Today is March 20th, 2009...meaning my due date is exactly one month from today. YIKES!
And in reality, this baby could come anytime before that too...double YIKES!
I've been feeling pretty good, although the 3rd Trimester has hit me pretty hard the last couple days. My feet have started to swell and ache and I've been uncontrollably hot as well. Come the afternoon I am throwing my hair in a ponytail and pulling up my sleeves...yesterday I started eating ice cubes to try to cool down. And y'all know how rare it is for me to actually be hot. Well, I am wearing short sleeves to work and I sleep with no covers on yet I am constantly sweating! Sometimes I think it is a nice change of pace to not be freezing all of the time. However, I'm now thankful that my pregnancy wasn't during the dead heat of the summer in Texas.
We also had a mini-ultrasound yesterday and learned that our baby has quite a bit of hair on his head! I'm not sure why but this made me really excited...to the point where I couldn't stop talking about it all day!! I am just dying to see what our baby looks like and now I know he has hair. heheheehe... I also know that he had one arm over his eyes and one hand grabbing his feet. I'm sure he's a cutie and I cannot wait to meet him!
So let the countdown to the due date begin....31 days...
Friday, March 20, 2009
It's the small things
The animals are on high-alert. They are all acting a bit….funky. They are exhibiting characteristics that aren’t really in their nature. For example, Sandy is rolling on her back for tummy rubs. Uhm, anyone who knows my favorite blond very well knows that she does not appreciate the vulnerable act of lying on her back. Secondly, our sweet Jerry has developed a bit of an attitude. Mike would argue this a bit and he’ll probably get mad at me if I spill all of the details but let’s just say, we let the dogs outside, heard a lot of barking and growling, and Sandy came in with a bloody ear. Those are the facts. And thirdly, Toby has been a gentle “meowing” sweetheart….quite the opposite of his normal day to day behavior.
When the animals begin acting strangely I always think to myself ‘now what has changed in their lives?’ Like the time Sandy was diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) b/c she was drinking too much water (is that possible? Yes.)…turns out she was internalizing the holiday stress that Mike and I were under. She was one stressed out puppy! As far as changes this time around, all I’ve come up with is:
· We spend a lot of time in the nursery. There is a gate that blocks the dogs from ever entering…so they just stare in from the outside…it is quite sad. Maybe I’ll sneak Sandy in there for one of our late night feeding sessions while Mike is asleep…
· My mom has been in and out of town for the last two weeks. They love grandma but hate to see her go!
· When grandma was in town she didn’t eat any sweets and didn’t sneak the dogs any human food behind Mike and my back. Looks like grandma is getting a bit more responsible!
· Mike and I have switched sides of the bed…mainly due to the fact that I can only lay on one side right now (due to my snoogle pregnancy pillow) and getting in / out of bed on my current side multiple times a night has proven rather difficult…so we switched for the next month. This, of course, means that I am now lying on Jerry’s side of the room while Mike is lying on Sandy’s side of the room. Actually, this explains a lot about the bloody ear thing….
· There is an infant swing set up and ready to go in our living room that the animals keep sniffing and nudging.
· There’s a stroller permanently fixed at our front door.
· There’s a bassinet set up in our bedroom where the doggies used to lie.
· Our nightly walks used to consist of Sandy and me walking up front at a fast pace and Mike and Jerry lagging behind. Now, Mike and Jerry are speed racers compared to me bringing up the rear with Sandy pulling me to try to get in the lead again. She gets pretty frustrated with me.
· The obvious….momma’s growin’ belly.
These small changes have made big changes in the way our 3 current “kids” are acting! I’m hoping that they come to terms with some of these changes before the baby arrives…otherwise we’re going to have 3 new animal personalities on our hands! Actually though, a sweet Toby would be a change I can live with….
When the animals begin acting strangely I always think to myself ‘now what has changed in their lives?’ Like the time Sandy was diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) b/c she was drinking too much water (is that possible? Yes.)…turns out she was internalizing the holiday stress that Mike and I were under. She was one stressed out puppy! As far as changes this time around, all I’ve come up with is:
· We spend a lot of time in the nursery. There is a gate that blocks the dogs from ever entering…so they just stare in from the outside…it is quite sad. Maybe I’ll sneak Sandy in there for one of our late night feeding sessions while Mike is asleep…
· My mom has been in and out of town for the last two weeks. They love grandma but hate to see her go!
· When grandma was in town she didn’t eat any sweets and didn’t sneak the dogs any human food behind Mike and my back. Looks like grandma is getting a bit more responsible!
· Mike and I have switched sides of the bed…mainly due to the fact that I can only lay on one side right now (due to my snoogle pregnancy pillow) and getting in / out of bed on my current side multiple times a night has proven rather difficult…so we switched for the next month. This, of course, means that I am now lying on Jerry’s side of the room while Mike is lying on Sandy’s side of the room. Actually, this explains a lot about the bloody ear thing….
· There is an infant swing set up and ready to go in our living room that the animals keep sniffing and nudging.
· There’s a stroller permanently fixed at our front door.
· There’s a bassinet set up in our bedroom where the doggies used to lie.
· Our nightly walks used to consist of Sandy and me walking up front at a fast pace and Mike and Jerry lagging behind. Now, Mike and Jerry are speed racers compared to me bringing up the rear with Sandy pulling me to try to get in the lead again. She gets pretty frustrated with me.
· The obvious….momma’s growin’ belly.
These small changes have made big changes in the way our 3 current “kids” are acting! I’m hoping that they come to terms with some of these changes before the baby arrives…otherwise we’re going to have 3 new animal personalities on our hands! Actually though, a sweet Toby would be a change I can live with….
Friday, March 13, 2009
T minus 5 weeks
Well, the picture is a bit blurry (you try balancing that basketball around your waist while holding a camera steady facing a mirror at 7am while doing everything you can to look cute when you are that huge...sorry, I'm a bit defensive) but one thing is clear - the boy is getting bigger!
This was taken just yesterday at 34 weeks, 4 days...we are almost entering our 9th month of pregnancy!
We have kicked it into high gear here at the Spruiell household. Between the belly expanding, the restless nights, the 5 minutes it takes me to squirm up from lying down to sitting up or from sitting to standing, the onset of some early contractions, and kicks we have been receiving from our baby boy, we have certainly started nesting!
First up, the nursery. Even though Amy, Andy, and Grace donated all of their super cute jungle themed nursery gear to us that matched the jungle themed border already up on the baby blue wall in the nursery - I decided I wanted to do a sports theme instead. Mike sighed but decided not to argue with his pregnant wife and began the process of taking down the jungle theme border. Well, that proved VERY difficult after trying almost everything Home Depot offered. Our last resort was to just cover up the border with something more basic. Here he is hard at work:
He just finished the work last weekend and it really looks great! We have all the furniture in place, have started the massive loads of laundry, and have begun putting together the various contraptions that will apparently help our baby sleep and us maintain our sanity (swings, bouncy chairs, etc). Last night, Mike came home with a bassinet and set it up in our room. He also bought some net type things that will protect our baby from the ever curious Toby. I will have to do an entire post about the multitude of things my husband has done to protect our baby from our vicious animals.
This weekend we have our hospital tour on Saturday and our full-day childbirth prep class on Sunday. We also plan on getting the car cleaned, installing the car seat, and hanging pictures up in the baby room. Grandma Lois will be in town to help finish the laundry and "oooh and ahhh" at the nursery and cute baby clothes. Because lets be honest: Mike does all the difficult work while I stand around and comment while folding and refolding baby clothes - because they are so darn cute!
Prego Perks
Ever since announcing that I’m pregnant, my boss has been on me to “milk it for all it is worth”. In other words, use my pregnancy to get perks, free stuff, people to cater to my every wish and desire. Those that really know me, realize this is NOT in my nature. I’m a ‘do it yourself’ kinda gal. Even though I was raised in the South, I still open my own doors, don’t necessarily expect someone to give me a seat on public transportation (although I do judge men who push me out of the way to get the open seat), and don’t ask for free stuff.
My boss has tried to use my pregnancy to get us tables in restaurants where we’d usually have to wait and tells me to walk on Bart and yell “I’m pregnant! Now give me a seat!” This past December when we were ordering Christmas cards (late of course) and were shocked how expensive they were going to be for our group, he instructed the associate to “tell them your supervisor is pregnant and we need a discount”. Now if you knew my boss, you’d know he was mostly kidding….but as my pregnancy progressed, I began to realize that he was on to something. I started to realize that people smiled at me more – something VERY rare in this part of the country, they gave up their seat on Bart, someone even lifted my 60 pound suitcase down 3 flights of stairs for me so that I could get on the train to the airport.
Well, this has all become rather convenient. And I’m starting to really use this to my advantage….a few examples:
1. People on bart are notorious for ignoring you or pretending that you don’t exist if you are an elderly person or pregnant lady that needs a seat. I’ve even seen a man hobble onto the bart with a cane get ignored by fellow bart passengers. So after spending the first part of my pregnancy standing up on my 30 – 40 minute bart rides every morning and afternoon, I started to get upset and sometimes very angry. One time I had a man literally push me out of the way when a seat opened up so that he could sit down. My face was beat red. But, I did nothing about it. Any time someone did give me a seat it was always an older woman…someone who I felt needed the seat too! To this day I still don’t ask anyone for their seat but I do strategically place myself around groups of men, stand next to them and their seats, and almost stick my belly in their face. If no one “bites”, I start wiggling my legs, put my bags on the floor, and start taking deep breaths….as if I’m really fatigued…which at this point, isn’t much of an act. Eventually, I get a seat. Who are these people’s mothers??
2. Another bart story. There are lines to get on Bart…for a reason. You don’t break the rules. You stand in line for your train door and do not cut in front of any fellow passengers. The seats are first come first serve and if you are last in line, you are screwed. Honestly, at the end of the work day headed on the Pittsburg / Bay Point line, if you are second in line, you are standing on the train. So one day two guys in their early 20s come strolling along as the bart is about to arrive and cut to the front of the line….which at this point is about 15 people long for my train car. An elderly gentleman steps out of line and up to them to inform them of the line (we’ve got procedures people!). The boy promptly responds with an attitude “THERE AIN’T NO SUCH THING AS A LINE!” and proceeds to board the train…first…and he and his friend get the last two seats on the train. Well, this infuriates me! So I board the train and waddle directly up to their seats, face my belly towards them, and look down. They of course do nothing. So a lady sitting behind them offers me her seat to which I promptly respond “No thanks. I’ll take HIS seat” (as point to the dude in his 20s).
3. After 2.5 years of visiting the same Starbucks and ordering the same drink (except de-café now that I’m prego), they FINALLY know me and know my drink order. They know my name, how to spell it (no more “Jaimiey” or “Sweet Jaime”), and my drink is ready by the time I pay. This started happening during my pregnancy. I am convinced it is because of the pregnancy (who else orders a decaf at 8:30am?) and I’m sure they will forget as soon as this baby comes out. So I’m enjoying it for now.
4. What cat litter?? That’s right. I haven’t had to clean cat litter in 8 months! Because some cats carry toxoplasmosis around and I have been tested and am not immune to it yet, I am not allowed to be around the cat litter. Apparently it is bad for the unborn child. I feel really bad about this one as poor Mike has had been the sole ‘pooper scooper’ for a while now (and we all know how he really feels about Toby in the first place)…I try to compensate by feeding Toby…but then that just makes the kitty like me more.
5. People have stopped judging me on the cookie obsession. In fact, co-workers have been dropping cookies off in my office when I’m not around. Not sure it is the best thing but it is very thoughtful!
6. I’ve been having a busy week and really needed to cancel my dentist appointment for the next day. So I called them up and asked if I could move my appointment to the next week. The receptionist answered that NOT ONLY was she going to have to charge me $100 “because they already had the hygienist coming in for me” (***rolling eyes***) BUT ALSO that she didn’t have an open appointment for 3 weeks. So I play the prego card and state “Oh, that’s unfortunate. It is just that I’m pregnant….5 weeks until I deliver actually…and have had a lot of appointments this week and I cannot take any more time off of work. And if I don’t get an appt for another 3 weeks…well…that may be too late b/c my baby could be here.” Well, guess what??? Magically, the lady had an appointment cancel for the following week (while we were on the phone? Riiiggghtt…) and fit me in for the same time as well. Oh, and she waived the $100 fee. Point – Belly bump.
7. When I forget things at work (like the senior associate in my group’s name for instance), people find it really funny and make some comment about “pregnancy brain” vs. pre-pregnancy when they would blame it on my blonde hair, therefore insinuating that I’m stupid.
I mean after all of the things we pregnant woman deal with, it is nice to get a little break in the end. And, clearly, I'm starting to not feeling that guilty about it.....
My boss has tried to use my pregnancy to get us tables in restaurants where we’d usually have to wait and tells me to walk on Bart and yell “I’m pregnant! Now give me a seat!” This past December when we were ordering Christmas cards (late of course) and were shocked how expensive they were going to be for our group, he instructed the associate to “tell them your supervisor is pregnant and we need a discount”. Now if you knew my boss, you’d know he was mostly kidding….but as my pregnancy progressed, I began to realize that he was on to something. I started to realize that people smiled at me more – something VERY rare in this part of the country, they gave up their seat on Bart, someone even lifted my 60 pound suitcase down 3 flights of stairs for me so that I could get on the train to the airport.
Well, this has all become rather convenient. And I’m starting to really use this to my advantage….a few examples:
1. People on bart are notorious for ignoring you or pretending that you don’t exist if you are an elderly person or pregnant lady that needs a seat. I’ve even seen a man hobble onto the bart with a cane get ignored by fellow bart passengers. So after spending the first part of my pregnancy standing up on my 30 – 40 minute bart rides every morning and afternoon, I started to get upset and sometimes very angry. One time I had a man literally push me out of the way when a seat opened up so that he could sit down. My face was beat red. But, I did nothing about it. Any time someone did give me a seat it was always an older woman…someone who I felt needed the seat too! To this day I still don’t ask anyone for their seat but I do strategically place myself around groups of men, stand next to them and their seats, and almost stick my belly in their face. If no one “bites”, I start wiggling my legs, put my bags on the floor, and start taking deep breaths….as if I’m really fatigued…which at this point, isn’t much of an act. Eventually, I get a seat. Who are these people’s mothers??
2. Another bart story. There are lines to get on Bart…for a reason. You don’t break the rules. You stand in line for your train door and do not cut in front of any fellow passengers. The seats are first come first serve and if you are last in line, you are screwed. Honestly, at the end of the work day headed on the Pittsburg / Bay Point line, if you are second in line, you are standing on the train. So one day two guys in their early 20s come strolling along as the bart is about to arrive and cut to the front of the line….which at this point is about 15 people long for my train car. An elderly gentleman steps out of line and up to them to inform them of the line (we’ve got procedures people!). The boy promptly responds with an attitude “THERE AIN’T NO SUCH THING AS A LINE!” and proceeds to board the train…first…and he and his friend get the last two seats on the train. Well, this infuriates me! So I board the train and waddle directly up to their seats, face my belly towards them, and look down. They of course do nothing. So a lady sitting behind them offers me her seat to which I promptly respond “No thanks. I’ll take HIS seat” (as point to the dude in his 20s).
3. After 2.5 years of visiting the same Starbucks and ordering the same drink (except de-café now that I’m prego), they FINALLY know me and know my drink order. They know my name, how to spell it (no more “Jaimiey” or “Sweet Jaime”), and my drink is ready by the time I pay. This started happening during my pregnancy. I am convinced it is because of the pregnancy (who else orders a decaf at 8:30am?) and I’m sure they will forget as soon as this baby comes out. So I’m enjoying it for now.
4. What cat litter?? That’s right. I haven’t had to clean cat litter in 8 months! Because some cats carry toxoplasmosis around and I have been tested and am not immune to it yet, I am not allowed to be around the cat litter. Apparently it is bad for the unborn child. I feel really bad about this one as poor Mike has had been the sole ‘pooper scooper’ for a while now (and we all know how he really feels about Toby in the first place)…I try to compensate by feeding Toby…but then that just makes the kitty like me more.
5. People have stopped judging me on the cookie obsession. In fact, co-workers have been dropping cookies off in my office when I’m not around. Not sure it is the best thing but it is very thoughtful!
6. I’ve been having a busy week and really needed to cancel my dentist appointment for the next day. So I called them up and asked if I could move my appointment to the next week. The receptionist answered that NOT ONLY was she going to have to charge me $100 “because they already had the hygienist coming in for me” (***rolling eyes***) BUT ALSO that she didn’t have an open appointment for 3 weeks. So I play the prego card and state “Oh, that’s unfortunate. It is just that I’m pregnant….5 weeks until I deliver actually…and have had a lot of appointments this week and I cannot take any more time off of work. And if I don’t get an appt for another 3 weeks…well…that may be too late b/c my baby could be here.” Well, guess what??? Magically, the lady had an appointment cancel for the following week (while we were on the phone? Riiiggghtt…) and fit me in for the same time as well. Oh, and she waived the $100 fee. Point – Belly bump.
7. When I forget things at work (like the senior associate in my group’s name for instance), people find it really funny and make some comment about “pregnancy brain” vs. pre-pregnancy when they would blame it on my blonde hair, therefore insinuating that I’m stupid.
I mean after all of the things we pregnant woman deal with, it is nice to get a little break in the end. And, clearly, I'm starting to not feeling that guilty about it.....
Monday, February 23, 2009
Happy Birthday Grace!
It's little G's b-day today! She turns the big 4. I cannot believe that 4 years ago today we were in a hospital in Houston celebrating the arrival of my sister's beautiful baby girl.
Once I receive pictures of Grace's big birthday bash (30 kids showed up...she's on popular gal) from yesterday, I will post a few.
Once I receive pictures of Grace's big birthday bash (30 kids showed up...she's on popular gal) from yesterday, I will post a few.
What the sugar will do to you...
Make your belly grow!
Here's an picture of Baby S and I today, at 32 weeks and 1 day. We are officially in our 8th month of pregnancy!
Here's an picture of Baby S and I today, at 32 weeks and 1 day. We are officially in our 8th month of pregnancy!
A couple notes from the last few weeks:
- My local starbucks barista (don't worry, I order decafs) thinks I am ready to pop! This morning she said "you've GOT to be due soon right???" I received the same comment from an old co-worker I ran into today as well. I'm not quite sure how to take these comments.
- Sandy licked my belly this weekend. She's SOOOO ready to be a big sister. Can we talk about how she's the best dog ever? Ok, I'll save it for another post.
- Jerry stepped on my belly this weekend. Needless to say, I am still a bit worried about his reaction to Mike's newest baby.
- Commute time on bart used to mean time for me to get some work done, listen to my pregnancy podcasts, catch up on my Us Weekly, write some baby shower thank you notes (yes, that's why the handwriting is messy) or read my latest book club book. Now bart = NAP! Like clockwork, two stops into my bart ride I am catching some zzzzzzs. This morning, my own snoring (which for the record I do not normally do) woke me up just in time for the Embarcadero station. This whole growing a life thing is really draining my energy.
- We had an amazing shower thrown for us in Colorado by my mother-in law, 2 sisters-in-law, and future sister-in-law. Lots of friends and family gathered to celebrate our little one and we could not have had a better time. There will be an entire post devoted to our Colorado shower shortly.
- I am on strict watch. Mike read my last blog post and is threatening to perform a detailed audit of our kitchen pantry and my office desk for any and all sweets I may have hidden from him or anyone else. He caught me in yet another lie this weekend regarding how many cookies I ate on Saturday, so he's on me like white on rice.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Confessions of a sugar-crazed pregnant woman
My name is Jamie. I am 31.5 weeks pregnant. I cannot go hours without sugar. I blame this on the pregnancy, specifically the third trimester. Like clockwork, the 28th week rolled around and all I could think about were cookies and ice cream. I knew my addiction was bad when I started attempting to hide my indulgences from those closest to me. But when I think about it...there's no reason to hide! I've done well on the weight gain for where I am in my pregnancy, I've eaten relatively well for the last 7 months, and I've only got two months to go. As Mike so eloquently put it "You've got less than 2 months left...all bets are off!"...it is times like these I am reminded why I married this wonderful man.
But in the spirit of being open and not feeling like I'm eating sugar in a dark closet where I'm sure no one will find me, I feel the need to confess (and make a few of you laugh). So here it goes!
1. I have had AT LEAST one cookie every afternoon for the last 2 weeks (maybe more). Notice the use of the phrase "at least".
2. Mike and I (mostly me) downed a bag of double stuffed oreos - dipped in milk of course - this weekend while catching up on our DVR'd episodes of The Biggest Loser. The irony alone is funny.
3. I bought Mike 6 chocolate covered strawberries and 2 chocolate covered oreos for Valentine's day. Mike had one oreo and 1 strawberry. The rest is gone. You do the math.
4. I just snuck out of work early today, forwarded my office phone to my cell phone, and rushed to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream...all in time to down it before Mike got home to see me.
5. We've gotten in the habit of making chocolate and strawberry milk as a treat before bedtime...but we vow to only do this on occasion during the week. We already had a few this week so while Mike was in the other room, I secretively made myself a chocolate milk, ran to the bedroom, and gulped it down before Mike could notice.
6. Mike gave me a bag of chocolates for Valentine's Day. I told him I was going to take them to the office so people would eat them there. Instead I kept them in my office for an entire day and snacked on them off and on throughout the day. My boss was in my office while we were on a conference call and I kept them under my desk and would slip one into my mouth when he wasn't looking....repeat 5 times.
7. After the conference call, I took said chocolates bag to the receptionist and told her to lay them out for others in the office and that under no circumstances was I allowed to have any more. She agreed. 30 minutes later I walked by her desk and noticed she had stepped away...so I stole 5 chocolates very quickly and rushed away before she could notice!
8. The other day, someone asked me about my pregnancy diet - was I eating healthy and did I have any big cravings. I told them no big cravings and I was eating pretty healthy and was proud of myself. 3 weeks ago this was a true statement. After reading #1 - 7, do you agree?
But in the spirit of being open and not feeling like I'm eating sugar in a dark closet where I'm sure no one will find me, I feel the need to confess (and make a few of you laugh). So here it goes!
1. I have had AT LEAST one cookie every afternoon for the last 2 weeks (maybe more). Notice the use of the phrase "at least".
2. Mike and I (mostly me) downed a bag of double stuffed oreos - dipped in milk of course - this weekend while catching up on our DVR'd episodes of The Biggest Loser. The irony alone is funny.
3. I bought Mike 6 chocolate covered strawberries and 2 chocolate covered oreos for Valentine's day. Mike had one oreo and 1 strawberry. The rest is gone. You do the math.
4. I just snuck out of work early today, forwarded my office phone to my cell phone, and rushed to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream...all in time to down it before Mike got home to see me.
5. We've gotten in the habit of making chocolate and strawberry milk as a treat before bedtime...but we vow to only do this on occasion during the week. We already had a few this week so while Mike was in the other room, I secretively made myself a chocolate milk, ran to the bedroom, and gulped it down before Mike could notice.
6. Mike gave me a bag of chocolates for Valentine's Day. I told him I was going to take them to the office so people would eat them there. Instead I kept them in my office for an entire day and snacked on them off and on throughout the day. My boss was in my office while we were on a conference call and I kept them under my desk and would slip one into my mouth when he wasn't looking....repeat 5 times.
7. After the conference call, I took said chocolates bag to the receptionist and told her to lay them out for others in the office and that under no circumstances was I allowed to have any more. She agreed. 30 minutes later I walked by her desk and noticed she had stepped away...so I stole 5 chocolates very quickly and rushed away before she could notice!
8. The other day, someone asked me about my pregnancy diet - was I eating healthy and did I have any big cravings. I told them no big cravings and I was eating pretty healthy and was proud of myself. 3 weeks ago this was a true statement. After reading #1 - 7, do you agree?
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