37 weeks - Full Term!

How I Look - Belly is large and in charge!

How I Feel -  I've been fairly uncomfortable the past 2 weeks, everyone has told me the last month is the toughest.  I don't like bending over and it's extremely hard to get up off the couch.  Also the occasional lower back aches have returned.  :(  Other than that I'm just peachy. 

Weight -   +28.5 lbs overall. 

Symptoms -  Lots of pressure in my pelvic area and overall belly.  Surprisingly this kid is kicking a lot despite running out of room.  Heck my belly overall is sore and uncomfortable.

Cravings -  Ice cream!  The past week and a half I've eaten ice cream almost every day.  And I'm still loving pears.

Exercise -  Walking and the energy I exert trying to get up off that darn couch.

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Having this whole pregnancy done and over with!  This kid is cooked and so am I.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  Dreading a long labor.....fingers crossed for a short one.

Odds and Ends - This weekend we were supposed to go on our babymoon/anniversary trip to San Antonio, however a little thing called March Madness got in the way.  All the hotels were booked for the entire weekend due to the Fri and Sun games at the Alamodome, plus there was no way we wanted to be in the middle of all that mayhem.  So alas we will stay home this weekend and enjoy a nice dinner out for our 1 year anniversary.  I also ordered us a 1 year anniversary cake from the same lady who made our wedding cake.  :)  On Thursday I went to a Mamacents VIP (very important preggers) sale with Amanda.  I scored tons of sleepers and a cool exersaucer/walker, even picked up a swim suit for the little tike.  ;)  I had my third ultrasound this morning followed by my Dr's appointment.  Baby is healthy and in the 50th percentile.  Right now he weighs 6lbs 11 oz and is on track to be a 7.5-8lb baby (or so the Dr says).  Amanda says I won't make it 3 weeks and if I did the baby would be 10 lbs!  All his vitals were great, he's head down and right on track.  I'm still 2 cm and 50% effaced, no change there.  My Group B strep culture was negative, so no antibiotics needed.  :)  I'm so ready for the weekend!



37 weeks!!  3/25/2011

36 weeks

How I Look - My baby belly seems enormous!  This kid is close to 6 lbs now (or so says the Internet) and he still has 4 weeks of growth left.  How can I get any bigger!?

How I Feel -  Feeling really good.  My legs tend to cramp up at night based on my sleeping position, other than that no issues.

Weight -   +25.5 lbs overall. 

Symptoms -  I've noticed a little bit of pressure in my pelvic area.  I don't think the baby's 'dropped' yet, he's just very squirmy as his living quarters become more cramped.  My hip joints are popping all the time now whenever I sit down.  At least it's not painful, just very loud and startling.

Cravings -  Milk and pears, though not at the same time.  :)  And Reese's peanut butter cups!

Exercise -  Went to the gym for the last time on Monday.  On Wed I decided with only 4 weeks left that I could take it easy. :)  Now for exercise I'm focusing on walks around the work campus or in the evenings with the doggies.

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Meeting our little one and time off from work.  :)

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  If my water breaks at work.  :/  Another reason why I decided to quit the gym, I didn't want any embarrassing situations to arise while on the elliptical.

Odds and Ends - I packed my hospital bag Monday night.  There's still a couple items I need to add, but overall it's done!  The hubby still needs to add his stuff to the bag.  From here on out I now have weekly Dr's appointments.  My Dr appointment this morning went really well: I'm 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced!   Baby's heart beat is 136 and I'm measuring right on track.  Now I feel like I really have to scurry around to finish up the last few remaining things (email list, call list, etc).  I'll have my third ultrasound next Friday, so hopefully they can get an estimate of baby's weight.  I'm definitely getting more and more anxious for delivery.  I've had quite a few dreams now where the baby has come early and we don't have everything ready.  I hate being unprepared! 

‎30 days left as of 3/16/2011 - 35 weeks and 5 days along.

36 weeks 3/18/2011

36 week baby bump!

Presenting the Nursery!

I think the nursery is pretty much done!  I do eventually want to hang some wall shelves by the queen bed to hold pictures and/or books, but that can wait.  A big thank you to my hubby for hanging all the wall decor this past weekend.  I think the baby is going to LOVE his room.  :D

Even the diaper cake has a spot.

Loving the wall art



I will remove the fancy bumpers and add the breathable crib bumpers once the baby moves from the bassinet to the crib.



Our little safari! All the toys/blankets will be exiled to the queen bed to make room for baby.

Check out the cute elephant humidifier!



I had fun capturing the letters in the mirror.  :)



Maternity Pictures

The hubby and I had our maternity photo shoot this past Saturday with Luxe Photography.  We choose downtown by Hey Cupcake off Congress for our location.  We liked the urban feel, plus there were some really awesome backdrops for pictures!  Despite it being a bit windy, the weather was perfect - clear skies and around 70 degrees at 10:30am.  Our photographer worked with us for 1.5 hours and here are some of her teaser shots.  The rest should be ready in about 2 weeks.  I can't wait to see them!

35 weeks

How I Look - Everyone keeps telling me I look great for how far along I am.  My belly seems HUGE to me and its only gonna get bigger! 
How I Feel -  For the most part pretty good.  Belly is still incredibly tight and I can feel the baby constantly pushing/kicking my rib cage for more room.
Weight -   +24 lbs overall.  Most of baby's physical development is now complete - so now he's just putting on weight.  Right now he's about 5.3lbs!

Symptoms -  Frequent pee breaks.  Mood swings?  Not sure I've had any crazy mood swings yet...the hubby could tell ya....  :P
Cravings -  Giant glasses of milk...that's really about it.  I did make some awesome cinnamon rolls over the weekend so I've been munching on those every day.
Exercise -  Worked out Tuesday and took the dogs for several evening walks. 

What I'm Looking Forward To -  My maternity pictures this Saturday!
What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  How much MORE uncomfortable I'm going to become in the next 5 weeks.  And I HAVE to pack my hospital bag this weekend...I read I should be packed by week 35.  My mom was 3 weeks early with my brother...so no telling what could happen.

Odds and Ends - My baby shower was this past Saturday and it was awesome!  My friends did a great job hosting.  My mom left Wed morning, I was sad to see her go.  She helped me wash all the baby clothes and finish setting up the nursery.  All that's really left is to hang up the wall decor.  :)  Plus I need to buy some baby books!  I realized I only have 1 book for the kid.

 *** Update 3/13 *** 
I forgot to mention that we had our baby basics class on the 7th.  I enjoyed this 2.5 hour class, it was more hands on and interesting than the childbirth class.  We practiced swaddling, diaper changing and holding life-sized baby dolls plus we watched a couple short videos on taking care of baby when you come home from the hospital.  I'm curious if bathing an infant will go as easily as it did in the video...part of me thinks "ha! yeah right".  :)  At least now I can do a mean swaddle!

too true



Charming Baby Shower

My awesome friends, Amanda and Jennifer, threw me an amazing baby shower this past weekend.  They based the theme on the crib bedding I picked out for the nursery, chocolate and blue with elephants and giraffes. 

The hostesses - Jenn, Amanda, Mom

When I walked into the club house I was blown away be the decor, it was so charming!  To the right of the entrance there was a long table filled with breakfast tacos, a fruit tray, homemade coffee cake (super yummy!) and various other goodies and drinks.  In the middle of the room there were 2 huge plush toys (an elephant and giraffe) as center pieces on two of the tables and a beautiful diaper cake on the third table.  On the left side of the room all the gifts were piled around the cozy fireplace. 

The amazing spread (I took a picture before all the food was put out)

plush elephant - he's so cuddly

the sweet giraffe

The beautiful diaper cake (Amanda's 1st!)

All 3 center pieces up close

My friend Erika made an unbelievable cake that was to die for!  She even managed to get the fondant color exactly right, there were chocolate elephants marching around the cake and she topped it off with some totally cool fondant booties (all home made!).  This cake seriously tasted marvelous!

The awesome shower cake by Erika

Check out that detail and the cute booties!

After brunch and some chatting we played a couple games and the winners received gifts from my friend Renee at Leopards and Lilies.  She made a block magnet frame, necklace and even created the gift bags for everyone to take home.  She is quite the crafty creator!

gift bags by Renee

Brunch

Then it was onto the cake and gifts.  Malek and I are so very grateful to have such amazing friends and family!  Baby Ryland received so many adorable outfits, hand made blankets, the crib bedding, and all sorts of baby necessities (and a couple mother necessities as well!).  A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone for their generosity, we really appreciate it!

Opening gifts

The bedding and matching wall decor

Mom and I

Emma and in-laws

Group shot at the end

34 weeks

How I Look - My belly feels and looks huge to me!  And my belly button is dangerously close to going from an innie to an outie!  :(  This morning my mom said "wow, did your belly get bigger over night?"
How I Feel -  Starting to feel really uncomfortable.  My belly feels tight/pressure (braxton hicks) all the time now, and no matter what I do I can't get rid of it (burping and bathroom breaks aren't helping).  I swear my belly feels like a rock the majority of the time.

Weight -   +22 lbs overall. 
Symptoms -  Frequent pee breaks at night accompanied by some restless tossing and turning here and there.  I'm not waking up tired or anything in the morning, but I do wake up more throughout the night.
Cravings -  I've been wanting fresh fruit every morning like strawberries, peaches, pears, pineapple...apparently I want a fruit that I can practically drink.  However I usually just end up eating cereal or a muffin or a breakfast taco.  I really need to feed this fruit craving though, it's haunting me!  I do usually have an apple or pear at lunch...but apparently that's not enough.

Exercise -  Worked out Monday and Tuesday this week, plus several evening dog walks. 
What I'm Looking Forward To -  My baby shower this Saturday!  I'm super giddy and bubbling over with excitement!  I know my friends A&J have been putting a lot of thought and effort into it, it will be awesome!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To -  How much MORE uncomfortable I'm going to become in the next 6 weeks.
Odds and Ends - I'm so anxious to meet our little guy.  At first I couldn't believe how long it would take to get to this point, 40 weeks seemed like an eternity away when I was only 8 weeks along.  At 30 weeks I was shocked at how fast time had gone by, there couldn't possibly be only 10 weeks left?!  Now with only 6 weeks left I'm ready to pop this squirmy kid out who's taken up residence within my womb, probably because I'm uncomfortable.  I'm so ready to hit 37 weeks, which is considered full term, and meet our little critter!  That's me hoping he doesn't wait it out the full 40 weeks.  Holy moly I still need to pack my hospital bag!  :/ 

My mom arrived on Wed, she flew in for the shower and is here for a whole week. She's already started washing baby clothes for me and I'm sure will help me organize the nursery.  Plus I'm hoping to fit in some shopping, for the baby of course.  :)

Quote of the week:  "My uterus hurts!"


 Look!  I'm wearing something other than jeans.  :)



34 weeks - 3/4/2011



3/3/2011