Past Due

Here I sit, two days past my due date and still pregnant.  I had hoped to make it until my due date mainly so that I had all the preparation time possible.  But now?  It's just a waiting game and I don't like it! I'm sure there will be things I will miss about pregnancy, but now I'm beginning to think of the things I am looking forward to when not pregnant.  All that labor and birth and sleepless nights stuff?  I'm trying to just ignore that!

Things I will miss about pregnancy:

Stretchy pants
Not having to 'suck it in'
Never having 'fat days' (every day is a fat day and it's perfectly acceptable!)
Eating and snacking (though I tried to keep it healthy, I had my share of custard with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce)
Not working out because I have to work out
Excuse to get a pedicure
Quite a few of my maternity shirts and pants (and not just because of the stretchy waistband!)


Things I am looking forward to post pregnancy:

Not having to pee so much
No more achy finger joints, or fingers that get stuck in the bent position
Wearing my wedding ring again
Sleeping on my back/more comfortably
Bending at the waist and just generally being able to move around easier
Putting shoes on easily
Not forgetting that I can't fit through certain small openings or opening doors into my stomach because I forget how far it sticks out.
Not fearing falling down the steps
My knees not cracking when getting up off of the floor
Going for a run
Saved money from doing my own pedicures
Not laughing at my chubby feet at the end of the day
Not having the heartburn that I occasionally experience in the middle of the night
Beer, wine, bloody Mary's, and as many caffeinated drinks as I want
Not wondering,  "is this a contraction?" for three weeks straight

Favorite Things: Biscoff Cookies

If you've ever flown on Delta Airlines you've probably enjoyed the Biscoff cookies they hand out in flight.  If not, they are crispy cinnamon cookies that seem to melt in your mouth.  They are perfect anytime of day.

After a flight I was discussing them with a friend who informed me that you can actually purchase these cookies online; she had done so for a friend in the past.  So, I went to trusty 'ole Amazon and put a large package on my Wishlist.  It was around Christmastime and my mom had noticed them on my list.  She informed me that you can buy those darn things at Walgreens!  And here I thought I needed to buy an airline ticket!  I've never actually purchased them myself as my mom always sneaks them in with other gifts for me, so I don't even know how much they cost.  I do know they come in individual little packages that are perfect for snacking or packing in your lunch bag.



Favorite Things: Maternity Support Belt and a Recliner

At some point in the beginning of my third trimester I tweaked something in my back (while turning over in bed, nonetheless!).  I've hurt my back before but this was really bad.  I think my front heavy proportions were causing greater strain and I was beginning to think I might not heal until I gave birth!  I had looked into maternity support belts for running but gave up on the idea when I decided to stop running.  Luckily, I was aware of them and knew that one could help with back pain so I went out within a day or two of the 'injury' and purchased one.  It really did help out during the day.  I felt like it helped to support the weight of my baby bump and take some of the pressure off of my back muscles.  It also kept me from walking/waddling like some sort of strange pregnant hunchback!  My only complaint about it was that it's sort of itchy and most comfortable to wear over the belly panel of maternity pants.  This made going to the bathroom a chore.  I'm sure those in other stalls wondered what all the Velcro peeling going on next to them was!  I still occasionally wear the belt if I'm going to work out and my belly feels extra heavy.  I think it helps lessen the feeling of having to pee every 20 minutes too!


Motherhood Maternity Ultimate Maternity Support Belt

 



Though the support band helped out during the day, lying in bed didn't help me at all.  I tried wearing the band at night, but it just doesn't help when you are attempting to move positions.  I think sleeping would re-aggravate things.  Just before this happened we bought a small recliner for the nursery.  Mike put it together and I slept in it hoping that being more upright and not flipping from one side to the other might help.  After the first night I felt amazing!  I wasn't walking around like a total gimp for the first two hours of my day anymore!  After the second night my back pain improved tremendously and I felt healed, thanks to that recliner.  However, the sciatic nerve pain I often deal with when I'm not pregnant presented itself immediately after so I resorted to sleeping in the recliner again!  Luckily the sciatic pain only lasted a few days and hasn't returned since.  I owe my healing to that recliner!  It currently resides in the living room and I sit on it all the time.  I think my butt prints are already imprinted on it and the baby isn't even here yet!

Best Chairs Ingall Recliner - this looks a lot like the one we purchased

Thoughts on Pregnancy

My sister recently asked me what my favorite part of being pregnant was.  Even though I’ve had a very uneventful pregnancy and don’t have much to complain about regarding it, I really couldn’t think of any benefits!  With the help of others I was reminded that I like the comfy pants!  And the lack of a period.  I have also come to realize that I haven't had a single pimple since the first trimester!  I can’t complain that while at work, others are more likely to help me out with things.  I have to deal with cooler boxes of ice bricks and samples and boxes of supplies for the lab; many of them are not light.  The guys in shipping and my own coworkers are usually right there to lift boxes for me or ask me exactly where I want them.  Sometimes it’s a bit annoying because they won’t let me lift even the lighter boxes and I feel helpless, but I guess I should enjoy the help while I can.  I’m sure I’ll miss it when I come back from maternity leave!

Though I’ve had a good pregnancy I cannot say that I enjoy being pregnant.  The tiredness that came with the first trimester was not fun.  I think I felt most not like myself during that period (and my messy house showed it!).  The second trimester wasn’t so bad, but by that point my workout routine was cut back a lot.  The nice spring weather teased me since I was no longer comfortable or very capable of going running anymore.  I never thought I would actually say that I missed working out, but I do!  At the same time, I’m happy to use my pregnancy as an excuse to not work out even if it’s just walking on the treadmill!  The third trimester has brought some challenges; a pulled back muscle that was tough to mend and some nagging hip pain in a muscle I didn’t even know existed!  I’m a lot less flexible and moving around doing everyday tasks is more of a challenge.  I find that to be frustrating.  (Recently a guy I work with commented that I’m still getting around really well; I guess that’s a compliment!)  Considering that I was in good shape before I know that there are women who probably struggle with this stuff even more than I do and I can’t even imagine their struggles!

Because I’m ‘big pregnant’ during the hottest months of the year (my trimesters matched up almost exactly with the change of seasons…third trimester started at the start of summer) people always ask how I’m doing in the heat.  Honestly, I have AC at home and at work so it’s a non-issue.  I haven’t spent much time outside gardening though but I don’t think that has anything to do with the temperature…I just don’t want to bend over and weed!  Luckily, it's been a cool-ish summer too.

My doctor and nurses do seemed surprised at my lack of foot and ankle swelling; especially considering it’s summer (my nurse said, “Wow, you’re ankles are distinguishable!”  I guess that’s a compliment?!).  It wasn’t until the last few weeks or so that my wedding ring and shoes became tight.  But, it’s nothing extreme by any means and worse at the end of the day and end of the work week.  I just hope it doesn’t get any worse because I already have chubby looking feet and ankles to begin with!

Sleeping has become increasingly challenging.  I'm not really friends with my bed these days.  Now I know why my friend Becky often played her turn of Words with Friends in the middle of the night while she was pregnant with twins!  I was once someone who could sleep until at least 10am.  Now I wake up at 7am and just want to get out of bed because I'm so uncomfortable.  I'm beginning to think I won't get a good nights sleep for months now!

Some people have to worry about their blood pressure at the end of pregnancy.  I still have a blood pressure most ‘normal’ people would die to have!  My weight is in the normal range even though I feel like I eat all the time and don’t work out much (I’ll miss that!!).  I haven’t had to worry at all about gaining/not gaining weight; though I’m still conscious of it (I don't treat pregnancy as an excuse to pig out!).  At my last doctor’s appointment I moved up to the next ‘decade’ on the scale; a ‘decade’ I have never seen before.  Heck, I only spent a short amount of time in the previous ‘decade’ about 10 years ago so this is all uncharted, sort of scary, territory for me.  At the same appointment my doctor referred to me as skinny and just recently some stranger stopped me in the mall and said I looked terrific.  I guess I can’t complain!  Maybe those compliments are my favorite things about pregnancy!

 

Favorite Things: Herb Shears

For my birthday this year I received some Wusthof herb shears.  Though not really a necessity, I think these things are wonderful!  I've never liked chopping herbs.  It seemed like a lot of work to pull out a knife and a cutting board (I know, I'm lazy) for a tablespoon of parsley or a 1/4 cup of cilantro..  With the herb shears you can 'chop' right into the work bowl (or measuring cup if you really like to be exact) if you want!  It all depends on how fine of a chop you want and what sort of herb you are working with.  Tonight I held a bunch of parsley over the cutting board I had out with other veggies on it, and just snipped away.  They almost make me want to plant a container of herbs in the house!

Recipe: Pomegranate Lemondade

Seeing as I'm pregnant, I've had to give up many of my favorite beverages.  Wine and beer mostly.  I've also attempted to cut back on my consumption of soda.  Pineapple and pineapple orange juice has been a favorite.  The limeade at Buffalo Wild Wings is quite tasty too.  I'm very happy that most of my pregnancy was spent during the summer months when lemonade seemed like a very appropriate drink.  That has seemed to be my go to drink for the past four months or so.  Recently I tried the pomegranate lemonade at Ruby Tuesday.  Yum!  It was a nice change from regular old lemonade and provided the bit of fizz that I enjoy in my drinks.  I liked it so much that I went online to find a recipe.  I found various takes on it and decided on my own which I think turned out quite tasty.  So, if you're looking for a lemonade with a twist, try this!

Pomegranate Lemonade

3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1 cup pomegranate juice (I used POM)
2 1/2 cups club soda

Mix all ingredients and serve over ice.

This makes about 2-3 glasses.  Either drink it right away or try and store it in a sealable bottle/pitcher so the club soda doesn't lose it's fizz.

Though not the lemonade I made, this is pretty much what it looked like!



 

Favorite Things: Mr. Clean Bath Cleaner with Febreze

I discovered Mr. Clean Disinfecting Bath Cleaner with Febreze about a year ago.  I love that it doesn't smell much like a bathroom cleaner, yet, it smells like the bathroom is clean.  And it works well too!

When I ran out of my first bottle I put it on my list to buy a new one.  The grocery store where I originally bought it did not have it.  The label was there, but for weeks it wasn't in stock.  I checked Target and couldn't find it there either.  I was beginning to think that it was discontinued.  In desperation, I checked Amazon.  They had it, but, the shipping costs were just too high for me to justify purchasing it.  I checked online at other stores to no avail.  It couldn't be true!  I went to the Mr. Clean website to see if they were still making it.  Yes, yes they were.  From there I found out which stores you could find it at; one of them being Kmart.  That same day Mike was headed out to an auto parts store and I told him (seriously, but not too seriously) that he should go to a certain auto parts store which is in the same parking lot as Kmart.  Then he could swing into Kmart and look for my coveted bathroom cleaner!  Being the good husband that he is, he did.  He found the Mr. Clean behind a sign advertising another product, grabbed two bottles, and brought them home to me.  Yay!  Once receiving the cleaner, I immediately cleaned the bathroom!  It has a different name now but I think it's pretty much the same product as far as I can tell...it smells just as good!  Look for Mr. Clean Bath Cleaner with Shine Shield with Febreze freshness.

 

I can't guarantee that using this cleaner will make you WANT to clean your bathroom, but I think you will enjoy the scent.  That is, if you can find it.  I think I may have to put in a note to Mr. Clean to sell it at stores that people actually shop at (sorry Kmart).  If you do see it somewhere else let me know!