38 Weeks

Yes the chalkboard is compliments of Ryan again!  Adorable right?!

Pumpkin this week...

~ Baby is fully developed so he is just working on getting bigger!
~ He is continuing to shed vernix and lanugo.
~ Baby is swallowing amniotic fluid, which will head to his intestines, and turn into his first poop!
~ His lungs continue to secret surfactant, which helps prevent the lungs from sticking to each other when baby starts breathing!
~ He has a firm grasp now!

Size of the Baby?
Our pumpkin is a pumpkin!

Total Weight Gain/Loss?

Currently at the +35 total.

Maternity Clothes?

Nothing new.  I was shopping with a friend at Hot Mama on Monday night and it made me quite excited to get back into regular clothes!  I'm sure Ryan won't be so happy with the little shopping I will want to do :)

Stretch Marks?

None- thank you Mom for the good genes!!

Best Moments?

I sort of sound lame but I loved my lazy weekend last weekend.  Ryan unfortunately had to work a lot of it but I was able to be bum on the couch, nap, bake cookies, and soak up the last few quiets moments of my life!  It was pretty great!!

Movement?
Still a lot!  I doubt this little boy is coming early- it seems he has lots of room in there to move and what's the rush to make an appearance?!

Nausea/Vomitting?

No.

Labor Signs?

Some sharp shooting pains in my pelvis and some contractions but nothing major.

Gender?

Sweet little boy.

Belly Button In or Out?
Outtie poppin!

Wedding Rings On or Off?

On but I have been taking them off at night as my hand does get sort of swollen.

Sleep?

The best way to describe the way I feel in bed is like a beluga whale.  Between me, the body pillow, my own comforter, Dupree, and Ryan it's just too much in a queen size bed!

Wisdom?

Stay busy!  I swear that once you hit 37 weeks your mind goes from "we still have a few weeks" to "it could be any day now!"  And the waiting game could drive you crazy!  So stay busy and plan things- if you have to cancel because you go into labor, I think people will understand.  So who wants to make plans with me?!  :)

What am I most excited about?

Wouldn't it be exciting if this little baby decided to come this week?!  I think so!
The countdown ap that makes me so excited!!

And since Dupree hasn't made an appearance lately...

38 weeks and counting,

Baby Talk: What I've learned over the last 38 weeks

Pregnancy has been amazing!  I'm not saying it has been all peaches and butterflies but it has been an incredible journey that I feel super blessed to have had.  I'm two weeks away from our due date and jumping out of my skin with anticipation of meeting our son!  I think he will be late but if he came early I would be thrilled!!

So as I look back at the last 38 weeks (really 34 since I found out we were pregnant) of pregnancy, I have learned a lot and thought I would share a few thoughts:

1. You are going to gain weight, not look like you did 38 weeks ago and seriously as long as baby is healthy and the doctor is not concerned with your weight gain- then don't worry about the pounds.

2. Sleep when you need to- growing a baby is hard work- harder than you think.

3. Do not compare your pregnancy to other pregnancies.

4. Do not Google anything- it will scare the crap out of you!

5. Make sure you LOVE your doctor, midwife, or dula- 40 weeks is a long time and this is a pretty big deal delivering a baby so you need to trust and love the person who will be there when you're going thru such a big event!

6. Communicate with your partner about everything- expectations, how you feel, what you want in the nursery, what you want your families' involvement to be, etc.  This is so important and really essential to make it thru 40 weeks!

7. Remember that not everyone on the face of the planet is pregnant or even wants kids so don't talk about it 24/7.  Your non-pregnant friends will appreciate it and there is more to life than being pregnant.

8. Keep your opinions to yourself.  Everyone in the world will want to give you their opinion of how to do pregnancy, labor, and parenthood.  At this point, I've become pretty aware that opinions, although are meant to come from the right place, are not always well received so keep your opinion to yourself unless you are asked for it.

9. If you don't want anyone to comment on your child's name then don't share it until after he/she is born and even then likely someone will say something anyways.  If you love your child's name, then don't worry about what others say and on the flip side- don't say joking things about a child's name (nicknames or funny play on words)- this is someone's baby and a name is a really important and special thing, not to be made fun of.

10. Enjoy this incredible experience.  It only lasts 40 weeks and then it's done.  It's an absolute miracle and very, very special.  Cherish each moment, each kick, and hiccup.  Soon it will be over.

Linking up today for Baby Talk!



Reflecting at 38 weeks,

37 Weeks

 

Pumpkin this week...

~ Baby is full term!
~ Baby keeps breathing, sucking, blinking, and pivoting in preperation for being born!

Size of the Baby?
Baby is a Winter Melon... what is that?!
And I feel like 6.2-9.2 lbs is quite a range!!

Total Weight Gain/Loss?

Ugh I'm over this.  At this point I'm +34 lbs since the day I found out I was pregnant.

Maternity Clothes?

Same old same old

Stretch Marks?

Still none- yay!

Best Moments?

Finding out I am 1 cm dilated!  It's progress!

Movement?
Lots!  I swear he knows when we are talking about him.

Nausea/Vomitting?

Nope.

Labor Signs?

Braxton Hicks contractions last week at the Blake Shelton concert made for an exciting evening!  Since then, I've had some other signs- but you probably don't want to hear about that :)

Gender?

