another funny story....

This past Sunday I had my final baby shower and at 38 weeks I was very uncomfortable and having contractions. After the baby shower I did my thank yous to my mother in law and headed out to go pick up my husband at the kickball field.
{A short back story on "kickball". My husband is the captain of our co-ed kickball team, Red Ball and Vodka that plays every Sunday at a park in Portland. Sunday afternoons are spent at the park with friends, food, and drinks. We both love it and once Lincoln is born he will join us for kickball Sundays}
So I head to the park and although I am exhausted I haven't seen our friends in a while so we hang out for a little bit before we go to the pizza place to celebrate our win.

Here is what the kickball field is like on a Sunday. Lots of fun :)

Back to my story. I am exhausted and starting to feel nauseated so I talked to my husband and we decided it was time to go to the pizza place with the other teams. I figured sitting down and water might help my contractions. So we arrive at the pizza place and I just couldn't bring myself to eat anything. I started drinking water but I was just feeling horrible. My contractions were getting closer and closer together and I was starting to wonder if maybe this big day had started labor. I was sitting at the table when I felt some fluid trickle down my leg. I get up and waddle my way to the bathroom to see what was going on. Once in the bathroom I am positive this is my water breaking. It didn't smell like urine and well I was having contractions. I go back to the table and tell my husband I think my water broke and we have to go to the hospital. Well being at this pizza place with a bunch of other people everyone noticed us getting up suddenly to leave. We told everyone my water broke and we are headed to the hospital. Everyone got excited. Everyone was clapping and cheering as we left the building. I contact my doctor and we start headed in. 

Once at the hospital I get hooked up to monitors and it's time to check me. I am no more dilated and effacement hasn't changed since my last appointment so the nurse does a check to see if my fluid is in fact amniotic fluid. After running a couple tests she determined I was dehydrated and that was causing the contractions. She also verified that the water breaking I thought I had experienced was actually my bladder letting out some urine. So basically I just left a pizza place full of friends announcing my water broke and in all reality I just peed myself a little bit.

So I drank a bunch of water and they sent me home in hopes I do go into labor soon.

Here is what my facebook status read that evening:

{To those of you who were at Mississippi applauding me because I thought my water broke...well...I was wrong...it was pee! Which is so embarrassing but I figured I should share that with you all! No baby yet! Let's hope soon!}

So I am hoping for a baby soon because I am still having contractions and more uncomfortable then ever. I feel like I am going to be pregnant forever! 

Well that is my funny story of the week. I hope you all enjoyed and have a wonderful day :)

FULL TERM!

The day I felt would never come has actually come. For those of you who don't know w hole lot about pregnancy I will kinda fill you in on how it works. Pregnancy gestational period is 40 weeks however once you reach 37 weeks you are considered full term and the baby really could come at any point after the 37 week mark and not be considered premature.
I am officially 37 weeks pregnant and well from my appointment on Monday it feels like the baby could be ready to come very soon. I am measuring at 38 weeks. My cervix is dilated 1.5 cm and I am 70% effaced. I am having a contraction about every 20-30 minutes as of now and that has been happening since yesterday. In all reality my due date is only 21 days away is just crazy. Only 21 more days til I am officially a mom. I feel like I am ready for this but at the same time I feel like I could have a major panic attack. All my life I have wanted to be a mommy and start a family. When I met John it just clicked and I knew I would have a family with him. Now that family is actually almost here. I am just in shock and so excited!
I got released and put on maternity leave last Monday so this is officially my 2nd week on maternity leave. I have gotten the baby room pretty much ready and I have one final baby shower this coming weekend. I have trouble standing for any amount of time anymore. The baby is so low he is pushing on my nerves and my right leg will suddenly go numb. I feel like I am ready for this.
Hurry up, Lincoln! Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you!

Things I thought I knew about pregnancy that I really didn't....

Things I thought I knew about pregnancy that I really didn't....

Amniotic fluid is cold: 
At least I always thought it was. Turns out the baby books state it is warm because it comes from inside you. (go figure) This is one I recently learned when I peed myself and my husband asked how I knew it wasn't my water breaking. I told him first off it was warm. Yeah, he looked at me kinda strange and broke the news to me. :)

I will have crazy cravings: 
I saw myself eating pickles and ice cream, Doritos and chocolate but in reality I haven't craved anything weird. I will really want fruit, or ice cream but never some crazy combo. Oh and really I craved pickles for maybe a week. The giant jar I bought is still in our fridge! I also expected to beg my hubby to go out in the middle of the night to satisfy a craving. That also has not happened.

