playing. Hopefully he had a great day.

I had a pretty great day. I got a 97.39% on my OB HESI (computerized state test) so that was pretty awesome. That gave me my second A in nursing school. I thought I was a good student. I got A's in the college the first time around. Then I started nursing school and it's tough! I got a C, a B, and 2 C+s last term. And was thrilled to get those! So this A is hard earned and a proud moment for me. It makes for a great day. Now I get to hit the books and shoot for a C+ in my next two classes!!

Anyway, back to reality. I'm back off to study or clean or something.

Here's Dom's picture on his first day of school as grown up doodlebug and not my little lamb anymore!

33 weeks with Baby #3!

 

 

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

How your life's changing:

As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist.

Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or on an assembly line, for instance), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks — which should be frequently.

So at my last ultrasound (last Friday), this baby was measuring at approximately 5.0 lbs. A little more than the 4 lbs this email is describing! Yikes! Maybe I do have diabetes...hmmm..

Well things are good but I'm having contractions every day now. Usually accompanied by dehydration so I'm not worried about them and they are never regular or more than 6 in an hour or anything. More like 6-10 every day throughout the whole day. But they are coming. Who knows. Maybe this baby will be early like Annabelle! As long as I get through finals next week and this baby is healthy, I'm ok with whatever. I'm not in a rush, but man I'm getting uncomfortable and it's been hot! 

I'm also having a lot of back pain. But I think that's because I've been carrying a book bag for the last 8 months. And that will do it! But no more book bag after today so I'm thankful for that. Maybe I can start getting the rest I need and get ready for this baby. 

We've done absolutely nothing to get ready for this baby yet. And I mean nothing. Once school is over (next Thursday!!!!!!!!!) I plan on spending a lot of time getting the house ready. I just need to make a list and make a plan and I can do it!!! 

33 weeks down and just 7 at the most to go! Woohoo! 

The end is in sight!!!

I only have 4 more tests and I'm done with the semester!!!! No more lectures, nothing else to learn! The end is in sight!

I have a test in Med Surg tomorrow over Cardiac material.

Final State exam on Monday in OB and Maternal Health.
Final state exam on Wednesday in Medical/Surgical.
Final state exam on Thursday in Psychiatric Nursing (my worst grade, FYI).

And then I'm done until January 7th!!!!!

THE END IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!

Or maybe not???

I'm really questioning whether I have diabetes or not. Since going to class and getting my glucometer, I've taken my blood sugar 15 times and 13 out of 15 have been beautiful. I'm thinking that it was a weird fluke. I tested my theory by eating a HUGE cheeseburger with ketchup and onions and a LARGE fry on Friday night. (The cheeseburger was on a carb filled white bun). I took my blood sugar and they wanted it under 140 and it was 135. Who knows.

But I felt like crap after eating that burger, so I'll try to be good anyway.

Less than 9 weeks to go. I can do it! :)