finally: a charlotte update.

okay - so there is a lot to update in regard to baby charlotte! i have been ordered to stay in bed this saturday morning {by my darling husband} while the boys run some man errands for me, so what better thing to do than watch college gameday and catch up on my much-behind blogging?! yay!

so. where to start?

first: the hospital visit.

last monday, i woke up and felt like i normally do at 8 months pregnant: tired, not rested and short of breath. i didn't think anything of it until i got brady up and basically had to lay down for another hour on the couch because everytime i got up i felt like i was going to pass out. the final straw for me was when i tried to gt up just to get some water and i started seeing those infamous blue spots and had to sit down on the ground with my back against the wall to 'catch my breath'.

i called the hubby at work and old him i felt like something was wrong. i think i told him: "this is not normal." so, he kept cool and told me to call dr. wells and then call him back. the nurse was really puzzled by what i told her. had i eaten breakfast? yes. was a laying on my left side when i laid down? yes. did it get better if i laid down? no. interesting. she talked to the doctor and two minutes later i was trying to figure out how to get myself to 'labor & delivery' at presby!

it was chaotic getting to the hospital. b. knew something was going on and starting throwing a fit all while i was trying to make sure i had snacks, juice, diapers & wipes along with getting him and myself dressed before my mom came to pick me up. i met jeff at the hospital and my mom took brady to the playground while we were figuring things out.

it was almost immediately apparent what was happening as soon as they hooked me up to the monitors. my pulse was jumping from 95-100 to the range of 130-140 and then back down. no, i wasn't doing anything physical. no, i wasn't stressed about anything. i really was just laying in a hospital bed all day long while they monitored me and i'd go through these 2-3 minute spells of feeling terrible and then it would relax for a few minutes and we'd go through the same thing again.

we stayed overnight. we saw the cardiologist three times. we went through a ton of tests. bottom line is that they think it's pregnancy induced. a combination of adrenaline spikes {caused by pregnancy hormones} and the pressure that baby c. puts on major arteries as she gets bigger. it basically feels like i've just run 5 miles when i've actually done nothing at all. now that i know what it is, it honestly makes me feel better. they gave me some medicine to help control the severity of the 'episodes'. they havne't gone away, they're still there, but not as severe and not as frequent. so that will just have to do until miss charlotte arrives.

which brings me to my next update:

we're officially schedule for a c-section on thursday, november 11th. 11/11. what a perfect day?! we're very excited, as the countdown has begun. less than two weeks!! woo-hoo!

also. we are SO closed to finishing the nursery. there are just a few final touches that we're waiting on and then it will be complete. it's coming together even better than i had imagined. how is it that pink is so 'sweet'??  if you've read my blog before, you know that i'm a huge fan of the 'big reveal' of before and after, so i just can't bring myself to show the whole room until it's done. but... that doesn't mean i can't show you a few of my favorite parts, right?

here we go - starting with a little craft project:













little miss c's bedding was definitely a labor of love. it took me forever to pick out the fabric and then i set to work on making it. it took several weeks of figuring out the best way to put it together, the best way to sew it, pressing, pinning, ruffling, putting it down for a few days and picking it back up all over again. i will say that all of the bedding cost around $80... including two pillows, a quilt and a table topper. that's cheaper than most anything you'll find, right?

one of my thirty things before thirty was learning how to sew. i told jeff that i think this means i can cross that off my list. don't you?









here's the official update:

how far along? 37 weeks, 3 days.
total weight gain/loss? +20 pounds... i gained 2 pounds each of these last two weeks. woo-hoo.
maternity clothes? ummm.... i'm sick of these now, can i get an amen? most shirts aren't long enough to cover my elephant-sized belly... PLUS the elastic in the pants will slide down ever so slowly so that i end up with a little bit of skin showing. yuck. sorry if i just offended someone, i am just not a fan of that. so i'm mostly in sweats now. unless i'm made to get out of the house in something 'decent'.
stretch marks? i can't believe this, but with less than two weeks to go, i can see ever-so-slight marks starting on my hips. this is exactly what happened last time. i gained 10 pounds the last two weeks and got stretch marks everywhere. ugh, ugh, ugh.
sleep? none. {did i mention i'm supposed to be sleeping now?}
best moment this week? officially being scheduled at the hospital! yippeee!!
movement? not slowing down at all in this department. she's definitely found the way to get her feet up under my ribs--- always on my left side. not.comfortable.
food cravings? the last two weeks have been rough around our house so i've been craving all comfort food - i.e. not-good-for-you-comfort-food.
what i miss: sleeping. shaving my legs in a normal manner. my back not hurting, being able to pick something up off the floor, not having to go to the potty every 5 minutes.... i could go on and on.
what i'm looking forward to: november 11th.
how are you feeling? after all of the update - do i really need to elaborate on this one? i have less than 2 weeks left... so obviously not the best.
comparisons to last pregnancy? everything is just harder this time. that's what the doc told me would happen at our first appointment, but it's really been playing itself out this last few weeks. i'm just ready. everything but the last month has gone by fast. oh - and i tested positive on the strep b test this time when i didn't have it last time.
milestones? we are through with the hubby being out of town for the duration of the pregnancy. for ME - that's a milestone! yay!