Friday, July 29, 2011

36 Weeks

I'm 36 weeks along today!

Size
crenshaw melon (what is that?)
18 1/2 inches, 6 lbs, 1 oz.

Developments
gaining about 1 oz each day
Shedding soft body hair and vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered her skin,
to make the meconium she will soon be pooping out. :)

Heartbeat
158 bpm (as of 7/27/11)

Cravings
Italian Food

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 26 lbs (as of 7/21/11)
I know I gained a little more this week, but I forgot to ask the doctor. Oops!

Side Effects
Hips hurting...still!
Finally had to give up my wedding ring due to swollen fingers. :(
Swollen ankles if I don't have them propped up
Pretty sure I'm beginning to waddle.

What I REALLY miss
I'm so close to being done with it that I'm not really missing anything anymore.

What I LOVE!
Feeling this baby move inside of me...not much longer!
Emily's Daddy
Packing our hospital bags
Counting down the days and realizing she will be here VERY SOON!


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

We had our 36 week appointment today. Emily is doing great! The most exciting news is that she has decided to turn head down, so no C-section scheduled! YAY! Let's just hope she stays that way! She is now 6 lbs, 1 oz and in the 50th percentile. She's measuring 36 weeks and 1 day, so she's about three days ahead. We got to see her face pretty well today and Dr. Staud said she has a small nose and big, high cheeks (which we already knew about.) Also, she is very cute, according to the doctor. That's kind of hard for us to tell from an ultrasound, but we know she's going to be just precious and adorable. :) Another exciting thing is that Dr. Staud was able to get really good confirmation today that she's definitely a girl! We've gotten glimpses several times since the first time she told us, but today was the best look she's gotten since then.

The one downer is that I had a bit of protein in my urine, and the BP was a bit high (although it went way down before we left.) She's not really worried about my BP, but because of the protein, she wants me to do a 24 hour urine test. I've had protein in my urine before that has gone away, so I'm not worried about it. Before I went in for my appointment today, I spent seven hours in a middle school gymnasium with air conditioning that wasn't working well and hundreds of frustrated parents trying to register their kids for Pre-K. Every bit of water I drank was coming out in the form of sweat, so I think I was more hot, dehydrated, and tired than anything. I completely expect everything to be normal when I go back next week. Even if it really is there, we're so far along at this point that things would be just fine if we need to deliver a little early. In fact, I don't think I'd mind it one bit!

30 days to go!!!

Friday, July 22, 2011

35 Weeks

I'm 35 weeks along today!

Size
honeydew
Over 18 inches, 5 lbs, 11 oz.

Developments
kidneys are developed
liver is processing waste
Baby is fully developed, just filling out!

Heartbeat
154 bpm (as of 7/21/11)
It was higher than normal because she finally decided to move during the ultrasound. :)

Cravings
None this week!

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 26 lbs (as of 7/21/11)
I might've gained 5 lbs in the last two weeks. That can't happen again!

Side Effects
Hips hurting...still!
Finally had to give up my wedding ring due to swollen fingers. :(
Pretty sure I'm beginning to waddle.

What I REALLY miss
Sleeping on my back...SO MUCH!
Wearing normal clothes, especially jeans
Making it through the night without getting up multiple times
Being able to stand up without first giving myself a pep talk
Weight Watchers...weird, I know.

What I LOVE!
Watching my tummy move and jump all over the place.
My wonderful husband. He has been so great during this whole process!
Getting her room completed.
Getting our hospital clothes ready.
Counting down the days and realizing she will be here VERY SOON!
Yesterday we had our 34 week appointment, although I'm actually 35 weeks. Next week, we start once a week appointments until Emily joins us. I absolutely cannot believe it's almost here. This pregnancy has absolutely flown by. At our appointment yesterday, we found out Emily is no longer breach, but she's laying sideways with her head on my right side and her feet on the left. She was measuring 35 weeks and 1 day rather than 34 weeks and 6 days, which is where we were at yesterday. I think this is the first time she has measured bigger than what she really is. She's in the 54th percentile overall and is estimated to weigh in at 5 lbs, 11 oz. We should be right on track for an eight pound baby, give or take a few ounces. The last two appointments our doctor has remarked about how much hair she has, so I'm pretty excited about that. :) She's going to look really cute in all of her bows!

