12.31.2008

it's almost a new year

Only a few more hours until 2009!  Can you believe it?  

Baby Hebert update: Today, I had my 38 week appointment... still 2-3 cm but the Dr. seems to think I am just "teetering on the edge."  I guess for a couple of reasons and because of some of my body's latest signs he said he doesn't really think I'll make it to my due date or maybe even next week (though, of course, it is possible and I am just going to go ahead and expect to wait it out a few more weeks so I won't go crazy wondering when it's going to happen).  After I left the office I had another big sign that labor isn't too far off but, again, this doesn't always mean something haha... we will just wait it out!  I do think it's safe to say that G will be waiting to make his appearance in 2009.  :)

I really can't believe how this year has flown by and also what an incredible year it has been.  I started the year living on my own in a new town, at a new school, made a few new friends and got to reconnect with a few old ones.  Married the best man I know.  And now we're waiting to welcome our baby into the world.  I can't even get my mind around it sometimes.  I've got to be the luckiest girl ever.  And many of my friends had a pretty amazing year, too.  Graduations, weddings, new jobs, and just general goodness all over.  I really wanted to do a better recap, but a survey is much easier (positive notes only)  ;)  

*What was the best part of 2008? -- Marrying my awesome husband
*What was the biggest surprise of 2008? -- Finding out I was pregnant
*What are you most looking forward to next year? -- Meeting G Baby
*Which new year's resolutions did you in 2008? -- Losing a little weight/generally feeling better about myself... I almost reached my goal weight before I got pregnant so I feel pretty good about that (makes losing the baby weight quickly a more attainable goal in my mind)
*What will be your new years resolutions next year?  -- Create a healthy balance between family and work (in other words -- don't let my work stress me out so that I can't be the best wife and mom I can be), lose the baby weight, take in every moment and spend as much time with G Baby as possible -- before I know it, we'll be counting down to 2010!
*What was the best part of 2008?  -- Definitely summertime... marrying Paul, newlywed life, being a part of Abby's wedding, learning about our bun in the oven, spending time with friends and reconnecting with friends I'd been separated from through college... there really hasn't been a bad part of 2008 that I can pinpoint.  Very few bumps in the road, I'm blessed.  :)  

12.30.2008

38 and then some

My 38 week appointment is tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me that there is actually some sort of change. Or maybe just cross your fingers that G will come and I won't even make it to the appointment tomorrow haha ;)

12.29.2008

resolutions, anyone?

I started thinking about New Year's resolutions today. I have a couple in mind that are certainly attainable (lose the prego weight is one, obviously) but I have yet to really anchor them down and put them in writing.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

(If you are struggling, maybe you can find inspiration on this list that gigglesugar posted. Just so happens that it was found by an ATM in, where else?, Athens haha. Wow...)

12.27.2008

it's a process...

This afternoon, I went back through the few belly pictures I took over the past few months.  Mostly to remind myself that this is a process (a slow one) and not to get frustrated playing this waiting game at the end.

about 4 months?:
about 5 months:
6 months:
about 8 months (33 weeks):

And I got my hair cut today:

Hopefully low maintenance enough to still style with a baby on board.

still cookin'

The main update you want: Still no sign of the littlest Hebert. Last night, I swear I thought I was going to have this baby, though. I got some insane cramps that started in my back, wrapped around the side and then kept my stomach tight for about 30 seconds. From all of the descriptions I've heard, those sound like labor contractions but they were still pretty far apart (a little more than 10 minutes) and I was able to go to sleep. Woke up with nothing so either they were not contractions or they fizzled out haha.

Christmas was great! We spent time with Paul's dad on Christmas Eve since he was leaving for the bayou on Christmas morning. Went to Utage for some sushi (cooked fish in mine, don't worry) and then we watched National Treasure on the tube at home. He gave us some of the most thoughtful gifts for the house, it was so sweet! Seriously, I have some great in-laws. We spent lunchtime and most of the afternoon on Christmas Day with my parents -- ham, a potato dish, a broccoli dish, cheesecake... it was good. And my parents went insane with the gift giving, too. Thoughtful gifts for both Paul and I and even little G (my mom can't resist. For dinner, we went to Paul's mom's house -- more great food, I was so full! We are waiting to do Christmas over there until Becca is here from Louisiana in January, but Paul's mom already gave us one thing -- an ornament that has a picture of us at our wedding and our names and date on it. I don't know how they manage to print that on an ornament but it's pretty neat.

Short update, I'm off to get my hair cut. :)

12.23.2008

time is flying

I can't believe how fast the past few days have passed by... even though I have not done too much activity-wise time is really flying. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. (!!!!!) When did this happen?? I am anxious for Grayson's arrival but after reflecting on how fast the past few months have gone, I'm already sad that it will seem like 5 minutes and he'll be grown. Yes, yes, I know I'm jumping the gun on this one and shouldn't even be thinking that far ahead, but I almost got teary-eyed in the car today thinking about it. He's not even here yet and I want him to stay pint-sized and cuddly forever.

So... in case you didn't read that... no, Grayson is still not here. Everyday it seems like my body is giving me one more sign that he's almost here, but I have no idea how many more tricks it has up its sleeve. It is so hard to tell! I am still getting more and more Braxton Hicks. Last night I had a few more "painful" ones (I put that in quotes because I know I have no idea what pain is yet haha) but still nothing regular or strong. Tomorrow at 9am I have my next appointment with my favorite doctor in the practice (I have liked all of them but I play favorites with two... I really hope it is one of them on call when I deliver). So, if there is any news, I'll let you know...

Last night, we had Christmas dinner at Paul's mom's... the two of us, my parents, Paul's mom and stepdad and Emma and David. They are all crazy and ready for this little boy to show up. Got to talking about all the things we need to do to get him to hurry up. And they have decided that tonight we are going to Provino's for th eggplant parmesan. We know a couple who did this and went to the hospital that night. Not that I am expecting these results... I am pretty much convinced that nothing will make him come any sooner. Apparently, if you check into the hospital or give birth within 48 hours of your meal, they will comp it and put your picture on the wall or something? (A lot of people have had some success with this, I guess... but I have a feeling that they were already pretty close to delivery and just so desperate for it to be over that it just kind of coincided... I think I feel that way about most of the "natural ways to induce labor.") So... yea, while Paul is finishing at work tonight, that's what we'll be doing. Maybe I should not be so skeptical?

For the time being, I am going to brave the mall crowd with my mom so we can see gal pal Britt Britt on her last day at Nordstrom and before she goes to Asheville for holiday fun. Of course, speaking of Brittany reminds me... Abby will be in town soon!!! We haven't seen dear Baz since her wedding in August and I can't wait! Things are really not the same without your close friends there, that is for sure. On Brittany's birthday dinner night, I remember us driving in the car on the way to Atlantic Station and just saying how we wished Abby was here. And with G's arrival so close, I am sure he will either be here by the time she comes or will make his appearance during her visit, which makes it even more fun. And with retail crazyness being sort of over in a few weeks I am hoping to coax Katie into a trip down here once the little guy gets here and has a few weeks to adjust. I love all of my friends and especially miss the ones who do not live so close by.

Will update if/when there is news.

12.21.2008

full term

37 weeks today which means that little Grayson is officially considered to be full-term!  Today, I've felt a good bit of pressure and some tightening but nothing big obviously.  Still waiting.  I am ready for him to get here but I am also really glad to have some true free time.  For the past two hours, I have been here at the house... lounging, wrapping presents, watching t.v. (Clean House, to be specific haha), checking things on the internet, and just generally zoning out.  Normally, I would feel a little guilty for not doing anything while I am here by myself but since I know that soon it won't be an option, I am taking advantage of it.

I have pretty much all of my Christmas shopping done.  I already gave Paul his main present over a week ago -- it came so soon in the mail and I wanted to make sure he didn't want to exchange it -- but I have one more thing in mind for him that he mentioned he wanted that I need to go and check out tomorrow while he is working a little extra at CVS.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not... Paul is still working some at CVS.  On some of his days off from work and school he has been going in to get some hours and make some extra money.  I am so lucky to have a husband who is willing to work for a little extra cushioning before this baby comes even though we don't really need it.  He is the best.  So, I really want to get him a little something extra for all of his extra work for our little family.  

Now I just have a couple of small presents left to wrap.  I love wrapping presents

Anyway... that's all the update I've got in me.  My free time is calling me :)

12.20.2008

here, let me google that for you

Has anyone ever made it a point to ask you a question that you obviously don't know the answer to and they really could have just Googled? This has been happening to me more and more (mostly questions from students... and when you refer them to Google or similar search engines they just sigh in frustration...). That's why I love this. You can do the search there and then copy/paste the tiny url in an email to your friend, co-worker, etc... they open it, click the link, see the process themselves, get a "was that so hard?" message before being directed to their search results and bam! problem solved. I love it.

12.18.2008

"80% and two to three" ... what?

Lots of news today:

On the work front (which you probably are not concerned about but I will update anyway), our principal is retiring a little early. She's an old family friend and I really love working for her so this will be a weird transition. Great for her but sad for us.

