Hi-Chews you, Pikachu!

Addicted to Hi-Chews candy. YUM. While I chew on sugary delight and drool down my chin, Faye chews on my thumb and drools down my sleeve. But it keeps us both happy. And yesterday she slobber slapped me with her soggy peacock, Jacque. It seriously splashed when it made contact with my cheek. Notice said Peacock yonder left? Kind of disgusting. Also take note of Faye...she sits! Without aid from bumbo or mom. I'm so proud. 


Summer was too short, and not enough skin exposed. I bought my first one-piece suit in years and braved out in it just once. But at least I have a swimsuit now, even if it was a waste of money this year. I long for a floaty to lounge on. The closest I got this year was sitting in a kiddie pool with a slightly nervous Faye. But the view was cute, since she is an adorable little chunk with rolls you could die for. 


But I was pretty proud of myself for putting on a suit and going out in public at all. I was so worried everyone would be looking at the zebra stripes adorning my legs, but a good friend said "If a man is looking at a married woman's legs that closely, then SHAME on him and he deserves to be mortified." So I went with that attitude. 

This weekend I am throwing a baby shower, my first ever and I am totally stoked about it. Crossing fingers it all turns out well. And I'm off to make a diaper cake! 

Yoga pants.

Today I took my deflated bum to the mall and bought some yoga pants! Because nothing makes a butt look sexier than a good pair of yoga pants. But they have to fit just right, and all my old yoga pants are majorly stretched out after my 73 pound pregnancy. But since I have lost 71 pounds and barely hovering above my old weight, I figured it was time to buy some butt hugging yoga pants. And they are Sessssssy. Now I just need to get a gym membership! Someplace official to wear them, other than my couch.

Wait, did you catch that? 71 pounds... (insert scream). I have lost 71 pounds in almost 5 months. And I swear to you, I am carrying about a pound of milk in each boob. That means...I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT!!! I have reached my goal with a month to spare! I wanted to have it all off in 6 months, and I have done it in 5. 

Enough about me, time for a pip-squeak update.

Faye is almost 5 months. And I thought the moment I saw her I could never love her more. I don't think I was ever so wrong about something...as the days pass I love her more and more, and each day I swear my heart grows bigger because I thought I maxed out on April 7th. I'm like the Grinch, my heart grew 3 sizes. She is such a happy happy baby, and she has the cutest laugh EVER! It's contagious. She's still a little chunk and at 5 months she is wearing 6-9 months. At her 4 month check-up she was in the 85% for height and 75% for weight. So she is a big girl. And the way she looks at you...there is something magical about it. Especially when I am nursing her. She will be happily chugging away and just stop to look at me, in that one look it's as if I am looking into the eyes of a very wise and special soul, and not eyes of an infant. Right as my eyes blur over with tears she gives me a shy little smile and goes right back to eating as if nothing happened. I can't explain it, but I think she knows me better than anyone else...and she still loves me. It's very humbling.

Her classic Grump face.

Anyway she grabs on to her toes, rolls over, can sit all by herself for a little over 3 minutes now, laughs, whispers, screams, babbles, pulls my hair, loves her daddy, talks in her sleep, farts like a man, snuggles when she is sleepy, nurses like a champ, learning the "fake" cry, kind of a pansy, loves her Sophie, O'ball and Peacock, drools like Niagra Falls, jumps in her jumperoo, is the best thing to wake up to, always watches me, and smiles every time I look back at her. I never knew I would love being a mom so much.

10 1/2 Weeks!!

 

Do I have the cutest baby or what?? At least I like to think so. ^.^

I'm so excited, we just found out that we will be spending the 4th of July with my family!! Then at the end of July we are headed to Texas to see Ghent's family and some good friends. We will also be blessing baby Faye while in Texas. It's a bit sad because I would love my family to be there, I know it's sad for them that they will be missing her baby blessing. But it is so important to Ghent that his dad and brothers help with the blessing. So Texas it is!! 

I LOVE being a mom. I never thought I would enjoy it so much. It helps that Faye is the perfect baby though. I mean she goes to bed at 11 and sleeps until 7 then nurses and sleeps again until 9-9:30. And she has been doing that since a week and a half old! Lucky, I am. Seriously, this baby hardly cries and just smiles and coos tons now! She loves cuddling but can sit and play by herself. Ghent and I still can't believe how lucky we got. I am so in love. 

