40 Weeks

How far along? 40 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Over 12lbs as of my last appointment, have another appointment tomorrow


Maternity clothes? Nothing fits right. My jeans won't stay up, my pajama pants have to sit way below where I normally keep them, my shirts don't cover my belly very well... oy. 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I slept well last night surprisingly! 

Best moment this week: Making it to 40 weeks? I'm thankful that he and I are both healthy so I'm trying to look at the positives... but I am sure ready to have him in my arms already!

Movement: He's getting rougher with his movements, he favors my right side and really enjoys kicking me in the ribs. Boogie was never this rough!


Food cravings: Mom's Meatball Subs


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Lots of cramping and bachache the last few days, and I've lost large portions of my mucus plug.

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: Bending over... that's close to impossible now.


What am I looking forward too: Finally holding my sweet little boy, breastfeeding, and babywearing!

Weekly Wisdom: You won't be pregnant forever....

 Milestones: He's ready. My pop out timer (aka belly button) says he's DONE.

"Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are!"

That's how I'm feeling today... when Boogie goes looking for something she says, "Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are!" She's been pointing at my belly all morning and saying, "Bubby! Where are you?" She's too smart, she must know mommy is beyond ready to meet Bubby! I'll be 40 weeks tomorrow. I hurt. EVERYWHERE. With Boogie I was able to sleep but my hips would go numb, but that's about as uncomfortable as I got at the end... just that darn hip pain. This time, I wake up every hour to turn over because my entire body just aches. It's awful. So not only do I hurt, but I'm exhausted and I have a toddler running around like a crazy person saying "Mommy, mommy, mommy! Come here! Mommy, mommy, mommy! Whatcha doin'?" Oy! At least she's in a good mood today right?

So I guess you'll be hearing from me tomorrow with my 40 week pic and update.... hopefully you won't hear from me again after that until I have a birth story to post. Pray please! Hoping for a natural, un-medicated, intervention-free birth this go around... which means he HAS to come this week! Do you hear me Bubby?!?!?! It's TIME.

Stubborn

My water broke with Boogie at 39 weeks 2 days... and she was born the next day. Today I am officially 39 weeks and 3 days and Bubby is going nowhere fast. I think he's nice and comfy and warm and isn't planning on going anywhere soon. I'm ok with him staying in there longer, I'd be willing to go to 42 weeks even... however I'm not "allowed" to go past 41 weeks according to my midwife. That's not ok. I do NOT want to be induced, I just want my body to do it's job! So... please be praying that Bubby makes his debut soon, mommy wants to meet him and wants to experience an all natural, no interventions birth. Please... and thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

39 Weeks

How far along? 39 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Total of 12lbs


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular t-shirts and pj's I wear to bed! 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I am not sleeping well... tossing and turning, flopping my belly over... oy. 

Best moment this week: Realizing how soon Bubby could be here! EEK! 

Movement: He's getting rougher with his movements, he favors my right side and really enjoys kicking me in the ribs. Boogie was never this rough!


Food cravings: Cuties (those little oranges?)


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Cramping here and there, hasn't turned into anything though.

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: For any of my clothes to fit. Maternity clothes, regular clothes... nothing fits right!


What am I looking forward too: Moving around like normal... no more waddling or holding my belly when he's moving so much it hurts!

Weekly Wisdom: Cry away my friend!

 Milestones: His brain is continuing to strengthen to grow, the longer he's in my belly the smarter he gets ;-)

38 Weeks (a day late)

How far along? 38 weeks... although I'm updating a day late, the picture is in fact from yesterday ;-)

Total weight gain/loss: Total of 12lbs


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular t-shirts and pj's I wear to bed! 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I sleep deeply but I wake up in a lot of pain. My hips and back ache and I feel incredibly stiff in the morning.

Best moment this week: Reaching "full term", although I think it should be 39+weeks to be considered full term

Movement: I'm getting jabbed in the ribs, bladder, cervix... oy.


Food cravings: Junk.


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Feeling crampy here and there, but not much of anything else.

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: Getting out of bed without rolling and flopping out of bed!


What am I looking forward too: Holding my sweet boy!

Weekly Wisdom: Just a few more days/weeks!

 Milestones: According to Baby Gaga Bubby is ready to be born... I think Bubby has his own plans though!

October Update and Maternity Preview

As promised, I am finally updating with all of our fun activities and updates from October! As of yesterday I have (almost) completely finished my classes... I took my final exams and I'm praying I did well! All that's left now are 3 labs which I'm hoping to complete tonight! So yay! If all goes well and I pass (oh please!) then I will have officially completed my Associate in Arts Degree!

