Are we there yet?

Well...we got some MORE presents from my Aunt Ramona!! I've got everything washed and put away. I've got the guest room ready to go. I have the stuff we need to take ON the bag....just not IN it. So...we're getting closer. The nesting energy is gone though...my mind is still racing but I only have enough energy to point and grunt at what needs to be done. :) Sleep escapes me except in naps that sometimes come along...

I've been playing whack a mole with Zach...he pokes...I poke to figure out what body part it is...then he pokes somewhere else...it's a game that we play...I always lose though b/c I can't tell what is what. The only thing I can tell is that he is head down...and that is only b/c of the hiccups. He's definitely getting bigger though...I still think he needs to grow a little more b/c even though I feel like I am going to explode...it's probably not quite big enough.

We're sitting at 35.5 weeks...one month from today he's due (Aug 30). Crazy! So today I went to the doctor...and his heartbeat is all good...my belly is measuring a little small but the doc thinks that is because he is moving down...I filled out the preregistration forms today as well...it was the first time I signed stuff as a parent/guardian...and I filled out my information under 'Mother' and Chris' under 'Father.' Crazy!!! I had to put Zach's name as 'Infant Roberson.' Once he is born they recommend Chris goes down and fills out the few blanks I left with Zach's names, etc....I was like....NO WAY JOSE! First...he'd probably spell it Zachry or something that would make me cry (he spelled Smokey Smoky...)...Second...he'd probably end up naming him Bruce or something that would make me cry. So...here' hoping I can hobble my butt down to the 1st floor to fill it out. *fingers crossed!!*

Oh...and the doctor pointed out where Zach's head, butt and foot were...and I was like, wow...so I did my own examination and could not distinguish these body parts!!!!! All I feel is baby....not specific parts. :(

No room left in our house

Well....there is no room left in the house for stuff. The three of us (me, chris and smokey) huddle in the corner surrounded by stuff with no clear exit path to the door...or the bathroom for that matter! Oh wait...no...that's just a nightmare I had. Relaly we're not THAT full...but it is amazing how much stuff such a tiny person needs!! My mom pointed out that I had three mini showers last week. On Monday her team threw me a small shower and gave us some nice things...then on Wednesday my friends had a surprise birthday/baby dinner and gave us lots of good stuff...and then on Saturday my Aunt Kelly delivered her many gifts! Check out some pictures of Chris and I putting it all away.

Awww widdle I love Daddy socks!

This Batman outfit from Mom comes complete with a cape!

Aunt Kelly signed Zachary up for the babyhood of the traveling pajamas...these pajamas come with a little bag to store them in. :)

Check out Zachary's very first pair of Levis! And think of how cool he'll look in that M&M onesie!

My friend Melissa got this...another superhero outfit for Zach...it says Captain Adorable!!!

Smokey could not stand the thought of being left out of unpacking, so he came to play the role of official foot warmer.

No words needed. lol.

My friend Heath bought Zachary his mobile!! Unfortunately Smokey thinks all things stuffed-animal-like are his and apparently was molesting Pooh while we weren't looking...he was wet with slobber!!!! Poor poor Pooh. Smokey thought Chris was putting this mobile together for HIM...and was very anxious to play with the finished result. Good thing its out of reach.

Hiccups

I felt Zach's hiccups for the first time on the night we went to dinner for my birthday. Like I said, he move so much now that I don't take much notice other than a general smile or so. But here went my thought pattern: "Why is he lightly hitting me in the exact same place at such even intervals of time?" "Oh!!!! It must be he hiccups!" :) I'm blonde...and pregnant ok!!! Either way, it was pretty cool. My little person here gets hiccups!

Also....we were laying in bed and I had Chris' hand on my belly...and I guess Zach freaked him out!!! He's felt Zach move before...but not it is obviously more violent...and he said Zach pressed against him....which isn't unusual....he seems to be rather territorial and usually pushes against pressure he feels on my belly. Which probably explains why he acts up so much when I have to pee!!!

Why didn't you tell me?

