Live from L&D

I can't believe I'm going to be that woman....the one who is blogging during labor. Technically I'm not in labor, just waiting here for my good ol spinal tap & then it's off to the O.R.

It's pretty safe to say I slept for maybe 4 hours last night & it was definately in shifts. 20 minutes here, 45 minutes there.
It's like Christmas Eve times 1000.

So here I lay. Fetal monitor on, IV in place, belly shaved, watching some Married With Children & Family Matters with Dustin. Hopefully our baby girl will be here within the next 2 hours. Our lil Sprout......this is going to be one of the best days of my life <3 Until next time (which will be overloaded with uber cute pictures I'm sure!)
 

Eviction Notice Served

Dear Sprout,
   
     Well baby girl, it's been quite the journey hasen't it? And now an even more beautiful journey is about to begin. Mommy's appointment with the doctor went great this morning & I'm officially off the pre-eclampsia list. Who knows what was going on last week, but thankfully it was just a (scary) fluke.

So this means that your official eviction notice has been served & you have less than 48 hours to remove yourself from the top of my bladder.

I'm honestly in a state of denial. I just can't believe it's finally time. The past week I've had these vivid dreams of what you'll look like....I'm so excited to see if you will look like Brooklyn did when she was a newborn. If you'll have my dark hair or Daddy & Brookie's light hair. If you have Brookie's lil button nose.  I can't wait to meet you, my sweet Lil Sprout.

I've held you under my heart for the past 9 months & now you'll finally be in my arms. I love you sweet girl & I'll see you soon.

Love,
Mommy xoxox

38 Weeks!

How far along?: 38 weeks. Holy crap ya'll, this is my last questionnaire!

Total weight gain/loss: 38 lbs. It was at 40, but I did lose 2 pounds of water weight at my appt this morning. I will also say that at 38 weeks with Brooklyn I was up 55 lbs. So I'm still pretty proud of myself.

Maternity clothes? I wanna burn em. Nothing fits, nothing looks right, I just want my AE jeans back!

Sleep: shmeep. I spend my nights peeing, day (night???) dreaming about Sprout's birth, wondering all the what ifs, and rolling from side to side in a pool of sweat.

Best moment this week: Being taken off the pre-eclampsia list. That was a HUGE relief.

Food cravings: Still lovin the Oreos, but I've mainly been thirsty. I don't know if I'm dehydrated or what but I think I could chug a gallon or 2 of water a day.

Gender: Sissy <3

Movement: Sleeps during the day, wide awake at night. The vicious cycle starts.

What I am looking forward to: Why Wednesday of course!!

What I miss: Aw hell, I miss it all.

Words Of Wisdom: Not much else to advise. It's go time ladies & gents!

Milestones: It's finally time. Without a doubt I'll be meeting my daughter this week. My GOD that went fast. Thanks for following my pregnancy journey!

Meeting Denied. Take That Pre-E!

Lets call a spade a spade, I really thought today was It's Go Time! day. I've had a headache ever since my appt yesterday, (TMI) I thought my urine looked...well different, and I was actually seeing spots in the air. Glitter spots. Sure they were pretty, but I don't think it's really normal unless you're Adam Lambert.

So last night I slept like absolute crap thinking that Sprout was going to arrive today. I was mainly nervous, but also excited. I spent extra time just snuggling Brooklyn this morning & got my bag all packed & Sprout's diaper bag all together. I even had my mom take some "last belly pics" today. Just for shits & giggles, here they are!

P.S....Keep in mind that I gained 6 lbs of water weight in 7 days. Although my new friend Chin Chin & I don't get along & my cankles resemble Rosemarys from Shallow Hal, it could be worse! Here's 37 weeks, 5 days.

I also had her take some with Brooklyn. And she was being sooooo stinkin cute, so even though I thought I looked mighty ugh, I couldn't not post them.

Back to the pee. I drop it off (toting a big ol cooler into the hospital. I wasn't just gonna carry my jug-o-pee in there. And, of course, I run into a drug rep from work who gave me the 3rd degree until I made him feel uncomfortable talking about my urine) and go home to wait for a call from the nurse.

In order for the c-section to take place today, 300 mg of protein would've needed to show up. 200 mg did. No baby today. Now don't get me wrong, the longer Sprout bakes, the better. I tried not to get my hopes up, but I kinda did. It was kind of a win/lose-win/lose situation. I'm just grateful that I'm not yet labeled as pre-eclamptic. Although I'm so uncomfortable & ready, I'm really glad Dustin & I get to spend this weekend with Brookie. Her last as an only child <3

So what's next? I'm told to take it easy this weekend & rest (which is soooooo easy to do with a goofy toddler), come in for a urine, weight, & blood pressure recheck on Monday, and we go from there. If all is good on Monday, we'll be meeting our daughter on Wednesday. So no matter what, by the end of this month, I will be the extremely proud parent of TWO gorgeous girls.

