34 Weeks

Ya’ll, I’m tired!! I saw this cartoon on a website and had to post it to facebook immediately, as this is exactly how I feel!!

Pregnancy Stats:
How Far Along: 34 Weeks. . .5 weeks and 1 day to go till Arden’s scheduled delivery.
Size of baby: Almost 5 pounds and around 18 inches! Compare to a cantaloupe! (I feel like I’m carrying a 20lb watermelon in there, though!)
Movement: There’s been a big change in movement this past week. She’s still kicking, but it’s much, much less. I think she’s either “dropped” into position or just really cramped!
Sleep: I had a few nights of wonderful sleep! One night I only got up twice!
Cravings: Still chopping on lifesaver mints and ice and I’ve been so thirsty!
Symptoms: WORST. HEARTBURN. EVER. Seriously, I have bad acid reflux to begin with, but the hb I’ve had this past week was killer, it’s keeping me up at night and making me nauseous. And my feet are swelling, I knew it was just a matter of time.
Best Moment This Week: Just making it to 34 weeks! I can’t believe we’re here already!!

Wow. 34 weeks! God is so good!! What a blessing. I’m just so relieved that we’ve made it this far and haven’t had any issues. We’ve continually been blessed with a normal pregnancy. . .no diabetes, no bed rest, and so far looks like no signs of preterm labor. I can’t get over how fast the last seven and a half months have gone by. I’m excited about Arden’s arrival, but also a little sad since this will likely be my last pregnancy. It’s weird and conflicting emotion! (Why am I sad?? I’m tired and miserable?? It doesn’t make any sense!).

Other good news, my cold symptoms are much better, thankfully! I took my last dose of antibiotics last night! Glad those are over! They sure were giving me some stomach issues!

We are just about done with Arden’s room. Just a few more final touches and it will be complete. It’s pretty much ready now, the big stuff is in place and her laundry is done, and the car seat has been washed and recovered! We are ready to go! I even have my bag packed! I’m hoping that getting all prepared will just mean nothing happens. Like in the winter when there’s a snow storm coming and they tell you to get prepared, so you run out in the craziness to get milk and bread. . .and then nothing happens! : ) I’m hoping for that scenario! I have to be honest, at this point I don’t know that I am going to make it 5 more weeks. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m just feeling like it’s getting closer.

Stratton has been such a love bug lately. He has been noticeably more affectionate to me especially. A couple of months ago, he could pretty much care less if I was around or not, he wanted “daddy to do it” whether it was getting dressed or fixing him something to eat! He was also right by Jarrod’s side where ever and whatever he was doing. But the last month or so he has really become a momma’s boy. He’s also been asking us to “play with him” a lot lately. Where as before he would just sit in the floor and play by himself. Now he frequently asks us to join him.  Sunday Jarrod said he was ready to go back to the beach and asked Stratton if he was ready to go. Stratton’s response “No! We have to wait till my sister comes out so she can go with us!”. And last night he drew a picture of “our baby sister” and “she is going to be red!”. Haha.

Finally Friday!!

This week has been forever long! I guess that’s mainly because I’ve been sick, but some weeks just seem to drag on and on! I did get my hair cut and colored on Wednesday! The last time before Arden comes! That’s just so weird! I go about every 8 weeks, and when I left the salon, the lady that cuts my hair mentioned that the next time she see’s me I’ll have to bring Arden with me?! Crazy?!!

I decided since I still felt awful and it didn’t seem like my cold was getting any better I should maybe go to the doctor. I emailed my dr at UAMS on Wednesday to see what she thought about my lingering cold and she said to go to my family doctor and get checked out. So, I did and turns out I have sinusitis and bronchitis. I guess it’s a good thing I went. Now I’m on antibiotics and feeling a little better. I left my Dr. Appt and headed home to rest before the guys got home and we had to rush around for church. Well my resting was interrupted with a call from Jarrod that he would be working late. So I went to pickup Stratton and he was in a MOOD. I didn’t feel like fighting him by myself and we missed church. Some nights I just don’t have the energy to get him home, fed him get him bathed and dressed and to church by 7! It’s not that he’s necessarily bad, he just gets side tracked and I’m constantly having to keep on him! He just doesn’t get in a hurry- sounds like somebody else I know!

Yesterday at lunch I met Carla and we got pedicures. I haven’t had one in almost 3 weeks and I thought it might help with my swollen feet. I think it actually made it worse! My feet looked awful last night! I am somewhat trying to watch my sodium intake and I just can’t figure out why some days when I really don’t do much my feet swell so bad and other times when I’ve been on them all day they are fine! There is no rhyme or reason! I have to document my night last night! I went to bed around 10ish and only got up TWICE during the night to go to the bathroom and then I went right back to sleep! That means I got roughly 8 hours of sleep last night!! Whoo!! I haven’t done that in months!! I guess I was just really tired? Who knows. The funny thing is, you’d think I’d just have lots of energy this morning- Not really! In fact I’ve been pretty groggy. Weird!

We don’t have any plans this weekend. It’s the “tax-free” back to school shopping weekend, so I think we will try to stay out of town as much as possible! And Jarrod is working Saturday night, like he did a couple of weeks ago. He’ll go in around 10pm Saturday night and hopefully only have to work a few hours, but it could be most of the day on Sunday as well. Sunday I have a baby shower to go to at church for Tia (McDonald) Carraway! I can’t believe she’s old enough to have a baby! I can still see her as a kid! And even though there’s only like 3 years difference in our age, it makes me feel old! Haha! Her baby is due September 9th. She is also having a girl and they are going to call her Hollis. So, our girls could potentially only be four days apart in age! How fun is that?!

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Stats:
How Far Along: 33 Weeks. . .a little over 6 weeks to go!
Size of baby: 17.5 inches and around 4.5 pounds!
Movement: She’s still really active at times, but I can tell it’s getting cramped in there!
Sleep: I think I would be sleeping better if it weren’t for this nasty cold!
Cravings: Ice and lifesaver mints
Symptoms: All of them. Pretty sure I’ve rounded the corner and the next 6 weeks are probably going to be miserable.
Best Moment This Week: Getting more things marked off the to-do list!

So, getting a summer cold in the last weeks of pregnancy is not cool. In fact it takes miserable to a whole new level. Take your normal icky cold symptoms and multiply it by 100! Sore throat, congestion, coughing and headache. . . the only good thing is that I don’t have a fever. It’s just a common cold. And everything I read, just says to “hydrate and rest”. Really? That’s it? Isn’t that easy for a doctor or book author to say?! Here in the “real world”, it’s just not that easy! I am drinking a TON of water, and it seems like the only noticeable effect is my having to run to the bathroom even more often, which I honestly didn’t think was possible! And for the rest part, well it’s not easy to do when I need to go to work and there is so much to do at home. Plus, whenever I lay down or even lay back I can’t breathe! There are some over the counter meds I can take, but they aren’t doing me much good either. And Benadryl, that normally doesn’t effect me too much, will knock me smooth out! So it’s either be miserable or be in a coma! Great options, don’t ya think?!  Poor Stratton has it too. Although he doesn’t really act like he feels too bad, he just has a continual runny nose. Unlike me, he has some good meds that are really helping clear his congestion up. Plus it has rained a little, so maybe that is helping too.

Last week was a busy one. I started feeling sick around Tuesday, I figured it was just allergies. I had a massage on Tuesday afternoon, and the lady that did my massage was struggling with allergies, too- or so she thought. Thursday evening I had dinner with Amber and later that night it rained for the first time in forever, so I thought that would probably help. It didn’t. I ended up going home from work on Friday early to rest. I had an awful headache and really thought it best for my co-workers if I took my crabby, sick self home! Jarrod and Stratton went to the farm Friday afternoon to work on a trailer Jarrod had bought. So, of course Stratton didn’t want to come home and he ended up staying the weekend with my mom and dad. Which worked out good, I actually felt much better on Saturday, and did laundry, cleaned Stratton’s room, reorganized all his toys and got rid of a bunch of stuff, we put the last few things up in Arden’s room, I cleaned it up, whew! And then Saturday afternoon we decided to venture out to the mall, I needed to take some stuff back after the shower last week. But it wasn’t long and I was tired!! We went and ate supper and then headed back home.

Guess what?? Sunday I felt awful. I should know better right?! Just because I felt better on Saturday I shouldn’t have done so much. You’d think I would be smarter than I actually am. But when I feel good it’s hard to stop! It’s a vicious cycle! We got up Sunday morning and went to church in HR, had lunch with my grandparents and mom and dad and then we headed back to Jonesboro in time for Exaltation at the Fowler Center. It was good, but Stratton was in a mood! I’m so glad we don’t have theater seating at church! Those chairs were just too much of a distraction! Anyway, we made it through with only one minor injury. Stratton knocked his forehead/eye on one of the seats and it looks like he’s been in a fight now. But what else is new? The boy is constantly sporting a shiner from some incident or another!

Monday, I woke up and just felt horrible. Like a train had hit me. I decided to stay home and rest for the first part of the day and see if that helped. I took some cough medicine and some tylenol and went back to bed and slept till 10:30am! I got up and went to work and so far I’m feeling somewhat better. It’s funny when people ask how I’m feeling. I honestly don’t know anymore! I am starting to forget what it feels like to not be miserable! Haha! Most of the time I just tell people that I’m feeling good. And I guess I should quit complaining.  After all, as Kristen so nicely pointed out to me, I am getting to experience the misery of the last 6 weeks of pregnancy for the first time. Apparently, it’s completely normal to be this miserable! So, hooray for being normal.

