A new phase in life....Health!

July 7 2014

I don't think anyone reads this right now, which is a good thing!  I wanted to start document my journey on BeachBody without feeling the scrutiny of prying eyes :)

Matt and I have decided to give Focus T25 a try and I want to document our progress through the 10 week program, how we are feeling, our results, etc. Since I haven't used this site since documenting the creation of Lily, I figured I might as well get some more use out of it!

I am going to post once a week about our workouts and everything, the good the bad and the ugly.  If you happen to be reading this, feel free to follow along....hopefully at the end of the 10 weeks I will have some real results and I can share this blog with friends!

Our official start date of the program is July 14 2014, next Monday. One more week to live my life of out of shapeness, what should I do?

We took our before pictures yesterday, they are not pretty but I will post them next week as well as our starting measurements.

Wish us luck, here's to the start of a healthier and happier Jessica!

Slight Change in plans.

April 9 2013

This time next week I will be getting ready to head to the hospital to have Lily...YIKES YIKES YIKES!

So this brings up the slight change in plans...turns out that my doctor does not work on April 15 so that makes it very difficult for her to deliver Lily that day, we were rescheduled for April 16 same time same place.

Since I am working Saturday and Sunday, I am kind of happy that I get Monday off to get the house ready before I have to head in to the hospital.

I have to go Monday afternoon at 4pm to do my preoperative stuff, like make sure I am healthy enough for surgery and fill out paperwork.  Then I have to be at the hospital 2 hours early on Tuesday to get all suited up and drugged up.  I think the actual surgery will only like like 30 minutes but I am not sure how long I will be in recovery after that.

If you plan on visiting, I am reserving Tuesday for Family.  Anytime Wednesday or after anyone and everyone is welcome to come keep me company :)  

I am so excited/nervous/anxious for everything...I know I am going to be a mess on Monday and Tuesday before we go in, Matt is going to have fun calming his wife :)  But I feel pretty prepared, although I have yet to pack my hospital bag.  It is on my to do list for this week, I am still waiting on my nursing nightgowns to arrive from MM (that's pregnancy lingo for Motherhood Maternity....I made it up) but once I get those and wash them I will get everything packed.  You never know Lily might decide to come earlier than the 16th.

To be honest, I really thought I was going to have her a week or two ago....I just felt that with my mom having my brother and me 3 weeks early I would end up with the same, but Lily is just too comfy in there!

I am still pretty intimidated by the C-section and the recovery but it has been nice talking with my friends and family who have had to go through it...I know I can survive it!  Thank you everyone who has given me advice and suggestions of how to make it as easy as possible!

If anyone has any more advice or suggestions before Tuesday I am all ears, I like hearing everyone's stories the good and the bad!

I can't wait to introduce my beautiful little girl to you guys so soon!  AHH, its so real!

How far along? 38 weeks, 4 days!!!
Weight gain/loss? Up, Up and away! I am pretty sure the doctors scale is broken....I just keep telling myself that
Maternity clothes? Motherhood Maternity has been a life saver!  
Stretch marks?  I can not believe my skin is still intact!  I am so lucky, thank you generous Grubb and Stringer genes :)  Just one week left to hold out skin, you can do it I believe in you!
Sleep? It had been good until last night....I think my hips have finally raised the white flag of defeat :(  I can only sleep on one side for about an hour then I have to flip...except when I flip on my right side I get that really bad burning sensation in my upper right stomach (doc says it is probably just a nerve being annoyed by Lily) so last night i tried to sleep sitting up on the couch...did not work so well 
Best moment this week?  Kickball starts on Thursday!  Worry not, I am not playing I am just cheerleading this week!  Also the weather up here has been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G we even got to sleep with the windows open last night!  Also Lily has started to drop, hooray!  I secretly want to know what it feels like to be in labor before i have to get my c-section so I am hoping I go into labor at 1145am on the 16th so i can feel a few hours of labor and then just have my c-section haha...I doubt life works out that well but maybe, Lily what are your thoughts on this schedule?
Movement? Lots of it!  I swear sometimes I feel like Lily did not get the memo to go out through the pelvis and has decided instead she will dig her way through my belly button! It is the craziest feeling, slightly painful and it is really weird to see her moving in my tummy!
Food Cravings? Bananas....I am kind of hoping I dont revert back to not liking them after pregnancy since so many of the healthy recipes I have found on pinterest use mashed bananas!
Food Aversions? Nothing
Gender? GIRL GIRL GIRL GIRL!
Belly button in or out? Flat....that should be an option....flat
What I am looking forward to? Lily's arrival!
Milestones?  Lily has dropped! One Week until D-Day!