However, my body and I are not getting along right now. I could just kick myself for not appreciating my body for years. How in the world did I ever think I looked horrible? It's so funny because I spent pretty much my entire life hating it because my thighs were too big, my arms jiggled, my stomach wasn't ever flat enough, ect. Now I look back and just kick myself for not loving it and enjoying it while I had it. Because now...it's ruined forever. No one believes me when I say how bad it is, not until they see it for themselves. And then they understand. I'm terrified for this summer. I want to go swimming and play on the beach, but I can't wear a bathing suit. If I can't even look in the mirror then how can I expose myself in front of people? Is there such thing as a capri length bathing suit with tummy control? Ghent and I have decided that once I am done having kids I will get a tummy tuck...but that won't be for years. And I can't handle years of this. And even when I do get a tummy tuck then I will have a nasty scar from hip to hip. Like I said, my body is ruined. 

How do I teach my daughter confidence when I can't look at my belly without crying? How do I teach her to accept herself when someday I will resort to cosmetic surgery to fix my tummy? How do I teach her that it is not the way she looks that is important, but the way she feels about herself and others when I am selfishly obsessed with the way I look. It's not even about weight anymore, because the more weight I'm losing, the worse my stomach is getting. Prior to pregnancy my confidence was based solely on my body, now I need to learn confidence in myself without my body.

Faye can already Bumbo!!

My belly looks like a butt.

Body vent. What the hell? They don't tell you in those pregnancy books that your belly is in danger of being mistaken for your boo-hiney after it deflates. And my poor belly button...it looks like a star since it totally caved in and the surrounding skin doesn't know what to do, other than fold over it. If I lived in the biblical times, the wise men would have mistaken my belly button for the Star. I avoid mirrors like the plague now because every time I see my bare belly it reduces me to tears. And don't even get me started on those stretchmarks. I have however lost a little over 40 pounds since Faye was born, and I am not yet to my pre-prego weight because my metabolism up and died once fetal Faye planted her eggo self into my uterus. So I still have XxXx amount of pounds to lose until I have reached my old digits. And it is coming off all sorts of slow. But this Thursday marks 6 weeks, and at 6 weeks doc says I can start working out, other than walking. So I am treating myself to a gym membership! The fat is going to melt like butter and I will get thin again, even if my belly looks like a droopy butt afterwards. Ok, I am done venting. I'm taking my belly butt on a walk now.

Oh, and a picture of Faye to erase the disturbing belly butt image that is probably haunting your thoughts right now:

She's started smiling. It melts my heart.

And for the record, she is totally worth my belly butt. Crap, there goes that mental image again.

I LOVE being a Mom!

Faye's Birth Story.

 

It has taken me many tries to write a post about Faye's birth. However, every time I sit down to write Faye wakes up and realizes she is not being cuddled and I hear about it. But tonight, with the help of her pacifier, soft blanket and Enya playing I think I may have a few minutes to write of it. So I am sure it will be somewhat short and not come close to capturing the beauty of the moment, but I will try!

So as my previous post said, my doctor brought up inducing my labor, and on April 7th Ghent and I woke up early and anxiously rushed to the hospital for the scheduled 6 am inducement. No one was expecting things to progress quickly since I was no where close to going into labor, so we were all planning on a very long weekend. But I really wanted my parents there so I called and asked them to come anyway knowing that things might not happen right away. But I really wanted my mom there during the birth. I was given a pill at 9 am which was to help start contractions and if that did not work after 24 hours then I was to go on Pitocin the next morning. 

Fast forward to 12 o'clock my contractions were beginning, and my nurse was horrible!! She would not stop talking and was telling me labors horror stories and breast feeding horror stories and going on and on about her daughter. I was getting uncomfortable and trying to focus on my breathing, and resisting the urge to tell her to shut the H-Bomb up. 

Jumping forward to 3 pm I was in full labor, what my doctor called "hyper labor". Meaning my contractions were off the chart and I wasn't having any breaks between contractions. So I was going from one insanely hard contraction directly into the next. Which floored me because my birth class said we would have a couple minutes between contractions to prepare for the next one, but I wasn't getting a break and that nurse was not shutting up and I was still trying to be polite to her, but she was making it impossible to focus on breathing and trying to block out the pain. 

