41 Weeks

Well, we're in April and still waiting on Little Miss. There is no way anyone can prepare you for the mental exhaustion that comes along with going past your due date. Dealing with questions, comments, and people constantly wanting to know if the baby is here yet does a number on your patience. Not to mention trying to watch for any consistency or frequency to contractions. I've had several episodes of strong contractions 6-7 minutes apart that ended after a couple of hours. You get all excited and think that it's finally time, only to be let down. Then there's the packing and unpacking of the hospital bags. I've become quite an expert in that department. We have one bag that stays in the car for our long term stay, but then we have our bags of things that we're still using day to day. We take those silly things anytime we're going to be very far from the house, in hopes that something might happen.

All complaining aside, I'm thankful to still be healthy and that Little Miss is still healthy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel in knowing that we will have a baby this week! Let's all pray that it's closer to the beginning of the week and that she will decide to come on her own!

39 Weeks

It's crazy to think that we're so close to having our little girl! I love looking the app on my phone and seeing single days on the countdown. Of course, we could be here another 2 weeks waiting on her. Thankfully, I'm feeling great still and just trying to enjoy these last few days!

37 Weeks

We have now reached the point of being considered "full term!" As soon as I get my hospital bags packed (or at least all the stuff together), then I will feel more ready to have her at any time. Of course there are still a million things on my to-do list that I would love to get done, but nothing major. I've been battling sinus congestion the past week or so and I'm praying for it to clear up before I go into labor. It might be helpful to actually be able to breathe through my nose while I try to birth this baby.

36 Weeks

 

We're less than one month away from our due date. I keep telling myself that the most we will have to wait to hold our little girl is 6 weeks! That's not long to wait! I'm continuing to live by little dates to help pass the time...doctor's appointments, lunch dates, church meetings, family coming, Duck Dynasty season premier...every day gets us that much closer to our life changing. My plan is to stay busy and active until the day she decides to make her arrival. 

My goals for this week:

• Get freezers cleaned out
• Start some freezer cooking
• Wash up her sheets, blankets, towels, etc.
• Get her closet more organized and shower gifts put away

35 Weeks

 35 weeks = 35 days = 5 weeks until our due date! It's hard to believe we're just 5 weeks from our due date. We found out that we were expecting at 5 weeks and now we only have 5 weeks left (hopefully)!

I'm still feeling great and so thankful for a good pregnancy. We were blessed with a shower this weekend. Our church family is so loving and supportive. The shower was beautiful and Little Miss is definitely going to be one well-dressed little girl! It was so much fun to open all the gifts, then take them home and look through them all again. I'm thankful my mom and sister were able to come for the shower. We had a wonderful weekend together and it was special to have them here.

Me with my mom and sister

Amazingly adorable diaper cake! I absolutely loved it!

33 Weeks

We had another great week! I had an appointment this week and everything is looking great. I did have an ultrasound to check on our little girl's weight, because my fundal height and my weight were the same two appointments in a row. Little Miss was being a little stubborn and hiding her head during the ultrasound, but the tech was able to get enough measurements to say she is right on track. She weighs 4 lbs 3 oz, which is perfectly average. It was fun to know how she is positioned and get confirmation for what body parts I'm feeling.

We spent our 33 week mark celebrating at Disney! I had to have a picture for proof. :)

32 Weeks

We're down to less than 2 months until our due date! Of course, I'm trying to keep in my mind that Little Miss could actually be an April baby. I am so thankful this pregnancy has been so smooth this far. I was telling someone the other day that I don't feel like I'm 7 months pregnant. I was feeling winded after doings something a few days ago and couldn't figure out why. Later that evening Little Miss kicked me pretty high up and I realized that she is now squishing my lungs more, thus feeling winded. It just hadn't occurred to me that we're at that point in the pregnancy. I kept thinking "such and such will happen later." Well, here we are at "later."

I am loving how the nursery is coming along. I'm not stressing about getting it done too quickly, mainly because I have other things to take care of. But I also don't want to just be sitting around in the last few weeks, which are probably going to be the longest anyway, waiting for her to come. I probably won't post any more pictures of the nursery until I can do a whole nursery reveal post! :)

30 Weeks

I really don't like this picture of me (hello fake smile and blurry face), but I had already changed out of my clothes before I looked at it on the computer.

