Bottle Service

As you probably have guessed from looking at this picture, we have lots of different bottles. Cora is an amazing baby, I have to brag a little...but this girl just does not know what to do with a bottle. Consequently I have collected all these bottles, one by one, in the hopes that I might pop one into her mouth and she will magically start drinking from it. I am looking for the magic bottle. I'm not sure who to blame for this but I was never told that a baby doesnt automatically take a bottle. Some babies do, no doubt, but a lot of babies just cant figure out how to latch on. Cora knows the difference between a boob and a plastic thing trying to take its place. She will sip from the bottle and play with it in her mouth and appear to be pretty interested, but the magic never happens. In the meantime the clock is ticking and I will be going back to work in three weeks and I dont know how she will react with me away from her for 4-5 hours at a time and not being able to eat when she wants. I am a little more worried about Aaron because she will be with him until noon when he will pass her off to me and go to work. He is nervous about not being able to console her like I can. Nine times out of ten a boob in her mouth solves everything. (babies are just like men). All I can do is keep trying and pray that she eventually latches to one of them.
Meanwhile, Cora has gained over 4 lbs since she was born and now looks like she is storing nuts in her cheeks. It is so weird how she looks like a perfect mix of Aaron and I. Sometimes she looks exactly like him and sometimes I see myself in her. I am more than a little bias when I say she is crazy cute. She is always so smiley, especially when she first wakes up and sees a boob coming at her. I think all men would agree with Cora that bottle service isnt as good as a boob in your mouth.

Toots Like A Dude

 

I cant believe it has already been 7 weeks since Cora came into our lives. On one hand it seems like it hasn't been that long but on the other hand it seems like we have known her forever. She now stares into our eyes and it is such an amazing feeling...plus its fun to have someone to have a staring contest with. the last time she was weighed two weeks ago she weighed 8 lbs and 4 oz, which puts her into the 17th percentile range, meaning that 83% of babies her age are bigger than her. She is, what my mother calls, wee folk; or as I like to call her, pocket baby. She cries when she's really tired, pees about twenty times a day, and farts like a teenage boy. She isn't laughing at her farts yet, but she is smiling. She smiles when we kiss her on the mouth. She will open her mouth and let the kiss echo inside and then she smiles really big and opens her mouth again wanting another. We have been trying to get her to take a bottle to prepare her to take one while I am at work. I had no idea how hard it is to try to get a breastfed baby to take a bottle. It seems like we have tried every trick in the book and she doesn't have it down. I go to a mommy meeting once a week and everyone in the class is having the same problem, so at least I know this is normal. I'm not gonna lie though, I really want her to take a bottle so mommy can have a good margarita...or two.

Because Aaron is out of school this summer and isn't as busy, the three of us get to spend a lot of time together, which is so awesome. We try to go for a walk in the morning before he goes to work and then a shorter one with Cora in her Baby Bjorn in the evenings. She loves to look up at the sky and the tops of the Redwood trees. She usually has a very serious look on her face, so who knows what she is contemplating. Despite her serious faces though, she is a very sweet girl who loves to drink milk, sleep on chests and toot like a dude.

 

 

the pinky wave

 

 

 

simply precious

 

 

twinsies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Peanut is Born

I know its been over a month since my last post, and wow, what a difference a month makes! Since my last post we have settled in our new house, had an amazing baby shower and then...had an amazing baby! Here she is folks...Cora "the peanut" Newsom.

I dont even know where to begin to describe how much I love her. She is an absolute angel. Ok, so here is a timeline of the day Cora was born, Friday May 20th....

2:00 am- Woke up with mild contractions and started timing them. They were about 3-4 minutes apart and were lasting about 30-45 seconds.

3:00 am- Contractions were still consistant so I decided to wake up Aaron. I did not want to wake him up unless I was for sure it was real. Once I woke him up he was like a tazmanian devil making sure everything was ready...car seat installed, cats fed, bags packed, yada yada.

4:00 am- Contractions were 2:30-3 min apart and lasting a minute long. Aaron called the hospital and they told him we could come in any time. We decided to wait one more hour just to make sure. I did not want to get to the hospital and be sent home.

