My Last Pregnancy Post

Hallelujah! The end is near! I have 4 more days of being pregnant until I will be induced this Friday.  YAY!  I am a little nervous to be induced, because I don't know what to expect.  I just hope things go well and I don't end up getting a c-section.  I am a big planner, so I do like the idea of having all my bags packed, waking up early, getting ready, and driving to the hospital without stress for this baby to come.  Although, BABY, if you wanted to make an earlier appearance, anytime this week works for me. *Hint-Hint

As I was getting everything ready for the baby, I had Robie bring up our baby swing that was in storage.  I bought new batteries and was so excited to get it working again since it's one of my favorite baby items.  When I opened the battery compartment, I realized I had left the old batteries in and they had totally corroded the whole thing!  I was so mad, but decided to try and clean it out before I had a breakdown.  As I attempted to cleaned the battery acid off, the coils started breaking off and I just knew there was no hope.  I was so mad and started to cry.  Then I decided to search Google to see if there was any hope of fixing the problem.  I came across a blog where this lady had the same thing happen, and she balled up aluminum foil to replace the broken springs.  Bless that woman, because it totally worked!  I was jumping for joy and felt like MacGyver after defusing a bomb and saving the world.  So, if you ever have the same problem, remember aluminum foil is the key.

Robie is SO ready for this pregnancy to be over, because I have been a totally beast lately.  I am sure he is excited to get his normal, non-hormonal wife back.  I feel really bad for him.  The sad thing is, I totally know I am being irritable, but I seriously can't stop it from happening.  The other day I went psycho crazy because I couldn't find a lid to some tupperware, then I started screaming about how everything is stupid in the world, then I got mad at Robie for helping me look for the tupperware and not being able to find it, and then I got mad at Jaxon for not eating his dinner because I just knew he was doing it on purpose to make me even angrier.  The worst part is I KNEW I was being totally irrational the whole time, but I couldn't stop the madness.  I am losing my mind people.  Completely losing it!

As far as food goes, I haven't had any crazy abnormal cravings.  I do have daily cravings for a cold Coke or Coke Slurpee, which is the same thing I constantly wanted when I was pregnant with Jaxon.  I have also been eating a lot of apples lately....like 2-3 apples a day.  Other than that, I mostly just snack and drink a lot of red raspberry tea or hot chocolate.

Another thing that sucks about this pregnancy compared with my last, is I have this awesome (-ly horrible) thing called symphysis pubis dysfunction. Basically, my hormones are way excessive (ya think?!) and cause my pelvis to relax more than normal.  This makes the bone shift and split apart too much, making it super painful to walk/move/lift a leg/do anything.  Here are some pics from Google since obviously they can't x-ray me right now.

It literally feels like someone put a wedge between my bone, and every time I walk they bang it with a mallet.  It's a horrible sharp pain, and sometimes I can't even lift my leg to put pants on.  There have been days when I couldn't go up or down our stairs and I had to crawl to get to my bedroom.  My doctor said it will go away after delivery, but that every pregnancy I have after this one will only make it worse.  Can't wait.

Although I am so excited to have another son, I can't deny that I have been a little sad thinking about how Jax won't be an only child anymore.  Things are so easy and comfortable with him right now.  We can go places easily and he understands almost everything I say.  I am scared about how things are going to change and how he is going to handle it.  I just hope he loves his brother after the new-ness wears off, and I can get both boys on a schedule.  I am also really nervous about breastfeeding.  It didn't work the way I wanted it to with Jaxon, and I am really determined to give it my all this time.  I took a breastfeeding class at the hospital that has given me a lot of encouragement, but I hope when the time comes I can push through any challenges that come up and make it work.

Other than that, things are going well.  The baby is healthy and loves practicing karate, punching my bladder, and hiccuping at least 5 times a day.  I don't get a lot of sleep, and can usually be found bouncing on my yoga ball during the day while Jaxon watches Sesame Street for the thousandth time.  I have been really resisting taking belly pics this pregnancy, but I figured I need to have some documentation to look back on.  So, here I am over the weekend at almost 39 weeks and totally ready to have this baby.  Send thoughts and prayers our way for a happy and healthy delivery come Friday.

Back it up- October Happenings

October is one of my favorite months of the year.  I love everything about fall, pumpkins, leaves changing, and Halloween.  We were able to go to a few different events in October, with the first being our visit to Hee Haw Farms.  Corn mazes, petting zoo, pumpkin patches, train rides, wagon rides, slides, and pony rides. Love that place!

The picture above is seriously one of my favorite pictures of Jaxon EVER.  It's so hard to capture his true smile on camera, and this picture got it at the perfect moment.  He was so happy to have that bunny on his lap.

Our next October happening was an adult's only masquerade ball that our friends put on.  It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of awesome costumes that people wore.

Next, we went to our ward's Trunk-Or-Treat.  It was definitely smaller than the ones we have in our ward in Texas, but it was fun and gave Jax a practice round before Halloween.