And I can't wait.

Well, well....are we meeting again?!?

Let's flash back to almost 2 years ago. I went into my doctor appt at 37 weeks, 6 days, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (https://health.google.com/health/ref/Preeclampsia), induced that day, and I delivered Brooklyn the next day @ 38 weeks.

I went into my appt this morning at 37 weeks, 4 days feeling good. I had a headache, but I missed breakfast so I summed it up to that. I also noticed that my legs and face looked puffy, but it's also been 90 degrees here and the humidity has been horrible, so I once again summed it up to that. When my OB comes in the room, he looks worried. My urine doesn't look good, I have protein spilling over into it. When the nurse took my BP, it was raised some but when the Dr took it, it was sky high. 160/106. Scary high. And the cherry on top is I've gained 6 lbs since my appt last Thursday. 6 lbs in 7 days. This is the nasty combination of pre-e, or at least the start of it.

So here's what happens from here. I freak out (naturally! I mean, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Brooklyn & I just don't know if I'm ready for Sprout to be here yet. I mean, I am but I'm not. Make sense? Didn't think so), I do a 24 hour urine collection (Yes ew, but whaddya do?), and wait for the results tomorrow. Then we discuss what goes on from there. Will I meet my little girl earlier than next Wednesday? I just might. All I care is that she is healthy & safe, whatever it takes to accomplish that I'll do.

I'll keep ya'll posted. FYI---thoughts & prayers are always appreciated :)

37 Weeks....FULL TERM!

How far along?: 37 weeks.

Total weight gain/loss: 34 lbs. Will I make it?!? Will I make it?!?

Maternity clothes? I have nothing to friggin wear. My shirts are too short, I'm sick of my capris, jeans are too hot, no one wants to see me in shorts (trust), my go to maxi dress is becoming dull. I'm tempted to just birthday suit it for the next 10 days.

Sleep: would be great if I could be comfortable on one side for the entire night. Rolling side to side makes my pelvis ache and jolts baby girl awake.

Best moment this week: I had lunch with 2 friends from high school yesterday. One is 34 weeks & the other is 37 weeks. We had so much fun just tearing up Mexican & talking about our girls (yep, we're all having girls)

Food cravings: Nothing really. I've just been uber thirsty this week.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: is mainly in the evening now. And thats when all my Braxton Hicks occur too. Another lil night owl in the making....suuuuuuper.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing my baby girls face, smelling her sweet scent, snuggling a newborn, seeing Brooklyn & her meet for the first time, I could go on & on.

What I miss: Whaddya think? An alcoholic beverage, por favor.

Words Of Wisdom: If you already have a child/children, spend as much one on one time as possible with them in your last weeks. Ask Brooklyn....I've been borderline smothering her.

Milestones: I'm full term....ohmigravy. All she's doing is gaining weight in there, she's completely ready to come on out. And I'm completely ready to meet her.


Happy Fathers Day to the most amazing Daddy I could ask for for my girls <3 Brooklyn, the uber creative & clever girl she is, made Dustin something a lil special this year.

The finished product =) Dustin absolutely loves it....

It's In The Bag

I'm not gonna lie. I still haven't packed my hospital bag. I know I really need too, but for some reason I've been seriouslly putting it off. I do, however, have a list of what's going inside. Ohhhh how I love making lists!

*Travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, & body wash. With Brookie I packed my regular sized shower needs & accidently left my conditioner in the shower. And with this mane, I can't not have conditioner so it was just an inconvience to go buy more. Especially when I only got to shower once while I was there (yes.ew.) And deodorant. I left my body spray/perfume at home since your newborns skin will be so sensitive. Who knows what she could have a reaction to.

*Toothbrush & toothpaste. I went with a travel size tube & just got a new cheap brush.

*Blowdryer & flat iron. Just to feel normal after that 1st shower.

*Make up bag. I'm tellin you what, when you have visitors coming and pictures being taken, foundation, powder, bronzer, & mascara make a world of difference. Especially when you look back at the pictures!

*Travel size bag of make up remover fash wash cloths.

*Body pillow. A 100% necessity. It was the ONLY way I got any sleep after I had Brooklyn. The c/s site hurt so bad & the bed was so uncomfortable, this pillow was my only salvation.

*1 nursing bra, 3 pairs of undies (although I mainly wore my lovely mesh panties), a pair of jami pants, 2 comfy shirts, a pair of socks, and flip flops.

*Going home outfit for you. I've got a pair of yoga pants & a nursing tank. Remember you'll still have a shmedium belly.

