It’s hot…

For the last three, four or five days now, it’s been a hot box in the great city of Green Bay, WI and I must say, this pregnant lady has not been enjoying the scorching weather one bit! It’s like being stuck inside a clothes dryer, not like that’s ever happened to me, but that’s what it feels like because even the breeze is hot. Like, when I stand outside, I sweat to begin with and then the breeze hits me, and makes me feel even hotter than I already am. It’s been pretty annoying, especially since I sweat when I’m not even really doing anything. I sweat when I’m standing, I sweat when I’m sitting, and now it’s so humid out that I sweat even inside where there’s air conditioning! It's actually pretty pathetic and I just feel like a pool of goop at times. I’m so glad that my due date is soon. I couldn’t imagine being pregnant for the whole summer.

So to combat the heat, I’ve come up with some creative ways to stay cool. Some I’ve tried, others I haven’t, and there are a few that I’m just throwing out there for shits and giggles.

• Stay in air conditioning, however, I’ve discovered that it needs to be on full blast at frigid temperatures in order for me to actually stay cool. 
• Ice packs.  

• 

  I like the cherry ones the best!

  Open the refrigerator and stand in front of it. 
• Open the freezer and stick your head inside of it. 
• Eat ice cream. Dilly Bars are the best!
• Drink root beer floats. 
• Sit in a kiddie pool with the hose running. 
• Go swimming at the lake. 
• Drive around in a car that has air conditioning. 
• Go to the beach.
• Drive to Two Rivers, WI and enjoy the 20 degree heat break. Then travel up HWY 42 that hugs Lake Michigan with the windows down. (Dave and I are doing this tomorrow along with a trip to Point Beach, should be fun).
• Drink other cool beverages like pink lemonade filled with a bunch of ice cubes using a bendy straw. 
• Wear as little clothing as possible. :O)
• Invite yourself over to a friend’s house that has a swimming pool and go swimming. 
• Watch movies set in cold climates.  
• Run, well in my case waddle, through a sprinkler on the lawn. 
• Take a cold shower.   
• Go to a movie.
• Stick your feet in cold water with ice. 
• Wrap a cold towel around your neck. 
• Spill cold water on yourself or have your husband nicely spill some on you by “accident." 

Those are about all the tips I was able to come up with. Like I said, I haven’t given them all a go just yet and since the weather is predicted to stay hot and humid, I’m sure at some point I just might! With the weekend upon us, I’m going to say farewell for today and until next time, which will hopefully be a post about Ryan being born, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off! 

"Perfect"

My doctor said the word “Perfect” today when he described our baby’s heartbeat during our weekly check-up and I must say, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I have actually never heard a doctor, or anyone in the medical profession for that matter, use the word perfect before in any medical setting. So, when he said it, I was a bit taken aback by the comment and was speechless. Throughout my life, I’ve learned that nothing can ever really be perfect and that even practicing doesn’t result in perfection. (Side note, not going to say who taught me that one since it will bring back bad memories of playing high school basketball). Anyway, that’s why hearing our doctor say the word perfect to describe our son’s heartbeat was so shocking to me because I don’t really think it’s attainable. It’s an ideal that people strive for and are never, ever quite able to reach. Believe me, I've tried to be perfect, mostly in sports, and it's never happened. However, in this instance I’ve decided that I'm just not going to read too much into it, even though I have already, set my realistic nature aside, and enjoy the moment since it is pretty awesome! I mean, my son has a kick-ass, strong heartbeat, who could ask for anything more! 

The only other news that I have from our check-up this week is that our doctor thinks we’ll be having an averaged sized baby. We asked him the question after he did his routine measurement of my belly and said that from what he can see and feel, that Ryan will be between seven and eight pounds.  It’s just a guess mind you and personally, he feels way bigger than that since my back aches all the time from having to carry him around. Yes, I realize being in pain is just one of those fun things that goes along with being pregnant, the thing is, it’s still annoying and not much fun to deal with. One thing that both Dave and I have noticed is how hard my belly is because Ryan is pretty much taking up my entire abdomen. There really isn’t much more room for him to grow and the other night, we actually saw the entire outline of his body on my left side. It was quite random! I should have thought to take a picture of the event, but didn't because one, Dave and I were finally comfortable on our sitting room chair and two, taking a picture of it would have been a tad on the creepy side. Well, really creepy so it's pretty much best that we didn't. :)

With it being as hot as it is, I'm done with writing or doing anything productive for the day. Seriously, I'm sweating just sitting here and writing this blog is actually making me tired. Gotta love being preggo! So until next time, I'm going to do my best to stay cool and I hope you can do the same. Thank God for air conditioning, fans, and ice cream!

I can’t talk and breathe at the same time…

Over the course of the last week, I’ve noticed that I can’t talk and breathe at the same time! Can you say, EMBARRASING!

It happens mostly when I’m on the phone at work, trying to explain things to the clients and customers that I work with. I’ll be talking and in mid sentence, I’ll just run out of breath. It makes me sound completely unprofessional and a bit on the stupid side. In the back of my mind, I’m just thinking that these people are judging me and are wondering what the hell is wrong with the person that they’re talking to? Like, how can she be so out of breath, is she that out of shape that she can’t even carry on a conversation? It really is embarrassing and I do have confirmation that it’s noticeable. That confirmation came when my supervisor asked how I was feeling this week. I said okay, referred to the lovely Braxton Hicks contractions I was getting, and also talked about how I couldn’t breathe sometimes. He said that he noticed my shortness of breath from time to time when we were discussing things on the phone! We both had a good chuckle about it, yet my chuckle was more of an awkward one due to the fact that I just feel stupid about it. I mean, I’ve been working out throughout my pregnancy and everything, yet there’s just not much I can do about the shortness of breath since it’s because of how big Ryan is getting and the type of chair I sit on at work. Both result in a lot of pressure on my lungs. I have a feeling that it’s only going to get worse as Ryan and my belly keep expanding. If you really want something to laugh at, you should watch me going up and down steps. It’s complete riot because I have to wait for like 30 seconds after I get up or down them to rest and then get going again! I guess shortness of breath is just the price you pay when you’re having a little one, hopefully, after Ryan is born, I’ll be able to breathe normal again! I’m definitely looking forward to that!

