30 Week Update

CRAVINGS:  Lately I've been craving COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE.  I never was a coffee drinker, maybe a cup once or twice a week, but never to this extent.  It really kicked in the beginning of my third trimester.  I more so believe it's simply due to how tired I am when I first get to work every morning.  Not to mention sitting waiting for a patient to come in totally drags the mess out of me.  During our stay in GA, free breakfast and coffee came in groves.  I was the first one up to take a morning stroll down to the lobby and gladly sit for about 15 to 20 minutes in my own thoughts, with Joe (coffee).  I'm beginning to realize that I'm a morning person.  I don't necessarily want to talk to anyone AT ALL, I just cant sleep past 8:00.  Even on the weekends, which is what I'm referring to, I cant get to sleep past that time.  I am however, able to fall back to sleep once me and Gabrielle has eaten and Roger is up to take over.  This morning issue I'm having might however work in my favor since I will have another CRY to attend to for tons of morning feedings.

I've been thinking  about his coffee thing alot lately, and it might actually brighten my mornings at home when I have to get two kids ready and out for daycare.  I may invest in a personal single cup coffee maker since Roger wont have anything to do with it.  Maybe around black Friday, when the kids are just getting into full swing of being in daycare together. Besides they're so expensive and not on the budget list for a while. 

WEIGHT GAIN: Approximately 33 pounds, WHAT.  I started out at 121 and at 30 weeks I weigh 154 pounds.  My sister says that she's Godly jealous, which tickles me to tell her my weight every time.  I'm officially only in maternity pants and tops.  I was able to get away with the scrub pants, but not anymore.

BRAXTON:  His room is officially finished.  Roger and I are weaning somethings out of Gabrielle's room to make room.  There are lots of toys that she does not play with and screams GIRL that we cant keep it.  His room is a little tight, with the bed and a chair as well as two night stands, but crammed always meant comfy to me.  It fits well, and it's not overly cramped with toys and clothes every where.  The accent chair is a nice touch so everyone wont have to sit on the bed when they come into his room.  Everything is neatly put away and awaiting on his arrival.  They both share a closet and that seems to be working out for now. At 3 pounds, he is moving alot. 

GABRIELLE: She's growing so much as well.  My little baby (for now) has so many questions lately.  My patience and tolerance level is at a high, meaning I can answer them all day and deal with her little out burst that she has every now and then.  I'm for certain that it's only because she is at daycare all day and all I want to do, including Roger is cater to her.  What scares me is when she will actually be home with me all day.  Will my tolerance level drop, of course it will.  SO, of course upon reading blog after blog of other experienced moms of two, I'm coming up with some ideas which I know she might like.

MOMMY:  Boy am I so READY to get my swag back.  Goodness gracious!  And when I say swag, I'm so not referring to clothes, sneakers, blah, blah, blah. 

1. I simply want to walk faster than 2 miles per hour. 
2.  Not struggle to get out of my car
3. Pick up Gabrielle without restrictions (this should be first on the list, because I miss it so much)
4. Be able to bend over and pick things up
5. Sleep on my stomach and roll over without the help of Roger
6. Stop going to the bathroom 50 million times a day

The list can go on and on, but do you really want to here it.  I have rhinitis as well.  TMI, but it's a clear fluid thick mucus that I keep blowing out of my nose.  No allergies and no head pressure, just lost of tissue blowing.  On a positive note, life is good and I know it can be worse.  This pregnancy is healthy, baby is healthy, work is good, hubby is awesom and God is god.  Because he is good, things are the way they are now!  I'm exciteda about my meal plans for this summer.  People keep telling me that I'm not gonna want to do anything but, bump that.  It may be true that I will be over whelmed and food and cleaning will be last on the brain.  But, they need not to forget that it's the summer time.  I refuse to be in the house wallowing, looking a mess, strarving and it's sunny as every outside, not to mention, I dont have to work the next day.
Me and the crockpot will be on fire this summer.  Roger will be my grill boy when he comes home, and hopefully everything will be prepare for him to just throw on the grill.  I'm also gonna utilize my sister to the max.  We'll talk about that later though, she may be reading!

