Childbirth Preparation

It is official….I have signed Andy and I up for a Saturday Childbirth Preparation Class at our hospital, Capital Region. It was either dedicate one Saturday or 3 Wednesday evenings. So I figured we would just get it over with in one day. Andy is not too keen on the idea of going….well he doesn’t exactly have a choice. I may be the one carrying this baby but I need all of his support come delivery.

These classes aren’t like they use to be, meaning there are no Lamaze or breathing lessons. It is more informational on what to expect. They will give us a tour, tell us when we should come to the hospital, where to go when we arrive, what we need to bring, what to expect during labor, types of deliveries, recovery expectations, infant care/checkups and much, much more.

I like to plan ahead. So when it comes to going into labor, I want to be comfortable with where I need to go and what their procedures are. I feel like I have read a lot of books and articles and watched hundreds of the Baby Story episodes to prepare me for what to expect (except for the pain aspect), so I really want to go to this class so Andy is up to speed. Andy does not handle situations well in unfamiliar territory. Maybe if he has an idea of what to expect and can focus on being more supportive, he is less likely to be short tempered and pissy because he is scared and nervous.

The moment of truth will be here before we know it, and our lives will be more fulfilled than ever.

The one thing I anticipate to expect is the overwhelming love, joy, tears and excitement this little boy will bring to our lives.

29 Week Appointment & Glucose Test

Yesterday I had another doctor’s appointment. All was good. I had only gained one pound, so I was pretty proud of that. The baby’s heart rate was around 140 bpm, so he is still going strong! After leaving the doctor’s office I headed over to the hospital for my glucose test. This is to determine if I had developed Gestational Diabetes, which is a routine test now for anyone who is pregnant. I had walked in the hospital with mixed emotions; because of course you always hear the worst. The test consisted of drinking a bottle (a little larger than a can of soda) of a sugar substance that tasted like flat Sprite. I had 5 minutes to drink the whole thing, but I had the whole thing chugged in less than a minute. Then I had to wait around for an hour before they would draw my blood. So I sat in the waiting room and tried to entertain myself. I checked my blood pressure a couple of times on one of those machines where you stick your arm in the hole, I played Tetris on my cell phone, read some magazines and was ease-dropping on the old ladies at the receptionist desk. The time went by pretty fast. After my hour was up they called me back to draw my blood. It just took a couple of minutes and I was finally done.

I don’t know when I will hear the results. Cross your fingers that I don’t have gestational diabetes, because this girl LOVES sugar. And if I would have to restrict my sugar intake for the next couple of months, I am liable to flip out!

One thing that was neat to watch was my OB doctor in action. As I was sitting in the outpatient waiting room, I could look out the window to the parking lot. There is a sign on one of the parking spots that says, “OB On Call Parking Only.” When I had arrived, there was no one parked in this spot…meaning no babies were being born at that time. But as I was patiently waiting, I saw a van whipping into the spot and out jumped MY doctor (who I had just met with 20 minutes prior at my appointment). She came sprinting across the parking lot and into the door next to the maternity ward. It was exciting to see her in action, I can only imagine what kind of adrenaline rush that would be. And as I was leaving the hospital, she was walking out at the same time to go back to her office.

All in a hard day’s work!

Weekend Recap!

Friday: After work, Beth came and picked me and we headed to Dixon for a garage sale. Beth knows this lady from work and she had invited some people to come up early and to go through all of her baby stuff. It wasn’t as extensive as we were expecting. I only spent $5. Beth walk away with quite a few things, but she was buying things for other people as well.

Kevin and Kelly had rented the volleyball court in Argyle for the evening. So when I got home from Dixon I began making supper so we could eat before we headed down to play. Well as soon as we sat down for dinner it began to storm like crazy. So needless to say, we stayed home for the evening and watched a couple movies.

Saturday: I was off of work and Andy was mandatory to go to work. Bummer! The sacrifices of being pregnant are starting to arise the farther I get along. There were a couple float trips on the Gasconade River going on that day that I really wanted to attend. But I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make it 4+ hours in a canoe in 90 degree weather. These float trips are unlike the ones we have on the Osage River. On the Osage the water is deep and smooth, and we are on floaties that keep us half way submerged under the water to stay cool. On the Gasconade it is really shallow with a lot of gravel bars and you find yourself having to walk down the river during the shallow parts because your floaty is scraping the rocks below you. So if the float trips would have been on the Osage, I wouldn’t have hesitated. But I didn’t’ think heat exhaustion would have been a good idea at this stage in my pregnancy!

