Growing a Little Schulze

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The end is near.... (35 weeks)

As if the days ticking away wasn't enough of a reminder that the end of this pregnancy was getting close, I got a big wake up call at 35 weeks.

Ellie was up screaming in the middle of the night, as has been happening too frequently. I sit in the glider and rock her, with her laying against my belly and chest. As I do so my belly tightens and I can't tell if it's more of a contraction type feeling or the baby pushing and stretching. I have Ellie shifted as far left as I can to try to get comfortable. I get her settled and get back in bed. And feel a sensation that makes me wonder if I'm leaking amniotic fluid. And some contractions start. Some good ones that feel more than a Braxton Hick. There was an hour so there in the middle of the night when I thought this might be it! It spooked me enough that I downloaded an app to time contractions. Terrible timing, besides being early, with Jeff at work and me at home alone with the girls in the middle of the night. But fortunately things calmed down and I fell asleep. Only to be woken an hour later by Ellie crying again.

In addition to night wake ups, Ellie also has been getting up early. And I have been having trouble falling asleep at night. I've been napping every day that I can!

35 weeks

The view from above

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Charleston trip 2014

Jeff and I took a trip to Charleston in early October 2014, as a last hurrah before baby #3. My parents watched the girls for the weekend while we got in some quality adult time.

The side yard at our B&B

Friday
For trip preparation, I went a got a last minute prenatal massage. I was feeling a lot of pain and discomfort and walking was difficult. Since any trip with Jeff involves lots of walking, I knew I had to do something. Fortunately the masseuse was a miracle worker and I felt like a sick person who had been cured. It's a miracle, I can walk! What a difference! I was able to walk pain free.

My mom come up after work that night so Jeff and I could hit the road and make a little progress. We drove about 3 hours to Augusta and stayed in a hotel. The car ride undid some of the benefits of the massage so I'm glad we were able to break up the trip.

Saturday
We took our time in the morning and grabbed some breakfast at the hotel before hitting the road. We soon left the highway for much more rural roads.

Sharing the road with this guy

We arrived in Charleston around lunch time. We bought tickets for the Ft. Sumter tour and then went to find lunch. We ended up at Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale right on King St. Jeff couldn't resist nachos! They had an awesome patio area hidden out in the back.

King St

Nacho time!

Then we boarded a boat for a ride out to Ft. Sumter. We heard some of the history of the fort, the city, and the Civil War before we explored on our own.

Late that afternoon we finally checked in to our B and B, the Governor's House. It was pretty awesome! We relaxed for a bit before heading out to dinner at Blossom.

The Governor's House

Front entrance

Courtyard

Stairs in the entry

Our room

Bathroom

Sunday
We started the day at breakfast with our fellow B&B guests. We had tea, yummy food, and conversation with a British couple visiting the area. Then we went out to walk around the city, this time heading south to see rainbow row. We stopped in at the Old Exchange Building and learned about it's varied history including as a customs house, a post office, and a prison.

Part of rainbow row

The Old Exchange

Stairs to nowhere in the basement

The basement was used as a prison during the Revolutionary War

Then we walked around forever looking for a quick place for lunch. We finally found the Bull Street Gourmet & Market and ordered delicious sandwiches.

We headed back to the hotel to get the car for the drive out to Boone Hall Plantation. We spent a few hours there touring the house, slave houses, and hearing a storytelling presentation. That evening we had dinner at High Cotton.

Famous oak lined drive at Boone Hall Plantation

The house

This is what I got when I asked Jeff to take a
picture of me.

A building awaiting repair

Monday
Monday morning we explored the market after breakfast. Then we took a carriage tour of the city. We didn't do that first because I wasn't sure how Jeff would do given his horse allergy. But he said he would be okay. So we ended our trip with that. Then we grabbed a quick slice of pizza and headed back to my parents house to get the girls.

Market

Off duty carriage

Views from the carriage

We had a great trip! It was awesome for me to get away and relax and get a little more sleep than usual. We did less than we normally would because I moved slower and needed more rest than usual. Jeff was very patient with the slower pace, letting me nap without bugging me about what we were going to do next. We had good food, great sightseeing and awesome company!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

St George Island, 2014

Our beach view

We made our second trip to St George Island with Jeff's family in September 2014. It's such a peaceful place to visit. Our family, Jeff's siblings, his parents, his aunt and uncle and his grandmother all came along. We rented a big house with 8 bedrooms right on the beach.

We had a great trip! It was so fun to spend time with the extended Schulze family. And I'm so happy we got to spend some quality time with Jeff's grandmother. She's the only grandmother left between us and she's pretty awesome.

The weather was a little iffy for much of the trip. So cloudy skies and rain put a slight damper on beach days and bike riding. But we still squeezed plenty in. So nice to pop out to the beach for as long or little as you want. Especially with little ones. Both girls loved the water and liked playing in the sand. Ellie had great fun getting knocked around by the waves.

Other fun stuff included: looking for shells, making crafts with said shells, going out to eat, shopping downtown, visiting the lighthouse and playground, playing in the pool and visiting the neighboring town of Apalachicola. In the evenings the adults played cards or board games.

Usually in the morning we'd try to get out in the beach. In the afternoon, Ellie would nap and everyone would do their own thing. I often napped in the afternoon too because I was 7 months pregnant, uncomfortable and tired! I had difficulty finding any place comfortable besides laying in bed. And Ellie has a number of night wake-ups and early mornings. Or one of the big girls would wake up early and I could hear their feet hitting the floor down in our room. Claire loved sharing a room with their cousins. She did get a little sleep deprived though so she was cranky some days! Heaven forbid she actually give in and take a nap though!

We had some professional photos done of all of us on the beach. You can see a few of those and other shots from the week below.