Week 35

Well, I'll be 36 weeks tomorrow, so running just a wee bit behind on this update.  I had another ultrasound with Dr. Miller this week.  I was disappointed because Nadine, the u/s tech that always gets me such great pics, was out, so I didn't get any great pics. :-(  The doc did say, and I quote, "Your kid looks like a million bucks!".  That was so great to hear!  He's gone from 5lbs 5oz to 6lbs 3oz in 2wks!  I can't wait to see what he'll end up weighing on his birthday.  So, he's growing wonderfully and doing great...Thank you, Father.  My next ultrasound will be in 3wks, which is actually the same week my c-section is planned...so not much longer now!  I have noticed some more contractions and cramps, not many though, I would say at least 2-3 a day.  They're not very strong or painful, just uncomfortable.  I notice I get them more when I'm active and doing alot on my feet, so all the more reason to take it easy these last few weeks.  I really want to make it til my d-day.  I have a good feeling I will.

My oldest graduates from Middle School this weekend.  I can't believe how fast time has flown...my baby will be a highschooler at the same time we welcome his 3rd little brother into our family...so sweet. I can't wait to see the boys with him, helping, holding, making him laugh, teaching him. :-)  I know it will be an adjustment to our normal routine, but I have a feeling it will all go very smoothly and I'm excited to get started!

35 weeks

How Jett's doing this week:



 

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon

34 week Appt

Well, I had an enlightening appt today with Dr. Allison.  First, all is still looking wonderful with baby, HB in the high 140's, weight and measurements on target.  I did mention to her the occasional cramping and cervical pressure and she did check my cervix.  The cervix is still high and closed, so that's good.  She said the baby's head is right there pushing down on it, which explains the occasional pressure.  I figured that's what it was and glad that's all it is.

Next, we talked about the cyst, she finally got the reports back from Dr. Miller.  She said it is roughly about the size of a softball, so not little in the least.  She said she is going to try to remove it during the section (which is good), but she wants me to be prepared with the fact that she MAY end up having to remove the whole ovary, depending on what things look like when she gets in there.  I thought that might be a possibility, but it seemed more of a likelihood when she said it and they greatly saddens me.  She really does think the cyst is harmless and if so might be easier to dissect while maintaining as much ovary tissue as she can.  She did say if the cyst looks suspicious (tumor-like), it would be best to remove the ovary so she could get the complete cyst out for testing.  Once the cyst is removed it will be sent to pathology for testing, then we will know where to go from there.  Either it will be harmless and out of my abdomen, so essentially done with it.  Or if it comes back proving to be cancerous in any way I will have to see a Gynecologist to see what the next plan of action would be.  I hate to even think in that direction, but at this point it is a possibility and it really scares me.  I pray I do not have cancer in my body, I pray the cyst is harmless and can be removed while preserving my ovary, I pray my uterus will be spared from any future complications and remain intact and fully functioning.  I pray I can keep a positive outlook until things are more certain and not allow any fear and anxiety to overcome me. 

My next u/s is next Monday, then I'll see Dr. Stewart again in 2wks, then every week thereafter.

Week 34

Here's my promised bathing beauty shot...haha

Back from the vacay and glad to be back in the comfort of my own home.  There's nothing like your OWN shower and bed!  We enjoyed our little getaway and now we're back and full steam ahead to baby day!  We have lots on the calendar for May, so I know my last 4 wks of pregnancy will speed past.  Now that me and baby are just about out of space, it's getting harder and harder to enjoy the gift that is pregnancy.  My only comforts are knowing he's doing so well, growing rapidly, and will soon be here!  The day I got back from the beach I had a few episodes of cramping and cervical pressure, which I'm sure is all completely normal seeing how far along I am, but I do want to mention it to the doc this Tues at my next appt.  I'm curious to know if I'm dilated at all, but don't know if she'd be willing to check that.  I seriously can not live without Zantac (an OTC heartburn med) being in my system 24/7!  I'm sitting here now, at 9pm, still burning from lunch (haven't had any dinner), and all because I haven't taken any today! Ugh...it's hard for me to decide what's worse nausea or heartburn!  I haven't had any BH's in a long time, no swelling, and pretty much doing great. 

Here's what lil man is up to:

 

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Enjoying my 33rd week at the BEACH!

