8 weeks // 2 months

Here we go again, another month has flown by ... :( Let me just say, month two... not as easy as month one. Month one = lots of sleeping and cuddling while month two = lots of belly aches and fighting naps! However, we still love this little squirt and I think we've decided to keep her around a bit longer!

8 weeks old, looking like a sad puppy

Routine/Schedule: Not a lot has changed in terms of our schedule, I'm still following this plan. I found it on Pinterest either when I was pregnant, or thinking about getting pregnant and it was intriguing because it said "Get your baby to sleep 8 hours by 8 weeks." Guess what, Veda is 8 weeks and she's sleeping 8.5 hours!! I put her down between 9-10PM and she sleeps through until 6-6:30!! I couldn't believe it the first night she didn't wake up, I don't know how many times I checked to make sure she was breathing! So, in other words, mommy is not yet sleeping 8 hours ;) I have to wake up to pump anyway.  I'm bathing her every other day at this point, but we just moved bath time to nights to see if that would help her sleep at all since they tend to make her pretty drowsy.

Taking a bath in her big girl tub

Feeding: I'm still feeding her every 3 hours during the day and then no longer waking her up at night to feed. This means daddy has gotten out of his late night feedings and she hasn't had a bottle for awhile.  However, now that I'm pumping at night, he'll be able to feed her during the day if I want to sleep in or I can freeze it for when I go back to work. I have no idea how much she's eating, I know that when we give her a bottle it's up to 5oz. She's a little pig!  She also started randomly spitting up, sometimes somewhat projectile, around week 5 or so.  Of course, first timers over here, rushed to the MD to make sure she didn't have reflux or any other issues.  It really just came out of nowhere and seemed like a lot to me, but I guess she's just normal!  We just want to protect her so much, I wonder when that wears off... oh right, never. ;)

Sleeping: Aside from her long stretch at night, she's still napping pretty frequently during the day. Sometimes she'll stay awake for 1.5 hours after eating (which is what I aim for), sometimes up to six hours, which I think is crazy. Actually, thought it was crazy until last Saturday when she decided she could not nap at all and stayed up for 12 hours straight! It was ridiculous and ended in a meltdown from about 6-9PM... Of course this happened the weekend Brett was out of town but that's also the first night she slept 8 hours straight so maybe it had to happen!

Stats: Our little girl has gained almost 4 pounds since birth!!! She's up to 9lb 8oz and has grown 3 inches, bringing her up to 21.5"  She's doing very well and was such a little show off at the doctor's office.  She laid on the table and cooed at our doc, all bright eyed.  She really is a little sweetheart.  Then the nurse came in and stuck her with 5 needles! Isn't that a bit ridiculous? I'm not understanding how we have not yet figured out how to combine these vaccinations?! She also had to drink an oral vaccine, which I'm pretty sure she spit about half out...

Getting bigger every day!

Struggles:  I do not understand how single moms do this job. I have so much respect for those women!  Brett went out of town for a comedy festival from Thursday - Monday and while I loved every little snuggle and smile I shared with Veda, at times, it was exhausting! It's just nice to have an extra set of hands when you want to say... go to the bathroom! I literally got almost nothing done. I did one load of laundry and did a few dishes when she would sleep outside of my arms for 10-15 minute stretches. She's also been really gassy and, therefore, fussy for the last few weeks. When we went to the doctor to discuss her possibly having reflux, he suggested she start a probiotic called BioGaia.  Up until Thursday, we had just been thinking about it, and have since started it.  It's a liquid and she gets 5 drops a day, it's completely natural and even if it doesn't work, it can't hurt her.  I've actually already noticed a difference in only two days of starting it (coincidence? Maybe).  She's no longer waking herself up due to gas, so that's a big improvement!

Let's be clear, it's not all cuddles and kisses!
This was some really bad gas kids!

Milestones: Again, there really aren't too many at this point.  She is not yet socially smiling, she mostly smiles with gas and when she gets sleepy.  She holds her head up for decent periods of time, although her only real tummy time seems to be on me or Brett, it doesn't last too long on the floor! Our pediatrician told us not to worry if she hits her milestones a few weeks late since she was born early.  Frankly, I'm not worried about it at all... she'll get there when she gets there.

