Baby's 1st Attempt to Arrive.

vrMany of you are asking me what is going on and some of you will have no idea what I am talking about... well at least until you read below.

First, let me say our baby is completely healthy and "text book perfect" according to one nurse! Okay so now I sound like we've actually had the baby, which Praise God he/she is still growing inside!

Wednesday evening I was feeling pretty achy and having some odd pressure below. I figured that I am just 34 weeks pregnant and it's typical. So I of course updated my facebook status to share what I was feeling. (haha) By the time Ted and I went to bed, I realized that I was actually having contractions. I thought they were just good ole Braxton Hicks. Ted was on the phone 'til 10:30 and as soon as he was off he noticed I was struggling. He began timing them and sure enough I was having 3-4 in ten minutes. I've never had them this close or this bad (and it wasn't even that painful). So we read online and in a few of our books about preterm labor and everything we read told us to go in. We decided to go to sleep and wait it out, because I wasn't in pain. Which now I know you don't have to be having intense pain to be having true blue contractions. I thought it would be obvious!

I woke up a few times in the night and then by 3:30 am I woke up and immediately grabbed my phone and called our hospital which gave me a nurse hotline (I later realized I was supposed to call my Dr. and he will probably chat with me about this on my tuesday appointment). The nurse on the phone told me that I was having the contractions too close together and I should go to the hospital.

So I woke Ted and we headed to the ER which was thankfully only 10 minutes away. We were immediately seen, probably because I have a baby inside =). I'm trying to make this very long story short... but I'm terrible at that.

Basically, they hooked me up to a monitor, strapped a pink band around my lower abdomen to check the contractions and a blue band around my upper belly to monitor our baby. Our nurse told me to let her know when I was having a contractions, so I did and I only told her of two. Within 10 minutes she told me that I had actually had 6 already! I was shocked because I thought they would be way more obvious. She told me that many women don't even know they are in labor until it's pretty far along! She also told me that towards the end, I would definitely know I was having contractions.

So yes, I was having contractions. They checked me out, um below, and my cervix was still long and hard (I was so relieved to hear this) and that I was not yet dilated. She called my Doctor and he told her to give me a shot of, I can't remember what, and it would help calm my uterus down. We left the hospital around 8 am, I was still having contractions and they told me to rest and let the shot calm me down and drink plenty of fluids. If there was no change by evening I was to come back. The contractions and how close they were could potentially lead to preterm labor, which we definitely did not want!

Anyways, I spent Thursday in bed all day, drinking tons of water, using the bathroom a ton because of this and sleeping. It was fairly painless but by the evening my back and lower body were aching the worst I've ever had, but the contractions were slowing down steadily.

Today I've had a few, but as of right now we are in the clear. Baby wanted to come early, but we are just not quite ready!

Sorry this is speedy and I really hope that it covers everything! I have a busy weekend ahead along with out first baby shower. I told baby while we were in the hospital... "Can you at least wait 'til we have our first shower and we have everything you need?!"

Our baby decided to listen and I am happy and thrilled to say I am still pregnant!

Week 34: Big baby, Small torso or Both?

Week 34- pics to come (I broke our shutter in our camera last week, so I need to use a friend's camera to capture this weeks enormiousity- which is now a word, cuz it's how I feel)

Baby E/C:

Baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long! His/Her fat layers — which will help regulate it's body temperature once born — are filling him/her out, making baby rounder. Baby's skin is also smoother than ever. His/her central nervous system is maturing and lungs are continuing to mature as well. I feel like our baby has been in crammed quarters for months now and it's only to get worse as he/she gains 1/2 pound a week from here on out (or so they say).

I am constantly aware of where the baby's feet, elbows, arms, hands, head and back are. One day last week (saturday), I was at my family's new home in Timnath and I felt the baby push off side and totally flip. I don't know how to describe it, my reaction said everything I think. I have never felt the baby move so intensely. In fact it went from head down to head at my right side, almost to my ribs. By the time I went to bed and felt the baby have it's typical bouts of hiccups, I knew without a doubt, he/she was no longer head down. It was my most uncomfortable night's sleep yet and I think for the baby too! He/she was so uncomfortable. Gosh, sometimes I feel just awful for baby! Either he/she is big or it's just because my torso is so small or (and quite possibly, both). Either way, poor baby.

