30 weeks.

Monitors on my belly, IV in my hand.

TEN!! 10 weeks left. It's the final countdown. You know, this little girl is in there bouncing around making my belly contort in weird ways as I type, & it still doesn't feel real. I can't believe that my due date is 10 weeks away. That is just ridiculous. I'm not old enough for this. Too weird.

So this week was rough. On Monday I began experiencing "flu-like" symptoms. Nausea, inability to keep anything down, headaches, all over weakness, & my lower back has never hurt so bad. The nausea & throwing up happens with my morning sickness still, but this was so much worse. My doctor told me to go in to triage to get checked out. I wasn't too dehydrated, but they gave me IV fluids anyway, along with some Zofran (which I love) & Morphine. They had me hooked up monitoring baby girl & contractions. She kept kicking the monitors. It was so loud. But after they gave me the Morphine she calmed right down, which I thought was pretty funny. They don't know what happened. Maybe some sort of bug? If I'm still getting sick next week I have to go in. Morning sickness shouldn't be getting worse at this point. I'm feeling pretty good now though, so hopefully it's over. The good news is that baby girl is still healthy as ever! That's all that matters.

This Wednesday, husband & I are driving to Virginia! It's about an 8 hour drive, & I'm going to have to make lots of pit stops, but I'm really excited!!! Thursday my outrageously talented photographer friend is taking my maternity photos, Friday we're going to DC, Saturday we're going to visit a friend of mine, & then we'll drive back to Ohio on Sunday. Then the following Saturday I will fly home! Or as homey as it gets for military brats anyway. I'm going to Colorado! I'll spend a few days there with my parents, & then we're driving down to Arizona for my sister's wedding! So glad I get to fly at that point. I'll be two days short of 34 weeks when I fly back to Ohio. But it turns out that you can fly up until your last 4 weeks if you haven't had any complications. At least on most airlines. I'm really excited about all this traveling. It's going to be so fun! A pain I'm sure, but fun nevertheless.

Today I had planned on sorting through all of the things we have for baby girl. That didn't work out. It is my goal in life to get something done in baby girl's room before we leave for VA. Something. Anything. Hopefully I won't be otherwise distracted this week so that can easily happen.

One last thing. I would like to share that here in Ohio we are having sweater weather. I love sweater weather! I find it a lot easier to dress my bump when I can wear layers. Makes me feel like less of a cow. Or a whale. I hope some of you are also enjoying some fall-like weather.

K. That is all.

- Alexa

29 weeks.

28+3
Bye bye toes.

11 WEEKS LEFT! Holy moly, that's scary. I have so much to do!!! There's a bunch of stuff in baby's room, but it's not at all ready for a baby. Need to get on that. I got my glucose/anemia test done yesterday. I'm sure I at least passed the glucose part. It wasn't nearly as bad as everyone says. Apparently people are way over dramatic about the glucose test. I got the lemon-lime? Is that right? Anyway, it tasted like a flat sprite with extra sugar. Not great, but not too bad. I had a really really short check-up yesterday so I didn't get to talk to my doctor much, but he did tell me that if I have a scheduled c-section (which is likely) I can have it done at Miami Valley South, which is the small, nicer one with the brand new maternity centre down by me. I don't think they'll let me have her there if I go in to labour naturally because they don't do high risk, but at least a scheduled c-section! So that made me happy.

Baby girl has been outrageously kicky this week. I like to put things on my belly when she's really active cause she likes to kick things off. Crazy girl. I think she is now head down... or at least dropped. Her jabs are really low these days. Uncomfortably so. & my hips are suddenly in pain & I am more of a waddler than a walker. I also discovered on Tuesday that I can no longer see my toes if I look straight down. I don't know when that happened. But my belly button is still in! & I've gained 15lbs, which is most excellent! I actually haven't gained any weight since my last appointment 3 & a half weeks ago. So I'm doing really well! Right on track to gain the recommended amount! & that's with all my ice cream & cookies. Yessss!

**This just in. I just discovered that my belly is 2 inches smaller (38") than it was at my baby shower. Holy moly I must've been holding a heck of a lot of water that day. Now I don't feel so bad about the pictures of me from that day. I can actually say I was bloated. Thank goodness.**

Today Gabe & I were up at 6am to babysit a friend's baby. It was kind of like a glimpse in to our future. Good practice. & our poor dog was so confused. She's having a rough day. I think the attention hogging baby made her nervous. Poor dear. She'll get used to it when we have one here all the time. The only part she enjoyed was breakfast cause the baby kept giving her cheerios. Anya is also in puppy school currently. She is doing a most excellent job!!! My feet swell really fast so Gabe works with her in the hour long class. She loves it. He gives her lots of attention. She's getting so good. I'm so proud of her. In fact, she was doing so well on Tuesday evening, & Gabe was being so so good with her, my hormones went crazy & I teared up. It just made me so happy!!! haha

What else has happened this week? Oh, my mom left. Sad sad day. So horrible. Like I said last week, she ended up having to have her gall bladder removed on the day she was supposed to head back to Colorado. So I got to keep her for 5 extra days. I miss her so much. I cried like a baby at the airport. Security actually came over & gave us some tissues. I'm such a pansy. Especially since I'm going to see her again in just a few weeks. In two weeks Gabe & I are going to Virginia to see some friends of mine, have a maternity shoot done, & go to DC. The weekend after that, I'm flying to Colorado. So flipping excited! I miss Colorado so very much. I'm really really hoping we end up back there at some point. I think there's a small part of Gabe that wants to go back & teach at the Academy, so maybe! Anyway. I'll be there for about a week, & then I'll drive with my parents (which I may regret) down to Sierra Vista, AZ for my sister's wedding the following weekend! So excited for my sister!!! It's going to be fun. A few days later I'll fly back to Ohio from Arizona. Then I'm not allowed to travel anymore. Hopefully everything stays great in my uterus so my doctor approves the flying the week I'm supposed to go. & so I don't have any problems while away from husband.

K. That is all!


- Alexa

28 weeks.

I can't believe I'm in the 3rd trimester. Looking back it feels like this is flying by...but then I remember I still have 12 weeks. But that's a lot less than half. Woah. I somehow managed to stumble in to the maternity care wing at the hospital. So what happened was I was at the hospital all day with my mom because she had to have surgery when she was visiting me, so when I was leaving that night I was having some cramping in my abdominal area. I had to walk thru maternity care to get to my car & some of the nurses noticed me looking uncomfortable & they insisted on taking me back to make sure I was okay (this is a small hospital, everyone seems to be quite helpful). Turns out I was really stressed, had anxiety, & was super dehydrated, which lead straight to some contractions & things. My regular doctor had them monitor for contractions & the baby's heartbeat for about 40 minutes while they had me drink lots of water, & then they sent me on my way. But not until they told me that my baby is one of the healthiest they've ever seen! Even compared to a full term baby! I guess she's developing quite nicely. She's an active little bugger that's for sure. Every time I do a kick count, she far exceeds the average expectation. 10 movements in 10 minutes? Try 10 movements in 60 seconds. She's an active little fetus. I felt her having the hiccups this morning for the first time. I think it's so funny that she has the hiccups. I know that's normal...but it's still funny to me. Her movements are less funny & cute when they wake me up, or keep me from sleeping...but I do love to know she's still alive & well.

Mom & I at my baby shower

So, the last week or so has been CRAZY. September 1st (27 week point) was my baby shower, which was most lovely (see previous post entitled "Baby Shower"). & my mom has been here, which I LOVE. She was supposed to fly back to Colorado last Thursday, but we ran in to a bit of a mishap. My mom knew she had gall stones, & she apparently began experiencing an attack last week. Wednesday night it got really bad & the pain didn't go away. After many hours of coaxing, I finally got her to the ER. Turns out those suckers were marble size & she had to have that gall bladder taken out Thursday...the day she was supposed to fly home. Flying home definitely did not happen (though when they gave her morphine she was convinced she'd get to fly Friday, maybe even catch her original flight Thursday if the surgery was done in time). So anyway, she spent a couple nights in the hospital. Luckily the one that's 5 minutes away is really nice, & they took really good care of her. I brought her back to my house on Friday & have been trying to make sure she doesn't hurt herself...but she's the worst patient on the planet so it's been hard. She's still here, but she'll head back to CO today. I hate it when she leaves. ESPECIALLY when I know she's still having pain from the surgery. But I guess she's a grown woman & can take care of herself! WHATEVER! I'm so glad she came. I really do love having my mom here. I hope Gabe & I get to move somewhere closer to the family eventually. They're my favourite. I have an excuse to see them next month though, cause my sister is getting married in Arizona, so I get to go to that! YAY! Hopefully everything will still be clear for me to fly at 33 weeks. 

Anyway, it's been a crazy week or so. My due date is coming up fast & the only thing done in the nursery is the dresser. I have a pile of clothes that need to be washed, & I need to figure out what else is going to happen in there. Lots to do in that area. I also need to keep my house clean. All of this is getting harder the bigger I get. Luckily I'm not too big still so I can do it with discomfort, but I can still do it. So... I guess I can kinda keep busy! Plus, husband & I are off to VA in 2 weeks. Kind of a "babymoon." My lovely, most talented friend is going to do a maternity shoot with me! I'm so excited. We're also gonna go in to DC & see some things. I'm pretty excited. DC is only 8ish hours away, so that's decently close! 

Anyway. That is all.

Baby Shower.

This week has been CRAZY so I'm only just getting around to posting about the baby shower. It was last Saturday, September 1st. The invitations, & all of the labels & things were made by my good friend, Rachel Bridgwood. She's an amazingly talented photographer that co-owns a company called Sweet Root Village (blog here: http://www.sweetrootvillageblog.com/). They do photography (which is rad by the way...I'm going out to Virginia in a few weeks & she's going to do a maternity shoot with me), flowers, & coordination for weddings. They are SO SO SO talented. Seriously. I would've killed to have these girls do my wedding reception. So anyway. Rachel did this for me because she's wonderful. She was weeks away from having her own baby & still designing invitations & talking with the girl that threw the shower here. She was the most energetic pregnant woman on the face of the planet. Now she has her own little girl, who by the way is probably the cutest baby I have ever seen. I'm not even kidding. That girl came out so much cuter than all other babies. I can't wait to moogie her.

Lindsey

Okay. I got off subject. Moral of the story: If you live in the VA area & you have an event, look them up. They're amazing. Okay. Moving on. One of my very best friends, Lindsey, who was my roommate my first year at BYU, just so happened to move to a town about 30 minutes away from me with her husband & baby girl. She asked if she could throw my shower when I told her I was pregnant back in... March? So it's been a long time coming. She was SO excited. She kinda allowed it to consume her life... or at least her apartment. She had pompoms & pinwheels & things like that all over the place. She was a major stud. & another woman in my ward held the baby shower at her house & helped Lindsey with things. They did amazing. Lindsey was so so so dedicated to making it awesome. & amazingly patient...cause she had to cut labels out, punch holes, among other things. The final product turned out awesome. Women contributed food (my favourite being tomatoes... I couldn't get enough that day), & brought me lovely lovely gifts. I have also received wonderful gifts in the mail, which I love. I love love love getting gifts for baby girl. It's so cool. Someone from church made a car seat cover for her, the exact one I put on pinterest...duplicated perfectly. I love it. Someone made her a scrap tutu, which is going to be ABSOLUTELY adorable in some pictures. Husband's mom made her an adorable little sunflower dress, that actually matches a dress she made for my niece. & my mom bought her a dress that looks like someone took something out of my mom's closet & shrink rayed it. Plus, she's got a lot of books now, & a baby monitor, & a play mat... I really have received some great gifts. 

So, here's what the decorations turned out looking like. It was great. Now, keep in mid the colours are the same as what I'm doing in baby girl's room. Turquoise & pink/corally colours. I wanted to just to corals, but that makes things a lot harder. Plus, I love pink. The chevron is also a pattern I'd like to do in her room. I'd paint a wall if I could. & I'm also gonna do some polka dots. Or at least I'd like to... yet again.

pinwheels

Yum.

Wishes for Baby. Loved these.

Cinnamon Rolls
(Lindsey & I also made a body scrub favour, that was put in to little jars, & Lindsey put fabric over the lid in the right colours. Very cute.)

So, that's about it. I'll spare you the pictures of me. I like to think I was retaining a lot of extra water that day cause I look bloated as ever. I look less bloated right now, so I really do think that was a bad day for me. Plus, the camera adds 10lbs. Ha! Anyway. The baby shower was definitely a success. I wish I had been able to do a baby shower out west so that family & more friends could come, but such is life. I'm very grateful for everyone that was there, & everyone that has since given me gifts, or simply congratulated me. I feel so blessed to have these people in my life. Now, let's hope this baby comes out a girl, cause it would be awkward to only have dresses if the gender scan was wrong. I told my mom that would be the first thing I check. =]

That is all!

26 weeks.

Feet at 22 weeks.

I'm 26 weeks pregnant! I didn't feel like snapping a photo of my belly this week, so here's a shot from my fetal echo of her little feet! My gosh they're so cute. I can't believe you can make out her little toes! It's really weird to think that I'm about to start the third trimester. Really weird. It's also really weird to think that there's a living thing in my belly that's about 14 inches long head to toe. I'm constantly hearing that I don't look 26 weeks pregnant, but that's cool. My belly has grown a heck of a lot in the last couple weeks. She's definitely making herself more known these days. On Saturday I took my dog for a long walk & it was over 90 degrees, which is no bueno. I came home & passed out a few times, so Gabe made me lay down & put my feet up, which gave me a chance to watch my belly while she was kicking around. I've seen a few thumps in the last few weeks, but holy moly, she is REALLY moving now, that or she is just a lot bigger. I saw little thumps & then out of no where she rolled over or something & the centre of my belly rose & then she shifted to the right side of my belly & started freaking out! It was awesome. Husband got to see some of the moving too, which was cool. But it's so so so weird. I can't believe she's in there just acting like she owns the place! & I can't believe I already love her so much!

We're getting really close to picking out a name. But we won't tell because we're going to wait til we meet her to make the final decision. I feel like that's a good thing cause if my mom hadn't done that, my name would've been Cinnamon. & we all know there's only one profession for a girl with the name Cinnamon.

Anya.

In non-baby related news. My husband shaved my dog. Without telling me. She looks like a rat. She's lucky I love her anyway & her personality wasn't stored in her fluffy fur, cause she seriously looks like a rat. Or a greyhound. But mostly a rat. I feel so bad for her. All of the puppies at puppy school (we are currently taking her to puppy school for training & it's going great) are going to make fun of her. But she knows that her mommy loves her & that's what matters. Gabe is going to start grooming her for a while cause her fluffy butt is costing too much to have done professionally at the moment. Some day she'll go back to the salon & get well groomed, but for now Gabe can do it. Gabe thinks she looks like a dog now (obviously I think she looks like a rat), but I like that poodles don't look like other dogs. I love her fluffy butt & fluffy fro! I was really upset he cut the fluff from her head completely. That won't be happening again. I like to play with it. I remember when my mom cut our dogs like this, they looked so stupid. Actually. They remind me of the monster things in the movie The Fifth Element. The ones with the big guns that Gary Oldman is the boss of? If you don't know what I'm talking about then go educate yourself on a fantastic movie. Then you'll see that my dog looks kinda like one of those things. I think it's just the ears though. But those monsters aren't cute. But, my puppy is still cute. Mostly cause she has a cute personality, & I love her.

I started sewing this week! A woman in my ward is teaching me. I LOVE sewing! I should've started sooner. I really wish I had, but I had zero interest until this year. So these pillows were my first project. The purple one is in my living room, & the one with the bow is on our bed. I can't wait to do more. I'm glad I'm starting this before the baby comes. Gabe is really excited about it, too. I love this sudden desire to be crafty. It makes me happy. However, it doesn't banish my need to have pretty clothes & shoes. Ha!

Oh oh! Back to babies for a second. My brother's wife had their 4th baby yesterday! His name is Liam. He's going to be SO cute. I know this because their other 3 kids are absolutely adorable. I'm not even being bias because I'm their aunt. They really are adorable kids. Then you throw in my sisters kids & you see that my family really does have some of the cutest kids on the planet. Totally not bias. You can probably ask anyone. They're all pretty frick'n cute.

& my mom comes this week! She gets here in 2 days, which means I will spend much of my time cleaning, with intervals of putting my feet up because I've learned the hard way that if I don't my feet swell like crazy & I start having contractions. Which I do not enjoy. In the least. But I'm SOOO excited for my mom to get here. She's coming for my baby shower which is this Saturday. I'm also VERY excited about that. Which reminds me, I'm loving getting baby gifts. I got a box in the mail every day last week. I looove finding baby things inside! My Aunt Lynn made a super cute baby blanket for her. I'm expecting a few more of those from various family members. This child is so loved. =]

That is all.

- Alexa

24 weeks.

24 weeks.

I am 24 weeks pregnant. My cousin & I were chatting about breast feeding & after birth horrors yesterday, & then she asked me if I was nervous. Well. It doesn't feel real yet. At least not all the time. But when it does feel real, holy moly. The nerves are unstoppable, & usually so are the tears. I suppose since I'm actually looking pregnant now it feels real a lot more often than before. It's weird to think that there's a baby in my uterus. & that my uterus is big enough to hold a baby. & that in about 15-16 weeks she'll be taken out of there & we'll have to take care of her. It's just so weird! & terrifying. But don't worry. We're also excited. But sometimes the nerves outweigh the excitement. It's hard for them not to. I'm just being honest. I don't think pregnant women share that often enough, & it makes other pregnant women feel like their nerves are abnormal. It's okay to have nerves. If there aren't nerves, then I think there might be some unrealistic expectations in there. But I am really excited. She's gonna be so cute & loved. =] & a pain. But a cute pain!

The first two days of this week were lousy because I allowed myself to run out of Zofran (morning sickness stopper & miracle pill). But I got a refill & I've been unstoppable ever since! WOO! So glad second trimester energy finally hit me about a week & a half ago. Such a beautiful beautiful thing. I finally emptied the last 2 boxes that were in our room. It's amazing how much nicer our room looks. & I also did an assortment of other productive things, like sending out baby shower invitations (to family & close friends that I know cannot attend, but I'd like to still include), & finished up getting registered!!! YAY! Finally. That was a very intense & stressful thing for me, but I had to finish it because the baby shower is 3 weeks from today. 

In a previous post, "Registered," I gave all that info. Well here it is again, just in case you'd like it. We are registered at TARGET & AMAZON.COM. You can find the registry under my name...Alexa Staples. I've made sure of it. It's definitely under that name...now. 

Gabe finished something this week as well. The dresser that's going in baby girl's room!!! It's SOOOO adorable. The most recent post, "The Dresser," is all about that. Shows the before & after. But I couldn't resist posting the after picture in this post as well cause it's soooo pretty. It's way prettier in person, but it still looks awesome in the picture. I love it. It's going to look so good in there. 

My mom gets here on the 29th & I'm so so so excited. I wish my dad could come, but since he just had another shoulder surgery, he's unable to make the trip. But hopefully he'll be able to come out at Christmas time when baby girl gets blessed. But I'm certainly happy that my mom will be here. My baby shower is this early because it's when she could come. So I'm glad.

My sister-in-law, Gabe's sister, had her baby girl this week. She's the second Staples baby born this year. Two down, four more to go! All of them are girls. Crazy how many baby girls are being brought in to the Staples family. My brother's wife is due at the beginning of September. She's having a boy. It's weird to me that my big brother & I, even though he has three kids already, the oldest being 7, are going to have kids the same age...or separated by just a few months. Very strange.

Anyway. It's been a really good week. So so so happy!

Here's this thing.

How far along? 24 weeks.

How big around? 35 inches. Which is smaller than last week. But my belly size changes every day according to where the baby is. She keeps moving around & making my belly look different. A few days ago I was carrying high & was 36 inches around, today I'm pretty low. Even lower than that picture up there cause that was actually taken yesterday. Plus, I haven't eaten yet, which also boosts my belly size.

Total weight gain/loss: I want to say 13ish lbs. But I haven't checked in a couple of weeks.

Maternity Clothes: Yeah. I really need some shirts.

Sleep: Restless. They took my melatonin away. Ugh.

Best moment this week: Gabe finished the dresser & I finished the registry! WOO!

Miss Anything? Milk. I ran out & forgot to buy more. Dangit.

Movement: Most certainly. Gabe can feel her now!

Food cravings: Currently, milk. Dangit.

Anything making you queasy or sick: After I've walked around for about 10 minutes in the morning I get sick. Thank goodness for Zofran.

Have you started to show yet: Yes.

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: This week, happy! Aside from the occasional mental breakdowns.

Looking forward to: My mom getting here on the 29th!

That is all.

- Alexa

The Dresser.

It's DONE!!! <--- That's not it. Obviously. It says before. Scroll down for the final product.

Gabe completed the dresser. It took him about two weeks with everything else he was doing. & I was no help since he had to do it in the hot hot garage. It looks MARVELOUS!!! & as you can see, super different from how we bought it. I was skeptical at first. We got it for $25 from a lady down the street that was selling it on Craigslist. It was super broken. Everywhere. He had to fix every drawer, & every space that held the drawer. It was a lot of work for him, but he did an awesome awesome job. I told him what I wanted & he delivered. It's going to look SO SO cute in baby girl's room. & we picked (& by we I mean me) the turquoise colour because it will work for other babies too. Just in case there's a little boy in our future. I think it looks like it definitely belongs in a child's room. For some reason it makes me think of Blues Clues. Just me? Probably. My mind is a weird place.

So anyway. I'm super super happy with it. Now Gabe just has to clear all of his things out of baby girl's room & we can put it up there. Until then, it will sit in my entryway. Which is okay. That area is hopelessly empty & in desperate need of something there anyway. A temporary cute dresser works perfectly. 

Ah! I love it. Makes me happy. =]

- Alexa