35/35!

I've reached the 35/35 point! 35 weeks with 35 days left!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

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I've been saying it all along but I really can't believe how fast this has gone! Even the doctor today was like, "wow, I remember when you just found out you were pregnant." I agreed, it felt like yesterday I had my first appointment with her! Speaking of which, I had my appointment today, he's measuring perfectly, which is great to hear. Especially when people have no problem telling me how big I'm getting and how I look like it "could be any day." To which my doctor said, "they're crazy" see why I picked her!? :)

She checked my cervix and it's closed, so no dialation which I'm totally happy about. I know people can be one and two centimeters dialated for weeks but if I had heard that I was I would have totally been on edge. I'm still okay with waiting a few more weeks! There are showers to attend still ;) j/k! He is however HEAD DOWN!! I know he could totally flip around still, so lets pray he doesn't. I was having some sharp pains, low in my belly and she confirmed that's normal and it's him decending down. I'm just glad it's normal, I can deal if it's normal.

In general, I feel pretty good. I really shouldn't complain (but I will). Still having braxton hicks but they're not painful. Hip pain, however, is crucial at night so sleeping is minimal unless I'm sitting up. The other night I woke up and almost cried when I got out of bed to walk to the bathroom, it was terrible. My sweet husband said I should have woken him up to tell him that it hurt that bad so he could comfort me when I cried. I think if I really had he'd be singing a different tune. I also have heartburn all the time from eating anything, even oatmeal and plain things like that. I wake up in the middle of the night with it. Good times. I pop a Tums.

Anywho, here's what the bump and I look like. Exhausted is a good word for it. I feel exhausted all the time, I have the whole pregnancy, I never got that burst of energy some people talk about. This week was especially tiring because I was training the person who is going to replace me at work (he's from out of town and was visiting for 3 days and will come back after I deliver). This picture was taken on the first day with him. I'm not used to all the walking and talking I was doing!

Shower time!

So I had my first shower (my BFF is throwing another one in early February) given by my mom and Aunt. It was so amazing! They really went all out and were so creative, I feel so loved! We got a lot of nice things, tons of clothes of course - people love buying baby clothes! Here are a TON of pictures from the shower, I just have to show off all their handywork!

Me and my mom:

They supplied all these outfits for the clothes line and I of course got them all :)

These were the favors, inside were cinnamon buns for the "bun" I have in the "oven"

How cute, they put the chips in these dump trucks, there were too, they're both for Campbell when he's big enough.

These were bibs!

These were washcloths!

These were onesies! There was another similar arrangement and they were made out of little white baby socks.

Diaper cake! The blocks they're on were milk crates wrapped in paper with styrofoam bath letters stuck on the sides. There were several of these blocks.

Diaper baby - it was a onesie filled with diapers and the head was diapers rolled up with a pacifier and little booties on his feet.

This was the cake - SO cute. It was made by the people who made our wedding cake! Loved that!

Another diaper cake

This was where I sat to open presents

34 weeks

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

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Yep, here we are, 34 weeks! At my last doctor's appointment they said when I turned 34 weeks they wouldn't do anything to stop it if I went into labor. That's such a crazy thought that at this point we could have a baby! It's an amazing relief that he would be okay if he were - that's what I've been worried about this whole time and to hear him say they are comfortable delivering at this point makes it a little better.


Here's me - no real changes except my ankles are gone, my feet are pudgy, and my fingers are fat (they've always been really skinny).




Know what else makes it better? Having his room done! That's right, it's done! It came together really fast! My mom and aunt painted one day, we had the carpets cleaned last Friday, had my first shower on Saturday, I washed everything Sunday and put some things away, Nick put the crib together Monday, then my mom came and hung the border, name letters, window valance, wall decorations, and put the rest of the stuff away yesterday so it's complete! I feel so much better now that he has a room and I just love it, I can stand in there for hours and just look at it. We just need to get the glider (my parent's gift to us), the room is so TINY, we'll have to plop it right in the middle of the room!


So here it is! It's actually a really warm room, the flash makes it look really bright.





We want to get a book shelf to go next to the crib (not too close so he can't reach it).


Look at all the blue in his closet!Changing pad cover is in the wash but it's sand colored.

33 Weeks!

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

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As for me: Things are pretty much the same, still having Braxton Hicks, some bizarre cramps and shooting pains (going to the doc today and will mention it among all my other concerns!) I'm trying to relax but getting things tied up at work (we're really busy right now) and getting things set up for Campbell's arrival are stressing me out (big surprise, doesn't take much). I keep reminding myself that those stressors make me have braxton hicks even more so I'm really trying to keep it under control.

I'm feeling like things are coming together. Nick finally got our bathroom pretty much renovated, there are still 3 things left to finish up but it's functional and I can put stuff back in it. He'll be going to the dump to get rid of all the trash tomorrow. I can't wait for all that to be out of here! We had the carpets professionally cleaned this morning so I feel good about that too.

I think if the crib was put together, I would feel a lot better. Nick is supposed to put it together tomorrow, we'll see. He's such a procrastinator but at least he'll get it done, I can't do anything really productive so if it weren't for him we'd be no where!

My 1st shower is tomorrow. I'm really excited, it's my 'family' shower. My mom and aunt are throwing it, everything is pretty much a surprise. Two friends from college are coming so that will be fun! I know I'm going to be overwhelmed with all of the stuff! My mom has already agreed to help wash everything - you wouldn't believe all the things that have to be washed!!

I got the invitation for my second shower my BFF (was my MOH) is throwing me, they're so cute! It's the first weekend in February. Lots of fun stuff coming up!

Here's the bump! And don't mind my hair, I was taking a nap right before the pictures.

Maternity Photos!

We got the proofs back today - here are some of my favorites! First are the ones of just me that we took indoors and then the ones we took the weekend after Christmas outdoors of the two of us.

What do you think? I'm not sure which ones to get prints of! It will definitely be some of these...

32 weeks!

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

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I had a good 32 week appointment, (well it was a few days before 32 weeks) - very quick, didn't have a lot of questions and everything is still right on track as far as his size.

We had our Childbirth Preparation class today. It was supposed to be two whole days but the group decided to power through and actually do everything all in one day. We learned a lot about pain management and labor. I'm so glad we did it, I feel better equipped with what to expect. I'm not foolish enough to think everything will go by the book but I like knowing all the different things. We learned everything right down to what a catheter and the epidural tubing look like! I feel much more prepared now, knowing my how things generally go. The group asked a lot of good questions and I got to ask all of mine.

We got to tour the hospital, it's fairly new, it will be just a year old when we go to have Campbell. The rooms are all single rooms and they are big. We'll stay in the same room the whole time and Campbell will stay with us the whole time too which is really nice to me.

We decided that we're going to do everything we can for me not to have an epidural. The side effects are just more than I want to risk. We both are open to the fact there may come a point where I can't take it and need to have it but we'll start out with doing all the pain management techniques before we get to that point. I think if I go into it knowing that yes, it's going to be the worst pain I may ever feel, it won't last forever and people do do it every day, that's all I can do. We'll think positive and Nick supports me so we'll do our best. We do have a code word "Virginia" so when I say that, it means, I'm done, give me the drugs!

I'm just continuing to pray that he's healthy and that he stays inside until at least 37 weeks! Please God. That's all I can hope for.

I've continued to have some Braxton Hicks but less than the limit in an hour and laying down stops them so I think we're still okay.

We've got a couple more classes to go through, Breastfeeding Basics, Home with Baby and Infant CPR. Those will be much shorter.

Next weekend I have my first shower (of two). Yay!