*Baby E/C moved back to it's favourite and I'm guessing most comfortable, position. Head down, back and bum to my left side, feet and arms to my right. I am still waiting for that moment when Ted or I see the imprint of his/her little foot. It CAN happen and I wanna see it! I stand in front of the mirror when I feel a lot of action from within and wait, but nothing yet. Just random things poking out.*

Momma:

I am now sleeping less than before. Some nights are worse than others, but nothing unbearable yet. During the past few weeks, the pain in my back grows steadily worse, due to my enormous baby bump all out front. Part of me now wishes I would carry from side to side and not directly out front but it is cute for the pictures ;) I have also had a really hard time breathing. I am asthmatic and adding the growing baby pushing against my lungs has made my asthma really awful. I am thankful that it's only been the past few weeks that I've begun to need my inhaler a few times a night. I'm just thankful it hasn't been the entire pregnancy. I wake up some nights realizing I can barely breath and I hate imagining our baby being unable to breath as well! Please pray for our baby's safety!

I do realize with each new week, new "ailment" and new excitement, this is all bringing me closer and closer to holding our baby girl or baby boy in my arms!

Have you ever heard/read the old wives tales about being pregnant with a girl or a boy?

According to those, I am having a girl. One of the wives tales about carrying a girl, is that she"steals your beauty". I'm not talking about weight or anything like that. For me (if it's a girl), her stealing my beauty has literally been my curly hair. Naturally I have curly hair- I mean somedays it's really curly almost in ringlets. Since I've been pregnant, it is now simply wavy. It's wavy whenever and wherever it pleases! Thankfully, I rarely ever wore my hair curly, because I didn't like it curly. Ted loves it and so I would only wear it curly by his request. I hope it comes back curly after the baby is born, cause surprisingly I miss it! I've heard of women getting pregnant and having naturally straight hair go curly but never this! I'm not sure what happened in this pregnancy to strip me of my curliness!

Before I forget... number 2 of the 5 babies coming this season (here) has arrived!

Charles Brown Elijah Cobb III (He will be called Eli) was born yesterday morning; 7 lbs. 4 0z. and 21 inches long! That makes two 7lb baby boys born here in less than a week! Congrats Cobb Family! Three more of us to go, one of which we know is a boy, interesting huh? Look at all of these boys!

I am now the biggest among the 3 bellies left. In fact I am now convinced the director of our base, Peter, thinks I am due first and any day according to something he joked about in staff meeting this week. Haha! My belly feels like it goes out for miles, in fact it makes me DD chest look small and that says a lot! I am encouraged though... the mom who had baby number 1 last week, had an incredibly huge baby bump (even bigger than mine) and carried all out front as well. I saw her today with her little one in a sling (I can't wait for that) and she looks amazing. It's phenomenal to me how the stomach is just gone. I mean it's there and saggy but 10x smaller! The saggy part is going to trip me out until it's hard again, but we won't talk about that now =)

I want to give CayeDee Rhoades props for figuring out our girl's name yesterday. Seriously, I'm stillshocked and not exactly sure how she did this, but way to go CayeDee! She's been trying to guess since we first became pregnant. Now, try and keep it a secret for 6ish more weeks!

A few little side notes before I go:

- I made another new poll (and deleted one). Check it out and vote!

- I made a "baby pool" for you to guess our baby's arrival date, time, our baby's size, etc. It's to the right > and it says click here. (Idea from bump2bum)

- Last but not least... our 1st official baby shower is Sunday! I've already received some gifts and I feel more prepared with each one!

Baby E/C is coming soon!

Love yas,

'Not me Monday' on a Tuesday.

Another 'not me Monday' post only this time, on a Tuesday!

This blog carnival was created by mkmama. A 'Not me Monday' is a funny way to 'fess up some embarrassing things you've done that week... by pretending you totally did not actually do them. So here goes;

'Not me!" #2:

I did not forget to do a 'not me Monday' post yesterday. Nope, not me!

I did not accidentely get toothpaste on the shirt covering my baby bump while brushing my teeth and I did not wear that shirt to work because I hadn't realized it!

On Wednesday, I did not cry after calling and wishing my youngest sister happy 16th birthday... I'm never that emotional, nope not me!

During my reception postition on Thursday, I did not answer the phone with "Hello" instead of "Youth with a mission Denver, this is Jami, how may I help you?. And when they responded with, "Is this Youth with a Mission?" I did not say, "This is Jami..." Like they had called my cell phone! So unprofessional, Nope, not me!