30 Weeks and Traveling

Who told me to travel at 30 weeks.  I mean, did I really think that I would be comfortable?  Did I think that I wouldn't have to use the restroom and feel pressure on my bladder the whole entire way to GA?  Well, needless to say, uncomfortable or not my family and I traveled 6 hours to go and see our brother down in GA.  Besides the car ride, it was a cool trip and the last of my travels for a WHILE!  Gabrielle totally enjoyed herself and her cousins.  I thoroughly enjoyed the free breakfast at the hotel and the coffee was DELICIOUS, not to mention the Belgian waffles that we made ourselves. 

Mr. B at 29 Weeks

Boy, I cannot wait to meet this little fellow. Roger has officially named him Mr.B and so shall it be.  We put up his crib and the changing table is in Gabrielle's room.  At 29 weeks, he weighs 2 lbs and a few ounces.  It took the longest just to get this picture because of his position (head down).  I had to completely roll over on my side.  His head was facing towards my back with his hands AND legs ABOVE his face, butt in the air.  He moved around soooo much without me even feeling him during the ultrasound.  He waved, opened his mouth, turned from side to side and hid all the while except for this shot.  I'm officially down to every 2 week appointments.  Like I'm going to be 30 weeks on Sunday, what it the WORLD.  There's still a few things I need to do.  The stroller and car seat need to be taken out of the box, I still need tons of newborn pampers, a few bouncer chairs would be great and he's up the wazu in clothes.  I say a couple of bouncer chairs because one on each floor would be great as oppose to hauling one on every floor, maybe 2 would do. 

His room is coming along good.  Took me a while to find a comforter, but we found one at Target and slapped some Mr. B letters on top of his crib.  I'm missing something but I just cant point my finger on it. Of course I need to clear the bed, hang up clothes and fold some to get an idea of what I'm looking for.  A shaggy area brown rug will do, as well as some curtains, but there's still something missing.  Of course it would've been perfect without the queen sized bed in there, but mama and papa need a place to sleep since he isn't invited in our bedroom on the third floor.  I've come to the conclusion that if Braxton moves around after he's born as much as he does on the inside, Roger and I are in for it.  Band aids, stitches, cuts, bruises you name it, I'm pretty sure Braxton will be running UP and DOWN or should I say jumping up and down on every floor.  Roger was watching my stomach last night and couldn't belive how gnarley it looked with the movements.  I had to tell him that's just now, imagine ALL day long this kid is moving around.  BUT guess what, a baby this active in the womb is very healthy so hey. 

This boy thing is really gonna trip me out though.  My nephews were throwing rocks at eachother and one rock knocked one twins teeth right out.  I mean it's just insane how boys are so different than girls.  Gabrielle hates the sight of cheese on her hands from eating doritos or cheese doodles.  She goes nuts for someone to get it off.  That's my baby though and she's getting so big.  I miss just being able to pick my little girl up and squeeze her tiny little body.  Even rocking her in the rocking chair doesn't quit work out for us.  Or naps at church on Sunday are like "yeah mommy we're both uncomfertable, so uh, why dont you just give me over to daddy".  She's very inquisitive about Braxtons things now.  I had a pack of socks, meaning like 6 pairs each and she asked me was "It her Braxtons" for every pair of socks. 

Maternity Leave Part 2

After this weekend, I've come to the conclusion that I'm actually spending more time planning my post partum than I did planning this pregnancy.  I know people are wondering, "well what in the world could be that serious about post partum and staying home during maternity leave".  And to answer that, it extends well beyond post partum/maternity leave.  For one, in regards to post partum, I actually work in an OBGYN office.  For some mothers, they're not so blessed to be as resilient as others from an emotional, financial and especially a physical standpoint.  I just want to bind the enemy right now with all of those issues that can possibly come about after Braxton is born.  My daughter will actually be home with me for 8 weeks and when she returns to daycare, she will be in the 3 year old class room. 

I, for one have to become more subconscious about my finances after Mr. B  is born and Roger just has to hang in there and do what it do as the man of the house.  In some form or fashion things are gonna be very different.  The important part for me is for us to able to handle this difference with ease.  I mentioned in PT 1 that there are some things that I'd like to see happen and take from this experience of being home for an entire summer with my kids..........pause, did I say kids........... okay yes, I said kids.  I really want Gabi to just enjoy the summer off, but watching TV all day will not be acceptable with her returning to a 3 year old class. I've decided that after Roger leaves to go back to work, my act needs to be together and our routine needs to start.  Routines are very important.  I believe that routines keeps everyone grounded and which route to take when, lets say I'm at school.  Roger knows just what to do on those days.  Gabrielle knows at what time she takes naps, eats lunch, goes outside to play, bath time, etc.  Everyone knows their role and it runs smoothly.  So far, I've accumlated enough educational things to keep Gabrielle occupied for a month, still adding to the basket though as her attention span is not very long.  What's crazy is that she can sit and watch a 2 hour live animation movie (Toy Story, Happy Feet, Ice Age). 