Now... here are lots of pictures and such from October and a few pictures from our maternity shoot!

We played outside and raked leaves...

We acted crazy and smiled a lot!

We painted pumpkins...

and created other fun art projects for Fall and Halloween...

Had our first experience with Elmer's glue... and were not impressed!

Ate HIGH in sugar snacks...

Went to the pumpkin patch...

Shared lots of slobbery kisses...

Discovered new and exciting things...

Pretended we were butterflies...

Colored on the sidewalk...

Sat in our artwork...

Learned how to blow dandelions...

Dressed up as an owl...

Conquered the wet and cold to attend the Fall Festival...

Went trick or treating...

And finally ended October by visiting Papaw and Mawmaw to get ring pops!

Elah had a blast in October and she continues to grow and amaze me! November is going to be life changing for her but I can't wait to see how she grows and changes in these next few weeks!

Now... for our maternity preview!

37 Weeks

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Total of 10lbs


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular t-shirts and pj's I wear to bed! 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: Tossing and turning... tossing and turning... tossing and turning.

Best moment this week: Getting our maternity photos back! Woohoo!

Movement: Bubby is slowing down in the movement department... he's just running out of room. He's still very active in the evenings and early mornings though.


Food cravings: Cereal


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Not much this week... except dreaming about going into labor!

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: For any of my clothes to fit right.... at this point, even my maternity clothes don't fit very well!


What am I looking forward too: Being done with school... because when Bubby arrives I will be DONE! Woo!!!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Take it easy momma...

 Milestones: According to Baby Gaga he is full term, however I disagree.... I don't believe full term should be considered until 39-41 weeks.

Just A Random Update...

I promise to be a better blogger once I get these last few weeks of school done. I'm SO close to finishing up my BIO classes (aside from scheduling my finals), but it's taking up a lot of my time! I'm sitting at the table with Boogie while she eats her new favorite breakfast... cheerios and milk! Yea, MILK! This child has been adamant about not drinking cow's milk, but since I've introduced her to the world of cereal and milk, she's all for it! LOL!

Anyways, I'll be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I cannot believe it! This pregnancy has gone by SO fast I still feel like I'm grasping at the fact that we're going to be a family of four! Everything is ready for Bubby, all we have left to do is pack our bags and install his car seat. Although... I think we're going to just wait until he's here to do that, J can do it while I'm in the hospital. The way our belts and child latch system is in our van we will have to move Boogie back to the very back seat, and there's no way my big belly can squeeze back there to unbuckle her! So.... yea. Not doing that until after Bubby is born :)

We are doing our maternity photos on Monday evening, I'm so excited! We were supposed to have them done last weekend but our photographer (who is also pregnant!) got really sick and needed to rest! I think it will work out better this weekend though, the fall colors in our beautiful mountains are gorgeous right now!

Boogie is a mess this week, she has made me laugh so much this week with her crazy antics! She is newly obsessed with Cinderella... or in her words, "Cindarellwa", and I can't tell you how much I love it.... it's so much better than Minnie Mouse! LOL! We just got the movie two weekends ago and that's all she wants to watch now! She's also gotten a few books and some of these tiny princess dolls with clothing. (She's really into dressing her dolls and such, so this was a great toy!) She's getting so big, and her vocabulary continues to amaze me. She's slowly but surely learning her ABC's, numbers, and colors. Her colors need a lot more work, but we're getting there. As soon as my classes are done I plan on getting more organized and really start Tot School with her. She loves to learn and do crafts (at least some crafts) so I'm sure she'll enjoy a little more of that on our schedule!

Last weekend on J's days off we did some Halloween and fall crafts and even managed a short trip to the pumpkin patch. We painted pumpkins, made Halloween snacks (well... mommy and daddy made the snacks lol), glued fall leaves onto a paper tree, etc etc. The pumpkin patch was a bust, but at least Boogie enjoyed the animals! I will share some pictures tomorrow or Monday of that fun stuff.

Other than that everything is pretty good around here, J is working a lot of course, but he's still managed to spend time with both Boogie and myself. Bubby continues to grow and get stronger, he's measuring right on and doing well. I feel like my nose is constantly buried in the computer doing homework, I've been leaving facebook up on one of my tabs while I do hw so that I have a reprieve between assignments and can have some "social" interactions lol. I'm still very overwhelmed by everything, but it's not nearly as bad now that my LIT class is over! I'm sure I'll update with pictures soon, as well as with maternity pics sometime this week! Until then... God Bless!