I headed straight from my doctor to my chiropractor to see what she could do about getting Miss Emily to turn and lock into the proper position. There is some method she is certified in for getting babies to turn. She did some pretty painful pushing all over the right side of my abdomen and Emily immediately started moving. If she's not head down by next week, Dr. Staud is going to go ahead and schedule a C-section. She'll continue checking every week to see if she's turned, up until the time of the actual procedure. Hopefully Emily will turn, but to be honest, I'm fine either way. The Lord already has both of our days planned and whatever it is will be just perfect, natural delivery or C-section.

We have made major progress on Emily's room this week. I got most of the artwork done as well as a few other projects I've been working on. We also had a friend who is an artist come and paint a mural on one wall. It looks amazing and I cannot wait to post pictures! I just have one more thing to do before it's complete. Once it is, we'll share the pictures here and on Facebook. It is absolutely precious.

Today Mom and I went to Motherhood Maternity to get all of the PJs and other things I'll need for the hospital and for nursing. It's time to get my hospital bag packed, and I've already had one dream that my water broke and I didn't have my bag packed. Since I'm only five weeks out, that needs to be taken care of.

I can't believe this whole process is almost over and we'll get to begin a completely different one. It will be here before we know it!

Friday, July 15, 2011

34 Weeks

I'm 34 weeks along today!

Size
canteloupe
18 inches, 5 lbs

Developments
fat layers continuing to fill her out
central nervous system and lungs are maturing

Heartbeat
144 bpm (as of 7/7/11)

Cravings
Italian food, ice cream

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 21 lbs (as of 7/7/11)
Only gained one pound in a month!

Side Effects
Hips hurting...still!
Constant leaking. TMI, I know.
A bit of swelling, but it's pretty minor

What I REALLY miss
Sleeping on my back...SO MUCH!
Wearing normal clothes, especially jeans
Making it through the night without getting up multiple times
Being able to stand up without first giving myself a pep talk
Weight Watchers...weird, I know.

What I LOVE!
Watching my tummy move and jump all over the place.
My wonderful husband. He has been so great during this whole process!
Painting original art for her room
Counting down the days and realizing she will be here SOON!


Only six weeks to go!

Friday, July 8, 2011

33 Weeks

I'm 33 weeks along today!

Size
pineapple
17 inches, 4 lbs, 7 oz.

Developments
skeleton is hardening
continuing to fill out under the skin

Heartbeat
144 bpm (as of 7/7/11)

Cravings
This week, Lasagna.

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 21 lbs (as of 7/7/11)
Only gained one pound in a month!

Side Effects
Hips hurting...still!
Constant leaking. TMI, I know.

What I REALLY miss
Sleeping on my back
Wearing normal clothes, especially jeans
Making it through the night without getting up multiple times
Being able to stand up without first giving myself a pep talk

What I LOVE!
Feeling this little stinker move and kick.
My wonderful husband who helps me out all the time!
Getting her room ready

Thursday, July 7, 2011

We had our 32 (33) week appointment this morning. My blood pressure was a teeny bit higher than last Thursday's re-check, but still good. I'm not surprised it was a little higher today because again, I've been overdoing it. Also, I was really nervous waiting for them to take my blood pressure...and we had to wait about 45 minutes, so I had plenty of time for the nerves to kick in! Honestly, though, I'm not worried about it anymore. We're 33 weeks tomorrow and everything looks great. The doctor checked my placenta to see if it had moved, and it did. It was nowhere in sight, so we are clear as far as that goes. No more low-lying placenta!

We got to see sweet Emily again this time, although we couldn't really make much out. The doctor apparently could, though, and she told us Emily has high cheekbones with big cheeks and lots of hair. I was very happy about that! She is 4 lbs, 7 oz, which should put her somewhere around 8 lbs when she's born. Also, she's measuring perfect for her due date. The only not so great thing is that she has decided to turn from our last ultrasound and is now breech. Of course she can still turn, but the bigger she gets, the less likely it is that she'll move. If she stays breech, the doctor would like to do a C-section at 39 weeks, which will be around August 19th. If she turns, we'll obviously go for a regular birth. Until then, I get to have fun doing yoga moves to try to get her to turn. We'll see if she does! I can't really blame her, though. I wouldn't want to be upside down, either.

It's crazy to think that she could possibly be here in six weeks...of course, even if we don't do a C-section, she'll probably be here in around seven weeks. I cannot believe it's getting so close! I remember looking at the little ticker on the top of our blog and thinking it would never get here. Today I washed all of her newborn onesies and receiving blankets. I'm waiting until she's here to wash the rest of her clothes because if Emily turns out to be Andrew, I want to be able to take those clothes back and trade them for boy clothes! Right now, I'm looking for a coming home outfit to bring her home from the hospital in. I'm having a really tough time, though, because it seems like most companies don't make really sweet, girly dresses for newborns. If you have any suggestions for stores, let me know. I feel like I've looked everywhere!

