33 and 34 Weeks, plus Christmas

Marty and I decided since we have no idea where we will be next year for Christmas, we should head home to Louisiana one last time. This was the last trip for the two of us, plus the dogs. The next time we head home we will have our little Jack with us. The girls enjoyed the backseat all to themselves one last time:

I have an awesome video of how we entertain ourselves on these long drives with the dogs, but Google isn't letting me upload videos right now. The only way to get her to howl, is to howl yourself. Here is a link to it instead:

http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k89/MartyAndAmanda/?action=view&current=MVI_0024.flv

We arrived after dark Christmas Eve and we were pooped. We made a stop at my sister's house to see Daren. He had to have an emergency appendectomy Sunday, the 21st and had just been released that day. We stopped for a quick hello to my mom and dad, then to Marty's Granny's and then went to his mom and dad's. We went to bed very late. Then, surprise surprise, I woke up at 4:00am. What do you do at 4:00am? Bake cornbread, of course! We also prepped chickens for the in-laws to make chicken and dumplings and dressing for Christmas dinner.

Big mistake for me to be in the kitchen that long. I suddenly started swelling. I have had zero major side effects with this pregnancy. We go home, and BAM! I was quickly escorted to the living room by Marty and his mom when they discovered my cankles. I managed to shower before everyone arrived. I know I was a sad sight Christmas day. My parents came over along with Marty's sister and her husband and kids. I didn't get many pictures at all that day because I was close to just crying. Even if I had to eat sitting in the recliner with my feet propped up on pillows and everyone chatting away at the table, I still had a good day. Marty doted over me, something I normally don't ever want or need, but it was nice. (He doted over me the entire time we were home, by the way. He's a good man.)

The date is wrong on these few pictures, they're from early Christmas morning around the time I was confined to the living room:

No pictures of me, because I look HORRID in them. I gave Marty the Willow Tree "New Dad" figurine and we both got a flat-wrapped present from his parents.

Later that day we headed to my parents' to hang out and exchange presents. I pitched in with them and bought Marty the router he's been wanting for years. I do believe he was pleased.




My mom gave me the Pampered Chef large bar stone (sheet pan) I've been wanting. She asked me what I wanted weeks prior, but I totally forgot about it. Can you tell I was excited???

She gave me a shirt and our combined gift was a digital photo frame. Awesome gifts. I don't remember when I took this picture, but I know he was exhausted from me waking him after very little sleep that morning.

Marty's grandfather has been in a nursing home for a few months. Paw Paw Pete is adored by everyone in the family. He used to call Marty every other day just to say hello. He's had some ups and downs lately, but you could see the sparkle in his eyes when he saw Marty come in the room.

My mom and dad can't do much around the house because they just can't physically do it. My dad had all his toes amputated on his left foot a couple of years ago and my mom recently had numerous surgeries on her arms, back, neck, and now her shoulder. Marty likes to get outside and make use of his new Carhart overalls, so he was happy to help.

I like this look much more than a business suit. He was pretty smelly afterward, though.

Here I am at 33 weeks! I'm not sure how or why I ended up wearing two different sweaters that day.

I whine about not having any pictures of us together, so one of the ladies at church took one for us. It's always nice seeing familiar faces in our hometown.

This is what Marty was doing before we got ready for church:

Marty says, "Manda, I was just trying out my new gun and he was right there. I had to shoot him." Gross.

Ah, the sleeping arrangements. Well, we have a king size bed. When we go to visit family, we have to sleep in a full size bed. One grown man, plus one rapidly growing woman, plus a large pregnancy pillow equals a disaster. I woke up crying one night because I was incredibly uncomfortable and quite miserable. Marty ended up on the couch that night and I still didn't sleep that great. Marty got the air mattress out and we slept in the living room a few nights. I still woke up every two hours. Mom in training, right?

We eventually tried out the full size bed again, minus the pregnancy pillow and slept better than before. Relief.

Just because she's a cute kid, my niece Katelyn. We were on our way to the jewelry store. Had to snap a picture of her cuteness.

As mentioned before, Marty likes to get his hands dirty. Early one morning, he mentioned to his dad how he wouldn't mind helping cut down a half-dead pine tree (thanks to Hurricane Rita) in his parents' front yard. He insisted I hop on the tractor with him:

It was not easy for the pregnant lady to climb that monster. But I did it for him.

Molly is such the begger. She just wanted some Cracker Jacks!

Me in my puffy, swollen glory with Daren:

See the date on the pictures, Happy New Year! We did not make it to midnight. I was sick, swollen, and tired.

My sister, Jessica, never wants to take pictures. I left out the bloopers. We couldn't stop giggling like school-girls.

Then, Marty thought I needed help with my belly.

Me and my mom:

My aunt and uncle stopped by on their way to Lake Charles, but I didn't get any pictures. What's my deal with that?

While we were home, I tried out my mother-in-law's sewing machine. I whipped up some cuteness:

Katelyn saw them and wanted one for her baby doll, so I HAD to make her one:

I didn't mind at all. Baby needed a diaper!

So, we survived our last trip home, just the two of us (plus the dogs). Marty drove the whole way home (same for getting to Louisiana). I was told by the on-call nurse to stop every hour on the way back, and we did. It helped with the swelling, but added an extra hour to the drive. I know Marty was exhausted, but it had to be done. We are glad to be home. We're just trying to get last minute things done before Jack decides when he should join us.

34 Weeks, Food Baby vs. Real Baby:

Our childbirth classes were supposed to start Monday, but the first class was cancelled because of the weather. We did go to the breastfeeding class last night. I can't say I learned tons, but I did learn some. It was the instructor's first class, but she did her best. I wish our class hadn't been her first, but it had to be someone, right? I did win a box of Medela storage bags, yippee!

I'm ready for Monday. We have three Mondays of childbirth classes, THEN Jack can come after that. We paid $ for it, and I need to know what heck is going to happen. He needs to stay put at least until 9:00pm, January 26th. Hear that, little guy? I'm sure we'll walk away from the class having learned something. I hope. At least they have good snacks and we get a hospital tour. I heard some of the ladies talking about how fantastic the rooms are, so I'm excited just for that!

I brought back a cold from Louisiana that I can't seem to shake. Being sick and pregnant really sucks. Some good meds would make it all better. The swelling is still a problem too. I bought a blood pressure monitor while we were home, and BP is not a problem at all. I had a doctor's appointment (and another u/s) earlier this week. I just have to continue with the increased water intake, decrease sodium, and keep my feet up for now. I start my weekly visits, so we can all keep a close eye on it now.

Jack is doing great, too. I have all the signs of gestational diabetes, but passed the test with flying colors at a 78. I think anything over 130 is when you go for the 3 hour. Swelling, a bigger baby, and excess amniotic fluid makes her think I have GD, but no, I do not. He's estimated to weigh 5 lbs. 13 ozs. right now. None of the pictures turned out that great, so I'm not going to bother scanning them.

I have an appointment with the hematologist Monday to confirm there should be no problems with delivery. Makes me a little scared that my OB wants something in writing from him, but I know it's just a precaution. I want him to tell me worst case what he wants them to do for me. My mom seems to be the reason I have this bleeding disorder. He should have her results, so we'll discuss it Monday.

I do believe that's all I have as far as updating the blog goes. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and welcome to 2009!