During my biweekly checkup at the clinic this week, I did not at first close my eyes as the nurse weighed me and I did not then peek once I heard her slide the little thing over and I definitely did not see an even higher number than I did two weeks before. I also did not make my disappointment obvious causing the nurse to laugh at me. Nope, not me!

While doing our laundry last week, I did not accidently leave a permanent marker in Ted's pants pocket and I did not then wash our lights load with this permanent marker and it did not ruin on of my favourite shirts and I did not stain most of his undershirts because of this marker. Nope, not me!

It did not take me 22 minutes to walk (well, waddle) around the pond by our work which usually take me a matter of minutes. I am much faster than that, so nope, not me!

While running errands, I did not wet myself a little too much when I sneezed two times in a row, causing me to run home to change. Nope, not me! (My first time, okay... and I'm 34 weeks!)

When I first wrote the above 'not me' post about wetting myself, I definitely did not forget what week I am and write 24 weeks instead of 34... My mind is a lot more in tune than that, so nope not me!

When waking up thirsty at 4am, I did not chug Sprite because I was too lazy to find my water bottle and it did not immediately give Baby E/C hiccups. What a terrible mother I would be, nope, not me!

I did not wake up at 4:40 am this morning for no apparent reason (other than the quick bathroom run). And I did not wake my sleeping husband and hour later because I wanted to talk baby and hang out. Nope, not me!

I do not get up to use the bathroom at least 3 times a night now a days. Nope, not me!

I do not spill food or a beverage somewhere on my shirt at least once a day.

I do not always forget about the many embarrassing things I do throughout the week and only write a few on my blog. Nope, not me!

Baby Season is Blossoming at YWAM.

I am number 5 in this baby season.

Meaning I have 4 prego ladies all due before me. In fact, we are all due within 1 month 1/2 of each other. That's kind of the way things work around here at YWAM. Babies come in waves! People are always joking that "it's in the water" during certain seasons. (I actually know of 16 people who are pregnant, but I am talking about the ones who I work with and live among right now.)

A part of me is excited that I am due last because it means a bit more time to prepare. What I'm saying is, I'm not quite ready for Baby E/C to arrive yet. I at least want one shower before the baby comes. Most importantly I want our baby to be at a healthy point when he/she comes!

Another part of me thinks I will be prego forever. I mean, I have to wait for 4 women to have their babies first! Slowly but surely this is starting to happen...

The number 3 in line (as if that means anything) had her baby LAST NIGHT! A boy with two older sisters! He is 3 1/2 weeks early and totally healthy. Here is baby #1 of the 5 coming!

Jereson Lavan Lange

They created his name, it means Jeremy's son, which I think is super cute!

(I think I will post pics of each new baby before ours. Because it's exciting!)

When I heard she was in labor, I kind of freaked out. I was super excited for her, but at the same time it made everything seem to just speed up for me. I know and have seen and heard that babies have a timing of their own. I think because this time I am actually pregnant and not that far from the finish line, that her having the baby totally brought me to a new place.

I am an array of emotions today! Excited because our little one will be here before we know it and totally nervous because as much as I have read, prepared and have been taught- I really have no idea what to expect! I am more excited than anything, but definitely can't deny the nervousness creeping in.

3 more momma's to go, one who is due any day and another who is due next week and one due two weeks before me. It's an exciting time, this baby season!

One thing I truly appreciate and I am thankful for is that out of the 5 of us, I am prego with my first baby. 3 are prego with their 2nd and one with her 3rd. Selfishly, I kind of like that side of things. Plus I can watch each of them in their pregnancies, deliveries, etc and learn! It's been a blessing to not walk this alone- most days!

I only say most days because I am the shortest one of us all, a whopping 5'1 and definitely began showing sooner and even now still have one of the largest baby bumps. My baby keeps growing out, out, out! Most days I love being prego with everyone, it's the days that 3 or more people comment on my size, that I want to hide away and be prego alone. Pathetic, I know ;)

Also... I have had 3 dreams since the beginning of pregnancy, that I had a baby boy. Last night I officially had my "it's a girl!" dream! (If you want to read about my entire dream, read below).

I asked God not to tell me through a word or picture or dream and so I really don't think He has. I mean, I've had both gender dreams. So unless I am carrying twins...haha :) We shall see in 7ish weeks or less!

Yikes & Hooray all at once. It's that kind of a day!

