Sleep Talking Man

I've gotten some good laughs in the middle of the night lately. Why, you may ask? Because Austin has been having some midnight conversations ...with himself. Yes, friends, my husband has been sleep talking. What's great is that he has conversations with me while he is completely asleep. 

A few nights ago:

I wake up to hear Austin having a conversation that made absolutely no sense. He was saying words that didn't go together. It was very strange.

P: Austin, are you ok?
A: (Stops talking his gibberish)
P: What are you saying?
A: We have to find it.
P: We have to find it? We have to find what? (now realizing he is not conscious).
A: We have to find the winning babysitter.
P: Laughing... what?
A: We have to find the winning babysitter.
P: Really? And who is this winning babysitter?
A: Silence...The winning babysitter.
P: Oh ok, well lets do that later. Go back to sleep.

When I told him about this in the morning, he had no recollection of the conversation. I did commend him for already thinking about finding babysitters though.

Last night, I wake up once again to Austin's voice.
A: Listen, listen!
P: (Jolted awake because I thought he really heard something). Did you hear something??
A: Listen!
P: Listen to what, Austin? (now realizing he's probably in a different world). 
A: Silence.

I never found out what I was commanded so forcefully to listen for. Once again, he had no recollection of this.

Speaking of sleep talking, have you heard about the blog, Sleep Talkin Man? It's stinkin hilarious people. A wife documents her husband's colorful sleep talking. Warning, he has very "colorful language" but it is really funny.

Week 13 in Review

Baby C was around the size of a peach this week.
He/she has fingerprints, can open and close its mouth, all it's teeth are formed and under the gums, AND it is moving around (even though I can't feel it yet). I am becoming more and more convinced it's a boy. Not sure why. But I told Austin I'm putting my money down on us having a baby Austin.

I blogged earlier about my "Pregnancy Brain" issues. Thank you, blogging mothers out there, for all the moral support you offered through your comments. I don't feel so alone in my spacey little world.

Another thing worth mentioning is the baby bump. I mean, it came out of nowhere this week! It's crazy how fast I have begun to show. There is still some apprehension in wearing clothes that reveal the bump but I'm sure I'll get over that soon. Simply because I'm running of of clothes that make it discrete. Get ready world, the belly is on its way out. Literally.

Another weird thing is that I still can't chew Trident gum. I used to be an addict to this stuff. I can do other gum for a while but for some reason, Baby C does NOT like Trident. It makes me feel sick and the taste is just too strong. I miss my gum chewing days.


I hardly feel sick anymore but am still pretty tired in the afternoons. Seriously, around 2 or 3 I just hit a wall and feel like I can't function without a cat nap.

I think those are all the worthy updates. We are headed out to Denver tomorrow...wahoo!!

More Name Suggestions

The name suggestions for Baby C keep pouring in.

Here is an updated list that hangs on my office door at work.

 A closer look...

My personal favorites:
La-a "Ladasha"
Sha'Dynasty
Daddy (for a girl)

Thank you to all the creative contributors.

"Pregnancy Brain"

Before I tell you about my morning, I just want to share the following information from www.whattoexpect.com

Forgetfulness During Pregnancy: "Pregnancy Brain"

What it is: Pregnancy-induced brain fog, a true (and truly frustrating) hallmark of pregnancy. You may forget appointments, what you just walked into the store for, where you left your purse, whether you turned off the stove — and maybe, your phone number.
 
What causes forgetfulness during pregnancy: As usual in pregnancy, it's just your hormones having some fun, this time at the expense of your memory. And believe it or not, your brain-cell volume actually decreases during the third trimester of pregnancy (which could explain why you can't remember what you just read about in that last paragraph). Not to worry, your brain will plump back up a few months after delivery.
 
What you need to know about forgetfulness during pregnancy: First of all, pregnancy forgetfulness is completely normal — and extremely common. It's also temporary — you'll have total recall again long before you start to have your "senior moments." And try not to be too hard on yourself, as stress will only cloud your pregnancy brain even more. 


OK. Now that the facts are out there, here's how my morning has gone so far.

Wake up at 7am with plans to go workout.
I get a brilliant idea to go start my car and let it warm up while I eat breakfast. (I HATE a cold car ride).
As I'm eating my breakfast, I notice a pain in my left ear.
As I chew more, I realize it really hurts!
Yawning even caused a super sharp pain.
I'm now worrying that I have an ear infection.
I call my sister and my mom for second opinions.
Both are sympathetic and advise calling the doc if it hurts more.
I decide not to go workout and see how this ear thing pans out.
I shower and get ready for work. 

Later on, my ear starts hurting a bit more.
I decide to call doctor.
Can't find my phone anywhere. After a 5 minute, room-to-room hunt all over my house, I finally find it in the kitchen. 
I call doctor.
Told to go on Sudafed and Tylenol and call if it gets worse.