Speaking of Ryan being born, we’re just about three weeks out now from our due date and I couldn’t be more excited for his arrival. His room is about 90% done. We have all of his fun little clothes washed, his crib all nice and set up, and basically all we have to do is put the curtains up that my mom’s going to make along with some other various wall decorations. Little boy stuff is so darn cute! I'll make sure to post pictures of his room soon!

Well, the weekend is upon us and my plans are to get my bag packed and ready for the hospital, buy a few more things for Ryan, and just sit around and not doing anything. Not quite sure if that’s going to happen, but we’ll see. I hope you get to enjoy your weekend and until I post again, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy boy signing off!

 

Not the best of ideas, but still a lot of fun!

Us in front of the dugout at the Brewer game. My jersey still kinda fits!

Being a person who thinks she can do it all, this past weekend I decided to go big and double booked the weekend with a birthing class on at Aurora in Green Bay on Saturday and a Brewer game in Milwaukee on Sunday. Let’s just say, it wasn’t the best of ideas because now that I’m nine months pregnant, my stamina and energy levels aren’t quite where they used to be. In fact, they’re about 1/8^th of where they used to be and boy did I find that out the hard way.

It wasn’t until after the fact that I realized my mistake since the weekend itself went pretty well. The birthing class was a bit on the awkward side, which was to be expected I guess. The first thing that got me was the visual aids that were used during the class. Like, she kept busting out this skeletal pelvis and small baby to demonstrate different things. One demonstration was how the baby would twist around to get into position then another was to actually show us the baby passing through the birth canal. Each time, she would comment about how it was a brand new pelvis and that the baby didn’t quite fit through it. So, then she would struggle with her demonstration and almost drop the whole deal on the floor. It was kind of comical to say the least. Another thing that was strange was the videos that were shown. Not only outdated, the people on them were totally on the scary side and at one point one of the chic on the video was eating chips and salsa while she was going through the early stages of labor at home. That didn’t seem like the best thing to be doing. After all the classroom direction for the instructor, we then went on a tour of the birthing suites and they were actually pretty nice. I have to hand it to Aurora, they do go all out. However, things did get a little strange when our instructor turned on the bright, shiny overhead lights that come on just as you’re about to push your new kid out. I just rolled my eyes and though, hell, we’re not on American Idol! Overall though, the class was very informative and I’m glad that we went. Well, kind of glad because knowledge is a double edge sword in this case. I’m happy that I have some idea that I know what’s going to happen, but I’m also freaked out that I have some idea about what’s going to happen. Ya know?

After the birthing class, we hit the road and made our way to Milwaukee to stay overnight to rest up to go to the Brewer game on Sunday. When we got to our hotel, both of us were pretty tired so we went out, got a pizza, and went to bed early. Like 8:30 pm early, that’s how tired we were. The next day, we headed to the Brewer game, tailgated, and watched a pretty awesome game that saw the Brewers hang on to squeak out a 6-5 win. To combat the heat, both of us drank a whole bunch of water, Gatorade, and lemonade. We were even smart and brought in our own water to Miller Park so we didn’t have to overpay to stay hydrated. Dave didn’t even drink because it wasn’t going to be worth it. There were a whole slew of people who weren’t that smart and chugged the beer, yet you could see how overheated and uncomfortable they were. On top of that, the heat made people cranky so that was a joy to be around. Let’s just say, when we made our way out to the car, I was happy we got to watch the game, but I was also happy that we were headed home.

On our way home is when I realized double booking the weekend wasn’t the best of ideas due to the fact I pretty much hit a wall and was overly, overly, overly tired. When we got home, things only got worse and I started to get those annoying Braxton Hicks contractions not to mention the fact that I had a tummy ache too. I ended up having to take a sick day of work on Monday just to rest and try to get back to normal. Now it’s Tuesday, and I’m still not feeling all that great. Hopefully tomorrow, I will get back to totally normal, especially if I’m able to get a bunch of sleep tonight. 

Despite not feeling the best though, I still had a great weekend with Dave. We learned about child birth, got to see an entertaining Brewer game, came home with a fun bobble head, and got to spend some quality time together. It was cool! Thanks love for the good time! And, like I said at the beginning of this post, I learned that I can’t do it all at nine months pregnant and will be scaling things back a bit from here on out! No reason to make myself sick! With all of that said, I bid you farewell and until next time, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!

Kegels, get ready to laugh!

I was watching that Pregnant in Heels show that’s on Bravo a few weeks back and the chic on the show, I believe her name is Rosie, told one of her rich mom to be clients that she needed to start doing kegel exercises, or kegels for short, to help prevent incontinence after the mom gave birth to her kid. The mom looked at her like she was nuts and I busted out laughing myself because the whole topic makes me giggle to no end.

Take the word kegels for one, it sounds so silly! Like, tremendously silly! Dr. Arnold Kegel developed the exercises and that’s why they have the name they have. His parents must be so proud! Kegels is a word that sounds more like a disease than what it actually refers to, which is pelvic floor exercises. Not quite sure what I’m talking about? Well, kegels are exercises that a woman does to strengthen her pelvic floor muscles. To do them, a woman basically flexes her “special” muscles, so to speak, in five to ten second increments to strengthen them to help with incontinence, birth, and other female problems that woman have. And yes, using the word “special” in this instance is totally making me laugh again. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

On the show, Rosie suggested to her mom to be client to do up to 200 a day. To me, that sounds a tad excessive and her argument was that you could pretty much do them anywhere, so, she thought the number was attainable. From what I’ve ready online, 50 to 100 is good or doing them for five minutes at a crack three times a day is also an option. Basically, just doing something is better than doing nothing at all and I’ve become pretty dedicated to getting my kegels in (yes, still laughing about the name and now about my dedication) due to the fact that I’ve heard horror stories about what birth does to your body and I want to be able to recover as fast as possible afterwards. So, I’m hoping the more kegels I do (another giggle), the better off I’ll be. I’ll guess we’ll just have to see if that thinking holds true!

