Oh, This Belly.

tv reflection 40w 6d

My back is continuing to ache pretty badly, but that's to be expected right now I would say. I've taken 3 walks today and have walked up and down our staircase 15 times. All of which I am feeling now. I'm about to take a nap because that helps me pass the day away, and it also let's me stretch out a bit for our baby's sake. He/she is pretty crammed, poor baby.

red wine to "induce labor" ick.

I reaaally don't like wine. Weird huh? So I've now had two glasses in a week. Trying to get things a moving. I really don't want a c-section, but nothing seems to work for me right now!

here's to hoping, right?

Ted's been amazing at massaging my feet lately. Obviously, there is an ulterior motive, but I'm not complaining either way. He wants to meet the baby just as bad as me. The evening primrose us supposed to soften my cervix, but not induce labor. I've been taking this as well. It's made my eczema clear up pretty quickly, that's for sure!

oh, this belly.

Notice my beautiful fingernails are gone. Another scar from the anxiety ;)

Can't you see my daughter wearing this?!

And my son, this?

48 Hours.

Our appointment this morning was encouraging. How? My blood pressure had gone back down, which meant they didn't need to schedule an emergency C section! So that is good news.

Everything still looks the same as it did yesterday morning, minus the high blood pressure. They did another ultrasound of the baby to measure the amnionic fluid and make sure the baby still had enough. The last two ultrasounds have been way different than our first 3. Meaning, our baby is so big inside right now, that we can barely see what is what inside. I mean, the doctor knows and tells us, but it's nothing like the profile shots we were seeing at 6 months. He/she is just so crammed, you can make anything out! I could only make out the head :)

We had just enough fluid inside to be able to keep the baby safe. We measured 10, whatever that means and the point at which they would do an emergency c section is 8. So that was also good news!

What's next? You guessed it... another appointment and this one is 48 hours away. Thursday morning at 8:50 AM (mst) we will be going in and Dr. Hill will check up on everything and most likely we will be talking about a scheduled c section. At this point, with where my body is at and where the baby is, they aren't talking about inducing me. They are hoping that I will go into labor naturally between now and Thursday morning. I can't imagine them letting me go through another weekend and into the 42 week because of the baby's size and how the fluid is beginning to run low.

What do I think of this? I will probably write another blog tomorrow because I will need something to preoccupy my mind, but as of right now I am seeking peace and what I want most is our baby to come safely. We just can't wait to meet him/her. This is so hard, this waiting game.

I really try to look on the bright side of things throughout the pregnancy with aches and ailments and such, because I really wanted to enjoy this process (and I have!) but I am really hurting! My body has just taken a toll and it is ready to have our baby. My stomach can stretch no further (I'm serious!!) and my lower back is aching pretty terribly today, which might be due to the fact that I've had to lie on my back for longer than is comfortable at appointments. And sleeping is hard to come by, probably due mostly to anxiety.

Anyways, here we are in the final stretch and I am finally letting pregnancy "get to me" and feeling a bit grumpy about everything going on. Please pray for me to keep a good attitude to the end! It's pretty hard right now!

Thanks for your prayers and love! Hopefully soon we will be "introducing" you to our baby!

Today's Appointment

40w 4d

At 11:40 we had an appointment, where I was hoping to hear news of some kind of progress. Nothing. :/ It's still in the same position, high and posterior.

I was discouraged, but I kind of expected that nothing was happening. Our baby is really comfortable the way he/she is and I am beginning to think that he/she is going to stay that way until the end.

They then had us go out for lunch so I was well fed and ready to be monitored for an hour or so, and to come back. So we ate and hurried back. They began monitoring baby and me, and I was having random contractions, but nothing special. Our baby is "text book perfect"!!! A sigh of relief today.

Today the midwife had to see me because Dr. Hill was in meetings, so we had to wait all afternoon to hear what he had to say about my check up and what he wanted to do.

My blood pressure was high today, which might have been anxiety, but we're not sure. Tomorrow we have a 10:20 am MST appointment. If my blood pressure is still high and the baby has not shifted down then we will have to have a cesarean...

