Sneak Peek

Guess what was finally delivered on Saturday....

I'm so happy with how it turned out so here's just a little preview until I can get it all set up. Stay tuned!!

I may be wearing green today...

...but I bleed BLUE!!

Go Cats! Here's to a first round victory!!

33 Weeks

Not the best photo this week but oh well. Let's see...what can I tell you. I'm still feeling pretty well. My walking is now a full fledged waddle...ha! I had another OB appointment and everything is still right on track. My doc estimates that Baby H is about 4 pounds and he is still head down. I'm trying to do better a better job of taking it easy as by the end of the day most days my ankles and feet are pretty swollen. I had my prenatal massage on Saturday and it was glorious! 50 minutes of pure bliss plus a few minutes where the therapist did this little lift trick where I lay on my side and she lifts my stomach to take the weight and pressure off of my spine. It felt so good! I got a lot of other errands and little things checked off my list and Mr. L even was able to fit in a round of golf. Pretty great for both of us.

Our childbirth classes wrapped up so I guess that means I'm supposed to be ready...ha. Everything that we learned was really helpful and it definitely makes me feel at least a little more prepared for what I may encounter. I think my biggest take away was that I want to be flexible. I don't want to set myself up to expect a certain type of birth and then be disappointed if it doesn't turn out as such. All I care about is getting Baby H out as safely as possible. It was kind of crazy though this last week because when we showed up there it was evident that a few couples were missing. It turns out that one of the ladies had actually had her daughter that morning and another lady was up in triage being monitored. Wow...that will be me in a few more weeks and I can't wait!

Check out this great photo of my parents. They were able to travel to Atlanta last weekend and cheer on our CATS to an SEC tournament victory. From the sounds of it they had a great time and my Mom has little voice left to show for it...ha! Mr. L and I talked about possibly making the trip down but an 8ish hour car ride at this point just doesn't sound so appealing so we cheered them on from home. Hopefully one day we'll make it there!

And this beauty here is my latest obsession. Our amazing stroller. Mr. L put it together for me and I haven't been able to stop playing with it! It's so fun to think of all of the future uses we'll get out of it. It's great because the seat you see here is removable and the car seat pops right on. We also got the bassinet attachment which I think will be great for being outside this summer! I can imagine my little buddy boy sitting snugly in it every time I look at it.

OH! and I almost forgot. The delivery service FINALLY called and scheduled delivery and set up of our nursery furniture. We should have it all set up by Saturday afternoon and I'm so excited. I'll make sure to post pics next week. Until then...

Rain Rain Go Away!!

It seems like it has been raining here for months! The river by us is considered close to flood stage and some roads have even been closed. Luckily it doesn't effect us because we live up on the hill but having everything be wet all the time is getting SO old. I don't know how many more days of cleaning off muddy/wet paws this big pregnant belly can take. Obviously I'd much rather Dakota do her business outside but each time she wants to go out I wonder if she really has to go or just wants to be outside. The forecast is looking like we might see some sun this weekend and I think it would do wonders for my mood! I'm sure part of it is just the general state of being uncomfortable but I find myself being so irritable at night and nit picking at Mr. L. Last night I went to bad feeling guilty because everything he did or did not do was getting on my last nerve and I proceeded to tell him about it. He is wonderful and I know he understands so I'll just chalk it up to thinking that he should at least go through some level of discomfort too...ha.

In other news I attended a meeting last night to start the planning process for my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe it's really been 10 years. That makes me feel super old! We're aiming to have it some time this fall so hopefully things will be settled enough by then that I'll be able to attend. Now the fun begins of trying to get in touch with everyone in our class when email/facebook either wasn't around or wasn't widely used when we graduated. I have a feeling I'll be logging quite a few hours in the near future on facebook trying to search for people that I didn't necessarily keep in touch with. I think seeing everyone after 10 years will be really fun and if at the very least will definitely be interesting!

32 weeks and my first baby shower!

Here I am at 32 weeks and still feeling pretty good. Hallelujah for a little bronzer because I don't feel like I look as pale this week. It definitely helps me feel a little more perked up than I actually am. Our childbirth classes are coming to an end soon and I feel like I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still no furniture to report about though...boo. Hopefully we'll hear something soon. In exciting news we did have our first baby shower! It was so much fun and we were blessed to get so many wonderful things for Baby H from our family and friends. This shower was hosted by my aunt and cousin and held at the clubhouse where my Grandma lives. I guess a plus of not having the furniture yet was that Mr. L and I were able to unload the car and put everything in the nursery until we can figure out where to put everything.
Hopefully you can tell what Baby H's favorite team will be...well hopefully, but I don't know that he has much of a choice at this point.

