Oh my aching feet!!!

Literally.

My feet really, really, really hurt. And its not just the normal swelling and aching that comes from being pregnant - this is something a little more serious.

I've got plantars fasciitis and it really stinks. Its a sharp pain in the bottom of my feet and an overall achiness and pain around the sides. Here's the technical explanation.

Definition
Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation caused by excessive stretching of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a broad band of fibrous tissue which runs along the bottom surface of the foot, attaching at the bottom of the heel bone and extending to the forefoot. When the plantar fascia is excessively stretched, this can cause plantar fasciitis, which can also lead to heel pain, arch pain, and heel spurs.

Cause
Plantar Fasciitis often leads to heel pain, heel spurs, and/or arch pain. The excessive stretching of the plantar fascia that leads to the inflammation and discomfort can be caused by the following:

Over-pronation (flat feet) which results in the arch collapsing upon weight bearing

A foot with an unusually high arch

A sudden increase in physical activity

Excessive weight on the foot, usually attributed to obesity or pregnancy

Improperly fitting footwear

Unfortunately the treatment for plantars fasciitis is: find the cause of it and don't do that anymore. Well, its going to be awhile until I lose this pregnancy weight, so I think Im just going to have to deal with it for a few more months. It makes me cranky and makes me feel like a little old lady hobbling around the house. It definitely gives me a LOT of incentive to lose this weight once the baby is here because I can't imagine living with this pain. It would also put a huge halt on my running career (HA... career... I know. I laughed just typing it) if I continued to have it after pregnanct. No really, I enjoy running and doing races and would be bummed if I couldn't do it anymore.

So that's the latest wonderful joy of pregnancy I've been experiencing here. I've been swimming laps at the pool instead of walking at night and on weekends to get my exercise and that's been wonderful. I wish I could go to the pool every day! Jim and I hit the pool this morning and were able to share a lane and do a good 15-20 laps each. It was so nice!!

Thanks Nana!

I came home from work yesterday to a surprise box from Nana. We opened it up and inside were 4 sweet outfits, some much needed undershirts and the cutest little black patent leather Mary Janes. Jim even said, "Those look like something you would buy." He was right. Nana knows me so well and is already spoiling the baby rotten. I can't wait to dress the baby in all of the sweet clothes that Nana and Pop-Pops have bought and made for her.

Thanks so much guys! You have already been so generous and we really, really appreciate it.

The loot

I should mention here too that also in the box was a gift from a friend of my grandmothers who still attends the church that my grandmother was a member of and that my mom and dad now regularly attend (after a 20 or so year leave of absence). I was totally shocked that she made our baby a crocheted blanket. It is so sweet! It is the blanket behind the clothes. I'm 99% sure this woman doesn't have internet access... but I'd like to thank her on here anyway! So thank you Mrs. Rossi!

Baby Likes Music!

Okay - let's get back to baby talk.

Last night was the first time I put headphones on my belly and let Baby Girl listen to music. Music has always been a part of my life with the strongest influence being my parents who to this day still sing in choirs and vocal groups and my mom even directs the choir at her church. Aunt Laura plays a mean guitar and mandolin and Aunt Jen can sing... although I kick her butt in Playstation Karaoke (better luck next time Jen). It seems like I've always got music playing or a song in my head or am whistling or humming a tune so she probably has already enjoyed her fair share of music in the womb- but I thought I'd make Baby Girl her very own itunes playlist and let her listen to it last night. What's on Baby Girl's playlist you ask?? Here's a little excerpt

"Wild World" by Cat Stevens

"My Own Two Hands" by Jack Johnson & Ben Harper

"Your Song" by Elton John

"Lullaby" by Dixie Chicks

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

"Fly Away" by the Indigo Girls

"Lullaby" by Jack Johnson and Matt Costa

"You Are My Sunshine" by Norman Blake

"Mother Nature's Son" by the Beatles

She seemed to really like it! There were some strong kicks and movement while the music was playing and she stopped moving when the music stopped. She either really liked it - or the music woke her up from a nap. I'm going to try to do it once or twice a week for the remaining 10 weeks because I truly believe having music in your life is very important. Maybe she'll turn out to be a singer like my mom... or a musician like my sister!

Stone Mountain Park

Jim and I went to Stone Mountain Park just outside of Atlanta for the annual company summer picnic on Saturday. We go to Stone Mountain quite frequently on the weekends to run, walk and hike and to take Tucker for a swim but we rarely ever go to the part of the park you have to pay money to get in to. We took advantage of the free admission to the "attractions" and went on the train and the riverboat. We weren't able to catch the "Wild Hog Review" or the 4D movie of the history of the South because our timing was a bit off. Needless to say -we were very bummed. Maybe next time.

Here were are on the riverboat, "Scarlett O'Hara." Very appropriate.

Sunday Mornings with Tucker

Movin on up...

We did it! We got a new car! We found a great deal with exactly the color combo I wanted - inside and out. Buying a new car wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I had leased my first one before buying it so I didnt really go thru that whole salesman/haggling process. But this guy was really nice and made the whole process somewhat painless. It was listed pretty low because it was the only one at a Subaru dealership and I dont know that they really knew all of the features it had and that it should have been listed higher. We got it for a little more than the trade-in value. Woo hoo!

So here she is! She's a beauty! She's a lot fancier than the ole Jetta. I think I might have to start dressing nicer and maybe doing my hair before I drive it.

Now I need to change my little ticker in the top right hand corner of my blog about needing a bigger car!

Its Murphy's Law...

You can never find one of these when you're actually pregnant.

