37 Weeks

Well, better late than never, right?



I went to my 37 week appointment on March 27. I was measuring at 37 cm and clocked in right at the 30 pound mark. Jeremy has predicted that Noah is not going to make it to the 10th but I have my doubts, considering that he and I were both born late. I wish he would hurry up though!



People like to ask pregnant women what they are craving and here it is:

Lately it's been vanilla frozen yogurt in a waffle cone from Braum's. Hence my chubby little face. I've been having some sort of ice cream treat about every other day. And I don't discriminate. I could eat platters of cakes or cookies. Peanut butter, especially mixed with chocolate, has been a consistent fave. I'm starting to think something is wrong with me and my out of control sweet tooth. When the doctor asked what I'm doing for heartburn and I told her ice cream, she cracked up and said, "at least you're honest about it!" She promptly gave me samples of Protonix.

Other exciting news from the weekend: Jeremy's parents bought us a glider and ottoman! We ordered it and will have to wait a few weeks for it to get here. Thanks Mamaw and Papaw!

Lots going on over the next 9 days! Yikes! I'll update everyone again this weekend!

36 Weeks

Only 3 weeks till D-Day! THREE WEEKS!! Oh my goodness...I constantly flip back and forth between being excited to see the baby, excited to have my body back, and the terrifying, "what am I going to do? soon-to-be mom" emotion. Ahh...reality and how it will change!

This week was spring break and we got a lot done but it still seems there is so much more. We were given or loaned more clothing than we know what to do with (at least in the 0-3 month department) and I think we have purchased all the major necessities. And I got to hang out with my mom some while she was also spring-breaking. (However, the mystery of the baby monitor remains unsolved.) I am borrowing an old rocking chair from my parents and still debating whether I want to spend the money to get a new one with one of those nice gliding ottomans. The nursery is almost done and it's turning out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I'll post some pics when we add the finishing touches. Oh, and I finally picked out Noah's "coming home" outfit:

Thanks Mamaw and Papaw! (Jeremy's grandparents.) He will be all decked out for his 3 mile drive home from the hospital. :)

At my 36 week appointment this week, I measured 35 centimeters, had my Group B Strep test (whoo-hoo!), and am just about to cross my 30 pound threshold I had set for myself. I'm pretty sure he can't get much bigger over the next 3 weeks, right? I'm pleased to report that I have only had one small meltdown over feeling "so big and heavy and tired" and that Jeremy was sweet about it...and very amused at the same time. I get to visit the OB every week until D-day now, which really only equals 2 more visits.

Sadly, spring break is coming to an end now and I must say good night. Hope everyone else had such a lovely week!

The Mystery of the Baby Monitor

I am sooo pleased that someone purchased our baby monitor for us several weeks ago! (I know this because it was on the Target registry and shows as fulfilled.) However, it has not ever shown up and I am concerned that maybe it was purchased online and shipped to us but never got here. So, if anyone knows where it might be or should be coming from, drop me a line! Thanks!

Babymoon!

With time running short, we decided to do a little "staycation" in Grapevine, TX at the Gaylord Texan on March 14. It is such a nice place, almost like a little town of its own on the inside.

Here is the front of the hotel as we walked up:

The dome inside the atrium:

The view from our Atrium View room:

A little goofing off while we explored:


I love that the longhorn looks a little offended by me. Boomer Sooner!

This was us after dinner at Old Hickory Steakhouse. I haven't eaten at that many super nice restaurants but I'm pretty sure this was the best food I have ever put in my mouth! I had the filet and Jeremy had a 24 ounce ribeye! Needless to say, we brought home some great leftovers!

So we had a nice little weekend of togetherness, just the two of us...since we aren't going to have too many more of those for a while!

Family Shower Pics

And great news! I spoke to my insurance company today and they said that the company does not dictate what type of delivery a woman may choose. How's that for the right to choose?!

Also, my What to Expect email today said that baby is about out of room to grow in utero. I have been trying to tell people this and they have laughed at me. :) Actually, it says that length-wise, he is about done, but will continue to accumulate plenty of baby fat between now and then, about half a pound a week. So, Noah is somewhere around 20 inches long and 5 pounds or so in weight. I can now usually find a body part if I rub on my belly...which is getting so heavy and awkward!

Here are the pics from the shower on March 7:

My aunt Linda holding Mallory:

Allison and Jake:

Madison and Dominick:

Opening the bedding:

34 Weeks

On March 6, I was at the OB for my appointment at exactly 34 weeks. I totally forgot to ask the usual measurement info after receiving some surprising news. Apparently, there is a chance my insurance company is going to put the old kibosh on my plans for a c-section. And I don't even have an HMO: go figure!! So I have to call them this week and hopefully get it sorted out. Maybe that is the answer to my prayers. However, when the choice is taken away from you, sometimes it makes your true wishes a little clearer. I realized that I have never in my life counted on needing to push a baby out of my nether regions and have no innate desire to do so! (Wendy, we will edit this for the purposes of the book!) But, of course, we will do what needs to be done.

I have been enjoying some late night ice cream to combat the vicious heartburn, more back pain, and the ever increasing fatigue. I am used to keeping myself almost constantly busy and am having to force myself to slow down. It's so hard to just let things go undone when I have such a big to-do list but I am starting to pay for it!

There were also the last two showers this weekend (no, there were not actually 27 of them) and they both went very well. We got several more of the much needed items. here is the hospital shower, hosted by Jeremy's co-workers. They gave us an external hard drive (for loading up all those baby pics and videos), a Target gift card (for all the necessities I still need to pick up), and some other cute little items from the registry as well.

We had a little family party at our house on Saturday, put together by Jeremy's mom and sister, and my mom too. I don't have any pics from that one yet, so I'll add those later.

And we got the one major item we needed in order to bring baby home from the hospital: the travel system! We now have a highly-rated car seat to bring Noah home in and the stroller to go with it. Mamaw (Jeremy's mom) and I went to lunch this week and she and Papaw helped us get it!

Now I have a somewhat-ready nursery with stuff piled in it. Next week is spring break and I plan to spend my week off getting all the stuff purchased, washed, and put away. I am looking for ward to it.

Special thanks to everybody for the great gifts and all the hard work putting together the parties for us and Noah!

What I Love About Pregnancy

I know, you must be shocked by the title of this one. I have to admit that women who talk about how much they love being pregnant puzzle me. Confound me. Completely bamboozle me. You get the idea. Maybe their experience has been vastly different from mine and if so, maybe I should be jealous. Maybe they just got out easy. I am especially befuddled by Jim Bob and Michelle of Springdale, Arkansas who just welcomed their 18th child. Pregnancy is hard on the body, people!

But I realize that I have shared a lot about my complaints and the symptoms I have experienced. So here is a list of what has been great about it and the symptoms I have been pleased to avoid. :)

1. Sonograms. There is nothing better than watching my baby wiggle around and get mad at us for the invasion of privacy. I literally can't stop smiling while I watch him.
2. Baby kicks. Sometimes I just have to giggle at his excited movements. I have noticed that if I push in a particular area, he will sometimes kick back at the spot I'm pushing. (Noah, I hate to tell you but you need to adjust to your space becoming increasingly limited for a while.) I know I will miss his movements.
3. Being amazed at my body. You know I had this old bod for almost exactly 28 years before Noah began to take shape inside of it. Let me tell you, it never did anything miraculous before this. I am amazed that it just knows what to do and how to respond.
   
4. Watching Jeremy be amazed. He laughs at my expanding belly, checks to see how I'm feeling, shakes my stomach to try and get Noah to kick for him. He's making the transition to Dad.
   
5. Getting to know this little guy. Nobody else has that advantage but me at this point. We are together 24/7. Nobody else knows if he's sleeping or playing or irritated with me for squishing him.
   
6. Pants with zippers are highly overrated.
   
7. People are just nicer. I get so many random smiles because of my belly. People apologize for getting in my way and even pick up things I have clumsily dropped. :)
   
8. Buying baby stuff and getting everything ready for him.
   
9. I may have had some unpleasant side effects, but I have been blessed with a very normal, healthy pregnancy. Here's to smooth sailing! And last but not least...
   
10. At least I have managed to avoid the stretch marks so far!

First Purchases

This is some stuff that Jeremy purchased all on his own recently for Noah. The little box of socks are really cute--assorted colors, designed to look like little tennis shoes. And the funny part is the "PeePee TeePees". You know, for diaper changing purposes. :) They are so funny--I want to hand them out as party favors or something.

And here are the first clothing items that I picked out and bought myself. I realized that everybody but me was picking out what they like :) The green one says Lucky Duck and the navy one says Tiny Tadpole, in case they are hard to read. I am also realizing that this kid has tons of onesies and no pants! Hmmm...we'll need to do something about that...

We have TWO more showers coming up next weekend and I'm very excited! On March 6, Jeremy's co-workers are hosting one for us and then we have the family shower on Saturday, March 7. I also have my next OB appointment on the 6th.

Happy First Week of March!