The Eleanor Update: 38 weeks

Feeding:

I feed her fresh strawberries my dad picked on Friday.  I thought she was loving them but when I took her out of her high chair I found most in her lap.

I also bought her some of these since anytime I eat a frozen pop she is all over it (NUK Fill & Freeze Pops).
I filled it with baby food puree and she really liked them.  She knew what to do.  I'm sure I could have found some that were cheaper elsewhere but I went with these because I liked the handle/loop.

We had dinner at my sister in laws last night and she had cous cous and couldn't get enough!  I gave her blueberries this morning but she didn't really eat them.  

Sleep:

My friend was in town last week and visited most days in the afternoon and of course Eleanor wanted to play and didn't nap.  But nighttime sleep was a little better. 

Girl is all over when she sleeps; this was one night

Misc:

She had just started crawling in last weeks update, but she's been doing it a lot more now. 

She could open and close this picnic basket for a long time. 

Ripping up a Cabela's catalog. 

My best friend visited this week

Pulling down her headband

Getting into the dvd's.

Getting into all the things

Crazy bedhead

Weekly Wrap Up 10/18

1) Since I haven't had the time to enter contests I haven't won anything in several weeks. And even if I had the time I haven't had any desire to do anything, but snuggle sweet baby girl.  I have gotten a few prizes in the mail that I had won before Eleanor was born though.

I got the chicco travel system, a veggie tales DVD, a lorax DVD, $75 in visa debit cards, a multi-drawer storage unit & coupons for food products

2) Pain wise, I'm doing much better this week than a week ago.  Last weekend was really rough, but I don't take my pain meds very often now.  I use my belly binder almost 24/7, usually only taking it off to shower or for a few minutes rest.  I only am nervous that now that I'm feeling better I'm going to overdue it and not realize it until it's to late. 

3) My county has a program where they offer a one time home nurse visit shortly after giving birth.  I don't know if it's just for first time moms or all moms. I took advantage of the program this week. It was such a good visit though.  The nurse came and chatted about how I was doing, asking questions about if I had support and how I was coping.  She weighed Eleanor, and answered questions I had about breastfeeding and went over a bunch of resources available to us.  She even checked my incision and said it looked good.  Eleanor got a book and a sleep sack.  It was a fantastic program and I hope they are able to continue it.

4) I know this is a bit lame, but after much begging, we finally got a chest freezer.  I'm super happy about it, and am excited to be able to stock up when I see sales and to be able to start pumping and storing breast milk.  Apparently I offended Rob though because I made a comment about how when he wants something (like a new crossbow) he gets it, but a practical need like a freezer takes way to long.

5) My best friend was in town this week to visit baby girl.  She was over almost everyday and Eleanor got so many good snuggles in.  I still got nothing done, even though I could have since she was busy being loved on.

6) I went to the grocery store last night to get milk.  I went by myself and even though I was only gone a short time I missed her.  It was the first time I left her, and it was just kind of strange not having her with me. It was also the first time I'd driven in a few weeks, and even that was a little odd.   

Other than that quick trip to the grocery store, and the two trips to the pediatricians, I haven't left the house.  I still have a weight lifting restriction (only can lift her for the first two weeks) so I can't lift her and her car seat.  It's a little difficult to put her in and out of the car seat if I were to leave it in there, so we've just stayed at home.  I do have a few appointments next week so we are going to have to get out of the house. 

7) I've mentioned this before but I love how good Rob is with her.  He actually slept in our room last night, and she was making a little noise this morning around 7 am.  I had just fed and changed her so I wasn't to worried about her, but he got up out of bed, got her and hung out in the living room so I could get some more sleep. He's a great dad. 

8) And as always, here are some pictures of my sweet girl. 

Weekly Wrap Up 9/14

1) I mentioned last week about being more positive because I have learned how quickly things can changed.  The woman I mentioned from church who had just found out her chemo didn't work and was going home on hospice passed away over the weekend.  The funeral was earlier this week.  I couldn't believe how many people were there.  I've never seen that many people in the church, even on combined service weeks.  It goes to show the impact a person can have just by being a friend to everyone who needs one.  

2)  My friend was in town for a few days this week for the funeral.  Even if it was a sad reason, it was nice to see her.  She came over and brought 4 donuts.  We each ate one.  Then after she left I ate another.  I offered Rob the last one, but he never ate it, so the next morning I ate the last one.  I must lack self-control or something like that.

3) Yesterday was my sister in law's birthday.  Happy Birthday Lisa!  This afternoon we are going to their moms house to celebrate her birthday and mine (which is Tuesday).  Tuesday is also my dad's birthday.  Will baby girl be the third generation to share a September 17 birthday?  

4) We are going to a housewarming party later for Rob's friends.  They just moved into a brand new never lived in house.  I'm a little jealous.  It's not that they have a huge house, it's just that it's new and shiny.  But I like our house and it fits our needs with plenty of room (even with baby).

5)  Winnings weren't great this week but I did win a chicco travel system.  Which is awesome, but winning it a month ago would have been even better before we got the chicco car seat and the keyfit caddy.
When I first heard I won it, I initially was going to sell it, but I told Rob about it and he wants to keep it.  This way he has a car seat base for his car, and he wants to keep the stroller in his car (and while it wouldn't fit in mine, it should fit in his).  That just leaves us with a extra infant car seat to attempt to sell or so whatever we choose to do with it. 

I also got a kids care bear dvd that I won recently.  I plan on using this as a gift if needed.

And I finally got the kids blanket I won...At the end of May.  I gave up on ever getting it so I was surprised when it showed up yesterday.  It's a taggie style blanket with the loops of fabric on it.  I have no need for more blankets, we have more than enough, but it's still kind of cute.

6) I've been keeping track of every single penny I spend/make for almost 2 months and it's pretty sad.  I don't really spend a lot of money on anything other than groceries or gas, and monthly bills.  We don't go out a lot, we have the internet and netflix.  No cable or any other indulgences like that.   I'm still positive money, but not by much and not for much longer.

I am getting super stressed out about it.  I've been wanting new couches for so long and a chest freezer and I can't see that happening.  Rob says we could use what money we have saved up (which is about 1/4) for the couches and try to finance the rest, but I don't want to do that.

I know that those are just things, but I want them.

And when I think about having to pay the deductible for our health insurance (which is $3,000), the  cost of the health insurance rising by adding another person onto the plan, car insurance (which is $800 for 6 months; due in the next month), and how bills just go up here in the winter (higher electrical cost, higher cost of heating the house; with a newborn I'm not just going to suck it up like I normally would if it were myself), and my dream of those things just slips away.

My savings is going to quickly be depleted I fear, and with no job and nothing even on the horizon I feel overwhelmed. I was crying about it the other day, and Rob tried to tell me it's okay, that right now I just need to focus on the baby and taking care of her.  Really though I'm confident that he's stressed out on the inside as well because he never planned on being the sole financial provider for us.

I don't even think looking for a job at this point is worth it because I could have a baby any day, but I've still been checking care.com.  I don't really know what else I could do, and this way I wouldn't have to pay child care.  I have found a job on there in the past so hopefully I will have good luck again.

7) I got my car back this week and I love it.  I'm not embarrassed of my car anymore.  It looks so nice and pretty.  I posted a picture on instagram, but I'll share it here as well.  If you don't follow me yet on instagram you can click on the photo icon on the right side bar or go to www.instagram/kelle017

I don't have the before picture; I can't believe I don't!, but look how nice the hood looks.  You can even see the reflection in it.  It's that shiny and pretty!

Weekly Wrap Up 8/31

1)  I'm a day early, but I want to be sure to wish my little sister a Happy Birthday!  

2)  This summer I got the chance to go back and watch the kids that I spent 5 1/2 years watch.  I didn't know I would have this chance, and I'm really thankful that I did.  To celebrate the end of the summer we had an ice cream bar.  We got out the ice cream, and went to the store to pick up some toppings.  These kids loaded up their bowls with different forms of candy, syrup, & whip cream.  I think they loved it!  Then I got a present from them.  It was a pack of bottles & sippy cups for baby girl, a bottle of wine for me & a bottle of beer for Rob (and a cheesecake as well).  As my boss told me "everyone get's a bottle! If you want to read about last years last day you can read it here (Last year's last day)

3) Now that I am officially out of a job and have none in sight I'm getting worried. At the same time, I'm looking forward to being able to relax this last month or so before she get's here. 

4) I finally received a diaper this week that I won at the beginning of July. I won a prize pack that included a few of these Betty Crocker small pouch food mixes, an apron, oven mitts and a $10 Walmart card.   I also won a subscription to Medela's breastfeeding university which will be helpful.

5) Last Saturday was our ten year class reunion.  Rob and I actually graduated together (although we didn't talk until 4 years after graduation).  My best friend was in town and even though it was a small group of people (maybe 50-60 total, that included spouses) it was still fun.

6) I also had my last baby shower on Sunday for church. It was the smallest shower yet, maybe 10-15 ladies, but it was perfect.  I got some more clothes, bath stuff, and misc. things.   

I saw a dress like this on pinterest and thought it would be perfect since I'm due on opening day of bow season, and Rob is a huge hunter.  I asked a friend if she could make it for me and she offered to do it as a baby shower gift. She also made some cloth wipes, wet bag, a sleep sack and cute booties. And she has an etsy shop (check it out here)

Then I got these super cute hats which are also handmade.  

This book was actually on one of my registries, but the person who gave it to me didn't check.  She works with kids and they love it, so she thought baby girl would also.  And I do love it! Obviously since I asked for it. :)

And while I don't have a picture of it, my best friend (who is in a picture above) got baby girl a 'Somebody in Minnesota loves me'  onesie.  Perfect!

That's all I have for now. Enjoy this long weekend!

Winning & Wrapping it up

I'm not very consistent about the weekly wrap-up.  I try to be, but then feel like I don't have anything new to add so I just don't.

1) My best friend was in town this past week.  It was nice to visit with her.  She was just her in March and actually will be back in August for our 10 year class reunion and then sometime in October to meet baby Eleanor.   She takes the mega bus which means it takes longer to get here but it is  ridiculously cheap and that was she can come more often. 

2) After not really winning anything for a few weeks (I won a bottle and breast milk cleaning soap from Medela last week, which came 2 days later.  Awesome!) this week made up for it.

On Tuesday

I won a $30 gift card to etsy shop Jameson Monroe. Normally I think these headbands are obnoxious, but I'm changing my mind.  Adorable.  Now I have to decide on which ones I want to get.

Then I won a $100 amazon gift card

And then I won a nuby pacifier from a contest they did on Facebook.

On Wednesday I won my choice of $25 to amazon or paypal.  I choose paypal option. Thanks to the amazon gift card I won and the ones that I have earned from swagbucks (Sign up here), I felt like I have a good balance going and wanted paypal because it's a little more versatile.

3) We were given a rocking chair from the neighbors at my parent's cabin.  It's small and that means it will fit into her room if that's where we choose to keep it.  I just need to get cushions for it.  I also kind of want to paint or stain it, but I'm sure I would mess it up and don't want to chance it. 

4) I worked a shorter work week, because I had Monday and Tuesday off from Job #1.   I was still tired, but the kids were so awesome on Friday.  I kept waiting for some sort of fight or something, but nope.  They helped each other out when needed, did their chores without me having to say anything and when we needed to go to the Library to return books and movies they didn't complain or whine.  I know this won't be an everyday thing, but it was great.

5) My baby shower invitations for my dad's family shower went out this week.  Eeek!  It's real now.  And I'm grateful that the only things that we really only need are a car seat (which I don't expect anyone to buy for us since it is expensive) and diapers (both disposable and cloth).  The rest is small stuff like bath toys, sleep sacks, changing pad/covers, etc...

6) Last night we went out to dinner with my sister's brother in law, his wife, and their son who is 2 1/2.  (Note her brother in law is also Rob's boss, although they were friends before working together, and I'm never quite sure how to refer to him as). Regardless it was fun.  We went to a Thai place and even mild my rice had a little spice to it, but it wasn't so much I couldn't eat it.  Then we went to this place called The Pump House.  I had no idea it existed.  You pick your flavor of frozen yogurt and then your toppings and there were a ridiculous amount that ranged from fruit to candy to cereal to baking things (like chocolate chips and marshmallows etc..).  I went with strawberry flavor and added chocolate chips, cherry chips and a little chocolate syrup.  I got a small amount and still felt ill because of the dairy.  But it was delicious and worth it.  Rob went a little crazy on the toppings. If you follow me on instagram (if not, see right top sidebar) you saw the picture already.  It's not the cheapest place, but it was fun and I'd like to go again.

7) This morning we took my niece to see Despicable Me 2.  It was another movie that I had gotten free tickets too.  I thought I learned my lesson last time with the Fast and the Furious and wanted to get there early.  We got there 20 minutes before start time and the only seats were in the first 2 rows.  Then my niece wanted popcorn and something to drink.  So $20 and 25 minutes in line later we missed the first few minutes of the movie.  I also didn't know it was going to be in 3D.  But it was a really cute movie and she had a lot of fun.  After the movie we stopped by Sam's Club because I needed a few essentials (toilet paper, paper towels, ground beef etc.).  Rob and Kayleigh were ridiculous.  They would run away from me and think it was hilarious that I couldn't catch up to them.  I love watching them together though and I get all warm fuzzies and can't wait to see Rob with Eleanor and get to do fun stuff with her. 

8) I've been eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches lately.  I used the last of the homemade jelly I bought which is was superior to store bought jelly.  I mentioned last week I was going to go strawberry picking and I got up early Thursday to go.  I got to the place (about 10 minutes away) and walked down the aisles and waited for the worker to show me where to pick.  While waiting I turned and saw my dad.  So I walked over to say hi.  He had a container of berries that he told me he picked for my sister and I.  Sweet!  And when I said at least let me pay for them, he said nope.  So I didn't have to pick and I didn't have to pay for them.  I love my dad.

I made some jam, froze some mashed strawberries for future jam use, froze some whole berries, ate some and still had leftover berries. 

9)  I know I shouldn't worry, but I've become nervous about my gaining weight lately so I've been trying to walk more.  As I'm walking I noticed that even my shadow looks pregnant. Haha.

Weekly Wrap Up

1) I tried the trick on pinterest where you put hot glue on plastic hangers to prevent shirts from slipping off.  It is genius!  I contemplated buying the special grippy hangers before but really I'm just to cheap.  Then I saw this and it is fantastic, and I already had the hot glue/gun so it was free.

2) I got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday.  With the exception of a few small miscellaneous food things (like that chocolate bar I reaaaallllly needed after almost 2 hours on the phone with at&t) that total maybe $10 this was the only other money I've spent on myself in almost a month.  I had a friend do it so it cost me $40.   I felt bad because she is also pregnant (a few weeks ahead of me) and I know she was probably tired after working all day, and then spending the time to do this, but I really appreciate it.   And now I'm back on a no spending kick.

3) I think something is going on with our mail delivery.  We have gotten no mail 5 out of the last 8 delivery days.  Not even junk mail.  I guess it's possible we just aren't getting mail, but it seems odd to me.

4) Which probably explains why I never got the results from the NT scan in the mail.  I called today (the scan/blood work was done the 19th) to find out the results.  The risk of the baby having down's is 1 in 4,000 and the risk of trisomy 18 is 1 in 18,000.  I still have to have another round of blood work sometime in the second trimester, but for now I can relax a little.

5) My best friend was in town last weekend and even though it was a short visit and I didn't see her a ton it was really nice.  She will be back in June, then August and then October.  I'm loving the mega bus for her since it means more visits.  Yeah!

6) I "think" the weather is finally warming up here. The 10 day forecast only has 2 days with temps below 40 degrees and those both say few snow showers.  It's not a secret I'm not a fan of winter, and would take 90 degrees over 30 any day.  I'm so ready for the warmth.  I even took a walk today which hasn't happened since last fall.  I tried last week when the weather was decent, but naturally 5 minutes into my walk it started to rain.

7) Rob finished the trim in the basement room and we moved the office stuff down there.  It's a little bit of a pain to walk down there when I need an envelope or something, but that's just because I'm lazy.  We are then moving the guest room into what was the office/craft room and the guest room will be the baby's room.

Weekly Wrap Up

1) I never thought I would feel this way, but I look at the ultrasound pictures from this week and I get all teary because I can't believe that is my baby.  I can't feel the baby, and I don't look pregnant so it's hard to really feel pregnant sometimes, but to look at that and know what it took to get here it amazing.  I'm turning into a sap. Oh boy.

2) Still no job.  I've sent messages to several families.  As much as I feel like a change, at this point I think child care really is going to be my best option.  It's kind of discouraging me (the jobless thing). It's not that I really expected a job to fall into my lap, but maybe I kind of did.  It's been over 2 weeks since I've worked and I'm getting used to not working.  I've even sent messages to friends I know that work in childcare to let me know if they have heard of anything.

3) Since I'm worried I'm going to get way to used to not working I'm determined to clean the house  Like really clean it.  Yesterday I swept and mopped the bathroom, kitchen and entryway floors.  I even pulled out the stove and cleaned behind it. I wasn't going to try to move the fridge though. I vacuumed the entire upstairs.  I attempted to clean the bathtub but I had a hard time leaning over it. Not because I have a big belly, but it just wasn't comfortable. 

4) I got an iphone this week.  At 27 I finally got my first smartphone.  I'm so grown up now!  Rob got one on Sunday and I was jealous, but mine needed a battery and otherwise it worked fine.  He didn't need the iphone but he needed a new phone.  His screen would go fuzzy, it wouldn't make or get calls or texts. He had an iphone 3.  Then on Monday he came home and said that he felt bad that he got one and I didn't so I got one too.  I'm worried we can't afford it, but it's only $30 extra a month for my data.

5) My best friend will be here tomorrow!  I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving. Yea!

6) Rob is getting mildly annoyed that we haven't told everyone yet.  We did tell his mom Tuesday.  She got Rob the phone. So we brought her a thank you card and Rob wrote it in 'Thanks grandma for getting my dad a new phone. That was nice of you. See you in late September or early October.'  She read it and was like 'Your pregnant?'  She was surprised but excited.
Telling everyone else is getting difficult.  We were going to tell my parents that day, but my dad was sleeping when we stopped by and I didn't want to wake him up (he works third shift), Rob's dad works at Walmart and was working that night.  Rob's sister's husband is out of town this week so we have to wait to tell them together.  My brother still needs to know also as well as my niece (although I'm not as worried about her; she's 7).

Then with my best friend coming this weekend I want to hang out with her.  I don't understand why it's a big deal to wait a few more days.  I know he's excited, but I want to hang out with my friend since I only see her a few times a year.