36 weeks

I had thoughts of what to post this week but they've all been consumed by the news we heard at the doctor this morning for my 36 week check-up:
Baby is still breech. With his feet way up by his head.
Yuck.
At my last appointment, the doctor I saw thought Nathan had turned and even had me feel his "butt" and "head" as she poked around. Either she was wrong or he's flipped again because he is pretty high up and still snuggling head-up by my ribs.
So after a long discussion with the doctor and Ryan and I weighing the options, we went ahead and scheduled a c-section. And basically picked our baby's birthday. It's crazy!
There is a part of me that is relieved. We know when he's coming (for the most part - he could always surprise us) and it makes it so much easier to "schedule" my family to be here for his birth.
On the other hand, I am apprehensive about having major surgery and the whole recovery process. That part of me wonders if any tricks or "exercises" I've read can really help the baby turn on his own so I can try for a vaginal delivery. I actually spent 20 minutes when I got home tonight trying one.
I'm praying for wisdom and direction in the next couple of weeks to understand God's plan for our baby's arrival. I know He knows what He's doing and that there is a reason for everything, so we'll see how things go for my next two appointments (which are now weekly) to see if He changes anything or if this is truly the plan.
As a side note, Nathan is truly his mama's boy and proved to be just as stubborn as in past appointments for this ultrasound - not only was he presenting breech, he was facing backward so we couldn't even get a shot of his face! The best the tech got was a foot. Silly boy!

How far along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: a crenshaw melon (no clue), about 18.5 in. and almost 6 lb.

Total weight gain/loss: +29 lbs (I hate having to admit this at this point) I will say, though, that I still have an "innie" but it's almost completely flat.

Maternity clothes: almost everything I wear at this point.

Gender: a boy!

Movement: Nathan's heartbeat was strong on the ultrasound this morning and he is definitely still moving around - just with less and less room. He also gets the hiccups quite a bit, which are such a bizarre feeling!

Sleep: I tried a new trick last night because my hips have been hurting so much while I sleep. I propped myself to almost sitting and used a neck pillow Ryan bought on a business trip recently so my head wouldn't roll around. It was actually quite comfy and I lasted a few hours before settling down and going back to side-sleeping. I'm also getting up about twice a night, which is more frequently than before but still not as bad as I ever thought this far along in the pregnancy.

What I miss: fitting in my shoes! My feet are so swollen, I am limited to just a couple pairs that don't hurt. Really missing that back-sleeping, too, now that my hips hurt so much at night.

Cravings: still sweets but also fresh fruit (something healthy!). I got pineapple, strawberries and watermelon over the weekend and have eaten almost all of it already for various meals and snacks. Yum!

Symptoms: swelling, heartburn, sciatica, waddling, increased clumsiness, the list goes on. Ah, how lovely pregnancy can be!

Best moment this week: not necessarily the best, but the most momentous - I got out of work early on Thursday for the long Easter weekend so I took advantage and went to the hospital to preregister. I am now all set to check in without having to fill out mounds of paperwork when baby comes! (Although, admittedly, it wasn't bad at all and actually was so easy so I am sure I could have handled it when the time came but I'm glad to have it over with.)

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!
What a joyous day and such a great reminder of all the many blessings God has given in our lives. I absolutely love Easter and all the tradition and celebration behind it.
While I've been a bit distracted this year to do anything major to celebrate, I did finally set out some decorations and bought my must-have Cadbury Mini-Eggs. They're the best Easter candy by far!
After church, we are getting together with Ryan's family and I'm looking forward to reflecting on what this day means and having a quiet afternoon of celebration.
I hope you and your loved ones have a very Happy Easter!

A name for the nursery

As a gift to my sister before my nephew was born last year, I painted his name on canvases for his room. Well, with my own little one on the way, I had to do the same for our nursery!
What started as six plain square canvases slowly became 10x10 blocks of color... And then (even more slowly) became "Nathan"...

I wanted to use the nursery colors but since we didn't necessarily have a theme, I chose more graphic patterns instead of a scene like I did for Carter.

Now they're all hung and ready to welcome baby home. I love how it turned out and it really helps to make the nursery feel more complete. One more thing off the list!

35 weeks

Mondays are tough for me. I don't know if it's because it's the first day back at work after the weekend or what, but the last few weeks have had rough Mondays. Today was especially busy - I had a new associate start at work and between meetings all day and trying to get him acquainted with his new office, I didn't sit down to check emails until 5 pm and I couldn't even get through them all before needing to head home to rest.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the preparations for maternity leave. I don't typically write about work on my blog, but it's definitely something that is starting to overshadow my final weeks before Baby M arrives. I know he will come when God is ready but I just hope I am able to get everything wrapped up between now and then!
How far along: 35 weeks

Size of baby: a honeydew melon, more than 18 in. and about 5.25 lb.

Total weight gain/loss: +27 lbs (this gets more and more depressing but I have to think that my baby is growing and *hopefully* healthy so the weight gain is all worth it)

Maternity clothes: definitely growing tired of my lack of choices for work - especially since it's warming up and most of my "nicer" tops are for cooler weather so I end up sweating in the office! I find myself overheating in meetings only to find out after the fact from colleagues that no one else is hot. My internal furnace is keeping things toasty!

Gender: a boy!

Movement: I can tell it's getting tighter in there because Nathan doesn't have the exagerated waves of motion anymore but I do feel him kick quite a bit. He's pretty high still (the doctor even confirmed last week at my appointment) and I can feel him wedged up in my right ribs. She did think he had turned, though, which is great news.

Sleep: yes, please! I love my sleep and still slumber really hard each night.

What I miss: being more active (did I really just say that?!). I miss getting some kind of exercise but it's just so hard right now.

