Things I'll Miss

All of the stories about women being miserable the last little bit are SO true! I am ready to meet Aniston and that is all I think about. She is stuck, though, and no matter what I do, she isn't budging!!! With that said, I got to thinking about the things I will actually miss about pregnancy. In all honesty, it is sad knowing that the experience of pregnancy will only happen a few times in my life. Though I have become quite the hypochondriac, with something new hurting every day, and I am growing more uncomfortable by the minute; I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Before pregnancy, I always dreamed what it would be like to have my own family. From the moment I found out about this peanut, those dreams became my reality. I have our whole future together pictured out. And when I found out this peanut was a girl, Aniston, those pictures were even more clear. I think about our tea parties, pedicures and manicures, makeovers, dances, park adventures, and baking extravaganzas. I could not imagine life without Aniston. I can not wait to hold her in my arms, squeeze her, cover her with kisses, and watch her grow into a beautiful young woman. But I will miss her squirming in my belly, the gentle rhythm of her hiccups that keep me up at night, her one little foot that she keeps on the left side of my belly, and the way Cody is in complete awe of her and my growing tummy. There is something about the look in his eye and the smile that covers his face when he watches her move inside of me. I will miss him talking to her through my belly and the soft kisses that he gives to her through me. It is like I am the passageway...the only connection to his daughter. Though I am glad they will soon form a relationship not centered around me, I will miss this. I am also going to miss having her ALL to myself. Right now she is mine...all mine and I get to talk to her and love her all day without having to share! We are so blessed with a great family and tons of friends that I cannot wait to introduce her to, but the jealous side of me doesn't want to let her go. Oh the wonders of pregnancy!

Early Labor

My last post was apparently right on! For the last three days I have started early labor. I was up all night on Wednesday night (and poor Cody was right there with me until 4 am and had to wake up for school at 7) so I decided I should give the doctor a call to make sure everything was ok. He asked me to come in right away on Friday so they could check me. I went in, and had lost 5 pounds in one week :( They were concerned, but Aniston seems to be doing fine and still has plenty of fluid. He checked me and I have thinned out and started to dilate. I was not quite one centimeter. He told me to take it as easy as possible, and that we needed to keep her in my belly for at least one more week. They are not sure why I am not keeping on the weight, and will watch that closely for the rest of the pregnancy. I was told to eat all of the food I possibly could...even if that means 10 cupcakes in one day :) We are almost finished with the nursery so I will post pics soon!!!

It's Getting Close!

Weird things have been going on in my belly! It has been extremely tight and crampy for the past few days! It last for about 15-20 minutes at a time though so it has been confusing!!! When I went to the hospital last time I did not have "warm up" contractions. I woke up throwing up and the contractions were so bad I could not talk through them. These are different...they last a long time are are uncomfortable but not painful. It is almost like period cramps and my tummy is SOOO tight. I haven't been able to get comfortable, sleep, or eat normally for the past few days. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but maybe Aniston is preparing for her big debut!!!!

On a side note, the waddle is strong now! I can not walk normal for the life of me. She has dropped so low in my pelvis there is no room to put my legs together and walk! lol!

Another random side note: I am now the handy man of the house. Cody was not too upset to give up this title, but I earned it yesterday! I went to Lowes all by myself and explained to the guy about the "door thingy in the frame that catches the door nob breaking off and the srews ripped through the wood". He then showed me a larger metal piece with the standard size door nob catcher that I could screw in to the frame to repair it and not have to replace the whole frame. I went home and fixed the door. This inspired me to hang the curtains in Aniston's nursery. I rock.

Shower from Leah :)

The baby shower that Leah threw me yesterday blew me away! I seriously have not stopped talking about how amazing everything was. It was perfect from the decor to the food and games! So many people showed up, and we were so blessed! As part of the decorations, Leah had tons of baby goodies such as pacifiers, rags, and onesies hanging from the most adorable tree...I am now using that tree to hold all of her bows and it is the perfect addition to her room :) She also got a play mat, portable stroller thing, diamond earrings from Grandma Ledford, a beautiful hand made quilt from Rita Hancock, a baby breeza food maker and her crib/nursery furniture from Mia, the Medela breast pump from Gigi, and SOOOOO much more. I now feel prepared and can relax knowing that she has everything that she needs! Speaking of the breast pump, the owners manual shows these women cleaning their house and reading to their children while hands free pumping....seriously?!? They couldn't take a 15 min break and do it in the privacy of their bedroom!!! Don't think I could ever get myself to do that, but at least I have the option! lol! They played this game at the shower called "Winner Takes ALL" and everyone guessed how much money was in an owl shaped piggy jar...Katina got the closest and won a bottle of ALL detergent! It was so cute! Anyways, can't wait to meet my baby girl :)


Random side note: I want to learn to coupon so I never have to buy cleaning supplies or toiletries...someone want to teach me how?!?

Baby Shower and Birthing Classes

Aniston and I had our first baby shower this past Sunday and it was AMAZING! Kaylan and Sadie did such a good job with the "owl theme" decorations that match her nursery and making sure all of my favorite foods/pregnancy cravings were there! They even had cereal :) So many people showed up and gave us goodies! We got her swing, bouncy/vibrating seat, pack n play, high chair, video monitor, silver cup spoon and fork set, Coach diaper bag, awesome handmade Vera Bradley burp clothes (shout out to Jackie Pipkin), the most adorable clothes, and so much more! It is amazing how much someone so small needs!!! We played the "guess how big Karli's belly is" game and it was hilarious! Everyone was really close, but Jackie took the prize! My mom was a close second though..she was only off by maybe an inch! All of the in-laws decided to go short...didn't want to be on the baby mama's bad side I'm guessing! lol! I cannot wait for our next shower on Saturday...SOOOO EXCITING!

Cody and I have also had our first 2 child birth classes! We love the instructor, Blythe. She is very down to earth and realistic. I like that she doesn't try to sugar coat things...she lets you know it's going to hurt worse than anything you've ever experienced, but then gives you ways to deal with that pain and makes you realize it's only temporary. She has also had 6 kids....3 naturally and 3 with an epidural so she can give you first hand knowledge of the differences. The first class we learned about the signs of labor, your water breaking, and had a meet and greet with the other couples! It was so cute...we were driving down the road the day after talking about her birth and Cody randomly said we just need to remember "COAT- Color, Oder, Amount, and Time" if your water breaks! He really was paying attention! lol! The second class was a little more intense. We learned how to track contrations, when to come to the hospital, the different stages of labor, and breathing/relaxation techniques. We were shown some pretty graphic videos, and it scared me to death! OUCH. We then got on the floor, and learned how to take slow breaths in through your nose for the count of 4 and out through your mouth for the count of 6 during a contration. Cody laughed the whole time we practiced! She also told us to find a happy place that we can go to during a contration as a form of distration. My happy place is a private island with crystal clear, calm water (similar to St. John) with lounge chairs partially in the water so you get just enough of your body wet and endless amounts of frozen fruity drinks :) Cody is supposed to be able to describe this place to me during a contration to take my mind off of it. We'll see how well these distractions actually work...

Our 33rd week check up was yesterday! She is still in the right position, and growing well. She weighs 4.75 lbs, the average at this age is 4.9 so she is a little small! Her body is pushing against my lungs, which doesn't allow them to inflate fully making me feel like I can't breathe. We had to do an oxygen test to make sure I am getting enough oxygen and I am :) My brain is basically being tricked into a panic attack because it feels like I can't breath. The doc said this would probably only get worst...oh the joys of pregnancy. Her head is pushed firmly against my pelvis bones so she is ready to go! This is my last time going 2 weeks between doc appointments, and then I start my weekly visits. Only 6 weeks and 6 days to go!!!

