29 Weeks & Crazy

Warning: This is an emotional post.  I think I am transitioning out of this "Oh shit am I really having a baby?" to "Wow, I'm a mom and I cannot wait to hold my baby boy".  I imagine daily what he will look like, what it will be like bringing him home from the hospital, and what his personality will be like.  He was such a surreal thought up until recently, but now that I can almost pinpoint which of his little body parts is making my belly lopsided or poking me in the rib he is becoming a bigger reality {literally}! 

One of my sweetest and oldest friends Madison {who happens to be getting married the weekend after next AH!} sent me a precious baby gift a few weeks ago and included this book - 

It was a fine and great read, great advice, leisurely, relaxing, good book...until one of the last letters that got serious.  The author wrote "You only hold your one day old baby for one day".  I. Lost. It. I was laying there with Andy passed out next to me and Buddy sleeping at the foot of the bed.  My tummy was out in full force and I just looked around and wanted to freeze frame that moment.  The waterworks started and I suddenly didn't want to "wish" this time away.  I don't want that "one day" with my "one day old baby" to come any faster - not because I am scared of the HUGE change it will bring to my life, not because I'm scared of labor, not because I'm scared if I will be a good mom {even though I am a little frightened of all these things}, but because I do not want that "one day" to be over.

  

Come November, I will have anticipated that day for 9 months, and just like that we will move on to day 2, day 3, first day of kindergarden, etc....everyone says "it goes so fast", "enjoy every minute".  I think I realized the reasoning for that advice after reading that sentence, looking at my third trimester baby bump, and glancing over at my sleeping husband who I have already been married to for 2 years. Time really is fleeting and I don't want to take a single minute of my blessed life for granted. {See I am turning into a mom and having "mom feelings"}     

So thanks for the read Madi, it literally sent me into an emotional tailspin that only got worse...

I saw this commercial this morning and ended up salting my breakfast cereal with tears. Even though I have accidentally watched it 7 times trying to figure out how to get it posted on this damn blog, I still am getting a little teary eyed each time it plays.  I cannot wait for the day that he "becomes mine and I become his" and he "holds my hand back".  I don't think anyone can understand the love a mother has for their child until you experience it, and I haven't even held my baby yet! 

Being emotional and sentimental is nothing new for me - If you ask my girlfriends from nursing school  about my drunken professions of love for our friendships after long nights out they probably still have a few of those embarrassing videos of me crying and telling them how much I love them and they are "my best friends ever" & rambling on.  Right Laurie, April, Aub, Holly? Andy can probably attest to this as well.   I just think pregnancy has potentiated this personality trait, and by potentiated I mean I am now borderline psychotic! 

Thats all for now, I am going to try and hold it together for the rest of the day and do something productive like paint my nails - just my fingernails though, I can't reach my toenails anymore. 

-AlyNav 

Hello 3rd Trimester!

My extreme "nesting" {cleaning-out, organizing, throwing away, reorganizing, washing, scrubbing, organizing again} coupled with the fact Andy is in North Carolina for a month on an away rotation for school left me in an awkward situation with our first born baby - Buddy.  

"Mom, when is Dad coming home and why are you throwing all his stuff away?"

I tried explaining to him "Dad is indeed coming home - in a month, and its okay he doesn't need an office full of A&M memorabilia anyway{aka junk from his days at TAMU}.  Your brother is going to need a nursery". Even after my explanation, I still was getting this skeptical look as if Buddy thought his Dad and I were calling it quits. I can't blame the dog - I have loved having the whole bed to myself (lots of tossing and turning lately), All the pillows to myself (again, I cannot get comfortable at night with this big belly), and no more 4:15am wakeup calls for Andy to go into the OR, which thus becomes my wakeup call to lay in bed wishing I wasn't awake.  

Thankfully as Buddy and I were hashing this out Kelly & Michael were on T.V and Kelly Ripa brought up some study that showed people in long distance relationships connected more intimately than people who weren't.  Apparently they have to communicate more since they aren't in the same place or something.  I don't care why, or if the study was true, or even if it was scientific or not, I believe everything Kelly Ripa says - she has great hair & always has cute shoes - how can you not believe her. 