The past 5 days, since our thursday morning appointment, have been emotionally draining and challenging. I know that if I was overdue, but they still thought I would have the baby naturally, then I would be at peace. Because I know that the possibility of me having a c-section is very high right now, it's been a long weekend and today was the worst. Ted and I are just ready and done with this waiting game. We don't like hearing, "come back tomorrow and we'll decide what to do..." every time.

I am so anxious to meet our baby and having him/her in the safest way possible is my greatest desire.

I am thankful that I didn't have to have a c-section so suddenly that I wasn't prepared. What I mean is at least I have had the weekend to really think about this as a reality and prepare emotionally if this really is my reality.

Please pray for us, for tomorrow's appointment. Our Doctor is a christian man and please pray that God really guide him in what is best for our baby. Thank you for caring, praying and encouraging us!

We're SO excited to become parents, most likely this week, and to meet our baby. I personally can't wait to find out BOY OR GIRL and to call him/her by name!!!!

Because I'm Still Waiting...

40 weeks 2 days (today).

40 week belly. Taking one of yourself, just doesn't do it justice. I'm huge!

Garage sale find: $1.50 play mat

Garage sale find: $2 Lamaze baby toys

Today's thrift store find: $12 changing table!

This one's for mom. All set up!

We rearranged. Our crib is no longer right next to the bed.

Thrift store find: $1.50 brown, green and white elephant pillow!

Matches our baby bedding! I laughed when I first saw it! I had to buy it!

Momma's go thrift/garage saleing! The only problem about going garage saleing while prego is when people see your belly, they try and get you to buy everything they have that is baby! I kept telling them "I don't know the sex." Which still didn't help!

To Be Honest...

I've calmed down a little bit since yesterday, although it is still pretty hard to keep my head on straight right now. To find peace the surpasses everything.

I've held back a lot in how I am really doing and feeling about this new situation. Honestly, due to fear of man and what people might think of me.

If you have kept up with our baby blog since day 1, then you know my greatest heart's desire is to have our baby safely. Whatever it may take. I wrote a note on facebook letting everyone know what was going on and not all of the responses and messages were encouraging. Causing me to be thankful that I didn't express more of the honest feelings going on inside of me. Which now I realize is pretty lame, because it is what I am feeling. What good does it do to deny them or keep them in?

I felt as though people judged me yesterday for asking for prayer for a natural delivery. That was hard for me, because obviously my heart is to have a safe delivery first. I hope you can all see that and I didn't come across as being selfish.

I was afraid to express my questions and fears, but today I am going to do just that. Because I need to.

So, to be honest...

When I first heard the news my stomach dropped and it took everything in me not to cry until we left the Doctor's office. I made it out the door and then came the tears.

I was thankful that our baby is doing amazing despite his/her super tight quarters, but was really hoping they would tell me everything was ready and we would be meeting our baby soon.

During our birthing classes they had us take double sided cards, one side would say something like epidural and the other would be the opposite, so in this case; natural, and they had us lay out our ideal birth plan. After that, they had us flip 3 cards over that we would be okay with changing. After that they had us flip 3 more cards, which really made my heart drop to think about. Our instructor told us to really think about the possibility that our birth plan "A" and even "B" could be tossed out the window due to circumstances. It was hard, but really good for us to think through. Yesterday I felt like we'd totally lost our birth plan and I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

I am left really trying to trust God in all things, which is already hard for me. I feel like I've been on this journey of learning to trust Him in everything my whole life and sometimes I feel like this journey gets harder and harder.

It's hard to understand. Why is it that sometimes our heart's desire doesn't come to fruition?

My heart's desire was to have an all natural home birth. We began with such a wonderful midwife who not only respected my birth plan but supported it as well. When we found on that I had Group B Strep (at 6 months), Ted really felt like we should transfer and do a hospital birth. I trust Ted so much, that he hears God and knows what is best for his family, and I am now seeing this was the best decision for this pregnancy.

My heart's desire was to have a baby and it took a while, but here we have a beautiful baby growing inside. I do remember this and I am grateful.

