Pregnancy Insomnia

Pregnancy Insomnia is going to be the end of me. I have not slept through an entire night in over a week and I’m about to lose it. I was basically bragging for weeks that being pregnant hasn’t made me lose any sleep at all because my size hasn’t caused any discomfort. HOWEVER, everything else is now causing me discomfort.

Sure I found a nice little cure for my acid reflux but unless I’m popping those bad boys every few hours my acid reflux takes over and so I’m eating chocolate during all hours of the night to help me sleep but can only take a certain amount as you can potentially get somewhat sick from over eating those chocolate little goodies.  Not only that but now I’m peeing every other hour. Granted I drink more water than anyone I know and should probably ease up on that but I can’t seem to stop and therefore I’m trying to figure out if I can fit a nice little twin size mattress in our bathroom.

And if I haven’t complained enough, I’m also suffering from a head cold that I seemed to contract during our stay at Martha’s Vineyard over the past week.  So between my throat being on fire from acid reflux and peeing constantly, I also get to deal with blowing my nose and a headache throughout the entire evening.

Needless to say, I’m flipping cranky and my poor husband has been an innocent by standard in this mess and has also had not one good nights sleep in days. Despite having a horrific week of not sleeping we had an excellent time on our babymoon with our family and we loved just sitting back and relaxing. It was a big milestone and now things are really coming to light that we only have 5 short weeks left until our little girl is here. We are so excited to meet her and to also start putting her in these precious outfits and giving her all these generous gifts from our family. I present to you, Avery’s Martha’s Vineyard swag….

Ya-Ya and Grandpa got this cute little T-shirt for Avery on our trip. 

GABY (Great Auntie Barb, we added the "Y" to make it easier for Avery to say :) ) got Avery her first stuffed animal and a cute little hat to wear on our next family summer vacation!!

And even though everyone told me not to buy any clothes for her since we would be getting so much, I did want to purchase her at least one thing so that we could take lots of pics and I could one day tell her that she was with us on our Babymoon to MV. :)

"Babymoon"

I told myself that even if I’m on vacation I need not to slack on my blog because I do want to look at this and share some of these blogs with Avery when she grows up. Even though I’m sure she will probably care less by the time I think to show her this.

Since this summer is a little jammed packed between weddings, bridal showers, moving, etc… Jon and I have decided to make our family vacation to Martha’s Vineyard our official Babymoon as well since we will not have time to go anywhere by the time Avery gets here. It works out perfect because this will be the last family vacation without a little one around so I think most of us are enjoying our grown up time of sleeping in, drinking (not IL), not putting in car seats in to the car, eating when we want, basically being free of any baby strings and its been really nice.

As I sit here writing, my mom and aunt are cooking us dinner. My husband, sister and soon to be brother in law are playing “Rummikub” which seems confusing as all hell and my brother and dad are hanging on the couch with iPads in hand. It has been beyond relaxing and I’m truly excited that we were able to come here and do this.

Only problem thus far has been that I’m getting A LOT bigger.  Every single day it gets more and more scary. Today, we went on a tour of Gays Head and Oak Bluffs center and I needed to sit about 3 times, have about 5 bottled waters and contemplated wearing sneakers with my cute sundress due to my crampy feet and swollen calf from my Charlie horse the previous night. Highly attractive all around. 

Even though my body is changing each and every day I’m still happy that my feet are not too swollen and my body looks somewhat normal. So, I decided that before I grow much bigger that I would bite the bullet and take a Baby Bump bathing suit picture, because I’m sure I can show Avery when she gets older and embarrass the crap out of her. And since I haven’t posted a picture in awhile I figured I’d post a good one. I put away the maternity suit and shoved into my regular bikini. If pregnant women in bathing suits highly offend you then look away. Or don’t, I don’t care because I’m on vacation, I’m over 34 weeks pregnant and I’m excited that I can still squeeze my booty into this suit and I think I look good besides my ghost like complexion. J

Acid Reflux, I have finally beat you!