Adventures:  Let's see what else we've been doing... more hiking, more restaurants, more trips to the grocery store.  Brett's family came to visit in the last month in three separate trips.  First his mom (Nana) came for a week and cuddled and spoiled this little girl.  I don't think she spent more than five minutes outside of her arms! The day after she left, Brett's brother (Uncle Matt) and sister (Aunt Melissa) both flew in for a few days. A few days after they left, Grandpa Steve came in for a few days.  Veda just loved his low rumble of a voice and I think she was amazed by his facial hair! It is so fun getting to share her with our family. I can't wait for a trip home to introduce her to the rest of the crew!

Nana Nancy
And I just realized all the pics of the rest of B's family are on his phone.... sorry guys!

Realizations: I think I've just realized that we are incredibly blessed, although I've known that for a while now.  I also realized that this is definitely a two person job, sometimes more! I'm so lucky that we're in the situation that we are in, where both Brett and I are home most of the time... for now.  I know that'll change when I go back to work, but our schedules are so flexible that I don't see it being a problem.  I've also realized remembered how great my husband is.  He really is such a great guy and is always looking out for what's best for me, Veda and us as a family.  He went to SLO for the comedy festival and ended up being one of six in the Best of Fest (plus there were over 400 applicants and only 40 got in).  I am so proud of him, he really is going to accomplish everything he ever said he would! Being a nice guy pays off, too.  He brought home a few bottles of wine that he was gifted from fans of his and he even ran into our wedding photographer, who has since offered to do our first family photo session (on her!) near our one year wedding anniversary, which is fast approaching! How awesome is that?!

Daddy's current favorite picture

How we (the parents) are doing:  Brett and I are doing well, actually, really well! Brett has some huge things fast approaching with his career and we could not be more excited! He just signed with new management and is in the process of revamping his website, reel and he's off to get new headshots tomorrow, and then it's on!  This new manager is very excited about Brett, she's also very motivated and honest... and I believe, somewhat of a bulldog.  I'm really looking forward to seeing where she can take his career... hopefully to a place where I can retire from mine ;)
I'm feeling really good.  I need to go to the gym, that's for sure, I'm still hanging on to these last ten pounds or so... I've read that you sometimes don't get back to your pre-baby size until after you stop breastfeeding.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I'm relying on that.  I'm still wearing my maternity jeans for crying out loud! Boo! Maybe it's all those mini Cadbury eggs I've been eating... haha, I love Easter candy!

Sleeping through her lunch date with Mommy.

Looking forward to: Spending every last minute with this little nugget until I return to work.  I seriously do not even want to think about going back to work, but I know it's inevitable.  I'm struggling right now with some decisions that will need to be made very soon regarding work and am just praying that I make the right choice for our family.  More on that later... 

And in case you forgot... I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits.

2 Months Old

2 Months Old

One Month Old

One Month Old

4 weeks // 1 month

Oh my gosh, how can one month have come and gone so quickly?! I guess what people say is true, "When you have kids, time speeds up." I know it's been a while since I last blogged, but I've been cuddling with this adorable baby you see...

There have been many times I have wanted to blog about specific things (breastfeeding, car seat safety, etc), and I will, stay tuned! But for now, I want to recap the last month... which is the first month of Veda's life.

Since we've come home from the hospital a few weeks ago, we've settled into a somewhat 'normal' routine that I'm absolutely positive will get jumbled back into chaos as soon as I go back to work, but I don't even want to think about that. I am really wishing we lived in one of those marvelous countries where mommies get one whole year of paid maternity leave and a few weeks each year after to bond with the baby. Come on America... Get it together already! What on earth can possibly be better than a mother spending some quality time with her baby?

I haven't completely decided the format for these monthly updates besides flooding my blog with incredibly cute photos, so bear with me please! If you want to see a million photos of baby girl, check out my Facebook page or Instagram (chaynarae).

Routine/Schedule: I swear I've done so much research regarding all things baby including what kind of schedule, if there should be a schedule, to try. PS What did other generations do without the Internet?! So, I found this website through Pinterest and we are attempting to utilize this pattern in order to get Veda sleeping through the night in a few short weeks (Wish us luck!).  Basically it keeps the child on a 3 hour schedule for the first 4-8 weeks of life; changing diaper, feeding, awake time, nap time, repeat. So far we've done pretty well with it. Not everyone agrees with this schedule that we're doing, but luckily, we are the parents, so we decide :) Veda was such a little runt when we brought her home and she probably would have slept through the night immediately, but as her mother, I knew I had to beef her up a bit. I had no choice but to wake her every three hours to eat. Now she pretty much has a little alarm clock in her body and when my alarm goes off every few hours at night, she's already stirring, knowing it's time to eat!  I've joked to Brett that she's going to become like Pavlov's dogs and start salivating every time she hears my cell phone alarm ;)

