Baby Shower Histeria

Well, it was a night to remember (to say the very LEAST) My fabulous friends Trinette, Whitney and her mom (my other mother growing up) Vickie threw me an incredible baby shower with some hilarious and awesome unconventional twists. 

Beautiful flowers & gift boxes filled with chocolate & mints - SHHHH  I stole about 12 of these bad boys and ate them  all the next day.

Diaper Station - Everyone wrote adorable notes left in these diapers for me and Joe to read later as a way to help us through the late night changes. Brilliant.

Onesie/Bib Decorating Station

Bibs! Please note Whitney & Mel's contribution on the bottom left "2! We can't arrways be #1" LOL

So far pretty normal stuff  for a baby shower, right? WELL, let's get to some of the twists...

The shower was held on a Friday night, so cocktails were a welcome treat for the guests. And what's a cocktail babyshower without jello shots? lol. No, I did not partake in the drinking or jello, which I'm kind of happy about cause those smelled like some STRONG jigglers!

As for the BEST part of the shower... everyone wore a balloon belly bump to look pregnant! This was a complete surprise to me and I almost peed my pants when I showed up to this, and not just because I now have a bladder the size of a grape. The bumps were a nod to my mom's baby shower when she was pregnant with me, where her friends all dressed up pregnant as well.

Victoria & Kendall took a little "warming up" before fully embracing their balloon bumps lol

Whitney very quickly learned the art of using your bump as a drink holder

Heather & Michelle Rocking their bumps at the Nacho Bar! (Note to self, need more nacho bars in life)

Even with an awkward bump, Joan looks adorable. 

Elin, me & Mel! 

My Beautiful Momma & Whitney

Sharon, Mom & Aunt Pat

Andie & Whitney

Andie, Brianna & Me - LOVE this shot because Andie is the only one with a balloon belly... my sorority sister Brianna was about 38 weeks pregnant here, what a trooper!!!

Trinette & me

Surprise visit from the hubs to say hi to the girls... He didn't know they'd make him wear a ballon bump too, hahahah!

Fabulous Chevron blanket knitted by Andie 

Me: "Wait, the baby's going to be THIS big when she's born?!?! .... OH it's  for a 6 month old PHEW"

My mom finished knitting the baby hat my grandma had started years ago before passing away. I was a little choked up about this one...

Yep, there's the tears!

Completely amazing quilt made by my aunt Pat. So cute!!!

So much fun!!!

Joan's mom knit a beautiful baby blanket for Baby Girl and added a matching baby hat... unfortunately it might be a TAD big for baby girl (it fits my huge head here) or at least I'm HOPING it's too big for her when she's born. Ouch. I couldn't stop laughing. Thanks Nell!!

Lots of gals got me baby books in lieu of cards, so now we have a TON of great books to read to Baby Girl

Hard to see here but a bunch of my girlfriends pitched in and got us our Citi Mini GT stroller. I LOVE this thing!!!

LOVE these ladies SOOOO MUCH!!!

This is just the book haul... SUCH great reads!!! And yes, this is what happens when i take a picture looking down, belly bump photo bomb.

And all the baby loot... Seriously, everyone was way too generous.  Joey and I are so grateful! 

What a phenomenal baby shower. These ladies know me better than I do, I swear. Thanks to everyone who was able to come out and thanks to EVERYONE for all of the support Joe and I have gotten and keep getting. It's pretty amazing to have such great family and friends to help us raise this baby girl.

38 Weeks - Full Term!

How far along? 38 weeks, Baby is fully cooked!

37 Weeks - At the RWC Blues Fest BBQ competition with the guys
(Yes, Mike is trying to share his beer with my belly)

Baby size? Baby Girl has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long. 

What's going on with the baby? She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Total weight gain/loss: One bajillion pounds gained. Or at least that's how my feet feel.

Maternity clothes? Big time. Pun intended.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep: I'm up 3-4 times a night to pee, adjust my aching hips, narrowly avoid spasming leg cramps, shift all seventeen pillows I need to support the gigantic mass that is my torso, oh and to stare at the wall because I just can't sleep. I paint a pretty picture don't I? Thank goodness for day time naps. If this is my body's preparation for post-pardum, I'm pretty sure Baby Girl will sleep more than I will at night once she finally arrives.