This has been such a fun and exciting week! We painted the nursery, got the furniture, and I've been sewing like crazy! I think I might be nesting. :) It feels so good to finally be getting things in place for Little Miss, instead of just piling everything up in the guest room closet. I'm hoping to have made even more progress by the end of this week.

Here's a couple of little glimpses  for now...

28 Weeks

27 Weeks

I can't believe we're already in the 3rd trimester! It is exciting to think that we're so close to having our little girl. We definitely have a lot to do before she arrives and I'm ready to hit the to-do list hard. We got the nursery cleaned out this week and it's ready to be painted after the holidays. I also started a few sewing projects this week. I made a super soft blanket that matches her car seat and started working on her quilt.

Little Miss gave us a bit of a scare this week. Tuesday evening I realized I wasn't feeling her move like I normally do in the evening. I couldn't remember if I had felt her move at all that day or much the day before. I got a little concerned, but tried not to panic just yet. I knew I had been really busy, running errands and on my feet most of the two days, so it might have been that I just wasn't as aware of her moving. The OB had given me a little cheat sheet of common concerns and solutions to use as a first resource before calling the office. I followed the directions on there and drank some sweet tea, ice water, and ate something. The sheet said to do that and lay down in the position you feel the baby the most. If I didn't feel movement within 2 hours, I was to call the doctor. I did all that and prayed fervently. At about 5 minutes after the 2 hour mark, I was about to call the number when I felt her start to move. It wasn't a lot of movement, but enough to relieve my fears. I went on to bed and woke several times in the night to her moving. The  next morning she was moving and dancing all over the place, which made me so happy. Since that night (Tuesday), she's been more active in the mornings and not as much in the evening. That little scare certainly made me even more thankful for each of her little kicks and wiggles.

23 Weeks

Chris, Baby Girl, and I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving week in Illinois with my family. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious! It was good to spend time with some good friends and our family. It's exciting to think that our little girl will be here the next time we see most of my family!

21 Weeks

Love, love, love this week! So excited to know that we're having a sweet baby girl! My mind has started spinning with all the the ideas of things to sew, make, and buy!

20 Weeks

19 Weeks

18 Weeks

17 Weeks

I'm not sure why this picture is kind of blurry! My self portrait skills are lacking. I've been feeling great and definitely growing! I'm enjoying actually looking pregnant instead of looking like I've eaten a few extra cookies! I have my first appointment with the midwife today and so excited to finally hear our little one's heartbeat again! I'll probably do a post about how the appointment goes later.

15 Weeks

14 Weeks

Woohoo! We've made it to the second trimester! I have to admit, I was hoping that once I hit 14 weeks, the nausea would magically disappear and my energy would reappear. So far it hasn't, but that's alright. I am thankful both have improved. I am just enjoying being pregnant and so thankful to be in this position, that I will gladly take the nausea and naps!

This week I've spent a lot of time thinking about the reality of the impact this will have on our lives. A lot of time has been spent debating over which doctor to use, decor for the nursery, names, what to register for, and other less important issues. I just finished reading "A Love that Multiplies" by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar (more to come on that in another post) and it brought to mind many areas of parenting and child-rearing. I have enjoyed spending time in thought, prayer, reading, and meditating over some of these areas. My approach with this pregnancy has been to educate myself as much as I can about a variety of topics. I use this same philosophy when considering parenting. I realize that I won't have a full understanding until I am knee-deep in parenting and experiencing it first hand. I realize that some of my thoughts, opinions, and goals will change. And I'm alright with that. However, I want to be intentional in how we raise our children. I find it worthy of much thought, prayer, studying, and discussion. So, that's what's been on my mind this week.

Oh, and picking out fabric for the nursery. :)

12 Weeks

Woohoo! We have hit 12 weeks! I am so excited for the second trimester to be right around the corner. I'm already feeling like I have a little more energy, but I do still enjoy my naps! :) I'm looking forward to  heading home to Illinois to meet my niece and (hopefully) nephew this week. We're anxiously awaiting my nephew's arrival into the world.

6 & 11 Week Baby Bump

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to document my growing belly. I love seeing pictures of women as they grow and change throughout the pregnancy. I took a picture a few days after I found out at 6 weeks to show the starting point. I got it all ready to post, but knew it would have to wait until after we made the official announcement. Since there haven't been  many changes between 6 weeks and now, I waited to take another picture until I reached 11 weeks. It's my hope to take a picture each week and share a few things I want to remember.

Last time wearing that dress for a while!

I think the dress makes the picture a little deceiving!