The Wall

I'm finally doing it. I'm doing a "Writer's Workshop" from Kat @ Mama's Losin' it. I am a regular reader of her blog, and have her Writer's Workshop link on the side of my profile, but that's because she doesn't have a button that's just for her blog. Anyway, the plunge..


Kat asked: What do you remember most about your childhood bedroom?

I distinctly remember growing up in a bedroom with my sisters. For a while I was sharing a room with my older sister, but once she hit, what, 10 years old? She was moved into her own room and I was stuck sharing a room with my younger sister.

We always had a bunk-bed. I was on the top, and my sister was underneath. I loved that bed. But do you know what I didn't love? Boogers.

For real. Boogers. I used to pick my nose as a kid. A lot. In fact, I still do. But the difference now is that I wash my hands A LOT. Not just after picking my nose, but after playing with the dog, touching anything public (doors, public restrooms are the worst!), and pretty much after touching anything outside. (Sidenote: I've always said that having a kid will either make or break my "OCD" habit. I think it's the former..)

Back to the boogers. I was a kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old and picked my nose a lot. Gross enough as it is, right? Right. Well I didn't eat those boogers. Gross! But I never had a napkin, tissue, or towel nearby so I needed to find something, or someWHERE to put them. You know what I chose? The wall.

Yep, the wall. I had a booger wall. It was conveniently located right behind the panel of the top bunk bed so nobody saw it, but I knew it was there. And it always seemed like when I laid in bed at night I had a nose full of boogers. I wasn't smart enough to clean the ol' nose out before laying down in bed. So the wall it was.

But do you know what happened? We rearranged the bedroom furniture. Yep, the bed moved. And my mom saw it. She freaked out. And do you know what I did?

Blame it on my best friend, of course! I mean, she ALWAYS spent the night and we shared a bed. And I couldn't blame it on my younger sister because she never slept up there. So it made sense, right? Totally.

Well that plan backfired when my mom decided to march right on down to a function going on in town to find my friend and confront her. (Unfortunately, I was a kid and didn't think my mom knew I was lying. She's smarter than I thought!) So when we confronted my friend, her mother was also present. She denied it and then the blame was back on me. I think I was in tears at the point. And that's because I was grounded.

Grounded for covering the wall with boogers. Oh yes. Great memory, right?

Oh yeah. Charlene, if you read my blog: I'm sorry for blaming that shit on you. I don't think I ever apologized when I was a kid. hahaha.

A bra for my toilet

Being a stay-at-home-mom who breastfeeds, I rarely wear a bra at home.
But when I clean, I have to put one on.

Something about cleaning the toilet with my boobs just hangin' there all free-like, just doesn't feel right.

Welcome to the world, baby boy!

William Friedrich 

Born: March 3, 2012 @ 19:48
Weight: 3780 grams - 8 lbs 3 oz
Length: 53 cm long - 20.866 inches.






The short story: I was hooked up to the IV line and started induction with Pitocin at 11:20 AM. Around 12:00 PM is when contractions started. At 2:15 PM I received a low-dose epidural. At 4:45 PM I received another low-dose epidural. At 6:00 PM the Pitocin was turned up and I started pushing. At 7:00 PM it was turned up again. And at 7:30 PM it was turned up yet AGAIN. The epidural was completely gone when I delivered. So, pushing lasted just under 2 hours.

It was hard work, but I am very happy with the results. I will write more (the long story) about the labor and birth later. :)

39 weeks - One to go! Whew! & TMI!

ONE WEEK LEFT! W'heeee! 

So I had my weekly appointment on Tuesday this week. They didn't say WHY it was a different day than normal, but I'm assuming that it was so that they would make sure they had two more appointments before my actual due date. So my next appointment is this coming Tuesday, with the due date on Thursday, February 23, 2012. And my doctor wasn't actually there to check if I was dilated or not. So, I don't have a clue regarding that! I did, however, sit on the CTG machine (like I always do) and get Pea Baby's heartbeat measured for 30-ish minutes. The midwife called him lazy because he wasn't moving much. But he moves a lot every evening, so I'm not worried. And, like always, everything was perfectly normal at my appointment.

Here's where we get into the *TMI of this post:

*TMI = Too Much Information! Not everybody is able to handle this type of information. If you see this in my blogs, be prepared for a little more information than you'd normally get! Feel free to skip over this part by reading past my picture.

I've been battling a yeast infection since December. From what I've read online, these are fairly common during pregnancy, and since I've never had one before, that makes sense to me. (Ya know, with our preggo bodies making more hormones and stuff.) It's nearly gone, but there are still traces of it when my doctor checks. So I've got some "medications" that I... take.. to get rid of it. Not fun at all, but ya do what you gotta do, right? Well, with the infection, there is a little bit of discharge as well. Ewww! Not fun and makes me feel dirty every time (which luckily, is significantly less now than in December).

Now, Husband and I haven't had sex in a few weeks. This is mainly because he has a complex with it! Like most stupid men, he thinks he will hit the baby. Sorry dude! You're well endowed, but not a monster! HOWEVER, this morning he woke me up with a little morning sex. Woohoo! That was fun to wake up to. A couple hours later as I was jumping in the shower, I noticed I had a little discharge in my underwear, but it was not the same that I had had before. It was actually a little bit red, which gives me the impression that, OMG, things are actually progressing! It seems like I am finally losing that "mucus plug" that has to come out before the baby can come out. So, YAY! I may feel like nothing is happening, but something definitely is happening! And the sex is helping! And you bet your ass, I'll be jumping on my husband every chance I get now knowing that! muahahaha.

Symptoms: Annoying back pain is still there, of course. And I still have the foot in my ribs. I'm pretty sure I've got a bruised muscle on the inside of my ribs because it's sore when I lean forward.

Weight Gain: I weighed in at 85.6 kg (188.7 lbs). This puts me at +11.6 kg (25.6 lbs) since the beginning of my pregnancy, and +0.3 kg (0.66 lbs) since last week.

Cravings: Oatmeal, which I take care of almost every morning for breakfast. And salad, which we had for dinner last night! om nom nom.

Food Aversions: Nothing that I didn't like before I was pregnant.

What made me cry this week: I cried when my husband turned down my offer for sex earlier this week (hormones and shit), but he made up for it by waking me up with sex today. hahaha! :)

Medical Stuff: Just that stubborn infection that I mentioned already. Nothing terrible, but annoying.

Something I am excited about: It's ONE WEEK to the due date now! And, even if the baby does not come on that day, I know that my mother WILL be here in 6 days! YAY!

38 weeks - Whoa belly!

TWO WEEKS! Two. Friggin'. Weeks. Wow. Time has flown by. But I do have to admit that I don't even feel like my body is progressing. Sure, I get the pressure underneath my stomach from the baby obviously moving downward (proven today at my doctor), but I am not dilated. At all. Not even 1/2 cm. Nada. Zip.

I mentioned today at my doctor that my mother is coming to Germany for the birth and that I'd like for the baby to be ON-TIME, or early. The mid-wife kinda laughed, though she agreed that me taking my dog on daily walks is perfectly okay and should help progress it. I asked if going up and down the stairs in my house would help, and she said yes, but everyone is different. So it's basically a waiting game, though I really feel like I'm going to go over my due-date simply because I don't feel anything out of the norm. lol

My weekly photo update:

And, just for shits and giggles:

Symptoms: Annoying back pain and his foot in my ribs. Both make for getting comfortable on the couch/sitting at the table/anywhere else VERY hard.

Weight Gain: Today the scale said 85.3 kg (188 lbs). This puts me at +11.3 kg (24.9 lbs) since the beginning of my pregnancy, and +0.3 kg (0.66 lbs) since last week.

Cravings: Salad, like always. And I had a wicked craving for pickles two nights ago. hahaha. But Husband had the same craving. It was weird, but we both wanted them, so we bought some. :)

Food Aversions: Nothing that I didn't like before I was pregnant.

What made me cry this week: I think the only time tears came out of my eyes during the last week was either when there was too much wind/snow in my face OR when Husband was attempting to wrestle with me, and was tickling me in the process.

FYI - Tickle a pregnant woman's feet and YOU SHALL DIE!


Medical Stuff: (TMI...) Just a pesky yeast infection that won't go away.. Other than that, everything is A-OKAY.

Something I am excited about: 13 days until my mother is here! Regardless of whether Pea Baby decides to come out early/on time/late, I know my mother WILL be here on February 22! :))

37 weeks - FULL TERM

I'm seriously considered full term now. OhEmGee. I can see the finish line! We now have 21 days until the due date, and 20 days until my mom is here! YAY!

In other news, I hate my bras. I've pretty much resorted to "free boobin' it" whenever I'm home. Yes, my boobs grew. Up until about 2 weeks ago my bras were not a problem. They are now though! I have an under-wire in all of my bras and they just are NOT comfortable anymore. I also seem to always have Pea Baby's foot shoved underneath my right-side ribs.. That doesn't help with the bra situation. This makes it more painful when I'm not sitting upright, and sit with a slouch instead. Super, right? Totally NOT..

Symptoms: Back pain! Yes, it's still here.. It was manageable for a long time, but now it's just annoying as hell. There is no WIN for me. Unless I'm sleeping.. But I seem to be getting less and less sleep every day. I guess my body is just "mentally" preparing me for when Pea Baby is here..? haha. Riiight. It can only get worse..

Weight Gain: Today I weighed in at 85 kg (187.4 lbs). This puts me at +11 kg (24.25 lbs) since the beginning of my pregnancy, and +0,3 (0.66 lbs) from last week.

Let's face it, I'm a fatty. Next question, please..

Cravings: Still craving salad and fresh veggies. I've been eating fresh veggies with dip all week. Om nom nom.

Food Aversions: Nothing that I didn't like before I was pregnant.

What made me cry this week: I cried A LOT last Friday, but it was a HAPPY cry! For details, refer to my post from that day: "Surprise Internet Baby Shower"

Medical Stuff: I'm doing good in this area, as is Pea Baby. :)

Something I am excited about: This weekend is the Dresden Tattoo Convention. I mentioned before that I am modeling (!!!) in a little "Fashion Show" they are putting on at the show. Super duper excited about it right now!

Also, look at our new stroller! We got a super good deal on it because I joined all the "Baby Clubs" I could find online (hehe) and I got a 20% off coupon in my e-mail last week. WOOT!

For more information about the stroller that we bought, you can check it out here:

ABC DESIGN: Turbo 6S

30 weeks!

We've hit 30 weeks! Upload 75% done! If this baby boy was to pop out now, he'd be graded with a C. hahaha. Okay, enough with the corny jokes...

WOOHOO! Only 10 more weeks to go (assuming he comes out on time). Things are just starting to get exciting!

I found this cute little questionnaire thingy that I'm going to do along with my weekly belly photos, just to keep track of when the exciting things really happen.

Now, on with the show!

How far along? 30 fabulous weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: About 13 pounds. (6 kg) - Last night one of my husbands coworkers told me she gained 35 pounds (16 kg) during her pregnancy. (!!!) That made me feel VERY good about my weight gain thus far. hahaha.
Maternity clothes: I don't have any maternity SPECIFIC clothes, but I have bought 1 pair of jeans that are bigger than my normal size (because maternity clothes are ridiculously expensive), and I have a pair of leggings that I LOVE! Stretchy pants FTW! hahaha.
Stretch marks: None thus far! *fingers crossed* Also, I use massage lotion daily.
Sleep: Every other day or so, I wake up in the middle of the night to pee. Other than that, sleep is normal.  
Best moment this week: Ummmm, I suppose discovering that I LOVE Alcohol-free Glühwein! haha.
Have you told family and friends: They've known since the beginning!
Movement: Every day, almost all day long. From about week 20 until week 28, I only felt him moving in the evenings, and a little movement about 30 minutes after I ate something. But these past couple weeks he will start to move WHILE I'm eating. Or what's really funny, is he moves when I'm using the toilet! hahaha.
Food cravings: Bacon! (When do I NOT crave bacon?!)
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of liquor, wine, or champagne makes me sick to my stomach! The smell of beer is perfectly fine, but more than that and I think I'm gonna barf.
Have you started to show yet: Been showing for a while now! But last night during my husband's Christmas Dinner for his workplace, I was actually asked by a random guy "HOW MANY are in there?" He thought I was having twins! OMG, kill me now.. I am NOT that big!
Leakage: I think I woke up a couple days this week with a little dry spot on my tank, but nothing major.
Gender prediction: We already know it's a boy. :)
Labor signs? Nothing pointing towards labor, but the next time I have extreme back pain, I will be visiting my doctor to make sure that I don't have signs of labor.
Belly button in or out? It's still in, but slowly reaching the surface!
Happy or moody most of the time? I'm typically a happy-go-lucky person, but my family thinks I "snap" more often now. haha.
Weekly Wisdom: Drink LOTS of water!
Milestones: I've got nothin'.. haha

 

So here's the weekly photo update. YES, I look huge here. Also notice that I have on sweat pants, not jeans, and they sit on my hips a lot lower. Thus, yes, my belly looks bigger.  :)

Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now.

Have you ever wanted to scream "STOP KICKING ME THERE!"??

Well, that's how I feel right now. Because baby boy has been kicking me repeatedly in my bladder for the past two hours.

This is how I feel:

28 weeks - Holy pregnant!

First of all, Helloooooo 3rd Trimester! Wow, time is seriously flying by! Husband and I were just talking last night about how FAST this has all happened. Crazy. Picture time:

I definitely feel like I am in full "pregnancy mode" now. Reasons:

- I'm tired. All the friggin' time. Well, I've been tired since about 5 months ago, but I'm sure some of that was because of lifestyle, rather than the pregnancy. (I'm a night owl.)

- SERIOUS back pain! Thank god the past two days have let up a bit, because if every day was like last Saturday through Monday, I'd be having some serious issues right now. The only time I was comfortable was when I was either laying in my bed, or sitting on my couch. There really was no in-between. Everything else sucked.

- Shortness of breath: I have it. The weirdest shit like opening the window when driving down the road.. I have to take a big breath and try to relax, because I feel myself starting to lose my breath when that gush of air comes through the window.

- Big belly! Yeah, no to mention that.. Putting on my socks and shoes has become quite the task. I always have this sort of grunt at the beginning of leaning over, and when I'm coming back up. haha. The grunt comes out other times as well. Like when I'm getting out of the bath tub, in/out of the car, or even just rolling over in bed. I've started to sound like a pig, I'm sure. (Though, husband is calling me "Dragon" now because I'm been jumping on his case, and Kev's case about cleaning up after themselves.. I'm not a damn maid!)

- Stairs are my enemy. Seriously. And I have to walk up stairs EVERY SINGLE DAY. Why? Because our house is cleverly located above the garage. And we have a two-floor house. Also? I take the train to/from work typically 5 days per week. The train? What does that have to do with it? Yeah, to get to the train you have to walk DOWN the stairs, down the hallway which is "under ground," then go back UP the stairs to where your train stops. WHEW! I lose my breath just writing that! Yeah..


Okay. Enough with that!
I also took this picture today, which reminds me I need a haircut.. Holy forehead! haha.

Happy Thursday! 

Boobies! (TMI post)

I read a lot of mother blogs. The ones that I find the most interesting are the ones who are down-right HONEST. Honest about motherhood not being all it's cracked up to be. Honest by using profanity in their posts because you know they've always wanted to say the exact same thing to their children, but they don't. And honest about things along the lines of TMI (too much information).

And well, today my post is a little TMI. Save yourself now if you don't want to read it! (Click that big red X on the top right side of the page.)

I am 19 weeks pregnant today. So far, nothing amazing has happened, unless you count the occasional bowel movement that feels like it's pulling my guts out. I had "morning sickness" for about 2.5 weeks, starting during week 6. I was nauseous during that time but I was only dry heaving, meaning I never actually threw up. And it remains the same now. I have not thrown up the entire pregnancy.

When people ask me "How is your pregnancy?" I reply with "Normal" or "Boring" because nothing exciting has really happened, excluding getting the ultrasound photos from my doctor. So you'd be surprised to what I woke up to today!

Since I am only 19 weeks pregnant, I haven't bought ANY pregnancy clothes. I have gained give or take 5 pounds and my clothes all still fit. Sure, I am uncomfortable in tight jeans now, but that's bound to happen. I've done some window shopping for maternity clothes, but haven't bought anything (yet). I've mostly looked at jeans, and bras. I know that I'm going to need some new bras very soon because my tits have grown soo much! And they were already a size D!

Back to the reason for the post.. When I woke up today, I needed to pee. When I stood up I saw in the closet mirrors that I had a little wet spot around my my left nipple!

"What the fuck?!" I said to myself and my husband who was getting ready for work.
Husband said "What?" then saw and started laughing.
"I think I'm leaking! What the fuck?!"
And then we both laughed together.

It was only my left nip. It was wet, my tank top was wet, and a little spot on the bed where I was laying was wet. Pretty amusing, but I was confused as hell, and I still am, as I didn't expect any nip leakage at 19 weeks pregnant! So I grabbed a couple squares of toilet paper and put them on the inside of my tank and the outside, and held it there for a while. It dried up and I have been checking my nips on and off throughout the day to see if they are leaking again. Nothing yet!

Exciting, right?

Yeah, not really..