36 Weeks

I'm in my 9th month! Yay!! We're in the home stretch here people!

I had a doctor's appointment today. Had my first internal. No progress yet. I'm not dilated or effaced at all. Bummer, but really  not. I mean, not like it would change anything if I were 1cm dilated, you know? I could walk around for weeks like that anyway. So we're just taking it week by week seeing how it pans out. She did say my cervix is softening though, so that's good I guess?

Here's a crappy blurry camera phone picture of my belleh:

How you're feeling: Okay actually. Other than the regular end of pregnancy aches, pains and uncomfortableness. I'm done complaining. :)


How far along? 36 wks

Total Weight Gain?Thanks to Turkey Day I was up another 4lbs this week. Yuck.

Maternity Clothes? yeppers. Barely even fit into those

Stretch Marks? yep.

Sleep? Okay. Not great, not terrible. The pregnancy insomnia has returned a bit. I'm tired.


Best Moment This Week? putting up xmas lights and the xmas tree.

Movement? Same ol'.

Food Cravings? sweets. I actually had a pretty big craving for ice cream the other night. Note to husbands all over the world: Do NOT tell your 9 month wife she doesn't "need" ice cream. It was really one of my first legitimate cravings, and he refused to go get me any, telling me "you had a lot of sweets over T-giving, you don't need ice cream." Yeah... 30 minutes later guess who went and got me some god damn Cherry Garcia?!

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? Nada

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in. <--- same.

What I Miss? The littlest things I will never take for granted again: bending over, closing a car door (once you're inside the car), getting up off the couch, touching your toes, crossing your legs. Geeze!

What I Am Looking Forward To? Getting this baby OUT!

Milestones? 9 months!

Day 24-Something you've learned
Hmmm another hard one. I'm so horrible at coming up with things off the top of my head. I always have these great ideas when I'm laying in bed at night. I had to go look at a couple other people's blogs to get some ideas. Jenni had a couple good ones that I definitely agree with, so I'm stealing them from her.

* Nothing comes free. You have to work for what you have. At least I always did. Nothing was ever handed to me.
* "I have learned to let the chips roll" (from Jenni). Yep. Let things fall into place. They will eventually, right?
* "I am learning to let go of the stupid stuff" - Agreed again. ESPECIALLY when it comes to relationships. Let the little things go. Don't hold grudges or start a fight over something silly or small. I can tell you that Husband and I rarely fight. I'd say we have little arguments here and there, but they're mostly in a joking manner. I'll tell him if something's bothering me (although he's not as good at that). But in regards to real fights, I'd say we maybe really fight once every one or two years (although they end up being big ones sometimes), but at least we're not constantly at each other's throats. I don't understand couples like that. Couples who are always yelling at eachother or giving eachother the silent treatment and just always "fighting".
* "I have learned that bills SUCK" - haha for sure, Jenni!
* "That mistakes happen, no need to dwell, just move forward" - Yep. I would say that I let a LOT of stuff go. Mistakes, comments etc. I'm not really a pushover, but it's stupid when people hold grudges or get mad etc over things that people may have done/said/mistakes, etc. Just let it go. Why do you want to be miserable all the time? Also, things like Oh, my order was wrong. I don't ever send food back (also for fear that it may get spit in haha), but it's like oh well, they made a mistake, I'll eat it anyway, no biggie. I have friends that get SO mad about stupid stuff like that and it drives me crazy. Deal with it!
* Expect the Worst, hope for the best.

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

1.Taking Back Sunday - New American Classic
2. Tiger Army - Pain
3. Authority Zero - Revolution
4. Justin Timberlake - Sexy Back (haha!)
5. Social Distortion - Story of My Life
6. Dropkick Murphys - Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
7. Rancid - Maxwell Murder
8. Taking Back Sunday again - Number Five With A Bullet
9. Bad Religion - Stranger than Fiction
10. Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice

30 Day Blog Challenge: day 23

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Ever? This is a toss up between Seattle or Sea World. Sea World was awesome. It was Husband and I's one year anniversary as a couple. It was just the two of us, and we had a great time. Well, except that whole I was under 21 and got busted for a fake ID thing. haha!

But Seattle was more recent so I'll blog about that. Last summer ( i think) is when we took a trip to Seattle to visit my sister-in-law. We went for our niece's birthday and the 4th of July. It was sooo pretty up there and perfect, non Seattle weather. It was warm, perfect weather, sunny, and we only got the true Seattle rain the last day we were there. Which I didn't mind. We did LOTS of outdoor stuff.

Like visit the ice caves.. So cool.

Take a Ferry over to an Island (forget which one).

Eat Delicious, FRESH seafood...

Watch the sunset on the beach (at 10PM, might I add).

Have the BEST 4th of July EVER! We got to set off our own fireworks. And real fireworks. The whole neighborhood was going off. It was awesome. Much different than here where we drive and go sit in a parking lot full of people in 115 degrees, sweating our butts off. Then sit in traffic for an hour to get home.

Visit the city and play "Where's Edward?" (okay so I was the only one playing that game)....

And lots of family time! It was such a great trip. One I will remember for sure. :)

35/35

Had a doctor appointment today. We remeasured her, and although she's still running about a week ahead, she's not the giant baby they predicted her to be at 29 weeks. She must've had a growth spurt around that time or something. Now, at 35 weeks she's measuring 6lbs. Oh, and she's still a girl. I had them check just ONE more time to make sure, since everythng I read about PUPPs rash says it happens mostly with boy pregnancies and they think that boy DNA has something to do with it...


I'm pretty confused as to what's going on at this point. Doc hasn't mentioned anything about keeping the induction or not. Obviously I want her to be ready and don't want to take her before she's ready, but I cannot even fathom going another five plus weeks at this point! I will die, I'm sure (okay a little dramatic, just kidding). And plus, I already bought her a cute little Christmas outfit and was REALLY looking forward to introducing her at the annual Christmas Eve party... Plus Husband's working out of town, and I want to get rid of this rash. Totally selfish reasons, I know. So, I have another appointment next week, which starts my weekly appointments. I'm just really hoping she comes on her own at about 38 weeks. Wishful thinking, huh? So please Cailin, be good for mommy and do me a favor and get yourself nice and cooked up and healthy and come around 38 weeks, kay? Mommy and Daddy REALLY want to meet you. We love SOOO much already, and we know that will only grow when we see your pretty face for the first time. :)


How you're feeling: The rash has actually gotten a teeny tiny bit better. I mean, I really didn't want to say that out loud because that means it'll flare up, right? I actually do have a couple new stretch marks which means new rash. I've been feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis lately. Some days it's really painful.


How far along? 35 wks

Total Weight Gain?  35lbs total

Maternity Clothes? um... the maternity clothes are actually getting too small at this point. I now have to wear long maternity tank tops underneath my shirts so my belly doesn't hang out the bottom. Oy.

Stretch Marks? yep. and some new ones.

Sleep?:::knock on wood:::: but it's gotten a little bit better since my rash has gotten better. I sleep for two hours straight now instead of one. Yipee!



Best Moment This Week? It's always great when I get to see my princess on the ultrasound. And knowing she's not huge is good.

Movement? she doesn't have much room in there to move anymore. So I still feel her but she's not doing a whole lot of kicking these days.

Food Cravings? nothing in paticular, I just can't seem to ever get full.

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? Nada

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in. <--- same.

What I Miss? not walking like a duck. I remember when I could move my hips when I walk. Yeah, can't do that anymore with a 6pounder in between them!

What I Am Looking Forward To? Thanksgiving!

Milestones?35/35

I'm baaack!

I was on a haitis last week because I was working from the office. I usually work from home, which gives me much more time and freedom to blog. But I'm back now. I know, you missed me!

Day 21-Picture of yourself

This is like 2 years old, but it's one of my favorites. My makeup and hair looks cute, and I don't have a double chin. 

Day 22-Favorite city

Definitely San Diego. It's beautiful. I love the ocean, and the weather is always perfect. 

Nursery Progress - Need your input

Nursery is coming a long great! We have all of our furniture, bedding, etc. At this point we just need to get the chair rail, new (or paint existing) baseboards, curtains and a few other decorative items.

First off, let me show you my inspiration.

First we were planning on doing vertical stripes on the top of the walls with a chair rail, then solid chocolate brown on the bottom. We did a sample, and I just wasn't feeling it. It was just too busy for me. I came across this picture (sorry I cannot remember where I found it), and loved the soft colors with the horizontal stripes on the one wall, with the chair rail. We decided to do something similar.


We went with soft pinks instead of gray (even though I love the gray/pink combo). I also knew from the beginning if we were having a girl I wanted white furniture. Here's what we have so far. Again, it's not the final reveal.

Here's where I need your help. I feel like there's starting to be too many polka dots. I was planning on sewing curtains. I was going to do a solid brown then a polka dotted boarder. Do you think it would be too many polka dots if I did that? Or should I just go with a solid color? And if I did brown, would there be too much brown? We have the brown (and polka dot) bedding, brown shag rug, brown (polka dotted) changing pad,  the pink and brown (polka dotted) canvas bins, and are getting a brown glider.  I feel like I'm over-doing the polka dots here. What do you think? HELP! 

Crib wall and stripes. I am not a fan of bedding sets for babies. I don't like all the cartoon looking prints (you know like animals, teddy bears etc). I think they're cute, just not what I wanted. I actually found this simple bed set at Target on clearance marked down from $65 to $16! I had to swoop it up. It's just a 3 piece bed set. Blanket, bumper and sheet. Although I replaced the sheet with a solid pink sheet. The other sheet was white and it had different colored brown polka dots. Oh and the other side of the bumper and blanket have stripes.

We knew that the changing dresser wouldn't  be enough storage, so we made a trip to IKEA. I love this dresser. It's sitting in the closet for extra storage.

 We also purchased the floating wall shelves (2 of them. the other will go above the changing dresser which hasn't been installed yet), and this box  thingy. Husband's original idea was to hang it, but it was way more bulky than we thought, so it's there on the floor for organization.

 Finally got the changing dresser!

 Stupid wooden monkey. I hate it, but Husband just HAD to have it. We're going to hang it above the changing table. It's the only thing that Husband REALLY wanted, so I let him have it, even though I hate it.

30 Day Blog Challenge: 19 & 20

Day 19-Something you miss

Hmm... I'm trying to think of something non pregnancy related, because no one wants to hear me complain about that anymore. haha

I really can't think of anything. I am one of those people who enjoy and embrace change.

Day 20-Nicknames

Ambie
Wife
Princess (my dad calls me that... still)
Muffin (my friend Jana calls me that)
Ambie Bambie

30 Day Blog Challenge: 18

Day 18-Something you regret

Ooh another easy one!
The thing I regret most in life is being a beauty school dropout. :(

Beauty school is actually pretty grueling. I mean, it's easy and fun and all, but it's so time consuming. Part time hours consist of Monday through Friday evenings 5-10pm. And it'll take you almost 2 years to complete (they go by hours. I believe you need 1600 hours total to graduate). When you work full time this is not an easy task. So my day basically started at 6:30AM, I'd get to work at 8AM, only a half hour lunch break so I can leave by 4:30 to get to school by 5:00. I got burnt out quick. And not only that, but at the time (this was like 5 or 6 years ago) I had a really bad roomate situation. So not only was i tired because of my schedule, but i wasn't getting any sleep at night because of the roommate situation. I mean, real school isn't even that bad! You go a few days a week and have options on doing it online. Beauty school is either full time (8-5 mon-fri) or part time, which i mentioned above.

I know, I'm making excuses... I should've just delt with it. What I did, was take a break. I swore to all that's holy I was returning in 2 months.... yeah. It's been like i said 5 or 6 years. I don't see myself returning at this point unless I don't have to work full time (especially after making babies), and i'll never be able to not work or only work part time, because we can't afford it. I should've gone back like I planned way back when. Oh wellsies!

30 Day Blog Challenge: 17

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Well this is a big fat DUH! The only thing I'm looking forward to right now is having a sweet baby girl! I'm super anxious for that day to get here. I'm READY! I'm ready to never sleep again, or leave the house without getting a kid ready. I'm ready to change diapers, get spit up on, and just everything else that comes with being a mom. :)

33 Weeks

How you're feeling: Miserable. PUPPP rash is getting worse. It's now covering my whole body. The only way I can sleep is with ice packs. It's so frustrating.


How far along? 33 wks

Total Weight Gain?  It's starting to slow down! only 1 pound the past two weeks! So i'm up total of 33lbs now. :/

Maternity Clothes? yep

Stretch Marks? my belleh is MESSED up. especially since the rash makes them look 10 times worse.

Sleep? here's my sleep schedule:
9PM: scrub the body down with Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, get a couple bags of ice, place on itchiest parts of body and go to bed.
11PM: Wake up to pee. Itch itch itch... scratch scratch scratch. Rub myself down with cortisone cream.
1AM: wake up to pee. Let Lily out to pee. itch itch itch... scratch scratch scratch. apply more cream, get new ice packs. Oh great. Now I'm so fucking itchy that I can't stop scratching and I can't go back to sleep. Aaaah!!
2:30AM: still awake because of the itching. Seriously  going crazy. Go wash myself with Gpa's Pine Tar Soap again, and lay back down. Turn on the TV to distract me from thinking about how bad I itch.
3AM: finally fall back asleep.
6AM: wake up to pee. Itch itch itch... scratch scratch scratch. Apply cream and change ice packs.
7:45: Alarm goes off, push snooze, but I start itching so I give up and get out of bed for the day.



Best Moment This Week?can't say anything that great has happened.

Movement? Less kicks, more rolling and wiggling. She's actually pretty chill. Hope she stays that way!

Food Cravings? nothing in paticular, I just can't seem to ever get full.

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? Nada

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in.

What I Miss? Not itching non stop.

What I Am Looking Forward To? Getting this baby out so I can stop itching.

Milestones? Can't say that there's been any lately.

Day 15-Bible verse

Uh... I've never read the bible.... skip!


Day 16-Dream house

Reality: I'm a very simple person. I love the older homes here in AZ. I don't like the new "cookie cutter" houses. They're too close together, no yard, and all look the same. I/WE would love an older home on some land. Ok, so HUSBAND would like an older home on land. I actually really love our house and our neighborhood.  If we only had the money to finish remodeling. A new kitchen is a must have. Mine is a super small, fugly, outdated galley and I HATE it. Also, our master bathroom needs to be gutted as well as the backyard, complete with a new pool deck, landscape the front yard, paint the exterior... okay so if we could win the lottery and do everything we needed to do to our house it'd be perfect for us.

Fantasy:
A beach house. It's my unrealistic dream of living RIGHT on the boardwalk. Somewhere like San Diego. Keep dreaming.

30 Day Blog Challenge: 13 & 14

Day 13-Goals
Hmm... well I did have that 101 in 1001 list... what happened to that? haha!

* Have a happy healthy baby.
* Exclusively breastfeed for a year.
* Lose at least 50lbs.

Day 14-A picture you love
Gizzy trying on one of Cailin's hats. I love picking on him. He just takes it. He's so damn cute.  And you can see the mess from when Husband was painting the nursery behind him.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 12

Day 12-What you believe

Hmmm... this is a hard one. Are we talking about religion? Just in general? 

* I believe in God.
* I do NOT believe in organized religion.
* I believe in soul mates. That there is one person on this earth that was put there just for you. Weather or not you find that person is a different thing. I believe I found my soul mate. <3 awww.
* I believe that pets are indeed family.
* I believe money buys happiness, MOST of the time anyway. Because seriously, if we were rich I'd be a MUCH happier person. Money makes the world go round. It sucks, but that's how it is.
* I believe sex is important in a relationship/marriage.


That's all I can think of...

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

Wow. Well, I am a TV junkie. I don't know what I'd do without cable. Here are my top favorite shows.

True Blood
So You Think You Can Dance
Vampire Diaries
Chelsey Lately
South Park
I Survived (Have you ever seen this show? It's insane. Stories of people that survived the craziest situations)

Hmmm... I'm sure there's more. I channel surf TLC, E!, Food Network, Travel Channel ( I like Man Vs. Food and Bizarre Foods w/Andrew Zimmerman), Style Channel (Jerseylicious!), and Comedy Central.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 10

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Bugs. Ew. Any kind of bugs. It's my phobia. I even hate butterflies and lady bugs. Gross. Cockroaches are the worst. If a bug flies by me I scream bloody murder, toss everything that's in my hands and run. It's like an automatic response that I can't control. I can't tell you how many Starbucks drinks I've lost. Husband says he's scared I'm going to throw our baby and run. I need to get a handle on this. It's really not something I think about till afterwards, when everyone is laughing and staring at me like a crazy woman. Although I highly doubt I'd throw our daughter. I'll probably hug her closer to me to protect her from that fly/butterfly/bee/moth/whatnot.

I'm Over It.

I'm so over it. Pregnancy that is. I have been pregnant for over a year, off and on, and I am done. Literally, October 25th 2009 is when I found out I was pregnant the first time. Then I wasn't pregnant for most of November. Then I was pregnant again in December, and then I had a break from January to April after the D&C. So yeah. I think I deserve to be over it.

*My back hurts after standing or walking for more than 5 minutes at a time.
*I am miserable from PUPPP rash (a pregnancy rash that 1% of pregnant women can get. I'm just THAT lucky!) I itch constantly. It sucks balls. The only thing I have found to give me some relief is washing it with Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, which smells like ass. Honestly, if it wasn't for the rash, I would probably still be okay with being pregnant.
*I'm sick of worrying every time she doesn't move for a small period of time. OMG is she still alive? Is she okay? I know it's a little dramatic, but after what I've gone through, all I want to know is that she's healthy and okay. I just don't think that's going to happen until I have her in my arms.
*I'm SUPER anxious to meet my baby girl. I just want to hold my baby in my arms. I want to know what she looks like. Does she have my eyes? Is she blonde or brunette, or bald? Does she have full lips like Daddy?
*My husband won't have sex with me. He's scared he's going to put me into preterm labor and just freaked out with the whole idea knowing that our child is in there. And although he won't admit it, I know my pregnancy body is gross and probably does not turn him on. Oh well, in a couple more weeks it's actually doctor's orders (to ripen my cervix before induction)!  haha!
* I can't take a shit like a normal person. It hurts like hell, and let's just say I am now a pro with a plunger.
* I'm swollen and my legs and hands cramp up.
* I cannot.stop.sweating! Seriously, It's disgusting. I have to put a towel on my chair while I work (thank goodness I work from home) because my chair will be soaked with ass sweat in a matter of an hour. Any time I'm up and running around I am sweating balls. It was embarrassing the amount of armpit sweat I had going on at my shower. Thank God it's cooling off here in AZ finally! ... but I'm still sweating away!


So yeah. Pity party for two(the second being Cailin. She wants to come out too. She told me so.)... Sorry, but up until now I have not complained at all about this pregnancy. Even in my first trimester when I felt nauseous all day. I have felt lucky for every ache and pain, and took it all as a good sign, and I still do, but now it's just all those things together and like I said the PUPPP rash is slowly.driving me.insane! It's all over my belly, the worst on my stretch marks. And it's turned my stretch marks into these hideous looking things. They're all welted and scarred now. and I think I feel it spreading to my arms, legs and hips. Awesome. And don't get me wrong, I am no way shape or form wishing for her to come early either.

Anyhooters... Now that you know how miserable I am and listened to that big ol' long complaint...

How far along? 32 Weeks

Total Weight Gain?  I'd rather not know anymore. :(

Maternity Clothes? yep

Stretch Marks? see above.

Sleep? Up every two hours to pee, then wake up for like 3 hours at a time just WIDE awake. It's cool though i need to get my ass used to not sleeping. When I am sleeping though I'm sleeping good.

Best Moment This Week? Getting nursery put together. We're like 90% done!

Movement? Feeling less movement these days since she's getting so big. More wiggling and changing positions than kicks. I love watching my belly dance though! Oh, and she gets hiccups all the time which is a funny feeling. :)

Food Cravings? nothing in paticular, I just can't seem to ever get full.

Gender? GIRL!!!!

Labor signs? None, which is good. I still haven't even felt Braxton Hicks.

Belly Button? half in half out. Top is out, bottom is in.

What I Miss? Being able to stand up without help

What I Am Looking Forward To? labor... ? Well you know, not labor itself, but the whole "I get a baby for all that" thing. 6 weeks till induction!

Milestones? hmmm baby shower?

Baby Shower

Last weekend (Oct 24th) I had my baby shower. It was Amazing, fabulous, excellent, anything that describes awesome. I was floored by not only the amount of people that showed up, but the amount of gifts we received! Words can't even describe how greatful I am for my great family and friends.

My sister and BFF dayna put together a Halloween themed shower for me and it turned out perfect!

Here are the pics.

 The latte girls!

 Remember this post? Lisa got it for me! Thanks Lisa!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8 and 9

I'm doubling up today.

Day 8-A place you've traveled to
and
Day 9-A picture of your friends

A Place you traveled to. Here are my favorites. Sedona, AZ. My favorite place in AZ. We visit a few times a year, even if it's just a day trip up to Oak Creek. 

 

And Seattle. We visited my sister-in-law and family last summer and it was so awesome. I want to live here.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

I have a few different groups of friends.

First off, my BFF's. In this picture we have Me, Tonya (who i've been BFF with since 7th grade), Dayna (BFF since 2nd grade), Nora which is really not one of my friends, so we can count her out, and Jana, who i've really became close with the past three or four years.

Then we have some girls who were Husband's friends growing up that are now more of my friends. Or Husband's friends wives. 

This is Me (making the stupid kissy face like usual. i think it makes my face look skinnier haha), Melissa, Jenna and her sister Karly.

 

Then we have a very special group of girls which are the Latte girls. We all met when we were planning our weddings on Theknot.com several years ago! Here we have Jenni, Katie, Kirstin, LisaP, Me looking awful, Mya, Kim, Jaye and LisaA.