Baby girl has a name!

We have decided on a name!  We've been trying it out for a few months at home just to be sure we liked it.  We've been slowly telling family and friends, and her name officially came out at the baby shower this past weekend.  The name of Baby Girl is (drum roll...): 

Carsyn Alexis Malek!!!

It took us a long time to settle on her name.  I wasn't sold until I happened to be watching an episode of Sesame Street and there was this super cute little girl on there named Carson.  My top pick for a first name had been Alexis, however we both noticed how popular Alexis had become so we decided to use that as a middle name instead.  We've already started thinking of some nicknames; Carsy and Cami (initials CAM)

Carsyn is an alternate spelling of Carson, meaning "Carr's son".  The name Carr is of several derivations.  It is from the Middle English and Scottish car, carre (marsh, mossy place), from the Welsh caer (a fort), and from the Gaelic carr (rock).

The Irish and American meaning of Ryland is 'Island Meadow', the English meaning is 'land of rye'.  Seems fitting hers is 'Mossy Place'.  :)

34 weeks

9/25/2013 - 34 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  My belly button is starting to protrude as it slowly morphs from an innie to an outie.

Weight :  +25 lbs.  Yikes!  I blame all the sweets I've devoured this week (donuts, baby shower cake, chocolate, etc)

How I Feel - The same.  I keep getting this pain on the top right side of my belly, I think it could be Braxton Hicks.  I usually just have to switch positions or rub it out for the stitch in my side to go away.  I'm sure leaning over my desk at work doesn't help.

Symptoms - Fatigued by the end of the work day and frequent pee breaks.  Swelling of the hands/feet.  I'm falling apart from these pregnancy hormones!  This week I've also felt very sore (feet, legs, hips), the kind of sore you normally get a day after a really good workout.

Cravings - Fruits and sweets.  I was really bad this week about the sweets.  My shower was this past Sunday and I took home and entire cake, which I've been eating on every night.  Plus the hubby picked up donuts Sunday morning, so I was snacking on those all week as well.

Exercise - 2 workouts this week.  I'm very close to being done with the gym.  My feet are so swollen that it's hard for me to even lace up my shoes, much less bend over to tie them!

What I'm Looking Forward To - Meeting our precious little girl in 5 weeks!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Fingers crossed this pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome goes away after baby is born, most of the time it does but I've read of a few cases where it didn't go away.  :(

Odds & Ends - Baby girl is super squirmy.  She loves to pummel me on my right side.  It amazes me every time I feel her move, and it's so weird to see the ripples, bulges and movements of my belly as she kicks and stretches.  At 34 weeks baby girl weights roughly 4 3/4 lbs (the size of a cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long.

I need to start packing my hospital bag, apparently that should be done by week 35.

My baby shower was this past Sunday and turned out super sweet.  The girls and my mom did a great job.  Baby girl received lots of clothes which was desperately needed.  ;)  Girl clothes are sooooo cute, I want her stuff!

Some of my shirts really do fit like this

Sweet Baby Shower

My friends did it again!  Amanda, Jenn and my mom threw me a lovely baby shower, this time they went with an afternoon Southern Tea Party theme and incorporated the colors/theme from the nursery, purple/aqua butterflies.  :)

The hostesses

Jenn and Amanda 9/22/2013

My mommy, aka JuJu 9/22/2013

There were two tables full of finger foods (prepared by my mom), passion fruit tea, sweet tea, an assortment of petits fours (pecan tartlets, lemon cakes and red velvet cake balls) and a gorgeous cake.  All desserts were prepared by my friend Erika's Cool Cakes.  In the middle of the table was a giant purple C for Carsyn.  Perfect!

Yellow cake with raspberry filling, YUM!

lemon petit four

Jenn put together the table centerpieces which added to the cozy atmosphere and Amanda created the cute sign in picture frame.  

This time they included an arts and craft table.  Everyone was encouraged to paint a little wooden butterfly and write one word of inspiration, blessing or word of wisdom for baby girl.

The hubby and I are so very thankful to have some amazing friends and family.  Carsyn received tons of super cute outfits, stuffed animals, blankets and mommy opened a gift to reveal a super nice diaper bag!  A BIG thank you to everyone for their generosity!

My grandmothers jewelry box, containing a heart necklace and bracelet
(which were originally mine and given to me by my grandmother and mom, now passed on to Carsyn)

Awesome Coach Ticking Stripe Baby Diaper Bag Tote!

coworkers Linda and Kelly

Nana and Aunt Bea

Bumps unite!  Monica

The tall ladies ;) Jennifer

Candid shots

Maternity Pictures

We had our maternity pictures taken around week 28, on a nice warm morning in August by a friend of ours.  :)  We choose Mayfield Park for the location for two reasons: 1) we love that spot and 2) figured it would be easier to contain Ry to the area (he likes to explore).  It was in the high 80's when we started at 9am, 1.5 hours later it was easily in the low 90's and everyone was sweating (my hair started to curl/frizz).  I'm thrilled with how the pictures turned out, Scott captured some great shots!  Here are a few of my favorites.

8/11/2013 - 28 weeks

33 weeks

9/18/2013 - 33 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  Belly is large and in charge.

Weight :  +22.5 lbs (see Cravings)

How I Feel -  The same.  Sometimes the numbness/pain is so bad in my right hand that I want to cut it off.  Not really...kinda sorta...thought about it.

Symptoms -  Going to the bathroom all the time, sometimes 5 mins after I just went!  Hand numbness/burning pain (retaining fluid which increases pressure in the carpal tunnel, hence my pregnancy carpal tunnel issues), swollen feet/hands and belly tightness (Braxton Hicks?).  *sigh*

I pulled this straight from babycenter.com for week 33:  Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep.

Cravings - Fruit, chocolate.  I made indoor smores and they lasted all of 2 days.  Oink Oink Oink!

Exercise - So far I've fit in one workout this week and one evening walk.  Yeah, I'm getting lazy....

What I'm Looking Forward To - My baby shower this weekend!  :feelinggiddy:  Oh, and only 6 more weeks to go!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Stretch marks, hand pain and belly tightness.

Odds & Ends -  I have noticed I'm eating less and less at each meal, there's just not enough room in my stomach to hold a lot of food.  I fare much better eating something small every 2-3 hours.  I spend the majority of my night sleeping on the couch, that's were I'm the most comfortable when trying to avoid the hand pain.  

Last weeks Dr's appointment went as expected.  I'm on track, baby girl is healthy and has a heartbeat of 135 bpm.  I'm not high risk for anything.  My blood work came back the same.  Iron only went up 1 point to 10.5, which is still considered low, so I have to continue taking iron supplements 2x's a day.  My thyroid came back the same as well so we'll have to recheck it in a month.  And I do get one more ultrasound at week 36!

Oh!  I went on a shopping spree at the outlet mall this past weekend and found clothes for her future photo shoots.  So looks like we'll be doing the 3/6/9/12 photos again.  :P  Her theme will be navy blue, pink, beige and ivory.

32 weeks

9/11/2013 - 32 weeks and 4 days 

32 weeks and 3 days. 9/10/2013

How I Look -  I think the same.  I've had a few more people tell me this week how great I look, that I don't look like I'm as far along as I really am.  Go me!  ;)

Weight :  +19.5 lbs.  I gained 31 lbs with Ryland...which means I will at least put on another 11 lbs if not more!  

How I Feel -  The same as last week.  My hands are numb ALL the time.  My belly feels super tight and pressurized, I really don't know how my belly can get any bigger without exploding!

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and swelling in my feet.  My stomach is crowded by growing baby girl and I feel really uncomfortable after eating a large meal (I read I should now eat 6 small meals a day).  The pressure also causes way more bathroom breaks.  I've also noticed my hands and belly are itchy (apparently this is normal).

Cravings - Cheetos

Exercise - Hit the gym twice this week.  

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Week 39, only 7 more weeks to go!  Also my baby shower is only 11 days away!  I love Friday's now since I have them off, which gives me plenty of time to catch up on sleep with afternoon naps!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Stretch marks and hand pain.

Odds & Ends -  Baby girl now has toenails, fingernails and hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz)!  She also really likes to kick the right side of my body and she's constantly moving.  I have another Dr's appointment tomorrow as I'm now checking in every 2 weeks.  Apparently I might have another ultrasound too!  Perhaps I'll be able to see how much hair she has on her head.  :)

Now onto my unusual sleeping positions.  I've noticed my hands go numb when they are parallel with the ground or angled upward, so I have to try and sleep propped up.  There's been quite a few times I've had to switch to the couch so that I can sleep sitting up, with a pillow on either side of my body to rest my arms/hands on.  I really miss sleeping on my stomach and even my side.  

31 weeks

9/5/2013 - 31 weeks and 5 days 

How I Look -  The same.  This week I had several people tell me I looked too small to be in my 8th month.  Love it!  

Weight :  +18.5 lbs.  Same as last week.

How I Feel -  My hands are numb ALL the time now.  The pain in my right arm still wakes me up 2-3 times a night, and sometimes I end up staying awake for a couple hours.  Sleep deprivation is taking its toll on me.  Today I felt really off, tired, low energy and just blah.

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and swelling.  I think my feet are starting to swell as well now!

Cravings - Pretty much the same.  Corn on the cob, sweets...

Exercise - Only managed to fit in one workout this week due to the holiday weekend and busy work schedule.

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Week 39.  I'm ready for my body to return to normal.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - I think the "How I Feel" section captures it all.

Odds & Ends -  It's been a busy week.  Over labor day weekend we celebrated a friends birthday, went to the pool, tailgated (in 106 degree heat!) and partied with neighbors.  Whew!  We were so busy I totally forgot to blog about our maternity photos!  I also registered us online for the hospital and had my first prenatal massage.  The massage was nice but didn't help with my hand pain. 

From here on out I'm taking every Friday off work until baby girl is born.  So tomorrow I will pamper myself with a haircut, pedi and hopefully an uninterrupted nap.  

Tailgating in Trees 8/31/2013