Week 28 -- The Best is Yet to Come

I'm officially in my third trimester, and I'm happy to report that with this new stage of pregnancy, I've also experienced some fun new "symptoms" (for lack of a better word), including burping, nose bleeds and extreme stupidity.

The burping and nose bleeds aren't enjoyable, but besides being embarrassed because I giggle every time I burp (I've never been ABLE to burp before so now I find it highly amusing) I can deal with these little annoyances.

What I can absolutely NOT fathom is my newly found extreme stupidity. Extreme. Sure, I've complained of "pregnancy brain" -- the forgetfulness that comes with having a baby (and which leads my husband to tell me that the baby is sucking my brain) but I had an experience this Sunday that later led me to wonder if perhaps Baby E really IS sucking my brain, and will I have any brains left to work with after she is born?!

Chances are not good. Because on Sunday morning, I woke up in a fog and rolled over (ungracefully -- got that big ol' belly, remember?) in bed to ask my husband "What is today's date?" to which he told me it was December 28 and I realized I had forgotten my Dad's birthday the day before (December 27). FORGOTTEN. I felt awful. I felt like an ingrate. My father is such a doting, caring and loving guy, and I had just basically wiped my feet with his special day. I spent the morning mentally head slapping myself and generally feeling like I was the scum of the Earth. But it didn't end there.

As the whole Edelbrock clan loads up in the car to head to church, Ben announces in the car that I've forgotten my father's birthday (okay, maybe he didn't "announce" or "point fingers" but at that point in my guilt-ridden morning I was fairly certain that he had just told my in-laws that I was the worst daughter on the face of the planet). And with that, the guilt multiplied because not only was I a bad person, but people KNEW I was a bad person now.

And to top things off, when we get to church the priest starts talking about the theme of that Sunday which was family, and how important family was and I swear in less than 30 seconds I had tears ROLLING DOWN MY FACE. Pair extreme guilt with pregnancy hormones and a normal person doesn't have a chance -- Hell, SUPERWOMAN wouldn't have a chance.

I was a wreck.

But as I slowly pulled myself together, the TINY part of my brain that hasn't been taken over by the baby started to struggle with why I was upset. Because that TINY part that can still think rational thoughts is reminding me that I've never been in town to celebrate my Dad's birthday with him over the Christmas break. And that is because my Dad's birthday isn't on December 27 at all.

Let me repeat that.

My Dad's birthday is 100% NOT on December 27, but on December 29, the NEXT day. I had NOT missed my Dad's birthday.

I HAD however, been completely and utterly convinced that his big day was on the 27th. Despite 28 years of knowing this date the EXTREME STUPIDITY of pregnancy made me absolutely SURE that his birthday had been the day before and I had missed it. And in turn, my husband's ENTIRE FAMILY would soon know that I was suffering from extreme stupidity.

So I did what any self-respecting person would do and willed myself to forget what I had just realized. I sat through church quietly, praying for God to return my brains and didn't tell Ben what I had realized until about SIX hours later when we had driven back to Dallas and he was pestering me to call my father. I tried to make it into a big joke "Isn't this funny Ben?" but he just looked at me sideways and turned back to the basketball game, which made it pretty clear that this episode had surpassed pregnancy brain in a BIG way.

So joy to the third trimester and all it brings us this New Year.

My week 28 picture from Sunday night. I also had a doctor appointment this morning, although besides gaining an unheard of EIGHT pounds in four weeks it was fairly routine -- she called me a fatty (albeit nicely), suggested I eat more veggies and less pie, and sent me on my way.

We call him Snow Leopard because he was a sassy cat

I'm finally back from the holidays in Houston, and what a joyful Christmas it was. The Edelbrocks (my in-laws) are a great, loud, boisterous, funny group. Ben has three siblings, and while each sibling has a distinctly different personality, everyone is extremely smart and witty, which means when you get around the family, you better watch out. Being a slightly sarcastic person myself (NO, really?!!) I feel like I fit right in, but you had better be on your game or chances are the joke of the holiday will be on you. Because if there is one thing we Edelbrocks love, it is a good joke at someone else's expense (see -- I fit RIGHT IN).