I soooooooo cannot wait to keep everyone abreast about how things are actually going.  It's one thing to put your mind to something, but another when it's time for the show down. 

Getting Geared Up For Maternity Leave PT 1

I've finally come to a place "mentally that is" as school is dwindling down for this semester, baby shower is over and done with and we have enough stuff on deck for Braxton, that I can actually think about my plans for this summer with not only myself, but with Gabrielle, my home, Braxton and Roger.  With only 11 weeks to go, FMLA papers signed and ready to be submitted, I'm really going to be at home for the entire summer.  Questions have been running through my head, some concerns are really mind boggling but either way I finally have a chance to sit down and envision what I'd like to see happen and what I plan to take from this new experience that my family and I are getting ready to embark on. 

Just sitting here thinking about this whole thing is really humbling me because I've been rewarded with such a rewarding responsibility that I want to handle it appropriately, delicately and with ease.  I know for sure that I will only be able to handle it with the help of God, so every moment I get whether washing dishes, chilling with Gabrielle with her eyes fixed on TV or even at work, I'm praying and meditating on being able to do this.  Knowing that my strength comes from the Lord, It should be pretty cool for me.  When I say me, I really mean Roger and I because I couldn't do this without him as I know for sure that it is team work.

Speaking of which, he will home for the first 3 weeks with us, which will be amazing.  We both were pretty sad when he went back to work during my leave with Gabrielle.  I cried like it was nobodies business and couldn't wait for my baby to get home every day.  Around that time, I also started working at Rex when Gabi was 8 weeks so we're gonna add 4 more weeks to that and have a blast this summer.  Now, to this list of things that I would like to see happen of course when Roger goes back to work is for a routine to at least look like it will develop.

28 Weeks and Really Feeling It!

Up until this week, I was able to reply to people that I felt great.  That's so not the case anymore.  I'm offically uncomfertable, huge, tired and these jabs are getting much stronger.  Making it up to the 2nd or 3rd floor of my home not only leaves me winded but it gives me BRAXTON hicks each and everytime.  Roger and I had a nice quit weekend but I was exhausted after 2 hours of just being out.  Gabrielle stayed with my sister from Friday right after daycare until Saturday night and it's funny because we were extremely bored.  We were like, geesh what do you do without kids around, this is wack.  So needless to say, we picked her up earlier than we were supposed to.  Back to this third trimester thing coming in like a world wind, we also had to leave the shopping area after just 2 hours, I was starting to feel sick and lightheaded.  Even at church yesterday, I was feeling pretty yucky.  I can feel myself becoming extemely aggitated very quickly.  It's like my mood has completly changed, but we'll see how the rest of the 12 weeks go.

Braxtons Room/Guest Room



Braxtons Room & Guest Room

 So, here is another project of ours that we're beginning to work on this weekend.  I have absolutely no idea how we're going to stuff a crib inside here with a queen sized bed that has two night stands on both ends.  The night stands will be his for onsies, socks, etc.  Each stand has two bottom draws.  Then we will also hang this up in the closet as well, on either side of Gabrielle's mess.  The changing table is in Gabrielle's room and should be down within a few months.  It actually comes to a point where you begin to change a kid where ever they are.  Who know's about a few months, it may be longer since we're dealing with some equipment that we've never dealt with before, lol.

Far from a kiddie room huh!

I've been searching as I normally do for something different that I can do to kiderize this room.  I want it to serve as a guest room, but also as Braxtons room as well.  The plan is when he's ready to move out of the crib this will be his queen sized bed.  We also plan to stay on the second floor with the two of them until we're comfortable  enough to move back upstairs in our room.  Besides us, whenever we have company we'll need a place for them to stay so I also dont want a bunch of hanging monkeys and elephants all over th place, it's not my style anyway.  I did though come across something that I thought was great.  A hanging mobile from the ceiling, but with tissue paper pom poms.  I though it would be to girly, but a mobil is a mobile and the colors will be green brown and white pom poms.  Check out this baby boy's room.  . 

I love the idea of the hanging stars.