The next day we headed over to the River Woods Shopping Center where they had a Halloween Festival.  They had face painting, balloon animals, a petting zoo, music, and Trick-Or-Treating for kids.  Robie took Jaxon around while I slowly followed behind them since I started having some pregnancy pains that day.

Last, was Halloween night.  By this time, Jaxon had the whole Trick-Or-Treating thing down.  He was a champ and loved going door to door getting candy.  I would say at least 50 percent of the houses he went to called him a cute little girl.  I guess a duck is a uni-sex costume, and he does have my giant eyes and long lashes, so it didn't really bug me that much.  I guess he is just a pretty boy.  Next year we will have to give him a totally masculine costume.

We went to Payson to trick or treat in Robie's mom's neighborhood.  I was still having really REALLY bad pain every time I walked, but I really wanted to at least go to a couple houses with Jaxon.  I made it down one street before the pain was unbearable and I also started getting some contractions.  It made me a little sad, but it was really cute watching Jax walk around with his daddy.  When it got dark, I ended up getting in our car and following them around as they went house to house.  I got a few stares from people, because I definitely looked like a creepy lurker driving all slow in our car.

 

 Most kids want to go home and eat all of their candy.  Not Jaxon.  He literally spent a good hour or two just transferring candy from one bowl to another.  This kid loves organizing things!  He was in a crazy zone moving his loot from bowl to bowl until we finally had to snap him out of it so he could go to bed.  I really think he would have been there all night if we let him.  Fortunately he isn't into eating candy yet, so we have not had to worry about the sugar overload.  Unfortunately that leaves all of that candy just sitting there and I have been eating way too much.  Thank goodness we teach Sunday School and can pawn it off to the teenagers in our class.  Yay for Halloween- the best holiday of the year!

Nom Nom Yum: Trying New Recipes

Evidently, I cook a lot of the same things for dinner.  Since this has been brought to my attention, I have been trying as hard as any miserable pregnant woman in her third trimester can do to add some new meals to the dinner menu.  On my search for some good ideas, I of course did what any rational person would do and looked to Pinterest for answers.  Here are the 5 new recipes I tried, and my thoughts/comments on them in order from eh to nom nom yum:

5: Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups

This is the recipe I was most excited to try.  I love anything with alfredo, so it sounded so yummy.  The reason it is #5 on my list is because it almost has too much alfredo in it.  The flavor is really good, but it was just too much alfredo and cheese.  I halved the recipe, and it still made a ton for Robie and I.  If I were to make this again, I would use less alfredo sauce, less cheese, more chicken, and then add some spinach or something to it.

Here is what mine looked like right before I baked it.  I forgot to take a pic of the after.

***One reason why I did LOVE this recipe was the alfredo sauce.  I have never in my life made alfredo sauce from scratch, so I was nervous how it would turn out.  I can honestly say I can never buy another can of store bought alfredo sauce again after trying this.  It is SOOOO good.  I was literally licking it up by the spoonful.  It would be really yummy to dip in bread or to use over plain pasta.  I will definitely make this sauce again.

#4: Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata

This recipe was pretty good.  I omitted capers when I made it and didn't marinade the chicken as long as the recipe asks.  I didn't love the pasta, but the chicken was SO YUMMY!  I have a hard time eating meat when pregnant, but I was devouring this chicken.  If I were to make this again, I would make the same chicken but add the alfredo sauce from the above recipe to the pasta in this one.  Mmmm...that would be delish!  Here is what my version looked like when finished:

#3: Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Crescent Braid

I have made a broccoli cheese ring before, but this recipe called for different ingredients so I decided to give it a try.  I definitely liked this version a lot better.  I don't know what else to say other than I went back for seconds and thirds.  Robie never liked the broccoli cheese ring I made in the past, but he actually liked this one.  The only changes I made was using one roll of crescent rolls instead of two, and I didn't do the fancy egg brush on top with herbs. Here is how it turned out for me:

#2: Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

This one was a huge hit, especially with Robie.  I halved the recipe thinking it would make too much, but next time I will be sure to make the full amount since they were eaten up way too fast.  These were so simple to make and I loved how it called for ingredients I always have in the kitchen.  They were the perfect blend of crispy and gooey.  We dipped them in sour cream, but next time I might pick up some of Chili's avocado ranch or something similar.  Here is what they looked like when I made them:

#1: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did you really think the #1 recipe would be a meal?  Pshhh.....remember now, I am 36 weeks pregnant and have the appetite of a grizzly bear (although I can only fit about 4oz of food in my stomach at a time).  Actually, I have been on a quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie for a while, and this recipe is as close as I have come so far.  I don't like cookies that get hard and crunchy after they have been cooled for 10 minutes, so I have been trying to find a soft, chewy cookie recipe.  This may be it!  I have already made it twice, and both times the cookies have vanished (in my belly).  I saw this recipe on the cooking segment of the morning news.  Warning- this recipe makes a LOT of cookies.  I actually half the recipe, and I still end up freezing half of that.  However, that is one of the reasons I love it.  A lot of times when I make cookies, I want to freeze the dough for later, but it's too thin and runny to freeze.  This dough is fluffy and freezes really well.  I actually think the cookies I made with the frozen dough were better than when I baked the original batch.  Plus, it is so nice having frozen cookie dough when you need to make a treat for a last minute party (or late night craving).

The only other cookie recipe I have left on my list to try is THIS one.  I am really curious to see what adding cornstarch does to the flavor.  If they turn out even better than the ones I just made, I will definitely blog about it.  Also, let me know if you have any to-die-for, easy to make recipes I should know about.

Jaxon's new room

One of the reasons I was excited to have another boy, was because I figured I wouldn't really need to buy a lot for the baby besides diapers, wipes, a few new outfits, and blankets.  I was so happy thinking about how cheap adding a new baby of the same gender would be.  Then reality hit, and I realized the baby probably wouldn't be sharing a crib with Jaxon, and Jax would probably need a new bed/room/place of his own.  So after a 5-Step Program of cleaning, planning, buying, building, and decorating, Jaxon's room is finally complete.

Step 1: Cleaning

Robie told me we couldn't even think about buying stuff until we cleaned out the massive black hole we called a computer room.  I didn't even know where to start, but little by little and week by week I worked on it until it was clear.

 Step 2: Planning

After getting the carpets steam cleaned, I started researching all the items needed to make an awesome little boy's room.  I knew I wanted there to be a twin bed, a dresser, and a bookshelf.  So, we headed to IKEA to check out the possibilities.

Step 3: Buying

I have a love/hate/despise relationship with IKEA.  I love going inside and seeing all the rooms showcased giving me endless possibilities of ways I can organize and decorate.  I hate getting to the checkout lane and realizing all those cheap "Only $1.99" items have somehow added up to a fortune.  (Can you tell how excited Robie was?!)...

Step 4: Building

...and then the despise part comes in when you get home and realize you actually have to set up and build all the crap you just bought.  Last time Robie and I built IKEA furniture together, let's just say things didn't end well.  This time we had amazing doughnuts and a little caffeine- which of course makes everything better.  After everything was done, we had wasted a good 10 hours of our lives and Jaxon's room was nearly complete.

 Step 5: Decorating

I really like the bed we ended up getting.  I actually wanted to get a smaller daybed, but Robie and Jax fell in love with this canopy bunk bed at IKEA.  Robie said every little boy needs a cool bed when they are little, and I actually love how this one can be flipped upside down to make a bunk bed.  For now, Jax is still in his crib, but he loves this bed so hopefully it will be an easy transition when the time comes.

Another cool thing in his room is the little bead roller coaster table.  Robie's mom was able to find it at a yard sale for $5.  Jaxon loves to play with it and it matches his room perfectly.

 I put together the alphabet and number framed pictures below this week.  The frames were cheap $2 frames at Wal-mart that I spray painted red, and the posters were printed from THIS adorable website.  I love how they turned out.

 The only thing I was a little sad about in his room was that I had to cover up the pattern on his name to better match his new room colors.  When I was pregnant with Jaxon, decorating his name with carefully picked out scrapbook paper was one of the first things I did for his nursery.  While I was Mod-Podging over the cute teal and brown owl paper that matched his old room, I felt I was finally letting go of Jax being a baby and accepting the fact that he is now a mostly independent toddler.  I am glad I changed it up, and I think it looks really good in his new room.

Since Jaxon's name went into his new room, it was time to buy some letters and make the new baby's name official.  I was unnecessarily stressing out on what colors of paper to buy at the craft store to cover the letters, so Robie ended up picking them out on his own. He ended up picking the perfect colors to match the birds in the nursery.  If you know Robie, you know he is not crafty at all, so I was pretty impressed.  Besides a new name on the wall, the nursery is pretty much the same as before.  Now we just need little Gavin to get here, and everything will be complete.

This picture was at 32 weeks, but I am 34 weeks now.  I feel uncomfortable, huge, and slow, so I guess that means things are going well.  I am having a lot of painful contractions already.  Some days I will get one, and other days I will get 8 or more.  One day I got a lot, and I really felt like I was going to die. My doctor said the next time I get like that, I need to go into labor and delivery to get checked, so hopefully that doesn't happen again.  I have the oh so wonderful rare anti-M antigen present in my blood again this time, which means I get bi-weekly blood draws to make sure my body isn't building antibodies and attacking the baby. I had the same thing with Jaxon, so I am a little more prepared for the possibilities, but it still sucks.  Luckily there is a low likelihood anything will happen, so I just try and stay positive.  At my doctor appointment this Thursday, I get to schedule an inducement date.  I can't believe this little baby will be here next month!