Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Week 37: Counting Down


How far along? 37 weeks
Baby’s size? Winter melon
Total weight gain/loss: 30-ish pounds

Stretch marks? None.
Sleep: Same as last week.  I wake up at least 4 times in the middle of the night.  It's preparing me, right?
Best moment this week: I had a surprise sonogram on Friday.  Basically, my doctor wasn't completely sure she was still head-down, so Mr. and I got to go home with a few pictures which was so unexpected and fun!  She's still a girl (thank goodness or we would have A LOT of changes to make).  She's got a squished up nose and mouth.  And her hands are next to her feet.  She's all scrunched up in there!  

Miss Anything? Stomach sleeping, sushi, etc.  But I'm ITCHING to be in my normal clothes again.  I keep seeing these cute outfits on Pinterest and I can't wait to recreate them with my normal wardrobe.  I know that it will be a while before I fit into my normal clothes again, but I'm seriously excited about it. My mom suggested I buy a few things that will bridge the gap between my maternity clothes and my normal clothes.

Also, at the start of the pregnancy I was singing the praises of my maternity jeans.  I'm officially sick of them.  I miss buttoning and I'm so tired of my waistband WELL EXCEEDING my (currently non-existent) waist.  Though I'm a little afraid that I'll forget to zip.  Please be kind if I need to XYZ...
Movement: The past week she's got a foot or SOMETHING poking me in my side, or my hip bone.  Whatever it is it's SHARP!  I've been in a couple of meetings when she'll karate kick me and I gasp out in pain.  Which always amuses the predominantly male staff I work with.
Food cravings: Honeycrisp apples!  So stinkin' refreshing and tasty.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee. The usual.
Gender: Baby girl!  Which was completely confirmed at the surprise sonogram on Friday!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks contractions and contractions that have some pain with them.  The contractions aren't by any means regular or getting stronger, so I'm not concerned.  Also, as of Friday I'm 1-2 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced.  
Belly Button in or out? It's definitely popped out a little still.  I think she's dropped which has contributed to the pop.
Wedding rings on or off? Wedding band is on, but I haven't worn my engagement ring in a few weeks (which seriously makes me so sad).  
Exercise: Cleaning the house, grocery shopping... I'm counting it all at this point!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy!  I haven't been too moody this week (you'll have to confirm that with Mr. though!).  
Looking forward to: Meeting Clara. 
Please pray for: Healthy baby and healthy mommy.

We've been so productive this week which is such a good feeling.  I deep cleaned the entire house on Friday which I told Mr. was the last time I was deep cleaning until after Clara makes her debut.  


Mr. still needs to install the car seat and put the monitor camera up, but those will be done by the end of the week.


I've been finishing up projects at work and making sure that everything is ready when I start my maternity leave. 


And Mr. and I went and saw Catching Fire on Saturday.  It was very important that I see it before I go into labor.  ;-)


All in all we feel pretty prepared about Clara's arrival.  I mean, as prepared as you can be I suppose!  


Baby girl, your mommy and daddy can't WAIT to meet you!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Week 36: the nursery is DONE!


How far along? 36 weeks (I turned 37 weeks yesterday)
Baby’s size? Honeydew melon
Total weight gain/loss: 29 pounds as of Friday.

Stretch marks? None.
Sleep: Can I just share that I am a MASTER of getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night now?  Seriously.  I've got skills.  We put the cradle in our room and I have to navigate around that and then Brady who likes to lay in the MOST inopportune places.  I do this all with my eyes half-closed.  I'm starting to get used to not sleeping very well, and I know that it's only going to get worse in the next month.  Bring it on!!
Best moment this week: I got a pedicure on Saturday which was AMAZING.  I also pretty much finished my Christmas shopping.  There are only 2 things left on my list!  I've got to be super pro-active this year since Miss Clara is due on the 10th.

Miss Anything? Same as usual... but I'm in the home stretch- less than a month left!!
Movement: She's an active little girl in there.  And she's head down, so now I can say that whatever I feel at the top of my belly is NOT a head.  It's probably a butt.  :)
Food cravings: Nothing in particular.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee. The usual.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks contractions and cramping in my lower belly.  I had a doctor's appointment Friday and I'm 60% effaced and I've started dialating, so those are all signs that she's getting ready!
Symptoms: Stupid back pain.  Braxton hicks contractions.   
Belly Button in or out? A very tiny, almost insignificant pop.  A baby pop if you will. 
Wedding rings on or off? Ugh, wedding ring on, but engagement ring most DEFINITELY off.  I HATE not wearing my engagement ring (I love it, it's beautiful!), but I also don't want them to have to saw it off of my hand... My feet have been swelling too.  I drink water like a camel and try to stay somewhat active (ya know, walking around Target or the grocery store), but still the swelling.
Exercise: Christmas shopping on Friday?  I'm counting it.
Happy or Moody most of the time: It fluctuates.  Pretty happy most of the time, but then I'll get a little grumpy.  This week was better than the last week.  Mr. can probably attest to that!
Looking forward to: Meeting Clara. Seriously, Mr. and I are ready for her to make her debut!
Please pray for: Healthy baby and healthy mommy.

Below are a TON of pictures of Clara's nursery.  We'd still like to add something over her changing table (a mirror maybe?), but we are calling it done.  













Monday, November 11, 2013

34 and 35 Weeks: Nursery Part 3!


How far along? 34 weeks and 35 weeks!
Baby’s size? Cantaloupe and honeydew melon- finally fruits I recognize.
Total weight gain/loss: I'm at about 27 pounds gained.

Stretch marks? Still none.  I have a very faint linea negra line, but no stretch marks.
Sleep: Still not great.  I'm getting used to being pretty uncomfortable in the evenings even when I lay down.  Last night I was SUPER grumpy pants and Mr. had to deal with a very whiney wife.  I couldn't get comfortable, my back hurt, ONE nostril was stuffed (so obnoxious), my head hurt, I was super nauseated... it was no good.  Mr. went as far as to ask if I needed to turn on something (aka Friends) to help me get to sleep.  Which is COMPLETELY out of character for him (ever since he got me the entire series on BluRay he's had more than his share of Friends...).
Best moment this week: Lots of good ones.  We did a hospital tour on Monday night and then had Braum's afterwards.  I super cleaned the house which felt SO GOOD.  I reorganized all of my drawers in my bedroom (hello, nesting...). 

I also had my first shower on the 3rd and it was such a blessing.  I love my church family so much and they have blessed this little girl beyond belief!  

My family was also in town and it was wonderful for everyone to be here.  And I mean almost EVERYONE.  My in-laws, my mom and stepdad and Shelby, my dad and stepmom and Taylor, and my brother and his girlfriend.  It was a FULL HOUSE.  Everyone is so excited to meet miss Clara Christine!

Miss Anything? Sleep.  Sleeping on my stomach.  No back pain...
Movement: So much moving.  Mr. had his hand on my tummy the other night and was absolutely amazed by how much she was moving.  She's also been very responsive which is fun.  The other night one of my teen girlies put her hand on my stomach and said, "Look, I'm holding her hand or foot!" And I told her, "Um... or her butt."  She pulled her hand away.  :)
Food cravings: Nothing really.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee. The usual.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks off and on. I've also had a couple of contractions that had a little pain in them.  Nothing significant and certainly nothing consistent, but enough for me to think, "huh... well that wasn't just tightening."  I've got a doctor's appointment on Friday (the first of my weekly appointments!!!!) and they'll check to see how things are progressing.  I'm anticipating that absolutely nothing is going on and that she's happy and cozy in mommy's belly.  :)
Symptoms: Stupid back pain.  A growing belly.  Tiredness... the normal.  
Belly Button in or out? Still very flat.  Towards the end of the day, I have the SLIGHTEST poke, but it's quite insignificant and Mr. can barely tell.
Wedding rings on or off? I've started to swell.  One night I had trouble getting my engagement ring off and my feet have been swelling.  One of my co-workers said she thought my face looked a little swollen.  Since then I've noticed even more swelling.  I've taken off my engagement ring off completely and try to drink a ton of water and walk as much as possible.
Exercise: Not a thing this past week.  Not. A. Thing.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Okay, I must confess that I've been moody this past week.  I texted Mr. at one point this week that I was tired, cranky, and whiney... lovely combination, right?  Poor guy.  I have been stressed to the max this past week which has only increased my tiredness, crankiness, and whiney-ness.  
Looking forward to: Meeting Clara. 
Please pray for: Healthy baby and healthy mommy.

On with the nursery post!

I will say that at this point I'm not sure much else will get taken care of in her room decoration wise.  I would like to put up a few more things on the walls, but my main concern is to get all her STUFF organized and put away.

So when we started working on the nursery, I knew I wanted a glider.  And I knew I wanted a glider that looked like a chair (so we could possibly use it in other places after it's used in the nursery).  This is what we ended up with:
 I love it.  

And it's comfortable.  Which might be the most important thing!

We ordered it from Buy Buy Baby and used a 20% off coupon which made it much more affordable.  Although it was the most expensive piece of furniture in the room, it's totally worth it!

The curtains I bought at Target with my stepmom.  I love the ruffles and I love that they are white (we'll see if I need to reassess and buy black-out curtains once Clara starts sleeping in there...).

They were too long (because of the weird ledge thingy above) and although I like the look of "pooled" curtains, Mr. was less than impressed and asked that they be hemmed.  So I got some bias tape and hemmed them without sewing them.  Success!  

Mr. asked if I was afraid of my sewing machine... no dear, just wanted the project to go a little quicker is all.
 Another BIG project I wanted done was bookshelves on the wall.  A friend and I trekked our way to IKEA one Friday morning and I bought the RIBBA bookshelves in white to put on the wall.  Mr. worked super hard to install them.  

Brady (our English Springer Spaniel) helped by making sure squirrels didn't make their way into our front yard.
 I LOVE the final look.  

At this point there are a ton more books on there!

I'll do one final nursery post in my next blog.  And then I'm calling it DONE!

Blessings on your day!