How are you feeling?

Is the question that I get on a daily basis. I know that there are people that are genuinely concerned about me and for that I am thankful. My response to that question is normally, "I'm doing ok" which up until now has been the truth. However, today someone asked me that, and what I really wanted to say is...

"I feel like shyt!! I want to be in my bed and remain there until it's time to go to the hospital! My stomach hurts, I'm super tired, I can't sleep, heartburn has been kicking my azz, the baby has found a home IN MY RIBS, my feet are swollen to the point where I can hardly walk, nausea has returned, every inch of my body hurts, and I still have a crap load of things to do, but don't have a bit of energy to do ANYTHING!!!"

My real response to that person was, "I'm ok" :-)

I never really complain during this pregnancy because I know that I am blessed in so many ways. First of all I'm pregnant! I know there are ladies that are not able to conceive, so I thank God for this wonderful blessing. Also, I really haven't had a bad pregnancy. Weeks 6-12 were pretty bad, and now at week 35 but everything in between has been pretty good. Therefore, I try to just suck up any discomfort, and just pray for a healthy baby no matter what the sex! I would like for this baby to remain inside cooking for as long as it needs to, and I will just deal with it.

However, I just needed to vent a little on how I was really feeling!

35 Week Baby Bump

This weekend I heard it all from, "OMG you look great! I can't believe you're due next month!" to "OMG you're as big as a house!", so it's no telling how Pregnant Brandi really looks to the world...LOL.

Here are some questions that were asked on thebump that I like to include :-)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35w 2d

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Let's just say, more than the recommended weight gain!

Is your nursery done? Yes, until the baby arrives and we find out if it's a boy or girl

What is your favorite piece of baby gear that you've purchased? Ummm...good question

Which stroller did you buy? Graco that was a Baby Shower gift :-)

How many inches around is that bump? I don't know

Are you getting nervous? Not really...just excited

Have you dropped yet? Yes

Lost your plug? No

Any other signs that baby is on their way? VERY mild Contractions & pain from my body getting ready for this little one.

Are you still working/how long will you work? Yes/until I deliver. I work at the hospital

How do you feel in general? Just READY!! Uncomfortable sometimes

What are you getting the most excited about? Seeing & holding my baby.

Do you have a blog? Of course...you're reading it now.

Any big fears or concerns? Of course the pain, but more so the thought that I AM ABOUT TO BE A MOTHER!!!! YIKES!

What is in your hospital bag? Items from a trip I took back in January...shame I know for two reasons. 1) Haven't fully unpacked from a trip that was taken 3 months ago, and 2) haven't started packing the hospital bag!

Are you exercising? No, just walking my dog.

How many more days until D-Day? 33!!

A Trip to the hospital...

...and it wasn't because of me and Baby Young!

What started off as a good day, ended up with a trip to the hospital, and it had nothing to do with me and Baby Young!

Darnell plays in about three basketball leagues on the weekends, and I attended one of the Saturday games that was right before his nieces birthday party. Towards the end of the game the score was very close with the opposite team up only by a few points. Darnell and another guys went up for the ball, and when they landed all I heard was a very loud hit!! It scared me so bad that I jumped up and went onto the floor. However, Darnell appeared to be ok so I sat back down. He then went into the bathroom...came back out and mouthed to me that he had to go to the hospital!!!!

Here is a picture of the result of that loud hit!!!!

We then rushed to the hospital where they had to give him 10 stitches!!! We both just thanked God that there wasn't any additional major medical issues other than the deep cut!! He had a slight headache, but that was about it.

Here is the Doctor sewing him up. Once he got done it looked like there was never even a cut!! He did an awesome job!

Darnell will probably kill me for posting this picture, but here he is all sewed up good as new!

Kayla turned 4!!!

My sweet little niece turned 4, and had a party at Bounce U. Of course I remember when she was born, but it just doesn't seem like 4 years have passed by already. Time really does fly by! Anyway, I think everyone had a great time, and Kayla looked absolutely adorable!!!!

A Trip to Labor and Delivery

Without sharing TMI, I'll just say that while at work today I noticed some excessive leakeage. I called my Dr. and they told me to go to L&D.

When I got up there they monitored me, and checked me. The leakage, they said, was not amniotic fluid and I didn't appear to be dilated at all, and the baby was indeed head down which all sounded like good things. They did notice, however, that I was contracting a lot (nothing that I could really feel).

They were going to discharge me, but had to get the ok from my OB Dr. When they spoke to her she wanted me to stay for an IV to try and space out the contractions. After about 1 1/2 on the IV I was still contracting, but only about 1 contraction/20 minutes.

They said everything appears to be fine, but for me to take it easy this evening.

What kind of freaked me out is they said if I did go into labor today/tonight they wouldn't try to stop/slow it down. I'm not even 35 weeks yet, and the babies estimated weight is 4 lbs 7 ounces. It just seems like they would try to slow things down if I went into active labor. Oh well, I'm not so no need to worry about that now.

Another crazy story, while I was in the waiting room a lady looked at me and asked "Are there twin babies in there?". I told her no, and proceeded to tell me that her daughter was in L&D also pregnant with twins, and she would not believe how small she was compared to me! She then stated "it must be a real healthy baby in there". This lady was really amazed at the fact that I must have looked huge to her!!

Red Lobster Biscuits

I came across a recipe for Red Lobster Biscuits, and noticed that there are actually several recipes out there. I tried it from THIS site, and it turned out great!! It's a super easy, and super fast recipe. I made a batch for Darnell and I then decided to make a batch for Darnell's family to see what they thought. They all seemed to really love the biscuits, and said it did taste like the restaurants. I look forward to making it again very soon!!

Maternity Pictures

We decided not to have a full session of maternity pictures. I thought about it...what would we do with ALL of those pictures?? We took engagement pictures, and still haven't really done anything with them. We included 3 in the save the dates but that about it. So, what we decided to do is take a few pictures prior to the shower starting, and that worked out perfectly.

The Baby Shower!!

March 5, 2011 was the day of our Baby Shower. We decided to have it be co-ed which I think was an awesome decision! A lot of men actually did showed up, and participated in of the games. We only had about 3 games, and they all were competitive so the guys would have some interest.

My very good friends, Makeda, Mondraea, Tyronda, Brandi, and Jennifer put on the entire shower from beginning to end, and they totally out did themselves!! Everything was perfect, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. All Darnell and I had to do was show up!!

Below are just some of the pictures from the event.

Mondraea did an awesome job making the diaper cake!!! I told her she should do it on the side lol

The cake!! It looked amazing, and taste amazing! This was actually the lady that was printed on the invitation.

The game booklet! Again there were only a few games, and the girls did a great job! Inside was a Bingo game. Guest were asked to guess what gifts Darnell and I would receive. Once it was gift opening time we were able to turn it into a game to try and keep everyones attention. It did work, and folks were actually very competitive!! LOL

They also had favors for the guest which included a small candle for them to light once Baby Young arrives.

The Baby Shower Hat!! Yikes!!!

Grandmother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Father, Mother, and Grandfather...to-be

The Girls!!! I Love them so! They did such a great job!! I can't say that enough lol!!

Most of the guys, and the beautiful mother to be...hehehehe!

My sisters and I! Them looking pretty and me looking a mess! Ugh!

33 Week Baby Bump

7 Week Countdown!!!!

So, now I have 4 - 7 weeks to go!!! If all will be healthy and smooth I do hope that it's more like 5 weeks...I'm starting to become a bit uncomfortable :-) I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining since I know that I haven't had it that bad, but I'm just ready to meet this little one and for it to be outside my body!! LOL!

Who is this woman?!?!

My friend Jennifer sent some pictures of me last night. One was me at 31 weeks, and the other was a picture of me back in April/May of 2010 with her daughter Madison. OMG!! I looked at that picture (ok more like stared...), and asked myself...'Who is that woman??...I miss her...' LOL!! As much as I have been blessed with an awesome pregnancy, I must admit that I do indeed miss my body!! Only a few more weeks...

3D Ultrasound Experience

We decided to get a 3D ultrasound at 32 weeks. I was extremely excited since it would allow us to get a glimpse of what our baby looks like!! The appointment was at 1:00p, so early that morning I went to the hair salon since this was also the same day as my baby shower. While at the salon, which was around 7a, Baby Young was wide awake!! BY was moving all over the place, and making sure to let me know that they were also ready for the baby shower...lol.

However, when we arrived at the ultrasound location, Vision Within...BY was KNOCKED OUT!!!! BY was sound asleep, and there was no waking him/her. The way that the baby was positioned did not allow us to get any really good & clear. Also, the placenta seemed to be in the way as well!! So, we spent most of the session poking my tummy trying to get the baby to move around some. I drunk two bottles of cold water, and two peppermint patties to try and wake the baby so it could move for us. Basically, nothing worked, so below are some of the best pictures we were able to get.

Overall I would say that I was disappointed in the images we were able to get, but we did get a DVD of all the pictures, about 6 prints, and a DVD of the entire live session that lasted about 50 minutes.

One main feature that stood out from BY was those big juicy cheeks!!! I can't wait to kiss all over those cheeks!!!

32 week Baby Bump

8 Week Countdown!!!!

Another week has passed, and I am now 32 weeks!!

This is why we don't celebrate Valentine's Day...

I must admit that I have a very sweet husband! He has always been good with surprising me with gifts for no reason, or special date/dinner just because. This is the main reason why when Valentine's Day comes around I'd prefer for it to just be another day, and something that we don't acknowledge. I'd rather have V-day throughout the year than just on 2/14 :-)

Today, hubby surprised me at work with flowers and lunch.

There were two cards. On one he wrote:

It's a Boy! "Maybe! I hope so...

But Either way...

I LOVE YOU!"

On the other one he wrote:

It's a Girl! "Maybe! You hope so...

But Either way...

I LOVE YOU and Thank You for carrying my child!"

31 Week - Baby Bump

9 more weeks to go...

Wowzer!!! I'm lost for words when I look at this picture!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 31 weeks

Size of Baby: ~3.9 lbs

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 25+. I was weighed last week, and it was 25 exactly. I'm sure I've gained since then

Maternity clothes: All of my pants are maternity except for my leggings. No maternity tops

Movement: Yup...still mostly mid-day, and then again around 8p-ish

Symptoms: heartburn won't leave me alone!!!

What I miss: Shopping since I'm waiting until the baby comes, and of course COFFEE!!

Girl, Boy, or Team Green: Team Green

Cravings: None

Is your nursery done?: Yes it is...go Darnell!!!

Do you think you'll make it until your due date? I don't think so, but we shall see.

How much maternity leave do you have?: 12 weeks. I'm working until this baby drops! I work in a hospital, so what better place to go into labor?!?!?!

Will you work after the baby?: Sure will