Feeding: Let me first just say, breastfeeding is not an easy task! Since Veda was born three and a half weeks early, her suck reflex wasn't completely developed. We had a really hard time in the hospital, even an emotional break down... but we're making progress! The first nearly three weeks, I pumped and bottled exclusively (Every three hours!). It was incredibly time consuming to feed her and then wash/sterilize all the bottles and pumping equipment.  I was getting really tired not having any sleep and was really worried that she would get 'nipple confusion' and never take the breast.  Our pediatrician was confident she would return to the breast by her due date and to continue pumping/bottling to (A) be aware of how much she was eating & (B) make sure she was getting enough nutrition to put on some weight.  I'm so happy to say, he was right, I'm now breastfeeding all day long, pumping twice, once before bed and once after her first feeding in the morning. My night owl husband takes the midnight and 0300 feeding while I sleep through the night, it's glorious! Thank you B!

Sleeping: Veda sleeps quite well at night... so far! Again, utilizing the schedule we've decided on, we try not to stimulate her much at night. We wake her up, change her diaper (in dimmed light), feed her with no distractions, swaddle her and put her right back to bed. She typically falls right back to sleep after the first feeding; after the second she'll lay down with her eyes open but doesn't really fuss and eventually falls asleep. During the day, that's a different story! The first two weeks she slept and slept and hardly opened her beautiful blue eyes... that's not the case any more! She is definitely her father's child, she is not napping well at this point. She may be up for an entire three hours at a time, fighting sleep as long as she possibly can, fussing to the point of scoring an additional feeding and then finally passing out... usually on me until I can put her down. Sometimes after I put her down, her eyes open right back up. It's a work in progress!

Stats: At birth, Veda was 5lb 12 oz, 18.5 inches long and her head circumference was 12 inches. When we left the hospital, she was down to 5lb 4.5 oz. At her three week check up, we found out she had gained more than an ounce a day (The pumping and feeding was successful!); she weighed in at 6 lb 11oz, 19.25 inches long and her head circumference was 13.75 inches (thank you for coming early little one!). She is noticeably filling out, no more baggy thigh skin!

Struggles: We have had our ups and downs with feeding/breast feeding, but as I said earlier, I'm working on a blog about that topic. Recently she's starting having some serious belly aches related to gas :( She's been pretty fussy this week, crying and turning red and then farting and returning to her normal self. We've been bouncing her, rubbing her little belly, holding her on her side, doing the 'bicycle' and everything else we can think of. Over the weekend we saw her have real tears for the first time and decided it was time for something more ... We went out and bought Little Remedies for Tummys gas drops and have used them once a day for the last three days, which really isn't bad. I'm still not convinced they work, but we'll see.  I've also eliminated all spicy food from my diet, because I really like spice and I think that may have something to do with it. If I don't see any improvement, I'm sure I'll have to modify my diet and eliminate dairy and acidic foods (I really hope not, I'm not good at adhering to any type of diet, but I'd do it for her). I'm also avoiding the foods that Brett is sensitive to, because in case you didn't know, I'm married to Bubble Boy - he's allergic to so.many.things.

Milestones: There really aren't too many milestones to list at this age, but her neck and back are getting stronger and she can lift her head and turn it from side to side when on her stomach. She's also smiled a few times, not purposefully, but it sure is cute :)

Adventures:  Veda has been on multiple walks, usually to the grocery store, on a Target run, out to dinner and to the Getty Center in her four short weeks of life. She is becoming so cultured ;) However, now that the flu has officially hit California, we've been laying low. We are incredibly careful with this little peanut, but we can't just sit in the house all day!  We've also had a few visitors, but most importantly, Grandma Rhonda came to help and bond with baby girl for a couple of weeks! We sure miss her!

Realizations: We really need to patent a new 'swing/mamaroo' called "Daddy's hands," because Brett has a special hold he can use to put her in a straight up trance even if she's screaming! Seriously, I need to work on this during my maternity leave! Also, seven years of nursing has really taught me a thing or two about time management, organization and being flexible! Or maybe it's maternal instinct (?), but either way, I'm grateful!

