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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Week 33 and 34 because I had a BSN to finish and I am a horrible procrastinator.

Week 33




Week 33 was a good one. I slept a lot this week and managed to start my nesting process.

I washed Allie's clothes, packed her hospital bag, neglected to even think about mine.

I know. For shame.

Game of Thrones, anyone? I had to. 

When I think about packing my bag, I think of all the things I haven't done, and that my good people stresses me the hell out.

This was literally the only thing I did on Week 33 and finish a giant capstone project. So to save a bunch of rambles I combined week 33 and 34.



Week 34. 




As of this week I am officially done with my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing), something every nurse pretty much needs these days, especially if you want to work in California.

Anywho! It's finished and I'm proud to say I am so glad it's behind me. I have had ZERO motivation these past two weeks and have been an absolute sloth about getting things done.


I finally got to a place where I am fully content with my education coming to a stopping point. For many people that don't know this about me, I have never stopped going to school since high school. I have always had school in my life, I guess I craved the structure I never got as a child, I'm not sure, but living my life in semesters has been apart of everything I've done up until this point. I was feeling very uneasy about not pursuing my masters right away, scared to death I wouldn't get to it, but not today. 

I have this sweet little baby to thank for that. 

Today I feel that I have done enough for now. I will get to the rest later. Now I have a whole new adventure to embark on. It feels really good. So now with this degree behind me, I can finally start growing in other ways, and learning how to be a great mom. 

So I finally started to get the last things done to make sure I have most of what I need before the baby is born. 

I have started the descent on getting my hospital bag ready because apparently your baby can come like anytime in the third trimester: *** cue every fear a-Type-A-person-has-if-they-aren't-completely -ready-panic***



So I got on it! 
  • I bought granny panties. Haven't bought any of those since 1998. I have to have something to hold those giant pads in place!
  • Bought all the good stuff to make the postpartum pads. Thanks Pinterest, you've made my life so easy. Seriously, though if you were worried about all the major mile stones and have no where to turn, go directly to Pinterest for some direction. 
  • I purchased nursing bras. I had no idea you are not supposed to wear an underwire for like 3 months after you give birth to avoid clogged ducts. You could say I "duct" out of that disaster. (do you see what I did there? LOL. I'm going to have this mom humor down!)
  • I bought this book: 


I have started reading it, and for the most part I've found to be very helpful. However, I do feel like some of the stuff this lady puts in the book is definitely her opinion, anyways there's just about a million editions of this book so clearly it sells and this lady really knows her stuff, so i'll keep reading. My lactation nazi consultant suggested this and said this was her bible. 
  • I have decided to do a birth plan. I was really on the fence about even writing one because I'm a nurse and know things don't happen to plan, but the more I got to thinking about it, I would like someone to know a little something about my thoughts, not like I'm one to keep my thoughts underwraps, but you know what I mean, it would be helpful for change of shift. (longest run-on sentence ever!) Ladies, that did a birth plan: what did you put in yours?  
  • I have a question about breast pads: Did anyone use those milkies ones, the pads where you can re-use the breast milk that it catches? I'm all about being efficient, but I just wonder how long you can keep the milk in there, do you have to dump it every so often?
  • You'd be proud, I bought a breast pump, which I knew I wanted to bring to the hospital so I could get a lactation consultant or my fabulous postpartum nurses to help me figure out how to use, future moms: I got the Medela Pump in Style Advanced, bought it on amazon for $220 I was "pumped"!, originally $270-$300 at Target and Buy Buy Baby! (i'm out of control with these puns, today.) Military moms: Tricare will absolutely pay for this pump, get your prescription from your doctor, the receipt for the pump and send it in/they will reimburse you, they will also cover the cost of breast pump supplies for the first year!
  • I, of course have all the nipple shields (in case baby is tongue tied or if my nipples prove to be strange), lanolin, and a million different types of breast pads. 
  • Moms: what did you put in your bag? Or wished you did? 
Cravings: OREOS, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE,  CHOCOLATE. This is where I will begin to see all those extra pregnancy pounds pop up. 

Aversions: I still pretty much hate salmon and anything that smells like fish. 

Sleep: I have a love/hate relationship with sleep. Some nights I sleep so soundly and other nights I toss and turn to find a good position to sleep. Then when I get in the perfect position, I have to pee and not pee like a giant amount, just enough to be annoying, like I probably could have held that for a few hours. 


Until next week!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Week 32: Is wearing pants really necessary?

Well Hello Week 32.

I've also come to this realization:


UM. I'm hoping I get to the point of not worrying about because i'm so ready for this child to leave my body. I do have this one app that told me, my baby was the size of a honey badger, I thought about my baby having claws and everything. 

My criteria of what standards of clothing is worn is slowly declining. Now the standards are very simple, Does it include wearing pants? Will I sweat in this?  For instance, I saw this black dress at Costco the day of this picture, at this point in pregnancy I find reasons to not wear pants because it's unnecessary. Best $10 I spent that day. Thank you to everyone I hung out with this day to not comment how pasty I am! 

Question: At what point did you stop wearing pants during your pregnancy?! I am really wondering how stretchy my preggo pants can actually get. 


Pregnancy thoughts: 
  • I'm surprised my belly button is still intact and has pushed all the way out yet. 
  • Somedays I don't feel super pregnant and then there are others where I don't want to move. 
  • There are two weeks left in my BSN program and we are required to do a capstone project that includes site visits. So basically I decided to do a project over chronic pain management. Well the sites i've wanted to visit have basically told me, No, they don't have time to answer 6 questions, even over the phone.... both sites. They don't know it, but I hope a fire ant bites their toe. *** they don't have fire ants in California. :/***
  • I'm having crazy breastfeeding stress dreams where my nipples fall off and that no amount of breast pads can contain all the milk. Why am I so strange??!
  • This puppy has been super snuggly this week. She is just the best. 



Until next week, y'all!


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

A food craving that is actually a step in the right direction!

Life is pretty hectic when you have a full time job, working towards a degree (even if it is online), finding time to hang out with friends, eating right and not to mention staying active even when all you want to do is sit on the couch because you're a little more than 8 months pregnant.

I knew that throughout this time in my life I needed to be as healthy as I possible could.  So I came up with some goals I knew I could achieve.

My healthy goals during this pregnancy: 
  • Eating a good breakfast before work, what better way than with yogurt?! 

  • Make good food choices that are healthy for my growing baby girl and I. 
  • Keep my sugar levels at a healthy level.
  • Exercise on a daily basis: 
    • Walking my dog, Greta.
    • Yoga. 
    • Shopping for our new addition, apparently 38 minutes burns 100 calories!
    • Cooking! You do burn calories, moving all about!
  • Don't act on every pregnancy craving, much harder than you'd think, but totally possible!
    • In the third trimester, after I eat a meal I always want something sweet at the end. As you all know those pregnancy cravings can really get the best of you, so I have been going for yogurt, more specifically Chobani, a favorite of mine! Chobani yogurts are high in protein and much better for you than a bowl of ice cream, my absolute favorite flavor right now is strawberry, and this stuff is amazing frozen! 
Allie might in my belly, but she moves all about after I eat this little container of goodness!

While at this point I'm not focused on burning a lot of calories, I am focused on being active and keeping healthy! I'm glad I have Chobani to help keep me focused on being nourished and while curbing my sugary, sweet cravings the right way! 



Thanks to Chobani, they have been nice enough to get together a quick list of reminders of how you can be healthy and active without even realizing it!

Ps. Every girl needs to know about the shopping thing. 






Saturday, April 9, 2016

Week 31: That time I brought my husband to a breastfeeding class.

Breastfeeding class with my husband, Matt.


So I originally did not plan on bringing Matt to this class, but then I thought:  OH HE'S COMING. 

Why? 

Because when it's 4am and Allie is crying, he needs to realize all that goes into feeding a baby with a boob. I think all Dads should at least attend one class in their parenthood so they can understand the process and it is quite the process. 

So breastfeeding is a huge deal. I never realized what all went into breastfeeding and how important a Latch is, and how breastfeeding should not hurt. ***That's the number one complaint of all new moms*** I have to say it was a tiny concern of mine when making the choice to breastfeed, but when I see all the benefits, how can I really say no?

Throughout this 3 hour class, Matt went through many stages: 
  • The shock stage of seeing other boobs on the screen (still sometimes has the maturity of a small child) 
  • To the "ok, this looks kind of hard" 
  • To telling me my technique was all wrong when we were role playing. Yes, he was critiquing me and explaining that I kept forgetting about containing all arms and to not touch the head while supporting the neck flexion for better latch.


He better be able to coach me when the real thing happens at 4am. 



All while this is happening, the lady teaching the class is a hardcore breastfeeding nazi, which I will say scared me a little, but I could tell this is something she is super passionate about, so I was willing to deal with it. 

I, do, however feel really motivated to keep this going as long as I can. 


Week 31 Pic!! 



Almost a Rant, well just kidding, it's completely a rant. 

Let me first say: I'm extremely grateful to be pregnant and having a safe pregnancy. I feel like I have griped a whole lot lately and I just needed to get that out there first and foremost.

Next let me also follow up by saying: If you are newly pregnant lady, please note that if you have any symptoms of feeling like something isn't right, or something feels a bit off, you need to be seen by your doctor. Don't shrug anything off.

Last week, I had gone to the L and D floor to get monitor for severe lower back pain, the hospital of course sent me home and said everything was fine, did urine test and everything checked out great.