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Total of 10lbs


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular t-shirts and pj's I wear to bed! 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: Tossing and turning... tossing and turning... tossing and turning.

Best moment this week: Hiccups!

Movement: Bubby has been making himself VERY known this week. Sometimes he jabs so hard it startles me and hurts a little! Slowly but surely he is running out of room!


Food cravings: Junk. Seriously... I feel so gross after all the crap I've eaten this week. This coming week will be better. 


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Lots of Braxton Hicks this week

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: Having complete control of my body. I get tired so easily now, Braxton Hicks are driving me up the wall, I can't sleep, on and on... but this is the home stretch!


What am I looking forward too: Experiencing a different birth... I'm praying to go completely natural and drug free this time with the help of some hypnobirthing!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't let those hormones take over!

 Milestones: Bubby should be making his way further down into my pelvis soon... sooner would be better little man! My lungs need some more room!

32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Down 2 lbs at my last appointment, so I'm up a total of 8lbs


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular t-shirts and pj's I wear to bed! 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I'm sleeping like a rock again, the only time I wake up is to turn which is pretty difficult to do at this point. 

Best moment this week: Boogie is starting to acknowledge that Bubby is her brother and she loves him :)


Movement: Movements are slowing, it's more rolling and moving then kicks and punches.


Food cravings: Granny Smith Apples, juice, cereal... at least today. lol


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Just the normal aches and pains

Belly button in or out? The top of my belly button sticks out... looks really weird.  


Wedding rings on or off? Wearing both wedding band and engagement ring, they both fit at the moment. Totally different from Boogie, I couldn't wear either at this point!


What I miss: Shaving my own legs... yea, J totally does that for me! What a good hubby lol!


What am I looking forward too: Holding our sweet boy in my arms, this has been a pretty easy-going pregnancy but I am ready to see his precious face!

Weekly Wisdom: Sllooooooow down!

 Milestones: Bubby apparently could weigh in at 4.5lbs and be 17" long, but I doubt that considering Boogie's size at birth (5lbs 13oz, 18.5"long).... but you never know!

20 & 30 Week Belly Comparisons (Boogie to Bubby)

We were looking through my belly photos with Boogie and Bubby... looks like I'm showing a little more this go around, which is pretty normal but fun to see the difference!

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 10lbs, so 4lbs since 28 weeks.


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular tshirts and pj's I wear to bed! All of my tank tops are non-maternity 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I sleep pretty well aside from tossing and turning all night from hip pain. I sleep, but most nights I don't feel like I've slept super well because of that.

Best moment this week: Bubby's movements have gone from kicks and nudges to him rolling and shifting!


Movement: SOO much! He's a wiggler!


Food cravings: Cereal, chocolate milk, caramel apples!


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Nothing this week, although I am feeling more pain in my hips and pelvis this week.

Belly button in or out? In, but slowly being pushed out.


Wedding rings on or off? Just my wedding band right now, although I could probably put my engagement ring back on... my wedding band is feeling rather loose lately.


What I miss: Hugging my hubby close... Bubby is just too much in the way now!


What am I looking forward too: Tying a wrap and Bubby immediately going to sleep... some days I wish Boogie would still do that!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't overdo it... you'll totally regret it. (i.e. hips and pelvis.... too much walking and getting up and down means pain later!)

 Milestones: According to Baby Gaga Bubby could be weighing in around 4lbs!

Nearing the End of this Pregnancy

As I get closer and closer to the end of this pregnancy I'm getting a little more overwhelmed and honestly a little scared at the changes we are all going to face as a family. Boogie is a very independent little girl, her new favorite thing to say is, "No! I do it!" However, as independent as she is I know that she feels a big change coming, so she is super clingy during the day, especially when J is at work. She's ok when I'm rushing around the house cleaning because she can constantly follow me around and "help", but once I sit down to rest or to work on homework (like I've been trying to do for the past 3 hours) she goes into this clingy, whiny, "I hold you!" phase (she means "hold me" when she says that btw). It's frustrating, it's annoying... and then I realize that these next 10 weeks are the last few weeks that she will be my one and only and will have my almost undivided attention. And THEN I think... holy smokes. What the heck am I going to do when she acts this way and I'm nursing Bubby, or changing his diaper... or whatever?!?! She has been my world for almost 2 years now, how will she handle this huge change in her life? She understands SO much, but will she understand that even though we have a new little one to love and adore, that we still love and adore her as much as we ever did, if not more? I don't want her to think mommy is replacing her or loves her less... and I'm scared that she'll act out and make this whole transition even more scary than I'm imagining!

