Life with a 15 pound 11 week old...

Our smiley baby boy...

It's official. We have a baby; our guy is no longer a newborn. He does baby things like coo, splash in the bathtub, and try to shove his entire fist in his mouth. It blows my mind that Linc is almost three months old - it literally seems like last week that we were in the hospital meeting our boy. Everyone always says a baby changes your life in more ways than you could ever imagine - they were right. Below, I present an array of ways that LLB has changed my life...

1.) Mealtime is not what it used to be. As I'm sure all parents do, JBB and I have become quite adept at eating one-handed, as the other hand rapidly pats Linc's diapered bottom, trying to stave off the nightly 6:30 pm meltdown. We've also become used to eating at least 50% of our meals cold. And fast. I, also, have become the person I hate. The woman who says, "I got so busy I just forgot to eat." Never in my pre-baby life did I get so busy I forgot to eat. I could have been in the middle of launching a rocket into outer-space, and I'd pause for a Lean Cuisine. Now, I frequently get to 2:00 pm, just as Linc and I've snuggled on the couch for our nap, and I realize I haven't eaten anything since a Fiber One bar at 8:30 am. You'd think I'd be a wraith, yet, I'm not. Harrumph.

2.) In the first month or so of Linc's life, before I was comfortable taking him too many places outside of family's houses, Linc and I watched a lot of daytime TV. We kicked our TV smorgasbord off with "Good Morning America," followed up by "Live with Kelly and Michael!" (love me some Michael...), then we'd watch "The Price is Right," roll into E!'s afternoon mini-marathon of "Sex and the City", which took us right up until "Ellen". Oh Ellen. How I love you; and you, DJ Tony; and wacky producer, Andy; and "Kevin the Cashier, played by Adaaaam!". (Can you tell I am an Ellen devotee?) You'd think with all of this TV watching I would be caught up on all of my shows. Yet somehow, I'm not. I DVR a zillion shows, ranging from "Polygamy in the USA", to "The Next Food Network Star," to "So You Think You Can Dance?", yet I feel like I never really pay attention to what I'm watching.

I always fire up the DVR when Linc is asleep, yet I'm not quite tired enough to sleep, and not quite awake enough to read. Ten minutes in, Linc's binky falls out, so I pop it back in. Five minutes later, he stirs, so I readjust his blankie and snuggle him a little closer. And then he wakes up five minutes after that, so we decide to do tummy time, and so it goes. If someone could fill me in on the life of my dancing polygamist chef, I'd appreciate it. (One exception - "The Bachelorette" gets my full and undivided attention. Monday at 9:00 pm, the TV is mine. Pretty sure it was in JBB and I's wedding vows - to honor in sickness, and health, and in trashy reality TV.)

3.) Now that Linky Lou is old enough to grip things, he's given me a forced style makeover. Not that I've ever been a fashion maven, but pre-Linc, I loved wearing big ol' earrings, and crazy costume jewelry necklaces. My philosophy was that jeans and a plain t-shirt could look great with dangly earrings or a long dramatic necklace. The first time Linc nearly ripped my earlobe in two, the earrings were replaced with little heart studs from Target. Shortly after that, he attempted to strangle me with my necklace, so my long, multi-stranded beads were gone. And, after losing two baby fistfuls of hair, it's all ponytail, all the time. No complaints on that one, as drying and doing my hair suddenly feels like an accomplishment on par with finishing a marathon, or completing a PhD in neuroscience.

4.) POOP!!!!! That is the exact text message I sent JBB on Friday afternoon while he was at work. Our little rascal hadn't pooped since Tuesday afternoon, and we'd been wringing our hands since Wednesday morning. Every diaper change was met with a breathless, "Did he poop??" followed by a sad little, "No...just pee." With every toot (and believe me, there were LOTS) I'd get so excited, sure that this was it. By Friday at noon, I called the pediatrician and was instructed to give Linc two ounces of just water to "loosen things up." Loosen things up it did. Maybe my favorite part of the Great Poop of 2013 - JBB's return text said, "Great!!! Can't wait to call and hear about it." I love it when he talks dirty.

Linky trying on Lady Liberty's
hat at Target this morning...

5.) I now execute running errands with military precision. There's no more spur of the moment Target trips; don't get me wrong, there are MANY trips to Target. Just not spontaneous ones. First, I feed Linc. Then, I change him. Then, after being thrown up on while running errands, I now wait 20 minutes post-bottle before setting out. Once all the plumbing matters have been seen to, I get Linc locked and loaded, gather up my diaper bag and reusable grocery bags, and we're off.

Once at Target, I drive around until I find a spot right
next to a cart corral. After nearly breaking my arm from carrying Linc in his punkin' seat all the way into the store, I figured out that mom-trick in a hurry. Linc is hoisted into the cart, my reusable bags are clipped onto the side with the carabiner I keep on my diaper bag, and my diaper bag is stashed on the bottom of the cart. By this point, Linc is asleep and I'm exhausted, so our first stop is for a Coke and popcorn; then we set sail to buy the five items that I can tuck around the sides of his seat. And then we do it all over again two days later.

What ways did your baby change your life? Am I the only one that finds going to the Target or the grocery so darned hard? And are there any good daytime shoes I'm missing??

Just a boy and his cow...

Linc's Arrival, Part 2

Well, one month later, I've finally found the time and energy to update my blog. I've almost started a hundred times, but then it's time to change a diaper, play pat-a-cake, go for a walk because it's not raining, snuggle on the couch because it is raining, or make a bottle. And I wouldn't have it any other way! (Fun fact - this is my third attempt at this blog in two days. Currently, Linc is catnapping, so I'm listening to a little Shaggy and trying to pound out a few paragraphs).

