Reflection

Its that time of year again, where people get introspective and reflective and look at the past year's deeds and misdeeds and decide to change for the better in the upcoming year. In respect, it is like starting with a clean slate. December 31st marks an end, what happened in the past 365 days stays behind, forgotten and started anew. Count me in with the myriad of silly fools, usually.

It has dawned on me recently that there are only a few days left of 2010, and I haven't gotten all retrospective or inspired by the coming new year. I don't know, something about having a baby in the next few weeks has grabbed more of my attention. Then I tried to look back at the past few year's worth of resolutions, and remembered that I deleted my old personal blog in favor of this one, oops! Then I realized that I did manage to cross post part of the resolutions I made, and can be found HERE

Recap:
Ambition
Success! I was promoted, received a raise, I lead a part of a major company project, I lead my own project, exceeded all of my work goals.
Failures :( towards the end of the year my workload was reduced, I feel partially because of my pregnancy status. It is hard to get in on projects that have a completion timeline that conflicts with my medical leave. In the mean time I picked up a lot of training and worked on some independent projects.

Debt Free
Would have been accomplished if it weren't for this $2,500 deposit I need to make to the birth center before Christmas. As soon as I can submit it to my medical flexible spending account after the baby is born, we should officially be debt free. The deposit and the fact that it will shortly be recovered made us decide not to pay it out of our emergency fund, so it is still intact.

Improve Health
IE, I will work out more and have an improved score on my wellness screening, LMAO. Medical visits went up because of the RE and the OB, but I only had 1 GP visit for my eye, similar with DH. Being more active worked out in the beginning, until we both came down with the flu (or h1n1, not sure which it was) and then it was hard to get back into it. I walked as much as I could when the weather got nice, but then I was either feeling too sick or too tired from pregnancy that I just never got back into it. I still tried to get out and do as much as I could, but I failed any workout routine I might have tried to establish. On the food front, it has improved a lot but we still have times where we are really busy and rely on take out too much. I journal about 75% of my diet, just to keep tabs on where I am needing improvement. As for wellness screening, the results were laughable. This year's will need to be thrown out. While the self reported section scores increased, the rest really showed inaccurate results. Who knew cholesterol and white blood cell count rose so much, and blood count dropped so much? So, the screening has me at risk for heart disease, anemia, and infection/cancer! Nope, I just have a not so little parasite!

In The Family Way
Mixed results, but who cares?! So, my goal for a 2010 baby didn't quite make it. Per usual, I am just a little late to the park. Time will tell if we have a 2010 baby, but I'm not seeing any progress in that direction. I'm still thinking I have 3 weeks left, but hoping for 5 and a few days for my dad's birthday. So, the end result being that we are in the family way, where have you been if you're just seeing this?! 11 and a half months after officially trying, we fell into the family way. I blame/thank the RE. We had our first appointment where we discussed tests and procedures and determined that as far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong with me and that a non-medicated IUI was the way to go. Luckily I was able to call a few weeks later to get in for my first beta!

Resolution:
Well, this is difficult. There are too many unknowns in the next year that I am wondering if it is even smart to decide on resolutions right now. Instead, I am planning on posting a monthly goal/set of goals that align with some really broad ideas for the next year. I'd like to continue to live debt-free, focus more on my photography, BF for 6 months at least, and I'd like to be near my pre-pregnancy shape by the end of the year. Sound do-able? I think it is, and it'll also help my goal of blogging more. I'm looking forward to seeing how my goals grow and change over the course of the year.

Sea Monkey Stat Week 34

How far along? 34 weeks

Weight? Not sure

Symptoms? Constipation, dry/itchy skin (belly), leaky nipples, nausea in certain positions, carpal tunnel

Maternity clothes? Yes, recently added a few pieces. I'm finding that most pants are too restricting. I'm loving dresses and tunics with leggings

Nursery Purchases? Nothing

Stretch marks? 1 stretch mark that gradually grows, one above my belly button

Sleep? Sleep is strange. I'm sleeping a lot deeper and notice that I'm not moving around as much at night. I'm not getting up to go to the bathroom as often, but because I'm not moving as much I feel a lot more sore and stiff in the morning. I also don't seem to be sleeping as long. Naps are great though, but I try not to take them, especially during the week because they mess up my schedule.