Best moment this week: Maternity Leave!!!!!! It's been 2 weeks going so far and in case you're wondering: no, I'm not bored one bit. I fill every day with errands, cleaning, laundry, cooking, organizing, and NAPS. I raided the kitchen cabinets and threw out about 3 trash bags of food that was stale and/or expired. The nursery is looking more and more adorable and her clothes are all pre washed and ready to be spit up on...  oh and the hospital bags are packed! I should go on maternity leave more often.

Best moment #2: Another Ultrasound! After my stomach measured on the "large" size a couple of appointments in a row, the doctor ordered us an ultrasound to get a better idea of her size, which would be helpful information come time for my ability to... umm... push her out. SO off to the ultrasound facility we went! And the results were fantastic! Mind you, ultrasound size estimates are exactly that... estimates, not final results. Baby Girl did NOT measure off-the-charts huge! Hooray!!! Although she was estimated to be 7 lbs, 3 oz at the time which was a bit bigger than average for me only being 37 weeks along. Part of this was because of her loooong femur length. Her legs were measuring a couple weeks ahead so we're now researching which college she'll be accepting a full ride basketball scholarship from. 

Baby Girl - Profile - would NOT stop sucking her thumb!

Awkward moment this week: Baby laundry. More specifically FOLDING baby laundry. I already have a supreme hatred for folding socks. Like, normal grown adult socks. And now, someone has taken all of those socks, dyed them pink and shrunk them one million times smaller! I need tweezers to fold these things!

Mini human clothes!!!

So when I'm about to pull my hair out in frustration, I just start looking at everything and laugh. How can you be aggravated by pink baby clothes?!?!! They're too cute!!!

Baby Girl clothes dryer lint

 I mean, even her DRYER LINT is adorable!!!!

Miss anything? Work. Oh wait no. No I don't.

Movement: Her position hasn't changed much (head down) so I mostly feel her kicks up in my right torso. Luckily she's kind enough to stay just under my ribs, so she's not kicking bone.

Food cravings: Too many to list. Basically everything. I mean, I only have 2 more weeks that I get to use the excuse that I'm eating for two right?

Anything making you queasy or sick? Acidic foods... my personal heart burn nausea hell.

Have you started to show yet? Rhetorical question.

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Light cramping and some heavier pressure from her position lowering, but no contractions. 

Belly button in or out? Out. Still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Cankle Watch 2013: What used to be my toes, feet and ankles are now swollen Flinstone cartoon caricatures by the evening.

Wedding rings on or off? Off, but replaced with a larger place-holder for the time being.

Happy or moody most of the time? This one's a mixed bag. Plenty happy for the anticipation of Baby Girls' arrival, but definitely grouchy when I'm too tired or uncomfortable to so much as walk down the street. And now we play the waiting game for her... which will probably start driving me crazy once I run out of closets to re-organize.

Looking forward to: Holding Baby Girl in my arms!!! The agonizing labor part? Not so much.

36 Weeks - Gestating Like It's My Job

How far along? 36 weeks 

Technically 35 weeks here at Cary & Lucas' beautiful wedding last weekend

Baby size? Baby girl is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long

What's going on with the baby? She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. At the end of this week, she will be considered full-term. Holy Whoa.

Total weight gain/loss: Why did I even put this category in the blog?!?!?!

Maternity clothes? Yep, and I'm at the point where even some of my maternity duds are too tight. Which is doing wonders for my self esteem as you can imagine.

Stretch marks? No but I have a feeling I'm going to wake up any day now with a bunch of them. It's a reoccurring nightmare that I get out of bed in the morning to realize I have turned into a pregnant tiger.

Sleep: Getting harder and harder to do. I can't get comfortable most of the time and turning over from one side to the other in the middle of the night is a full-on grunt-worthy body workout. 

