Things I am Looking Forward To...

So I went to the doctor this week and had my first pelvic exam to find out if I am making any progress toward labor. The doctor said I was 50% effaced, no dilation, and that Everly is head down and at a -2 station. This basically means that she is starting to engage in my pelvis and head toward the birth canal. Yippee! Danny keeps telling me that she is preparing to go down the slip and slide which totally cracks me up because I have this crazy image of her diving out with her arms over head. I know it won't be that easy but it is a good distraction to keep me from thinking about the harsh reality of labor and delivery.

Speaking of labor and delivery, lately all I can think about is what life will be like when I am no longer pregnant. Don't get me wrong, pregnancy is magical and fascinating and all that jazz, but these last few weeks have been hell. I am absolutely miserable and I am ready to meet my baby girl. In addition to meeting Everly (which is the ultimate prize), I am also looking forward to the following:

1. Sleeping on my stomach! I hate sleeping on my side. Plus, I am sick of my arms and hands going numb in the middle of the night. There is nothing worse than waking up to a dead limb.

2. Going to the bathroom on a normal schedule. I promise you that I must go to the bathroom at least 20 times a day. The other night I got up 6 times in the middle of the night to go! How is that even possible?

3. Walking, instead of waddling. I feel like a giant, three toed tree sloth these days.

4. Eating a turkey sandwich from Subway. I really miss deli meat.

5. Drinking a Diet Coke every now and then - My first request after we leave the hospital is a Diet Coke from Chick-fil-A. I swear they have the most delicious and refreshing Diet Coke on this planet. It has something to do with the Styrofoam cup they serve it in that makes it so yummy.

6. Enjoying an ice cold beer. I can hardly wait to watch Alabama football and sip on a cold Miller Lite. "Mmmmmm...it's so delicious when it touches your lips" - Frank the Tank - Old School

7. Having ankles again. My legs and feet are so swollen I now have cankles. I really hate them and cannot wait to have my calves and ankles back.

8. Wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes again. I know that I am not going to pop right back into shape after Everly arrives, but I am optimistic that I will be back in some normal clothes by Thanksgiving or Christmas. I am so sick of wearing the same outfits every week. My belly is getting so big these days that it hangs out of most of my favorite shirts like an old man's beer belly.

9. Getting regular maintenance on my hair. Let's be honest here, I have really let myself go in the hair department since becoming pregnant. Prior to pregnancy I had a cut and color every 6-8 weeks - no exceptions. However, after learning I was pregnant, I went almost 7 months before I had a cut and highlights. I was hesitant to highlight even at that stage but my doctor assured me over and over again that as long as the highlights didn't touch my scalp then Everly would be fine. I got partial highlights on the top of my head to help myself feel somewhat human again back in June but my dark roots have taken over again and I look washed out and tired now. As soon as I am fully recovered from delivery I am making an appointment to get the works done on my hair.

10. Being able to take care of my skin again. I am one of the lucky women who escaped any major breakouts on my face, but I have really struggled with breakouts on my back and chest. My skin has been itchy and oily on my back the entire pregnancy. I hate it and it makes me crazy. Of course you can't use anything to treat it during pregnancy so I am looking forward to seeing a dermatologist after I deliver and get back on a good skin care maintenance program. I know that most of it will clear up on its own after my hormones settle down, but I would like to get a nice back facial to clean up the mess that currently exists on my back.

Pregnancy is no picnic people but it is definitely worth it because after all you are conducting your own little science experiment and growing another human being inside your stomach. I just wish the gestation period was about 1 month shorter.

According to the due date we have about 3.5 weeks baby girl...but feel free to come early if you are ready. :) Your mama and daddy (and big sister) can't wait to meet you!

Hospital Bag Packed...Almost!

Last night I had a dream that I went into labor. It was pretty crazy, as most of my dreams usually are, but in this particular dream I was at the hospital, without Danny or my hospital bag. Never fear though...Bama was there with me! What is that all about??? That is an analysis for another day. Let's get back to the main dilemma in my dream...no Danny and no hospital bag. Danny was missing because he was running around trying to pack my hospital bag while I was in labor. It was truly a stressful event for everyone because he was missing the main event that we have been waiting for all these months. AND, to top it all off, he didn't bring anything that I needed when he finally arrived. Poor Danny! ;)

Needless to say, when I woke up this morning, packing the hospital bag was moved to the top of my to do list for the day. For some reason I have been procrastinating on packing the hospital bag. I'm not exactly sure why...but I think it has something to do with the fact that I am still in denial that labor and delivery is actually going to happen. No, I am not crazy. I realize that I am pregnant and I know there is a baby in my tummy that has to come out, but it just feels like it is never going to happen. I seriously feel like I have been pregnant for 10 years. Waiting for Everly's arrival has been the absolute hardest thing I have ever had to do in my whole entire life. Right now I can't think about anything but her. I often find myself sitting around and daydreaming about what she will look like and what our days will be like after she arrives. Nothing else seems to matter except her.

Maybe that dream was my subconscious telling me that she is coming sooner than I think. Wishful thinking? Maybe. Either way, I am not going to be caught off guard. I am off to pack.

Baby Girl's Room

As most of you know we currently live in a 1 BR apartment, which is not exactly the ideal living space when starting a family. Although our place is pretty large for a 1 BR (about 1200 square feet) and has tons of 1920's art deco character, I was pretty bummed out when I realized that we were still going to be living here when Everly arrived (our current lease is not up until January).

Even though we have planned from the very beginning to have Everly sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first couple of months, my nesting instincts took over this summer and I was determined to make a unique space that belonged to her before she arrived. I decided to get creative and turn our dining room into her nursery. Of course hand painted murals on the walls and clouds on the ceiling would have been my first choice, but since that was not an option, I made the best of what I had to work with here. After months of research into nursery decor and countless hours of shopping, I am proud to unveil Miss Everly's room.

