38 weeks

Happy Halloween!

10/30/10 Baby Doctor Appointment Stats

*Total weight gain to date: 29 pounds

*Blood Pressure: 110/60

*Fundal Height: 34 cm

*Fetal Heart rate: 135 bmp

* I really didn't lose a pound last week, they just weighed me on a different scale

Baby Daddy

I don't even know where to begin with this post about my most fabulous husband. He has been so sweet my entire pregnancy. In the beginning he would make me food that I ended up not being able to eat then make me something else and keep trying until we found the stuff I could stand. He would make dinner and then do the dishes even when I said I would do them. I let me be lazy and put my feet up while he did a lot of the housework and heavy lifting. He would always bring me whatever I needed or make whatever my heart desired. He didn't care what it was so long as I was eating!

He has gone to every single doctor appointment (except one due to work) and has taken an active role in asking questions that I forget about. It's so reassuring to have him there. Then I don't have to relay information and get things wrong or forget to tell him something. I especially like that we get to hear the heartbeat together every time.

He was a little apprehensive about our Bradley courses but he settled right in and participated just like the other guys. I enjoyed our Tuesday nights together. It always sparked baby conversations of what ifs and thens, our hopes for labor and delivery, etc.

We have had so much fun preparing for our little one and I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else in the entire world. He is going to be to most wonderful daddy any child could hope for and I so look forward to the first moments when he gets to hold our little miracle. I know our lives will be changed forever with just one look into those big eyes.

I asked him to take me on one last date before the baby came so he took me to dinner and a movie this evening. We saw Life as We Know It...it was so cute, thanks for taking me to a chick flick babe! Then we went to Mahogany for dinner. My only request for this date was I wanted a steak so he decided we would go to Mahogany since that's where he asked me to marry him 4 years ago this December. I enjoyed telling our waitress why we were there. This is truly a special time in our lives and I'd shout it from the rooftops if I could!

Babe, I love you so very much and I am so excited about the new adventure we are about to embark on. Thank you for being there for me and putting up with me the last 9 months. I hope it was all worth it to you. You have been so sweet and supportive and I couldn't have asked for more. I can't wait to meet our little miracle. I love you and baby loves you too. Love, your baby momma!

37 weeks...Watermelon!!

Wow! 37 weeks...I can't believe it. Baby is term today and can arrive anytime between now and November 25th. So no matter what, we will meet Baby Bright within the next 5 weeks. Did I say I can't believe it yet?? I'm feeling fairly prepared but nervous of the unknown. We've had our classes, the nursery is ready for a baby and I'm most certainly ready to have my personal space back! Not that I haven't enjoyed every moment of carrying this little miracle and wouldn't trade it for anything, I'm just ready to meet baby and stop being pummeled from the inside out! I think BB is itching to get out as my pregnancy draws to a close. Sometimes I think s/he is going to pop right out of the front of my belly. This kid has one strong leg for sure. Thank goodness my ribs and lungs are intact. I'm very fortunate this baby has stayed curled in a little ball...I can't imagine the discomfort of a foot being shoved in my ribs considering how it feels when it's just pushing against my side. I am also very thankful I have had no swelling or stretch marks. I check every night thinking 'this will be the night I find the one little mark that will set off the hundreds to come'. But every night, much to my surprise I can't find any. And my belly button seems to want to stay pretty flat but we've got 3 weeks to go so we'll see about that one.

I started my third trimester still feeling great; coming off the high of the second trimester I suppose. But a few weeks in, boy did it hit me. I've never been so exhausted in my whole life. I could have slept for days considering just how tired I was. Making a baby really takes it out of you! And then the heartburn and backaches came. I feel sorry for Chris who deals with heartburn on a regular basis. I've been eating Tums like they were candy! And I've gotten much use out of my new heating pads. I'm glad I have one at work because there were a few weeks there I may not have made it without it!! My back has gotten a little better the last week or so and hopefully it stays that way.

My Braxton-Hicks contractions have definitely increased the last three weeks so I know my body is starting to prepare for labor. They don't hurt at all; they're just very strange. My belly gets as hard as a rock and all contorted for about a minute! I'm sure BB really appreciates them. I can't wait for the real thing...just one step closer to meeting baby.

So many things have happened in the last 3 months no wonder time has flown by. We still have a ton to do so thank goodness there are a few baby-free weekends left. I'm still baffled that it's almost over. It feels like yesterday we were still trying and now we're so close to meeting our little miracle.