I will be active and continue to work out during my pregnancy: 
Well I did for the fist 14 weeks. I played kickball til my second trimester. However once I got a belly I pretty much didn't have the energy I thought I would. Do I feel guilty? Nope! I am still a healthy weight and will get back into my active routine soon.

The only painful part of pregnancy is labor:
This one is so far from true! I don't know how the movies make it seem like women are just happily living their life until the water breaks. I believed I would be working up until my due date but nope. I have a lot of pelvic pressure. I have contractions every so often. I sometimes have the craziest pains based off of Lincoln moving in my ribcage. I didn't expect the last month to be so uncomfortable! Guess I was wrong.

I am only going to gain the minimum healthy weight for the baby:
Great theory but everyone is different. I thought I was going to not gain any weight. In reality I have gained around 40lbs. Now most people tell me I look so tiny and that I don't look like I've gained that much but I tell the truth. The scale cant lie! I did expect to freak out about my weight but honestly I know it's temporary and all worth it for Lincoln.

I am not going to eat sushi, lunch meat, hotdogs, or drink coffee while pregnant:
I did really well on this one. In the beginning I switched to decaf coffee and well sushi, lunch meat, and my favorite Costco polish dogs were off the menu. Around my 2nd trimester I started feeling a little better about my possibility of miscarriage so slowly I would eat sushi. I even added in a couple caffeinated Dutch Bros here and there. I eventually gave in and well I had a Costco polish dog about a week ago. I don't feel bad. I still eat my fruits and veggies a lot more then the no-no foods!

Your belly is the only thing that grows:
WRONG! I had no idea my boobs would get so big! Oh and my butt! I won't lie at first the growing backside just devastated me. As time has passed I have gotten more comfortable with my growing body parts and I am even hoping the booty sticks around at this point. I always has a flatter backside and well I defiantly have some junk in my truck now! However I was happy with my 'c' cup boobies and the 'dd' is just too much! :)

Baby books tell you everything you need to know:
They are very helpful but everyday I seem to have something happen or a new discharge or pain that is perfectly "normal" but NOT at all in the baby book! I start to learn things as I go. Like the baby "dropping" I didn't realize I would feel him drop. I also wasn't aware of the pain I would feel from him dropping.

Everyone at your baby shower will buy you newborn outfits:
I heard this early on in the pregnancy and after finding out I was having a boy I went right out and bought a onesie set in blue because I was so excited! After that I got some newborn onesies from my mom just for fun and well I continued to buy stuff 3months or higher. My showers came and well I think I got maybe 3 or 4 newborn sized outfits. Everyone else got me 3-6 months pretty much! :) I guess I learned on this one that you can't predict what different people will buy for as a shower gift and well every shower is different too.

I probably will have a lot more of these that I can share but this is all I have for now! :)

OMG my water broke...well...not really

Now I know EVERY single one of you is thinking, "Wow, her water broke already?"
It's kind of a funny story. I'll start by saying no, my water did not break and my discovery was most embarrassing so I figured I would share it with you.
A couple days ago I was home from work before I got put on maternity leave. I was sitting on the couch talking my husband's ear off which is something I do pretty regularly. I went to stand up to get more water and I felt a trickle of liquid running down my leg. Since I have been having contractions my first thought was that my water had broken. I awkwardly waddle to the bathroom and began telling my husband that my water broke. My poor husband being such a concerned soon to be daddy was right outside the bathroom door asking if he could do anything. He was ready to call my doctor and just ready to take this on. Once in the bathroom I began to look closer at the situation. The liquid did not smell anything like I read it should smell like, in fact in smelled like urine.
So I got to tell my husband through the bathroom door that I was fine and we didn't need to call the doctor. He was confused because I had told him my water broke and in his mind how would I mistake that for something else. I had to explain when I thought was a little amniotic fluid turned out to be pee. Yes love, I peed my pants a little bit when I stood up.

I guess there are more embarrassing things that could happen and I could have kept this story to myself but I am a firm believer in laughing at yourself whenever you can.

Pregnancy hasn't been nearly as glamorous as I had imagined but I would and will do it all over again someday. John and I have already decided that we will have more children together after Lincoln is born and I hope to keep this blog going as Lincoln grows up and we begin to expand our family together. We don't have an exact number in mind as far as how many children we will have but I do know we plan on at least 1 more. Our plan is to start trying for a 2nd baby once Lincoln is 1 years old.
I hope you all continue to read about our family as Lincoln is born and grows up into a toddler :)

Maternity leave has officially begun!

