Healing

It's been about a week since my car accident and I think my eye is healing nicely.

It's still a little black and blue underneath, but many people haven't noticed because I wear lots of concealer and makeup to cover it up.

So far, we've had an appraiser look at my car to give me an estimate of the damages. John and I have also been on the phone a lot with our car insurance company. It's been a lot to take in and again, John has been so wonderful - he's really taken the reigns of the whole situation to help me feel less stressed out. After all, with only a week and a half before my due date, I've had a lot of other important things on my mind.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. They checked my blood pressure and, for the second week in a row, they told me I had high blood pressure. I guess I'm not that surprised since I've been  a bit stressed out lately with work, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lil Bit, and of course, the accident. So John and I mentioned the car accident to our doctor and asked if everything was alright with the baby. She said that since they monitored me and the baby for several hours after the accident and didn't find anything wrong, then that meant everything was just fine with the baby and that we'd have nothing to worry about. We then listened to the heartbeat (such a wonderful sound) and she performed another vaginal exam. I'm 60% effaced and about 1 cm dilated. I then asked what would happen if I went past my due date. She said we'd still have our regularly-shceduled weekly appointment, where they would then do another vaginal exam and determine the next step to take, whether that be waiting a few more days or inducing labor. I'm just so excited and ready to meet this little guy!

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

I've had what you would probably call the most perfect pregnancy (please don't hate me). Aside from the backaches and exhaustion (which every pregnant woman gets anyway), I really haven't had anything to complain about. AND I never had morning sickness. Sure, there were times in my first trimester where I felt a bit nauseated, but I found that eating a small snack always helped.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I decided I was going to WILL myself not to get morning sickness. And whatdyaknow, it worked. Now, in no way am I saying that this is the ultimate cure for morning sickness, and I'm certainly not trying to downplay what millions of women have to go through everyday, but it doesn't hurt to go into pregnancy with a positive state-of-mind. I felt that telling myself everyday that I was NOT going to get sick somehow helped me subconsciously keep everything down. 

So I've decided that I'm going to will the following:

1. My son WILL be perfect.

2. He WILL sleep through the night by 9 weeks.

3. He WILL be nice and sweet and well-behaved and never throw tantrums or talk back to me.

4. Labor WILL be painless.

An overly ambitious list? Probably so. But the positive thoughts have gotten me through pregnancy so maybe they'll get me through labor and parenthood as well.

Lil Bit is OK

A couple nights ago, me and Lil Bit got into a minor car accident. Before I go any further, let me just go ahead and say that we are both doing fine and the baby is perfectly healthy and unharmed. 

I was sitting about 10 cars back at a stop light when all of a sudden I heard a loud screeching noise and I was rear ended, which caused my car to rear end the car in front of me, which caused that car to bump into the car in front of them. I immediately felt blood running down my face and onto my blouse. I happened to have a few bagfuls of clothes I was planning to donate to Goodwill in my passenger's seat, so I reached in there and grabbed the first thing I could find - a cotton J. Crew tote bag - and pressed it to my face. It all happened so quickly that I couldn't even tell you what I hit my head on and I don't remember if belly hit anything, but at that point, that was my biggest concern. I reached for my cell phone and called John crying and telling him that I'd just gotten into a car accident right on Southside Blvd and that I didn't really know what to do. He was there within a couple of minutes. I had a high school teacher once tell me that a majority of car accidents happen within a mile from where you live. Well, he was certainly right about that - all four of us that were involved in the car accident were literally only a mile away from home. 

The other drivers came to check on me and were all shocked to see all the blood on my face and on the front of my shirt, and then even more shocked to see that I was pregnant. Even though it was obvious, the first thing I said was, "I'm pregnant. Is he going to be ok?" And boy, I was just balling. The woman in the car in front of me was incredibly sweet and hugged me and said everything was going to be fine. At that point, John was there and I finally got out of the car. This was the first moment I got a look at the person who hit me - a 19-year-old girl who was crying and saying that her "dad was going to kill her." She apologized profusely, even giving me a hug at one point, and she looked highly upset. And I thought, "Good, you should feel bad." And I know it's stereotyping, but based on her age, I have no doubt this girl was texting on her phone or simply not paying attention when she hit my car. I mean, I was completely stopped - it's not like I had slammed on my brakes and not given her enough time to stop. So I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to say, "DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE!" Seriously, that is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. And it's not just the texting - dialing a number or even checking a text while driving is stupid. Just freakin' wait 'til you get to a stop light at least!!! I mean, seriously, no text is that important. A majority of people are not even doctors that are receiving urgent messages anyway. And even then, you should still wait! 

Anyway, back to my story. The ambulance came to check my vital signs, but I was more concerned with the baby. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything to check the baby and said I would just have to go to the hospital. So this is where John and I start to get frustrated and confused. The ambulance was willing to take me to the hospital of course, but they said I couldn't just leave my car there without talking to the police first, who hadn't arrived yet! I seriously did not want to wait around there any longer, wondering about my baby. Maybe I was being overly dramatic, but I hadn't felt him move that whole time, it was my first car accident, and I'm a first-time mother. Of course I was paranoid and I wanted to make sure everything was ok. At that point, John decided to call his aunt, who lives only a few miles away, to come pick me up and take me to the ER, while he waited by my car to talk to the police. John was so wonderful during this whole time. He definitely handles these situations a lot better than me. He talked to the police, called my doctor, and has been handling all the insurance phone calls, all while comforting me and helping me feel better. 

When I got to the ER, they wheeled me over to labor and delivery, where the nurse hooked me up to a monitor. Finally, the heartbeat...the most wonderful sound in the world. I immediately felt better...and I immediately started crying. It was just SUCH a relief at that point. I mean, probably an hour had passed since the accident happened, and I still hadn't felt him move. So I was so happy to be listening to his heartbeat. The nurse told me that I would have to stay for a few hours so they could monitor me and then they would take me back to the ER so they could check out the gash above my eye. During that time, the nurse pointed to the monitor and pointed out that I was having contractions. This was really surprising to me because I hadn't really felt anything different, but then again, I'm still confused about what contractions will feel like, so maybe I have felt them, but didn't know that was it. Anyway, she performed a quick vaginal exam to make sure there was no bleeding and that everything was ok. She said it was a good sign that my belly was still soft because if it were hard, that would have been a sign that my belly was probably full of blood from the baby. Honestly, if that had happened, I would have totally lost it. So again, I was relieved that the baby was doing well. She said I was probably only half a centimeter dilated, but they wanted to keep me around just in case. At that point, John had arrived and we sat for about three hours, watching TV and talking. We hadn't eaten dinner yet, so John ordered a pizza, although I wasn't allowed to eat anything (I just had orange juice). It was a very long and boring night and we joked that this was a preview for what labor will be like - just waiting around in the hospital room. But it was still great to be able to listen to the baby's heartbeat for three hours. At one point, I started to think, "What if the baby was already born and sitting in the back in his car seat when I was rear ended?" And I immediately started crying again (I was just an emotional wreck that night). I mean, right now he's all safely cushioned inside my belly, but my protective mama bear instincts are starting to kick in. So again, this is where John is so wonderful - he immediately comforted me and made me feel better about everything.

At 11:30 pm, they let us go down to the ER, where they could check my eye. At this point, I decided to call into work to let them know I wasn't coming in the next day. When it became clear that we would be doing a lot more waiting in the ER, I made John call into work as well. I wasn't going to let him sleep for only a couple hours (we didn't leave the ER until 2 am) and then have to go into work - he'd been through a lot of stress as well that night.  When I was finally seen, they told me they could clean up the cut and put glue on it to hold the skin together. I asked if this would help prevent any scarring and they said unfortunately, there still might be a scar. And being the vain person that I am, I immediately thought, "Great, right when I'm about to give birth and there'll be lots of pictures involved." Oh well, nothing a little makeup can't fix. And honestly, it doesn't look that bad at all. I think it's healing up quite nicely.

On the way to the hospital, John's aunt gave me some baby wipes so I could clean as much blood off my face as I could. 

In the ER, they cleaned it some more with some hydrogen peroxide.

Here's what it looked like after they glued my skin together. They said it would eventually peel off after a few days, kinda like a scab.

Here's what it looks like three days later. Again, I think it's healing nicely. And you probably can't tell from this picture, but the skin beneath my eye is actually all black and blue. Looks like I'll be piling on the concealer for the next few days!

The damage to my car doesn't look that bad, but it doesn't look that good either.

When my car hit the car in front of me, the Toyota emblem popped right off.

I'm feeling really good today. Honestly, I'm just so relieved that everything is OK with the baby. But I still can't believe that I've been driving this car for 12 years and not once have I even gotten into so much as a fender-bender, and then two weeks before I'm due to give birth, this happens (a mile from my home no less). Oh well, they say things happen for a reason, right? Anyway, me, Lil Bit, and John are doing OK - we were all just a little shaken up from what happened, but we are so happy now that our baby is doing just fine.

Baby Bump: Week 37

37 Weeks

What I'm Wearing:

Sidebent Tank from Anthropologie

Citizens of Humanity Dylan Boyfriend Jeans

Xhilaration Sandals from Target

Be Maternity BeBand from Target

Necklace from Banana Republic

The other day, I wrote about feeling large. Well, if it's possible, I actually feel even larger. In the past two days, I've successfully torn a hole in one of my tank tops, a strap in one of my dresses, and a strap in one of my sandals. I'm literally growing too big for all my clothes and my feet are getting more swollen everyday. After 8 1/2 months, I've finally accepted the fact that I'm much too big for my pre-pregnancy clothing. I've kept trying to convince myself that I could still fit into them, but it turns out I'm either just stretching them out or ruining them. Looks like I'm gonna stick to strictly maternity clothes for the next three weeks. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to fitting into my old clothes again!

Stuck

37 Weeks

What I'm Wearing:

Slung Sash Tee by Bailey 44

AG Stevie Polka Dot Ankle Pants

Sandals from American Eagle

At 37 weeks, my baby is now considered full-term, meaning I could give birth any day now. Being three weeks away from my due date also means that this is the largest I've ever felt. At my doctor's appointment today, I weighed in at 148 pounds, just two pounds away from my I-don't-wanna-pass-this-weight goal. Also, when I wore this outfit yesterday, I got many comments such as, "You still have three weeks left?! You look like you're ready to pop!" (sheesh, how fat do I look?) I'm thinking it has something to do with the top I'm wearing, which is very form-fitting and shows off my round belly, which was the look I was going for, but I wasn't trying to elicit exclamations of "You look so large!" Oh well, I guess that's to be expected.

Another reason why I feel so large lately is because I went to J. Crew the other night and found this really cute dress in my pre-pregnancy size 0. I knew I wouldn't be able to fit it over my belly, but I still wanted to try it on to see if the top portion would fit. So at first, it slipped on easily over my head, but it was a bit tight in the arms. As I was trying to take it off, I got...STUCK! I seriously could not pry that dress off me. So at that point I started to panic and sweat and I think that somehow made my skin expand even more, which made me more stuck! So I peeked out the fitting room door and motioned to the nearest female employee to help me out. She was totally sweet and helped me out of my dress while I felt compelled to repeatedly tell her that "size 0 is my normal size, really! It's just that I'm pregnant!" Needless to say, I did not purchase that dress. The employee even offered me a size 2, but at that point, I was no longer interested.

In addition to finding out my weight at my appointment today, the doctor also checked to see if I was dilated. It turns out I wasn't, but I am 30% effaced. I asked if all that was normal for someone as far along as me, and of course he gave me the 'ol "every woman is different" line, but he did leave me with this story: when his wife was 37 weeks pregnant, she was already 4 cm dilated, but didn't go into labor until 42 weeks pregnant. Now this was 35 years ago and he said they no longer wait past 40 weeks to induce labor. So Lil Bit will be here in no later than three weeks!

Baby Bump and Birthing Class: Week 36

36 Weeks

So this is probably one of my less inspired outfits, but John and I had an 8-hour birthing class yesterday and I wanted to be as comfy as possible.

What I'm Wearing:

Shirt from Gap Maternity

Seven For All Mankind maternity jeans from A Pea In The Pod

Scarf from Banana Republic

My feet have become so swollen that I find it difficult to wear shoes now. I wore these slippers to my class so I could easily slip them off. 

Slippers by Allihop

Yesterday, John and I took a birthing class at the hospital where I will be delivering. When we first signed up for this class about a month ago, they told us that we were really pushing it and waiting last minute and that we probably should have signed up for it a long time ago. A part of me did agree with this and think, "Why didn't we take this class over the summer when we were on break?!" but John pointed out that it's probably best to take the class closer to our due date so it's fresher in our minds. Plus, every other couple there was also due in about three weeks, so we were all in the same boat. 

We were instructed to bring a couple pillows with us for our comfort since we would be sitting on bean bag chairs all day. We also brought snacks with us, which was such a great idea since it was an all-day class and our lunch break wasn't until 1:30 pm. The class consisted largely of watching a PowerPoint Presentation and some video clips on labor. I mentally prepared myself for a very long, boring day so I think that somehow helped the time go a little faster. It honestly wasn't all that bad and I felt I learned a few things:

1. Swaddling is no longer recommended.

What?! Everyone has been telling me to swaddle my baby and now doctors are saying not to? The instructor told us that swaddling should only be used as a last resort, after trying to feed them, changing their diaper, or soothing them others ways have failed. I mentioned that a lot of people I know swaddle their babies when they put them to bed, and she said that is no longer recommended and that we should just put the baby in some pajamas with feet and hand covers. Oh boy, this gives me a lot to think about now...

2. There are many positions for giving birth.

I always thought that you just lay back on the bed, have your legs propped up, and you just push. Apparently, there are several ways you can give birth and we watched (in graphic detail) all of them. You can squat, stand on all fours like a dog, or lean forward on a bar that's attached to the bed. None of these looked particularly comfortable to me, but it's up to each individual woman what feels most comfortable to her. 