The winner this year is Ben's youngest brother Adam. At 21, he is the baby of the family and in his senior year at Notre Dame. While sitting around and chatting with the family, the unfortunate phrase "We called him Snow Leopard because he was a sassy cat" came out of his mouth when describing an alley cat that he and his roommates feed. And naturally, we all jumped on it like wolves. SASSY CAT? Do tell Adam, how did he show his sassiness? Did he swish when he walked? That certainly IS sassy Adam.

And then of course, the joke goes on to be used in every aspect of our weekend together. As in, "OOOOOOO, Adam, that touchdown was certainly SASSY, wasn't it?" Or, "Dinner was great Michelle, the green bean casserole was especially SASSY this year," and so on. Then, when Adam left to meet his girlfriend for a ski trip, the rest of the siblings were quick to upload photos of him to Facebook with one particularly adorable childhood photo captioned with his sassy cat quote.

The moral of the story? Outside of the lesson to never use the word SASSY in normal conversation is how much fun we all had together. Because its true, the family that laughs together, stays together (I've just made that saying up, but it makes sense to me). It is so neat to be part of this big family that truly likes and enjoys being around each other. Who can tease and joke with each other and enjoy every moment we spend together. And THAT, is why we had such a happy, joyful and SASSY Christmas.

*Post edited to include the sassy photo of Adam, per my husband's comment that I simply can NOT post this without a photo.

Say cheese!

A few pictures from our new camera. Not sure if you'll be able to tell how great the quality is online, but take my word for it... the quality is GREAT. I can see every single gray hair on Jack's head and you can actually tell Dexter's fur is turning brown, unlike our other camera that makes his coat look like one black blob, not individual hairs. Which brings up an interesting point. This camera makes our cute dogs look even cuter. Chances are it will make our ADORABLE baby look even more adorable. But I'm pretty positive it can magnify UGLY too, so you won't be seeing many pictures of me with this thing. No sir-ree, I'm a behind the lens type of gal from now on. Or at least until I have the baby, lose 40 pounds, and have the energy to wear makeup again.This is Dexter's best side. He told me so, won't let me photograph his other side. He is so vain.

Still learning how to use the camera, but at least Dex's nose is in focus...

Jackson loves playing with his B. A. L. L. Which we have to spell around the house lest he hear us and have a coronary thinking he gets to go the the P. A. R. K.

Jackson does NOT appreciate being woken to the sound of a clicking camera. He prefers the sound of the opening refrigerator, but I was feeling feisty. Pretty sure if he could talk he would tell me to go F-myself for waking him up for no good reason, luckily he can't and I just assume he is thinking how pretty I look this afternoon.

And now, I'm assuming everyone reading this post can't wait for Baby E to be born so you can stop being assaulted with photos of my dogs. Because we all know, assault by baby photo is just SOOOO much better.

Yeti sighting? Nope, just me.

Christmas with the Entwistles was a fantastic affair this past weekend. Without going into extreme detail, Ben and I were blessed with some really good family time, too much good food (including PIE -- yummy), an exciting pregnancy announcement by my cousin and more gifts than we really deserve. In fact, as a joint Ben/Liz Christmas, anniversary and probably birthday gift, we received a Nikon D60 camera, something we've been saving and searching for this past few months. I was overwhelmed by the gift, but extremely excited to start using it.

At first I was a little scared to even touch the thing (for fear my clumsy self would drop it on the floor), but after awhile I got over my fears and we spent Sunday after the family left testing and playing with its many features. And, of course taking photos of the best subjects we currently have (the pups). The camera came with not ONE but TWO instructional DVDs, which I plan to watch on our drive down to Houston on Wednesday for Christmas with the Edelbrocks.

I'm hoping to actually sign up for photography classes at one of the local schools here, as I've always had an interest in and passion for photography. And with Baby E on the way, I assume I'll have lots of fantastic moments to capture through the lens. And, maybe I'll suck at it, but I promise you that you will be forced to look at nearly every damn picture I take.

