Pinched Nerve!

Over the past month, I've been experiencing some pain on the right side of my lower back. After sitting for a while at work, if I'd get up it'd really hurt... but then go away. The pain would come and go very rarely. For the past week, the pain has gotten worse... comes more often and hurts a lot more.

Well, on Saturday afternoon, it got REALLY bad. I couldn't move. I was sitting down and couldn't get up. Thankfully mom was over, because Toby was out shopping... she had to help me up... I cried in agony the whole time. Then it took about 30-45 seconds PER STEP to walk downstiars. Again, I cried the whole time.

So we called my OB doctor. By the sounds of things, she thought it might be an infection of some sort... bladder, kidney, etc. So she had me go to the hospital for some tests. At 7pm, we showed up at Lakeland Hospital (where we'll deliver). I got the hospital bracelet, the gown, the room... the whole 9 yards. I just thought I had to take a pee test -- I was sorely mistaken! The nurse even asked me if I had any restrictions on visitors... and what my religious preference was!

They hooked me up to a bunch of machines, making sure both the baby and I were okay. They monitored the baby for 45 minutes, and thankfully nothing is wrong... heart beat is great, I'm not having contractions. And... no infection.

My doctor thinks it's a pinched nerve... the growing baby is pressing on my shifting pelvis, which is severely pinching a nerve. And, there's nothing they can do about it. So, hopefully it UNpinches itself! Until then, all I can do is use a heating pad and take Tylenol. If it gets unbearable, she can prescribe something stronger... but I'm not going to let it get to that!

Over the past two days, it's gotten a little better... or I'm just becoming immune to the pain. Either way, it's not making me cry in agony anymore. But I do hate the fact that I feel limited... I can't move too much or too fast, bend over to pick anything up... it hurts to sit down, stand up, climb stairs... you name it. And it REALLY hurts to lay down! Once I'm down, I'm fine... but getting there is another story!

This is what I get for having a perfect pregnancy so far. I was doing so well... haven't gained too much weight, not sick all the time, not uncomfortable... really nothing to complain about. Just hope this doesn't last the next two months! I've been doing stretches, using a heating pad, taking it easy... everything I can do really. I plan on going swimming this week... that will take the pressure off and hopefully unpinch the nerve. Fingers crossed!

SOMETHING FUNNY: While at the hospital, mom had mentioned something about "Thumper" -- the nurse said "Oh, that's cute... you're going to name it Thumper?" She was serious! I felt like saying "Yeah, I really love Walt Disney. For our next child, we'll go with Pinocchio for a boy or Snow White for a girl." Did she HONESTLY believe we were going to name our child Thumper!? Oh boy.

Mission: Nursery... Update

The nursery is getting painted AS I TYPE! Toby's at home slaving away! Last night we taped off the room... and Toby was up at 7:30 this morning raring to go!

It's only getting painted white, but it'll be nice to have a fresh, crisp coat of paint up for Thumper's new room!

I'm excited to start "prepping" the room... getting all the clothes in the drawers, decorating, etc. All I want to do is sit in there, on my glider of course, and read to Thumper! It might sound corny, but I'm really looking foward to that!

And update on me... feeling great! Today I feel HUGE... but that's normal. Some days I feel HUGE, somedays I'm fine. Today's a HUGE day.

Toby's noticed that I've been snoring really bad lately... I tell him it's karma. His snoring has bothered me SO bad sometimes... what comes around, goes around. I also tell him it's not me snoring... it's the baby snoring through me! hahaha

I'm happy to report I haven't had swollen ankles again... thank God! I'm never eating salty foods again!

I'm starting to have dreams about going into labor... and everything's been pretty routine. Hopefully that's a sign. I'm really not that scared about actual labor... women have been doing it for 1000s of years... I suppose I can handle it, too. My main concern is where I'll be when I go into labor. I hope it's not too embarrassing... then again, I'm sure if it is somewhere public, people will be pretty supportive of such a wonderful event.

I can't believe that Thumper is going to be here in less that 10 weeks! It's so amazing!! It's really starting to hit me now... we're going to have a baby!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!

30 Weeks

My how time flies! I can't believe it's been 30 weeks!!!

Here's an updated pic:

And here's one of me "letting it all hang out" -- looks A LOT bigger without all those clothes!

And I have to mention... while looking through ALL my pregnancy pictures and all of my blog posts, I've noticed that I never showed you my CHAIR!

This was coursey of Tricia "Mil" and Keith. We picked it up while Tricia and Charlie (and Maxton) were visiting in early Feb. I've sat in it every day since! I LOVE IT!

