Thursday, September 26, 2013

37 weeks ~ baby i2




Date:  September 26, 2013

How far along: 37 weeks is full term!!!  She can arrive anytime now!

Total Weight Gained:
  I gained 5lbs since my last dr. visit! Whoa. That was last week. ;)  Doc thinks it's water weight.  No biggie, really because I had zero protein in my urine and my blood pressure was good still...so that sudden weight gain alone didn't terrify me about pre-eclampsia.  Up 7lb total this pregnancy.

How big is baby? "Your baby's the size of a winter melon!  {whatever that is}
Yay! Baby has reached full term. likely measures around 18.9 to 20.9 inches and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. gaining about 1/2 ounce each day." 
**taken from The Bump

How baby is growing:
  • practicing some skills: inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking.
  • getting first sticky poop (called meconium) ready for first diaper.
  • **taken from The Bump
    Maternity Clothes:  Without a doubt. And many shirts are too short. This last pregnancy is no joke! ha

    Sleep: Insomnia has set back in. I've been up a lot in the middle of the night.  Thankfully there's Candy Crush to play and Law & Orders and CSIs to watch.

    Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week:  Having a woman in the elevator tell me how great I looked for 40 and pregnant after asking me how old I was.  I'll take it.

    Movement: She's a tumbler and I think for the first time ever, I've experienced a baby in utero with hiccups. She's able to be seen moving from the outside which freaks George out. haha  He is not one of those husbands who enjoys feeling a baby move inside.

    Food Cravings:  frozen coke, ice cold water (like half frozen), chocolate, salad, cereal, strawberry yogurt.

    Food Aversions: Nothing specific, but sometimes just the thought of food makes me sick.

    Gender:  our second precious baby girl

    Symptoms:  My hips have been hurting while sleeping, but the baby has moved back up, so that super painful pressure has gone away thankfully. Heartburn still killing me. Lower back cramps have begun the last few days. 

    What I miss:  Not wanting to go to bed at 6:30pm every night, having energy, and being able to do simple things like jump when my Lily says "Jump with me, Mama!"

    What I'm looking forward to: An October baby, enjoying our last newborn time ever, Lily meeting her baby sister and how she embraces this new role in her life, getting through Andrew's last appointment for his wrist/getting his cast off before the baby comes, and being done with the crazy emotions that this pregnancy has brought on.

    **Weekly appointment:  heartbeat was 136 {the lowest hers has ever been}, bp 120/80, cervix still closed, 40% effaced

    36weeks 6 days


    Tuesday, September 24, 2013

    Sponsored: Move to the “Head” of the Class – Visit ExpertAdviceOnLice.com for Head Lice










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    Thursday, September 19, 2013

    36 weeks~ baby i 2




    Date:  September 19, 2013

    How far along: 36 weeks = only one month to go woooooooo!

    Total Weight Gained:
      Still only up the 2lb from the beginning.

    How big is baby? "Your baby's the size of a honeydew!
    She's still in the 17.2- to 18.7-inch and 4.2- to 5.8-pound range and continues to beef up.  
    **taken from The Bump

    How baby is growing:
  • She's getting closer and closer to being able to breathe on her own.
  • Her skin is getting smooth and soft and her gums are rigid.
  • Her liver and kidneys are in working order.
  • Circulation and immune systems are basically good to go, too.
  • She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath.
  • Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.
  • **taken from The Bump and Babycenter
    Maternity Clothes:  Without a doubt. And not too much fits over this belly anymore. Boooo!

    Sleep: I've actually been able to sleep a little more the last week or so.  Thankfully.  The heartburn still blows.

    Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week:  finally deciding on a middle name!!  Being out of my stupid walking boot!!

    Movement: She definitely lets me know she's there. I can see her move from the outside.

    Food Cravings:  frozen coke, lemon-lime powerade, strawberry yogurt, chocolate--around 9:30pm

    Food Aversions:
     Nothing really is making me want to stay away except the heartburn, but my appetite is pretty minimal these days.

    Gender:  our second precious baby girl

    Symptoms:  irritability--like shut the front door about your stupid pumpkin spice lattes,
    heartburn like crazy--mostly at night,
    Braxton hicks have begun,
    waddling

    What I miss: being comfortable.

    What I'm looking forward to: having all this laundry done and organized, a new baby, seeing my husband more...I miss him.
    35w1d


    Friday, September 6, 2013

    34 weeks~ baby i2


    DATE:  September 5, 2013

    How far along: 34 weeks = only 6 weeks left!

    Total Weight Gained:
      I'm finally over the beginning & have gained 2lbs!

    How big is baby? "At less than two months to go, baby weighs in at about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. By week 34, she's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're

    Thursday, September 5, 2013

    What Time is It?! JBF Time!!

    It's that time of year again! 

    Consignment sale shopping!!

    Ever since I was pregnant with Lily, this has become one of my favorite sports! Sports?! Yes, sports! If you're doing it right, you're sweating when you leave!

    I've been going to the Just Between Friends Pittsburgh sale for the last 3 plus years and it continues to remain my favorite!  The volunteers who are working, the people who run the sale, the organization of the entire event both before and in the actual venue are unmatched.