So see Buddy? Dad will be home before we know it & we will love each other probably more than we did before he left 

(and we will just keep the door to his old "office" closed until Mom goes to work).

After I threw his ball and he got completely covered in dirt (which is his favorite thing to do) he seemed to accept my explanation and decided to give me a break from his moping around! 

On to the pregnancy update....

So 28 weeks....Third Trimester! What the heck? I don't think anything in my life has gone this fast, but this slow at the same time.  Sometimes this is what my train of thought looks like - 

"Wow, I've been pregnant since February?.....I've been pregnant for this whole year pretty much? .....Is that normal for someone to be pregnant like almost a whole year?.....Oh my gosh I only have 11 more weeks to go...really its kind of almost Christmas....{panicking} ITS ALMOST CHRISTMAS?....I have so much to do....what on earth have I been doing since February because I feel like nothing is done?....I'm hungry...I have to pee...I need to organize something"

I went to my 28 week appointment and Mom & Baby are healthy :) Baby Navetta's precious heartbeat was 150 & strong.  I only gained 2 lbs these past four weeks and my blood pressure and lab work was perfect.  I am looking forward to my 30 week appointment & ultrasound - Aunt Emma gets to accompany me & I am dying for her to see her nephew in action.  I am also looking forward to baby showers and finishing getting house ready for baby. I have a lot to be thankful for! 

~Alyssa 

P.S. I should be the one giving Buddy a break - I admit I am missing Andy a lot too & I too am doing my fair share of moping around as well.  Maybe the real definition of true love is something like "True love is preferring to sleep uncomfortable and cramped next to the person you love than sleeping comfortably un-cramped in the middle of the bed alone".

25 Weeks

Wow, blogging is not for the faint of heart...or maybe blogging just isn't for someone with a full time job, short attention span, and someone who would rather be watching another episode of "Girls" than writing about herself! Whatever the case may be, although I may be terrible at this new found "hobby", I press on for the readers {aka my mom and maybe Aubrey?} ;) 

Here is my latest bump picture! This is 25 weeks and I am LOVING that belly!  Before I elaborate on pregnancy updates, I want to tell you about the events and emotions leading up to this picture so you can get an idea of how absolutely bat-shit crazy one becomes when pregnant.  

I was going through my closet trying on EVERYTHING to see what I can and cannot squeeze into my maternity wardrobe {literally} and I came across a couple of my Texas Tech game day shirts.  I got REALLY excited REALLY fast when I put this outfit on.  1. It fit! 2. It made me realize college football season is quickly approaching and I love football weekends almost as much as I love Christmas. 3. This year is Tech's year and I am in love with Kliff Kingsbury {I can't wait to see him on the sidelines with that good hair, headset, and sunglasses coaching the first football team I was a truly a fan of -  Texas Tech}! As I tried on my new maternity game day outfit  and took this spirited selfie I could practically hear "Raider"...."Power", I could smell the tailgating grills being fired up, and I could taste the beer on my lips....

And then the emotional roller coaster transpired. 

First realization - this outfit will not fit me in 3 weeks, much less the actual month and a half until the first game. Number 2, I can't make it two hours on my feet without them starting to swell & I know this is only going to get worse. I also cannot make it 35 minutes without having to go to the bathroom, So how could I ever make it through tailgating and an entire football game? Lastly, no beer for me this football season.  NO BEER DURING FOOTBALL SEASON? When is the last time I haven't had beer during football season? Definitely prior to my freshman year at Tech & that was 2006, this is 2013. 

Que the waterworks. I cried about my swollen feet, my squished bladder, and my sober season for about 2 minutes.  