My dream from last night; 

I had our baby girl E and Ted and I were visiting my long time gf in WI, Danielle and her new baby boy Landen. We were heading somewhere and Ted had the baby in the carseat and he told me that I needed to feed her. When I took the blanket off, I realized Ted had already learned how to swaddle her in a swaddle travel blanket and that melted my heart. When we arrived at Danielle's house later, I saw a mirror and was thrilled to see my waist and how "skinny" I look in comparison to my baby bump and then I lifted my shirt and saw my belly was just hanging and freaked out. That's my dream. Haha!

Our Crib!

Looking up instructions on the web.

Cribs are more complicated than we thought. This was our 2nd attempt!

My job was to hand him these little items. 

The final product! So surreal!

Ted wanted to put the "daddy's little alarm clock" onesie on the bed, which I thought was precious!

This makes everything more real!

 Ted said maybe we should push our bed against the wall and I told him it was okay. He was like, "You just want to be as close to the baby as possible huh?" He caught me =)

As we put the crib together it began to hit Ted more than ever before. As we placed the crib sheet set, the bumber and the mobile on Ted was helping and kept saying, "Soon our baby will be in here. Wow." I'm glad we did this now for many reasons but it's so incredible to see his daddy side more and more each day!

Week 33; Oh, This Belly!

33 weeks and counting!

Up close and I still don't think this does me justice. I AM bigger than this!

Baby is sticking WAY out.

From my point of view, I have no toes.

Well, here we are! 7ish weeks away! And just look at this belly of mine- it's insane and only to get bigger (which is so unbelievable)!

Baby E/C: 

Our baby weighs approximately 4.5 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He/she rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in baby's skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him/her to fit through the birth canal.  Rapid brain growth has increased the baby's head size approximately 3/8 of an inch this week. And fat continues to accumulate which turns the baby's skin color from red to pink.

Our baby is measuring a week ahead (so 34 wks) as of yesterday. The funny thing is the past two weeks I've been experiencing the most intense back pain during pregnancy yet. I asked her about this and when she measured me, she said, "This is why you've been experiencing sudden back pain." Now, this unfortunately does not bring our due date a bit closer because at this rate the baby is packing on fat and inches and each baby grows at it's own pace. So while this week our baby is measuring a week ahead, two weeks from now I could be right where I am supposed to be. 

It's really only ONE weeks difference and I am trying to not get my hopes up!

Good news; baby is head down still ( I thought one day he/she wasn't, and I was wrong) AND is dropping, but hasn't quite yet.

Momma:

I think I am more in awe of my growing baby and bump then ever before. I can only imagine this will get even more incredible by the time I am 40 weeks. I keep peeking down and holding a mirror to see my stretching belly and wondering why on earth I still have no stretch marks! I can guarantee by the end I will, I mean I have to! I am not sleeping very good at all right now and thankfully I am about to take my maternity leave. I honestly didn't think I would need it, but the closer we get to our due date, the more tired I become. I've heard horror stories, so really I can't complain though. I'm 33 weeks in and feeling really great! Um, other than when they weigh me at the doctors. I've officially hit the 30 pound mark! YIKES! I try and calm myself by subtracting the baby's weight, my chest weight and all of the fluids, etc... (ha) and still can't believe it! 

My newest "ailment" is my right hip. I think, wait I know, my hips are spreading. I feel this terrible pain in my right hip and thankfully the baby is most comfortable when I sleep on my left side, otherwise I don't know what I would do. Two different nights this week, I was walking like I needed a hip replacement. One of those times was when Ted and I were trying to pick out a movie for our home date. I could barely walk!  We don't have a bath tub so that has been hard this pregnancy and now before I go to bed I take a hot shower and aim it towards my back especially. That seems to help a ton most nights. So I guess that's a prayer request. Everything else seems good!

A funny story before I get off; 

Every night Ted and I sing 'You are my sunshine' to the baby and the more tired I am, the more hysterical the singing becomes, with every word I am breathing it out sometimes instead of singing. It takes a lot more of my oxygen, having our baby growing so big inside! Last night topped every night so far. I was lying on my back (I can't lay on my right side and Ted always wants to put his mouth to my tummy when singing) and we started singing and I was so wiped out that I started out fine and by the time I was at "sunshine" my voice went super high and shrill. Ted and I just started laughing. It was pretty funny. Our poor baby! No, really he/she loves it. I know this because we can honestly say, as soon as we start our singing, baby begins to move even despite his/her mommy's tired singing. We adore it, but definitely can't wait to have him/her lying between us when we sing. Oh golly!! 

Sorry about the not so great prego photos this week. I was impatient and did self portraits (which are always interesting) and this morning Ted finally took one for me as we rushed out the door.

Well, love yas!

My First 'Not me Monday'.

Welcome to 'Not me Monday'! This blog carnival was created by mkmama. A 'Not me Monday' is a funny way to 'fess up some embarrassing things you've done that week... by pretending you totally did not actually do them. So here goes;

This past week, I did not buy a bag of powdered donuts and I definitely did not almost eat the entire bag by myself before my hubby caught me. Nope, not me!

I did not cry hysterically when a spider ran across my foot one morning and I did not stand on the bed crying until my hubby killed it for me. I would never do that! Nope, not me!

I did not get soap in my eyes and mouth in the shower and I did not forget about my growing belly and proceed to spit the soap onto it. Nope, not me!

At our saturday garage sale, I did not forget how to use a calculator and look like a complete idiot and of course I did not have to trust the people buying items to be honest and help me do the math. Nope, not me!

This week, I did not keep silent as a dog got blamed for one of my bodily functions... Nope, definitely not me!!

I did not secretly desire to find the envelope which holds the ultrasound picture of our baby's sex and is hidden by my hubby somewhere around our home. Nope, not me!

I did not update my blog numerous times the past ten days. I would never! Nope, not me!

And, I definitely did not update our daily life blog and my personal blog as well. I am never on the internet that often, Nope, not me!

I do not check my baby blog about 12 times a day, just to see if there is anything I could or should add or if anyone else voted on our polls. Nope, not me!

I did not have two safeway employees comment on my size and they were not at all shocked when I told them I still have 7 weeks to go, and I definitely did not cry on the way home because of it! Nope, not me!

I did not sit and eat all of the chocolate out of our new tub of moose tracks ice cream and I definitely did not eat the entire tub in two days. Nope, not me!

I do not still try and squeeze into my size 5 capris and I definitely don't wear them out in public often and I do not wear a bella band to cover the fact that I can't button them. Nope, not me!

I did not have McDonald's sausage egg mcmuffins for breakfast twice this week. That's so unhealthy, so nope, definitely not me!

I did not get a charlie horse around 3 am one night this week and I definitely did not punch Ted's back and wake him and the baby because of it. Nope, not me!

I did not run out of things to write because I am not an airhead these days. Nope, never me!

Week 32: Baby's Little Bum.

32 weeks with 8(ish) weeks to go!

Baby:
Baby weighs 4 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. (And this is obvious, poor baby has limited room!) Baby should gain a third to half of his/her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as baby fattens up for survival outside the womb. He/she now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (wonder if it's dark like momma or light like daddy?) His/her skin is becoming soft and smooth as baby plumps up in preparation for birth- wooohoo!

With each new week I am amazed at his/her growth- not to mention mine =). Baby's movements are a lot more obvious. What I mean is I used to think, oh this is the foot and this is the head and this is the bum... now I KNOW without a doubt. Baby's favourite position right now is head down (yay!), curled with his/her bum right next to the left side of my belly button and feet either at my right side or in my ribs. That part is a little rough- only 3 times now I have had to lay back due to his/her foot pushed in my ribs. What an odd feeling! I love the movements though, as you can tell by the videos, haha. I can't help myself.

Momma:

This is how I feel I look. I saw this on the internet and it's perfect!

Have you ever watched a goose walk... Yeah, well that is how I feel I walked. I got a good laugh out of watching some geese yesterday. They walk just like me! =)

Momma cont'd - In love! More and more each week! I am feeling great for being 32 weeks prego! People are always asking me "How are you feeling?" or "Are you just ready to be done?", things like that. Which is sweet because they care, but it also tells me that by now I should be feeling terrible, but I don't! I feel great, really! The newest symptom is my aching body. It used to ache only when baby was growing and my belly was stretching, but now it's almost everyday. I just find ways to ease the aches. Like if I am sitting for a while, I go for a walk. If I am on my feet to long, I sit down. Pretty practical things to ease everything. I don't sleep great anymore either, but honestly, it might be God, but I am okay in the mornings and when I need a nap, I run home and take it. My belly is getting very huge and I can definitely sit a cup or bowl on my belly without touching it now. Fun stuff!

My Pregnancy;

I will say I am super thankful that this pregnancy has been incredible! I had my bouts of morning sickness, learning how to sleep amidst baby's squirming, aches and pains as my belly grew, times of swollen ankles and feet, my lovely crazy emotional instability, learning to live as a complete airhead, etc... I am not complaining because I have actually and truly enjoyed this entire process. There were times that were rough (mostly the first tri), but even when I think back to all those times where I practically hugged the toilet, it really, honestly is worth it all!

Having these symptoms any other time would be such a nightmare and I believe the only reason that it seems bearable now is because I am carrying my little love inside. He/she makes this all seem like a piece of cake. I mean when I think about the birth and meeting him/her- the emotions I feel wipe out all of the others I've felt throughout this pregnancy. You have such a grace because you know the end result is beautiful! Aww- I can't wait!

However, I did tell Ted this week that I will not be complaining as much or as easy as I used to now that I've experienced being pregnant. Sometimes when I hear people say they are tired or sore or something, I have to laugh inside. Yeah, I will not be complaining as much after this! No way! My pain tolerance has already gone up a ton and I'm guessing even more after the birth =)

Today I had a major accomplishment @ 32 weeks prego;

See! Not too bad huh?

Haha, thanks for reading my long winded blog!

Maternity Photoshoot Part1

This is what I've decided to post for now. We weren't able to do everything I wanted to because of the time- we ran out!! So Ted and I will be heading out again very soon and finishing the rest of what I wanted. This was such a blast. Hope you love and enjoy them as much as me! We also did shots with our baby girl and our baby boy name but obviously that won't be posted until after the birth. Something to look forward to!

Momma making a fool of herself.

My mom helped find these words from the Gerber Commercial I wrote about months ago. The one that I cried in everytime I saw it.. and here is why! Read this!

I promise...
...To take you as my child (as the mom watches the ultrasound);
...To love you for better or worse;
...to cry with you;
...to be silly with you;
To first steps...
to first words...
potty training;
to nourish your body and your dreams.
To help you start and stay healthy!

Watch the video here if you haven't seen it so precious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J64sRD1qYk0

Week 31: Little Chubs.

Below is a video of our hiccuping baby! Ted says I moved the camera too much, but I was excited!
Baby:
Baby measures (approx.)16 inches long and weighs about 3-4 pounds! I can feel that for sure! Baby is heading into a growth spurt. He/she can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. Baby E/C is moving a lot too! He/she elbows me a lot in the sides - or at least that is what I think it is. Last night we had a time change in the wake up call. Baby woke around 1:30 am instead of 4am and definitely wanted to play!

Momma:
I can literally feel our baby gaining weight- I feel the pressure changing! I wouldn't be at all surprised if the baby is about to "drop" as they call it. The reason I know he/she hasn't yet is because it's still hard to breath! I read if you keep good posture than it helps and it does, but I always forget or I feel like I am pushing my enormous chest even farther out! Haha. Lately I've been having a rough time sleeping but I seem to wake up and make it through the day okay. I have begun to nap again, which is something I haven't done in a while and it feels SO refreshing.

It's begun to really get hot here and yesterday I got too much sun and time in the heat. I ended up going home sick to my stomach and took a nap in our cold basement. I woke up refreshed and I hope I've learned my lesson. Things are a bit different this summer, for me, being prego and all! Yesterday they had "activities worship". Many people played sports and that was so hard for me. I watched volleyball and they even let me serve once, which was odd because my stomach muscles are stretched and totally out of wack right now! This summer should be interesting- but I am happy that our baby is coming in July because August is our hottest month AND I will still get at least 2 months of summer with the baby chillin' outside with mommy rather than in my womb! ;)

We have a crazy busy weekend ahead of us but as of right now we are still planning on doing the photoshoot Saturday. It depends on the weather alone. Pray for sunshine for us because if this Saturday doesn't work then it will be two weekends from now - yikes!

You know you're prego when:
Your pet hamster of two years and a few months dies and you cry like you lost your best friend... (this happened yesterday and I was a wreck for a little while. So silly. I was blaming myself in everyway, when really she was just way old for a hamster. We've had her since before we were married because I wanted a pet and I couldn't get a puppy and I'm allergic to cats. Oh man, poor Ted =)

8 weeks & 6 days til we meet our baby!!