On top of that worry, I'm having anxiety over school and how the heck everything is going to get done that I need to get done at home while I'm trying to finally finish getting this AA! I'm also terrified of leaving Boogie overnight for the first time EVER and being in the hospital for a few days with only visits from her. I haven't been away from her for more than a few hours... EVER. Then I also get to thinking about how we want to handle visitors and just the three of us spending time with Bubby when he first arrives... we all know that causes drama. I worry about some other things as well that I'm not going to post on this blog because it's something I want to discuss in person, but all of this is just really really getting to me! I'm not so anxious over all of it that I'm freaking out, it's just that I'm worried about the change. I'm all for change, however drastically changing my child's routine and life bothers me. Let's just say that I AM glad that she's not quite two and that the chances of her remembering any of this is slim... at least I know that. Right?

28 Weeks

How far along? 28 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: A total gain of 6lbs, so I've officially stopped bouncing up and down 3lbs... that means Bubby is gaining weight!


Maternity clothes? Everything with the exception of a few regular tshirts and pj's I wear to bed! All of my tank tops are non-maternity 


Stretch marks? same old same old


Sleep: I sleep okay... although Boogie has been waking up every night here lately... not sure what her deal is

Best moment this week: Bubby is moving so much, which isn't anything new from my last update... but this is my favorite part of pregnancy!


Movement: SOO much! He's a wiggler!


Food cravings: Cereal and milk


Gender: Still a boy...


Labor signs: Had a little bit of an incident with round ligament pain when lifting Boogie the other day. It was intense and didn't go away so I was afraid I was actually going into labor. It HURT. Nothing like I had belly pain wise during Boogie's pregnancy. Luckily J was able to come home and I was able to rest. I'm still sore in that area (I think I may have pulled the muscle a little), but it's not painful like it was


Belly button in or out? In


Wedding rings on or off? Just my wedding band right now, although I could probably put my engagement ring back on... my wedding band is feeling rather loose lately.


What I miss: Getting up without huffing and puffing. I feel like Bubby is so much lower than Boogie was at this point, I never had trouble getting up during that pregnancy.  


What am I looking forward too: Getting to snuggle Bubby into one of our cushy wraps!


Weekly Wisdom: Ask for help. You may need it... even if you don't want it!

 Milestones: According to Baby Gaga Bubby blinks when he sees light and his bone marrow is making red blood cells!


**keep an eye out tonight or tomorrow for my review on Unreal candy... has to come after hw though! ;-)

Whoa!

::SIGH!:: My brain is on major overload right now... my second biology class has started and holy homework. That class is definitely going to keep me on my toes. And... she does not open exams until 2 days prior to their due dates, so there's NO way I can get this class done before Bubby is here. UGH! I'm still going to work ahead, so maybe at least I can get all the quizzes and labs done before then and just do the exams as they open? I really wanted to get this stuff done and do my final exams in October... but she's not willing to budge on this. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Anyways! I had my prenatal appointment yesterday, including my glucose test. THAT was fun! Bubby is growing perfectly and his heart rate was 150bpm, the resident who was working under the midwife I saw yesterday had a hard time measuring him and finding him because he was moving so much! Ha! I've gained a total of 6lbs, so 3lbs up since my last appointment. I'm still at the VERY low range of weight gain, which they aren't concerned about. I imagine I'll start steadily gaining a pound every 2 weeks like I did with Boogie from now until Bubby arrives. Can you believe he'll be here in 13ish weeks?

Preparations for Bubby are still under way. We need to get on the ball with his decor, J is painting some wooden plane and train models to hang and display and I have two plaques with a train and an airplane I need to finish painting... then we need to hang those up. We need to decide on the car seat we want (I have two I like and that have great reviews and safety features), have it installed (in early November) and around that time I will start packing mine and Bubby's bags for the hospital. I also need to prepare Boogie's bags so that everything will be ready for Mawmaw to meet us at the hospital. I need to register at the hospital... I need to write up my birth plan... and we need to go on vacation. Ha!

That's about it as it goes for Bubby. Boogie is doing well, I think she's a little under the weather today because of how she's been acting. Hopefully she'll be better once she wakes up from her nap! Still waiting on my products to review in the mail, so keep an eye out for those... and that's it! Goodbye for now!