Wet Hot American Summer

If there's one thing I've heard a million times while I've been prego, it's how the absolute worst time to be pregnant is during the summer.  I get so many sympathetic looks and comments all about me carrying a child in this heat.  I must admit that it is definitely not the most comfortable feeling in the world, but I can honestly say that if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing.  So, for those of you reading who are thinking about having a child in the future or adding another to the family, here is my own list of pros and cons of summer pregnancy...

Cons:

*It's hot. Go figure.  It's summertime, silly!  Seriously though, EVERYONE is hot.  It's inevitable.

*Swelling- Obviously there will be swelling; hands, feet, ankles, face...nothing spared!  But, I'm pretty sure that happens either way and I would much rather ice my feet during summer than winter!

*Sweat-- Yeah, it happens to the best of us.

*If you don't like hearing how much you are not going to like being pregnant during the summer and how miserable it is going to be, make a plan NOT to be pregnant during the summer.  You're going to hear about it otherwise :)

Pros:

Yes, there are pros! Plenty of them, in my opinion!

*The adorable clothes-- I can honestly say that I have not bought one item of maternity clothing.   My mom bought me one maternity outfit early on and I will save it forever just as memorabilia.  Thanks to fashion trends these days, baby doll tops and empire waist sundresses are sooo easy to find. And wear!! My daily wardrobe usually consists of thin, tight-like leggings and a sundress or long shirt.  I have a few pairs of comfy yoga pants that I wear with stretchy tanks or baby doll tops.  Favorite place to shop?? Rugged Wearhouse!  Cheap and big belly friendly!  Most importantly, I can wear all of the clothes again one day and have not spent my life savings on maternity clothes.

*Daylight Savings Time-- I love the fact that we gained an extra hour in March when I was roughly four and a half months pregnant.  I walk 2 miles every morning before work and have been since March.  If not for the summer sun coming up around 6 am, there's no way I would be motivated to exercise, which I know is going to benefit Everleigh and me when it comes time for delivery day!

*Swimming--Who doesn't love a good swim?  Great exercise or a relaxing way to beat the heat! 

I am 2 days shy of being 38 weeks along.  Some days are harder, and hotter, than others and everyone has a different experience.  But, I must say, I am surprisingly an advocate of summer pregnancy!  Next time, however, I may shoot for the beginning of June as opposed to mid-August ;)

"The Story of Us"

No, we have not been married for 15 years.  We do not have teen-aged children.  I am not Michelle Pfeiffer and Kendall is not Bruce Willis (dang it ;).  But, we have a story.

Kendall and I met in November 2005 through totally random circumstances between mutual friends.  I did not know anything about him, except that he drove a mustang and had some really pretty blue eyes :)  So, a couple of days later when his best friend called me to see if I wanted to join him and his girlfriend (my now sister-in-law) and Kendall for a double date, I simply expected...well, nothing.  I was wrong.  We went to the movies and had idle conversation on the drive there and back.  The only question I remember him asking was, "Are you stuck up?"  When I replied, "Umm no I don't think so.  Why would you ask that?" He said, "It's the way you dress."  

Oh dear me, Kendall.  Little did you know that you would be a "prep" like me in no time :)

We went on another date and decided that we just needed to be together.  So, the date was November 25, 2005 when a 19 year old stuck up girl and 21 year old guy with crazy questions began their story.

Us through the years....

He's wearing Hollister might I add...

Our story is nothing but original and unique to who we are.  It is full of laughter, tears, anger, confusion, and craziness....but it is also full of love.  People would probably look at our relationship over the years and, to be honest, strive NOT to be like us.  We've heard it all--but above all of the 'you'll never make it's and 'you just need to go your separate ways' we just heard 'Don't give up. You're in this for a reason.'  On December 20, 2009, after four years of dating, Kendall proposed.  We planned a wedding for October 9, 2010 at a great venue with a beautiful mountain view.  In July 2010, my Nana who had suffered for over 20 years with lupus, became very sick.  I wanted her to see me get married but I knew she wouldn't make it to the mountains.  We cancelled with the venue and decided to push up the date and have a super small wedding in her backyard on September 18th.  She passed away on July 31, 2010.  Getting married in the place where she last was made me feel like she was there.  I know she wanted to be.  