*Going home outfit for your baby. I actually have a couple different things set aside for Sprout depending on the weather. I have her Little Sister onesie (for photo ops of course!), and then a sleeveless one piece & socks and a onesie & pants outfit. I also packed her personalized hat, a cute receiving blanket for hospital pics, and a cute headband.

*Boppy Pillow. It was great for when I was nursing & when my nephew came to visit, it helped him with holding her.

*Cell phone, cell phone charger, camera, batteries, camcorder, charger, & a new cassette. Even though I have my Droid, I may bring my laptop. We'll see.

*Magazines. My Momma's been holding People back from me for the past 3 weeks.

Aaaaand I think that might be about it. Thank goodness we live about 15 minutes away from the hospital so if I ever need or forget anything, Dustin or my mom can go run home & grab it for me. Maybe they could even sneak my BrookCakes in for me overnight =( I'm gonna miss this girl sooo much at night!

I really need to get this bag packed....especially since I was on the fetal monitor at the docs for 30 minutes today. Everything is ok, I just haven't felt well since last night & Dustin told me "better safe than sorry" so I went in for a quick check up today. The cramping, nausea, vertigo feeling had nothing to do with Sprout (Thank goodness!) because her heart rate is great, I only contracted once when I was on the monitor, & I'm only dialated "a fingertip" which is basically nada. I think I might've caught something at work, or I've been overdoing it in the 90 degree humidity. Either way, I gotta get prepared! 12 days (or sooner) until BDAY!!!!

36 Weeks!

I knoooooow ya'll, I'm uber late this week. And it's not that this week was bad (well, despite the fact our basement flooded due to the Seattle like rains we've been having recently), I just never got around it to. So to make up for my lack of feeling picture ready, I give you nakey belly.

Unedited! How brave am I?!? As you can see, Sprout has made a couple lil friends turn bright red, angry, & travel north. But I'll take my battle wounds =)

Without further ado.....

Dig my belly button ring scar & stretchie above? Or the fact that my belly can buuuurly fit in frame?

Or the attractive toliet in the background?!? How Myspace of me.

*shudder* the frontal view. Dustin thinks its funny to poke my popped button & claim it looks like a butthole. Nice huh?

How far along? 36 weeks (pics from 36 weeks, 4 days)

Total weight gain/loss: 34 lbs. My goal throughout this entire pregnancy was to stay under 35 lbs....but with this Oreo obsession that's just kicked in, I dunno if I'm gonna make it!

Maternity clothes? I went and bought a couple new shirts at Old Navy the other day. They were a lil pick me up and don't look maternity so I can wear them this summer.

Sleep: Am I back in the 1st trimester?!? The all day fatigue is redic.

Best moment this week: Sprout's nursery is all done! I can't wait to post pictures, but since her name is in the room (multiple times) it'll have to wait juuuust a few more weeks.

Food cravings: Strawberries. I would give anything to just sit in a strawberry patch and mow down. And lemonade. Not that Minute Maid crap, the real stuff. Oh & Oreo's. But not plain, they gotta be soggified in milk.
Ok, so that 35 lb goal is going to hell on a silver platter.

Gender: Sissy =)

Movement: She is SO crammed. When I went to my appt last week, my belly button poked out so far that my OB was concerned that I had a hernia. Nope, she's just pushed out to the max!

What I am looking forward to: Maternity leave!!! Only 3 more work days left!

What I miss: Being able to play with Brookie. We still have our fun now, but I'm just looking forward to chasing her & rolling around & being goofy with her again!

Words Of Wisdom: As uncomfortable as I am, I'm really trying to enjoy these last weeks. I know I'll miss feeling her inside of me & I'll even miss this sweet belly. So take some time everyday and just soak in the moment.

Milestones: 9 months!!! I know, I know, the whole 36 weeks=9 months because 36/4=9, so you're actually pregnant 10 months but it's really just 9 full months is confusing. But hey, I'm 9 months pregnant so roll with it, mkay?

Regression?!?

I didn't think Brooklyn would start regressing until Sprout was actually here....but maybe I was wrong ;)

Now that we're getting Brookie's old things out of storage (o.m.g...already?!?!?), she's starting to think "woo hoo, new toys for meeeeee!"

Like here....

This is when she started saying "Uh-ohhhh, I stuck, I STUCK!"

And she really was. But I let her stay stuck for a few minutes just to capture some pics. Mean mommy!

And here....

Here's newborn Brookie (awwww) and very sleepy Mommy. Focus on the hat here...

Well she found it the other day & demanded on wearing it. All.day.long. This is the girl that tears off all headbands, all hats, anything. But she kept this hat on for at least 2 hours while she played.

Hard to capture a moving toddler!

ha!

The stretch of this hat was incredible!

