35 weeks...& photos of nursery!

I think I'm going to start doing weekly updates as it's getting closer now. My next appointment is June 8th and I believe after that I'll have weekly appointments, so I'll potentially have more info to update with.

Ok, so...35 week photo. Mirror shot this time (and since it's a mirror shot, I flipped it).

Yep...ALL belly! (Really, I'm basically 35.5 weeks...)

Size of baby: According to the web, about 18 inches and about 6lbs, give or take. I always measure in the normal range...at every appointment. So no, I don't know if he's gonna be a big baby.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: You know, I think I might skip this category from now on. My OB always says I'm in the normal range, so I might stop trying to keep track of it.

Movement: He's active off and on. I have to confess that movement is the #1 thing I worry about, so I could use prayer in that department. It's so hard not to worry about it and obsess about whether or not he's moving enough! I feel lots of stretching...mostly pushing into my ribs.

Sleep: Still not a huge issue, but it's no cake walk either. I have to sleep on the couch now. Sleeping on my side = waking up with bad hip pain. So I sleep sort of in a reclined position, propped up with a bunch of pillows.

Symptoms: Here goes...heartburn, back pain, joint pain in general, Charlie horses, cramps in the arches of my feet, still some fatigue, moodiness, pelvic pressure, tail-bone hurts, and now nausea (to name the non-TMI ones). Seems like a mild form of that first trimester morning sickness is back. Nesting has kicked in, but I don't think I'll really be able to do too much until school is out (June 15th). I'm not as tired as I used to be, but I'm still pretty wiped out by the time I get home from work.

Baby's position: Head down. I think he might be posterior (his back is facing my spine)...which could mean back labor.
  

Best Moment this week: Yesterday for Memorial Day, we had a cookout with Sean's dad, siblings + their significant others, and our 3 year old nephew. After eating, Roan was moving a ton, specifically on the right side of my tummy. So I had Sean put his hand there and he felt him move :) That's the 2nd time this whole pregnancy! Usually whenever Sean tries to feel him, Roan gets shy & stops moving. I love it when Sean can feel him :)

Aaaaand nursery photos!

I know a lot of people participated in painting the letters at my shower, so I thought they would want to see them in the room :) I didn't have enough room for his middle name on the shelves. I still have those letters in the closet cause they could still be used in the future. 

Soon we'll have a hamper next to the dresser/changing table...once I get around to ordering it. 

I made the artwork above the changing table. I copied things I liked online. Way cheaper than buying prints off Etsy! The one on the far left says "I am a child of God" and the blue one is a big bird + a baby bird and it says "Mon petit" - translation: My little one.

His closet :) All his clothes are in the dresser...and there's still plenty of room in there! It's quite a spacious dresser.

The clock doesn't have batteries in it yet. I might wait till he comes home to do that...don't want to waste the batteries now. 

My mom bought this for my nursery when I was a baby :) Now it's in Roan's nursery and hopefully someday it will be in our grandchild's nursery.

That's it for week 35!

The Last Leg is Always the Hardest

I think I'm reaching that point where I'm ready to be done being pregnant. I've been told to really enjoy these last few weeks, but lemme tell ya, it's easier said than done some days. Mostly because everything requires so much more effort and energy than it used to. Really. Practically everything is harder to do. Whenever I drop something on the floor, my heart sinks and I have to give myself a little pep talk before bending over to pick it up!

It really doesn't help, either, that I keep hearing things like "Wow, you have 6 whole weeks left?! Are you gonna make it?" That makes it even harder! I so appreciate hearing "Wow! 6 weeks left? You're so close!" That is what I need to be reminded of...how close we are, not how much longer we have to go. It's a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of thing.

I don't want to seem ungrateful. I know women who struggle with infertility and I never want to be insensitive to their struggles. I know there are many who would love to be in my uncomfortable shoes right now. I have rough days & not-so-rough days, but even on the rough days, ultimately I'm so grateful & realize that I'm very, very blessed.

