2 1/2 Weeks

18 Days to go! And I am ready to have my belly back. Warning: I am about to complain a whole bunch...so bear with me! My stretch marks are making my stomach unbearably itchy again and have started to almost split in places - I seriously don't know if my skin can stretch anymore! Caden's movements have also been getting very uncomfortable for me, he seems to like stretching my stomach into the most unusual shapes. I still cramp sometimes but it's my pelvis that is the hurting the most, and now Caden's head is starting to push down more...ouch! So pray for an early delivery PLEASE! I feel like I'm going mad!

Okay I'm done complaining lol :) We've had a good few days with Nate's Uncle Harlan who has been visiting us. As I write this blog though he has food poisoning in the other room so the poor guy doesn't feel good at all! Pray that he feels better soon.

Here is a 37 week pic.

Done with Work

Here are the ultrasound pics from Monday...he is measuring to be over 7 pounds at the moment.

I have stopped working now, but am still making collars. I had to pull them from my work for now as I was selling too many! Right now I have sold 7 and have 5 orders...so 12 total in only 1 week! I can't keep up! I also made an etsy shop - SpecialtyCollars.etsy.com - feel free to look!

Less than 4 weeks to go

Last night was the 3rd night in a row that I have not been able to get any decent sleep. I get incredibly thirsty and drink a lot of water, but then have to get up every hour to pee. It's so frustrating!

There has also been a new development. Last night, after Nate and I left a restaurant, I started to feel like I was cramping. I thought maybe I needed to go to the bathroom (lol) so didn't think much of it. But last night I got what felt like period cramps in my stomach and lower back...so much so I couldn't sleep. I don't think I'm having any form of contractions as my stomach doesn't get that hard...but then again how am I to know? Tomorrow I have a Dr's appointment so I will ask then.

In other news, I'm doing really well with selling my pet collars, I've already sold 6 this week and need to make some more!

Here is a 36 week pic:

33 Days

Today marks 33 days until D-Day. Well...I'm hoping it's less than that :) Caden is still very active, I feel lumps and bumps sticking out all over my stomach for most of the day. I haven't gained any weight in about 5 weeks now. I think I'm losing weight while Caden is gaining so it's balancing out, and believe me I'm eating a lot! So to date I've gained about 15 pounds.

I've started a new project; making swarovski crystal pet collars...I can sell them at my work and it's something I can do at home once I stop working. Here is a pic! I hand glue and sew them.

Next week I get a group B strep test and another ultrasound to check the size and position of the baby...and the 23rd marks my last day at work...wohoo!

Tagged

I got tagged by like 5 people for this survey, so even though I'm still working on my other tagged survey from a few weeks ago....here it is!

1) Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate!

2) Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them.

3) Colored lights or white? White, that is what our tree has this year...and it's beautiful!

4) Do you hang mistletoe? Yes sometimes...there is some outside :)

5) When do you get out your decorations? Sometime in December.

6) Favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? All of it.

7) Favorite holiday memory as a child? Sneaking down the stairs early in the morning to see if Father Christmas had brought the presents yet, but being absolutely terrified that he would see me so I kept running back up, then back down. In the end I didn't have the guts and waited in my room until everyone else woke up lol. Cause ya know...he will take all the presents back if you cheat and peek early!

8) When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Can't remember, I think it comes with age.

9) Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No...but I think we do now as it is Nate's tradition.

10) How do you decorate your trees? Ornaments, bows and lights. My cats eat tinsel so none for us!

11) Snow, love it or hate it? Nice to look at, sucks to live in.

12) Can you ice skate? For sure!

13) Do you remember your favorite gift? Probably my Cello.

14) What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Jesus, then the music.

15) Favorite Holiday dessert? Mince pies mmmm.

16) Favorite Christmas tradition? Presents!!!

17) What tops your tree? A large silver star.

18) What's better giving or receiving? I like both lol ;)

19) Favorite Christmas song? O' Holy Night and a few others.

20) Candy Canes, yummy or yucky? Yummy!

21) What do you want for Christmas? A puppy. But I can't have one.

22) Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? Not really.

23) Do you dress up for Christmas eve? Nah.

24) Do you own a Santa Hat? Nope.

25) Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Nate!


You know what's next right? Time to tag people

No one left!

6 weeks to go!

I'm counting down the days now...and I'm definitely feeling some aches and pains. Sleeping is getting harder, as well as walking and bending, but over all I think I'm doing very well at this stage. Customers at work can't believe I'm this far along, seeing as my face and limbs aren't fat yet lol!