And on the baby front (which is probably what you really want to hear if you're checking this blog)... went to my appointment and like I said yesterday, wasn't expecting any news, but just hoping for a good report. But... this is what I heard: "yep, 80% and two to three!" (80% effaced/thinned and 2-3 cm dilated). So... could be any day or could be another week or so. (I know two people who have walked around dilated 2cm for at least a week.) Can you believe it? I'm having a hard time -- he is so close!

That's all... I'll post with any other news or updates. :)

12.17.2008

I want to go see this.
Any takers?

I have always been captivated by Cirque du Soleil for some reason. I want to see one of their traveling shows so bad! The circus arts are just so entertaining for some reason. Lots of color, lots of emotion and a whole lotta strange. I love it!

I also want to go see Bodies The Exhibition before it leaves town again. Probably even more than I want to see Kooza. I didn't go last time it was here and I regret it. Now it is here again until March so I have no excuse! I believe one of the other resource teachers took some of her science students on a field trip to see it. One of my students asked me about the Bodies exhibit a few weeks ago and when I got really excited the whole class thought I was creepy and insane. I think I can talk Paul into seeing this one with me. But Kooza, not so much.

Tomorrow, I go to my 36 week appointment. What I expect to hear is definitely not what I want to hear, but we will see. (What I want: "Any day!" What I expect: "Shut tight. Don't hold your breath.") If there's any news to report, I'll post.

The best news to report right now: only two days left of the semester! I'm doing all of my over-thinking over the next two days so that I can successfully NOT think over the break and on maternity leave. I can't wait for all of the maxin' and relaxin' I'm going to do as I rot my brain with magazines and t.v. while I wait for this baby to come. Glorious.

12.14.2008

36

(another new post below this one)

36 weeks today! And I am not looking forward to counting weeks four more times if my body is going to hurt like this for the remainder. One more week, though, and G will officially be full term! So that's one more week of counting to be happy about and then we start the bonus round of the waiting game. My next appointment is on Thursday afternoon with one of my favorite doctors in the practice. Hopefully, I'll have something new to report on the little fella.

All I can really say about this part is that my body HURTS. I am trying not to complain because I am well aware how lucky I am to have had a pregnancy so free of pain and complications up to this point. The only things I've had to really deal with: a little bit of morning sickness that was easily curable by snacking every two to three hours, some minimal ligament pain (not fun but didn't last long), early contractions (dehydration from stomach bug), and then my little tumble last week that landed me in labor & delivery for monitoring. Other than that... it's been smooth sailing so far. But I'm hoping this will be a part of pregnancy that I conveniently forget because now it's hard for me to even get dressed without a lot of pain or falling over. This morning I bent over to put one leg in my lounge pants and I actually got "stuck." Stuck like it hurt so bad I could not stand up = no fun. After I post this, I am giving in and going to CVS to get doctor-approved Tylenol and a heating pad for my back.

This week I actually remembered to take pictures of the nursery in progress. Paul is going to put the glider together this week so that will replace the rocking chair. And we really need to put a few things on the wall (but that is really something we need to do all over the house). Other than that everything is put away and good to go. :) (Note: I was not trying to be artistic in the pictures below... my layout just doesn't like the picture size, I guess... click on the picture if you want the full view.)

The swing will go downstairs once he gets here.

The changing table (thanks, Katie!).

Crib... with his little "taggies" blanket hanging on the rail... apparently babies love those things




And in case you were wondering how huge I am at this point... :)

nesting

I have heard that most pregnant women go through a "nesting" phase toward the end of their pregnancy and that as an old wives' tale it can mean that labor is just around the corner. (Although, now that I'm this far labor really is right around the corner. Whether that's tomorrow or a few weeks from now doesn't really matter -- it's happening soon!) Yesterday, I really started to feel the need to "nest." All week I was planning to spend the first half of my Saturday sleeping in and then straightening the house up for any drop-in visitors and, of course, just in case G decided to make his appearance (I am really caught up on the just-in-case scenario since we want to deliver at Gwinnett and also because I do NOT want to come back to a cluttered home that has not been thoroughly cleaned before the baby gets here). So, I did just that -- I slept in (or really just stayed in bed until 10am) and it was glorious. But I am telling you something just really kicked me into high gear with the cleaning thing. Since I've been pregnant, Paul has been doing all of the cleaning that requires any chemical cleaners, especially if the cleaners have fumes. And while it was nice at first to have a hiatus from cleaning duty, it drives me crazy sometimes that I can't just do it myself. So... since I am so close to the end and have stayed away from almost anything and everything for the past 8.5 months, off I went in pursuit of the thickest cleaning gloves I could find and "all natural" cleaning products (though I'm not sure that it actually means anything as far as fumes go).

When I got home I cleaned for two straight hours without even taking a break. And then I went beyond the cleaning and actually rearranged some things in my office (none of it is anything heavy, don't worry), purged old files and straightened up a few more things in Grayson's soon-to-be room. Did all of my laundry, put out a few of the Christmas decorations that I could access (I had to wait for Paul to get the rest down), threw away some old ingredients in the kitchen cabinets... I just couldn't stop. I was going to leave the bathtubs for Paul just in case the cleaner was too strong, but I couldn't stand it anymore and so I just did it myself. And when Paul got home, we moved all of his bathroom stuff back into the master bath (he's been using the guest bathroom and shower... I don't even know why) and we purged anything that has not been in use over recent week or months. I just felt like everything had to be put away that second or I could not live with it.

And then today... I just could not resist the urge to put up Christmas decorations. I went to the store and bought a few Christmas ornaments and then had Paul get down the rest of my (limited) Christmas stuff from last year.

The light-up musical gingerbread house my mom got us this year:

Since we are not doing a tree this year with everything going on, I wanted Christmas ornaments in the house in one way or another...

I love this snowman made out of stackable coffee cups :)

Mantle... we still need stockings

I filled the hurricanes we got for our wedding with the Christmas ornaments...


I just love ornaments for some reason :)

Wreath my mom gave me last year... it lights up!

I feel like it can really be Christmastime now. I would love to have a tree but with G baby on the way, we want to put our time and money into something else. Plus, I'm not sure I will have the energy to take it down haha.


Pregnancy/baby-related post coming next...

12.13.2008

29 days...

I forgot last night... there are now less than 30 days on the "countdown!"

Only 29 days until due date!

12.12.2008

interesting week...

It's been an up and down kind of week:

-Monday: The start of the last week of school before finals. This meant a little more mental effort on my part to keep the students busy and out of trouble (until today -- blank stares all day and a few long faces).

-Tuesday: Weird day with a weird elig./IEP meeting to cap it off. Nothing to write about.

-Wednesday -- took a fall at school as I was walking into my classroom and then spent 3 hours hooked up to monitors in labor and delivery at the hospital. Everything is fine, no harm done. My doctor said that whenever you take a fall, especially when you land on your back or side (which I did), she wants the patient to be monitored for about 3-4 hours to be sure there is no bleeding behind the placenta or elsewhere. Baby Grayson's heartbeat is awesome -- "happy as a clam." I'm having contractions but they are still really weak and irregular. They started to get a bit uncomfortable at the hospital -- a little more than "uncomfortable" but not quite painful (which is good because they will definitely only get more painful from here). Not dilated at all. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks... it's just a waiting game and I'd be fine if he waited at least a week until he's officially full term. So, that's what's up with the little guy... despite the spill I took everything looks great.

-Thursday (yesterday) -- I was pretty tired all day long from Wednesday's little mishap. I just didn't get any quality sleep or rest I guess. But my day got better as the day went on. My mentor gave me a baby shower for our department and some of the other teachers and staff. I really did not expect very many people to come because I am new so most of the other teachers do not know me very well and I just didn't think too many people came to these at the school for whatever reason. But I was SO wrong! A lot of people came and gave so much for Gray! Seriously, I cannot even express how loved we feel after all of these showers and gifts from friends and family. It is insane! Yesterday's shower yielded a huge box of over 500 wipes in addition to 6 packs of about 80 wipes each... you do the math. That is a ton of wipes! And we also got a lot more diapers in several different sizes which is great. We will not have to buy diapers for a while, that's for sure. And, of course, lots of cute fun things for him. I'm telling you... people LOVE babies!

-Today -- Great day! I can now start my one-handed countdown to Christmas (or Winter, whaever) Break! 5 more school days!

Tomorrow, I am sleeping in! And I am going to take it all in -- I never know when it will be the last time I get to just lie in bed on a Saturday... then I'll get real and do my mountain of laundry and work on more thank you notes. Tomorrow night we are going to Paul's work Christmas party near Lake Lanier. It should be fun and it's an excuse for me to actually get a little bit dressed up. :) Hopefully I will remember to take pictures.

(I promise I will eventually try to post pictures from the baby showers once I get some of them developed and scanned.)

12.07.2008

35

35 weeks today! And "uncomforably energetic!"