Turns out this week when I went to follow up with my OB, I had a massive UTI or bladder infection. Back pain is a major symptom in pregnant women with a UTI. The problem is pregnant women don't have the same burning/stinging sensation of a regular UTI, which can often turn into a kidney infection and can present like symptoms of preterm labor. The only thing I can deduce from this situation, which happens in real life all the time, is that I had the beginning of an infection when I went to the hospital and the infection didn't actually grow until now or had substantial enough white blood cells in my urine to note.

Always go with your intuition, never let someone make you feel like your symptoms aren't real, and this really goes if you're pregnant or not.

Two Things you can do to avoid an unsightly UTI:
  • Hydrate yourself all day long. 
  • Empty your bladder often and remember to double pee. (once you think you're done, you probably should try to sit a few seconds longer to see if any more comes out.) 
Guess what floor nurses have the most trouble with? You guessed it. The above two items. What a conundrum! I've gathered that being pregnant and a nurse are not compatible.



Cravings: centered around citrus fruit this week!



Aversion: fish. I don't want anything to do with it.

Sleep: I have been experiencing carpel tunnel when sleeping. This actually happens to a lot of pregnant women at the end of the pregnancy due to fluid retention pressing on the medial nerve, so often at night my hand falls asleep on which ever side I'm sleeping on, so pillows are super important right now. Annoying.

Until next week!!






Saturday, April 2, 2016

Week 30: Why I will be the world's most annoying parent.

So I was in the bathroom at the movies this week and I was listening in on two teen girls talking, so as i'm casually washing my hands and taking a really long time to dry, really just listening to what they were talking about...

Girl #1: I have something really important to tell you.
Girl #2: I nearly did it with this guy, but he was scared and I was scared so we didn't.

I turned around to these girls, and said I'm glad you didn't sleep with him, just look what happened to me **pointing at my belly**.

Both girls had an immediate horror on their face, which is the reaction I was going for.

But then quickly after I left the bathroom felt my stomach drop to my knees because that could be Allie in 14 years. I can't even think about it. I now know why parents are crazy, i'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg, and this one instance will make me the most nosiest and annoying parent ever.




This week has been so full. I worked an extra shift to help out my work peeps. Let me tell you something, in the nursing world, when you pick up an extra shift it always looks like this:

Charting is exponentially more on days you pick up. NEVER ENDS. NEVERRRRRRRRR.


You quickly realize that 5 patients, really only want their Dilaudid and refuse to get the oral version, which at my job it takes 20x longer to get IV version. Imagine doing this every 4 hours for 5 patients. 


When all you really wish is that kittens fixed everything... 



and you think to yourself, you are never picking up another extra shift while pregnant. NEVER. 


Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a nurse, it really is the most rewarding thing and I couldn't imagine doing anything else, but being a nurse and pregnant at the same time is hard. Especially in the third trimester.  

It's time for another riveting edition of preggo thoughts: 



  • We finally have a car seat, No more stress dreams for this girl, which is completely irrational at this point, but clearly your subconscious is telling you get it together. 
  • Lightening pain has been regular for me this week. OH MAN. 
  • NESTING. My goodness I started cleaning yesterday and didn't stop, Matt was pretty stoked, and has secretly waited for this for 4 years of living together. #i'mnotthatmessy #okilied
  • Soaking up walks with my girl, Greta. She has been a really wonderful calming source in my life. 
  • Has anyone noticed foot cramps while preggo? I don't have leg cramps, but I have these horrible foot spasms. It's so strange. 
  • I've missed Charleston a lot this past week. I don't know if it's just because it's getting closer to summer and I miss southern summers. I had a dream that we still lived there and then I had to wake up. :/ Not to mention missing all my friends.
  • My feet are gigantic. I seriously think they have grown a least a half of a size, and their wide. I'm pretty much walking on skis. 
  • Gizmo is pretty much the best big brother ever. He loves laying right next to my belly, and Allie kicks and moves so much with him so close. #siblings

  • Preterm labor symptoms have reared their ugly head again. So on Thursday at work I was  running about like usual, and noticed some severe back pains. I mean the pains were so bad I had to sit down in a patient's room. Went to L&D, obviously I need to sit down more at work. HAHAHAHAHAHA THEY TOLD ME TO SIT DOWN MORE AT WORK. DISCLAIMER: NURSES DON'T EVER SIT DOWN, EVER. So I'll be going to the doctor next week to see what the game plan is, I don't need Allie coming this early, A. she still has some baking to do. B. I need to scale back with work. I been trying to stick it out as long as I can, but where I work my patient load is 9 patients. Yes, 9 patients, 4 telemetry and 5 med-surg. While I work on a team of myself, an LVN and a CNA, things get crazy. There's always a family to talk/educate, doctors to call, and almost always a meltdown happening somewhere. 


Oh yes, Happy 2nd Bloggiversary to Texan Girl Talks! I can't believe i've been blogging now for 2 years. A lot has happened in the past two years and I just want to say thank you for always supporting my thoughts and the blog!



Until Next Week!!