Schools out for summer!

Yesterday was a pretty big day for our family. It was my last day of work before summer vacation! As of 2:30pm yesterday, I'm free! Well, kinda. I have to prepare 2-3 weeks of lesson plans for the beginning of the school year for my long-term substitute and I have to go into school in a week or two and let the custodians know how I would like my classroom to be set up. I'm hoping that my principal will let me know who my substitute will be so I can connect with them and discuss rules and procedures that will work for both of us.

In bigger news, Bill put in his two week notice yesterday with his current employer. We decided that this opportunity is too good to pass up. One great thing that happened, is that they told Bill they would be hiring another driver in November at which time he'd be able to go down to working 4 days a week. When he was speaking with the hiring director, they told him they decided to hire someone else now instead of waiting until November and he would have the option of working 4 or 5 days right off the bat. Bill told them that if they want him to work 5 days he would but would prefer to work 4 days. They agreed that it would be best for him to start at 4 and if he wanted to move to 5 days, he could.

He also spoke with them about me being pregnant and they told him not to worry about it. They would work something out even though he doesn't have any paid time off yet, which made me feel better.

Now some more fun news, Monday was my 27th birthday! Bill got me an iPhone earlier this month and I'm so happy with it. He also surprised me on my birthday with a promise to go shopping this weekend for baby clothes. We really haven't bought much for the baby because we're waiting to see what we get as gifts for the showers but he knows that I'm itching to get some things. We're going to go and pick out some fun stuff just from us :) My parents took us out to dinner to one of my favorite restaurants, The Coppertop Tavern (if you're ever in Syracuse, their Avocado Eggrolls are to die for!) and we had birthday cake back at their house. My Granma, parents, and sister went in on a video camera for me! I got the Canon Vixia HF R200 and I'm so excited to document our little boy's firsts!
So here we are. I'm home today and being very lazy, I feel like I can do that since it's my first day of vacation! Big changes are coming our way. Time to hold on tight!

Weekly Check-In (32 weeks)

How far along? 32 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: Up 27 total (eek)
Maternity clothes? Yup, although I'm having a hard time finding nice maternity dresses for my shower and for my mother-in-law's wedding so I ordered a non-maternity one from Macy's and I'm hoping it fits. I found another one that might work from JCPenney but they have been out of the biggest size all weekend. I also ordered this one from JCPenney and I think this one might really work. I tried it on in a size smaller than I wore pre-pregnancy (all they had in the store) and it was a little tight, I think my pre-pregnancy size might work!
Sleep? Sleep is starting to get a bit more challenging. Rolling over is a huge chore. Poor Bill, I now sleep with my Snoogle and 3 pillows. He says it doesn't bother him but I know he isn't used to getting so little of our bed.
Best moment this past week? Let's see, we had my work shower and got an unbelievable amount of gifts! Tons of clothes, the Boppy and a cover, the monitor, and tons of gift cards. We also finally got the furniture into the baby room! I feel so much better now that this is taken care of!
Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? Well, the top sticks out all of the time and by the end of the night it's pretty squishy.
Movement: Lots and lots! He's getting so strong! He had the hiccups yesterday afternoon then again at about 1am.
What I miss? Being able to get off the couch and out of bed without it taking tons of effort.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Finishing up the school year. Just have to get through tomorrow and I'm officially on summer break!
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a strengthening immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week survive!"
Labor Signs: None this week.
Photo: coming soon

Update to Being Selfish Post

I didn't end up going out today. My cousin emailed all of us and said they would be doing a big petition signing blitz on Thursday so we could turn in the petitions then. I called my mom and spilled my feelings to her. She reassured me that I wasn't being ridiculous and that if I didn't want to do it, I shouldn't. She said she would talk to my dad and they would take care of getting me out of it. I still feel like I'm being slightly childish but if someone else can get me out of doing this, I'm okay with it. I'll be at the fundraiser on Tuesday and I'll sign up for lots of other ways to help, I'm just not comfortable going door to door. I think that as a niece, that is more than enough. I will not feel selfish or bad about it anymore.

I'm going to be selfish for a minute

My uncle Bob is running for District Councilor this year. He's a great man who I support 100%. Since he announced that he is running, I have stuffed and addressed envelopes and volunteered to work a major fundraising event on Tuesday. As the summer goes on, I'm sure there will be plenty of other opportunities to help him out. The one thing I didn't want to do though, is go door to door to collect signatures for the ballot petition. I really don't want to do it. I get anxiety just thinking about it. So when his campaign manager (my cousin) asked for volunteers, I didn't sign up. I didn't feel guilty because I have signed up for literally everything else.