How we (the parents) are doing:  Brett & I have both wanted kids for as long as we can remember, so we were most definitely up to the task. I think we're both adjusting to much less sleep than we were previously getting. Right now he takes nights and I take days but we're not really seeing much of each other, so we're trying to tweak it a bit. I know I really appreciated having my mom here for a couple of weeks, she kept up with all of my wifely duties (laundry, cooking, cleaning) and even helped to feed Veda when I was bottling.  Brett and I even got to go on a date... to sushi of course, and a movie. The good-bye really sucked though, not gonna lie. Both Brett & I are getting showers (almost) every day, which I think is a good sign ;) Brett has been doing a lot of comedy shows at night, I only have ten pounds to lose before I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight... things are progressing!

Looking forward to: Now its Brett's family's turn to come visit. We pick up his mom Wednesday for a week, the day after she leaves his sister & brother are coming through the weekend and then his dad will come towards the end of the month. Everyone is very excited to meet our little peanut and I can't wait to take her back to the Midwest and show her off.  She really is such a little bundle of joy and I'm so proud to call her mine!

I was trying to think of a cute way to capture her growth over the next year, so what I've decided is this: I bought a dress that's size 12 Months and I plan to put her in it every month until it fits. So here's the first month!

The Arrival of Veda Belle Riley

(One of the reasons I love blogging is because I don't have to repeat myself five-thousand times. I know that its a bit impersonal, but I'm not planning to hold a conference anytime soon, so this is the best way to share my experiences with each and every one of you.) 

Veda Belle Riley made an early appearance into our lives on January 7, 2013; though we may not have been completely ready/prepared for her early arrival, we could not be happier! Here's how it happened: 

Sunday afternoon (1/6) my coworkers threw me a beautiful baby shower.  We went there around noon and stayed most of the day until about 6:30PM. Our plan was to stop by Babies R Us on the way home to get any necessary items that we might still need. When we pulled up to Babies R Us, they were closing, so we headed home instead.  

All day long I had been complaining of back pain, which had started on Friday night off and on. I was also complaining that my lower abdomen was hurting, but I thought maybe the maternity band on my pants was just digging in - so I was looking forward to getting home and throwing on my sweats.  Besides the new pains over the weekend, I was also noticing a little bit of clear fluid leaking from my girl parts, which I think started as early as Friday morning, yet I chose not to ask my doctor about it at our appointment (nurses really are the worst patients!). 

Once we got back home Sunday night, we had a little dinner and I told Brett to go out and have a beer with a friend because my back was hurting so bad I needed to lie down.  He left the house around 9PM and went to a nearby bar (about ten minutes away) to sing some karaoke. The back pain started to come and go and get increasingly more intense. I started thinking, 'Can you have contractions in your back?' I knew you could labor in your back, but it never occurred to me it would be a contraction. So I googled it... Then I thought, maybe I should time this, so I downloaded an app on my iPhone. I managed to time maybe three of them, they were about five minutes apart and lasting for about a minute. I was also in and out of the bathroom because the only somewhat comfortable position I could find was to sit on the toilet. I called Brett, he didn't answer, so I text him, "Call me when you get a chance." He called me and I told him that the back pain was crazy and maybe he shouldn't drink too much because I might need to go to the hospital.  He asked me if he should come home immediately. I played it tough and said I was fine and that I was going to try to sleep it off.

I laid down for a minute and felt what I thought was Veda finally (abruptly) moving.  Remember she hadn't been moving much over the last several weeks.  Then I felt like I was going to soak the bed if I didn't get up, so I went to the bathroom and released a bunch of fluid, which was actually my water breaking.  I still didn't believe I was in labor, so I started thinking about other people's stories and what the telltale sign was or what happened to them prior to birth.  A few of my friends told me that the body tries to 'clean itself out,' so I prayed to God to show me a sign  (as if I didn't have enough indications) - as in ... diarrhea ... which never happened.   Two minutes after I originally talked to Brett,  I text him, "You need to come home right now."

During the ten or fifteen minutes that it took him to come home, my pain went from bad to worse, tolerable to intolerable. My hospital bag was only half packed because I wasn't due for another 3 1/2 weeks. I was trying to throw in the important things, but I could hardly move, let alone bend over and search for a specific pair of sweats I wanted. When Brett came in, I was in the bedroom moaning and cussing and I told him, "We gotta go!" I told him everything I needed and he quickly searched the apartment and found most of the items.  (Side Note: You really don't need too many things when you go to the hospital, nearly everything is provided and the more you bring the more you have to take home. All you really need is your toiletries and an outfit to go home in, which really could be what you wear in.)

