Time Line

You can tell that I am spending a lot of time sitting these last few days because this is the third post this week. Damn swelling and blood pressure. Today I have compiled all the weekly pictures into a timeline for your viewing pleasure. It is amazing to look back and see how small I was at one point in time and to think that my body stretched out this much. Craaazy. It does go back to its almost original shape, doesn't it?

Fasten your seat belts for your trip back into time. Its going to be a bumpy ride--get it? bumpy? Like baby bump? Ah, forget it.

10 weeks

At 10 weeks I thought I was starting to show so I took a picture. I find this absolutely hilarious now.

13 weeks

I was very very very sick at 13 weeks and thought I was huge.

16 weeks

 16 weeks is when I officially started to show, but looking back at it I just look bloated.

19 weeks

19 weeks I stopped throwing up a million times a day and was eager to start wearing maternity clothes.


20 weeks

 The difference between 19 and 20 weeks is huge and other people could finally see I was pregnant and not just eating every 2 hours and getting pudgy.

22 weeks

This is where I started to not be so cute. What was I thinking in this sweater? Yikes



23 weeks

Again, yikes. However, the pants I am wearing are size 4 pre-pregnancy jeans.

26 weeks

This is where I start to EXPLODE and get yelled at by my Dr. for gaining too much weight. 30 pounds added at this point.

29 weeks

Late second trimester and early third trimester were emotionally hard on me. I was a wreck.



31 weeks

This is the week moving became difficult and sleeping a full night was nonexistent.


33 weeks



35 weeks

Ahhh, 35 weeks, this is where I really started to pack on the pounds. Not because of the ice cream, that was a one time frozen treat and I had allotted for it in my daily calorie count. 


37 weeks

 The Little Monster dropped at 37 weeks and I could breathe again, unfortunately walking became very difficult and I developed the Pregnant Lady Waddle.

38 weeks

Our first trip to the hospital and my last week of work. It feels so good to rest. This was also the last week I counted calories, I figured I deserve to eat whatever I want for 2 weeks since I was so well behaved this whole time and still gained 55 pounds.

Finally 39 weeks

I can't wait to move, bend, roll over in bed, help around the house and meet our tiny person.

Have a good weekend! This is the last post on The Reason I Can't Drink Coffee, because come Monday I will be able to drink the sweet nectar of life once more. Next time you all hear from me I will be a mom with a whole new set of problems, worries and things to blog about....I just haven't decided on the new blog name yet.

Thanks for following us through this turning point in our lives and being a great support system for us.

Colie

39 weeks and Plant Bed #1 Complete

Because we just love all the wonderful people at Lowes, we feel the need to spend enough money in the Lawn and Garden Center to personally pay each and every one of the employees their weekly paycheck. You know it is bad when the boys in the Garden Center know your name and the project you are working on. Matt gets asked "how'd that patio turn out?" "Are ya back for more gravel and sand?" or "did ya get the stairs put in yet?" every time we go. Fortunately, this time around, we were there for the fun stuff...BUSHES AND FLOWERS. We spent a good hour and a half paroozing the flowers and envisioning our lovely patio adorned with lush green leaves and beautiful flowering bushes. We finished Plant Bed #1 tonight and I rushed inside to post the pictures (which do it no justice at all, I swear!) Matt planted and mulched his little heart out and I stood there with the hose eager to do my part of tenderly watering each bush individually.

The empty space at the end of the round portion of the bed is left intentionally. We are going to be planting either a small ornamental tree or a snowball bush--it hasn't been decided on yet. 

We are still working on the lawn, that is the next project we are going to tackle--Operation Green Grass. Back to the plants... It always amazes me how small everything looks once you plant it into the ground. They all look so strong and dominate in their pots, but once they get in the ground they look like wimpy little dorks. Good news though, all the plants we picked are fast growers and we Miracle Growed the heck out of them (junk food for plants).  Side note: The first thing the dogs did when we let them out was rummage through the beds and step on all the Creeping Phlox. Jerks.

Here is the official last week of pregnancy photo! I have gained a grand total of 55 pounds and my belly has gone from 24.5 inches around to a whopping 43 inches. I am sincerely hoping that 50 pound of that is water. I weigh more than Matt and that hurts the old self esteem a little bit. O well, I would like to see him grow a person--BooYa.

Colie

Trial Runs, Sweat Equity and a Strange Attachment

Hi Everyone

So much for last week's high hopes post proclaiming that This Could Be the Last Weekly Post Ever!! I have a tendency to count my chicks before they hatch and I am a wishful thinker. In my defence though, all the signs are there and the doctor kept telling me I was going to deliver early based on their findings. Regardless, there are a maximum of 5 days left and this is the last Wednesday Matt and I will ever have before we are parents. I am taking the advice of friends and relishing in every alone moment I have--even though they all involve sitting on the sofa because I am too big and swollen to do the things I want to do.