Saturday Evening: We went over to Kevin and Kelly’s after they got done with their float trip. We ate some BBQ and sat around and watched the Cardinals game.

Sunday: Being unable to sleep and somewhat motivated, I got up early and made pancakes and bacon. We rarely eat breakfast on the weekends, because as soon as we get up Andy is getting ready to head to the farm and work for the day. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t eat down there. So on this day, I made took the initiative to not ask Andy if he wanted breakfast, I just did it!

That afternoon Holly, Shanda and I headed to Jeff City for the Bridal Spectacular. It was a good time and I think Holly got a lot of ideas. My favorite part was all of the samples of cakes! Yummy! My favorite was the Red Velvet cake with the Butter Cream Icing! I forgot how overwhelming these events can be, especially for the Bride. There are people pulling at you from every direction begging you to come to their booth so they can give you a presentation on why you should use their services at your wedding. They all ask the same generic questions as a conversation starter: When is your wedding? Where is your wedding at? Have you booked/purchased a photographer/DJ/wedding dress yet? Holly mentioned having a t-shirt made that included all of this information on it so you didn’t have to repeat it 50 times in one day. Not a bad idea!

For the evening we went down to Donnie and Shanda’s for some swimming and BBQ for a going away party for Abe (Holly’s fiancé). Kudos to Abe for joining the National Guard!!!! That is a huge decision to make, but I am so proud of him for making the sacrifice for all of us! He is leaving on Wednesday evening and will be gone for 8 months (except for a small break at Christmas).
I cannot image what Holly is going through right now. After just getting engaged, that has got to be so hard to send him off to the unknown for so long! I plan to do whatever I can to distract her and take her mind off of him being gone. Whether that is dinner, shopping, or going to the movies, because I know she would do the same for me!

Weekend Recap!

Friday Night: I was periodically working in the house and going outside to watch Andy, Donnie and Sean work on the location for the new shed we have ordered. We originally were going to building a nice shed (one big enough for Andy to park his truck in, as well as his ranger and lawn mower) but when we were given a quote of over $20,000 for just the concrete work, we said forget about it. So instead we have purchase a small shed from Hilkemeyer’s in Freeburg. It should be in within the next couple of weeks. Until then, Andy has been working hard to level the place in which he wants to put the shed. Since we live on such a slope, we have had to bring in 7 large concrete blocks that weight 2,400lbs each to balance out the hill. It sounds confusing, but it makes since when you see it.

Saturday: Work…Again! I was such a bum when I got off of work, that I went home and took a long nap. I should have taken Holly up on her offer of swimming in the pool that afternoon. At least then I would have gotten a tan as I was napping.

That evening, Andy and I went on a date for my birthday. I bet you cannot guess where we ate at….HuHots!!! It was excellent as usual. While it was to be a dinner with just Andy and I, ended up including a small baby. No, not ours! There was a little boy (close to a year old) sitting at the table next to us that Andy kept on watching and making funny faces at. This little boy was so cute! Andy spent the whole time looking past me to get a smile out of the little boy. I guess Andy was just practicing for when out little on is here!

After leaving HuHots, we headed back to Jeff City to check out what was in the movie theaters. We ended up seeing, A Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was alright. We thought about seeing the Dark Knight, but it looks a little disturbing to me. Plus, throughout the whole movie I would be thinking about Heath Ledger being dead.

After the movies we ran over to Cold Stone for a Cake N’ Shake, but they were already closed! DAMN IT! Better luck next time!

Sunday: The Schwartze family has a lot down on the Osage River. It like a small neighborhood with some good neighbors and some bad neighbors. At the annual meeting this year, the Schwartze boys were nominated to do some much needed tree destruction. The trees were beginning to take over the road down to the river. So on Sunday we all got up early and headed down there for some work and play. The guys took off up the road to begin their job as the women stayed back and cooked breakfast. The guys did an excellent job clearing the roads. After everything was done we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the river!

Reba Video!

Reba McEntire has a new music video out. It is called Every Other Weekend. She sings it with Kenny Chesney. The song is about a divorced couple that meets every other weekend to swap their children back and forth. And both of them still miss each other, but don't have the nerve to tell the other one that they want them back. It is a really good song.

But the part I wanted to tell you about was who the actors were that played the divorced couple. IT IS VAN & CHEYENNE OFF OF THE REBA SHOW!

This video is excellent, but using them as the couple makes it a link to the Reba Show. Meaning, we had left the series finale of the Reba Show with Van & Cheyenne as a happily married couple expecting their second child. Now years later this video comes out and depicts them as a divorced couple. It is so sad, that I literally cry every time I watch it. I love them two as a couple and it may just be a show, but when you watch it for 6 seasons they begin to grow on you like family.

For those outsiders who have never watched the Reba Show, probably think this sounds really ignorant. Too bad for you because you are really missing out by not watching this show, it is so funny!

Here is a link to Reba's Video!

Every Other Weekend

Enjoy!

27 Week Appointment

I had another doctor's appointment on Tuesday. All went well except when the conversation came to my weight. I had gained 7.5lbs since my last appointment. Holy S**t! A little more than the average one pound a week I am suppose to gain. In my defence I reminded them that I had only gained one pound at my last appointment, so I was just making up for those other 3lbs I was short. Oh well, there is no going back now!

I can tell this boy is going to be a feisty one. While the nurse was measuring my uterus, she was pressing really hard on my stomach. She made on comment that she is probably going to get kicked. I could feel him moving around but it wasn't until we were searching for his heartbeat that he really let loose. She was moving the Doppler around my stomach, trying to get a good reading of the heart rate. But as soon as she found it, he would move away. It was a funny cat & mouse game, because he obviously didn't want to be bothered. And before long, he started kicking like crazy. Both the nurse and I started cracking up, because my stomach was just moving up and down as he kicked. He was mad! Finally he gave up and we finally got to hear his heartbeat, it was a strong 137bpm.

I received an order form from the doctor for me to go to the hospital and take the Glucose test. I am not exactly looking forward to that. Since I don't take many trips to Jeff City, I believe I will just have this done the same day as my next doctor's appointment in two weeks. Yes, I have finally reached the point in this pregnancy were I have to go every two weeks. It is crazy how fast time flies.

I Love My Hubby!

Look what Andy sent me for my birthday from the Flower Basket!

Both the statue and flowers!

He always knows how to surprise me!

Man I love him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

Pot Patrol!

Yesterday, I had to go inspect/measure a house for work. We don't care for the customer himself, and to be honest he really freaks me out. So before heading out to the house I had to get myself a bodyguard....TINA! Not knowing exactly where we were going made it a mystery to which house it was and/or who lived there. Good thing Tina was with me, because when we pulled up to the house we realized it was a house that had a reputation for producing drugs. Great! Luckily, there was no one living at the house any longer! And from what we could tell, we didn't see any pot growing around the property. I doubt they would have left any behind. After getting done what we needed to do.....We got the hell out of there! So if you ever need an inspection of your property just call: KELLY & TINA: POT PATROL!

Weekend Recap!

Friday Night: Andy and I went over to Gerald and Darla’s for a Fish/Frog fry. We had a really good time chatting and playing Nerts. We even enjoyed shooting off a few left over fireworks.

Saturday: After getting off of work, I headed down to the park in Vienna for the Hollis Reunion. There was a huge turnout and even quite a few people I didn’t even know. That is to be expected when you have a large family that is spread out all over the place. It was extremely hot outside, and our lawn chairs were sitting right in the sun (all of the shade was taken). Before too long the storm clouds started rolling in to give us some relief…..but it never rained. After a few hours there, I decided to head home to tackle some weeds I have needed to pull out of my flower garden. Actually it looks like a grass garden with a few flowers sprinkled around. I decided to water them before I started pulling in hopes of it being easier. Well, it wasn’t! I had to quit after about 20 minutes of pulling. It turned out to be a much bigger job than this pregnant woman could take on such a hot day. So to this day, my flower garden still looks like crap!

Sunday: We went to the river for a huge float trip. It was such a great time. I believe we were on there for about 4 hours or more. It is strange to be sitting back chugging water while everyone else is drinking beer and taking jello shots. In the end, the sacrifice is more than worth it. It was also fun to observe those who more than had their share of alcohol…It makes for good stories! By the time we returned back to the cabin, we were starving! Thanks to Gerald, he stayed back on shore and grilled us pork steaks, hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs. They were all excellent! Afterwards, Andy and I headed home for the evening and crashed on the couch. Actually, I crashed and Andy more or less passed out.

Monday morning came around way too fast to begin another work week! Boooo!

Double Digits!

I have officially entered the double digits in regards to the number of days left in this pregnancy! And I believe either this week or next week I will have started my third trimester! Where has the time gone? No Seriously.....where is it? It just seems like yesterday I was was prancing around in the bathroom waiting for the pregnancy test to reveal our fate. Now I am registering for our baby shower and decorating the nursery. He is going to be here before we know it.

I know every pregnancy is different, but this child is SO active! It seems as if he is moving around and kicking 24 hours a day...which is reassuring! I know this is only the start of things to come, but last night was the first time his jabs and kicks kept me from sleeping.

The anticipation is building and I can't wait for his arrival (and maternity leave). Until then I am going to enjoy the silence and alone time with Andy!

Holiday Weekend Recap!

Thursday Evening: We went down to my uncle Larry’s Lake House for a pre 4th of July party. There was lots of food, family, fun & FIREWORKS! Keith always seems to put on an excellent fireworks show, but this year he went above and beyond. The boxes for some of them were huge with a small fuse sticking out the corner. I am not sure where he found them at or how much they cost. Below are some pictures!

A pile of some of the fireworks!

CAUTION: Sets Off Car Alarms???

Beautiful!

I stole this picture from Lisa! Amazing!

Friday (4th of July): We headed down to the Osage River with the Schwartze family. While there were some clouds overhead and the river was up, it was a perfect day for floating. Finally these white legs were getting some long needed sun! The food was excellent as usual and the Fireworks were very entertaining. We usually anchor a floating dock out in the middle of the river and that is where they set the fireworks off. But since the river was up and the current was swift, they were shooting the fireworks off right along the bank…which sometimes was a little too close for comfort. The funniest part of the show was when an “un-named” family member threw some lit Blackcat fireworks onto the dock in which the boys were setting off the fireworks. They had no clue what he had done until they started going off right below their feet. They began jumping and legs were flying as they were trying to get out of the way. It was sooo funny. They were about to bail into the river!

Saturday: I was such a bum, I should have went to work! I did manage to do some house cleaning and washed all the baby clothes I have accumulated from garage sales. Andy on the other hand worked hard doing some jobs with his skid steer. That evening we went down to Donnie and Shanda’s and shot off a few more fireworks. Which was not a good idea because it scared the crap out of the cows and they ended up getting out. After all of that excitement, we played some Tripoley and then some rounds of pitch until close to 2 in the morning.

Sunday: Consisted of another day of laziness on my part. After spending the first part of the day in the house, I made my way down the hill and swam/floated around in the pool. The water was absolutely perfect. Gradually everyone else started making their way in the pool as well. It was a very relaxing retreat for such a hot day!

My Shit List: #1 Wal-Mart

I am so pissed off at Wal-Mart right now, that you are just going to have to bear with me. Last night I decided to make to trip to the Wal-Mart in Rolla to finish my baby registering. Well, I got there and guess what…………………..their F’in scanning gun was broken. Yes, their one and only gun was broken! I was so mad that I had drove all the way there for nothing. I wanted to call someone to vent, but anyone who knows me when I get mad, the tears start rolling as soon as I start to talk about it. Even something as stupid as registering would turn the faucet on.

So this had left me one last resort, and that is to register online. I hate doing this because just cause it is online, doesn’t mean that they have it in the stores. So I proceeded to walk down the baby isle and write down the stuff that I needed, so I could add it to my registry online. And to my surprise when I got on their website to add the items, over half of the items weren’t on the website. What the hell? So I apologize to anyone who is going to look for the gift at Wal-Mart. People are just going to have to wing it. The ONLY good thing about Wal-Mart is that they have Free Site-to-Store shipping. Meaning, anything you find online you can have shipped to a local Wal-Mart to pick up at no charge.
The reason I am even registering at Wal-Mart is because not everywhere has a Target. And I like to make it as easy for everyone as possible.

Poor Ryan!

Last week my brother managed to break his leg during a softball game. Ouch! Apparently he was sliding into third base when he heard a pop. I asked him if it was worth it and he said no because they called him out. Initially he thought he had just sprained it, but after further x-rays they determined he had broke it just above the ankle. Because of the placement they have decided to do surgery on him. If they didn’t and just casted it, he would more than likely have problems with it for the rest of his life. For the last week he has been gimping around with his leg all wrapped up and a pair of crutches. So today is the moment of truth for his surgery. With a couple of screws later and a cast he should be ready to go for the next 6 weeks. He is a diesel mechanic for Pepsi so this means he will have to be on temporary disability. Poor Ryan!