Simply put, I am blessed

This past weekend was wonderful!  My friends gave me a surprise baby shower!  They put so much time and effort into it!  I still can't believe how lucky I am to have them all as friends!

There are pictures.  I will add a few.  But I'm going to avoid as many of them that have me pictured.  I swear I do not look like I use to.  (I've even had friends say they hardly recognized me after not seeing me for a while).  I get super depressed when I see my face in pictures.  So there. That's my excuse.

My friends are amazing!

Delicious food!

Amazing diaper cake! (I have the ribbons hanging on Tanner's wall now.  I will show pictures soon)

Gifts!  We are all set!  

They even planned an awesome craft!  We painted onesies! It was so much fun!

(I hate my massive boobs)

I truly am so grateful for all of this! I was speechless and wanted to cry, I was so happy!  It's hard being so far away from family being pregnant.  But I have family here too.  :)

(And a note to my mom and mom-in-law...If you want to see more pictures, like those of me opening the gifts, go to facebook.  I'm tagged in each one.)

In other news, I'm still nesting.  And bringing all these new baby things home just made it worse! Today I was extremely productive, and it felt really good!  I had some cramping and braxton hicks last night for about an hour, but nothing today.  I'm really trying to stay hydrated and take breaks when I can. I think it's helping.  

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll post about that when I get home.  It's GBS testing time...

34 Weeks!

6 weeks until due date.  3 weeks until term.


That's nuts.


I'm writing this blog sitting in the glider in the nursery.  I absolutely love this spot!  I actually really love this moment.  Sitting here in this room that has changed so much in the past 3 months.  I've got music playing, the window is open with the breeze filling the room, and the weather is absolutely perfect! I'm looking at the walls and seeing all the planes, and I hear all the planes flying around outside.  I can't wait to talk to Tanner about them!  Who knows, maybe one day he will be a pilot like his Daddy.


I'm actually feeling really good.  I still have the occasional cramps when I over do it walking or working in the house, but it's nothing compared to when I was working.  I'm sure catching up on sleep helps there as well. I even had a moment today where I forgot I was pregnant for a split second.  Somehow Harry was able to push the bedroom door open and he ran in.  I ran down the hallway to chase him out and he immediately ran under the bed.  So I jumped down on my knees and then on my stomach to look under the bed.  Right as I felt my big ol' belly I rolled over.  Yeah, that hurt a little.  How did I forget about that thing? Finally after fighting Harry a little he ran back out of the room..sneaky little devil.  I do have some lower back pain everyday after standing too long, but I know that's completely normal.  It's the pain I'm all too familiar with (from being top-heavy...).  Oh, and heartburn/indigestion.  Every night.  But there has only been two nights where it's woken me up and I had to take Pepcid or drink some milk before I could fall back to sleep.  Tanner is going to have lots of hair!


I've been nesting.  Pretty much every other day.  I'll get these spurts of energy and I'll want to clean and organize like crazy.  But usually I wear myself out and the next day I'm lazy and tired.  I'm trying to make a to-do list and just do little things here and there so I don't get too tired.  We'll see how long that lasts.


I still have pretty much one craving still.  Pizza.  I just love it!  It has to be thick crust though, even though I love the thin crust too. But there is just something about thick crust and cheese, yummmm!


I gathered up all my maternity/pregnancy books.  I realized I have yet to finish one of them.  I've stopped at the labor part in each book.  I think I'm a little nervous to read on, but I probably should.  I've seen women give birth in nursing school, and I learned about it...but I honestly think I will completely forget everything when it's my turn.


Now, to talk about my new obsession.  I am so stinkin' excited to get my cloth diapers!  I've been a nuisance to the SmartiPants company.  I emailed then last Saturday when I tried to order them.  They didn't offer two of the colors I wanted and on the main page it said they were all available.  They emailed me back within 30 minutes (keep in mind this was Saturday night around 11:30pm) saying all the colors would be available on Monday.


 Monday came around and they still weren't available.  I must have jumped the gun and was too impatient because after the second email to them Monday morning they emailed right back saying it should be ready to order, but two of the colors wouldn't ship until Wednesday.  Well, today (Thursday), I still hadn't gotten my email saying they had shipped.  So, I emailed them again.  (This is not like me, usually I will just wait it out a little bit until it gets to be ridiculous).  I felt bad, but when I tried to call them, their number was a non-working number, that sent up a red flag.  But Josh, the same guy who has emailed me back all three times, all within 30 minutes of emailing them, responded.  He said the white color I had ordered came off the production line today and everything would be sent to me first thing tomorrow morning.


So, it's either been a little bit of a wait, or I've been extremely impatient.  Probably the latter.  I have to admit though, SmartiPants has great customer service...if you email them.  I can NOT wait until I get my hands on those little poop holders!


I may just be spoiled by Amazon Mom and their free two-day shipping.  I got all my other cloth diapering supplies yesterday!

Here is my drying rack.  It's so easy to fold up! I can just imagine all my little diapers and inserts sitting on this in the sun! :)

I also got a pack of 3 Snappis.  And yes, I have been practicing using prefolds and the snappi on a teddy bear.

My wet bags! I think they are so cute! But I'm going to need to get some more.  The small one is a little too small for the diaper bag.  It looks like it might hold one dirty diaper.  They sell mediums, so I'll probably get one of those.  I also need to get another larger one with a drawstring so I can get a cheap trash can to use with it in Tanner's room.

Washcloths that will be used as wipes.  All washed up and super soft!

I can't wait to post pictures of the diapers!


Here's the bump.  I'm really starting to hate taking these pictures.  I don't like the way I look...

I've got to add a picture of the little boogers.  They're so cute!

Time to start making dinner...Guess what we're having.


PIZZA!

Nesting and cloth diapering?

I know I'm behind on my weekly update...again.  I waited a little too long.  I will be 34 weeks tomorrow so I will do an update for that tomorrow or Thursday.


This last week has been a great week!  I feel really good!  I'm able to take better care of myself.  I'm caught up on sleep, I'm able to get cleaning and cooking done, and rest in between when I need to. I've also been keeping myself busy.  I think I'm starting to get the hang of crocheting.  I'm actually pretty surprised I was able to teach myself by watching youtube videos.  I've made a cute little hat, and a matching pair of booties.  And I am now almost finished with another little hat.


Here's a picture to show how little the hat and booties are.

I just love them!


I also have to admit I have a new obsession...cloth diapers.


Several months ago I tried to do some research on cloth diapers and I was completely overwhelmed.  I didn't understand where to begin!  There were so many pieces and different types.  So I gave up and settled on the idea of just using disposable diapers.  But last week, a I asked a random question to a friend on facebook and she asked me if I was still considering cloth diapering.  I told her I was overwhelmed.  She wrote back telling me what she does.  I litterally wrote down what she had typed to me and looked up each and every thing.  I not only googled it, but I youtube'd it too.  I had to actually see it done to really understand the concept.  After hours and hours of researching and video watching, it clicked.


It just so happens I started talking to my friend on the day I bought my first little bag of pamper's swaddlers.  I realized there are 36 little diapers in that bag and the bag was $8+.  36 diapers could last 3 days, maybe.  I started putting numbers through my head (mostly I let Nick do it...his brain works that way much better than mine does).  We will be saving SO much money from birth to potty training!  And not only that, we're planning on having more than one kid too, so these cloth diapers will be reusable and available for the next one.


Also, after doing reading more on cloth diapering, I realized it probably wouldn't work using disposable wipes.  We can throw the dirty diaper in the wet bag and wash them every other day, but what happens to the dirty wipes? Would they just go into a bag and be taken out to the trash all the time?  I imagine that causing quite a bit of smell.  So.....I'm going to use cloth wipes too.


