39 Weeks

Today I am 39 weeks! I have a little wiggly watermelon in my belly now :)

I had a doctor's appointment today. Clint is working at Camp Atterbury which is about an hour away so we decided it was ok for him to miss the appt. I went to get in the car to go and my car wouldn't start! Clint changed the alternator tonight and it's good to go. Luckily Augusta is a good friend and took me to my appt! Perfect blood pressure as usual...measuring right at 39 weeks and the baby's heart rate was good too (138)! However, my cervix is not cooperating! Not dilated at all nor has it softened at all :( Boo. We discussed inducing after 40 weeks but Clint and I are going to discuss it some more before deciding 100%.

The last week has been pretty similar to the last few except that my ankles (and mostly just my right) are swollen still! They go down a little but unless I have them up they are puffy. At least they don't hurt for the most part. I just hate laying around so much.

Now time for the best story from the last week. I decided Sunday to do a little shopping. The weather FINALLY warmed up so I wanted to wear a dress. Remember the cute peacock maxi dress I made back in October? 

Fit nicely here doesn't it?? Well add about 6 months and 20 some pounds...and Houston, we have a problem!

Somehow I got it ON but I could not for the life of me get it OFF! I was sweating from trying to pull it back over my head! Finally I called my stepmom who lives across the street. However she wasn't home! Clint was helping a friend with some work but had been gone a while so I called him. Luckily he was just getting ready to leave! So I had to lay down on the bed for a half an hour stuck in this stinkin' dress! I spent way too much time sewing it together that I was not going to cut it off! Thankfully it only took Clint a few tries to break me free! Lesson learned!

My mom also sent me a package yesterday with some goodies! I had asked if she could make me a hospital  gown for when we have the baby. She sent me a million fabric choices and said she would make me two! Here are the fabric choices:

 So cute! 

She also made some sheets in this fleece material.

My sister gets here Friday!! I'm excited about that.

Well here's to hoping the baby comes on his own and sometime soon!! We can't wait to meet him!

38 Weeks

38 weeks along and baby boy is still cooking! I just got back from my doctor's appointment. Glad my regular doctor is back :) She really is awesome!

I only measured 36 weeks today...and still not dilated any. She did think that my cervix felt a little thinner which I guess is progress. I mentioned that my mom went 42 weeks with my older sister and me and asked if that 'runs in the family' and she didn't really think that it did but she did say she wouldn't wait that long. She said that she wouldn't have me go past 41 weeks. In two weeks she will check my fluid levels to see how everything looks. But regardless, 3 more weeks or less until our little guy is here! It's good to know there is a more definite feeling to the end of this! I am so glad that everything has gone smoothly and I never really had anything to complain about but I am definitely ready to be done and meet our baby!

This week I have done quite a bit of walking...around the neighborhood with Clint and at the gym with Augusta. I was so lazy the last two weeks with a cold and sinus infection that it feels good to be up and doing something active...although I was wiped out after the trip to the gym yesterday. I took a big fat nap on the couch! I need to remember to rest my feet in the evening though because my ankles are a little fluffy this week! Saturday we did some major yard work and that did a number on them too!

With not much time before our little pipsqueak is here I have a few things left on our to-do list to get done! Today I called our family doctor to see if she saw newborns. We both really like her and would love to keep seeing her for all three of us. Well, she was willing to take him on but she is switching jobs in July :( So back to the endless list of doctors...not just for the baby but now for all of us! Boo!

I also finished painting the book shelves that Clint made but he is trying to figure out how he wants to hang them. Once they're up I'll share a pic. I was also thinking about making a rug for his room. I have looked everywhere for an orange rug but I can't find one anywhere! So I may make this in orange:

I can't quite decide!

Well here is how much I have grown since the middle of November:

37 Weeks...and Feeling It!

Didn't realize the chalk would be hard to read! Phoo!

You may notice that Clint finally added a nice little frame to my little chalkboard! Last weekend he decided he was going to have fun in the garage because he had a miter saw to use! A family friend lent him his saw so he could finish putting together our little book shelves. 

Colors: Molokai Blue and Orange Poppy

I started painting these yesterday but didn't get to them today because I am SICK!

So I mentioned in my last post that I was sick...it all started last Monday when my throat started to hurt pretty bad. I thought I might be getting strep throat. I asked my doctor about it on Tuesday at my appointment. She said that if it got worse in the next two days, go see my regular family doctor. Well Wednesday my throat wasn't too bad but I started to have congestion and a cough. It just seemed like a little cold. Thursday was a full on head cold! It it wasn't my last two days of school and right before Spring Break, I definitely would have taken off Friday because it was an awful-feeling day. Luckily it was my last day at school and we had a few fun things and I was all into enjoying the last day with my kids. After school I went out with some girls from school and just felt miserable. I went home and took a hot bath and went to bed fairly early. Well Saturday morning I didn't feel too bad and by the afternoon I was feeling pretty decent...hence the maternity photo shoot! The weather was nice, I wasn't too congested, and I felt like I was clearing up. By the time the evening came around, I was beat and starting to feel it again! I went to bed early again. Sunday I felt kind of crappy again...Clint and I went to Meijer to get some kind of medicine. I knew toughing it out wasn't going to work! I spoke with the pharmacist (intern...grr). She recommended taking Zyrtec...which basically was going to stop the runny nose. Please! Let's just call my nose Old Green Faithful! TMI? Sorry. Monday starting going down hill when I noticed a toothache and this morning I knew I had to do something because everything felt awful! I had a headache, my throat was hurting, my tooth was aching, and now my cheeks hurt! A-ha! Sinus infection! I called my OB office and they said she would be able to prescribe me something...an added bonus was when they called and asked me to come in earlier because of a conflict! 

Well after I told her my symptoms, the doctor (not my regular one) preceded to press as hard as her little hands could right on my cheek sinuses while asking, "Does this hurt?" Um YES...I just said that! Jiminey cricket! "Well you have a severe sinus infection."  No der!

I cam home took a hot shower and laid on the couch for a bit and decided to do my chalkboard. I was going to skip out on you guys but I am toughing it out! J/K I'm in pj's sitting on my heating pad!

Oh and my cervix is still sealed like a glove! No March baby here!

Sorry for the long and sick post! However, I hope to be well any day now! Enjoy the three photo comparison!

Three of my better pictures if I do say so myself :) 

Oh, like my new stripey pj pants?? I love them! Super comfy!

Maternity Pics

My sister Lindsay was in town this weekend after going on a cruise for her spring break, so I decided to take advantage ask her to snap a few pictures for the baby room. I am thinking about doing a gallery wall of some sort with his name and a few other things. Luckily the weather wasn't too bad yesterday, almost in the 50's. The awful cold that I have had for about 5 days wasn't too bad in the middle of the day either. So we took about 20 minutes to take a few pictures behind my dad's house (which is across the street from us). I messed around with the pictures in Photoshop - I found a really good website with tutorials/help here.

I printed the ones above in a few different sizes but I don't know which I will hang yet. 

Because I am a Briggs and Lindsay was behind the camera, we had a few fun extras!

Baby drop zone!

Holy crap lady! How much do you weigh??

I don't want to kiss you! You're sick!!!!!

I LOVE taking pictures and I LOVE my S.I.L!!

Final Month!!

Well I am now in the final month! I seriously can't believe there are only about 4 more weeks until we get to meet our little guy! I only have three days left of school too! It feels like we just started this school year not too long ago. I am ready for spring break though. We really picked the best timing to have a baby. 

I had a doctor's appointment today...we start going every week now. She checked my cervix for the first time. I had no idea how this was going to happen and I didn't really know what to expect but it turns out that it was no big deal really. Think I'm dilated? Wait and see! She measured my belly and I measured 35 weeks. Clint asked if the baby was going to be small and she said it probably wouldn't be too big unless he is hiding a lot of himself somewhere. Have any weight guesses? Be sure to vote in the poll! You have to view the web version to vote...it is on the left sidebar! I think he'll be just under 8 pounds. At least that's what I think right now.

Ok...I am not dilated at all yet! Which is good because my doctor will be in Florida next week on Spring Break! 

Sleep: I haven't slept well this week. I feel tired but once I lay down in bed, I can't fall asleep! I just don't feel tired. I also really want to sleep on my side but after a few minutes I need to switch to my back. Makes it even harder to fall asleep.

Small picture...don't want to scare the locals!

 Body Changes: Check out my belly button for your very own eyes! Still not completely inside but it sure is starting to stick out. 

Oh no! Cankles!

 Today at the doctor I was sitting there in my socks and Clint and I were admiring my fat ankles. It looks like I twisted them! They don't hurt or anything, they are just puffy! Clint is starting to realize all the pain I have to go through :) Luckily nothing else is swollen...well other than my belly.

Edit - I just took my shoes and socks off and boy are they swollen more and sausage like! Blah!

Food: I had to get checked out today so I got Pizza King for dinner! Delish!

Symptoms: Nothing new from last week or what I already mentioned.

Movement: He just keeps swimming, just keeps swimming. I bet he knows what goldfish in a bowl feel like. Not a lot of room!

Things We Bought/Did: The baby room is about as ready as it's going to be. Last weekend when it was warm, I finished a project I had started a while back. We have a couple living room walls that are large and blank. Wall decorations can get pretty expensive especially for larger areas. So I found a cool project on Pinterest. Clint finally got around to hanging them this weekend. What do you think?

