Jimmy Legs, A Case of the Mondays...All Week, and That Baby has Devil Eyes

So I have now entered not only the late days of summer, but it seems that I have also entered the part of the pregnancy where very little is comfortable.  I am now in my 33^rd week and am finding it hard to stay in one position for very long.  Hannah continues to enjoy lodging her foot into my rib which makes it uncomfortable to sit for long.  Standing sometimes provides some relief, but then the heaviness of my tummy starts to catch up.  The only relief right now is to lie on my back for a little while until gravity does its job.

However, once in the laying position, the tossing and turning starts and the Jimmy Legs begin (Seinfeld reference).  Theses random kicks mainly come when I am on my back, but they can also come about while on either of my sides.  My Jimmy Legs were diagnosed by Clark.  Apparently Nixon (our 4 legged daughter) shares my affliction, which causes her to get kicked out of our bed and put in her cage.  I am hoping this isn’t my fate as well, although, Nixon is a good snuggler.  Needless to say, sleep has been difficult recently, both for me and by consequence, Clark as well.

This lack of sleep has been routine for the past two weeks or so.  It is starting to take its toll.  Motivation to roll myself out of bed each morning and waddle into the office has been hard to come by.  I compare this feeling to having a case of the Mondays, all week long.  I have had fleeting thoughts of throwing in the towel and taking leave until she comes, but am going to try to stick it out until the end.  Maybe making that decision was good for the soul because I had the best night’s sleep last night that I have had in months.  I actually woke up ready to meet the day.

Last but not least, Clark and I attended our first of four parenting classes last night.  Last night’s syllabus included washing, feeding, and daily care and monitoring (yes that includes a tally sheet to keep track of their diaper business, sweet).  Each of the couples in the classroom was given a baby to practice holdings, swaddling, dressing and washing.  We should have chosen our seat location a little better, because the look on my faux baby’s face was creeping me out.   It was definitely giving me the devil eyes.  Maybe it didn’t like the way we were burping it or that we left it exposed to the cold air too long after our fake bath, but those eyes were evil and had hate behind them.  Next class I am going to try to get the Asian baby with the smiling face. 

The class was quite informative and I am glad that we are attending.  It did however debunk some of the suggestions from family friends and yes, even my Mother.  Sorry Mom, adding rice cereal to their bottles doesn’t help them stay full longer to sleep.  Babies are able to digest the rice much faster than the formula or breast milk. It was just a coincidence that we were good sleepers. Don’t worry, I am still going to take your advice, you raised me and I’m pretty awesome, so you probably weren’t off too far.  The instructor encouraged us to ask our parents and friends about “infant feeders.”  Apparently this contraption launched food down the baby’s mouths?  Do tell.

An Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

We had another wonderful shower this past weekend in the Atlanta Area.  It was hosted by our good friends Andy and Molly Camp and Parker and Shannon Hurt.  Andy and Parker are two of Clark’s best friends from Auburn.  It was a wonderful shower and really continues to show us how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends in our lives and a wonderful circle of friends for Hannah to jump into.  The gifts for Hannah were incredibly generous and we get closer and closer to completing our “tool kit” to handle all the unknowns in front of us.  The show was stolen with one of the gifts from the Camps and the Hurts, a Pink Daisy BB gun.  Clark was over joyed with the gift and can’t wait to one day take our little one out into the woods and show her how to use it.  He also mentioned that if he can get Hannah to go hunting with him, he’ll be able to go more.  I laughed and said if she is anything like me, she’ll do anything her Dad does to spend time with him.

Seeing Clark talk with his friends about being dads was funny.  They keep trying to tell him how different it will be and how much it will change him.  Clark being Clark retorted with it is not him who will have to change.  Our friend Ryan just sat back during this exchange smirking and shaking his head.  Ryan and his wife Carrie have a little girl Carli and another one on the way, so this isn’t his first Rodeo and knows better.  Clark really seems to have embraced the idea of parenthood and has even muttered the words “let’s knock this part out and get to meet her.”  He seems as antsy as I am but in a different way.  He is just ready to tackle anything that comes our way.  I am antsy in the way of, oh S%*t, are we ready?  If you would have asked me 8 months ago, I would have said our roles would have been reversed.  However, his confidence is very reassuring.  He continues to make me laugh to calm me down on purpose or not.  His best lately was about one the gifts from our friends Blake and Julie.  They gave us the book “Go the F#@K to Sleep.” Clark asked if we read it to Hannah, I told him to read it first and use his best judgment.

