May 12
16
40 Weeks
I meant to document more during these past nine months. I meant to take more pictures and to share more of my thoughts and feelings. But growing a baby was a lot more work and a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be. 
Here is the most recent picture Kyle took of me:
- Walking the gravel roads of St. Marys
There have been a lot of changes over these last nine months. Physically, I’ve gotten so huge that I don’t even recognize myself. It’s difficult to find clothes that fit; my feet are so swollen that some mornings I can’t get my shoes on. Kyle puts my shoes and socks on for me on those mornings when bending over is just TOO challenging. I have a great husband.
But mostly, pregnancy has been a fine experience. Nine months is the perfect amount of time to be pregnant. The first three months were spent being hopeful. Hopeful that we’d make it through, hopeful that this was meant to be, hopeful that I was being a good enough provider nutritionally and emotionally to this little growing baby. And finally, hopeful that we’d be good parents!
During the second trimester, we were more aggressive and assertive at getting things done for when the baby arrived. Crib, changing table, clothing, etc. My sense of purpose during the 2nd trimester was to get our house baby ready and to have enough items on hand for when the baby came. I prayed a lot for a healthy baby. I prayed that the angels would watch over him/her and that we’d have normal growth and development.
The third trimester… oh gosh, has been the longest, most emotionally arduous of all. There are SO many feelings to process and get through.
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I’m scared for labor and delivery, but I’m ready to DO IT. OMG– it’s going to hurt so bad. I’m scared for my lady parts.
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If one more person asks me, “haven’t you had that baby yet!?” I’m going to scream profanities. Seriously people, does it LOOK like I’ve had this baby!?
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For the reason above, I totally do NOT want to go to work tomorrow. Other reasons I don’t want to go to work tomorrow: (a) I have to wear clothes and undergarments that are increasingly TOO TIGHT and ridiculously uncomfortable. (b) When I sit at a desk all day, I swell up like a water balloon.
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I’m very ready to be a mommy. I’m tired of people telling me, “but Erin, it’s so much easier to take care of a baby when they’re inside of you! You’ll see!” –This may be true. But I’m so ready to transition into Mommyhood. I WANT to hold my baby in my arms, to see his/her little face, to hear him/her cry. To kiss his/her little cheeks. OH… the suspense is killing me!
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At our 39 week appointment, we had an ultrasound to check the size of the baby. They guesstimated baby would be 9 lbs … + or – one pound. So baby could weigh anywhere from 8-10 pounds. That’s a healthy sized baby; I hope our newborn clothing and diapers fit! When we saw his/her face… Kyle and I both immediately saw it: this baby is going to look like Daddy! (Nose and lips look like Kyle’s…)
Can you see it?
- One thing I’m going to miss about pregnancy is the movements. I love the kicks and the movements. I love when the baby rolls from one side of my belly to the other and when I can feel his/her little butt sticking out as he wallows around trying to find a comfortable spot.
- Am I going to poop when I push? I’m a little bit nervous about this; but I’ve heard that if you poop– you’re pushing the way they want you to.
- Will I do an epidural or natural birth? Will I be able to push this big baby out? Will they decide a c-section is best? Will I EVER to into labor!? –or will I have to wait for induction day!? (We will be induced on Tuesday, May 22 at 6 PM if we don’t go before.) I PRAY we go before! Come on, baby… we’re ready to meet you!
- What will we NAME the baby!? We have a list of names. We have some great ones picked out… but boy names have been the hardest. And… Kyle and I both think we’re having a boy. I will definitely be surprised if this is a girl. I love the suspense… I love surprises!
It’s really easy to get wrapped up in the labor/delivery/birthing process. But I’m also looking to afterward.
- Will breastfeeding come naturally?
- Will the baby like me!?
- Will the baby be healthy?
- Will I know what to do? When he cries, when he poops, when he’s hungry… will I be able to DO THIS?
- How will the baby effect me and Kyle’s marriage?
- I cannot WAIT to see Kyle as a dad. He’s going to be wonderful, and I think I’m going to fall more in love with him when I see him with our baby for the first time. My heart is so full and my eyes well up with tears just thinking about it.
- AH, the emotions… they get me every time. I’m going to bawl like a baby. I hope I can get it under control.
- Will I be patient with myself as I’m trying to lose the baby weight? I keep telling myself that this whole process has been a miracle. I need to be forgiving of myself for the weight gain; this body of mine was strong enough to grow, nourish and sustain a little baby.
- Will I suffer from baby blues?
I’m really going to rely on Kyle during labor. He is my rock and I think he’s going to be a really great coach. He will keep me fixated on the prize and will keep me level-headed. I might yell and scream and cry, but Kyle will help pull me back. I know he’s going to do great. I hope I do good and make him proud.
At this moment, I feel lucky and impatient. … Now, it’s a waiting game. The next time I post, I hope to introduce you to my brand new baby.
May 12
16
A few RANDOM thoughts
- Today is D-Day and Baby Mac still has not arrived. The only thing I can think of is that this baby is 50% Kreiman and Kreimans are known to run on Kreiman Time. (Which means that more often than not–we’re running late.) Unfortunately then, this babe is already getting bad habits from mommy…
- I cannot wait to have a drink of red wine. The end is near. I will have a glass of red wine soon.
- Mother’s Day. This year Mother’s Day meant more to me than in the past… (I’m selfish, I know.) But this year, despite not *REALLY* being a mom yet, I could kind of feel what it is that makes being a mom so special. Recently, spending more time with my own mom makes me realize that being a mom is a never-ending job! My mom does a lot for me. She’s funny. And smart. And interesting. And creative. And strong. I’m lucky that she’s mine and it’s been really fun hanging out together lately.
- My sister, Felish, graduated college this weekend. Way to go, Feli. We’re proud of you.
Apr 12
15
8 mos. pregnant
I have never felt so tired. My body aches. My feet and ankles are perpetually swollen and tired from carrying around all this extra weight. My big baby belly gets in the way of EVERYTHING! (Putting my shoes on, picking items up off of the floor, folding laundry…) Husband is having to step up his game and take care of more things around here.
My mom also came this week to help me with some housework. She scrubbed my tub and shower, cleaned toilets and shampooed carpets. My carpets looked so good! They looked brand new. And then… something terrible happened.
Rango, our dog, had diarreah . ALL. OVER. THE. CARPET. –the newly cleaned carpet.– OMG. It was a disaster. I was pissed. I spent the morning scrubbing dog shit out of the carpet… and then I went to work.
Luckily, my mom was still here so she was able to spot clean the carpets with the shampooer. And all is well. No more shit stains, no more dirty carpets.
I’ve been so incredibly irritable because everything takes so much more work, so much more effort. I was lucky my mom came to help me, and I’m thankful that my husband has stepped up and helped with laundry and misc. housework.
I don’t know how women do it with their second or third child– all I can say is that moms must– somewhere along the way–acquire a superpower to help them balance everything. How do they get everything done!? I will never know.
Mar 12
2
March Madness
- It’s March. My birthday month! (Oh dear, my birthday month…) Do you know how OLD I am this year? –getting old. Not quite 30, but no longer in my “mid-twenties.” That’s right folks… I’ll be 27. GAH! Old balls.
- $$ March also means that we are back on budget. $$ Kyle and I kind of fell off the budget bandwagon these past few months…so it’s definitely time to get back on track. Also—with the baby coming in only two and a half months, we really need to start stocking up on miscellaneous baby items. In conjunction with budgeting—we’ve set the lofty goal of not going out to eat for the entire month of March. (With one exception: we might go out for my birthday. The husby has suggested Django. He knows how much I’ve been wanting to go there… so I’m definitely enticed by this suggestion.) We’ll see.
- Only 9 more days until Spring Break. I am so excited. My college-aged sister will be spending her Spring Break in Panama City soaking up the sun and looking hot in a bikini. In contrast, my swollen, pregnant 27-year-old on-a-budget self will be soaking up the luxurious Iowa sunshine. Jealous? Well, it may not be as exciting as Panama City but 10 days off with nothing planned sounds like heaven to me! I am planning on getting the baby’s room in order. I may work on a few sewing projects that I have up my sleeve. Also I plan on walking the dogs, reading books and just leading a hum-drum semi-productive kinda life. If I’m feeling up to it (and if I can convince Kyle) we MIGHT work on a few other around-the-house projects. But again, we’ll see…
- My new book MWF Seeking BFF is much more scientific and research-based than what I was expecting. I expected something Carrie Bradshaw-ish; a juicy memoir; an easy read. Believe it or not—I’m actually LEARNING something about the psychology and sociology of making and maintaining friendships. About needing friends. Sometimes it’s funny; sometimes it’s a bit slow, but mostly I can relate to what she is saying—and that in and of itself makes it a fulfilling read so far.
- I found a couple more blogs to read. I need to find an RSS Reader so that I can keep up on all my blogs… Any suggestions on which one to use?
Feb 12
29
Birthday Party
We went to Cedar Rapids this weekend for a birthday party. Kyle and I flew over; it was a great weekend for flying. It was extra sunny and the perfect temperature for a smooth flight.
The star of the show was Hayden, my friend Erin’s son. He turned “ONE” last week. It’s so hard to believe he’s already one. It seems like just a few short months ago that I was holding newborn Hayden…
He’s grown so much. It was crazy to see how much he’s changed!
I was really into taking cake pictures. There’s nothing cuter than a baby with cake smeared all over his face…
On another note, I’m getting so unrecognizably fat. When I see myself in pictures or catch a glimpse of my reflection, I think, “Who IS that girl?” And then I realize, (oh, it’s me.) Shit. Even people at the party (some of Erin’s family) didn’t recognize me. Yes, that’s how fat I’m getting. They politely said stuff like, “Oh, I didn’t recognize you–your hair is so much darker now than it usually is…”
It makes me want to peel off the layers of chins and throw them to the wind.
On a happier note, it’s so cool to watch my stomach. The pokes and kicks are getting so hard that I can SEE the movements from the outside. I love this baby so much I can hardly stand it.
Final thought from this weekend travel experience: I will not be taking very many more weekend trips. It is very taxing on this pregnant body of mine. Traveling, being gone all weekend and then trying to catch up on housework, sleep, etc. upon returning home–it’s just becoming too much. It is Wednesday and I’m still trying to recover from the exhaustion of the weekend away.
Feb 12
20
Sick Day Monday
I am spending the day sick on the couch. I feel like poo-hole and there is nothing good to watch on daytime television. So I thought I’d share some photos and info from my week:
Valentine’s Day was a success. First of all, my daddy hand-delivered a bouquet of flowers to me at work! And my husby, well, he outdid himself again this year…
A few weeks ago, I shared with Kyle my apprehension about this being our last Valentine’s Day together –just the two of us. With the baby on the way, I sometimes wonder how our marriage will change. I told Kyle I really want to do SOMETHING this Valentine’s Day; just to make it special since it was our last one together just as Kyle & Erin. Though we talked about going to dinner, etc., we never solidified any plans, and I feared that V-day would be just a regular old day…
But my dear husby must have taken my concern to heart; as he hired the Pride of Iowa Barbershop Quartet to come to my work to serenade me.
They sang, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and “Love Me Tender.” And Kyle brought me a dozen roses. He drove me to and from work that day, which saved me two hours of drive-time, and he took me to dinner. We went to (one of) our favorite Italian restaurants on the southside: Riccelli’s.
(I made Kyle take this picture with me… he said he felt like a tool-bag, but I thought it was cute.
It was the perfect Valentine’s Day and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
On Wednesday, I had dinner with my family at my sister’s house–and I got a new haircut:
On Saturday, Kyle’s family came to spend some time with us. Kyle was craving his momma’s homemade beef & noodles–so they went grocery shopping and she spent the afternoon in our kitchen whipping up this wonderful meal…
It was seriously SO delicious!!
On Sunday afternoon, Kyle and I took my mom and dad to a Hawkeye Basketball game to celebrate my mom’s birthday. She is a huge Hawkeye Basketball fan, and the Hawks must’ve known we were in their house to celebrate because they pulled off a 78-66 win against the Indiana Hoosiers. It was a GREAT game!
On the way home, we decided to stop at The Pizza Haus in Williamsburg for a late dinner. It was good pizza! And I think my parents had a great day with us…
That’s all for now. I am going to spend the rest of the day lounging on the couch and drinking orange juice. Have a great week!
Feb 12
16
Bathroom Remodel
Remodeling the bathroom was one of the first projects we started when we moved into our house nearly a year and a half ago. It is also (one of) the most recent projects that we’ve finished. Meaning: our bathroom has been under construction for.ev.er.
This is our bathroom before we got started:
Nearly the size of a closet, we deemed the bathroom TOO SMALL and decided to make it bigger. The bedroom nearby had a small closet– so we surrendered the closet, knocked down the wall and used the space to enlarge the bathroom.
Kyle invited our nephews over to help demo.
(Isn’t my husband hot?!)
We decided to change EVERYTHING about the bathroom. We ripped out the old toilet and junked the old vanity. We put tile down. We installed a space-saver vanity & toilet and created enough room to install a linen closet.
I keep saying “we” but the reality is– this was Kyle’s project. (He’s got skills, people.) He had to drywall, pour cement, install plumbing, tile, grout, etc. He even had to paint, as I’m pregnant and unable to paint in confined spaces with no ventilation. I have been bitching at encouraging my husband to finish this project for the past year. And as more time passed, the more I felt like it would NEVER get done.
But–when I came home from work tonight, there was a great surprise waiting for me:
The bathroom. is. finished.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, mostly finished. We still have to paint the ceiling, put up trim and put a door handle on the bathroom door. But those are minor details! Weekend projects that we can conquer in NO TIME!
Didn’t he do a FABULOUS job!?
I’m absolutely THRILLED that it’s done! He did such a great job–and I love the shower curtain. It is going to be SO fun to decorate this space and to give it the finishing touches. I love decorating.
I think Kyle should win “Husband of the Year” for this accomplishment.
Feb 12
12
Lazy Weekend
We had such a lazy weekend; on one hand I’m kicking myself for not being productive and on the other hand, well– I lavished the laziness and rolled in it like a pig in mud. Even the dogs lacked enthusiasm.
“Ruff life”
Feb 12
11
Erin & Kyle
Feb 12
10
WANT: MWF Seeking BFF
I want this book:
Married White Female Seeking Best Friend Forever. I’m planning on ordering from Amazon. I don’t know why I haven’t ordered it yet– I’ve been wanting to read it for awhile. My plan is to order within the next two weeks so that I’ll have it in time for spring break. I’m totally going to wrap myself in a blanket, sit on the porch swing in the sun and read my spring break away. That sounds magnificent.
If you read the synopsis, which I snagged from the book’s website, you will totally understand why I want to read it…
When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code, let alone an apartment, with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs—in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington DC. Yet in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl-talk over brunch or a reality TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: she’ll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever.
In her thought-provoking, uproarious memoir, Bertsche blends the story of her girl-dates (who she meets everywhere from improv class to friend-rental websites) with the latest in social research to examine how difficult—and hilariously awkward—it is to make new friends as an adult. She asks why women will happily announce they need a man but are embarrassed to admit they need a BFF. And she uncovers the reality that no matter how great your love life, you’ve gotta have friends.
Doesn’t it sound GREAT? The very thought of it: girl dates!! It’s a soul search–trying to find that girl that you “click” with from the very beginning. The girl you want to talk to on those days when your husband just WOULDN’T understand!!
I have a few life-long friends. College roommates who were my soulmates. A few close-by friends who I seldom see but love dearly. But I don’t think you can ever have TOO many friends; I can appreciate the challenge of expanding my circle.
Ways to do it: #Read the book. #Go to church. #Manifest. #Find someone who is on a similar life path. #Take the road less traveled. #Talk to strangers. #Appreciate the little things. #Remember there’s beauty in *almost* everything. #Enjoy the ride.
Hello!
I'm Erin.
Iowa is fun. Iowa is yummy. Iowa has a lot to offer, and I'm going to find it, enjoy it and feature it here...