So we ran down to the car and headed to the hospital. I asked Brett to take the long way because there are less bumps/dips in the road because I was just that uncomfortable.  We pulled into the ER parking lot and managed to hobble across the parking lot. On the way in I said something like, "If this isn't labor, I don't know what it is, I've never felt like this!"

Luckily, we had gone to a Hospital Tour a few weeks prior and pre-registered and got a card to bypass everyone in the ER and get up to the Labor and Delivery floor ASAP. We were only in the ER for about 5 minutes, they asked me a few questions which I just replied, "I don't know," a bunch of times until they took me to the L&D floor. 

Once in the L&D room, the nurse checked me and I was dilated 3cm, 100% effaced and at zero station. I was contracting pretty frequently and having fierce pain. Brett was doing everything he could to soothe me, he was such a rockstar. He let me squeeze his hands, but I told him to get away because his hands were too clammy ;) He helped me breathe through contractions and fed me ice as needed. I had my blood drawn and an IV started. They said the blood work takes about 20 minutes and then I could get an epidural. Being a nurse I knew there was no way it would only take twenty minutes, so two hours later I got an epidural placed. The heavens opened up and angels sang! My pain went from 10 to zero in minutes. The nurse rechecked me, and I was dilated to 7cm, still at zero station, so baby had to move down a little bit yet. 

One hour later, I was checked again and I had already progressed to 10cm!!! Still at zero station. We had only been in the hospital for about 4 hours by this point. The nurses told us to go ahead and try to sleep because I would need my energy to push. (Veda looked good on the monitor, so I didn't need to push right away.) Over the next hour or so, Brett was somehow able to sleep... even snoring... which I still can't believe because that's just not like him, AT ALL. I rested, maybe dozed a few times but I could feel pressure off and on. I started to pray for a quick, easy delivery. About that time a bunch of nurses came in because Veda started having decelerations with each contraction, her heart rate actually dropped down to 60 a few times. They gave me a shot to stop contractions and placed a monitor directly into her head for more accurate measurement. They also called the doctor on call (of course my MD was out of town/not on call). 

Once the doctor arrived, she had me do a practice push to see how I would do and determined I was ready to give it a go. With the next contraction, I pushed, 4 times. Took a break, with the next contraction I did the same thing, pushed hard 4 times and what do you know, Veda Belle Riley was officially born on 1/7/13 @ 0348. She was 5lbs 12 oz, 18.5 inches long with a full head of black hair!  Despite being 3 1/2 weeks early, she is a healthy little nugget and the new light in our lives. 

We have been so incredibly blessed! I'm sure many women hate me because my pregnancy and delivery were so easy and mostly uneventful, but for that I am thankful. I may not be as lucky the next time around. 

In hindsight, I think I probably started laboring Friday night around 8:30. I remember having back pain in waves, but really didn't think anything about it.  I was also having the same lower abdominal pain, since I thought it was my pants, I put on a nightgown instead.  Also, I'm sure that I was slowly leaking amniotic fluid starting on Friday morning - I did google that, too because I wasn't sure how I would know. Everything I found said that amniotic fluid had a very distinct smell, which mine did not so I thought it was just increasing discharge that is to be expected during the third trimester. 

I did tear during delivery, so thank God I didn't go full term because she may not have fit! PS Screw that doctor that told me my baby was HUGE and that I needed to cut carbs! What a B! Like I said, Veda is completely healthy, the only thing she struggled with was her ability to suck. Breast feeding has been quite the chore, but it is improving every day.  We stayed one extra night in the hospital to make sure she would be able to eat - we had lactation consultants in our room almost around the clock.  She also had to have her blood sugar checked every three hours for the first 24 due to her age, which she passed with flying colors! 

She has been such a joy to have, I am so in love. All I do all day long is stare at her and cuddle with her. I'm beyond happy, there aren't even words to describe how I feel right now. 

Annnnd... since we never made to Babies R Us, we didn't even have a car seat! Brett had to do a major haul at Babies R Us the next day while I recovered.  He did a great job and got all of those necessities that we still needed and we were able to safely bring Veda home on Wednesday afternoon. 