The main thing that I love most lately is feeling & seeing Roan move. I just love sitting at home watching my belly change shape as he pushes his feet, arms, elbows, and knees out as hard as he can. And I wonder what those feet, arms, elbows, and knees are gonna look like (and his face, too...mostly his face :)). I wonder what kind of man he's gonna grow up to be. But if I think about that for too long, I nearly send myself into a panic wondering if I'm gonna be a good enough mom or raise him well.

This child is not mine. I mean, he is in a way. Sure, he has some of my DNA, but first and foremost, he's God's. Being pregnant has solidified my faith even more...I can't imagine when I actually see Roan's face! Just knowing #1 - how hard it really is to get pregnant. Seriously research it if you haven't. Conception in itself is a miracle. #2 - how intricate and complicated we are and the fact that a new miraculously complicated life has been forming inside me. And then thinking about how I love my son so much, and I know I'm only going to love him more when he's born...and how Christ loves me (and Roan) MORE than that. The love I have for my son is nothing compared to Christ's love for us. Wow.

A Little Scare

Well, we kind of had a little scare this morning. I'm gonna go ahead and put the TMI warning out there. So, if you don't care to know those details, skip the next little paragraph. You have been warned.

So, I woke up this morning feeling kinda blah. I had loose stool (aka the big D) three times. VERY unusual for me. I read online that that can be a sign of labor. I tried to block that out, though, as I don't want to get freaked out by everything I read on the internet.

On top of that, I was having contractions. I've been having Braxton Hicks for a while now. They have been painless and mostly just a feeling of my belly getting tight. This morning, they felt lower (instead of all over) and were getting more and more painful. I went to work and started to time them...they were about 10 minutes apart and lasted for roughly 45 seconds to a minute. And my back hurt really bad, too.

I called my OB and they told me to go into the hospital to get checked out. Sean and I are down to one car (and I had it), so we decided he'd stay at work & I'd let him know if he needed to get a ride to the hospital. My friend Dorelle met me at the hospital (with her 5 week old baby boy in tow :)). I'm so grateful she came because had I been there alone, I probably would have been a wreck.

They hooked me up to monitors and the nurse said "Well, baby looks great! He's cooperating, now we just have to get you to cooperate." She came back 15-20 minutes later and said that no contractions were showing up on the monitor (and I felt maybe one, but it wasn't as bad as what they were before). They still wanted to check my cervix and do an internal ultrasound to see if I was dilated. Long story short, my cervix did not show signs of pre-term labor. The ultrasound confirmed that I was not dilated. They ran some other tests (urine, etc) and they came back negative.

Sean did end up coming to the hospital because they told me I could go home. However, the doctor at the hospital called my doctor (well, my doctor is apparently "out" today, so he talked to the doc that's filling in for her) and that doctor wanted them to keep me till noon and re-check my cervix then. I could tell the hospital doc didn't feel it was that necessary. So, I called Sean and got back into the gown. They re-checked me and it was still closed. Sean got there just as they were giving me the discharge papers.

So now I'm home. I still feel blah. What I think happened (and what I gather from what the doc said) is my "issues" this morning can sometimes cause contractions. But I am nowhere near pre-term labor at the moment. Other than Roan being head down :) but that doesn't really mean much if I'm not dilated, etc.

This whole thing really made me realize how unprepared we are! I know what I want packed in the hospital bag, it's just not packed yet. I was gonna wait another week or so. But after today, I'm thinking it should be packed as soon as possible. Not to mention washing the clothes and crib sheets that we do have. It's kinda scary not having a car seat/baby carrier, too. But I guess if he does come early, Sean can go out and buy one before we bring him home.

Oh, I snuck a video of his heartbeat! The audio is the most important part, obviously. There's kind of a lot of background noise, so you might need to turn the volume up. I can hear it pretty good on my phone. The bigger sound at 24 seconds in is him kicking :) Mr. Show-off. He was moving like crazy when I had the monitors on, but as soon as they took them off, he's been calm ever since.

