Steltz Family Baby Shower

My Mom and Carrie threw us a lovely baby shower this weekend. All day on Saturday, I was feeling very sick to my stomach (I have a bit of the flu bug running through my system) - I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to make it to the shower. Just before Tony and I arrived at my Mom’s house my stomach was doing somersaults and I was very afraid I’d get sick as I walked in the door. Seeing so many people awaiting our arrival and “showering” us with love – and presents – really helped take my mind off feeling so sick. There was some great food thanks in part to my Mom, and “Uncle” Andy, and the cutest little cake, which my sister’s best friend Kelli made for us. The cake was blue and had little starts and moons on it, which is the “theme” of the baby’s room. It was so nice of her to style the cake just for Baby! We received so many wonderful things, including a ton of clothes! Our little guy will be set for wardrobe for at least the first year of his life! We were given quite a few items from our registry including the stroller with matching carrier, car seat, monitor, lamp, bedding set, play mat, and diaper genie. My Aunt Donna knitted a lovely blanket for the baby too. It is adorable. One of my favorite items was this “cake” made mostly out of rolled up diapers, which a friend of my sister’s made for us. My mom also gave us this soft brown bear for the crib, it makes “womb” sounds, which are suppose to be soothing for the baby. It was really nice to see my family and friends and to be able to share with them the joy of our future baby boy. Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday and helped celebrate, and thank you so much for the gifts – we cannot wait to introduce you to our son.
Also – if anyone took pictures, I would love to see them. Please email them if you get a chance (if you need my email address please let me know). Thank you!! Below are some pictures from the shower.

My sis Carrie, Mom, Dad, and Me!

Me opening the baby Monitor. Thanks Lauren!

Tony and I opening the car seat - Thank you Jeannine and Amanda! The Diaper "cake" - I loved it! (Inside there were also bibs, washclothes, ring-a-links, pacifiers, a bottle, and some baby powder!) I'm sure it took a lot of work to put together, so sweet.
I loved my little "bunny ears" ribbon bonnet! Thank you Lori for making it!
Mmmm Cake!! Look how cute it is! It had little white chocolate moons and stars all over it! Adorable!
Carrie showing some belly love! My cousins Christa and Barbara with me and Carrie

My wonderful girlfriends and two of our newest additions, can't wait for my little guy to meet his new little friends!

Attack of the Snore-a-saurus!!

What a beautiful day! It’s day two of my “bed rest” and I am not quite as bored today as I was yesterday. Yesterday was rough. The only time I really want to just lay around all day and do absolutely nothing is when I’m not feeling well. Since I’m feeling pretty good (except for those pesky contractions), I sat around yesterday and thought of all the things I could be doing instead of sitting. So far today I worked on some things for school, and spent about an hour outside with Maverick just enjoying this nice weather (its sunny and 53 degrees). I think I really needed to get out of the house for a tiny bit. Don’t worry, I have been sitting the entire time and “resting.” It was just so nice to sit outside, with a light blanket wrapped around me, & read a book. Though I am still very casper-like, I think I might have managed to get a little bit of color in my cheeks. I just looked up the weather and it looks like it’s suppose to rain for the foreseeable future, so I’m glad I took advantage of the sunny day.

This past Sunday was Easter. I hope everyone had a wonderful day and spent it well. Tony and I had a great day. We went to church where Pastor gave an adorable children’s sermon. Also, the adult choir sang the Halleluiah Chorus, which is one of my favorites, so of course I had to hum along with them. In the afternoon, my parents and my in-laws all got together at my B-I-L Mikey’s house to enjoy a nice dinner together. We had a wonderful time! I made some very tasty homemade mashed potatoes, and I used my Aunt Ruth’s recipe to make a delicious Hot Milk Sponge cake. It’s amazing how the simple taste of something can bring on a flood of really nice memories. Upon my first bite of the Hot Milk Sponge cake, I remembered all the summers as a child when we would go to our Steltz family reunions at my Uncle Joe and Aunt Anne’s house. It was nice to think about my family and remember just how important family is & how enjoyable it is to spend time with them.

Right now I’m enjoying a light lunch of my own Ambrosia salad recipe. Basically, I just cut up a pear and an apple and mixed it with some marshmallow fluff and cream cheese. It’s delicious!! I highly recommend it. I was just thinking about Tony. He has started a new nickname for the Preggo me. He calls me Snore-a-saurus! HaHaHaHa. For about an hour (sometimes more) when I first lay down to sleep at night he hears me snoring away upstairs. Even with the door to our bedroom closed he can hear me snoring away! I think it’s hilarious. Another perk of being pregnant is that your nasal cavity changes and you tend to end up snoring when asleep. It’s funny to wake up in the morning and Tony will put on this fake Australian voice and joke about searching for the mysterious Snore-a-saurus! It really cracks me up.