Well, Bob didn't know who signed up and who didn't and asked my dad if he thought I'd go door to door and my dad said yes. Bob showed up at my door on Thursday and said, "I heard you'd be willing to get petitions signed for me, thanks. Here are your petitions and addresses." I didn't know what to do or say. He gave me my street so at least it's close to home and a good neighborhood but I REALLY don't want to do it.

I haven't gone out yet because I didn't feel good on Friday and it rained all day today. I have until Tuesday to do it and I'm kinda freaking out. I can't do it Monday because it's my birthday and we have dinner plans and they are due Tuesday. That means I have to do it tomorrow and I'm really dreading it. To the point where I'm working myself up and crying as I type this. I feel like a baby. I feel like I should just suck it up and do it. I feel like I can't back out now. I just really don't want to do it.

Man, I am really miserable today.

Ch-ch-changes

This past week was extremely eventful. Tuesday was my work baby shower and I was overwhelmed by the amount of extremely generous gifts we received. My coworkers are amazing.

Besides the shower, I also had tons of end of the year paperwork to do and I also had to completely pack my classroom. I had to literally go through everything and put it all into two piles, one of things that stay with the classroom and one of things that belong to me and need to be moved to my new room. It was very time consuming and hard to do. I didn't want to pick up anything too heavy and hurt myself so once I got boxes packed, I'd basically shove them to the correct side of the room. It took much longer than it would have if I wasn't pregnant but it all was accomplished, whew!

Then, Thursday was our last birthing class. We talked about what to expect after giving birth and went on the tour of Labor and Delivery. It was very helpful to see everything and to be prepared for what our stay will be like in just a few weeks but it was also a bit scary knowing that sometime in the next 9 weeks, I'll be giving birth there (my doctor doesn't really go much longer than 41 weeks).

On top of the stress of packing up my room and finishing birthing classes, Bill got a call Thursday evening that may change a lot of things for us. Last year around this time, he applied for a driving position with another company. Neither of us have been all that happy with his current employer and when the opening was posted at this other company, Bill applied immediately. We have a friend who drives for this company and he put in a good word for Bill. He ended up interviewing and it came down to being between him and another guy and they offered the position to this other guy because he had slightly more experience but promised Bill that if they had any other openings, they would be calling him back.

Well, the guy they hired last year put in his two week notice this week and the supervisor who is in charge of hiring called our friend to see if Bill would still be interested. He said to have Bill update his application on their website and they would call him early next week.

It's a huge decision, one that we basically discussed from the moment Bill got the call on Thursday until we went to bed last night. Currently, Bill works five days a week with Sundays and Tuesdays off. He goes in at around 6am and is usually home between 5:30-6:30pm depending on the day. He works a lot of hours but does get paid pretty well for it. He gets no sick time (which drives me nuts) and 2 weeks of vacation time. This new job would be 5 days a week but with weekends off (would be amazing). He'd go in around 3am and work between 12 and 14 hours a day. He would get sick time and 2 weeks of vacation. At first, he'd be training and not making as much as he makes now but once training was over, he'd be making significantly more than his current salary. They also said that in November, they are hoping to hire another driver and everyone would go down to 4 days a week. Even at 4 days a week, Bill would be making more than he makes now.

Sounds pretty good huh? Here are my concerns. We are having a baby (in case you didn't know that by now) and the thought of another big change at the same time is scary. Also, if Bill is working until about 4 or 5 then needing to get up at 2am, he's going to be getting home and going to bed pretty quickly. He won't be able to help out with the baby at all on the days he works. It will be all me. We're really fortunate in that our families are here and I know I can rely on them for help but I worry about Bill being able to bond with our son.

Another concern I have is that this is a far more physical job than the one he has now. He now has between 2 and 4 stops a day where he pulls his pallets of merchandise straight off of his trailer onto the dock, this new position would mean running ramps at around 15-20 stops per day. He's in pretty good shape now but I worry about how long his body will be able to do this job. He turns 30 this year and while that certainly isn't old, his body will begin to slow down at some point.