32 weeks!

This past weekend was quite crazy. My youngest brother is married! The wedding was Saturday. I love my brother...and new sister-in-law!...so it was a blast for sure.

I saw a lot of people at the wedding that I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was sooo great to see all of them! Of course, I got lots of comments on my belly & how big I am (which is fine), haha. The general consensus is that I look like I should be due sooner than I am...or that I'm carrying multiples! Hahaha.

So, my bump picture was actually taken Sunday...Saturday was just too crazy.

I look quite "scruffy", haha. We'd just gotten back from Indiana only a few hours before this was taken.
Size of baby: Should be something like 16 inches and about 4lbs. I don't know Roan's exact measurements at this point. People keep asking (anticipating him to be measuring big, I assume, haha).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Dare I say? 29lbs. My OB says that's well within the normal range...but I can't help but cringe when I think about it!

Maternity Clothes: Basically all maternity. Definitely all pants are maternity by this point. There are very few shirts that fit anymore (they don't cover the belly!)

Movement: Oh he's a mover, that's for sure! He squirms a lot more than kicks now. Oh and he's definitely started to push on my ribs!

Sleep: Sleep is about the same for me. I really don't have much trouble sleeping at all.

What I miss: I can sum it all up by saying that I simply miss being comfortable! The degree of discomfort varies, but I have to change seats a lot or get up and walk around for a bit, etc. 

Cravings: Same as always. Love fruit. My sweet tooth seems to have gotten worse, haha.

Symptoms: All the typical pregnancy symptoms except I haven't started swelling yet. Maybe I'll be lucky and bypass that one?
Baby's position: Adding a new category :) I feel fingers pretty low (which is such a weird, but awesome, thing!), so I think he pretty much alternates between head down and transverse (sideways). Sometimes I feel movement/kicks on the lower right side of my tummy, leading me to think he's laying sideways. But then I'll feel movement up top (along with the fingers down low), leading me to think he's head-down at that moment. 

Best Moment this week: I'd have to pick the whole weekend. My cousins Chelsea and Hannah got to feel Roan move...Sean got to see BIG movement...I got to see lots of family that I barely see & friends I haven't seen in years. Not to mention how happy I am for my brother and his new bride :) Baby shower #1 is this Friday!! WOW!

Roan finally cooperated!

I've been feeling Roan's kicks since February-ish. Obviously, at first they couldn't be felt from the outside...they were just itty bitty kicks. But as they've gotten bigger, I've tried to get Sean to feel them, too. Yet every single time Sean puts his hand on my belly, Roan calms down and stops kicking. Sean would always say "I'll feel him eventually," but I was starting to doubt that!

Last night, we were watching a movie with Sean's dad, sister, brother, and nephew for his dad's birthday. Roan made quite a few big kicks, so I grabbed Sean's hand and put it on my belly. A few minutes later, there was a big kick! Sean said "Was that...?" and I said "Yeah! You finally felt him kick!" Finally...at 29 weeks, haha.

My biggest issue is still my back. Especially the more my tummy grows. I try not to sit or stand for too long...moving around is key. With the exception of "my spot" on the couch. I can manage to hang out here without it hurting. Probably because I have a minimum of 5 pillows propping me up & my feet up on the couch. Although, I figured out that stacking 2 bean bags on top of each other & using the top one for back support helps at work. Kinda hard to really effectively do my job that way, haha.

We had maternity pictures taken last weekend while we were visiting my family. Here's a little preview:

photos by Morgan Ruth Photography

It was great having them done. The weather cooperated really well! They predicted rain, but we never saw a sprinkle. It was cloudy, too...just right. I can't wait to see the rest!

I must say, too, it was really eye-opening for me to be on the other side of the camera for a maternity shoot!

28 week update! Third trimester!!

So far, it's been a very good day! It's day one of the last trimester...yay!! We're having professional shots taken, but I still had Sean take my bump shot :)

Size of baby: Somewhere around 2lbs and 15 inches, according to the internet. I don't know Roan's exact measurements, though.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think I'm at about 18lbs gained? Eeek. And the internet tells me I'll probably gain at least 11lbs this trimester...at least some of that is baby!

Maternity Clothes: Almost all maternity. I really can't get by with the Belly Band anymore, so pants/jeans for sure are maternity. And shirts...well, if they're regular shirts, they're definitely starting to not cover my belly so well anymore!

Movement: I often worry about movement, so the other day I decided to log every time  felt him move...I pretty much feel him all throughout the day. Whether it's kicks for 20 minutes or one kick at 2:30...then another at 2:45. I'm curious to see what today is like cause last night he quieted down at about 9pm or 10pm since he was active basically all day. Maaybe he'll actually have a good sleep schedule at birth!

Sleep: Sleep is definitely getting harder to do. Mostly thanks to my back...I get this tingly sensation under my ribs if my back isn't perfectly straight. Annoying.

What I miss: Not having constant back pain. I have to sit in just the right position with pillows propping me up...even then there's no guarantee. And if I'm at a restaurant for anything longer than 30-45 min, I wind up feeling so uncomfortable that I'm almost in tears. Not fun.

Cravings: Same ol', same ol'. I don't have very many cravings, I just really seem to like food! Fruit and Multi Grain Cheerios especially.

Symptoms: starting to get sciatic pain I think, heartburn, back pain, and pregnancy brain is getting worse! I'm noticing that getting up from the couch is becoming more of a challenge, too. 

Best Moment this week: I'll have to say today...good friends from our life group, Bryan and Dorelle, had their baby boy this morning! Also, we're having maternity pictures taken today :) Oh, and we're in my hometown visiting family cause my brother is getting married in May and their shower is today, too. Today is just a big ball of awesome :)

Braxton Hicks and other things

I had Braxton Hicks on Saturday. It was pretty constant for about an hour, but the intensity ebbed and flowed. It certainly wasn't fun at all...pretty uncomfortable. 

This weekend is my brother (Morgan) & his fiancee's (Jessie) wedding shower/party. I can't wait to see my family! We'll see how I hold up on the 2 hour drive down :) I'm really just worried about my back....

While down there, I'm having my first maternity shoot done by the incredibly talented Morgan Trowbridge! On the day one of my 28th week of pregnancy...in other words, I'll officially be in the third trimester. How perfect! I plan on having another shoot done by the also very talented Jim Lenon closer to my due date. I cannot believe I'm so close to the third tri!! Seriously...wow!

I had the ever-so-fun glucose test done last week. The drink wasn't that bad at all. I kinda liked it actually (I had the red one). It tasted like Kool Aid. My sugar is normal, but my iron was low. I'm on supplements now. I don't think it's fully gotten into my system yet cause I'm still pretty tired...all the time.

I've also started to look more in depth into cloth diapering. I know I want to at least attempt it. All the different types of diapers is overwhelming for me. I don't think I want to start the cloth diapers immediately, though. I think I want to use Seventh Generation diapers for the first little while and then switch to cloth after a few months or so. My main concern with cloth is our washer...it's not the greatest. I mean, it cleans our clothes, I just don't know how it's gonna do with cloth diapers. If only we could afford those super awesome front loading washer & dryers!

I've been trying for several weeks now to get a good video of Roan kicking, but it just doesn't look the same on video. Plus, he gets shy when people try to watch or put their hand on my belly (side note: I don't mind if you put your hand on my belly...if I know you well enough. Asking beforehand is always nice, but generally, if we're friends, I don't care). However, he's a pretty active little guy! I still get nervous when I don't feel him moving, but he always ends up giving me a quick little reassuring kick :) I hope he knows his momma is a worrier...but I'm working on it. Always working on it!