It cost quite a bit of money at first, but it's all a one time cost.  We just knocked off two reoccurring costs that we would have originally had to deal with for 2+ years.  This really makes me more happy than I think it should.  I literally have had dreams about this the past two nights. :)


I've ordered everything but the prefolds online.  Most of it should be arriving tomorrow (thanks Amazon Mom!)  My diapers will be shipping tomorrow.  We were going to get the prefolds online from target's website (remember, all the good shopping is 1.5 hours away) but a trip to walmart to get baby hangers brought me to some prefolds that were 3 dollars cheaper.  So I bought 4 packs of 10.  And last night I prepped them.  I know they're supposed to go through several hot washes and dries before they reach their maximum absorbancy, but I only washed them a few times.  I'm sure I will be doing it a lot more, and they will be ready for Tanner when he comes!

I have been nesting.  At first my nesting only consisted of baking.  But now, it's everything!  I'm organizing Tanner's room, again. And I'm washing all of his things.  I figured I needed to try to get the cats use to the idea of a baby, and start setting up the living room with the things we were planning on keeping in that room (So far everything has been in his room and the door has been shut to keep the cats out).  I'm starting with the swing/bouncer.  And the cats are so curious!  Now that they are a little more use to it, they have been hiding under it, thinking they can't be seen.


Here's Harry checking out the swing/bouncer.  Hank and Axel both ran off when I got the camera out, but they were doing the same thing too.

(Don't mind the weird blue jean scratching post-it's the only thing Hank will use)

Now I am going to go play in Tanner's nursery some more! :)

33 Week Doctor's visit and some rambling

My doctor's visit went pretty well yesterday.  My blood pressure is down, but still slightly higher than my normal (But it's a very healthy BP).  My UTI is gone and I am not dehydrated anymore!  I am still spilling some protein in my urine, though.  But not enough to be worried about at this point.

But I spoke with my doctor's nurse, and my doctor and we all agreed that I need to go ahead and not work anymore.  With how lenient my doctor is, that surprised me.  But I need to take care of myself and my little boy. It's almost time for him to come, anyway.

He's doing great though.  His heart rate was 138, which seemed a little low to me but Dr. didn't seem concerned.  He is head down and I asked what the chances were of him flipping by his due date.  My doctor seems to think that is unlikely, so that's more good news!

I think I've gotten a little burst of energy today.  Either that or I'm starting to nest.  I got up pretty early and cleaned the kitchen, went to the Commissary for some groceries, cleaned the bedroom, started laundry, made breakfast and ate it, chopped up some pineapple and now I'm blogging.  And it's only 10:30!  I really like this!


I finished crocheting Tanner's hat last night and now I'm working on making matching booties.  I'll post a picture of them all when I'm finished, and by this rate of nesting, it might be soon. :)  Today I'll probably work on them a little more.  But I also want to iron on some cute pictures to some of Tanner's white onseies.  Nick wanted a car and a picture of a B-1 (one of the planes he has always loved).  So I hope I am able to make them without ruining the onesies.


I also want to hem some more of my maternity pants.  I'm so short that every pant/jean I buy is super long on me.  I've gotten most of them done, but I still have 2-3 more to do.  I might also try to make a beginners taggies blanket while I have my sowing machine out.  I don't think I have the right material, but it's worth a shot, and the practice wont hurt.


OH! And our newest purchase will be here today!  I got a little money from not taking my PTO time at work so we spent it on a really nice video camera.  I figured we will want to use it a lot in our near future, and Nick had fun picking the very best one out online.  Once I figure out how to use it I may make a video tour of the nursery once it's completely done and post it here.  It really makes me happy to think I can take video of Tanner and have my family watch it and see the things I see even though they are across the country.


I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister, Casey!  I wish I could take you out to dinner! I miss you and love you!


Now, I'm going to go get busy! :)