After a couple of really busy weekends with baby showers, Monday came along and I was exhausted. I felt like I hadn't slept in weeks and I was cramping up really bad. I decided to stay home from work and hoped to feel better later that day.
Around 10am I was having really bad contractions and started spotting a little bit. My pelvic pressure was unbearable. My husband wanted me to call the doctor who had us come to the office to check my cervix. We got to Dr. Sargent's office and got checked. He determined I am dilated 1 cm but my cervix is still long. With the pelvic pressure I am having Dr. Sargent recommended I begin my maternity leave instead of waiting for May 9th.
So here I am, day 1 of my maternity leave. Although I am uncomfortable I am glad to be at home and relaxing. So far today I packed my diaper bag and unloaded the dishwasher. Now I am laying down and breathing through contractions.
Dr. Sargent would like me to stay pregnant for 2 weeks at the least so we will see if Lincoln has the same idea. In the meantime, I am open for visitors who would like to come over and help me with Lincoln's room or with little things around the house that I am having trouble doing. :) 

4 weeks and 4 days to go

I find myself just sitting in Lincoln's room. Imagining what it will be like once he is actually here. I know there is absolutely no way I will ever be 100% prepared for what is to come but I do know I am ready. I am ready to be a mom. Now I have been like a mom before in my life. I am a dog mom. Now before you go and say that isn't even close to the same thing, I know that. But since my dog was pretty much born he has been in my life. I have made sacrifices for my dog, and well I would give a kidney to my dog if he needed it. (Anyone who knows me knows that I just LOVE my dog). I am well aware that a dog is very different from a child. I am a step mom. Which is similar to being a mother. I spend time with her and take care of her, but at the end of the day I didn't give birth to her so our bond won't be the same as her's with her mother. This is actually my time to become a real mother.
Sometimes I find myself just standing in the doorway of Lincoln's room thinking about how long I have wanted to have a family. I can remember thinking about having a family when I was younger. I would imagine things like family photos and camping trips. I think of what my parents used to do with me and my sister. I can remember my mom hated store bought Valentines to give to my class. She would take my sister and I to the craft store to pick out glitter and paper to make our own cards for our classmates. A lot of that is now instilled in me. I make a lot of homemade little cards now in my adult life and I can only think back that my mom made me think that store bought cards are just not good enough! (I do still buy Hallmark cards from time to time, I just don't if I can help it). I think of my family camping trips. Every summer my family and I would get in the big ol Suburban and drive to some campground. My Aunt and Uncle brought the trailer loaded up with bikes and gear and we would spend a whole weekend just roasting marshmallows or my personal favorite, playing in the hammock. These are the good memories I want to make with my own children and husband.
The best part about starting my family is that I am starting it with the most supportive husband any girl could ask for. I love how John already talks about trips to Disneyland and even saving money for Lincoln to go to college! John is already thinking about coaching sports for Lincoln also. I couldn't ask for a better partner.
Funny how this post really turned into me just thinking of the past and how it will mold the future for my baby boy. I really wanted to write about how excited I am that I am really only a month away from meeting my little boy. Just have one more part to get through and that is the labor part. I wont lie to you, I am scared to death of giving birth. At the same time I wish it would happen sooner then later because it will be well worth it to meet our baby.

Boudoir maternity photos...(mature audience only)

A couple weekends ago I booked a wonderful photography session with a friend and photographer Lisa Larson of LisaMarie Photography. Check out her facebook!
The boudoir session was held at The Nines, a luxury Portland hotel. I showed up and had my hair done by Bridget Dixon and my make up done by Monica Ninh. Be sure to check out Monica's website
I hadn't felt this beautiful throughout my whole pregnancy. For once I felt amazing and it is great to have that captured for me forever. I will always have this beautiful memory of being pregnant with my first son and that is something I wouldn't trade for the world.

Lisa took a bunch of super classy photos on me and my baby bump and although they are very intimate I really wanted to share a few of them here. I am not ashamed of my body right now and feel that every woman (pregnant or not) should have themselves photographed like this. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing and I can't thank Lisa enough for making this memory for me and also for my husband. John loves these beautiful photos. It shows a side of pregnancy that gets lost in today's society. When you think of pregnancy you automatically thing of big moo-moo dresses and stretchy pants. I am glad to share the sexy and beautiful side of pregnancy.
Please feel free to leave comments about your favorite photos. :)

I am glad to be able to share these: