Mine comes with a manual

I've heard people say through the years that they wish babies came with manuals. Any electronic device these days comes with more than enough information, why can't babies come with something more than a pamphlet from the hospital. Thanks to my friend Kristen, I have a baby manual.  It's highly entertaining (babies are described as if they are electronic devices of varying models and specifications) and actually pretty helpful for someone like me who has spent very little time around babies. It even has clear diagrams and step-by-step 'how to's.' So good. I highly recommend it for a baby shower gift.

The Baby Owners Manual: operating instructions, trouble shooting tips, and advice on first year maintenance
- Louis Borgenicht, M.D., and Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D.

Yep, I bookmarked it. There's some great reference material in there, especially related to medical conditions, etc.

Oh Cankles

My first 18 weeks of pregnancy were miserable, but since then, I'd say I've been pretty lucky. No complications, no trips to the hospital or unexpected doctor visits. I've been able to get out and travel and exercise and play without too much difficulty. But now, in my last month, all things have changed. Wow, is being pregnant uncomfortable! Heartburn is back, I can't move smoothly (in fact, I bump into things), I'm super slow at everything, my clothes don't fit and I don't want to buy more with so little time left, and the biggest change, my feet are swelling. Really swelling.

I don't recognize my lower legs, ankles, and feet. They aren't mine. I've burst into uncontrollable, delirious laughter looking at them. I feel detached from the foreign objects and yet I can feel every inch of the painful skin stretching and tissue ballooning. Today my flip-flop got stuck on my foot. I finally tugged it off to get some relief and then struggled to get it back on. I have trouble walking sometimes, just because my feet feel like they will explode.

Not to worry, I don't have toxemia or some other complication. I have no other red flag symptoms - just major water retention in that area and the possibility that baby's head is now blocking vessels that have aided in the swelling. I've been lucky that pregnancy hasn't taken me off my feet so far so if I only have to deal with it in the last two weeks, I'm ok with that.

Usually I slip into a double knotted shoe, no problem. Now I have to untie, loosen a lot, and watch my ankles spread out over the side of my shoe. This walk didn't last very long.

Nesting

NESTING: According to PregnancyWeekly

"Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth.

(MY FAVORITE PART)

Nesting brings about some unique and seemingly irrational behaviors in pregnant women and all of them experience it differently."


It didn't come until the 7th or 8th month, but I have definitely been experiencing "nesting." I'm already pretty particular about cleaning the house (B might call it "anal"), but my efforts have become more frequent and a little more detailed in case I go into labor. Baby doesn't really care if the bathrooms or kitchen sink are clean when he gets here, but I seem to care for him. I don't want him to have to come home to dirty rooms and unvacuumed floors. And I think I don't want to have to clean it when I get home either.  So I just keep cleaning. I've also organized the panty, the laundry room, built up more food storage, and decluttered my office area. Slightly obsessive, I guess.

The cleaning hasn't really been the irrational part, though. My new interest in the kitchen and all it's potential has gotten a little out of control. I'm baking and cooking all sorts of things I've never attempted before and they are all from scratch. My in-laws love me because we dump a lot of the surplus on them to keep me and Brandon from gaining too much weight. I'm loving cooking/baking, but maybe making donut holes and bran muffins back-to-back in the same day is a little excessive.

I haven't taken pictures of everything, but here are a few examples

Black bean and chicken soup

Shrimp and broccoli stir fry

Chicken, broccoli, pesto calzones

Fruit stand in Santa Clara to get fresh fruit...thanks Michelle for the tip

Peach pie

Love my Blendtec!

Morning smoothies, complete with greens

Whoopie pies

Bran muffins

Pumpkin spice donut holes

September visit to SLC

Over Labor Day weekend we got to go to Salt Lake for lots of reasons. It didn't get above 85 degrees!! It was so gorgeous.

While there my family threw me a baby shower. Can't thank my aunt and cousins enough for putting it together. It was so good to see family and some people who have been like family and celebrate the new little guy (arriving soon) together. My mom and sister drove over from Colorado and surprised me. I had no idea they were coming until the walked in the door. Awesome surprise.Why I don't have pictures of the cousins and aunt who threw the party....I don't know. Mom, if you have some send them to me so I can add them.

with Mom and Baylee

Susi and Maria -the mother-daughter triathlete duo that wowed me from day one as my clients

Mom and cousin Eloise

Aunt Jill and family friend Deb

Cousins Jenny (new mom) and Sarah (Due Oct 18)

Vicki (one of my Utah moms) and her grand daughter

my cousin's daughter and Baylee

The blanket my mom made for us. It's so soft

The next big event of the weekend was my previous roommate's wedding. Kristy looked gorgeous! Congrats beautiful

And we had some time to hang out with some of our favorite people (not all pictured here). We had a BBQ and made some homemade salsa and a peach pie with farmer's market peaches.

Jenny, Tara, Michelle

Jenny, Britt, Brandon, Michelle, Lynn, Cory, Jenny Weenig, Tara

Weight a minute.....

I've officially hit my all time high body weight. I got on the scale the other day after gaining 3 lbs in one week and thought, "wow!" Not a big deal...I'm 8 months pregnant. But wait, I know I've seen that number on the scale once before. It's a familiar feeling, but distant. So when was I ever this close to this weight not pregnant??...my mission in in Taiwan. I'd been in the country about a year when my weight peaked. Cracks me up that it's taken the growth of another human being inside me to reach that same weight. Sure my cheeks and arms are a litte chubby and my ankles turn into cankles at night, but at least this time my face is still recognizable as me. Check out the pictures. Unfortunately I don't have a really clear picture of just me right now, but you get the idea.

Guan Dong, Taiwan - Fall of 2000

Fall of 2011 - 8 months pregnant

Me and my sis

Just the fact you can see bone articulation in my wrist is a good sign. Don't think I had that in Taiwan. And how do you like that belly button?! Turkey is done folks!