38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks 
Maternity clothes? Yes!
Stretch marks? I am very sad to report I have a ton of stretch marks that literally just showed up over night. Very depressing, but at least they are well worth it. Crossing my fingers at least half go away after birth. 
Sleep: A lot better and baby is starting to do good and not kick me throughout the night waking me up. Of course the little one has to decide to do this with two weeks left or less or more! :) 
Best moment this week: Seeing the baby lay in my belly. Baby H is literally running out of room and it's so crazy to see exactly how a little human being is laying inside you. Butt has been snuggled up against my rib cage this week.   
Miss Anything? Ankles! I will be so glad to loose all this water weight. I was shocked to gain so much water weight in the last two months, I am up to roughly 50lbs since pre-pregnancy! Crazy!! Hope it comes off fast, but I'm not counting on a miracle. 
Movement: Lots. I wish I would have took a video of little Jake. We watch him some evenings after school before Mike's brother gets home from work. One day this past week I told him to come feel the baby as the baby was starting to kick. He thought that was the neatest thing, baby went on for about 4 minutes. Every time Jake would put his hand on my belly the baby would kick him back so he thought that was really awesome. Jake has already made a little buddy! 
Food cravings: None.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  None. 
Have you started to show yet: Indeed! 
Gender: Unknown. 
Labor Signs: Lots of pressure followed by a ton of Braxton Hicks. So far the baby doesn't appear to be making an entrance anytime soon. 
Belly Button in or out? Even with my belly.  
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  Will be so nice to wear my wedding ring again. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: Wednesday! Have my last doctor's appointment in Columbia. I think I may miss going there, the staff is always super nice and look at my baby on the ultrasound like it's their own. I have to say I am a little nervous to go as Dr. Su wants him to double check my amniotic fluid. Which they do monitor it every time with my thyroid and it always looks good. The past few weeks I have measured the same, but she can tell the baby has grown a lot in that time frame. Just a precaution there is enough fluid around the baby. I'm sure it will all be okay, just always in the back of my mind to come this far and for something to go wrong. I will just have to say lots of prayers and hope for the best! 

36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks 
Maternity clothes? Yes!
Stretch marks? Still the few purple marks on my sides.
Sleep: Much better. Of course it gets better right at the end when my sleep will be a thing in the past! :) 
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby. Had a little scare Sunday night when I realized I hadn't felt the baby move in quite some time. I could even pick my belly up and feel the baby, yet no movement. Was just about to make a made dash to the hospital then thankfully I felt a little nudge. Little stinker!  
Miss Anything? Coffee! Bought some the other day so it's all ready to go after the baby arrives.
Movement: Kicks are moving it's way up towards my ribs and it feels like the baby is doing handstands on my pelvic bone. 
Food cravings: Nothing that I can recall. 
Anything making you queasy or sick:  None. 
Have you started to show yet: Of course, some people constantly ask if there is twins since my belly is so big. Luckily if there was a twin hiding we would have seen it by now by doing monthly ultrasounds in Columbia. Glad there is just one baby, it was hard enough to find a sitter with one opening. 
Gender: Unknown. Still funny to hear everyone's guesses and theories. Every weekend the gender changes with the people I am around. 
Labor Signs: Nope, hoping this baby will hold out until October. Always so much going on in September with gatherings, etc. But we will take what we can get as long as the baby is healthy. 
Belly Button in or out? Level with my belly. I think it will stay that way and not be sticking out. It has turned brown and I have a light brown faint line above my belly button leading towards my ribs. 
Wedding rings on or off? Off. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: Thursday.  It's my birthday and I have a doctor's appointment.  Just another birthday to me and it stinks getting older especially when you are just now starting your life.  But like my grandma always says... "If you don't get old, you die young".

First Anniversary

Mike and I celebrate our first anniversary on Sunday. Hard to believe a year has already flown by, yet it also seems like it's been longer than a year at the same time.

We kicked off the weekend celebrating two friends getting married, Josh & Lindsey Evers. They had a gorgeous wedding day. It was hot, but not too bad.  Had lots of people predict we were having a girl.

Sunday Mike and I ate at Red Lobster then bought groceries. Real exciting, huh? Guess we're already that old married couple. :) I was pretty miserable with my swelling since it never went down from Saturday and it kept getting worse, so it was a quick trip to Jeff followed by a shake from Sonic on the way home.

Tomorrow kicks off my weekly appointments. Just five more weeks and we will be meeting our little girl/boy.

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks, 3 days. Ignore the swelling... it's actually gone down since what it has been, hence the reason I waited for a picture. Yesterday, I could not even smile. lol 
Maternity clothes? Yes!
Stretch marks? Still just the annoying purple marks on my side. 
Sleep: Getting better, now if I can just get the neighbors dogs to quit barking at armadillos early in the morning! 
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby, can definitely tell he/she is getting stronger as the kicks become more intense. 
Miss Anything? Regular jeans and being cold. I so miss the goosebumps and chills. :) 
Movement: Lots of movement. Felt like a jungle gym this week. Baby has been feeling the need to kick my pelvic bone constantly.
Food cravings: Still have my chocolate milk in the evenings, but still don't think I would call it a craving as my body doesn't seem think I have to have it. 
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing out of the ordinary. 
Have you started to show yet: People are now starting to ask me if I am about due... nope still 6 more weeks... unfortunately I just look like I should pop now! 
Gender: Unknown. 
Labor Signs: No, thank goodness. 
Belly Button in or out? Still an inny... just about level with my belly depending on how the baby is laying! 
Wedding rings on or off? Still off. Stinks since Mike and I's first anniversary is coming up and it looks like I don't claim him. :) 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: The weekend. It's our one year anniversary Sunday and friends of ours is getting married on Saturday. Had my monthly appointment with Dr. Grant in Columbia. Baby is right on track and weighs 5lbs already!!! I was shocked. Little guy/gal already has tons of hair and chubby cheeks. From the ultrasound, the baby resembles Mike a lot. Grandma Holtmeyer and Grandma Elrod came along today, luckily baby showed off a little bit and let us see one side of it's face. These ultrasounds sure spoil a person! 

Randoms

...Since the baby will more than likely be here a few weeks before Halloween, I went ahead and ordered a costume. It works for either boy or girl. Simple and easy. Thanks to thrifting and showers, we are covered with first halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas wear. Most of the Christmas wear came from mom's 'someday' stash that she's had forever. I should gather up all the clothes and shoes she has bought over the years on clearance, there's a lot!! 

...The baby has LOTS of quilts and sleepers for the first 0-6 months, girl or boy. I haven't counted, but I'm pretty sure I have received 7-8 quilts. Which isn't including the quilts/blankets I already had from when I was a baby. The quilt picture above on the bed is a rag quilt my mom made. I love it and it's so soft. 

...Mom and I have been pretty thrifty lately. Don't know the gender and yet it's hard to pass up a little western shirt or pair of jeans for a $1 or less. Last week I got a bag full of almost new clothes for $4.60. 

...Also found a stroller really cheap. Didn't want anything too expensive since I didn't think I would use it that much and when I do, it will just get dirty... like the Pig Roast next year. I may still get a good lightweight stroller for shopping trips, etc. Haven't decided yet. 

...Our TV finally called it quits last week. Nothing like a big purchase before the baby is here. Which we can't complain, I bought this TV when I was in high school so it's about 12 years old. 

...Hard to believe my 10 year class reunion is this year. Time sure flies by! 

...Very hard to accept all my swelling. It never goes down even with propping my feet up. At least I just have another month or so to deal with it. They did test me for preeclampsia a few weeks ago, thank goodness it came back negative. I couldn't imagine being put on bed rest for two months before the baby is here. All I kept thinking was not being able to get full paychecks before baby arrives and how it would affect my maternity leave after the baby is here.

...I'm still undecided on my maternity leave. I would love to take 12 weeks off, but I highly doubt that will happen especially being around Christmas time. I think we are going to try to make it work to squeeze in 8 weeks. It's time you never get back, yet money always gets in the way. Luckily my boss supports whatever decision I make and advises me to take the full 12, if I can. He was overseas and missed the first six months of his son's life, so he completely understands. 

...Finally the baby wasn't laying wrong in church on Sunday and I didn't feel the need to pass out. Hallelujah! 

...I would like to go ahead and put the car seat and car accessories in my car just so they are out of the baby's room, but I will try to wait. I'm sure people will think I am crazy if they see it in my car already at work! lol