39 weeks

The comparison of pictures really stops here. That's scary and exciting all at the same time!

Here is a picture of me today, 39 weeks preggo:


39 weeks last time (I guess I was too lazy to get a good pic):


This is the day before I had Stephen, when labor started:



Cute Story-

I took Stephen to MonkeyNAround yesterday. As we were there, a little boy approached me and asked me what I had in my shirt. I told him I had a baby in my belly. He then wanted to lift up my shirt and see. I told him it wasn't polite to lift up other people's shirts. I explained he couldn't see the baby because the baby was inside of my tummy. He was happy with the answer and ran off to play. He then came back and tried to lift my shirt again. I got a kick out of it, so did Beth. I went and told his Mom about his questions. I think she was humored & I told her it made a great pregnancy story for me. At least he wasn't asking me if I was going to have twins! LOL!

Stephen seems to be giving up his nap. The timing certainly is not perfect! Perhaps all the change and all the company and disruption to the daily routine will take him back to a nap...
Most days I am Okay because he will stay in his room and do quiet time. Sometimes it's annoying because I feel a little schizo trying to get things done as fast as I can.
I do have the house pretty clean...I am very happy with the condition it is currently in. I just need to maintain from this point forward..

If baby comes later today, or tomorrow I can say:

Before Joshua came, Stephen and I went to Moms group at church. Stephen actually asked to go with the kids today!!!! ???? Then, we left early to meet Larisa at the Cheesecake Factory downtown in the Galleria. Stephen was a gentleman during the meal and was very interested in Elodie's routine, Larisa's baby. Then, I took Stephen to the Disney store. He was SO excited. We got to ride the escalator. As we got to the bottom, he saw the neon Mickey Mouse ears and ran to the store, chirping the whole way. We had a good time. We bought a Mickey Mouse cash register, mickey mouse shorts, a birthday present for him (which he didn't see), and a Goofy and Lightening McQueen kid's cup.

Things that are more interesting

When you get really pregnant, certain normal day activities get a little more interesting.

Here are some examples:


While washing the dishes, my belly actually hangs over into the sink a little. So, I have to be careful not to soak my shirt.


If I am cooking a meal that requires the use of several stove top burners, I have to be careful about my belly touching the front burner while I am working with something on the back burner.


I currently have to press a little into my belly with my left arm to achieve good hand position, embouchure and posture while playing bassoon.


Some other things that I have not taken pictures of:
*hugging Sean position
*carrying Stephen
*weeding the garden
*shaving legs in the shower
*cleaning the shower
*trying to get into the bounce houses at places such as JumpNJungle
*opening doors...like the refrigerator....I keep hitting my belly
*getting into and out of any car that we own

38 weeks

WOW!
Are you having twins?

These are the things I hear constantly....
that means it's almost time!

This pregnancy:


Last pregnancy:


The belly button is disappearing and the stretch marks are appearing. I was going to try and capture the belly button and photoshop out the stretch marks...but...who has time for that? This is REAL:

37 weeks

Full term by the medical definition! Can you believe it? By looking at my latest belly pic, it is visually clear I am full term.

This pregnancy 37 weeks:


37 weeks last pregnancy:


This week I have had many friends have their babies! Everyone who got a BFP (for those of you not on the internet a lot, BFP stands for Big Fat Positive, refering to a pregnancy test positive) right before me has now had their baby. I am next in line.

I have mixed emotions at this point, just like any pregnant woman. I look forward to meeting this baby. I look forward to revisiting life with a baby. On the other hand, I look forward to losing the belly. And just as I say that, I think to myself, I enjoy being pregnant and will miss that I don't plan to travel this road again. Well, I miss the late 2nd trimester part of being pregnant. The part where people can tell you are pregnant, yet, you still have energy and feel pretty comfortable and can feel the baby moving. Late 3rd trimester is not something I will miss. LOL!

I am mostly scared about the lack of sleep headed my way. I don't do sleepless nights well. I am a person in need of 8 hrs a night.