Caden likes to move a lot these days, and seems to really like jabbing me in the ribs and pushing his foot along the entire width of my belly - ouch! And most of the time he gets so active he gives himself hiccups, I usually feel them about twice a day now :)

34 weeks.

Gettin' Crafty

Well Nate is at convention this weekend so I will miss having another belly pic taken, but that's ok. Today there are 49 days left until my due date...I'm getting closer!

Last night I stayed up making hanging letters for Caden's nursery. I've wanted some for a while but the ones I like as so expensive and I found a way to be creative with my own.

I've been getting quite a bit of pain in my hips lately, I know it's all for a reason, but man it's hard to walk around now! Also my belly itches like crazy...I've been trying to be good by ignoring it lol.

Counting Down the Days

Less than 8 weeks to go - yay! While I'm impatient for Caden to get here, I can't help feeling a little nervous about the upcoming birth. I'm trying to keep myself busy by getting the nursery in order. My bassinet arrives this week hopefully, and all I need now are a few little things here and there to be all set. It really is amazing how blessed we are to have most of our items taken care of, when I look around at all the stuff I still feel shocked. This week I hope to finish all the thank you cards. I'm so bad at it.

This past week or so has been tougher, the skin on my belly is starting to hurt and itch...and, dare I say it...I have gotten a couple of faint stretch marks under my belly button *shudder*. The belly band I have seems to help a lot with support, so thank you Jen for lending it to me!

Tomorrow I have another OB appointment, and I will be getting my blood drawn to check on the status of my anemia. I've been taking extra iron so hopefully the results will be better. We also are going to our second to last childbirth class...last week we went on the hospital tour which was pretty awesome.

Well, not much else to say except here is the 32 week belly pic...I skipped a week - whoops!

Measuring BIG!

We just got back from our ultrasound appointment...and Caden is measuring a whole 3 weeks bigger and over a pound larger than a regular 30 week baby...agh! He is in the top percentile for his height too, the doctor isn't even sure I will make it to 40 weeks with this big fella! Not that I mind, but I really wasn't expecting him to be that big lol! I knew there was a reason I was getting sooo uncomfortable and have been feeling like I can't breathe. I need to get a belly sling :)

Here is a pic of his cute face!

So much for the 10 comments a day I receive about how tiny my belly is!

10 weeks left!

I am now 30 weeks pregnant! I can't believe that I'm almost there!





On Monday I had the most amazing baby shower, thank you so much to everyone who gave us things for Caden, you have no idea how blessed we are to have such good people in our lives! Here are a few pics (courtesy of Nicky - thank you!) of the shower.

Me overwhelmingly excited about all of the presents lol!

Soon I will start posting pics of how the nursery is coming along, it is looking sooo cute! And tomorrow is our final ultrasound...so I will be posting pics from that too!

Sick Day

Poor Nate. At about 6 O'clock this morning I awoke to the pleasant sound of him throwing up in the bathroom. It looks like he has the flu! So he had to miss out on church today...as well as all his responsibilities there. But like I told him earlier, there is nothing he could do about that, it's totally beyond his control. After some dayquil and some hot soup he seems to be feeling a little better...I just hope it's only a 24 hour thing.


I, on the other hand, went to church this morning...however I left early after spending about 20 minutes on a chair in the womens' bathroom fighting my third dizziness episode. The room was spinning and I could see lots of colors in front of my eyes. This is the second time it's happened when I've been standing and singing...is it because I don't get enough oxygen? When it subsided a little I drove home before the service was over to take care of my poor sick husband. What a day! Hopefully all will be well tomorrow for the baby shower!


The one cool thing that happened today was walking out of my apartment this morning and into a woman holding a newborn baby. Turns out she lives in my complex and just had a baby girl just over a week ago! I had no idea she was pregnant or that she had a baby, and she also had no idea about my pregnancy either! I've been secretly worrying about having a child living in this building...there have been no babies here for years, and I didn't know how annoying it would get to the 7 other units. But now Caden has a playmate so we are not alone!


Here is a belly pic from yesterday at 29 weeks. Caden's is moving so much, but now it's in a stranger way...like a bump moving across my belly...it's the craziest sensation!

I hope to see everyone tomorrow at the shower!

Learning to Birth?

