The Burp Clothe Challenge

Before I explain the new challenge in our household, let me give you a tidbit of background. Before Ryan came along I didn't realize how inept of a person I am. Let me explain. I can struggle with any given object or task for a good ten minutes, give up, and walk away. Ryan can come over and within 10 seconds either fix what I've broken, or perform said task with no struggles. The worst part, this happens ALL the time, and it is maddening to me! 

Let me just give you examples from just the last three days: I couldn't get the bathroom door open for some reason, I assumed it was jammed, Ryan simple turned the knob and it worked. I could not get trashcans at IKEA unstuck and picked several stacks up trying to find two that weren't stuck together. Literally tried four different stacks and couldn't pick up just one, instead all 17 of them would come out. Ryan leaned over and gently picked up one and miraculously it came "unstuck" perfect and without trouble. 

One last example comes from cutting the fabric for these said burp clothes. I can work and work and work to get the fabric wheel cutter thingy to cut through fabric in one try and it never works; I generally have to go back over it multiple times and lets be honest I usually have to use scissors as well. Ryan used it once to make his burp clothe and it worked perfectly. That's just a peek into the last week, much last the three years with this man. One would think I would become accustomed to this and just accept it, but not as of yet, it still makes me angry. 

Now onto where the challenge originated from...Thanks to Pinterest I wanted to make Cullum some original burp clothes using fabric from Hancock, ribbon, clothe diapers, and his mother's loving touch. Keep in mind I'm not that crafty, just enough to be dangerous. I spent four hours Sunday after church to create two burp clothes I was quite proud of. Four hours is not too extreme of a time limit on a sewing project by your truly. I was so impressed with myself I showed Ryan who wanted to make his own burp clothe for Cullum using the fabric he picked out. While Ryan is a better sewer than I am, I didn't think (and still don't think) he could make a better burp clothe than the two I already finished. 

In no time at all Ryan had constructed his own design out of blue tie dye and orange ribbon (FL colors of course) and was so very proud of himself. He was most proud of himself of the actual sewing technique used on the burp clothe. And what do ya know, of course his lines are sewn on straight, with no ratty edges, or missed hems, but you know what, my burp clothes were made out of the spirit of just simply wanting Cullum to use something his mother created while Ryan's was created out of a desire to show up his wife. With that being said, I do think aesthetically mine are more pleasing. I'll let you be the judge and let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy! 

Okay, here are the two burp clothes that I created yesterday. 

And here's Ryan's burp clothe that he created in none other than FL colors and in his own design. I told him it would be perfect for his own diaper bag, not mine. :) 

Here's a close up of Ryan's seweing abilities. He's pretty good at the seweing machine these days. He calls it thread injection, you know, sounds more manly that way. 

Here's a cloes up of the edging of one of the burp clothes I created. Not as good as Ryan's, but I think its much much cuter. 

Here's the edging of the dinosaur burp clothe that was my first attempt so its a pretty rough mock up. Check out that fantastic hemming on the edge. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) 

Here's the whole picture of the dino burp clothe. From far away it looks pretty great I think. 

Weeks 30 and 31

Hello Heartburn, Frequent Bathroom Breaks, and Cankles

Symptoms: It seems that every typical pregnancy symptom that I haven't experienced yet has come on in full force in the last two weeks. I have always had problems with acid reflux and stomach issues, but now I have straight up heartburn most times after I eat. Its now started waking me up in the middle of the night so I have a special bottle of Tums right by the bed. Also, just in the last two weeks the amount of visits to the bathroom should be measured in minutes just I know how long I am spending in there. The swelling feet that I have avoided has blessed me in full force these last two weeks. Typically those little sausages are at least one size larger by mid day. This swelling is also affecting my hands as well. I'm still wearing my wedding rings, but there was a situation that was a little touch and go last week with getting those bad boys off.

Maternity Clothes: Yes of course only maternity clothes, but a better question is when am I going to have to stop wearing my wedding rings, and what shoes am I going to fit my fat feet in when they get so swollen only the purple fuzzy slippers will be fitting these sausages....

Sleep: Besides the frequent bathroom breaks and leg cramps, I sleep...oh and the heartburn, and the hips that start hurting when I lay on one side too long...yes sleep is still great and I've started to adjust to these new sleep time activities. Not too much longer to deal with them and I really have gotten off easy in this department so I don't have much to complain about.

Cravings: I haven't lost my appetite altogether, I just get full a heck of a lot faster than I did before. Ryan and I visited his parents in Florida this past weekend and all we did was eat delish food while we were there. I was just upset I couldn't gorge myself quite like I was used to. How's that for a fat girl moment for you? We both gained two pounds while we were there. Did I mention we were only there for two days? But, because Ryan's mom loves us so, she always sends us home with a goody bag and we usually fight over who gets to eat most of the leftovers. I swear she's the real deal Betty Crocker, or maybe she's Betty Crocker's mother or mentor or something. She's an amazing cook and I can only try to live up to her yumminess!

Baby Size: This week Cullum is a little over three pounds, and measuring between 16 and 18 inches.

Movement: We had a doctor's visit this week which I was looking forward to because of scheduling conflicts and unforeseen circumstances we haven't seen the doctor in almost two months. The first thing I spoke to the doctor about was movement and my concerns that he just doesn't move as much as I originally thought he would. Of course I followed this comment up with the fact that I've never been pregnant before and have no clue how much or how little movement is considered normal. I did express that we were a little concerned and because my doctor is fantastic we immediately went into the ultrasound room to check everything out. Turns out he is of course perfect, developing totally normal and the way he should and kicking up a storm in there. Now here's the interesting part. The way my placenta is placed in my uterus, it sits directly on top of my stomach which in turn means directly on top of Cullum. This is the main reason I don't feel movement all day every day and even little flutters still. I feel big movements or when he drags his foot across my stomach, but I feel MUCH better after this last doctor's visit!

Looking Forward To: Don't get me wrong, I love living in Athens, but I miss my family in Birmingham so much, especially since getting pregnant. We were home in September and hopefully will be home in October if Cullum doesn't have any other plans. Plus, I can't wait to see sweet baby Cora. It'll be a really long time since I've gotten to give her a squeeze!

Bump Pictures 

Here's 30 weeks pregnant while we were at Ryan's parent house. We had so much fun and I think because we ate so much while we were there that is surely the reason I look bigger at 31 weeks. What do you think?? :) 

Week 28 and 29

Symptoms: Leg Cramps. Oh and the leg cramps. This is how it all goes down around 3 o'clock in the morning. I am a stretcher, always have been. Love me a good stretch. Apparently I love a good stretch in the middle of the night. So when I stretch my legs I point my toes down and get this horrible cramp in my calf and it wakes me up, so I hurriedly flip my foot back before I have a full blown leg cramp. Not all the time do I make it in time. This past week Ryan and I had to rub a cramp out in the middle of the night twice. I now have eaten my weight in bananas trying to avoid this nightly ritual. And drinking water. A lot of water.

Maternity Clothes: Oh my yes. Straight up maternity clothes. I always said I wouldn't like the full panel pants because it was a lot on my belly and I was right. However, it is very difficult to find pants/bottoms without a full belly panel. At the end of the day I find myself dying to peel off layer after layer like a banana to get to my bare belly and let it breathe for a little bit.

Sleep: This week has not been a good week for sleeping. I've been having some tummy trouble this week as well as some gas build up which I think is what is leading to the sleepless nights. Well this and the leg cramps. I'm not to the frequent bathroom visits stage of pregnancy yet so I have that to be thankful for. As long as I don't drink anything right before bed I can usually make it to the bathroom in the morning. Here's a funny for you though. In talking to my best friend this week who's a pro in the baby department she gave me some sage advice. You know that feeling you get after you're finally able to go to the potty after holding it for so long...yea, its going to be a while before you have that feeling again. Are you kidding?!?! What's funny though, is I knew exactly what she was talking about and have been missing that feeling. I chalk it up to the fact that I pee so often during the day and constantly feel like I have to pee that I've lost that lovely feeling until after Cullum debuts. And I'm a little sad about this. Too much information? Forgive me, I'm a bit of an overshare-er. Just wait until I get to the really uncomfortable part of pregnancy.

Cravings: Hello Ice Cream! I've never been a huge fan of ice cream. I mean its good, but I didn't HAVE to have ice cream. Until now. Its like how peanut butter has always been for me. I have to have at least one container open in the pantry and one waiting to be opened. I must say even with this new sweet tooth, I've still only gained 15 lbs so far, but this could change if I keep this habit up for very much longer.

Baby Size: As of week 29 weeks, Cullum is around 15 inches long and weighing in around 2 1/2 pounds. By the size of this belly I would say he's grown a good bit in the last two weeks. 

Movement: Ryan and I had one of those first time parent scare/moments. Cullum is not a big mover and shaker. He was at first right when I would lay down at night, but since he's gotten bigger and his moves have become more purposeful, I don't constantly feel Cullum kick. I obviously have nothing to compare this to and constantly worried about this, but got good reports from the doctor and reassurances from family and friends. One day Ryan came home and said he too was concerned. I of course freaked out, called my mother and tried not to be hysterical on the phone with her. Of course she was the voice of reason and suggested drinking a real live Coca-Cola. If I didn't feel at least 10 kicks, then it was time to call the doctor. Sure enough about 15 minutes after drinking the coke, it was like the macarena going on in my stomach. I then had to go in later for blood work that week and nothing was abnormal so we have calmed down a bit, but it is still nerve racking to be in charge of this special gift and making sure nothing goes wrong. 

On a lighter note, last week I dubbed Cullum Slug because he will slowly move from one side of my stomach to the other, but not kick or bump me very much. Really the only way I can tell he's moving is I can feel my belly getting hard in a little ball from one side of my stomach to the other. What was funny about the slug moves was that Ryan can feel him moving around in there if I'm laying down. Ryan of course loves to feel these movements, any movements really. 

Today, though I began noticing that if I'm really still while Cullum performs his slug moves I can actually see my stomach move with his movements. Talk about strange. I get tickled when I feel him moving around in there, but it is strange when you see your actual body change shape as your baby moves from one position to the other. Weird! 

Looking Forward To: Seeing my little man! I'm dying to see him! I have a doctor's appointment in a little over a week and I'm racking my brain for a reason to make the doctor do an ultrasound. Is that bad? After playing with my baby niece Cora and working in his nursery all this weekend organizing his clothes I'm so ready to have him here and get to love on him. Of course I want him to cook a little longer, but I cannot wait for December, it'll be here before I know it! 

I leave you with the belly pictures for the past two weeks. 

28 Weeks and 2 days at the Baby Tea in Birmingham. Here is my wonderful mother and I from the shower. 

And 29 weeks pregnant. This was after date night to the local yummy Italian place close to our house. Yay for date night and yummy food! 

And here are some more pictures from the Birminham shower. I loved my cake and it was yumm-o as well. Ryan just loved that Cullum now had four extra truck toys to play with...yes that's right...that Ryan played with. Hopefully Cullum will be okay with sharing his toys with his daddy.