Yep, I’m still getting the contractions. They are pretty sporatic, and usually don’t last longer than 60 seconds each time I get one, but they are no fun! My good friend Dana keeps joking with me telling me, just wait until the real thing gets here! I’m just asking my little guy to wait a few more weeks, then bring it on – I can’t wait to meet him!

Update!

I went to my ob appointment today after work. For some reason, I was surprised that the doctor wanted to put me on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I’m still 2 cm dilated, and still having some other issues (including spotting and braxton hicks contractions), so the doctor decided I should be resting. Originally, the doc wanted me to be out on leave starting tomorrow, but I asked her to give me one more day at work. This way I can (hopefully) get a few things wrapped up & get some more lesson plans finished up before I am on “bed rest.” I’m really going to miss my toddlers. They bring a smile to my face daily & I’ve enjoyed watching them learn and grow. I know I will be going back after June, but I imagine most of them will do a lot of “growing up” in my absence.

Today had another surprise! The ladies from work threw me a baby shower! They had a lot of fantastic food (Like caesar salad, spinach & artichoke dip, mexican dips & chips, homemade macaroni and cheese, two cakes, and chocolate chip cookies - made with pudding! They even had a chocolate fountain with marshmellows, graham crackers and yummy fruit to dip in it!), and they also gave me some very nice presents. I especially like the swing Miss Jenn, Miss Katie, and Miss Cindy gave me, as well as the memory box for the baby that my three bosses gave me. I got a ton of little outfits, and some little bibs for the baby too! It was so very nice of everyone to do that for me, I really felt special.

Well, it looks like I’m going to have a lot more time on my hands starting this weekend! Thank goodness my Mom and Dad gave me (for my birthday) the complete collection of Jane Austen’s books as well as the last book in my Sword of Truth Series (by Terry Goodkind) to read, otherwise I’m not sure what I would do to occupy my time. Now the real waiting begins!

Our Baby Swing...Isn't it cute!!

The Pregnancy Rollercoaster

I wasn’t going to write about this recent experience, but I created this blog to talk about both the ups and downs of pregnancy…

I felt pretty “off” for most of the day yesterday. I kept getting pains in my right side, but figured it was the normal pains I have been feeling when the baby is very active. I ended up getting really terrible cramping starting this morning around 3 AM. It was pretty constant so by 6 when it hadn't stopped I called my OB. They sent me over to the hospital and hooked me up to a machine which monitored the baby’s heartbeat and my contractions. I kept having contractions for the next few hours. (Everything is just fine with the baby's heartbeat.) The resident doc did an internal which showed I am 2 cm dilated. I was given a shot to stop the contractions, which sped my heart up and made me feel like I had just drank 5 cups of coffee (I hyperventilated a little and got a bit sick to my stomach)! Luckily it did its job and stopped the contractions. I am now on bed rest for today and tomorrow. I've been having some spotting because of the internal (which is normal), but for the most part haven't had any more labor symptoms. It was a little scary when they said I was dilated, but I'm just glad they stopped it. I'm more bored sitting here at home than anything else now. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday where I'm hoping I can get some more information. I'm somewhat worried my little guy will get here too soon.

For now I am just going to follow the docs orders and get some rest. I’m very optimistic that everything will be just fine as long as I take it easy. Oh and - Happy St. Patrick's Day! (I almost forgot!)

I'm 28 Years Old & About To Become A Mommy!!

Who knew so much could happen in one weekend! It started out with me finding out I had come down with strep throat during the week. I was instructed by the doctor to take antibiotics and “rest.” So on Friday I had off from work and spent most of the day just laying around. I was bored out of my mind! Originally, in the beginning of the week I had wanted to take off Friday to enjoy a three day birthday weekend, which included meeting my cousin Becca for lunch and seeing a movie Friday night. Instead, I cancelled my plans for Friday opting to stay at home with Maverick and Tony (who in turn woke up Friday morning showing symptoms of strep throat too – whoops!).

