38 Weeks

 

I am actually nearing the end of my 39th week, but I wanted to get this update on the blog before I actually update about being 39 weeks pregnant. Bless my heart, I look so tired in this picture.

 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of Baby: He should weigh about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long. He measures to be about the length of a leek.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I gained a pound at my last doctor appointment. I am not going to tell you what that puts me at. My blog, my choice.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts. I pretty much wear the same thing all the time. It's very, very attractive.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He is still moving but it's less frequent and much slower. Boy child has run out of room. I feel him the most at night.

Sleep: I've been waking up for about 30-45 minutes in the middle of the night, no matter how tired I am or what time I went to bed. I guess that's pretty normal when you're very pregnant.

What I Miss: Bending over without groaning, putting on my socks with ease, and not being flat out physically exhausted all the time. I feel like I ran a marathon most days when I clearly did nothing of the sort. I also took it upon myself to pain my own toenails. It took me about 35 minutes and I have never made such noises. I think I permanently scarred my husband. He kept asking if he could help, but NO, Pregnant Girl had to do it herself. They actually don't look that bad.

Cravings: Sweet things and corn dogs. Stop judging me.

Symptoms: Pelvic pain and being exhausted 24/7.

Best Moment This Week: My sweet and precious students threw me a surprise baby shower (with the obvious help of their parents). It was BEAUTIFUL. I was overwhelmed by gifts and we played some fun games. One of the moms made a cake out of different Little Debbie snack cakes and it was SO cute; I can't wait to show pictures. The layer of Swiss Cake Rolls were my favorite. I could put down a box of those right now. These kids are actually really good secret keepers because I had no idea. They were so excited and when I asked them how they kept a secret, they told me that "they just whispered about it at their tables a lot". That made me laugh! It was so touching and made me teary. I will miss them a lot!

 

 

I have been asked a few times to write a post on our decision to have a natural birth using the Bradley Method. I am absolutely going to do this because I've become very passionate about it, but after some thought, I am going to wait until after the baby is born to write it. My reason for doing that is because... drum roll, please... I have never given birth. I know. Shocking. I want to wait until I can add an element of experience and real advice to the post. The only thing that I know for sure at this point is that it will be hard and painful, but there is no medical reason for me to have an epidural. I underlined the word "me" because I want people to know that there is NO JUDGEMENT from me if you have had an epidural, want one, or had/ are having a planned or unplanned C-section. There are both medical and personal reasons for why I will not be getting an epidural, but everyone is different! There are healthy babies born naturally, with epidurals, and by C-section every single day and I truly believe that it is the mother's choice.

 

I have quickly learned that no matter what type of birth you're planning, there are people who love to make you feel bad about it. I'm not one of those people. I will talk to you all you want about why I feel natural birth is best for our family and our baby, but I won't cast stones at you if it's not what you want for your family. I also want to be clear with the fact that if my doctor looks at me and says that we need to get this baby out now for any reason, I trust him and will tell him to cut that boy out as fast as he can. There is no amount of desire for a natural birth that would take the place of my desire for a healthy baby. None.

 

Someone wrote to me the other day that they hoped I'd have my perfect birth. I'm not really sure what to make of that statement other than the fact that I'd like to clarify that I'm not really looking for a "perfect" birth. Yes, we took the Bradley classes. No, I won't be having an epidural. Yes, I feel prepared to have this baby naturally. No, the fact that it's natural does not mean that it will be a painless and picture perfect birth. I know that I'm going to look HEINOUS after pushing out a huge baby. I know I'll probably feel that way, too. All in all, I'm looking and praying for a healthy child at the end of the birthing process. Maybe I've been bad about expressing that, but before he is born, I want to be clear that the ultimate goal is to have a birth that produces a healthy baby who grows up to love Jesus and follow passionately after Him-- not to have a perfect, natural birth. I hope you all can see my heart in this! I'm just so excited to meet my sweet guy.

 

Happy Tuesday!

37 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks-- he is considered full term now!

Size of Baby: He should be about 6 1/3 pounds (haha, I'm SURE he's bigger) and a little bit over 19 inches. He is approximately the size of a stalk of Swiss chard.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: OH MY WORD. At my appointment on Tuesday, I about fell off the scale because I'd actually LOST THREE POUNDS. This puts me back into a weight gain that is in the 20 pound range. I don't know how that happened or why, but they didn't say it was bad. Who am I to question a doctor?

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts. I'll be honest, I've exhausted my options of maternity clothes. I feel like I'm wearing the same thing all the time and I've lost my will to care. 

Gender: Boy! People ask me his name all the time, but since he truly doesn't have one yet, it's easy not to tell.

Movement: I love it when he moves! He picks different times of the day to go crazy. Last night, I tried to get a video on my phone but of course he stopped as soon as I tried to capture the moment.

Sleep: Most of the time, I sleep very, very well. Third trimester pregnancy insomnia hasn't really been an issue.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my back? I have really been enjoying pregnancy, other than the hellish morning sickness that I had. If not for that, I'd have had a picture perfect pregnancy. I will miss the closeness and just the whole experience.

Cravings: I crave something sweet after every meal. I have always loved the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and thankfully, the stores have put them out very early this year. I'm not going to tell you how many bags we've (I've) gone through in the last few weeks.

Symptoms: Still some pelvic pain and some back pain, but my doctor taught me some good ways to manage the pain. It's definitely helped. My hips crack and pop a lot which is semi-comical but mostly painful. I feel like I need a hip transplant at the tender age of 25.

Best Moment This Week: Some of my very favorite people in Cincinnati threw me a gorgeous shower this weekend! It was such a sweet time with friends who have made this city another home for me. Every detail was absolutely perfect and I got to celebrate the baby with so many people that I love. My mom and MIL got to come as well, which worked out so well! It was fun to sort through tons of baby clothes with them on Saturday evening. I am telling you-- friends have been SO generous in giving me baby clothes. This baby is set for a really long time in the clothes department and he has some really beautiful, quality items! On Sunday, my mom, Tyler, and I finally got the nursery into shape. Nothing like your mom to light a fire under your rear end! Everything in his room is pretty close to being ready for his arrival and we are now just putting things away that he won't need anymore! I was so, so thankful for the time with my mom in his nursery. I always dreamed of my momma helping me get ready for my little one and it has been a blessing to see how much she's enjoyed it, too!

36 Weeks

Please excuse my seemingly malformed stomach. The cardigan I was wearing had large buttons and makes it look like I'm going to birth a baby made of Legos. I'm going to need to think twice before wearing it again.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of Baby: He is gaining about an ounce per day and should be around 6 pounds. He is more than 18 1/2 inches long and is the approximate size of a crenshaw melon.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've not lost any weight. Can I just stick with that? I definitely gained between my 35-36 week appointments, but the doctor still swears that I'm on track and measuring well. Who am I to question a doctor? 

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts. I have two pairs of work maternity pants and I obviously wear them a lot. On Tuesday, one of my sweet, sweet children said, "Ooooh, Mrs. Haney! You worse those pants yesterday!" Lovely of you to notice, sweetheart. You can't for the life of you remember where your Math paper goes, but you can remember what pants I wore yesterday. Children... God bless them.

 Gender: Boy. The Boy Without a Name. That will be the Lifetime movie that they will someday make about my son because he still has no name.

Movement: Still moving like crazy! Boy child HATES the doppler at the doctor's office. Have I said that already? He moves away from it every single time they try to find his heartbeat. My doctor said that's a good sign. I don't know why, but he said it.

Sleep: Eh, depends on the night. I only get up once to go to the bathroom, but sometimes I will wake up and my mind will just start racing with all I have to do before he gets here.

What I Miss: Clear skin. Pregnancy acne has not been good to me.

Cravings: I truly just crave food at this point, but sometimes, I'm just not hungry at all. Last night I ate a salad and Triscuits and cheese for dinner. Don't worry, I ate plenty and my baby did not go hungry. I actually could eat Triscuits and cheese at any point in the day.  

Symptoms: Lots of pain due to the fact that he is head down, but I'm not complaining! My back also hurts periodically due to my pinched nerve. It's all completely worth it, though.