As I sat dramatically on my bedroom floor acting like someone had died, baby was moving and kicking and I quickly was brought back to the reality of how thankful, blessed, and overwhelmed with joy I was about becoming a mom.  My priorities were put back into the appropriate perspective and I said a simple "I'm sorry God, that was a really bad reason to get that upset, I wouldn't trade where I am in this life for anything".  With that prayer and the thought of eating those tailgate bacon wrapped cream cheese jalapenos I was back to my excited, happy self

This all happened in less than 3 1/2 minutes - I am telling you I have almost ZERO control over my emotions these days.  So for those of you who don't believe in pregnant women being hormonal - Come visit me, I will make you a believer! 

How far along? 25 Weeks
Total weight gain: 18 lbs (whoops! how did that happen?)
Maternity clothes? Lots! Trying not to buy too much since I only have THREE months left, so I am wearing the same outfits over and over again.  My sweet mother-in-law took me shopping last month and got me some of my first additions to my maternity wardrobe! It was fun, she is the best! 
Sleep: Getting more and more difficult to get comfortable and the frequent bathroom trips make it hard too :(  
Best moment this week: My sister Emma came to Lubbock and got to feel and SEE Baby Navetta kick & move.  Andy feels on him and watches him almost every day {which I love}, but it was special to have my sister see and feel too! 
Miss Anything? Same stuff I have been missing - and believe it or not - running. I miss working up a sweat and feeling like I had a whole body workout. 
Food cravings: Nothing in particular 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: BOY!!!!
Labor Signs: No. 
Symptoms: Acne continues, but is A LOT better.  Feet starting to swell when I am up for a long time.  
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Band on, engagement ring off - its getting a little too tight :( ! 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but see story above! 
Looking forward to: Every morning when I wake up I look forward to feeling baby move and kick! I LOVE it.  I am also looking forward to decorating the baby nursery and collecting more baby stuff.  I swoon over baby clothes - I get teary eyed thinking my little guy will be in those clothes in 3 months! 
NOT Looking forward to: Andy leaving at end of August for A MONTH for an away rotation in North Carolina at UNC.  Thankfully Emma will be here with me so I won't be alone, but I am sure going to miss my husband.... We have done long distance for a lot longer than that in the past (grant it, we were dating and I wasn't pregnant), so we will be fine! Still NOT looking forward to it :(.  

23 weeks in Tyler with my handsome baby daddy!



Thats all for another month probably ;)
-Alyssa 

Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty!

I will start this one off with a little 17-18 week selfie I took.  It's incredible to me how FAST this baby is growing, my bump almost seems to change by the day! 

{Note: These are the "too-big" coral maternity skinny-jeans I bought...and what do you know, I grew right into them...who would have thought!} 

Over the last couple weeks Baby Navetta has grown from the size of an avocado to the size of an onion, then a sweet potato, mango,  and this weekend the baby will measure the length of a banana! That seems big to me! 

The sweet potato week my girlfriend at work sent me this text of her lunch...It was eye-opening to realize I was growing something that size inside of me and it was only going to get bigger. 

I don't want to say nothing exciting has happened since week 16, because that isn't true, but there haven't been any big changes as far as baby goes.  We haven't had another doctors appointment and  we haven't had another sonogram, thus no gender update {we find out July 2!!!}.  

Besides the big gender reveal, the thing I am MOST excited for in these upcoming weeks is having Andy feel the baby move.  Baby is moving around in there more & more frequently and the movements are getting stronger.  I think I can feel it from the outside sometimes, but Andy hasn't felt him/her yet!  There is honestly nothing like it - if I think about how much I love that baby already it brings tears to my eyes...I am ready for Andy to have that same sensation - feeling our son/daughter grooving around mom's belly! 

That's all on the baby front for now! There will be more exciting news than what fruit or vegetable our offspring resembles next week I promise! 

