Baby shower #1

Jason and I are in TX for our first baby shower this weekend! My fabulous friends Rachel and Joni are throwing it for me and I can't wait to get to celebrate our little guy with all these friends that I haven't seen in months, or longer. I got a sneak peak at the decorations yesterday and they are SO CUTE!! I wish I was that creative. I'm really looking forward to the shower, and it really has nothing to do with the gifts. Getting to be around so many friends during this joyous time in our lives means so much, and I hope I remember to take good pictures so I can show little man how much everyone cared for him, even before he was born.

The ultrasound I had the other day went fine. He was 4lbs 6oz, heartrate 132, and everything looked good. I'm so relieved! I haven't had any more bleeding, thankfully, and feel great. The only new thing for me is the swelling. My fingers and feet have started swelling at random times during the day. I hear that the best way to combat this is to drink a TON of water, but unfortunately I seriously dislike water, and it takes all the will power I have to drink a glass every now and then. I guess I am either going to have to get over it or be OK with being swollen all the time. Ugh. I'm also noticing my face getting a little more "plump" which I'm not happy about. Jason claims it isn't too bad, but it is still frustrating to not be able to control where the weight (or swelling?) goes...

We have a name picked out for our little one, but stay tuned until May to find out what it is!

Slightly Nervous

I have had some bleeding yesterday and today, and as far as I can tell it is nothing to really worry about, but the midwife on-call said she is going to have me go in for an ultrasound to get checked out. She said it is not an emergency but because it has happened twice then she wants us to be sure. I'm trying really hard not to freak out about it, but it isn't really all that easy. Now I have all these things running through my head-

What if I go into labor? (That would be insane since I haven't even turned in my paperwork to HR yet about maternity leave, or talked to a sub)
Is the baby ok?
Am I ok?
Will I still be able to go to lunch with a friend today?
Will I still get to have my massage tomorrow?
Will I still be able to go to Lubbock this weekend?? (I think so, but it is still a thought I've had...)
Is the baby going to come much earlier than we thought, even if it is not "now"?
What is going on if both the baby and I are fine?
What is my midwife going to say at my appointment on Wednesday?

So yeah, I am a little bit of a nervous wreck, even though I'm not really worried about the baby because I still feel him moving around and everything. I haven't had any contractions that I know of, and no pain that is unusual (my back always hurts these days). I'm going to call the clinic in about an hour and make an appointment for an ultrasound, then take it from there. Jason and I prayed for the baby and me this morning and I feel better since then, but it is hard to come to terms with all of these feelings and thoughts running around inside my brain.

I appreciate any and all prayers. I know God is in control of this and that He has a plan for my life and my son's life, and whatever that means at the moment I don't know. God has never let me down, ever, and I know He will not start now. Thanks in advance for the prayers! Have a blessed day.

Promised picture

Here is the picture I promised to post at 27 weeks. I am currently 30 weeks, as of today, but we don't have any new pictures. I feel like I am not changing much, so maybe I'll take one next week and see some growth. So, our initial name choice is not what we are going to go with, we don't think. We have another one we are going to use for a while and see if we like it enough to make our final decision. Who would have thought that coming up with a name would be so hard? Anyway, it will still be 10 weeks or so before we announce what his name will be, but just so you know we are getting closer :-).

We are getting closer to getting all of our nursery furniture as well. We are going to go to Babies R Us tomorrow after my doctor's appointment to order it. We were both really impressed by the store, and even though it is a little more expensive than Target or anything like that, we are still going to register for some stuff from there. We like the play yards that they have there better, and possibly some of the other "big" stuff like a swing and other things. We will see.

Anywho, nothing else is new. Just counting down the days/weeks until he gets here! And I just realized there are only 3 weeks left until my first baby shower. How exciting!

Reality check

Yesterday one of the other ladies at school had her baby. Congratulations on baby Alexandria! The crazy part is she was at school yesterday until 12:30 (she has been working part time because of blood pressure issues) and as far as I knew hadn't been feeling weird at all. I heard later she had started feeling a couple of contractions, but they were really irregular and unpredictable. Well, I got a text at 7:00 last night saying she had a baby girl! I was so shocked!! How can it go so fast? I hope mine is like that, and that I am able to work through the day and then give birth in the evening. That sounds like it could not have gone any better.

I call it a reality check because for the whole year it has been Carla, then Jessica, then me when it comes to when our babies will come. Well, now it is just Jessica and I. Holy guacamole! Jessica's baby shower is tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to giving her the gift I made her. But she is only 7 weeks away, and I am only 11. I guess now that Carla had her baby it seems like this pregnancy is just going to fly by, it is insane.

Ok, I'm sure a lot of that didn't make sense and for that I apologize. I am off to visit Carla and her new baby! What a blessing new babies are. Please say a prayer for Carla, her husband, and the new baby. They are first time parents just like Jason and I will be and I can only imagine what is going through their minds less than 24 hours after their daughter made her appearance. I'm sure they would appreciate your prayers!

Quick update

I know it has been a while since I posted last, but such is life during testing time at school! I am feeling fair. I am no longer sleeping through the night (training for the future?), I have pretty severe sciatic nerve pain throughout the day, and I'm completely exhausted by the end of the day. I went to see my midwife earlier this week and she said everything looks good. I'm measuring a little farther along than where I am, but she said it is not uncommon and babies just grow at different rates. I only gained 3 lbs this month, which was a HUGE relief. I have been trying really hard to watch what I eat and exercise because the month before was horrendous. Hopefully I can keep it around that and not go crazy with my cravings! I have to go in every two weeks for the next two months, then every week after that until he makes his grand entrance.

I wanted to put a picture up of me at the beginning of the third trimester, but apparently I don't have them on my computer yet. Hopefully soon!

I hope everyone has a blessed day.

Third Trimester

Apparently it rings true within me that the third trimester brings a lot of discomfort. I am more uncomfortable now than I have been for my previous 6 months. I haven't slept for the past two nights, I can't get comfortable, I'm exhausted, my sciatic nerve is killing me, and my back hurts much more. The good thing is I feel our little boy moving all the time, and apparently he likes the front of my belly rather than further back because we can feel him all the time even when he is laying still. It is kinda cool but kinda weird at the same time. He is such a little weirdo already! Gotta love him though.

Oh, and we think we have a name picked out... but that won't be known for sure until May when he makes his grand appearance.

Lord, please help me get some rest tonight!

I'll post a picture as soon as I have the energy.

Bassinet and baby shower

Yes, I finally broke down and bought my first baby item- a used bassinet from a second hand store. I know, its a biggie :-) A friend found it for me at this store and I finally made it over there to get it. To tell the truth, I'm surprised it was still there because it is so cute and in such good shape! I'm not sure where we are going to put it because our room doesn't really have a place for it the way we have everything laid out right now, but we might have to do a little rearranging no matter what we put in our room for the baby. I'm glad to finally have something for him, though, because I'm starting to feel a little unprepared. Hopefully this next weekend we will do some furniture shopping and get a crib and changing table for his room so I can start putting things together, but I don't know what next weekend looks like yet. I know there is still plenty of time (I will be 27 weeks tomorrow) but I don't have a ton of free time once work kicks back into full gear (4 snow days threw me off a little). I'll just do what I can when I can I suppose, I don't really have any other options.

I got a phone call today from my bestest friend who is planning my baby shower in Lubbock. I'm so excited about it! I know it is going to be a ton of fun. All I need is to have my friends there, but I know she and the other friend planing it are going to make it special and I can't wait. They are so awesome and I couldn't ask for better friends. She asked if we have a name picked out for our little man, but we don't, so I couldn't help her there. Then she asked if we have a brand of diapers picked out. Lol, umm any ones that can be thrown away because I am not dealing with cloth diapers, no matter what their environmental benefits are. (Plus, I hear that ever child is different so I am just going to have to experiment with them until I find ones that work best. It was so nice of her to ask, though, in case we actually had picked something out.) Sorry I couldn't be more help! You guys are awesome and I truly am blessed to have friends like you. Thanks Rachel and Joni!