Best Moment This Week: Tyler and I went on a little "babymoon" on Saturday night. We didn't want to go too far from home (just in case), so we headed out to our favorite bed and breakfast which is about 30 minutes from our house. We dropped our stuff off, went to dinner, and then came back and watched a movie. The next morning, we enjoyed an amazing breakfast, packed up and came home for a nice quiet afternoon. It was so nice to be with just my husband somewhere other than our house. When we are home, I am always doing something, cleaning something, getting ready for the baby, etc. It was great to just take some time to relax and talk. I really love that guy. He is going to be an incredible dad!

Maternity Pictures

Pregnancy: the only time in your life where you actually want to document how fat you're getting.

You've been seeing my (attempted) weekly updates and photos. Other than that, I've stayed away from cameras for the most part. I do have to say, I'm very glad we've done the weekly pictures. It has been (mostly) fun to see how much I grow from week to week and month to month. We've also done belly shots each week, but that is just for our personal viewing pleasure. I would not subject anyone to that on this blog. I just am not into that, but no hard feelings if you are. One thing I've learned about pregnancy is that everyone is different and you just have to roll with it.

Back to pictures.

I knew when I got pregnant that I'd want to do a maternity shoot at some point. I doubt we'll do this again with any of our other pregnancies, but since this was the first, I wanted to remember it in a special way. We know a lot of amazing photographers, but I knew that I wanted my sweet friend Jenn to do them. She is a fantastic photographer and does an incredible job of capturing really sweet times in peoples lives. She is also a lovely woman who just has the most precious heart. I have known her for well over 10 years and she is a peach!

A few weekends ago, we had her take our maternity pictures in Michigan. She is a Speedy Gonzalez because she already has a preview up on her blog! I am so thrilled with the pictures and cannot wait to see more! I'm excited to pick one to frame for Baby Boy's room. Jenn, we just love them so far. Thank you for documenting this special time in our lives!

I can't wait to hear what you all think!

34 and 35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 and 35 Weeks

Size of Baby: At 34 weeks, he weighed approximately 4 and 3/4 pounds, which is the size of your average cantaloupe. He was around 18 inches long. At 35 weeks, he is over 18 inches long and should weigh about 5 and 1/4 pounds, which is the size of a honeydew melon. I thought a cantaloupe was big, but now we're talking about a huge melon baby. I have this fear that I am going to birth a toddler sized baby and that fear has suddenly been made very real by the fact that I look a TON bigger in my 35 week picture.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 26 pounds. If I'm having a honeydew baby, shouldn't I only have gained about 6-7 pounds? Sounds fair to me!

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts. I live in my black GAP work pants and all sweat pants. I don't even care anymore!

Gender: Boy! My mom asked me if he had a name last night. Sorry, Mom. Nope. She did give me some good advice in that whatever we name him, he will become that name and we will love that. I need to stop stressing about the name.

Movement: I still love to feel him move! He is moving more slowly, but has been getting the hiccups a lot lately. I love when he gets them! Tyler got to feel his hiccups the other day and just laughed and laughed. It was great. :)

Sleep: My 3,000 pillows and I are having a great time at night. I've figured out that if I go to bed a little later (read: 10:00 as opposed to 9:00), I sleep better. What a concept!

What I Miss: I miss the days before I got pregnant when I thought I was fat but I actually wasn't.

Cravings: I do NOT like lunch meat. Not at all. However, last week I could have killed someone for a lunch meat sandwich. Didn't care what kind, I wanted it. I pacified myself by getting a chicken teriyaki sub for lunch instead. The man behind me was very sweet and was asking me about the baby and asked if I was craving anything specific. Bless his heart, I don't think he knew what to say when I told him I was craving FOOD. That was a great lunch because I got a free cookie for being 8 months pregnant. It was awesome. 

Symptoms: I'm having a lot of pain in certain areas. I am also dealing with a BEAST of a pinched nerve, which makes it hard to work but not impossible.