By 6 pm my parents arrived but I was hanging on to my hospital bed for dear life and sobbing into my pillow, already completely exhausted. My doctor came in and encouraged me to get an epidural since I was hardly dilating. And he voiced his concerns that since Faye had still not dropped and I had been in hard labor for a while that she might be too big to go through my pelvis and that eventually if she still hadn't dropped a C-section might be necessary. I told him (through snot and tears) that I didn't need an epidural and that if the time came and I needed a C-section that was fine, but I wanted to keep trying. My parents urged me to get the epidural after my doctor left, and Ghent even encouraged me to get the epidural as well. We had never heard of "hyper labor" before and it was so intense, I think for all of us. So finally I listened and called my doctor back in and asked for the epidural. Almost 10 minutes after I got the epidural I could feel nothing! It was great. And then my blood pressure dropped dangerously low and then I was hooked up to oxygen and then tons of nurses were coming into my room and trying to shift my body into different positions to help raise my blood pressure, I was given medication to raise my blood pressure, but nothing was working. And then Faye's heart rate began to drop because my blood pressure was just too low. So my doctor informed me I needed an emergency C-section because they needed to get her out of me asap, and he still feared she was too big to come out on her own anyway. So I was wheeled down to the surgery room and Ghent followed, but my parents had to wait in the room. Since I had just been given and epidural I didn't need more drugs apparently and they began cutting into my stomach. That was the weirdest feeling ever, because it didn't hurt, but you could feel their hands inside of you pushing things around. When the Doc finally cut open my uterus we heard "WOW, that is a BIG head!!" and at that moment, my epidural wore off. And it hurt so bad. And the doctor did not make the incision big enough because he wasn't expecting such a big baby. Ghent said he had a hold of her and was pulling on her with all of his strength and she was not coming out easily. And during all this baby tugging I was crying out that it hurt and the anesthesiologist was rushing drugs into my IV. But it took a while for the drugs to kick in and I felt them pull her body from mine and felt them get to work on cleaning out my uterus and I remember looking at Ghent who had an expression of extreme happiness mixed with extreme worry as he looked back and forth between Faye and me not knowing who to stay with. So I told him to go with Faye and he took off while slowly the drugs started kicking in and the pain went from intense to dull to nothing. And I woke up a couple of times while they stitched me back up, but I don't remember much. But I did wake up for good right before they finished, however I was so drugged and slow, I had no idea what was going on and all I could think about was if my baby Faye was ok, because all I remember of seeing her was purple feet. The anesthesiologist went and checked on her after apologizing like crazy for what happened and came back with excellent news! Baby Faye was perfectly healthy and weighed an amazingly large 9 lbs 12 oz. 

Faye was born at 8:11 pm on April 7th and I got to finally see her an hour after her birth. Since I was still heavily drugged I don't remember much of our first meeting, other than they placed her on my chest and she eagerly latched on to my chest instantly and all I could think about was how big she was and how loud her scream was. I couldn't tell what she looked like because I couldn't get my eyes to focus on her little body, let alone her face. But Ghent told me she was beautiful and he filled me in on what happened while I was out.  He looked so proud and so happy to be her dad. And that is all I really remember...Ghent has told me more about what happened in the operating room, but it was mostly embarrassing to hear as it involved a lot of me sobbing about how much it hurt, then a lot of my being totally drugged and asking the nurses the most random questions that he said didn't even make sense. And I guess one of the nurses thought I was stupid cause she started talking really loud and incredibly slow to me. Which I do vaguely remember that and being slightly insulted. But eventually the drugs wore off and I could focus on my little beautiful baby and take in how precious she was. And I remember looking at her and crying once again, not in pain but in love and joy. She meant everything to me in that moment and I knew I would do anything for her. 

While her birth story may not sound pleasant, it's funny because I remember the facts but I can hardly remember the pain, and all I can remember about that day is how happy I was. It was such a beautiful and spiritual day for me that I can't help but document it as one of the most beautiful moments in my life...the day I met my daughter.

So that is her birth story, and surprisingly she is still sleeping...

As for my recovery, I am doing amazing!! The first week hurt like a bugger and I had to ask for a lot of help from Ghent and my parents, but only 2 weeks after her birth I am off the painkillers and back to my normal energy and activity with little to no pain. And since it's now 3 weeks after her birth, I am trying to get a little exercise in, and I love, LOVE being a mom. Faye is seriously the best baby ever and we are all sleeping through the night. She is still big, in fact at her 2 week check-up she weighed 10 lbs 6 oz and was in the 95th percentile for height and weight. They are estimating she will be off the charts at her 2 month check-up. Crazy. And my doctor just laughs because he was not expecting her to be so big and you can't help but smile when you see those cheeks. Ghent and I are completely in love with her and every night we just stare at her, the beautiful little miracle and blessing that she is, and we can't believe how blessed we truly are. 

Getting Induced!

So as of last week, my body has done nothing to get baby Faye out, nor has Faye done anything to come out. So today my doctor admitted that since things aren't really happening, I will most likely need to be induced. He said I could wait a week and see if I go into labor, or I could just be induced whenever. So tomorrow at 6 am I am going to the hospital and starting the inducement procedure, and I am not leaving the hospital until I have a baby! I am SOOOOO EXCITED!!! :) So wish us luck cause we are going to need it.

April 4th.