Best moment this week: First one... Parenting Class with Joe. It's a two night class we go to after work and learn about what exactly we DO with a baby. Walking into the class, there were a bunch of stations set up with fake babies for you to practice swaddling/diapering/etc. And no two babies looked alike, some were white, black, asian so by chance we sat down at the "angry white old man baby" station. The class was helpful and we learned a lot, but it took a couple of practice runs to figure out what we were doing...

OK yes, the baby doll is technically being suspended upside down from his feet, but that diaper isn't going ANYWHERE! I say successful night for Team Givens. We'll see if we can manage to diaper an actual live, moving, screaming baby girl. Piece of cake right? RIGHT?

And the pee-ess de resistance of weekly best moments.... MATERNITY LEAVE!!! So long work!!! I was planning on leaving only 2 weeks before my due date, but work was getting really stressful and oddly enough the act of sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day was wrecking my ribs and back so here I am, leaving work! I have no idea how I'm going to handle the time off, more so before Baby Girl arrives, especially since I haven't had this much time off work (or school) since High School. It's certainly a mind trip. But I am UP for the challenge! ha.

I am so NOT going to miss this desk for the next 16ish weeks. Although I wouldn't mind if it could stay this clean and free of work when I do come back. I had just cleared away my projects and tidied on my last day of work before I took this picture.

Awkward moment this week: At my doctor's appointment this week I asked my doc what the odds were that baby girl was going to be... big. When we were born, Joe was just over 9 lbs and I was... wait for it... 9 lbs, 15-1/2 oz. Umm yeah, if this whole birth weight thing is genetic, I'm in serious trouble. Fortunately the doctor said that so far it doesn't look like Baby Girl Givens is in that monstrous weight category yet (phew!) ... BUT I have a long enough torso that I could also hide her size fairly well, so you never know. (AAAHHHHH!!!)

Miss anything? Feeling comfortable. What's that like?

Movement: She's still moving but slowing down a little, as I'm sure she's starting to run out of room in there.

Food cravings: Tums, does that count? 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Food, when not followed or preceded with Tums (see above)

Have you started to show yet? Yes. 

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Still nothin. But we are entering full term territory very very soon so I've got to get my hospital bag packed. So far I've got gameboy, trashy mags and a toothbrush on my list. Did I miss anything?

Belly button in or out? Out like a trout. 

Cankle Watch 2013: At the end of a hot day, there I am in all my glory... Cankle-town.

Wedding rings on or off?  Off   :-(

Happy or moody most of the time? Well now that I'm on maternity leave, ECSTATIC!

Looking forward to: Meeting Baby Girl and seeing her face for the first time. I'm going to need the rest of my maternity leave just to stare at her.

34 Weeks - If You Can't Handle the Heat, Don't Be This Pregnant in July

How far along? 34 weeks

Waiting to see the 4th of July Fireworks!

Baby size? She now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. 

What's going on with the baby? Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Total weight gain/loss: Let's just say I'm in the positive on this one.... Actually I am a gigantic pregnant hot mess. At least that's how I feel in this heat.

Maternity clothes? Yes. And some days, they just don't make 'em big enough.

Stretch marks? Hallelujah, no.

Sleep: Sleep? What's this sleep you speak of? I'm up several times a night to pee and then plan every hour of the rest of this little girl's life. Totally normal right?

Best moment this week: Hellooooo glorious new carpet in the Nursery!!! After a treacherous and long few months of carpet issues, we have officially begun (again) the nursery move-in! It was a sketchy past couple of weeks with the Nursery being gutted for new carpet, and all of the baby furniture and paraphernalia squeezing into what became a one bedroom home but we made it! Here's a teaser of the Nursery in progress...

Obligatory Hubby Crib Install Picture

And it couldn't have been better timing because we were blessed with TONS of baby gifts from the World's Greatest Baby Shower!!! (More on the Shower and the Nursery in later posts)

Awkward moment this week: Pregnant conversations with Joe...

Me: Does my back look fat to you?
Joe: No, your fat looks beautiful.

- awkward pause staring at each other -

Joe: BACK! I meant your BACK looks beautiful!!!

Me:  >:-[

Me: What are the odds that this baby weighs a TON, so all that weight I've gained so far is just her?

