{Baby} 34 Weeks!

Time is flying by! We are just a few weeks shy of our due date and I think it's finally hitting us that we are going to be parents in a very short amount of time. Yay! This is not my favorite picture of me or baby, but we were a little rushed the other night so we didn't have time to get lighting and such "perfect" for the photo. But, I think that is the perfect description of our lives right now, BUSY BUSY as we try to get everything ready for our little girl to come into the world, all while doing our family room remodel. Life never slows down!

But, we are so blessed. Michael took an evening or so to paint the nursery (something which I was unable to do due to fumes and not climbing on a ladder), which was a HUGE help to me and being able to nest. I can take care of all the last little details, like framing and hanging pictures, steam cleaning our rocking chair, cleaning the last of the baby stuff, washing the baby clothes, putting up curtains, etc. I love how the nursery is turning out. Each time I walk past it, I just take a moment to pause and look in, imagining what it is really going to be like with a little girl in there. I think it's going to be a perfect little wonderland for her and a space she can call her own and grow into. How enriched our lives are and will increase to be when she makes her entrance into our everyday!

All that being said, I am SO much more tired than I was before in the pregnancy and I have some uncomfortableness to add into the mix. It's a bit hard for me to tell myself to stop when I'm in the middle of something and rest (because I'm just a "push through it and get it done" kind of gal), but I am forced to stop periodically because I tire so easily. So, I spend a good bit of time lying on my side on the bed or couch throughout the day. And that gives me time to practice my "surge breathing" from our Hypnobirthing class. It really is amazing how relaxing it is to just focus on breathing in the middle of the Braxton-Hicks. Proof that Hypnobirthing is a method that works. My only hope is that everything will develop in a way, related to labor, that I will be able to utilize what I (and Michael) have learned from the class.

Our doctor continues to hear a very healthy little heartbeat each appointment and just smiles each time she hears it. I really love Dr. Hebert. She is amazing as a doctor and so brilliant, but even better is seeing her love and excitement for us and our baby. You can tell that she LOVES what she does and enjoys every moment of it. She leaned over my belly the other day and talked to baby girl, saying, "Way to go baby girl, you made it to the milestone of 34 weeks! Now, just stay in there for at least 3 more weeks and we'll all be happy!" I love that we have a doctor who has such a great bedside manner. And, she assured us that even with her high caseload, no matter when we have the baby it is almost completely certain that she will be the one to deliver. How awesome is that? But, if she just happens to not be the doctor to deliver, the entire IMC OB-Gyn practice is so incredibly unified and helpful, that we are in great hands otherwise. She told us, "that's the kind of practice a doctor wants to be in, and that you want to be a patient of...one where all the doctors help each other out in a time of need."

And, as we've been asked a gazillion (slight overstatement?) times, we are still undecided on a name for baby girl. We have a list of favorites going, that we rotate around every so many days, but we are sure that we will not give her a name until we meet her. I have a feeling of what the name will end up being, but that being said, we may look at her and say, "Nope, she's definitely not a (name)...she looks more like a (name)!" Either way, whatever we end up naming her will be beautiful and perfect for her!

The baby showers are going to start next weekend (January 4) and I can't wait to see all the cute stuff that we will receive from people. So many have already been so generous, so I almost can't imagine how much more we can be blessed, but I know how kind everyone is. No matter what we get, or don't get, we can't wait for our daughter to be here! All in all, we know that what she just really needs is us to be there. All the extra stuff is just stuff when it comes down to what really matters. It reminds me of a great quote that I absolutely loved from one of the episodes of Call the Midwife. One mother was worrying about having everything ready for her coming baby, and she was talking about her worries with an older male friend on the show. He basically said, "all that matters is proximity". I loved that perspective. Children won't remember or care about all the "things" you bought for them, but what determines a good relationship and what is most precious is being there in the best way possible for them. Being able to talk to each other about important things, being a parent (not just a friend), and simply loving them. If a child knows they can trust you and they feel secure, I feel like you can't go wrong.

Anyway, I'm getting mushy here! Not too uncommon for my almost full-term prego self. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I will have to do a post very soon about our Christmas and how we spent it together. It was a nice and relaxing time :)

{Baby} 31 Weeks!

Well, everyone, we're definitely into the 3rd trimester by now! Now it really feels like time is flying. My belly is getting bigger and bigger each day and feels pretty tight as if my skin is thinking it can't stretch anymore, but I know it still has lots to grow. I still have a belly button, albeit a very small one. I'm pretty sure it won't be too long before that decides to flatten out, then possibly pop. That will be the sign that this baby girl is ready to come out and meet her parents!

We are getting excited for her arrival, all the while gearing up for Christmas and working on finishing our big family room remodel. We still have lots to do before she gets here, and this mommy is starting to feel the pressure a bit. I've started cleaning all the baby stuff we've been so generously given by friends and family members, and I'm hoping to start really putting the nursery together in the next week or so! I just hope she decides to not come too early or anything, because I still have so much to prepare for her entrance into the world and our lives.

Baby girl is growing perfectly well, as she has throughout this entire pregnancy and I'm still right on track with my weight gain (such a blessing). I passed the glucose screening with flying colors, so no gestational diabetes for me! Thank goodness, because I had to take it the morning after Halloween, which meant I only allowed myself 2 tiny candy bars to munch on, so as not to skew the test results. It seemed to have worked and I made it through sipping that really sweet and syrupy drink. Not so much yucky, just REALLY sweet. Glad that's over!

Michael and I registered at Target for the baby registry the other day and I went to Babies R Us to register for a few items we couldn't get at Target. One being the car seat and stroller I really wanted. The highest rated, safest, and "best" car seat of the year is the Graco SnugRide 35 and Target didn't carry them in store, so I wanted to make sure to get that on a registry somewhere. And the fact that Babies R Us had an amazing car seat/stroller combo (the stroller folds with one little lift of 1 hand in 1 second, how awesome is that?), I knew I needed to register for it there. Can't believe that we're so close to actually being able to use all this wonderful stuff we've been given, and I'm sure will be given at our baby showers. People are really so kind and generous!

We've started going to OB-GYN appointments every 2 weeks, instead of 4 now, and are fully fledged into our birthing class, along with getting recommendations from our OB for great pediatricians. Baby girl is a mover and talking with our doctor the other day, I told her that I haven't had to do any kick counts because of how much this baby moves! Dr. Hebert said she was the same with both her pregnancies and that there is no such thing as too much movement from the baby in the womb, so just another sign that our little girl is super healthy! By the way, she really loves to wiggle and seems to get the hiccups at night, which is funny as I try to go to sleep. This tiny repetitive thump feeling is cute, but sometimes I just have to tell her, "I love you, but seriously? Could you please stop hiccuping so I can go to sleep?" I think she is going to have a mind of her own, and will probably give me a run for my money. Love it.

Lastly, I am so much more tired now and have to sit down after standing or doing anything "strenuous" (which is not strenuous at all) for a little while. Sleep is becoming interesting and I find that I'm just HOT and uncomfortable throughout the night. Poor Michael, he's so patient with me and lets me put pillows all around, encroaching on his bed space. He's a good man and so kind and sweet to me, helping me pick things up or reach them. Or, the other night, he helped my get my socks on my feet because I just didn't want to try and bend over to do it. That is true love right there, as he loves to pamper me and makes sure I take it easy. I love him more and more each day and am so glad he is my husband and the father of my child (and future children)!