R.I.P. Jetta

Jim and I cleaned out and said goodbye to the beloved Jetta today. We were told this week that the car was totaled - and the good news is that the insurance company gave us a more than fair settlement for the car. We are definitely happy about that, but I'm still really sad that I had to say goodbye to her. I thought we would sell her to some high school or college kid who would drive her for at least another 5-10 years. She only had 84K miles on her! She was very good to me too. Never had any major issues with her and only really brought her in for regular maintenance and standard replacements.

Is it weird that I have/had such an attachment to my car?? I had her longer than I've had Jim! I had tears in my eyes when Jim was taking off the license plate. I can blame it on pregnancy hormones, right?

So, we're now a one car family. We're going car shopping this weekend to see what we see. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know it needs to be done.

Everyone doing their part...

Everyone helped out this weekend getting the nursery together. Even Tucker had a job helping remove the packaging from the crib.

Baby Maeve

One of the highlights of our weekend home we meeting our friends Dennis and Courtney's beautiful new daughter Maeve. She was so sweet and so cute... it really makes me excited to meet Baby Herndon. Jim also got a little taste of fatherhood when he held her for 20 minutes or so. We tried to get Dennis to do a diaper-changing lesson - but Jim wasn't up for it. I guess he'll be knee deep in diapers soon enough.

What we did at the hospital on Tuesday

This just doesnt seem right...

While I was hooked up to monitors...

Jim was relaxing in the recliner next to me with the remote in his hand watching TV.

The incredible bouncing belly!

I've started to be able to see my belly moving and bouncing around from the outside now. It's really fun!! Baby Girl Herndon moves around daily... hourly... so its fun to look down and watch my belly move from the outside. I've read that this time in the pregnancy can be the most active as far as belly movement because the baby has enough room in there for now to move around a bit. As she gets bigger, she'll get more cramped and the movement I see/feel won't be quite as big.

What a week...

I realized today as I was boarding a plane to Texas that this week (and last week for that matter) have just been a whirlwind. I'm really starting to feel like I need to slow down and relax a bit and not let my life overwhelm me.

It started with the gestational diabetes diagnosis which came as a total shock. Although I keep telling myself it's managable and very temporary - I haven't done very well at eating how and when I'm supposed to, taking my glucose readings 4 times a day and exercising regularly. My numbers have been okay, but I'm sure there are a few readings the doctor would like to see lower. Working full time and traveling a bit for work and for fun has made eating right very difficult. For example today, there were no healthy snacks on the plane (I got crackers and cheese that had twice the amount of carbs Im supposed to have and a water) and I don't have time to take a walk this afternoon because Im in meetings today. I'm staying in downtown Ft Worth and will need to walk around in a few hours to see if I can find a place to buy an apple. Should be interesting. I also forget to take my blood sugar some mornings before I eat because I'm half asleep and just not used to this yet. Anyway... thats one thing.

Second, this is the second trip I've taken in 5 days. Luckily I think this is my very last work trip and last trip in general I'll take for a LONNGG time. It's exhausting hiking through the airport with my computer bag and my fat feet squeezed into one of the only pairs of shoes I have left that fit.

Third, our house is getting a little out of control. When the house is messy... I feel anxious and unsettled (Jim doesnt even seem to notice). The nursery is covered in plastic and Jim is almost done painting. What that means is that all the stuff that was in that room is now stuck in random other places (where they shouldn't be) around the house. And while Im SUPER thankful for all the gifts we received at the shower this past weekend - we haven't really figured out where to put the baby stuff yet. I got most of the clothes on hangers and in the closet, but there's still lots of little things like socks and toys that don't have a home. I'm hoping when I get home this weekend I will start to sort things out.

And last... the car accident. Boy - we really didn't need that. We are all totally fine, but its still just such a hassle to deal with insurance companies and collision repair places. Jim is really dealing with 99.5% of it and Im so thankful to him for that because I just don't think I could handle it right now. He's dropping off my car and picking up the rental car while I'm gone in Texas for a few days.

I hate to complain - but it helps to "let it out" right? Things are going to get better - I've just got to make it to the weekend!

The Poor Jetta...

Jim and I had a very eventful day yesterday. As we were driving home from lunch, we got side-swiped by an elderly woman pulling out of a parking lot. Jim likes to tell people we were in a "fender bender" but I'll let you look at the picture yourself and see if you would describe it that way. Jim was driving and I was in the passenger seat. No one was hurt. Jim and I are fine and we spent 5 hours at the hospital to ensure Baby Herndon was fine. She is. We got to listen to her heartbeat thumping away for two hours with a few loud kicks every few minutes. They did an exam and everythings where it should be - and drew blood to make sure there was no fetal fluid mixed with my blood. We didn't get an ultrasound, which we were hoping for. Bummer!

So, I guess the car shopping will be stepped up a bit. We think the damage is actually pretty minor (I know it doesnt look that way). It looks like the two doors and the rear side panel will need to be replaced but the car is drivable. We will get it fixed and then try and sell it. I feel a little uneasy selling a car thats just been in an accident, but there really isn't anything wrong with the car - its just cosmetic damage. So if you know anyone in the market for a 1998 Jetta...

First Baby Shower!

What a wonderful weekend we had!

Saturday was our New England baby shower. It was so great. Mom and Jen did such a great job with the planning and the decorations were perfect. Everything was pink and green and the favors were sweet pea seeds and fancy chocolates which were such a great idea. It was held at the Sakonnet Fish Company which had great food and a great view of the water.

Thanks everyone for coming! It was so nice to see you all.

Here are a few pics... there are a ton more in the link to the right.