stress limit!

Hey friends and fam! Well I wish I could say this has been a relaxing week but it has been far from it. Work has been nuts lately since I have 4 more new students with severe behavior and emotional needs. The special education teacher is in and out but some days it just doesn't feel like enough to help keep me sane. Today was one of those days where I was feeling very overwhelmed. I found myself tensing up at work, and felt a strong sharp pain in my right side of my abdomen. I tried to sit down and relax (which isn't easy to do with 28 little ones) and it didn't go away. I ended up cancelling a meeting after school and was told by my doctor to come in and see what was going on. Apparently stress and anxiety can cause your stomach to contract and spasm! I did not know this....and felt really bad I couldn't calm myself down. A good friend at work gave me good advice and told me to surround myself with people who understand what I'm going through.  It can be a lonely feeling at times feeling this way and not having people who understand. I also realized that during the work week the less stress I can have the better! Talking to my friend Stephanie really helped and I am going to work on feeling happier and surrounding myself with people who do make me happy and don't bring me down. It's funny how even a call or text to just say hi instead of needing something can brighten your day :) Hopefully I can get out of this funk because I have a long ways to go until summer break! Sorry this is a downer message...just telling it out how it is!

On a happier note! My stomach is literally as hard as a rock and I've been feeling him so much that I put Bran's hand on my belly to feel for him. Last night he was patient and finally felt a roll in my belly. He was excited and so was I! :)

19 weeks!

19 weeks!!

Hey family and friends! I hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of winter and probably happy it's almost over (woohoo!) Spring has arrived in the desert! Today was 82* and the baby and I got some much needed sun. I think he likes to sun tan because he was moving around lots the minute I laid down...I hope he has tan skin because living out here is brutal! Counting on those Gloer genes ;) We have also been moving things around in the house to get ready for baby. I wish houses out here had basements and attics! It's almost impossible to fit everything we own into 3 tiny closets. Looks like I am going to need some organization tips...any suggestions? Brandon's mom sent us a box full of Brandon's old clothes. It was so funny to see his little outfits from when he was a baby. I think our baby will sport a few 80's items here and there! 

An 80's Lacoste jogger suit

Packers throw back

I'm not sure when most people decorate their babie's rooms but I'm kind of itching to get some things done before it's 115* out. Brandon and I think we are going to do something very similar to this baby room:

I found the yellow giraffe fabric on fabric.com and I'm going to try and make the bed skirt and window sham..with the help of Bran's mom's sewing skills. We already have a can of paint with this color gray too! Instead of doing a chevron wall I kind of want to do gray and white stripes :)(only on one wall of course) Sadly, baby Sev's room looks nothing like this cute room right now. Here is it's current state:

This cute giraffe blanket is from my friend Vicki! I <3 it. Bran's mom got us our crib for the babies gift....we love it! I also ordered a dresser from target which should be arriving soon. Baby furniture is pricey eek! For all of you who  need a vacation spot..just keep this next picture in mind...Love you all!

18 weeks!

18 Weeks!

Today's date: Saturday Feb. 18, 2012

How far along: 18 weeks and 1 day! J

Sex: BOY!! It’s so nice to know now J

Maternity clothes: Still wearing the belly band with my jeans and I can pretty much wear all my old shirts with the exception of a few. I can’t wait until the heat comes and I can wear dresses everyday.

Sleep: I’ve been having some very strange dreams. Had one last night that my house was haunted and that my entire family came over ( like 50 people) unexpectedly and I was sad because the house was dirty…ha! And I woke up at 3:30am wide awake and ready to go today!

Best moment(s) of the week: Couples massage with Bran was really nice on V-dayJ One of my students is in foster care and got to see his mom for the first time in 6 months! That was exciting too J It was nice to see him so happy. We also have a few new boy clothes for the baby!

Movement: yup! Been feeling him since 15 1/2 weeks. I usually feel him from around 5pm-10pm. He’s very hyper!

Food cravings/aversions: I’ve eaten Cajun chicken pasta every Friday night for the last 2 months! The people at Fridays know my order now(a little embarrassing!) I also have been eating a lot of mint chocolate chip ice cream and jimmy johns of course!

Morning sickness: Puked Tuesday for some odd reason!? I found out I shouldn’t drink lots of water on an empty stomach because the baby is not a fan of that.

Symptoms: I’m having a lot of shoulder and back pain. I slipped a disk 5 years ago and I feel the same nerve pain coming on…kinda nervous about that :/

Labor signs: Nope…I’d love for that to happen at 37 weeks though J

Belly button in or out:  I can see the insides of it…but that’s it.
What I miss:  wine, family, feeling comfortable in my old clothes

What I'm looking forward to: Bran’s grandparents are coming out in 3 weeks J

 18 weeks belly!                                    15 week belly                     

Do you see a difference? I think he grew a tiny bit!

Size and growth of our baby: Baby is now the size of a BELL PEPPER!

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Valentines and other fun things :)

Hey Arizona and mid-west friends and fam! I am excited because a couple days ago I started having strangers recognize my baby belly and it feels good knowing people see me as pregnant and not just plump! I know that sounds funny but a lot of people at my work didn't know I was pregnant and I was feeling self conscious walking around with a much larger stomach. I'm so glad it's finally obvious :) I'm also excited that I have been feeling the baby move more and more..it's crazy how active he is from about 5pm-bedtime..he's a maniac in there! My friend Danielle and I went to get a pedicure and she told me she had a surprise for me. My first thought was it was Jimmy Johns..but it was even better! She made delicious vegan(spelling?)cupcakes in celebration of finding out it's a boy! It was very sweet of her and made the baby and I's day! For Valentine's day, Brandon and I had an AMAZING couples massage. It was so nice to relax :) I hope you all have a great week..tomorrow is 18 weeks!!! I can't believe I'm almost half way.

