33 weeks: Death by Camping and Maternity leave

As you probably heard I went camping this past weekend. It was ROUGH. It was uncomfortable, and it tested my patience, but I guess I survived because here I am!
In case you were considering going camping with a big ol belly bump let me fill you in on what your up against.
You will be covered in layers of bug spray, sweat, and dirt with no access to a shower. You will probably get bug bites on the bottom of your belly even though it stays covered because you can't see them land down there. I have about ten bites bellow my belly button. Those jerk-faced mosquitoes couldn't care less your belly was already itchy to begin with. In all my years of camping I've rarely found completely even ground to sleep on. Sleeping on a hill equals more swelling, and a horrible night's sleep. You know what? I think I'll just leave it at that, because I think I already painted a pretty good picture for you.
Everything we did was a struggle for me, but I did enjoy being outdoors with my family. My husband apologized for making me go and he said he felt really bad. I don't think he realized how hard it would be for me till he saw me struggling with everything. We did a short hike, sat on the lake, and kayaked while we were there. Waldo Lake is beautiful. I will not be staying at that campground again (Shadow Bay) because people left their crap all over the beaches, and it was pretty loud at night. Zach and I had some alone time next to the campfire on Saturday night, and we talked about our baby (my absolute favorite thing to do) and we looked up at the brilliance of the stars and saw a shooting star. It was a nice little picturesque moment.
My nice and hot shower when I got home on Sunday was the best thing in the whole world. I felt like a million bucks when I laid on my mattress to fall asleep that night. I am so thankful for my bed. I love it.
On our way home from camping I downloaded my new work schedule and to my dismay I was only scheduled for one 4 hour shift. I had planned on working until my due date, or until I go into labor, but it's become apparent that my employer has other ideas for me. I asked why my hours were cut and I was given a couple of hog wash reasons that made me feel like I really am not wanted there. So I was dropped off the schedule at 33 weeks pregnant. I can't get another job because I only have less than two months to work and nobody will hire me anyways. I was given a measly 4 hour shift to keep me dangling, and I hate that there isn't much I can do. I feel taken advantage of, and so I put my two week notice in. I hate that I am leaving my customers without saying goodbye because I probably won't even be on the schedule at all next week, and I honestly don't even know what to tell them. I'm hurt and angry and it would be a lie to tell them I was taking maternity leave early. I also hate that I feel un-welcomed there and I don't want to go back to see my co-workers and introduce them to Uriah when he gets here. The coffee shop is already struggling enough and I hope they learn that if they treat their employees like this then it won't do good things for  their business.
That being said, I am going to start my journey of being a stay at home mom for awhile. You can bet your bottom dollar that Uriah's room will be the best thing ever. I'm so excited to work on it. This weekend we will be refinishing his dresser/changing table, and making some decorations for his room. I love my little Sprout so much, and when things don't seem to be going so smoothly I have his kicks and wiggles to remind me of what's important.
I did have to take my wedding ring off this week. I'm sad about it. All I have now is a tan line. My poor little big fingers are just too swollen.
I am looking forward to our childbirth classes coming up soon, and also our maternity pictures. Even though I feel like a whale, and I hate getting dressed, I'm trying to channel the "beautiful vessel of life" side of me and get excited about my picture being taken, and reminding myself that I will regret it if I don't do it!

32 weeks

This past week was lovely because I had my baby shower! I was showered with so much love and support from my family and friends, it was so heart warming. I'm constantly reminded of how much love Uriah is already getting, and how many people are there to support Zach and I in our journey to becoming parents. I really do think it takes a village to raise a child, and even though my "village" is spread out far and wide, I know they are still there for me and my family. The most important gift I received was seeing all my friends and family together, a bunch of strong, wise, and beautiful women who can't wait to smother Uriah in kisses. Our little guy is going to be looking so adorable when he gets here because everyone who came has great taste in baby clothes! Thank you to those of you who were able to come, it really meant a lot to me!

I'm really glad I had my shower a little earlier than most. Now I get to take my time finding all the things that we still need for our little love bucket. I'm trying REALLY hard not to spend all of our money at Target. It's not easy. The nesting thing makes me want to prepare EVERYTHING! I've been doing lots of little random organization things around our apartment, trying to stay busy until we get all of Uriah's furniture in his room. I found a nice dresser at a garage sale that my crafty husband will refinish and paint for the nursery, and we are hoping to pick out a crib next week. Once I get those two things in there it is game on for decorating. Watch out Craft Warehouse, I'm coming for you!

