35 Weeks - 35 DAYS to go!

With my pregnancy brain lately, I probably would have never realized what a cool day today is for me. But, I read it on a pregnancy blog a few weeks ago. Today I am 35 weeks pregnant, and I have 35 days left until my due date! The magic "35". Pretty neat!

At 35 weeks, Hudson's main job is just "plumping up". Everything is developed and in two short weeks, he will be considered full term! Craziness!

On a lot of pregnancy blogs that I read, they always have a "what I miss the most" update every post. I've never done this, but I am starting to miss a few things:

1. My wardrobe. Maternity clothes were fun at first and I still enjoy most of them. Until I see that fitted black cocktail dress hanging at the other end of my closet and the 4 inch peep toe black pumps that I hope I will one day be able to wear again. I knew we were going to be doing lots of work Sunday, so thinking I might get a little hot, I grabbed the old faithful Nike running shorts. I thought they would be SO comfy and a nice change since it was so warm outside. Well, I must have forgotten I am almost 9 months pregnant and have gained X# of pounds. They were a liiiiittle tight. : (

2. My tan. I am reminded how pale I am every time I post a picture of myself. It is 3 weeks til spring break and I would normally be at least a light shade of bronze. Nope. More like Casper the friendly ghost.

3. Being able to move normally. Tie my shoes, pick things up, get out of bed, WALKING WITHOUT WADDLING. Sometimes I actually try to consciously not waddle. Don't know how successful I am, but I try...sometimes.

6. Being "under the radar". I was shopping a few weekends ago with my friend Morgan at The Galleria and I SWEAR it was like I had horns coming out of my head or blood dripping from my eyes. She even said something like, "Do you feel like people are staring at you?" IT'S RUDE TO STARE PEOPLE!! Ready to just run errands in my t-shirt, not Rusty's t-shirt or a maternity shirt.

PLEASE don't get me wrong. I have LOVED being pregnant and I know that I am EXTREMELY blessed to be able to get pregnant and have an uncomplicated pregnancy (except for the monitoring of little man's kidney). I just thought it would be interesting for some people to see what it is like to be 8 months pregnant.

Other symptoms lately:
Back pain. My back feels like it has a catch in it when I get up off the couch, especially if I was exerting myself, then took a break, and tried to get back up. Waddling is inevitable with a catch in your back.
Contractions. I am pretty sure I have had many contractions since my last post. Braxton-Hicks or not, I am not sure. I don't think any have been as bad as the one I had while writing last week's post. Also, they seem to happen more at the end of the day.
Swelling. I can't wear my wedding rings anymore and I am SUPER SUPER sad about it. I woke up and panicked when I didn't have them on this weekend. I never take them off.

Cravings:
Still loving ice, and now sour candy.

Sleep:
Sleeping ok for now. It's hard to get comfortable, but once I do, I'm usually ok...as long as the air is on about 66-67. ; )

Nursery:
Almost finished! I posted two little peaks in my last post.

Pic of the week:
We set up his changing table this weekend. I opened a sweet little pack of newborn diapers and put them in a basket. Can't believe we will soon be going through these like hotcakes. So tiny! I just love them.

35 Week Belly Pic:

All Baby, All the Time

The past two weeks I have spent MANY, MANY hours doing things to get ready for the little man's arrival. Chances are, if I am not physically doing something for him, I am making a to do list, mental note, or emailing Rusty or my mom things that we need to get accomplished. Much of my time has been spent washing, drying, drying some more (these little hooded towels take FOREVER to dry!), folding, hanging, putting away, organizing, reorganizing, and organizing some more. : )

We have been so blessed the past week with two celebrations for baby Hudson. First was my baby tea held at my sister and brother-in-law's beautiful home. Thanks so much to the hostesses for all of their hard work. Everything was wonderful!