Best moment this week? Christmas with family and going to Church with my friend

Movement?So times I'm not feeling as much kicking, but I also think that most of the time the baby is lying anterior so they are kicking my placenta, but I still feel the baby stretches!

Food cravings? Nothing really.

What I miss? Mobility

What I'm looking forward to? Meeting Sea Monkey

Emotions? I'm scared but anxious at the same time. Some times I feel ready, sometimes I don't feel ready to be a mom.

Welcome to 35 Weeks

Maternity Photos Set 4

**I should't have to say it, but please don't steal these or claim as your own**

Maternity Photos Set 3

**I should't have to say it, but please don't steal these or claim as your own**

Maternity Photos Set 2

**I should't have to say it, but please don't steal these or claim as your own**

Maternity Photos Set 1

**I should't have to say it, but please don't steal these or claim as your own**

Sea Monkey Stats 32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks

Weight? 140

Symptoms? Constipation, dry/itchy skin (belly), leaky nipples, nausea in certain positions

Maternity clothes? Yes

Nursery Purchases? Nothing

Stretch marks? Just a tiny one around my piercing scar

Sleep? Sleep is more uncomfortable but manageable. I fall asleep much easier but I'm having a harder time getting up in the morning. I also wear out easier.

Best moment this week? Seeing family for holiday fun.

Movement?Sometimes, the movements are a bit much. Some days I don't seem to get much peace but then days that I want movement (for others to see or feel), I get a quiet sleepy baby!

Food cravings? Peak Leaf Sweet Tea

What I miss? Energy

What I'm looking forward to?MW appointment on Tuesday and last Bradley class on Saturday.

Emotions?I have had an emotionally rough week. I seem to have them every so often. I was feeling very lost, searching for my identity. It saddened me to feel so lost, but I eventually got over it :) I was just feeling in a funk.

This weekend was pretty busy. It started off with a club Christmas party, Bradley class, family Christmas, Mass, lunch with a friend and her husband, and then visit his great grandmother who was in the hospital. Stress made us miss the Bradley class. We had a really rough morning and ended up being really late for class. DH suggested we just skip it because it was really upsetting me. So instead we headed to my parents to get ready for the party later that afternoon. I was so beat Sunday that we slept through mass and barely had time to make it for lunch with our friends. By the time that was over the weather was getting pretty bad and we ended up staying in for the rest of the evening.


Welcome to 33 Weeks

Sea Monkey Stats 31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks

Weight? 138.5

Symptoms? Constipation, dry/itchy skin (belly), leaky nipples, pelvic/hip pain

Maternity clothes? Yes

Nursery Purchases? Nothing

Stretch marks? Just a tiny one around my piercing scar

Sleep? Sleep is starting to become more uncomfortable.

Best moment this week? Chiro adjustment

Movement?Yes, butt sticking out and legs/feet kicking my side.

Food cravings? Peak Leaf Sweet Tea

What I miss? Feeling comfortable!

What I'm looking forward to? Holiday Parties

Emotions?I had mixed emotions about the chiropractor visit at first. She determined that my sacrum was twisted and was putting pressure on the nerves. She did some quick adjustment and put it back in place but was so jarring it really caught me off guard. I was immediately in pain in the front of my pelvis on the left side (the other pain I had been having was on the back right side). This turned out to be my first case of round ligament pain. She stretched it out (Brewer Technique that also can turn breech babies). That was also painful since it was irritate. After some time, it finally eased up and I went home pain free.

However, a few hours later I was in so much pain I almost went to the ER. I couldn't walk, stand or move my legs without being near tears. I really thought that I had screwed up. The pain wasn't debilitating like the other pain was, but it was also chronic pain that didn't go away. I spent the rest of the evening in bed trying not to move. I took 2 Tylenol before bed and it was enough to dull the pain for me to sleep. By morning I was feeling much better, but still not 100%. By my followup appointment a day later, that pain was gone but the sacrum pain was starting to creep back up. I had another adjustment and was feeling better. She did more work on the round ligament, even though it wasn't bothering me.

I asked what might have caused it. She said that more often than not, the misalignment happens before pregnancy and that the changes in pregnancy just make it more noticeable. Crossing legs while sitting is a common reason for the misalignment. The round ligament was causing a problem because it was shorter than the right side due to the misalignment. When she fixed the sacrum, it pulled on the ligament. So, here's to a hopefully pain free last few weeks. Now, I just need to stop crossing my legs! :(


Welcome to 32 Weeks