Okay. Rambling has begun.

Just to have it in my blog for memories later:

The biggest discomfort I have is in my pelvic area. This pregnancy I am most comfy sleeping on my right side. However, when I need to rollover, my pelvic area really, really hurts. The other night, something popped down there, which is not uncommon. It's scary and it hurts. I look forward to solid hips again!

First doctor's exam is tomorrow!

In Memorium

My first job was at Hamilton middle school. One day as I was driving to work on Beltway 8, I noticed there was a cat sitting on the concrete wall that separated north bound and south bound traffic. I ended up taking the next exit, turning around, and going to the cat. As I drove up to the cat, I noticed there was blood on the wall he was sitting on. I was scared. The traffic was whizzing by pretty quickly, the shoulder of the road was thin, and there was blood. However, I couldn't leave the cat there. I also didn't want to pick up the cat through the window because I didn't want cat guts to fall out on me in my work outfit or in my car. So, I got out of the car. The cat ran under my car. I was scared the cat was going to run through traffic and get hit right in front of me. However, he didn't run, so, I pulled him out by his tail. I put him in my trunk...because, again, I didn't know how badly he was hurt.

I drove back towards work because I knew there was a vet clinic next door to my school. I had not lived in the area long enough to know where the vets were. The cat was meowing in the trunk, and then stopped. I got scared that he died in my trunk. When I arrived at the vet, I opened the trunk to an alive cat. I dropped him off & went to work. The vets office took him in and loved him. They said he was a great cat. They explained that instead of freaking out in the office like most cats, he purred. He only really needed some stitches in his foot and maybe a few other things. They said the injury might have been because he fell out of a car, got sucked out of a sunroof...or something similar. However, the injury was minor. The vet office only charged me for half of the work because I was doing a rescue. I took him home and was unsuccessful in finding his owners. He became our Butler, our second cat.

Today, nearly 8 years later, we had to put Butler (or "Booger" as Stephen says) to sleep.

Butler had diagnosed thyroid failure and kidney failure. He went from 15 pounds to lower than 5 pounds. For months we wondered when his end would be. He hung in there very strongly through the disease, enough that we could not justify putting him to sleep. However, on Saturday he got out of the house and fell into the storm drain. We lost him, we didn't know where he was. We decided to call the animal shelter looking for him & sure enough, he was there. The fall and the trip to the shelter proved to be too much for the strength he had left. We brought him home and said our good-byes.

God is good because we had a chance to say good-bye. We were scared that he had disappeared and we would not see him again. Also, Sean had taken the day off of work because he wasn't feeling well & this gave us the chance to take care of Butler and appropriately address this situation with Stephen. Also, this has all happened before the baby is born.

We predict the Butler was somewhere around the age of 19. The picture on this post is him when he was a healthy, thriving cat. He was big. I want to remember him as big because in his last day, he was not big. He also was the only cat that loved company. He let everyone pet him & he was not terrified of vet offices. He was a great cat. He was the type of cat that would purr after being pulled off of Beltway 8.

36 weeks

Comparison shot

This pregnancy 36 weeks


Last pregnancy 36 weeks (same shirt)



hmmmm....
I don't know if I am bigger or not.
The doctor did not measure my belly on Monday.
I certainly look more like I am OUT more. I have a little diving board instead of a basketball...


What I do know:
Stephen was 8 lbs, 4 ounces.
I look huge when I get to the end of pregnancy. I did last time, too.
It is not shocking to me that everyone thinks this baby is coming tomorrow. I do look big.
When I got to the hospital last pregnancy, the doctor, who is not my doctor, asked if my doctor had done an ultrasound to check the size of the baby. When I said that he had not because he had been out of town, she said, "well, either you are having a big baby or you have a lot of fluid."
I had an 8lb+ baby and the nurses made a comment about a lot of fluid when they broke my water.
So-it just looks like I am going down the same road.
I have gained exactly the same amount of weight, but, I think I have avoided fat around my body. Chub rub is less & I haven't gotten a back roll this time. My bbs have also maintained. Geez-I hope that doesn't mean a BIGGER, bigger baby.