Let's see, where did I leave off in my last blog? Oh yes - JBB and I were picking up the contents of my suitcase that we spilled all over the hospital parking lot. After collecting all of my clothes and toiletries (99% of which I never even took out of my suitcase) we made our way into the hospital and took the elevator to the 3rd floor. For some reason, we were extremely worried about the check-in process...would we go to the right place? Would I have to fill out a ton of paperwork again? Would they know we were coming? Turns out, our worry was for nothing. We got off on the labor and delivery floor, picked up the phone, and we were escorted to our "triage" room in about a minute flat.

From there, most of the day was a blur. They did a test to make sure my water had broken - it most definitely had, as I am apparently one of the few women whose water gushes like you see in the movies. No trickle for me. Go big or go home, said my uterus! (Talking uteruses. You never know what you'll find here). After we knew that we were in it for the long haul and wouldn't be sent home, we called our parents to let them know. My mom and dad were at the hospital by 10:00 am (yay to mom for pre-packing a bag!), followed shortly by JBB's dad, his sister, my brother, sister-in-law, their 3 kids, and my brother-in-law and baby. You might be wondering...where were JBB's mom and my sister? Well, as luck would have it, it was Spring Break. My water broke at the exact time my sister was stepping on a plane for the Bahamas, and JBB's mom was in Florida. Linc surprised everyone by being two weeks early! As you might imagine, these two weren't real happy to miss the big day. I think I spent the first 3 hours of labor texting my sister; I finally had to hang it up (literally) when things started kicking into high gear.

The first 4 hours or so were pretty anti-climatic. I got my epidural, which was nowhere near as scary as I'd built it up in my head to be. Our parents came in to chat; mom brought me the latest magazines; JBB and I rented a movie that we half-watched while I tried to sleep; I played Words with Friends, texted my friends, and tried to rest somehow. I finally gave up on that idea; as much as the nurses told me to sleep, I was too keyed up to even pretend to rest. (Speaking of nurses - the staff at the St. Vincent Carmel hospital was AMAZING. Every one of them. I hold a special place in my heart for Mamie, who was our main nurse when we checked in and during most of my hard labor. When she went off duty I started crying as if you'd told me someone ran over my puppy. I hugged Mamie with all I had as she was leaving, and made her promise to come back tomorrow to meet the baby. And she did, bless her heart).

So, as I said, we were admitted at 7:00 am; fast forward to 4:50 pm, and I was fully dilated - go time! Up until this point, I was in minimal pain. I was 4.5 cm dilated when I got to the hospital and hadn't felt a thing. Silly me thought this was how the whole labor would go. I was wrong. My contractions decided to come in the form of back labor, which was damned near unbearable. Between vomiting repeatedly from the pain, turning my epidural up to fight the back spasms, turning it down because I was too numb to push, to screaming, "I can't do this anymore," JBB and I were in for a wild ride for the next 3 hours and 20 minutes. Our poor family was pacing in the waiting room, my nieces and nephews were chanting "We want Cookie!", my sister-in-law was lurking by the nurses's station to hear any news, and my poor sister and mother-in-law were trying to stay up-to-date from vacation. Finally, at 8:10 pm, our beautiful, perfect, exquisite baby boy entered the world to one tired, overjoyed mama and ecstatic daddy. The feeling was truly unlike anything I've ever experienced in my life. It almost seems wrong to try and put into words what JBB and I were feeling; I'll never be able to express the rush of emotions - sheer joy, fear, and fierce, fierce love. 

JBB and I's life changed forever at 8:10 pm on March 23rd, 2013. Immediately before Linc was born, the doctor asked, "Last chance - boy or girl?", and I shouted, "It's a BOY!" Call it a mother's intuition at the 11th hour - about 1 second after my shout, JBB cried/yelled "A baby boy!!", and I heard the strangest sound - a wail, snort, laugh all rolled into one. And then I realized it was me making that noise.  I was overcome with the sense that suddenly, simultaneously, the world had become infinitely more beautiful, yet more terrifying at the same time. I never, ever want our Lincoln to know heartache, or fear, or sadness. Realistically, I know he will, but JBB and I will be doing our best to counter that by giving him joy, and lightness, and a happy place to call home. We will do anything for him; after all, he is us, and we are him, and that is mind boggling.

Our boy, fresh out of the oven.

JBB giving Linc his first bath.

Love at first sight.

7 weeks in, and I think JBB and I have the hang of this thing called parenthood. We've learned a few lessons along the way. Such as, don't feed your baby a full bottle and then strap him in the Bjorn for some shopping unless you want to have baby spit up pool inside your bra and down the front of your shirt. (I learned that; JBB doesn't wear a bra when he shops. Ha ha). We've learned to not change a poopy diaper at the first sniff of poop, as inevitably there's more to come. Best to let him simmer for awhile. Family and friends, already important to us, became even more so after Linc's arrival. The support and love we've received from our parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers is truly humbling. From my parents, sister and sister-in-law coming down every day for the first week that JBB went back to work because I was scared to be alone, to JBB's parents coming up each weekend so we had time to run to the grocery, to Emily and Zach babysitting on a Sunday so we could see a movie, to JBB's co-worker giving us two trash bags worth of clothes, to our friends Jen, Katie, Jill, and Russ and Kelli sending us dinner, we have been amazingly spoiled. My brother showed up one night in the early weeks with a full blown barbecue complete with fruit salad, hot dogs, my favorite orange pop, and 3 of the cutest kids you've ever seen, who were on the best behavior. We won't forget how amazing everyone has been, and we can't wait to pay it forward. 

One lesson I'm still trying to learn, and will probably always be learning, is to not worry so much. I worry,is he eating enough, or is he eating too much? Am I stimulating him enough, or should I give him some quiet time to just relax? Does he know how much I love him? These mommy worries are constantly running through my head, but I'm working as hard as I can to kick them out and just enjoy Linc exactly as he is, which is perfect, at this moment. We've started taking an afternoon nap on the couch, with him curled up like a bean on my chest, snuggled under a cozy blanket. In these moments, while I listen to his heavy breathing and feel his sweet baby breath on my cheek, my worries and feelings of inadequacy disappear, and the only thought running through my head is love. Love for Linc, and for this life that I've somehow stumbled my way into.