Well, til next time- which might be tomorrow cause this week I've posted like 10x ;)
Love,

Our New Clinic!

I haven't written ONE thing about our new clinic. I can't believe myself ;) I've had 3 appointments with this new clinic now so here is our delayed updates on those appointments.

Appointment #1:
I went alone because Ted was swamped with work, which I was nervous about but it turned out great. I met with the one midwife they have, named Alicia. She was friendly, caring and actually listened to me! We had to transfer our medical records, so she and I went through them and she discussed with me the things I had questions about for months now. I am a detail kind of girl and I would rarely get details of any kind at our other clinic, so she informed me about every little thing. Even the silly things, which I appreciated. She then did a check up on me- you know the kind, ick. But everything is great, I am not at risk for preterm labor, according to my cervix. Baby E/C's heart rate was great. I was measuring right on track. She and I also discussed my birth plan, which she supported! I didn't get to meet Dr. Hill this time, but she told me a lot about him and his reputation.

Appointment #2:
The good old glucose blood test appointment. A little overdue because I kept putting this off. I was actually supposed to do this test at 26 weeks! I hate needles and almost always almost pass out or I do pass out. Ted did come with me to this one for obvious reasons. I had to drink the nasty glucose "fruit punch" flavored drink 1 hour prior to the test. That alone makes you queasy and by the time we arrived at the clinic I was already telling Ted I thought I was going to pass out. Great way to feel before you get blood drawn. They called me in and pricked my finger to check my iron, but didn't prick hard enough, so they had to do that twice. That was a killer cuz then I saw the blood! I told the nurse that I am known to pass out when getting blood drawn and she let me lay down, thank goodness. Ted was smiling like crazy at me and actually told me later that he wanted to see me pass out! Can you believe it?! He thought it was funny! I have the tiniest veins and they always have to poke and prod for ever before they finally put it in. Noises started to sound clouded and then my eyes started to seek dark spots and surprisingly I made it and didn't pass out!! I am proud =) They told me today the test turned out great and I am in the clear.

Appointment #3:
I had this appointment today. I go biweekly now and it's making things seem to be coming A LOT faster now. In a few weeks I will be going every week. Whoa! Our appointment today revealed nothing new just only a growing baby and belly. I am now 28 pounds heavier than I began and right on track. Baby's heart beat is swift as usual and I adore hearing it.

*I had to run to out of the room just now to the office next door (to Chey) cuz baby was moving like crazy. I like sharing it with people who care, so fun!*

Anyways, today went well. It was a 9 minute appointment because Dr. Hill had to run to deliver a baby- that will be me soon! YAY! Okay, so yep I met the Dr. who will be delivering our baby. He is super sweet, just like everyone was telling me! Praise God!

Alright I should go. I'm obsessed with this blog, but honestly it eases my crazy prego mind!

Love,

'Starry Night' Inspired Room.

These are the 'before' and 'after' shots of our bedroom/babyroom! We bought paint at walmart for incredibly cheap and look at the difference a little colour can do! We wake up early in the mornings now because it's brighter and well, because we don't have a curtain yet.

We are planning on being thrifty in decorating because we really can't afford anything extravagant. You can do simple and still make things look incredible. We found a GREAT deal on curtain rods for our living room and bedroom. $3.25 each and they are black and beautiful. We will be using some of the leftover material used to make our black bridesmaids dresses for fabric for curtains and if we don't have enough, we will be heading to thrift stores on the weekends 'til we find what we need.

After our maternity photoshoot coming up this weekend, we will frame a few pictures in simple black frame and hang them in the room as well. Plus we will add photos of our little one as soon as he or she arrives. Knowing it's momma and daddy- there will be A LOT of pictures of him/her. Poor baby =)

As you can see, I didn't post pics of the entire room yet. Well it's painted, but the cabinets in the corner I am still working on painting black. All but one is finished and then we can hang them. We are also taking down our closet doors (which notoriously fall off the track) and replacing them with a black curtain as well.

Super inexpensive and I am now LOVING our room. Our friends gave us a beautiful crib which we have at home, lying in pieces. A few important pieces were lost in storage so Ted is heading back soon to look for them. The crib will be up soon I hope! Our living room... we are about to tackle. Every weekend in May has something in it, but we are hoping to paint the rest of everything Memorial Day weekend. And from there, it's just baby showers and purchasing things for Baby E/C and then awaiting his/her arrival! 9 weeks out- WHOA!