The rest of the week and weekend actually doesn’t look too bad. I’m getting my hair cut and colored for probably the last time before Arden gets here (that’s weird). I have a baby shower for a friend on Sunday, but other than that I am hoping we can just take it easy at home. We don’t have anything planned for the next several weekends (intentionally, just in case. . .) I’m hoping we can just enjoy the last few weeks of being a family of three! 

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Stats:
How Far Along: 32 Weeks
Size of baby: 17 inches and around 4 pounds!
Movement: Lots of activity, and I think it’s funny the way my stomach “rolls”!
Sleep: About the same. Most nights are long and not very restful.
Cravings: Sweets
Symptoms: Pretty much the same. I am really thirsty all the sudden!
Best Moment This Week: Setting the tentative date for Arden’s arrival!

 

I had a doctor’s appointment on Friday. Everything looked and sounded good. I gained another 5 pounds, which brings the total so far to 23 lbs! We talked about the symptoms I’ve been having and some of the pain, I got the impression that it’s all normal and I should get used to it! More or less, I’m just going to have to deal with it for another 7 weeks. The good news is that it all sounded completely normal to her, and she wasn’t worried at all. She did explain in more detail how my pain pain and tightening stomach could very well be contractions, and I needed to be aware of them and if they started to be more frequent or started coming and going with a pattern to let them know. She said that if that were to happen the first thing they would do is send me home to bed and tell me to really hydrate for 24 hrs, if things got worse or didn’t improve then they would bring me in.  

We talked about options as far as her birth will go. We are opting for a scheduled C-section over the VBAC. I just can’t see myself going through what we went through with Stratton again, only to be sent to the OR for a c-section anyway. It was so hard on me. Plus, there are added risks since I’ve had a c-section before and a recent surgery, so I just feel better about a c-section delivery. Unless I go into labor early, we are shooting for September 12th to be her birthday. I was really hoping for it to be on Friday the 6th, so Jarrod wouldn’t have to take as much vacation time off, but Dr. Smith’s OR day is on Wednesday morning, so I guess we will just have to deal with it. It will be nice for both our kids to have birthday’s on the 12th, though.

My next appointment will be on August 21st, I’ll be 35 weeks then (Yikes!) and she will do an ultrasound so we can see about how big she is and what position she is in. She told us that if we made it to our next appointment she would be pleased! That made me nervous and really put things into perspective for me. It’s all starting to get REAL. After my next appointment they will be more frequent, too. I am glad she isn’t wanting to see us every other week right now. That two and a half hour trip to Little Rock and back is getting tougher on me!

After my appointment, we met Steven (one of Jarrod’s college buddies) for lunch and then did a little shopping. It was so stinking hot! My car was reading 110 degrees at one point! I am so ready for fall weather!

Arden’s baby shower!

Sunday afternoon the church hosted a shower for us. It was so nice and there was an awesome turnout. Honestly, I am so humbled by everyone that came! I didn’t realize people liked us so much! Ha! The decorations were cute and they really had spent most of the time and energy on the food and drink (hmmm, someone knows me well!). They had the cutest pink punch in cups that were rimmed with hot pink sugar! And pink lemonade mini cupcakes, white chocolate covered strawberries, dipped pretzels. . .all super yummy!

Hostess: Julia Bristow, Lori Fitts, Tara Coker and Christy Phipps

Love this picture because it shows you what happens when my friend Lori is around! She is so funny and can always make me laugh.

Stratton went with us. I asked him and he said he wanted to go. I’m glad he went and was involved. When my mom asked him before we left what you do at a baby shower he told her “open presents and eat cake”. Yep. That’s pretty much it!! He was such the big helper. He helped me open gifts and pass them around and then would line the unopened ones up at my feet. He enjoyed the snacks and punch, too! I tried to get him to play with some of the pink dolls and he said “That’s for sister!”. He was so good the whole time!

Telling Gigi a big story, I’m sure!

Sitting with Nan having some punch.

Look! Not everything I got was pink!

Ok, the difference between a baby girl shower and baby boy shower is now evident to me. At my church shower for Stratton we got very practical things. Loads of diapers, wipes and bath stuff. Bottles, pacis, and other essentials. However, at Arden’s shower we got clothes!  Lots and lots of clothes! I guess everyone likes to buy the cute stuff for a baby girl! We only got 2 small packages of diapers and two tubs of wipes! Isn’t that crazy!! I also got a lot of monogrammed stuff, bibs and burps cloths and blankets, but not many plain jane everyday ones. Again, I think everyone likes to buy the fun, cute stuff!! Which, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that stuff too!! I am so excited at all the pink!!

