The car seat is in!!!!

So exciting!!!! EEEEE!!!!

Yep. That's all.

:)

35/35

35 weeks down and 35 days to go!!!

How far along: 35w
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 5 1/2 - 6 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely. I think I have enough to get me to the end of the pregnancy. Fingers crossed.
Sleep: Sleep is okay. I wake up at least three times every night to turn and/or pee.

Movement: Oh yes! He was super active at my NST on Friday. This is just a short clip, but he was going on and on and on. The nurse was cracking up.

Food cravings: Anything sweet.
Food aversions: Everything except sweets :)

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Contractions. Extremely itchy stretch marks. Sore pelvis. Swollen ankles and feet. Backaches. Exhaustion. Peeing every five two minutes. 
Nursery Progress: I ordered the custom crib bedding - my big splurge. It takes about four weeks to finish, so it may arrive after he does.
Best moment this week: Relaxing at the water park on Saturday:

What I am looking forward to: Laying in our new blow up pool until he arrives :) 

One of my favorite things about pregnancy is the way other people treat you. I have had so many strangers ask how far along I am, if it's a boy or girl, if it's our first, if we have a name yet, telling me how amazing it is, etc. I've also had people insist on me cutting in front of them in a line - at the store and for the bathroom. It's really been incredible how sweet people have been. It's definitely one thing that I will miss.

Everything continues to go well at my NST's. This Friday I begin my weekly OB appointments. The hospital bag is partially packed {I need to buy a few things}, his room is very close to being finished, and the car seat is going in this week. I am so thrilled to be in this home stretch. The thought of holding our baby boy for the first time is so exciting  :)
 

Updated To-Do List

Almost done! :)

1. Schedule a 3D ultrasound 
2. Register for a birthing class
3. Register for a breastfeeding class
4. Schedule my maternity massage. My Dad gave me a gift certificate for Christmas. I can't wait!
5. Complete cord blood registry 
6. Buy the rest of his things after our shower - Amazon: mattress, changing pad & cover, diapers, wipes, bath tub, crib pads, nursing cover, baby gate. Babies R Us: diaper bag, cloth diapers, mittens, hangers.
7. Thank You notes for our shower gifts
8. Find a pediatrician 
9. Pack the hospital bag. Love this blog post about what you should and should not pack.
10. Install the car seat 
11. Tour the last daycare on our list
12. Finish the nursery:

1. sew the elephant mobile - in progress!
2. hang shelves - one shelf is done, one to go.         
3. hang frames - three are done over the crib. Still need to hang the gallery wall.
4. order photos & prints for the frames
5. hang closet curtains
6. install new smoke alarm 
7. hang mirror
8. wash all his clothes and blankets
9. order the custom crib bedding 

Here is a rendering of his bedding. I am SO excited to see it :)
{p.s. I am not planning to use the bumpers until he is older and past the SIDS risk}

34 weeks

 My friend made an appearance this week :)

How far along: 34w
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, always.
Sleep: Sleep is okay. It's getting more painful as the weeks go by. My sides ache, so I wake up partially on my back a lot.

Movement: He is still a wiggle worm and I still love it :)

Food cravings: Sweets and milk. Waffles with fruit & whipped cream ALWAYS sound good! And of course, cereal. Fried fish tacos really hit the spot one night. My lunch/dinner cravings vary day by day, and sometimes I am not in the mood for anything particular.
Food aversions: Nada

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions. Painful, itchy stretch marks :( Overall achy in the evenings. Swollen ankles and feet. Backaches. Exhaustion. Peeing every five two minutes. 
Nursery Progress: It's almost done! Nick is going to hang the frames and shelves this week. I am working on the crib mobile, one elephant at a time, and thinking about sewing my own crib skirt.
Best moment this week: Listening to him on the monitors and seeing him take practice breathes on the ultrasound was really cool. All good news at my appointments - such a relief.

What I am looking forward to: Revealing the nursery. 

I am starting to get pretty uncomfortable now. The other night I rolled over and it sounded and felt like my hips split apart. Ouch. I guess they are loosening up to get ready for delivery. My blood pressures have been looking really good since our trip to L&D. The reality of delivering a baby has hit me. I am actually more worried about my recovery - I hate the thought of pain keeping me from taking care of Grayson. I just need to remember that the nurses, Nick and our families will be there to help too, and I can get through those difficult few days if I need to.

I CANNOT wait to see our little boy for the first time and kiss him all over!!!!! SO excited! :)

xoxo,
Megan

Take that, high blood pressure!

My blood pressure has been looking great all week so that's good news. At my monitoring appointment today, it even got down to 110/59!! I thought it was an error, but she did it again and still the same. I was laying down and tired so that probably helped. I will continue to monitor my BP at home and go in for monitoring twice a week.

I took a quick video of part of my monitoring appointment today. You can see him moving my belly around about 10-13 seconds in. He continues to look wonderful and is still super active. I love this little man so much already :)

xoxo,
Megan

First NST

I am up at 4:30am thanks to some seriously painful indigestion. That is one thing I won't miss once he is here :(

We had our first NST yesterday afternoon and everything looked great. My blood pressure was 124/69. Grayson looked great on the monitors. My amniotic fluids are measuring at 14. He was even taking practice breathes, strengthening his chest muscles. It was great to see him again on the ultrasound. It's been a while and he's so big now! Hopefully everything continues to look good like this. I go back to my OB on Friday and have another NST after that appointment.

xoxo,
Megan

33 weeks

I was playing around with Instagram :)

How far along: 33w
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 4 1/2 - 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Always. I finally had to put away my regular under-wire bras. I bought two nursing bras, a sleep bra and a nursing tank top. Love them.
Sleep: Sleep is pretty good.

Movement: Lots! He was very cooperative on the monitors at the hospital, but the nurses kept commenting on how much he moves. Sometimes I think he is going to pop right out of my tummy. My little wiggle worm :)

Food cravings: Still sweets and milk. I am eating a variety of things, watching my sodium intake, and eating constantly.
Food aversions: Nada

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Gestational hypertension. Contractions. Clumsiness. Swollen ankles. Backaches. Exhaustion. Peeing every five two minutes. 
Nursery Progress: We really kicked it into high gear this weekend, thanks to my wonderful Mom's help. I also started my DIY mobile project and I am pretty excited about it. I am not crafty AT ALL, but I knew it would mean a lot to me to make something for his room. Plus, I am supposed to be sitting around a lot so this will keep me from getting bored :)

Best moment this week: Just getting his laundry done, his things put away and putting the mattress in his crib were all such a relief after Friday's craziness. It is also so fun to see the nursery come together.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully getting good news from the monitoring appointments this week. Finishing the nursery this week {fingers crossed!}

An eventful appointment

I went in today for my routine OB appointment and ended up in labor and delivery for 3 1/2 hours. My blood pressure was reading 160/80, and was on the higher end at my last appointment too, so she sent me to labor & delivery to monitor us both, and get blood work to check my liver and platelets. I'll admit - I was scared. I was taken to a room, changed into a gown and was hooked up to the monitors and a BP cuff. It felt like the real deal.

Grayson looked great and was moving around a lot, as usual. My blood pressure did come down. It got back down to 125/80. However, I was having a lot of contractions on the monitor so the nurse did the ffN test. A negative means {for 99% of women} that there is no risk of preterm labor for two weeks. It was negative, so that's good. Dr. L already told me to take it easy and the hospital put me on modified bed rest. Basically I go to work and that's it. They said the goal right now is to get to 35 weeks. I will also be monitored more closely until I deliver. I am scheduled to go to the hospital twice a week to check baby's amniotic fluid levels and have a fetal non-stress test (NST), and then to my regular OB appointments once a week.

My Mom is coming over tomorrow to do one last shopping trip and then help me wash his stuff and get things put away, while Nick finishes up some house projects. We are scrambling now to get everything ready with this news that Grayson may be coming sooner than we thought. Nick made me laugh when I called him to tell him I made it to the hospital room. Our mattress arrived today and the last thing he asked before he left for the hospital was "Should I put the mattress in the crib?!?!" I think I really freaked him out! My goal is 37 weeks, since he will be considered full term then. In the meantime, I have grand plans to do absolutely nothing :)

xoxo,
Megan

Braxton Hicks

I had them for the first time last night. I know they are normal, but honestly, they kinda freaked me out. It was a mild cramping feeling that came every 10 minutes or so until I fell asleep. I was also having some lower back pain with them. It is exciting that my body is getting ready for labor though.

We are almost ready too. The mattress and changing pad will be here tomorrow, and a bunch of diapers & wipes, crib pads and bath pad will arrive next week. I think I am going to order custom bedding from Etsy seller modifiedtot. She has really fun and bright fabric, perfect for his room. We bought a bunch of little stuff at Target last night and we have a Babies "R" Us trip planned for Saturday for most of the rest. We are stocking up. I can't believe my due date is just seven weeks away!!!

I'll leave you with a silly picture of Beeg. She loves to sleep in the sunshine :)

xoxo,
Megan

Funny Story

I had to share this story about baby boy's name. A little background: Nick's Grandpa and Grandma {on his Dad's side} are in their mid-nineties. Grandma can't really hear and Grandpa can't really see. But they are still living on their own, still driving to their local White Castle to get burgers every day and generally in good health. They live on the other side of the country in Missouri, so we don't see them very much. We are planning to take Grayson out there as soon as we can so he can meet that side of the family.

Onto the story... Nick's Dad was on the phone with Grandpa and told him the name we had chosen: Grayson. Fast forward a week and Nick receives a message from one of his aunts. It said "Are you naming your son Gersham?" Apparently Grandpa didn't hear him right and told the entire family that our son's name is going to be Gersham! Sorry if anyone likes that name, but we couldn't stop laughing :)

xoxo,
Megan

32 weeks

How far along: 32w or 8 months!
How big is Baby: Baby weighs approximately 4 - 4 1/2 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I bought two long dresses, a pair of capri jeans and a white skirt {in the bump photo above} to last me through the next two months of summer.
Sleep: Sleep has actually been pretty good.

Movement: All the time. I can really tell how big he is getting too. I can feel him right underneath my skin - so crazy to think about.

Food cravings: Still sweets, especially cupcakes. And milk, lots of milk. My appetite has been weird. I still feel hungry all the time, but I have a hard time deciding on anything to eat and not much tastes very good :/ 
Food aversions: A lot of things are grossing me out again, much like first trimester. It varies day by day.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Symptoms: Swollen ankles. Backaches. Exhaustion. Peeing every five two minutes. 
Nursery Progress: Curtains are up on the window!

Best moment this week: Our baby shower. It was wonderful.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting the pediatrician and our breastfeeding class tonight. Finishing the nursery.

The Baby Shower

We had our co-ed family & friends baby shower on Saturday. My Mom did an amazing job. It was so surreal to be celebrating our baby boy!

At the entrance to my parent's house

 

The seating in the backyard

I loved these cards. My Mom wrote questions relating to babies on one side and the answers on the other. She spread them on all the tables and all over the house. Everyone enjoyed guessing the answers. I learned that, on average, Dad's change diapers faster than Mom's do :) She also put cards in the buckets for people to give us advice on being parents. I was laughing so hard reading them after the shower. Such a great idea!

My best friend made lemon, carrot and chocolate cupcakes. So yummy. I cannot get enough cupcakes!

The food; chicken skewers, potstickers, ahi tuna wraps, mini sandwiches, crackers & cheese, fruit, veggies, salmon pastry puffs, and some desserts.

M&M favors

Nick and I

Soon-to-be Nana :)

Being silly with the bestie.

 

Our wonderful family and friends

I love the giant zebra. He and I matched :)

We got a ton of books! I'm so excited to read them to Grayson.

My sweet friend Jade made this for Grayson's room. Something about handmade items like this just melt my heart. She was so thoughtful and incorporated a few of my favorite ultrasound photos and the safari theme in his room.

 Today I had lunch with my family and then my Mom, sister and I went to the spa for massages. I could have laid there all day having my feet rubbed. You really appreciate a massage when you are 8 months pregnant :)

xoxo,

Megan