Okay, I think that’s enough talking about kegels for now since if I continue, I’m going to be rolling on the floor laughing my butt off. I just wish the guy would have just used a different name, seriously Arthur, why couldn’t you have been more humble and come up with something else?  Geez man, you’re killing me!

Okay, now I’m really done with talking about kegels and the only other thing I want to mention today is how filling out thank you cards can be overwhelming. And I don’t know why? It’s not something that is hard to do, but I’m thinking what makes it overwhelming for me is due to the fact I have horrible handwriting. I write so bad and am so self-conscience about it that it takes me forever just to write one thank you note. However, it needs to get done because I want everyone to know how appreciative I am for coming to the baby shower and the presents that they gave! You rock and thank you!

Until next time, it’s Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!  

My feet are growing...

Yes, you read that right, my feet are growing. There is no if’s, an’s or but’s about it. They’re growing and there’s nothing that I can do about it.

I realize that this is completely common with pregnant women, yet it’s still completely annoying and I’ve actually had to go out and purchase new shoes because of it. And yes, I love buying new shoes, don’t get me wrong on this one. Getting new shoes is awesome. However, I only enjoy getting new shoes when it’s on my terms and having to get new shoes because my feet are growing out of control just isn’t fun at all. The Adidas sandals I even had were becoming too small so last Monday, Dave and I made the trip to Rogans so I could get new sandals. I found a new pair in two minutes and went up a full size from what I was wearing before. Super crazy! I even wore them out of the store and I must say, they felt amazing and being able to wear them put me in a much better mood! 

What my new sandals look like, oh so exciting. :)

Other than growing and becoming increasingly uncomfortable with every passing day, there’s not much new going on right now. We did have a baby check-up this week and as of right now, everything is looking pretty good. Our OB said that Ryan is about 4-5 pounds and I can definitely feel all 4 or 5 pounds of him. He is as active as ever and it’s super strange to feel all of him bouncing around inside of me. It’s a good weird though and occasionally, his head or butt, we can’t determine which, sticks out further on one side than the other like an alien! :) The other day I swore I saw his foot, but that could have been my mind playing tricks on me, either way, something was sticking out and it wasn’t his head or butt! Now that I can see him more and more, it must mean that he’s growing a bunch. Let’s just hope he doesn’t grow too much and make pushing him out tremendously difficult. I mean, it’s not like it isn’t going to be difficult, I realize that, but it would be nice if it was easier rather than super duper hard! We’ll just have to wait and see on that one I guess. Bring on the epidural. LOL. We’re about six weeks away from meeting Ryan at this point and I can’t wait! Due date is July 12^th! Hmm, maybe with a little luck, he’ll be ready to come out sooner! Ahh, that would be nice, yet if he needs to bake a little longer, I’ll do my best to cope! Either way, I can’t wait to meet him! :) 

And with that, the last thing I want to say is that I give mad props to every woman out there who has been pregnant, or is pregnant, because this whole deal is hard work and I just want to say, you rock for getting through it. This mama to be is tired beyond words right now, hopefully, a lot of napping this weekend will get me re-energized. Until next time, it’s Carla the sleepy pregnant tomboy saying farewell!  

Umm, that hurts…

My major complaint of the week is how my stupid belly button hurts. I mean, it’s not this ooh, that hurts a little kind of pain. Nope, it’s like, holy buckets, this piercing pain is radiating through my belly button and it just is really annoying. I had no idea that my belly button could even cause me pain. Stupid belly button!

I’m sure that the reason it hurts is due to the fact that my belly is continually stretching and growing, which is a good thing I suppose given that it means that Ryan is growing. However, I had no idea that things would actually hurt during the growing process and then there are those stupid stretch marks that keep popping up. Oh well, I guess it’s the price you pay when bringing a little bundle of joy into this world. You would think that it would be easier, but no, it’s a long process. I’m happy that my due date is right around the corner for one, to be done with being pregnant and two, to finally meet Ryan! And yes, I’m more excited about meeting Ryan than being done with being pregnant, although, being done with being pregnant is a close second. Can you imagine how an elephant feels? Like, OMG, if I was an elephant right now, and sometimes I do feel like once because I get so bloated, I would still have about a year to go. Poor elephants, I feel bad for you!

In other pregnancy news, we are close to getting the nursery ready and still need to buy a few odds and ends. My Mom and I went shopping for them on Thursday and we were able to get a lot of the stuff without spending a huge amount of money to do it. I got the Diaper Genie and not only did I get the larger one for cheaper at Target than Wal-Mart, but it even had a $5 off coupon on it. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked. Oh, and if you’re looking for a good variety of baby stuff, check out Kmart, I know, it sounds a bit ghetto, yet I was pleasantly surprised when we went there since the store has a pretty good selection and things were reasonably priced.

This week we go in for another check-up and in two weeks, we’ll attend our birthing class. A friend asked why I didn’t go to the class sooner and I was like, well, Ryan is going to come whether I go to a class or not. So, taking a class isn’t going to keep that from happening! It will be nice though to get some education on everything that will happen. I do hear that I’m probably going to watch a gross video, I’m sure that’s going to be fun.

Well, that’s all I got for now, make it a great Saturday everyone!