Bringing home our baby boy...

Linc's Arrival, Part 1

As I type this, our Cookie, who we were so sure was a girl, is sleeping peacefully beside me in his swing (which kind of looks like a spaceship). It's amazing how much life changes in a matter of hours. For JBB and I, 14 hours and 10 minutes, to be exact.

Saturday, March 23 at 8:10 pm, our perfect baby boy, Lincoln Lambert Blythe, entered the world, and I can't remember a time he wasn't the center of our life. Linc is truly our dreams and our love personified. He is healthy, and big and pink and has the sweetest, faintest little eyebrows, and long skinny feet, and his daddy's mouth, and little dark hair on the back of his head, and the most amazing blue gray eyes you've ever seen. In short, he is perfect. And he is OURS! We will work the rest of our lives to live up to the honor of being his parents. He is my purpose in life, and I hope to God I don't fail him.

The Wednesday night before Linc's birth found JBB and I at the ER at Carmel St. Vincent, the same hospital our OB is at and where we would be delivering. All day Wednesday, my right foot and ankle was swelling bigger and bigger; and not just the normal "end of the day" swollen ankles. By about 8:00 Wednesday night, it was the size of a loaf of bread. The weird thing is it, it was only my right foot. Although we had just had a check up the day before and my blood pressure was fine, I was worried about pre-eclampsia so we called the "after hours" line to talk to one of the doctors on call. Because of a history of blood clots in my family, they had JBB and I come to the ER for a deep vein thrombosis ultrasound to rule out a clot. We got to the ER at 9:00 exactly; we arrived home at 12:45 am, very relieved to know there was no blood clot. Just a strangely swollen foot, most likely caused by how Linc was laying in utero. Since the doctor didn't put me on any bed rest, I decided to go to work on Thursday; something in my mind kept telling me Linc would come early and I didn't want to waste any of my days off that could be spent with him. So, Thursday and Friday I worked all day, never feeling a contraction or anything other than the run of the mill 38 week pregnancy discomfort. JBB and I drove to Tipton Thursday night and took my grandpa cupcakes for his 91st birthday and spent the evening with him, listening to stories, checking out his boats, and eating cupcakes. Friday night we had a follow up with the doctor to checking the swelling, which was gone at that point. She did the normal measuring and checking, and we had no indication how our life would change in less than a day.

Friday night was supposed to our "last hurrah" date night, which I was so excited for. JBB and I had big plans to see the movie "Admission" and eat at Outback (one of our faves) using one of my many coupons. I even saved $50 of my precious tax refund to buy a cute new maternity outfit, as I was very sick of wearing gray leggings with black sweaters. I hit Target and bought the cutest pair of pistachio jeans capris, a bright purple top, and new sandals. I was ready to rock for our last date as a family of two. Mother Nature had other plans, however, in the form of an impending snowstorm, and an impending baby. By the time I got home from work Friday night, I was so tired I was in tears, telling JBB I didn't think I could stay up for dinner AND a movie, and besides, it was too cold to wear my new outfit anyway, so what was the point? (I was a little dramatic.) True to form, JBB saved the day, and we had a "date night in", complete with Hot Box breadsticks, cookies and ice cream, and NCAA basketball. For some reason, I was very clingy that night and wanted to spend every second with JBB; normally Friday nights I would get in bed about 8:30 and watch my shows while he puttered downstairs, watched ESPN, and then would come up a few hours later. Friday night I think JBB sensed I wanted to be with him all night, so after watching two basketball games together, we climbed in bed where JBB very gamely watched two episodes of Project Runway with me. We went to bed at 11:00 pm, with plans to eat pancakes at Bub's Breakfast Cafe on Saturday morning, and then see a matinee on Sunday. We were going to spread out "date night" into "date weekend."

Linc had other plans; date weekend was going to become baby weekend! I got back from a 5:45 am bathroom break only to lay down and feel like I had to go to the bathroom all over again. I very grumpily told JBB, "I have to get up again and I just went". Turns out I didn't know quite how much I was about to "go." At 6:00 am on the button, my water broke, and there was NO doubting what had happened. No trickle for me - without getting too gory, this was a gush that went through my pjs, the sheets, the mattress pad, and the mattress. JBB and I stared at each other for a few seconds, started shaking, and called the doctor as instructed. We were told that I had time to shower, eat, and then head to the hospital. The next hour was a surreal 60 minutes - I showered, dried and flattened my hair while JBB ran around gathering up cell phones, Ipads, chargers, magazines, etc. At one point I heard him cussing from the bathroom; he was so nervous and his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even get his contacts in. I was strangely calm, asking JBB to swiffer the bathroom floor so it would be clean when we got home, and taking pictures of us together so we'd have a "before baby" picture. At 6:45 I sat down to have a big bowl of Captain Crunch, only to find out our milk was spoiled; of course. So, I had dry cereal, a Sprite, and a roll. JBB threw our dirty bedding into the washing machine (he takes his role as laundry chief very seriously) and we were on our way. Our very excited, scared to death way.

At ten till 7:00, JBB and I drove to the hospital. The CD we made to play during our wedding reception happened to be in my car, so I played John Fogerty's "Joy of My Life" and "Thinking About Your" by Trisha Yearwood on the way to the hospital, which got me crying all over again, just anticipating the love we'd feel for our baby. Our baby who was actively on his or her way. We pulled up in the parking lot, and as JBB grabbed my suitcase out of the backseat, it spilled over the concrete. We'd forgotten to zip it; at this point we looked at each other and just started laughing. And then we headed into the hospital, ready to meet our baby. Which we did, 13 hours later.

And I'll get to that in our next blog, as said baby is looking so cute beside me in his swing that I'm going to break the cardinal rule and pick up a sleeping baby, because I want to hold him, and I'm his mom, and I can.

Part 2: Our two week early 8lb 10 oz love muffin is here!!

Waiting on Linc...

And we wait...

