Baby E: Weeks 35 & 36

I suppose when you’re nine months pregnant and you decide that the walls and ceiling need cleaned in your bathroom, some would say you’re “nesting.” Pro-tip for anyone else who may desire to do this, pregnant or not, using a microfiber towel tucked into your swiffer mop makes this job much easier. You all know I am not a fan of bending over these days and this method made doing so minimal! I looked up the definition of pregnancy nesting and the American Pregnancy Association said that it’s an old wives tale that once nesting urges begin, labor is about to come on. I say bring it on! According to our last ultrasound he is right on schedule, already at 6 lbs. (a week and a half ago). I would like for him to make it until at least 38 weeks (we are 36.5) but he’s unlikely to have issues if he were to arrive at this point. I’m not trying to make him come, I just won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t wait it out to the 24th 😂🤰🏻🤱🏻. Actually, my doctor said at my appointment on Friday that because I have gestational diabetes (numbers have been great though 🙂. Except for the day that I made whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a little bit of jelly for breakfast and didn’t wash my hands before testing my sugar. I apparently had some jelly residue on my finger because it tested at 193 from fasting. I switched hands and checked again it was in the 90’s.) that if my cervix is ready she will induce me at 39 weeks. I would prefer he come on his own though; assuming that isn’t 2 weeks overdue 😳. 

I’ve said it before and it’s still true, I am so thankful that I’ve had a fairly easy pregnancy compared to some. Even these last few months where heartburn plagues many women, I’ve been eating my favs: pizza, burgers (smothered in ketchup), and Mexican food with very little discomfort. I was able to reach my goal of teaching yoga until 36 weeks. I finished my last class this week. I will miss everyone but I’m happy to have a break from my evening commitments and all of the bending over 😂. Both my Wednesday and Thursday night classes had surprises for me when we finished. 

Snacks and drinks

Wednesday night lovelies 🥰

This was soo good!

Thursday night lovelies 🥰

I can’t say enough how grateful I am to these ladies (and Steve and Leah, not pictured) who come faithfully every week to my classes (and anyone else who comes, too!). My Thursday nighters also come on Tuesday night. Most have been coming for over a year now. They’ve helped me take my goal of starting a little business teaching yoga and fitness and make it a consistent side job that fuels my passion. They’re more than just customers though, we have so much fun during class and I’ve gotten to know them and they me that they are more like friends. I appreciate the support they’ve shown to my business but also all during my pregnancy. It’s wonderful to know such good people! ❤️

I am spot on with the Baby Center app this week which predicted he would drop down into my pelvis--check, creating lots of pressure—check, and increasing the need to pee—triple check. Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent, especially when we walk the girls. The app also said some women feel like they’re carrying a bowling ball between their legs and I currently don’t but boy doesn’t that sound fun?! 😳

I guess I’m more relatable now that I’m pregnant and everyone, EVERYONE wants to tell me their birth story or their wife’s birth story or something about their kids; including the doctor I saw a couple of weeks ago when I thought I had an ear infection but it turned out to just be fluid on my ear. The worst was this guy we met in the waiting room last week when we were waiting to get the ultrasound. This man came into the waiting area and thought I was someone else and said something to me like, “Oh, you’re still here,” and the look on my face, I assume, told him that I had no idea what he was talking about. Once he realized he said, “Oh you’re new. What are you getting x-rayed?” I told him I was getting an ultrasound and pointed to my stomach but let me just say for anyone who doesn’t know, it’s rude to ask someone that. Maybe I don’t want to share what I’m there for. Anyway, he started telling us about his kids and how his son just turned fifty and other details and then turned the talk to us, telling me that life is about to get hard, well for me anyway, Philip just has to earn the money 😠🤬🙄. I held my tongue, which was really hard to do, and if I had known then how the conversation was going to progress, I would’ve told him that ACTUALLY I’m the breadwinner and Philip is going to be the stay at home dad and seen his thoughts on that. Not true but would’ve been fun anyway. Unfortunately I had to listen to him say degrading things about large people riding scooters around Walmart and how you shouldn’t go to Walmart at 2am because you’ll see women in thongs and not the good looking ones, the ones that will hurt your eyes. I was relieved when the ultrasound tech called my name to come back but felt bad for having to leave Philip there with that misogynistic ass. The ultrasound didn’t take long though so he got to come back shortly after. Little Critter wouldn’t keep his hand off his face so we didn’t get a great picture. We saw his lips though and they’re super cute. I think they’re going to be good latching lips 😂. Speaking of,  I ordered two books on breastfeeding and read one of them. The other is on my to do list. I started packing my bag for the hospital this past week. Philip is sure the baby will come on the 10th so he keeps giving me crap because I’m not done with it yet 🙄. I’ve packed the toiletries that I can and put pink stickers on the items that I use every day and can’t pack just yet. I figured I may not have the clearest thoughts once labor starts so just having to grab whatever has a sticker will be helpful. 

Side of his face and fingers in front. 

The position the ultrasound tech said he was in 😂 I’ll spare you the pic that Philip sent back to me when I sent him this that he said he “fixed.” 🙄. Think added body part.......

See? Ready to go...kinda. 

Pink sticker system. 

This bout of nesting energy was great today but I definitely went too hard and now my lower back is hurting. The good news is we drained our hot tub last weekend and refilled it and set it to the coolest temp, which is perfect pool water, so I can have a nice soak. My feet have been swollen for over a week and my knuckles are sore all the time. I told my doc that she just said, “yeah..” I was like “Ok, great.” 😑 meh. Oh well, not too much longer to go. I bought my first new post natal shirts and I’m excited to wear them. 

Hot tub + beautiful sunsets 😍

Philip had a productive day today, too, and I got the benefits from it. He likes to cook and make anything bread related from scratch. I told him I wanted burgers for dinner so he made homemade hamburger buns. Dinner was delicious and my sugar tested at 95 after we ate and walked the girls 😉. 

That’s ranch and ketchup for my sides. The burger was amazing 🙂. 

Sophie must be nesting too because she has had TONS of energy lately. The other day a wasp got in the house and was buzzing around and right when I went to get the fly swatter to try to shoo it outside, Soph jumped up in the air like Jaws out of the water and ate it! I screamed “Nooo!” but it was too late. Luckily she didn’t have any reaction to it. 

She is not a fan of the fireworks that people think it’s time to set off. PSA: Just because you can buy fireworks now, doesn’t mean your neighbors want to listen to them. Especially not the little stupid ones that do nothing but make a snapping noise. What’s the point? I don’t get it. I’m fine with fireworks on the fourth but this has been going on for a week now. Get a hobby. Thanks. Poor Soph hides under the kitchen table. Sansa isn’t a big fan either but she just goes to her room (aka the nursery). I don’t think she can hear them as well in there. 

I mean, look at this face. Why would you wanna scare this poor baby? Maybe that’s why she’s been extra clingy to Sansa lately. Poor Sansa can’t go anywhere without her black and white shadow 🤦🏻‍♀️ 

There’s a whole bed she could be laying in..

And couch....🙄

And house....🙄🙄

She dropped her toy and fell asleep trying to reach for it 😂

And if she’s not laying on Sansa, she’s laying on one of us. Very ladylike, I might add. 

 But she sure is cute though 😍. 

And so is she 😍. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me that baby E makes his appearance soon, on his own! 🙂

Baby E: Weeks 33 & 34

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the baby department. The Saturday before last was the first day I felt a distinguishable body part kick out of my stomach and that’s…weird. I’m growing used to it now and can’t help but to put my hand on my belly any time I feel a push. I feel like he wants attention when he slams a foot or an elbow out of the side of my stomach so I instinctively touch it but he really probably just wants me to not do that so he can stretch 😂. Oh well. I don’t want my ribs kicked but he doesn’t consider my wishes so….🤷🏻‍♀️🤪 

I’ve had a few contractions the last couple of weeks. The first one happened at Walmart and that was not cool. My feet hurt constantly so walking isn’t the most fun anyway but adding false contractions to it is anxiety-producing. The joints in my fingers are sore now and my wedding ring is tight most of the time. I have a silicone one so I’ve been wearing it in case it gets stuck.   I’m finishing out the month with my yoga classes and then will be taking a few months off. This week has been challenging for sure! 

My 3 hour glucose test results were in my online health record the Monday after my test and I was not surprised when I got a call later in the week from my doctor’s nurse to discuss them. She said that the doctor prescribed a glucometer and wanted me to check my sugar 4 times a day. She also wanted to schedule an appointment for me to attend a nutrition counseling class in Morgantown but when I informed her that I didn’t think that would be necessary since I have a B.S. in Nutrition Science, she agreed. When I met with the doctor last week I took my log and she said my results were pretty good and as long as I can control the diabetes with diet and exercise, I won’t be required to be induced due to him getting too big. I have to see her weekly now so that she can monitor my blood sugar logs. We have an ultrasound next week to check his growth which I’m curious to see because she said my placenta was measuring at 36 weeks when I saw her and I was only 34 weeks 5 days 😳. 

I had maternity pictures taken last week with Karen Stout who owns Karen Stout Fine Arts Studio. She was amazing to work with, telling me how to pose and mostly importantly, how to position my head because I’m great at cocking it to the side and looking goofy in pics. We had to reschedule several times because I wanted to do them outside and we’ve had never ending rain but we finally got a good day and the weather was perfect. The place we went had some donkeys roaming around freely and one of them is also heavily pregnant. She came over and wanted to be petted 😍. Poor girl, I feel for her! I escaped the whole experience of traipsing around in high grass and weeds (laying in some of them) without a snake bite or poison ivy so I think that counts as success!

Sansa got to go on adventure last week, too. She went to the vet for vaccines and treatment for a skin infection that she seems to get on her stomach every summer. Soph is not a big fan of riding in the car, at least not without Sansa. I was concerned that taking just Sansa was going to be an issue but when Soph saw me putting blankets on my back seat she ran from the door when I came back in and that made things much easier. Sansa on the other hand LOVES riding in the car, even though she rarely goes anywhere other than the vet, a place she is not a fan of 🤔. However, she decided she would be the welcoming committee at the New Martinsville Animal Hospital and said hi to EVERYONE; except for the puppy beside us, she growled at him and acted like a mean ass. She got in trouble and told to lay down so she did…right under the bench I was sitting on 😂

Soph was on an experimental hiatus from her crate the last few weeks but she’s back in jail for the most part. She was being super good while we were gone and then just decided a few days ago to rip a cushion off the couch and tear some stuffing out of it 😡😡😡. We were hoping she would graduate to good girl status and could be left out, mostly so that we could remove her crate from the living room to make room for the baby’s swing. Onto plan B, which hasn’t been developed yet 🙄🤷🏻‍♀️. 


Her current status is hiding under the kitchen table because she doesn’t like this thunderstorm. The last one brought her back into our bed to sleep, which she hasn’t done in a while. She usually prefers the chair in the living room. This was at the start of the storm 😂😍. Sansa is such a good big sister. 

Really, she is. I didn’t see it happen but I am 100% confident that Soph positioned herself into that spot. 

Sharing a chew toy....even though they have an entire toy box full of them 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️. 

Sitting *beside* Mom cuz she’s not allowed to sit *on* her...

Mommy and Sansa selfie 😃

Too tired to use her paws..attempting to chew on her toy anyway 

I told you all she likes having the blanket over her head. Her nose is INSIDE a hole she chewed 😡

Philip sent me this one, captioned “dog status while you were at yoga.” Soph was biting Sansa’s leg while Sansa just looked off in the distance, probably thinking about her life before Soph 😂


They’re a handful but we love them. Can’t until we can all meet their brother 💜💜💙

Baby E: Weeks 31 & 32

These past two weeks have been dominated by an attitude of gratitude. I’m just so overwhelmingly thankful for all the wonderful people in my life. My baby shower was held last Saturday and for as much as I hate baby showers and wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, I appreciate all the effort that went into planning it and for everyone who showed up to support me. I had a good time and am especially thankful that my friends respected my wishes and didn’t play archaic baby shower games that I find to be boring. They entered everyone’s name into a drawing and drew for prizes during the shower so the guests still got a chance to win a prize for coming but didn’t have to identify candy bars melted into a diaper by smelling them or resist saying baby or taste baby food or any of the other ridiculous things guests are often expected to do at these sort of events. I have to provide a disclaimer that I have hosted baby showers and I have required these things of others before but I was new to baby showers and those things seemed like fun at the time. After having been to many, which all seem to entail some variation of these activities, I now detest the thought of having to do so. However, if you like this sort of thing, no judgement from me. I just hope that if you attended my shower you weren’t disappointed with the lack of these activities. We had a taco bar, which was fabulous, the most adorable backdrop for taking pics, and I opened my gifts on center stage, another expected part of the affair that I’m not the biggest fan of. It was held at my workplace so the indoor playground provided entertainment for the children in attendance, which was nice. I’ll be sending out thank you cards very soon but if you attended or have given me a gift, please know that I truly appreciate your love and support; from the people I see every day (and love very much)  to the family that I don’t see often who still came, and the friends that didn’t know anyone else but still showed up, I feel honored to have been your choice to spend some time with on a Saturday. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Showing some of the wonderful gifts I got at my shower, including a crocheted blanket from my Aunt Sharon (how thoughtful and sweet!) and an original book about the alphabet and Jennings Brae Bank Farm from the owners, Mollie Toppe and John Jennings! 

The beautiful quilt that Cheryl G. made for me. She’s a regular at my yoga classes. What a thoughtful gift this is, I know how much time goes into quilting. I’m so thankful! 

*Hand made or store bought, every gift was appreciated! 🥰

My greatest appreciation is for my husband, who is the best, hands down. I’m not even sure how to put into words how much he means to me and has helped make this new venture in our lives easier and exciting while also understanding my feelings and concerns. Even just the simple things that he does to make my life less burdensome are probably not a big deal to him but mean so much to me. Things such as helping me get dressed when I need it (who knew putting on a sports bra would be so hard?), finding the girls’ Kongs (that I fill with peanut butter/coconut oil treats that I make them and give them before I leave for work) and putting them up on the counter before going to his job so that I don’t have to search for them under the couch (because bending over is hard ya’ll!), and getting my shoes out and sitting them in front of a chair so I can sit and put them on when we’re ready to take the dogs for a walk. He never (seems to) gets tired of me just being tired or needing to rest and is so supportive and understanding that life is hard right now. I’m sure some of you are thinking that life is about to get even harder, and I’m sure you’re right but knowing that I have him to help me through it sure makes the thought of it easier. I know how lucky I am to have him. 

You know you’ve reached a pivotal point in your pregnancy when people stop asking how far along you are and instead ask how much longer you have. Eight weeks. That’s it. Shit’s about to get real very soon. People love asking if I’m excited and I’m sure my answer leaves much to be desired. I honestly haven’t thought too much about what life will be life once he’s here until recently and really that’s only because we’ve had to go through his things and think about what else we need to buy, where we’re going to put stuff, etc. I don’t really know what to expect except that I’ll be tired and overwhelmed and maybe a little resentful that I’m a milk machine, if breastfeeding works out. I’m anxious to have my body back to myself, not because I don’t like sharing it with him (really I like feeling him move sometimes; just not underneath my ribs😡) but because I’m just not comfortable being this size. Most activities are hard; even walking up and down stairs wears me out. I’m still doing yoga but it’s not nearly as easy as it used to be. I’ve maintained my flexibility in my legs but any forward folding is difficult. Speaking of things I don’t like, I did my 3 hour glucose test this weekend. My one hour test produced a slightly high result; I’m genetically pre-dispositioned and over 25, which raises my risk of having gestational diabetes so the 3 hour fasting test was ordered. The drink they give you, which contains 100 grams of sugar=25 teaspoons, you are required to drink within 5 minutes. Ingesting that much sugar on an empty stomach makes for some awesome nausea, let me tell you. Four hours, 5 cups of urine, and 5 tubes of blood later and you can leave. I hope to get the results in my online health record next week but they’ll call me for sure if they are high. I’ve started bi-weekly visits with the doctor now but I won’t see her again until the week after next. Philip and I both had a Tdap vaccine at our visit this week to protect the baby from whooping cough. The doctor told Philip if he wanted one he had to go out to the front desk and register and she joked about him signing in for his gynecology appointment😂. The shot makes your arm sore for a couple of days. However, I prefer that to the pain my poor vein felt yesterday after being stuck 5 times. I think she kept intentionally putting the needle in the same exact place…is that normal, nurse friends? I feel like it could’ve been moved 1/16” each time without difficulty 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Another byproduct of being hugely pregnant is having strangers make remarks about your very obvious condition. Luckily, they’ve all been nice and no one has attempted to touch. Sympathetic mothers ask about your due date. Some have told me how cute I look and that I’m “all belly.” One said the other day that she knows I don’t feel cute right now but I look it. I was surprised by her empathy to my feelings, which were spot on. 

We made good progress in the nursery this weekend. After the shower last Saturday Philip reopened all the gifts and we took the tags off the clothes and got them ready to be washed. They finally got sorted and put away the past two days. I’ve bought clothes as they’ve gone on sale (mostly at Peebles because Lisa loves to tell me when they’re having a 50% off clearance sale 😆) so we have a range of sizes. We bought some under the bed totes and I made labels for them on my Cricut so that we could separate them and not have to dig through stuff to find what fits. Philip’s mom bought us a really nice camera for over the crib and he got that installed also. The only thing is it comes with an app that alerts you when there’s movement or sound in the crib and since it’s empty and I keep getting notifications, I’m beginning to think the crib is haunted. That, or Sophie jumps up in it. Could go either way. She was the definition of jealous while we were trying to sort the baby’s clothes: laying on them, trying to get in our faces to make us pay attention to her, etc. It was quite pathetic but slightly amusing. She’s gonna be a handful when he finally arrives 🤦🏻‍♀️. 

Utilizing space under the crib to store totes. 

And also under the dresser. 

Sansa has been sleeping in there for months so I expect that to continue.  Typically she lays in her (as we now refer into it)/his room until I go to bed and then comes into our room and sleeps on the small sofa we have by our bed. He won’t sleep in there at night anyway so she’s probably better off to keep on. If he continues the sleeping pattern that he has now, I may join her 😉. Philip says he feels the baby move every night while I’m sleeping when he comes to bed so apparently we’re on opposite schedules. It’s funny how him moving used to keep me up and now I don’t even know it’s going on. Philip is still the only one to feel him move because this kid doesn’t move on command for anyone. That reminds me that while I was stuck at the hospital for 4 hours for my 3 hour glucose test I had taken my pregnancy journal and thought that would be one way in which I could kill some time. I filled some of it out but one of the questions it asked was what qualities do you hope your child has and what do you hope he/she doesn’t have? The only one I could think of for doesn’t have is stubbornness. That’s a silly want really though because Philip and I are both stubborn as hell (him more than me 🤪) so I don’t think he has a chance 😩. 

Our other children have been their normal goofy selves. Soph is chewing on her ear beside me as I type this 🙄. They got their own gift at the baby shower and it took them (really Sophie more than Sansa) about 5 minutes to destroy their new toys. However, Soph is still carrying around the carcass of the pig so I think it’s safe to say she really liked it. 

Thank you, Valerie and Stephanie! 😃

“Mess? What mess?” 🙄

“I love you, Mom.” She’s really good at apologizing. 

Attack of the Sophie monster. She LOVES having the blanket put over her head, seriously. Then she tries to attack Sansa. She’s the goofiest dog. 

“Invading Sanaa’s space? No, I don’t think I am..”

These dogs sure make life interesting. 

I have a busy day tomorrow so it’s sleepy time for this Momma. One day I’ll write about my hobbies again, I promise! 😉