Quite honestly, the more I write in this post and "preview" the pics, I am getting more and more worried this baby is going to be huge.

My next doctor appt is Friday. That will be my first exam. Ugh. I am going to have to get a belly measurement from him since I didn't get one on Monday. Oh-I had a 5 lb weight gain between appointments (3 weeks), too! AHHH! It's going to be a big baby, huh?? I hope he looks like a newborn...it's just kind of freaky to see big newborns that look like some small toddlers.

Good news! Stephen and I are healthy! Please pray we stay this way!!!! Stephen has been really difficult, but, his sleeping has increased. Now I know I had an overtired child. So, the more he sleeps in and takes great naps, the better his attitude becomes. I hope I have my happy, jolly little guy when Joshua comes into the world. I look most forward to introducing Stephen to his brother and I will be crushed if the moment isn't perfect.

The Sickness Goes On

Last night Sean and I ordered new living room furniture! It will be SO nice when it comes! The furniture is supposed to arrive around May 24th. Baby Joshua is due May 22nd. We'll see which comes first! LOL!

Last night Sean and I ordered furniture and had a date. We got a phone call from Sean's parents that Stephen got a fever: 102. So, we're still on this sickness road. He hasn't had a fever since Wednesday morning, but, the congestion had not cleared. SO? Possibly an infection has set in? I still haven't seen anything green. So-I have a doctor's appt tomorrow & it looks like Stephen will also have a doctor's appt. tomorrow. The doctors are in the same building on the same floor, so, with any luck at all I will be able to get back-to-back appts.

We are trying to do anything and everything to keep Stephen semi-happy. He is NOT happy. He says "I don't want...." alot. He has no patience. He wants up, he wants down, he wants grape juice, no...orange juice. He wants water, but not THAT water, he wants the green cup...it's been hard.

Here are some pics from today:
We went on a bike ride to change the scenery & get out of the house


35 weeks, 3 days pregnant on a bike:


Naptime didn't last long in his big boy bed. So, once he calmed down again, Stephen gets a little more sleep next to Daddy & in front of the TV.

35 weeks pregnant

I am 35 weeks pregnant today. Wow. We are at the very end. The ticker I created at the beginning of this pregnancy on this blog has crept all the way over to the other side. There is not much time left...but then again...there is a month left. So close, yet, so far away.

Here is my picture from today. The belly is there in all of it's hugeness.

Last pgcy 35 weeks:





At this point I could complain about how un-free my body feels. I could comment on how SLOW I walked my workout this morning because of the soreness down there...BUT, today I am so thankful that I am healthy. I have spent the last week completely and totally sick with a nasty chest cold. My energy was zapped. I started getting it on Wednesday and got the fever Wednesday night. The fever didn't break until Saturday night. On Sunday I was able to conduct handbells, but had to immediately go home and lay down. Yesterday the sick head feeling finally went away & today is the first day I have made it through without absolutely crashing for a nap...no choice. So, even being 35 weeks pregnant, I feel like I have tons of energy...LOL!

Nursery Prep

Alrighty! Here are some pictures of the nursery.
All things are sewn and put into place!



The crib quilt is what is hanging on the side. I am proud of myself for doing this applique! Thanks to my Mom for making the crib sheet! Those are monkeys in the pattern.






This is what you see when you walk into the room. The table is a dumpster-diving find that we painted! I am excited that I will have a table next to the rocking chair this time around! I will have somewhere to put my water, reading material, and possible notebook for log keeping.

Sibling Class

After my last blog post, Sara L. wrote me and asked me if I was planning on taking Stephen to the hospital's sibling class. At that point I looked into it & found out the class was the next day! Shew! I couldn't go this month or next month, so, I sent Sean with Stephen to the sibling class. Stephen was the youngest at the class, apparently. However, he was able to come home and tell me some things that happened. It was a good trip. He definately has the idea that Mommy will go to the hospital and baby Joshua will come home after that trip. They sent Stephen home with a goodie bag that has been priceless. It had a fist-sized beach ball in it that Stephen played with nearly all day. He blew it up, deflated it, repeated.... Also, we played several games of keep away with it.