C-Section Scheduled!

April 1 2013

Hello blog followers, let me start by saying this is not an April Fool's joke although I kind of wish I had one to add to this post....

I got a letter from the Doctor on Saturday letting me know my c-section has been scheduled for, drum roll please....................

APRIL 15 2013 2:30pm!

YAYAYAY!  So unless either:  Lily decides she doesn't want to wait another two weeks to make her big debut OR she decides she is over the head up living and flips (both options are not terribly likely but still a chance), we will be having a baby on Tax Day!

Funny thing is, since Matt and I like to do our taxes as soon as we have all the forms needed, I did not even realize that April 15 was tax day.  Good news is they always have free giveaways on tax day, so even in the tough times Lily will get birthday presents hahahah! I am totally kidding, except for the fact that I do get the free stuff on tax day :)

The other exciting fun fact about April 15 is if Lily decides she can wait until then to meet everyone, my grandmother on my dad's side was born April 15 too!  So Lily will be honoring two of her grandmothers by name and one by birthdate!!!  How perfect!

I will give more details in my next post on Thursday after I have my last doctor appointment!

Without warning, we have a new due date!

March 28 2013

Things just got real!  I went to the doctor yesterday and despite my heartfelt pleas and weird spinning baby moves Lily has insisted on not flipping :(  There is still a 10-15% chance that she could flip when she decides to drop (if she ever decides to drop) but my doctor doesn't see it as likely and now that she is getting so big flipping will be a pretty uncomfortable experience for me (imagine taking a 16 inch ruler from horizontal to vertical to horizontal inside of your tummy...OUCH!)

So I talked with my doctor about options and we decided we aren't even going to try for a ECV...seems too risky and no guarantee it will work...and go straight for a c-section.  My doc is calling the hospital and getting me set up for either April 15 or 16 depending on availability. AH! that just eliminated an extra week I thought i had to prepare myself.

Wow, I can not believe how quickly this is all coming to an end...I am so so so nervous about the c-section and the recovery, but I know Lily has to get out somehow and this is the safest way for both of us.  And the good news is unless I go into labor before the 15th, the whole delivery process should be pretty short and sweet.  The recovery on the other hand might take a little longer but I heard the key to a good recovery to get moving as soon as I can, so that's my plan!

Nothing else is really happening...I got Lily set up with a pediatrician.  Reston Town Center Pediatrics, they were recommended by my doctor.  We were just going to have Lily go to the same doctor office Matt and I go to but after thinking about it I wanted her to be seen by the same doctors from the start and RTCP has doctors that do rounds at the hospital so they would meet her when she is born and they would keep with her through out her childhood.  Also this place has two lactation consultants on staff which might come in very handy if I struggle with breastfeeding.

I have my next doctors appointment on April 4, just a checkup...I hope I will find out before then when my c-section is scheduled but if not I will find out at that appointment.

Lauren Walker's bridal shower is this weekend!!!!  Even though I am the size of a whale, I am very excited to make the trip to Richmond to see the bride to be!!!

I think that is all I have going on, I will update when I find out the date and time of my c-section, I know all my readers are clearing their schedules to come and see Lily so I don't want to keep you waiting :)

How far along? 36 weeks, 6 days!!!
Weight gain/loss? Up, Up and away! I am pretty sure the doctors scale is broken....I just keep telling myself that
Maternity clothes? Motherhood Maternity has been a life saver!  
Stretch marks?  Still holding strong with none...Man I am so lucky ::knock on wood:: come on skin hold out for just two more weeks...I believe in you!
Sleep? Eh....sore subject...literally, I wake up sore every morning!  Still have a master spot stealer to deal with....but he is so darn cute when he does it!  
Best moment this week?  Since yesterdays doctors appointment I have just felt relief, like okay its real and I can do it.
Movement? Lots of it!  Still lots of uncomfortable burning sensations in my upper abdomen from Lily's head...I don't see this going away anytime soon, maybe when she drops
Food Cravings? Bananas....granola bars
Food Aversions? Nothing
Gender? GIRL GIRL GIRL GIRL!
Belly button in or out? Flat....that should be an option....flat
What I am looking forward to? Lauren Walker's bridal shower!  Easter!
Milestones?  Only 17 or 18 days to go!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As promised: The Nursery!