DUE DATE!!! :) Finally. But no baby Faye yet. Soon hopefully.

Today I rented a Uhaul and went to pick up the futon for Faye's nursery, then unloaded the HUGE box and put it all together...by MYSELF! I was really trying to overexert myself in the hopes that my water would break, but even after cleaning up my mess, organizing the living room, hauling all that cardboard off to the recycling center, my waters are still intact. It's ok, tomorrow I will go into labor! (Hoping) I know Ghent is hoping for the end of the week cause he is crunching at work and it would help out a lot if he could finish the week up. I told him I would wait, but I didn't know if Faye would. Let's be honest though...I think she is more than content to wait it out for him. Well Saturday we went couch shopping...again. And we really wanted to buy a couch and have it delivered that day, but we did not want a brown, tan or sage green couch. We were strictly looking for grays. However, gray is not a popular couch color, so we had to either order the fabric we wanted or settle on a brown that would clash. So we ordered. And now we have to wait another 3-6 weeks for our new couch to come...(fuming) but this futon is in the living room at least until our couch comes, which is much better than nothing. Anyway this is the new couch we picked out and it is super comfy!

 

But picture it is this color:

Let's just hope it gets here in 3 weeks instead of 6, right. 

Anyway, wish me luck on baby extraction, it's going to happen any day now!

Update!

I've started dilating!! Granted I am only at a 1, but a 1 is much better than last week! Faye still hasn't dropped...but at least my body is starting to realize we need to get this baby out of me. The doc is estimating I will have her sometime between a few days after my due date and my 41st week. So basically it is another week max according to his estimation. I can handle a week, I can't handle 2 weeks. So I am feeling pretty excited right now because in about a week I am going to have the cutest baby snuggling in my arms. *Squeal*

Kindle 3

Ghent's birthday was on the 23rd, and I researched forever about getting him a Kindle or a Nook for his gift. I mean like forever, months in advance. Anyway, I decided on the Kindle...so I went and bought it, then stared at it for a couple days dying to open it, but how tacky would that be? Here is your present, I really like it too and wanted to mess with it before giving it to you...tee hee. Doesn't work. So I waited...and woke up early to make him breakfast complete with the new Kindle 3. He was pretty excited because he has been wanting an EReader for a long time now.

The problem: I LOVE THE KINDLE!!!!! I'm having a hard time remembering that I bought it for him and not for me. So I think I will eventually need to buy myself one as well. It is AWESOME! Like I can lay down in bed on my side and use one hand and quickly button to the next page, and my wrist doesn't get tired from holding a bulky book at an awkward angle for hours on end. But when Ghent gets home from work, I have to give it back to him...cause it's his and all.

On another note, we got the money back on our couch since they lost it. Which means this weekend will be spent couch shopping instead of preparing for the birth of our baby...maybe all that couch shopping will send me into labor. I hope so!

Love It, Please

I just had a doctor appointment today...

Dialation: 0
Effacement: 0
Cork (plug): Intact

Which means baby Faye is not to be expected anytime soon. The midwife said my body just isn't doing it's part and it needs Faye to drop and help out where I am lacking. But Faye isn't doing her dropping job either. So we have a comfy little baby perfectly content floating around in my rather large belly and one very impatient mom with a body unprepared to give birth. Which means she is probably going to be post-term. Especially since I have a granola doctor who is super against inducing his patients.

So I went to Cold Stone and ate my feelings.

I think I deserved it though...I haven't gained an ounce in 3 weeks and as soon as Faye arrives I won't be getting any goodies until I am back down to my pre-prego weight. Which will take me a long time...so I figured a Love It was called for.

But even though my body isn't doing it's birthing job...I have been doing some mad sewing! I have this strong desire to have her nursery completely put together for when she gets here. And given that I am probably going to go past my due date...I might actually get it all done. And if you saw my quilting skills now, you wouldn't recognize them from the horribly pieced quilt that I made a while ago. I am improving! I however love that horribly pieced quilt...

The funny thing is...our own bedroom is no where near being decorated as well as Faye's room. We still don't even have a new bed frame after I broke the last one. And there is one solitary vinyl we got from our wedding hanging on the wall, but that is it for decoration. So we will just have to show guests Faye's room and keep our door shut...I will post pictures of her entire nursery once it is completely finished, but we are still waiting on the futon, and I still need to finish a throw pillow, sew valances, and refinish the rocking chair. Once that is all done, the room will be ready for her. Then it will be waiting on Ghent to finish the mural he is painting for the wall behind her crib. It is awesome to have an artist as a husband.

Well I think I am going to don my poncho and walk around the neighborhood until I have a baby.

