Week 30 - Craziness & a Baby Shower

I have finally reached the 30th week of this amazing pregnancy! We are going to do another sneak peek ultrasound this weekend to see what our little ladybug looks like. My assumption: she's going to be adorable and FAT! lol While I feel like the Goodyear blimp with legs, everything has been going pretty well. I am not one of those mothers that has absolutely no complaints. I just choose not to dwell on the difficulties of pregnancy because I'm too busy enjoying carrying this tiny human being around with me. I hear so many women complaining about their pregnancies and it frustrates me. Yes, my hands and feet swell a bit, I've definitely put on some baby weight, and I've been having a little trouble sleeping at night due to mild heartburn. But...she's worth every swollen finger and toe, every uncomfortable extra pound, and every hour of lost sleep. Oh and I'd like to announce that, ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a busy body! Elizabeth is constantly moving around all day, but her favorite time of day? When I'm getting into bed to go to sleep...naturally. I randomly giggle throughout the work day because of her movements, so if you see me sitting in my office laughing at nothing...no I'm not crazy! The little lovebug I have in my tummy is making me laugh. I also had my baby shower this past weekend and it was amazing! Jason and I got so many adorable and special things for her. It was surreal to be surrounded by our friends and family that we love and care about. It means so much to us to share our happiness with them. I just hope that everyone present knew how genuinely grateful we are to have them in our lives and to be apart of Miss Elizabeth Rose's life as well. My quote for this week in response to someone asking if I was hungry: "I'm pregnant...I'm ALWAYS hungry!"

"I'm good for nothing and nothing's good for me" (Week 22)

Well, week 22 has come and gone already. This week was an eventful one. Shamefully, this post is about the rude mood I've been in for a short while now. My mood swings have been completely erratic. I felt certifiably insane this week. I lose my patience over anything and everything. I've felt horrible for being so cranky towards the people I care about...especially my wonderful, patient, loving, should-be-declared-into-sainthood husband. Two words: poor Jason. He has been put on my emotional rollercoaster and continues to support me no matter how stupid the complaint. I've lost my temper and ranted about being hungry, being aggravated about the way someone asked what I was doing, and, shamefully, the list could go on. I consider myself to be a pretty patient individual, but these hormones have turned me into a monster. I've felt so guilty because I'm grateful every day to be pregnant for our beautiful little baby girl. However, one thing in particular sent me to the most shameful level of ridiculousness ever. We set up Elizabeth's bedroom set this past weekend. Her comforter looks beautiful, the furniture is amazing, and we only had one finishing touch left...to set up her musical mobile. And that's when Mom-to-be Zilla struck...the mobile looked great. My hubby went to wind it up and what happens? Nothing! That's right! Nothing happens! No sweet lullaby music...no movement...just silence. I just started ranting and complaining about Babies 'R Us and the fact that we were shipped something that didn't work which led to me jumping from one complaint to another. I sat down on the floor in her bedroom to try to collect myself. As I sat on the floor, I looked up at her bed and the picture of her paw paw(my dad) on her dresser and that's when it struck me. In a few months, I'm going to be the mother of an amazing little girl. The bed sitting in front of me will be the place where I lay her down to rest her tiny little head. I could actually see it all in my mind. I'm going to be rocking her to sleep, singing to her, and telling her bedtime stories. And I lost all desire to complain about anything. I've prayed a lot since then for these hormonal mood swings to slack off and, so far, it's been successful. So, I end this week in a great mood with positivity in my words and on my mind.

"Hurry Hurry Feel This" - Week 21

Well, I am almost into week 22 of my pregnancy and realized I needed to hurry and write in my experiences from Week 21. This week has been a wonderfully interesting one with little Elizabeth in my tummy. Jason and I were sitting on the couch in our living room watching T.V. when she decided to make her presence known. I had just finished sipping on a yummy strawberry banana smoothie and all was right with the world. My tummy was full and the house was so nice and quiet. And that's when it happened...Little Miss Elizabeth Rose decided that she would kick her Mommy right in the gut. Yup, that's right. She kicked me so hard that it downright scared the hell out of me. My entire body lifted off of the couch and I let out a yelp. Jason looked over at me so concerned as to what was going on. He said, "Babe, are you alright?" I said, "Yeah, she just kicked me so hard that it scared me." It felt like I had been kicked in the middle of the tummy, only this kick was from the inside. After the initial shock, came the uproar of laughter. She had scared me so much that I jumped 3 feet off of the couch. And, being pregnant and carrying extra weight, this was no easy feat. But, on a more serious note, ever since I felt Elizabeth's first movements (they felt like flutters), I have been obsessed with feeling her. And now, she's strong enough(obviously) for Jason to feel her too. Words cannot describe how magical it was for him to place his hand on my tummy and to be able to feel her. His face just completely lit up with excitement. I am completely in love with watching him touch my tummy and for that smile to shine across his face for every movement she makes. Now, neither of us can get our hands off of her(in my tummy). Yes, this probably means that we'll snuggle and cuddle her until she's old enough to squirm out of our arms. I must say, before pregnancy, I could only imagine what it would feel like to have a tiny person moving around in your ever growing belly. Now I know. And, to be honest, it feels exactly the way I had imagined it...only better. Her hiccups and kicks naturally happen at the most inconvenient times (waking me up during the night), but I always welcome them. So,  these days, I've had one hand in my husband's and the other holding our daughter in my tummy.