Last night as we were snuggling into bed my husband gave Uriah a little jiggle to wake him up, and when he did Uriah got all crazy and flipped around. The left side of my uterus is no longer feeling left out (no pun intended.) I have a baby bum on my right side and baby feet kicking my left side (still head down I think.) Also he came up a lot higher than he has been. He is a crazy little baby, and I can't wait to kiss the feet that have been kicking me for so long now.

My husband is taking me camping again this weekend... I say he is taking me, because I am 3 weeks more pregnant than I was last time, and last time was rough enough as it was, so this is mostly him wanting to go and me begrudgingly going. I know I'm crazy, but for the sake of the family, and the great state of Oregon I will go. OR I might fake labor and stay home... Don't tell Zach I said that ha ha. If I survive I will take pictures and pretend I'm a hard core Oregonian who's only solace is dirt and trees and perhaps a delicate stream, or enchanting lake, and I will rub mud on my calves to ease the swelling as I sing warrior songs alongside a smoldering campfire... I'll let you know how it goes!

31 weeks!

Oh what a week! It's been a fun one!
My third trimester finally brought something awesome with it.. I started nesting this week! It's awesome because I've kinda just been waiting for it to kick in. I'm naturally a very lazy person, and my husband is my number 1 motivator to get stuff done, so this is a turn for the better. The other morning I woke up, and it was almost like an itch, I wanted to accomplish so many things! I started cleaning the apartment like nobody's business, and the whole time I was thinking about all the other things I wanted to clean/organize!
We have a second bedroom for "Uriah's room" and it is currently painted gray with a yellow accent wall. We picked out the colors before we knew if we were expecting a boy or girl. I love the colors, but I've been waiting for inspiration to finish the rest of the room. Well, my inspiration has arrived. I want to fill it with decorations and furniture! For the longest time I didn't care much about his room because I honestly didn't think he would spend much time in it (we plan on co-sleeping,) but now I just want to fill it with fun things! I have so many craft ideas that I hope I get to do before he gets here, Pinterest is my best friend again!
Onto the not so cute aspects of pregnancy...
I took a trip to target because I really needed some comfy underwear! Man do your priorities change when you are so uncomfortable. Honestly, I B-lined it to the packaged underwear section because I needed to get by butt in some granny panties! I didn't want lacy, or silky, I just wanted plain old cotton underwear because I have this suspicion that the postpartum stage won't bring good things to my under garments to say the least. My husband wasn't thrilled when I told him I was going to Target to buy some granny panties, but once he saw me in them, he said, "oh honey, they aren't bad, they are kinda cute." My husband is the best ladies. He just thinks I'm a beacon of cuteness with this bump on me.
So what's the first thing I do in my brand new undies? I peed in them of course! I used to think it was funny when my sisters were afraid to sneeze during their pregnancies. I'm sorry sisters, it really isn't so funny anymore (ok, maybe a little bit.) I was sitting on the couch completely relaxed when all of a sudden I sneezed... annnd I peed a little. Just a little, but still.. a little. I immediately shot off to the bathroom while pouting, "Dang it Zach! This freaking sucks!" My very confused husband asked what was wrong and I admitted what I had done. He followed me to the bathroom and said, "Don't worry honey, it's all just apart of it, and I still think you are cute!" He patted my head lovingly and I almost felt a little cute, but not quite. Good thing I got a whole package of them right? Oh dear, my life right now? It's just ridiculous, in so many ways!
I've also been waging an epic battle against heartburn! I've mostly been losing. I will wake up in the middle of the night and have the worst heartburn and the acid will just be stinging the back of my throat in the worst way. I found some tums that taste really good, but they just weren't cutting it. It's so hard going back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. It's always 3 am too. We will see if Uriah wakes up at 3 am every morning when he gets here. After my sister's urging I got some pregnancy-safe heartburn medicine, and I took it last night for the first time, and oh the sweet relief! It worked so well I wanted to cry tears of joy. Thank you Mollie!
This week I get to look forward to my baby shower on Sunday! I'm so excited I get to see so many women I love! I have the best support system, and I'm so grateful for all of the people who care so much about me and my little Sprout. I also have another prenatal appointment on Monday, and from here on out I will have an appointment every two weeks! I love appointments with my midwives! Time is really starting to fly by! Pretty much all of our weekends are filled up until we have our sweet boy here! We are going camping again (I know, I'm crazy) but this time to Waldo Lake, and I will be 32 weeks pregnant. We also have our childbirth classes with Jen from Starlight Yoga and Birth Services. I'm really looking forward to that, and then after two weekends of that we will be getting our maternity pictures done! So much to look forward to! Hopefully I'll have time for all my pinterest crafts!