2 weeks & Counting

Faye's due date is April 4th. 2 weeks from today. I pretty much spend my days surfing the web for craft ideas or natural ways to induce labor, followed by a long nap, half-ass cleaning, busting out my craft projects and making a new mess, making dinner and then passing out on the floor...cause we STILL don't have a couch. All I want to do right now is something extremely physical, like run a marathon and I hate running. I just crave energy, I crave seeing my little girl in all her baby chub glory, I crave a real hug from the hubs, one where I can just melt in his arms like I used too, now we can't even get close to each other without doing some sumo belly bump and having to settle on some awkward side hug. I miss wearing my boots and skinny jeans, I miss the days when my toes were toes and not swollen sausages. I miss being Ashley. Because now I am just the insanely pregnant lady, and that is what people identify me with here. I know I only have a couple days to a couple weeks to go (if I'm being honest it's closer to a couple weeks), but I have been pregnant for a year now. And I just want to feel normal again, and I want my baby already! :) And yeah, it's been a year of pregnancy.  I lost my first baby at 9 weeks and got pregnant again immediately after. So it's been a long time. And so far all this pineapple, acupressure and basil are not working for me!

Spring is HERE!!

Couch update: It's LOST!!!!

I am so beyond upset right now, so looks like we are going to be couchless for another month. Which blows balls.

So I am buying this:

A futon, meant for Faye's nursery, but it will be residing in our living room until our couch or a totally different couch shows up. I think it will look nice in Faye's room though, especially once I throw on the quilt I am still making and a matching throw pillow. It will be great for visitors too, and me if I need to crash after I put her down for a nap but too exhausted to make it back to my own room!

Prego update: I'm still Pregnant.

I'm 38 weeks on Monday and the doc hasn't even checked me to see if I am close to giving birth. He just told me not to give birth this next week cause he is out of town. Umm....WHAT??!! Why didn't I get the memo that you were leaving before one of the biggest moments in my life? So I told him no guarantees. Cause I want to meet little lady more than I want to wait for him to get back from his vacation. So here's hoping she comes this week. Or whenever she feels like it. I have an inkling that is going to be the case.

So today I will begin the cleaning. It's actually already begun. But if she is coming soon, then I want this place sparkly cause I am pretty sure once she is here, I am not going to want to do a thing, other than snuggle my precious little Faye! Of course I will share with Ghent...and my parents who are coming down as soon as she is born. But since I'm the one with the food..."Mooooo" I will always get her back!

And to tie in the title of this post, I bought a nice spring colored nail polish the other day...you know a special seasonal color. I also bought Faye an Easter dress!!But instead of getting it in a newborn size, I just went straight for the 3 month size...cause if she is going to be over 8 lbs, all those cute little newborn outfits I bought her or was given are not going to be fitting.

*SCREAM* She is going to be so cute!!!

Ivy

My niece is the cutest baby ever!!! 

I'm sure Faye will be just as cute though, I can't wait to see her.

Waiting...

For this:

It's been a month now. And this beached whale it tired of sitting upright in computer chairs, I need to lounge and let my belly flop to the side. But it's going to be a few more weeks because this couch's company hasn't got their shipping department down yet, it has been stuck "in transit" for a week in New Jersey, then moved to Indiana where it got stuck for over a week "in transit" but they tell me not to worry because it will be here...soon. Soon my ass. So hormonal beached whale kinda flipped a lid on the little customer service representative. My bad. It's just that it was supposed to be here by today at the latest...but it's not even to the halfway point...not even close. I'm going to have my baby by the time that thing shows up. But the couch? I LOVE the couch. Dislike the throw pillows, but that can be easily changed.

Speaking of baby. I almost flipped a lid on my doc the other day. At 36.5 weeks prego he tells me that baby Faye hasn't dropped yet. That was news to me cause it feels like a bowling ball is sitting on my cervix. I have been telling anyone that will listen I am having her any day now...then doc tells me she is low, but there is no droppage. Which means no impending birth in the next couple days. I must have had a strange look on my face cause he legit just laughed and says "You are only 36 weeks! She could be in there for a while still" The Efffff she is.

She really needs to come soon, I am getting severe postpartum and I am not even post. As in I have never EVER weighed this much in my life and it is freaking depressing me. I never thought I would mind the weight gain, because "I'm pregnant". However, I am minding, and I am crying almost daily because there is nothing I can do about it right now. And then I am scared that I when I can do something about it, it's going to be extreme again. I have been in "recovery" for 3 years now, maintained a healthy weight, a healthy mindset, but this kind of pregnant weight gain has shoved that healthy mindset down a flight of stairs that took 3 years to climb. But I swore to myself I would never let my children see me struggle with food because I never want them to go through what I went through. And even if Faye is going to be young and never remember mom crying over dinner, I still never want her to see it. So Mrs. Beached Whale needs to get her crap together and soon.