Little of This and a Little of That

I know it's a little late, but the doctor appointment went great! Aniston is in the right position with her head pushing against my cervix. She has a strong heart beat, and is more active each day! I had gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks....WHAT?!? This puts my total weight gain at 21 pounds. Still good, but man seeing that number was a shocker! lol! She is almost 4 pounds already and is about 18 inches long. We had a good long talk with the doctor about labor and he answered some of the questions that have been floating through my head! We start birthing classes on Wednesday and I am SOOO excited :)

Now to a me losing my mind. I had no idea how serious this baby brain becomes. She completely consumes me and I am no longer the organized, planner of our relationship. In the past few weeks I have left my credit card at a restaurant, thrown away a $100 bill that I spent an hour digging through the trash to find, locked Cody and I out of our house, left Cody's IPhone on a bench in Universal Studios so that I could throw away trash, and left my IPhone at Famous Dave's. Thankfully there are still good and honest people in this world and all things were recovered! But come on...this is NOT like me at all. I always have a place for everything and know exactly where things are. I sure hope this is temporary. I am beginning to think that some of these things are just my "new normal". On a positive note, I only have about 8 weeks and 2 days left before I meet my baby girl :) WOOP WOOP!!! I have currently  taken on the project of finishing my wedding scrapbooks because I know that once Aniston gets here that will NEVER get done. Especially since I have so much I want to scrapbook of her and the pregnancy already. My goal is to completely finish the wedding scrapbooks (there are 2-I am just a few embellishments away from being done with the first one which is proposal-rehearsal dinner and then all I have is the wedding-honeymoon) and have all of my showers for Aniston done and the belly pictures/ultrasounds started. That way when she is born I am not behind and can do her scrapbook as I go. High ambitions I know, but I am determined :)

Aside from me leaving Cody's IPhone at Universal, we had a very relaxing/stress free weekend together. We drove to Orlando Thursday after Cody got done at school and met his family at Bubba Gumps for some food. Friday we woke up and went to Universal and Islands of Adventures. Mrs. Andrea and I were the purse/phone holders...not a good idea since I lost Cody's. I thought I was going to go into labor going back and forth between the parks trying to retrieve the phone. We then went back to the Hard Rock Hotel and napped until it was time to save seats for the OneRepublic concert. We waited for 3 hours or so before Cody and I realized it probably wasn't safe for me to be in such a big "standing only" crowd so we left and listened to a few songs from the back before going on our own little date. The rest of the clan met us when it ended at the hotel to watch the FSU basketball game. The next day everyone had to head out because Cayden had the Tallahassee Idol talent show (which he placed 3rd in by the way) so Cody and I relaxed at the pool all day :) We both got a little too much sun, but I think it's safe to say I have the tannest baby belly of all baby bellies. It was wonderful. That night we had a dinner date and rented Little Fockers in our hotel room. Sunday we shopped at the outlet mall before heading home....it was a perfect little babymoon :)

Catching Up

Well lately we have been pretty lazy, and have loved every minute of it! This past weekend we literally spent everyday at the pool. It was great. For my birthday, Cody woke me up to cinnamon waffles with a sliced banana on top...it was like a breakfast banana foster! He made it for me every morning this past weekend, and I almost cried when we ran out of bananas. This morning I realized I was spoiled when I complained about having to get out bed and make my own blueberry waffles....Cody has created a monster. Or maybe it's the mixture of getting no sleep because Aniston still thinks she is teeny, tiny and can move around in my belly like she did when I was 20 weeks prego and the rush of hormones that are coming back from the beginning of pregnancy! This brings me to our 30 week 4d ultrasound! Like the last, we had an unbelievable experience! Aniston had turned to where her head was resting in my hip and her body was diagonal, but she literally moved and changed positions the entire ultrasound. The lady felt sorry for me! lol. I was shocked to see how much weight she had put on in just 2 short weeks though. Her cheeks had filled out and her body was plump! She played with her umbilical cord and would put it in her mouth to get a taste of the funfetti cup cake I had eaten on the way :) Sabrina also commented on my "nice" placenta...she said it was huge. Which is how everything is on me lately! We were joined this time by both sets of Cody's grandparents, his parents, and mine! The grandparents provided free entertainment....they were like little kids on Christmas! Every little change of position or facial expression was accompanied by WOW and AWWWW :) Grandma Ledford refers to Aniston as Miss America or the President of the United States!!! I think Gdiddy (aka Cody's dad) is a little terrified....he has sat in silence each time! Its either fear or he's trying to hold back tears and both are very logical explanations! Aniston still looks like her handsome daddy, but I did see a little more of me this time compared to the last! We did do a little in her nursery this weekend...Cody has put together the crib and changing table! I'll post pics of the nursery when it is complete! I go to the doc on Wednesday...I'll let you know how that goes :)