Joe: You know that's not very likely right? She only weighs 4 pounds.

Me:   >:-[   

Joe: Please don't eat me.

Miss anything? Cold weather, not having to pee every half hour, feet that don't hurt, my back not aching, tying my own shoes, having an innie belly button, reaching down to pick stuff up, working out beyond a pathetically slow waddle... I sure know how to paint a pretty picture of pregnancy eh?

Movement: All over the place. And in the past couple of days it feels like baby girl dropped a little lower, which is not exactly bladder-friendly BUT it also means she can't reach my ribs when she kicks, so hooray!

Food cravings: Costco Teryaki Turkey Jerky

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not much lately :)

Have you started to show yet? Is that a real question?

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Nothin.

Belly button in or out? Out. Boo. On the plus side, if I was a turkey it would mean I'm about fully cooked right?

Cankle Watch 2013: I still wouldnt give them cankle status just yet, but these ankles aren't getting any slimmer...

Wedding rings on or off? OFF!!! Sad, sad, sad day!!! I cried. (OK, I cry at everything, but still.) It's just too hot and I've gotten too swollen to fit my ring. Fortunately I found another ring that fits since I feel naked without anything on my wedding ring finger.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy? OK, probably a little more moody. But YOU trying being happy in 90 degree weather, big as a whale and sleep deprived. 

For the record though, I would do it a billion times over for this little girl. 

Looking forward to: The end of my pregnant working days! Only two more weeks of work before I start Maternity Leave!!! Then... look out kitchen. I'm coming to organize you.

32 Weeks - Babymoon!

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby size? She weighs almost 4 pounds and measures about 17 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? She's gaining weight (about half a pound a week). She has toenails, fingernails, and hair and her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps in preparation for birth. She's also head down (as of my last appointment) and will hopefully stay like that until birth. And the best news: If she was born now, she would have an excellent change of surviving without life-threatening complications (but all that aside we are no where near ready for her so she better keep cooking for now!)

Total weight gain/loss: I no longer believe in scales. Or buttons for that matter.

Maternity clothes? You know it!

Stretch marks? Still nothing thankfully

Sleep: Not great, but I'm mastering the art of being a zombie, so I guess that's just one more baby preparedness item I can check off my list!

Best moment this week: There are a couple... 

Remember that huge horrible 2 day test Joe took in April? Well, he PASSED! He's officially a licensed Structural Engineer in the state of California, I couldn't be more proud of him! What's that you say? That best moment isn't baby-related? Untrue. If Joe hadn't passed, he'd have to re-take it in October when it's next offered... with a 2 month old baby in the mix. Guess how effective THAT studying would have been? Not so much. But now we don't have to worry about it and baby girl can keep daddy up all hours of the night without feeling guilty that she's messing up his study schedule.

Also, Joe and I went on our Babymoon! We felt like it was important to take one of our last weekends when it's still just the two of us and get away for some R&R. We went to Pismo Beach, only about a 3.5 hour drive from home and stayed at a fabulous oceanfront hotel...

On Our Way!!!

Not a bad view from our room eh?

Dinner at Jocko's - That's a 44 oz. Spencer Cut that we split. Please don't calculate the calories consumed

My self-prescribed Iron supplement. Red MEAT.

Our balcony... Where we spent most of our time

Pool time! Yes, that's an SPF smiley face circa Billy Madison. And yes I did in fact rub it in after the photo was taken.

Belly has officially reached Kindle-stand status!!! SCORE!!!

Traditional Givens Dinner - Splash Cafe Clam Chowder, Mo's Ribs, Yanagi Sushi (cooked), and Cracked Crab crab sandwich. Followed by Tums of course.

And the obligatory San Luis Obispo stop - Firestone Grill Tri-Tip Sandwiches!

Awkward moment this week: A 32 week pregnant lady, a guy in crutches and a full-gowned bride get in an elevator... Who gets to exit first? Yeah that happened at the hotel during the Babymoon and the answer is the bride because I'm pretty sure she was too nervous to even realize there were other people in the elevator. 