Nursery Preview

Welcome to Faye's crib. 

And here is the dresser we refinished!

I'll show the entire nursery once it is completed. But for now we are waiting on our new futon, hanging pictures, and we are still on the hunt for the perfect rocking chair. And I still have to sew some sort of curtains, finish the quilt and sew throw pillows for the futon...but the most important things are in place for her in case she comes a little early! 

ps. I had an ultrasound yesterday and baby Faye is going to be BIG. At 35.5 weeks she is already measuring 6 lbs 14 ounces, and they estimate that she will be 8.5 to 9 lbs by the time she is born! WHAT?!?!! And they said she has a ton of hair, and seriously chubby cheeks. Faye is gonna be a little chunk of love! I can't wait to see her!

Will Work For Shoes.

I am in serious need of shoes...but until Miss Pudgy Toes can squeeze back into them, it's going to be a while before my feet will know the happiness of new squeaky leather, uncomfortable heels dying to be broken in and rocking a new confidence that is only found in a brand spankin' new pair of shoes. Maybe my goal will be a shopping spree for when I lose XX pounds. New jeans, new shoes, cute new tops I can only ever hope to wear again, and maybe even a haircut or highlights and at least 5 pairs of seriously cute shoes. I had better start saving...but the hubs promised me a good shopping spree if I don't get an epidural. He knows I don't want one, so he is giving me another incentive to not get one, to help me say no when the time comes. We will see though, since I haven't taken a single Hypno-birthing coarse yet. Ugh.

So I have the best hubby ever. Last night he comes home from work with a bouquet of roses...JUST BECAUSE!!! And then when I woke up at 2 in the morning with some serious morning sickness, he runs to Walmart to get me Unisom and saltines. Which I was super grateful for because I legit thought I was going to puke walking up and down the isles. So I got to lay in bed dreaming of puking while he stumbled around Walmart to settle my queasy tummy. Speaking of morning sickness, wasn't that supposed to stop? Like in the first trimester? Why is it revisiting when I am weeks away from giving birth. Because now I am just as sick as I was for the first 16 weeks, but to top it all off I have a ginormASS belly, achy hips, swollen everything, killer back pain, and a very hyper baby who likes to get especially hyper when I am feeling my worst...you know, to shake things up even more! ;) Love her though. And to top it all off I have been looking super cute lately, as in, my clothes are all too small...so I have resorted to sweatpants and the hub's hoodies. He has been very generous, sharing his clothes with me...but secretly I think he is afraid I might stretch them all out! Haha. Anyway, like I have said before, I don't like being prego, but I would never go back and change it. I am super grateful we are having a baby and I just know she is going to be worth every stretch mark, ache, pound gained, and wacky emotion. And Ghent is going to seriously be the best dad ever, I can't wait to see him with Faye. I am very lucky. Swollen but lucky!

Morning sickness in the 3rd trimester?

SAY WHA?!?! I thought I was over that crap. Apparently it is back with vengeance. This is my last baby. Ok, ok not really, but honestly...I do NOT enjoy pregnancy. I love feeling Faye moving around, and I love that as soon as she is born we will already have bonded, but pregnancy in general, not a fan. So this whole morning sickness thing is an all day event, like it was in the first trimester, and it is making it really difficult to get everything done I need to before Faye gets here. I am finishing her crib bumper today hopefully, but I don't know if I am going to get to the vacuuming that I swore I would do last night. Ugh. Only 3-6 more weeks. I can do this!!

Dumbledore's Army

You know that scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Harry and Hermione are giving a speech in order to get peeps to join Dumbledore's Army? Well that scene made me cry today. Uhhhh...I can't believe I just admitted that, especially since I was super relieved I was the only one home when it happened. But I have a bad habit of divulging my embarrassing moments. I must be getting close to the end if silly things are making me cry lately. So it's a good sign right!?!? However, Professor Umbridge is way more terrifying than Voldemort...I don't see why they call him you-know-who...I'd be calling Umbridge that, she freaks me out. So anyway in a little less than 2 weeks time we are getting another ultrasound! Only cause I am gaining MASSIVE amounts of weight, so doc wants to see if Faye is measuring big...maybe I am farther along that anticipated? Hey, Hey! You know what that means! I'm so looking forward to holding Faye in my arms and starting P90X again and going on a diet. Soon, soon. I can't wait to meet her. Yesterday she seemed to be getting pretty frustrated about being crammed in my uterus cause she was shoving her butt out one side of my stomach and shoving her feet out the other side of my stomach and holding that stretch before repeating it over and over...she has long legs...

