week 35

I am exhausted. I am officially on maternity leave now which means that I have only a few weeks to get everything in order before Ethan arrives. I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and was told that our little boy is already measuring 7 1/2 pounds! He's head down, but I'm not dilated yet. He still has plenty of amniotic fluid (that's a good thing), so when (if) my water breaks, it's going to be a huge gush! Dr. Chu told me that by the looks of everything, she's expecting me to go into labor within 1-2 weeks...this was a little shocking to me considering we are only 35 weeks into this, and I'm not expecting him to arrive until August 20th! She also told me that she's going on vacation from August 12-19th - which means that if I do go into labor during that time, someone else will deliver him. This is NOT a part of my birth plan...I am scheduled to go back and see her on Tuesday the 31st, and will continue to see her weekly until he arrives.

My comfort level is diminishing. I feel like it takes everything out of me just to roll over in bed! My stomach has also starting itching, which means that it's growing more and more - which also means that I'm getting more and more stretch marks!

On a good note, Stephen set up his bedding in his crib - I love it. It's so 'boy-ish'...Bella asked us, 'what doing?' and when we lifted her up to see it, she said, 'oh wowwww!' She's going to LOVE being a big sister!

Pictures coming soon of the nursery :)

week 34

34 weeks down, and 5 to go! We had Ethan's baby shower this past Sunday, it was perfect. I always get really stressed out before parties - worried that I won't have enough food, or worried that I won't get everything set up in time - and then I leave myself with only a little time to actually get ready...ugh! We had a very good turn out too - I only wish that Ash and Kel could have been there, but they live in Colorado and asking them to fly out is a little crazy :)

the 34 week bare belly...

New things in "Bella's world" - she went POTTY again! This time it was on the big potty (no picture, though - bummer. ha!) She told me 'potty' and then took off her pants, she then started to take off her diaper and Stephen was worried that there might have been a little surprise in there, so he helped her - when we took her diaper off, we realized that she was dry and that she wanted to go potty...so, we sat her up on the toilet and off she went! When she was finished she said, "all done", then she hopped off the toilet, flushed it and said, "bye-bye pee pee"...we rewarded her with a scope of mint & chip ice-cream (her favorite)...I'm hoping she gets used to this whole toilet thing!

Week 34 - baby is now the size of a butternut squash

 Here are some cool facts about the baby at week 34:

• At week 34, you might breathe a little easier, since baby may descend lower into your pelvis and give your lungs some space - (not the case for me!)
• He's urinating about a pint a day!
• He can recognize and react to certain songs - which he might recognize at birth, so SING to him!

A few updates from the mommy-to-be...

How far along? 34 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I will have to confirm at my next dr visit - but I'm pretty sure it's close to 25 pounds.

Maternity clothes? yes

Stretch marks? Yes :( and I got 2 new ones...

Sleep: not sleeping at all.

Best moment this week: we had his baby shower - it was perfect.

Miss Anything? sleep.

Movement: all night long.

Food cravings: just the normal: OREOS, milk, meat...

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Have you started to show yet: I have a HUGE belly.

Gender prediction: you're all BOY baby!   

Labor Signs: just the normal few contractions that I get daily.  

Belly Button in or out? out

Wedding rings on or off? off

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy all the time!

Weekly Wisdom: register at the hospital, and pack my hospital bag.

Looking forward to: my doctor's appointment on Monday, and my last day of work is this FRIDAY!!! WOO HOO!

week 33

No chalk board pic this week :( to be honest, I think I actually squeezed my 32 week photo in, and I might have just started my 33rd week...I can't keep up - these weeks are literally flying by. I did go see Dr. Chu this week for a check up. Her exact words to me, "I hope you go into labor earlier than your scheduled C-Section date - you look really uncomfortable, and your kid is huge!" wow. OK, that sounds awesome! She only used the doppler at that appointment to listen to his heart - his heart rate was a strong 154. I go back to see her on the 23rd - she'll do an ultrasound, take his measurements, check out how he's positioned, and also check my amniotic fluid to make sure he still has lots. I won't even tell you what my weight gain was - let's just say that I have passed my delivery weight with Bella by 2 pounds, and I have six weeks left :/

We have been trying to get Miss Bella to use the potty ever since her 1st pee pee on July 3rd - no luck yet. She tells us 'potty' and we put her on it and she sits there and makes a psssssssss sound, stands up and says 'all done' - but there's nothing there. She thinks she's hilarious, it's the cutest thing, ever.

Only 6 more weeks until our little boy is here, we can't wait!