Double ick, that test wasn’t fun…

Yesterday I had a baby check up and had to take a glucose screening test. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best day because the glucose screening test was not a fun experience for me and on top of that, I was surprised to learn during my check up that I would be receiving a RhoGAM. So as compared to my last doctor’s appointment that went smoothly, this one needless to say did not.

Example of the evil sugar beverage I had to drink!

Everything began with me heading to the lab to drink this wonderful sugary substance that I was told by the lab tech had about 50 MG of sugar in it. I choose the orange flavor, drank it down, and was told by the lab tech to come back in an hour so they could take my blood and check the results. At first, the sugary drink from hell, which I’m now going to call it, didn’t bother me at all and Dave and I headed from the lab to see my doctor. That’s when the nurse let me know that since I was 28 weeks along, I was going to receive a RhoGam shot and I was like, what shot? It was the first time the two of us heard about me receiving any kind of shot. So, she checked my blood pressure and then our doctor came in. He explained what the shot was all about and it was so technical that there’s no way I can cover all what he said. Therefore to keep it brief, it has something to do with positive and negative blood types and if you want to learn more, here’s a link to Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rho%28D%29_immune_globulin.

Anyway, as our doctor was explaining everything, the sugary drink from hell started making me feel like absolute crap and I could barely focus on him. Then, he measured my belly and checked little Billy Bubba’s heart rate, which ended up being around 160 beats a minute. From there, he said I needed to go back to the lab, get my blood drawn, and then come back to his office to get the shot. As I waited for my blood to be drawn by the lab techs, who were super nice by the way, all the sugar was hitting me and I thought I was going to puke. To get through it, I tried to just focus on what was going on around me and there were like pregnant women everyone. They were coming off the elevator, walking down the hallway, showing up at the lab one after another, it was insane. You could even tell who the newbies were as they were carrying a welcome gift bag kind of deal that Aurora gives out. Too funny!

When the lab tech did call my name, she took my blood, said sorry she didn’t have any crackers for me to eat, and gave me some water telling me that it would help me feel better. Well, the water didn’t and made me want to puke even more. After that, I headed back to my doctor’s office and the nurse gave me that shot. To make the experience even better, she had to shoot me in the butt with it. I was like, really, in my butt, and she was like yeah, and I was like, oh great, let’s make things even more fun today. That stupid shot hurt and I even have a bruise to prove it! The nurse was nice about it though and we both had a good laugh about everything I was going through that day. At that point if I didn’t laugh about it, that sugary drink from hell was going to end up on their nice clean floor and that wouldn’t have been good.

Finally, I was able to leave and then headed back to work where I ate some food and started to feel better. I was on a sugar high for a little while though and was all over the place, then I crashed a bit, and then I felt better again after making myself work out at the Y later in the day. Warning to all pregnant women or women who are thinking about getting pregnant, the glucose test is not fun and it will probably make you sick! So, expect the worst and hopefully, it won’t bother you at all. With that, I’m pretty much done for now given that I keep going back to how I felt yesterday and it’s starting to make me feel sick again. Ick. Until we meet again, it’s Carla saying farewell and Godspeed!

Ick, I think that’s a stretch mark…

Yes, I think that I’ve developed my first stretch mark on my belly during my pregnancy and I must say, it’s grossing me out a bit. And no, I’m not going to post a picture of it because I think that would be pretty gross. So, I’ll just write about it instead. And how do I think that writing about it is less gross than posting a photo, well, I’m not quite sure. However, the one thing that I do know is that it will make me feel better to vent, thus, I’m going to get it out of my system! :) 

So I first noticed said stretch mark over the weekend after getting out of the shower. It was right there on my belly and it actually looked like a small little bruise. I thought nothing of it until later in the day when I showed my mom the north to south line that’s in the middle of my belly. This line is officially called the linea nigra line and it develops on some pregnant women because of the pregnancy hormones running through their bodies. How’s that for some useful information, huh??? Anyway, when I showed her the line I said, “Hey mom, look at my cute little bruise next to it.” And then she said, “No, that’s not a bruise, that’s a stretch mark!” Needless to say I was completely mortified and when I look in the mirror, it’s hard not to stare at it and get annoyed that I don't have control of what's happening to my body. 

What I've realized through writing this is that I guess it’s not really something I should get all that excited about really, since stretch marks are so common with pregnancy. The thing is, I was doing everything I was supposed to do to try to prevent them, well, that’s what I thought anyway. You know, using the cocoa butter after every shower and even lotioning up whenever I thought about it when I was home. I guess it’s true what they say, there’s really nothing you can do to prevent them so that means that I should expect more and not get all that upset about it. This is easier said than done mind you, but I need to do it given that sweating the small stuff is pretty darn stupid when it comes to the grand scheme of things. My husband and I are having a baby, I’m going to be a parent, and that is so freaking cool! Dealing with a few stretch marks is a small price to pay to have a little me and Dave combo. Basically, stretch marks don’t really matter and it’s not like I wear bikinis anyway! So why should I care???? I’m over it. 

Okay, now that I’ve ranted about stretch marks, I feel a lot better so thank you for being my sounding board and now I can move on to worrying about other things like getting the baby’s room decorated! Until we meet again, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy saying good-bye for now!

Gotta share the laughs and other pregnancy news!

So, I’m not sure if it’s “okay” to actually share a link to another blog on your own blog, but this blog is so funny and insightful that there’s no way I can’t!

