Thankful v11

Lately I've been thankful...

[+] for my silly husband who is so excited to become a dad that he talks about it every day

[+] for moments of quiet and the company of little boy wiggles

[+] for big tubs, warm water and late night dips in the tub even if my belly sticks out of the water

[+] for being able to reach my un-swollen toes still and manicures that last

[+] for growing baby bellies and diaper gifts to catch all the poops

[+] for continued warm weather especially knowing that none of my pants fit anymore

[+] for a sweet pup who's turned into my shadow and is always close by just watching

[+] for moments of grace when the going gets tough

[+] for a permanent and quite handsome date to any and all events

[+] for less than a month till our little boy arrives

[+] for little laundry and a packed diaper bag waiting for the big day

[+] for afternoon naps and body pillows

[+] for our lives being consumed with all things baby

What are you thankful for these days?

Baby H: Week 35

We are officially to the point of weekly doctor’s appointments and the one this past week checked out just perfectly. My belly has been measuring exactly on for a long time, which just blows my mind that it’s that predictable. I know variations of a week or so are still normal but every week she tells me, “fundus height is 34(or whatever it might be), which is exactly what week you are”. Baby boy is officially head down which she pointed out by identifying his little booty poking out by my ribs. His heartbeat is consistent around 140 and he’s growing like crazy in there.

On Sunday night we attended our last wedding as just a couple before our little man arrives. It’s crazy to think about these types of things, the types of events and parties and celebrations that will involve three of us instead of just two from now on. We have a wedding at the end of October and our little man will be sure to attend.

The wedding however, wasn’t totally a positive event though and actually turned into quite the scary event. The massive flooding CO had last summer had destroyed part of the main highway we had to take to get there which means a section of the road was basically down to the dirt, super slow speed limits and really bumpy conditions. On the way there my belly started feeling a little funny in these few miles but on the way back funny turned into a belly that was solid as a rock and super painful. Welcome to my first experience with contractions.

The rest of the drive was spent feeling pretty miserable. I couldn't get comfortable in the seat. I had intense pain in my low back that wouldn’t let up even once my belly was soft again. Every bump in the road made my entire torso hurt and between the start and once we were finally home I ended up having what I believe were three other contractions. We got home, I chugged some water and laid down and thankfully that was the end of the ordeal. It’s definitely something I’m going to bring up at my appointment this week because it was definitely worrisome. 

Otherwise the rest of the week was uneventful. A few days of feeling absolutely great with rolls of arms and legs in my belly. A few days of being super uncomfortable as this little boy decided to play diving board with my ribs. The diaper bag is officially packed for the hospital, now if only I could make myself pack my bag and we’d be all set. We have contacted a photographer and scheduled our maternity pictures, which I’m so looking forward to. I can’t believe that we essentially have a month left! For some reason thinking about it in terms of having 5 more weeks seems so much longer than thinking 30 some odd days. We sure can’t wait to meet this little boy who’s already stolen so much of our hearts.

Baby H: Week 34

I had a bit of a nervous moment on Friday night as I had some tightening of my belly along with a significant amount of pain that ran along the low, left side of my belly and had me quite freaked out. I think I've experienced a handful of Braxton Hicks contractions over the last few weeks and this was nothing like them. The pain was pretty significant, it happened about 4 times and would ease up in between. I grabbed my water bottle and chugged it, laid down on the couch on my left side and gave myself 15 minutes to see if they would go away. Thankfully it stopped and hasn't happened since but I'll definitely be bringing it up with my doctor at my appointment on Friday. Fingers crossed it was either a fluke due to dehydration or something simple like gas because it was not fun.

I have thankfully stayed the same weight the last week but definitely know the belly is growing. My skin has been extra tight and extra dry but swelling and stretch marks are still staying away. I had a sad realization one morning that a few of my actual maternity tops aren't going to fit for much longer. Let's hope the rest of my wardrobe can keep stretching otherwise I'm at risk for turning into the girl who alternates between two outfits. One thing I don't think I've ever mentioned symptom wise is how awesome my hair, nails and skin have been since I've been pregnant. I haven't had any of the usual skin blemishes I used to get, my hair grows faster and doesn't fall out as easily and my nails grow like weeds without their usual peeling/cracking. I scheduled a hair cut for the end of the month just to make sure I get a trim in before the baby-craziness starts and I'm hoping to treat myself to a mani-pedi sometime between now and then too. Now let's just see if I can find the time!

I did a load of baby laundry consisting of a few newborn sized items, a bunch of 0-3mo clothes, all the hats and socks we have plus the slew of swaddles we'll wrap our little man up in and I loved it. I've partly been avoiding doing too much of this type of prep because we aren't sure how big our little boy is going to be so I'm trying to keep tags on things as long as possible incase we need to exchange them for other sizes. But I couldn't help myself from doing one load (plus it was a good study break). With the fresh items out of the dryer I have officially packed the diaper bag for the hospital with the items for our babe. Knowing now what he'll come home wearing (nothing fancy or coming-home specific) makes me so excited for his arrival. 

Over the weekend someone we know delivered her baby boy at just 29 weeks weighing just barely 2 lbs and hearing news like that put things into perspective for me. As much as I feel uncomfortable, stressed, over being pregnant, exhausted and ready to meet our son at times I realized that my body knows exactly what it's doing to grow our babe and how important it is for that process to be complete. Its been easy for me to whine to J in the evenings, to complain about rib pain, to get annoyed when I'm woken up by kicks and jabs, to feel bad for myself that I'm tired all the time. But as this journey comes to an end I'm trying to remember how precious this time is, having our little boy all to myself to make sure he's healthy and strong and I realize that every moment of this process, the good and the bad, are so worth it for a healthy boy in the end. 

Baby boy, please know how much you mean to your dad and I already. Please know we will do absolutely anything for you, now and for always. Please know we cherish you, want only the best for you and couldn't be more excited to meet you. But also please know you can take your time, grow exactly the way you're supposed to and come into this world when you're ready. We want you to be as healthy as can be even if it means we don't meet as soon as we'd like. We love you.

Baby H: Week 33

We had our 32 week appointment on Wednesday and while it was super quick and just with the nurse practitioner, everything with our little man is checking out great still. My BP is still on the low side (102/60) but I have a feeling that's never going to change so I just have to keep myself well hydrated. My belly measured exactly on track which is awesome. Heart rate was measuring at 137 and she's pretty sure he's no longer breech which is fabulous news. At our previous appointment our doctor was only able to find his heart beat up really high near my ribs which is why she suspected him being breech and suggested I hang out in puppy pose every so often. I guess all the "butt in the air" laying worked because he's head down, again. Now if only he'll stay like that for the rest of the time although it does make the rib jabs that much more painful.

As far as pregnancy symptoms this week goes it's about the same as last week. Much more uncomfortable that I've previously been but thankfully it seems to come and go day to day. Some days I feel absolutely great and some days I'm almost in tears trying to get comfortable. New this week has been the pubic symphisis pain which is not so pleasant. Its been fairly tender to the touch for about the last 6 weeks but now I notice it throughout the day. I tried to hold my coffee cup between my knees at a stop light and literally couldn't squeeze my legs together enough and have it not hurt. I also notice it when walking sometimes if my body is extra tired. My ankles, knees and hips have been popping and cracking more often too, especially when I walk after sitting for a long amount of time. Silly relaxin hormone making all my joints loosey-goosey.

I'm tipping the scale this week at about 28lbs gained and still have no stretch marks. Some days I find myself just exhausted but I hear that's what third trimester is all about. The extra weight, changing center of gravity and growing a little human sure do take a toll on a body and I've definitely been giving into naps when I get the chance. I'm still not having any significant cravings or aversions but did end up feeling quite nauseous and just generalized-yucky the other night after stuffing myself too much when we went out to dinner. I think the combo of too much pizza with sugary lemonade, being too stuffed and throwing in acid reflux to the mix made for an unhappy momma.

We took our final joint class at the hospital this week and learned all about Baby Care. Baths, diapers, feeding, newborn procedures, healing umbilical cords, life at home, etc etc etc. I was a bit bummed that there was a lot of overlap between this class and our first one on childbirth but I understand that some of the info falls into both categories. I think we've pretty much made decisions about all the things we want to include in our "pseudo birth plan" and decisions for our little man once he's here. Now to just get them typed up and onto a note card for the big day and I think we're about as ready as we can be. We also had a joint "Huggies and Chuggies" party with some close friends who are due with their little boy about three weeks ahead of us and it was a blast getting together with friends and taking homes lots of diapers at the end of the night. A huge thanks to all who came and brought diapers (especially those who thought to get sizes other than newborn) for our little man!

And because these are always fun, here's a flash back on what a difference ten weeks can make. 13, 23 and 33 weeks! Next week is the first one where I'll have four pictures to compare, so crazy!

The Cry Room: Nursery Reveal

While I'm sure there will be changes we want to make after his arrival in under two months (holy cow!!), I can finally say that our little boy's nursery is complete! It might have taken me all summer and involved lots of help from J and my mom but this room has easily become my favorite place in the whole house and I am absolutely in love with it!

Here's a glimpse of what we started with, first when we visited the house before it was even ours and during the process of getting rid of the incredibly blue paint. When I found out I was pregnant I knew immediately that this would be the future nursery (largest spare room, closest to the master) and that the paint color needed to go! Regardless of gender I knew I wanted something more calming, something our little one could grow up in for years to come without having to worry about trends or changing the paint color again any time soon. This was also my reasoning behind keeping the "theme" of the room to a minimum. I wanted furniture pieces that could be used for either a boy or a girl, for future kiddos down the line and even in different rooms of the house.

Once we found out the little one in my belly was a boy I thought about what I wanted the finished product to be. Lots of different shades of blue mixed with pops of yellow and orange. Bright but not overwhelming. Fun and interactive without screaming baby. Pattern mixing and comfortable and filled with items that mean something to us and our family. And this is exactly what his nursery has become! I absolutely love sitting in here with my feet up dreaming about how our life is going to change so much.

I plan on doing a separate post entirely that has information about where we got everything in his room as well as tutorials for anything that was DIYed but for now I'll let the pictures do the talking and explain some of my favorite pieces in the room. 

The duck in his crib is a special memento to my dad and this fluffy one was gifted to our little boy at the baby shower by a long time family friend who knew about the tradition. The blank canvas in the wall collage will eventually have a large wooden letter glued to it, painted blue, that's the first letter in our little boy's name (no spoilers here!). J made the giant abacus above the crib completely from scratch and I absolutely love that he took the time to make something so labor intensive for our son. The pictures in the room include canvases of our little family so far (J & I in Mexico and Ollie in the yard), a little picture of the grandpa I hope has met our sweet boy already and baby pictures of the two of us. The book wall is by far my favorite and contains tons of the actual books I read when I was little. 

I am thrilled with the results and cannot wait until the room's littlest occupant makes his appearance! For now, Ollie's using it as his favorite new napping place.

Baby H: Week 32

We are officially 80% of the way done, holy cow. I was just telling J the other night that while there have been moments where the days drag on, overall the past 7ish months have seemed to go so fast. Just this weekend a blog friend Laura had her precious little girl and I thought back to the early days when she was announcing her pregnancy and how at the time I knew I was pregnant but we weren't telling anyone yet. And now she has a baby in her arms which only means it's not too long till I do too.

Unfortunately I think I'm starting to get to the pregnant stage that's not so fun. Since I was able to avoid a lot of the negative symptoms in the beginning weeks I've really had a great pregnancy thus far and am sad that it's changing. I'm definitely going to try and make the best of the end but dang I hope it doesn't get much more complicated. Third trimester coupled with the start of med school made this week not quite so enjoyable as some of the weeks before. Hello exhaustion, it's not nice to see you again! It's likely due to setting an alarm after 6 weeks of summer break, spending hours in a lecture hall filling my brain and knowing once I get home I still have work to do along with the whole growing a human thing too. I was thankfully able to throw in a few naps in the afternoons but hope my body does some adjusting or else this should be interesting.

Having a stricter schedule also means that I'm that much more physically uncomfortable throughout the day. I make myself get up and walk around during each of our ten minute breaks in school but come lunch time all I want to do is lay down somewhere because my ribs and back are killing me. While I love each and every movement from our sweet boy I wish there was a way for him to know to lay low while I'm in class because he's starting to get strong enough to hurt me and I can't change positions while learning pharmacology. The other day I swear he was laying horizontal in my belly because there were strong kicks/punches way to the side of my belly and the following day once he changed positions I literally felt like I was bruised in those places.

Thankfully I've been sleeping like a log which I'm so grateful for. Whether it's because I'm more tired now and just zonk out or because of my new body pillow (that I should have gotten months ago because it's that awesome) at least I'm hanging on to my precious sleep for now. I also stop drinking too much liquid a few hours before bed which has allowed me to avoid all the night time bathroom runs so many ladies deal with. I've officially taken off my wedding rings after finding they absolutely wouldn't come off one day so they'll be hanging out on my necklace until little man's arrival. I haven't had any significant swelling in my feet or legs though yet so that's still a plus and I'm still stretch mark free. I can still paint my own toenails but consciously think to myself "I wonder if that was the last time" after each polish change these days. I haven't really had any big cravings lately (unless you count dessert in the evenings but that happened even before I was pregnant) and I'm still not loving the idea of drinking anything warm.

J and I went to the second of our classes, the one on breastfeeding, at the hospital this week. It was for three hours one evening and I feel like we learned so much. I have every intention of breastfeeding our little man but know we have quite the challenging circumstance given that I don't get a ton of time off school after he's born. We've figured out the logistics of getting a pump through our insurance and hope that we're able to quickly set a schedule for feeding and pumping sessions once he's here so that I can go back to school and he can still get what's best for him. If anyone has any personal experience with this I would love to chat about how you made pumping work for your family.

Here's hoping the next few weeks keep quickly passing and that nothing unusual pops up. Hang in there little boy! We've waited so long for you but want to make sure you're as healthy as can be once you arrive. Which hopefully is less than 60 days from now!