We will have a son!

Belly Button In or Out?
More of an outtie than an innie.

Wedding Rings On or Off?

Still on!  It gets a little tight sometimes when I'm warm but for the most part it's still comfortable.

Sleep?

Although I couldn't get comfy on Tuesday night, I have had less bathroom breaks which has been really nice!

Wisdom?

I would highly recommend labor/birth classes.  We completed our 4 classes last night and although nothing was shocking or anything we had no idea about- it was really good to discuss things.  It brought up a few things we had not thought about yet as well as let us know options we didn't even know we would have.  I just feel more prepared!

What am I most excited about?

I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm excited that we are progressing and getting closer!  I still keep telling myself that he is coming late but at this point, we should have our son in less than a month!  The whole 'it could be any day' is more real and makes me very excited and happy!

Cheers,

Fall Favorites

So it is not officially fall yet but I am getting super excited for the cooler weather, the beautiful and colorful leaves, and warm, snuggly sweaters.  So what am I most looking forward to in the fall??

10. Pumpkin Spice Coffee from Brueggers

This stuff is amazing!  And it reminds me so much of my friend Tracy who is now living in Texas.  Tracy and I used to live together before the days of Ryan and we would go across the bridge over to St. Anthony main area and get bagels and coffee in the morning- either after a good Lifetime workout or right away and just skip the workout!  Either way, it is delicious and it reminds me of Tracy!

9. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Again a good remind of Tracy but we would make these every fall!  I actually don't love pumpkin but these cookies are amazing!  It is my mom's recipe and I could eat a whole batch of these in one sitting.  So when I make them, I have to make sure I am bringing them somewhere to share!  So yummy and perfect!

8. The leaves

I love when I'm driving around the lake and the bay is colored with red, orange, and yellow leaves.  It is the same happiness I get in the spring when the trees get all their buds and the leaves start to pop.  It is so pretty and it makes those two weeks really fun to drive around and look at all the colors!

7. Sweaters, leggings, and boots

I cannot wait to wear heavy, long sweaters (even sweater dresses), leggings, and boots.  Enough said.

6. Football Sundays

Although I have a love/hate with fantasy football- I do love Sunday afternoons when the football game is on and friends are over.  I love a relaxing afternoon with minimal obligations and some good, hearty crock-pot food.  And I love napping during the games too!

5. Mums on the front porch

If you ever come over you know I love flowers on my front porch.  And well since I have killed everything from this summer, I look forward to fresh new flowers to pot and enjoy.  I always have good intentions of keeping flowers alive, I'm just not so good at watering and feeding flowers.  But I love how full and colorful mums are and the way they dress up my front porch.

4. Scarves

If you know me, from September-May it is scarf season.  I'm naked without one and I have quite the collection going!

3. Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard

I don't get to it every year- and this year might not be possible either- but when I can, I like to go pick out pumpkins in the patch and then get apples from the apple orchard.  I mean who doesn't love a good hay ride?!

2. Pinterest projects

I'm guilty as charged at being a Pinterest fanatic!  I love searching the site and finding new DIY projects- holiday, home, recipe, fashion- whatever!  But the fall seems like the perfect time to sort thru my pins and decide which ones I actually want to do!

1. Upcoming holidays

 
The beginning of fall means that the holidays (I am not jumping the gun here people!) are around the corner.  Although I really do not like Halloween, it is only weeks before Thanksgiving and then Christmas- both of which I love!  So with the cool fall air, I know turkeys and mistletoe are right around the corner!

Cheers to Fall Beginning Soon,

Baby Talk: Full Term and Belly Progression

Today as I link up with Kristin for Baby Talk... 

I would like to exclaim that:

WE ARE FULL TERM TODAY!  YAHOO!  YAY!  OH MY WORD!

I am so excited to be full term today!  37 weeks pregnant and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!  I'm still not convinced one iota that we are going early.  I have a feeling this little pumpkin is going to be a few days late but that's okay as long as he isn't going for the largest pumpkin contest victory, I'm good with him staying where he is!  But knowing that we made it full term is a great feeling!  I think an ice cream treat celebration is in order for later today!

Although we likely have a few weeks left of pregnancy before we can hold our son I thought it would be sort of fun to look back at the last few weeks and see how my belly grew and how far we have come!

Starting with week 4... the day we found out we were pregnant... and then moving thru the weeks...

 

Not too much change in those first 12 weeks but then the bump started to appear and it ever growing after that!

Week 13 & 14

Week 15 & 16

Week 17 & 18

Week 19 & 20

Week 21 & 22

Week 23 & 24

 

Week 25 & 26

Week 27 & 28

Week 29 & 30

Week 31 & 32

Week 33 & 34

 

Week 35 & 36

 

Holy cow!  That belly has grown and I feel incredibly blessed!  It has been an amazing journey to watch my feet disappear and to feel his kicks and movements!  It has been incredible to watch my husband fall in love with this belly and to see our relationship grow and evolve into something we could not have otherwise had.  Listening to this sweet baby's heartbeat has been music to our ears!  Planning and celebrating his upcoming birth has been pure joy with our friends and family!  Only a few more weeks and we will hold this most precious gift and I will be a mama and Ryan will be a daddy!    

Most excited,