Just a few more things to do and get to be ready for her. As soon as the room is done, I will post pictures!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

This past week, Lucas has been off for vacation. Vacations when you're eight months pregnant are a little bit different than normal vacations, mainly because you really aren't supposed to leave town. So, we stayed here. Also, my doctor had me on modified bed rest until my BP was re-checked, so we couldn't really even leave the house to do much in the way of local activities. That basically leaves two things to do if you want to get out of the house: movies and going out to eat. So far this week we've seen Bridesmaids and Cars 2. I realize those are kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum. Bridesmaids was hilarious, although probably not the most appropriate movie ever. Cars 2 was somewhat of a special movie to see together because we saw Cars on our first date five years ago. Little did I know that in five years, I'd be sitting in a movie theatre, extremely pregnant, with the very same man. :) We went to Esparza's in Grapevine for dinner after Cars 2, which is always fun. Last night, we headed to Rudy's BBQ to attempt to satisfy one of my rare cravings. It wasn't quite Betty Roses' potato salad, but it was still yummy!

Even though I'm clear as far as bed rest goes, I'm still trying to take it easy. Yesterday my mom and I went all over the place and also worked on the nursery, so I'm going to be as lazy as possible for the rest of the weekend. (That means we'll limit it to a couple hours of shopping rather than an entire day.) We still have a couple more movies we want to see, though, so today we're going to see Super 8 with Abby and Chuck and then to eat at Edohana, a Japanese Hibachi place. This is for Lucas. If you know me, you know Asian food is NOT my thing. Tomorrow we're going to see Larry Crowne with my parents. I hope the people in the theatre won't mind that I'll probably be quoting lines from You've Got Mail throughout alot of the movie. Seeing Tom Hanks (or Meg Ryan or Greg Kinnear or Steve Zahn or golden retrievers or bookstores or computers or bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils) just brings out that bad habit that I typically suppress as to not alienate all others around me.

Now that you've heard about our super awesome vacation and weekend plans, I'll leave you with a little tutorial for fun hostess gifts. I decided to do a gift bag of some of my favorite things for the sweet girls that hosted my last shower. Each item I included in the bag had a tag attached to it with a cute little description of the item. This gift absolutely screamed me from the wrapping all the way down to the smallest detail. I only ended up spending somewhere around $15 per bag total (including wrapping) due to some great sales I happened upon.

The gift wrap- black handled paper bags, hot pink and leopard print tissue paper, hot pink tulle, black raffia, gold resin initial letters ($2 each half price at Hobby Lobby,) and thank you notes.

The goodies that went inside each bag.

Chocolate bars- $.70 each at Target.

Frames ($1 at Dollar Tree) with my favorite bible verse- Zephaniah 3:17
I designed and printed the verses at home.

CO Bigelow lip gloss ($2 each on sale- reg $7.50 each) from Bath and Body Works

CD of my favorite songs by my favorite worship band- Hillsong United

Hand Sanitizer (about $.75 each) from B&BW

Tyler Candles- Diva scent ($2.25 each at Sample House)

Kitchen Lemon hand soap from B&BW ($3 each on sale)
I'm a bit obsessive about hand washing. :)

Pedicure sets ($1 each at Dollar Tree)

The whole set

The finished product!

Other great items for this bag would be gift cards for favorite restaurants/stores or a favorite book. These are the things I would've added if I had unlimited funds. Enjoy and feel free to use this idea!

Friday, July 1, 2011

32 Weeks

I'm 32 weeks along today!

Size
jicama
16 1/2 inches, almost 4 lbs.

Developments
now has fully formed toenails, fingernails, and hair (HOPEFULLY!)
skin is becoming soft and smooth

Heartbeat
138 bpm (as of 6/23/11)

Cravings
Mashed potato salad from Betty Rose's in Abilene.
Needless to say, I'm not going to be getting any of that.

Weight Loss/Gain
Gained 20 lbs (as of 6/23/11)
Woohoo! No gain at this week's appointment!

Side Effects
Hips hurting...still!
Constant leaking. TMI, I know.

What I REALLY miss
Sleeping on my back
Wearing normal clothes, especially jeans
Making it through the night without getting up multiple times
Being able to stand up without first giving myself a pep talk

What I LOVE!
Feeling this little stinker move and kick.
My wonderful husband who helps me out all the time!
Getting her room ready