Miss anything? After that amazing Babymoon weekend, nope. Life is good.

Movement: ALL the time. Which is good because apparently baby girl should be kicking/moving at least 10 times per hour according to the doctor.

Food cravings: See pictures above.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Waiting in line for food. I go from content to STARVING in about 10 minutes flat and then I very quickly reach queasy. It's not a way to live I tell ya.

Have you started to show yet? See bikini pictures above. 

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button in or out? Very slight outtie. VERY slight.

Cankle Watch 2013: It's BEGUN!! The bloat fairy has visited me and is making my inner ankle start to fade. It's only gonna get uglier from here.

Wedding rings on or off? Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to make it another 8 weeks and still fit my ring. Makes me tear up just thinking about it!!!

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy. A weekend away celebrating my marriage, our baby and food has that effect on me.

Looking forward to: My baby shower this week! Can't wait to see everyone!!!

30 Weeks - 75% Cooked!

How far along? 30 weeks... 75% Cooked!

Baby size? She weighs almost 3 pounds and measures 15.7 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will shrink as she gets bigger and takes up more room. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

Total weight gain/loss: Met a new milestone recently. I've joined the ranks of pregnant women that waddle. Oh yeah, be jealous. I've perfected the side-to-side swagger. 

Maternity clothes? yup.

Stretch marks? None yet!

Sleep: Third trimester is kicking in... I now have a new sleep schedule: wake up at 3:30 am, unable to fall asleep until about 5:30. For no particular reason at all. Any and all suggestions about what to do with my newfound 2 hours of quasi-consciousness are welcome.

Best moment this week: There are a couple... 

We had our third trimester ultrasound! Remember baby girl's two vessel cord issue? This was just a follow up fetal growth ultrasound to make sure everything is growing and developing normally and sure enough she is! Unfortunately we didnt get to see as much as we have in past ultrasounds because she's getting so big! (just like her mama lol) She's gotten too big to get a full profile picture and she kept her hands in front of her head the whole time, so we'll have to wait until we meet her in person so see that beautiful face again.

Also, our crib and glider have arrived!! Unfortunately they are currently sitting boxed up in our garage until we figure out an acceptable standard of carpet cleaning in the nursery. Three rounds of carpet cleaners later and we're still not satisfied. We've still got a couple tricks up our sleeves to try out and then we'll be ready to move in the rest of baby's furniture!

Awkward moment this week: Grocery shopping with Joe, and we're standing in the cereal aisle...
Me: What kind of cereal do you want?
Joe: Anything that you won't eat.
I guess I've been a little hungrier these days and MAY have been sneaking bowls of cereal from his boxes. I'm officially the fat kid in this relationship.

Miss anything? Getting through a whole day at work without my back aching. Baby girl's starting to grow up into my diaphragm and it's becoming a major pain in my ribs. By about 2pm, I turn into a squirming maniac sitting at my desk. Hopefully this is a phase and wont last for the next 10 weeks.

Movement: She's certainly strecthing out a lot in there and I FINALLY caught it on camera!

Fetus Fitness

Pretty crazy right? 

Food cravings: Milkshakes. Big time.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Iron. In my latest round of routine blood tests I found out I've become anemic, a fairly common thing when your blood volume increases a bunch in pregnancy it sort of dilutes your hemoglobin levels which causes anemia. SO I now get the pleasure of drinking the world's nastiest iron supplement on an empty stomach twice a day. Barf-tastic.

Have you started to show yet? Yes and no. Yes my belly shows and no my feet no longer do, when I look down.

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Nothin.

Belly button in or out? I call it an "itty". Starting to poke out, which you can see in some of my tighter shirts (yes, technically all shirts are now tight on me, thanks) but it's not a full outtie in my opinion. 

Cankle Watch 2013: I think I still have ankles, but due to my limited visibility, it might just be one of those "if a tree falls in a forest" things. If I have cankles but can't see them below my ginormous belly, do I really have cankles?

Wedding rings on or off? On and not getting any looser.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, but I'd be happier with less back/rib pain and a little more sleep. 

Looking forward to: Getting more of the nursery moved in!