There are tons of details in our story, all that have shaped who we are as a couple.  The main idea?  There is nothing I would trade for the last five years, seven months, and ten days that I have had with Kendall Greer.  So much has changed over time, including who we are as individuals.  I am so proud of the person that Kendall has become and even more proud to say that he is mine.  

I think it is safe to say that Kendall and I have been through some tough times, and I have often wondered if there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.  Well, here she is...

Everleigh is our light, love, and in my opinion-our life saver.  God knows what we need exactly when we need it and he gave it to us through her.  I thank God every day for this blessing and the way that she has already changed our lives.

I'm 34 weeks now and am anxiously awaiting her arrival!  I must say...she is the BEST chapter of our story :)

"Look Who's Talking"

Mollie: So you're the one who was kicking me.

Mikey: Well, you're the one who ate all that spicy food.

Being the spicy food eater that I am and always have been, I can't imagine that Everleigh is totally satisfied with all of the salsa, jalapeños, chili sauces, etc that I shovel down when I get the notion.  But, she never seems to mind that much.  I can only imagine what she is thinking sometimes.  If babies in the womb could remember what they heard, I think a lot of mommies (and daddies) would be in trouble.  For instance, when Kendall and I are walking through a store and he insists on singing EVERY song that comes to mind in a not-so-quiet voice right near my ear, and I give him a hearty "Can you please just shut up?!?"....yeah, it's not very nice of me, but come on!!  Or when I sing old school rap songs at the top of my lungs in the car...I bet she doesn't care to hear my rendition of Ludacris-"What's Your Fantasy."  I definitely do not want her to remind me of my finest moments of pregnancy one day.  

Speaking of "talking"...I am sure that fellow preggos out there can totally empathize with me when I say that some comments, words of advice, and "stories" are better left untold.  I love hearing compliments about how I look, but telling me that I am going to be "humongous?" Gee, thanks, you shouldn't have! Literally.  And beginning conversations with the line, "Hey, did you hear about that lady who died while getting an epidural?"  Everleigh almost learned a new word that day.  

I am a firm believer that every person, woman, and pregnancy is totally different.  Every mommy is different as well.  The kind of parent that I want to be and the decisions that I make are all mine.  Telling me "how it's gonna be" when I am a parent does not scare me in the least.  This is my first time, but I'm a fast learner.  I don't know a lot about parenting, and it will be hard.  But, I have a LOT of experience with children.  I know that Everleigh is an individual.  Whether she wants a paci or "lovey", sleeps all night, cries about everything and nothing at the same time, or poops golden eggs, she is loved, cherished, awesome, and mine!  It doesn't get any easier than that! :)

I have come home on many occasions on a major grump-fest telling Kendall about things people have said that just made me feel fat, ugly, and stupid.  His way of calming me down one day was to show me a website of awesome t-shirts about pregnancy that he found.  He said, "Just buy these and wear them."

Funny stuff, right? And in regards to the one above, I really don't mind people touching my belly at all!  I just put it because I pictured myself grabbing someone's boob and it made me laugh.  In all seriousness, the best thing to tell a pregnant chick is to just do what she feels is right, pray like crazy, and everything will just fall into place.  

That, my friends, is something to talk about :)

"28 Weeks Later"

I am now caught up on pregnant life and am clocking in at 28 weeks.  I can honestly say without a doubt that I LOVE being pregnant.  It is the greatest, most life changing thing that has ever happened to me.  The highlight of my day is sitting down at night and just feeling her do karate moves inside my belly.  When I'm in a bad mood or in depression mode for whatever hormonal reason, and I feel her move, all of those emotions go away and are replaced by the most unexplainable happiness.  Everything I do, every thought I have, and everywhere I go revolves around her, and she's not even here yet!  I have heard a lot of things in my 28 weeks...but that is an entirely different entry.

