Big Belly Chronicles II - 36 weeks

For a long time now I have been meaning to get Kevin or someone to take a picture of this tummy of mine. Poor baby #2 will want to see pictures just like Leah does!

So since I keep forgetting, I just had to take some myself. This is a first for me.... I have never once take a pic of myself in the mirror!!! I hate having my picture made at all... Why would I stand in front of a mirror and photograph myself? How can people do this all the time? I still feel awkward, all these days later!

Ok, where do I hold the camera? How do I stand? Where on earth do I look???



Still can't figure out where to look or how to stand or how NOT to make a weird face...



Finally figured out where to look but can't stop with the stupid faces...



Oh there we go... Side belly shot was what I was going for... Stupid face...



I just could not make a serious smiling face....




So there it is! 36 week belly. I am certain I am already much bigger than I was the day I delivered Leah. I have felt that way about a month. I don't think I can stretch anymore!! I look and feel like I am about to POP!

Oh, and horizontal stripes are so cute but why did EVERYTHING (and I truly mean 98% of all the tops at maternity shops this year) have horizontal stripes? I thought that was a big no-no when you were extra round?? Oh well... I went with it. I had no choice!

Big Belly Chronicles - The FINAL Volume

Here are a few final photos of Leah's old room and Leah's new room! Next time we post we will be the most proud parents of a baby girl... who may even have a middle name! :)

Her old room (underneath that famous stretchy top that just barely made it to 39 weeks!)

Her new room! With so much help from Sally and her awesome bunch (at sallyjdesigns.com). They did the bedding and drapes and made the banner for Leah's wall. I stole the idea from a framed piece that my Aunt Diane gave me when I went off to college... It said "God is watching over you, I know because I asked him to." And its always been so special to me!

Kevin thinks I forgot, but he promised to do a post of his own about a recent hunting trip that his VERY pregnant wife went on with him... it was part of the agreement that he would blog about it. So everyone has ALOT to look forward to on the Curley blog.

Last picture of me taken tonight... I'm GIVING BIRTH TOMORROW!
I'm tired and so excited!!!

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 34w

I've been having braxton hicks contractions since mid-November. They were getting increasingly more frequent over the weeks before Christmas, which is why I did so much of my Christmas shopping online (and got SO aggravated by the misleading websites.) Then, as I was getting well after my nasty cold and bronchitis... my gastrointestinal system decided it had been left out of the party... and for 3 days it was like my morning sickness on steroids. It lasted Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the day after Christmas. 3 of the BEST days in the whole year! The first 2 are obviously good days, but the reason I love the day after Christmas is the shopping! I love 75% off Christmas stuff for next year! I love 75% off anything! The last time I missed this shopping day was 5 years ago... the day before our wedding. I shouldn't say missed, because my sister and I were at the mall, frantically trying to find new clothes for me to wear to the rehearsal dinner that night and a few more things to pack and take on our honeymoon. I shop VERY WELL under pressure. :) But I didn't get to do the bargain hunting I love so much. And... 5 years later, Kevin has caused me not to be able to shop again...

But as I was putting Christmas stuff away this year, I was thankful to not have one single additional item to pack away. As much as I love to shop, I hate the clutter that shopping causes. I hate waste, and the over consumption that so many in our society indulge in. Uggg... but I can't help that I still LOVE TO SHOP! (Which is why I love a flexible return policy.)

While resting over Christmas, the contractions stopped. But then, as I began to move around and do some stuff around the house, they have returned. But I'm averaging about 4-5 a day now, whereas before I was up to 4-5 an hour sometimes. (Which my doctor said could turn into REAL labor if I wasn't careful.... so I'm being much more careful.) So this is my belly at 34 weeks 2 days. I am still getting ALOT of comments about not being big enough... but my doctor says my fundus is just fine. :)

We have furniture in the baby's room!! This is a big deal, and I won't go into why. Its a looooong story. But we have it and the room will look like a fun little girl's room in no time! She'll be here in less than 5 weeks now! 2 of the Curley's are extremely happy about this, and the 3rd Curley..... the beautiful furry brown one... is NOT so happy. Here's how you can tell... this is a picture of her while she's watching her dad put the baby's bed together. When Beans' lips are spread out all over the floor like this, it can mean two things.... REALLY tired.... or REALLY mad. And she'd been napping most of the afternoon. So.....