So....like I said....this pregnancy has been relatively easy breezy beautiful Cover Girl for me...I've not had to suffer a lot of the nightmares other ladies went through...so...imagine my surprise when I start getting painful sensations. Nothing except the initial exam (sooooooo hate being a woman at those times) has been necessarily painful...mostly just curious or at worst uncomfortable. Well....now....I am getting these sharp pains that I gather are probably just the baby pinching a nerve somehow....and I have these sharp little pains all over my belly pretty much all day. And of course....like everyone else I am sure....my back has finally started to make its discomfort known....along with my hips....It's not that bad, it's just disconcerting to feel pain when I've been on cruise control the entire time. So I am like why did no one tell me about this business? I'm thinking I'm going to cruise until D day....(you know...delivery day, gosh...) Apparently that is not the case. SO now I know why people at work ask me, "how are you feeling today?" My response is always, "Good, how are you?"....as in there's nothing special about how I feel, why are you asking? Now my response is, "I feel pregnant." That just kind of puts it into perspective I guess. I also love it when people ask me if I am scared or nervous about the labor/delivery....and the shock on their face when I give them my stock answer, "Nope, I just pretend like that part doesn't exist." Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have decided to take the procrastination route when it comes to worrying about that part of it all. I have the basic information I need....doc says make the trip when they are 5 minutes apart for at least one hour. Ok....that's all I need to know. From what I've heard there is actually little that you control about the whole process anyway, so why stress about it? I just figure I'll let the doctors tell me what to do...I'll squeeze the life out of Chris when I have a contraction...I'll play it by ear. No need to get worked up about it now. I know it's going to be miserable...I hear the recover is going to be miserable...so I pretend like that part doesn't exist. :)

Birthday pictures

Chris took me to the melting pot for my birthday. Here are some funny pictures we took.

Umm....I thought black was slimming damn it!

I think my nose is bigger in every new picture I take.

Check out that steam!

Beware....hungry pregnant lady!

Chris reacts to the ridiculous bill!

PS. I know I've used ridiculous at least thirty times lately....sorry...my creativity is so low that I only have the capability of thinking of one adjective.

Thou shalt buy more thank you cards.

So...on Wednesday night some of my friends threw me a surprise birthday/baby dinner...we got many more things for Zach....and that shower officially got me to under ten things left on the registry. And guess what? On Thursday at work I had a baby shower/birthday lunch where my coworkers presented me with fabulous gifts for Zachary. So...now I have like at least four gift cards to get the rest of my items for him. We're really in the home stretch...I mean he needs like water proof pads for the mattress and covers for his changing table...I mean we're talking small potatoes here. The only big things that I can think of that we need are the monitor and all the nursing stuff...which I am going to wait to buy until I find out if these things are only for filling out a shirt or if they serve a function too. :P

So....that's good....now I just need to pack the bags. I have lists. I have plans. Yet I still have no bags packed.

But back to my title...we have rooms filling to the brim with stuff. I was caught up for like one day with the thank you cards, lol. :) But....I would write a million thank you cards b/c it's just ridiculous how generous everyone has been. I mean I really appreciate it....I didn't know so many people cared.... I hope all the same people are prepared to be bombarded with pictures of him. I can totally see myself being a mom that sends 15 pictures that to the non-mommie eye look like him doing the exact same thing over and over again...and the viewers are looking at him like...uh....he is just laying there....with his eyes closed....what is the big deal!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Did you know if you drink coffee the baby will have 15 toes?

So...on Wednesday I was feeling much better after days of being sick...so I guess to the people I work with I must have seemed much more upbeat or hyper or something. So this guy who sits by me said something to the effect of, "Shana you drank coffee didn't you!!!" And then...the place turned to madness. This girl turns around and says, "OMG Shana, you didn't!"...someone else says, "Drinking coffee gives your baby ADD" and then there was a "Shana think of the baby," and it was like a chorus of ridicule around me. I really can't explain the though process my mind went through...I started off by thinking...yeah, I've had coffee a total of one time in my life....ever....and it's disgusting....then I was thinking what the hell do these non-children having 20 somethings know....then I was thinking the charges they made were ridiculous....and then finally I was pissed b/c I've never really been one to need permission of everyone around me to do ANYTHING!

So....I was just shocked and appalled by these people...first of all, I am the internet research queen. There have been a grand total of like two studies that "proved" anything regarding caffeine and pregnancy....one that showed it may increase the chance of miscarriage...and one that showed it may decrease blood flow to the uterus....neither of which were conclusive by any stretch of the word...and it's in fact the official opinion that caffeine in small amounts is perfectly safe. So...I am listening to these wild accusations of these non pregnant people...about something that I didn't even do...and I am pissed!

I think I've had it lucky though b/c I have a persona that doesn't really invite a whole lot of advice...I haven't had the ridiculous amount of unsolicited advice and touching of the belly that many pregnant women go through...so I guess I was bound to get some!!!