3. Labor looks awful.

So this is not something I just learned from my class yesterday, but I still feel the need to reiterate it here. It looks horrible, painful, and gross. Yes, I know this is supposed to be beautiful, the miracle of life, yadda yadda yadda, but I'm still completely disturbed by all the fluids and unflattering shots of women in these videos that we had to watch yesterday. I told myself that I wasn't going to watch, but it was like a train wreck - I just couldn't look away (John, on the other hand, had NO problem looking away. In fact, he was the only one that didn't watch). By watching the videos, I do feel more informed on what giving birth is like, but at the same time, I often find that I'm better off just not knowing. For example, every time I get a shot or have my blood drawn, I always look away because if I watch them put the needle in, then I will anticipate the pain and therefore feel that it's more painful than what it really is. I feel the same way about giving birth - better left in the dark and go in not knowing (ignorance is bliss right?)

4. Labor is looooong.

I knew before that labor would take several hours. I also already knew that having an epidural would make it even longer. But I didn't realize just how long it could go. We watched a video on this woman who decided to get an epidural at 3 cm, but she ended up being in labor for about 48 hours before she could start pushing. I always thought I would just go ahead and get the epidural right away. I have no desire to know what labor feels like and I was perfectly content waiting things out. But now I'm starting to change my mind. I'm going to try to rough it out for as long as I can (they recommend at least 5 cm) before I get the epidural. Yes, I understand this will be painful and difficult, but there's a tradeoff - pain for seeing your baby sooner. In fact, the instructor had a good analogy - if you do one sit up, there's no payoff, but if you do 50 "Rocky" sit ups in a row, you start to feel pain, but you start to see results. Same idea here - "no pain, no gain."

We learned other miscellaneous things in the class such as breathing exercises, different birthing plans, and how to change a diaper. The instructor gave us a doll to practice on and I kept laughing at how John was handling it - he was treating the doll as, well, a doll - throwing it around, dropping it on the floor, holding it by its leg. I kept telling him that he was supposed to pretend it was the real thing :)

Overall, it was an informative class. I'm just glad I was able to take it before the baby came. I've actually been worried this whole time that I might go into labor early and not be able to take the birthing class. Now, the only other thing we have to get done is get our carseat installed, which we will be doing on Tuesday. I also have a prenatal massage scheduled for next weekend that I'm really looking forward to, so I hope I'm still pregnant by then :) Only three more weeks to go!

Nesting

People constantly tell me that my life will change forever after the baby is born.

When people tell me this, all I hear is, "You will never have time to do anything again."

So over the summer, I was in full-on nesting mode. I wasn't even sure what this nesting was all about until I read about it online. Apparently, it's the stage during pregnancy when you feel the need to prepare for the baby. This could range from cleaning to getting the nursery ready. Well, I've been doing both - big time. It started with some simple scrapbooking.

But then it took off from there. I felt the need to go through every drawer, cabinet, and closet in my house and clean it out and organize it.

I started with this box full of buttons, thread, and sequins I've accumulated over the years. I dumped everything out and organized them into neat little piles according to color.

I then went to JoAnn's to purchase this plastic bin for organizing everything. It was originally $19.99, but with all those coupons they keep sending me, I got it for half off. I like that it has movable dividers and each space is just the right size for holding all my little miscellaneous items.

John calls this hoarding. I call it organizing.

Everything packed up so nice and neatly and now I can easily find an extra button should the need ever arise.

But it didn't stop there.

And maybe this is where John is right about the hoarding because I tend to keep every single card anyone has ever sent me. Seriously. I have cards that date back to high school, from people I don't even know or talk to anymore. I used to just stuff them into a box, but I decided to organize them as well.

Yes, I keep thank you cards, birthday cards, miscellaneous notes...heck, I even keep invitations.

An no organizer would be complete without her trusty little label maker.

Another project I decided to tackle was organizing my wedding china. I have all these fabulous Kate Spade place settings, but they were simply taking up too much space in my kitchen because I kept them all in their original boxes.

Honestly, I really like the boxes so that's probably why I kept them in there for so long.

See how cute these are?

BUT I decided it was time to put them into proper dinnerware storage.

Eco-Fabric Round Plate Storage Cases

$39.99

www.containerstore.com

Here's what's included.

Eco-Fabric Cup Chest

$19.99

www.containerstore.com

Here's what's included.

Before.

After.

After.

So now every closet, every drawer, every cabinet in my home is organized. The only problem is John doesn't know where anything is anymore because I've moved everything! He'll ask me where something is and I'll reply, "In the most logical place." I often joke with him that I'm going to give him an orientation of our home. He thinks I'm a little nutty, but oh well. It feels GREAT to have a clean and organized home and that's one less thing I have to worry about when Lil Bit is born and every waking moment is dedicated to him.