37 weeks // FULL TERM // 3 days old

I thought it might be fun to do one more blog post like this since Miss Veda made her debut a little early. Enjoy!

HOW FAR ALONG?: 37 weeks, officially full term (haha!), Veda is 3 days old

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?:  I believe the total had been 24.5 pounds, I still have a few to lose ;)

MATERNITY CLOTHES: Of course I'm still rocking them, and lots of sweats.

SLEEP?: Much less now! Setting my alarm clock to get up every 2-3 hours is new, but totally worth it!

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: Hmmm, what a hard question. The birth of our first daughter, Veda Belle!! She came a little early, but it's been the best moment in my life, birth story to come later either this week or next. 

First family photo, minutes after birth. 

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Even if I had one, I can't remember it anymore. I'm floating on cloud 9. 

MISS ANYTHING?: I'll go with sleep.

MOVEMENT?: She's moving just fine out here in the real world! I loved every minute of my pregnancy, but it's a lot less worrisome with her out here in my sight!

FOOD CRAVINGS?:   Now I'm just hungry all the time, this breast feeding business is hard work!

LABOR SIGNS?: It took a while for me to figure out I was in labor, but thankfully we did!

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: Elated. Overjoyed. So full of love for this little bundle. 

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?: Hey! It's back in! Woot Woot! That beautiful belly button scar is still there too. Maybe I can use it later in life to convince Veda NOT to get body piercings!

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: On!

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?  Taking in every single minute of mommyhood! And my mom is coming on Monday which will be an incredible help so I'm looking forward to that as well :)

Daddy's favorite photo so far

36 weeks // 9 months // 4 weeks to go

HOW FAR ALONG?: 36 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN?:  I never weighed myself this week and my scale doesn't correlate with the doctor's scale ;)

MATERNITY CLOTHES: I must admit, I've pretty much resorted to sweats and t-shirts at this point.  If I must be in public, I'll throw on my maternity clothes, but it doesn't seem necessary when I'm just hanging out at home. 

SLEEP?: My sleep is still sufficient. I've actually already adjusted to sleeping at night and being awake during the day... oh I have a feeling this will soon change again!

BEST MOMENT/S THIS WEEK?: I think we all know my doctor's appointment on Monday was the best moment this week! Aside from all of that drama, I rang in New Year's with my friend Miranda.  She's also pregnant and her husband is also a comedian.  Both of our husbands were out of town doing gigs, so we went to dinner, watched a movie, had a brownie and got totally wasted on sparkling apple cider :) Shockingly, we both made it to midnight!

WORST MOMENT THIS WEEK?:  Again, I think we all know, last Friday was a difficult day for us. Veda really had us worried! I'm happy to report that this morning around 4am she was quite active! I guess doctors do know best (sometimes ;)) and rest is what I need. I know I'll appreciate it later when I'm completely exhausted, but as I've said many times over the last few days, I just don't know how to not work. 

MISS ANYTHING?: I've been hungry for sushi again lately and a nice glass of red wine. I don't have to wait much longer for the sushi, so I'm sure I'll survive and I've replaced my red wine with grape juice, which isn't at all the same, but it'll do for now. 

MOVEMENT?: Wish there was more, but I know she's running out of space. 

FOOD CRAVINGS?:   Still nothing that I absolutely need to have... I'm hungry often but never really know what it is I want to eat. Thats weird to me. 

LABOR SIGNS?: Not yet, however, since I did have a few contractions on the monitor on Saturday and now that I know what that is, I can recognize that I've had a few. Nothing consistent or screaming, "Here comes baby!"

SYMPTOMS / MOODS?: Scared, nervous, excited, anxious, happy, and I think ready! The list of symptoms in WTEWYE is now quite lengthy and I can relate with a few. Nothing really new, just more of the same I've been mentioning for months, mostly constipation. Although last night after I ate I did think I had a small bout of heartburn but I can't complain too much about that... yet!

BELLY BUTTON IN or OUT?: What belly button? Totally flat!

WEDDING RINGS OFF or ON?: Work ring on, I was able to squeeze my actual bands on on NYE, but mostly just my work band. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO...?  Rekindling my romance with my husband over the next couple of weeks. I'm also REALLY looking forward to my baby shower on Sunday. My co-workers are throwing it for me and I'm pretty excited to socialize with good company! After the shower we're planning to stop at a Babies R Us to get anything else we may still be needing so that's pretty exciting. It's getting really real!