Pictures from the class that I had Sean take because I was sad to miss it. They were learning to swaddle a baby:

Big Brother

You may think that this was staged, but it really wasn't. I was lucky enough to have the camera nearby when Stephen started doing this stuff. If it was staged-I would have wiped the peanut butter off of his face.

Stephen started practicing with a "baby" today. I think we ended up in the baby room for a diaper change & he just stayed in there and played. When I came back to check on him, he was having a grand time playing with the "baby" and was talking about baby Joshua.

SO CUTE! I should have run the video camera.


Notice the stool in the back of this picture. I did show him how to work the controls. I was surprised he wanted the music off. He usually wants music on everywhere.


Oops! I forgot to take out the red eye! He was putting baby in the the bouncy chair. This is what he was doing when I first discovered him.


Baby wanted to be rocked apparently.



I think this picture is priceless. Here I sit....rocking this baby....again. You just wonder what he's thinking. His expression brings back so many memories of me rocking him for the 1000th minute trying to bring sleep on or something...

33 weeks

So, after two weeks of being lazy, this week I DID take the belly pic. OMG I can't believe how big my belly looks in these pictures!! Wow! I did a double take myself!

Pregnancy feelings:
Crotch soreness continues
Rolling over at night is very difficult
Mexican food is evil
Gain: 22 pounds
Working out makes me feel great, but self motivation and drive is dwindling, yet there are so many things to get done! Starting to feel overwhelmed....

Pictures taken today:



Picture from last pregnancy, 33wks, 2days:

Baby Shower

Beth, my sister-in-law looking glamourous. The clothes pins are part of the, "do not say the word baby" game.

My Mom and I.


Me and my in-laws.


The hostesses of the shower

Thank-you to my friends for giving me and Emily a baby shower! I had such a great time. It really makes me feel like this is really happening. This little guy inside of me is really going to come out and really need clothes and diapers and wipes...oh my!

Great Doctor's Appointment

Today I went to the doctor. After 3 doctor's appointments with weight gain "concerns", I finally had a "great job!" appointment. I gained two pounds in three + weeks. Sweet. I do expect that I gained more, but that I weighed heavily on the scale at my last appointment, making this appointment seem smaller. The doctor told me I "wasn't in trouble" this time. He jokes, and really, no one has even been really concerned about my weight. BUT-the last gains haven't been easy for me to mentally digest because I want to be a semi-competitive triathlete sometime after this ordeal. I am up to a total of 22 pounds at 32wks and 4 days. When I asked the nurse how that compares to my gain with Stephen, she looked back & it is exactly the same as my gain with Stephen. I am happy with that, I gained right at 30 pounds with Stephen. I will tell you, however, that I am in much better shape this time, though. I also started this pregnancy nine pounds lighter.

Other news:
*my blood pressure was 100/60...so, working out is helping the cardio system.
*belly measured a week small, again. Maybe I won't have a 9+ poound baby?!? As long as he's healthy....
*he's laying in me diagonally right now, which may be the reason for the pressure I feel on my left pelvic area.

Easter

We had a great Easter. It was busy and fun!

Easter Egg painting the Friday before Easter.


Daddy playing with Stephen in the sandbox the Easter Bunny brought.


Picture at church. I had to wear all black since I performed in 2 services.



Mommy checking out what Stephen has in his basket during the pre-dinner egg hunt. This picture rocks! You can't even tell I am 31 weeks pregnant! Right?!?


The boys and their boys at the pre-dinner Easter egg hunt.

Can You See Me?