One of the big disappointments of yesterday was walking away from another appointment, knowing I have an appointment scheduled for Monday July 13, which meant... we probably wouldn't meet our baby for at least another 4 days. That is hard! We are ready and waiting and anxious! 4 days seems like eternity right now and I can't even tell you how serious I am being right now.

My fears/concerns about having a cesarean:

• I want to be a mommy to many. I still don't know how many but I want at least 4 kiddos.
• I am afraid if my 1st is a c-section, my second will need to be as well.
• Getting an epidural/spinal is my only option if I want to be awake for our baby's first cry and the moment where they tell me "it's a boy/girl...". The good news about getting an epidural for a cesarean is that the epidural/spinal does NOT effect the baby at all! He/she comes out quickly after I get medicine.
• General anesthesia wouldn't affect the baby, but it would put me under and I would miss our baby's first cry and a friend told me, up to an hour of his/her life! Also, coming out of that would be a nightmare.
• The healing process of having a cesarean. It's longer.

Right now, I'm at work and someone at the desk beside me is listening to a tutorial video out loud and someone at the desk beside me is listening to kelly clarkson (in headphones but loud enough to hear). My mind is kind of overexposed, haha, so this will be it for today's blog.

Monday during worship, someone shared the verse below, saying it was a verse to meditate on for the week. During today's worship, they put this verse up again and it meant something more to me. I am going to try and trust God and whatever his will might be for our baby's delivery; cesarean or natural. We shall see soon!

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

1 John 5:14-15

Dreams, Dreams, Dreams.

Last night I had another boy dream, which now makes it 2 "it's a girl" dreams and 5 (maybe more now) "it's a boy" dreams. I specifically asked God to not tell me through a dream or a word and so far He's had a bit of fun messing with my mind, like Ted since they both know the sex.

So, I don't think the dreams mean anything, unless I'm having twins. Surprise! haha.

I dreamt that I went into labor and within an hour or two delivered a healthy 9 1/2 pound baby boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He came out with rolls and the mannerisms of a two month old. I remember the delivery was so fast that I wasn't able to get ahold of my mom in time and she missed it and was very upset. I had my family over and everyone was shocked at his size and how he already acted like a 2 month old or older. He could also already mimic people! I remember I was halling him around on my hip and thinking, when he is 6 months I won't be able to carry him! The funny thing was, when I woke up I realized the dream dissapointed me and I felt like I had missed out on the entire newborn stage. And then the dream made me incredibly emotional because I just want to HOLD my baby and not just in my dreams!

On friday morning worship, two of my friends came to me with dreams they had.

One of them said they dreamt they were hanging out with me and my water broke and I went into labor and delivered a healthy baby boy. Blond hair, blue eyes and ears that stuck out a bit!

The other friend told me that she dreamt I went into labor and forgot to call her (she is going to be in the delivery room). She said that I had a baby girl with dark hair!

See what I mean, God is messing with my mind. Two friends with two completely opposite dreams ;)

Do you remember the post about last sundays false alarm? That same morning, Ted had a friend of ours, who didn't know we had gone to the hospital, say that she dreamt I was going to have the baby on that day! I wish that were true!

All of this to say, I'd rather have the baby than the dreams, but I guess the dreams are making the anticipation even better. With Ted and I being complete opposites in looks...What on earth does our baby look like? I am thinking a girl with dark hair and dark eyes like me.

We shall see soon! I needed to write because of my anxious and wondering mind.

And the picture... what the heck right? A friend of mine tagged me in this photo on facebook. It made my day and I thought I would share. Plus since I am doing a 'dreams' blog, I thought it fit pretty well seeing I am definitely not on the cover of a Vogue magazine in real life ;)

Week 39: Progress!

Bags packed and ready to go!

Me & Baby @ 39 weeks

Baby EAD/CJD:

He/she continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he/she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds! The outer layers of his/her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Still pretty active inside and definitely getting lower and lower with each day. Some days I feel as though he/she is going to fall out!

Momma:

I've had a few new ailments this week, which is a good sign! Beginning on Wednesday morning I've had cramping off and on along with pretty strong but irregular contractions. I know this sounds terrible, but for me it makes me feel like we are getting closer! I am also extremely exhausted by the time afternoon hits. The past month I wasn't napping regularly because my mind would not rest and so I didn't even try to nap. Now it's a must! I can't function unless I nap some days!