Best Moment This Week: During week 34, my in-laws came and my FIL painted the nursery! I love it soooo much. I can't wait to show you all the finished product. While he painted, my MIL and I did some projects around the house that I've been wanting to get down and Tyler's brother built us these amazing shelves in the basement. We had a wonderful time with them! They also brought their new schnoodle puppy, Gracie. She was DARLING. It was great to have them and we got so much accomplished. I am so lucky to have wonderful in-laws! During week 35, one of my best friends, Kate, threw me another beautiful shower in Michigan. She is such an amazing planner and great with details-- it was so beautiful and so fun to be with so many of my sweet friends from home! A few days later, I had my work shower and so many of my colleagues came to celebrate the baby. It was incredible and overwhelming in such a lovely way. I work with some amazing women who are so excited for us and to meet this baby. I will blog about the showers-- I WILL! I just have to gather some pictures. It might be after the baby is born, but I promise, it will get done! Thank you to all of you who attended and made me (and baby) feel so loved!  

The "I'm Pregnant" Story

I realized recently that I never shared the story of when we found out we were pregnant. That is definitely something that needs to be documented on the blog. I don't even know how to start this post. I guess I'll just dive right in.

I was out of school and decided to go up north with my parents for a few days. Now, for all you non-Michiganders, "up north" is kind of a general term for anywhere in northern Michigan. We have dear family friends who have a house on a lake in northern Michigan and they had invited our family to come up for a few days. Tyler couldn't go because of work, but since I was on summer break, I went with my mom and dad. Mike and Suzy own the house and their daughter, Jesse, who is one of my dearest friends, was also home from Colorado. It was seriously the best time; just us daughters on a getaway with our parents. We all get along super well and laugh a lot. Some of my favorite summer memories are at their house up north.

When I was packing to go to Michigan, I randomly threw some pregnancy tests into my bag. I knew that being pregnant was a possibility, but I honestly did not think it was going to happen for us for a long time. But I also knew I wasn't going to ask anyone to take me to WalMart to buy pregnancy tests while we were there. I am so glad I took some.

If my memory serves me correctly, we left my parents house to go up north on Sunday, June 27. We had a great few days, but on Tuesday, June 29, I realized I was supposed to start my period. If womanly things make you uncomfortable, stop reading. One of my spiritual gifts is the gift of TOO MUCH INFORMATION. Anyway, I am extremely regular and all day, I waited and waited. Nothing. We went out to dinner that night, and before we went, I thought, "Eh, what the heck, I might as well pee on one of my sticks." I went inside to shower and get ready, and to... well... pee.

Well. WELL.

That second line? Showed up immediately. There was no waiting period. It just popped right out and said hello. And me? I about lost my lunch.

I don't know why, but I really had it in my head that we would not get pregnant for a very, very long time.

WRONG.

I remember hiding the test and the evidence and getting in the shower and repeating to myself over and over again, "I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant? Hello, baby! I'm PREGNANT." I also knew I needed to calm myself down because there were five people in the house that knew me WELL and that they would figure out that something was going on if I was acting like a crazy person. I also knew that the first person who I wanted to know was Tyler. I did NOT want to tell him on the phone, so my conclusion was this-- I had to keep this a big secret.

We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and on the way there, I took this picture with my cell phone. I think I look happy but a little scared, which is exactly how I was feeling.

The next morning, I decided to take one more pregnancy test just to check and sure enough, that second line didn't waste any time. I honestly think this is when I went into shock mode. I knew that I couldn't tell my parents and that was awful. I had to act perfectly normal for another 48 hours when I was feeling anything but normal.

That morning, my mom, Suzy, Jesse, and I took the dogs on a walk. I forgot to mention that I had a sinus infection, and when I found out I was pregnant, I knew I was going to have to be careful not to take certain over-the-counter medications. I told them that I needed to call my doctor to ask about getting an appointment when I went back to Cincinnati for my sinus infection, but obviously, I didn't tell them anything else. I walked really far behind them and whispered the whole time. The secretaries at the doctor's offices probably thought I was insane. First, I called my OB's office and told them that I'd had two positive tests and what the HECK should I do now? She did some quick calculations and told me that I would come in when I was 8 weeks pregnant. UM, NO. Well, actually, I didn't have a say in that, so she made me an appointment and I called my family doctor next. I told them that I thought I was pregnant but that I was in some serious pain due to my sinuses. They told me what I could take (basically nothing) and I made an appointment for when I got back to Cincinnati.