Guess Who Is Anxiously Awaiting Everly's Arrival?

Every time I walk into Everly's nursery I find Bama lounging on her rug. Now granted the rug is really soft and super comfy, but she has really taken a strong interest in all of the baby gear sitting around the house. She also likes to be close to my belly these days. She sniffs it, kisses it, and rests her head on it all the time. Everly kicks every now and then and catches Bama completely off guard. It is so cute! I just know that these two are going to be the best of friends.

Belly Pics

I have been slacking BIG time with the belly pics. Here are a few more recent ones to document my ever expanding belly:

29 Weeks

31 Weeks

33 Weeks

34 Weeks


*The last two photos are a sneak peek from the maternity photo shoot Danny and I did last weekend. More photos coming soon!!! :)

She is a wild one and a whopper!

So we went to the doctor this week and received some interesting news. It appears that our sweet little Everly is growing and developing ahead of schedule. The doctor decided to do an ultrasound because she said I just "looked big" to her in the stomach. Even though my stomach only measured 35 cm (you are supposed to measure 1 cm for every week you are pregnant), the ultrasound showed that Everly's head and stomach are both measuring at 36 weeks. Her little legs are right on target for 34 weeks. Here's the scary part though...according to the doctor's estimate she already weighs 6 pounds and one ounce! Yowsa! This is a tad bit alarming to me because babies supposedly gain about a pound a week during the last 6 weeks in the womb. Yes, you calculated correctly...that means if Everly continues to grow at the same rate then she could technically be a 12 pound baby if she decides to wait until her due date to arrive. I cannot even imagine giving birth to a 12 pound baby! OUCH!

Of course our doctor could see the panic in my eyes as soon as she told us her weight. She immediately assured us that she would keep a close watch on it over the next 4-6 weeks to ensure that it did not get out of hand. She said that if Everly continued to gain weight at the current rate then she would have no problem getting her out early. Phew! What a relief!

We already have a 3-D ultrasound scheduled for the first week of September so we can get an accurate measurement and update on her weight at 38 weeks. I figure this is a win win situation either way. If she comes early then we don't have to wait any longer to meet her. If we have to wait until she decides to come on her own at least we will get a 3-D sonogram picture that will hopefully give us a glimpse into what she is going to look like. :)

Everly continues to be a very active little girl in my belly. The doctor even called her a "wild one" during the ultrasound because as soon as she put the device on my belly Everly punched and kicked as hard as she could. She continued to wiggle and squirm the entire time making it very difficult to get measurements. Luckily, our doctor is SUPER patient so she waited it out and finally got the data she needed. Bless her little heart...I know that her space is getting pretty tight in my tummy because I can feel every twitch and turn she makes. Hang in there little watermelon baby! You don't have too much longer.

Latest Cravings

Throughout my pregnancy I haven't had too many weird or odd cravings. As a matter of fact I have had a really hard time getting in touch with food all together. Nothing has really sounded good, except salad with Ranch dressing and bacon bits, Kashi Go Lean cereal, fruit, and the occasional dessert after we finish with dinner at a restaurant. And for those of you who know me...salads and veggies are not how I normally roll. Danny and I joke all the time that Everly is going to be a little health nut and lecture us about our junk food habits.

Since about mid-way through the 2nd trimester I have been suffering from fierce heartburn and an upset stomach any time I eat something greasy. While I roll around in misery and run to the bathroom every 10 minutes, Danny always laughs and says that this is Everly's way of kicking all the trash out of her condo.

In the last few weeks a new trend has started with my cravings though. They are gross and I know they are not the best options, but dammit it is hard to deny a pregnant woman's cravings. I am trying to practice moderation but if I said that I didn't think about the two items below every time we talk about food then I would be lying. Are you ready...

1. A chili cheese dog, with mustard, in a pretzel bun from Wienerschnitzel. OMG! I swear it is the most delicious thing I have eaten throughout this entire pregnancy. And guess what? I don't think Everly minds it either because it is one of the only unhealthy choices I have made that she doesn't beat me up from the inside out when I eat it.

2. A Slurpee from 7-11. Usually these drinks are way too sweet for me but for some reason I have been craving crushed ice the last couple of weeks. And since I have not been able to find one restaurant in this town with respectable crushed ice I have to get my crushed ice fix by freezing a Slurpee. After about 2 hours it turns into the yummiest crushed ice treat EVER!

Ok...so there you have it...my latest guilty pleasures. All of this talk about food is making me hungry. I bet you can't guess what I am going to eat for dinner?!!?

Before I go though I want to list the top foods that Everly hates so I can bribe her with this information when she gets older and does not want to eat her vegetables. I already have my speech down, "Oh no, young lady, you can't have the french fries with your Happy Meal. You must get the apple slices instead. I seem to recall a time in my life when you punished me any time I ate something yummy like french fries so I am sure you really want the apple slices." Ha Ha! Who am I kidding? :)

1. Movie Theater Popcorn - This used to be my all time favorite treat until I got pregnant. I tried to eat some when we went to see the Hangover 2 on my birthday and I ended up having to run out of the theater during the last scene! Grrrr!

2. Pizza - Before I got pregnant I could eat pizza every day! Now it makes me so sick I can hardly stand it. :(

3. French Fries - Hot french fries used to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures! These days I would much rather have a baked potato.

Living in a Snow Globe

Funny of the Week: Danny said that my stomach reminds him of a snow globe. He said that every time he looks at my stomach he can just picture Everly inside of it floating around in all the fluid and moving every time I change positions! He is so funny!