Gulf Shores, AL

Glad we're staying at a place with an indoor pool... I'm sitting here watching the kids swim while it's thunderstorming outside. :-(  Of course last week was gorgeous everyday, go figure.  When we arrived yesterday it was lovely, the waters were a little nippy, but beautiful outside.  I knew there might be a chance of rain today, including a small chance tomorrow.  With tomorrow being our last full day here, I'm really hoping we'll be blessed with some sun before we leave.  Rain or Shine, the kids are enjoying their time in the pool and we are having a great time together.  I was able to swim some yesterday and it felt Oh So good on my big, pregnant body. :-)  I'll be getting back in for a swim in a little bit.  And I'll have to get the boys to take a pic of me in my cute maternity swimsuit!
Today, I am 33w5d's along and still feeling great!  I've been taking Zantac for the heartburn which has been virtually relieving me from all heartburn!....It's been wonderful!  I think both Jett and I are quickly running out of room.  His movements can be pretty uncomfortable now, at times.  He has his times of stillness (sleeping, I'm assuming), then his times of lots of activity.  He responds to my touch, which I love. <3  I had another ultrasound this past Monday, with Dr. Miller.  Everything is still looking absolutely perfect!...So Glad!  Jett is now weighing in at 5lbs 5oz (up a pound and a half in 3 weeks!)...pending Jett goes to 39wks (which I pray he does)..I do believe he will be my biggest babe yet.  He's still chilling upside down..lol.  He did not provide us with any good face shots this visit, he had his little hands right in front of his face.  She was able to get one shot that shows on chubby cheek, nose, and an eye (which I think may have been open).

I will go back and see Dr. Miller in 2wks, since he'll be out of town in 3wks.  All looks good though and my lil man is doing fabulous... that's all I could ever ask for!  Now, back to enjoying my babymoon with my three amigos. ;-)

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

The Baby Shower!!

After months of preparing..it finally arrived and it was WONDERFUL!  The theme was yellow ducks with splashes of teal and white and was held in a local hotel banquet room, which was decorated accordingly, with ducks (of course), balloons, confetti, round tables draped in white linen, floating candles, favors, gifts, games, lots of delicious food and more!  It really was my daydreams come true.

I'd gathered and ordered online all that I could and waited til the weekend of, when my mom would be in town, to load up on the rest of my needed materials and goods.  The boys and I picked her up from the airport on Thursday, and after a yummy Olive Garden lunch, wasted no time in hitting the stores!  The first stop was Macy's to pick out the outfit for the big day, then on to many more stops, including: Target, Party City, Michaels, JC Penney's, and lastly a much needed trip to Sunny's for a Snoball!  Day One quickly concluded with some very exhausted people.  Friday was a day of more fun and shopping.  We started at Cafe Dumond for beingets and cafe au laits, then on to the spa for a pedicure for me and manicure for mom, next we each got a spray tan to give ourselves some fresh color and bronzy glow.  After dropping the boys off at home, off we went again for more shopping and a visit to the hotel to make sure everything was being set up properly.  We did have to do a little rearranging, but not much.  Later on that evening my sister arrived and my sister-in-law and niece.  We ordered pizza, ate, then headed back to the hotel to begin set up.  Thankfully, we had a very obliging maintenance man, named Dave, who was able to help us hang our pretty little "fluffy balls" from the ceiling, above each table. :-)  Then we headed on to WalMart for food/drink supplies.  Friday was a long night, I don't think anyone got much sleep.  Saturday (the Big Day), was filled with food prep, and still, more shopping!  My mom purchased me a lovely wrist corsage, blue and white ribbon with little white roses (wish they could've lasted forever).  We picked up my adorable ducky cupcakes from the bakery (see above pic), I was so happy with the way they came out...so CUTE!  We had a little trouble finding the right color balloons, but ended up finding what we needed.  Finally, the shopping was complete and  it was time to get ourselves ready.  We arrived at the hotel around 3:30pm and quickly went to work setting up the remaining items and food tables, by 5pm (Party Time), we were ready to greet our guests.  I was able to take some great shots of all our hard work before the guests arrived...

My floating ducky/candle centerpieces

My sweet (and salty :-) party favors

The room all decorated and ready...simple and elegant

Our beautiful buffet of goodies....

 ...which included a blue punch with floating ducks...

 ...and two gorgeous arrangements of fruit and veggies-supplied by my sister....

