36 week update...

so this past monday i had my 36 week OB appointment.  this starts my weekly visits which is actually kind of fun because i love getting the baby update more frequently.  anyway, at this appointment we found out i'm already dilated to 2.5cm!  very exciting.  no effacement, but the dilation is a start and the way i look at it, even if i go a few more weeks, any progress on the ole cervix before i get to the hospital is better!!!  less work to do there :)  i've been having tons of braxton hicks and they've definitely gotten more noticeable this week.  some of the time i've had mild low abdominal cramping that goes into my back, kind of like period cramps.  so i'm not too surprised about the cervix progress.  my next appointment is this wednesday and i'm excited to see where we're at then.

i also had to start taking supplemental iron this week.  at my 34 week appointment i had an H/H drawn and my levels were 10/30.  a little low, but the doctor thought it was mostly a dilutional effect.  however, i've continued eating ice like a fiend so at my 36 week appointment she said it would be best if i started iron.  i'm pairing my little red pill with colace though to stave off any constipation - not a fan of going back to my first trimester misery in that arena!  so hopefully that will get my iron to a good level before delivery.

mike is out of town for a couple days this week, in denver for a golf tourney, but hopefully little bubba hangs in there til the end of the week.  of course he can come back if needed but i'd like to make it into june before meeting our little man!  however, there's no way to control that so i'm just sitting back and enjoying these last few days or weeks of QUIET & downtime & a free schedule :)  i am loving the chance to lay on the couch and read all day if i want to!  and go & do anything on a whim.  still working but today is my last 12 hour shift in the ER...going to just do half shifts or administrative time for the next two weeks and then i'm done for good as of june 10!!  wonder if i'll make it that far....

will post an update after my OB visit on wednesday!

36 weeks.

FULL TERM.  wow!!!

with only four weeks to go, i am starting to finally feel some burden with pregnancy.  so far everything has been more than easy - never vomited, morning/all-day sickness only lasted from weeks 5-11 (whew!), tons of energy, feeling good about my body changing.  i've been one LUCKY girl & i know it.  i know not every prego girl feels as good as i have.  however, with week 36 has come my constant companion of puffy fingers & cankles :)  i wake up with them in the morning and my wedding rings are an accessory of the past!  by the end of the day the pitting edema in my ankles has set in and i can do nothing but put my feet up to relieve it.  other tidbits of these last few weeks...eating ice like a FIEND.  i had my hematocrit checked at the doctor to make sure my anemia (which i was sure i had since i've never been a huge ice-cruncher before) wasn't too out of whack...sure enough, it was low, but not bad and so she said "keep crunching!" :)  well, not really - but i don't need to treat it.  i'm so glad because the iron in my previous prenatals made me super constipated (TMI?) so i was hoping not to go back to those.  i feel baby move constantly, he's an active little guy, and i know already how much i will miss having him rolling around in my tummy.  there is no cooler feeling in the whole world.  i'm so grateful to get to experience pregnancy & to be loving it.  cankles & all.

the last few weeks i have been nesting like crazy.  planting flowers, cleaning out closets, organizing random spots like the tupperware drawer, working on long forgotten photo projects like making a book out of my photo-a-day blog from 2010!  we've also been working on bubba's nursery a lot & i love how it's coming together!  julie helped me finalize some choices while they were out a couple weeks ago & it's been really fun to see everything start piecing together.  here are a few pictures so far.  once everything is done, i'll do an entire nursery post from start to finish :)

ikea came through for me with the shelves, mirror, red locker & adorable rocking moose!  his crib is from pottery barn kids (thank you HUGE sale!).  the rug is crate & barrel.  his bedding was made for him by grandma trish, and the bunting by his aunt yaya for my missouri shower.  i love it hanging on his crib!

view from the corner by the crib...i found the gray chair & ottoman at AFW, a local furniture store.  it's sooo comfy.  it doesn't rock, but i think we will like snuggling and nursing in it anyway.  i wanted something neutral that i could use in a different room someday if i wanted to switch up the furnishings.  the lamp was a $15 end cap sale find from target, which julie lovingly spray painted red for me :)  the dresser is also ikea.  i'll put his changing pad on the right side.