March 22 2013

Two blog posts in one week....I know I know I am overachieving! Before i forgot I wanted to make sure I got these pictures out so everyone can see what the nursery is looking like...enjoy!

TADA!  the finished product...Max insisted on being in the pic as it is his old room and those are my feet in the chair...I was so close to getting out of the pic haha

Our baby changing station...those are stickers on the wall (in case you thought we were talented enough to paint that...thank you for the compliment haha) and a BIG thank you for Jaime who came over and helped me put the stickers up!

Our feeding/reading and rocking station....Thank you Mom and Dad Simonetti for donating the rocker and of course Betty Arneson for the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G quilt!  I also have a boppy which is currently being stored in the crib so it doesn't get too much max hair on it.  Also behind the owl is an ipod docking station and our ipod has nursery rhymes that I am going to play whilst feeding Lily :)

Lily's sleeping area!  Look at all those books, she is going to be able to read them all by age 2 haha, thank you everyone for the books! On the bookshelf, there is my grandma's praying bear which I have kept just for such an occasion :) as well as Lily's first piggy bank (WVU of course) which she will hopefully use the funds to pay her way to her first WVU football game this fall!

So there you have it!  What do you think?  We have the swing out in the living room by the tv so she can hang with the fam and get her swing on.  The highchair is by the dining room table, makes sense haha. In our bedroom is where we are going to set up the pack-n-play for the time being as Lily will likely sleep with us for the first few weeks, especially if I have to get a c-section.

Have a great week, blog you all next week!  Keep praying Lily flips for us!

I am ready!

March 21 2013

I am back!  Sorry for the delay in these blog entries, life has gotten in my way!  A few things have happened since last time you heard from me.

1.  Meg Mack had her beautiful little girl!  Madison Belle Mack born March 19 2013, Lily doesn't know it but she will probably spend many a playdate with Maddie :) Maddie was an impressive 9 lbs 12 oz,  born vaginally!  WAY TO GO MEG, make sure you let Maddie knows what she put you through to get her here!

I can't figure out how to flip the picture....also don't mind my tired  after work no makeup look

2.  Matt and I are officially, officially ready for Lily to arrive!  I went out and bought a couple of nursing bras and those milk screening strips which were the last two items on my must purchase before birth list.  In case you don't know what the milk screening strips are, they are strips you can use to test your breast milk to see if you have had one too many glasses of wine!  I don't think I am going to be drinking tons of wine but I just want to make sure if I have a glass or two at night time I am not sharing with Lily, I know I don't even know what type of wine she likes yet it would be rude for me to assume she likes the same as me :)
We also have one car seat in matts car, not installed yet but hopefully we can get that done this weekend and hopefully get the car seat into my car as well.

3.  I went to the doctor, I am on weekly visits now, and found out Lily is back in her breech position :(  I have been googling to see if there is anything i can do to get here to flip.  I found this website:  www.spinningbabies.com which supposedly if you do some of the moves it encourages the baby to flip from being breech.   
Lily has two weeks to flip before my doctor wants to discuss what options i have....one is trying ECV, that is short for a long confusing medical term, which would involve me getting admitted to the hospital and having a team of doctors try to manually (from the outside) lift lilys butt and flip her head and butt in my uterus.  The success rate of this is a little over 50%, but if it works then I can have a normal birth....some complications can happen, like Lily can get distressed and if her heart rate drops I will have to have an emergency c-section  or there is a slight chance that a placenta abruption can occur (the placenta ripping from the uterine wall) which would require an emergency c-section as well.  The other option is just having a scheduled c-section.
I haven't decided which option I will take yet if Lily doesn't flip....I really was hoping to try and give birth naturally, but I am a little nervous about the complications with the ECV.  I still have two weeks to think about it.

4.  The nursery is still done, but i keep forgetting to take pictures of it.  I know people keep asking me for them so I solemnly swear within the next week I will get pictures and will add them!!

5.  I found out getting sick while pregnant really is the WORST!  I somehow caught the cold of death last week and I was out of commission Wednesday through Sunday.  I am sure if I had just been a regular human, it would have just been a cold but since i was pregnant and I already am so uncomfortable most of the time it was torture.   I ended up having to take off work Wednesday afternoon and all day Friday.  I didn't get more than 4 hours of sleep at night so on Friday I took 3 benadryls and slept alllll day!!  Luckily, by Monday morning I was recovered but boy that was the most uncomfortable I have been in a LOOOONNNNGGG TIME!