Last night, Paul and I had a kind of date night. We went to dinner at Carrabba's and ate as if we had never seen food before. Miserably full but glad we had a little "date"... we don't know when it will be our last one sans baby. :)

Slept horribly last night. I woke up at 2am with so much energy and couldn't go back to sleep for about an hour. Woke up later to Paul snoring (he very rarely snores so I knew he must have been stopped up and really tired). And then woke up again for no reason. I really hope this will not be a nightly occurence for the rest of my pregnancy. All I could think about when I was lying in bed for the last hour before I finally got up was that Powerthirst video when he says "uncomfortably energetic!!" Pretty much sums up how I felt.

G Baby still feels pretty low so I think it really is safe to say that he has dropped and probably isn't going to go back to a view from the top. Lots of "practice" contractions (Braxton Hicks) and a LOT of lower back pain. Some other changes, but those are the most persistent. My 35 week appointment is on Wednesday afternoon and after that I will be going once a week until I deliver. Hopefully they will be able to tell me something about all of these changes or else I will just hear that all of these symptoms are normal and it could be several weeks. Who knows.

Thursday, after school, my mentor is hosting a baby shower for me mostly for our department but the other staff are also invited. I still need to develop the pictures that my aunt took at our family shower and then remember to bring my camera on Thursday so I can post pictures. We have already been given SO MUCH from our friends and families! It really is unbelievable. This boy is already so spoiled and he doesn't even know. :)

Now, I'm working on two Eligibility/IEPs that are on Tuesday (IEP Online is now accessible from home... probably not a good thing because I will end up working at home, but it sure is convenient right now). These are the most complicated ones I've had to do so far and I'm not sure I'm even doing them right, but I want to at least have everything completed by tomorrow so I can take it to my mentor (who is awesome, I don't know how I'd do all of this stuff without her). And, I keep thinking, "just in case..." Just one more week before finals!

12.06.2008

hiccups

This baby has the hiccups 1304032984 times a day now! Okay, so maybe I am exaggerating, but he is going at it for the third time today already. It's cute but I love it mostly because I know he's practicing to breathe for whenever he decides to make his debut.

My mom called me a little while ago because she saw one of my co-workers at the store. Apparently, she and several of the other teachers in my department at school did not even think I would be there yesterday because I appear to be "dropping" so much now! And they definitely think I am not going to make it through finals haha. While I have felt very differently over the past few days, I am trying not to anticipate his arrival too much. He is still two weeks away from technically being "full term" but if I were to go into labor today I am pretty sure my doctor would not stop it since his lungs are most likely almost done "baking."

(As far as work goes - a few people have asked me my feelings/worries about leaving work - I am ready to have this baby and wouldn't mind having a little pre-holiday time off. But I would also like to finish out this coming week and make sure that my students get a really good week of final exam review so they can hopefully do really well on the benchmark final and, of course, I'd like to get a little more planned for when I'm gone. Then, for my own obsessive sanity, I could be on leave knowing that everything is organized and ready to go for the long-term sub. I have gotten really crazy about everything being completely organized and planned for class -- the sub I had on Tuesday afternoon said I was the most organized teacher she's ever subbed for. I definitely don't feel that way most of the time, but it's good to hear knowing I'll be gone. In the beginning, I didn't think I would care too much who was going to be subbing for me long-term, but now I am really nervous about them having someone who will actually teach the lessons as I plan them or at least make sure they are learning while I'm gone. I've heard a few horror stories about coming back after a long-term sub and having to "pick up the pieces" and practically start over because nothing got done. Hopefully this is a rare-to-none circumstance and I have nothing to worry about, right? All I can do is trust that it will be okay... out of my control and once little G is here, I know it will be the one of my last concerns.)

Paul just got home and I'm feeling preeeetty uncomfortable so that's all for now. Maybe a less boring update soon. :)

12.01.2008

fresh air

34 weeks and 1 day today. Apparently 34 is another one of those "magic" numbers, meaning that something like 99% of babies born at/after 34 weeks generally do fine and the lungs are almost fully developed. Which means I can breathe a little easier because...

It's a little bit soon but I'm pretty sure G is dropping a little bit. I can actually (literally) take in a BIG breath of fresh air -- something I haven't been able to do for a couple of months now. Not a single kick in the ribs today and there is actually some space between the girls and the top of my belly. Lots of pressure which makes sitting and standing both pretty uncomfortable... awesome! As long as he's healthy and developed enough to make an appearance, I would be just fine with him coming a little sooner than January 11th. :) For the most part I have enjoyed my pregnancy and I definitely have not had much to complain or be worried about, but I am SO ready for this little guy to get here and give up residency inside my body! Plus I just can't stand the wait to meet him! :) (I'm sure I will say that a hundred more times before he gets here but I'm really getting too excited/nervous to even put into words.)