Week #33 - subtitle - Ciao 2014!

This week the baby is approximately 17 inches long, 4.25 pounds, and about the size of a pineapple.  The baby will continue to gain another half pound per week until next month.  I would say that pregnancy is starting to get more uncomfortable at this point.  However, we are coming in to the "home stretch" and things have been pretty good thus far.  With the exception of the Lovenox shots, I would say that my pregnancy has been fairly easy and uneventful and I consider myself very lucky.

Several people have been asking if I'm still running/working out and the answer is yes, just with much less intensity.  I wouldn't classify myself as a "runner" these days, but it feels good to get outside and get my heart rate up a little.  Here is a sample of what I did last week:

• Monday: Yoga
• Tuesday: 3 mile solo run/walk
• Wednesday: 4 mile walk with Ben
• Thursday: rest
• Friday: 4 mile solo run/walk (mainly walk)
• Saturday: 3 mile walk with Ben
• Sunday: 5 mile run/walk with Tracey

You should probably know that on our walks, I will be sweating like a pig and Ben will only break a sweat if I make him sprint to the finish and wait for me!  But the time that we spend together walking, talking, and dreaming about the future is priceless.

This past weekend, we did some serious cleaning/organizing for baby at the townhouse.  We are in a lease currently until the end of June, so there are going to be a few months where we will be here with baby.  But, we aren't planning on setting up a full nursery here.  Our plan is a bassinet for the first few months and then we will move the baby to his/her crib when our living situation is a little more stable.

Luckily, we got a few very thoughtful and generous Christmas gifts that are going to help us out.  Here is an organizer from my sister that we were able to set up and organize all the baby goodies that we have received so far:

A new welcome wreath from my parents (fox themed, of course):

Peanut's family tree (as researched and prepared by Ben's mom):

Super cute personalized Christmas ornament from Aunt Faye and Uncle Johnnie (Ben's side): 

If you are interested, this ornament is from Bronners.  We have received several ornaments from Bronner's as gifts in past years and they are always beautiful.  I can't wait to open the boxes every year and see them again.

Speaking of Christmas, we weren't really planning on taking all of our Christmas decorations down this past weekend, but we did.  It seemed like the logical thing to do since we were both home, had time, and were in the cleaning/organizing mode.  I kept joking that Ben probably couldn't wait to go back to work so that he could take a break from all the work that he was doing at home.

Saturday evening, we went over to the Holloway Holiday Party(!) in Trinity.  It was been a while since either of us have seen Chris and/or Elizabeth and we were excited to see them (and their super adorable doggies), hear some great music and relax with friends.  Both Chris and Elizabeth are both accomplished singers, and they invited a few of Chris' voice students as well as Constantine Grame who was an incredible pianist for a great performance/concert.

Elizabeth asked Constantine to play a piano solo (which he said that he had never been asked before) and he chose Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.14 No.2 aka Moonlight Sonata - both parts.  I must admit that I have never heard this particular piece before, but apparently there are two parts and the second part is much harder than the first.  Let me just say that Constantine's performance brought tears to my eyes, it was so moving and beautiful!  The baby was all about this piece as well and was kicking like crazy during his solo.

Here is a photo of Constantine and Chris: (both photos courtesy of Jennifer Crouch photography - who donated her time and talents as a gift for the holiday party!)

Elizabeth, Winston (blond) and Mabel:

It was nice that the party was after Christmas so that we had more time to really relax and celebrate since the stress of Christmas was over.  We both commented that it really put us in the Christmas spirit with all the wonderful Christmas carols.  Another highlight of the evening was all the female singers singing "Let it Go" from Frozen as our friend, Dan, played the Piano. You have to admit that the song is really catchy.

This week is my last week of Christmas break, so I've been trying to take it easy as much as possible.  When I go back to work on Monday (January 5th), we will be seeing tons of students so I'm a little worried about my stamina for an eight hour (probably more) work day.  It has been harder for me than I initially anticipated to slow down.  However, I've grown accustomed to life moving at a certain pace and it's just another transition that is going to have to happen.