 

I had a wonderful turn out, about 25 guests, which was the best part of my shower...seeing and visiting with everyone while we celebrated my lil peanut. We actually had 4 preggos there (myself included) and two babies!!  Everyone enjoyed the food and made lots of sweet comments about how cute everything looked, especially the cupcakes, and how beautiful I looked.  I did feel beautiful, exhausted, but overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness.  I couldn't have pulled it all off without so many who stepped up to help.  I was so thrilled to have all of my dearest family and friends around me. 

Me with my dear hubby, sitting in my special chair my mom created for me.

Preggo posing

Me with my two biggest helpers, my sister and my mom

My beautiful babies and niece

I received lots of great gifts, most from my Registry, which will be a great help, and also some gifts cards, so I can go and grab whatever else I need.

One of my fave gifts!

We ate, we visited, we played games: A guess how much the baby items cost game, A guess how many diaper are in the container game, and a Thank You card envelope drawing. 

After waiting for so long for this day, those two fun-filled hours passed by way too quickly.  But, all the preparation and anticipation was well worth it!  I'll hold the memories of this special event in my heart forever.  Now I can't wait to use all my great gifts when I welcome Jett into the world...very soon! :-)



32 weeks = 8 months!!

Life has been CrAzY!! Which is why I am already 32w5d and running late on updating my Blog...AHH!! :-) So, I will break up all the crazy happenings into 3 different posts...starting off with how I'm doing in week 32.
Like I said, week 32 has been crazy exhausting, just because there has been so much going on....because of this, I must say the back, legs, feet have been hurting more than normal.  Baby is doing wonderful and my body is doing an excellent job incubating lil man.  I had my reg OB appt yesterday.  Don't you just love waiting to see the doctor for almost an hour then actually spending a total of 5 mins with the doctor?! Um, NO!  But, that's how the cookie crumbles right now.  There's not too much to be done at my appts, besides the usual urine, weight & bp check, heartbeat and fundal measurement, which takes all of a few minutes.  Once any questions have been asked and answered, it's "Well, see you in two weeks".  I did hand in my final copy of my Birth Plan with a couple of changes: I added my Pediatricians names and said I DID want the Vitamin K (only because Jett will be getting his circumcision before we leave the hospital and he'll need that to help his blood coagulate).
But, I'm not complaining, I'm relived this pregnancy has been uneventful and I pray it stays that way til D-Day... just 43 days away now!  I have another u/s coming up in 4 days, I'm curious to see how big he is now, he feels humongous in there!  His pushes and rolls and pokes are getting ever stronger as he quickly is running out of space.  I love my big belly though and feeling him move around in it!  I'm going to miss my belly and am already mourning the idea that this may be the last time I ever get to experience it.  I do so look forward to meeting this little boy, can't wait to see who he looks like and what kind of little personality he has.  I haven't had very many Braxton Hicks contractions at all this pregnancy, which is fine by me.  I'm still dealing with horrible heartburn and hubby has been complaining about my snoring keeping him up at night...whoops..haha.  It's hard to keep my nasal passages open at night, thus the snoring.  I keep telling him, it's almost over, he only has to deal with it a little while longer.  Whereas I have to deal with his snoring for the rest of my life, so yeah, I think he can handle it! ;-) 
Now that my shower is over (yay), I've been enjoying being able to pick things up for baby here and there and getting everything organized.  I purchased a really cute wooden shelf at Target yesterday and set it up with all his stuff.  All of his clothes, blankets, towels, etc. (so far)  have been washed and put away.  I have a few more things I want to buy and I'm thinking I'll pack our bags around 36wks. THEN, I should be READY!  More later....

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

31 weeks...

Oh my! The weeks are rolling by so fast, I'm falling behind on my blogging. I had a feeling that was going to happen now that I'm getting so close to delivery...only 8 more weeks!  I don't feel like my belly has gotten a whole lot bigger the past few weeks, but I'm sure it has.  I do feel like my skin is really tight, I'm all baby! 

My shower is only 6 days away and we're all looking forward to picking up DD from the airport in just 4 days!  I have no idea who to expect to show up, only a few RSVP's have rolled in, so it will be a surprise I guess.

I've finally planned a long awaited for vacation getaway for me and my boys, so excited!  Unfortunately Scott can't come because of work.  It will be nice to spend some time on the beach and in the pools with my boys before their brother is added to the mix...one last little babymoon :-). I can't wait!  Only 2 weeks til VACAY!

The pregnancy is quickly coming to it's grand finale. I'm so thankful that this pregnancy has been so wonderful and complication free, I pray it will continue to be like that, all the way through delivery til Jett is safely in my arms.

Here's what's going on with lil man this week:

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.