3-6 weeks!! :)

4am. IT BEGINS.

The restless nights have begun. Actually they started a while ago, as in I am constantly waking up to pee or flip over because my hips are hurting so bad. But tonight is the first night I cannot fall back asleep for various reasons. I'm actually looking forward to 7 or 8 am when it is decent for me to be awake and not depressing. The 4am toast was a good idea, the 4am orange juice was a bad one. Next time I need to opt for milk as I am now adding tums to my 4 am munchies. *shudder* I loathe tums. They make me dry heave every time I eat them, but it's better than wicked heart burn.

On a different note: I cannot wait for our little home to come together. There is not a single picture on the wall yet, we are waiting for our new couch to arrive so we have nothing to sit on currently but bar stools and kitchen chairs. And I broke the bed if you remember, so our bedroom is looking rather shabby, and Faye's room is still pretty much a disaster zone. But every time I try to tackle all my projects a nap or snack starts sounding really good. And there are so many things I want to build...but I am refusing to take on new projects until things are looking more organized and pictures are hanging on the wall. Then there are curtains to sew, a kitchen table and chairs to refinish, and nightstands to build or buy depending on my energy level. But I did get my very first power tool this last weekend. A Dewalt screw/drill gun. My Dad gave it to me which makes it super special since it's the very same one that built their house. (wipe tear) It's a beauty. Now I just need a jigsaw, a sander, and maybe a nail gun...yeah. The miter saw will just have to wait until next year during another Santa visit, since he still brings me gifts. I refuse to grow up when it comes to the holidays. Anyway, I got way off topic somehow.

Hubs and I went to Spokane this last weekend, my little brother and his family were sealed in the temple so we went to be there with them for that. And as a nice side bonus, my mom threw me a baby shower!! I was so excited!! I did not think I was getting one, so it was fun to experience and Faye got hooked up. I mean like hoooooked up! Between the designer hand-me-downs from cousins, purchases we have made and the baby shower, I think she has a bigger wardrobe than Ghent and I combined. And probably more expensive too. So peeps will be wondering what this little movie star baby is doing with those two hooligans that can't even dress themselves properly. She might have to wear shades to cover her embarrassment. Anyway the baby shower was amazing. I couldn't have asked for anything more, my mom and her friend did AWESOME! (I'd post pictures, but the 3rd trimester chipmunk cheeks have attacked and I am just too cute right now to allow the public to see them, it would make the world jealous) I actually didn't really notice them until I saw my baby shower pictures. Then I was like "WTF???"

February 15th is our V-Day, then you don't waste your romantic evening waiting at a crowded restaurant to be seated. So our V-day last night was fun. For the record.

Well I think I am off to do something productive with my morning...like make the hubs a sack lunch for work.

Broken beds, swollen feet and a lot of Yumi.

I don't know what is going on with Yumi (the cat) lately. She is attached to my ankles and follows me everywhere. Even when I am sitting at my computer she jumps on the desk and puts her stinky cat cheeks in my face until I love on her. She is suuuper needy all of a sudden. Maybe she is afraid she won't get anymore loves once baby Faye is here.

Speaking of Faye, I am almost finished with her quilt. It's pieced, sandwiched and ready to be quilted together now. It is looking pretty cute too. Yumi has been helping me quilt whenever I bring it out. She likes to pounce on it after I have laid it out and give me those big kitty eyes proclaiming innocence. HA! I know better. She is a little munchkin, look at those fangs, you can't be sweet with fangs like that. But since I'm a sucker and fall for anything, I let her play on the quilt until she gets bored.

As of a week ago, my feet, ankles, calves and even knees have started swelling. So around 7pm now it looks like I have a really severe case of Elephantiasis. Which is HOT. Sexy HOT. So I'm looking planetary with hobbit feet. I think I am the hottest pregnant lady I have ever seen. Grrrr BABY!

Then last night, while hubby and I are laying in bed reading there is a loud CRACK and my side of the bed drops. I legit broke the bed with my pregnant monstrosity. Good thing Yumi wasn't hiding under the bed at the time. Ghent thought it was hilarious and when I innocently declared that I was not nearly fat enough to break a bed he sympathetically replies, "Well, it didn't break on my side". For the record, he still weighs more than me, so I have no clue why his side of the bed remained intact while the screws literally shattered on my side. It makes no sense. But it was real good for the self-esteem. I have been feeling extremely gorgeous lately so I needed my ego deflated a little bit. So now we need a new bed frame because right now our box spring and mattress are just sitting on the ground. But at least it is easier for me to get into bed now.

