Happy Thanksgiving!!

Yesterday was so busy, I didn't have a chance to check in for my 35 week update. Really, there isn't much to say. I am still pregnant. According to my research, all of Carter's organs are now formed and functioning, and now he is just going to be putting on weight.

My appointment yesterday was not nearly as informative as I had hoped. I didn't get to see my normal doctor, so I didn't get checked. She felt around and said that the baby's head is "really low"...so at least he is moving in the right direction. His heart is still in the 140s which is great and my blood pressure and weight are still "perfect"!

Today will be spent running around between 3 different families for Thanksgiving meals - can't really complain about that! We have SO much to be thankful for - God has blessed me with a pretty easy and healthy pregnancy AND of course the sweetest little boy. We can't wait to meet him!

My next appointment is Thursday, so maybe I will have some sort of progress report by then. I'm going to try my best to get my bags packed for the hospital this week...we'll see how that goes.

Craving

I really really really need one of these:

Okay, so maybe not need - but want in a BAD way. I'm afraid I'm going to break down REAL soon and give Carter his first taste of a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Twist. The jolt just might make him kick one of my ribs straight through my flesh...but oh it will be worth it.

Exciting news!

My doctor's appointment went well this morning. Blood pressure is still good and I gained 2 pounds (boo hiss) but I blame that on my shoes that easily weigh half a pound! :) I'm taking them off next time!

Carter's heart was just beating away! The doctor felt around and he is low, head down, and locked into position in my pelvis! With that and my frequent contractions, she thinks he will be making an early arrival. She discussed with me the days that she is on call around Christmas and is willing to induce me on December 26th if he isn't already here. Something for me and Corbin to think about. If I am 3 centimeters dilated on Wednesday (my next appointment) she said that he will more than likely be here before Christmas. So only time will tell!

I also asked her about how big she thinks he will be and her guess was "average", which is around 7 pounds...so some of you may have lucked out in the baby pool. I just want to take a moment to thank my Aunt Debra for her weight guess - 6 lbs. 3 oz. - Oh bless your heart, I hope you're right!

34 weeks!

I made it another week! I must admit that I am probably moaning and groaning a bit more when I move, but I am thankfully still sleeping well at night! I feel pretty good. Definitely ready to be un-pregnant, but we also still have stuff to do before Carter arrives, so I guess I can tough it out a few more weeks!

Here is my 34 week belly pic - I almost cropped out my face because I am looking ROUGH.

I feel a lot bigger than everyone seems to think that I am, but I guess I don't look too super pregnant.

I had my church baby shower last night and it was great! My friend Andi did the devotion (her daughter Kendall was our flower girl) and did a fabulous job. She is a great mom (of four gorgeous kids), so they definitely picked a good person to give me some advice! I got TONS of clothes..I mean tons. Here is what our nice and clean nursery looked like after I tried to organize the stuff this morning:


That big stack of clothes to the left is my 0-3 month size stuff. So - if any of y'all are looking to get Carter an outfit for one reason or another, feel free to get something in the 6 or 9 month range (and remember it will be SUMMER then!). Now I have to get my laundry done - I am actually excited about that!

I also wanted to share a few gifts that were made by some wonderfully talented ladies at church:

Aren't they precious?!?

Corbin's mom and dad also gave us some very special things, but I will post about that later!

We really are super blessed to have a great church family who really went above and beyond to shower us and Carter with sooo much! I have A LOT of thank you notes to write!

Baby's first outfit!

Carter will be one stinkin cute baby, this I know, but he will also have a stinkin cute outfit to wear home from the hospital. Take a look:

If you cannot see it real good, click on the picture and it should zoom in for you. I was happy with just the pants and the sweater, but Corbin insisted that he had a matching onesie AND socks and shoes! We already have shoes and socks, but my sweet husband wants nothing but the best for his boy. How cute are these?


Of course we had to go with the brand Carter's for this outfit! (and because it was buy one get one 50% off) I wish the pictures could show you some sort of scale so you can see how TINY everything is! I don't have many newborn size clothes, so next to the 3 month outfits these things are just precious!

I can't wait until I am posting pictures of him IN this outfit!

Nursery Tour

I am excited to say that we have finished the nursery!! Saturday night Corbin and I hung out in there for a few hours and got all the finishing touches together. Here are some pictures (it's not that big of a room so it was hard to get good angles of everything)



Don't you just love the little polka dots around the window?!? Corbin also put together Carter's swing...
On a unrelated note...my self-esteem was knocked down about 5 notches yesterday when some either not nice or extremely ignorant people decided to comment on my size. All of this is true, believe it or not:

We went out to eat after church yesterday and when the waitress asked us if we wanted a table or a booth, I told her it didn't matter. Well, she took us to a booth and while she was putting down the silverware, she looked at me and was like "Do you think you are going to fit?" Can you believe that?!? I mean, I know I am pregnant, but I'm not THAT big...it was horrible. I was able to laugh it off after the initial shock wore off.

Then, not and hour and a half later, we were at the gun and knife show (Corbin wants a new rifle for Christmas) and some man - a perfect stranger, mind you - looked at me and was like "Girl! You're getting kinda fat dontcha think?" A COMPLETE STRANGER! I didn't even know what to say. I was definitely ready to crawl in a hole and die at that point.

So yeah - yesterday was a rough day. Just keep in mind if you ever see a pregnant woman around DO NOT comment on her size. It's just not a good idea.

On a happier note, we picked out Carter's going home outfit on Saturday!! It is so unbelievably cute!!!! I will hopefully post some pictures of that tonight if I have time, so stay tuned!

Baby Pool!

I just added a link to a fun new online baby pool that I would LOVE for all of you to be a part of!! There may just be a special surprise for the winner!! All you have to do is click on the link to the right and add your guess!

(I am pretty sure my doctor is not going to let me go past my due date, so don't bother putting any 2009 birth dates)

Happy guessing!!

33 weeks!!

I've been told that the weeks seem to drag by at the end, but they really haven't for me yet. Maybe it's because we still have so much to do (for the baby and for Christmas) - either way, time is still flying by and I can't believe that this time next month, Carter might be here! (the doctor won't stop labor after December 10th)

My little ticker thing above says that the baby is 4.75 pounds, but I REALLY don't think I am carrying an almost 5 pounder. Poor Carter has the hiccups right now - he seems to get those more and more these days. He is also still moving around like a champ, which keeps my mind at ease that everything is okay in there!

I am feeling....pregnant. Although everyone keeps telling me that I am "so tiny" and "nothing but baby", I still feel rather large and off-balance. My belly makes it hard to do a lot of things. For example, yesterday morning I was in our shower scrubbing the grout and just could not maneuver myself in any relatively comfortable way. I also felt like I had just run marathon when I finished. And this morning I was sweeping and mopping the hardwood and again, it was exhausting! After I realized how many contractions I was getting, I decided to settle down a bit. Sleeping is becoming a bit more of a challenge...I will wake up numerous times per night with my back killing me and it takes me at least 15 minutes to find a semi-comfortable position.

Ah, the joys of pregnancy!! It is all worth it though, as I know I will meet the cause of this discomfort very soon and he will just be so cute I will forget what he did to my body!

Information overload!

We went to our child birthing class on Saturday and I must say that it was a lot better than I expected it to be. Corbin was NOT looking forward to sitting in a classroom for 7 hours, but even he admitted to enjoying it and learning a lot. He was actually the FIRST person to ask a question and didn't squirm too much during the three videos we watched (let's just say they didn't leave anything to the imagination). He says that he is all ready for Carter to come now, and even read up on delivering the baby himself if we didn't make it to the hospital in time - haha!

The tour of the hospital was good - got a feel for where I will be spending a few days in a month or so. I am hoping the day I go in won't be too busy so I can get one of the newer/bigger rooms. We were also told to go ahead and pack our bags, but I think I will hold off for a few more weeks.

By the end of the day, Corbin admitted that he didn't realize how long/bad of a process it was all going to be for me and then reminded me that I can blame Eve for all of that! I know he is going to be a great coach, though and will take good care of me!

Only about 7 weeks left!

Cuteness overload!

Work is super boring today (bosses are in Aruba - hate them!), so I went browsing online at some CUTER THAN CUTE baby boy clothes. Oh. my. gosh. Look:

Those SHOES!! EVERY infant needs a pair of penny loafers, right?

Appointment

My 32 week appointment went well. I've gained another pound or so, and everything else checks out good too! Carter's heart rate was in the 140s, just a-chuggin along! I go back in two weeks and then will be going every week until the baby comes!

I had Braxton Hicks contractions off and on all day yesterday and some this morning, so my body is definitely gearing up for delivery!

I did my last (3rd) pediatrician interview yesterday and it went well. I don't really know who to pick between the last two I met with - they both have their advantages and disadvantages. I am leaning toward the doctor whose office seems least like a doctor's office. Apparently I'm a bit of a germaphobe and can just FEEL the germs when I walk into the waiting room in these places - yuck. My top two offices have separate sick and well waiting rooms, which is a definite plus. One is a small practice the other is probably the largest in the area. One doctor is a man, the other a woman. One office charges for after hours calls which the other does not. Decisions, decisions!! We probably can't go wrong with either, though!

My cold is still hanging on, but hopefully I will be over it by next week!! I'll be sure to let y'all know how our marathon L&D class goes tomorrow!

32 weeks!!

It is crazy that when people ask me when my baby is due I can now say "next month"! I cannot believe that in a few short weeks Carter will be here. I must admit that I am starting to stress out a bit about all the stuff that needs to be done and what I still need before then. I know everything will come together in the end, but my hormones seem to take control here lately.

I haven't been feeling so hot this week. I woke up Sunday morning feeling like death and have been fighting off a cold ever since. I'm feeling a lot better than I did this weekend, but still not 100%. The past two nights I have fallen asleep around 8:30 or 9:00, so I am certainly getting the rest I need. Breathing has become a difficult task. My back is also getting worse - Saturday I was trying to get off the couch (yes, even that takes extra effort) and my back completely gave out and I couldn't move. It was horrible, but Corbin got a kick out of my old ladyish ailments. Overall though, I still feel VERY blessed that everything has gone so well so far in the pregnancy - I really have had it easy.

Here is my 32 week picture. I am huge.

Corbin and I are taking a Labor and Delivery class on Saturday (all day Saturday - ask Corbin how excited he is about that) so hopefully I will feel a little more prepared for baby after that. I am excited to tour the hospital and see where Carter will be born!

Friday is my 32 week check-up!