Preggers I: 33 Weeks

33 Weeks

 

Playing with our kitty baby, while she's still the only baby.

How far along?  33 weeks

How I am feeling?  Well, emotional.  Physically I'm feeling well, but I do notice myself getting overwhelmed, whiny, and emotional suddenly and without warning.

 

How big is baby?  The size of a durian fruit...17.2-18.7 inches, and 4.2-5.8 pounds.

Sleep:  Sleep is my best friend these days, which is sad because there are so many other things I'd rather be doing this time of year BESIDES sleeping.

 

Boy/Girl Prediction:  No prediction.

 

Baby Nicknames:  Pretty much Baby, Jitterbug, Nugget, or Little One

Best moment this week:  This week has been very productive as we've done the following: baby laundry, baby clothes organization, set up our hospital tour, and began packing our hospital bag.  It feels really good to check things off major TO-DO list.

 

Food cravings:  Coconut shrimp, food that is spicy, and cheerios... but I've been trying to eat more hard-boiled eggs for protein rather than my cravings.

Missing:   My usual energy during this time of year, and time to relax and soak in the Christmas season.

 

Movements:  I feel like I write the same thing every week, but I LOVE these baby movements!  Feeling our little one move and kick is my favorite thing in the world.  My favorite times are when I'm stretched out in bed, so the baby has a little more room, and can kick to its heart's content without making me uncomfortable.

Labor Signs:  No.  Thank goodness!

General Attitude:  Focusing on saving as much energy as possible so I can be a great bridesmaid, and wife on Saturday at Chris' brother's wedding in St. Louis.  It's going to be a LOOOONG day, and I'm a bridesmaid, and Hubby is best man.  I'm so excited to be a part of this wedding, so I'm doing everything I can to gear myself up to have all the energy necessary to make it a wonderful day.

What I am looking forward to this week:  It will feel so nice to welcome in Christmas break.  We are going to have a CRAZY busy Christmas vacation, but I'm excited to have a break from work and have a few weeks to focus on family, Hubby and Baby.

Milestones:  Well, I'm not happy about this milestone, but, at the instruction of my husband, I have removed my rings for the duration of my pregnancy.  I have 4 rings I wear every day (my wedding ring, engagement ring, and two small rings that were my sister's), and every day I take off 3 rings and leave my wedding band on all the time.  Well, after church, Hubby saw me struggling to get my 3 rings off, and told me, the time had come to surrender all four of the rings until after the baby arrives.  I'm so bummed about it, because I LOVE my rings... they are each very sentimental to me, and I wear them daily for a reason.  Also, I DID NOT want to be 8 and 9 months pregnant without a wedding band.  So, Hubby and I went to Wal-Mart, and I now have a larger, very simple pregnancy wedding band that will suffice until I can put my beautiful engagement and wedding rings back on.

 

1000 Words

1000 Words

**Note:  These clothes are SO tiny!  I experiencing the exact opposite phenomenon I experienced when Hubby and I were first married.  His clothes seemed so BIG when we were first married -- all those loads of laundry compared to my clothes.  Now, these baby clothes seem SO TINY!  So many little baby clothes fit into one load.

Worth 7 Minutes

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth your time.  Hubby and I were laughing really hard.

Friday Letters: FRIDAY!!!

• Dear Friday, OH FRIDAY!!!  WELCOME!!!  I have been needing you since Monday.  This has been a LOOOONG, hard week.
• Dear Christmas Cards,  This weekend, it's you and me!  You are getting finished and mailed!!!
• Dear Today, I am absolutely savoring today, and this weekend.  One week from today, Hubby and I will be on Christmas break (yay!)... but we will be in St. Louis, running around like crazy for Chris' brother's wedding, up to our ears in family, and probably a little tired.  Not that we are not looking forward to the wedding in St. Louis -- its going to be beautiful... but I am SAVORING TODAY!!!  This is a Friday before a weekend with my hubby.  We get to spend time together, keep preparing our home for baby, enjoy our beautifully decorated Christmas house, and relax!!!
•  Dear Beautifully Decorated Christmas House, I have not bragged about you on my blog yet... time to fix that!

I love our beautiful Christmas tree -- it's real -- chopped down by us in the rocky mountains

I absolutely LOVE this nativity scene -- I keep it up all year long, but I add lights at Christmas

LOOK AT OUR STOCKINGS!!!  We're really going to be a Mama and Daddy!

• Dear Little Baby,  I LOVE feeling you move in my belly!!!  It is the craziest, AWESOMEST thing EVER!  Hubby and I can actually see my belly moving when you move how, and it is crazy -- and awesome!!!  I am going to miss this so much when you're born.
• Dear Tears,  You were really necessary this week.  A few days, things were really hard, until I burst into tears and bawled on my husband's shoulders... then things seemed manageable again. 
• Dear Friday-the-13th, I LOVE THIS DATE!!!
• Dear Lexie, I'm glad that you're liking our little pack-n-play for the baby.  You will have to give this up when the baby arrives.

I covered the pack-n-play and bassinet with a quilt, and Lexie loves the new nest.

• Dear Lloydey, I'm glad you're feeling better after your week of allergic reactions.
• Dear Lord, Thank you for your protection and provision.
• Dear Newest Ornament On Our Tree, You are hard to photograph... but I absolutely love you!  What a wonderful addition to our tree -- Hubby and me with our sports teams, and our teacher's books... and our animals, anticipating our little baby.  I love the life changes that are depicted in our ornaments each year!  :-D

I LOVE this ornament.
Check out LissaLou Designs on Etsy.

He Gives 100%

Here is a disclaimer:  If you ever think my blog is focusing too much on how amazing my husband is, I would recommend your either getting over it, or finding another blog to regularly follow.

That being said, I might have to make a similar disclaimer when the world's most amazing baby arrives into our life... but for now, I don't want to forget these amazing acts by my wonderful husband -- especially in these last days when life is just the two of us.

At several of my bridal showers, women shared recipes and prayers, or recipes and marriage advice.  It has been so nice over these past 2-and-a-half-years to go back and read what these dear friends, and seasoned wives said to me about marriage.

One that I remember off-hand is that marriage is not a 50-50 partnership.  Marriage is both people giving 100% of themselves, 100% of the time.

It's times like now, when my husband's wonderful actions remind me of this quote.

This is our puppy when the left side of his snout started to swell... it got bigger and bigger from here.

Our sweet puppy was bitten by, or ate something that caused a slow-moving allergic reaction.  I first noticed the left side of his nose and snout swelling Tuesday afternoon.  By Tuesday evening, his entire nose was very swollen -- he went from looking like a long-nose lab, to a stout-nose lab.  We spoke with a few vets, and gave him some allergy medicine, and went to sleep.

My hubby woke up about 30 minutes later, when he heard Lloyd scratching, and moving restlessly around, and Lloyd's face was huge, and his eyes were nearly swollen shut.

While I slept soundly, my Hubby decided that he and Lloyd would spend the night in the guest room, so that he could keep an eye on Lloyd's condition, and breathing, without disturbing me throughout the night.  I didn't know what was going on until about 2:00am, when I woke up to the use the restroom, and had no idea where Chris and Lloyd were.  Eventually I found them, and I was so touched that Hubby had prioritized my need for rest and sleep that he, not only monitored Lloyd's condition all night, but did so in our guest room so as not to disturb me.

I later found out that he was up with Lloyd ever two hours because Lloyd was drinking a lot of water to combat the swelling and itching, and needed to go out that often, as a result.  I only hope I behave as unselfishly when I'm on maternity leave, and our baby needs to be up every two hours, and he has work the next day.

I am so fortunate that my husband gives 100% of himself to our marriage 100% of the time.

1000 Words

Preggers I: 32 Weeks

 
How far along?  32 weeks

How I am feeling?  Frankly... uncomfortable.  This week I've had a lot of heartburn, and its been hard for me to catch my breath.  That being said, I am trying to focus on how blessed we are that our baby is healthy and growing.

 

How big is baby?  The size of a jicama or squash... 15.2-16.7 inches and 2.5-3.8 lbs... but I guess pretty big because when I turned sideways for Hubby to take my pregnancy picture this week, he said, "Oh Wow!" -- and I had to try not to burst into tears.  Apparently I look "really pregnant" now.

Sleep:  I'm sleeping pretty well... although I am counting the days until Christmas break so I can get a little more sleep than I do these days.

 

Boy/Girl Prediction:  We're not sure... but we have been called the baby "he" these days...

 

Baby Nicknames:  Pretty much Baby, Jitterbug, or Nugget

Best moment this week:  We are getting ready for our little one.  Hubby and I spent Saturday setting up our crib arrangement in our room, and sorting through shower presents to try to get things organized.  It was wonderful seeing my wonderful handy hubby putting the pack-n-play/bassinet together.

Food cravings:  Food that is spicy, and turkey

Missing:   Life without heartburn... and the ability to walk and talk without becoming short-of-breath.

 

Movements:  Yes!!!  And the baby seems to have grown or changed positions so I'm feeling a LOT of movement in the front of my stomach.  Until this week, most of the big movements have been on the right side... now they're front and center.

Labor Signs:  No.  Thank goodness!

General Attitude:  Excited and but a little stressed about all that needs to get done both before we leave for Christmas with our families, and before the the baby comes.

What I am looking forward to this week:  Having it over... I hate to say that, but work is so crazy trying to get ready for Christmas break and maternity leave.  I guess I'm excited for more baby movements and getting Christmas cards sent out.

Milestones:  I think it was a big milestone putting the crib up in our room.  I also started to pack our hospital bag.  We're getting closer.