thanksgiving weekend

whew!  it's been a busy couple of weeks, topped off with this cold that i've been fighting now for 2 weeks, and i'm way behind on some blog updates!  so first up, thanksgiving!

our thanksgiving weekend was a whirlwind of activity.  we got to hershey on wednesday night and after dinner and much debate, matt and i decided to meet up with his brother and his girlfriend out for a drink.  i can't believe i even made it out, since we didn't even head out till 10, but i knew we were only going to houlihan's, which is only open till 11, so i knew that a) it wouldn't be loud and crowded and b) i knew we wouldn't be out late (or long).  so we met up with them for one drink, then headed back home and went to bed.

thursday morning we woke up and i cooked up a batch of my aunt em's praline sweet potatoes.  thankgiving just isn't thanksgiving without them, so when we don't go to michigan for thankgiving with my family, i make them for thanksgiving with matt's family.  around noon, we headed over to the place that matt's family rents for thanksgiving. they've rented this place the past several years because the family has just gotten too big for someone to host at their home - it ends up being around 40 people!  it's basically a potluck, so everyone brings a dish to contribute to the meal.  we stayed there till about 6 or so.  it was great to catch up with the family, and my dad actually came down to eat with us, too.  i finally got to a point where i was absolutely exhausted, so matt and i packed up what was left of our sweet potatoes and went back to my mom's.

on friday, matt and jeff went to play golf, and my mom and i went out to run a few errands.  we went to jo-ann fabrics to get some orange fabric that my mom needed, and then did some grocery shopping for my bridal shower.  we stayed away from the black friday shopping, as is our tradition - i can honestly say i've never ever done black friday shopping, and i have no intention to start now.  blech.  friday night, we went back over to matt's parents' for dinner, and then over to my friend nicole's for drinks and so i could finally meet her boyfriend (who i love, yay!).   we left there around 11, and went straight to bed.

saturday was a pretty lazy day.  we hung around, watching football and movies.  saturday night was my high school reunion.  15 years, what?!  it was held at troeg's brewery, and despite my concerns, it was actually a really fun night.  only about 15 people showed up, but it was a lot of my girlfriends and a bunch of guys that i actually didn't hang out with high school but do now thanks to them being friends with matt and his brothers, so it was a nice intimate little group and everyone got along really well.  we attempted to take a nice class picture, but were having a hard time getting some people under control....

me and 2 of  my besties, abriel and nicole

sunday was my baby shower, so i'll come back to that in another post...

7 months later....

today i was ready a conception story on hellobee, and as the blogger spoke about her journey to pregnancy with her partner, and their subsequent positive pregnancy test, i couldn't help but get a little choked up.  i can't believe that a little more than 7 months ago, i was anxiously peeing on a pregnancy test, waiting to see the 2nd pink line show up.  and when i had a faint 2nd pink line, i decided to wait another 24 hours to see if the word "pregnancy" floated up on the screen of a digital test.  the blogger i was reading took the tests with her partner present.  i took mine by myself.  with the first test and the faint 2nd pink line, i was excited but reserved.  i showed it to matt and he also cautioned not to get my hopes up, because there was barely a line.  so i forced down the lump rising in my throat and attempted to keep my feelings in check. 

24 hours later, in the bathroom at my friend abriel's house in peachtree city, ga, there i sat, waiting for the word "pregnancy" to vaporize before my eyes.  in my heart of hearts, i knew it would be positive.  even though i'd read that positive results usually pop up right away, i made myself not look for a full....maybe 90 seconds.  finally i couldn't stand it any longer, and there it was.  pregnant.  i was pregnant.  we were going to have a baby.  this was actually happening.  i sat there in shock for a minute, just staring at the test.  and then i just giggled.  because that's what i do when i'm nervous or excited - i giggle.  like a schoolgirl.  like a fool on a holiday.  take your pick of cheesy cliches.  finally, i gathered myself together, replaced the cap on the test, washed my hands, and went back to the bedroom, hands shaking the whole way, idiotic grin on my face.  i woke matt up and showed him the test.  he looked at it, looked at me, looked at it, and then just smiled and said, "wow!"  and that's when i finally cried.  while i giggled. 

i had no idea the journey i was in for when i saw that word on the screen.  i had no idea that i would spend a few weeks terrified by the thought of having toxoplasmosis.  i had no idea that i would have contractions and have to go to the petu at 28 weeks, and spend a scary 5 hours waiting to find out if i was going into preterm labor.  i had no idea that my sister would shortly announce her pregnancy and then find out that she is also having a little boy, so that our babies can grow up and be best friends.  i had no idea how much i would love this little man, even though i haven't even "met" him. 

