36 week appointment

Well, now our weekly doctor appointments are lasting more than 5 minutes and are more than a quick blood pressure check, belly measurement and a listen to the heartbeat. I may have more to post now after the appointments! Yesterday we had our 36 week visit. The nurse and doctor both mentioned how slowly that last month goes during pregnancy. NO KIDDING!!

I had been wanting to ask the doctor about my new symptoms, mostly starting when I noticed that the baby dropped about 3 weeks ago. Obviously increased pressure down lower I know is normal, (sometimes it feels like she is going to fall out when I stand up), but I have also been feeling nauseous again, the cramping comes back occasionally, and I'm having sharp pains in my lower abdomen. She assured me that these are all completely normal, and unfortunately, don't mean anything as far as timing.

Baby's heartbeat was 155 and she said it sounded perfect and strong, and her "little noggin" is still head down and very low. We did the standard Group B Strep test yesterday, and I asked her since we were here, could she check and see if anything was going on yet. I am only 50% effaced and not yet dilated. She said I wouldn't need to finish "knitting any booties" this week, at least, and we'll see again next week. Bummer. I'm ready to see the light at the end of this tunnel!

Two days ago we found out that Steven's friend and his wife had their baby boy. They were about 3 weeks ahead of us, and we have been comparing as we both went along. After 18 hours of labor they ended up doing a cesarean, but everyone is doing well now. I guess that means we're up next!

Maternity Pictures

So Steven and I have been going back and forth about whether or not to do maternity pictures for awhile. While at his work Christmas party, we met one of his coworkers wife who is a photographer and she offered to do our maternity session for us. We had been looking at portrait studios, and thought this might be more our style anyway, so we decided to give it a shot. We did it in the morning, and we were so lucky to get a sunny day right in the middle of gray rainy days. Unfortunately, it was about 38 degrees and WINDY!!! So freezing! We all thought we would get frostbite on our fingers. But we got some good shots. Here are just a couple of our favorites.




She is so nice and I think we made a new friend! She's also going to do our newborn pictures, hopefully during the week after our little girl arrives.

Merry Christmas!

8 months!

We hit the 8 month mark yesterday.


I'm getting bigger every day and I can feel her having less and less room in there. When she moves I feel her pushing out on different sides of me at the same time. I try to imagine what kind of gymnastics are occurring and what her little limbs are doing. I can't wait to actually see her moving after she gets here!

Once again, we had a great time visiting in San Diego. Our "Christmas" with both families was fun, and we enjoyed getting to see everyone. Here we are after our white elephant gift card exchange.


We also got to celebrate our one year anniversary on Sunday. We went out to a nice dinner, and brought with us a piece of our wedding cake that we had been freezing since last December. Believe it or not, Steven was even more exciting to eat THIS cake than the fresh stuff at the wedding! Or maybe not... At dinner they took the cake back to the kitchen and made it look nice for us. And it didn't taste bad at all!


We had been checking the weather all weekend because they had been forecasting snow for us here, and sure enough, this is what we came home to Monday evening...




Stout LOVED it, and Luca was not so sure. Although in most of the backyard, she didn't even weigh enough to step down into it, she just walked on top of it. Stout was rolling around and chasing snowballs like it was the best day of his life.



We were sad to wake up on Wednesday morning to find the rain had melted nearly ALL of it. We have been told not to worry, that it was just a taste of what is to come. We hope so!

We had our last childbirth/parenting class on Wednesday. We made plans for the reunion in March after everyone has had their babies. This is the first thing we have planned for all three of us to attend! How exciting!

So now that "Christmas" is over for us, it's time to concentrate on getting ready for our baby girl's arrival. Although we have a lot ready to go in her room already, there is still much more to do. And the things on our list seem to me like it's too early to start doing, although I keep getting told otherwise. We're wondering if doing things like washing her clothes, packing the hospital bag, and installing the car seat and getting it checked this early is just asking for trouble. Or maybe it's just being prepared?? No more early babies!

I love my husband

Me: "Is it ok to be wandering through Bed Bath and Beyond gnawing on beef jerky?"

Steven: "Yes, you're pregnant."

End of November!

OK, so what's new this week? I had a great time at my shower last week - thanks sister, it was so fun! It was great to see everybody, and we finally got some stuff to put in her room!













We also had fun spending the weekend with family. It's been too long since we have seen Haydon - he is such a little man already! Here he is giving kisses to his cousin. He knows there is a baby in there, he knows her name, and he knows that she is his cousin, but I wonder what he really thinks about the whole situation...


We got the crib all set up with the bedding - I am getting so excited! I can't believe it's almost December! Time is going by so fast! In just a couple of days I will be 30 weeks!


I was looking forward to painting the turkey on my tummy for Thanksgiving, but we didn't get around to it with all the cooking and now decorating for Christmas. Oh well, we'll just have to wait until Christmas for the next piece of artwork.

Yesterday I started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions, which was not exactly fun. They weren't exactly painful, just uncomfortable and made me nervous. I called the doctor after I felt the 3rd one, and he assured me that as far apart as they were, they were nothing to worry about. So that is the newest thing going on with me lately. Other than that, we're all doing well and moving right along! We can't wait for the second trip to SD next week for early Christmas!

7 months!!

Well, tomorrow I will be 28 weeks, which means I have made it to 7 months! There is conflicting information depending on what you read about which week starts the third trimester, but most common is 27 or 28 weeks. Either way, we're there! This is very exciting.


I have been enjoying a lot more kicks and movements. I can feel her rolling around now, which is still a weird feeling to me. When she starts, it almost feels like my stomach muscle is starting to cramp up and I quickly sit up straight to change positions before I realize it's just her stretching and rolling. I love feeling it so much, and I am already starting to think about how much I am going to miss that in a couple of months. For the most part I am feeling pretty good. I get a little uncomfortable sometimes, especially when I am trying to bend over to do laundry or put on my shoes, or anything like that, but I'm still doing well.

Tonight we have our first childbirth class. I'm a little nervous, but excited to learn more, and get things going. Then early tomorrow morning we head to the airport to go to San Diego! It feels like so long since we have been home, and we can't wait to see everyone! We are having an early Thanksgiving, since we obviously won't be back next weekend, and we have our baby shower on Saturday. If possible, I want to try to squeeze in a California burrito that has been calling my name... It should be a fun weekend. I'll try to post some pictures next week.