My biggest surprise of the weekend happened on Friday night. Around 8:15 PM when I was just getting ready to head up to bed, I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions (which are “false contractions” that can happen for a few months in preparation for the real thing). They lasted until just after nine, came every 3 to 4 minutes, and each one lasted about 40 to 60 seconds. Having never felt anything like that before, I was completely unprepared for what contractions would feel like…WOW! They are quite painful and took my breath away! Thankfully, I had advice from two of my friends who’ve had them & so Tony didn’t feel the need to take me to the hospital in a panic. I got through them and am now at least a bit aware of what it’s going to feel like as time gets closer and the real contractions begin! Oh boy! Though this experience still feels surreal, reality is really starting to kick in!

I started feeling a bit better on Saturday, Mom and Dad stopped by for breakfast, and we invited some close friends of ours over for a nice little dinner party on Saturday night. Michelle, Rich, Lauren, and Bryan came over and we enjoyed a feast which included my favorite, ice cream cake!! Gotta love those cookie crunch things. We had some great laughs and fantastic conversations. There are so many favorite "moments" from the evening but I think the top two were Party Foul #1: The water pitcher, and Party Foul #2: accidentally christening the preggo girl's belly with white wine. I even stayed up “late” last night – 10:30! I truly can’t remember ever enjoying a birthday more.

This morning we are being bad and skipping church. I am very tired and the baby is resting underneath my right ribs where he seems to be enjoying himself by kicking and stretching out there lately. I don’t really mind though, his movements are reassuring me that he’s growing and getting ready to greet the world!

The Nursery!

We are so so happy!! The nursery is *completed*!!! (Okay so we may add just a tiny bit more to it, but essentially its done). It's super cute! Diana came over on Friday and finished up the words and stars she painted onto the wall. It's so adorable. The last thing we need to do is get the bedding set in there, then it'll be all ready for Baby!

Here are a couple pictures for your enjoyment! Oh and here's a picture of me holding up one of the onesies I made for the baby. My friend Jenn from work took it while I was showing her the onesies I made. I think its a fun shot...my little guy is a future Styx fan! He'll be rocking out with his Mommy to my favorite tunes, I can't wait!

My Fun Weekly Emails from BabyCenter

Every Wednesday night or Thursday morning I get all excited to check my email. Because I know that's when I'll get my babycenter weekly update email about the baby. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned these emails before, but in case I haven't: Babycenter sends these emails weekly talking about what to expect or some new information pertaining to the baby's growth, the woman's growth, and just some other helpful information, anecdotes, cartoons, recipes, and stories. There is also a link to see what the baby looks like that week. They compare the baby's size to some sort of fruit related item each week, which is really funny. Like I said, I get very excited waiting for the new email to arrive each week.

I thought I'd put this week's main information on the blog and share it with all. Basically I think this means my belly's going to grow even more with the baby's growth! I can't imagine it getting any bigger hahaha. It's also funny that it mentions the sleeplessness since that is what I have been experiencing. (Oh and I'm going to include the picture for you to see too!) Obviously, they don't know the exact size and weight of the baby (its just a guess-timation), but I think its pretty cool to put the whole thing into perspective.

"Your pregnancy: 31 weeks

How your baby's growing:This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy."


Pretty cool huh!

*Yawn*

Have you ever been so tired that you feel sick? That’s how I feel right now. It’s 2AM, and besides the nap I got when I first came home from work today, I have not been able to sleep. Every time I lay down the baby starts to kick (sometimes its so much that it takes my breath away & I see stars), or I have intense pain in my back, knees, and hips so that I can’t comfortably lay down to sleep. I have even tried two different couches, to no success.

I have no idea how I’m going to drag myself into work today feeling like this. Unfortunately, I don’t think I have a choice. We are understaffed this week, and I had a new student start yesterday. My class list is now at 13 kids. I was hoping to continue working until the middle of April, but I have a feeling that this month is going to completely drain all of my remaining energy, and I’ll need to go out sooner. I’m going to miss my little ones so so much while I’m on leave, but I just can’t physically handle the work any more. Now I just have to concentrate on getting through the craziness of this month, getting my lesson plans finished for May and June, and getting my classroom decorations done for our summer theme “Camping.” I won’t lie, it’s a bit overwhelming.

On a lighter note, Tony is almost finished with the floors in the baby’s room. They are stained a pretty dark-honey tone, so all that is left is the sealing process & we can get the furniture back in the room & get set for baby! Diana also started her art project in the room. I’m so excited to see it finished, I really think its going to look fantastic.

I’m sorry to be such a complainer during this entry. I’m just feeling hormonal, and very very tired. I am going to try and go back to sleep now. Wish me luck!

Oh So True

This made me laugh so hard. To all you fellow Preggers & Moms out there, this really needs no explaination: