My Pregnancy: Things I Will Miss, Welcome Back, and Experience

Like I've said before....

I write this blog for our friends and family to keep up with how Mark and I are doing [especially because so many of Mark's  family members live out of the state.] ---but I also {maybe even more so} write it for us as a family scrapbook type thing. Memories, specials events, and experiences are so much easier to record and share online than physically making a scrapbook and sending it around. 

With that said, I wanted to jot down the little things that I have enjoyed about being pregnant! The time is dwindling down as I am now 36 weeks... sniff. As excited and thrilled as I am about meeting our daughter, I know that there will be things I miss about having her so close to me all the time.  So here they are: 

*Watching my belly grow! - I never thought that gaining weight could be SO MUCH FUN haha. Watching my body grow has been awesome for me. I honestly do not enjoy shopping for clothes. ever. But for some reason when I started developing my baby belly, I loved shopping around to find clothes that would frame my bump just right :)  I am not one of those pregnant women that try and hide the fact that they are pregnant. I LoVeD having a baby bump (now baby belly.)

I hope that my friends embrace their bodies' changes when it comes time for them to take on this chapter of their lives. All pregnant women are beautiful. 

*Feeling her move! - I wrote a post about it found here: {click} I Felt Her Move!

It is pretty awesome feeling the first baby movements to feeling what I am able to feel now. These days I am so used to feeling her stick her feet out {and leave them there} and seeing a lump sticking out of my right side that it has now become normal. I still watch and show Mark when she is constantly kicking and we sit there and laugh. I know this is a bit like the movie "Alien" for some that haven't experienced pregnancy, but trust me, it is incredible to be able to feel your child awake inside of you. Last Saturday, I was watching the FSU v NC State game (I am not even going to post about that pathetic game) and as I sat there - leaning hunched over with pure anxiety - our friend Patrick noticed and asked me about how come I kept leaning forward and then moving and reclining back to stretch out. I told him that my poor posture apparently was bothering Ava and her amount of room because she kept reminding me to sit up and give her more space. He thought it was pretty funny. 

*Strangers and their politeness - Girls, you get to look forward to complete strangers being so nice, generous, and men actually acting like gentlemen - all the time! It is wonderful. Pregnant women bring out the best in many apparently. I will definitely miss this one. 

*Mark spoiling me [more than he already did which I didn't think was possible] - I consider myself very lucky to have married someone who has spoiled me from the day I met him. He has always been a gentleman and this will never change. What was fun and will be missed is watching him spoil me in a different way ----kissing my belly, calling out of the blue and asking "What is Ava doing?,"  holding my hand extra tight and guiding me through crowds  like I am the US President and he is the secret service, to just laughing as he leaves his hand on my belly to feel her kick as we fall asleep. 

*The doctor's appointments - Yes, I know this sounds a bit crazy, but I loved going to the...I don't know... 20 appointments or so? this year. 

((For those of you wondering why there are so many appointments, it is because you go as soon as you suspect being pregnant, then again to find the heartbeat if it was too early the first time, an anatomy scan to get the measurements of the growing fetus, a slew of tests and blood drawn, monthly check-ups, bi-monthly check-ups later on, and finally, weekly check ups at 35/36 weeks...until DELIVERY TIME.))

 The beginning was the best. The first sight of the heartbeat with Mark, hearing the heartbeat, 

finding out the gender with my friends 

 -post found here: {Baby McGuire is a.... }, seeing her begin to look like a baby, and then being able to ask questions about the changes you experience from a source other then Google. FYI: never google when you are pregnant. You will be a nervous wreck if you do. 

              

*The bonding time with my mother and mother in law - This won't end actually... It will just change to bonding with Ava instead of bonding to prepare for her :) So this one will just get better. 

That's it, folks!  Ava is about 4 (or less) weeks away. Absolutely crazy. I feel like it was just February 29th when I discovered that there was a little McGuire on board. 

Things I will be happy to welcome back into my life once pregnancy is over: 

sushi 

red wine & mimosas 

bagels with nova  

the Jacuzzi

not automatically being the DD anymore... 

not having to pee 5 times in the middle of the night {sorry, TMI?}

Things I am excited to experience once Ava is here: 

Hearing her 1st cry

Watching her eat, sleep, make faces, burp, laugh, roll over, pout, crawl, everything...

Jogging with her in my new snazzy red jogging stroller to get my body back in shape {or whatever it was before}

Hanging out in bed with Mark, Ava, & Cooper

Introducing her to my family and our closest friends 

Baptizing her

Dressing her up multiple times a day and taking a zillion obnoxious photos of her :-) 

Taking her to the beach 

I suppose this list can go on forever so I'll end it here. You get the point...

 

4 (or less) more weeks!

                                                        

Hello, October! {35 Week Update}

I cannot believe it is already October! Time is passing by so quickly this year... 

{This is just a "checking in" type post}

Recently...

Mark and I decided that the last game I would travel to Tallahassee for was the FSU v Clemson game. Although it was a great weekend - it literally took all of my energy and immunity away! Shortly after we got back, I got the worst cold you can imagine. I am just know getting over that one. So below is a picture of last week's game (FSU v USF) that we watched from the comfort of our bed with Cooper. I was still not feeling well and was actually loving the time at home for game watching. 

[Cooper is wearing his FSU outfit that my friend, Michelle, bought him last year...... and Mark is wearing his sweaty, dirty visor. in bed. in doors.... superstitious much?!!? Whatever, crazy Mark. ;) That is how we watched the game. As for this Saturday, we will most likely be at one of the Broward Noles game watching locations. 

The following day, Mark went golfing while I spent the afternoon with my mom. We ate lunch at Coconuts on Ft. Lauderdale Beach and then went to get our manis and pedis. When I got home, Mark was already home setting up the nursery. He was doing the things that I could not tackle. So up went her shelves, her cornice above the crib, the assembly of her stroller, and then the assembly of the snugabunny cradle n' swing! [pictured below]  Once it was assembled, Mark plugged it in to see how it worked. It has all these options for different nature sounds, music, lights, etc. 

We looked at each other and started laughing. It was kind of one of those moments where you realize that "wow, a baby is coming soon!" It was pretty funny for us. Guess you had to be there...or pregnant to understand - ha. 

What a good dad :)

Later that week, we finished up our birthing classes at Holy Cross Hospital. The RN, Patty, who ran it was awesome. We enjoyed the classes [especially the cookies they served!] and learned some interesting things. 

My mom was also coming over pretty much every day this week and helping me with Ava's laundry. For any of you reading this that plan on having children one day - I learned that even brand new clothes, blankets, sheets, etc.  have to be washed with a special laundry detergent before it touches baby. So that's what we did... after loads of laundry, folding, and organizing by age - we finished! 

Cooper was very curious and kept trying to sit in my lap as I folded her clothes. Poor guy has no clue what is about to happen to the undivided attention that I give to him. I am learning how to prepare a pup for a new addition to a family and will be doing by best to make sure that Cooper is still getting lots of attention once Ava arrives. 

Then on Wednesday, I officially was 35 weeks along! This was a quick picture I took as I was getting ready to go on a company event with Mark. 

He and the top producers of the Miami/West Palm branches were invited on a boat day instead of working. So on Wednesday, I spent all day in the gorgeous weather and even went in the water with everyone with the help of some floats :) This was the same boat that Mark took me on for our 2nd Wedding Anniversary so we were happy to see Captain Kent and the crew again.  Below are some photos (I put my phone away after these so it wouldn't fall in the water - so no photos of all of us in the water. boo.)

Billy, Lauren, Me, and Mark

Mark & Mark More 

* These are just two pictures that I had to share. My friend from FSU, Mallory, recently had a little boy- Clark! I hope she doesn't mind that I am sharing these on my blog, but I am OBSESSED with these two shots. 

 This one below is my absolute FAVORITE!!! I love the idea of newborn pictures, but love when the parents are shown in the photos and how they are feeling as new parents. This photographer captured Mallory's pure joy. I love it. 

And as far as currently...

Today has been pretty low key for me. Doing laundry, ordering the new dining room table, went to the gym, and made Ava an organic [strawberry, spinach, banana, milk, 

& oj ] smoothie :) 

Tonight we will be going to my friend's new place in Aventura for her birthday & housewarming celebrations :) Hope every one has a great weekend! 

  

The five week countdown begins.... 

The New [ Improved ] McGuire Diet / Food Challenge

This post is a little different than the others that I typically write... More or less, this is a challenge that I want us to try in our household. I use the word challenge because that is what eating organic can often feel like. It has almost become like a shameful thing to want to eat organic. As if only the rich or "hippies" eat this way... 

Anyways, this is something that I am now trying my best to learn about.  My mother has been interested in all kinds of foods for a long time. As as "foodie" and an amazing cook, she is all about delicious tasting food and trying new things. I'd say for the past 3+ years, she has been learning about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)  in our food supply. I see the foods she buys since learning about GMOs and started paying attention. 

I have always been interested in eating well and getting my fair share of exercise, but never really cared enough to look at at the label on everything I stick into our grocery cart to see what chemicals are in there. I mean, I still get excited when something we like is "Buy One Get One Free" when I walk into Publix and see their displays. I load up! 

But after reading about more and more cases of cancer, obesity, food allergies, young women having infertility issues, etc. increasing in our country - it is pretty much safe to say that I am listening now!

[Attention to my friends planning on trying to get pregnant soon: try altering your diet so you're not working against yourself and your chances of conceiving. 

 Go to this link for awesome information on foods and the healthy diet's effects on your fertility  (and a healthy diet for a man's fertility too!)

Follow this link: 

The Natural Fertility Diet: How to Eat for Optimal Fertility

  

[take a look at the foods to avoid like the sodas and artificial sugars]

for the men, go to: 

The Male Fertility Diet

 Maybe it is because I am pregnant and now eating is not just for myself, but for another little person as well? Maybe it is because I don't want Ava having food allergies to common foods that were never an issue before the introduction of GMO's (Genetically Modified Orgnaisms) to our foods? Maybe it is because I see my husband's issue with Eczema that never seems to get better? Maybe it is because I have some friends that seem to be having a harder time getting pregnant at a young age? Maybe it is because I see our declining health rates in our country?

Whatever the reason is - I want to try and start doing the best that I can to feed my family REAL food. The kind that your good 'ole farmer works hard to do. He or she feeds the animals grass ( you know, what they eat naturally in the wild and not modified corn - wow, what a concept!) and then when they slaughter the animal for us to eat, we eat their meat...not meat that is filled with chemicals that tear up our stomach and give us diseases, allergies, and cancers. 

Oh! And just when did it become OK for other countries to NOT allow food companies to sell them "foods" with ingredients that have not previously been through long term studies and have not yet proven to be safe to eat, but our government allows those same companies to sell us those "foods" to us UNTIL THEY ARE PROVEN TO BE UNSAFE?! 

Other countries need proof that GMOs are safe before they even look at them... while we eat up until we get cancer or other illnesses. Backwards, huh? 

 I didn't know this country was okay with having lower standards than others? That is embarrassing, America. Wouldn't it be nice if we demanded the same from these companies? 

"The problem has become so great that the EU has actually banned the use of GMO products throughout Europe, while the United States continues to allow them throughout our nation. While some of the top food manufacturers like Kellogg, Heinz, Pepsi, Coke and Kraft, have changed their recipes in Europe, no longer using GMO ingredients in their products, those same products sold in the States continue to sue these dangerous ingredients, thanks to the inaction being taken by the FDA."  - HETHIR RODRIGUEZ, B.S., M.H., C.M.T.

There is something a bit backwards about that. Don't you think? It infuriates me. Why do those countries' citizens get safer and more studied products and Americans get GMO products put onto our shelves until it is too late resulting to being pulled off  the shelves due to recalls, market withdrawals, & safety alerts? 

What is happening here is that it is all about the profits for these huge food companies that basically own all the smaller food companies as well. Not only are they the one's controlling how the government votes on allowing the American people to eat this crap, while also controlling how organic (and responsible farmers) price their foods. It costs more for an organic farmer to prove that their food is safe because they do not use the pesticides and chemicals in their products.  So basically, they are being punished for just wanting to feed their cows, chicken, pigs or soil their produce with what they naturally want and need to grow. Backwards again... 

So it all boils down to trying (the best that I can) to buy organic (non- GMO) food. If it has been injected or altered from the way that it was meant to grow- I will try not to eat it.   I understand that we do go out to eat (all the time), and that sometimes it is a lot harder to eat an organic diet. 

I will not sacrifice going out to have dinner with friends for fear that it is not an all organic meal. What I will do, is control what I can when I am eating at home or making Ava's food one day. I also know that Mark may take a while to warm up to newer food brands, but have faith that he will get on board. When I first got pregnant, I remember mentioning this information to him and he simply said, "Buy whatever is best for the baby." 

 

( I am actually super excited to make Ava's natural, pureed food when she can have more than breast milk. No store bought baby food for that little one! :) 

Anyways, here are two videos that I really enjoyed and helped me to understand the whole food thing a bit better. I watched the 1st one that I posted on here at the beginning of the year. It is a mom who now educates others after her findings. She wasn't a "hippy- tree hugging- rich woman" who was always into this sort of thing...she was a mom from Texas who was shocked when her kid was having food allergies to every day foods. 

Click on the video below and watch:

The 2nd movie I posted on here is one that my mother came across about a week ago. We started to watch it together yesterday and I finished it this morning. 

Ladies, at the 00:45:52 part of the video below they talk about eating non- GMO foods especially before trying to conceive.

This post is not meant to try and "sell you" on eating tofu and seaweed the rest of your life.... it is just to fill you in on how we will be trying (the best that we can) to eat our REAL fruit, vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish...and so on! If we are paying for a steak, I think we are entitled to eat meat that has not been chemically altered which in turn can make us sick. That is all. :-)  The issue for me will be making the effort to drive to Whole Foods and Fresh Market which is 20 min away, rather than Publix which is 2 min away from me. Publix does sell some organic food (and I will still shop there because I do love my pub subs once in a while!) but other healthy grocery stores can offer more of a variety in the long run.

This link below (a PDF) of a list of non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)  food brands. I will be taking this to the grocery store to swap out some common things that we eat for the all natural brand.

http://responsibletechnology.org/media/docs/IRT_sg.pdf 


or click below on:

Responsible Technology PDF

Also, take a look at the prices out there...Whole Foods, for example, is not a big price difference than shopping at Publix. In fact, my mother finds that she spends less at Whole Foods on produce than she does at Publix. So if this interests you at all...it is not some expensive, life altering expense. It is just common sense for your health and rewarding responsible, American farmers and food companies. 

EAT & ENJOY!

*The Ava Countdown*

 33 weeks pregnant today! 7 weeks until her Due Date! 

Baby Shower+ Dudes&Diapers+ FSU+ Birthing Class

This past weekend was my baby shower! My mother and mother in law organized the best day ever. I was so excited for this day because it was basically all of my favorite women in one place! We had about 50 women attending. I was missing a few key people but I knew they were thinking of me :) Here are some of the photos that I had... I'll probably be posting more once I get all of the pictures in. One of my mother in law's friends - Vikki- was taking a BUNCH of amazing pictures with her very large camera :) 

So, when I get my hands on those, I will post those.

Before the shower started....My mother in law- Debbie- & my mom -Maria. 

Mark was there until it was time to begin. He later went to his own celebration with his friends. 

Can you tell that we are very proud parents already?!   ;-)

My grandmother, Velma, & mom - technically there are 4 generations in this photo  (counting Ava :)

me & the Jacksonville girls! (Left) Heather, Erika, Myself, Emily, MaryAnn, Jacki

My grad school friends. (Left) Danielle, myself, Jessica, & Lindsay

Opening the gifts....there were so many beautiful gifts that we actually had to take a break! I have very generous friends and family!

Mark's "Dudes & Diapers Party"

While I was at the baby shower, Mark's friends Michael Boden and Jared Roche helped host a little Dudes & Diapers Party for Mark. Basically, about 10 of his friends came together to celebrate Ava and spent time with Mark for his own little shower. They planned on a beach day but ended up eating lunch at Brickhouse Tavern & Tap 

followed by watching football over some cigars and drinks at the Florida Cigar Company. Thanks, guys - Mark said he had a great time!

That evening, we all met up at Mug's Sports Bar and Grill to watch the FSU v Savannah State game. Being closer to where our 'out of town friends' were staying, it made more sense for us to watch the game there with them. The game ended because of weather delays....and FSU was winning 55-0 by the beginning of the 3rd quarter. So basically, had this game continued, it would have just gotten more embarrassing for  Savannah State. Quite frankly, I enjoy a more competitive game and can't wait for this season's upcoming games. Here are some pictures from Mugs...

Mark and Michael Boden - Mark's "little brother" in Kappa Sigma. Thanks for all of your help, Mike :)

I love that Mark's buddies are just as excited about our daughter's arrival.... We are thankful to have such supportive friends :)

Left- Josh, Ryan, Mark, Phil, Jared 

Left - Erika (Jared's sister), Emily (Mike Hall's fiance), Kristin, me, Heather (Josh's fiance) , MaryAnn (Ryan's Wife), & Jacki (Jared's wife)

Since we didn't want to leave our friends just yet, we all decided to go to Bahia Cabana on Ft. Lauderdale beach. We stayed there for the remainder of the night watching football and talked about the next 2 weekends in Tallahassee for the Wake Forrest and Clemson games. 

I didn't take any photos but some of the girls did. I'll upload those later too. 

I probably should have waited until I got all the photos to do this post but o well. We will have a part II. 

Then on Sunday Mark and I slept in (we were EXHAUSTED from an eventful Saturday... 

Once we got moving, we headed back to his mother's house and loaded up our SUV along with his mother's SUV with all of Ava's gifts! I spent the rest of the day getting her gifts put away and setting up her crib with my father and brother who came over to deliver it. Well, I should actually note that my 19 year old brother put the crib together by himself in about 15 min. Love that boy. 

I will wait to post photos of the nursery once it is completed. That was you don't see it looking like the state that it is currently in...a beautiful...MESS. I am hoping to be finished with it by the end of the month. 

Then yesterday, Mark and I attended our first birthing class at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale. We have 3 more to attend on Monday evenings this month. We met some couples all due within a couple days of us and learned about: signs of labor, calming techniques for Mark to help me with, Epidural info, etc. 

 [A funny part of the night was when the RN who was running the class told a story that she had experienced with another couple during the labor and delivery of their baby. She had mentioned beforehand that it is helpful to bring in some calming music that you like and maybe even a picture or something to focus on during labor. She then told us about this couple that brought in some calming music for the majority of the woman's labor. As it later became the exciting "time to push" portion, her husband quickly changed the calming music to their favorite university's marching band music. When the woman's husband did this, the women only pushed 3 times and delivered their baby!!!]

 Mark immediately looked over at me and started laughing because that is something that Mark would totally do if I let him. Sure enough, Mark mentions on the way home..."I think I am going to bring some of the Marching Chiefs music for you...Maybe some Seminole Uprising would be good."

HAHAHA wow....God help me. 

So here is a little clip for those of you not familiar with what Mark talking about.  Click on the video below to listen. 

This is FSU's marching band - The Marching Chiefs playing "Seminole Uprising" and what I may even be delivering Ava to...Mark is crazy, I know, but you have to love his enthusiasm. 

Mark's Plan for Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday started out like any other day. Mark and I really had not talked about how we were going to celebrate our anniversary so I did not really expect anything out of the ordinary like last year's... 

[The year before, we were in Tallahassee for a football game and I knew something was up because he mentioned that we HAD to be back in Fort Lauderdale by a certain time on Sunday but would not tell me why. We ended up having our first anniversary at a hotel on the beach ...top layer of our wedding cake in tow to keep that tradition of eating it 1 year later! ]

Morning of our 1st anniversary! Toasting to it with mimosas. 

A great day lounging by the pool and beach for our 1st Anniversary!

Back to yesterday...Around noon Mark called to say hi and mentioned that he was getting off of work earlier that day and that I needed to be ready by the time he got home to go out. Okay, nice! We are going out to have dinner, I thought. 

I quickly realized what time it was and headed over to the Galleria Mall where I was planning on getting him a new Tommy Bahama shirt. I read that "cotton" was the traditional gift for a 2nd Anniversary gift, so I thought I'd be cute and keep with traditions for my conservative boy. 

Side note: I finally found my first "expecting" parking spot! I was looking for parking at the mall and thought I'd take my chances with the front spots hoping that someone would magically walk out as I was driving up - and BOOM! I found a whole row for expectant mothers. Figures, I would be 31 weeks pregnant until I finally found one of these spots anywhere... ha 

Later on around 5:00 Mark got home. He said, "You should eat something now for Ava because we were having dinner after where we were headed first..." 

Hmm...He made other plans!!! I was excited :) We left shortly after and noticed Mark was barely talking in the car ride over and kept looking at the time. 

 When I saw that we were pulling into the Bahia Mar Hotel, I jokingly asked, "Are we getting married again?" 

I said this because we boarded the Floridian Princess yacht that we got married on at Bahia Mar's docks and this is where we all stayed that night. 

Mark replied with, "Sort of..." 

After we parked by the docks, I realized he was leading me toward the boats! Yay.  And that is what he had planned... A sunset sail to have us back on the water again on 

September 4th!

9.4.10                        9.4.12
Same spot 2 years later

After this we headed to dinner and then home...but not before Mark made a pit stop for my "Half Baked" Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The man knows how to read my mind (or his daughter's already).  

Thank you, Mark. You always remember the small things that mean the most!

Love you.