I think we headed back to my parent's house that night (June 30) and then the next day, I headed back to Cincinnati. Let me just tell you-- knowing that I was pregnant and not telling my parents? Hardest thing ever. Talking to my husband on the phone multiple times per day and not telling him? EVEN WORSE. I have never been so eager to get back to Ohio! I drove back and went straight to my family doctor's office. When I got back to my exam room, I told them that I thought I was pregnant and asked if they could do an official pregnancy test. They did one and then I had to wait by myself in that room to hear what they said. When the nurse came back in, she asked me what the home pregnancy tests had said. I told her they were positive and she looked at me, smiled, and said, "Congratulations, you are definitely pregnant!" I straight up burst into tears. I think it was the combination of feeling like crap due to my sinus infection and holding in that big secret for so many days. She was so sweet to me and listened to me blubber and told me that everything would be okay. Bless her heart, I don't even remember her name, but she was great.

When I left the doctor's office, I went to Target and bought a little onesie that says, "I Love my Dad". I also bought a gift bag and some tissue and wrapped it up in the car. I knew Tyler would be home from work shortly after I arrived home, so I had it waiting for him. When he came in, I told him I had gotten him a little something up north. I have asked him several times since then if he knew what he was opening. He says he had no idea, but I'm still a little skeptical. He pulled out the onesie, got this huge smile on his face, and just said, "Wow. Really!?" I then burst into tears again, not because he said it in a mean way, but just because I was freaked and so relieved that he finally knew. It was a loooong few days.

I really wanted to tell my parents in person, especially since I knew we were going back up to Michigan a little over a week later, but that just didn't happen. I think my mom figured it out on her own. Actually, I know she did. We ended up telling our parents and our brothers over the phone, but that's what happens when you live far away. It sucks. Sorry, but it does. Of course, I am now crying about that, but that's only because I am 34 weeks pregnant and highly emotional. STILL.

About a week later, I experienced some awful cramping which caused me to have several early appointments with my doctor as well as several ultrasounds. That first ultrasound was both painful and amazing. We got to see the tiny little piece of rice that was our baby and even see his itty bitty heartbeat. It was absolutely incredible. However, we were told that from the ultrasound pictures and my blood work, there was a chance I was miscarrying the baby and that I would have to have a follow up ultrasound when we returned from a little vacation we had planned. All in all, it was about 4-5 days that we had to wait and let me tell you-- it was rough. I went through every emotion in the book and also started in on the morning sickness during that time. It was really hard, but Tyler was amazing through the whole thing. Our marriage has really changed and grown during this pregnancy and it has been such a sweet time for us. I love that guy that I married. Good thing, huh?

We had the follow up ultrasound and my mom actually came down to be with us in case we got hard news. I cannot tell you the relief of seeing my healthy little baby on the screen with a flashing heartbeat. I also love that my mom got to experience it with us. And here I go, crying again. There is nothing like hearing that you have a healthy baby. We got the pictures of our little guy and I looked at them everyday for months. Oh, I forgot to say that I knew this baby was a boy. I just knew the moment I found out I was pregnant. There was never one doubt in my mind for whatever reason. Go figure!

So there you have it! It's crazy reading through this and remembering that time of our lives. I thought that the next 9 months would creep by and in some ways, they have but in other ways, they have flown. Most of all, it has just been a wonderfully fun and crazy time. I can't wait to meet this fellow; he sure is worth it!

32 and 33 Weeks

I'm going to have to upload my 33 week picture later-- whoops!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 and 33 weeks

Size of Baby: At 32 weeks, he weighed 3.75 pounds and was the size of a large jicama, whatever the heck that is. He was also about 16 inches long. At 33 weeks, he is a little over 4 pounds and is the size of a pineapple! It honestly does feel and look like I've swallowed something that is equivalent to the size of a a whole pineapple.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 23 pounds and NO, I don't want to talk about it.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts. I did find a random pair of pants from Gap Body that my friend Debbie gave me and I have been living in those!

Gender: Boy! I think he has a name. I might be giving into Tyler's choice... might.

Movement: He still moves a ton, but it's a lot of slower movements. I think he's getting a little cramped. Sorry, little buddy! I love feeling specific body parts, like his teeny legs and feet. Pregnancy is such an awesome miracle; I'm not sure how anyone who has been pregnant could say there isn't a God! 

Sleep: I wake up once or twice in the middle of the night. I also sleep with approximately 54 pillows which is really pleasant for Tyler.