I think the most annoying thing Chris and I agree we've heard consistently are the lines that start with "just wait." First of all...there isn't a WHOLE LOT ELSE FOR ME TO DO THAN JUST WAIT. Thanks for the advice...I WAS planning on inducing labor three months early...mostly b/c I didn't want to wait. *roll eyes* Also...this line indicates that people are projecting ill will toward me...like...just wait until you suffer like I did!!!! Dude...if you have issues take them up with a friggin psych...don't get voodoo on me. Finally...the just wait line devalues what I am going through right now. I am sure in hindsight I won't remember it or care much about it...but right now let me just experience it. Chris hears me marvel all the time about things with this pregnancy. I think he thinks I am complaining, but really I am just speaking outloud with wonder at the weirdness of it all. Like....WHY has my nose been stuffy since 10 weeks? What purpose did that possibly serve? Why, oh why, do my gums bleed? I mean...cmon...some of this stuff just really makes no sense and therefore I am not on board. Not that anyone in the complaint department is really listening...

A little pampering.

So....on Saturday Mom and I went for a little pampering. She got a manicure and I got a pedicure. That's right...my swollen feet and cankles might look bad....but at least my skin is soft(er) and my toes are pretty!!!

Also...on July 4th we went to Shannon's...here is a must see picture.

Pregnant women shouldn't get sick...

I have filed my petition that pregnant women should be exempt from being sick. I am not looking to hear a response on that anytime soon...

So last Thursday I am walking around at work getting dizzy, sweaty and other weird stuff. So I go to the nurse and get my temp and blood pressure checked and I layed down for a bit. I woke up the next day sick!!! You know the usual cough, nasal congestion, headaches, etc. The problem was that I I felt like I got hit by a truck. I never remember having the energy so completely zapped just from a common cold....of course...I've never been pregnant and sick either!

So there are two things that can make me feel better when I am sick. One is a hug from Chris. The other is new...Zachary kicking me. :) What was really odd is when I was sick...he got WAY more active...right when he was supposed to be slowing down b/c he is supposed to be getting too big to move so much! :) Usually he makes his presence known once or twice while I am sitting at work and then at night when I am getting ready for bed. The last few days I have not relaly noticed a time when he has stopped moving. It seems constant...which is weird b/c I could always tell when he was sleeping. I guess he is bored since I've been sitting on my butt trying to not be sick.

He is so much heavier...and bigger. I can see my stomach moving too...it's a little alien-esqe.

I need to get his bag packed...and mine too. 7 weeks to go! :)

More stuff!!!

Well we've gotten more stuff for Zach since the baby shower!

Grandma Trilby sent us a gift card that I used to buy diaper bags. I bought two b/c I read somewhere about having a second bag ready to hand over to baby sitters or whenever. I think that's a great idea. I also got basic black so that Chris can carry it and still retain some masculinity. :)

We got the diaper genie from Aunt Dawn Marie! Man, I was really starting to get worried about that one! It was funny because I got refills for it...but no actual genie! But now my diaper smell worries have been put at ease!

We got a very generous gift card for the BX (military walmart) from my Slater family to use once we get to Alaska...who knows what we'll be needing...but I know we'll be needing stuff...not the least of which will be diapers!!! My Grandma Shirley also got us some other neat gifts like a bottle that graduates to a sippie cup and then to a regular cup! :)

My Mom's coworkers threw a mini shower at work for me. They had cake & punch and got us a gift card for target, clothes, blankets and some mocassins!!

Kathy sent us a DVD of some of the cartoons that Chris liked when he was a kid. She also sent a cross stitch she did that we hung in the nursery.

My Mom continues her campaign to fill my house to the brim with stuff so that we can't walk around. We got some stuff for Zachary that we probably won't use for at least 2-3 years. :)

Update

Well...I was writing on Karen's blog about how I was feeling so I figured I'd post it for the blog! :)

I'm good. Even though Chris hates it when I say this (superstition)...the pregnancy in general has been pretty easy...discomforts here and there...but not compared to what I hear some ladies talk about!!! I still haven't had any of these mysterious cravings I hear so much about. :) What is weird at this point is that I am started to feel some pain here and there...I think it is a combination of those false contractions and him punching holes in my bladder...it's weird b/c the pregnancy has been virtually pain free...but now that he is bigger I guess that's over! :) I am really anxious...ready to get this over with. The reason I am is because we are supposed to be moving and I am stressed out to the max between new baby and moving and Chris possibly being gone for six weeks for training. AHHH!