This adorable umbrella stroller will be perfect for football seasons to come. We also got our infant car seat from my Mom and sister so now at least we are somewhat ready would he decide to come early.

Here I am with my Mom, the proud Grandma. She has been such a great support to me throughout my pregnancy and will be wonderful with Baby H!

Baby H is also lucky enough to have quite a few of his Great-Grandparents still living. He will actually have 3 on Mr. L's side but only one on my side. Here she is, my Grandma. She is so excited as this will be her first great-grandchild. He is definitely going to get lots of kisses from her.
Next week I'm excited for another appointment with the doctor as well as a prenatal massage! Pray that things continue to go well and that Baby H grows bigger everyday!

31 weeks and a doctor's appointment

I'm 31 weeks and growing bigger everyday! Everything I'm wearing these days is maternity except for a few select cardigans and a couple pairs of Mr. L's sweats that I lounge around in. I have never been a huge dress wearer but lately that seems to be what sounds comfortable when I'm getting ready for work in the morning. I had my OB appointment this week and everything looks great! I gained 2 more pounds since my last visit three weeks ago and the doctor told me I am a text book case (I take that as a compliment!) After going through some questions we got to listen to the heartbeat which sounded good and Dr. G told us that she thought Baby H was head down. This news was music to my ears and hopefully he stays that way and doesn't decide to flip around on me. I start going now every two weeks and really look forward to it each time.

The below photo is a special family cradle that has been passed around my family and where Baby H will sleep for the first few months of his life. Our tiny little bedroom is so crammed with furniture that butted up against my nightstand seems to be the only logical place to put it. Baby #1's (Dakota) bed is currently taking up a lot of room and we're trying to figure out another place to put it. I had the bright idea that if we could get her out of sleeping in her crate at night and trained to stay on a dog bed that we could move the crate to the basement and put the cradle where the crate was.
After two attempts at ordering the correct size this is what we ended up with...it's huge. The photo really doesn't do it justice as to how big it is. I don't know why I thought a bed would be smaller than her crate. Needless to say right now it's residing in the hallway but we've made good progress with her sleeping on it all night without getting up. After another week or two we'll have to re-evaluate how we want to shift everything around.
And here sits our lonely crib mattress...waiting for a crib to be put in to. Mr. L's wonderful parents surprised us with it and as you can see our nursery furniture still has not arrived. I called to check on it today and it had just come in on the truck but they have to wait for it to be inspected, then for the delivery service to come pick it up and then they will call us to make an appointment for delivery and set-up. So that means it will be another week and that will make it over 10 weeks from when we ordered it. You'd think that a children's furniture store would know better than to tell an anxious pregnant lady that her son's furniture should arrive in 6-10 weeks. Every week of waiting after the 6 has been torture...ha! Oh well, I guess this whole pregnancy has been a lesson in patience.
Hopefully I'll get to show you a picture of the funiture soon! Until next week....

30 weeks

So here I am at 30 weeks...I am feeling Baby H move more and more each day. I go back to the doctor next week and I'm really interested to see how much weight I've gained. I haven't really been having cravings so to speak but could eat ice cream everyday. Other than that my appetite has been pretty limited as nothing every really sounds good. Sleeping continues to be difficult. The only way I really feel comfortable is on my back which I know is not a recommended position to sleep in. Each night I try to start out on my left side and switch back and forth from side to side until I can't take it any longer and only have about an hour left until the alarm goes off and then I'll let myself lie on my back in a modified fashion. Comfortable sleep (even if only an hour at a time) is one thing I definitely look forward to after the baby comes. The next two months are going to be busy and all that I have left to do is keeping me going. Baby H's furniture should be in any day and I can't wait to really get moving on decorating the nursery! I am also very excited for the baby showers that are on the calendar. I am so blessed to have some amazing family and friends that want to help me celebrate this precious miracle that we have been given.

The rug for the nursery was delivered and I absolutely love it! It's going to look so great with everything we have planned.

Mr. L and I started our childbirth classes at the hospital. We decided to opt for the six week series where we attend once a week for 2 hours at a time versus the all day Saturday class. It's been going really well so far and we're learning a lot. I have to say that my favorite part of the class each time is the neck massage I get from Mr. L during the relaxation portion! This week we had the hospital tour as part of our class and it makes the reality of everything that's going to happen really set in. As we walked down the hallway of the Labor and Delivery unit we heard the cries of a baby that had just come into the world and it took every part of my hormonal body not to tear up at how precious it was. Our sweet baby H will be here before we know it and we'll be those parents hearing the first cries of their son. We have 3 more classes to go and a lot more material to cover. I know that there's no way that I'll feel 100% prepared but every little bit of information helps.

With each day that passes I get one more closer to meeting my son! Until next time...