Pregnancy Dream

Sjauna just made a comment on my previous post that reminded me of something I wanted to document (thank you Sj).

My Pregnancy Dream:

A couple months ago, I had a dream! I dreamed (is dreamt really not a word?! Since when?) that I was pregnant (which I am) and that the baby was moving around a ton (which he is). One nite (in my dream) the baby was moving around so much and was pushing his hand on my belly, but he was pushing so hard that I thought he was going to rip my skin open with his hand. I looked down at my stomach and saw his hand and arm pushing my skin so tight (kinda like the picture above only a million times stronger). I went to the doctor and expressed how I thought the baby was going to rip my skin open and the doctor said that it was an emergency and I needed a C-Section to get him out because he was suffering from claustrophobia.

After I woke up, I told Grant and he said,

"You would have a dream where your baby needed to come out because of a psychological disorder."

It was funny. My baby already has psychological issues and he's not even born yet! I think I'm a little paranoid or something, and I think the dream stems from a combination of seeing the picture above, (which I've seen before and thought it was amazing), the baby moving so much and me worrying he doesn't have enough room, my dad being a psychiatrist, and having a few family and friends that needed emergency C-sections. I think that's why I dreamed that.

Does This Make You Feel Weird?

Because of my recent illness (thank you all of you for your well wishes, I am doing better), I can't really breathe that well. I haven't been able to really breathe that well my whole pregnancy, I'm so stuffy and can't sleep that well because of it, but it seems like it's been worse since I've had the flu and hasn't left me. For example, sometimes when I breathe, I sound like a kazoo. One nite I was sleeping while Grant was still up working and he said he could hear me waking myself up every time I went into a deep sleep because of my breathing problems. After this, I decided I would try a Neti Pot (we got it at Wal-Mart, it was the last one left). When I first did it, I felt weird about it. It felt weird to put the pot into my nose, it felt weird as Grant watched me in complete wonderment, it felt weird as I tipped my head to the side and waiting for the water to start dripping out my nose, and then it really felt weird when the water started running through (there is something that doesn't feel quite right about it the first time- like drowning).

I think it's working though. I've been able to breathe better since I've been using. It still makes me feel weird though.

Another thing that makes me feel weird was this realization:

My baby already has a face!! (Is that a deep thought or what?) The thought of "the baby" to me is still so obscure, even though I feel him moving all the time and I carry him with me everywhere I go (that's weird too). Grant and I were talking the other day in the car about how weird it's going to be to be parents and have a baby! and that he will be here pretty soon (about a month or so). We keep talking about this abstract baby and then I came to the weird realization that we were talking about someone who is already with us. He is inside my body. He is here here here. He's not abstract but the idea of him is. He is already with us, we are already his parents. I wonder what he'll look like and I realize he already looks like something (or someone hopefully). He already has a face! I just don't know what it looks like yet (could be a Grant face, could be a me face). Anyway, that made me feel weird. We talk about him as if he's not here yet, but he is here, and he's with me 24/7. Everywhere I go, everything I do, he's here. It just makes me feel weird.

Also, if we had 100 bucks that we were willing to spend on Halloween Costumes, I would chose these:

Mainly because the oven would almost cover my whole body. (Isn't that chef hat amazing?! Look how high it goes!)

Also, my food blog address has been changed. It is no longer
www.strikekitchen.blogspot.com
although this is still Steph's great food blog. The new address is:
www.kitchencollaborations.blogspot.com
It's still the same blog, just different address and name.
I haven't posted on it in a while, but I'm afraid the fall weather might just lure me into the kitchen and I'm sure you all want to know what happens next... :)


(Is it just me, or did this post make you feel weird?)

Update

Yeah, I have the Swine Flu. NOT fun at all... AND my phone still isn't functional. Thank goodness for NyQuil, Tylenol, Gatorade, Sprite, Oatmeal, Lysol Disinfectant Spray, Soda Water, Hot Baths, Tamiflu, Doctors, Costco Pharmacy, the Internet, Loving Family and Friends, Prayers, Priesthood Blessings, Active Babies even though their Moms are Sick, Husbands willing to leave their phone behind for their wives use in case of emergency, Husbands staying home from work to take care of their sick wives, Husbands still kissing and cuddling their wives even though they are sick with the Swine Flu, the Food Network and the Colbert Report. There's more but I think I'm going to go lay down and watch Oprah. Oh yeah, and thank goodness for Oprah and comfy couches.

So, My Mom went Outta Town

Wednesday Morning: I say goodbye to my mom at the airport as she boards a plane to Maryland to see her sisters. This marks the beginning of my reign in the house for a few days. Not that big of a deal really. Getting geared up for all the rides and activities I need to be on top of. Soccer practice, Football practice, YW/YM Activity at the park, Grant's Softball game, etc. Wednesday was the busiest day for activities until everything was canceled due to the rain we were getting. I relaxed a little thinking my life was going to be pretty easy.

skip to
Friday Morning: I send Grant off to work and Bailey off to school making sure all the homework was done and lunches were made. I realize Levi is still home meaning that the illness he was alluding to the nite before probably got worse. That's okay because Grant had a cold that lasted about a day last weekend and I figured it was the same thing. I just tried to make Levi comfortable on the couch with some NyQuil to help him sleep it off.

Friday Afternoon: I go to the store to get Levi some Coke and bananas because now he is feeling worse and is having a bit of nausea.

Later Friday Afternoon: I get out of the shower and hear Levi yelling for me. I get dressed and go downstairs and ask him what's wrong. He says, "the NyQuil isn't working", neither is the acetaminophen (which dosages I spaced out). I hear him on the couch lamenting to himself, "Why? Why?" (when I hear this, I smile a little because I have probably done the exact same thing). Now, Levi has a fever and is feeling much worse with a cough and stuffy nose. I start to realize this is not what Grant had and make an appointment for Levi to see the doctor at 4.

Friday Evening: We see the doctor and he pulls me aside and tells me he thinks Levi has the SWINE FLU and that Levi is really sick. Levi gets a shot and some pain medicine and I go to the store to fill his Rx. He starts to feel a lot better. I'm not usually one for panicking but I'm pregnant and have a virtually non-existent immune system so I'm feeling a little stressed about it.

Saturday Morning: My mom is coming home tonite so I start to try and get everything that Levi used washed. This includes everything on the couch, 2 beds, towels, clothes, and anything else I can think of that he might have touched. 5 loads of laundry later, we mopped, swept, vacuumed, folded clothes, made two beds, disinfected the entire living room and kitchen and bathroom, all in time for my mom to get home to a close-to swine-flu-free house. In the meantime, I was probably exposed to it like a thousand times. We forgo the opportunity to go to the BYU game in San Diego and meet up with friends for dinner. It's a sad and frantic day.

Sunday Morning: 9 o clock church starts but everyone in the house is sleeping because we are staying home from church so as to not infect anyone there. Quarantined and Levi gets cabin fever (a pretty severe case of it). We play "What If" as our game for Family Home Evening and all laugh like crazy at the question, "What if Callie's baby was growing in her butt?" (mom's question) and the random answer, "Then that would be weird" I could go on and on. (If you haven't played that game before, it's the best thing ever). The game cures Levi's cabin fever.

Monday Morning: I'm just waiting it out hoping that I don't get whatever it is that he had.

PS. Did I mention my phone totally died so I had to send it in and have been without it for the last week, which almost stresses me out as much as the possibility of getting the Swine Flu? Yeah, that's how sick I am.

Levi, before the Swine Flu

Jem is my name, No one else is the same

My FAVORITE Halloween ever was when I was 9 and I was Jem (does anyone remember her? Her alter ego, Jerika? Her band The Holograms? Her computer friend Synergy and her boyfriend Rio with purple hair? Her rival band The Misfits?). I can't describe my feelings of pure elation (I don't think a 9 year old has ever been so happy) when I put on my Jem costume that my mom had made (she refused to buy any store bought costumes and made us all our costumes, and they were always AMAZING). I was a little reluctant since my mom didn't have a pattern for the Jem outfit. It was the first time I actually wanted a store bought costume because I wasn't sure what my mom was going to do and how it would look. The moment I saw my mom's masterpiece complete with the white leather fringe belt and star (synergy) earrings and pink hair spray, I became Jem. (My costume looked EXACTLY like the outfit pictured above) It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Up-Date Night Week 33

It's time my friends, no not that time.
(I always imagine when I start into the birthing time to say to Grant, "honey, it's time" like in the movies. I wonder if it will happen like that :)
It's time for some kinda "bump" pictures (probably not what you all had in mind), and some news on what's been going on. Here is a picture of a few of my bumps. I still have to gain enough courage for a complete photo shoot. Not feeling very photogenic lately. More like, I don't even want to look at myself in the mirror let alone in a picture. Yeah. It's like that.

I've been feeling pretty good otherwise. Although, the pressure of my belly is causing some back aches and other effects are stuffy nose, headaches and fatigue. I haven't had like a totally crazy appetite though which is a blessing for me. I'm feeling the baby kick all the time. He is really active and it's been fun. He's big enough now where I can put my hand on my belly and feel his little body (although I don't know which part, whether it's an arm, leg, fist, head, etc). I've also been a little crafty (this might be the extent of my nesting, I feel like my mom is nesting more than me, which is funny), although I would not consider myself to be a crafty person. I saw a website about DIY onesies and I found some cute images (actually, Grant drew the ties) and fabrics and attempted to make some. I think they turned out pretty cute. I'm excited to dress him for church with his ties and bowties. He'll be looking official, a white shirt and tie, just like his daddy.

In other news, Grant and I started our Hypnobabies classes. (My grandma used hypnosis during childbirth as a part of a UCLA study of it back in the day and it totally worked for her). We are attending a group that is all first time moms which is kinda fun. We have been to 3 classes so far (there are 6 total) and really like it. It is a combination of regular childbirth classes and also learning hypnosis as a form of anesthesia. It's kinda along the same lines as people who use hypnosis for surgeries when they can't have anesthesia. It's been really informative and Grant has been such a good sport. There are scripts he has to read to me. To be quite honest, I'm still pretty convinced I'll need an epidural but I figure that some back up plan of pain management is a good idea. I mean, you never know... Plus, maybe it will help with the whole breastfeeding thing if I happen to need a way of coping with that sometimes painful thing (I'm a big big baby).

It was sweet the other day, Grant says to me, "I have to admit, I'm gunna miss the belly" Now, when you're not feeling your prettiest, hottest, most attractive self, these words from your husband are very sweet indeed. At least he doesn't think I'm a monster. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be going through all these changes and emotions and on top of everything feel like my husband was no longer interested in me because of them. I am so blessed to have his unconditional love during all this. It means so much.

Also, the other day, my mom says, "I thought maybe I could give you a pedicure" So sweet!! It was so sweet. She painted my toenails complete with little decals. Then, Bailey wanted one. No Bailey, not until you're pregnant and can't reach your toes!