I have found that the gliding motion calms Thumper down... now hopefully it will continue to work after he or she is here!

I must also say, when I'm not sitting in it... Tucker is. He's claimed it as his own.

Thank you Mil and KT! We love you!!!

And, as promised, here is a picture of the Travel System after I put it together yesterday... and no, although tempted, I have NOT pushed the cats around in it... yet.

Bump Update

I had my 29 week check-up yesterday. All is well. Baby's heart beat is good. My blood pressure is perfect. I gained 4 pounds in the last month (MUCH better than the 10 I gained the previous month!)... so my total weight gain is about 23 pounds.

The only 'bad news'... the doctor noticed I had swollen ankles! YIKES! I know it's common, but that's one of the things I was dreading! So I rushed home and put my feet up! They're back to normal today... whew!!

I also received my RHoGam shot... I'm RH negative, so this shot is a precaution just in case Thumper is RH positive. If he/she is, my body will produce antibodies against him/her... which could cause problems with this pregnancy, but more importantly would definitely cause problems for any future pregnancies. And we don't want that! The shot burns like HELL! But it's all worth it!

Some updated shots of the bump...

Here's my bosses granddaughter, Julie again... This time she's reading "Goodnight Moon" to my belly! It was at 8:30am this morning (hence the wet hair), but she insisted on reading this book. As a matter of fact, Nancy said that on the way to the station, Julie said "I want to read my book to Erin's baby." HOW ADORABLE!

Toby: A Man on a Mission

When some people get laid off, they sit around and do nothing... just soak up the unemployment.

NOT TOBY! He has been a man on a mission lately! He even ASKED for a "honey-do list"! I didn't know men could do that!

Aside from doing my normal chores... dishes, laundry, grocery shopping... he's been taking on some major taskes (i.e. the basement).

His new task... Operation Clean Garage!

I came home from work on Tuesday to this:

I was seriosly tempted to ask "how much for the scuba tanks?" It really looked like a rummage sale!

It was obvious to me he was sorting out the garage.

Then I walked INTO the garage... and found this:

My reaction: Why is there a whole in our garage ceiling? And what is Buddy (our neighbor) doing up there?

The answer...

Putting a floor down! So now Toby has a place to PUT everything... it doesn't just have to be on a shelf in the garage. And this is also where all our seasonal decorations will go. Very handy! I was extremely impressed!!

They even picked up a set of those pull-down stairs for easy access!!

(And for the record, I did NOT take the picture of the attic of the garage... I am smart enough to NOT go on a ladder in "my condition." Toby took this photo.)

So Operation Clean Garage is in full swing! As a matter of fact, Toby got up at 4 o'clock this morning to go work out there! He's got way too much energy if you ask me!

Then again, maybe he's soaking up the energy that I DON'T have!

Keep up the good work, Toby! I love you!

Nursery Furniture is here!

Now that the former computer room is empty, it's time to move in the furniture!!!

Thanks to the greatest mommy in the whole world (I'm slightly biased), we have beautiful new nursery furniture from USA Baby... and it was delivered last night!

I'm corny and had to take picutres of the men assembling the furniture... I don't think they get that very often!

I was tickled pink to find out that the wood matched the woodwork in the room PERFECTLY! Damn, I'm good!

Here are the finished products:

CRIB

CHANGING TABLE/HUTCH COMBO

The room is officially The Nursery!

THANKS AGAIN, MOM! WE LOVE YOU!

I'd also like to thank Toby's father, Jim, for his contribution to Thumper's arrival... a Chicco Travel System!!!

THANK YOU, JIM! WE LOVE YOU!!!

I haven't put it together yet, because I'm afraid I'll be tempted to push the cats around in it! Now THAT would be a GREAT picture! I'll make sure to post a picture when it's out of the box!

Mission: Nursery

Less than three months to go until B-Day (Baby Day)...

So time to kick "Mission: Nursery" into full gear!

The computer room/extra guest bed room will soon be Thumper's bedroom.

Before:

Note that drawers are already out of the desk, the little hutch is empty. But you get the idea of the room... for those of you that haven't seen it lately.

Anywho... the plan is for all of this stuff to go into the basement. The unfinished basement that is full... and I mean FULL... of stuff. It's been our storage area for the past 3 years... you name it, it's down there. Camping gear, old furniture, extra kitchen supplies, boxes upon boxes of stuff shipped over from England, antiques, extra blankets & pillows, seasonal decorations, and more!