Okay I think that updates you on most everything that has happened in life since my last post.  In the next week, nothing terribly exciting is happening...I go back to the doctor next Wednesday for a check up and I think that is it.  We are mostly just playing a waiting game right now.

Prayers for Lily to flip in the next two weeks are greatly appreciate!


How far along? 35 weeks, 6 days!!!
Weight gain/loss? Up, Up and away! But good news is I have gone down in the last week according to the doctors scale....yessss, I am moving towards the healthy eating habits i need for post pregnancy like switching from sugary cereals to multigrain cheerios and packing my lunch full of high fiber foods and cooking in for dinners.
Maternity clothes? Motherhood Maternity has been a life saver!  
Stretch marks?  Still holding strong with none...Man I am so lucky ::knock on wood::
Sleep? I have learned to stop drinking fluids at 730pm which has helped to curb my need to pee in the middle of the night....Max is still stealing my spot in bed, grrrrrrrr!  Matt got up to pee last night and max just stayed on the floor, 5 minutes later I get up to pee and come back spot filled with a dog WHAT-A-JERK!
Best moment this week?  Finding out Maddie arrived safe and sound and meeting her!  She is the cutest little thing!!!
Movement? Lots of it!  Because Lily's head is in the wrong place, I have been getting terrible like burning pain in my upper right abdomen...doc says it is just growing pains but it is killer!
Food Cravings? Nothing really right now...sweet potatoes are very delicious to me right now.....I have decided after getting Dairy Queen on Saturday night I am not allowing myself anymore ice cream, can I hold out?
Food Aversions? Nothing
Gender? GIRL GIRL GIRL GIRL!
Belly button in or out? Flat....that should be an option....flat
What I am looking forward to? Lily flipping (fingers crossed) and arriving safe and sound
Milestones?  Less than a month to go!  29 days to be exact, not that I am counting!!!!!

I am a terrible blogger....

March 8 2013

I am sorry blog friends, I have been slacking on this blog.  I keep telling myself I will wait until I take pictures of the nursery to share but I keep forgetting to take pictures.  I decided I better update now or I was going to lose my whole audience!  To start, I believe I promised some pictures of my shower last post so below are a couple and also a link to some more...on PINTEREST!  My shower is famous on Pinterest!!!!

The theme :) I have this sign and I am going to hang it up in the  nursery somewhere!

The way to my heart, cookies :) This was the cookie/candy bar, everything was so delicious!

Pinterest link:  MY SHOWER ON PINTEREST!

So other things that have happened in the last two weeks....the nursery is done, Jaime came over and we put up the stickers on the walls (they look classier than they sound I promise).  I have washed all but one last load of Lily's clothes so she will be fully closeted upon her arrival. Other than that, just a lot of thumb twiddling waiting for her to make her appearance.

Health wise, I am still doing well...getting huge.  Like literally I feel like i have doubled in size in the last two days!  Matt even noticed. I can not imagine 5 more weeks of growth, my poor skin...I am so lucky I have no stretch marks please o please let my luck last for 5 more weeks. My blood pressure is slightly higher but nothing extreme, it was 122/72 last night.  I can only sit in one position for like 20 minutes before I get uncomfortable and have to stretch and move. In general, I am trying to stay positive and light hearted but everyday I am just a little bit closer to throwing in the towel...GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME! Only 5 weeks, only 5 weeks...I can do this, I can do this!!!!!!



How far along? 34 weeks!!!
Weight gain/loss? Up, Up and away! I am so excited to be going down soon!
Maternity clothes? Motherhood Maternity has been a life saver!  
Stretch marks?  Still none and I know how lucky I am...please o please 5 more weeks!
Sleep? I am always tired but I can't sleep because my hips hurt....its a lose lose situation.
Best moment this week?  Snow day :) Although it was a crappy snow storm, it was nice to do nothing all day and Lily was very active so Matt got to experience what I deal with everyday.
Movement? Lots of it!  
Food Cravings? Still loving bananas, nothing else.
Food Aversions? Nothing
Gender? GIRL GIRL GIRL GIRL!
Belly button in or out? Flat....that should be an option....flat
What I am looking forward to? Lily arriving
Milestones?  Nothing big in the last two weeks....according to some blog readings if I were to go into labor today the doctors would not try and stop it!  yikes, Lily can come anytime!