Lil Foot

This weekend Andrew was able to feel Tadpole’s little foot! It’s the first time that Tadpole was moving around with Andrew’s hand on my baby bump when he or I were able to tell exactly what part of her body he was feeling. Since she’s been head down I’ve been able to feel where the top of her head is and then have Andrew feel it, but besides that, this lil foot was the first body part that we could identify together while she moved around. She seems to basically wiggle and giggle her whole body when she’s moving around, so it makes it hard to guess exactly what part is making the little “waves” in my baby bump.

I believe Tadpole has been contemplating dropping the last couple days. This means Tadpole has been contemplating settling deeper in my pelvic area, which makes it so my diaphragm has more space so breathing is easier (a baby dropping is also called lightening since the pressure on your diaphragm is lifted – though you get more pressure on your pelvic area obviously and your bladder too). She hasn’t fully dropped. I believe Tadpole has been doing what is referred to as “floating.” This means she goes into position and then back up out of the pelvic area. Or at least this is what I think it feels like. I’m sure Doc. S can give me a good answer as to what Tadpole is doing when I see him for my appointment on Thursday. Who knows, maybe by then she’ll have dropped. Oh, and this usually happens anywhere from a few weeks to only a couple days before labor begins.And right now, we're about 5 weeks away from her due date.

Other on goings this weekend is Andrew and I went apartment hunting again. As I mentioned in my previous blog about our crib, Andrew announced that we need to look for a two bedroom apartment. We were looking at one and two bedroom apartments. Sadly this weekend’s hunt wasn’t that fruitful, but we did get a lot done. Even though that means we crossed a lot of places off our list. Heck, we didn’t even go into half the places we planned to look at this weekend. We drove past many of them and decided to continue on our merry way. We only really kept one on our list from this weekend’s hunt. So right now, out of the places we have looked at, three have been labeled as “favorites,” and it is clear which one we like the most. But we still have many places to check out, and it’s too early to know if there will be openings when we need there to be openings. So! We’ll keep praying about it, and keep our options open!

Don't forget to vote on when you think Tadpole will be born! The poll is located on your right near the top of the blog. Happy voting!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone! Hope you all wore a bit of green yesterday to avoid being pinched. And for those of you who celebrate St. Patty’s Day, I hope you had fun. We had a bit of fun around here. Tadpole was very active yesterday, including a case of hiccups. She’s getting a bit too big now to really kick or punch hard, but she has been nudging me like crazy. It’s as if she’s rocking herself back and forth to get comfortable in the womb. Sometimes I think she’s rubbing her feet together; something I do to either warm them up, calm myself down, or make myself more comfortable. I wonder if she’s doing it for any of the same reasons. The feeling of her having the hiccups is odd, interesting, and entertaining all in one. I don’t think I can describe the sensation to you. Tadpole, to my knowledge, has only had hiccups twice, causing her to bounce rhythmically inside the womb. But they’ve been short lived, so I haven’t been able to figure out how to describe the sensation.

I look forward to St. Patty’s Day next year when lil Tadpole will be out the womb to celebrate with us. Of course I’ll make sure she’s decked out in green, and gets tons of kisses since she is ¼ Irish (she’s also 3/8 Swedish and 3/8 German). It will be even more fun when she’s able to eat the Irish meal I always make on St. Patty’s Day: Corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and red potatoes. Check out our yummy dinner! I actually just ate some more of it for lunch. It’s just so tasty!

One thing I want to be able to do for Tadpole, and any other child who might be in our future, is to be able to make yummy and cute cakes for them on their birthday and for special occasions. Nothing spectacular or over the top, but simple and cute. So to practice I made dessert for Andrew and I to share! I made a yellow cake, and then turned it green for St. Patty’s Day. We only had chocolate frosting at home, so I used that, and then used a small tube of green frosting and some mint chips to decorate. It is a very delicious cake.

After dinner we went to the mall to walk around. Or at least that was our plan. Our little excursion turned into bra hunting. Guys, you might not want to read on, but ladies who either just got pregnant or hope to be some day, you might find this interesting. Guys, I’ll put some *** up when the topic changes.

So ladies, you might have heard that your breasts change size once you get pregnant. For some women they change a lot during pregnancy, and others they only go up a cup size. During my 2^nd trimester I had to go bra hunting because my cup size had changed. Now those bras are super tight and uncomfortable, so I knew I needed to go bra hunting again. I debated getting normal bras at this point or nursing bras, since I have no idea if my breasts will get larger these last couple weeks, or if they’ll grow a significant amount once milk comes in for Tadpole. I decided to go ahead and buy some nursing bras, thinking “hey, if they turn out to be the size I need once Tadpole’s here, great! If not, well they support me the way I need to be supported now, so they’ll work just fine.”