On the home front, we are making some serious progress.  The new carpet for upstairs was put in last week and looks wonderful.  The crib and dresser have been ordered and will be delivered sometime next week.  I have already re-arranged the current items in her room once, and this probably will be the first of many.  I am really getting anxious to have everything set and ready.  We start our parenting class next week.  It is at Huntsville Hospital and will be once a week for four weeks on Tuesdays.  I am hoping this will answer a lot of the questions that we have or haven’t even thought about yet.

I did find a good article on what to bring to the hospital with you to make your stay more comfortable.  I would have never even thought of some of the stuff.  If you have any good suggestions, send them my way.  I am starting to pack my bag for the hospital.

Hope this finds everyone well and healthy,

Team McCarthy

Letter to Hannah

On the way to work the other morning, I heard Brad Paisley’s song “Letter to Me”.  It is a really sweet song and I have always liked it.  It got me thinking about writing Hannah a letter now to give to her on her 18^th Birthday.  It would capture all of our naive thoughts about what is coming up but I think it would be a nice thing for her to read about how excited we are about her arrival and how much she already means to us and she hasn’t even made her appearance yet.  I want Clark to write his own letter as well.

I want to tell her about our families and friends.  How she is the newest addition to a long line of strong women.  Women who are independent, headstrong (okay stubborn), generous, witty, caring, and often times outspoken.  We are women who have chosen our husbands wisely and carefully.  We are women who are proud of our families and take care to represent them well.  We are women who have learned as much through our failures as we have through our successes.  We are women who have been blessed by friends because we have been taught that in order to have good friends, you have to be a good friend.

I want to tell her that we have probably already been through the roughest time in our relationship and no matter what decisions she makes in the future, there is nothing that she can do that would change how much we love her. I would tell her that she is about to start a very exciting part of her life.  College is where her father and I came into our own as people, found lifelong friends, and learned that our parents were right more than they were wrong, but it is okay not to admit that yet.

There are other things, but I think this will be a good start for now.  To all of you, what advice would you give to your younger self or what things you hope your child has learned by their 18^th Birthday?

This Blog is a big thank you to all the women who have shaped my life. Thank you to all the Fraiser, Whitner, Brock, Fuller, and Passinetti Women for their advice and patience.

Cheers,
Team McCarthy

New Low Point

I had a new low point in my pregnancy earlier this week.  I was getting back in the car after lunch with my girlfriends and popped the seam in the caboose area of my pants.  I know that it isn’t necessarily my weight (this is my story so don’t start) but that the seam wasn’t strong to start with or many (maybe 1) other reasons.  It wasn’t a huge deal, I had to have Clark bring me out my computer and notebooks from my office so I could go home and change before I had to go out to a client meeting. However, there is a sense of defeat with the busting of seams, no matter how it happens.  Clark was so good about it; he said it was definitely the pants fault.

The good news is that at my check up this morning, I found that I had passed the glucose test with flying colors and I hadn’t gained any weight since my last appointment (which helps with my story from the previous paragraph.)  I am however measuring on the mature side. I know this is not an exact science, but experience is experience. My doctor wants me to really start considering the possibility of a C section.  We are having another sonogram at 36 weeks to see if they can make a good estimate.  I have always just envisioned me doing it the natural way, and the thought of me laying on a table with my large intestine laying outside of my body alongside me to pull the baby out doesn’t really sit well with me, yet.  None the less, it is something to start thinking about.  So I have heard from a few friends already on pro and con on each type of delivery option, but it is always good to hear more.  So please send me your stories, good, bad, and most likely, not glamorous.

On the status of the home front, we have completed the painting in Hannah’s room.  I have put up new shelves and hanging rods in her closet, so I can start putting away some of her loot.  The new carpet for upstairs has been ordered.  As soon as we get an installation date, we’ll order the dresser (thanks again Mom and Dad for the help) and Clark’s Mom and Grandmother got us the crib and that is supposed to be ordered shortly.  I am really starting to feel the pressure of the pending due date and am starting to knock things off the list while I can.

