35 WEEKS!

We are 5 weeks from our due date. Holy cow how did we get here? I know we're ready but at the same time I feel completely overwhelmed! We are halfway done with our childbirth classes and I just took my breastfeeding class through the hospital today. I think we are both learning a lot of valuable information from them... wether we'll remember any of it when it comes to crunch time is another story.

I had my 34 week appointment on Wednesday and I am measuring right on. So apparently my body finally caught up with our little baby girl. I'm trying my best not to get up any hopes of going early, but honesly I am so over being pregnant. Benedryl has been a saint the last few nights, I've actually gotten some quality sleep, which hasn't happened in weeks. Other than that there isn't too much to report. Baby's heartbeat was at about 145 and I'm up a total of 12 pounds, not bad if I say so myself.

I have my second (and last) shower tonight. Our church is throwing a churchwide shower for me from all the ladies. It should be a great time!

Here are the pictures from my previous shower, and of the bedding my mom made and of my growing belly. I should've gotten these up sooner!

SHOWER:

Me at 32 weeks and one with me and Erin (my friend who threw the shower)

The yummy dessert table (those truffles were AMAZING Erin)! And molding babies out of playdoh on our heads!

NURSERY BEDDING:

The bumper pad, sheet and the skirt! Thanks Mom!

BELLY:

Me at 35 Weeks!

Well I think that about covers things so far. I'll try to post some other pictures from my shower tonight. I cannot believe we are only a little more than a month away from meeting our little girl!

Until next time...

Getting Closer!

I had my 32 week appointment with the doctor yesterday. It was fairly uneventful. I'm still measuring about 3 weeks ahead but he's not too concerned. I gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, but that still makes me on the low end of weight gain during pregnancy!

I mentioned that my biggest "worries" were the sudden swelling I had noticed and the increasing back pain. He wasn't worried about the swelling, my blood pressure has been on the low end all along so he said it's just "normal" pregnancy swelling, I just hadn't had much of it yet. He was more concerned with my back pain. I've been having sore muscles in my back for most of my pregnancy but for the last week or so it's gotten increasingly worse. He gave me some exercises to try over the next week or so but if those don't seem to help he's going to send me to physical therapy. Thankfully the back pain hasn't been associated with any cramping (a sign of preterm labor), but if that starts to become an issue I'll have to go back in to be checked.

From the beginning my doctor has been concerned with me working full time. Not that I have a strenuous job, I sit in front of the computer for most of the day, but the stress of work is still there. He asked me yesterday if I was still working and I told him that I had just gone down to 4 days a week. He was very surprised that I was working at all. I told him that my plan was to work part time from here on out, until I deliver or until my due date (whichever comes first). He just laughed and said that would NOT be happening. Especially now with my back pain, and measuring ahead he said he'll give me two more weeks, until my next appointment, to keep working, but if the back pain hasn't subsided and I'm still measuring ahead he doesn't want me working anymore. So we'll see.

Overall it was a good appointment. Baby girl is growing, and moving tons. Her heartbeat this time was 148.

*Stay tuned this weekend for pictures from my shower!

Surgery & A Shower!

Last week I posted about my dad being in the hospital, we were hoping that would be the end of things. Unfortunately this past Wednesday, he was taken back in to ER with similar symptoms (headache, nausea etc). The neuro doctor decided that surgery was the best option. On Thursday my dad underwent a Craniotomy (they make an incision in the scalp and remove a piece of the skull so they can have access to where the bleed is). Thankfully, as far a major brain surgery goes, this is one of the least invasive, but it's still considered a major surgery. The surgery went well, they only had to take a piece the size of a silver dollar off the skull to get to the bleed and were able to see everything they needed to. My dad woke up great from the anesthesia, and other than the goofy side effects of the pain killers he was the same old dad. He is coming home today, and is ready to get back to life - he's not one to just sit around, especially in the hospital. Our whole family is so thankful for all the prayers, meals, visits, cards and words of encouragement we have received over the last two weeks. We are hoping this is the kind of thing that happens once in a lifetime and never has to be repeated. We are just praising God that things worked out the way they did, my dad has a wonderful team of doctors and is on the fast track to recovery.

In BABY news:
I am 32 weeks (or I was last Friday), and feeling pretty good. My back pain is back and is worse than ever. Between that and the nausea I feel like I'm back in the first trimester. Right now, more than anything I just want a full night's sleep, wishful thinking I know! I am also growing like crazy. Every day when I look in the mirror I feel like my body has changed overnight. And I can tell baby is growing too, she is running out of room, and fast. Her kicks are becoming so hard and sometimes painful. Her feet end up under my ribcage and as she must be stretching out, but boy is it painful. The baby newsletter I get says that baby girl weighs about 4 pounds, but since we're measuring ahead I don't think that's accurate. All I know is that she's growing!

We had our first baby shower this past weekend. My friend Erin threw it for me and it was wonderful. Great friends, great food, and lots of laughs. Everyone was so generous, we received lots of necessities including our crib bedding (thanks mom!), car seat, pack-n-play, bottles, books and lots of cute girly outfits! I'll post pictures later in the week of the event! We are so thankful for all the great friends and family we have supporting us through this new step in our lives.

We are only 8 weeks away from our due date now! Tim and I are both shocked at how fast the time has flown by. It really feels like just yesterday we were staring at that little white stick with the two pink lines! God has already blessed us so much and we look forward to seeing how he will continue to grow us both as individuals and as a couple as we continue to prepare for the arrival of our little girl! It won't be long now!

Until Next Time...

Ahead of Schedule!

We had our 30 week appointment this past Wednesday. Baby Gates' heartbeat was 145 and going strong. She's definitely getting bigger, I don't feel like there's much room left inside for her. The doctor had a student with him and she measured me and got a measurement for 3 weeks ahead. He was sure she had done it wrong so he did it himself... sure enough, we are measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. He assured me not to worry about it, it's something we'll watch and if I continue to grow at that rate then we might have to do a growth ultrasound to see how big baby girl is!

This has been an odd week for our family. On Thursday morning my dad was taken to the ER for some bleeding on the brain. After two days at the hospital, a couple CT Scans, an MRI and innumerable amounts of prayers, visits and kind words, he is doing wonderfully. This morning he seemed like he was finally out of the woods. Our family is so greatful for God's mercy on us and for all the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf. Tim and I are especially greatful, we cannot imagine our little girl not being able to meet her grandpa. My dad is still in the hospital, and probably will be for a day or so yet but he's pain free and feeling wonderful. Thank you all for your prayers for our family, they were and are greatly appreciated.

Until next time...

Nursery Progress

Here are some pictures from the nursery, we aren't completely FINISHED but we're 95% there! Tim's finishing up the room divider this week, to seperate the "office" side of the room from the "nursery" side! And I have more circles to put up on the walls, I just ran out of steam!

Okay here ya go...

Closet organizers and large bookshelf right inside the door

Looking in from the door and a front view of the changing table and part of the crib!

Crib and smaller bookshelft/end table!

So there you have it! I'll post pictures of the crib with the bedding after my shower, so look for that sometime in September!

Nursery!

I forgot to post our BIG news for the week. My mom and I, along with my best friend took a day and went to IKEA for some serious shopping. The nursery is now completely furnished. Everything is ready for baby girl to arrive!

My mom is making the bedding and is recovering the glider that we bought. Once we get those in the nursery it will be all set!!! However, my mom is hoarding both until my shower!

I'll post pictures as soon as I can remember!

Glucola... YUCK!

Tomorrow I’ll be 29 weeks along, which will leave us with 78 days to go until D-day! I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and it went really well. I got to drink some wonderful orange drink (it tasted like a melted Popsicle) so that I could have my test done. Doesn't that look tasty?

After I finished my cocktail I had to have some labs drawn to see if I have gestational diabetes (which, thankfully, I don’t) and to check my thyroid levels, then I got to see the doctor. The nurse weighed me and I’m up 2 pounds since my last visit… which brings my grand total of weight gained to 6 pounds! 6 I can deal with!

Baby’s heartbeat was strong at 148, the slowest it’s ever been, the doctor says as the baby starts to mature more the heart rate will slow so it’s nothing to be worried about! My belly is measuring 29 cm which is perfect (1 cm for each week you’ve been pregnant).

Baby girl is responding to outside stimuli. Tim and I were in the car the other day and he sneezed (rather loudly) and my entire stomach jumped. My guess is she didn’t like the loud noise! This week she weighs about as much as a butternut squash and measures about 15 inches. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to develop and she’s now blinking her eyelids, which are complete with eyelashes!

In mommy news…
I’m feeling alright, just getting more and more uncomfortable. The sciatic pain that I experienced in the first trimester is back. Combine that with the round ligament pain and the loose joints and I’m feeling like I’m about 65! In all seriousness though I am loving being pregnant. Baby’s kicks are so strong right now, she’s obviously running out of room, but I can push on one part of my belly and she’ll poke a foot or elbow out at me! It’s wonderful to be able to feel my child moving within me. I’ve been sleeping rather well the last few nights, other than the constant up and down to go to the bathroom, but it’s much better than it was a few weeks ago!

Tim and I are getting very anxious to hold our little girl. We often find ourselves just wandering into what will be her room and staring at the little clothes and toys, just dreaming of the day we can bring her home. It’s all so overwhelming, we are both so thankful that God has entrusted this little one to our care. We know that God is preparing us, even now to be the perfect parents for this little girl. We know we’ll mess up and right now we have absolutely NO clue what we’re doing, but we are both trusting in the knowledge that God will give us the strength and the wisdom to raise our daughter His way and for His glory.

Until next time…