My battle with Acid Reflux hasn’t been all bad. Due to acid reflux I was able to enjoy a nice 4:30am sunrise at our new home. I got to sleep propped up on our couches for an entire evening, which I know I have not done enough of in my life, and I’ve gained all my pregnancy weight trying to self medicate with Gifford’s Black Raspberry Ice Cream for over 2 months. All in all, I can’t say it’s been ALL bad.

My sister in law has been telling me for months to go out and get some chewable calcium tabs to help with it. Why on earth would I go get chewable calcium tabs when all I have to do is eat mass amounts of delicious tasting ice cream?? Well, it happened. It finally happened. The night in which my trusted Black Raspberry medication stopped working for me. I believe it was a Tuesday evening. It was a bad bad day. I tossed and turned and had no way of sleeping without propping myself up in bed and chugged mass amounts of milk and iced water. My ice cream has finally and officially failed me. 

So, I decided that I needed to move on from my black raspberry goodness and try a different avenue. As most of you know, my husband and I are suckers for Whole Foods and I thought it would be the perfect place to get me some of these chewable calcium. Oh, I was right. The brand is called “Adora” and I would sincerely be a spokeswomen for this product if I could be. Not only are the delicious and taste exactly that of a Dove Dark Chocolate mini candy, but for the past 3 days my heartburn has been basically non existent and I haven’t missed any sleep because of it.

For all you pregnant women out there suffering, I urge you to put down the ice cream, unless you want it for taste and not medicinal purposes and pick yourself up some of these. They are out of this world and continues to give me an excuse to eat delicious sweets to relieve this awful pregnancy symptom.

Now I just need to find a cure for excessive amounts of bathroom trips and I’ll have an awesome nights sleep for once. 

I feel you Jessica Simpson...I feel you..

A lot of women get excited to get pregnant because that means they can “eat whatever they want” and “have an excuse to be fat.” I really didn’t have the mentality going in to this. When my mid-wife said that the “normal range” is to gain from 25-35 pounds, I thought, “Well, I’m going to be awesome and only try and gain 20lbs.” That was a nice thought.

It’s tough to say how much I’ve really gained because I’ve seen some highs and lows in this pregnancy. Back before I knew I was pregnant, after the holidays mind you, I weighed about 135lbs. Not excellent but for 5’7” I’ll take it. My husband and I went on a diet and I got down to about 123lbs. I was beyond excited and began exercising to start getting in shape for the summer. I leveled off at about 125lbs. That excitement lasted ohhh, about 1 week and then I found I was pregnant. Not that I ran out and got a bunch of cookies and ice cream but my need for Triscuits and chocolate milk overpowered me and I started to gain.

 Basically,  I said my starting weight was about 128 since before I got pregnant I was 135lbs and during the first trimester of pregnancy I was all the way down to 123lbs so I thought I’d take the middle ground. Point being,  I should have said my starting weight was 135lbs and called it a day because now based on 128lbs I have gained 30 lbs!!!!!! At least had I gone with 135, I would have had some leeway.

Therefore, I did what any normal, hormonal, fat feeling, pregnant woman would do and headed right to Google to see how much I’d be gaining (on average) for the remainder of my pregnancy and they said about 1lb a week but it will be all baby for the next 7 weeks. Thank goodness my iPhone app “What to Expect When you are Expecting” always knows what I’m thinking and feeling so for my tip of the day they gave me this beautiful chart and I feel SO much better.  

SO, Yes, I’m currently almost 158lbs with a weight gain of 30lbs. I’ll probably get up to 165 when all is said and done and I’ve come to terms with this. Not sure if my husband has yet but he will, and if not, I think he knows now after the hot dog comment that it’s best to shut up and ride out the next 7+ weeks with a smile on his face and an ice cream bowl in his hands. 

Seeeee 30lbs is totally normal. :) Thanks "What to Expect"

8 Weeks Left, but who's counting?!?

Less than 8 weeks to go!! It’s crazy how time has flown by all of a sudden. I’ve definitely been a little pre-occupied with work and the house but its still felt like the third trimester is going by a lot faster than the other two.

Of course, this trimester feels a lot different for other reasons. Yes, acid reflux is still a constant issue and my self-medicating with Black Raspberry ice cream continues to help but it is doing a number on my inner thighs, facial region, and bingo arms. I could potentially start a fire with all this thigh and arm rubbing. So I’d definitely been an asset to anyone going on a camping trip.  Not only that but my face is starting to look fuller and fuller. I’m actually terrified to take my weekly belly photo on Friday. I think I’m going to start cutting my head off in order to not frighten my readers. I’m certain I can’t blame just the ice cream for this weight gain as I know my appetite has become that of a teenage boy. I never used to eat that much before so now I think I’m eating just like a normal human being. I had two hot dogs last night (calm down, I talked to my mid-wife and I’m good with the ones we bought) and my husband looked at me in disbelief. I feel as though most people would normally consume 2 hot dogs if that was what they had for dinner. Pre-Pregnancy I’d only have one and be full for the night. Now my husband looks at me as though I’m Wilbur the Pig at every single meal since I’m now having normal size portions. He so sensitively said that he hoped that this wasn’t “habit forming.” I love men.

Not only has the rapid weight gain been noticeable but my constant need to sleep is getting the best of me. At first, I blamed it on all the changes going on in my life and my need to be constantly moving. However, yesterday I just sat in a movie theater watching “Ted” and I needed an 8 hour nap to recover. My poor husband will leave me in bed for 5 minutes by myself and that’s it for me for the night. I’m sure it’s just my body’s way of preparing for delivery but I feel like a lethargic fat beast that can’t get out of my own way.

Again, some symptoms are either just waiting for the perfect time to emerge or perhaps they won’t get me this time around.  But I’m happy to report, no swollen feet/ankles, no stretch marks, belly button is still intact, and no pre-term labor pains. So yes, I’ve been very lucky and as long as my friend’s and family can put up with my constant need for a bed and obese body then I think I can make it through this last trimester on a high note!

My life in a nutshell..

To say things have been a little crazy is a complete understatement. Friday I went to the BetterCT show with my friend Emy and won some amazing prizes at their “Baby Shower Show.” Some said it was a little crazy to drive all the way down to CT to collect but it was completely worth it! I got to see my family and go out to dinner with some friends. Plus, check out the link below that will show you all the great prizes we won. Of course, the wonderful guests that came with us only went home with a cookie but that’s why Emy is a good person for going with me and sitting through an hour long local show with Scott Hanney to boot. Needless to say, my husband was wrong and they did not give me "crap" but some very, very useful products. :)

http://www.thefabulousfinds.com/

Me posing with all the swag!

After the show, sped back to Maine, while taking meetings for work via car, and made it back in order to pack, go out to dinner with my in-laws for my nephew’s bday and get to bed in order to prepare for our big move.

Saturday was absolutely insane as we finally moved into our dream home. It was exciting, stressful and just overall overwhelming. Thank the lord that we had so many people come over and help. Our friend's and family were beyond helpful and it went a lot quicker than we anticipated. Going from 900 Sq feet to over 3000 is a huge adjustment. But we couldn’t be happier and we can’t wait to have everything unpacked.

I’m more looking forward to start working on the nursery as my “nesting” mode is definitely starting up and I’m ready to get going!

With the help of the BetterCT show and my wonderful friend’s and family, I actually have some stuff to put into the nursery!! Including this awesome gift we got from our friend Victoria and her family today. This is beyond crafty and it’s too pretty to even open!! Take a look at the picture below.

This picture doesn't even do it justice. It is beyond cute.

So, besides the new home and baby on the way, I also started working has a TD employee. Apparently my drug test was a success despite my poppy seed bagel mishap and I’m ecstatic because that truly would have been embarrassing if I really did fail. So Avery will have benefits when she comes into the world and that makes me happy. :)

Phew! I think that’s it in a nutshell. I’m excited for things to finally slow down for a bit before the baby comes in less than 9 weeks!!