38 weeks

Even though I'm 'full-term' now I still have a couple weeks until the estimated due date. Little lady was 2 days past her estimated due date. Which for all intents and purposes could mean that my due date was off, since it really is just a rough guestimate any way. I don't really think of her as being 'late', to me she was right on time!

I don't really have much reason to believe that this baby would be any different, until I had my first exam and I was 3.5 cm dilated already! That's how far I was when I went into labor with Little Lady. So imagine my surprise when the dr told me I was that dilated at my 36 wk appointment.

Now I'm here at 38 wks, still no 'real' labor. I've had contractions that have gradually increased in intensity but then they just stop. They are usually in the evenings and I just feel all around crummy everyday starting around 3:30 or 4 pm.

I'm getting to be more and more uncomfortable and feel tired all the time. I ache and I feel sore and the kicks and jabs are getting more and more painful too. I've really enjoyed this pregnancy for the most part, especially compared to the last one since I was so sick almost the entire time. But I'm really feeling done. I want to get back to being able to be active with my almost 15 month old. I want to eat and not feel like one bite fills me up, only to be starving half an hour later. Not to mention I'm so over breathing fire after every single thing I eat. I practically have to sleep on an incline or it's just an open passage of acid going up and down my throat all night.

Speaking of night time, I can not get comfortable for the life of me! I sleep on one side only to wake up to a sore hip, so I spend about 5 min trying to roll over to my other side and then to get comfy and fall back asleep is a whole other thing. Poor Stud Muffin is no longer able to get a very good nights sleep because my rolling around wakes him up! {And I DO feel bad for him since he has to get up and go to work everyday... at least I can try and nap when Little Lady does and I get to be in my pj's all day long if I want to be!}

So enough of my complaining... this baby will come. He or she can't stay in there forever! And when that time comes, we are going to be so excited!!!!

So on to the update/belly pic:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a honeydew melon 

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained 12 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I pretty much feel like being in my pj's all day! I dread getting dressed each morning because the only thing that is comfortable is comfy clothes.

Gender: It's a surprise!!

Movement: Movement has changed from sometimes rapid movements and jabs to much slower and intense kicks and stretches. We are definitely running out of room...

Sleep: I am up several times a night to go to the bathroom. But a lot of times I don't really need to go, the baby is often putting pressure on my bladder making it feel like I have to go. Just practice for the schedule to come... It's getting more and more difficult to get comfy.

Symptoms: Crazy dreams, heartburn and reflux, pretty tired all day, frequent bathroom breaks.

What I miss: Being able to do as much activity with Little Lady. And when she wants to cuddle it gets a little tricky, she trys to get comfy but my growing belly just gets in the way :D

Cravings: Most of the time I lack an appetite. I usually settle for a bowl of cereal. I snack a lot, I feel so full with not much food at all.

Best Moment this week: Spending quality time with Little Lady, giving her extra attention before our whole world changes!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little person who will be added to our family so soon! And I have my 38 wk ob appointment tomorrow! Praying for progress...

Updates.

***UPDATE: Clarification on my comment at the bottom about miss Sweetcheeks making her appearance soon, that is a friend of mine's baby girl and she had just texted me to say she was in labor and going to the hospital! You can read more about her if you click here .

This weekend I did my best to keep myself busy without being too active. Knowing that this birth is so close makes me feel so restless and I hate just sitting around and wondering and waiting!!

Since this weekend was a drill weekend, we were without Stud Muffin during the day time. {I'm on maternity leave until January!} Yesterday we went to a friends house and helped with a project she's working on for the women's retreat our church is doing at the end of this month. I'm pretty bummed that this is the first one since I started attending this church that I won't be able to go to. They are so much fun!! It's a weekend away in the mountains with 'The Girls' and not to mention the amazing time soaking in my sweet Savior! But there is always next year...

Today that same friend and her husband came over after church service to help me with a surprise for Stud Muffin...

Ever since my OB appointment last week he's been feeling a lot of pressure on his to-do list before baby comes. Since that may be sooner than we ever anticipated, he's been worried and a little stressed.

Recently we sort of gutted our kitchen to get rid of some stuff that was really just taking up space and causing us to feel cramped. We also decided to purchase a pot rack to hang our pots and pans to give us more cupboard space. I found one on eBay that was a really great price. It came in last week, the day we found out I was so dilated...

So I got a great idea to get some help with hanging it for Stud Muffin while he was working and take some pressure off of his to-do list!! I couldn't wait for him to come home and see :D

It's not the greatest picture but you can get the idea. Right now we have the chandalier still up because we need a light in the kitchen but I think we are going to replace it with track lighting. And I'm hoping to get our walls painted this winter!