17 weeks...It's a BOY!!

Howdy everyone! I hope everyone is either enjoying the sun (AZ friends) or not shoveling too much snow (midwest folks!). It's amazing to me how different the weather can be from one place to another! This week has been nothing short of pure craziness. The best part of this week was finding out Brandon and I are going to have a precious little BOY!! I'm not going to lie and say I was surprised because I've had nothing but boy thoughts and dreams this entire pregnancy. Also, all the women at work swore I was having a boy by looking at my belly..kinda funny how that works :)(Secretly I was praying boy because having a big brother has to be so great!) For those of you who didn't know, Brandon and I had an in home ultrasound. There is a company called wombmates and they come to you for ultrasounds. It was so nice laying on my comfy bed and watching baby on my own T.V.(and not taking work off...woohoo!) When the ultrasound guy put the machine on my belly I was nervous baby wouldn't cooperate. He prodded on my belly a bit and sure enough we saw baby do a flip! He zoomed in and right away I go...I know what that is! lol..it's kinda funny that I knew already just by looking at the screen. It was VERY obvious it was a boy...and if it wasn't a boy...I'm scared! I was so happy to have had that experience with Bran :) It was definitely more special than a doctor's office and I highly recommend it for any preggo friends out there if a service like this is in your area! VERY cheap too! I'm also curious to know what a lot of you working moms did right after baby was born. I found out my mom can't come out in October anymore when I go back to work. I was wondering if any other mommies out there had a transition period when going back to work with family help(grandparents helping during the first week back)...I'm kinda nervous for that day to come! I read online that it can be helpful to new parents but wasn't sure if anyone has done this before. Hopefully Brandon and I can find a great daycare out here for Baby Sev! Ok..I'll stop being chatty now and show you Baby Sev! (we almost have a name now too!)

I'm not in sweats for once!! Hot date with Bran for Valentines Day <3

Now for the best photos of the week...baby BOY Sev!! (Beware he may not be at his cutest phase yet and the pictures can be a tiny bit scary..but he's still so adorable to me!)

He's yawning :)

His backside!

                                                                   All curled up and Cozy :)

Blowm up Penis! Definitely not a girl!

More of his Manhood

Back and side shot

Size and growth of our baby: Baby is now the size of a TURNIP!

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs almost 6 ounces now, and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.  This week might also mark the first time you feel baby move inside you, but don't worry if it's another two months before you notice anything. (Or realize that this time, it's actually not gas.)

16 weeks!

Happy weekend friends and fam! I've never been so happy for the weekend...woohooo! One of my favorite things about living in Arizona is the beautiful weather. A few days ago we took Rocco to the dog park and it was so cute to see all the families of Surpise out and about! We also live in a HUGE retirement community and it made me smile to see how spoiled alot of these little dogs were with their owners! One cute older lady had a coat, bows, and sparkley collar on her pooch and was worried about her precious little one getting bullied....so funny :) Here are a few highlights of "Rocco's Modern Life"(old TV cartoon for those of you who remember!)

Could he be any happier to be at the dog park??

For those of you who haven't seen Rocco's handstand...Here it is! He's a circus freak :)



 Chihuaha gang

 Pretty Arizona :) Who says there's no water here ;)

 Happy 100th Birthday Arizona!

 My Hot hubby!

Have you ever seen a dotson this fat? His belly is about to hit the floor!

 

Who says you can't fish in the Phoenix area? (cough cough Kyle!)

 This cute older man was fishing and talking to his buddy how he hasn't gotten a bite all day...I thought he was so cute with his little sun hat :)

 16 weeks!

Today's date: Saturday Feb. 4^th, 2012

How far along: 16 weeks..and one day ;)

Sex: Still feeling boy but who knows!

Maternity clothes: My belly is so low that no pants button anymore L The belly band is my best friend and I’m glad the long shirts are in style J

Sleep: I sleep all night and no interruptions J

Best moment(s) of the week: Having a few kiddos making benchmark in Reading…it’s crazy how quick 7 year olds grow in learning! And how excited they get once they can read independently J

Movement: I definitely felt something on Monday night! I had just eaten applesauce, laid down to sleep, and felt little flutters! It stopped then happened again about 10 minutes later…very faint feeling still though.

Food cravings/aversions: Anything Sweet! And Jimmy Johns of course….heating up the meat has actually been kind of tasty

Morning sickness: THANK GOD IT’S OVER!!! I thought I was going to be teaching/puking the rest of my life

Symptoms: belly aches from growing pains, fatigue, back aches and shoulder aches, moodiness for sure…..I don’t think I’m as pleasant to be around :/

Labor signs: Way too soon.

Belly button in or out:  Becoming very wide and huge! I can see the inside of my belly button for the first time in my life…and I also think it’s time for a pregnancy belly ring J I already picked one out I like J

What I miss: Family, Wine, Energy, and time to get things done that I need to

What I'm looking forward to: Gender Ultrasound in a month and seeing lots of family this Spring J



Butterflies!

Hi everyone! I usually don't update during the week but last night I got so excited because I'm 99% sure I felt baby Sev moving around in my belly! It was only a fluttering feeling but I noticed I could feel so much more when lying flat on my back. It was a great feeling! I can't wait for him/her to grow to feel even more. Also, my students took a vote on whether I was going to have a boy or girl. One little kid is even going home tonight to make a bar graph on our data....ha! According to the kids I'm going to have a girl and she is going to grow up to like Justin Bieber...I have 18 girls and 7 boys so this could be why the data is skewed :) Poor boys....so out numbered! They also think that the baby should be named Bella because of Bella from twilight. It's so funny how kids minds think. Well here's to two more days of work and hoping I have enough energy to get to Friday afternoon! Happy work week everyone :)