Some belly action

28 Weeks

27 Weeks

"Dumb and Dumber"

Saying dumb things, doing dumb things, hearing things...all part of...wait, I forgot what I was going to say.  On a daily basis, I find that my mind is leaving more and more.  I forget where I put things, say things that make no sense, and have recently developed deafness in both ears.  My brain no longer processes information the way it used to, and I have to write down EVERYTHING!  I've read that this happens during pregnancy, but I'm not sure I expected the severity of it in myself.  I must say that while it is embarrassing to say and do "dumb" things, I am glad that I can attribute it to a cause...for the moment at least.

"The Sword in the Stone"

At 25 weeks, I could honestly say that I had no complaints about pregnancy thus far.  I was blessed with only about four weeks of nausea,  one terrible migraine, my husband had not yet divorced me for being a lunatic, and I had energy to burn (on most days that is).  It wasn't until I woke up one morning feeling like someone was holding my bladder in their hand and squeezing it like a stress ball, that I said "Okay, this sucks."  I went to work as usual and tried to blame the pain on my poor, innocent little girl.  I just assumed that she was sitting directly on my bladder and would not move. Stubborn like daddy :) Ha!  But as the day went on, the pain only got worse.  I couldn't stop moving and felt very afraid by the pain in my stomach.  By 1:00, I knew I had to call the doctor.  They told me to come in to do a urinalysis and that they would let me know asap what the problem was.  The nurse just thought it was a UTI or something crazy like that.  When I got a call at 4:30 saying, "Julie, it's not a UTI..it's kidney stones,"  I really just wanted to give up.  I had never felt so helpless and I cried...a lot.  The combination of pain, emotions, pain, confusion, and more pain just did me in.  I really can't describe it, but it really felt like someone jabbing a sword through my stomach, into my ribs, and all the way through my back.  The worst part?  There was NOTHING I could do but drink water and go to the emergency room if I couldn't take the pain.  So, I rocked back and forth, prayed, and drank three liters of water in two hours.  Gradually, the pain started to go away and I'm pretty sure it passed that night.  

Now that it's all over, I don't even remember the pain.  Let's hope labor is the same way...except next time, I would really like to pass a baby instead of a stone.

"The Haunting"

Now that we knew we were having a precious little girl to call our very own, it was finally time to start on the nursery.  We moved into our new house in January after months and months of searching for the perfect place.  I signed the contract in October and it seemed like it took FOREVER for us to close.  Little did we know when we decided on our house that we would be making room for a baby...immediately.  We designated a room that would be Baby's when we started moving in.  The other room was the office, which was pretty set up.  I am quite the lazy un-packer so boxes took up space for quite some time.  One day, I went into the baby's room to clean up so I could start getting an idea of what I wanted to do with the nursery. As I spent time in the room and really "took it all in" I realized that I felt a little unsettled.  Although the room was spacious and a tad bigger than the office, it wasn't as bright or welcoming as I thought a nursery should be.  

Back track to the months of house hunting:  We started looking at houses at the end of April 2010.  Since we had already set a projected date for our wedding, we wanted to have a house lined up for around that time- October at least.  We looked and looked, then we looked some more.  I chose houses, and Kendall chose houses.  I had a routine every time we went to look at a house.  I would go in, sit on the floor, and picture myself living there.  If it seemed promising, I would say I needed to sleep on it.  If I didn't like a house...well...it was haunted.  I'm not sure how many times I actually said, "Yeah, I don't like this place.  It's haunted," but I know Kendall got tired of hearing it.  And why wouldn't he?  I basically said that about every house HE picked!  Not intentionally...he just likes older houses and those tend to freak me out.  Needless to say, we finally found a house that was "ghost-free."  Until....

As I kept cleaning out the room, I just decided to myself that it wasn't good enough for my Everleigh.  So, I decided that it was haunted.  And who wants their baby living in a haunted room?  No one.  I knew that getting Kendall to agree to switch rooms and move all of his stuff would be a hard sale but I was going for it.   Just as I suspected, he said no before I could even argue my case.

"Oh, come on Kendall, there's not THAT much stuff to be moved!  I'll do it!"

"No, you better not lift anything!"

"Can we pleeeease just switch rooms??? That other room is haunted! I'm pretty sure there is a ghost living in the closet."

After stomping around and whining like a kid in a toy store who was just denied a...toy, he finally gave in.  I was satisfied. Hopefully Everleigh will be, too!

A Sneak Peek of Nursery-ness