A wise man (Tom Petty) once said, "the waiting is the hardest part." To which I would like to say, preach it Mr. Petty! While I feel like most of this pregnancy has flown by, what with getting married, settling into a new house, going on our honeymoon, the holidays, yada, yada, yada, the last few weeks have crawled by. And I need them to sprint by. (Let me clarify - I won't be sprinting anywhere. Just need the weeks to.)

We are 37 weeks tomorrow, and I have recently become consumed with knowing if I'm harboring a boy or girl Cookie. I've made it 259 days in a very zen, "it's going to be the ultimate surprise" mindset, but now, damn it, I. WANT. TO. KNOW!!!! Twice this week on the way to work I have flat out started crying imagining the moments after Cookie is born and they place him or her on my chest and we can finally see that sweet little face. JBB wrote a little message to Cooks in the baby book, and I sobbed. I think he was a little alarmed by my reaction. (In my defense, it really was very sweet. And I really was very tired).

Doctor appointments are weekly now, which I'm actually excited about. That means every week someone a whole lot smarter and better qualified than me is checking on my baby and making sure everything is how it should be. We got the all clear with our last ultrasound and blood work that whatever antibodies I may or may not have floating around aren't hurting Cookie in anyway, so I can permanently cross that worry off my list.

Speaking of crossing things off the list - a momentous thing happened last night in the Blythe household. I went to "my office" (the a fore blogged about roll top desk. I'd love to tell you all about it. I'm obsessed with it.) and consulted my to-do list, which for the last 9 months has had at least 20 items on it. It had two. Two things left to do. And they are both things JBB needs to do, not me. I'm not sure how I feel about this. While I thought I'd be swinging from the treetops with excitement, I felt a little deflated and a sense of "now what?" I've got to have something to do these last three weeks!

In typical me fashion, I've found new things to fixate on - namely, trolling Tiny Prints for baby announcements (I currently have 43 favorited. Someone stop me.), and - couponing! I've turned into a real couponer these days. Nothing excites me more than cutting coupons from the Sunday paper; I've joined Coupons.com, and Marsh.com and Kroger.com and whatever else I can find online that will give me .25 cents off toilet paper. (Pregnant women use a LOT of toilet paper). I even found myself reading aloud to JBB from an article on Pinterest about how to be a savvy couponer. Who have I become? In addition to my obsession with couponing, I've started making weekly meal plans. Which, every week have the same meals on them - tacos; breakfast for dinner; spaghetti; chicken and potatoes; pizza. I'm not terribly creative, but sometimes I get fancy and switch up the order, or the seasoning for the potatoes if I'm feeling wacky. I've "pinned" approximately 250 recipes on Pinterest, but somehow eat the same 5 meals every week.

In addition to turning into some weird 1950's hybrid version of myself, I'm also in a phase of trying to meet up for lunch or dinner with as many of our friends as possible before the baby comes, partially to keep busy, and partially because I know I will drop out of the "social scene" for awhile. While I love seeing my friends, I've become aware of not over scheduling and ending up with something booked 6 nights a week, as all that does is exhaust me.

Until recently, I had a lot of events at work that kept my focus off of the impending arrival - I worked the first two Saturdays in March, had a Family Fun Night, and various other meetings to focus on and lots of loose ends to wrap up. Even all of that is winding down, as I'm transitioning everything at work over to my replacement so that everything is transfered over and in good shape when I leave. Driving home from last Saturday's 10K event was a very, very strange feeling - typically March is when I really start mentally gearing myself up for the crazy 2.5 months ahead that is "season" at the 500 Festival. Instead, I was driving home from my last event until 2014. Strange.

Speaking of things winding down, we even had our last baby shower over the weekend - hats off to Steph, Krissi, and Nicole for an amazing shower! The thought and love that went into it knocked my socks off - from the "Baby Pictionary", to the "blue Kool-Aid if you think it's a boy" and "Pink Lemonade if you think it's a girl" drinks, to the amazing food and decor, it was incredible. JBB and I are continually humbled by the love and interest our family and friends have shown our baby. It was truly an amazing day. In fact, an amazing weekend, that I was so happy to spend with Nicole who drove all the way from Wisconsin just to be there for the shower. We did a lot of eating, watching HGTV, and just catching up. Cookie even put on a show for her Aunt Nicole, moving her big foot all over my stomach just to show off and say hi.

Celebrating our little rascal to be. Such a fun shower!

Think girl? Grab a pink lemonade!

Sure it's a boy? Have a blue Kool-aid.

Two of my very favorite ladies!

Look closely...JBB and I's picture is on these M&Ms. Funniest thing ever!

Love this picture! Can't believe Aunt Lisa and Ali drove all the way from Michigan to celebrate Cookie. Love you guys!

Steph wouldn't stand still for a picture until after the party was over. Truly the hostess with the mostess!

Cookie decorated her door for her Aunt Nicole's arrival!

So. That's it. We're just waiting. JBB and I are spending a lot of time together just the two of us; we have a "date" to see the new Tina Fey/Paul Rudd movie Admission next weekend and go out to dinner. I figure that might be our last hurrah for awhile. I didn't think it was possible to love JBB more, but as I watch him prepare for Cookie's arrival, and experience every day how achingly sweet and patient he is with me as he listens to me vent, makes dinner for us without ever complaining, and helps me out of bed when my back hurts too much to stand up, I do indeed love him more. Waiting for JBB was the best thing I ever did.

Celebrating "National Pie Day" at Shapiros!

The Moose is Loose

You might be wondering about the title of this blog. Let me explain - I am the moose. As for "the moose is loose" - well, when my family would go skiing every year, there was a shop named just that, and for some reason it popped in my head today and I thought it was funny. So there you go. JBB doesn't like it when I call myself a moose, but hey, I call 'em like I see 'em, and when I look in the mirror, I see a moose. A very happy, tired, expectant moose.