I start to pack up my things and am hit with a panicked thought, "I NEVER TURNED OFF MY CAR!!"
Oh my dear goodness. Who am I?? I'm absolutely in awe of my forgetfulness.

I sprint out to the garage (thank goodness I thought to at least open the garage door when I originally turned on my car), turn off my car, come back in, sheepishly tell Austin what I had done. He points out that it had been close to two hours since I had started it. Yes. Two hours. Salt in the wound.

I begin to have an identity crisis because I never do things like this! What is wrong with me!?

Feeling very flustered, I grab my bag to go to work and realize my phone isn't in there. I have to go for ANOTHER hunt all around my house. I couldn't find that stinking thing.

Finally, I tracked it down in our guest bathroom where I had been earlier to look for Tylenol. Why I left it in there, I have no idea.

Needless to say, this day has not started out very strong. I'm blaming it on the "Pregnancy Brain."

Baby Gift Ideas

 With Christmas around the corner, I am foreseeing some baby gifts coming my way. Here are a few suggestions for those wanting to dress Baby C. 

(Pictures from The Bump)

Week 12- Done and Done!

 Week 13

Baby C is the size of a Plum!

This week has been great!

It's so fun to tell the world we are having a baby! I don't think it was a huge surprise to those who know us. Still, it's way fun to be able to talk openly about everything. 

I've also felt GREAT. Lots more energy and excitement than the past few weeks. 

Did I mention that I've been hungry? I mean really, really hungry. It's not a nice hungry either. It's an angry hungry. It's a beast. If I don't get food, my body turns against me, threatening to shut down and not operate unless fed. And I'm not exaggerating when I say I need to eat almost every 3 hours. It's slightly ridiculous and hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced the demanding beast inside of you when pregnant. I don't want to make the beast mad. So I comply, and eat. 

Overall though, it's been a great week. 

Big Announcement!

Guess what world!?

I'm pregnant! We just had our 12 week appointment and despite me having the flu, Baby C proves to be resilient! Heartbeat is strong and everything looks great. I've actually been blogging about being pregnant quite a bit but just haven't posted them. Below is the full story of the past 12 weeks.

Once upon a time...

Austin and I decide to go off the pill. I was under the assumption that it would take my body a while to get pregnant. Especially knowing it took my mom 8+ months. So I was prepared for a waiting game.

Finding Out We Were Pregnant

A few weeks after I had been pill free, I noticed a few odd things. I was having cramps, back aches, and some weird stomach stuff. Nothing extremely notable but I kinda knew something was going on. I told myself there was no way I could be pregnant this fast- NOR could I feel symptoms of it that fast. I went online to find out that pretty much ANYTHING is a sign of pregnancy. Especially cramps. Hmm.

I get a little antsy and take a pregnancy test two days before my period. It was negative. I wasn't too surprised but a little disappointed. I really thought my body was telling me something.

Well October 12th comes and goes without any sign of Monthly Mary visiting. After being two days late, I'm super antsy to take another test. I come home with one and tell Austin I really want to take another one. He was a bit reluctant but he knows me well enough to know I am going to keep talking about it until I do it.

I take the test and see one line start to show up. (One line is negative, two means positive). I look away for a bit and look back to see a second line start to show up. I watch in awe as the second line becomes more and more bold. I grab the test, run to the room where Austin is, and show him. His response, "What does that mean??"

At this point, I'm shaking and laughing and simply sit down on the floor. I remember saying, "Holy crap. That happened so fast. Holy crap. One month Austin. That was so fast!"

We both were a little speechless. After collecting ourselves, we talked about who we would tell right off the bat. I also called and made a doctors appointment. They told me the baby would be due June 19th.

Since I can't blog about all this publicly, I am still blogging about it but just not posting it quite yet. So below, you will find weekly updates up until we go public with the information.

Week 5

Baby is the size of an appleseed 

It's starting to sink in more and more. We've told all of our close friends and family. It's been fun to talk to people about it and be excited with others.
Physically, I'm for sure noticing changes. Two words have described the past couple of days: Tired and hungry!
The facts tell me that I only need 300 extra calories but my body is telling me way different. I also feel like I can't get enough sleep. I hate feeling tired. But I guess this is something I'm going to have to get used to.

Random stuff:

• I was super sad when I found out I couldn't go snow skiing this winter.
• I've been craving hot chocolate like I never have before too.
• I went and checked out 3 books on pregnancy at the library. I had to dodge people I knew there because I didn't want them to see what I was reading!

Week 6

Baby is the size of a sweet pea!

Every day is different. All last week, I was hungry. This week I'm feeling pretty queezy. No puking but not feeling great. I guess that's to be expected. A few days ago, we had a little scare and had to make the visit to the doctor's office. Took some tests (too early for an ultrasound to check on the wee-one). Tests confirm the baby is alive and well. Whew!

One thing that has been distinct this week is my extreme sensitivity to smells. One would think this would be a helpful, superheroish quality. Nope. It sucks. I smell everything more intensely- especially the not-so-pleasant smells. Let me give you some insight of what it's like to have the nose of a hound dog. 

• I can hardly be in the kitchen when meat is cooking.
• I suddenly noticed how stinky Austin's work shoes are by the door.
• I can only wear certain lotions. Other ones give me a headache. 
• Dog. All I smell is dog around our house. Especially the living room rug. I couldn't even take a nap in there because all I smell is dog.
• I had no idea how stinky my car actually was. I am convinced something is rotting under my seat. I even checked. Nothing. 
• At lunch yesterday, I had to cover up my side of balsamic vinaigrette with my napkin because the smell was too intense.

A few other strange things:

• I all of the sudden was really grossed out by my salad at lunch today. Bummer. I paid 5 bucks for that side salad and could only consume a third of it out of mere determination to get vegetables in my body.
• Gum makes my stomach queezy. I've always been a gum addict but I don't know if it's the smell, taste, or constant flavor in my mouth but I simply can't chew gum like I used to.

As time goes on, we are getting more and more excited. We already have some names in mind and I of course and scheming up nursery plans. A common question I get is, "How is Austin handling all of this?" Well, he's actually doing quite well! Probably even a little better than I am. He's excited and coping with my hormonal changes like a champ. Love that guy.

Week 7

Baby is a blueberry!

 This week has been a bit more rough than the past few. I'm in a constant stage of nausea. Not puking just feel sick all the time. It's frustrating because nothing makes it better. No matter what I eat or don't eat, I feel sick. No matter how much rest or exercise I get, I feel sick. Honestly, it's a little depressing. It's hard to get out of bed in the morning when I know I'm going to feel blah all day. Somehow I conjure up the energy to do it, put on my happy face and go about the day. 

Today was a big day. We had our first doctors appointment and ultrasound. Going into it, I didn't know how to feel. Was everything going to be ok? What if there is more than one? Is it even in there? Well, it didn't take the doctor long to find the little wee-one. It was amazing to see. I kept trying to comprehend what we were seeing on the screen. "That is our baby." "That is in me." "That's it's heartbeat!"

 I feel like I am finally letting myself get excited. My guard has been let down a bit and and moving forward in my emotional attachment of the precious little blob in the picture above.

Few things worth mentioning:

• I smell dog everywhere. I could even smell the dog when it was under our bed at night. 
• Nuts almost made me throw up today. I can't imagine eating them right now....blah.
• My default snack is Multigrain Cheerios. Good thing I got a double box from Sams. It's one of the few things Baby C seems to accept willingly. 
• Still no gum chewing. 
• Austin and I decided we need to stop calling the baby a parasite. It's not cultivating parental affections very well.

Week 8
I've got a raspberry in my uterus!

Well, maybe not a raspberry but a baby that resembles its size.
Week eight wasn't too eventful. Same ol' symptoms. Tired. Most food sounds gross. Some foods sound really good (string cheese, anyone?). I feel like I eat breakfast food all day long. I'm ok with that. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

Anyway, I did celebrate a birthday in the midst of week eight. Thus, beginning the slew of baby gifts coming our way. My family just can't help themselves.
My sister made an adorable towel with a little hoodie. She also made 4 matching wash clothes.

Austin took the liberty of showing how it is supposed to be worn. Hopefully Baby C's head is a bit smaller than his.







My mom bought me my first pair of maternity pants.
Austin was way freaked out by the high waist. Apparently he's never seen a pair of maternity pants that weren't being worn by a pregnant woman. Just for laughs, I tried them on later. They are actually super comfortable.
That's all for now. See you next week!


Week 9
Baby C is the size of an olive!
 
(Almost an inch long now)
 An olive doesn't seem that big, but it is making me feel huge. I seriously laughed out loud today when I saw how far I could stick my stomach out. I've never seen my body do that before. Needless to say, most of my pants are uncomfortable.  I haven't washed any of my jeans this week because I don't want them to shrink up again. That was until my mom took me maternity clothes shopping!
It was a huge surprise. I didn't really think I needed them until I actually put on some maternity pants and felt the sweet relief of spandex around my waist. I guess I'm one of those lucky ladies who shows a bit early.
My mom spoiled me though. I walked out with 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of corduroys, and 4 tops. Oh, I forgot to mention the red top she made me get that states, "Tis the season to be pregnant."
Can you tell she's excited to be a grandma??

Overall, I've been feeling a bit better. I still have some funny food issues and sometimes it feels like I only got 5 hours of sleep when I really got 8 or 9. But compared to a few weeks ago, I'm a new woman. I'm so excited to tell everyone! We have our 12 week appointment on Dec 2nd. If everything is ok, soon after that we are telling the world!

Mentionables

• Still no gum
• Graham crackers and milk rock my world right now
• It's not really a craving but I can't get enough cantaloupe 
• Working on my first project for the nursery. (An owl decoration that I will post about later)
• During the day, a nap is as necessary as food to me 
• String cheese doesn't sound good anymore
• Still not exercising much. It just wipes me out too much. 
• I did try out some prenatal yoga. It made me giggle. Especially when she said, "Imagine your baby enjoying the stretch as much as you are..."

Week 10 
Baby C is the size of a Prune

 Feeling better and better. Glad the worst is over. All in all, I think I skimmed by the first trimester pretty easily. The only time I get sick now is if I don't eat within 3 or 4 hours. I'm kinda constantly snacking for the sake of feeling normal. Whatever works!
Baby C got to enjoy its first Thanksgiving...kinda. It didn't seem too opposed to any of the food except for the smell of the stuffing.
There really isn't that much to report.

Austin did make a suggestion that made me laugh really hard.
"Polly, you should take a picture of your stomach every day and then make one of those flip books!"
I didn't want to laugh too hard at him because I wasn't sure if he was serious or not. I'm still not sure, to be honest.
Anyway, just getting more and more excited to tell the world!

Week 11
Baby C is the size of a lime!

Wow. A lime! That's legit.
This week is going to be an exciting one. Why, You may ask? Because on Thursday we have our doctors appointment. If all goes well, we will tell the world we are expecting! Most likely, this will be my last hidden post. Whew- the secret has been eating at me.
Speaking of eating- my appetite is back! Food sounds good again. Especially macaroni and cheese. Mmmm- I just want some right now.
Anyway, not too much to say because I'll say it on my blog very very soon!

Gluttony

I wasn't the only one who overate on Thanksgiving...

Below is my sister's dog, Cooper. He managed to rip open a bag of dog food and eat two-thirds of it before being stopped.

He is suffering the consequences of his gluttonous behavior.

Rough Night

Today, I feel like this.

 I kinda want to do this.

 Last night was one of those nights.

It took forever to fall asleep.

I drank too much water before bed and had to get up twice before 1 a.m.

Woke up at 2 a.m. to my dog freaking out because of a noise.

Couldn't go back to sleep.

Got up 30 minutes later to get a snack.

While walking back to my room, I run smack into a wall- nose first. 

I almost started crying but then realized how funny it must have looked. It hurt my nose though!

This morning, I was telling Austin about it and as I looked at the wall I ran into, I saw a shiny spot on the wall where my forehead hit. 

Hilarious.

I think a serious nap is on the agenda for today. 

Dear Husband of Mine:

Dear Husband,

First of all, I want you to know I love our home. I really do. However, as I bounce around from blog to blog, I can't help but plan for the future. I thought it would be beneficial to share some plans I have for our next home. Since you are a visual creature, I will shower you with pictures of my vision.

For starters, a non-negotiable in our next home:  two vanities. I love you but I don't love sharing one small vanity with you.

Lets talk about our kitchen. A breakfast nook with benches. Mmmm.

 What house isn't complete without a colorful coffee station? I know you don't drink coffee, but it'd be great for hosting.

 I'm loving the huge kitchen island. Add that to the list, dear.

Lets talk bedrooms a bit. This would make a great guest bedroom, don't you think?

 And how about this one for a strapping young lad we might have some day?

Another kids room idea in case we have twins or something. Always be prepared!

Loving the clean, crisp feel of this one as well.

 Oh, here's a living room I like too. Lots of big comfy chairs. Lots of natural light. French doors that open up to our glorious back yard.

 Speaking of yards, having a wrap around front porch like this one that is looking out on our front yard would be AWESOME. Can you whip that up for us, dear one?

 I think we've also learned that having a mudroom would be awesome. Don't worry. I have some ideas for that too. 

 In the mudroom somewhere, we'd have this amazing sink. Dog baths, rinsing out dirty shoes, cleaning vegetables from our garden- you name it. This sink can handle it.

Attached to the mud room, would be a garden room. Yep. A place to keep all the plants, seeds, flowers, tools, etc. It would of course be clean and colorful. My two favorite adjectives.

 We'd also have a great outdoor space. Something like this.

 I've saved my favorite room for last. 

My craft room.

Excuse me while I wipe away the drool.

 I hope you have enjoyed a tour through our future home. We might both have to get three jobs and be in a constant state of debt, but it will be worth it.