5:00 am- Left for the hospital. I had to tell Aaron about 500 times to slow down. "She's not going to come out in the car, I promise!!!"

5:30 am- Arrived to the hospital and was given a hideous gown to put on and assigned to a bed in what looked like a large closet with a bed. I was told that the night before was a full moon which mean that all the rooms were currently full.

6:30 am- Contractions were now about 1:30 min apart and much stronger but I was only dialated to 2cm. I was given some equally hideous socks to match my gown and was told to walk around for a while. I was a little nervous about this considering my water hadnt broken yet and the halls were carpeted...but I did what I was told.

8:00 am- I had transitioned into what they call hard labor. Contractions were only a minute apart and I was ready to murder anyone brave enough to deny me drugs. Of course, I hadn't dialated any more than I was when I came in, so I was denied drugs. It was a scene out of a movie. I was cursing mother nature, screaming "ooooh God, ooooh God" and telling my husband not to touch me or talk to me. The nurse suggested I get into the jacuzzi tub to see if it would ease the pain.

8:30-10:30 am- I transferred into a dark room with a huge jacuzzi tub with candles lit all around. It would have been really relaxing and romantic had I not felt like I was being sawed in half. Aaron put on some reggae music on his iphone and sat in a chair next to the tub. At first the jets on my back really helped when the contractions came but by the end of 2 hours I was screaming bloody murder again and insisted they check me to see if I was dialated enough for an epidural. In order to do that I had to get out of the tub, dry myself off and walk back to my room, all while having the worst contractions ever...not easy!

10:30-11:30am- The nurse checked me and I was about 4cm, just enough to finally get something for the pain. At this point my contractions were right on top of each other and I wasnt feeling any relief in between them. Because of this, they had to give me some pain meds through an IV just for me to be able to sit still through the contractions in order to get an epidural. I had a nurse on one side putting in an IV and a nurse on the other side drawing blood, all while screaming more and trying to sit still. I kept telling myself drugs are coming, drugs are coming, drugs are coming. Before I knew it I was feeling less pain and a little goofy and wanted to kiss everyone in the room on the lips. The anesthesiologist came in within a few minutes and started to explain to me what he was about to do. I didnt give a rat's arse what he was going to do as long as it ended with me being numb from the waist down. He did his thing and within 15 minutes I was in my happy place. I had been waiting for that epidural for 9 long months.

11:30-3:00pm- I was finally moved into a regular room (thank God, who wants to deliver a baby in a closet?). The next few hours flew by since I no longer had any pain. Aaron and I watched TV and played crossword on my iphone. It wasnt long before I was feeling some like I needed to push, but nobody had checked my progress for a while and I wasn't feeling any pain so I let it go for a while. At 3:00pm my midwife finally came in with the intention to break my water to get things progressing, but when she checked me I was fully dialated and ready to go. Within 5 minutes there were several nurses in the room and I was pushing. I didnt even get a chance to call my mom and tell her it was happening.

3:15-3:55pm- Ouuuuucccchhhhh!!!!!!!!

3:55pm- The little peanut finally came out and was placed on my stomach for maybe 5 seconds before she was wisked away from me because she wasn't crying. A few nurses crowded around her while rubbing her with a blanket and trying to get her to cry...but nothing. The next hour was the scariest of my life. They took her to the nursery where some doctors and a specialist did a chest xray and tried to figure out why she wasn't taking any breaths. Thankfully I was mostly in shock which kept me from freaking out too much and I had amazing nurses that would come back into my room every couple of minutes to tell me everything was going to be ok.

5:00pm- Cora was finally stable and breathing on her own and they rolled me into the nursery in a wheelchair so I could finally see her. Other than being hooked up to an IV, she looked perfectly healthy and happy and was looking around like nothing had happened. They finally told me that she weighed 6 lbs and 2 oz and was 19 inches long. The nurses were already in love with her and had nicknamed her "the peanut". They kept her in the nursery for observation for a couple of hours and then brought her to us all bundled up and she hasn't left my side since.

Aaron and I feel like the luckiest people in the world to be blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. She is our little sugar coated peanut.