What blog is it, well, here is a link to it:

http://www.pregnantchicken.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/2010/9/23/happily-after-giving-birth-10-things-they-dont-tell-you.html?currentPage=2#comments

The blog is called Pregnant Chicken and it was first shared to me by Katie at Dave’s work and when she was describing it, she had us rolling on the floor laughing our butts off. So this morning, she shared the link with me on Facebook and I laughed my butt off again. The blog is all about pregnancy and all the not-so-fun things that go along with it. What makes it so funny is the writer of the blog, Amy Morrison, puts this crazy satirical spin on pregnancy while informing you about what’s to come. The humor is pretty twisted, which is right up my alley so now that I’ve started reading it, I pretty much can’t stop. Plus, it’s preparing me a bit for what’s to come, especially the post that I linked to above. I had no idea what was going to happen after little Billy Bubba makes it into this world, now that I know, I’m pretty freaked out. However, I’m glad that I know given that if I didn’t, I would have been in for a horrible rude awakening. Ahhhhhh!

Yeah, those are bobble heads behind me!

In other pregnancy news, my belly bump is beginning to expand like a watermelon on Miracle-Grow! Actually, it is more like a watermelon that has been given too much Miracle-Grow! I find it both cool and annoying all at the same time. Cool due to the fact that it means BB is doing what he’s supposed to do, getting bigger and forming into a little person. And annoying since it makes it hard for me to do anything that requires me to bend over not to mention how walking up and down steps is like a sporting event comparable to running a marathon or doing a triathlon. Sure, you might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Every time I go up or down steps, I’m wheezing like I ran for miles and miles. It’s kind of embarrassing, especially since this is coming from a pregnant chic who is also working out, which doesn’t even seem to help my stamina when it comes to the steps. Lame!

Along with my expanding belly bump, another pregnancy news item that I have is about the dream I had last night. Lately, my dreams have been about getting chased by zombies or mafia hit men, yes, I dream about that kind of crap. Last night though, I had a dream about meeting BB for the first time. I was holding him in my arms and then I even fed him. He was all warm and cuddly in his little newborn outfit. It was something that was totally surreal and when I woke up, I couldn’t help but smile. It was like he was here already! Can’t wait for that dream to be a reality! :)

Well, that’s about all I got for now so I’ll say farewell and until I post again, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!

Sometimes, my mind just races...

Being pregnant can be a little stressful, well, a lot stressful at times and you’re probably thinking to yourself, well, duh? It’s a life changing event, so what do you expect? The thing is, if my mind starts racing about what’s happening and what’s to come, I’m finding that I’m having a hard time shutting it off. It’s been a bit annoying to be honest and I’m hoping that it will get better, but lately it’s only gotten worse. :(

Take the other day as an example, I was just sitting around watching a little television and then little Billy Bubba started rolling around and kicking up a storm. It was super kewl to feel him, but then my mind started going about different things. Like, I wondered about how he was doing and if he doing okay or not along with thinking about if the amount that I was feeling him move was normal or not enough, and then I jumped forward to my due date and thought about whether or not he was going to be healthy when he made his way into this world. Then, my mind got on all the stuff my husband Dave and I needed to get done before he came, the stuff we had to buy, and how much everything was going to cost. It wasn’t all that much fun and after doing this for about an hour or so, I finally decided the only way that I was going to stop was to quit watching TV and take my pooch Beaver for a walk. After getting some fresh air and enjoying the sunshine, I was able to finally clear my head.

Walking Beaver is just one of the ways that I’ve learned to get past all my thinking and over-thinking given that I’ve also learned that going to the YMCA and working out helps as well. Basically, I just find ways to distract myself so I don’t ponder anything and everything over and over again. Some of the better distractions I’ve come up with include:

• Baking 
• Taking a nap
• Cleaning
• Shopping
• Going on a drive with Dave and just talking
• Painting, and not the lame kind, but like with water colors and acrylic paints on canvas
• Listening to music 
• Playing fetch with the pooch or just making him run in circles :)

The distractions I’ve mentioned about are what have helped me through my stressful moments and I’m sure there are other great options as well. If you have any ideas, please let me know because I’m more than willing to try them.

With that said, I do understand that being pregnant isn’t easy and that being stressed while pregnant is something that all of us pregnant ladies have to deal with, yet it still can be a bummer from time to time. My hope is to just be able to get past it and not have it affect me too much. So far, that hasn’t been the case, but I’m doing my best to get better and right now, that’s about all that I can do. What has really helped is thinking about my little boy, he brings a smile to my face no matter how crazy I may be feeling. :) Thanks BB and until I post again, this is Carla the pregnant Tomboy signing off!

Quick baby check-ups are the best!

We all know that going to the doctor can be a bit of a pain and today, I had one of the smoothest doctor appointments ever.

And when I say ever, I mean ever because everything about it went like clockwork. My husband Dave and I met about two minutes prior to the appointment, walked up to check-in with the receptionist, and then about two minutes after the check-in our nurse was calling our name to be seen by our doctor. I barely had time to sit down. Then, we ran into the doctor in the hallway, said hi, and I stepped on the scale to see my weight gain, which wasn’t too bad at this point. After that, we headed into the examining room, got the okay from the nurse on the urine sample I provided along with a thumbs up about my blood pressure. When she left the room, 30 seconds later our doctor was walking through the door and were talking to him about my pregnancy and how I was feeling. He answered the few questions we had about some stuff I’ve been dealing with and then it was up on the table for a belly measurement and a quick check on little Billy Bubba’s heartbeat. He said that everything looks good with little BB and that he’s about two pounds at this point. It was great news to hear. He then told us that at our next check up, they’re going to do a glucose test to check my blood sugar levels and with that, we were on our way!

We met with our doctor for about 20 or so minutes and after making our next appointment with the receptionist, we were on our way. Like I said, it was the smoothest doctor appointment that I ever had, especially since I was back at work within an hour. Totally awesome!!! The best part about the appointment, something I already mentioned, was how our doctor said little BB was doing well, it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside so I just had to share about how everything went. :) So until we meet again, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off.

No, I’m not fat!