Part of that could be that I've overworked myself this week, more than I have in a while. My mom was in town from Tuesday - yesterday and we did so much deep cleaning in our house to finish everything I wanted done!

Thank you Mom, you're such a blessing. You're amazing!

Oh and my swelling has gone up a level! Since Tuesday I've only really seen my ankle bones occasionally. I've never seen my feet and ankles like this. I officially have kankles by evening :)

I've been pretty impatient since the #4 of the 5 of us had her baby. I was just a tad anxious. The past few days I've calmed down a bit. I've been trying to find ways to naturally get our baby to come a few days early (mostly because I have 3 friends leaving town on Tuesday and one of them is from Australia). I've been walking a lot. This morning Ted really pushed me to do 3 laps at the park's trail next to our house. He is pretty anxious too!

Baby will be coming soon, and with every cramp, ache and strong contraction I know we are getting closer! 6 more days until the actual due date. It's hard to believe!

Love,

p.s we arranged our room and moved our crib! I finally gave in after feeling so claustrophobic and it's great and spacious now!

False Alarm, Really?!

This morning as we were about to leave for Ted to lead worship at church I felt a gush of something down below. I was talking and stopped mid sentence in awe, leaving the guys of the house wondering...

"I think my water just broke... or I peed myself. I don't know"

Ted remembered them saying the fluid wouldn't smell like urine but sweeter (which makes me laugh now) so I ran to the bathroom and sure enough, my underwear and my gouchos were wet. So I checked it out (...) and it wasn't urine, that's for sure! I changed quickly into new bottoms which I also wet by the time we got into the car. Before we made it to the hospital I felt 4 "gushes".

We did called our doctor, who sent us to the hospital because I have GBS and if my water had been broken, I needed antibiotics immediately. As we grabbed our hospital bags, took off and got to the hospital I felt the an array of emotions (and Ted did too). This could be it! We might meet our baby today!

We got checked into a labor and delivery room, did a urine sample for them, stripped down and put a gown on, then waited at they monitored the baby and my contractions. The baby HATES being monitored. He/she kept moving like crazy inside. Poor baby.

I was having contractions, but that's pretty normal right now. The baby's heartbeat was great and the only worry was my blood pressure. It was the first time in pregnancy that it was high, but she told me she thought it was because I was anxious, nervous, etc. and told me to lay back and try and calm down. It was hard, but my blood pressure went back to normal after 45 minutes. I was going crazy inside!

Anyways, she checked out the fluid inside and shocked Ted and I both by telling us my water had not broken. The look on Ted's face still makes me want to cry. We were so sure that it had. We had heard that it could come in trickles, gushes or full blown and yet nothing for us.

I wanted to cry right then, but felt like I couldn't in front of the nurse. I felt so disappointed and somewhat like an idiot. I know it was best for us to be safe than sorry, but this was so shocking!

She went on to tell us that my cervix was soft and ready, but that it hadn't released anything yet. She told me that the gushes "were a good sign that the baby is coming soon", which honestly at that point didn't comfort me at all. I had already gotten my hopes up for today.

We were monitored for another 30 minutes, which seemed like 3 hours because we just wanted to get out of the hospital. Once we were released, we both agreed that we didn't want to go home yet, so we stopped at starbucks where a lady told me two of her birth stories (which happens all the time now) and then we went to a thrift store to take out mind off things. It didn't help really.

Ted told me he just wishes it wasn't so complicated, wondering "is this it?". We both realized more and more that this is not going to happen like it does in the movies. You know, where the woman's water breaks in a huge gush, they rush to the hospital, and bam there's a baby. Most of the time this is not the case.

I prayed and asked God to let it be really obvious to us, cause today was so disappointing. I've heard many women say, "Oh you'll know when you're in labor." Maybe for some this is true, but obviously not yet for me.

I know the baby will come in the right timing. And honestly, once he/she does arrive we will have forgotten this disappointment, but right now it's hard! Please pray for us in this final stretch!

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,

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!

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!