• pregnancy

    Waitin on Bae

    You know what’s more fun than being full term with your third baby in the middle of August in Texas? Everything. Everything is more fun. A lady passed me in the store yesterday and did a double take. “WHOA!!” she yells. “You must be due ANY SECOND.” a) I am, yes. Thank you for making me feel beautiful and not at all like a terrifying mammoth of a human and b) At least I’m having a baby. What’s in your belly? Just kidding. That’s tacky. But really. SO IS WHAT PEOPLE SAY TO A FULL TERM PREGNANT WOMAN. What. in. the. heck. It’s like the general public sees a fully expanded…

  • pregnancy

    ISO: Reputable Artisans for Preggos

    I posted a few months ago on the evolution of pregnancies because subsequent pregnancies are no joke. I’m only on pregnancy 3 and I already wonder how people on round 5+ function. Does their uterus stay inside of their body for the entirety of the pregnancy? Do they pee their pants daily? I stay awake at night wondering these things, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m now 33 weeks pregnant and seriously contemplating starting my own goods/exchanges website. We have Craigslist….we have Angie’s List…..but what we don’t have is Preggie’s List. (Genius, I know.) Because let’s face it – third trimesterians could really benefit from specific goods and services. And not just from any…

  • parenting,  pregnancy

    Please Stop Wishing for a Girl on my Behalf

    Brooks boy #3 has a name! A real name to put with a real face. (And real javelins disguised as legs that pierce my spinal column with each kick. That’s neither here nor there, just a struggle I’d like to mention.) A real name to get embroidered on bibs because that’s what Southern people love. I’m pretty excited about it. I should tell you his name – if for no other reason than to tempt you into making him bibs – but I won’t. I have taken a vow of silence. I’ve never been in the “let’s keep the gender/name/this entire pregnancy a secret until the baby is born” camp because I’m horrible (HORRIBLE) at keeping…

  • parenting,  pregnancy

    The Evolution of Pregnancies

    Everything is different with each subsequent pregnancy. And I mean everything. Energy, womb elasticity, TUMS consumption…all of it. When you’re pregnant with your first, it consumes you. (And you kind of assume everyone else is consumed by it, too.) You think, eat, talk, sleep, and breathe “like a pregnant person”. Gone is normal life. It’s all replaced by pregnant life. (Like, I didn’t even vacuum when I was pregnant the first time because I thought it might be too strenuous. WHAT.) By your second, you realize “pregnant life” isn’t actually a thing. Yes, life during those 9 months is unique, but it’s not your whole identity like it once was. Your existing child now takes up…

  • mom things,  pregnancy

    Current Obsessions

    I’m in a fragile state of life where I’m afraid to try anything new for fear it will become an obsession. Pregnancy does this to you. My friend served coconut pie at a dinner 27 days ago and I’ve thought about it every day since. Another friend told me about this Thai place by my house (a genre of food I’d never tried nor desired to). Long story short, I’ve eaten Pad Thai from the same place for 8 different meals this week. I suffer from addictive pregnancy personality disorder. So, this April, here are my current obsessions. Hopefully some will stick around (like the car), others might be seasonal (looking at you,…

  • baby,  parenting,  pregnancy,  sex party,  siblings

    Now Charging Admission

    Yesterday, I contributed greatly to society by being a “model” at a clinic for pregnant women in crisis. They were having a nurse training afternoon with a sonographer, and I volunteered my services as the perfect pregnant specimen a pregnant lady not in crisis. The nurses trained on using the sonogram machine, identifying strange baby parts, measuring fetal things, etc. And I just want to help in any way I can, you know? Just kidding. I mostly wanted to see my baby and find out the gender and if that helps others in the process, PERFECT. So while checking out the baby goods wasn’t at the forefront of their minds, it was definitely on mine.…

  • baby,  parenting,  pregnancy

    The Concert that Changed Our Lives

    Taylor had been telling me for the better part of a year about his friend from high school who has this amaaaaazing band (his words). I kind of shrugged it off because, honestly, who doesn’t have a friend from high school in a band? So several months later when I told him about this group I found on Spotify named Penny and Sparrow that he had to listen to, he just glared at me. Yes, same band. We’ve been obsessed ever since. I saw they were playing a show by us back in December, so I immediately bought tickets as a fun surprise for my guy. What started as a normal date…

  • parenting,  pregnancy

    Early Labor Signs & Water Buffalos

    I’m almost to full panic mode. I asked Taylor if we could skip church last Sunday because I was “uncomfortable”. We went on a family walk to get donuts instead. That always makes me more comfortable. There just comes a point in pregnancy where maternity clothes stop fitting, putting on underwear (let alone pants) causes searing pain, and questions about your impending labor make you twitch. I have reached such a point. Early Labor Signs Daily – nay, multiple times a day – when I’m feeling extra claustrophobic, I Google signs of early labor. If you could see my history, you’d never speak to me again. It’s included searches like…

  • baby,  Hutton,  pregnancy

    Showering Hut with Brunches & 7th Graders

    Pregnancy, week 37: A man tried to start a conversation with me recently with, “My daughter has the same thing you do.” (“Thing”, I think, being the miracle of life growing within my womb. I believe this is commonly referred to as “pregnancy”.) Another lady let me skip ahead of everyone in a bathroom. She said, “The handicap stall is open. You can use that one because of your handicap.” And then the old man at church who looked at my belly and said, “How are those twins doin?!” So. Don’t ask me how I’m feeling, but rather ask me if I need help dumping any bodies. Brunch Style A…

  • Beckett,  pregnancy,  sickness

    Froggies & Weighty

    This is what happens when you make a joke about your dog being the only family member on prescription medication: 1 week later, and 3 out of 4 family members have new prescriptions. Ear Froggies It was fun to jokingly bemoan how terribly that trip to Kansas went last month, but seriously…it’s still sticking with us. We’re now on round 3 of antibiotics for Beckett’s ear infection. I see some tubage in our future. I finally took him back to the doctor last week (and yesterday. We basically live there.) because he was still…slightly grumpy. Could be 2 year molars, could be liver failure. You just never know with a…