I think she picked up the pouty look from her dad. And I think she is beginning to figure out that something in our house is taking a little attention away from "the CENTER of the UNIVERSE." But we will make sure she still gets plenty. I imagine it would be hard to go from 100% of our undivided attention to anything less than that. But she'll always be our very first baby.

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 30w

30 weeks, 3 days down... So much is going on, including the little girl's first trip to the hair salon for mamma's much needed haircut, (that's right, I haven't had a haircut in 8 months... don't judge me!) first baby shower and first hiccups on Sunday! I'll have to post a few pics of my sweet friends at the shower later this week.

As seems to be the common thread in my life right now... things that should be progressing at a certain rate, are going a little... bit... slow... EVERYONE thinks my tummy isn't quite big enough to be 2 months away from delivery. I think it's huge! And most importantly my doctor thinks its just fine and the baby girl is smack dab in the middle of the growth charts. (Its a chart that I never fit on... from my birth at nearly 10 lbs, until I was grown... I think the affectionate term was "off the charts.") Our little girl weighs approximately 3 lbs based on her measurements! Here's a pic of my tummy. And the rest of my tired body. I'm still getting over this nasty cold we had last week... and last night was the first time in a week that I slept through the night without even one coughing fit! But I still feel SO EXHAUSTED! Shout out to Target for these great lounge pants that I wear every night when I get home from work. So flattering I know...

No, I haven't been back to that CVS yet either. I intended to go back to buy some more cough drops and just have them double it, but I found some more in my cabinet, and haven't needed to go back. But, I will.

Here are pics of my SLOOOOW knitting progress

as well. You can't tell, but the white thing is my baby's first blanket... almost. Well, actually there is QUITE a bit to go, and I haven't picked it up since Thanksgiving, but I will get back on the horse soon. My green scarf, the original project, has taken a weird turn. I was using it to practice my different stitches, but then lost track of what I had done, so there is NO pattern at all. Just a bunch of weirdness. You can bet I'll wear it proudly anyway.

Last thing..... Little Curley's room. The blue tape is still up, but the painting is complete. Kevin did such a good job. I know it doesn't look like a little girl's room to you all yet... but I promise it will. The colors are "Heart's of Palm" green and Snoop Dogg's "Grizzle Grey." Open your minds... I think it's going to be so fun! I get lots of weird looks when I try to describe it so I won't even

bother, you'll just have to see it. Just as long as she keeps on cooking for 2 more months, we'll make it.... she will have a bed and everything! ONLY TWO MONTHS!!!!!!!! :-O

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 26 w

So, this was me last week actually.... at 25 weeks. Today I'm 26 weeks and slightly poochier, and finding it seriously difficult to GET UP! If I'm having trouble now... we should all be worried. I have 3 months to go!

I have to take a moment and talk about maternity clothes. At first I was determined to just make my regular clothes somehow work throughout this whole thing in order to save money (yes, I'm cheap.... and not that smart I guess). I even had my friend who is a hard core garage-saler scoping out maternity clothes for me at $1 a pop. I went to Target and found a couple of things that my wonderful-but-not-always-so-eloquent husband likened to trash bags. And finally broke down and went to a couple of specialty stores and left feeling SO much better and more comfortable. And I wanted to give a shout out to Michael Stars who made the shirt I have on here. It is the greatest, because it will just keep stretching.....and stretching.... and then when you wash it it returns to its exact perfect original shape. The ladies at the shop said they even have a few of his tops that they wear all the time (not pregnant). And that I will be able to wear it long after the baby comes! Now... they are one size. Do you hear what I'm saying? No sizes... everyone wears the same shirt.... so my fear is being out somewhere with one of these shirts that has made me so happy and then seeing one of those adorable, twiggy, pregnant girls who look like models with basketballs under their shirts, wearing the same shirt as me and looking WAY better in it. (Thanks to my Santa Fe friend for sending me this pic :) Anyway... I'm very happy with the shirts. And wanted to pass it along to all you pregnant girls... check out Michael Stars tops... unless you will look cuter than me in it...