view from the door.  i LOVE the "B for books" bookends i found at ikea.  and the shelves with little details on them like the toy thing on top that reminds me of doctor's offices as a kid:)  the wooden stump table next to the chair is from west elm, with a gift card i got from jen for my birthday.  LOVE it.  will be perfect for my cup of coffee or water when i'm nursing....the edge of the dresser was a little high when i'm sunk down into the chair so i think i'll like having something else close by to set my phone or drink on.  oh!  and the wall color is a super light gray that mike painted a few weeks ago.  i love how it turned out & love the natural light we get in that room.  i think it's a pretty cute nursery so far!  still have the changing pad covers coming, which i ordered from etsy.  and i have tissue pom-poms to hang over his crib, and frames to put up over the dresser.  but it's coming along nicely so far!

this week starts my weekly OB visits, which i'm kind of excited about strangely.  i am eager to see if there's any "action" with baby coming soon...dilating, etc.  i am hoping he comes a bit early - isn't every pregnant woman ready by this point?!  but not too early.  ideally, 2-3 more weeks but please not FIVE! :)  i have tons of braxton hicks, but he's still riding pretty high so i don't think we're anywhere near getting close.  sometimes i feel like i can't breathe, he's so high under my ribs.  i don't have much of a torso to start with and by the end of the day my belly is so huge i can't take a deep breath!  i'm still working 12's at work and by the end of those i'm totally whipped.  doesn't help that i toss & turn a lot at night now and get up to pee at least once in the middle of the night.  so 12 hours is a really long day for me.  in the next week or so, i'm cutting my hours back at work.  my last scheduled day is june 10, but i'm not planning on continuing full time until then at this point.  i kind of had a meltdown this week about not having enough time at home, with sarge, and with mike before baby comes...so i think cutting back will help me feel like i get the downtime i need NOW before my life is upside down.  we'll see.  speaking of sarge, we will probably have to put him down in the next couple weeks which is terrifying to me emotionally...but i don't want him to hurt, and he gets worse every week.  i also don't want to wait til baby comes and have to deal with the emotions of it then while trying to adjust to a new baby in our lives.  ugh.  there is no good time to make this decision, so your prayers for us in the next couple weeks are GREATLY appreciated.

think that's it for this update!!  i'll keep you posted as i move into my last few weeks!  so grateful for this journey that we're on...we are so excited to meet our little man soon & start this new chapter of life as team apostle.

34 weeks. and maternity photos!

34 weeks today!  time is FLYING by.  i'm both thrilled by this fact & terrified...i feel like we have so much more to do before little mister arrives, and yet i'm also so excited to meet him.  so soon.  34 weeks has brought with it the first week i haven't been able to wear my engagement band consistently, a little puffy in the hands & feet by evening.  otherwise i still feel awesome, and usually don't even feel prego besides the giant tummy :)  i feel little bubba moving all the time and lately he's been parking it on my right side.  i've started to feel specific parts moving around, like a foot poking out on my right side sometimes.  it's awesome & i know i will miss having his little movements inside me all the time.

this weekend julie, ruby & noa are in town and julie threw me an amazing baby shower!  i'll do posts on my showers once i get all the photos back.  i didn't really take many at either shower - was a bit distracted ;)  and i still have one with my work girlfriends this week.  so i'll get those up soon.  anyway, it's been amazing having the hammers in town and we have had the best time together.  i can't believe next time i see them i'll be carting my own little peanut around!!

also this week i got my maternity pics back from erika - she did these when she was out visiting in march.  and they are RIDICULOUSLY beautiful...i love every one of them.  below are a few of my favorites.  she is so, so good at what she does behind the camera & mike and i were so blessed by her talent.  we've looked at these 100 times.  it's been so long since we've had professional photos of the two of us (our wedding?!) and so it's awesome to have these to document this sweet time in our lives.  i am the luckiest girl ever to be married to him & i feel like these photos express just a fraction of my love for him.  thank you thank you thank you, erika.  love you, and love these.

we had to give a shout-out to our boy tim tebow :)

so grateful to have this photo of us just being US...laughing hysterically together.  it's one of the best parts of our relationship & to have it documented is priceless!!

here's hoping for the next few weeks to be as smooth as everything so far has been!  i've just started washing little man's clothes* & putting his room together so we can be ready for him whenever he arrives!  JUNE, you hear little bubba?  JUNE is fine.