I have been scheduling interviews for pediatricians and trying to figure out if I will medically need to be induced or not.  My doctor is closed this week for the holiday, so the majority of our questions (and answers) will have to wait until next week.  Luckily, we have a few weeks to get things figured out before we have to make any decisions one way or another.

Hope y'all have a safe and happy New Year!

Week #32 - subtitle - 8 months!

This week the baby is 3.75 pounds, 16.7 inches long and approximately the size of a large jicama.  Say what?!?  Just when I thought my knowledge of fruits and vegetables was beginning to reach new limits...  My research indicates that a jicama is also known as a Mexican yam or turnip (so strange).  Here is a photo:

The baby is really plumping up and will continue to do so as he or she will gain almost half of his or her body weight by delivery time.  This past week has been crazy with Christmas, holiday traditions, and spending time with family and friends. Here's a recape of the latest happenings:

Last Friday we went out with two of my coworkers and their spouses for dinner at Castile Restaurant on St. Pete Beach.  It's been a really long time since we have traveled down to St. Pete Beach, and it was nice to see everything all decorated for Christmas.  Our waiter was a little strange, but the food was great and the laughs were continuous.  (Here is a link to the menu - I had the crab cakes and Ben had a wahoo fish special).  It was a really relaxing evening.  One of the funniest moments was when we were waiting for our cars, two other (much older) couples were leaving at the same exact time and apparently drove the same exact car (white Cadillac CTS, of course) and the one guy could not tell which car was his!  The told us that we have this same sort of adventure to look forward to!

On Saturday, we were running around at the mall (apparently this is called Panic Saturday) and it was complete chaos.  We lost track of time and were wandering a little longer than necessary and much longer than we intended to be there.  We had to rush home to make some goodies for an annual family gathering near Brooksville area.  There is always plenty of good food, family and children running around, and the paparazzi photo sessions are relentless. (Kidding!)  Here are few of my favorites:

Ben's cousin, Kristi, who is due on February 26th (one week after baby R!):

Our whole family shot with Grandma and Ben's parents:

I am standing on the fireplace ledge in all the photos with Ben's family because they are so tall and I basically look like a circus midget around them, just in case you were wondering. ;)

On Sunday we did a little more running around to get a few final gifts for Christmas, which included a stop at our favorite local nursery for some plant shopping.  They have several beautiful peacocks and chickens.  This particular chicken was following us through his pen and he was almost so ugly he was cute:

Sunday night we headed over to Dade City for Church Street Christmas.  The weather was looking rainy, but this was really the only night that we were going to be able to see Church Street this year.  We checked out the play that several family members were in at the First Baptist Church and then drove Church Street instead of walking it (typically the street is closed to traffic and you can walk to see the lights, Santa, carolers, etc..).  It really wasn't the same, but hopefully this will make next year even more special.

On Monday, Ben had to take his truck in for service and since I'm on Winter Break, he was going to take my car to work and then pick me up later in the day.  Since I was homebound, I did a lot of reading in the book that I'm just finishing. (Off the Menu - didn't really enjoy it too much).  When Ben got off work, we went with my sister's family and my parents to go see Santa at the mall.  They were really excited and really well behaved for Santa (and color-coordinated, of course!)

On Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment that my sister went to with me since Ben was planning on working late to get some hours in since he was going to be off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  It was nice to have my sister there because she has actual medical knowledge and who has been through this process before.  But, it is becoming more apparent to me that my doctor is not as familiar with the blood clotting disorder that I've been diagnosed with as I originally thought.

Medically, he wants to induce me on a set date so that he control the birthing environment.  He feels that because I'm on the Lovenox shots, which are essentially a blood thinner, there is more of a chance of me bleeding out.  I'm really not wanting to be induced, so he agreed to speak with the specialist that prescribed the Lovenox to determine if I need to stop them at a certain point.  Ben and I also want to speak with her after the holidays to confirm the same information. She did specifically tell us that the Lovenox that she was prescribing was such a low dosage, that it wouldn't have any affect on the delivery, but apparently that may not be the case.