The one drawback to this rose filled weekend I've just described was the part where I'm almost sure I gained at least 4 pounds in three days. At least. And I'm supposed to only gain that much in FOUR WEEKS. My doctor is going to be SO FREAKING PISSED. I don't know what happened. I don't feel like I ate much more than anyone else, but I can literally feel my stomach expanding, and where last week when I posted photos I was like "Oh, look, my belly is kinda cute" I looked at myself in the mirror last night (sans clothes, an absolute NO NO when packing on pounds. I nearly had a stroke) and was literally SHOCKED by the growth over less than one week. I mean, sure, the baby is like 15 inches long, but she is only about two pounds or so, which means the rest of it is ALL ME BABY.

And to make matters worse, people don't seem impressed when I say I'm 27 weeks along. I had a client tell me "Oh, so you have a long way to go" last week. I nearly jumped through the phone receiver to strangle her. A long way to go? I'm entering my third trimester missy... DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I'VE GONE THROUGH TO GET HERE? My hair hasn't been highlighted in over six months, my skin is pasty and mottled looking, I have acne, heart burn, and some new cellulite that just appeared to taunt me, my wedding ring is tight enough to make my finger look like a sausage, I'm retaining water, have a craving for PIE and can't stop farting in bed, something that is surely scarring my husband for life. For what I've seen my body go through, I think 27 weeks is PRETTY DAMN IMPRESSIVE.

Hold on, that rant caused me to run out of breath -- I get winded easily now. Think I might go have some pie.

On the first day of Christmas...

Today marks the official start of the Christmas holiday in the Edelbrock household. This week, my family is in town to celebrate the Entwistle Christmas a week early. Then, next Wednesday, Ben and I will go down to Houston for an Edelbrock extravaganza. Two whole weeks of Christmas, it just makes me giddy with excitement -- Presents! Santa (for my niece Lily)! Family time!

And, even though both Ben and I are stretched thin with work, school, pregnancy, etc., we made it a point to get into the holiday spirit. We FINALLY finished decorating our Christmas tree, we've been listening to Christmas carols for a few weeks and we spent last weekend boosting the economy and shopping our happy little butts off for family gifts. In fact, Ben even found time to put up the Christmas lights on our house while I was squeezing in a little nap. Last, but not least, we ordered our Christmas cards, although it will seriously be a holiday miracle if we actually get them in the mail by December 25 (we probably should have gotten the "Happy Holidays" themed card instead...).

So, to everyone out there, I wish you the very best holiday season (a little early). Ho, Ho, Ho!Yep, we know our tree is tacky, and we really, really like it that way. Our (REAL) tree has a little lean to it, we have an odd assortment of non-matching ornaments that have special meaning to either Ben, I or both and the colored lights are those big, garish bulbs that can light up an entire room when they are on. All we are lacking is some tinsel (maybe by this evening I'll have added that to the tree) to have a true eyesore, but to Ben and I it feels homey, comfortable and truly joyous.

Week 26 -- The Doggie Edition

To make up for going an entire WEEK without a post, I've taken some week-appropriate photos. See the amazing expanding belly, step right up!

Me, in all my "haven't showered yet, but really need to take a photo" glory and my shadow Dexter. I swear, I go into the bathroom and Dexter has to follow me in to make sure, I dunno, I don't climb out a window to escape him? I just can't shake him, no matter what I do.

Jackson on the other hand, the dog I've had since college, who has been with me to three cities, nearly a dozen different houses/apartments, and who I truly believed was the only "man" who would never leave me (until I met Ben that is) has 100% abandoned me.

He wants nothing to do with me. He has replaced me as his #1 human, now totally in love with my husband. Seriously, he makes googly eyes at Ben now. They have a napping bond that can not be broken.

Sure, it hurts a little to have lost my Jack to Ben, but I guess I can imagine I am giving off weird hormone-y smells and the second heartbeat coming from my body may freak him out a bit. I'm changing, and apparently, Jack doesn't like change. A friend of mine had the same experience with her long-time dog when she became pregnant -- her dog became a faithful follower of her husband, and avoided the nursery at all costs. When they first brought the baby home, this same dog urinated on the floor and went outside to sulk. My feeling is that when you've had a dog that has ruled the roost for some time, no outsider is going to get a warm welcome.