Just as a warning, this blog post is going to be one big rant, so I apologize in advance. :)

Okay, I’ve noticed that within the last week or so, I’m becoming completely self-conscious about the way that I look and I’m finding myself wanting to tell people, “No, I’m not fat, I’m pregnant!” It’s like for some strange reason, I think their eyes are on me and that they’re judging the way I look, thinking that I can’t control my eating and that I have no self-respect or something. I know that what I’m thinking is completely ludicrous because there’s no reason for complete strangers to give two cents about the way I look. Yet, the thoughts are still there and the best that I can do right now is ignore them!

It’s really probably all my fault because I’m not wearing my maternity clothes like I should, something that my husband Dave keeps telling me repeatedly that I should do. For some reason though, I can’t seem to pull the trigger and do it. All of his arguments for why I should start wearing my maternity clothes are pretty valid such as how I will be more comfortable if I start wearing them. I know that this is completely true, yet, I still sit in my uncomfortable clothes. And yes, I do complain about how uncomfortable I am. Dave has been great about my complaining and lets me vent about everything when I need to. Cool guy. I’m not quite sure why I won’t wear my maternity duds. For me, it’s almost like a sign of weakness or something to start wearing them. I know, a completely random way to think, yet those are the thoughts that are going through my mind. I’m sure a psychologist or psychiatrist would have a field day with me, too bad, I’m not going.

In a day or two, I’m going to take the plunge and put on my maternity clothes for the first time and no, I’m not joking around when I make this statement this time around Dave. (Yes, I’m addressing my husband directly here since I keep telling him I’m going to start wearing them starting tomorrow every time he points out that I should be wearing them already). It’s going to be a big day, I can’t wait!

Ooh, that’s not gas!

It took me a little while to realize that the stomach discomfort I was feeling wasn’t gas, but was actually my little guy moving about in my belly! Yeah, I know that sounds super weird, yet it’s the truth so proceed to laugh because there’s no reason not to. 

Okay, now that you got your chuckle out of the way, I just wanted to go into why I thought I was having stomach problems instead of realizing what was going on. The reason is, is because that’s what he felt like a few weeks ago. My tummy was uncomfortable and I felt like I had some digestion issues. I never thought that’s what the baby would feel like until I asked a few friends and other people who were pregnant in the past what it felt like when you started to feel your baby. Most of them said, “It feels like you have really bad gas.” Then a little light bulb went off in my head and I was like, duh, that’s my little baby moving about in my belly. It was a surreal moment and something that I’ll never forget since it meant that my baby was growing and becoming a little person. Super kewl.

The term that is used to describe a mother first feeling her baby move is called quickening. According to Wikipedia, it's defined as:

“the moment of quickening refers to the initial motion of the fetus in the uterus as it is perceived or felt by the pregnant woman.”

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that my baby has certain positions that he likes due to the fact that I can feel pressure in certain areas of my stomach more than others. For example, he totally enjoys burrowing on my left side. Occasionally, he’ll sit in the middle of my stomach and sometimes, he’ll migrate lower and rest right on top of my bladder, which isn’t all that fun for me since, you guessed it, causes me to have to visit the bathroom even more than I have to already. Dave my husband pointed out why our baby likes my left side so much the other day and that’s because I sleep on my left side more than my right. It makes sense and something that I overlooked just like with feeling my baby for the first time due to the fact that for some reason I no longer have common sense. It’s like when I got pregnant, my common sense flew out the window. Hopefully after the baby comes, it will return, but who knows!

Now, the only real uncomfortable position that I’ve noticed him frequent is when he goes up right under my rib cage. He did this over the weekend and it was like, dude, what are you doing up there? It made it really hard for me to breath and as I’m writing this, he’s actually making his way up there right now!  Interesting, I guess the two of us are connected. Sweet.  Anyway, I’m crossing my fingers that this won’t happen often, however, I do realize he’s only going to get bigger and there’s only so many places that he can go. So, it’s just going to be one of those things I’ll have to deal with as with all those other uncomfortable pregnancy moments. It’s all worth it though because the end result is a cute little bundle of joy!

Well, that’s all for today. I bid you farewell and until next time, this is Carla the tomboy signing off.

The baby bump has arrived…

So, the news of the day is that I’m starting to really show and I’m going to be honest, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one. It’s like a combination of being tremendously happy, mixed with feeling all out of sorts mixed with, wow, I look really silly.

It really is a roller coaster of emotions and when I’m happy, I’m really happy and kind of want to show off the fact that I’m pregnant. I want to be like, “Look at me and my baby bump,” and be all proud about it. It’s completely foreign and strange for me to feel this way because I’m a person who doesn’t care all that much about physical appearance and what I look like. I mean, I wear hooded sweatshirts and jeans whenever I possibly can and my husband Dave practically has to beg me to let my hair down since I would rather put it in a pony tail to avoid having it all in my face.  So, to actually have moments where I want to show off what I look like is not something I’m used to and something I probably never will get used to.

Now, when I talk about feeling all out of sorts, I mean just feeling off and all over the place. For example, my balance is off a bit and I find that it can be hard to bend over and tie my shoes. Seriously, this happened to me the other day. I saw that my shoe was untied, bent over to tie it, and almost fell over due to the fact that my weight shifted awkwardly and my body didn’t respond well to it. It was a funny sight to see and if you would have seen it, you would have laughed your butt off. I was chuckling inside myself. I also have to find different ways to do things that were pretty easy to do pre-baby bump. For one, lifting boxes or anything pretty much is not easy like it was before. So instead of carrying things around at work, you can now see me using a cart to get things from here to there. At home, I just ask Dave to help move stuff around and he’s more than willing to do it. What a guy!

