If you missed Part One of the baby shower, you can click {{here}} to play catch-up :-)
After Melody performed her songs for me, it was time to eat! Lots of delicious foods on the menu: chicken salad sandwiches, Hawaiian meatballs, veggies & dip, fruit salad, chips & pretzels, and a yummy/frothy blue punch.
Of course, this preggo lady was more than ready to eat!
After eating, I posed for lots of pictures before cutting the cake :-)
Me and the soon-to-be grandmothers:
My bridesmaids and I (Becky is missing from this picture):
My Aunt Penny and I. She's my Momma's twin sister :-)
Aunt Penny cut the cake, and then it was time to open gifts!
I got tons of great gifts :-)
It was a very special day for my family and me. My mom did a fantastic job putting everything together. Thank you to everyone who made my day so special and memorable. I am truly blessed to have you all in my life!
And special thanks to my good friend, Amy, for capturing these memories for me!
On March 9, 2013 I was blessed with an amazing baby shower. My mom hosted a beautiful event in honor of my baby boy and I.
I woke up feeling very emotional that morning. I was looking forward to my baby shower so much - and not for the gifts. If you know me and my past and this journey Jason and I have been on to have a baby, you know that having a baby shower is monumental. We are finally, finally having our prayers answered and I was just so excited to spend the day with my family and friends celebrating my baby boy's upcoming arrival. A few days before the shower, however, the phone calls began rolling in from some of my friends and family saying they weren't going to make it. So I woke up on the day of the baby shower thinking about everyone who wasn't going to be there... and it kinda depressed me! It also hit me that morning that my Nanny wasn't going to be there to celebrate with us either, as she went to Heaven two years ago in January. So, cue two emotional breakdowns before I even left the house for my baby shower.
I should've known better than to wear eye make up on this day, LOL.
I pulled myself together, arrived at the venue to help my mom decorate, and my cousin Steph arrived with my cake. I had seen an idea on Pinterest and she made my vision come true. In fact, she even added an extra special touch in the corner: a butterfly. My Nanny loved butterflies. As soon as I saw the butterfly, I lost it again. I threw my arms around Steph and we both stood there crying. She told me about a dream she had had the night before, and I knew that my Nanny would be there with me in spirit.
Everything was decorated so beautifully... and before we knew it, it was party time!
Once all the guests arrived, we headed over to the sanctuary of the church because one of my best friends, Melody, prepared a few songs that she wanted to play and sing.
She started by reading aloud a book called The Runaway Bunny. It is a sweet little story about a bunny who tries to run away from his mother, but each time he says he's going to run away, the mother tells him she will find him. Very sweet book about a mother's love.
After reading the story, Melody performed two Sara Groves songs. I pretty much bawled the whole way through both of them. Go ahead and grab your tissues.
You're going to need them. ;-)
And special thanks to Stacey for videoing these for me!!!
You will lose your baby teeth
At times you'll lose your faith in me
You will lose a lot of things
But you cannot lose my love
You may lose your appetite
Your guiding sense of wrong and right
You may lose your will to fight
But you cannot lose my love
You will lose your confidence
In times of trial your common sense
You may lose your innocence
But you cannot lose my love
Many things can be misplaced
Your very memories be erased
No matter what the time or space
You cannot lose my love
You cannot lose
You cannot lose
You cannot lose my love
This is a song for my son for when he understands it You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song for you, to carry in your pocket take all our love with you in all the paths you walk in I can't say your life will always go like it should but I can say that God is always good
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will and when you feel alone like I know you will and when the cold wind blows like we know it will
Don't let your love grow Don't let your love grow Don't let your love grow cold
This is a song for my son for when he understands it You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song from my heart a small refrain to hold you for times when we're apart and I cannot console you Be honest with yourself and don't forget to pray and read your bible everyday
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will and when you feel alone like I know you will and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
Don't let your love grow Don't let your love grow Don't let your love grow cold
After Melody sang her songs, she wanted to have prayer for me and the baby. She led a beautiful prayer and everyone gathered around me and prayed with her. It was such a touching, special part of my day.
...More details about the rest of the baby shower are coming tomorrow in Part II!
Well, I knew it would happen sooner or later. I've done so well with keeping up with my weekly posts... till now. SORRY! This will be a combined 31 & 32 week update on my pregnancy. The last two weeks have been insanely busy. We are finally making a lot of progress on moving forward with painting/decorating the nursery (YAY!), my baby shower took place last weekend leaving me with a massive amount of amazing gifts to sort through, my twice-a-week visits to the hospital began last Sunday, and then there was a horrible car accident involving someone in my family that has occupied a lot of my mind. So... I apologize for being late with this update, but better late than never... right?
How Far Along? 32 weeks, 6 days
Size of Baby: About the size of a honeydew! 19 inches long, 4.5 pounds
Total
Weight Gain/Loss: Down 4 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight.
Maternity Clothes: All day, every day... LOL!
Gender: Darling baby
boy!
Movement: This baby is moving around so much! My entire belly rolls as he moves back and forth, punching and kicking. It's insane to watch. I will try to get another video of him moving around like crazy over the next week or so :-)
What I
miss: Being able to make/eat anything and everything that I pin on Pinterest! There are so many yummylicious recipes that I'm dying to try... too bad they don't come anyyyywhere near the amount of carbs I'm limited to - they're way more.
Cravings: Tonight... Cream Soda. Random, right?! I thought so too. Got a bottle of Diet Cream Soda to attempt to satisfy the craving.
Symptoms: I have some serious achiness in the ...*ahem*... lady parts. Especially when I go from sitting to standing, I feel this really uncomfortable pulling/stretching feeling. Getting off my feet definitely helps with making these pains go away. In other news... my belly button is starting to pop out, which I think is hillarious. I guess my built-in turkey timer is popping out to say, "Baby is almost done cookin'!" The crazy preggo dreams are also in full-swing! I have dreamt that I'm going into labor and everyone is there EXCEPT for Jason and he's no where to be found. I've also dreamt that we brought the baby home, and when Jason was given the task of diapering the baby, he wrapped the baby in a low-carb wrap instead of a diaper. LOL - I think it's safe to say the diabetic diet is starting to get to me when I'm dreaming about wrapping my baby in a low-carb tortilla.
Best Moment This Week: My baby shower was last weekend, and I was just completely and utterly blessed beyond my imagination! I got so many great gifts and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm ready for this baby to come. There are a few more things we need (the BIG stuff - crib, car seat, stroller, etc), but those things will come when we have the money.
Here's a list of what I got in terms of clothes/bibs/blankets/etc:
What do I need to get more of?! I'm kinda clueless when it comes to this stuff.
And this is the growing mountain of laundry that IS the baby's 'stuff':
I'm also enjoying my twice-a-week visits to the hospital to check on the baby! Love hearing his heart beat and seeing how his crazy movements correlate with accelerations in his heart beat. The nurse tonight said, ''I wish all of these NST's (non-stress tests) went this well! Your baby looks great!"
Looking
ForwardTo:Continuing to work on the nursery! Also excited for my next ultrasound on Friday April 5th. Can't wait to see my little peanut again!!!
31 Weeks
Pregnant:
A collection of some of my maternity pictures taken at 31 weeks
I feel like just yesterday I was taking a pregnancy test.
And here I am now... 30 weeks of pregnancy behind me.
Less than 10 weeks to go.
In two months from now, I will be holding/cuddling/snuggling/oooohing and ahhhhhhing over my sweet baby boy. I feel like we are officially in the home stretch!
How Far Along? 31 weeks today
Size of Baby: As of my high risk doctor's appointment on Friday, the ultrasound indicated that the baby is approximately 3lb, 7oz.
Total
Weight Gain/Loss: Since meeting with my OB doc last Monday and learning that I should be eating significantly fewer carbs than I was consuming before, I have lost 4lbs. My high risk doctor was not happy about the fact that I've lost weight, and he wants me to start consuming more calories. So, fewer carbs but more calories... Ugh. Not an easy task.
Maternity Clothes: I've really come to love my maternity clothes wardrobe! I'm going to hate to pack it all away in a few months. I don't even remember what my pre-baby wardrobe looks like :-/ Just praying some of it fits semi-well when the baby is here! I might be living in yoga pants for the first few months of his life ;-)
Gender: Baby
boy!
Movement: Lots of kicksand rolling around going on in my belly! Love to feel him move around. At first, it kinda freaked me out to watch my belly do 'the wave' when the baby rolled around... but now I watch my belly just waiting for those crazy little movements. Love it!
What I miss: Two words - SWEET TEA. The end.
Cravings: Chocolate :-/ Thankfully, I've found a few diabetic-friendly ways to incorporate chocolate in my diet... snack bars with chocolate, nut & chocolate trail mix, chocolate milk, etc. The key is to combine it with protein!
Symptoms: Frequent urination... check! I have to pee. A LOT. It probably has something to do with the 90+ ounces of water I'm drinking every day (which, by the way, I think has helped to keep my swelling to a minimum! I still have ankles!!!). I usually try the whole double-elimination thing when I go to the bathroom. You know... go once, stand up, wash hands, wait a minute for bladder to fill up again, and then sit back down for round #2! Usually if I go twice, I can get by longer periods without running to the loo.
Best
Moment This Week: Well, I met with my high risk doctor on Friday to go over my diagnosis of gestational diabetes and to check on the growth/development of my baby boy. Thankfully, the doctor found everything about the baby's anatomy sonogram to be completely normal, including his size. As I mentioned, he's weighing about 3lbs, 7oz and is in the 47th percentile for his weight (50th percentile would be considered average, so he's right where he needs to be!). The doctor said that I obviously have not had gestational diabetes for very long, and he suspects that with proper management of my blood sugar numbers, I will deliver a perfectly normal-sized baby at the end of April. The only thing he was not happy about was my weight loss. He doesn't feel, at this point in time, that it is necessary for him to see me again during the pregnancy unless my OB suggests I follow up with him again. So - great news! ...And, I walked away with this sweet picture of his adorable profile:
Also got a cute foot picture :-) He had his foot in his hand for a little while during the ultrasound. So cute!
And then Saturday night we had our 4D ultrasound at Belly Vision! It took 40 minutes (a little longer than expected) because baby boy is in an awkward breech position, with both his hands and feet around his face. So... it took a lot of moving, turning, probing to get a few pictures. You can see his hand by his face in the first two pictures. I just can't wait to cover his sweet little face in kisses!!!
Looking
ForwardTo:My baby shower is on Saturday! I am so looking forward to celebrating my little boy's upcoming arrival with my closest family and friends. :-)
Well, as I mentioned in my {{last weekly post}}, I am going to be an aunt to a sweet baby girl in July! As you can imagine, our families are over the moon with happiness. My hubby and I are having a boy, and my brother and his wife are having a girl. It could not be more perfect!
My brother and sister-in-law had their big ultrasound last Friday and then invited the family over on Saturday night for the big reveal. All details of the reveal were kept SUPER top secret. We took Team Blue and Team Pink pictures, and then we were told that we were heading outside for a firework show! The first 16 fireworks would be just for fun. There would be a pause... and then there would be 3 huge fireworks - either blue and green for a boy or red and yellow for a girl.
Team Blue:
Team Pink:
The Big Show!!!
IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afterwards, we came inside and watched a DVD of my precious niece. She totally melted my heart when she SMILED in her ultrasound. She even had the cord draped over her shoulder like a purse strap... a true mini-me of her Mommy :-)
We had a wonderful evening with the family, celebrating the fact that a baby girl is coming in July. We couldn't be happier!
So happy to share this exciting time with my sister-in-law!!!!
I mentioned in my {{last post}} that I have been diagnosted with gestational diabetes. I wanted to give everyone an update on my situation, now that I've met with my OB doctor and feel a little more educated about what's going on with my baby.
No, I didn't get gestational diabetes because I drank sweet tea.
No, I didn't get gestational diabetes because I ate chocolate and skittles.
Gestational diabetes can happen to anyone - it all depends on how your body reacts to the pregnancy hormones. If you have a family history of diabetes (as I do), you are at an increased risk for developing gestational diabetes. Unfortunately, my body is not metabolizing sugars the way it did before I got pregnant. Here's what is happening to the extra sugar that my body isn't processing:
After meeting with my doctor Monday night, I have learned the following things:
1. I am now considered "high risk" because of the gestational diabetes. I will be followed by a group of doctors of maternal & fetal medicine from Harrisburg for the remainder of my pregnancy, in addition to my regular OB appointments.
2. I will have more ultrasounds throughout the remainder of my pregnancy to check the baby's growth, development, and activity.
3. Starting at 32 weeks (not next week, but the following), I will need to report to Labor and Delivery at the hospital for one hour every week. During that hour, I will be hooked up to monitors and the baby's heartrate will be watched closely. If he shows any kind of distress, I will immediately be admitted to the hospital for bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. This means that every week I have to be prepared to go into the hospital and stay, if that ends up being the case. Talk about pressure to get stuff done!!!
4. I am measuring 34 weeks instead of 30 weeks.
5. I will deliver before my due date. At the very latest, I will deliver one week before my due date.
Am I nervous?
Yes.
Am I scared?
Yes.
Am I ready?
Not in the least bit.
But, I feel like I have a great team of doctors to support me through the remainder of my pregnancy. My baby boy and I are going to be watched very closely over the next several weeks. I'm praying that God will help me keep my blood sugar numbers under control, so that there is as little risk to the baby as possible. I know that He is faithful and He will make a way. Please keep my baby boy and I in your prayers!
And... to make you smile after a long, serious post: a video of my baby boy kicking around in my belly last night!
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