On Wednesday, (Christmas Eve) Ben and I went over to my sister's house to hang out with the kids and have our annual baking and gingerbread house building session.  My sister and I decided that we weren't going to bake this year, just relax and watch the kids.  Here is a shot of Ben jumping rope with the kids and their dog, Baxter, decided that he wanted to try!  Baxter was especially attached to Ben on Wednesday, but we had a really good time hanging out and getting them ready for Santa.

Here is the final product of the gingerbread house building:

Finally, here is a shot of Ben, Alex, and Emily (and her doll, Olivia) relaxing on Christmas:

More about Christmas on next week's post - have a great week, y'all!

Week #31 - subtitle - 9 more weeks! (That's single digits, folks!)

This week the baby jumped up to approximately 3.3 pounds and 16.25 inches long or about the size of FOUR naval oranges.  (I feel like I'm really knocking my fruit and vegetable knowledge out of the park lately).  The baby continues to kick quite a bit - it is really strange to see my stomach actually move these days!  Ben has also started reading some books to the baby throughout the week, which is as cute as it sounds.

I keep thinking about how the holidays are going to be so different next year with a baby around and sometimes I just want this baby to get here already(!)  Other times, I don't want to give up being pregnant because that means our reality will be very, very different.  The only symptoms I've been experience lately are heartburn and lack of sleep.  I get up every few hours, but I just think that this will be preparation for when the baby is here (right?!?).

This past week has been a busy one (shocking, I know!).  On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for one of my friends who is due about 2 1/2 weeks before me.  She is having a baby boy (name to be announced at a later date) and the nautical theme at her shower was super cute!  Her family was so sweet and said the nicest things that made me tear up (doesn't take much these days).  There were actually two other women there who are expecting in addition to us - one December, one January, February (me), and one April - so clearly we were missing a March mama!

Saturday evening was Ben's work Christmas party at The Pub.  I'd be lying if I said that I was looking forward to his Christmas party, but it actually turned out to be much better than expected.  The space his company reserved was on the balcony overlooking the outside of International Plaza and they even had artificial snow!

I was happy to be hanging with his coworker's significant others when one of them smartly pointed out that there was no dessert!  What kind of holiday party is that?!?  She suggested that we go to The Cheesecake Factory after the party was over (9 pm).  I quickly agreed and it wasn't long until we convinced several others to join us.  When we walked in, there was an hour and a half (!) wait to be seated, so we decided to order our cheesecakes to go and eat them in the food court (another genius idea!).

It was so much fun chat with everyone in a more intimate setting and enjoy our cheesecakes in the middle of the food court.  I would say that it was the most entertaining and memorable portion of the evening.  Let me also say that 30th anniversary chocolate cheesecake was amazeballs!  And it was definitely enough for two days.

On Sunday, we did a lot of running around to Target and Publix for various different things and finally finished decorating our Christmas tree and writing out our Christmas cards.  Ben even decorated our palm tree outside the townhouse.  We have one outlet outside that hasn't worked since we moved in (2011), and we finally got it fixed...just in time to move-YAY!

Tuesday I got together with several of my girlfriends for a Christmas bunco game/Secret Santa gift exchange.  Did y'all know that Walmart sells fake boxes like this?!?  

As a joke, one of my friends wrapped a real gift inside this box.  Let me just say that when it was opened, the look on the opener's face was priceless and we all we rolling on the ground.  If you want to get someone good this holiday season, head on over to Walmart! (There are apparently several different boxes/types to chose from)

At work this week, we had graduation and the annual faculty/staff versus students flag football game. It was nice to see people that I don't get to see as much now that I'm over at the Wiregrass Ranch campus.  The speaker for the graduation was also really good (made me tear up again) and the faculty/staff team won the football game.

Thursday is officially the start of my Winter Break from work/school.  My goal over the break is to clean/organize one room in the townhouse each day in preparation for the baby.  (Nesting?)  Living in a townhouse is certainly challenging at times, but we also hang on to a lot of things that we don't need.  My first project for the week was to organize our pantry and fridge:

There were things in our pantry that were expired BEFORE we moved in to the townhouse.  Which means that we moved expired goods...not super proud of that.  However, now that everything is cleaned AND organized, I'm so glad!  I also squeezed in some Christmas shopping today (Thursday), since I've been a super slacker this season.  That is all for now, y'all - until next week!