I remember a time in the not so distant past when I would wake up, go to the mirror and examine my stomach to see if I "looked pregnant." I'd ambush JBB when I got home from work, and ask him the same thing, sticking my belly out as far as it could go. He'd study my profile and say, "Maybe a little Bertie", or "not today." HA! How naive I was. I mean, logically I knew I would eventually look pregnant, but it just seemed like that day would never come. Well, I'm here to tell you blog readers, it has come. Oh how it has come.

I'm 33.5 weeks as I write this blog. Over the weekend, I wore the same outfit three days in a row. Black Old Navy maternity leggings, a long gray comfy sweatshirt/tunic maternity top from the Gap, and my Uggs. JBB eventually made me throw it in the hamper when it was starting to get up and walk to the fridge for a snack by itself. I've reached the point where the only pants that are comfy are either leggings or those with the full belly panel , aka, big girl pants. Those little half panels are for sissies, I've decided. They dig into my stomach, and I picture Cookie inside there saying, "Hey mom, I'm squished in here." Similarly, a lot of my tops are getting snug now too, but I'm stubborn and don't want to buy new maternity shirts when I'm less than seven weeks from my due date. Hence wearing the same outfit three days in a row.

Another thing I've embraced in the home stretch: dry shampoo! This might seem like an odd side effect of pregnancy, but it has been a godsend. I have a very hard time falling asleep at night, and inevitably get settled and sleep the soundest in the few hours before I'm supposed to wake up. As a result, I often end up sleeping late and forgoing a morning shower so I can snooze for fifteen more minutes. In the past, I could never do this because my hair is so greasy that if I don't wash it in the morning you can scramble an egg on my head by noon. Well, someone suggested dry shampoo, and I haven't looked back! I use the Victoria's Secret brand, and I love it! My hair honestly looks just as good (some days better) than when I wash it fresh that morning. I know there will be many days with a newborn where I don't get around to showering, so my follicles and I are thrilled to have discovered dry shampoo. (Victoria didn't even pay me for this advertisement).

Other moose-like things happening around our house - I can't take my boots off by myself. Bending all the way over, maneuvering around my belly, and tugging them off is just too much effort for Cookie and I. Enter JBB to save the day! I feel like while on the whole I'm very glad to be pregnant in the winter, there are some possible advantages to a summer baby. It would be miserable to be in the final stages of pregnancy in hot weather, but you could at least throw on a sundress and flip flops every morning and call it day. Although, you'd also have to shave your legs more than once every two months, so that's a definite minus.

I also no longer feel comfortable wearing my wedding bands. Most days they fit fine, but sometimes when I go to pull them off at night, they are awfully snug, and I would be distraught if they got stuck and had to be cut off. So, they're staying put for now in my nightstand. I contemplated wearing them around a necklace, but was worried if the chain broke I would lose them. I have followed the lead of my friend Jill, who bought the biggest, showiest fake diamond ring she could find when she was pregnant with her daughter. Monday night I picked up a big ol' sparkler from Target; go big or go home, right? It has gotten several compliments, which cracks me up.

A few other things to note - my skin - it does not glow while pregnant. It does the opposite of glow, whatever that is. (Grimace? Glower?) If you don't believe me, I'll show you my passport picture, sans makeup. I look like I should show up on the 6:00 news as the latest Hoosier to be busted for cooking meth. It's terrifying. So, while my skin doesn't glow, my toenails GROW. And grow. And grow. And, you guessed it - there's no way in hell I'm contorting myself to cut them. Even I won't ask JBB to do that for me; instead, I view it as a nice excuse to get regular pedicures. My piggies have never looked so nice or felt so loved. (All the ladies at the nail salon think I'm having a boy, FYI.)

JBB would like me to let you all in on his million dollar, Shark Tank worthy idea - "Adult Pregnancy Bibs!" It doesn't matter what I eat, or how many napkins/towels/drop cloths I put on the front of me - I manage to get at least a fourth of my meal down the front of me. My belly is a magnet for food and water. JBB can't keep up with the laundry I generate. I also have a bad habit of eating in bed, so a lot of my dinner/breakfasts/snacks end up in the bed. It's a good thing I have a patient husband! We recently created a "bib drawer" for Cooks in the kitchen...I think mama's bibs need their own drawer too!

On the "baby prep" front, we are basically done. We have two more classes to go, and one more shower, but the baby could come tomorrow and we'd be okay. We have our pediatrician, we are pre-registered at the hospital, and we have car seats, crib, stroller, bassinet, and swing. With the exception of packing our overnight bags and installing our car seats, we are ready! Every night when JBB and I peek in the nursery, we look at each other and say, "All that's missing is the baby..." JBB has "read" several of the books to Cookie that we got at the shower. So far, we think "Where's Spot?" is her favorite, as that elicited the most wiggles. So, there you have it. Just some of the more fun side effects of the 3rd trimester. And I wouldn't trade it for the world. Every time I feel Cookie move (which is a lot) I fall in love all over again. I'd go through 1,000 3rd trimesters for one baby.

Nesting has begun!

 54 days until our due date!

This past week has been babycentric - I'm convinced I'm now just making up stuff to do to keep myself busy. JBB and I kicked into overdrive with setting up the nursery, and I'm sooo excited with how it looks! We still need to put finishing touches up on the walls, but we have the furniture in place, and all gifts, clothes, and supplies are washed, de-tagged, and put away. We are ready for you, Cookie McGee! I love to walk past the nursery every night before I go to bed. It just makes me happy. Out of everything in the nursery, I think I'm most excited about...her door! JBB had the great idea to paint Cookie's door in chalkboard paint, and as she grows up she can scribble on it, doodle, make countdowns to Christmas, etc. I just think it's such a fun idea, and I love that her daddy thought of it.

Cookie's animals are already watching over the nursery, just waiting for their roommate. 

Clifford, the big white dog, takes the glider for a spin.

In addition to working on the nursery, my "nesting instinct" has kicked into high gear, and for whatever reason I have fixated on reorganizing/de-cluttering the kitchen cabinets and pantry. It's become a running joke between JBB and I. Every day I decide a new way I think we should organize the pantry, and what additional shelves should go in the cabinets. It's like I open my mouth, and my inner Martha Stewart (who has never reared her head before) starts spouting off about  how we can "best maximize our under the sink space". I'm convinced the key to the first six months of parenthood is having a well organized kitchen. Why I choose this particular fixation is anyone's guess. JBB has threatened to take Pinterest off of my Ipad if this continues.

Sadly, the kitchen isn't the only area I've become minorly obsessed with. I also get a little crazed about where our "home office" should be located. Should it go in the roll top desk in the living room, or should it be in the kitchen next to...the pantry! The dreaded pantry. JBB, bless his heart, plays along with me and pretends to really think about it when I ask questions like "But seriously...do you think we should keep the ink pens in the kitchen next to the spare change, or on the roll top next to our return address stamp?" This baby needs to get here quickly before I do something drastic like attempt to do my own back splash in the kitchen. (Don't think I haven't thought about it).

In addition to terrorizing our cabinets, I also had my first work event of the "season" at the 500 Festival. As we both rolled out of bed at 4:30 am so we could be downtown by 5:45, JBB looked at me and said, "Soon we'll be getting up this early every morning." Oof. Reality check. Not sure I'm ready for daily 4:30 wake-up calls. Luckily this event was a quick one, but if I wasn't feeling the effects of being 8 months pregnant before, I certainly felt them at this event. It was held at the NCAA Hall of Champions, which is a great venue. However, a few things I never noticed in past year's events - there is no bathroom on the second floor, where I am stationed. That made for a LOT of trips up and down to the bathroom. Second, I never realized just how many damned steps there are from the first floor to the second. I was huffing and puffing climbing that staircase, and eventually caved and used the elevator. Cooks and I were worn out.

Sunday was my second baby shower, and it was even more fun that I anticipated! Thanks so much to Emily, Katie, and Lauren for throwing such a fun shower, and to all my friends for coming! My friends certainly know me well - chicken fingers and ruffled chips were the main course, and homemade cake pops and brownie/Oreo/peanut butter concoctions for dessert. Not to toot my own horn, but I cleaned up (100%, baby!) in the celebrity/baby name matching competition. I didn't fare so well at "Baby Price is Right"...Jason's sister, however, swept that game, so I think we'll dispatch her to do all of our baby shopping from now on. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who took the time to come and spend two hours of their Sunday celebrating Cookie's arrival - friends from Tipton, Special Olympics, "girls' nights", friends I've made through JBB, grad school - it was quite a group! Last night JBB and I went through all the gifts, and marveled at how tiny everything is, and how many diapers one little booty can need; we just kept looking at each other and laughing as we went through the goodies.

Thanks for such yummy cake pops! Cookie can't wait to meet Aunt Emily...

Some of the ladies from the shower. 

Egads! How did that Purdue onsie sneak in there?!?

The daddy to be surveys the loot and reads up on "What to Expect in the First Year"...

Today we have another check-up, along with the first of three "Preparing for Childbirth" classes. Which take place during the Bachelor, and you all know how I feel about that. Not good. I refuse to watch the videos. The baby has to come out, right? I know this; I don't need to SEE it to prepare. I'm good and prepared; would you like to hear what I've done with my pantry? :)

Makin' Friends

65 days until due date! Yowza!! JBB and I think Cookie will arrive on April 1. 

Tuesday, JBB and I spent four hours at the doctor's office. Turns out I didn't pass my initial glucose screening, so I had to do the 3-hour test, in addition to my regularly scheduled appointment. Whoa - not fun. But, the good news is, I passed the 3-hour test "with flying colors". Thank God. Four blood draws and three hours later, I felt like a human pin cushion.

The silver lining of the doctor's visit - I made a new friend! When we checked in, the office manager told us to "get comfortable" and that there were two other women who would be doing the 3-hour test that morning also. One of the women came in shortly after we did, and took a seat near us. I immediately noticed that she had on an outfit that I seriously coveted, and that she looked like someone I would hit it off with. She pulled up a chair to prop her feet up on, and started writing thank you notes. After about an hour of uncomfortable shifting in my seat, trying to get comfortable, I asked JBB if he could snag me a chair that I could prop my feet up on, as my fellow glucoser was doing. Well. JBB has never met a stranger, so as he grabbed the chair beside my future friend, he struck up a conversation. And that was all it took.

Over the next 2.5 hours, my future friend and I covered every topic under the sun. How far along we were (she's having twins!); whether we were planning on breastfeeding or not; how we met our husbands; working in non-profits; if Khloe Kardashian was in fact the product of an affair and not Robert Kardashian's biological daughter (per the cover of my In Touch magazine); if we were going back to work or not. We didn't draw a breath. We even decided that since we didn't really know each other, or any of the same people, it would be okay to tell the baby names we had picked out. Turns out, she is my exact age, got married over the summer and then got pregnant right away, her husband is older than she is like JBB and I, and on Friday they're moving about four minutes away from where JBB and I live. A friendship ripe for the picking!

While she was in for her 3rd blood draw, I turned to JBB and said, "We will be friends. I will make this happen." After I said it, I realized - the further removed you get from college, the harder it is to make new friends. College seemed to provide a built in system for meeting friends, and for a few years after college it was easy to meet new people through co-workers, friends of your newly made college friends, apartment complexes, etc. By your 30's, most people have been at the same job for awhile, and if they've lived in the same town for a significant period of time, have met most everyone in their friends' circles. Making friends is a bit like dating - the more time passes, the harder it gets, and the more awkward you sometimes feel, putting yourself out there to see "if you click."

Luckily, I have a great group of friends that I have collected from all areas of my life - hometown, college, work, people I've met through family and friends, etc. However, I've been telling JBB, while I'm home this summer with Cookie, it is my mission to find other moms in or near our neighborhood who I can go for a walk with while pushing our kids in the stroller, or someone to go to the neighborhood pool with on a hot day. I'm sure there will be times when I don't want to load everything up in the car and drive to Tipton, Broad Ripple, or Plainfield. I'm giving fair warning now to my sister-in-law and brother, who live 5 minutes away...you will see LOTS of Cooks and I on this maternity leave. Get ready.

When JBB and I moved into our neighborhood in July, it was about 110 degrees for the rest of the summer, so people weren't outside too much. Then, we just got busy with wedding planning, honeymoon, etc. and haven't met as many neighbors as we'd like. (I'm spoiled from growing up in a neighborhood that did block 4th of July parties, neighborhood scavenger hunts, and people actually congregating on front porches and patios every night in the summer. I want this for my family). Luckily, our neighbors to one side of us have three young kids, as do the neighbors behind us. We are friendly and wave when we see each other, their kids trick or treated at our house, etc, but we haven't progressed to actually socializing. Now, we do adore our 91 year old neighbors to the south, Paul and Elnora, and Cookie and I plan on spending a lot of time visiting them this Spring. I'm just not sure they'll want to go swimming or power walking with us. So, my plan for any and all neighbors I encounter with young kids is to borderline stalk/kill them with kindness until we exchange numbers and get to walking!

Anyway, back to the doctor's visit. The new friend potential fell into my lap, and I wasn't about to let it pass by.   Once we were both pricked for the 3rd time and settled back in our chairs, I cleared my throat and said, "So, this is a little awkward and I feel like I'm asking you out, but would you want to meet up this Spring once the madness has settled and go for a walk or something?" (I'm summarizing here...) and, much to my relief as I was starting to feel like a creeper, she said "absolutely" and we set about trading numbers, with her informing me I'm in her phone as Lindsay - fellow preggo at glucose test.

I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Here's hoping to making many more. And of course, to all the great ones I already have...don't forget about Cookie and I up in Carmel! We are open for any and all play dates, girls nights, movies, etc. Have baby, will travel. (I think. I hope. I could be totally wishful thinking here.)

The Name Game

I am positively bursting at the seams to tell you the names JBB and I have picked out for my womb resident. We have known from the very beginning what our boy name and girl name would be. And we haven't wavered on them since! Unfortunately, unlike me, my husband loves to keep a good secret and then share it at the most opportune moment! (Like when we first started dating and he didn't tell anyone about me until I just appeared with him at a gathering of his friends. He thought it would be fun to surprise them. I'm awkward enough around new people in the best of situations, so you can imagine how much I loved this plan. Good times. :))

I should clarify - I can keep a secret. If you tell me something in confidence, I'll never crack. However - I am terrible at keeping something exciting from my family and friends. I can't count the number of times I've called JBB or my mom or dad and told them all about the "mostamazingChristmasgiftintheworld" that I just could NOT wait to give them. It damned near killed me to wait until 11 weeks to share the news about Cookie; if I'm excited about something personally, or on behalf of someone else, I have to sew my mouth shut to not blab about it. I open birthday cards the instant I retrieve them from the mailbox, even if my birthday isn't for another week. JBB on the other hand, waits until after dinner on his birthday, saving them up to open all at once. So, basically, we are complete opposites when it comes to whether or not we should tell family and friends the names we have picked out for Cookie B. 

A little background on how we picked our names...when JBB and I first started dating, we went to IU to watch a basketball game. (This is back when IU couldn't beat the Rose Hulman Fighting Engineers, by the way.) We'd probably been together 3 months or so at the time. I can remember as plain as day sitting in one of the booths in the downstairs of Nick's, eating a stromboli (of course!) and somehow the subject of baby names came up. I don't know if one of our friends had just had a baby, or why we were talking about this quite so early on. Anyway, I jokingly said, "If we ever have a baby and it's girl, you get naming rights, and I will name the boy." Two years later, and JBB has really held me to that. And he has had a heck of a good time taunting me with the girls names he says he'll be choosing for Cookie. Thankfully, we both have veto power, so we won't end up with a Betty Bertrude Blythe, as he likes to threaten. (And let's be honest - I'm the one pushing this rascal out, so if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. I think we all know who the ultimate naming rights rest with.)

Let's play a little process of elimination...

According to the US Government, the Top 10 Baby Names for 2011 were:

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Jacob	Sophia
2	Mason	Isabella
3	William	Emma
4	Jayden	Olivia
5	Noah	Ava
6	Michael	Emily
7	Ethan	Abigail
8	Alexander	Madison
9	Aiden	Mia
10	Daniel	Chloe

While all are very lovely names, none of them will be Cookie's. Looking at "Nameberry," which tracks trendy, up and coming popular baby names, the predictions for hot names of 2013 will be those that take after ancient gods and goddesses, mythological heroes, and names inspired by nature. Some examples: Persephone (is this a boy or girl name? I really don't know), Athena, Julius, Thor, Katniss, Maeve, Winter, and Smog. (Okay, I made that last one up.) While Julius Aprhodite Blythe has a certain something to it that I like, we will not be following this naming trend. I think I slept through all of ancient history and mythology in high school.

A few things I can tell you (this post has been JBB approved, so no spilling of family secrets here) - the girl name was taken from a movie that JBB has watched. That should narrow it right down for you, as he has seen approximately 30 movies in the last two months alone. Might it have a family name somewhere in there? It might. Or it might not. He does have an Aunt Dodo, we might like to honor...

As the head boy namer in the family, I was pretty sold on my name from the beginning. It might come from my love of history...Napolean Bonaparte Blythe, anyone? NBB is in the house! Or, it also might come from my love of trashy celebrity magazines...welcome to the family Kardashian Blythe! There is a chance we'll work a family name in there as well. I believe my mom had a cousin named Dovey Merle...

Those are probably all the "hints" I should share, before my fingers get away from me and I type in the real names. (Or did I already!??!) I suppose the only plus side to not telling the names in advance is that no one (hopefully!) will tell me all about the boy in their 3rd class who happens to share my son's name, and also happened to pick his nose, or how much they hate the name we've picked, etc. Once the baby is born, hopefully people will at least lie and tell us how wonderful they think our name selection was. :)

In other news, I passed my glucose test!!! Yahooooza!!! For some reason, I had it in my head I would fail it, and then have to take the very scary three hour test I've heard about. The appointment was Monday morning at 8:30 am; I had two chocolate chip cookies at 8:00 Saturday night while watching Miss America, and then no sugar until after the test Monday morning. (I  may or may not have helped myself to four bake n' break chocolate chip cookies when I got home that night.) We are almost 29 weeks and now to the stage where we meet with the doctor every two weeks....which I love because that means we get to hear the heartbeat every two weeks!

JBB snapped this post blood work, eating my cheese and peanut butter crackers and having the Capri Sun we smuggled in my purse. I don't do real well giving blood. :)

Last night I had my first baby shower, and it set the bar high! "My gal Val" (as my mom calls her) with whom I work, threw an office baby shower at Ceramic Dreams, a paint your own pottery studio in Broad Ripple. We had a great time painting, eating, (more cookies! Yum, sugar!) and of course opening gifts. Below are some pictures. Thank so much to everyone for making the drive on a Wednesday night after work. It meant so much, and JBB couldn't wait to see the gifts when I got home!

Welcome to Cookie's baby shower!
The whole Sesame Street gang was there to welcome us!

How cute are these homemade cookies? They tasted even better than they looked!

Val and I, party planner extraordinaire!

The whole crew...I work with great people!

Until next time, Hercules Rain Churchill Juno Blythe and I are signing off!

Oh What a Day...

This blog is brought to you by one tired, slightly delirious mama-to-be so if it seems a little crazy, it's because I'm feeling a bit loopy tonight. Pretty sure putting together paragraphs, themes, blah, blah, blah is beyond me. Consider yourself warned.

I've officially decided I'm out of the "fun" part of being pregnant, and getting into the nitty-gritty. Disclaimer: If you are one of the handful of males who reads this blog and you are not my husband, feel free to skip this paragraph. Lots of bodily functions up in here. I think I preferred the shiny hair and strong nails that come with the second trimester to...drumroll please....leaky bladder, leaky boobs, loads of gas, and yeast infections. These fun things are all apparently brought to me by the 3rd trimester, which officially begins this Saturday, not last. The math they use to figure out due dates and trimesters is waaaay beyond me. If it weren't for Gerber Baby emails telling me where I was in my pregnancy, I'd be lost. 

This morning found JBB and I at an impromptu doctor's visit after a few days of increased "leaking" - which I was fairly certain was just from having a bowling bowl sitting on my bladder, but as my degree is in English and History (woohoo liberal arts!) and not obstetrics, I wasn't comfortable with the final decision being up to me. At times like these, I really, really wish JBB could be pregnant too, so there was someone else experiencing what I was; another voice of reason to say, "Be worried about this," or, "No big deal. Proceed." It's like being at the eye doctor, and I'm in the hot seat, and the whole future of my vision rests on me, and me alone deciding, "Which line is bolder?", or "Which circle is floating?" I. Don't Know. What if I choose the wrong one, and doom myself to a year of headaches from a wonky prescription, until I can redeem myself in 12 months? Eye doctor appointments really stress me out. Anyway - last night we called the "after-hours" hotline and spoke to the doctor on call, who couldn't have been nicer. He had us come in this morning just to be extra-cautious, and make sure nothing more ominous than your garden-variety incontinence was happening. Which, thank goodness, it wasn't. (Hip hip hooray for bladder incontinence!)

Fast forward to this afternoon at CVS: purchasing pantyliners,  Monistat 7, and toilet paper was perhaps a personal low for me. Feeling like I was at Hook's in the 8th grade buying tampons for the first time, I decided to use the "self check-out," against my better judgement. (Personal rant: self check-out NEVER ends up quicker. Never. Something always mucks up the system, usually produce. So much for trying to eat healthy.) Anyway - of course, while trying to pay, the light above the machine starts flashing, and a robot starts chirping, "Help is on it's way".  As if I was going into labor in the drugstore. I half expected the Canadian Royal Mounties to come charging up on their horses to rescue me. Instead, a bored looking CVS cashier came over, lifted the Monistat 7 out of the bag, and then put it back in. Suddenly, I could pay. Apparently the machine thought I had bagged the goods without paying for it. They were on to me. So much for my stealthy check-out.

And that was just my 30 minute lunch break. Today, as luck would have it, also happened to be the day our work was migrating all computers and phones to a new server, and we "launched" our 2013 500 Festival volunteer website, a big day for me. (Volunteer for me people! It's fun.) Of course, my computer was the "problem child." Finally, 2:30 rolls around and my email was working, thanks to the patience of our IT support. In come dozens and dozens of emails from volunteers with questions over their registration.As I plow through their emails, I realize it's been nearly 30 minutes, so I of course have to go to the bathroom. I come back a mere 90 seconds later, and I am logged completely out of my computer. In a last-ditch effort, I log-in as my co-worker, hoping that will work. It does, for about 20 minutes; in perhaps the funniest part of this whole charade, I begin to print emails only to find out they will only print to the private printer of our CEO's personal assistant, and then only on letterhead, to boot! At this point, I hung it up for the day and headed home. As my favorite literary heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, says, "Tomorrow is another day!" (Speaking of which - I thought today was Tuesday all day, until I got home. I was legitimately thrilled when I found out it is Wednesday. Silver lining.)

So. That's it from the Blythe front. Cookie is great - she/he is kicking up a storm, and JBB and I love her more every day. Even when she busts mommy's bladder. Monday is our 28 week appointment...bring it on glucose test, RH shot, and whatever else you're poking and prodding! While that appointment promises to be a good time, we are especially looking forward to our "work baby shower" next Wednesday at Half Baked pottery! 

Sideways flowers from JBB make any day better!!! 

Cookie is sooo lucky to have so many people excited for her arrival. Looking forward to a great night!