Nate and I, after much thought, had decided to sign up for birthing classes put on through Torrance Memorial Hospital. For me it was not so much to "learn" about the birthing process
(I grew up with childbirth classes happening in my living room, and remember playing with the fake pelvis my Mum had lol) but to get to know my hospital's policies and procedures, and what their views were on delivery and care. Last night was the first class, and I was happy to find out some new policies the hospital had put in place just recently, such as the "golden hour" (no longer whisking the baby away after birth...but leaving him/her with the parents for a whole hour with no interruption) and the "skin to skin" policy. The teacher is also a huge advocate of breast feeding and told us that formula has been mostly removed from the hospital as an offer to newborns.

I am also keen to let Nate get some education on all things related to pregnancy and birth...although the video we watched was challenging in some areas lol!
Although I am observing everything, I am also very guarded on what to take on as the "right way." I just wanted to go to a class that was open to all aspects, including pain medication, which I am planning on using. All in all it was good...I just can't wait to get to the epidural part of the class ha ha ;)

In other news, my OB appointment went well, but I had to have an RH factor shot....in my BUTT lol! It wasn't bad, just a new "experience" for me. Also my blood results came back, and they show I am anemic...so I have to take extra iron pills. Caden is still head down (it must be his favorite spot - he's been the same for weeks and weeks) and enjoys kicking me in the ribs now. In two weeks is my final ultrasound to measure him and guesstimate size - and coming up on Monday is my baby shower - how exciting!!! Maybe I'll see you then?

3rd Trimester

Wow it's here already - the third and final trimester! And I awoke this morning to some adorable hiccups from inside my belly. This week Caden has been in some sort of position that has made me very uncomfortable...but I guess it could be worse...and I have now gained about 13 pounds and it seems to be piling on now lol.

On Thursday I finally had my glucose test done, which wasn't too bad just kinda gross, and on Monday is my next check up and such.

Just 12 more weeks to go!

Happy Birthday Baby Bro!

Today is the day my little brother was FINALLY welcomed into the world! His due date was Oct 15th, and over a week later the hospital broke Diana's (my Dad's wife's) bag of water to try to induced labor. She refused any pain medication and labored for over a day before being prepped for a C-Section. She had only gone to 4 cm dialated, and it's sad because I know she really wanted to go all natural this time...but she was almost preeclamptic. Her last baby (my sister Estelle) was 17 days past due before being born by C-section...poor thing!

I totally predicted this baby was going to be a 9 pounder...and he was! Born at 3am today, weighing 9.2 pounds!

Name has not been determined yet...but my Dad is set on naming him "Rock." Him and Caden will grow up together...12 weeks apart....crazy huh?

WARNING: The baby is nude (duh)! Myspace deleted some of the pictures lol.

My Dad with his son.

4D Ultrasound

Today was our 4D ultrasound - and it was amazing! He is so cute...he even smiled! He kept putting his hands in front of his face so we tried to wiggle my belly to get him to lower them lol.

First here is a pic of my belly at 27 weeks...then some of the 4D pictures. I will try to upload the video when I can figure out how ;)

In Memory

I have some belly pics and other things to post, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow when I get my 4D ultrasound.

I just wanted to dedicated this one to some friends of ours in Colorado - a young couple named Matt and Tiffany who have I have just heard lost their little daughter in a tragic complication.
Baby Eliana was born on Oct 8th in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Though every effort was made to remove it in time, the staff at the hospital just couldn't revive her.
I ask for prayer for this family in this hard time. They are awesome people, always serving the Lord, and have a great musical ministry together.
This is a section from her obituary:

"Eliana loved to tap-dance on her mama’s bladder, do somersaults while mama tried to sleep, receive kisses from her brother on mama’s belly, and to be rubbed and sung to by her mama and daddy.
Though we long to hold her in our arms and watch her grow, we take comfort that this world is not our home and we will be with Eliana again in heaven."

This tragedy really hits close to home for me, a baby that for all other reasons was completely healthy. I wish I could do more for them, but I know all I can do is pray for peace and comfort.

26 weeks!

Gettin' bigger! Not much to report since last week. We went to my OB appointment on Monday and got a quick ultrasound to see the heartbeat, which was cool. And now in this upcoming week I have to go in to take a glucose test (where I have to drink a sugary concoction of some kind and then wait an hour before getting my blood drawn). This tests for gestational diabetes, and I will also be tested for anemia and cystic fibrosis.







You can tell I work with dogs...look at my arm! lol.

25 weeks

Well today I am 25 weeks along, and Caden sure likes to move a lot these days. He even gets startled sometimes at loud noises, like last week at youth when a video came on very loudly and he started kicking furiously. I can feel him growing stronger and becoming more coordinated in his movements. It's hard to describe to someone unless they have been pregnant before.

My belly is growing a little more each day, with the baby gaining 1/2 pound a week. To date I have gained about 9 pounds so far this pregnancy...and my appetite is very healthy lol.

On Monday is my next OB appointment, and after that they will be every two weeks instead of every four. Also, in just over two weeks I have my 4D ultrasound booked, and I am so excited to see his little face!

Happy 6 Month!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I missed the last two weeks due to time issues and due to Nate not being around when I needed pictures taken.






Today I am officially in my 6th month of pregnancy...that's half a year! Caden is just over a pound in weight and almost a foot long...about the size of a standard letter. He is really active now, kicking and punching all over the place. It's so amazing and surreal to see your skin move and realize that there is a little person in their practicing his acrobatics. It's such a miracle...God really has created us so amazingly awesome.

On Monday I visited the cardiologist to get my heart checked due to the weird episodes I've been having. I had lots of wires stuck all over my body...it was very interesting! The cool part was getting an ultrasound and seeing my own heart beating on the screen. I'm so used to seeing a baby moving not a heart lol! All the tests were normal so I got the all clear, thank goodness.

As far as preparing Caden's room goes, I cleaned the room out of junk while Nate cleaned the carpets in the whole house. We got a nice large green rug and I washed and hung up all of the clothes I have for him so far. The cats are now restricted from going in the room, much to their annoyance. I'm also trying to finish the baby registry finally...I think I'm almost there. In case you wanted to know I am registered and Target and Babies R' Us.

I can't believe there are only 16 weeks left until the little guy is here!!!

Appointments

We had a good OBGYN appointment today, except for the fact that we were kept waiting for over an hour and a half! The baby's heartbeat was good, and my belly growth was on target. I also had put on about 7 pounds since our last appointment 5 weeks ago! But seeing as I had not gained anything up until now, this weight gain was pleasing to my doctor, although it was still a few pounds short of normal. I should be aiming to gain about a pound a week....so we will see. I definitely feel bigger!
In other news, I have been referred to a cardiologist due to the weird heart issues I've been having since I've gotten pregnant, mainly the slowing of my pulse. I'm sure they won't find anything, but it's good to check - seeing as my brother also has some heart problems. I got told I may need to wear a heart monitor too.

My next appointment is in 4 weeks, then the next one is 3 weeks after that (and by then I will be 28 weeks and Caden will be viable if delivered from this point on - so in just 6 1/2 weeks!). Then, 2 weeks after that when I am 30 weeks...to my surprise yet delight, I have another ultrasound! THEN it will be 8 to 10 weeks after that when the little guy arrives!!! Did I lose you? Lol yep you can tell I'm laying out all the milestones already. Now I just have to get the nursery put together...I have a lot to do :)

21 weeks

I'm over half way there! Sorry I missed a week, but I was in Colorado and forgot to pack my picture outfit. I'm definitely feeling bigger now....Caden has really grown a lot. He is still moving and rolling, just not enough for me to feel it that strongly yet. This last week I've been getting some painful calf cramps and night while in Colorado, and on Sunday I had some kind of reaction to the altitude and was really dizzy, saw colors, and I think my blood pressure dropped and I had a hard time standing. I had to walk out of a church service! I think I had been restricting any fluids due to the fact I was making sooo many bathroom trips, which then caused me to get dehydrated. I drank a bottle and a half of water then I felt much better.

On Monday is my next OBGYN appointment, we will see how much weight I have gained! I know I have gained some....just not as much as is expected by now (which is about 10 pounds I think).

Below is a pic of dinner that I made last night....it's a goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic and spinach whole wheat pasta. I know I'm not really meant to have soft cheeses but I couldn't resist! Looks good eh? Look I'm getting all domestic!

Kicks and Ultrasounds

Last night when we had gotten back from hanging out at a coffee shop, I hopped on the computer and was leaning forward while typing. Within a few minutes I felt a hard thump in my lower right abdomen. I froze....was this the first real kick? Then it came again, and I went into the living room to tell Nate something was going on. After a while Nate and I both felt the kicks from the outside and could even see my skin moving! Crazy!!! Later that night and this morning I could feel him in the middle of my lower abdomen...then today at our ultrasound they told us he was head down - he must have been head-butting me lol! Here are some videos and pics from today's appointment - he has his hands crossed up by his face, and his feet crossed too, right up against his butt - so cute!

Also, all the tests came back normal and Caden is developing normally. We are very blessed!