Nicole Tasker Woods

Last night we were able to sell the entire guest bed to someone on craigslist. They even came last night to pick it up, so that was a huge bonus. The people were so odd, but I was glad to see them drive the bed away leaving cash in my hand.

The guest room now has a small bedside table in it, the comforter from the guest bed, some pillows and a small chair. That’s it! We will hopefully get the room painted this weekend and get the crib assembled as well. I am anxious to see if the crib is in decent shape–you never know when you order a large piece of furniture like that online and it is shipped in a box in a million tiny pieces.

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There is a 1.5 mile loop that I used to run in my younger, fitter days. The run would take me about 15 minutes. When I started speed walking instead of running, the same 1.5 mile distance took me about 25 minutes–30 minutes (tops) if Cali was overly inclined to stop and sniff more than usual.

Now that I am 29 weeks pregnant and it looks like I stuffed a soccer ball in my shirt, that 1.5 miles now takes me about 45 minutes. Yikes!

I couldn’t believe it the first time I got home from the walk, it didn’t feel like a longer walk than usual, but it certainly took me a lot longer to complete. This distance is a good way for me to get my necessary 30 minutes of exercise per day (is it MY fault that I am slow??) and it also gives Cali a chance to stretch her legs on a semi-long walk and do all her business in the early evenings. She is now used to going out for these walks when I get home from work and as soon as I start to change my clothes and put on my socks and shoes, she goes bananas.

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Months 5 and 6 were by far my best months of pregnancy.

• I no longer felt nausea and was game to eat anything and everything that was put in front of me.
• I was in a really good weight range so I was allowed to splurge!
• I could walk for 2-3 miles a day without feeling any aches & pains in my legs or back.
• I was starting to really show my baby bump and looked super cute in all of the clingy, belly-hugging shirts that I rocked pre-baby-bump.
• I could still see my toes and had no problems shaving my legs or tying my shoes.
• I got the best sleep and was comfortable in any position in bed.
• I could go out on long day trips without getting winded or feeling my heart race.
• Getting in and out of the car was a piece-of-cake…did someone say cake?
• I showed no signs of swelling in my hands or feet or ankles, all my jewelry and shoes still fit just fine!
• I was happy all the time and although I looked forward to meeting my baby, I wasn’t anxious to rush to month #9.

Now that I am nearing my 7th month, most of those things have gone out the window!

Squash!

I had a wonderful long weekend in NH this past weekend. Not only did I get to see some of my relatives that I haven’t seen in over 6 months, but I also got to share a special Bridal/Baby shower with my future sister-in-law, Kristina. She had been planning my shower with my mom for a few months and then my mom and I secretly planned to do half of my shower as a bridal shower and surprise her. Although she had an idea what was going on, it was still a great day.

Kristina, Carrie and I went into Concord to get mani/pedis so we would be beautiful for the shower. Then, in order to kill some time, we walked around the mall and enjoyed some Dunkin’ Donuts steamy beverages. When we arrived at The Common Man, the room for the shower was all decked out with blue and white balloons, hydrangeas on the tables, presents galore and of course, a creamy butter cream cake from Jacques.

I wish the weather had been nicer–it being springtime I assumed the temps would be somewhere around 50 degrees, boy was I wrong! With the frigid winds, despite the sun shining every day, the air outside was in the high 30’s–eek!

My beautiful black lab, Sophie, is getting older, but she still remembered me. And I think I have a new friend in Daisy, the beast of a horse–I mean dog.

It is always great to open presents and baby stuff is THE cutest, but the most exciting part about being in NH this weekend was knowing that the next time I see these people, I will be a mommy with a new baby boy. I feel like everything is starting to come together and I can not wait for him to get here!

More pictures from the shower to come at the end of this week when my husband returns from his business trip and brings my computer back!

A few weeks ago, I began writing a diary and the tone is directed towards my baby. It is something that I wanted to do throughout my entire pregnancy from beginning to end, but have only now gotten around to it. Instead of having it be all about me and my feelings and my emotions, I document the baby-related days, events, pregnancy milestones; and I have adjusted the content so that when it is read, it is like me talking to my son. I have also used this diary to store sonogram photographs of the little man, which already have dates printed on them, so it should turn into a very nice keepsake.

Maybe one day, he will want to read it. Or, if he wants to know what our life was like before he came along, I have it all written down. The events read like little stories (and of course they are all documented with dates), so maybe he will want me to read them to him before he falls asleep. In my baby & parenting magazines, they suggest putting together a time capsule of how you and your spouse are living now: pictures of the house pre-baby, take-out menus from favorite restaurants–things like this that you can come back to and share with the little one.

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Battling the heartburn this morning at 9am…ugh! It has been getting worse in the past few weeks and I have been able to pinpoint which foods give me heartburn the worst:

• Fried foods
• Tomato Sauce
• Potato Chips
• Coffee

But this morning I had a plain bagel with plain cream cheese and I was stunned to feel the burning sensation in my chest and throat by 9am, are you kidding me!? Usually I do not feel it come on until the late evening hours or right before bed. But this is ridiculous. I am pounding water like you wouldn’t believe and in between my trips to the bathroom, I am drinking more and more cold water to try and fan the flames. I have been munching on tums as well, but to no avail. My next attempt will be a green apple.

The only GOOD thing about having heartburn this badly (yes, there is something good about it) is that in all the books I have read, they say the one old wives’ tale that is actually true is that if you have heartburn during pregnancy, then your baby will be born with a full head of hair. Nice!

But you heard it here first, if my kid comes out bald, I’m DEFINITELY calling out that old wives’ tale!

All in all, I like being pregnant. I have heard from friends who actually said that their 9 months with a bun in the oven was not fun for them at all. But I don’t mind how my body is looking, I actually embrace my growing belly and wear tight shirts whenever possible. Even the problems I have from sleeping in this state are masked by my love of the fact that a life is growing inside of me. I think it is amazing that women have this ability to house a baby in their bodies. Sometimes I forget that he is really in there and then my son kicks and I can actually see him moving from the outside. Amazing.

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