My mom, me, Rusty's mom

Me and Baby Daddy

sweet friends

some of Hudson's aunties10 of the 12 hostessesnine months old, 34 weeks, 14 weeks, 11 weeks : ) some of the goodies!We use to be picture taking professionals...what happened? haha...some of my precious AOII sisters

My lovely third grade coworkers threw me a baby shower after work Thursday. I really don't know what I would do without these ladies!!! We work really hard, but we also have lots of fun.

books for my smart baby boy : )

Then Friday my mom came and spent the night. She helped me organize (yes, more organizing), return, shop, etc. ALLLLL DAY Saturday. We left at 8am Saturday morning and didn't get home until 4:30pm!!! I was exhausted, but on a roll, so we kept working. Rusty got home right after we did, so we put him to work.

Mom helping Rusty with the toy chest

We worked on his room, decorating, and getting organized (yes, more) until about 8:30 then I had to call it quits. I passed out without eating dinner. We slept in Sunday and spent all morning working on organizing (yes, more - I guess we are "nesting" ; ) ) closets, cabinets, and cleaning. Rusty's parents came by to see how things were going and to help move furniture back where it goes (we finally got our carpet cleaned Saturday!).

We washed both cars, did laundry, and went to the grocery store after all of the other things we had already done, so we are pooped, which is pretty much the common theme these days.

BUT, we had an extremely productive weekend and are thrilled with all of our progress! Here is just a sneak peek of the nursery! A dear family friend is painting some canvases to go above his bed and I still haven't decided on a few more details, so hopefully it will be TOTALLY finished by next week!

34 Weeks

The past two weeks have been great! We have had a lot going on and I am REALLY too tired to be writing this post, so I'm gonna keep it as short and sweet as possible. BUT I do promise another post Sunday. Since I only have about 6 weeks left and there is so much going on, I am going to do weekly updates instead of biweekly. I know, you are so excited you can barely stand yourself. What will you do when this baby gets here and you don't have to read about my aches, cravings, and other pregnancy rants? ; )

At my 34 week appointment yesterday, I met another one of the doctors in the practice and I absolutely loved her. If she happens to be the one on call on D Day, I would be perfectly happy. So, that makes 3 doctors that I have met and I hope to at least see all of the other ones within the next few weeks. I love my doctors office! Dr. Ellis listened to his heartbeat - about 140 - and super strong and loud! She said based on where the heartbeat was she thought he was still head down. My blood pressure was the same as it always is, which is right below "average", which is wonderful. I pray that it stays that way. I talked to her about some of my other pains and symptoms, and she said they were all perfectly normal.

I had my Baby Tea Sunday and it was amazing! Special post on that later... still need to upload pics. I am having my Baby Shower at work this Thursday and I can't wait to open some more goodies for Hudson!

Nursery:
The bedding is in and it is PERFECT!!! Working more on decorating it this weekend... pics to come soon!

Movement:
I really think he is just about out of room. He rolls, pokes out body parts, and sometimes does jumping jacks (or that is what it feels like at least). I don't really get as many kicks and punches as I use to and I miss that. Everyone (ok, well lots of people) say they really missed feeling their little one and having them "with them" all of the time. Even though I am pretty uncomfortable wearing this basketball on my front side, I know I am going to miss it.

Maternity Clothes:
OVER THEM. Period.

Sleep:
Last week started the middle of the night trips to the potty again. I am usually up between 2 and 3 am, and I have been able to go back to sleep, but not as easily as I use to.

Cravings:
ICE!!! Small, soft ice (like at Sonic, Milo's, etc) is the best!!

Symptoms: (the short and sweet version)
Puffy face, slight swelling, tingling in the arms and legs, leg and foot cramps in the middle of the night, CONSTANT urge to use the restroom, pressure in pelvic area, shortness of breath, etc... pretty standard I guess.

I've been a busy bee the past two weeks getting all of his things in order. Clothes, blankets, socks, bibs, etc. all washed in Dreft detergent and hung up or put away. Rusty and I also put together his pack and play - that was interesting. Things are coming together and I think we are pretty much ready! I will need to take some stuff back from our showers and get a few more things, but we have all of the necessities already.

****AS I AM WRITING THIS, I THINK I JUST HAD MY FIRST REAL CONTRACTION!*** Holy Cow - that did not feel good. Kudos to those that do it au naturel... don't think that will be for me!

Sorry no pics... just don't have the energy. I'll have a new post Sunday!

32 Weeks - Hangin in there...

We are 32 weeks along now! Yes, that means in LESS THAN 8 WEEKS (if all goes as planned) we will be meeting our precious baby boy! Anxious!!! But we are SO ready! Mostly ready just to hold him and squeeze him!!!

Last week was a SUPER busy week for Mommy and Daddy.

First of all, Daddy started a new job Monday! He is very excited about this opportunity and it seems to be a great fit for him.
On Tuesday, we went to UAB Maternal and Fetal Health and got a level 2 ultrasound of Hudson's kidneys. They agreed that he looked great (heart, brain, and all of the many other things they routinely check and measure) and that the dilation in his left kidney was very mild. I was really hoping to at least get some good pictures of him, but he was head down, face up and cuddled behind my "fluffy placenta" (the U/S tech's words) with his hands over his face. We did get a few good glimpses of his face, but it was so quick she couldn't freeze it for a picture. We could see that he already has hair!! She said if we could see hair at 30 weeks that he would probably have a head full at birth. : ) : ) : ) AND, did I mention we have a defensive lineman on our hands?? He measured a week ahead! According to all of the emails I get (Baby Center, The Bump, etc), MOST babies weigh about 3.3 pounds at 31 weeks and she estimated him to weigh 4.5 pounds!! They said to follow up with my normal OB and get an U/S closer to my due date to see if the left kidney has gone "back to normal" by then.

On Wednesday, we went to a breastfeeding class at St. Vincents. It was great and I recommend it if you know nothing about breastfeeding and are wanting to try it.

On Thursday, we met our pediatrician, Dr. Peters at Mayfair Medical Group in Homewood. She made me feel so at home. She was so friendly and informative, and their office seemed very clean, organized, and welcoming. I told her about Hudson's kidney dilation and she agreed that it is nothing to worry about. She will order an ultrasound before we are discharged from the hospital to check his kidneys before we go home.

On Saturday, we had our Preparing for Parenthood Class that lasted from about 9:00-3:30 with an hour lunch break. I totally recommend it. It did not feel like you were "in class". It was directed by a St. Vincents nurse and people were constantly asking questions about what she was telling us, which answered some questions we hadn't even thought of. They tell you every little detail from medicines they give you to where to check in if you come in the middle of the night. Even though I have been reading a lot, it was great to know exactly what MY hospital, doctors, and nurses would be doing to me/us.

So between all of that, our date night Tuesday, and a long dinner at Cheesecake Factory Saturday night, we have had tons of bonding time! ; ) We have really enjoyed this time together, but we are also trying to keep "plans" to a minimum for the next 8 weeks to have time to do some non-baby things since Hudson is about to rock our world!!

Nursery:
All of the furniture is set up and polished! It looks so beautiful!! Ceiling fan is installed (that could be a whole blog post in itself, but let's just say it is now up and working) and looks great. We decided not to paint, so his walls will be a soft tan/khaki-ish color. His bedding will be ready within the next few days, so all we have left to do is pick up his mattress and fill the room with sweet decorations! I told y'all I would have it done in plenty of time.... ; )
Movement:
This little guy feels like an alien trying to escape!! I will feel a kick or a punch every blue moon, but most days are now filled with rolling body parts feeling like they will protrude out of my skin at any minute. They are still the highlight of my day, though, even if some hurt a tiny bit.

Maternity Clothes:
Yep. And I'm getting pretty bored with them. Same old stuff....

Sleep:
Sleep is going pretty well. I need the bedroom to be pretty cool to sleep through the night. If I want to get comfortable to watch TV, I need to be in the recliner, but sometimes even that isn't comfortable. The most comfortable position is lying on my side. Sitting straight up for an extended period of time is getting uncomfortable since I am practically carrying around a basketball.

Cravings:
No real cravings, but I tend to want something sour in the afternoon.

32 Week Appointment:
Everything is right on track! My belly measured right at 32 weeks, but I told her about the U/S tech at UAB saying he was measuring about a week ahead and she agreed that the U/S was much more accurate than measuring my belly. So, she said when we do my last U/S at 36 weeks to check his kidneys they will also check his growth and can make a pretty good estimate from there since most babies gain about 1/2 a pound a week from 36 weeks to delivery.

Belly Pic: