Feeling better; trying to relax

All I can say is THANK the GOOD LORD for Spring Break. My body needed this restful week so very much... and thank you so very much to all your kind words and prayers. They have helped immensely! I spoke with my nurse earlier this week... and I am doing better then they originally projected. I have been given the ok to do a little more around the house and with Ali... I just have to limit my activity throughout the day, and spend twice as much time relaxing as I do on the other stuff. It is still really hard to not be able to pick up my baby.. but I have to remember that I will love her sister just as much as I do her- and it is worth it to have Ali suffer a little bit to sacrifice a healthy baby for her to play with.

Thankfully my mom has been super helpful, and my hubs has been pretty good too (I have to give him a little credit-LOL). I am trying hard not to drive myself and everybody else nuts.. I have found it is really hard for me to relax. I'm just not the type of person who sits around or hangs out and watches TV. I get soo antsy- so it's been hard teaching myself that it is OK, and medically necessary, to slow things down a bit for awhile. I must remember that all the little tasks I have created for myself will still be waiting for me come May.

And of course Ali has been a HUGE help with the daily chores!

On other notes: I had an awesome baby shower on Sunday for our up and coming sweet baby gal... my mom hosted and did sort of a "diaper drive"; which was soooo awesome to get all stocked up on diapies and wipies- considering I will have two buns in them come a coupla weeks! Hopefully Ali will get her act together and potty train this summer- 2 in diapers is gonna get expensive!

I have also been slowly converting Ali's nursery over for the baby... we have decided to name her Avery Coy :) Avery because we like the name, and Coy is after my middle name.

Ali has moved to her "big girl room"... it is adorable! And I would put pictures of that up, but she is currently sleeping in there and I don't dare wake up the sleeping angel! So stayed tuned for those... but here is what I've done for Baby Avery:

The decal above the crib is hard to read in this pic, but it says "Butterfly kisses and Lady Bug Hugs: sleep tight little one, snug as a bug in a rug"

I also have these adorable sheer cream curtains with butterflies on them that I am planning to hang above these windows... but of course that project has to occur when Ali, and her dad, are not around to bug me!

We also have all her little clothes put away; I've got her bag packed; now all that is left to do is pack mine and Ali's.. and she can come whenever she wants!

...and one totally unrelated picture of my sweet Ali and her daddy. We took her Downtown last weekend to play in the park... and see all the cool moose statues around town: A woman whose son KK grew up with wrote a book called Mudgy and Millie about two best friends: moose and a mouse, who play hide and seek all over our town. It is such a cute book, and so cool that the illustrations and book talk all about where we are raising our family. Ali loves the book; and our town has created a "Mudgy & Millie Walk" that follows their path through the book and our town. Along the path you will find these awesome bronze statues of the two characters, along with a page from that part of the book. Every time we see one, she has to stop and talk to the moose:Makes me smile every time!

33. 5 weeks - doctor appointment update

I lost my mucus plug yesterday. And while this can mean that I can still have the chance of carrying this baby full term, it puts immanent labor that much closer. I went in for my bi-weekly doctor appointment this morning, and here is the information as I know it:

• My cervix is still up pretty high, so I am not currently going into labor, however, it is thinning, meaning my body is preparing to have this baby
• This preparation could take anywhere from days to (hopefully) weeks
• Baby HAS to be at 35 weeks ( I will be 34 weeks on Saturday) to lessen the risk of complication, and to be delivered at the hospital here in town- otherwise we will have to drive 30 minutes to Spokane, Washington, where they have a NICU unit. The doctor's (and my) goal is to make it to my next appointment, which is April 7th. She said we are now making bi-weekly goals to keep me pregnant as long as we can.
• I can no longer pick up or move anything heavier than around 5-10lbs. This means no cleaning my house, no picking up Ali, and generally taking it easy.
• We were planning to head out of town for spring break next week, and this has been 86'd as well.

Let's just say this was not the happiest moment of my pregnancy. First off, I am nervous and anxious to keep her in for 2 more weeks. I am going to have to really be conscious of what I am doing on a daily basis, and really LISTEN to my doctor- take care of myself, and this little baby girl. It breaks my heart to not be able to scoop Ali into my arms.. I think she knows things are changing because she has been so clingy with me lately... but hopefully my husband will come through and be very helpful; and I can be right there alongside him, doing everything I can to make our last weeks with Ali special before her world is rocked completely with the arrival of our newest addition.

...But the doctor did say that this baby could surprise us, and I could carry her all the way full-term, which is the absolute goal for our situation!

Glad That's Over

Phew! I'm FINALLY feeling back to my normal self again. I had the worst head cold of all times last week and Nothing that I could do (being pregnant and all) would make it better! And to top it all off, Ali was sick at the same time. So not only was I feeling like my head was going to explode, I also had a baby who would not sleep at night. We both took Thursday and Friday off from work/school, and went to the doctor. I was told that I was basically screwed and to tough it out.. and poor Ali baby has a double ear infection! No wonder she was screaming bloody murder every time she tried to lay down! She's still having a few up-chuck issues: we think it's the combo of drinking milk and mixing in the antibiotics, so we are experimenting on taking all dairy away (per the doctor- KK stayed home with her yesterday)... but I think we are on the right track to recovery! She also has the worst diaper rash (from the antibiotics) I have ever seen- we're talking blood here, but that too is healing itself up and looking better today.
Seriously, though, I am glad I did not have the strength or energy to blog over the past week, or those would have been some pretty depressing posts. I felt so lost and helpless as a mother- sure my husband stepped up and my mom was a big help - but I wanted so much to be able to help my sweet baby feel better, and it was killing me that I could not help her. Yesterday was my worst day- I felt so helpless watching her suffer from that terrible rash and not being able to fix it. She would just lay in my arms and moan- that was the most heartbreaking moments I have ever experienced in my life. Crazy how much I love that little girl.
I am so thankful today that we are on the up and up- I was afraid of the stress I was putting on Baby #2.. she's needs a couple more weeks of relaxin and to chub up! Can't believe we have one more month until she is here- crazy madness!

*Belated* Music Video Monday

I'm late on posting my Monday music video... I will blame it on the fact that I am stuffed up to the very tip of my head with a terrible head cold. IT'S TERRIBLE! The most annoying part of the whole deal is the fact that I cannot take hardly medicine for it- so I just have to suffer with not being able to breath! Fun times... especially when you couple it with pregnancy hormones AND not sleeping good at night- let's just say I am not a happy camper people!
ANYWAY, here is the video I chose for today; makes me think of my sweet baby with her daddy every time I hear this song... and it always brings tears to my eyes!

Our Little Movie Star

This is what Ali insisted on wearing and then buying during our weekend trip to Target.

I've got a Lil Miss Thang on my hands, folks!

Music Monday

I just started reading this blog, and one of the cute things she does is every Monday is a "Music Monday", where she posts music videos from YouTube. I thought it was a fun idea; one in which I will now be participating right here on Little Jelli's World!

So without further ado, here is my pick for my very first Music Monday (FYI: the songs I pick will be totally random, but will have a personal link to my life, which I will explain under video)





I picked this song because over this past weekend, my mom and I were reminiscing about her raising my brother and I, and she mentioned how he used to trap me in the bedroom and make me listen to this record. See, I was a sensitive little girl, and I hated the song- as I hated the movie Old Yeller because someone dies; apparently I had issues dealing with loss;).
So my cruel brother, who specialized in unusual forms of torturing me, would barricade the doorway and play this song as loud as our record player would go. I would scream and cry and put pillows over my ears.... but the memory still opens old wounds for me - hilarious to think how clever we could be when it came to torturing one another!

LOL This song brought me back- and gave me a little chuckle on a Monday! Hope everyone enjoys their day!

I just want some ZZZZss!

Lately I've been feeling as though I am a ghost of the woman that I was about 3 months ago... like I feel like crap, but can't quite pin down exactly why; and I feel mopey and like I'm being a big ole whiner. See, I'm not a Debbie Downer type of person, and I am not good at it. I am not a big fan of complainers, and I don't do a good job at giving sympathy. So, when I'm feeling crappy myself, I feel like kickin my own butt back into feel good again. I mean, I didn't even get excited yesterday when I got a whole box of earth-friendly cleaning products in the mail yesterday- and that, my friends, is just weird for me! usually, I woulda busted those bad boys out and cleaned my house until it sparkled from top to bottom...
But this time, I just can't shake it. I know that I have a sore throat and that is not helping matters much, but what I really think it is is that I cannot sleep well at night, and that I haven't for probably the past 4 weeks, if I really think back. And I am a sleeper. I have to get my 6-8 hours a night- and I usually zonk out so hard that a bulldozer could run through our bedroom and I would miss it. I sooo miss that sleep. And so does my body. But this little baby girl living in my tummy? She could care less! For she likes to play the drums and run marathons all hours of the night... and day. Oh boy, this could get ugly when she comes around in 8 weeks.
... which brings me to my next point- AHHH!!! We are going to have 2 babies in 8 weeks! Crazy madness, I am totally unprepared! And I am obsessed with being prepared, causing further stress for me because we have not moved Ali out of her baby room into the big girl room, meaning nothing for baby #2 is being prepared! YIKES! Good thing my awesome momma is coming over to paint Ali's big girl room this weekend, so hopefully we can get carpet installed within the next couple of weeks, then put her bunk beds together, and transition her in there (any idea of how that is gonna go!?).

Massage review

So even though my massage was not perfect, due to the fact that the lady talked to me the entire time, it was much-needed and very therapeutic. Why do massage therapists feel the need to talk to you during one of the most relaxing activities you can participate in? don't they know, I'm assuming from experience, that people want to fully relax and enter into an entirely different frame of mind when they are being lathered up and rubbed down? Apparently, this lady did not get that memo, but she did know what she was doing, and she did it well.
She gave me some great sleeping tips on how to better position myself and my pillows to take pressure of my hips; she also told me my lower back is really swollen since I am carrying this baby so low- and made me promise to ice my back at least 20 minutes 4 times a week to loosen up the inflammation... don't have to tell me twice, I'm icing it as we speak!
She also suggested that, since the baby is so low and I have 2 months left to carry her, that I do get a belly band and see if that helps relieve some of the pressure. I have a belly band that someone gave me, so I just need to get my lazy butt to find it (and I'm in enough pain I think I will motivate myself to find said belly band tonight!).

Speaking of how I am carrying this child... if another person asks me if I am SURE i am having a GIRL, because the way I'm carrying they could swear it's a boy...I might loose my marbles and have to regulate! Don't they know not to put that kind of doubt in a pregnant lady's mind? I mean, seriously, my husband would probably run around the hospital jumping for joy if I delivered a male... but I am fully committed and PLANNING on having another baby girl- plus, I've had 2 ultrasounds where this was confirmed.. so just knock it off with your old wives' tales, people! Don't freak out the pregnant lady- who's carrying so low she feels as if labor could inevitably come at any given moment, given the right stimuli!

Monday, Monday (la la, la la la)

So here's my bullet list of weekend ramblings:

• thanks to Lindsay, I stayed up later then I have of my own free will on a Friday night in like 2 years! ( I forgot how COOL midnight is, people! ) my husband thought I was partying it up downstairs, he gave me 20 questions for coming to bed so late! hahahaha
• Saturday night was my neighbor's surprise 30th birthday party.. which would have been fun if I could #1 drink alcohol and #2 my sciatic nerve wasn't totally tweaked, causing me to sit to one side in a chair the entire evening, cause I'm cool like that.
• I think it's hilarious that my chunky monkey baby, even after the doctor told us she probably wouldn't eat solid foods for a week after her tongue incident, has battled threw her pain because she loves crackers so much, and is now completely back to normal! What a trooper
• Yesterday was a fabulous end to my weekend. We had 55 degree weather, which is a serious record up here in North Idaho. We had a great family day: we played at the park, went for walks, I cleaned my house, vacuumed my car, caught up on Real Housewives of New York...and I didn't even feel tired or in any physical pain! That in and of itself is something for me to celebrate, people: baby girl #2 is reeking havoc on my body...
• Which brings me to my happiest point... I am going to enjoy a pregnancy massage tomorrow! Considering that the hubster never got me a birthday gift, I went ahead and scheduled this for myself... and even though I've never been to this therapist personally, but all my friends who have been pregnant swear by her- let's just say I cannot wait for Tuesday evening at 6:00!
• Oh, and next weekend my mom is coming over to help me paint Ali's "Big Girl Room".. that means we only will need to get new carpet laid and her bunk beds put together and we will be ready for the big move! I can't wait! ... and considering we are in the single digits to the weekly countdown for the baby to be born- we better get a move on!