AM I READY?!?

So.... last week I realized how NOT ready we are for Bing to come home. On Thursday night I was talking to Molly (my little sister with the same due date as me).... and she was telling me about how she is ready for Jack (my nephew) to join her in the world outside the womb. She literally has all her clothes washed, sheets washed & on the crib, hospital bag packed... even has nipple cream & nursing pads packed!! Well... I was thinking "I have time... at LEAST a good 2-3 weeks until I need to even THINK about doing this stuff."

Well... Friday sure made me sing a different tune....

You see, I was at work and started to not feel right.... lots of cramping... which really makes it hard when you are trying to take care of sick people. I even timed these "pains" and they were 6-10 minutes apart. Well... I let them continue for about 3 hours before calling my doctor. They didn't increase in pain over that 3 hours, and I couldn't even feel my abdomen contract like I could with the "practice contractions", but I figured SOMETHING was going on, so I had better go in. Luckily, I chose a doctor that has his office in the hospital that I work in... so it was just a short walk over there.

WELL... I got quite the scare when I went over there... My blood pressure was high... WAY higher than I am used to... and the nurse hooked me up to the fetal monitor and kept saying things like "If you think you are having a contraction, you probably are." and "Looks like we are going to be sending you over to Labor & Delivery". I freaked out. She told me to wait for a bit until the doc could make it in the room.... and I sat there... for 15 minutes... thinking about all what I had left to do.....

Molly has NIPPLE CREAM?!? I don't even have SHEETS for my baby's bed!! Molly has breast pads?!? I don't even have my car seat installed to take the little guy home! It made me realize how unprepared I was for my little guy... not just that it was still WAY to early for him to be making his appearance in the world (I was 34 1/2 weeks).



Well.. Thank God it was just a false alarm. Once my doctor told me that I was not having "real" contractions & that I was NOT going into labor I was able to calm down... a lot. He retook my blood pressure and it had come down... but he instructed me to go home & rest...

SERIOUSLY?!? Go home and REST?!? Well.. I did rest... until Austin came home... then we immediatly went to Babies R Us & got the sheets for Baby King's bed & some other "necessities". I spent the whole day Saturday finishing the nursery, washing all his clothes that are 0-3 months, picking out his "home from the hospital" outfit, and even washing bottles! The things I couldn't finish on Saturday we finished on Sunday. Though I don't have my hospital bag packed yet... I do have a pile of things that need to go in it. I feel MUCH more prepared... and I am sure my blood pressure has gone down even more since this little "event."

Anyway, here is the finished product. I would like to note that we do have letters above his crib that spell out his name... but since we are keeping that secret I have not yet hung them. Also, there is normally a rocker in the corner but we have moved it into the living room until the baby is born so I can elevate my legs while watching TV. hehe.

Time for relaxation?!?

There are some things that you just miss during pregnancy. You must give up a lot during the long 9 months of pregnancy to ensure that the little bambino is safe. Some of these things are a bit extreme... but some seem a little more legitimate. Well.... one thing that I have really missed is a hot, bubbly bath. I have been holding out for quite some time on this little luxury because I did not want to "hard-boil my baby" (as Jenny McCarthy would say...) But seriously, doesn't this look absolutely delightful?

Well.... my baths never include rose pedals or lime slices.... but you get the point. Well... I have recently gotten the "go ahead" to start taking baths again... (as long as my water hasn't broke).... so you can just IMAGINE how excited I was for the time to come where I could sit in a nice, warm, bubbly bath and relax. I got even MORE excited when these great people got me some bath soap & a new loofah as part of my baby shower gift.
Okay.... so I had this day ALL planned out where I would be able to take my bubble bath. I had to wait until Austin would be close to coming home (just in case I couldn't get OUT of the bath, literally, once I got in), I had to clean the bathtub before, and I had to get all my candles lit. I was SOOOOO excited that I had time to do this today......

First, I started to clean the bathtub. It has been out of use for the past 9 months or so.... besides the cats hiding place from the dogs... so I cleaned it VERY good. It was sparkling when I was done with it. I then turned the water on HOT, added my new bubble bath, lit some candles, and let the bath water flow to wonderful relaxation levels.

When I first stepped into the bath I noticed that it wasn't quite as hot as I would normally prefer, but disregarded it as being "a sign from God" that the bath water still should not be super hot for the comfort of the baby in my tummy. After about.... 1 minute in the tub I decided that the lukewarm water needed to be hotter for me to enjoy this relaxation moment I was trying to make..... I turned on the hot water again.... and..... FREEZING COLD.

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! Our water heater must have taken a break on us because there was absolutely NO HOT WATER to make this dream of mine a reality. The water that would come through the pipes was so cold.... and was making my lukewarm bath colder! I couldn't get out of the tub because I was too big.... and un-flexible being 8 1/2 months pregnant! I had timed it perfectly so that I could be in the bath for 30 minutes before Austin got home & then he could help me out.... so.... I had no choice but to sit in my cold, cold bath for 30 minutes!

Maybe next week I will attempt this goal again....

Showering "Bing" with Love....

Last weekend we had our first party/parties for "Bing". First, I must clarify...... we are not actually naming our child "Bing".... this is just what we are calling him until we get to meet him outside the womb. "Bing".... it stands for "Baby King"..... get it?

Well... last weekend he got spoiled with love from family & friends. Do not feel bad if you were not invited to his party. It is not because I do not love you, but because I hate making people feel like they must come and give gifts..... especially if we have not seen you in awhile.

Well... we had 2 parties.... one was just for some of my close friends & family. This was Winnie the Pooh themed and turned out great. It was very low key and was fun seeing everyone.

The second was for me & Austin's mutual friends.... who many are male... and we have grown to love their significant others.... so... we made it a co-ed party with a "Sports" theme.... (especially because "Bing" will probably be tall like his father.... and we will be living in the same town as the Spurs.... he might be the next Tim Duncan.....).... so... we thought we would teach him about sports early on..... I don't really have anything big to post about anything "crazy" that happened at either of these showers.... but it really meant a lot to us that we have such great support from our family & friends.... and I thought it deserved a post. "Bing" is already loved so much and nobody has even met him yet!

Mom Turns 60!

Mom turned 60 last month.... most kids would have gotten (and most Mom's would enjoy) a nice piece of jewelery from her children, or some nice, sentimental gift. My mom? No way. My mom has been talking about a Cotton Candy Machine for..... I don't know how long. So, we all pitched in & got her one of these doozies....

We didn't know it when we first set up the Cotton Candy Machine... but we didn't have it set up right.... and it would take FOREVER for the sweet treat to web up. My mom would literally stand there with her cotton candy cone for at LEAST 20-30 minutes with minimal results and get so excited when she would see just a speckle of candy. You can only IMAGINE how happy she was when she got THIS result..... (and how LONG it took to get it!)When she was cleaning it up after 2 LONG days of making Cotton Candy we finally read the directions & realized that the sugar was not close enough to the heat... and that was why it was taking so long.... so.... hopefully next time we get some better results. Until then... our sugar high will just have to wait...