    Last Spring, I was newly pregnant with this little baby girl who is about to grace our lives in the next 6 weeks and my main goal was to find a sit and stand stroller for her and LilySeriously the bargain of the day for me!! 

    Y'all know how quickly kids outgrow clothes, right?  Why buy them new when someone else already has and decided to consign them.  You won't find ripped, stained, blemished clothing at this sale.  No one would know most of Lily's clothes come from a consignment sale if I wasn't bragging about it! 

    I love a bargain and the JBF sale is the place to go!  Toys, books, clothing, bigger outdoor toys, sports equipment, baby items like strollers {duh}, bouncy seats, boppies, potty chairs...and so on and so on and so on.

    I'm cutting it close on finding newborn, 0-3month, and 3-6month stuff for this baby... she and Lily are wrong seasons for the teeny stuff, so I will definitely be there for sleepers and long sleeved onesies and hopefully a newbie Halloween costume!  Here's hoping I don't have her that weekend!!

    The deets of the sale:

    What: JBF Pittsburgh Children's & Maternity Fall/Winter Sale
    When: Friday., Sept. 20 – 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
    Saturday, Sept. 21      8am-4pm (NEW Merchandise!)
    Sunday, Sept. 22    8am-2pm (Many items 50% off). 
    Where: RMU Island Sports Center in the Golf Dome, 7600 Grand Ave., Pittsburgh 15225
    Admission: $3 on Friday (under 18 is free - or print your FREE admission pass below for Friday). Admission is free Saturday & Sunday.
     
    And if you're ready like Eminem to clean out your closets...
    It's not too late to sign up to sell any new and gently used items your family has outgrown at the JBF event. Consignors prepare and price their own items using an easy, online bar code system. They earn 60% of their sales or if they join the team and help out at the event, 70% of their sales. Anyone interested in consigning can sign up for the Pittsburgh event on the jbfsale.com website.
     
    Team members are an important part of the JBF event. JBF Team Members shop FIRST and earn 70% on their consigned items.  Anyone is welcome to join the team at the event.  You can register to join the team for a short 4-hour shift to guarantee early admission at the pre-sale event!

    **And one final goodie for you... I'm giving away 2 presale passes for you to shop before the general public!  Aren't you excited?!  Taking a friend is THE BEST!  This year, my bestie and bargain shopping twin and I are both pregnant, so there should be entertainment if you run into us! We wear our running shoes...only this time we have bellies to balance too! hahahaha

    How to enter:

    Leave a separate comment for each entry:

    Mandatory entries:
    1~ Follow my blog publicly via GFC -- click "join this site" over there on the right under Fans!
    2~ Like Just Between Friends of Pittsburgh on Facebook and tell 'em I sent you!

    Bonus entries:

    1~ Like My Not So Little Guy & My Little Punky Pie on Facebook.
    2~ Follow @JBFPittsburgh on Twitter.
    3~ Tweet about the giveaway using @JBFPittsburgh and @LittlePunkyPie. {can be done one time a day}

    Giveaway will run through Friday the 13th {oooooooooh} at 11:59p.m. Winner will be emailed and posted on this post!

    Good luck!! 

    ***Winner:   Congrats, Melinda!!!



    Disclosure: I was provided a presale pass for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.


    Free Shutterfly PhotoBook

    Come on, you know you took amazing pictures this summer that you want to preserve in a photobook!

    These are my favorite photobooks!  I've just started working on Lily's 3rd birthday book and lo and behold what came available...

    one free 20 page hard cover 8x8 photobook

    use code: SUMMERBOOK

    Hurry, you've got 6 days to make it...so get there!  

    {Any of my links above will take you directly to get started!}



    *Offer expires September 11, 2013 (11:59 P.M. PT). Offer is good for one free 20-page 8x8 hard photo cover photo book through shutterfly.com or the Shutterfly Photo Story app for iPad. Offer cannot be redeemed more than once per account and/or billing address. Taxes, shipping, and handling will apply. Customer may add options to their 8x8 book (extra pages, cover options, layflat pages, Storytelling styles, memorabilia pockets, etc.) at additional cost. Alternatively, customer may apply the “Offer Value” of $23.99 — the current price of a 20-page 8x8 hard photo cover photo book — toward the purchase of any larger photo book. Not valid on 5x7, 7x9, 8x8 soft cover, or 8x11 soft cover photo books, prepaid plans, other products, or prior purchases.

    Tuesday, September 3, 2013

    He'll Always Be My Baby

    I shared our recent life update and hoped to get back on track with catching up on the blog...

    Well, y'all know how that goes.
    Life happens.

    Our weekend went from pretty uneventful to a marked-in-time event.

    Saturday was a very laid back day. We were all worn out from the back to school week and basically just hung out at home all day.  Later that evening, Andrew, Lily and I headed to McD's for an ice cream cone. I think Andrew was secretly bummed he missed out on Friday night when Lily and I went and he was at the football game since it was his suggestion. :)

    After we came home, Lily wanted to play outside on her atv and Andrew wanted to ride his bike. Too bad his tire was flat. He then decided to ride his scooter. Off he went around the circle we live on.  Not too long later he called me to come get him, said he fell and couldn't get up. He told me where he was in relation to the house and I loaded Lily in the car to get him.

