Martha Metzler.com

Happy Monday everyone! Here is a 23 week picture. It’s hilarious trying to take pictures of yourself when 1. your husband isn’t there 2. you have a weird dog who likes to find himself in every frame and 3. you don’t have a fancy iphone (insert coveting stank eye here) to take a cute picture in the mirror. SO, I put my ole trusty digital camera on timer and took a picture in the hallway.

This week I’ve felt good energy wise, still walking a bunch. I took a bath (don’t worry, it wasn’t too hot) because the little monkey was chilling really low and was causing some pressure and OH MY WORD. What have I been missing!? I can definitely see why some women choose to labor in a warm tub because I felt so relaxed and weightless.

I can now feel him kick like crazy and can even see him pop on top of my stomach. Both of my sweet parents got to feel him kick this week.

I decided to chill out on the sugars and went to the grocery store last night and stocked up on high-protein healthy snacks to eat on throughout the day. I feel like I’m constantly hungry so I’ve been packing my little lunch box of yummy but healthy snacks…  you know like Dunkaroos and Fruit Roll-ups. I kid, I kid. I’ve been loving some carrots and hummus, greek yogurt, fruits, and swiss cheese.

I realized I’ve been misleading you about the weight gain! I lost 5 pounds during the first trimester because I was a vomit-machine so I’ve gained that back PLUS the 5 pounds this week. I’d only been putting the weight I’d gained from my original weight. So technically, I feel like I’ve gained 10 lbs.

Well, those are the 23 week highlights! I finally picked out the nursery bedding and I’m going with an orange and aqua theme… I blame the orange and blue obsession on my friend Kate who has me somehow got me invested in Auburn.  

Love to you friends.

Well I’m finally getting around to writing about our weekend away to Chapel Hill! While it wasn’t a posh week in the Caribbean, it was just what we needed. It was so fun to walk around campus and reminisce in all the places we met. We had PERFECT weather and I just had all of these flashbacks of walking around holding the hand of the man of my dreams, and now he’s the father of our child! That’s just so crazy. I knew that Sam was someone so special but there is no way I would have thought we’d have this great of a life together.

We got there Friday night and were both starving so we ate at a burger joint before going to the hotel. After dinner we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and decided to go on one of our college-style date nights. We went to see a movie at Southpoint and snuck in a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The apple-pie apple was and still is my absolute favorite.

Saturday morning we woke up and got brunch at Foster’s Market in Durham and even ran into our friends Stacy and Andy with their gorgeous kiddos which was SO fun. We ate and knew we had the whole day to just hang out and take it easy. We actually ended up going to see our first apartment together and then our first house.  It was so fun to go back and see those places with such great memories. Then we went to Patterson’s General Store and looked through all of the old books and antiques. It is such a cool place so if you’re ever in Chapel Hill you need to go! The Heels were playing that day so we decided to avoid the Franklin Street crowd and we met up with some of my old roomies and their hubbies and we all watched the game. After the game Sam and I went back to the hotel and got dressed up and went on our big date night! Elaine’s!!! That was our favorite date-night place to eat and it was delicious. They even made me a very yummy “mocktail” so that I could pretend I was having a swanky drink with supper. After supper Sam and I just walked around Franklin Street and enjoyed the night.

Sunday we slept in and then decided to do our day exploring the campus. We went and got an early lunch at Sutton’s on Franklin Street and then spent a few hours just walking around campus. We went into some of our old classrooms, went to our old college houses, and just soaked up the memories and the places where we used to meet each other on campus all googly-eyed. I still have such a crush on that man.

Bell Tower

A look at our quad

The obligatory shot by the Old Well

The hot night out on the town!

Patterson’s General Store where you can get bottled sodas, look at antiques and old books. I LOVE this place!

Anyone remember that 1800-Collect commercial?

I can’t believe I forgot to post it to the blogosphere but we are having a boy! I’m not sure I’ve seen Sam smile that big in a long time. There were definitely some high fives happening in the doctor’s office. But lets be honest, a lot of that is just because we like slappin’ five.

So it looks like we’re having a little Samuel Daughtry Metzler Junior! It seems to weird for me to call him Sam… for obvious reasons. SO I’ve been trying to brainstorm on some nicknames. Why don’t I share what my hubbs is going to call him…

Two.

Not Sam2, just Two.

Looks like I’ll have to start teaching my kid some serious comebacks when the elementary school kids start calling him “Number 2”.

Since I’m not sure I’ll be calling our son Two, what are some good nickname suggestions for the boy?? Leave them in the comments section!

  Why yes, that is my son’s winky-dink…were you confused?

when I think Kirstie Alley has taken over my body. I am a bottomless pit! I started off fine with my normal bowl of cereal but we had a retirement party for a coworker and the doughnuts were calling my name. I tried to cover most of my plate with fruit but the blueberry doughnut just laughed at my efforts… fail #1. Luckily, it was cut in half by another poor victim of its wooing so I tried to make myself feel better about taking it.

Then, as I was leaving I felt a whisper as sweet as the morning breeze. The perfectly glazed cinnamon roll (NOT cut in half) was begging me to wrap it up in a sweet little napkin and take it back to my desk. “You need to practice your swaddling Martha, just swaddle me in that Krispy Kreme napkin over there and take me to that wonderful office of yours.”  Fail #2… I meant to save it for lunch. That sucker only made it 30 minutes at my desk before I shoved it down my throat.

I won’t even tell you about the Laffy TaffyLaffy Taffies that I ate and the miniature ham biscuit that also somehow made it onto my plate.

I’m going to go prop my feet up now that I have confessed of my wonderfully glazed trespasses.

Sam and I had the best weekend together. It was very low key and perfect catch-up time. The belly had grown SIGNIFICANTLY since he left 2 weeks ago so he had a big smile on his face when he first saw me and said, “Well, you really ARE pregnant aren’t you!”

He was so sweet all weekend just rubbing the belly and he got to feel our little monkey kick for the first time. He took a 22 week photo so here it is with the stats:

Weight Gain: 4 pounds

Cravings: Swiss grilled cheese, blackberries, and FROZEN YOGURT… you know it’s sad when a frozen yogurt bar has only been open in Winston for a week and a half and I’ve been there 4 times. The owner actually knows me now, I wish I could say I’m ashamed, but the pink lemonade sorbet is SO GOOD! Try it out at Brynn’s if you are in town!

Favorite Activities: long walks after work with Roy and I finally found a prenatal video that makes me feel like I’m working and doesn’t completely make me look like a fool in my living room… I still kind if look like a fool trying to bend over and touch the ground.

Big Moment: Feeling the monkey kick from the outside and knowing he’s just having a dance party in there! We also finally registered… SWEET MOTHER OF PEARL that took forever. I thought I might give birth in Babies R Us we were in there so long. Of course it didn’t help that I laughed every time my mom asked what size nipple I wanted… what!? I can’t help the way I am!

Today I get to see the hubby!!! I’ve been counting down the past 2 weeks and I’ll get to see his handsome face tonight! It’ll be perfect weather this weekend and I just can’t wait to be outside with him.

This has definitely shown me to never take time with him for granted again. I will enjoy every minute. I know I need to post about our babymoon to Chapel Hill and another 22 week belly update! I’ll get right on that once I stop doing ninja kicks out of excitement for seeing the hubs 🙂

Whether you’ve been pregnant or not, you know that everyone likes to share their birthing horror stories with you. I’ve heard my fair share in the last 5.5 months and they’ve ranged from the horrific 30 hour labor full of screaming and cursing to having their baby in a Quality Mart parking lot (Hi Mary). Now they have a television show devoted to scaring the ever-living bejeezies out of you… super. Don’t they know I prefer to sit and veg out and watch How I Met your Mother?

Birth can be a scary thing… if you let it. I’ve had to be released from feeling as though other’s birth stories will be my birth story. God has always written His own story for me, why would my birthing story be any different? I have to be released from the fear that society puts on women and childbirth. I speak of freedom that Christ brings in our life, why should a scary chidlbirth be any different? I can experience freedom from that as well.

I have had some great encouragement from friends who have reminded me of Scripture, empowered me, and given me practical tips to battling this fear and doubt that inevitablely comes when thinking about labor.

• My friend Michelle has covered me in prayer and referred a book to me that I’ll review this week, it has been such a breath of fresh air.

• My friend Sarah shared her birth story with me, even though it was full of complications, she shared it with such adoration because it brought her sweet baby Wyatt into the world.

• My friend Stacy, my birth guru/midwife expert  (if we were having the baby close by, I’d force her to be my midwife) gave me some very good practical advice. I’m going to make a list of all of my fears on one side of a piece of paper. Then on the other side of the paper, write down the possible solutions to each of the fears. She told me to think of my ideal birth and then get everything in place that I could control. 

If you’re struggling with any kind of fear, I pray for freedom in your life. No matter the fear, you can name the fears and then list the possible solutions!  Peace to you friends.

Ok I’m back from the hole I’ve apparently been hiding in! We’ve had a lot of changes the past couple of weeks. Sam left for his 4.5 month training adventure and he has loved it. We’ve been able to talk on the phone each night which has been SUCH a blessing but I’m ready to see that man’s face! I get to see him Friday so needless to say this week has been excruciatingly SLOW.

The packers came last Wednesday to pack up our house. That was…. interesting. I’m so grateful that we don’t have to pack and move our house every 2 years with the Army so I can’t complain too much. The movers came on Thursday while Roy and I watched them move our house into a big truck and move it into storage in Washington. Crazy! Bless their hearts though, because the packers were a little slow in the uptake, the movers were there until 2am on Friday morning. We tried to have fun with it and I ordered them pizza. But around 10:15, they came out to tell me that I was pregnant (really!?) and I needed to go to a bed and they’d deal with everything else. So, in desperation, I decided to trust these nice men to finish moving my house and Roy and I went to my parents’ house for some much needed rest.

I went back first thing Friday morning before work and the movers had gotten everything out of the house and locked up. Thank you sweet movers, I shall reward you with the robot dance. * hold please while I’m doing the robot*

So Roy and I have been chilling at my parents’ house. Warm house, good food, good company… life is good.

I miss Sam like crazy but have been hanging in there alright. Valentine’s Day came and that sweet warrior man of mine, in the midst of everything he is doing, sent a gorgeous bouquet of tulips to my office.

So I’m so grateful and feel so blessed to have a sweet man who I miss, a sweet family who is housing me and my crazy dog, and good friends who keep making me laugh and feel really surrounded.

So that’s the update! Sorry for my absence.

Sam leaves tomorrow… so sad. I came into the bedroom as Sam was packing today and found Roy’s latest ploy to get Sam to stay. He was smack dab on top of Sam’s duffel bag and refused to move.

Roy might be onto something…

Here are some stats on this gorgeous day. It never occurred to me to do stats but my friends in far away countries like Wyoming wanted to get updates.

How many weeks: 20

Cravings: banana peppers and salt & vinegar chips

Aversions: fish… gross

Activity: still trying to walk each day, but tried prenatal yoga last night and was open hand slapped in the face by my loss of flexibility since I stopped doing pilates. I mocked the lady when she said for us to use a block… until I bent over and in my head I thought I was touching the ground but in reality, I was eye to eye with my dimpled knees. I swear one of the dimples winked at me.

Weight Gain: 3 lbs

Perceived weight gain: 20 lbs when I try and squeeze myself into my jeans and get the Belly Band over my belly

What’s a family picture without hubby’s boot in the shot?