Just some of the clothes from the shower.

Other fab stuff!

It was a fabulous shower and can’t even begin to describe how thankful we are for our church family’s generosity! We are just so blessed!

Stratton’s last 3rd birthday party

So Friday we had a doctor’s appointment. Stratton first told us he wanted to go- over and over and over- then on the road almost to Newport he suddenly decides he wants to stay in Searcy with Nan and Pa rather than go to the doctor with us. {Of course!} So we drop him off [literally] on the side of the road! Margie met us and picked him up. So he stayed with them and played and went shopping while we were in Little Rock. We stayed in Searcy Friday night and had birthday for Jarrod’s dad, whose birthday is on the 27th. Then Saturday afternoon Margie and Terry had all the Searcy folks over for Stratton’s birthday. Of course my camera battery died. I only got a couple with my crappy phone camera. We had a fun time visiting with Jarrod’s side of the family. Whew! I think we are finally done celebrating little man’s birthday! He got WAY too much stuff and ate WAY too much birthday cake over the last couple of weeks!

Super cute backhoe cake!

31 Weeks

I am going to really try and do this every week now that I am getting close to my due date. Just 8 weeks to go!! I hate that I didn’t keep better track of things when I was pregnant with Stratton!

Pregnancy Stats:
How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Size of baby: 16-17 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. Roughly the size of a pineapple!
Movement: Still feeling lots of kicking and moving about
Sleep: I have gotten more sleep in the last week than I have in awhile. I had a friend tell me she read that if you put a bar of soap under your bottom sheet it’s supposed to help with RLS. I think that’s completely ridiculous, however I am desperate so I did it! Guess what? It seems to be helping?! Don’t ask me why!?!
Cravings: Chocolate and cokes (I drink the caffeine free ones)
Symptoms: Nothing new here.
Best Moment This Week: Stratton’s excitement showing his sister’s room to visitors.

The whole time I’ve been pregnant I’ve almost dreaded the 30 week mark. That’s when things really seemed to go way down hill when I was pregnant with Stratton. Here I sit at 31 weeks going about my daily life almost normally. I am surprised how quickly the time has gone by this time, and even more surprised (and so thankful) how different it’s been this time around. We had our Summer Meeting at work last week, and when we were planning it back in February I remember thinking that I probably wouldn’t make it to the meeting, I’d probably be on bed rest again. And as I began to make plans for the meeting I left myself off the agenda since I was so unsure. I just can’t believe that I made it so far! I am still getting weekly progesterone shots and they must be working! I will get those for another 6 weeks. At 37 weeks I will be considered Full Term and won’t have to have them! Yay! I will be glad when they are over! They are so expensive and just a pain in the rear- no pun intended!!  They actually haven’t been too bad. Brandye is really good at giving them. She normally drops by on her way home from work on Tuesday evenings.  I usually don’t feel a thing. Sometimes one will sting, but for the most part they’ve been painless. However a day or two after the shot, I get a knot and the injection site gets really ichy! So if you’ve noticed me itching my hip a lot that’s why! It drives me crazy! And the anti-itch stuff doesn’t work! It’s been good for Stratton to watch, too. I think he’s way less scared of shots now that he’s seen me get so many. And he knows why I am getting them and will tell you it’s “to help make his baby sister bigger and stronger”. He gives me (pretend) shots, too sometimes!

Last week and the weekend were pretty rough on me. I am feeling the pain from over-doing it. When I got home last night I really tried to rest as much as possible, but you know how it is with a busy 3 year old. Resting just isn’t in their vocabulary! We did get Stratton to bed on time- for the first time in almost a week! The sooner he goes to bed the sooner I can! But I couldn’t get settled so I ended up staying up and reading. It seems like I can fall asleep pretty easily, but after about and hour or two of sleep the restless leg starts and I don’t get back to sleep till around 2-3am. I usually get up and walk around and sit in the chair and read. It’s exhausting!

This week isn’t going to be too bad, I hope. I’m busy at work, I am starting to prep everyone for my absence and having others come in and work on projects that are usually mine alone isn’t easy! If you know me, you know I don’t like help, I’d rather just do it myself and get it done “right” (aka- the way I like it to be done!). Well, at the moment that’s just not an option. Ugh. Strangely enough, the months I will be out are some of my busiest! I didn’t plan things very well! It’s just hard for me to turn over all my responsibilities and job duties to someone else!

The weekend ahead will be another busy one. We have a doctor’s appointment in Little Rock on Friday morning. I’m sure if I feel up to it we will do a little running around and shopping after that. Then we are planning on staying in Searcy Friday night and having Stratton’s birthday party with the Searcy crew on Saturday. Hopefully we will be able to get home Saturday night before it gets too late. And Sunday afternoon is my baby shower at church! I am SO excited!