What I Miss: I guess I miss not having a tiny person cramming his feet into my ribs. :)

Cravings: Oooooh, slurpees! I want them all the time!

Symptoms: There are things I cannot share on this blog that I am experiencing. They are not fun. I guess if I think of symptoms, I would just say that I am feeling way pregnant in every possible way. And... I love it. :)

Best Moment This Week: I had my first baby shower! I must share pictures soon and I promise I will! The shower was thrown by a dear family friend, Suzy, and it was fabulous. Suzy and her husband, Mike, are like second parents to me-- I love them so much. I actually found out I was pregnant while I was up north at their cottage this summer. It killed me not to say anything, but I'm pretty sure they just knew. I don't hide things super well. Anyway, the shower was perfect and I can't wait to post about it. One of the best parts was that their daughter, Jesse, who is absolutely one of my favorite people on Earth, flew in from Denver to surprise me. It was the BEST BEST BEST! I can't wait to share more about it, but it was an amazing day. This baby is so loved by so many people!  

31 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 31 Weeks

Size of Baby: He is over 16 inches long and weighs around 3.3 pounds. He is the size of four navel oranges and is about to start a growth spurt!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of Tuesday, I have gained 20 pounds. Gulp.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants (other than yoga/sweat pants) and a mix of maternity/ non-maternity shirts.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He is still moving a lot and now that I know he is head down, I can identify some of his limbs! I love when he moves slowly and I can feel with my hand his little legs or knees. On Sunday, he was moving like a wild man and Tyler got to watch my belly move back and forth all on its own. It was funny to see his reaction! :)

Sleep: Oh, sleep. How I miss thee and my melatonin. I can always fall asleep super fast, but it just depends on the night whether or not I can sleep all the way through. On Thursday, I was just so exhausted that I got the best nights sleep I've had in ages. It was glorious! I think my body is just getting ready for a tiny person who doesn't care if it's 3 AM or not.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my back and not worrying about him constantly. Welcome to the rest of my life-- ha!

Cravings: Still Vernors and sweet things. I actually fluctuate between Vernors and Cherry 7 Up.

Symptoms: A little bit of heartburn and some odd pains in different places. Anytime I have ANY pain, I get nervous. I also keep running into things with my stomach. Apparently I have misjudged my size. Yesterday, I hit a kid in the head with my stomach while I was walking around the room. WHOOPS! 

Best Moment This Week: We got his crib and crib mattress! Hooray! Also, we had a fantastic doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE my doctor? Actually, there are two. They are the only ones in the practice, so it gives me a lot of peace to know my OB pretty well. We went over my birth plan with him and he was incredibly supportive of our decision to go natural-- he actually prefers to deliver naturally! I am so thankful that God provided him to deliver our son. Seriously, huge blessing. Also, I found out that a woman I work with had her second son with my doctor! We talked about him for a long time and she made me feel even more positive about him. God already has his hand on this birth-- I know that for a fact!

30 Weeks

I feel like I put a disclaimer before every picture, but here I go again. I had just found out that my childhood dog, Georgie, had died, so I am looking rough. Oh, well. I am also currently 31 weeks pregnant, so I'm almost caught up!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Size of baby: He is about 16 inches long and weighs almost 3 pounds! He is the size of a head of cabbage.

 Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still 18 pounds, but I have a feeling my scale is of the broken nature. It never fluctuates. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing!

 Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants, but a combination of maternity and normal shirts.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He is a restless little thing! I am now to the point where I can actually feel limbs and things! CRAZY! Feeling him move has really been one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. There is nothing like it!

Sleep: I'm still waking up in the middle of the night, but last night, I slept pretty soundly. However, I was exhausted, so maybe that's the key!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back!

Cravings: I never used to be like this, but every night after supper, I always need something sweet! It doesn't have to be a lot, but I absolutely NEED something!

Symptoms: I have the occasional bout of heartburn, but thanks to the Tums that my dad gave me, it goes away pretty quickly. I also am feeling some pressure in some odd places in my stomach depending on the time of day. I'm guessing it's due to his position.

Best Moment this week: We finally picked his bedding! HALLELUJAH! It was a hard choice for me to make, but once I decided, I haven't had one second thought. I love it SO much. I can't wait to see what his room will look like when we have it all put together! I love Glenna Jean bedding and knew that I wanted something from this line. I am so tickled!

 

28 and 29 Weeks

   

I think my New Years Resolution needs to be focused on being a better blogger. Oops. I have the pictures, just not the blog entries! With the craziness that is visiting both of our families for Christmas, I actually forgot to take an actual picture for 29 weeks The picture above is from the annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party with our friends in Michigan. I guess it's better than nothing!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 28, then 29 weeks

Size of baby: At 28 weeks, he was about 2 1/4 pounds like a Chinese cabbage! He was approximately 14.8 inches from head to heel. At 29 weeks, he is 2 1/2 pounds like a butternut squash! He is just a little over 15 inches and growing!

 Total Weight Gain/Loss: My scale still has me at 18 pounds. I feel better about this. Not great, but certainly better! I know that this is the time where the pounds really start to come on as the baby grows and grows. Yay for a growing baby! 

 Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants, but a combination of maternity and normal shirts.

Gender: Boy!

Movement: He moves a lot! He gets a little crazy in the morning and the evening and after I eat. 

Sleep: I can fall asleep very easily but am having trouble with waking up for an hour or so in the middle of the night. This has not been so fun. 

What I miss: Sleeping through the night, but I know I need to get used to my new normal! :)

Cravings: Vernors Ginger Ale! This is a Michigan based soda, but thankfully they sell it here!

Symptoms: Nothing that I can think of at the moment!

Best Moment this week: Right before Christmas, I was given the most precious gift for our baby boy. A sweet friend at my school who is a fabulous quilter made the baby a play quilt! I really need to get a picture of it to put on here. It is full of bright colors and the most fun squares that she chose. It is large and soft and will be the perfect thing for the baby to lie on while he is playing on the floor. When she gave it to me, I cried. This has not been an easy year for me at work. I actually have a fabulous and pretty easy class, but there have been some other things that have been hard. Getting this quilt was just the most precious reminder that there are people there who love and care about me and the baby. I know that in my heart, but it was so amazing to get such a tangible reminder. It is so fun to look at and think about what a special thing it will be for the baby! 

26 and 27 Weeks

I have been crazy busy, so I'm combining these updates. I am 28 weeks TOMORROW, so I thought I'd better get on the ball and post!

 

Pregnancy Highlights: 

How Far Along: 26, then 27 weeks

Size of baby: At 26 weeks, he was about a pound and two-thirds and was the length of a hothouses cucumber (I actually know what those are, thank you, Food Network), which is about 14 inches. Now at 27 weeks, he is about 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. All in all, they compare him to a head of cauliflower!

 Total Weight Gain/Loss: Why did I put this part on here? Sigh. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I have gained a total of... 18 pounds. Whew, that is hard to type. I know I'm supposed to be gaining weight, though. I asked my doctor several times if I was gaining too much weight and he assured me that he feels as though I am right on track. Alright, pity party OVER.

 Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants, but a combination of maternity and normal shirts. Gender: Boy!

Movement: He moves all the time. It's my favorite thing! I looooove that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can always feel him rolling around in there.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping great!

What I miss: Cookie dough. I'm in the midst of all my holiday baking planning and I feel sad that I can't indulge in my favorite holiday treat (the dough).

Cravings: Food in general. That's not really anything new, though!

Symptoms: This isn't a symptom, but it's getting harder and harder to tie my shoes and put socks on. I don't do very well bending over, either. My big old belly keeps getting in the way! 

Best Moment this week: Ty and I went to Babies 'R Us on Sunday and looked at cribs and rockers. I love going in that store and thinking about how our house will be overrun with baby gear soon! We are also still working on the name and it's fun to talk over those things together. I just love the new level that this pregnancy is giving to our marriage! One sad moment was that our Bradley class met for the last time. We absolutely loved the sweet woman that taught our class and I am so thankful to have her as a resource during my pregnancy and upcoming labor. I need to write a post on the class soon! It was fantastic.

 

Thank you so much for all your sweet encouragement in many different forms about my discouragement last week. I am feeling a lot better-- thank you, Lord! I do think that a lot of it is hormones, but I also need to learn to be not so stinking sensitive! I'm working on it. :)