So send me your stories.  I hope you are all making through the extreme heat of this summer.  It has to cool off eventually right? (Clark has promised a cool off…..in October)

Shower Season Kick Off

We had a wonderful time at the shower in Northern Virginia this weekend.  It was a quick turnaround.  We left after work Thursday night, stayed in Knoxville and then drove the rest of the way on Friday.  The ride Sunday was a little harder doing it all in one day.  Nixon enjoyed the ride with us.  She is never excited to get into the car, but mainly goes to sleep once in the car.  Her only quirk just started in the past month.  She will put her nose right up to the vent that goes to the back seat and inhale deeply and then snarf it out through her nose.  She will do this until I close the vent.  We assume it is just air she is sucking in and not some portion of coolant that she is getting a high from.  Clark’s explanation was that she thinks so much; her brain is overheating and needs to cool off.  The jury is still out.

The shower was thrown by my best friend and Hannah’s middle name sake, Grace.  She always goes above and beyond any expectations and is one of the most generous people I know.  It was wonderful to see all my friends from all parts of my life, family friends, some who have known me since birth, high school and colleges friends (Erin and Meghan rep’ed Sigma Kappa and WVU) and Arlington friends.  I am truly blessed to have such an incredible group of women in my life to support me.  Everyone was so generous with their gifts and time.  Clark was overwhelmed with all the gifts but has decided he’ll have to go shopping because Hannah can’t have more toys than him.  This could be a problem.

We got to catch up with my brother and sister in law.  Their son Brock is growing fast and has really gotten into that interaction stage where it is fun to see what his reactions to things are and what he is going to do next.

Hannah has really kicked up her movements.  On Saturday afternoon after the shower, I was sitting with my parents and she must have been trying a break dancing move.  She pushed so hard on my tummy that she knocked off the toy I had balanced on there.  I can now just lay in bed and watch her kick and push at my stomach.  It just makes me giggle and it really shocks Clark.

I had the glucose test yesterday which took way too long.  I don’t have the results yet, but I’m not worried.  I have always been told I was sweet.

The 4D Ultrasound Pics

The Creature from The Black Lagoon

We had the 4D ultrasound this morning.  She was a little sleepy, but we got some great pictures for the most part.  The last one posted is of her yawning, but i will say, it looks like the creature from the Black Lagoon!  Technology is just amazing!  She definitely has Clark's nose (thank goodness) and my chubby cheeks.

My doctor did say that she is looking to be a big one.  I have another ultrasound around my 36th week to make sure we don't overgrow her in there.  Guess we should really get a move on to get those last minute projects done around the house!

4th of July, Living with Dissapointment, and Hot Boobs

We spent the 4^th of July, as we do every year with our friend Brannon Byers and his family at their lake house in Plum Branch, South Carolina.  We had a wonderful time.  It was a perfect weekend of good food, good friends (especially those we only get to see once a year), good advice (thanks Ivey and Mrs. B), good stories and conversation.  Nixon took to the water again like a fish.  She hasn’t yet mastered the art of fetch in the water, but for the most part, was a fun addition to lake time.  When she started to get tired, we would pull her up to rest on our floatie.  We did learn that there is a difference between waterproof and water resistant (although my friend Margo says both are a Myth).  Nothing too dramatic, but a little more color on both of our shoulders than we had planned.

This past weekend was supposed to be spent with my friend Lisa in Atlanta with our BFF Taylor Swift, but she got sick and had to cancel the concert.  Yes, I know we were probably both spared the embarrassment of being the only grown women there without children, but we don’t care and celebrate her whole collection.  The sad news is that the rescheduled date for the concert is Oct 1, which is about a week after the expected arrival of Hannah, so it is a no go.  There is always next year.

The weekend at home was actually a really nice break to all the travel that we have been doing in the past month.  I was able to run some errands, get some stuff done around the house, provide motivation to Clark to get Hannah’s room painted, and get some much needed nap time. 

We came across a small phenomenon Sunday afternoon after church.  There is no delicate way to describe this so here goes (sorry Dad, Clark, and Cory), my boobs became red hot.  I could feel them radiating heat when we got home, but when I changed out of my church clothes, I touched them and decided they were at least 300 degrees each.  Clark confirmed this.  His diagnosis was that lady, pregnancy stuff must be going on and something has been activated.  After talking with some new mom friends, they said this is common and most likely have increased hormones or whatever it takes to get the ol’ udders started in order to feed the wee one after her arrival.  They did not stay at that temp for any length of time, but it was interesting while it lasted.

The pictures are of our 4 legged child enjoying her lake time and my nephew Brock dominating the 4th of July Parade in Wellsburg, WV.

I hope this provided a good giggle for everyone and this finds everyone having a safe and fun summer.