Drum Roll Please...

Well, I guess it's pretty obvious that I have already shirked my responsibilities on updating this blog. Shame on me! But with baby on the brain, there's not much room for anything else. Weeks 17-19 were absolutely great. We had our 4D ultrasound done during week 18. Luckily, we were able to plan ahead and invite our family: parents, siblings, grandparents, godparents, aunts, future cousins...we were about the size of a freaking Mardi Gras Crewe. As I laid in that oversized bed, my heart was pounding. It was pounding so loudly that I could hear it ringing in my ears. As the sonographer began trying to pull up a clear image, I was seeing spots. No, not "I'm about to faint" spots...spots of blue and pink. Which is it...which is it? And then...the announcement. Our beautiful baby is a beautiful baby girl. I was overwhelmed at the sight of her. She was the most beautiful thing that my husband and I had ever seen. And boy is she stubborn! She refused to move from her spot and loved hiding her face in her hands and, at times, hid her face with her feet. I actually had to stand up and jump around to get her to move from that spot. I was so relieved when the sonographer told us that everything looked great. Her heart rate was at a strong 153. The family had been guessing that we were having a girl all along and so this only confirmed what everyone thought. Visions of pink, our beautiful baby girl, and her running around in my clothes left me speechless. There she was...10 ounces and she had us wrapped around her finger already. My husband and I are set to decorate her room this weekend...a bedroom for our tiny darling, Elizabeth Rose.    

Week 16: "Put on your big girl panties and enjoy the ride"

This week our little one is about the size of an avocado. A yummy, creamy, delicious avocado…okay cravings aside! Jason and I have been going crazy with curiosity about the gender of our baby. I, like every other excited mother out there, would love to indulge in buying that cute outfit at Walmart or the baby blankets on sale at Babies “R” Us. But I must resist the urge to spend half of our paycheck on gender specific items that may or may not suit our bundle of joy. In not wanting to throw caution to the wind, I come to the realization that I CAN buy those solid white Gerber shirts with the beyond adorable mittens attached. I CAN and I SHALL! As I walk triumphantly to the cash register, with my goodies, a huge grin and my “mother of the year” feeling, that’s when it hits me. Blame it on the hormones or the fact that I can no longer breathe out of my right nostril (thanks pregnancy rhinitis!), I am overcome by emotions. Inside of my newly rounded tummy, there is a little human being…a little person…growing more and more everyday. And my eyes begin to fill with tears at one single thought: I can’t protect my little one forever. At some point, our baby will have to go out into the world. We can’t make the right choices for them, but we can love them and provide them with the skills and teachings that they will need for growing up. I wipe away the tears and put on my cheesy grin. For I know that time will fly by and our baby will be grown before we know it. But we’re going to take advantage of every second of every minute of everyday to fill these fleeting years with silliness, life lessons, and unconditional love.

My First Entry

First of all, let me just start by writing that I am super excited to be embarking on this
new adventure. My husband and I have been trying for a few months to get pregnant. Let
me tell you a little about our family. My name is Natalie. I have a wonderful husband
named Jason and two, very spoiled, boy cats named Oliver and Dodger. I am 25 years
old and I live in Cajun Country (Louisiana). I’m a college graduate with a major in
Psychology and a minor in English. I am 15 weeks pregnant for our first baby. I’m a full-
time working mom-to-be. And when I get home, I’m a homemaker. I cook for our family,
clean, do the laundry, I’m a wife, caretaker for our cats, and somehow find time to
shower…barely. I’m only 15 weeks in and it has already been a rollercoaster of nausea,
exhaustion, excitement, and piles of parenting books. I had no idea that pregnancy
came with so many decisions, other than pink or blue. I’m learning the benefits of
breastfeeding, trying to decide on cloth or store bought diapers, and attempting to learn
to sew clothes for our future little one. I would love for all of you lovely super women
out there to join me in my adventures of motherhood. I’ll leave you with my very own
quote to sum up my week. My husband was giving me decision after decision of possible
lunch destinations. Since, I am still suffering with a little nausea I was getting sicker the
more he mentioned food. Till finally, I just had to say, “If you make me think anymore,
I’m going to throw up.” This one statement made us both laugh like crazy. That was
definitely one for the funny section of the baby book.