My mom knew I was going to attempt this project around Christmas time so she bought me a dremel set...looks a lot like this:

Basically it sands the wood down using the different tools. First I stained the wood. Then I drew the design I wanted on the plywood. Then I used the dremel to sand back down to the original color of the plywood. It was really pretty easy! About a two hour project. Maybe even less. Now the big empty wall is covered! No more echo!

To wrap things up, here is a comparison to how I looked 10 and 20 weeks ago!

Week 35

Clearly the belly is getting bigger! 35 weeks down and hopefully only about 5 more!

Sleep: I have been sleeping on my left side for the last several months. Laying on my right side is so uncomfortable...probably because he is laying on my right side mostly.Otherwise I am definitely getting more sleep in lately!

Body Changes: Obviously I have to update about the belly button! It is definitely on it's way out! I may just have to take a picture next week.

Food: I have eaten more this last week which is probably why I gained 5 pounds two weeks ago! From about week 30-33 I didn't gain any weight but had gained a total of about 15. From week 33 to 34 I gained 5 pounds. I didn't gain any this last week so I am still sitting (or standing) at about 20 pounds gained so far. Hopefully I only gain about 5 more...fingers crossed! I will be ok with anything under 30 though.

Symptoms: My tummy has been tighter which makes some things a little more uncomfortable...like sitting or standing, or laying down...I guess really anything can be comfortable one min and then all of a sudden - uncomfortable! Stairs are also my enemy. Curse Chapel Glen and it's stairs!! Why can't my school be only one floor??

Movement: He sure loves to stick out on my right side and on the left side of my belly button! He also pushes out/up under my right rib. For some reason when he has the hiccups (at least twice a day!) I can only feel them on my lower left hip area. So weird. Not really a big fan of the hiccups either. He gets them so often they just sort of become annoying.

Things We Bought/Did: Saturday Clint and I got a bunch of things done around the house. We hung up the baby monitor and tested it out. We received a video monitor from my dad and stepmom for Christmas and now it's ready to go! I got all our cloth diapers and inserts washed and ready to go. After our showers we had stacks of things everywhere. I got everything put away! 

We received so many books at our showers but we don't really have room for a book shelf with the two dressers. So we went to Menards and bought some wood and Clint is making some shelves that we are going to hang on the wall that is inset right by the rocking chair. I'm going to paint them orange and turquoise! So far he only has one done because he broke his mitre saw a few weeks ago and got tired of using his circular saw (it was taking forever to cut the wood). So now he needs a new saw.

I also planned with mom to finish up the decorating part of the baby room. We (and probably mostly her) will paint a tree or maybe two and some owls. I ordered a cute fox nightlight and am looking for some other fox decals or signs to hang to tie in the owl/fox theme. The last decorating part will be to hang the baby's name...since we don't have a name decided on yet, that will probably be after he's born!

I guess that's all for now! I have a doctor's appointment next week - which is when I switch to weekly appointments! She is also checking my cervix! Both of these events are definitely signaling that the end is near! I am excited but nervous!! I also only have 8 more days left at school! Yikes! Got anything to say? Advice, tips, love? Leave them below! I haven't had any comments in forever :) 

34 Weeks

Another pink shirt...and I don't even really like pink! I won't wear anymore pink!

Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks (officially). I have a doctor appointment right after school and after that I have family night at school. Busy night! So I though I'd blog tonight instead. I am sure my belly won't grow much overnight :)

Sleep:  It's getting a little bit harder to lay down comfortably at times. However once I'm asleep, I'm pretty good.

Body Changes: I feel like I have been pretty lucky this whole time! I haven't had a lot of weird changes happening to my body than than my belly getting big. I developed the dark line under my belly button a long time ago but the line above my belly button is starting to show.My belly button is pretty much almost flat now too.

Food: Food is yummy. That's all I got.

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary.

Movement: He is definitely running out of room! Some of the movements are more painful now too! I guess that's what happens when you try to fit a cantaloupe into a ziploc bag!

Things We Bought/Did: My sister Hilary came down on Saturday to hang out and we did lots of shopping! We received several gift cards and some cash at our showers the weekend before so of course I went to use them! I had made a list of the last few items I thought we really needed before the little pipsqueak makes his arrival. Using lots of coupons and gift cards, I got almost everything off our list without spending any money! Score!! 

Some of the things I picked up: 

floppy hat for the pool

changing pad and cover

some cute converse-like booties

crib mattress protector, ear thermometer, baby mittens, tons of shorts for the summer, and a few other oddball things.

Here is another three picture comparison!

 From a nectarine to a cantaloupe!

(I also added the 3 picture comparison to last week's post in case you missed it!)