She also whines "I sleepy, pleeeeease, I sleep here!" whenever we go into Sprout's nursery and she sees her crib. But whenever we ask her if she's a baby, so goes "No! I a big girl!" Let's hope she remembers that here at the end of the month =)

1 (and a half) Girls and 7 Years Ago....

7 years. A beautiful daughter & one on the way. We've been through so much together & still are stubbornly smitten. Wanna have a giggle? Check this out....

(This is actually our very first "boyfriend/girlfriend" picture)

Happy Anniversary Dustin! Here's to another 7(ty) years together <3

Brooklyns Big Girl Room!

So we've been in our new house for about 2 weeks now. And we're almost completely unpacked. It's crazy when you see how much crap a tiny family of 3 can accumulate in under 2 years....needless to say we have quite a bit of stuff in totes in the basement and attic.

Anywho, while most of the rooms are about 90% done (except for Sprout's nursery...that's about 50% done. I really need to get on the ball!), there is 1 room that is 100% done. And that is Miss Brook Cakes Magoozers big girl room!

Remember what it looked like before???

Here's the finished after!

(The hot pink curtains are giving the room a rosy glow. You can see in a couple pics though how beautiful the yellow color is)

I can't wait to get a picture of my 2 girlies in that "The Girls" frame on the left.

Brookie's buddies. She had to pick out her favorites and she also insisted in picking out what order they went in lol

Because a girl can't have too many hair accessories (and actually, not all of them fit on these lol)

Her favorite thing in her room. Just like her Mommy, can't leave a room without checking herself out in the mirror =)

Her closet....

is packed!!! Even all those shelves on the right there (which, by the by, are a Godsend!)

Brookie's closet on the left, Sprout's is on the right.

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. The wall color is perfect and all of her pink and brown accessories from her nursery look great. I can't believe my sweet girl is in her very own big girl room!

I PROMISE that as soon as the other rooms are 100%, I'll be posting before and after pics!

35 Weeks! And 25th birthday!

How far along? 35 weeks. I look tired. Can ya'll tell I'm really feeling done?!?

Total weight gain/loss: 32 lbs.

Maternity clothes? I'm totally bored with them. What I really wanna do is take $200 and get a new maternity wardrobe so I can at least feel semi stylish. But with only 3 and a half weeks to go, that's asinine.

Sleep: I feel like I'm on 3rd shift. Although we FINALLY have our bed, I sleep like crap. With every lil Sprout nudge I have to pee. I'm up at least 4 times a night for the teeniest tiniest lil pee breaks. So come 10a-11a, I'm exhausted and in dire need of a nap.

Best moment this week: Date night last night with my hubby for my birthday. And then spending all day today at home with my girly.

Food cravings: Cake. With whipped frosting. And huge glasses of milk.

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: makes my whole belly look like a tidal wave.

What I am looking forward to: Walking into BW3's, getting their cocktail list, and telling the waiter Start from the top and keep em comin! 

What I miss: Refer to previous question. 

Words Of Wisdom: Quit procrastinating! Sure, I technically have 5 weeks until I'm due. But I'm delivering in a little over 3....BUT she could come as early as next week. Who knows!? GET ON THE BALL!

Milestones: The infamous 35/35. Wizow!

Last night Dustin took me out for my birthday. It was more than likely the last date night we'll have for awhile, so we took full advantage of my Mom saying she'd watch Brookie for us. We went to Red Lobser (even though Dustin hates any kind of seafood) and had a great dinner....although we mainly talked about Brookie & Sprout lol. And Dustin just haaaaad to mention to our waitress that it was my birthday, so I was sung too. But at least them knowing it was my birthday got me extra strawberries on top of my cheesecake =)

It was really nice to get out together <3

And since I knew that today was going to be a lazy shmazy day, I took a pic last night.

Then today we had a low key lil celebration at home...where Dustin decided to try & help induce labor by adding an obsene amount of Franks hot sauce & red pepper flakes to the chili.

I told him not to get me a cake. We had soooo much leftover cake from Sprout's Sprinkle. So did he listen? Nope, he got me a cake. Then good ol Uncle Jeffy came over this evening...and brought a cake.

OH SWEET MOSES!!! lol

I told Dustin he was going have to take the cakes to his work place because I couldn't be trusted with them. *See my craving for this week!*

Brookie sure did enjoy her cake.

The super cute card Brooklyn got for me =)

She also got me a new blowdryer because mine has officially kicked the can. With this thick mane, I put it through alot!

Then my sweet hubs got me a cute card and a gift card to Old Navy. And he wrote on it Not for Brookie, Not for Sprout, for Mommy after the pregnancy!

Soooooo today was a big day! I hit my 35 week/35 days to go mark in my pregnancy. Today Brookie turned 21 months old. And I'm officially a quarter of a century old.