35 weeks

*having serious timing issues.  written on thurs 12/6.*

due date: jan 10
how many weeks down/days left/days of work left: 35 weeks/35 days/21 days
baby is the size of: a honeydew melon
sleep: not good.  i still have that cold, so i'm up to blow my nose and/or sneeze and/or cough several times a night.  still also snoring, so poor matt.  
best moment this week: we successfully pulled off a surprise party for my mom on sunday.  it was her 60th birthday on 11/24, plus she and my step-dad retired on 11/30.  she was completely surprised!  
what are you looking forward to: saturday we're hosting our entire families at our house for a christmas party.  we can't go home for the holidays this year, so we decided to celebrate with everyone all at once.   
what do you miss:  sleep. 
symptoms: big belly.  back and hip pain.  crappy sleep.  lots of  peeing.  the braxton hicks contractions have slowed, though, so that's good.  my hands are also swollen to the point that they hurt, and my grip is seriously affected - it's like having arthritis.
weight gain: 26 pounds.  i lost a couple of pounds, which is unbelievable considering the amount of water i'm retaining.  
movement:  he is so active.  i will miss it.
gender: baby boy!! 
belly button: it's not an actual outtie, but it definitely sticks out.
rings: off.  i'm wearing my opal in place of my wedding/engagement rings, so at least i still have something there.

34 weeks

*didn't take a bump picture this week, either, but got some pictures at my mom's party...more to come on that*

*written on friday 11/30*

how far along are you: 34 weeks
due date/days left: jan 10/41 days
baby is the size of: a canteloupe
sleep: pretty terrible this week.  i got a cold (stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing).  not only does it make my sleep terrible, but apparently i'm snoring quite a bit, so poor matt is suffering, too.       
best moment this week: not 1 but 2 showers this week!  i had my big friends/family shower on sunday, and then my department at work threw me a shower on tuesday!  hoping my mom emails me the pictures soon.   
what are you looking forward to: planning to put some stuff away in the nursery and starting the baby's laundry this weekend. 
what do you miss:  sleep. 
symptoms: big belly.  back and hip pain.  crappy sleep.  lots of  peeing.  the braxton hicks contractions have slowed, though, so that's good.   
weight gain: 28 pounds.  yeah, i put on a few extra over thanksgiving weekend...  
movement:  he is so active.  i will miss it.
gender: baby boy!! 
belly button: it's pretty close to popping!
rings: off.  i'm wearing my opal in place of my wedding/engagement rings, so at least i still have something there.

just like his daddy

after a long night of cooking, shopping, and working on the nursery, i'm sitting in bed with my feet propped on 2 pillows, waiting for the swelling to go down.  matt is asleep next to me.  as is his signature move, his lips are pursed, like he's ready to plant a kiss on whoever wakes him up.  i once told him that pursed lips are his tell: i know when he's tired (or drunk) just by looking at his mouth.  i wonder if our baby will do the same thing.  in one of our ultrasound pictures, we could swear it looks like baby boy has his lips pursed, just like his daddy. 

i just can't wait to meet him and see if he has the same adorable little quirk...

bothers me...

you know what really bothers me?  ok, background a bit.  have you heard of placenta encapsulation?  it's where you pay someone to come, take your placenta, dry it out, then encapsulate it into pills for you to digest post-partum.  the belief is that it helps fight post-partum depression because it contains all your pregnancy hormones, so you don't have that sudden drop/spike of hormonal changes that can contribute to ppd.  the side effects or negatives?  none, really.  i dunno, i think it sounds pretty brilliant, and if it didn't cost $200-$300 or whatever, i actually totally think i'd do it. 

so you know what really bothers me?  when people go, "have you heard about these people who eat their placenta?  that is so disgusting."  dudes, they're not eating their placenta.  they're not sitting down at the dinner table with some fava beans and a nice chianti. this isn't silence of the lambs type shit.  this is someone whisks it away and then shows back up with some pills.  it's really not that gross - get over it, people.

33 weeks

*we didn't get an actual bump photo this week, but we have lots of pictures from the baby shower, so i'll be sure to post those as soon as my mom emails them to me!*

*also, i wrote this thinking i'd schedule it to post on thursday.  i forgot.  so it's a few days late.* 

baby is the size of: a durian fruit (a what?!)
how far along are you: 33weeks
due date/days left: jan 10/49 days
sleep:  i had a few nights where i actually slept through the night.  but then i woke up at 3am tuesday and couldn't go back to sleep.      
best moment this week: our childbirth class.  initially, the videos made me want to keep this kid in me forever, but then the actual education made it seem a little less scary.   
what are you looking forward to: it's a big week!  thanksgiving on thursday, 15th class reunion on saturday, and my shower on sunday!  we're gonna see so many people, i cannot wait! 
what do you miss:  sleep. 
symptoms: i felt enormous this week.  i swear i could actually feel myself getting bigger at some points.  and my back and hips hurt constantly.  i have an appointment with a prenatal chiropractor on monday.  i hope it helps.  and swelling. 
weight gain: about 23 pounds.  
movement:  like crazy!
gender: baby boy!! 
belly button: shockingly, still in!
rings: off.  )c:  when i wake up in the morning, my hands and feet are pretty puffy.  my feet go down eventually, but my hands stay at least a little puffy all day.  i am no longer comfortable with my rings on because i worry about being able to get them off.  a few times it was pretty difficult, and i'm just not willing to take the risk anymore.  one of my high school friends just reminded me that they had to cut her toe ring off when she went into labor with her daughter!