Baby Pool

So I have been thinking about doing one of these for a while, but never got around to it. But I figured since we're getting closer, I'll let people get their votes in :)

This website allows you to guess when Baby will come, size, gender, etc.

In other news... the nursery is done. Well, not completely. But it's painted, electrical outlets work, ceiling fan installed and working, crib assembled, furniture moved in. So now I just have to move Baby's clothes, etc in. It looks GREAT (in my humble opinion). A little boring, but that's just because we're waiting to put stuff on the walls, etc until baby gets here. Chuck wants baseball stuff... whether it's a boy or a girl, but I managed to convince him to just use it for a boy.

Pictures will come soon... I want to move a few things in first.

Now... go vote in the baby pool! It won't take long and I'm curious to see what people think :)

37 Weeks

Baby is now considered full term. If I went into labor anytime, they would not stop it because Baby is healthy. 38 weeks is better than 37, but 37 is considered sufficient. It feels so weird to say that. I thought I would never get this far and now it seems to have creeped up on me.

The belly is actually still growing, which is amazing to me. I had no idea it was possible for my stomach to get this big. Luckily, it has slowed down a bit... but it is a little better than my 35 week picture. We forgot to take one at 36 weeks. Oops :)

The shower the ladies at the church through me last week was amazing. A girl at our church has recently started decorating her own cakes and is considering starting a business and made the cake. It was quite possible the cutest thing I've ever seen- I told her she definitely needs to start charging!

Isn't that awesome?? I was completely blown away.

The nursery is tantalizingly close to being done. It would be done but it turns out we need to do 3 coats of paint on the top half of the room (the yellow didn't cover very well) and we ran out of paint last night and had to go to Home Depot this morning to get more. So by tonight, it will be done. It's so relieving to say that.

Chuck and I are about to head to Babies R Us to finish buying everything we still need for Baby. We were incredibly blessed by friends and family (that would be you guys), but a lot of the big items still need to be purchased. I won't divulge the amount this is going to cost us, but let's just say that babies are expensive. But worth it. Of course.

Sorry for the lull in posts recently. I'll try to be better the next couple weeks as things are winding to a close. When we get everything moved into the nursery, I'll post all the pictures of it. So exciting!

35 weeks

This is what happens when Chuck takes the picture before I'm ready... I told him NOT to take a picture of the shorts. I was wearing jeans before getting home, but I'm burning up all the time so I basically strip upon walking in the door, haha.

He didn't follow directions really well... but either way, here I am at 35 weeks. Oh, and I got my hair cut. You can't really tell, but I have bangs now. Not bangs like I had in high school (no reason for those flashbacks...) but little sweepy bangs. I was hoping they would make my face look less fat. It didn't work. But oh well, I still like it.

For those of you that didn't know me in high school... here's a beautiful picture of said bangs.

I actually do really like that picture... but I could have used some new hair, haha. And that cute thing in my arms is the legendary Pugs. I think she was about 8 at this point. That dog had more personality than most people I know...

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to talk about my pregnancy :)

Things are still good. I FINALLY got some antibiotics, so the sinus infection is clearing up, for which I'm very thankful. Blood pressure is still good. I've always had low blood pressure, and I'm glad to know that pregnancy hasn't changed that and I don't have to worry about pre-eclampsia. I should get the results for the group b test next week.

The past few days have been unbelievably hot, so I went and bought some maternity shorts and capris. I feel stupid buying new clothes so close to my due date but I couldn't handle it any more. I am currently sweating. And I'm sitting in my house. So yeah, needless to say, I don't want to go out when it's 90 degrees wearing jeans.

Chuck and I are going back down to VA Beach this weekend for the Birth InSight class again. We're basically going just as a refresher... I'm excited to go again. Saturday, the ladies from my church are hosting a baby shower for me so I'm super excited about that. After the shower, Chuck and I are going to buy the rest of the stuff that we need. It's crazy how close everything is getting.

The nursery is getting really close. Unfortunately, Chuck has been working long hours again, but it should be done this weekend. I'll post pictures when it's all finished. Better late than never, huh?

My next appointment is Tuesday... I'll post after that if not before!

34 weeks= no picture

I know, I know, most people only care about the picture. But for the past week I have been congested and consider myself on top of things if I take a shower. Needless to say, the hair has not been fixed and I haven't touched makeup. I feel ugly enough already with the swelling and HUGE belly, so I have no urge to document the way that I look right now... swollen, huge AND sick.

With that said, pregnancy is still going well. Had an appointment today and everything is right on track and baby is still head down. I go back next Monday to test for group b strep. If I test positive, I have to have an antibiotic during delivery so that the baby won't receive it. Hopefully I don't have it!

Chuck got a lot done on the nursery this weekend... and even some tonight. Shouldn't be too much longer now :) He's leaving town tomorrow to go to DC for a couple days, so prayers for safe travels are appreciated. He'll be back Thursday night.

