Arrival

On Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 1:20 pm, miss Charlotte Grace entered this world. She was 7lbs 2oz and 18 3/4 inches long.

I'm sleep deprived, so very sore and ready to sleep in my own bed. On the other hand, I'm completely enamored by this beautiful, tiny human I've created.

I'll come back with a more thorough review and birth story. Until then...

Hey guys, I'm still pregnant.

My due date isn't for another 9 days, and I really don't want to go into labor before my mom arrives next Saturday. So, at a minimum, I have 7 days to go before little Charlotte arrives. 

Nevertheless, I find myself answering the question: "How are you doing?" with a resounding "Well, I'm still pregnant."

The last three weeks of pregnancy, I would say, are the least comfortable. I have all these things I want to do, but no energy to do them. I am feeling big for the first time (my midwife is tracking her weight around 7.5 lbs with just over a week to do. That's approximating her delivery weight around 8.5 lbs unless she stays even later. So, yeah, I feel huge.) And I'm very, very sore. Hips mostly. And lower back. 

Here I am complaining when I should probably say that I've had a wonderfully healthy pregnancy and I really do feel great. Even at this stage, I'm still working every day, sometimes long days, and I am able to do virtually anything I want to. It's the "extra" tasks - the above and beyond - that aren't getting done. (Like those darn shelves in the nursery that still need to be painted.)

The other thing I've noticed is that I am not a "nester." Like, at all. I keep a clean enough house, and all the really important stuff gets done. But I read all these books and my friends tell me stories about getting on their hands and knees to scrub the tile grout and some such bullshit. Umm, no thanks.

Instead, I have a serious case of wanderlust. I spent a vast majority of my day today researching how to back-pack/train-hop through Europe and what the best camping and road-trips are through the U.S. I also created an entire Pinterest board dedicated to local day-trips or on-the-cheap weekend excursion we can take here in Colorado. I just have the desperate need to go somewhere.

I have this vision of buying a little pop-up camper, strapping Charlotte into her carrier, packing a weekend bag and driving somewhere. Somewhere we can hike and fish and when we get bored of that, drive into town to shop and eat. I want to explore. I want her to explore. I want her to be a traveler. To see the country and the world. To learn about all types of people. To create memories. To have roots and wings.

Oh man, I'm so excited to meet this little girl. In the meantime...I'm still pregnant.

Swagbucks Solar Vortex Swag Code Extravaganza

I haven't posted on Swagbucks in a while, but since I just redeemed my stash of points for an Amazon gift card with enough value to purchase a small library for little Charlotte, I'm in the mood to share!

For those of you who don't know, Swagbucks is a social community that allows you to earn points that build up to purchase items, gift cards, etc... You can earn points through a variety of ways most of which are pretty easy and don't require a lot of time. (That is, of course, my preferred method of saving money!)

(source)

If you haven't already, go check it out and sign up. Tomorrow is the perfect day to start since they are having an EXTRAVAGANZA to give away a truck-load of points. It's an easy way to jump start your points total and get a feel for how Swagbucks works. 

Oh, and have fun!

{Disclosure: I earn referral points for clicking on the above links to Swagbucks and/or the Extravaganza. All the words, thoughts, and opinions are my own and I do not promote companies that I don't legitimately use and support.}

Final Month Pregnancy Thoughts

I am a few shorts weeks from my due date and thought it was necessary to check back in with my current pregnancy thoughts. I am going to apologize in advance if this turns into a post where I merely complain about how tired and uncomfortable I am...but...well...I am tired and extremely uncomfortable.

Things I like:

Eating smaller portions throughout the day
Having clear skin
Having strong hair and nails
Feeling baby kicks
The words "because I'm pregnant"

Things I'm totally over:

Having an infant's head resting directly on my bladder
Or pushing into my ribs
Or stabbing me in the spine
Acid-reflux
Itchy skin
Charlie horses

Things I can't wait to do again:

Sleep on my stomach
Sleep more than 3 hours at a time
Have a glass of wine with dinner

Wear high heels

Eat sushi

Drink more than one cup of coffee

Wear a nice suit to work

Wear anything more than leggings and a tee
Shave my legs, paint my toenails, and see my own feet

Things I can't wait to do for the first time: 

Meet my daughter
(and)
Watch my husband become a father


Ok...this is completely worth it.