32 weeks

I am 8 months pregnant, and I look and FEEL like I'm 8 months pregnant. Seriously though, I am very uncomfortable. Thank God for my amazing husband - he's been rubbing my feet every night, he's chasing after Bella and keeping her entertained 80% of the time, and he remembers to wake me up from the couch to give me my vitamins every night! I really do appreciate everything he does.

Ethan moves so much. A lot more than Bella did...he kicks me so hard sometimes that it literally makes my have to stop what I'm doing to rub my stomach. I am having lots of those 'braxton hicks' contractions, and we did have a little scare on July 3rd. I started having contractions every few minutes for about 25 minutes. I ended up calling my mom at 10:30 that night (I mean, who else would you call except your mom)...she told me to get my feet up and drink tons of water - I did, and they stopped. She's amazing :) It's a good thing to because 32 weeks is way to early for this little boy to make his debut!

Some other big news - our little Bella Boo went potty on the potty! It was the cutest thing ever, and of course this momma got a photo :) Stephen and I were cheering for her, and she was looking at us like we were crazy - but it's a HUGE deal! She's only 21 months old, and the thought about getting her potty trained by two sounds amazing...my goal is to get her potty trained by the time I have to go back to work after maternity leave.

Week 32 - baby is now the size of a S Q U A S H

Here are some cool facts about the baby at week 32:

• Ethan is getting ready to make his move - and is most likely head down at this point.
• Real Estate in my uterus is getting a little tight...he's growing even bigger!   

 A few updates from the mommy-to-be...

How far along? 32 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: 23 pounds (since the last Dr appointment)

Maternity clothes? yes

Stretch marks? Yes :( and I got 2 new ones...

Sleep: ha!

Best moment this week: I actually could feel his little foot moving (and I thought it might have been the heel of his foot, it was CRAZY!) He's so much bigger now that I can tell where his little booty is :)

Miss Anything? my ankles.

Movement: all night long.

Food cravings: umm, my favorite right now - OREO cookies! Thank goodness Vons has them on a 2 for 1 deal!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Have you started to show yet: I have a HUGE belly.

Gender prediction: you're all BOY baby!   

Labor Signs: we had a little scare on July 3rd - contractions were setting in a few minutes apart, but stopped after about 25 minutes...I was a little dehydrated.

Belly Button in or out? out

Wedding rings on or off? off

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy to see him, anxious for the birth.

Weekly Wisdom: drink lots of water, stay off of my feet as much as possible...

Looking forward to: my doctor's appointment next week.

31 weeks

We have lots of things to do, and I feel like we're running out of time to get them done before he's here! We (I mean Stephen) painted the kid's room this weekend. We thought it would be best to divide it up so that Bella would still have her pink butterfly wall,  and Ethan would have his half of 'boy' stuff.

 

We also went to Target and registered for a few items that we're going to need for our little man - since we have all of the 'big items' (like a car seat, high chair, walker, bath tub, stroller) we only registered for the smaller things that Ethan would need...blankets, bedding, and some misc. items. I will say that the second time around you can definitely pin point the items that you "really" need / use and items that just take up space.

 

Now that I think about it, we actually got a lot done this week (now that I'm writing it all out). My favorite thing this week was taking our maternity photos. They were taken by Angela Mae Smith http://www.angelamaephotography.com/ - she is amazing, and I already talked to her about taking Ethan's newborn pictures, and our family photos in November. Here are a few images from our session - Isabella looks like a kid now, and not like a baby anymore. I can't even image how old she's going to look once her brother is here!  (there was no chalk board this week because we took the maternity photos instead)...

 

 

 

        

  

Week 31 - baby is now the size of a PINEAPPLE

Here are some cool facts about the baby at week 31:

• Baby is going through some major brain and nerve development
• His irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order.   

 A few updates from the mommy-to-be...

How far along? 31 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 22 pounds.

Maternity clothes? yes

Stretch marks? Yes :( and I got 2 new ones...

Sleep: ha!

Best moment this week: taking our maternity photos, I LOVE THEM!

Miss Anything? honestly, sleeping through the night without having to wake up 5 times to go pee.

Movement: a whole lot - especially at night time. Ethan has decided that he likes to have dance parties in my stomach right when I get comfortable on the couch.

Food cravings: chocolate and red meat (I know, it sounds gross...luckily, I do not eat them together!)

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Have you started to show yet: people might mistake me for carrying twins.

Gender prediction: you're all BOY baby!   

Labor Signs: braxton hicks contractions starting already!

Belly Button in or out? OUT! With Bella, it never went out, that's how I know he's going to be bigger - he's already running out of space in there!

Wedding rings on or off? on for now, but they should be off because my fingers swell over them :/

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy

Weekly Wisdom: drink lots of water, register at the hospital- and pack my hospital bag!

Looking forward to: just having him here!!!!