And with our pots and pans now out of the cupboards I have room in the island for more pantry space. Which is so wonderful because our pantry is ridiculous and hardly even a pantry. It's been a struggle to keep it organized or even to easily see what's actually in there! I'm often buying things that we already have and it's been very frustrating. But this has created a great solution. Check out my extra space:

I'm planning on using these pull outs for canned and baking goods since this side of our island is just opposite the stove/oven! I'm so excited :D

And when Stud Muffin got home he was very pleasantly surprised! 

Or maybe it was just that he was happy to see his family... Either way, I love to see these two smilin'!

And on another note:

Here's my 36 week pic and update.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a honeydew melon 

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained 12 lbs {I actually lost 2 lbs since the last time I was weighed, probably because of being sick and throwing up so much.}

Maternity Clothes: I pretty much feel like being in my pj's all day! I dread getting dressed each morning because the only thing that is comfortable is comfy clothes.

Gender: It's a surprise!!

Movement: Oh yes! This baby is very active! Mostly at night when I lay in bed to go to sleep.

Sleep: Still having crazy dreams. I am also up several times a night to go to the bathroom. Just practice for the schedule to come...

Symptoms: Crazy dreams, heartburn and reflux, pretty tired all day, frequent bathroom breaks.

What I miss: Being able to do as much activity with Little Lady. And when she wants to cuddle it gets a little tricky, she trys to get comfy but my growing belly just gets in the way :D

Cravings: Most of the time I lack an appetite. I usually settle for a bowl of cereal. The last 3 days though I've been craving cookie dough something fierce!

Best Moment this week: Having my the dr tell me at my OB appointment that I'm already 3.5 cm dilated.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little person who will be added to our family so soon! Also hearing about and seeing pictures of little miss Sweetcheeks if she makes her appearance anytime soon...

Four more weeks... or is it?

I had my 36 week OB appointment today and I'll be back each week from here on out!

I love my ob, she is so laid back and just real. She's young and still pretty new, but you wouldn't even be able to tell, she is so calm and confident but she doesn't treat you like you don't know anything. I feel like we can ask her questions and she doesn't feel like we are attacking her intelligence or anything. She just answers what she can tells us if she doesn't know or if it's not a concern.

I can't really say that about any of the other dr's in the same office. I've seen them all at least once, since any one of them could be the one to deliver me, it just depends who is in the office or on call at the time I'm ready to deliver. I would LOVE it to be my ob, but I know the chances are slim.

I'm ok with that because I know that God is in charge anyways. He has the whole thing under control and I know He will take care of His baby and me no matter how things happen.

With that being said, at my appointment today I had my first cervical check where the dr does a quick internal exam of my cervix to see if I've dilated or progressed yet. At the first check I really was expecting her to say that I was 1, maybe 2 cm** if anything at all! I was thinking I've still got four weeks left so there's a lot of time for all that labor stuff...


If I remember correctly at my first check with Little Lady I was all most at 2 cm and I stayed that way for about 2 weeks. Then I went to 2.5 cm or maybe 3 cm. By my 40 week appointment I was 3.5, almost 4 cm dilated and I went into labor and gave birth 2 days later...

**(10 cm is fully dilated and when you push, in case anyone is wondering what this all means!)

Today when the dr checked me she said I am already "a good 3.5 cm"! I was shocked. All I could do was laugh and ask 'Are you serious?!' I have felt like this pregnancy has been a breeze compared to the first one and even this progress has proven that to be the case.

I may not go in to labor in 2 days, in fact I'm really hoping it's another week AT LEAST {Stud Muffin is hoping for another 3 weeks, bless his heart}. But if I am already 1/3 of the way there and I haven't had a painful contraction, I'll take it!! I'm even hoping for another couple of cm before my next appointment on Thursday!

But in all seriousness, she advised us to be prepared just in case. She said that if I were to go into labor at this point that they wouldn't try to stop it. If the baby were to be born at 36 weeks in most scenarios he or she would be just fine. {37 weeks is full term so I'm not that far off} If anything they would do extra monitoring on the baby and there's a chance they would have to give him or her oxygen. I would rather avoid all that extra stress and wait another week, where the hospital would consider the baby healthy and most likely just fine.

So the plan is for me to take it easy this next week and try to hold off labor if at all possible. I'm really thinking that shouldn't be a problem since I haven't felt much for contractions besides a few Braxton Hicks and they are few and far between.