Overall, my third trimester has been great...despite my complaining a little. I have been blessed with a wonderful pregnancy and pray for the same in labor and delivery.

 



Group B Strep...yep you heard me

We had a doctor appointment this morning and got to meet Pauline, another one of the midwives in the practice, since Ann was going to be out of town during our regular Friday appointments.  She opened my chart and asked if we had talked to Ann yet about being positive for Group B Strep.  I said, "I'm sorry, what??"  I told her that Ann's medical tech had called me and said I was negative.  I was so excited to have tested negative and this news changes everything for us.  It was very obvious as Pauline showed us the three places it was written in the chart.  So, rather than be able to labor at home as long as possible, I now have to go to the hospital right away if my water breaks and pretty quick if I go into labor without my water breaking.  They want to be able to administer two rounds of antibiotics within 4 hours of delivery.  So Pauline said I need to have at least a four and a half hour labor...gotcha!!  We will have to stay in the hospital for 48 hours for monitoring of both me and the baby which is fine but I'm still upset about being positive for GBS.  And I'm really angry at the tech.  How do you get that wrong?  I wonder if she told someone else they were positive when they weren't.  I plan on talking to Ann about it at our visit next Friday.  This isn't the first time I've been less than impressed with this tech and this was the final straw.  Sorry but it's medical, not for fun.

10/20/10 Baby Doctor Appointment Stats

*Total weight gain to date: 24 pounds

*Blood Pressure: 116/60

*Fundal Height: 35 cm

*Fetal Heart rate: 135 bmp

* I lost 1 pound but it's common for weight gain to taper off

Massages and Nursery Rhymes

My mom and Michael came to visit this weekend.  Michael had a soccer game Saturday morning so we went to cheer on his team.  After the game, my mom, Chris and I went to USA Baby to order the nursery chair.  I can't believe I waited so long to order it.  I am glad I wasn't hasty since we decided on a completely different chair than the one I had picked out when we ordered our furniture in July.  I really wanted the brown swirly fabric but Chris wasn't a big fan and my mom convinced me that going with 100% cotton was a much better choice.  So we got the Rena chair in Bark; it's brown but has a little green in it.  The fabric is really thick so it should be durable through the years.  The chair is super comfy.  It feels like it has an extra pillow on it without having to deal with an extra pillow.  And it's big enough for me, baby and the two animals that will want to be a part of chair time I'm sure!  I can't wait for it to come in.  They told me 4-5 weeks which is really pushing it so hopefully it will be here before the baby.

After we ordered the chair, Chris went on to Norman to go to the OU game with Tonya, Anil and his dad...lucky!!  My mom and I ran to Wal-Mart to get some tubs and closet organizers so we could start on the baby's room.  We started organizing all the wonderful gifts I've received into piles.  It was nice to see the floor again.  We had tons of laundry to do and we had Michael take all the tags off the toys.  The toys alone filled up an entire bin.  It was so fun to hang out with my mom in nursery all evening.  We got so much done.

The next day we went to Renaissance Spa for a mid-morning massage.  I got to use my gift certificate from my girls at work to get a pregnancy massage.  Please sir, may I have some more??  It was absolutely amazing.  I got to lay on my belly on a specially designed pillow.  I would have laid there for the entire time...they didn't even have to give me a massage!  For the time I was on my belly I didn't feel pregnant at all.  It was amazing.  The massage was just the topper!  We plan on going back after the baby is born.

After our pampering, we went to Babies'R'Us and Target to exchange some duplicate items I received and get some new stuff.  Then we spent the rest of the day finishing up the nursery.  We were exhausted when we finished but it looks great and I'm so excited to finally have a real nursery.  Now I just need table lamps, curtains and something for the walls.  We're almost there!!

The decor on the hutch is still a work in progress

Such a cute drawer!

Blankies!

Got diapers?

Nice and Organized...for now!

Can't wait to read all these books to Baby Bright

Super soft blanket...I might steal it!

My mom found a crib skirt that matches perfectly

36 weeks

Baby Shower, take three 10^10^10

I decided I wanted to celebrate baby Bright with my ladies from OKC so Tonya and Anna threw me another baby shower on 10/10/10 at Tonya's house in Norman. Anna was so excited as her and Tonya were planning the details so I knew it was going to be a wonderful afternoon. My mom and Nana came down Sunday morning to take me to Norman. I am so glad they were there with me. We got to Tonya's around 1:45 and the house looked great. They had cute decorations and the spread looked delicious. I was so excited for people to start showing up. Unfortunately not many people could make it but Julie, Tammy, Stacie and Autumn were there and it was so fun to spend a few hours with them. As they arrived, Tonya had them fill out advice cards and also gave me a scrapbook to put the cards in. It was a really sweet gift. We all went to the patio to eat and chat until it started sprinkling so back inside we went to play a couple of games. We started with the ribbon game which proved to be just as funny as it was at my Saturday baby shower. Most everyone guessed way too big! Julie had a competitive advantage for sure since she is due with her second little boy on 11/7...it's so fun we have the same baby bump...so she measured herself. She ended up being the closest and it was interesting to me to see how much bigger she was even though she is only a week ahead of me. I'm so excited for her and her family. After the ribbon game, we played a nursery rhyme game...man do we all need to study our nursery rhymes before baby Bright gets here! Even though I didn't do very well, it was fun thinking about all the books baby Bright and I will be reading together! After the games, I got to open presents. I received some really great stuff and feel like I'm one step closer to being ready for baby.

Thank you so much to Tonya and Anna for putting together this very special day for Baby Bright and me. I know you put in a lot of work, time and thought to the day, I'm just sad more people weren't able to come and enjoy it. I had a wonderful time and couldn’t have asked for more. You two are so sweet and I know you both will be the best Auntie's to Baby Bright.



My sweet hostesses

Cute decorations

Floral arrangement with special suprises inside

Diaper cake with a rubber ducky topper

The spread of absoluelty delicious food

Buggy cake to match the inivation

Dining on the beauitful patio

I really do have some wonderful women in my life

I am so fortunate

Autmn and Stacie...my sweet girls from work

Julie and me with our baby bumps

Tammy...my boss from Aduddell

Ma and GranNana



Baby Shower, take two 10^9^10

From the day I told them I was pregnant, Aunt Janice and Amber have been so excited to throw a baby shower for Baby Bright and me. I requested 10/9/10 of course...you know me and my crazy number infatuation! I was so excited when I got the invitation in the mail. I absolutely loved the wording. It couldn't be more perfect. This day has been a long time coming and I'm so excited it's finally here. So Anna and I got on the road this morning and headed east bound. We had a great time chatting the whole way there and I am so glad she came with me. It really made the day even better. We stopped by Peek-a-boo baby in Tulsa and then had lunch at Panera. We got to the shower with little time to spare as we were still getting ready as people were showing up. Hey, I can be fashionably late to my own party right?? Aunt Janice and Amber did such an amazing job making the house welcoming to my guests. The food looked beautiful and was so tasty. The cake was adorable and matched the invitation perfectly.  It was so fun to get everyone together to shower Baby Bright with love.  After everyone grabbed some grub, we played the ribbon game.  It was funny to see how big everyone thought I was.  And let me tell you, some of those ladies are in t-r-o-u-b-l-e!  As Tonya put it, she was measuring based on how big she thought I would get!  Aunt Kathy and Aunt Janice were the top two but Aunt Kathy was the closest.  I found it very interesting that the two winners had picked the pink ribbon for a girl...hmmm...is Baby Bright a girl??  Can't wait to find out.  After the ribbon game, I started opening presents.  Baby Bright received a ton of books and cute clothes and I got some fantastic essentials like my swing, bouncer, and travel system.  There were also some really cute items not found on my registry that I know Baby Bright will enjoy.  I had such a good time and I am so fortunate to have such wonderful women in my life.  I thank each and every one for coming to my shower, it means so much to know how loved my baby is already.

Thank you so much Amber and Aunt Janice for throwing such a fantastic baby shower.  I couldn't have asked for more.  You two are so sweet and there may not be anyone else, except my mom probably, that is more excited for Baby Bright's arrival.  We love you and thank you for showering us with so much love.

My lovely hostesses

Such cute decorations

Diaper Cake decorated by Toni

Fingerprint tree Toni made...she's so creative!

Baby Dylan, Toni and Cara

Jessi and Baby Collin

Boomer Baby!

Sweet littl pants Jessi knitted for Baby Bright

Nuf said...but we'll get a blue one if it's a boy

All set for the holidays

From Uncle Michael

Yay! Nursery decorations from Diana

Boy or a Girl, we're all set with cute socks!

From my ma...I've been waiting for this for a long time!

What a fabulous group of ladies I have in my life

Grands and Greats

Aunt Kathy

Nana and Gram (or Ma or not sure yet!)

Me and my Ma

GranNana and Great Oma

The GrAunts!

Belly kisses from Cousin Avery

Anna and me

Cara, Toni, Baby D and I

Presents Presents Presents