We first went to JC Penny’s to see what they carry. Sadly they only had one bra in the size I need to be wearing now. They have more in my size ordered, but they’re back ordered until April 20^th. This would be fine if I just needed them for nursing, but as I said, I need bras that fit now. So we went to the Motherhood Maternity store, which had a wider selection of bras. I was given great help and advice from one of the ladies working there. She helped me select some bras to try on and off I went to the changing room (Andrew was surprised at how many different bras I took back with me. I explained that each one is a different style or made of different material, so you kind of want to try them all on even though this takes a while).

Since I’m hoping I can use these as my actual nursing bras, though totally prepared to have to buy a different size after Tadpole is born if need be, I made sure when I tried them on that they’re comfortable, supportive, not too tight around (don’t wanna clog up your milk ducts!), and that a nursing pad would fit in (don’t want anything to leak through either!). I ended up picking a bra that is one cup size, and one rib size larger than what I was wearing (so from my pre-pregnancy size, I went up 2 cup sizes and one size around). Woot! I finally don’t feel smashed anymore! Such a relief!

One super helpful thing the worker told me is that because many women’s breasts become engorged with milk the first couple weeks after your baby is born, your bras might not fit. BUT to wait to buy a lot more, and suggested buying one or two in your engorged size if need be, and that after a few weeks, most women shrink down a bit once the amount of milk their breasts produce evens out. Then, once you’ve passed the engorgement stage (which hopefully won’t last longer than a few weeks), try your nursing bras on again to see how they fit. If they aren’t supportive or comfortable, then go and buy some more. I learned a lot from our little bra hunting outing. And they were having a sale! So I got one sleeping nursing bra for free! It’s suggested you buy a couple sleeping nursing bras since your breasts will become more full due to the milk, and thus heavy and in need of possible support even when laying down.

***Alright guys, you can read again! 

After shopping Andrew and I came home to eat our cake before heading off to bed. Last night turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable nights of sleep for me. First thing is that I’ve been super hot the last couple nights! This is due to being pregnant and Tadpole helping my body produces more heat. It is also because we think we have a new neighbor who lives under us who likes to have their heater turned on high. This is great for our bill since we haven’t had to turn our heater on in a while, but it makes our apartment hot at night, but not hot enough to really have to window open to the cold stormy wind.

Second, my hips had been hurting due to the extra weight from Tadpole when I sleep on my sides, and the fact that all my joints are loosening up to prepare for giving birth. Third, my back was hurting from the extra weight from Tadpole and because I was on my feet a lot the last two days. These three things made it very difficult to become comfortable enough to sleep soundly and I know it is most likely to just continue. This calls for more relaxing warm baths! And more relaxing massages from Andrew! Those two things are always an up.

Hope you all had a great St. Patty’s Day! 

Yesterday was also my mother-in-law’s birthday. So…

Happy Birthday, Karlyn!!!

The Crib and Stroller!

Andrew decided to boost my morale (from being sick for so long) this weekend by asking if I wanted us to put Tadpole’s crib and stroller together to see how it all looks. If you remember from a previous post, my friend Sarah gave us her crib for free about two month ago. It’s in great condition, and the style and color is what I really wanted for Tadpole’s crib. There was a bit of paint that had been worn off from use and being moved a few times, so my Aunt Janet graciously spruced it up and refinished it. It looks brand new! And we just got it back from Janet last weekend. We’ve had the pieces just kind of sitting around trying to figure out if we should put it together or wait until we know where we’ll be moving.

Well, my aunt Lisa blessed us with Tadpole’s crib bed set at the family baby shower two Sundays ago. So that made it so we had all the rest of the necessities to deck Tadpole’s crib out with. Plus, in the past month, my mom bought us the infant car seat we wanted, and Andrew’s folks bought the stroller frame that goes with it!

Basically we’ve had all the parts of a wonderful recipe to put together, and I think Andrew knows I wanted to see them all pieced together. So since I’ve been feeling crummy and down for the past couple weeks he decided to lift my spirits by putting it all together.

I didn’t have enough energy to help him piece the crib together, but Hoshi and I sat and watched as Andrew figured out what little screw went where and what order to put the whole thing together in. Hoshi decided to really check out what Andrew was up to. She was very curious and we were curious as to how she’d react to the crib.