But I'll take the Dr's orders and just do my best to rest! ; D

P is for play.

I had to show off a project I put together for the new baby!

It's a texture play mat! Each "pie" piece is a different material: fleece, bumpy fleece, satin, terry cloth, velour-ish, and 3 cotton pieces with print.

On most of the "pie" pieces there are elements that baby can explore, feel, tug or just drool on :).

I'm particularly proud of myself given that the project was labeled 'intermediate' and the directions were very vague. I had a few bumps and hurdles, but I finished it less than 4 hours! 

Now we just need baby to get here so he or she can play!

Until then...

Big sister doesn't mind breaking it in!

And while we are on the subject of play, Little Lady is one who plays hard. She doesn't show fear for anything it seems. When she starts getting hyper she is twirling around the room or throwing her whole body up against the couch and bouncing off. She loves it and it only gets her going more!

In the last couple days she has managed to, shall we say earn, a few 'battle wounds'....

The one under her chin she got while playing in the nursery at church on Sunday. They said she had a run in with the mat and it left her a pretty good mark!

She also has a scrape under her eye that she got from practically throwing herself off of the couch in one of her hyper spells. Just moments before she fell I was thinking how rowdy she was getting and that she was probably going to fall, and then not even moments later she went face first on to the floor. :( 

Niether boo-boo seems to bother her too much but she sure looks pretty beat up. What can I say she's one tough little girl!!

Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful for Me

Every girl young and old has to face her own reflection

Twirl around, stare it down

What's the mirror gonna say

With some luck, you'll measure up

But you might not hold a candle to the rest

"Is that your best?" says the mirror to the mess

But there's a whisper in the noise

Can you hear a little voice

and He says

Has anybody told you you're beautiful?

You might agree if you could see what I see

Oh

'Cuz everything about you is incredible

You should have seen me smile the day that I made you

beautiful for me

If it's true beauty lies in the eye of the beholder

What my life and what's inside to give him something to behold

I want a heart that's captivating

I wanna hear my Father say

Has anybody told you you're beautiful?

You might agree if you could see what I see

Oh

'Cuz everything about you is incredible

You should have seen me smile the day that I made you

beautiful to me

Close your eyes

Look inside

Let me see the you that you've been trying to hide

Long ago, I made you so very beautiful

So I ought to know you're beautiful

Has anybody told you you're beautiful?

You might agree if you could see what I see

Yeah

'Cuz everything about you is incredible

You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful

You're so beautiful

Beautiful for me

So beautiful for me

Has anybody told you?

This song by Nichole Nordeman, I can't listen to it with out tearing up. I hear it and I think of my baby girl. She comes to my mind first. And I want so badly for her to grow up knowing how beautiful she is to her King. That He takes delight in her and He even sings over her.

In this world, where our daughters will be urged to grow up too fast, encouraged to be sexy at such a young age and to live up to a standard no woman can or should have to live up to, I want my daughter to know who made her.

And that He made her beautiful.

The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save,

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

34 weeks

Throughout this pregnancy I've only been doing updates by the month {or as close to as possible} and that was simply because I didn't want to commit to weekly updates on top of taking care of Little Lady. But I was thinking that I would like to try and update every two weeks now, the same as my OB appointments are now. We'll see how well I'm able to do that....

I also thought it would be fun to post my belly pics from when I was pregnant with Little Lady, just for a little fun and comparison sake!

Here I am with Little Lady {I was 33 weeks in this picture but it's close enough!}:

And here is my belly pic for The Sequel this week:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of baby: 17 in and 4.5lbs + 

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained 14+ lbs {since I was in the hospital for my appt I didn't get weighed this week.}

Maternity Clothes: I pretty much feel like being in my pj's all day! I dread getting dressed each morning because the only thing that is comfortable is comfy clothes.

Gender: It's a surprise!!

Movement: Oh yes! I can tell it's getting cramped in there!

Sleep: Crazy and random dreams have been waking me up in the early mornings and then I have trouble falling back asleep because I lay there and think through the insane dream I just had!

Symptoms: Crazy dreams, heartburn and reflux, tire easily, frequent bathroom breaks.

What I miss: Being able to do as much activity with Little Lady. And when she wants to cuddle it gets a little tricky, she trys to get comfy but my growing belly just gets in the way :D

Cravings: Most of the time I lack an appetite. I'm still really hungry but not too much sounds good to eat.

Best Moment this week: Having Stud Muffin finally home for good from his training.

What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery and spending quality time with Little Lady!