34 Weeks

Hello, 34 weeks! I had my appointment this morning and everything is fine. As I've said before, no news is good news. :) They had been monitoring my platelet count because it had been a little low, but as of my last draw (last week) my count is actually UP! It's higher than it was even at the beginning of my pregnancy. So, needless to say, my doctor is not worried. We don't have to do any more testing (they might test at the hospital before I deliver just to be sure). HAPPY DANCE!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 is still the size of a honeydew!

Maternity Clothes: I'm about 99% all in maternity clothes.

Gender: Not finding out!

Movement: This kiddo is a pusher! :) S/he likes to push my belly in all different places...I definitely look like I have a little alien in there.

Sleep: What's sleep?!? My hips have started to hurt & I've been getting up a lot to pee. Some nights I get lucky and have a 3-4 hour stretch of solid sleep and it's GLORIOUS!

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy, not waddling when I walk, being able to walk without a shooting pain in my butt, being able to bend over, being able to breathe while sitting.

Cravings: Brownies with chocolate frosting! And Taco Bell. Otherwise, my appetite seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I'm not ravenously hungry every 2 hours.

Symptoms: Some BH contractions, sciatic nerve pain, back pain, peeing every 5 minutes, occasional heartburn, slight swelling...comes with the territory.

Amelia's Big Girl Room

I never made a post about Amelia's Big Girl Room. All of these things are purchased (thanks, Babcia) and sitting in my parent's basement waiting for us to move...except the paint. We're still deciding on the color.

Obviously, Amelia's room will be Disney Princess themed. I can't wait to put her room together! I think I'm more excited about decorating her room than the nursery - probably because Amelia will be so excited about it, the baby will just sleep (I hope).

Possible paint colors:

Disney's One Enchanted Evening

Disney's Air Kiss


Disney's Clock Strikes 12

Inspiration Room - Overall look I like

Princess toy storage unit


Princess Rug

Princess Chandelier/lamp

Princess hamper

Princess wall decals

Cinderella Growth Chart

Amelia's bedding

Her room is going to be so pretty - I may want to move in with her! :)

THE House

I'm superstitious. It drives Alex a little batty sometimes. I just can't help myself...I don't like to tempt fate.

So we've been under contract for our first house since Superbowl Sunday. We had our inspection on Thursday and, other than a few minor issues, it went well. We're set to close on March 17.

We are EXCITED! We love this house. But I've been holding off telling the world and really talking about this house because I know that until we have the keys in our hands, it's not ours yet.

But there's no law that says I can't show you pictures of the house we're under contract to purchase. And, just to make me feel better about the whole thing, I'd appreciate it if everyone keeps saying prayers that everything works out! :)

P.S. - the battery in our camera died before we could take pictures of the whole house...we'll have to show you the other areas in another post.

The front

The front right side

Front porch

Front porch entry to garage



Foyer/hall closet

Formal living room from foyer, you can see part of the formal dining room

Formal living room, part of formal dining room

Formal living room and foyer from dining room

Looking into the kitchen from the dining room

Window looking out to the back/side of house from dining room

Family room - open door is to the basement, open storage pantry

Family room, sliding door to backyard (look at all the light we get - swoon!)

Kitchen from family room, bay window/slider to side/back of house

Wood-burning fireplace

Kitchen, looking into dining room & formal living room

From family room - open door to basement, looking into the hall (part of 2nd bedroom)

Looking into Master bedroom from hall





Closet

2nd bedroom

Hallway from Master - can see foyer/front door

Linen closet

3rd bedroom

Closet in 3rd bedroom

Backyard, looking into master & family room

Yard

Yard

Yard, looking at back of garage and kitchen

33 Weeks!

33 weeks

I am 33 weeks pregnant today! Nothing major to report, which is a good thing. My new mantra is "no news is good news."

I received the following "letter" in an email from a friend yesterday. It's way too funny not to share with everyone! It's SO TRUE!!! I wish it was socially acceptable to print and pass this out to people as soon as you announce your pregnancy. I'm sure all my mom friends will agree with me. :)

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, mother in law, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,
All the Pregnant Women in the World

...and without further ado...

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 is the size of a honeydew!

Maternity Clothes: I'm about 99% all in maternity clothes.

Gender: Not finding out!

Movement: This kiddo is a pusher! :) S/he likes to push my belly in all different places...I definitely look like I have a little alien in there.