So where do we intend to put said computer room furniture? Hmmmm... good question. I had cleared a space large enough to store this stuff... but it wouldn't have been a working area. And since it's nice to be able to USE our computer...

On Sunday night, Toby and I ATTACKED the basement! After almost 5 hours of sorting, we had created even MORE of a mess! At least this time it was an organized mess... a huge pile of stuff to keep, a huge pile of stuff to sell at a garage sale (which by the way, Mary... want to have a garage sale this spring?), a huge pile of empty boxes and bubble wrap galore! My mother-in-law better have stock in bubble wrap! Everything she sent over from England was wrapped, lined and padded with it! But then again, when you're sending stuff 1000s of miles, better safe than sorry! Love you, Tricia!!!

So, we went to bed on Sunday night with LESS room in the basement for the computer room stuff. Geez.

I went to work on Monday... came home Monday night... and to my utter shock, found this:

My exact response: "Holy Shit!" followed by about 3 minutes of jaw-dropped silence.

Toby worked his cute little English butt off!!!

Where is everything, you ask?

The other wall...

This picture doesn't show it, but to the left is the stairs leading to the first level. There is also a bunch of stuff under the stairs. And the Christmas stuff is all lined up against the wall of the stairs.

I was A-M-A-Z-E-D how much room is down there! Anyone wanna square dance?!

So, as you can imagine, the former computer room is now empty and ready to become the nursery! Pictures to follow!

Prental Class Complete!

Last Saturday was the second and final day of our Prenatal Class. We learned more about the labor process, including fun things like episiotomies! Thankfully they're not very common any more, nor are they common practice at the hospital I will deliver at. Apparently studies show that they cause more harm then good. Fine with me!

We also got to play with baby dolls!












































I think Toby really enjoyed it... he kept dancing the doll around the table, as well as make it suck its thumb, and he really enjoyed changing the diaper! He's a natural!

We also learned how to bath and swaddle the baby. All in all, it was a fun time... and I really think we learned a lot.

Now that we're pros at this baby thing... c'mon Thumper... grow!

Grow Bump, Grow!

Oh what a difference 13 weeks makes!!
Far left is 15 weeks... ranging all the way to 28 weeks!







And it just keeps getting bigger by the day!

28 Weeks

Two trimesters down, one to go! Today marks 28 weeks! Crazy how time flies!

We had our prenatal class today, "Preparing for Labor, Baby and Beyond." It's an 8-hour class broken up into two Saturdays. Today we went over the baby's growth and journey through the birth canal, breathing techniques and pain management. We also toured the OB area of the hospital where our baby will be delivered. All in all, it was a very interesting day... and I really think that Toby found it helpful, as well. Although, our instructor is EXTREMELY boring and tends to ramble a lot! Other than that, I had no complaints. We'll return next Saturday morning for the final 4 hours... where we go over caring for baby, safety, diaper changing, nursing, etc.

A little on my progress... I can finally SEE the baby moving. Up until now, I've seen it kick or hiccup... but now I can actually see it shifting around inside. It's kind of crazy... reminds me of the movie Alien! But I know it's not an alien, and that it's our little boy or girl wiggling around in there... It is such an awesome experience and it always makes me giggle!

Tomorrow we register at Babies 'R Us! Woo hoo!!!

Here are a couple pictures Toby just took of me:

Pampering

This past weekend, mom and I cashed in on our birthday presents to each other...

I gave her a certificate for massages and pedicures. The massages were WONDERFUL! I had an expectant mother massage, and it was the most relaxing thing I have ever done! I felt amazing afterwards, and really do feel better for having it. My lower back doesn't hurt as much as it was starting to.

Here's my "after" shot... I wanted to take a nap.
















Then mom had a deep tissue massage... apparently she has what the masseuse called a "board back." Lots of stiffness and knots... but afterwards, mom felt like a "wet noodle."





















After the massages, we went to lunch and then came back for our pedicures.






































All in all, the was extremely relaxing and it was great to spend the day with mom.

On Sunday, we fulfilled my birthday present. Mom got us tickets to The Fireside, where we saw...





















The show was fun and the food was excellent, as always! Normally I enjoy a nice fru-fru alcoholic drink while I'm there. But this time... some green tea!
















Thanks to mom for sharing a wonderful weekend with me! I love you!

ME AT THE FIRESIDE: (this sweater makes me look HUGE)




By the way, went to the doctor on Thursday... I've gained 20 pounds total! Yep... 8 pounds in one month! Whew!