You thought I was exaggerating..

Ok you guys, check out this pic of me at 34 weeks. I have a feeling a lot of you thought I was exaggerating when I would say things like "I need a wheelchair" or "I feel like the obese mother on What's Eating Gilbert Grape"...but do you now see what I'm talking about? I look like an ostrich. I have no idea how these legs hold up this body. I am borderline handicapped...you get the point. I went to my midwife appointment last Thursday, which is now every 2 weeks, and she told me that my belly measures full term. I still have 6 weeks left! And of course, I have a feeling she will be late, just for extra torture. I dont know though, because baby girl seems to be just as uncomfortable as I am. She is constantly moving around trying to find a better position, as am I. I'm not comfortable standing, sitting or lying down. I wish I could just hover weightlessly in the air somehow.
Well, we moved into our new house last weekend...finally! I cant believe how much nicer our new house is than our last. It has every amenity that our old house did not have, and then some. We have an amazing outdoor hot tub that unfortunately I wont be able to use for a while. I've come too far to overcook this baby now. I have been able to enjoy our bathtub, however. I will post pics next time. Right now it is not Kodak ready. I want to get everything organized first. As far as the nursery, we are going to paint it this weekend and get to gettin' on it. Both Aaron and I have hit the stage of nervousness that she is going to be here before we know it. However, I have made it totally clear to baby girl that she is not allowed to come out before my baby shower or during the weekend my mom gets married. I would hate to have to ground her right out the womb! Oh and another happy thing is that I decided to take off work 3 weeks before her due date. The state of California pays maternity leave starting 4 weeks before your due date and then 12-16 weeks after birth depending on if you have a C-section or not. It is covered under disability insurance. I have 4 days to work this week and then 2 weeks that are 3 days each and then I am out of this piece for 4 months! It cant come soon enough.

Oh, also! I am having my maternity photos taken on Friday so hopefully I will have those to share with you soon as well. I am thinking most of them will be belly shots because I do not want to look back at the photos and think "wow, I was one fat mama bear!" 

The Thing Called Love

So here is our lil' lady, monkey, jumping bean, Cor Cor, Cora belle, sugar lips...we have lots of nicknames for her already. Most of you have probably already seen these pictures in the last week considering I have shown them to everyone (including their dog, cat and parakeet). It is one thing to know you have a baby inside, and to even feel her moving. It is a totally different level of realization once you see their precious little face. The more I look at these pictures the more I am convinced she looks like her daddy, which makes him very happy. We had so much fun watching her during her 3D sonogram last week. She yawned a lot and even smiled a few times. She also punched me the entire time with balled up fists and it kept making the sonogram technician laugh. At least I now know it is her little fists punching me instead of her feet kicking, not that it makes it any better. I hope she's not already mad at me. I didnt include a belly shot this week because it has basically remained the same. I am hoping it doesn't get much bigger. I have heard enough "Whoa you are huge" to last me the rest of my life.
So, like I said, seeing Cora's face got me even more excited that she is almost here, but for days I had this new feeling of anxiety that I couldnt put my finger on. I went through all the typical anxieties...am I scared about the birth? No. Am I scared that something will be wrong with her when she comes out? Not really. Finally, after much thought, I was able to figure it out. I am anxious about how much I will love her. I know this sounds nutty (I've never been accused of being normal) but give me a second to explain. I know how much I love her now without even meeting her yet, so I cant even fathom how I will feel once she is here in the world for me to hold and take care of. I know what intense love is already, but this is different. The love I feel for my parents is one example, but that is a love I have always known, there was no beginning. The love I feel for my husband is different also. It intensified as I got to know him. But this love is something that will come the second she is born and will be at the highest intensity right off the bat that I am scared my heart may actually explode. Thank goodness I will already be in the hospital. Anyway, that is how I have been feeling the last couple of weeks and I keep trying to remind myself that I have to take a deep breath, relax and just go with the flow. Man, I am the worst with anticipating things!
I am now 31 weeks pregnant and the Braxton Hicks contractions are in full swing. For those of you who have never been pregnant, BH contractions dont hurt, your stomach just gets really tight for about a minute and then goes back to normal. Its really hard to explain..it just feels "weird". Its just contractions that prepare your body for real contractions once the time is here. As much as I want her to be here ASAP, I really hope she doesn't make her arrival until at least after May 8th. I am flying down to Orange County (dont worry, my midwife said its ok) on April 28th through May 2nd for my baby shower weekend. My sister, her husband and their baby Savannah are flying in from Texas and my cousin Onnolee is coming in from Florida just for the shower, so I will be damned if I miss that! Also, the weekend after that my mom is getting married. Unfortunately I cant go because I will be 37 weeks pregnant by then and she is getting married in Vegas. Vegas is no place for hella preggo chicks. So anytime after that, Cora is more than welcome to show her pretty little face.