Plus, I've got Dexter (aka bad dog) to keep me company for now. Sure, he is a pain, but he loves me and I'll take every bit of cuddling I can get. Plus its really cute when he lays his head on my belly bump. Here is one last picture from Week 26 (post-shower), and while it may seem my shadow has left me, you can actually see his tail in the lower left corner. He is never far away...

Photos galore

So I haven't been very good about taking photos of myself throughout the pregnancy -- which my Mom reminded me of this morning. Usually its because I've thought about doing it right before bed I climb in bed and I've already gotten "ugly" for the night, or while I'm in the car or at work or just one of those times that make it near impossible to get a photo. I know some people who take photos week by week to measure their growing girth, which I'm sure is magical to look back on "look how FAT I got in week 23 honey!!" so I'm going to make a promise here and now that I will TRY HARDER to get and post photos for the last third of my pregnancy.

As a stand-in for now, please see some of our fun family photos from Thanksgiving.

Getting ready to watch OU play OSU (as in Oklahoma, not Ohio). Luckily, Ben and I are impartial so we just got to eat good food without the stress of the game.

A little after Thanksgiving dinner at one of my favorite Tulsa restaurants, Bodean's. Apparently it is a hot spot because not only did we run into some family friends, but also my cousins!
Being silly at home -- they never did get to feel Baby E move... apparently, she feels it is rude to kick anyone other than me.

Week 25

Apparently, my "What to Expect When Expecting" book and TheBump.com are NOT on the same page when it comes to my pregnancy. Because The Bump says I'm just now starting my sixth month, and WTEWE seems to think I'm halfway through my sixth month. And I feel like I'm in my eighth month, so something seems to be off.

And, maybe I'm just knit picking here, but if you are a pregnancy Web site or the Encyclopedia of pregnancy, don't you think you should maybe GET ON THE SAME PAGE? I'm no scientist or mathematician, and frankly without a calculator I can't do long division, but I CAN estimate that if I'm 25 weeks along, and there are approximately four weeks in a month, I'm 6 months and one week along. Which makes BOTH MY PREGNANCY RESOURCES WRONG by at least a week.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!! (typed while stamping my foot in true tantrum style)

I know -- not a big deal, calm down Liz, have a slice of pie and chill. But when each and every week is one step closer to having a baby, and each month milestone feels like you've done something amazing like climbed Everest or run a marathon, having confusion about where you stand is irksome.

So this week, Baby E is (according to TheBump.com) the size of an eggplant. But, that could be a dirty lie, so just imagine a cute little baby, smaller than a watermelon and larger than a cantaloupe.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Typically, I'm a sucker for the holidays. It starts in October when the air turns all crisp and Fall-y smelling, signaling three months of un-paralleled fun that includes my birthday, our wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas parties (and more Christmas parties) and then of course, the piece de resistance.... New Years.

This year has been a slightly different experience. And while people keep telling me that I'm lucky to be pregnant in the winter instead of in the heat of the Texas summer, I'm thinking the next time I climb on the pregnancy pony, I'm going to time it so that I am 100% NOT pregnant during the months of October through December (yes, despite all my crabbiness and whining on this blog, I DO plan on Baby E having a sibling... someday... sigh).

Because, after this weekend, I've learned a few valuable lessons.

1. Decorating a Christmas tree is less fun when you fall over every time to you try to reach the bottom half of the tree.
2. All holiday parties are less fun when drinking cranberry juice or spritzer.
3. Drunk people WILL touch your baby belly more than if they were sober. A lot. And sometimes they will talk to your belly, which is uncomfortable when they can't stand up straight and keeping bumping their noses into your belly button.
4. Dressing up for parties is less fun when you only have a few clothes that fit because chances are you are wearing the same thing for the NINE HUNDRETH time.
5. People will say "You don't even look pregnant!" which is code for "Oh, I thought you were just fat," especially since I am compelled by cravings and hormones to set up shop at the buffet table.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still loving the holidays. It is just a completely different beast this year, and with less energy and more... heft... to get around, it feels like all the things that need to get done take more time than ever before. And, with poor Ben in the middle of finals, my natural instinct for putting everything on him so I'm stress free isn't going to fly.