Week #30 - subtitle - shots, doulas, and trees (oh my)!

Hard to believe that we only have 10 weeks (or so) to go before we meet our baby! (Eeeek!)  This week the baby is approximately 15.7 inches long and 2.75 pounds or about the size of a head of cabbage (another fruit/vegetable that I know-yesss!).  The baby continues to kick all throughout the day, but I have yet to experience what it's like when the baby gets the hiccups.  Several people have been asking about the Lovenox shots and what they look like, what type of needle, etc... So here are a few pictures (I will spare y'all the one of Ben in action).  In the package:

Afterwards:

Many thanks to my sister for  the Sharps Container and disposing the used needles at her hospital for me/us!

This past weekend Ben and I took in the annual Dade City Christmas parade on Friday evening with his parents.  It's hard to believe that next year we will have a little baby in tow for our annual family tradition.  For me, I love going out in Dade City because I know hardly anyone and Ben and his folks know basically everyone.  We always have a running bet to see how many people Ben will recognize when we go anywhere in Dade City.  Here is a photo that Ben snapped from the parade:

On Saturday, we had our parenting/childbirth class at Countryside Hospital.  The class was taught by the same woman who taught our breastfeeding class.  There was quite a few (graphic) videos shown during the four hour class.  There were a total of 24 people in the class (including spouses), with most of the women being due in December/January/February.  It's always fascinating to me to see other pregnant women and see/hear how their experience has been.

The thing that I was most surprised to learn is that it is not recommended that you give birth laying on your back.  Apparently my training/knowledge from movies is bogus...go figure!  Basically, it is recommended that you either lean over a chair/back of the hospital bed, stand up, or do child's pose that we all know and love from yoga.  Essentially, the idea is that when you are lying on your back, the baby has to clear your pelvic bone; whereas if you are standing/leaning, gravity can do some of the work for you.

The woman who taught our classes is a certified doula.  Since we are completely ignorant to basically everything in relation to childbirth/babies, on our break during class we asked her about the role that she plays, costs, time line, etc..  You can read a little more here about doulas.  But, Ben and I have decided to interview Melissa to see if perhaps a doula would be helpful for us.

There are two main reasons for our sudden interest in the doula.  One, I'm super scared that I'm not going to be able to give birth without having a c-section.  The clotting disorder makes the surgery especially risky, and I'd like to avoid the added risk if possible.  Secondly, I feel like it would be easier to recover if I didn't have a c-section.  With that being said, I realize that a lot can change in a matter of moments during childbirth and my "plan" my not be feasible.  But, going in with a plan with hopefully make things easier.

On Sunday, Ben and his coworker Tim headed up to Croom for the Dirthead Duathlon.  I agreed to volunteer so that Ben could race for half price.  This was the first duathlon for both Ben and Tim, and it was actually a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.  Croom really is such a beautiful place to run and bike, even if it is so far north.

After the race and refueling, we headed over to Ergle's Christmas Tree Farm to select our Christmas tree.  Ben and his family have been frequenting Ergle's since forever. And ever since Ben and I have been dating, we've made it one of our traditions as well.  They really have grown their business in the past couple of years, but we've always had a great experience.  I'm certain our little peanut will enjoy watching Ben cut down our tree next year, too!  

The "one":

Ben doing all the dirty work (as per usual):

We did have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday.  However, we got all the way back to the room and the doctor had to leave for a delivery and then a c-section.  We did get some of our Christmas cards written out while we were waiting, but other than that we don't have much of an update on the doctor front.  We went ahead and re-scheduled for December 23rd, so at least they aren't making us go back this week.  I personally don't think that seeing him every two weeks is necessary, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

That is all for this week, lots of excitement going on with the holidays coming up.  Until next time, y'all!

29 weeks - subtitle - FINALLY some belly pictures, y'all!