This morning I was playing with Stephen after breakfast while Daddy cleaned stuff up in the kitchen. I was pretending to sit on him and tickling him. He was having a good time and started getting a little rowdy. At one point, he moved to the couch in the living room. I was sitting on the chair's ottoman and had my back to the couch, so, I couldn't see him. Since I am as pregnant as I am, I wasn't moving quickly to our next location of play with him. Then his little voice rang out, "Mommy! Can you see me?"


I replied, "no honey, I can't see you. I don't have eyes on the back of my head."

After a moment, I turned my head around to see him. My little turkey was getting ready to jump on the couch, which he knows is against the rules! So, he made sure I couldn't see him before he broke the rules! Wow. Things are changing around here!

So...this time I ran over and tickled Stephen until he was laughing really hard. Smart little stinker.

First Easter Egg Hunt of the Season

First off, I am 30 wks and 1 day pregnant today. Here's my latest belly picture. I am wearing a summer shirt because we are expecting record highs today. We may get up to 85 degrees today. It's not looking like it's going to be a cool summer to help with the post partum sweats for me or Beth's 3rd trimester!


Today we went on our first Easter Egg hunt for the season with my social mom's group. Here is a picture of some of Stephen's friends.



Stephen was a pretty good egg hunter this year. Last year he was very good with the routine. Pick up an egg, put it in the basket, move on. This year he was pretty interested to see what was in the egg...so, it slowed us down some. Good thing he has a stay-on-task Mom to keep him moving! LOL!

Active, Active

I am a little tired today. Usually I take many belly pics to get the "right" one and fully plan the outfit...but, today, not so much. Two pics, publish and go!

29 weeks today!


The changing of the belly button. My button was looking like it was going to be flattened, but today started protruding a little. Will it pop out? We shall see! I did B&W, so, you can't see that the brown pigment is starting to come. I got THE line last time, so, we'll see if it makes a return this time...it's looking likely.


29wks 4 days preggo with Stephen:


This baby is an active little boy in my body. He really is having his own little party in there sometimes.
I think we have decided on a name. It's two days old as a decision, so, still pretty new...but....drumroll....Joshua Thomas. It's biblical, we like the nicknames, and it sounds cool. Thomas is Sean's Grandfather's name that passed away in November.

3rd trimester hits

OMG the 3rd trimester stuff hit me like a ton of rocks this weekend.

I decided to mow the lawn. I should not have done that. Afterwards, I went to the plant nursery and bought flowers and mulch and did all this great stuff in my backyard. Then, on Sunday afternoon, I had BH everytime I stood up. I started getting worried & just sat. This morning my SIL and I went on a walk & BH started up instantly. However, they did go away half way through the walk. I drank 2+, almost 3 bottles of water before starting..so, dehydration isn't it.

As I am sitting here, my shoes are tight, so my feet must be swelling in them. Vacuuming the house caused a serious sweat. sigh. At the library today, both of my feet fell asleep because I was sitting on the floor with Stephen. Lovely. On the cute side of things, I think I can feel a little baby bottom pushing into my right rib right now. I can rub my belly and distinctly feel what is baby and what is tummy.

My rear is starting to look a little big and the scale is leaping for joy at some extra weight on it. I am trying to make better choices with food right now. I am going to try soda once a week and only a small portion of chocolate (or any dessert for that matter) after dinner...so, only once a day. I am filling sugar cravings with fruit, will try tea for caffeine cravings.

So, I was really proud of myself for being so active & I thought it would really help me re-coop faster post baby & stay better while preggo. But, I think I got my reality call. Pregnancy just poofs your body up. I am going to try my class at the gym tomorrow still...I really hope to keep some sort of workout program until 36-37 wks pregnant. We'll see. Most importantly, I want this baby to be happy growing in my body for at least 10-11 more weeks. I can hit the triathlon business again with time. I can also use this time to train my eating so I can have an athletic body later.

I would also love this baby to have a name soon. I am working with Sean on it. Did you know there is a Felix in the bible? We're not going to go with Felix-but I don't think I had absorbed that name as biblical before...I think I was reading the book of Acts when I came across it.