birdy love

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Week 36

This week the craziness of January continues!  On Sunday I sang at church on stage for the last time til Mason gets here, it was fun but I'm glad to have a break for awhile.  It's easier to breathe because he's started making the descent out of my lungs.  Hallelujah, air!  Sunday afternoon I went to Malachi Hostetler's first birthday party at Rutledge Wilson farm (Tyler had to work)... I can't believe he is 1 year old!  We're birthday buddies, and I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday, not a year ago. 


Monday was my friend Lindsay's birthday - I haven't seen her since my wedding 5 years ago (!) but she has been one of those friends who is important to me even though I don't see her, and we rarely get to talk on the phone.  Tyler had to work a double so I ran errands in Springfield.  I got a robe and some pajamas for the hospital that are cuter than the gown, of course :) I can be a diva in the hospital!


Tuesday I had a consultation with the lactation lady at the Mercy Mother-Baby Support Center.  Sheila was incredibly helpful and I feel much more prepared for breastfeeding after speaking with her.  She fitted me for a bra and I ended up buying 2 - a normal one, and one to sleep in (they have lots of room to grow since I'm supposed to swell up like balloons) and are really comfortable.  I also got all the extra parts for my pump figured out and will take that to the hospital with me.  I was stressing last week about getting all my things together before the hospital, but with everything I accomplished on Monday and Tuesday I feel SO much more prepared. 


Wednesday we had an ultrasound!  Mason did not get the memo that we wanted to take pictures of him because he was moving around all over the place.  The ultrasound lady would put the wand thing on my stomach to see him, and he would literally scoot to the opposite side of my belly.  Then she'd put the wand over to where he was and he'd move again.  We did see that his head is facing down (yay!), towards my back (yay again!) and his back curves up on the left side of my stomach with his feet in my ribs.  So THAT'S what I've been feeling in my ribs this whole time!  We did get some pictures but they are blurry because he was constantly moving and kicking.  At one point she said he had his whole fist in his mouth.  In one picture, he is sticking out his tongue at us as if to say "Ha, you just thought you'd get a picture!"  And he was kicking my ribs through the whole ultrasound.  What a little toot. :) We will have to walk him like a puppy dog to get all his energy out!  We got glimpses of his face and his cheeks look really chubby.  I love them!  His head is a normal size (whew) and he weighs 6 lbs, 8 oz.  We didn't get a 3D ultrasound, which would have been easier to see but it does kind of spoil the fun of seeing him for the first time.  We're so close to meeting him, I can't wait!


On Thursday we went to the doctor, this time he checked to see if I was dilated - nothing has happened yet.  I'm ok with that, I'm not too uncomfortable and I'm definitely not prepared as far as having my bags packed and the nursery ready.  That night we went to our baby class... it was horrible.  The teacher just rambles.  At the end of the day, the baby is going to come out and I trust my doctor to do what's best for me and Mason.  I don't need to know all the extra information she gives or 'how they used to do things in years past', it's just ridiculous.  It's also hard to sit through a 3 hour class!


Friday my mom came up to stay for the weekend and that night we went to church for a trivia night fundraiser to support the youth group going to Nicaragua this summer.  It was called Brain-a-Mania and our team (a table of 10 people) actually did pretty well!  Mom was clutch with a few answers.  On Saturday we just hung out around the house... Levi and his girlfriend Amy came over to shoot a bow and arrow, Curt Baker and Scott Light came over just to say hi... mom and I cleaned the house (it's much more fun cleaning with someone else helping!  And it gets done a lot faster!) for my party that night.  Which leads me to...


My Favorite Things Party!  I had 8 girls over Saturday night for this party - each girl brought their favorite thing to eat.  There were bagel bites, chips and salsa, lasagna cupcakes, potato bites... lots of deliciousness.  They also were told to bring 5 items that were each $10 or less, and their items had to be wrapped in a bag so no one knew what anyone else brought.  The girls then put their name in a bowl 5 times.  We passed around the bowl and everyone drew 5 names (couldn't be their own name, and no duplicate names).  When it was your turn you had to tell everyone about your gift and why it's your favorite, then the names of the girls you drew received those 5 things!  At the end of the night I ended up with Valentine kitchen towels, a Jarkey, a Mini Emergency kit, lotion & a Scentsy scent, and warm socks.  After everyone exchanged their 5 gifts, one lucky person (Megan Chaffin) won the "Swag Bag" filled with MY favorite things!  Then we played one of my favorite games, Celebrity.  It was a pretty fun night!

  • How far along? 36 weeks
  • Total weight gain? 23 pounds
  • Stretch marks? Still none.. I hope to make it to the end!
  • Sleep? Sleeping when I can, but he definitely lets me know that he is there all the time.  Lots of kicking and punching... I think he needs a spanking when he gets out! 
  • Best moment this week? Seeing our sweet baby face!
  • Miss anything? Pinot Noir.
  • Movement: Oh yes.  The ultrasound lady asked me if I ever got any sleep!
  • Food cravings: Peanut butter (sandwiches, on toast, with bananas... anything)
  • Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!  Just kind of congested but I think that comes with being prego.
  • Showing? Yes. 
  • Gender: Boy
  • Labor signs: Had a few contractions this week but nothing major.  I'm praying that when it's time to go to the hospital, it is VERY clear to me that I need to go immediately!  I don't want to cry wolf.
  • Belly button in or out: Still out but becoming more flat since my belly is getting bigger.
  • Wedding rings on or off? On.
  • Happy or moody most of the time? Happy... birthday weeks are always fun! :)
  • Looking forward to: My showers this week - one Sunday at church, and one at school on Tuesday.  I'm blessed to have such loving and caring people in my life! 
  • Baby's size: Honeydew
  • Thursday, January 24, 2013

    Week 35

    My January is crazy busy.  I'm not complaining though, I'd rather be busy than have nothing going on!  This week we met our pediatrician on Tuesday... some people don't meet their pediatricians before their baby comes, but we did and I'm glad.  When you give birth they ask who your pediatrician is, and if you haven't picked one out yet they assign you one.  I didn't want to be assigned someone!  So we picked Dr. Finstad, his office is near our house (even though it's in Nixa) and he's very nice.  I'm ok with him taking care of Mason for a long time. 

    On Wednesday my parents sent a basket of fruit to my school :) and that night Tyler's mom fixed a birthday dinner for me - beans, cornbread, black eyed peas, salad, and angel food cake with strawberries- yum!  You can take the girl out of the south, but you can't take the south out of the girl.  On my birthday, Thursday, Tyler had flowers sent to school- they were beautiful!  And they make the house smell great.  We went to eat at Touch that evening then had to go to our baby class.  Baby class was a bummer on my birthday, but it was still a great day.  I didn't get to go home until 9:30, I was exhausted!  Friday I got home from school and sat at home a bit... then I went to the nail place to get a mani-pedi.  Worth it!

    On Saturday morning I met my friend Laura for breakfast at Tea Bar & Bites.  I had never eaten there and it was amazing!  Anytime I hang out with Laura we always have great conversation- never a dull moment that's for sure.  She's one of those friends who I don't have to see all the time but every time I do see her I always enjoy our time together.  After breakfast I got my hair cut and colored, then that night we went to a fundraiser for the Scottish Rite Masons because Brian Vesely bought a table and invited us.  So we got to dress up fancy, and be with good friends. It was very fun! I did take pictures on a legit camera but haven't put them on here yet... so here's a horrible picture of the group that went.  Below that is just the girls - I wish our eyes weren't shiny!  Then below that I am actually covering up Lesley but you can't see her and I think that's funny - big girl coming through, ha!  I did great in my 4" heels- I walked like I wasn't carrying 20 extra pounds of weight in front... success!  And Tyler is so handsome in his suit.



     
  • How far along? 35 weeks
  • Total weight gain? 21 pounds!
  • Stretch marks? Not yet..
  • Sleep? Still sleeping fine.  I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but when I wake up I have to go really bad.  Thankful that I am able to sleep through the night for a few more weeks!
  • Best moment this week? It was my birthday week!  The whole week was great!
  • Miss anything? My maternity clothes are becoming too small!  You would expect these clothes to fit throughout your pregnancy but I guess not.  I wish I could wear sweatpants to school.
  • Movement: Yes
  • Food cravings: I love Icee's (coke and cherry mixed).  It's getting out of control :)... and I've been craving water, always feeling like I need it.
  • Anything making you queasy or sick? Feeling great - I put a humidifier in our room and I think it's helped a lot with the sinus problems.
  • Showing? Yep!  My feet and hands still haven't swollen, I think it's because I'm always cold. 
  • Gender: Boy
  • Labor signs: Had more Braxton-Hicks this week.
  • Belly button in or out: Still out but becoming more flat since my belly is getting bigger.
  • Wedding rings on or off? On.
  • Happy or moody most of the time? Happy... birthday weeks are always fun! :) 
  • Looking forward to: We get an ultrasound on Wednesday - I'm so excited to see Mason again!!!
  • Baby's size: Coconut

  • Sunday, January 13, 2013

    Week 34

    I usually don't like bare belly pictures, but I just had to put this one up.  I can't believe how big my stomach has gotten, and it's not done yet!!  Yikes!

    This was my first week back in school... it wasn't so bad, took a little time for the kids to adjust to having a schedule but they got the hang of it by the middle of the week.  On Tuesday we went to a class on breastfeeding - it was... interesting.  There are so many contradicting opinions about every little thing (from people teaching classes, to the books I've read, to the people who give unsolicited advice wherever I go) that I kind of just want to do my own thing.  I feel like that information is good to know but that I will rely on my maternal instincts to get me through things.  Every baby is different so who knows how Mason will be!  On Thursday we went to the doctor again.  I've gained 21 pounds!  Baby is getting big!  Everything is looking normal and measuring normal.  We get to have an ultrasound soon and I'm really excited for that.  I'm concerned about the size of his head, mostly :) Tyler had a huge head when he was born!  I also don't think Mason will have any hair.  I haven't had bad hearburn and when I was born I didn't have a lot of hair until I was about 2 years old.  Tyler had a lot of hair when he was born, but I expected to have a lot of heartburn with lots of hair.  Maybe we'll be able to tell in the ultrasound!  On Friday we had some friends over for fajitas and played Celebrity - very fun!  Then on Saturday we ate dinner at Angie's which always means good food and good conversation.  All the boys were on the way back from their annual pheasant hunting trip (except Tyler, he stayed home this year since I could go into labor anytime) so we waited for them to get home.  While we waited, we talked about taking a Barnes girls annual trip- if the guys do it then why can't we!  We talked about staying at the Mizell's cabin in Colorado and going to a spa there, or going to a spa in Arizona (there's a theme here), or going to Napa for a few days... we'll figure out something, but in 2013 there will be a Barnes girl trip!  I'm already excited!

  • How far along? 34 weeks
  • Total weight gain? 21 pounds!
  • Stretch marks? Not yet..
  • Sleep? Getting it when I can... I have to sleep with a lot of pillows though.
  • Best moment this week? Friday night we had a few friends over for fajitas and games.. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!  So thankful for good friends!
  • Miss anything? Wearing normal clothes- I've had to find a fancy dress for a fundraiser in a few weeks and the normal dresses I try on look ridiculous!  It's funny to see me in them, but I'm ready to have my old body back.
  • Movement: Yes, he's getting bigger!  We get to have an ultrasound in a week and a half.
  • Food cravings: Lots of water... can't get enough!
  • Anything making you queasy or sick? Still feeling sinus congestion, that's about it.
  • Showing? Yep!
  • Gender: Boy
  • Labor signs: A few contractions here and there, every so often I'll feel my uterus tighten but it doesn't hurt.  Just a little uncomfortable.
  • Belly button in or out: Still way out!
  • Wedding rings on or off? On.
  • Happy or moody most of the time? I'd still say moody this week.  
  • Looking forward to: my birthday and going to a fancy party at the country club on Saturday- we'll see how I do in my heels!
  • Baby's size: Butternut squash

  • Monday, January 7, 2013

    Week 33

    This week I was in a lot better mood than last week.  Sunday was rough- kind of funny though... I woke up with an outfit planned to wear to church (I wanted to wear my Christmas necklace) but then that outfit didn't fit.  Then I tried on maternity clothes, and they didn't fit.  I was so frustrated!  I started to cry.  Then I was laughing that I was so big even my maternity clothes weren't fitting.  Granted, I needed to do laundry, so my options were limited.  When we got to church I was in a horrible mood, then in the middle of church I started crying.  Haha!  I was all over the place!  I had to laugh at myself for being that ridiculous.  On Sunday night, Jayci and Lee stayed the night with us.  They didn't get to Ozark until 11:30pm so we didn't have a whole lot of time to talk.  The next morning we went to Village Inn - it was snowing! - and had good conversation.  I love that I have a friend who I don't have to see or talk to every day (or months at a time), and when we get together we pick up right where we left off.  She is 3 weeks behind me in her pregnancy, and the only thing I regret from her visit is that I didn't get a picture of our bellies!!  They aren't finding out what they're having... obviously I wasn't able to do that, I'm too much of a planner.  I think they're having a girl though!

    Every year I always want to do something awesome for New Years Eve.  I make last minute plans and then by the time the next New Year comes around, I can't remember what "awesome" thing I did the last year.  Except for ringing in 2010 (or was it 2011?) at Tawny & Travis Willson's house in KC- I remember that!  This year we went to Larry & Angie's house and had the BEST time.  When I think of New Years Eve I think of sparkly dresses, streamers, glitter, and fancy parties.  This party was absolutely none of those things and it was very fun!  We literally played games the whole time.  I love games.  Good food, good conversation, lots of laughing - I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard I started crying and had a hard time breathing (people were worried I'd go into labor, haha).  We talked about a few of our New Years Resolutions... here are a few of mine:

    1- I want to be back to 130 pounds by May 1.
    2- I want to be able to jump the wake and do a backroll in the air on the wakeboard.
    3- I want to read my Bible and actually read it well.  It doesn't have to be every day, I'm more interested in quality over quantity.  I'm excited for our Sunday school class over 'reading the Bible well', our preacher is teaching it and I think it will help me learn how to do this.
    4- I hate making resolutions that aren't things you can measure (yes I did this, no I didn't) but I really want to be a good mom this year and every year after this.  I know that I will make mistakes but I hope I can learn from them.  I'm excited to have an awesome husband to share my life with.  I know that sometimes I'll have no idea what to do and just rely on God to get me through things.  That sounds cliche but God has been so evident in other areas of my life (career, in the classroom, my marriage) that I know he'll be working in our relationship with our little boy.

    On Tuesday Tyler and I slept in and just enjoyed each other's company, it was grrrreat!  That night we went to Larry & Angie's again for Kate's birthday dinner/blessing.  I love the family I inherited!  Wednesday morning I cleaned the house a little, then Jess and Kate came over to paint the nursery stripes (Tyler worked a double today).  The rest of this blog is about said stripes.  On Thursday we had our first baby class, it was incredibly boring.  They didn't tell us anything our doctor hadn't already told us.  I'm sure it'll get more informative since there are 5 weeks of classes.  On Friday we just chilled and got the house more organized (I am on an organization kick for the house), and on Saturday I got a massage at noon (a-mazing, just what I needed) then that night I saw Les Mis for Kate's birthday.  I have always wanted to see the play but never have, so I didn't know the plot or anything else about the movie (except the song that goes "I dreamed a dream..." that the America's Got Talent lady sang).  It was incredible!

    So- stripes! - here's my inspiration from Pinterest (pinspiration, if you will):


    I had no idea how to begin doing this so I'm thankful to have family who are handy with tools!  We (by we I mean Jess and Kate, mostly) used measuring tape, a chalk line (LIFE SAVER!), painter's tape, brushes, and rollers.  The window/door/closet are all at different heights in Mason's room so measuring from the floor was difficult.  We decided to measure a foot from the ceiling and start the stripes there.  We made a chalk line a foot from the ceiling.  I knew the pattern of colors but wasn't sure about the width of each color so we just used the width of the painter's tape.  White- 2 inches, Navy - 1 inch, White- 2 inches, Yellow- 4 inches, White- 2, Navy-1, White-2.  

    We taped it all off so we wouldn't paint where we wanted our navy lines to be, so then it looked like this:


    Then we painted white between the 2 widest lines.  That was day 1.  Day 2 - when we took the tape off, some of the white had gotten onto the navy lines so we all had tiny paintbrushes in hand, touching up the navy.  It was hard to make straight lines on walls that are textured!  After all the stripes looked fabulous, we taped off where the yellow should be and painted it.  The key to not getting paint under the tape was to brush (with a paintbrush) away from the tape, then rolling a paint roller over that same spot so the brush marks don't show.  It looks like this:


    We were so anxious to take the tape off that we didn't let the yellow dry all the way, but that's ok because it turned out FABULOUS!  I am so excited to finish this room!!!


    More pictures of the nursery will come.  While we were painting in the room, Tyler was making shelves (another pinterest project) out of wood that I had bought at Lowe's the day before.  Talk about feeling out of place - me, pregnant, walking around the wood section of Lowe's with men all around.  I had no idea what I was doing... anyway, that's another post.  This one is a novel!



  • How far along? 33 weeks
  • Total weight gain? 17 pounds
  • Stretch marks? No, I just keep drinking water whenever I can to keep hydrated...
  • Sleep? I think I experienced 3rd trimester insomnia this week.  My body would be so very tired and my mind was not.  Or, I couldn't get into a comfortable position.  Sometimes I'm able to sleep, sometimes not.  
  • Best moment this week? All the time I got to spend with my family - New years eve, new years day, painting the nursery, seeing a movie... just hanging out!  I feel fortunate to actually enjoy being around my husband's family.  I would choose them as friends, but as a bonus I get to be family!
  • Miss anything? Eating lots of pizza.
  • Movement: Yes.  Less sharp jabs and more 'get out of my ribs please'.  He's getting bigger!
  • Food cravings: The usual... coke/cherry Icee's, milk, juice of any fruit.
  • Anything making you queasy or sick? I have sinus drainage in the mornings and it's no fun.  Hopefully that will go away soon.
  • Showing? Yep!
  • Gender: Boy
  • Labor signs: Not this week.
  • Belly button in or out: Out.  Jess was feeling my stomach on New Years Eve and said "Oh, I think I feel his nose, it's kind of a hard spot right there"... "umm, Jess that's my belly button!" 
  • Wedding rings on or off? On.
  • Happy or moody most of the time? Moody, but less moody than last week.  I'd say this week was 60% happy, 40% moody.
  • Looking forward to: my birthday week!
  • Baby's size: Durian Fruit (I get these from thebump.com, I have no idea what a durian fruit is!)




  • Friday, January 4, 2013

    Week 32

    I love Christmas break! I've been getting some much needed sleep, and have had time to work on the nursery when I'm not exhausted after a day of teaching.  On Sunday we had Christmas at Tyler's grandma's house, on Monday Jayci called me just to talk- I needed to talk to her and am so glad she is my best and oldest friend!  On Christmas day Tyler and I woke up and had breakfast (chocolate gravy, strawberries, and bananas) and opened gifts.  He got me a beautiful amethyst necklace - Mason's birthstone - I love it.  It's perfect.  Then we had Christmas at his parents house again without gifts, and ate lunch.  On Wednesday Tyler worked a double so I cleaned and worked in the nursery, and on Thursday a few of Tyler's childhood friends came to our house for dinner and games.  I had my doctor's appointment on Thursday- everything is still looking good!  On Saturday we went to dinner at our friend Chris and Megan Chaffin's house.  It's a good thing I'm resting when I can because all these social activities are exhausting!  I have never been one to choose sleep over being around people, but I am Tired.  Capital T.  My tenant is draining me of energy.



  • How far along? 32 weeks
  • Total weight gain? 17 pounds
  • Stretch marks? Still none, still feeling stretched!
  • Sleep? Soooo sleepy this week.  I couldn't get enough of it.  Thankful that I'm able to sleep!
  • Best moment this week? Christmas morning with Tyler, the last time it's just the 2 of us.  We had chocolate gravy and fruit for breakfast and he gave me a beautiful necklace with Mason's birthstone.  Now we just hope he's born in February!
  • Miss anything? Having abs that work.  It's hard to sit up by myself.
  • Movement: Always.
  • Food cravings: Milk.  Lots of milk.
  • Anything making you queasy or sick? I can't eat pizza even though I want to... it gives me horrible heartburn.
  • Showing? Yep!
  • Gender: Boy
  • Labor signs: I can't tell if I'm having contractions or if my muscles hurt when I stand up too fast or something.  
  • Belly button in or out: Out.
  • Wedding rings on or off? On.
  • Happy or moody most of the time? Moody.  I have a lot to be thankful for, but I sure did feel like Scrooge this week.  
  • Looking forward to: Getting the nursery more complete... you can see the floor now and all the clothes are sorted.  Hopefully I get as much done this week as I intend to do.
  • Baby's size: Squash