Andrew putting the crib together

Hoshi started to get interested and wanted to check it out

Hoshi under the crib

After the crib was all put together, we took out the crib bedding (yes it still needs to be washed and tags need to be removed – I’m doing that today) and together made Tadpole’s bed. For making the photos more interesting, we added one of Tadpole’s quilts, her monkey key-chewer, her rattle frog, and of course Blueberry the puppy decked out in Tadpole’s frog hat, sunglasses, and wrist rattles. We also put the Baby sign from the family baby shower up on the wall. 

Tadpole's crib!!!

Blueberry decked out in Tadpole's things, sitting next to Tadpole's rattle frog

Then, Andrew got out Tadpole’s car seat and stroller frame. He put it all together and then we put Minnie Mouse in the car seat and put on a few dangle toys for authenticity. And of course we put her diaper bag in the bottom carrier too. 

Tadpole's stroller and car seat!

Ta-da! It’s all put together! It was so exciting to put it all together for our little girl; to see where she’ll be sleeping and what she’ll be getting around in. Putting it all together was definitely a morale booster for me. Andrew and I were grinning after the project was complete, talking about Tadpole and getting her in and out of her crib, and pushing her around in her stroller. It was really fun! And I think we both can’t wait for Tadpole to use her crib and stroller. ^_^

Ta-Da!!!

At the moment, Hoshi has decided she does not care for the stroller since it has wheels and moves. The crib however doesn’t seem to bother her much. So far she has only show interest in sniffing it and going under it. We’re keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t try to nibble the bumper ties, or try to get into the crib. Although Hoshi has never liked jumping into high places, especially when she can’t really see where she’ll be landing, so I don’t think she will try to get into the crib. We’re fine with her checking it out and going under it as much as she wants though. 

*sniff sniff sniff*

And under she goes!

Hoshi happy and content under the crib

Also, once the crib and stroller were put together, Andrew officially declared that we need to find a two bedroom apartment to move into! Whoohoo! We’ve been looking at two bedroom apartments, and looking at our budget to see how we can get it to work with their price ranges. We know God will guide us to the perfect place to live with little Tadpole that will provide for our needs. We’ll just have to wait and see what that place is, and pray it’s a two bedroom apartment. For these last two and a half months before our lease is up, we shall enjoy the one bedroom apartment God has provided for us that is bursting with baby things! We’re getting very creative with where to put things now, and I’ve been debating starting to pack up our apartment. 


*** Don't forget to take a quick moment to make your best guess on when you think Tadpole will be born. The poll is located on your right near the top of the blog***

Doctors. Doctors. Doctors!

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that I have been fighting a cold. It started as a sore throat two Sundays ago, and then turned into a cough. That cough turned into a horrible cough that was bringing up mucus… And then this last Tuesday, the Tuesday that marked our 50 day count, my right ear plugged up and didn’t clear. In a four hour period it went from being clogged up, to being clogged up and painful! I called Doc S (my OBGYN) and Doc T (my primary doctor) to let them know what was going on and ask what I should do. I have never had an ear infection before. Or if I did I was very young and don’t remember it at all. But to my recollection, this is my first ear infection.

I called Andrew in tears from the pain letting him know what was going on and asking if he could come home. Thankfully within about 15 minutes of me calling, he was able to leave the office and head home. We were hoping we’d be able to get in to see a doctor. At this point in time my balance was starting to be off and my head was starting to feel really foggy, so I didn’t trust myself to drive. Thus I was extremely happy Andrew could make it home, and that Doc T stayed late in his office so he could check out my ear.

Doc T took one quick look at my ear and said “wow! You could take a picture of this and put it in a text book. It looks like it’s about to pop.” He went on to explain that my ear had a 50/50 chance of popping on its own from the pressure build up. He prescribed an antibiotic and also an ear drop that would basically help to numb my ear so I would have less pain. He told me if my ear did pop it would hurt probably about 10 times worse than what I was currently feeling for about a minute, and then I would feel relief. And to not use the ear drop after my ear popped. Wouldn’t want that to go into an opened wound!

It turns out pressure was continuing to build, and during the night my ear popped and released some of the gunk that was behind my ear drum. Unfortunately it did not all drain out. The pain is gone, but I still can’t hear out of my right ear, my balance is still off and it feels like I have a fish bowl over my ear.

So, today after my OBGYN appointment (don’t worry I’ll get to that!), we went to see Doc Y for my ear. She was really nice. I started off with a hearing test so they could tell if my ear drum was damaged at all. Sure I can’t hear out of my right ear that well right now, but my ear drum seems to not be effected and there shouldn’t be any long term effects. Yay!!!

