They Might Be Giants

Today I had an OB appointment and it turns out I am pregnant with a small giant. When the ultrasound put her wand on my stomach her first word was "Whoa!" which you know, is always the first thing expectant parents want to hear. She went on to say "Whoa, that is one big kid. He certainly doesn't have much room". Apparently, Baby Rowboat is already measuring in at a whooping 7 lbs 14 oz.  Guys, I have THREE weeks left! Three weeks left for that almost 8 pound baby to become a 10 pound plus baby. My OB opened my ultrasound file when he came in the room and with an amused look on his face said, "Well, these things can be off by a bit. Let's really hope for your sake that your baby is not that big, but I am pretty sure you are looking at a baby at least 8 lbs at minimum". Aw! I know these measurements are almost always off, but whoa! When I told my nurse my worries, she was said "I mean, you are obviously measuring very big so it would make sense that you would have a big baby" Oh since we are talking about other comments on my enormous size, my co-worker told me I am bigger than she was when she was this far along. Oh and little tidbit, she had TWINS. How about instead everyone tells me how not gigantic they find me?

I guess I can't blame them when I look at this picture though. That is a pretty impressive basketball of a stomach. 

Also, I am very much hoping to do this birth without pain medication. Every time I have told someone close to me my plan, they have more or less laughed at me. The people I am counting on supporting me most have likely been the most doubtful. Luckily, this has just made me 100% more determined to prove to them I can most assuredly do this. Feel free to tell me I can do this or stories about amazing people doing the same thing. 

In other news, my favorite bearded hubby is dedicating his entire summer to doing some pretty fascinating research for the University of Toledo. Most of the focus has primarily been on the negative effects of sugar on the body, the addictive nature of sugar and the prevalence of sugar in America's food supply. It is ridiculously fun for me to "assist" with his research by watching health documentaries, reading articles, listening to books on tape and my all-time fav, being suspiciously monitored by Wal-Mart security as we go through the cereal aisles documenting nutrition facts and what consumers are putting in their carts. I truly do support Sel's research and think he is doing a stellar job of contributing to the medical field. I also believe that being healthy or at least really trying to be healthy should be a top priority in anyone's life. Sel and I have, like anyone, had their ups and downs with our efforts. Lately we have had an up. Wahoo! We recently have been pounding the fresh fruits and veggies from our CSA like nobody's business, exercising, and reducing our processed food intake. 

Look at all that delicious stuff! 

Want to know a secret though? All I want from life is salad, strawberries, sugar snap peas plus ice-cream, balled ice with lime juice, and Chick-fil-A cookies. Since Sel is being amazingly healthy, I am ashamed to succumb to eating things I know are not great for me in front of him. This week I decided a frosty and I needed to get together pronto. I didn't want Sel to know though so I used our special cash fund we use for the toll road, parked a half mile down the street from our house, and then pretty much made out with my frosty. I then proceeded to try and hide the evidence by dumping the frosty cup in our neighbors trash can. The thing is, I know Sel probably wouldn't judge me, but fat habits die hard folks. Also, is it okay to pull the pregnancy card here? Yes?

Well, please ask the pregnancy gods to keep this kid under 11 pounds for me. Either way, I can hardly wait to meet this adorable chubby babe of mine. 

36 Weeks and Quite Large

I really intended to write a post last week, but things have been crazy busy around here lately and probably will continue to be crazy busy until this kid makes his grand appearance. Also, can we talk about how that big day is only about a month away?! I am absolutely uncomprehending of how I am possibly so close to starting off my new stage of life.  I am beginning to wonder if time will ever pass at a “normal” rate again. I really expected this pregnancy thing to go differently. I was really expecting to feel totally over being pregnant by this point, but I am still just loving it! I went through a really uncomfortable few days around 33 weeks where I just felt HUGE and frustrated at my inability to bend or sleep or eat or really do anything comfortably. I also was having trouble with my appetite and wasn’t gaining any weight. Normally, I would high five myself and move on with my life, but I was worried I was starving my little lumberjack.  I then realized I hadn’t exercised for three days straight and realized how much of a difference it seriously makes for me. Now I feel just as good as I did during the second trimester! I honestly cannot express how much I have noticed the benefits of just 30 minutes/day. My appetite returned and even though the “bend and snap” is still a thing of the past, I can move around in a similar way to a spry 82-year-old. Also, since I like to make myself sound really desirable on this blog, I have finally earned some tiger stripes (aka stretch marks). I thought I was going to avoid those beauty marks, but I know have four lovely little lines on the large basketball I call a stomach. There goes my future contract to be a Victoria Secret model. J For real though, pregnancy rocks. I love feeling this little guy roll around in there and watching my stomach move around. He has gotten so huge that you can see my stomach completely shift from one side to the other. It sort of reminds me of Alien except much less creepy. I also know he is getting mega strong because he kicked my full bladder the other day and I peed a little bit. I get a little bit sexier everyday that this pregnancy progresses :) 

Also, I definitely shouldn't have been worried about my weight because my OB helped quiet any fears about that at my last appointment. I wish I could describe his personality better here, but I think he is just one of those people you have to meet yourself. He noted that I had only gained a pound in the last three weeks and then measured my small bowling ball. When I asked him how I was measuring, he told me I was measuring 5 days ahead of schedule, but that he really doesn't place a lot of emphasis on the lovely tape measuring method. He then proceeded to say, "I mean, obviously you are quite large" and made a hand motion imitating a large belly on himself. I was beginning to feel pretty svelte up until that point (jokkkke). I seriously do love being pregnant though. I love not having to feel like I need to look a certain way because who is going to tell a preggo lady she is looking a bit chubby lately? 

My nurse though paid me the ultimate compliment to help me not feel quite so disheartened about my OB's assessment. She told me she had never seen more clear urine than mine and told me to keep up my intense water guzzling. I have been trying to incorporate better ways to bring up my great news about my great pee in regular conversations, but just haven't found the right way to do it. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

A bunch of fun baby things have been happening lately. I had an absolutely fantastic shower thrown for me by two of my really sweet friends and my wonderful sis-in-law. The theme was “Lumberjacks and Bowties” which I, of course, adored. This whole pregnancy has also been marked with this intense feeling of gratitude and love for all the kind people who are in my life. I cannot get over how richly I have been blessed. 

My sweet friend Steph made that banner out of scratch! Isn't it adorable?

Kari made a veggie log cabin for me to devour. Isn't she a cute creative one?

In other news, Sel and I also have pretty much finished the nursery. Hurrah! See those yellow and gray chevron curtains with tiny elephants on them? I know you are probably thinking, wow! Those are so amazing! Where can I possible purchase such incredible curtains? Well inquiring audience, you can’t purchase them anywhere because yours truly made those babies. Let me reveal in my accomplishment for a brief moment here because prior to starting those, I had never sewn anything in my life. (you got me. I did sew a K-state football in seventh grade home-ec, but I am pretty sure I got a C on it). Sel should also get a huge shout out here for being a much larger and hairier version of Bob the Builder. He put together the dresser/changing table and with some assistance from our wonderful bro-in-law, also put together the crib and reconstructed our two twin beds. Wins all around in the Warden household. Hopefully little Rowboat will be as impressed with his first bachelor pad as we are. 

That ridiculously high bed used to be two twin beds and Sel & his brosky masterfully turned it into that beautiful "trundle bed"

Notice how the dresser and the crib aren't matching colors? That would be because Baby Depot is the worst and sent us the wrong colored dresser. I still really love his room though :) 

Rowboat actually has three full drawers of clothes plus that closet and three more tubs. I am 100% sure he has more clothes already than I do