Sleep: What's sleep?!? My hips have started to hurt & I've been getting up a lot to pee. Some nights I get lucky and have a 3-4 hour stretch of solid sleep and it's GLORIOUS!

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy, not waddling when I walk, being able to walk without a shooting pain in my butt, being able to bend over, being able to breathe while sitting.

Cravings: Brownies with chocolate frosting! And Taco Bell. Otherwise, my appetite seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I'm not ravenously hungry every 2 hours.

Symptoms: Some BH contractions, sciatic nerve pain, back pain, peeing every 5 minutes, occasional heartburn, slight swelling...comes with the territory.

32 Weeks

I hit the 32-week mark yesterday. My doctor appointment was pretty uneventful - pee, weight, blood pressure, baby's heartbeat, fundal measurement, questions. Everything is fine. In my opinion, uneventful appointments are a VERY GOOD thing! :)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 is (still) the size of a squash!

Maternity Clothes: I'm about 99% all in maternity clothes.

Gender: Not finding out!

Movement: This kiddo is a pusher! :) S/he likes to push my belly in all different places...I definitely look like I have a little alien in there.

Sleep: What's sleep?!? My hips have started to hurt & I've been getting up a lot to pee. Some nights I get lucky and have a 3-4 hour stretch of solid sleep and it's GLORIOUS!

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy, not waddling when I walk, being able to walk without a shooting pain in my butt, being able to bend over, being able to breathe while sitting.

Cravings: Brownies with chocolate frosting! Otherwise, my appetite seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I'm not ravenously hungry every 2 hours.

Symptoms: Some BH contractions, sciatic nerve pain, back pain, peeing every 5 minutes, occasional heartburn, slight swelling...comes with the territory.

To Do List

*sigh* Here is the post that I've been putting off writing. Seeing in black & white all of the things I still have left to do before we become a family of four is a little overwhelming. I just don't think I can put it off any longer...I have to face the reality that I have A LOT to do and get cracking on it!

1. Buy a house
2. Move into said house
3. Decorate/unpack
4. Decorate the nursery
5. Decorate Amelia's room
6. Decorate Master Bedroom
7. Buy Carseat
8. Buy baby monitor
9. Buy baby bedding
10. Buy gender neutral clothing

.
.
.

You know what, this isn't helping. There are so many things I need to buy and do that my list would be about 50 items long.

The positive is that we are currently under contract for a house. The bad news is that it's looking like we won't be closing until I'm about 38-ish weeks pregnant. Therefore, we may have this baby before we actually move. Ugh. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. Just pray really really hard that this baby actually stays put until 40 weeks!!!!

31 and 34!

Monday was quite a day! Not only did I hit the 31-week mark in my pregnancy, but it was my birthday. I turned 34. Eh, just a number. :) Oh, and we saw the beginning of a "major" snow and ice storm. Alex & I had planned on meeting up for dinner to celebrate my birthday, but the weather kind of "iced" on my parade. This isn't the 1st time Old Man Winter has ruined my birthday plans. I kindly direct my loyal readers to this story - the 1982 blizzard. It was my 5th birthday and no one could come to my birthday party because of the blizzard. Is there anything worse than no one showing up to your birthday party for a little kid? Maybe Christmas being cancelled.

Have no fear - we will celebrate my birthday this weekend! :) We've just about dug out from the snow and ice (definitely had more ice than snow), so nothing can stop us now. Er, maybe I shouldn't tempt fate. :)

So, without further ado, I give you my weekly pregnancy update. [No pics this week]

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 31 Weeks


Size of baby: Baby #2 is (still) the size of a squash!


Maternity Clothes: I'm about 99% all in maternity clothes.


Gender: Not finding out!


Movement: This kiddo is a pusher! :) S/he likes to push my belly in all different places...I definitely look like I have a little alien in there.



Sleep: What's sleep?!? My hips have started to hurt (I'm not complaining - I started feeling this discomfort almost immediately when I was pregnant with Amelia, so I'm happy to have made it this far without it!). I've been getting up a lot to pee. Some nights I get lucky and have a 3-4 hour stretch of solid sleep and it's GLORIOUS!


What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy, not waddling when I walk, being able to walk without a shooting pain in my butt, being able to bend over, being able to breathe while sitting.


Cravings: Still craving chocolate like crazy! Otherwise, my appetite seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I'm not ravenously hungry every 2 hours.



Symptoms: Some BH contractions, sciatic nerve pain, back pain, peeing every 5 minutes, occasional heartburn...comes with the territory.