Alyssa 

16 weeks

How far along? 16 Weeks
Total weight gain: 12 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Kind of.  I bought a pair of coral maternity skinny jeans last week.  Let me repeat that - maternity. skinny. jeans.  Yeah, that should have been a red flag to me too, but the model looked super adorable so I was sure I would look just like her.  I probably would have looked just like her if I too was 8 months pregnant, 5'11 and had the pre-pregnancy weight of an anorexic 12 year old.  Long story short, the "maternity" part of the pant (the stretchy part that goes over your belly) is still too big and the pants are too long, so this was a FAIL.  I will hold on to them and see if I grow into them.  Overall, I've been sticking to maxi dresses and loose tops with my bottoms unbuttoned! 
Sleep: Fine if I am really tired, If I'm not so sleepy I am noticing it is getting harder and harder to get comfortable.  
Best moment this week: FEELING BABY NAVETTA MOVE! At first I was hesitant to believe it was baby moving, but I have been noticing patterns that have convinced me that indeed what I am feeling is a little babe getting his/her groove on in there!  For example, I allow myself to have 1 cup of coffee or tea a day (other than that its ALL water) and I kid you not 30 minutes later I will feel the "flutter".  It is really hard to explain, it is similar to a muscle twitch or kind of feels like a "nudge" from the inside.   I can already tell from this that our kid will probably be the crazy ass kid thats not allowed to have Coke or Mountain Due because it makes them bounce off the walls.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the feeling! It takes my breath away each time and I wait and hope I feel another little movement.  
Miss Anything? Drinking with Andy.  We have been enjoying cold beer in the summer together for years now, so I get a little envious when we are grilling or hanging out and its hot and he is downing a cold, refreshing cerveza and I am sipping my lemon water!  And speaking of lemon water, a margarita on a patio would be nice this time of year too! Hmm, next year!  
Food cravings: FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT and fruit smoothies and plain salty potato chips. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: NO! Thankfully this is over :) 
Gender: Don't know! 
Labor Signs: No. 
Symptoms: Acne (ugh) and this  sensation when I am hungry that I have to eat right now.  I think it would be the same way a diabetic would feel? - I get light headed and shaky and Hangry (Hungry-Angry).  Like I. have. to. eat. now. or. I. will. kill. someone. I am not proud of this, it is just the God-honest truth! 
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, don't ask Andy his opinion...
Looking forward to: Seeing my family in 2 weeks! Andy takes his STEP 2 test for medical school in Houston so we have turned it into a mini vacation! We are going to Galveston with the Fratangelo Fam for 3 days and I CANNOT put into words how excited I am to see my family and have them see my growing belly!
NOT Looking forward to: The 9 hour drive to Houston! It is going to be an interesting drive considering I seem to need to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes these days...

My "First" Mothers Day

Talk about a WHOLE new appreciation for my mom! I never realized how much she loved me until I saw my own baby on the sonogram and experienced that motherly- love for myself.  It makes me regret the absolute hell I must have put her through when I was a teenager! I am so thankful for everything my mom sacrificed for me and I hope I can have the same selfless love for my children as my mom has for me and my sisters and brother.

{Speaking of sacrificing for your children, it has already started! So far my biggest sacrifices include cocktails and abs....but really who am I kidding about the abs....so cocktails}

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM! I wish we could have spent the day together! 

This Mothers Day really did take on a whole new meaning.  I never knew I could love someone I haven't even met as much as I love this little human right here! 

The one on the right is my favorite - it looks like he or she is rubbing their eyes! I know everyone thinks their kid is the cutest kid and their dog is the most precious dog in the whole world...the same thing goes for sonogram pictures! I could just stare at these pictures all day long and never get sick of them! 

Andy and I spent the majority of Mothers Day in the car driving from Dallas to Lubbock after celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Harry's wedding! Andy surprised me Sunday morning with a card and bought me a turquoise workout band for my IPhone. 

{I have been wanting a workout band for sometime now, but I was a little concerned with the message he was sending....my friend who happens to be one week less pregnant than me got a relaxing body pillow for mothers day....is it just me or is there something wrong with this picture?} 

Here are a few pictures from Aubrey's perfect wedding and our first Mothers Day Weekend! 

My First Mothers Day Card! 

Hot Hubby & Baby Bump! 

The Beautiful Bride

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Harry

My only picture of her STUNNING dress! Thanks for letting me such a BIG part of your BIG day Mrs. Harry! 

I hope all the moms, aunts, and grandmothers had a happy & blessed Mothers Day! 

~Alyssa