Basically Doc Y told me that the tube that leads from my ear to my nose throat area (the Eustachian tube) is clogged up and needs to be unclogged. So I get to do another round of the antibiotic, plus a nasal spray, and to continue to use my neti pot. I have another appointment with her in two weeks to see how my ear is. Hopefully it will be unclogged, my balance will be back, and my hearing will be back way before then!

On top of those doctor visits, I had my regular OBGYN check-up with Doc S this morning as well. We’re making sure Doc S stays in the loop on what I’m taking for my cold and all that so we know that it’s safe to do while preggers and safe for Tadpole. He okayed it all and hopped I’d be feeling better soon.  His only concern was with my weight. I’ve been at the same mark for over a month now, and I’m supposed to be gaining a little weight each week. Of course being sick has made me loose my appetite, so he completely understands that. My weight staying the same isn’t horrible, but it would be nice to make sure I’m getting enough in me for both Tadpole and I.

As for Tadpole, she seems to be doing quite well. Her little heart was recorded at 144bpm, and this time she didn’t kick him while he was getting her heart rate. And my uterus growth is right where it should be for being at about the half way point of week 33. And if you remember from the little lesson I gave 2 weeks ago, this means my uterus is measuring at 33.5 centimeters. For those of you who guessed that, you get a gold star!

My blood sugar test came back, and it looks good. I don’t have to drink the nasty tasting sugar water! Whoohoo! I still think it’s funny that my blood sugar count is in the “low” range when I love cookies and sugar so much. I guess my body just processes it really well. ^_^Doc S also said that it feels like Tadpole is in a head down position still. And I hope she stays that way!

Doc S also asked if I was experiencing any contractions. I said yes, but that they don’t happen that often at all. Like maybe 1-3 a week for the past 3 weeks. And they only feel like very very very mild cramps. Just enough to notice them. For those of you who just grew concerned, don’t worry! It’s completely normal to experience Braxton hick’s contractions (not real labor contractions) during pregnancy. A woman’s uterus contracts so her body can “practice” and prepare for labor. If you’re interested, you can read more about them here.

I’ll be seeing Doc S again in another two weeks! Then I believe we change to having an appointment every week. 

Don't forget to vote in the poll when you think Tadpole will be born! It's all a matter of luck because none of us can truly know for sure when she'll enter the world. So have fun and make a guess. ^_~

Wow! 50 Already????

It’s hard to believe that today marks our 50 day countdown to Tadpole’s due date! I feel like I just wrote the entry for the 100 day mark.

I was trying to think of something special to do for this entry, and two things came to mind. The first thing is to create a poll. You see, I have found that people are already trying to guess if Tadpole is going to come early or late. If you look to the right of this blog, above the due date counter you will see a poll that asks “When do you think Tadpole will be born?” There are quite a few options, so read it carefully before making you decision. Have fun guessing!

My second idea is to ask all you lovely readers to give me a bit of advice on two things:

1) What should I make sure I bring to the hospital with me?

2) What should I make sure I have at home after delivery that people don’t typically think of (or aren’t told about or warned of for the first pregnancy)?

You can leave your message in a comment, or if you have my e-mail feel free to e-mail me your answers if you don’t wish to leave a comment for all to see. ^_^

Wow! 50 days and counting to Tadpole’s due date! I don’t think it has really sunk in yet.

Washington Family Baby Shower

Yesterday was Tadpole’s Washington family baby shower! My cousin Kelli hosted it for us, and many of the women and young ladies in my family were able to make it. It was such a fun time and I am so happy my cold subsided enough to be able to make it and not have to cancel. That would have really sucked.

Andrew dropped me (or should I say “us”?) off at the shower, which Kelli had decorated with cute little jungle animals. I loved that one of the main animal characters was a tiger. ^_^ It was really cute. She had a baby sign up that she let me take home. I’d like to put it on Tadpole’s wall if we move into a place where she has her own room. 

I was able to see my Aunt Karen for a bit who built this wonderful Diaper Cake, before she had to leave due to her getting over a cold and not wanting to expose me and everyone else to it. Check out all the baby things she put on the cake. She made all the bibs and the bonnet. You can't see it in the picture, but she even made a Superman bib. Yeah, my aunt knows I like comics. ^_^

Kelli had planned three games for us to play. For the first game, everyone had to guess how many cotton balls were in baby bottle piggy bank. My guess was 72. The actual amount was 81. I guessed closest though, so I won! Whoohoo!