A couple more updates. The baby girl is still a girl... confirmed for the 6th time (3 ultrasounds times 2 people operating the sono). She is still perfect. She weights approximately 2 lbs, measures exactly on target and is strong as an ox! I sometimes wonder... if this is what other people are feeling all day, every day, how come I don't see other pregnant people startled and jumping and grabbing themselves in surprise all day long? She gets stronger by the day. And the other day I actually said these words out loud... "Its like there is a little person in there just kicking the heck out of me!"

Here is my knitting... again, a week ago. I've made a little more progress on the original scarf and the new purple one. And I have knitted one row of our baby's first blanket. I can't wait to show pics of that!!

The next two pictures are of our Little Curley's room. Surely we can find a spot for her. This poor unfortunate room in our house quickly became our "we-don't-have-room-for-this-but-don't-want-to-get-rid-of-it-yet-so-put-it-in-that-room" room. But our pending arrival has caused us to finally clean it out. So this is the "before" picture. The picture actually doesn't do it justice.

I thought I would put all these things the Curley's have in progress, together in one posting.

Deer and duck seasons are also in progress for Kevin.... so I guess I better add a pic of one of the poor little animals he and Beans got on opening weekend. He got a couple of wood ducks and a wigeon. ?? Here is Beans with her daddy's wigeon. I'm going to look into making a Turduckin this holiday season... and I also wanna try to make some duck jerky. I don't know how, but I'm not afraid to try...

Big Belly Chronicles - Volume 22w

Today I am 22 weeks. Our little girl has had a pretty strict sleep/wake schedule in the womb... but now her new schedule is AWAKE... All the time! She wiggles and moves and flips and turns and kicks and punches ALL DAY LONG! It is fun, but sometimes I truly can't concentrate on what I am trying to do because she is so full of vigor. On our last sonogram this past week, instead of standing straight up bouncing on my bladder, she was upside down with her hands above her head so she could punch it! :) I have decided not to complain about this at all, however distracting. It is a fun signal to us that our little one is healthy.

Last week, this pic was taken at the end of the day after working for 12-ish hours. I was 21 weeks 3 days, and my arms and face certainly look pregnant, but my tummy is pitiful looking isn't it? Kevin keeps saying "when are you going to start looking pregnant?" I have one shirt that really accentuates it... but mostly I just look chubby like in this pic. And I don't know why I'm grinning like an idiot. I felt very self-conscious while having this picture taken! These are the famous garments.... my maternity scrubs. I'd like to say that I'm still as excited about them as I was... but I'm aggravated because they still don't fit yet! I have to pinch up about 2 inches of them and rig them with giant binder clips to keep them form falling down. ( I need some of those giant diaper pins, but I don't have any... safety pins didn't do it) Every time I squat or bend over very far at work, the clips pop open and I have to step out of the room to hitch them up again. A little embarrassing.

To add to the disappointment of not looking "pregnant enough" yet, today I had to say goodbye to some old, fabulous friends.... Donald and Michael just to name a couple. For the last couple of weeks, each time I put on a cute pair of shoes, my knees and ankles feel wobbly and weak and get very sore. So today, after it took Kevin and I 10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the church due to my fear of falling and breaking my leg or my neck, I decided it was time to give it up. Its been my favorite thing about having a really tall husband. I can wear the highest heels in the store and he still towers above me. But alas, for the next 4 months I guess I'll be wearing flip flops, since that's all I have that aren't REALLY high heels. Here are just a few of my old faithfuls. (Notice the ones I wore this morning to aerate the grass outside the church.)

Farewell for now, but not forever...