    We came up to him and he couldn't lift his right arm up without using the other arm to hold it up.  He was pretty upset and I was beginning to really worry.  We got home and got some ice on it right away to see what happened with the swelling to determine whether we headed to urgent care that night (it was 8:15pm) or wait until the morning. 

    For lack of a better description, his wrist was pretty floppy. His hand just kind of hung here and was pretty painful, so we thought he had broken it.  Off we went to urgent care where they xrayed it and confirmed it was broken.  The doctor came back into the room before Andrew had returned from xray and said, "He's got a pretty significant break in his wrist. He broke both bones."  I immediately started crying then.  {Crying now again, as I type this}I feel so terrible for him and I'm sad he was in so much pain all the while apologizing to me how sorry he was that he did this. :(  He's such a considerate person and I just hate this for him.

    He had to hold it up otherwise his hand just hung.

    Kinda hard to tell in pictures how swollen it was and out of whack, but he's holding his arm straight.

    Urgent care sent us to Children's Hospital to see an orthopedic doctor to have his wrist/arm looked at to determine how to best care for it.  We arrived at the emergency room around 9:45pm Saturday night and didn't get home until 9:30am, Sunday morning!

    waiting in ER with his arm splinted from urgent care (which helped some)

    This was our first visit to Children's Hospital and apparently everyone else in Pittsburgh decided to join.  There were 6 kids with fractures there, one nurse to do the sedation before casting --each sedation takes a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour, and one orthopedic doctor available for all of that.  We were 3rd in line.   Add to it, the billion other kids who needed to be screened, seen, called back, and different xrays done. It made for a very long, long night.  They actually had to re-do his xrays that we had brought from urgent care because something was wrong with their computer system and they couldn't get the xrays uploaded. Seriously, our luck. 



    George was working when all this began.  After we left urgent care, I let him know were on our way to Children's and he left work to help with Lily and check on Andrew and me. Thank God considering how long we ended up being there and it was way past her bedtime to start with.

    Andrew is seriously a trooper. He was given some ibuprofen at urgent care, I had given him some Tylenol before we left the house and he was still debating on whether he needed pain medicine when the nurse asked him some time in the ER.  Finally, he decided he needed something since we had no idea how long we'd be there.  They gave him morphine and he immediately looked at me and said, "I feel weird."

    The staff was great! We actually saw 3 different doctors not including the orthopedic and 3 different nurses during the time we were there due to shifts changing. 

    When the ortho came into talk with us after seeing the xrays, he said that Andrew's fracture was a very common type, as he was trying to brace his fall.  50% of the time, they're able to sedate, reset and cast in the room and the other 50% of the time, they'd have to go to the OR for deeper sedation to complete it.  I asked if he felt optimistic about Andrew's being able to be completed in the room and he said yes, he did.  So, there's that.

    Around 4:30am, the orthopedic came in and said it would be about 15-30 minutes and then it would be Andrew's turn to get sedated and his arm reset and cast.  It actually was around 6am when it started.  They let me stay until he was out and then I left while they reset and cast his arm.{I wasn't allowed to stay in the room}  It took about 50 minutes which was longer than they had hoped, but apparently they'd had a trouble getting it stay when they'd set it.  The bones kept popping out of place and finally the last time, it stayed.  Thank God!!! 

    When I came back in, Andrew was still out, but starting to come to. His eyes were really wide when he looked at me and said in his mimicking Lily voice, "Helloooooo Mummy."  It made me laugh.  Immediately his eyes closed again and he nodded off and on until he finally said, "Am I going to turn into Captain America?"  I couldn't help but crack up and told him no, he wasn't today.  This kid has loved superheroes since he was 2 years old!

    This is what he looked like when I came back after casting.


    Ultimately, it was an exhausting night primarily just because of the duration of time and the fact that he was starving and so thirsty and couldn't have anything. We both just wanted to go home and sleep.  For the record, the chairs in the rooms are not advantageous for a woman who is 33 weeks pregnant.  I'm glad he had gotten some sleep throughout the night. The rest of the time we watched the end of an Indiana Jones movie, one of the Pirates of the Caribbeans, and the news.

    He had picked red for his cast because it's a school color and you know, in marching band where he plays the saxophone...that he now cannot hold. :(  

    Finally we were discharged around 9 something a.m. When we got home, Andrew went to bed and slept until 5:15pm.  He only woke long enough for me to give him ibuprofen in the middle of the afternoon.


    Today starts a whole new adventure with him having to figure out school with his non-dominant hand.  I hoping he had a good day!

    In the scheme of things, a broken wrist and gimpy fin for 6 to 8 weeks isn't that big of deal. He's healthy and functional and I'm trying to keep that in perspective. My heart just hurts for him trying to do everyday things and missing out on activities he loves, and being in a cast when his baby sister is born.  He's resourceful and thankfully asks for help when he needs it, but tries to do things first.

    I'd rather it be me. 

    I love this kid so much and I'm so, so glad he's mine!!