Matt and I had a trial run to the hospital this weekend. I had been having 1 minute long contractions every 8-11 minutes for about 24 hours. Matt wanted to participate in the Family Tradition of casino gambling the night before the Indy 500 and then spending the whole next day at the race (only men would call this a tradition) but I was putting a damper on his plans with my contractions. I kept ensuring him that they were Fake-out Contractions and not Big Girl Contractions and he could go be apart of The Tradition. Being the good husband he is, he wouldn't leave unless I called the doctor to make sure these were Fake Out Contractions (he actually got mad, told me I was ridiculous and then started to ignore me before I would pick up the phone and make the call) 20 minutes later we were on the way to the hospital for monitoring. They were indeed registering contractions on the monitor and I had 3 in 30 minutes, but no changes in dilation so they sent us home so Matt enjoyed The Tradition.

The 1 finger stands for First Trip

Unfortunately, these Fake Out Contractions have continued every 15 minutes since Friday, which is getting incredibly annoying--like I need one more thing to annoy me these days (also on the list of things that pester me: A volume on the TV that exceeds 15, radio commercials, anything slightly out of place, people in general and Krum's incessant need to be near me at all times). Yesterday's weekly doctor appointment wasn't as good as I expected--Lots of protein in my pee and a 10.8 pound weight gain with lots of swelling. That's right, in my last week of pregnancy, I got the PREECLAMPSIA. My blood pressure isn't out of control, but it is certainly higher than what is normal for me.

One Man, One Plan and One Month later, the great patio project of 2011 is complete.


Don't focus on the dirt, just look at the patio

 The stairs are in, the mortar is in place and the patio is now a permanent fixture in the yard. Hallelujah. Tonight we are going to Lowes (which we have spent more money at in the last 4 weeks than we have in an entire year) to get plants and mulch. We will be completing the smaller of the flower beds-- I might loose my mind if I have to look at dirt for one more day. The smaller of the beds will be on the right side of the patio in the above picture. When I say "WE" I really mean Matt will do all these things and I will bark orders from my totally awesome lounge chair/kiddie pool set up I got going on--I don't care that I look like a beached whale in it.


Sweet Setup for 38 weeks pregnant and 92 degrees outside

 Now, for my strange new attachment. If I wasn't so in love with this object I think I would be embarrassed to admit this. I am LOOOVVVEEE with a Large McAlister's cup. That's right, a cup. I love drinking from its long red straw, it holds the perfect amount of icy cold beverage and I haven't dropped it once because it fits so nicely in my hand--I seem to drop everything now a days. I enjoy iced tea, water and lemonade with my McAlister's cup and I couldn't be happier. Oh, and I do wash it, I just can't bring myself to part with it. Is developing unfounded attachments to inanimate objects normal in late pregnancy?

Hello My Love

Colie

Is This a Joke?

I picture the Little Monster in my belly sipping Pina Coladas, basking in sunshine and ordering room service at 3am. Then I picture the hotel management trying to evict it from it's wonderful all inclusive resort, but the Little Monster is holding on to the walls and fighting every step of the way.

The real deal contractions started last night at 8:30pm, while I was at work of course. They started in my back and wiggled forward and then clenched me in a stop what I am doing and forget my name kind of way. Thank goodness my wonderful friend Lauren was there to do about an hour's worth of work for me while I sat in a chair and watched (thhhhaaankkkksss Lauren!) They weren't frequent, but they were getting stronger. By 11pm they were 10-15 minutes apart and lasting about 30-45 seconds. I got home at 12:30pm from work and laid in bed until 5am with these Big Girl Contractions, they were still about 10 minutes apart, getting stronger and lasting 45 seconds. Then they were gone. That's right, vanished into thin air like they had never been there!

I Googled these Vanishing Contractions and are you ready for what all powerful Google said? Normal, 100% completely normal! Little Monster....This is the hotel management and it is time to go!!

Colie

Nothin'

There have been no changes from last week's appointment. I was very disappointed, it feels like I have been doing a lot of work, but not getting paid for it. In my very knowledgeable medical mind I know that I can go from 2cm to 10cm and have the kid in the same day, but my first time mom and emotional mind wanted to hear that I was making progress.

Stay tuned for more updates (hopefully a post that announces we are on the way to the hospital)

Colie

Perhaps the Last Weekly Post????

Good Morning!

I have been up since 4:53 this morning with some fake out labor contractions--really strong Braxton Hicks. I have been having them for the last few days and they are getting stronger and stronger, but none of them are regular. Rather than lay in bed and wallow in my lonely, false labor, contracting agony I got up, checked email, made some coffee and looked up the local sunrise time...6:24 for Indianapolis, IN. I packed my lovely 6 ounces of liquid gold, AKA coffee, into my adorable travel mug, laced up my old running shoes (which are more made for waddling these days) and set out toward the East.

I was bound for two things this morning. One was to see the sunrise and two was to walk this kid out. Unfortunately, both were a bust, but I did get some great landscaping ideas and all the little songbirds were very lively this morning. The sunrise was just that, the sun coming up, no pinks or oranges painting the morning sky. I also only had one stop me in my footsteps little contraction, so it looks like the tiny person is going to be hanging out a little longer...not that I expected them to fall out on the sidewalk or anything (well, I kinda did).

I have a weekly Doctor appointment tomorrow, hopefully I am making some more progress. Last week I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced, but all week I have been having stronger and stronger contractions. My doctor assures me that no contraction is a waste and each one gets me one step closer to the end, so I am curious to see if I am further along tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me.

Colie