The baby bump itself is a bit uncomfortable at times too since I was somewhat in shape before my pregnancy and didn’t have a lot of extra “stuff” around my belly. Now to have “stuff” around my belly is just odd and something that I simply have to adjust too as I know it’s only going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. What has helped me get over those uncomfortable moments is to just get up from sitting down and walk around. Or, loosen my belt buckle a notch or two if it feels way too snug.  And, there have been times when I just said the hell with it and unbuckled my pants. Too much information, I’m sure, but that’s where a rubber band comes into play. You can rubber band the buckle on your pants so you can wear them longer when you’re pregnant instead of jumping right into maternity clothes. I also bought a belly band and plan on using that soon. Just to note for the record, I haven’t given in yet and started wearing my maternity clothes. I know that day is on the horizon, but I’m still too in love with my regular jeans and they still kind of fit. So, I’m not going to put them away until I ultimately have to! When all else fails and I feel completely bloated, out of whack, and all crazy like, I turn to my fuzzy lounge pants and throw the regular pants aside. I realize that this is something that I can only do when I’m at home, but there have been times when I’ve felt like doing it at work. Hmmm, maybe I should suggest implementing a sweat pants day at work just like casual Fridays? Now that’s something to think about.

My fuzzy lounge pants! Thank goodness Dave gave them to me for Christmas!

Okay, I got sidetracked a bit there, but what can you do? Moving on, I want to briefly get into the looking silly part I touched upon at the beginning of this blog post. For me this happens when I realize the clothes I have on are a bit too small. For example, the other day, I was wearing a shirt that fit perfectly fine everywhere else, except in my belly region due to the fact that my belly bump was basically bulging out from under my shirt. This is when I feel completely silly and even a little embarrassed. When this happens, I typically go home and throw the shirt, or whatever article of clothing that it might be that is too small, in the pile in the corner of the bedroom that I now call the too small to wear pile. The pile is starting to grow and I think I’m going to need a box so I can store it all until after I’m pregnant. I have purchased some looser fitting clothes to get me by for a bit, yet as I said earlier, the day is coming when I’m going to have to bite the bullet and start wearing the maternity clothes I got. That reminds me, I still have to blog about maternity clothes shopping. Well, that post will be next, I promise.

All in all, I’m sure that every pregnant woman goes through the roller coaster of emotions that I’ve been experiencing with my new baby bump. The roller coaster is totally worth it though given that my baby bump means that I’m going to be a parent soon and that when my waistline grows, the child inside of me is growing and getting stronger like he or she should. Honestly in my life, I haven’t experienced a more warm and fuzzy feeling of happiness than that, knowing that my husband and I have created a life that will be a part of this world in five months or so. Pretty awesome. Life is pretty awesome.

With those uplifting words, I'm going to end my post and until next time, it’s Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off.

PS…I realize I got a little emotional there at the end, but it’s all so very true. :)

PSS…This post was inspired by my Aunt Ellyn, thanks for bringing up the baby bump!

Tummy troubles...

One thing that has become quite clear during my pregnancy is that my tummy hasn’t been all that happy about me carrying a little guy or gal. Poor tummy, so upset allllll the time!

It’s pretty much been a battle from the get-go to figure out what makes my tummy remotely happy and I’m laughing to myself as I write this. Why? Because, sharing with everyone about my tummy troubles is really, really funny to me and not something I think I ever would have done before. Yet, tummy troubles are something that all pregnant women deal with and 

now that I’m one of them, I might as well offer my take on the situation.

The first thing I’ve learned is at the beginning, there are, quite frankly, no foods to eat that won’t bother your stomach. The reason being is that there are so many hormones running through your body, your stomach just can’t handle the food whatsoever. This means that you have to just find a way to get by to get the nutrition you need into your body. My coping method was to trick my tummy into thinking it was feeling better. The tried and true method of soda crackers and clear soda always seemed to get the job done. Then, after a few soda crackers and a few sips of soda, I would feel a bit better and would able to eat something else on top of it before I felt like poo again. The feeling like poo part after eating was a bit annoying too. Eventually, that would subside though and I could go about my day. 

Finding foods to eat that didn’t make me sick has been a long process given that it was all about trial and error to figure out what I can and can’t eat. (I say can and can’t eat because this is still something I have to deal with on a daily basis.) For example, as I’ve said in another blog post, plain cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes go down okay. However, if the cheeseburgers had ketchup and all the other fixings on them, then it was a no go. 

Yummy chocolate shake!

Or for awhile there I eating a bunch of oatmeal and now, I can’t stand the texture of it. What’s weird is my new favorite is chocolate flavored Malt-O-Meal, which I can eat without any problem. I also really liked Lean Pockets, yet, I’ve tried a few over the last few weeks and those are now off the list of things I can handle eating. Some of the other things I’ve discovered were/are easy on my tummy include: cups of jello with fruit in it, cooked broccoli, pasta, vanilla ice cream, lean cuts of meat like chicken or flank steak, Frosted Flakes and Captain Crunchberries without the milk as they’re perfect for snacking, microwavable macaroni and cheese cups, cheese, skim milk, Gatorade, raw carrots, and toaster waffles! I have been able to sneak in some calorie loaded foods as of late like cookies and doughnuts, the cheeseburgers as mentioned, some pizza (as you will find out about a bit later), and I even gave Taco Bell a try the other day since I was craving it and it actually worked. I don’t quite get it due to the fact that oatmeal makes me gag, but I can eat Taco Bell??? Oh well.

Another way I got over my tummy troubles at the beginning was to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large meals. This made it easier on my stomach to digest whatever I was eating and prevented the rest of my body from stressing out over being really, really full. Eating smaller meals throughout the day is still the meal plan that I’m sticking too at the moment because now instead of being sick all the time, I actually can’t eat all that much food at once. I take a few bites of something and I get full, which can be a bit of a downer when I’m tremendously hungry and just want to go all out and stuff my face. This past weekend, we got Toppers Pizza for the Super Bowl. Yes, full of calories I know. Anyway, I ended up eating small pieces of thin crust pizza and three Toppers’ Stix. In the past, I could’ve packed away double, even triple the amount. I shouldn’t brag, but just wanted to give you a comparison. Well, it was a crying shame because I was SOOOOO hungry heading into the meal and then that’s all I could eat! Very disappointing. In a way though, I guess it’s not a bad thing since not being able to eat a lot at once is preventing me from gorging myself. Wow, I’m proud of myself for looking at the positive side of that one! J

In all seriousness though, it’s about finding a balance with what and how much you eat when you’re pregnant and I’m think I’m getting there at least. I try not to give in to my cravings too much and I try to eat food that is good for me. I think that’s really the best that any pregnant person or non-pregnant person can do. It’s all about moderation they say. So, this moderator is outtie. Until next time, it’s Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!