Last night, Ben and I got our tree from Home Depot, and instead of rushing home to put on Christmas music and decorate like we normally do, we got the tree in some water and then spent a few hours on the couch. Eventually we (Ben) put the lights on it and we both called it a productive day. Hopefully, we can get the tree finished by the end of the week (I don't even HAVE high expectations for myself anymore) so I can post a pic of the tacky beauty it will become.

Shameless product promotion

I'm in PR, so I know a shameless product blog when I see one... and this is about to be an extremely shameless plug. For the product that CHANGED MY LIFE.

Ben finally got tired of my whining about how uncomfortable I am at night after my last post, and went on a mission to find a pillow that could work wonders. And what he found made me weep with joy after the first use.

Introducing... the Snoogle. Now, while it may appear to be some sort of odd torture device or maybe an ugly Christmas stocking hanger, the snoogle is actually a pillow for pregnant folk. Or, now that I've discovered it, a pillow I will use for the rest of my life. You kind of just snuggle into it and loop it around your body. I can't quite explain the feeling, but its like being hugged by an angel all night long.

Seriously. An angel.

Sleep, where are you??

I haven't been sleeping well lately. I wake up constantly to turn over or readjust the 3-5 pillows I'm using at any one time to TRY to find a comfortable position.

News Flash: There IS no comfortable position when you are 24 weeks pregnant. And this morning, as I tossed and turned I came up with a new realization... its only going to get worse from here (aren't I a ray of sunshine when I've been up all night?)

At my appointment yesterday, it was pretty routine -- Baby E's heartbeat is strong and healthy. I'm doing fine except that I've gained too much weight (darn you Thanksgiving seconds!! Darn you!) and am on track to gain the total weight of a toddler or a very small person during my pregnancy if I don't get it under control. I also had to drink a very sugary drink and they took MORE of my blood to test for gestational diabetes, so I should find out in the next day or so if there are any issues there. All seems to be a-ok which makes me really happy and sort of nervous.

Because I've had a pretty painless (comparatively) pregnancy. So does that mean I'm really going to "get it" when I deliver? Seems only fair, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for better luck. I was reading a book this morning with essays from various women talking about their transition to motherhood. In TWO of the essays, both women (in great detail) shared their gruesome birth stories, which included lots of ripping/tearing, bleeding, delivering AFTER the epidural had worn off, etc.

Seriously, THIS is supposed to inspire me about my near transition into motherhood? Maybe I should have waited to read this until AFTER my own personal delivery experience so I wasn't so out of my mind terrified at this very moment. With very limited experience of friends/family with little ones, the birth stories I have heard up until now sounded like a day at the spa in comparison with what these few women had to say about the "miracle" of birth. I knew it wouldn't be a picnic, but always felt that with modern medicine... and drugs... it would end up being fairly... um... well... easy? (Snickering can be heard from all the Moms who are reading this right now I'm sure).

It's true. I had completely deluded myself into thinking that the whole birthing process would be a smooth and painless process. In fact, I've avoided reading any of the sections of my pregnancy books that deal with birth just so I could keep up my happy, go-lucky avoidance of the subject. But pretty sure the bigger she gets, the more she kicks, the more real this all becomes -- the more I realize that she has to COME OUT OF THERE at some point. And now I've been reminded that it is NOT going to be pretty.

Oi.

Caution: The nest has landed

So, I've heard all about this nesting thing that expecting women go through, and I'm pretty sure its starting to rear its ugly head at me. In fact, I am 100% positive that it is, because in my right mind, I would have never had the INSANE urge I had this morning to get down on the floor of my bathroom to sort out the junk under the sink. I literally had a 60 second internal debate about how much time it would take me to clean out all the old medicine in cabinet and organize my hair appliances so that we had more space. And then, as I'm promising myself I can do it TONIGHT but not right NOW, I was thinking ahead to how the next thing that MUST be cleaned out is the office closet, and how I probably should take a trip to the Container Store to see what kind of organizational products they have because I just can't live with the way our closets are jammed together now. And have you seen our refrigerator lately? There really is no organization to the way our food is arranged, and it would be so much easier to find things if we did it alphabetically...

Whoa. There I go again.

Nesting is definitely rearing its ugly head. And the worst part is that these nasty nesting urges have NOTHING to do with the space the baby is going to occupy. The nursery closet is filled with stuff, but nope, I have no urge to go through that just yet. But our bookshelves are filled with paperbacks that we should probably get rid of, and our coat closet doesn't have any COATS in it, so may want to rethink that situation...

I want to smack myself. I even started looking at real estate online this morning, thinking how much easier it would be to get organized if we moved because then I'd HAVE to go through everything and toss a bunch of junk. Yep, pure genius. To make birthing a baby less stressful, why don't you go through the stress of BUYING AND SELLING A HOME when NO ONE IS BUYING OR SELLING HOMES!? I'm clearly not fit to make any decisions right now, and yet my employer still lets me talk to clients on a regular basis, and my husband still lets me out socially in public. Foolish, foolish people.

The Thanksgiving Edition

In honor the Thanksgiving holiday, I've come up with the top 10 things I'm most thankful for this year. I know, the post seems obligatory and a little trite, but since this year is truly a year that I've got so many things to be grateful for, I can't help it.

Top 10 Things I'm Thankful For

1. Pie. I'm not going to lie, I know it's sad that pie is taking spot #1, but I can't tell you the joy that a nice slice of pie has brought into my life. When people ask me what I've been craving, I can finally tell them that without a doubt, I crave pie. During my pregnancy but NOT INCLUDING THIS WEEK, I've gone through a French Silk pie, a Pumpkin Pie and a slice of Pecan pie. During the week of Thanksgiving, I obviously ate my fair share of pie, again, Pumpkin, Pecan and just to mix it up a little bit, Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake pie.


2. My parents. I can't help it -- Greg and Connie (aka Mom and Dad) give me the warm and fuzzies all over. It was so great to spend a few days at home with them. They are so excited for Ben and I, and just head over heels for little Baby E already, that I can't help but feel I won the lottery in terms of parents.


3. Our financial stability. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, and good people I know are being laid off, I'm so thankful that both Ben and I are employed with a good nest egg just in case. What a blessing to feel safe and secure in our home and our lives at this time.


4. Elastic waisted pants. Do I need to explain this one? I ate more than anyone else at Thanksgiving dinner and I never felt the need to unbutton my pants -- not ONCE. New Liz record.


5. My husband. Who just keeps getting better. And despite the fact that I yelled at him last night for putting the butter in the refrigerator with the lid off, he knows its just my hormones talking and STILL loves me. Whew.


6. Pottery Barn Baby. I've always been one of those people that browse at Pottery Barn, but don't buy... things just always seem a tad bit too expensive for me there. But ah jeez... Pottery Barn Baby has the cutest wittle things that Baby E just HAS to HAVE, like that bird night light, the owl stuffed animals and the little pillow that will go so sweetly in our rocker. What, you need all my life savings AND my first born for this purchase? Why, of course Pottery Barn Baby... please, take everything I own just give me those adorable sheets and we'll call it square.


7. Friends and family. I'll just keep saying it, but I'm so lucky to have such a great extended family and such wonderful friends.


8. Jackson and Bad Dog for Sale. I love 'em. Both of them -- every single dirty, furry, cuddly, belly-rubbing minute I spend with them, I'm thankful for their devotion and companionship.


9. Work holidays. What can I say but thank God for time off from work. You may be stressed, tired, angry or apathetic, but when you have a few days off from work, it is much easier to come back to the grind with a new perspective.


10. Baby E (of course!). She keeps getting more and more active and I love to watch my tummy jump with every kick, twitch and roll. This is truly what I am MOST thankful for this holiday season.