Until next time folks...see ya! 

I'm huge...and how are you?

I dont know if you can tell by this pic, but I have gotten even bigger this week (week 29). How am I feeling? Um, uncomfortable as hell! My lastest problem is sleep apnea...which I self diagnosed myself with. I kept my husband up all night last Sunday because he said I was breathing really loudly and then suddenly I would stop breathing and then gasp for air. Apparently this went on all night long and he was one grumpy papa-to-be on Monday morning. So on Monday night I tried wearing these off-brand nose strips that I had bought earlier in my pregnancy. If there is one lesson to learn from today's post it is to NEVER use off-brand nose strips. First off...they dont stay on your nose all night and then the next morning you are left with a layer of glue that only gasoline can remove. I didnt actually remove it with gas...but I figured that since not even rubbing alcohol would take it off, then it was probably only gasoline that would really do the trick. On Tuesday my sister insisted I need to tell my midwife what was going on since lack of oxygen for me meant a lack of oxygen for the baby. I called my midwife who told me that it was "not a pregnancy related problem". I am confused by her logic since in my opinion just the fact that I am pregnant, especially in my 3rd trimester, would mean that any medical problem I am having would be considered pregnancy related...duh. She told me to call my primary doctor and see if I should be referred to a sleep center. I did that...and never got a call back. I took matters into my own hands and went to CVS after work and got some Saline nose spray and some actual Breathe Right strips. I am happy to report that it worked! Aaron said I didnt wake him up not once during the night and I slept the whole night through (besides tossing and turning to get this belly situated). Oh, and not only did the strips stay on all night...there was no leftover glue to piss me off the next morning. Bam!
Anywho, the next thing coming up on our schedule is our 3D sonogram on Sunday. This is the sonogram where we get to see what this little jumping bean looks like! I am so excited. I already know from the first sonogram that she only has one head, so that's a relief. Now I just have to worry about her having a proper nose and lips. The weekend after that I have Breastfeeding class (yay, so fun!). I am just hoping it doesnt involve me having to expose myself. Aaron and I have already gone to 2 out of our 6 birthing classes and I have to admit, they are kinda scary. In last week's visit we saw the infamous birth video, which I have to say, the instructor didnt properly prepare us for. It started with a woman talking about pregnancy and then BAM, all of a sudden we see a close up of her...birthing region....and it was a little jarring. Aaron surprisingly didnt even flinch, while I was busy covering my eyes and going "oooh God!". He says he was happy he saw it, while I actually walked away wishing I hadn't.
Other than that, I have just continued on my quest for the cutest nursery. I forgot to put this in my last post, but I had a wall decal customized to go over Cora's bed. Here is what it will look like (except the wall will be painted a very light lavender).

Also, I am glad I didnt buy the rug in my last post because my sister found one way cuter and thankfully I purchased it right before they sold out. 

And last, but not least, my Dad and his wife Carol are going to get us the crib I want! So excited that everything is coming together. Cant wait until I can show you a pic of the final product.

Until next week...Bye!

Nursery Obessed

So now that I know where we will be living when lil' Cora makes her debut, I am now obsessing about her nursery (even though I still have a whole month before we move into our new house). Immediately after I found out I was having a girl I decided that I wanted the color lavender for the nursery. I started out by picking out the bedding, which I thankfully recieved as a gift from my mother for my birthday. 



I will be painting the room a light lavender color to match the bedding. After deciding on the that, I realized that the nursery needed a "mascot". My mom painted a picture for my sister's baby nursery that was of Alice in Wonderland and she said that for my baby she had chosen to do one of owls. I liked the idea so I decided the owl would be the nursery mascot. Since the bedding I chose did not have a matching mobile, I found this one on etsy.com that I am having customized with the lavendar and green. How freakin' adorable, huh? I love the nest.

My awesome mother is also going to buy me the glider for my nursery (thank God...those things are expensive!) I chose this one from JCPenney. I figured I needed to throw in some green so it didnt look like a grape threw up in the room. Doesn't this chair look comfy?

I know what you're thinking...what about the crib??? Chill out. I am about to show you. I really liked the crib my sister has for her daughter Savannah, so I registered for it on Amazon.com. I really like how feminine it is and the fact that it converts into a toddler bed, a day bed and then a twin bed.

 Of course, if some beautiful soul doesn't come along and purchase this for me as a gift then I am going to get this crib...which is much more affordable for me considering all the other furniture I have to purchase.

There is one thing about our new house that I am not fond of (and quite honestly, dont understand) which is the fact that the baby's room doesn't have a closet. I know, what??? So, because of this I am forced to buy andarmoire to hang her cute lil' clothes in. Thankfully, Ikea had one that wasn't too expensive. I am also going to get this 2-in-1 changing table/dresser. I have a feeling lil' Cora is going to have a lot of clothes, so she will need the space.


Now for the finishing touches. While the baby's room might not have a closet, it does have custom blinds so I dont have to worry about curtains. That should save me a good $100 (who knew cloth could be so expensive). But, my sister, the new sewing queen, is kind enough to be making me a valance so the windows have a little touch of decor. She is going to make them out of an extra pair of the polka dot sheets that go with my bedding. Thanks sis! The bedroom also has wooden floors, so a rug will be needed. I am having a hard time deciding on one for a few reasons. 1) rugs are ridiculously expensive...I mean ridiculous! 2) Its hard to tell if the colors will match when all I have to go on is an internet picture 3) Every time I pick one out that I love, I read the reviews and they are usually bad. This one is currently the front runner, but I am having a hard time pushing the purchase button quite yet. (this is not a full pic of the rug, the border goes all the way around)

So, there ya go. That is what I have picked out so far in my nursery obsession. I am sure once it is all in the room and put together it will look a lot more marvelous. I am just hoping that we get it all done before she comes. But, as my sister put it, its not like Cora's gonna come home and say "what the hell, why isnt my nursery done?"

13 more weeks???? Oy veh...

Ok, so I have finally hit my 3rd trimester! I am very happy about this because it means that if the baby were to be born today that she would most likely survive (although she would be damn early!), but on the down side it means that I still have 13 more weeks to go...which makes my head want to spin right off my neck. Somebody shoot me! Not with a gun...but with a really good tranquilizer gun. Something to knock me out and/or give me a good buzz. Since I am a dwarf (not really, but close enough) it means that my body isnt built to carry much weight and consequently I am having trouble doing anything these days. I am, however, extremely good at eating and laying on my back. This is probably how I have gained the 26 pounds! Yup, I'm up to 26. Remember when I was complaining about 14? Thankfully nobody thinks I am big anywhere but my stomach and my boobs (my husband's nickname for me is currently "big tittay momma"). Its funny because people either think that my belly is huge or tiny...never anywhere in between. Its usually the people who knew me before that say its huge.

Anywho, this past Monday I had my glucose test. The sugar drink wasnt bad, it was the 2 hour wait amongst wierdos that I disliked the most. I had one guy sit next to me who felt the need to tell me his life story...and it wasnt pretty. He had a huge open wound on his face that kept grossing me out. He started the convo with "so, are you 8 or 9 months?" Thankfully our convo was short lived. I found out at my Wednesday midwife appointment that I passed the test with flying colors. No gestational diabetes or anemia. I also found out that the baby is already head down (although she can still go back up and down again before she is born) and that that was what has been causing my crotch pain. Yes, I said crotch pain. It feels like someone kicked me really hard in the pelvic bone.

We also got some other good news this week. Well, I should start off by saying that we didnt get the house I spoke of in the last post, but we found one we liked even better and we got that one! It is completely remodeled and even has a white picket fence (the American dream...right?). It has two bathrooms instead of just the 1 we have currently and one of them includes a nice size bathtub (thank you Jesus). The master bath  has his/her sinks! No more cleaning up my husband's shaved hair! The kitchen is beautiful and even has a separate bar with its on sink. In the back yard there is an unattached guest studio (where my babysitters can stay while I am drinking at said bar) and a gorgeously landscaped backyard. Unfortunately, we dont move in until April 15th which will only give us 6 weeks to get everything in order before the baby comes. We (or I should say...Aaron) has a lot of work to do. I have been busy picking out baby furniture and such and I will leave the actual moving and setting up to Aaron (Haha...I mean, poor baby). We are very excited to have found the perfect place and just in time.

Life is beautiful right now...even with a sore crotch!

Oh man is she pregnant!

Man! You guys must think I am the worst blogger of all time. Another couple of weeks has passed without any new posts and I am sorry. Well, today I am 26 weeks pregnant and feeling more like 36 weeks. In the past couple of weeks I have gone from "oh yeah, she is pregnant" to "oh man is she pregnant!". For example, last Monday, the guy who delivers water to our office on a monthly basis came in and as he passed my desk he stops abruptly and says "oh no....". He was referring to the size of my belly and the pity on his face made me realize I am now that girl. I am the girl who you look at and say to yourself "either she is having twins or she is about to pop". Wrong! I still have 3 whole months left people! Lord help me. I was absolutely miserable last week because I had had a growth spurt but my stomach skin hadn't caught up and it felt so tight that if I had sneezed, I was convinced my stomach would bust like a balloon. I'm no expert, but I am pretty sure that is not what is supposed to happen. I am also at the stage where everyone wants to rub my belly. In the middle of me explaining something to my boss last week he interrupts me and says "can I just....?" and hints that he wanted to touch it. I said "go for it". He proceeded to rub my belly and then tells me to go on with what I was saying. I also had a complete stranger come right up to me and ask me how far along I am while giving me a full on belly rub. The creepy part of all of this....I actually like it. I am weird like that.

Anyway, a lot of people have asked me lately if I have started on my nursery. Sadly, I haven't. My husband and I are actually looking for a new house because we recently came to the decision that the current one we have just wont do. It doesn't have a bathtub for crying out loud! So, this past weekend we looked at many houses and even fell in love with one. We will find out this week if it is ours or not. It is not only bigger and has a bathtub, but it also has lots of space and even a garden and a chicken coup! Oh, and the master bedroom has TWO walk-in closets. Hells to the yeah! Hopefully we will get it and be able to move in in the next few weeks and start on the baby's room! 

Meanwhile, my skin has caught up with my growth and I am feeling better (for now), but still feeling like a beached whale. Little Cora has been extremely active and even kicked for 14 hours straight a few days ago. I have no idea what she could possibly have been doing in there all day but she had both her arms and legs going at the same time. I think we have a dancer on our hands. Of course, anytime I tell someone to put their hand on my stomach to feel her she stops. She is like her mother...doesn't like to perform under pressure.

I am sure most of you have seen this belly picture on facebook lately, but I will post it anyway :) Next week I will be considered in my third trimester and am very thankful for that :)

What yo name be?

Dang, its been a while huh? I’m sorry. I will make it up to you later on in the conversation. Let’s see. What has been going on for the past three weeks since we last spoke? Well, on January 14^th we had our 20 week sonogram where the doctor thankfully confirmed that the baby is still a girl. I was hoping that in the 3 weeks since our last sonogram that she hadn’t grown a ….you know.  This sonogram was so much for fun than the last ones we have had because the doctor spent a lot of time measuring and checking all sorts of stuff and in the meantime we got to watch her bounce around in her bubble. I imagine the womb is a lot like one of those huge blow up jumpie things that people rent for their kid’s birthdays. But a little bit more on the weightless NASA level. 

Here are a couple pics from the sonogram

Around the same day as the sonogram I started to feel baby girl kicking a lot. It felt really weird going from little flutter bubbles like I felt in the beginning to now feeling full on kicks. I was even able to feel her kick by pushing gently on my lower stomach with my hand.  Since then she has been a little crazy where’s the partay girl. I have to tell you though. It is the best feeling in the world. You know they are alive and kickin’ and it makes their impending arrival feel even more real (and close!)

Anyway, today I actually want to talk about names. I’ve always planned on naming my child something that would keep her as individual as possible, but without going overboard. I have never understood when people give their baby a name that is one of the most popular names out there at the time. For example, since the whole Twilight fiasco, the names Bella, Edward and Jacob have been among the most popular baby names. For real people? Can you think of something a little less trendy and, oh I don’t know, less vampire-saga-ish? In about 5 years those kids will be in their Kindergarten class with a whole bunch of kids with the same name….because of a popular book. Dumb, I say!

Then there are those people who go a little too far with wanting their kids to have unusual names. The best example I can think of is a boy that was the son of one of my mother’s students years ago when she taught nursing. The kid’s name was Shithead…I kid you not. It was pronounced She-the-id, but, um, hello it is spelled Shit Head! What was she thinking???

I like to think the name we chose for our baby is somewhere in the middle of Bella and Shithead. But before I reveal it, I want to touch on one more irksome thing that people do. Take it as more of a warning than a rant. I cannot freakin’ stand it when someone (whether it be me or anyone else having a baby) tells another person the name they have chosen for their baby and that person says they don’t like the name. That is the rudest thing ever and if you are guilty of doing that, STOP! If someone tells me they don’t like the name I chose for my child, they will likely get a broken nose (since tasers are illegal).

Ok, so are you ready? The name we chose for our baby girl is inspired by two people. My sister Cori and my grandmother Jean. Her name is going to be….

Cora Jean Newsom

Keepin' it Real

I have officially hit that point in pregnancy where strangers no longer have to ask themselves is she pregnant?  For instance, the janitor at my office building whom I see and say good morning to everyday (who is also extremely shy) said to me last week without hesitation, So, how is the baby coming along? That is when I knew for sure I had hit rolly polly status. It was on Tuesday after having four days off for the New Year and I had had a feeling that morning that I had hit a growth spurt. My normally comfortable stretchy black pants were feeling slightly too snug and when my boss saw me the same morning he also commented with, Wow, you are getting big!

I am trying not to be one of those women who acts like its some huge surprise that I am bigger now that I am with child.  I mean, Duh! At my first prenatal appointment my midwife told me that I should gain about 30 pounds. That number didn’t seem too scary at the time since by then I had only gained one lonesome pound. It wasn’t until Wednesday of last week that the reality of the weight gain set in. I had my monthly midwife appointment and when I got on the scale it said that I had gained 14 pounds in all. The month before I had only gained 7 lbs, but now I was into double digits and that was a little bit of a shock. (Denial is a wicked wicked beast). So when I got home that night I did what every normal girl does…I stripped down to my underwear, got out my makeup mirror and checked out my butt in the mirror. It had a couple more dimples than normal, but I didn’t gag as I imagined I would. Of course, my husband walked in (he has a sixth sense about when I have my clothes off) and asked me what I was doing. I told him about how much weight I had gained, and like the sweet husband that he is, he sat me down and convinced me that it was all belly (and boobs, he added) and that I shouldn’t worry about the weight gain because he wants the baby to come out big and fat. Every day since then he has told me about twenty times a day how sexy I am (luckily I am a sucker for overkill).

I felt much better after this…that is, until the next day when I discovered the swimsuit catalogue for Victoria Secret in my mailbox. I flipped through the first couple of pages before realizing I wasn’t emotionally prepared to see those skinny stick figures modeling tiny bikinis. Thank goodness that scrawny bitch Gisele isn’t still a model for VS. Ever since I read an article where she says that childbirth for her didn’t hurt one bit I have wanted to sit on her face while screaming does that hurt? Huh, huh? Does that hurt?

This isn’t the best belly shot (and this dumb blog website wont allow you to rotate), so tilt your head and enjoy!