The second game had to do with baby food! Kelli had 9 containers of unlabeled baby food. Everyone had to do their best to try and guess what kind of food was in each container. The only hint we were given was that each container of baby food was only a single item, and that it was a vegetable or a fruit. So we didn’t have to worry about it being “chicken mango risotto,” “plum banana brown rice,” or “tender beef spinach.”  I was able to guess 4 out of the 9 (I got peas, green beans, apples, and pears correct). My Aunt Gail and niece Katie tied with guessing 7 of the 9! Gail graciously let Katie take the winning.

For the last game, everyone was given a paper plate to put on their head. They then had to draw a baby (at any age, and in any position) without looking. This is similar to the drawing game at Tadpole’s first shower, but this time the baby didn’t have to be in a womb, and I was the only one picking which drawing I thought was best. There were some that were really funny. Some that were totally abstract, but you could see the baby in the art work. It was hard to decided, but in the end I picked my Aunt Janet’s drawing. I was very impressed with the hair she drew, and that it was all actually on the head.

After the games we took a little break to fill up our plates with some yummy snacks. And then the gift opening began. Tadpole was blessed with a wide variety of types of clothes, music and some toys. And! We are looking forward to receiving her crib bed set in the mail later this week! It was fun to open all the gifts from those who will be Tadpole’s family, and thinking about who they will be to her (aunt, cousin, great aunt, great grandma). Tadpole indeed has a very loving family who is awaiting her arrival. 

The shower ended with dessert: homemade chocolate chip cookies that you could make into ice cream sandwiches! Kelli had the choice of “real” ice cream, and non-dairy ice cream for everyone. It was so good! I love how each shower so far has featured a dessert having to do with chocolate chip cookies, but all done completely differently. 

Thank you so much, Kelli, for throwing the baby shower for Tadpole! And thank you ladies for blessing the next addition to our wonderful family! It was so great to be able to celebrate Tadpole with you all! I love each and every one of you (and of course this includes those who weren’t able to make it). 

**After Andrew and I got home from the shower, I showed him what each people gave us at the shower. We played music from a compliment that my cousin Joel gave us while we looked at each gift. Andrew got so excited (it was so cute!)! So excited in fact that he pressed down on my baby bump a bit too hard for the way Tadpole happened to be position at the time, that it hurt. He of course immediately apologized and asked if I was okay. I told him yes, but to remember to be a bit gentler. Andrew then said one of the cutest things ever during my pregnancy:

“But I just want to hold her! And see her dancing around in her cute little clothes!”

February’s Bump and Tadpole’s on Goings

It’s March already??? Gosh, time sure seems to be flying by! It’s already time for another monthly picture. But before that, I thought I’d list off a few on goings with Tadpole.

• I have had the pleasure of “tickling” my daughter’s foot. Well, as close to actually tickling it as I can get while she’s in the womb. Tadpole was having fun kicking up towards my ribs during bible study last week, and I was trying to direct her kicks elsewhere (it sort of works sometimes). While doing this I was able to feel along the side of one of her feet as she pushed outward. She retracted her foot a bit and then kicked out again so I was able to feel along her tiny little foot again. It was so cool! I started laughing with pure delight in the middle of bible study. I of course apologized and explained what happened. The ladies at study all “awed.” Heheh

• Also during bible study, Tadpole literally kicked a burp out of me! She kicked upward really hard with what felt like both her feet and then I burped. So random!

• Tadpole is helping my body show more evidence that I am indeed in the midst of the third trimester. How you ask, besides my bump getting bigger? Well, she loves to cuddle and dance at night when her mommy is trying to sleep. This results in two things occurring: 1) It’s hard to get comfortable to sleep and 2) I have to pee every two hours it seems because of her dancing on my bladder.

• All of Tadpole’s dancing and kicking is developing her muscles tone. Andrew is hoping this means she’ll have a strong little core that will help her hold her own head sooner rather than later, and begin to use her limbs for large motor skills. I think he also secretly hopes this means she’ll be a strong swimmer.

• I have developed my third cold during pregnancy. My throat is sore, my glands in my neck are swollen, my throat and ears feel stuff, my neck hurts and feels stiff, and my head occasionally hurts. Looking on the bright side of things, I don’t have a fever, and I don’t feel as bad as I did the last two times. I’m hoping it will only last a few days. Tadpole doesn’t seem to be affected by it, which is good. The energy I’m not using to grow her, I’m using to make sure I get better fast!

• Tadpole has been growing! And I am sure you want to see February’s end of the month baby bump pic. So here it is! 

February Baby Bump

And yes, if you didn't guess from all the recent entries, I like pictures and I like to share pictures.