39 Weeks... The final post.



So... here we are on the eve of my induction. So many emotions are flowing through me. I planned to do a final 'weekly update' but I just don't feel like it's necessary.   I'm feeling excited to finally meet my baby boy.   I'm feeling nervous for the pain of the experience.   I'm feeling anxious because I don't know exactly how it's all going to unfold.   I'm feeling scared that I won't know what to do when he's finally here, even though I've been anticipating his arrival for so long.   I'm feeling thankful that I've had such an amazing pregnancy, even with the gestational diabetes. I've learned much healthier eating habits through it all that I hope to continue post-pregnancy.   I'm feeling more connected to and in love with my husband than ever, and I cannot wait to see him hold our son for the first time.   I'm feeling overwhelmed by God's blessing and favor.   Please keep us in your prayers as we start the induction process at 7pm tomorrow night!   I'm a bundle of anxious, excited nerves... but I believe in the power of prayer and I know that God's perfect plan for my son's birth will trump any expectations or plans I have.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

   

 

See you soon with pictures of my BABY!!!

xoxox

 

Good Morning!

What else do you do when you're awake at 6am, surfing Pinterest?

 

Get inspired :-)

 

A former coworker pinned this picture:

 

 

So... I realized the sun was on it's way over the horizon and I decided to do a photo shoot!

 

Surprise, surprise... right?! LOL :-)

 

Didn't have time to curl my hair, so I thought a nice high bun would work nicely for some silhouette shots. I was going to use a window in my house, but I thought our glass front door would be even better. Only thing was, the glass was quite frosty, but I'm kinda loving the frosted texture.

 

And this is what happened:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Shot in Manual mode at ISO 200, apperture f/2.8, exposure 1/250, monochrome

 

I'd say it was a good morning, wouldn't you? :-)

 

On today's agenda...

 

*An invigorating walk with my neighbor to get this baby on his way!

 

*A lunch date and pedicure with my bestie.

 

*An evening on the mountain with my family enjoying good food, a camp fire, and lots of great conversation.

 

Have a great Saturday!

 

 

 



Show and Tell...... Our Nursery!

Welcome to my baby boy's nursery!

 

 

Allow me, his very-pregnant Mommy, to show you around.

 

When you open the door, here is your view straight ahead:

 

 

Note the print hanging over the twin-size bed - I bought it the day I found out we were expecting a baby boy and it quickly became the inspiration for the colors of the nursery.

 

Look to the left and you see this:

 

 

As you can see, the hospital bag is packed and sitting right under the window on the ottoman to my rocker-glider :-)

 

Keep looking to the left and you will see this:

 

 

The wall art reads: Every child is a story yet to be told :-)

 

On the next wall are the dressers and changing station.

 

 

I realize the wall looks a little bare on this side of the room, but we are waiting for our little prince to arrive so I can create a gallery wall of his professional newborn pictures. SIMPLY. CANNOT. WAIT.!!!

 

If you keep turning to the left, you'll find the wall with the closet.

 

 

Now that you've had the general tour of the room, let me show you some of the finer details ;-)

 

 

This is my rocker-glider that Mom and Dad bought for me as a baby shower gift. I can't wait to spend many hours during the day and night, rocking my baby boy in this chair. Also note the Boppy pillow that Aunt Stacey and Uncle KL bought for the baby, and the beautiful blanket crocheted by the baby's Great Aunt Penny. I have a basket of Baby Things next to the chair with some important items for feedings, like bibs and burp cloths.

 

 

On the other side of the rocker, I have a basket of things that I might need as I'm feeding the baby, like a nursing cover, my breast pump, nursing pads, and some other odds and ends :-)

 

 

Here's a better shot of the crib in all of it's splendor:

 

 

There are TONS of picture frames just waiting for my baby boy's sweet face to fill them up!

 

 

The changing station! Notice the ribbon mobile that I made? I'm going to post some step-by-step directions on how to make your own here in a couple of days ;-)

 

 

A better shot of the ribbon mobile:

 

 

The baby's view of the ribbon mobile when he's getting his diaper changed:

 

 

The first drawer of my dresser-turned-changing station:

 

 

All of his sweet little bodysuits and onesies:

 

 

And of course, his closet. His cute little outfits for when we venture out of the house, as well as lots of fun baby accessories that we will open as we need!

 

 

And here's a view from the hallway that shows the light fixture. This light/fan was already part of the room when J bought the house... like it was meant to be for a little boy :-) The light is a baseball, held up by a glove, with bats for the fan.

 

 

So now, we sit. We wait. We pray. We are getting more anxious and excited and hopeful by the minute.

 

We can't wait to meet our baby boy!!!

 

 



37 & 38 Weeks!

So... here we are! DAYS away from welcoming our baby boy into the world. Today was my first day of maternity leave, and there was so much to be done to prepare for a long-term sub to take over my classroom. I wanted to post my 37 week update earlier this week, and I just got so busy with getting ready for maternity leave that the 37 week post never happened. So... now that I have some time, here's a combined 37 & 38 week update :-) Hopefully I will have time to post a 39 week update on Monday before my induction on Tuesday... or maybe the baby will come before then?!

 

How Far Along? 38 Weeks and 3 Days

 

 

 

Size of Baby: A 7-8lb watermelon!
 

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained a pound! WOOHOO!

Maternity Clothes: Really, really, really going to miss my maternity clothes. *sigh*

 

Gender: A sweet little boy... and I think we are 99% decided on a name!!! But you've waited this long for a name... you can wait a few more days ;-)

Movement: He's running out of room, but he's as active as ever. He's currently hanging out on my right side as I write this post (as you can see from this picture!)... but he was just rolling back and forth from side to side a minute ago. Can't wait to see how active he is when he gets here!

 

 

 What I miss: I know I'm going to miss having him in my belly... right now, I'm the only one who knows if he's awake or sleeping... has the hiccups... when he's moving around. Pretty soon I have to share him with the rest of the world, and I'm kinda nervous about that.

 

Cravings: Chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce.

 

Symptoms: Still have some swelling on occasion. It's weird to walk around feeling like I have little water balloons on top of my feet. My feet actually jiggle as I walk when they're in their swollen state, LOL. Feels so bizzare! Thankfully, the rest of my body isn't really affected. My fingers aren't overly swollen. I've taken off a lot of my jewelry only because I don't want to take any chances of it getting cut off if I were to go into labor unexpectedly.

 

I've been checked for the last 3 weeks at each appointment. I had an appointment today... and I was really hoping for some progress. Unfortunately, my cervix is still closed; however, the doctor did say that I'm now 50% effaced (some progress from last week!). I've been drinking organic raspberry leaf tea in the mornings and at night to help tone my uterus for labor. I've also been walking almost every evening. Thank goodness for my neighbor, Amy. She helps to keep me motivated to walk!

 

 

Amy and I before a walk:

 

 

 One neighbor said, ''Are you trying to walk that baby out of you?!" LOL

 

Why yes, yes I am. :-)

 

 

Best Moment This Week:

 

 It was a lot of work getting ready for maternity leave... but my last day of work ended up being really special. Here I am, getting ready to leave my house in the morning for my last day of the year:

 

 

 

When I got to work, THIS was waiting for me. As soon as I saw it, I started to cry.

 

 

My team mates are the best. They brought in some tasty treats during our planning time and we just spent a little while celebrating my last day of work. Also got some really pretty flowers :-)

 

 

 

Today was my first day of maternity leave... and it was a busy one! I had an appointment at the hospital for a monitoring session, a hair appointment, and a doctor's appointment. Also squeezed in an amazing afternoon snooze-fest before making dinner, and then went for a walk with Amy.

 

List of Things to Do on Maternity Leave

 

-Monitoring at the hospital

-Hair appointment

-38 week doc appointment

Get car windows tinted

Lunch with Steph :-)

Pedis with Beth :-)

Hang out on the mountain this weekend with the fam

Monitoring at the hospital on Monday

39 week doc appointment

Get induced

HAVE BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy rest of my time off with my sweet baby boy

 

Looking Forward To: See the above list. Especially the 11th item. :-)

 

37 Weeks Pregnant:

 

 

 

38 Weeks Pregnant:

 

 

 

 ***Nursery Reveal Coming Tomorrow***

:-)

 

Stay tuned!



9 Months Pregnant

 

Dear Baby Boy,

 

I can't believe that in just two weeks from tonight, your Daddy and I will be walking into the hospital as husband and wife... preparing to walk out with YOU a couple of days later as a brand new family of 3. We are so excited to meet you... you really have NO idea.

 

 

When I think about our life a year ago, I think about how hard we were praying for God to bless us with a family. I recall month after month of let-downs, as we wanted nothing more than to become pregnant. A year ago, Mommy didn't even know if she could get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy. A year ago, you were just a dream. A year ago, Mommy was wondering if she would ever get to celebrate Mother's Day as a Mommy, herself. Now, we are two weeks away from looking into your eyes for the first time... our little dream come true. Our miracle.

 

 

Your Daddy and I believe in a God who is faithful and knows what is best for us. The desire of our hearts was to become parents and start a family. We knew that He would bless us in His time. In August, Mommy went back to work for a new school year and was so busy getting ready for the year that she was completely shocked when she began to realize there was a chance she was pregnant. Test after test confirmed that Mommy did, indeed, have a little baby growing in her tummy...YOU! I was excited and scared... and Daddy was really nervous, too.

 

 

As we went to the doctor and received good report after good report, we were so excited to start sharing the news of YOU with our family and friends! Way back in September when we spilled the beans, the month of May seemed soooooo far away. Yet, here we are. The trimesters dwindled down to months... to weeks... and now we are just 14 days away from meeting you for the first time.

 

 

We have waited so long for you. We have dreamed of you. We have prayed for you.

 

 

You are an answer to many prayers. You are the dream I thought would never come true. You are so loved by so many people already, and from the moment that they place you in my arms, I promise I will do everything I can to love you, protect you, and nurture you. You're my baby boy, and we can't wait for your story to unfold.

 

I love you,

Mommy