Author: melissaperea

I’m a stay at home mom of four who writes novels and funny status updates in her spare time. I’m loud. And I like to eat. Blogging about motherhood is my way of getting free therapy–it’s a total stress reliever. I’m raw and honest, but fun and optimistic.

Stick a fork in it…

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Because we are done!

The day that felt like it would take years to come is finally here. November 15th, 2010 – your expected due date. To be honest it might as well be November 15th, 2009 because I don’t feel like I am about to become a Mom and even though I have been pregnant for the past 10 months I still can’t wrap my head around the reality that I truly am pregnant. I think its one of those things that doesn’t become a reality until you’ve been a parent for awhile. It’s rather weird. But anyhow we are pretty darn excited to meet you and since your taking up a large amount of my physical real estate it would be awesome if you came sooner rather then later, but I will be patient.

So for all of my non-facebook friends (ahem Kim Murray). I thought I would share my most recent belly shots and some of the maternity photos that my sister took of us. Enjoy!

My sister got together with us in Ocean Beach for a maternity photo-shoot. She has a great eye and since she is my sister I get the family discount of Free Photos 🙂 I loved the way they turned out. I hope you like them as well. 

 

 
p.s. here is a sneak peek at one of the outtakes for our Christmas Card Photo

Etsy Finds

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So every day I get an email from Etsy with their “daily finds” and sometimes its super hard to resist not buying EVERYTHING!!! However, I generally have good restraint and thus want to share with everyone the items that I would buy today if I thought I truly needed them or didn’t have to think about buying diapers and paying for baby stuff.

So even though I won’t “own” these items in real life let’s pretend we went shopping and then went home and poured all of our amazing purchases on my coffee table.

 I would love to have an herb garden one day. In fact I would love to have an everything garden, but condo/city living makes it rather rough. These copper herb tags would patina so beautifully over time and just add that little touch of whimsy. A gnome would help as well 🙂

 Sometimes I wish I knew how to write in amazing cursive, but unfortunately I always forget how to write Q and Z and my K’s always look like R’s. Having one of these on hand would encourage me to send out more handwritten letters. And I LOVE stationary. Especially stationary that looks like it came from the Jane Austen era.


 I actually will own this item. I have been searching for that perfect diaper bag that doesn’t look like a diaper bag, but is more functional then just buying a purse. Some purses can totally be pulled off as diaper bags, other purses don’t have enough pockets/compartments to make it useful enough. This is just perfect. Not only does it NOT look like a diaper bag (goal #1) I would totally use it everyday for my own stuff (goal # 2) and its made out of upholstery material so it will last forever (goal # 3).

I really want a Christmas tree this year, but I don’t think we will have the room nor the time to get one/decorate it with the baby coming any day. So my alternative is to buy a vinyl decal for our wall. This one is cool because its an advent calendar that counts down the days for you and you place an ornament over the # of the day to “decorate” your tree. Super cute!
 

Even though the Advent Calendar Tree has an interactive piece which is awesome, this tree really speaks to me. Its just soooo adorable and you can have it made in many different color options. So what do you think? 
And last but not least I wanted to share something that used to be sold on Etsy and now has their own online store because they got sooo huge. It’s called Bangerang Bake Shop and they are the originator’s of the cupcake in a jar. I bought one of these last year for Hector’s birthday and let me tell you… it’s worth every PENNY!!! SO AMAZING. I got the Red Velvet Revolution and WOW. So if you are looking to send a holiday pie or a fruit cake to a loved one STOP. Instead send them a cupcake in a jar. They will love it. I promise!

I hope you enjoyed shopping with me 🙂

Any day now…

Published on by melissaperea2 Comments

So basically they tell you that after 37 weeks of being pregnant you could go “any day” and it wouldn’t be considered bad. The baby is apparently fully developed and the only thing that happens in the last few weeks is they chunk up. So right now I am sitting on 38 weeks and 2 days. I really wanted to give another update before things go haywire, even though I am assuming it will be at least another week until any action occurs. So here is how things have been since week 29 (the last time I did this).

Today’s Date: November, 3rd 2010
Weeks Pregnant: 38 weeks and 2 days
Current Weight:  167 – eeeek!
Weight at the Start of Pregnancy: 126
Total pounds gained so far: 41 big ones baby
Height: 5’6”
Am I getting Braxton Hicks Contractions: All the time!! Especially at night. Sleeping sucks.
Do I have stretch marks: Some on my hips and one above my belly button where I got it pierced.
Do I eat weird foods: No, but I am always eating now. I had a foot long all by myself a few nights ago. I have NEVER eaten that much food before in one meal. I think it scares Hector 🙂
Do I exercise: I am still walking (did 4 miles the other day!!) at this point and I went swimming the other day, but the braxton hicks make doing too much physical activity super uncomfortable
Have I enjoyed being pregnant: YES! I didn’t get uncomfortable until about 2 nights ago. Sleeping is a lot harder now with the contractions and constantly having to pee. Luckily it took me until 38+ weeks to legitimately feel uncomfortable. Up until Monday I was happy as pie. I am still happy just bummed about the lack of sleep.
Am I reading Babywise: You bet I am. It’s a little overwhelming to swallow all the concepts, but it makes a lot of sense. And who wouldn’t want a baby that sleeps through the night at 7-9 weeks.
Am I using a doula: If one is available when I arrive I think I will gladly accept the extra help. Otherwise its just me and Hec  🙂
Did I do all recommended screenings: Yes. Any test that the hospital offered I took (as long as it wasn’t invasive or a health risk to myself or my baby). 
Did I get the flu shot: No
Did I get the H1N1 shot: No
Did I get the whooping cough vaccine: I will once she is born. Hector and I both will be given the shot immediately following her delivery.
Do we have a name: Yes, we have her full name picked out. We have decided to not announce it until she is born. Even though we love her name we do have a minor feeling that we might change it once we meet her, but hopefully not since we don’t really have a ton of back up names.
Measurements: We had some minor setbacks about being in the birthing center due to an ultrasound that showed her having an overly large Abdominal Cavity. We have since then had another u/s done and thankfully all of her measurements are average or on the small side. Which in reality means nothing because an u/s is never 100% accurate.
Anemia: Besides the measurements the only other thing that was a setback was me being Anemic. Apparently anything over an 11.5 means you are not anemic. My first blood tests showed me around 12.8 which is good. Around 20 weeks I dropped to 10.3 and if I got below 10 I wouldn’t be allowed in the birthing center. I was put on iron pills (which sucked!!) and my number went up to 11.1. I then switched to liquid iron around 28 weeks and at my last appoint it was up to 11.8 which was even better. And the liquid iron was much easier to handle. So right now I am still taking it daily, but all in all my hemoglobin is looking good 🙂
Other Vaccines: Hector and I haven’t given much thought to what we will or won’t do in regards to vaccines. I think we definitely will space them out more (they give waaaay to many at once). And we will probably say No to some of them, but I haven’t done a ton of research so its still up in the air. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
Brain Cyst: We also wanted to let everyone know that her cyst has since disappeared. At her 19w u/s they saw a cyst on her brain, but it went away and everything was cleared at her 36w u/s as predicted by my midwife.

Lastly, here is the most recent comparison from my first picture (week 13) to my current picture (week 38).

I can’t wait to tell the entire world what your name is and to announce your weight, length and time of birth because it means you are finally here!!!