*tonight i'm working on getting the red stains out of his clothing that i just washed with a rogue red onesie.  mommy-fail.  i'm hoping to salvage some of his cutie clothes that are streaked with red dye...otherwise will be making another trip to the carter's outlet soon...

32 weeks.

dear son,

we only have eight weeks to go before we meet you!  (give or take)  feel free to stay in there at least that long, we want you to be big & strong!  that being said though, we're starting to get ready for you.  this week your dad set up your crib & dresser, and we painted your room a light gray.  now momma just has to start washing all your clothes...oh my, you have a lot already.  you are going to be one well-dressed dude.  you have lots of people who have blessed us with sweet outfits...and well, your momma loves to shop for you already ;)

my baby center app says you weigh about 3.75 pounds this week and that you'll gain 1/2 pound a week from here on out, and that you are almost 17 inches long.  i can tell you're long because i feel you all over my belly, feet and hands moving and your little butt sometimes pushing against my belly.  sometimes i think you're trying to get out you're rolling around so much!  your dad & i laugh a lot at you making my belly lurch.  you are especially active when i sit on the couch with him to watch episodes of "the voice" - our new favorite show - and when i lay down in bed at night.  you also roll around lots when i have my morning cup of coffee and this morning i set my coffee cup on top of my belly and told your aunt kate, "i've been waiting to be able to do this!" :)  finally there's enough belly to make a shelf!

we have big dreams for you already, your dad & i.  we talk about you playing sports, running, going to college a long time from now.  we talk about how we'll spend our saturday mornings not too long from now on the soccer fields, or baseball diamonds, and i can't wait.  however, i also can't wait to just snuggle you in your jammies in the morning, take you on walks in your cool new stroller (we just got it!  it's awesome!), and smell your sweet skin after a bath.  it's the little things, buddy.

we are getting close to naming you - but until then, we mostly call you bubba.  sometimes peanut, or the tiny.  we hope to finalize your name soon.

pregnancy has been so easy for me.  i still feel good, even with my weight gain.  food has never tasted so good, and i don't have anything weird that i crave or that i have an aversion to.  i pretty much just love to eat ;)  don't worry, you and i will get to test that jogging stroller out lots together this summer while i try to get back to my normal size!!

i'm nervous about knowing how to raise a boy into a man, but i guess that's why God gave you a mommy & a daddy.  your dad is going to be awesome with you, rough & gentle at all the right times.  he is a good, kind, honorable man & i hope you grow up to be just like him.  i am so lucky to have two boys to love.  and i love you already, son.

can't wait to meet you & see your bright eyes look into mine for the first time.

xoxo,

momma

30 weeks.

it's hard to believe that i'm in week 30 already.  where does the time go?  i think i say that every week...but seriously.  i have ten weeks to go before we meet little man.  hard to believe.  i'm wavering between being soooo ready to see him & love him & be his mama...and holy-crap-we're-having-a-baby-and-i-have-ten-million-things-to-do-first-mode! :)  i guess this is normal!!

this week i've started to notice my hands & feet swelling some by the end of the day.  enough that my engagement ring starts to get uncomfortable and my toes look puffy.  it's worse on days that i have a bunch of meetings at work and end up sitting a lot.  yesterday we moved mom trish & sarah into their new place and after several flights up & down the stairs i expected to really be swollen by 11pm when i finally got home - but i was fine.  i guess all the movement kept the fluid at bay.  so i'm going to try to be more conscious of that and get up & walk around a lot if i'm sitting at my desk a lot.  i've been doing a new job since january which requires a lot of desk hours - but that is ending this month and i'll go back to 12 hour clinical shifts which definitely do not include a lot of sitting :)   otherwise, physically everything else seems normal.  i've been eating a LOT of ice chips - i can't help but crunch them if i have them.  is this a sign of low iron?  should probably ask my doc because it's a drastic change from my preference of room-temp, no ice water.

bubba has gotten a LOT bigger in the last few weeks i've noticed.  by him, i mean i have gotten a lot bigger :)  my belly feels massive!  thankfully i seem to have gained most of my weight in my tummy and i totally look like i have a basketball under my clothes!

here's another shot of the belly from today, after our post-lunch walk.  you can tell more the basketball shape.

i had my first real craving this week - chocolate cake with chocolate icing!!  i thought about it all week long, and held off til mom trish made a big cake for our easter luncheon.  it tasted AMAZING!!!  i had a huge piece and practically licked my plate clean.  it's really the first thing that i feel like i have craved that isn't part of my normal diet pre-pregnancy.  it was totally worth the craving-wait :)

i'm super excited for what the next week holds, i am going home to missouri for my first baby shower with family & a few close friends.  i can't wait!!  i'll make sure to take lots of pictures of course, and post details.

28 weeks.

28 weeks is here.  i can hardly believe it!

i feel like my body has changed so much in the last couple weeks.  bubba is riding low and it's starting to get hard to tie my shoes, bend over to pet sargey in the morning, or launch myself off the couch at the end of a movie.  mike calls this, "turtle on its back" :)

other than the belly just being in the way though, i still feel great.  i love being pregnant and i know not everybody experiences that blessing. i know lots of girls who feel uncomfortable throughout - but i love every second of it.  even at the end of the day when my feet are achy, i'm still so grateful for this experience.  bubba moves around SO much and in the last week i've been able to start feeling little parts moving, i can't identify whether it's a foot or a butt, but it's definitely a different feeling than just jabs & kicks.  he's most active when i lay on my side in bed at the end of the day. my tummy just rolls & rolls.  i love the little peanut already and can't wait to experience everything new with him in a few months.

no cravings really, which is funny.  i totally expected to have something weird pop up or be obsessive about some kind of food/drink - but nothing yet.  just normal likes/dislikes.  hopefully this means he'll be an easy baby HAHA!  i have gained weight kind of fast the last few weeks per my OB doctor, so i'm getting back into my exercising (have been slacking due to a few busy weeks) and trying to eat well.  i'm still well within the normal range but just don't want to continue to gain at the same rate.

mike and i went away to santa barbara this past weekend.  we had some hotel stays we won at a silent auction in january, to use up before december & figured it would be easier now than in the first six months of bubba's life with us :)  we had the BEST weekend together.  we got to see jim & amy one night for dinner, and meet their sweet new peanut henry.  we stayed in a couple of really awesome hotels, ate an amazing dinner overlooking the pacific ocean at sunset, and made a couple of day trips up to the santa ynez valley wine country.  it was cloudy & chilly in santa barbara (unusual!) but sunny & warm over the mountains - and we had a beautiful couple of days up there tasting local wines (mike, not me of course) and driving through the countryside and stopping for sandwiches on a sunny patio for lunch.  it was absolutely perfect time together & i'm so glad we made one last weekend away together before peanut comes.

i'm thrilled to be on this journey & can't believe i only have a few months left!  i feel like we still have so much to do!!  this week we're heading out to buy bubba's furniture for his room...mom & sarah move out in a couple weeks and we'll start transforming one of the rooms they're in into a nursery.  i can't wait!  pictures to come :)

26 weeks.

this week marks 26 weeks!  hooray for still feeling good, lots of energy and the return of my beloved taste for coffee :)  it's the little things!

i celebrated my 32nd birthday on sunday, the day i rolled over into 26 weeks.  i'm so excited about all that i have to look forward to in this coming year.  noa, julie & ruby are in town for my birthday weekend and it's been so much fun to share the excitement of us expecting little bubba!  and so much fun to love on ruby and look forward to those days soon.

in the meantime, not much new to report with pregnancy....of course the passing of my glucose testing was big news this week.  and the return (FINALLY) of my taste for coffee.  but other than that, no cravings.  no aversions.  just continued feeling-good-pregnant.  and i'm grateful for that!  the peanut has been rolling around like crazy in my belly and it's so much fun to watch him and to have mike feel him more consistently.  he's an active little guy - we might be in trouble ;)

glucose = 0. me = 1.

well, last friday i failed my 1 hour glucose test.  after drinking the sugar-laden concoction, i schlepped in an hour later and my sugar read 183.  that would be 43 points above acceptable :)   oops!