We really discussed everything and he's going to talk with his dad (who is in the same industry) about the opportunity but I think the pros out weight the cons. The only major con is that I'll be taking care of the baby on my own. I'm pretty positive that Bill bonding with our child isn't going to be a problem, even if he only sees the baby for a couple of hours a day at first. He is so excited that I'm sure as soon as he walks through the door, he'll be making a bee-line for our son.

I don't know, I'm very emotional about the whole thing and a big part of me really wishes that we didn't have to think about this right now. I wish that the offer would come after we had the baby but there must be a reason for it to be happening now. Maybe it will be easier if Bill takes it now and gets through training before the baby is here. I'm sure it's going to be a huge adjustment for him and it will probably be easier to do now when he can go to sleep whenever he needs to and not be interrupted at all. It's probably for the best.

Last night I went to sleep around 10:30 and slept until 10:30 this morning. I don't know if it was just making up for all that has gone on this week or if I'm starting to slow down. I've been far less comfortable this week. I feel really big and it's really getting difficult to get out of bed and off the couch. There is so much left to be done that I can't really afford to slow down this soon. Luckily, I only have 2 days of work left (Mon and Tues are workshop days) then I'm off for the summer. I'll be able to get it all done once I'm home all day.

Weekly Check-In (31 weeks)

How far along? 31 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: Up 26 pounds total
Maternity clothes? Yup, I even broke down and bought new sweat shorts and they are way more comfortable.
Sleep? I'm still sleeping great! I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom but I'm able to go right back to sleep.
Best moment this past week? Getting and iPhone for an early birthday present from Bill! Also finally getting the baby room painted! It's been so hot and humid here that the paint would never dry if we tried to paint it. Yesterday was perfect so we did the second coat of wall paint and the first coat of trim. Today is supposed to be comfortable again so we'll do the second coat of trim and hopefully get the furniture in since my work shower is tomorrow! Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? In, but it's looking very little.
Movement: Lots and lots! He's getting so strong!
What I miss? Being able to get off the couch without it taking tons of effort.
What I'm looking forward to this week: It's the last week of school with my students. By the end of this week my classroom will be completely packed and ready to move to my new room. Then I just have to work next Monday and Tuesday to make up for the number of snow days we had this year and the school year is over! Also, my work shower is tomorrow :)
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "This week, your amazing growing baby is around 3 pounds and 17 inches tall. With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's wrinkly raisin skin starts to look more and more like it will when they're born."
Labor Signs: None this week.
Photo:

Body Image

Before I got pregnant, I wasn't totally happy with my body. I'm tall and have a large frame but I also eat what I want and had a few pounds to lose. When I got pregnant I really tried to keep myself under control and not just eat whatever I wanted. I've done fairly well with this so far and have gained about 25 pounds which isn't great but I'm not totally unhappy with it. I'll probably end up gaining the top of the 25-35 pounds my doctor suggested. That being said, I love my belly. It's big and covered with stretch marks but it reassures me that our baby is growing and hopefully thriving.

I haven't felt bad about my pregnant body until today. I went to Target for a couple of things and decided to try on dresses to get an idea of what I like since I'll need something to wear to my shower and my mother in law's wedding. I found two sleeveless tops that I like but noticed that my arms have gotten bigger. The dresses I tried on just weren't flattering. Then I went to Motherhood to find new bras. I knew I need to be fitted because the ones I've been wearing are very uncomfortable. I wasn't prepared for the size though. 40F. 40F?!?!?! WTF!?!?! Of course they only carry underwire free in that size and they just don't make me feel supported.

So I found one bra that came in a 40E and it fit well enough to get for now. It's more comfortable than what I have been wearing so I got it to hold me over until I can get a bra that actually fits.

Then I tried on dresses. What a disaster. I felt like they all highlighted my arms or just made me look very wide. The shorter style dresses were all above my knees which just didn't flatter me. There was one full length dress that looked ok but it was really casual. I have time since my shower isn't until July 17, but it made me a big nervous that I didn't find anything that I liked and was appropriate. It's mostly worrisome because there are very few places around here to get maternity clothes. It's basically Target, Motherhood, JCPenney, or Kohls and I've looked everywhere except for Kohls so far.

Alright, enough complaining. I'm gonna go cuddle with my puppy dog and my husband.

Becoming real

Today is June 17. My due date is August 17. Yikes! We had better get our butts in gear here!

We had our third birthing class last night and it was incredibly informative but it definitely made things feel a bit more real. The fourth and last class next week is basically just a tour of L&D. After that I'm supposed to know how to give birth and if I'm being honest, I don't have a clue! I don't know what to expect at all. I think the scare we had last weekend has really got me realizing that this could happen at any moment. Hopefully our little one stays put until he's full term but he could potentially come at any point. Yikes!

Countdown

Days left with kids: 4
Days left for me: 10
Days until my work shower: 6
Days until my family shower: 32
Days until my mother in-law's wedding: 45
Days until my due date: 63

Registry and Baby Shower

Back about a month ago, my sister offered to throw a baby shower for me and I was greatly appreciative. She mentioned the idea to my mom and my mom told her it wasn't necessary, that my aunts had offered to throw it and to leave it up to them. 3 weeks later, I hadn't heard a word about a shower from any of my aunts and was starting to feel very anxious. If there wasn't going to be a shower, I wanted to start buying things that we need when they were on sale and when we had coupons. Finally, last weekend, my sister called my mom and told her that the aunts were taking too long and that she was going to organize the shower. If any of them wanted to help her, great. If not, she'd handle it all. My mom agreed with her and offered up her house as the venue.

Cue a big sigh of relief from me! My sister has jumped right into the planning process and the shower will be held July 17. She even offered to invite all of Bill's family and have one large shower since my mother in law had also offered me a shower but hasn't said a word about it since. In her defense, she is getting married July 30 and is kind of overwhelmed with all of the planning that goes along with that.

I also have a work shower being planned by my co-teacher on June 21. I'm so lucky to work with such generous people since this will be my second shower in one school year! They threw me a shower back in October for our wedding but insisted that it wasn't a problem to have 2 in one year.

Bill and I registered a few weeks ago and I've been slightly obsessed with checking the registry to make sure everything is still available and to see if we are missing anything. I got into an awful habit of stalking our registries when we got married and definitely ruined a few surprises (did you know that JCPenney not only tells you what has been purchased but also who bought it?) so I promised myself that once things started to be purchased from the baby registries, I'd stop looking. That wasn't a problem until this morning. I checked the registries this morning and our travel system was purchased! I don't know who bought it so that will still be a surprise but that means that I can't look at the registries anymore! Bummer. Let's see if I can keep my promise to myself!

Weekly Check-In (30 weeks)

How far along? 30 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: Don't know, forgot to weight myself this morning.
Maternity clothes? Yup, everything but sweats and the big t-shirts I sleep in.
Sleep? I'm still sleeping great! I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom but I'm able to go right back to sleep.
Best moment this past week? My friend Melissa's wedding :) And finding out that I'll be looping with my class next year!
Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? In, but it's looking very little.
Movement: Lots and lots! He's getting so strong!
What I miss? Not being scared of every little, abnormal thing. Since the scare on Saturday, I'm very jumpy.
What I'm looking forward to this week: Keeping this baby cooking!
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "In terms of numbers, your big ol' baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long!"
Labor Signs: None this week.

First Labor Scare

One of my very favorite people in the whole world got married this weekend!
Melissa was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I was asked to be one in her wedding! The festivities began on Friday when I left work, picked up her friend and officiant from the bus station, picked up her wedding dress (huge responsibility!), and drove an hour to the venue. We did a quick rehearsal and enjoyed a delicious dinner with all of the guests who had arrived at that point. Bill got in later that evening since he had to work on Friday until around 6.

Saturday morning Bill and I got up and had breakfast together then I went to the salon with Melissa and the other bridesmaids to get our hair done and to spend some time together. I left around 1:45 to get dressed for the ceremony and to bring the officiant from the hotel to the venue. While I was getting ready, I suddenly felt fluid leaking into my underwear. I FREAKED out but luckily my incredibly supportive and calming husband was able to get me under control and I called my doctor. They told me to come back home to the hospital to get checked out. I was so nervous.

We checked out of the hotel and sped back to Syracuse. Melissa was concerned and told me to just take care of myself and the baby. When we got to the hospital, they got me right in and hooked up to the monitors. It was such a relief to hear the baby's heart beating away steadily. My doctor happened to be the one at the hospital so he checked me out and tested the fluid. It turned out that it wasn't amniotic fluid, THANK GOD!!! They think it was probably just a big rush of mucus but not necessarily my mucus plug so they released me less than an hour after I got there.

We quickly got dressed and decided to go back for the wedding. We missed the ceremony, which I'm still pretty upset about, but made it back in time for dinner. I'm so happy that I wasn't really in labor and the baby is staying put for a while longer. Melissa was so relieved that everything was okay and happy to see us back at the wedding. I'm super sad that I missed her ceremony but I'm glad we got everything checked out.

Stay put little guy!

News and heat

Today it reached a record 97 degrees in Syracuse. This is just crazy for us. We usually get a few days a year in the 90s but 97 is hot especially because our schools are not air conditioned. My classroom was an oven today. Luckily, it was a half day for the kids so by the time it got really hot they were gone and we had a meeting in the cafeteria which, thankfully, IS air conditioned. I don't like heat like this at all. I just melt in it. I'm pretty exhausted now from it and am planning to go to bed as soon as I'm done with this post.

So on to the news portion of this post. I found out today that I will be looping to second grade with my class next year! I love my class this year, challenges and all. I'd really like to keep working with them next year, they have come so far and I'd love to keep going with them. It also works out really well for coming back from maternity leave. I'll have to miss the first month or two of school next year which is a very crucial time for working with a new class. It will still be an adjustment for me and them when I do come back but if I already know the kids and they know me, the transition will be much smoother. I'm so excited!

Weekly Check-In (29 weeks)

How far along? 29 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss: +22 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yup, everything but sweats and the big t-shirts I sleep in.
Sleep? I'm still sleeping great! I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom but I'm able to go right back to sleep.
Best moment this past week? Receiving a care package from Lauren! Also starting childbirth classes, I feel really good about the classes prepping us for labor.
Sex: We're having a boy!
Belly button in or out? In, but it's looking very little.
Movement: Lots and lots! He's getting so strong!
What I miss? Wine slushies. You can only really get them at festivals and this past weekend was the first big festival of the summer. They are so delicious and I want one!
What I'm looking forward to this week: Getting the second coat of paint on the baby room walls and getting the furniture moved in. In non-baby news, one of my very best friends is getting married next weekend and I'm a bridesmaid! I can't wait for her big day. In work-related news, I should find out what grade level I'll be teaching next year. Fingers are crossed that I either loop up to second grade with my current class or that I get to stay in first grade!
Milestones: From babygaga.com, "In addition to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight."
Labor Signs: None this week.
Picture: (it's the same one as below, I'm lazy...sorry!)

New look

I got my hair cut and dyed back to my natural hair color (which I haven't seen in years) today. I'm liking it and Bill is LOVING it ;)

My Husband

I just wanted to put this up so I don't ever forget.

I'm currently battling a cold which is annoying but bearable although I woke up a lot last night to blow my nose and to get comfortable. When I was moving around, twice Bill rolled over too, rubbed my belly and went back to sleep. I don't think he was ever really awake when he did it and I can't wait to mention it to him when he gets home from work tonight!

Name

WE HAVE A NAME!!!

I'm so relieved.

Play by play from my 3 hour GTT

8:40 am. I just arrived at the doctor’s office. I’m hungry and grumpy because I have a hard time waking up until I’ve eaten breakfast.

8:50 am. Was taken back and had my blood drawn at the fasting level. I’m so happy the woman who draws the blood is gentle and kind. After having my blood drawn I was given the orange Glucola to drink. I actually think the red drink from the 1 hour tasted better. I was given a timer so I know when to head back for the next draw. Now it’s time to get some feeder cards (for work) done!

9:25 am. My stomach is killing me. I feel like the Glucola is just sitting like a brick in my stomach. It makes me want to vomit to get rid of it. I wish I was in an exam room instead of the waiting room so I could go to sleep.

9:55 am. Second blood draw went fine. I’m so sick feeling.

10:15 am. Thank God the nausea went away but now I’m exhausted. I really want to take a nap. All my feeder cards are done and I don’t feel like reading the book I brought or writing my lesson plans. I’m just miserable.

10:30 am. I’m setting the alarm on my phone and trying to sleep for 20 minutes.

10:55 am. The nap did not happen but the third blood draw is done and now I just have to get through one more hour.

11:30 am. I’ve been reading a Jen Lancaster book, My Fair Lazy. It’s pretty entertaining and is making the time go by pretty quickly. I’m still really tired but the nausea is completely gone and now I’m just hungry.

11:50 am. 5 more minutes! Just 5 more and I get to go eat the peanut butter sandwich that is waiting for my in my car!

12:25 pm I made it! They said they’ll have the results by tomorrow but that no news is good news (I hate that, just let me know one way or the other). I’m home now and stuffing my face with protein. I’m soooooooooo hungry!