Showered with Love

Oh my goodness - I just had the best baby shower ever! I can't believe the turnout and how all those women fit in my little apartment. First and foremost I want to thank my amazing mother and soon to be "Grammy" for all the work she put in to make my shower so wonderful. She did a great job turning our little home into baby shower perfection. And those centerpieces were adorable!! I swear she should go into business making those.

Now I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed by the event and in a way felt I was having an out of body experience the entire day. I was so excited for the day to arrive I don't think I slept much and once it was here I think my brain went straight to mush and I was on autopilot. It was so great to see everyone and I hope I made it around to talk to all of you! And I certainly hope when I did talk to you I made sense. I have laughed at the books that talk about pregnancy brain, but I really do think it exists! I'm definitely not 100% myself right now, but hope I was able to fool you all :)

Thank you all so much for making this day very special and for all the wonderful gifts. Baby Kelly definitely made out and will certainly be a stylish little baby once she arrives! And a big thank you for enduring the heat wave, our cozy apartment and for waiting patiently as it took me over an hour to open all those gifts!

You're all the best!

Baby Kelly - 31 Weeks

Time is flying by, but also slowly creeping along. Is that possible? Just 2 more months to go and Baby Kelly will be here? OMG! We're slowing getting ready and will officially begin our cramming sessions by reading all we can in the next 2 months and starting our baby classes. Let's hope we actual retain some of that information!

So our appointments are now becoming more frequent. Next one is just 2 weeks away. This week everything still appears to be coming along just right. The bump is growng and creeping upward. I guess I'm "carrying high." Baby Kelly is measuring perfectly and her heartbeat is still strong as can be. Which is great and obvious considering her non-stop motion! This baby is on the move in my belly ALL THE TIME! I am convince she is already a hyperactive child and takes after her father! :) But, I definitely enjoy feeling her all day long - it's the most wonderful feeling, even at 2am! Apparently, she's prepping me for motherhood and all the sleepless nights in our near future.

Other than Baby Kelly doing spectacular, Hayden and I are doing great too. Life has thrown us a few curve balls lately but we're swinging our way through them and slowly figuring out how to make it through. My only comment on the things we're going through is WTF?! And that says it all.

But soon enough, our little life obstacles will mean nothing and we'll be full of joy with our Baby Kelly! Until next time...

Baby Kelly - 28 Weeks

28 weeks in and things are still moving along as they should be. Nothing too exciting to report this go around, which is great news! This month's appointment was quick and easy. Baby Kelly is growing right along as she should be measuring exactly the right size and her heart beat is still going strong and healthy. I passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors and my crazy weight gain finallly slowed down - I'm right on track in that department. I feel like this month things didn't change much and the belly is pretty much the same size as the last update. But you can judge for yourself. I'm just glad to see that the belly is growing more than the backside!!

Aside from all of the updates, I'm doing my best to stay sane and not stress during this difficult time. Hayden is constantly assuring me that everything will be fine. He is a saint I tell ya! And I know that everything will work out as it should. I just keep reminding myself that in just a few short months, our lil girl will be here and nothing else will matter! We can't wait!!

Stay tuned for next month's update and photos - I'm certain the belly will be much bigger then!

Laid Off??!!!

That's right, they laid off the pregnant lady! While this is hard to believe, it's perfectly legal because they also let go 95 other people in the company. It's a rough time and obviously very bad timing for us. The one positive thing that did happen is they are keeping me on until September 22nd, which means I get one more month of pay and benefits. This is great, but awkward to say the least. It's very hard to come into work every day knowing that I won' t have a job or benefits in a month and to work with people who made the decision to let me go. But I will say, watching these people avoid me like the plague is pretty darn hilarious!! :)

While this is going to be one of the hardest times of my life, it has the chance to also be one of the greatest as well. Not only will I now have the opportunity to find a new job that hopefully I will like, but I will have the chance to relax and rest before Baby Kelly is here and not stress about returning to work right away if I don't want to. Financially things will be tight, but we'll make it work. One day at a time is how I'm looking at it right now. Nothing much I can do to change this, so my outlook is positive and I will make the best of this experience!

Thank you to all of our family and friends for your love and support through this. It makes a world of difference to have you there and we appreciate you all immensely!

Watch Out, Here Comes the Nesting

So I think the whole nesting thing is slowing approaching and I'm fearful of what may happen! I am already an anal retentive person that has to have things just right and I hear the nesting thing can get a little out of hand. I've received a lot of hand-me-downs in the last week and I'm seriously having to talk myself out of quiting my job to run home and start cleaning and getting the baby nursery set up! I want to do it all and I want it done NOW!

The hard part is finding space in the now officially too small condo we live in. I have no clue how we're going to fit everything we need into the space we have, but I guess that organizing gene of mine will have to make things work and pull it all together. The other difficult part is coming to terms with the idea that everything may not have it's perfect place. For example...and feel free to now refer to me as the crazy pregnant nesting maniac...we currently use our 2nd bedroom as a gym/office. Well this now has to change. But how is the big question? Where will everything go? Hayden's solution: move the computer to the living room and move the exercise bike to the bedroom. And done....in HIS mind! :)

If you've been to my house (or just know me) you may notice that I like to have things just right and if they are moved an inch I can't stand it. Some say I am Monica from Friends, but I think that is a strech. Anyway, this so-called solution is keeping me up at night. How sad is that?! I literally am having panicked thoughts about how this will look and how I will live with this "change." I have to keep reminding myself that this change is for the baby and I will be just fine with things not fitting perfectly in a nice little space, but ugh, a little piece of me is dying inside! So, for those of you who do make it to my house once these changes are made, please lie to me and tell me it all looks good and fits so nicely in our house. :)

In the meantime, I will do my best to fight the urge to do everything now and to squash the panicked thoughts of an unorganized, cluttered household. Because, yes, I know, it will get worse once Baby Kelly is here. That in itself will be a whole other learning experience of patience and organizational skills!

Surviving the Family Trip

Well Baby Kelly experienced her first annual family vacation to Lake Don Pedro. For over 10 years this trip has been a regular in my family and one trip none of us want to miss. I was happy to know that being only 6 months pregnant I could still make the trip. The downfall though was just that - being 6 months pregnant!! I wasn't able to join in on all of the regular festivities: wakeboarding, skiing and of course enjoying tasty adult beverages! So needless to say, this year was a whole new experience for me. Luckily the weather was good and not too hot, I was able to get plenty of sleep and my mood was good the entire time! No one had to endure the crazy preggo woman wrath...well at least for 6 out of the 7 days. :)

Unsolicited Advice

So I've read in a few books that strangers love to 1. touch a pregnant woman's belly and 2. give advice on pregnancy and/or parenting. Apparently now that I'm large and in charge and the belly is more obvious, I've received my first piece of unsolicited advice - from a very unsuspecting older gentleman who I would never think would want to sit and chat with me for 10 minutes! Apparently he was a former lamaze coach and is very knowledgeable in this area - this from him, not me.

His advice:

1. Don't chew gum! He tells me this while I am of course chomping away at the piece in my mouth and I feel obligated to spit it out in my hand and throw it away despite enjoying it ever so much. Apparently it produces acid and disguises my hunger, keeping me from providing my little one with the nutrients she needs. He was shocked and appalled that my doctors did not tell me this right away. Interesting.

2. I'm not "eating for two" but "drinking for two." Now this gentleman was of foreign descent, so I had a hard time following what he meant by this, but I think he was telling me to lay off the food and stick to healthy beverages. But, I'm not sure if he was trying to sell me one of his fruit smoothies since I was in his shop or telling me to lay off the food because I'm bigger than I should be! Who knows.

3. Lastly, he told me to roll the balls of my feet on a ball every night to help alleviate back pain. He said it would help relieve some of the pressure that can build up as you get bigger in your pregnancy. He also advised to tell "whoever did this to me" to massage my feet. So, this one piece of advice I will listen to and tell that man called Hayden - the one who did this to me - to massage my feet every night - Mr. Smoothie-man's orders!

I have to say that as uncomfortable as this conversation was it was quite entertaining and I just had to share!