Despite the major embarrassment of shattering all the screws on my side of the bed with my pregnant self, it was a pretty good laugh...after I was done sobbing. Haha, no really.

Anyway, back to Yumi since she is loving attention right now. Why is it that cats like to hide in the weirdest little cubby holes? I swear, you make a cubby for a second and they plant themselves and fall asleep before you even have a chance to cover it back up. Like file cabinet drawers for instance. Observe.

I literally left that open for a second and turned my back to find THIS!

 

 

 

She gives me that look and closes her eyes with a sleepy yawn. Now how can I disturb her feline beauty nap? It would be so rude of me...so I deal with an open drawer for a couple hours until she is fully rested. I know, I am cat whipped. I've admitted before that if Ghent and I had never met, I would probably be a crazy cat lady, but he keeps me in check. Sorta.

One Year Baby!

That is our ONE year anniversary of being married!! Well January 30th was our 1 year, but we were busy celebrating so I didn't write anything yesterday! And we spent it on the coast.

Sea Lion Caves

Do you see the belly button popping? Sessy.

Actually we spent it with some smelly sea lions...forgive the lighting, I was not supposed to use my flash in the cave. Well we had to ride an elevator down to this cave, and the lady who sold us the tickets actually told me "don't give birth or go into labor on the elevator, mmm-k?" Way to poop on my anniversary biotch. But I found the sea lions were much more accepting of my belly, friendly little buggers. Well after chillin' with the lions we went to the beach and made footprints in the sand. There is something about the Oregon coast that makes me so happy. Maybe it's the overcast weather, the cold mist, the chill breeze and wild ocean slapping against the rocks. Something about it is magical. Or maybe it was just because it was our anniversary. Ghent even went as far as writing "Happy Anniversary, Ashley" in the sand. He did write it under and "RIP Jenna Paul Hannah" So it really read "RIP Jenna Paul Hannah Ashley" Eh, nice! But just 5 minutes later the tide came in and wiped it away, so I didn't get a picture of it.

Handsome Man.

We ended the day with an AMAZING meal in Florence. I mean A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was seriously the perfect first anniversary celebration EVAH. I can't wait until next year when I won't have a big belly to tote around...that way I can spend more time walking the coast with grace instead of waddling around with my hands supporting my back and hips. Not to mention we will have baby Faye with us, but that might be a day requiring a babysitter. ;)

Purdy.

Special Delivery

Faye's first package!!!

I went to get the mail today and there was a key in my box...a key for the big mailbox. Everyone knows what that dirty little key means too, it promises a large package in the giant community box! I was sooo excited as I peeked inside and saw Faye's very first package ever.

But what could it possibly be??

 Just the prettiest crocheted blanket ever!!!

THANKS NINA!! WE LOVE IT! :)

Faye at the Opera

Ghent and I went to a choral concert last night, but it was more of an opera concert. They sounded amazing!! So amazing that baby Faye started doing twirls and ballet in my belly. It was the best thing ever to listen to beautiful music and to feel our baby enjoying the moment. Ghent had his hand on my stomach almost the whole time because she was being too entertaining to not want to feel what was going on in there. We had a pretty hard time staying quiet because we were silently giggling the whole time at her crazy movements. I dunno, maybe she didn't like it...but either way it was a blast for us.

I'm getting bigger everyday. As in abnormally large. I had a lady tell me yesterday that "tomorrow is a full moon, I bet you go into labor tomorrow...good luck" *wink* However, what she did not know was that I am only 29 weeks pregnant and not 39 weeks pregnant, so going into labor tomorrow would be a very bad thing. But apparently I look that big. Even a fellow pregnant lady told me I looked like I was about to pop...I thought pregnant peeps would be a bit more sensitive about the belly sizing since they know what's going on. And wherever I go at least twice a day (no joke) someone comments on how big I am. So I might just have a big girl in there...I guess I won't find out for a couple more months.

However, I am LOVING Oregon. I love it here. I love the rain everyday, the bright green of the grass and trees, the moss growing on everything, the "different" people here, the friendliness of everyone, the food, I love our home, and I love that in just 2 months, my little opera dancer will be making her debut. And I've been quilting. Faye's bedding is going to be adorable. (Not to toot my horn!) What I did not realize was how pricey quilting is...I always thought that if you could sew, sewing is cheaper than buying...but fabric is bloody expensive!!! But at least it is exactly what we want. Because Ghent and I looked at tons of different fabrics until we found the perfect one(s) for the nursery. And here it is...so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not finished yet, it still needs another border!

 

And here are a few more pictures:

My belly on my B-day, so Dec. 11th. (I'm much bigger now)

Grandma and Ivy! :) She's cute, eh?

Ivy's blessing day.