Just passed the 16 week mark...

I realize that I started my blog a little late in the pregnancy because last week, I just passed the 16 week mark so I’m officially in my second trimester. However, it’s one of those kind of deals where I was on the fence about starting a blog about being pregnant in the first place. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share my story with the world, but I figured why not? I’m not harming anyone and I’m able to have something to look back on to remember what I went through.

With that said, let’s talk about the first trimester. It was an interesting ride to say the least. The morning sickness, the excitement and uneasiness about being pregnant, and the telling people that you’re pregnant was all awkward and a little overwhelming at times. I’m sure the typical woman really enjoys all the attention and the congratulations that come with it. For me, it was a mixture of emotions. I wanted to tell people, yet I didn’t want to tell people. Why? Who really knows? Maybe it was because that would mean I’m an actual woman who had to start acting like a woman. What do I mean by that you ask? Well, it was more of a mental thing than anything. Don’t get me wrong here, I always have looked at myself as a woman, but a woman who likes wearing baggy shorts, t-shirts, and athletic shoes. A woman who enjoys eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching football. A woman who goes running, cycling and plays softball with no fear who doesn’t care about putting on lotion to avoid stretch marks or conditioning her hair to prevent it from breaking off or taking vitamins to ensure she gets the right amount of nutrients in her body.  Or maybe I didn’t tell people because it was a fun little secret that my husband and I had and we only wanted to reveal our little surprise every now and again to see people’s reaction. Or maybe it was because I just didn’t want to deal with everyone else’s reaction. In any event, it was a slow process telling people and when I did, hearing the congratulations and getting all the attention was rather nice, so maybe I’m more of a woman that I thought?

Let’s get back to the first trimester and what it meant for me. I touched upon the morning sickness and guess what, it really hasn’t gone away like all the professionals said it would in the second trimester. So, eating has been a bit of an issue as of late and even taking the vitamins can be very annoying since they too make me feel sick to my stomach. The worst part of the day for me is in the afternoon, where I frequently run to the bathroom to get sick. Over share, yet this blog is about sharing, right? :)

Figuring out all the other stuff during the first trimester has been a bit of a chore to say the least and that’s where having to act like a woman comes into play. I never used lotion before until I really needed it. I never conditioned my hair on a regular basis. And, I never tried to eat completely healthy, well rounded meals with fruits and veggies and so on and so forth.  I never took vitamins and I worked out a bunch. Now, I own all sorts of lotions, body washes, moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners, vitamins and supplements, and routinely go to the store to buy oranges, bananas, juice, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, milk, low-fat proteins, Balance Bars, Fiber One bars, and all of it is extremely expensive.

Some of the girly items I recently purchased. WalMart is the cheapest place to buy this stuff!

I also have had to curtail my workouts and the last time I ran was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. Changing my lifestyle has been a bit of a pain, but I know it’s for a good reason. I need to be healthy so my baby will grow healthy and strong. Kind of corny and cliché, yet it’s the truth. I, as every parent wants, a strong, healthy baby boy or girl. I can’t wait till I get to meet the little guy or gal in July.

Some first trimester highlights:

• First ultrasound where Dave, which is my husband’s name by the way, and I saw our baby’s heartbeat. Pretty cool!
• Learning that there was only one heartbeat given that having twins would be crazy. 
• Second ultrasound where we got to take home pictures of the baby, sure they were hard to make out, but cool anyway. 
• Getting the results of our genetic testing back and having the odds of having a healthy baby be in our favor. 
• Finding that plain cheeseburgers are a food I can eat without getting sick afterwards. Chocolate shakes are a good food source too.

Some first trimester downers:

• Not having a lot of food options since nothing really tasted good. 
• Raging hormones that resulted in horrible mood swings. 
• Morning sickness (obviously).
• Weird body changes. 
• Being tired all the time, but unable to sleep through the night.

All in all, the first semester went okay and I think I’m going to stop here for today. There is soooo much more that I would like to go into and I fear that I could write on and on. So until next time, it’s Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off!

When a tomboy gets pregnant

I’ve decided to start this blog because after doing a little research, I found that there’s not all that much information about pregnant women who really don’t have much of a feminine side. I’m not much of a girly girl and I don’t quite know what to make of this whole being pregnant deal. 

It’s not the fact that I’m carrying a child, which I’m absolutely happy about. My husband and I were trying for a little while to get pregnant and when it happened, it was an awesome moment in both of our lives.

Basically, what I’m having issues with is how being pregnant somehow means I’m supposed to act like other girly girl females have acted when they’re pregnant. For example, this past weekend I had to go shopping for maternity clothes. This would probably be an activity that most women would love to do. However, not me. One, I hate shopping. Two, I hate going to the mall. And three, I found out that they don’t really make tomboy maternity clothes. So as you can see, this was a complete awkward experience that I’ll get into at a later time.

With that said, this blog will just be about me dealing with regular pregnancy issues from a tomboy’s perspective. Just something different, something that is outside of the norm and not a typical account of the nine month pregnancy journey. I’m not a typical woman, so it’s going to be nice for me to document everything to remember what I went through. I’m sure there’s going to be some tears, some smiles, and some all-out interesting moments. So please, come along on the journey!