Sorry this is a "boring" post, but I'm in a "boring" mood. Love all you guys and thanks for reading :)

33 weeks and some chair railing :)

On Friday, I hit the 33 week point. It's crazy to me how far along I'm getting. Things are still going really well. I haven't had a doctor's appointment since my last post, but after 36 weeks I'll go every week until d-day.

Chuck finished the chair railing this weekend and we bought the paint for the nursery! I'm so flipping excited. I was going to try to post the colors that we picked, but for some reason can't find a sample on their website. Either way, the bottom of the room is a teal color that matches the crib skirt perfectly and the top is a buttery yellow. I think it's going to look great. Chuck has to paint the ceiling/trim before we can paint the pretty stuff, but hopefully it won't take too long. I'm getting very anxious to get everything done.

Doggie Dynamics

This morning, the dog trainer and her husband came over to help Chuck and I with some of the issues we've been having with the furbabies.

Apparently, I've been lying for a while... because she didn't train with The Dog Whisperer. She trained with someone that trained with The Dog Whisperer. Haha. I guess the girl that gave me Michelle's information was a bit confused. Either way, it was definitely the same techniques that Cesar uses so I don't feel gipped.

We didn't leave the front yard with either of the dogs and they are still passed out like we went on a 5-mile run. It's amazing to me how much the psychological exercise can wear them out as well. Just to prove my point... they haven't moved in about 3 hours:

What we did was very simple really. Her husband went outside and rang the doorbell a couple times and we practiced having the dogs great people WITH MANNERS instead of jumping and licking them. Then we went outside, first with Zoe, then with Belle and just walked around the frontyard with them always being behind or beside us. Which is what I've been attempting to do for the last 3 months. I think what I realized most is that I didn't have quite enough patience.

They brought one of their dogs with them and we also practiced our dogs ignoring that dog, which was a challenge for both of them because they always want to play when they see another dog.

Tomorrow, I have grooming appointments at PetsMart for both of them and Michelle is going with me which I am so grateful for. PetsMart and the vet are 2 of the hardest things I deal with- I don't know how to tell the dogs that there's a difference in the dog park and PetsMart, but there definitely is!!

I can't think of a better way to spend $200. Because now, any time we need help with anything, we can call and they'll help. It gives me more peace of mind with the baby coming to have that trainer in our back pocket so to speak. Yay :)

Chuck's upstairs working away in the nursery. Hopefully I'll have some real updates on that front for you guys soon!

32 weeks

Friday the 12th I hit 32 weeks. It's crazy to me that I'm just 8 weeks away from my EDD (estimated due date). That in 6 weeks, Baby will be considered full term. I decided to steal something from a friend's blog for this week's update.

Pregnancy: 32 weeks {photo taken at 32 weeks 4 days}

Sleep: I'm still sleeping great. It takes me a little longer to get comfortable and I wake up at least 2 times a night to pee, but I fall back asleep quickly and feel pretty good until about 1 in the afternoon... at which point I take a nap :)

Gender: Unknown

Name: For all of you wondering if Chuck and I have decided on a name, the answer is no, we have not. I have decided on names, but he doesn't appear to share my conviction. Hopefully the baby will have a name when it comes home. Seriously.

Feeling: Honestly? Everything hurts. Joints feel all achy. Swelling started after the road trip home for the baby shower. Wedding rings are officially on a chain around my neck. I had to buy a new pair of shoes because even my Chacos were too tight. Heartburn/reflux is consistently getting worse. BUT I'm trying not to complain too much because I know everything will get worse and that soon I will look on these days and think "if only I had known how good I had it". So that's what I'm trying to tell myself. That I have it good.

Health: Everything is still on track. Baby's heart rate is good. My blood pressure is good. Weight gain is consistent... I think it's too much, but doctor is not concerned so I just try to keep telling myself that it's fine. Doctor checked for me and he thinks baby is head down, so that's good. Now if it will just stay there!

Movement: I've definitely started feeling Baby more throughout the day, but the most active time is when I lay down to go to sleep. My stomach looks like an alien is inside of it. No lie.

Belly: No stretch marks. Yet. I'm not naive enough to think that they might not show up later. Especially considering how big I'm getting. Linea nigra is faint below and around the belly button. Some days it's darker, some it's lighter. Kind of strange.

Next Appointment: Monday the 29th. I start going every week at 36 weeks.

The nursery still has a long way to go. The excuses are a mile long, but ultimately I hope to make major progress this weekend. Feel free to send good vibes our way :)

Saturday we have a dog trainer coming to the house to help me with walking the dogs. I am SUPER EXCITED because this lady trained with The Dog Whisperer. How cool is that? The goal is to be able to walk them with their leashes tied to my waist or the stroller after the baby comes and have NO pulling. A bonus would be getting the dogs to realize that there is a difference in Pets Mart and the Vet and the dog park... they do not get to play with every dog everywhere we go. Oh yeah, and stop losing their minds when the doorbell rings. We shall see.