Cravings: there was a birthday celebration in the office today and it was the perfect combination of red velvet cake calls (homemade and amazing!) and Whole Foods cupcakes. No wonder my weight gain keeps ticking up and up!

Symptoms: swelling - both in my feet and fingers. By the time I got home from work today, my shoes were so tight and my feet looked like they had been stung by bees. I've also had nasty heartburn (had to buy more Tums this weekend) and backache, supporting all this extra weight.

Best moment this week: a visit from my mom! We started the long weekend with a quick zip down to Vero Beach to look at potential vacation homes for my parents. I admittedly was not looking forward to spending all day 8 months pregnant and walking around but I actually had a really good time and liked seeing all the different properties. Hopefully one will work out for them! The rest of the visit was spent shopping and running errands to get final supplies before baby comes and wrapping up some nursery projects. It was so nice to have my mom here for a few days and all that we accomplished made me feel so much more ready for Nathan to arrive. It's hard to believe the next time I see her he will be here!

34 weeks

I had a minor hormonal anxiety attack this morning and laid in bed, crying on the phone to Ryan (who had to work in Tampa this morning), doing an official kick count because I was worried I hadn't been feeling Nathan enough in the past couple of days.

I think the countdown is really in my head now and I am starting to worry over every little thing. Surprisingly, I have been really laid back this whole pregnancy so this is a big change for me.

Needless to say, Baby M kicked plenty and continued throughout the day so I didn't end up going to the hospital as was the protocol direction when I called the doctor's office with my concern. I am praying that God will relieve some of these nerves and anxiety and in the meantime, I am putting my trust in Him that all is well.How far along: 34 weeks

Size of baby: a cantaloupe, almost 18 in. and about 4.75 lb.

Total weight gain/loss: +26 lbs (yikes - can I blame some of that on water weight and swelling, please?!)

Maternity clothes: yep, pretty much everything I wear now. Thankfully, Lindsay lent me a bunch of tops now that she has had baby Parker, so my choices have expanded quite a bit.

Gender: a boy!

Movement: despite my little freak out, he is actually moving quite a bit. I'm also feeling a more rhythmic pattern every now and then, which I'm thinking is the hiccups?

Sleep: I seem to hit a wall each afternoon and get really tired so the exhaustion is starting to set in again. At night, my hips don't lie - they hurt! But I'm still sleeping pretty well and thankful for any zzz's I can get. Only 6 more weeks to enjoy them!

What I miss: Spring! Suddenly, it's gone into full summer heat mode down here and I can't stand it. It's not really pregnancy-related but relevant to the time. Thank goodness Nathan is scheduled to arrive before summer really hits!

Cravings: still love my sweets!

Symptoms: my feet tend to swell by the afternoon and are those really kankles? Ahh!

Best moment this week: Ryan and I went on a sweet date night on Saturday night and it was so nice to have a great meal and talk. I know those moments are quickly slipping away, so I was glad to have the opportunity to be just the two of us before baby comes.

Accessories for the Nursery

We have a bit of a giraffe theme going on in the nursery. There are giraffes on Nathan's bedding and the canvas baskets I've collected have somewhat of a giraffe print on them. I think they're adorable but Ryan has cautioned not to go too overboard with them. I couldn't resist one more touch since we still needed artwork on the walls... One little giraffe on either side of the crib to welcome Nathan to his room.

Now I just need to tackle the other walls! I bought craft supplies and canvases to paint his name for the wall opposite the crib and a frame arrived today that I have some ideas about. It's coming along!

33 weeks

It's starting. The achiness, feeling huge and overall discomfort has begun. I had a rough day at work, where sitting was literally a pain in the bum and Nathan was so wedged up in my ribs that I felt short of breath all day. I am hoping this was just a bad day and tomorrow will be better.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking in my head, both at home and at the office, and I am starting to panic a little that the little munchkin will be here in only 7 weeks! I am in full nesting-mode and trying my best to get ready with each spurt of energy I can garner.

(I took this photo with my hair up to see if my face has gotten any fatter than earlier in the pregnancy. I am afraid it has, along with my arms. Bummer.)

How far along: 33 weeks

Size of baby: a pineapple, about 17 in. and about 4 lb.

Total weight gain/loss: +24 lbs (according to my scale - we'll see what the doctor says next week)

Maternity clothes: I got a new bra (thank goodness) and a couple more items to last me through the end (I hope!). I hate spending money on these things because I feel like it's so over-priced and I won't get much use out of them after the baby is here.

Gender: a boy!

Movement: Nathan was rolling around while I was sitting on the couch so I lifted my shirt and could see little ripples and waves across my belly. It actually made me tear up a bit at the awesomeness of this little life growing inside of me!

Sleep: it's getting tougher. My hips hurt after being on my side for too long and it's harder to stay comfortable throughout the night. I'm still able to sleep through with minimal restroom breaks, though, so I am thankful for that. Although, some nights I do have dreams about needing to go to the bathroom...weird!

What I miss: nothing in particular this week.

Cravings: still love my sweets!

Symptoms: the furnace turned on this week and I have been hot! It doesn't help that the weather is warming up, either. I also had a nose bleed yesterday after blowing it - that happened a bunch at the beginning of the pregnancy and I'm hoping it's not coming back! Thankfully, it stopped pretty soon and Ryan was right there to help with tissues. I'm feeling overall achy and sore, too, which I'm hoping will be erased with a good night's sleep.

Best moment this week: I got to see a lot of babies this week and it was so fun to visit with friends and hear about their experiences. We cooked dinner for Mike and Lindsay so we got to visit with tiny newborn Parker, then we went out to eat with friends and their almost-one year old and I had brunch with some girlfriends and got to meet six-month old baby Calvin. All these little ones make me so excited for Nathan to arrive. I can't wait to get to know him and his personality, and I especially can't wait to see what he looks like!