so i had the pleasure of participating in the three hour, fasting glucose test yesterday.  "three hour" is a misnomer.  in actuality, i fasted for 12 hours - went in at 8am for a baseline glucose reading which was 92.  then i drank a double portion of the sugar-concoction and sat around for the next three hours twiddling my thumbs at the doctor's office.  testing was done at 9am, 10am, and 11am.  thankfully (!!!!) my sugar dropped well below the accepted range at each marker and i was given a pass to continue on without gestational diabetes.  YAY!  my sister had it, so i was a little concerned about having it myself.  no offense liz, but i wasn't interested in sharing that little part of pregnancy with you :)  

at 11:30 i walked out of the doctor's office literally jittery with hunger (i mean, i don't like to go 15 hours without eating when i'm NOT pregnant!  torture!  to put it mildly, i felt a big "hangry" at that point...thanks ruthie & mike for the great term)....and naturally, my first stop was across the street, here!!!

i cannot tell you the last time i had burger king.  i'm not much of a fast-food eater anyway (i don't count chik-fil-a, people. work with me.)....and BK is usually low on my list if i am going to eat fast food.  behind taco bell & mcdonald's, naturally.  but yesterday morning, it was all that sounded good.  a big ole burger, fries and coke (thank you Lord for coca-cola) later, i was happily on my way to finish the work day.

i celebrated not counting carbs today by choosing biscuits & gravy for breakfast.  off to a good start.

24 weeks.

i can't believe i'm already at 24 weeks.  i realized and blurted out in shock this weekend, "in 12 weeks i'll be full term!"  and then i just sat there in silence.  holy crap!  it seems so close all of a sudden.  i mean sometimes i feel like june still feels a long way off, but when i think about how fast 24 weeks has gone, to know that i only have 12 weeks til baby could really come and be fine is SCARY!  i have so much left to do!

anyway, enough panicking.  but seriously.

i am feeling great.  more than great, i feel better than before i was pregnant i think :)  i have tons of energy, i like how my body is changing, i lovelovelove feeling peanut roll around in there and love watching my belly move around with him.  it's all so amazing & i'm so grateful to be enjoying pregnancy so much.  i know it's not this easy for everyone, and who knows what the next 12-16 weeks holds for me - but for now, i'm really thankful for these blessings.

i still haven't had any food aversions or cravings in particular.  chik-fil-a breakfast pretty much always sounds good to me, but i don't necessarily crave it i don't think.  i love fruit and salad bar as a meal...but that's kind of always been true of me.  my love of coffee is BACK (hallelujah!) so i currently have no food aversions or smells that bother me.  i basically don't feel any different than before i was prego!  however - the sleep monsters have taken over my nighttime and although i know it's not entirely true, i usually get up in the morning feeling like i pretty much never went to sleep.  lots of tossing & turning.  which i know just gets worse towards the end of pregnancy!  i guess that's my only complaint :)

we found out this week that baby boy will have two girlfriends coming soon...baby huntington & baby seeba are both GIRLS!  so excited for their families, and they will both have sweet older brothers to watch over them!

so here's my 24 week picture....many thanks to sarah for all her help executing these biweekly photos shoots!

and a sweet photo of my first baby boy...

 we found out on monday that he has bone cancer, osteosarcoma.  we are of course heartbroken, and are trying to navigate our short future with him.  so far he seems to just have pain in his front right leg with walking, and so he limps, but otherwise seems pretty alert & playful still.  we are soaking up our days with him and absolutely spoiling him rotten.  my hope is that he stays long enough with us to meet our peanut in june.  i would love nothing more than to be able to photograph my boys together.  we call this look "the stuffed pig" - he is obsessed with his tennis ball from the Hubs.  it squeaks & is his fave.  he carries it around like this in his mouth, almost a pacifier.  or - hence the name - like a stuffed pig with apple in mouth :)  thank you for making us laugh through our tears, puppydog.

looking forward this week to the gestational diabetes test...aka drinking the disgusting sugar drink!  fingers crossed for a good report!

hello, again.

welcome back, my LOVE!!!

while on our babymoon, i had my first sip of coffee since week 5 when my tummy first turned at the smell.  and over the last couple weeks i have slowly rekindled my love affair with coffee.  thank goodness, it has been my only real aversion since being pregnant.  but it was hard to hate the smell of it so much, i think i had more of an emotional attachment than a physical dependence on the caffeine.  i just missed sipping a cup in the morning - and tea wasn't cutting it!

so glad i'm back to being myself...well, at least in this one area ;)