This week the baby is approximately 15.25 inches long and 2.5 pounds.  Or about the size of a butternut squash (yes!  I know this one!).  Baby is undergoing a huge growth spurt in the next couple of weeks/months and thing are going to start getting a little cramped!  Here are some of the latest musings of this past week:

Workouts:

• Monday - yoga
• Tuesday - 4 mile run/walk
• Wednesday - 4 mile run/walk
• Thursday - rest (Thanksgiving)
• Friday - 6 mile jog
• Saturday - rest
• Sunday - 6.25 jog
• 20 miles for the week!  84 miles for the month of November!

My goal is still to make it to at least 30 weeks (next week) with my running/jogging and then just try to keep active.  Luckily, I only have about 2 1/2 weeks of work left until we close for Winter Break (yes, working in education does have some really nice benefits) so that will free up some time during the day to fit in some physical activity.

Symptoms: Occasional heartburn and hip pain

Movement: Still lots of kicking!  I get a lot of kicking at work and I wonder if my students can see my stomach moving.  Baby Raposa is a mover and a shaker for sure!

Sleep: Ugh, I miss it!  I've been in a pattern where I get up every two hours or so with hip pain and have to re-adjust my sleeping position.  I've been frequenting the spare bedroom lately so at least Ben can get a good night's sleep.

Black Friday Find!:  46" Samsung SMART TV!

Typically, Ben and I like to go out shopping on Friday to get a few gifts and purchase something for ourselves that we need/want.  Our TV in the bedroom has been intermediately working, so we were in the market to see if there were any good deals on Black Friday.  We live pretty close to a Best Buy and drove by on Thursday on the way home from Thanksgiving - it was an absolute zoo! 

Ben went back in the morning and Best Buy had already sold out of the 50" Samsung model that we were eyeing.  But they had about 10-40" TVs left.  He decided to head to Wal Mart to see the deals they had there and found that they had also sold out of the 50" Samsung model, but did have two 46" TVs left.  Luckily, he was able to snag the very last one and now we have a brand new TV for our living area and a replacement in our bedroom.

We also went over to Citrus Park mall after he got home and didn't really see any great deals.  I have to be honest, I was less than impressed with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this year.  But after braving the mall on Friday, I will happily shop online for the remainder of the Christmas season.

Question of the week: How many kids are you planning to have?  ONE!  UNO! UNE!  First of all, can I just make it through this pregnancy before I have to answer additional  questions about follow-up children?  Secondly, there is NO WAY (absolutely none!) that I will be doing the Lovenox shots through another pregnancy.  They are really horrendous and I dread them every night.  I secretly pray that Ben will forget, but he's been so good about administering them.

Several people have told me that everyone says they are only have one child until after their first child is born and then gets a little older.   Fair enough, but for right this moment, the Raposa family will be a one child family.  Ben is an only child and "seems" to have turned out okay (love you, honey!).

Current Obsession:  Mrs. Meyer's Basil soap!  Ben and I went to a holiday party at our friend Rhonda's house last Wednesday evening and she had this soap in her bathroom.  It smelled so good!  I asked her about it and she said it was something she picked up at Target.  Since we were planning to go on Friday for some Black Friday shopping, I made a mental note to check it out.  Would you believe that our Target and online was completely sold out/out of stock of the Basil scent?!?!

I texted Rhonda to let her know that she was officially making me crazy!  ;)  However, we were in Spring Hill/Brooksville on Sunday and just happened to be driving past a Target - look at what I scored: (!!)

Speaking of Brooksville, Ben and I went up that way on Sunday for an early birthday celebration for his Grandma.  She suggested that we try a newer place called the Florida Cracker Kitchen.  Oh my goodness, y'all!  This place is a diamond in the rough (the link above will take you to their menu)!  Lots of true southern dishes and nice, southern hospitality from the waitstaff.  (Also, I tried Ben's sweet tea - so good!)  If you are ever near downtown Brooksville and don't want to go to one of the chains on Highway 50, check them out!

Finally, here's a picture of the belly:

29 weeks, 6 days.  

Photo credit to Mr. Raposa, of course. Until next week, y'all!