32 weeks

You wouldn't think much changes in a week, but I swear my belly is getting larger and larger by the second. When I took this picture I thought the weight of my belly was going to pull me over. I'm def. going to make an investment in a belly bra/belt or whatever those things are called. I find myself constantly holding the bottom of my stomach in order to give it some support so it's not pulling on my back so much. It doesn't seem to help much.

I find it very upsetting that when I drop something on the floor I can't really bend down and get it anymore. I pretty much have to sit on the floor or put one knee down in order to get low enough to scoop something up. Pathetic, I know. As we speak there is some trash on the floor under my desk that missed the trash can that I haven't bothered to maneuver myself down to pick up yet. Don't judge.

I Think Someone's A Little Excited

To say that my mom is a little excited for her grandson to show up might be a slight understand. If it could be put into words how excited I think she is, it would go a little something like this: Yes! Yippie! Horray! Super! Can't Wait! Hurry up November and get here already!!!!! That's just my guess though. But I that's an educated guess based on the following information; this child has already received from my parents the following items:

• Crib
• Mattress
• Pooh and all his stuffed animal friends
• A Harley Davidson wardrobe
• A MTSU outfit
• A John Deere outfit and socks
• A Loveless Cafe outfit
• Some diapers
• Diaper Genie
• 4 wheeler
• Changing table pad & cover
• Health and Grooming Kit
• Christmas PJs (purchased but still a secret)
• 2 Christmas outfits
• Socks that will go with the Christmas outfits
• Really adorable blanket

And I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but that's all that my little brain can remember for right now. The gifts are starting to become more frequent and I think that's my mom's way of expressing her excitement, which in turn gives me a really warm fuzzy excited feeling. It's not the gifts that I like so much (don't get me wrong, those are nice too), but what really makes me happy is the support I'm getting from my parents. Seeing them so excited really makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I'm really doing the right thing here. I can't say the support from the other side of the family has been the same, which is disappointing, but having my parents pour so much love into this child already makes up for any lack of support on anybody else's part. I thought I was a spoiled child, but I have a feeling Carter is going to be waaaaaaaay more spoiled than I ever thought about being. Nana Clark says she has even gotten him a Christmas present already!! Man, she's way ahead of me. By the way, what do you get a newborn for Christmas? He'll be roughly a month old by then.

Anyway...it's tough to keep telling myself we have 8 more weeks, buuuuuut...WE HAVE 8 MORE WEEKS PEOPLE!!!!

31 1/2 down, 8 1/2 to go.

Okay so on Tuesday I reached 31 weeks and up until then I had been feeling great. I was actually thinking I was getting pretty lucky by not suffering too badly with back pain, pelvic pressure, or ansomnia. Well that has all changed this week. Well most of it has. I have reached a point where I don't know how my stomach could stretch anymore to make room for this kid to grow for another 2 months. I'm ready to give birth now!!! The last two days (especially today) have been horrific. My back hurts sooooooooooo bad! I mean, I'm pretty tough when it comes to pain, but this is such a nagging pain it makes me want to flop down on the floor and cry. I have a non-stop pinch in the upper left side of my back and nothing I do will make it go away. It's days like today that I wish I could take my maternity leave now. I can't even make myself sound happy over the phone to customers when I hurt so bad. Isn't there anything I can do to stop the pain?!

Anyway, this may be the reason why my back hurts. Look at that belly!!!

On a more positive note, I've gone from seeing my Dr. once a month to every two weeks, which in my mind will only make the time fly by faster. I also met with a Peditrician yesterday and really liked how thoughtful him and his staff were. I was 45 mins early to my consultation and they brought me back into a room to see me early because they didn't want me sitting in the waiting room with a bunch of sick kids. How many times does that happen? Usually you get to see the Dr. after your appointment time and never before. I liked him a lot and he said he would be flexible about how I wanted my child treated with such things as vaccines. If I wanted to do a different vaccine schedule, he's okay with that.

Oh and my plan of inducing on a Saturday morning got shot down, because the hospital won't induce on the weekends. So I asked about the Friday after Thanksgiving and they said no to that as well, because they still consider that the holiday. So I am planning on going to this local Italian restaurant on Friday Nov. 27 and having all I can eat of the Eggplant Parmesan that is known to make women go into labor. That is if I haven't already gone into labor by that point. I had being so out of control!

Free Books From Dolly

My mom took me to lunch today and we had a really great waitress that filled me in on something awesome. She asked if I had started signing up for free baby stuff yet and I said no. That's when she told me about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and how you can sign your child up to receive a free book every month until they're 5 years old. So as soon as I got back to the office, I got on the website www.imaginationlibrary.com and looked over it for a few minutes. I guess your city or county has to have a local sponsor in order for you to be able to participate, but luckily Murfreesboro did!! I took the waitress's advice and entered a false birthdate for Carter to make it seem like he was already born. I'm not sure if it matters, but I didn't want to miss out just because he's not here yet. But anyway, it was super simple and I just had to give them my name, address, Carter's name and birthdate, and email address and then hit submit. They sent me an email saying my info. was being reviewed and then about 1 or 2 hours later I got another email that said we had been approved and Carter would receive his first book in about 6 to 9 weeks and then every month after that until he's 5!!!

So I would definitely recommend anyone with a child under 5 or those expecting mommas to check this website out. I don't know how vast this program is and seeing how I live in Dolly's home state, I may have just gotten lucky...but it's worth a shot!! You don't even have to give your phone number. That's 12 books a year you don't have to pay for yourself.

Distracting myself from the heartburn.

Well I've just spent the last day and a half at a truck dealer forum that was hosted by Truck Paper, the nation's largest heavy duty truck advertiser. It was interesting to say the least. First off, there were a handful of women there amongst probably 150 or more men. Then I stuck out like a sore thumb, because I was the only woman under 30 and I was definitely the only pregnant one. I felt awkward. But, it was a good experience to be able to meet dealers from all over the country (most of which my dad already knows). They served great food and the finest booze (all for free, but I couldn't partake for obvious reasons). I got up at 5:30 this morning so I could leave my house a little before 7, hoping to make it there by 7:45 to 8:00, but that didn't go according to plan. It was raining and that means people like to drive 20 mph on the highway, so it took me an hour and a half to make it from my house to Nashville. I was late to the first discussion and missed breakfast. Oh well, at least I got lunch.

But now I feel like someone slammed me into a brick wall. It's funny I feel that way considering I didn't join the people that went out partying until 2 a.m. Maybe it's the fact that I got up at 5:30, but I usually get up before 6 anyway, so that shouldn't matter. It has also been a constant down pour for the last couple of days, so maybe that's making me feel bad. Or it could be the ever growing human that is taking up so much room in my belly. Does it sound weird when I say it like that? Yeah...that's what I thought. Anyway...if I can just make it through the next couple of months without getting the swine flu or something, I'll be extremely happy.

On a really positive note...lately, every person that I have told I'm 7 months pregnant to, has told me "wow, you really don't look that big at all!" Thank you, you just made my year, but you don't have to lie to me. No, seriously, at least 3 people said that to me at the forum and I couldn't believe it. I wanted to ask them how many pregnant ladies they've been hanging around because I've already gained 30 lbs and I'm not done yet!! But I'll take the compliment anyway. It makes up for my husband making me feel like a whale. It's not his fault, he's just not good at lying. Anyway, that's enough of my rambling for today. I'll finish with a few questions because I like comments.

To the pregnant ladies out there or moms with babies or toddlers...

What is/was your worst pregnancy symptom and how did you deal with it?

I'd have to say mine is the heartburn. If I have an esophagus left after this, I'll be surprised.

I Was Right

My assumption that my belly itching like crazy meant that those horrid little stretch marks would show their face pretty soon was in fact rather accurate. I don't know if the two are related, but I have noticed the 3 tiniest little purple marks on my lower belly and I assume they are the beginning of what will soon be zebra stripes. Plus I could feel a little groove when I ran my finger over them and that just made my fears even more real. In the back of my mind I was thinking I may be one of those lucky girls that doesn't get stretch marks, but considering my size...I didn't really think that was going to be possible. So now we'll just wait and see how bad they get. At least I made it to nearly 30 weeks before they showed up. I will consider myself lucky for that.

On a positive note, I went through my child birthing class this weekend and got lots of great information. The best little piece of info. I was given, was that my hospital will induce women at their request as soon as they hit 39 weeks!! Of course this is great, because I am obsessed with having everything planned. But I have pretty much decided to not induce until the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving (that's if the kid hasn't showed up on his own already, because my due date is Tuesday, the 24th). This would mean we had to check in Friday night and spend the night before they started to induce me the following morning. One thing that does bother me is that once you have the baby, they want to keep you another 48 hrs on top of it. 48 hours!! I'm going to try my hardest to get myself out of that one. This would mean spending at least 3 nights in a hospital bed and I'm not digging on that. But I'm just really excited about everything now. I know it's over two months away, but I'm hoping the time will fly by.

Until then...I'll be inpatiently waiting.

Belly Itch

My belly itches!!! I mean really really itches!! And I can't seem to find any relief. I'm guessing this has something to do with my skin stretching beyond what it should. Does this mean those horrible little monsters will be showing up soon? So far I've resorted to pulling up my shirt at work and scrathing my belly with a pen. Is that wrong?

Getting Closer

So it's Sept. 10, which means several things. Brett and I are a month and a day away from celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary, it's on Oct. 11. I can't believe it's been almost a year already! Where has the time gone? I still remember the amazing celebration like it was yesterday. Don't tell him this (and I should be safe by posting this because he doesn't get online), but I'm going to buy him a PS3 for his anniversary gift. I'm usually not that generous, but he has been begging for one and I've been shooting him down for so long, it's about time I just give in. Plus is has a built in Blue Ray dvd player and I would really like one of those. Shhhh...

September also means it is officially fall in my mind and if you don't agree, that's okay because Starbucks does and they have started carrying their Pumpkin Spice Latte once again. I had my first one of the season yesterday and it was thoroughly enjoyable. But it's not an everyday thing, because they sure do pack in the calories in a single cup of that stuff. I have also started setting up a few fall decorations around the inside and outside of my house and plan on going nuts with it this year. Thank goodness for Old Time Pottery and their super cheap decorations! If you don't have one of these stores in your hometown, I'm very sorry because it is second only to Heaven. It's a HUGE warehouse packed full of every home decor item you could ever imagine and for super super cheap. They also have really cheap dishes and cookware and I love it! For instance I bought a really nice white serving dish (perfect for big meals) for like $3. Awesome! So you can only imagine the great fall decorations they have to offer.

But most of all, September means our baby will be here in just over 2 months!! I can not wait! Not only because my back hurts and tummy itches more and more with every inch it gets stretched out, but I can't wait to hold the little guy for the first time. I just can't even imagine how that's going to feel. Also my due date couldn't be set at a better time, because that means my 6 weeks of maternity leave will cover the entire holiday season! Sweeeeeeeeet! I don't think I've had 6 weeks off work since I started working at the age of 15....crazy I know, so I'm really looking forward to it. But I also know babies are a lot of work and the time will surely fly by without feeling like much of a break.

Today I'm going for my 29 week checkup and I will now start seeing the Dr. every 2 weeks. I'm excited about this, because I think it will make the time fly by, but it'll be hard on my work schedule. They never seem to have early morning or late afternoon appointments available and I end up going in the middle of the day. This wouldn't be so bad, except that it has already interrupted 2 truck deliveries for me and Tom has been left finishing up my deals. Thank goodness my boss/dad is very patient with me and my crazy appointments. I can't say the same for Brett's boss. The same guy who barely let Brett off work to go to our first ultrasound is not giving him Saturday off to allow him to go to Lamaze class with me. Yep, that's right, he works for the devil himself. So my mom will be filling in. Now we're trying desparately to make it so Brett is able to take his weeks paid vacation when the baby comes, but his boss won't say yes or no about it. Just that, they need an exact date to make a decision. Ummmm...hello stupid, babies don't come on a precise schedule! Grrr....anyway I didn't mean to get on that subject.

On a lighter note, no stretch marks yet!! I guess the longer my tummy can hold out, the better off I am. I'm not expecting to not get any, just thankful that they haven't showed up yet. **knock on wood** Maybe it's luck or maybe the belly butter is actually working. Who knows?

Something Similar To Fat Man In A Little Coat

You remember "fat man in a little coat" or whatever it was that Chris Farley said in the movie? Well the picture below is very similar in that sense, except it's fat girl on a little 4 wheeler. If you ever want to feel huge, sit on a baby 4 wheeler and it's bound to fulfill your needs. This is the 4 wheeler Grandpa Clark bought for his yet-to-be-born grandson, Carter. I'm taking opinions/guesses on how old the child might have to be before he can ride this. I was hoping 3 or 4, but now I'm not so sure of that. Any guesses?

Persistance Pays Off

When I made the decision to make a fuss about our neighbors and their zoo a little while back, I knew that I was going to have to make a big enough fuss to actually get something done or we were just going to tick our neighbors off and have to live with them. So I exhausted every last option to get the animals or the people themselves removed and when all hope seemed lost, I drove by their house yesterday to see 2 moving trucks in front of their house. Yes, that's right folks, their landlord evicted them and they were moving out!!! I know it probably sounds bad to be happy about getting a family evicted, but you would just have to know these people to understand. They have been so horrible to live behind ever since we moved in. And the last couple of weeks the woman that lives there has been flicking Brett off and cussing him out everytime he drives by. Not pleasant. The property owner told us about a month ago that he told them to get rid of their animals and start taking care of things (such as the green pool), but nothing had changed. In the last couple of days their pool had turned a new shade of green and I was just waiting to see what happened. Well I was very delighted to see that they were leaving.

So now Carter can play in our backyard (once he's actually born) and we don't have to worry about the neighbors screaming and cussing all the time. Praise Jesus for that one!!!

C.J.'s Nursery

Sorry about the very monotone voice (which is not far from normal); it was a long day, my tummy was sore and I was tired. But here is your first look at the almost complete nursery. Enjoy!

Belly Weeks 25 - 28

Here is evidence of my explosive progress as I enter my third trimester today. The thought of my stomach having 12 more weeks to expand even more makes me cringe.

25 Weeks

26 Weeks27 Weeks28 Weeks