Five Weeks Away

I can't believe we are five weeks away from our due date! The last few weeks have just flown by. We haven't been doing much other than working, resting, and crossing things off the to-do list. Unfortunately, every time we cross something off, two more things get added! For the most part, we are ready. Sure, I'd like to clean out the closets, dust the baseboards, and sell some things on Craigslist, but I know the baby won't care much about those things so it isn't the end of the world if we don't get them all done before she's here. Josh is working this weekend on painting the ceiling in the living room and working on the trim - we finally got the hole in the ceiling fixed! Yay! One more thing done...

As I've said before, I've had a very easy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness, no real cravings, no complaints at all for the most part. That's probably why, when fatigue set in around 2 weeks ago, I felt completely off guard! Suddenly I was just entirely....physically....exhausted. Walking up or down the stairs left me out of breath. Typing at work made my arms tired. I actually walked out halfway through my class at the gym for the first time, because my legs and back were just too tired to keep me up!!! I felt like I was running a marathon every time I got up to go to the bathroom. Luckily, that has passed. For now anyways. Hopefully if it comes back it won't be as bad. I am very lucky to have such an understanding guy at home who cooks for me and lets me rest whenever I need to. :) Also, my ankles have become one with my feet. I went out to dinner right after work with some friends for Heather's birthday on Tuesday, and didn't get home until almost 10pm. I felt tired and uncomfortable and so I went straight to bed. The next day my feet were sore and felt funny, and my fingers were chubby! All day it seemed like my feet were getting bigger and bigger until I finally got home and laid down for a few hours. That helped. The swelling was gone in the morning, and then came back slightly last night. I think it is from just being sedentary all day, but I'm not sure. Tonight I am going to take Dora on a walk around the neighborhood, and try to get into a routine of doing that every night since I'm not exercising anymore. Hopefully it will help keep too much water retention and swelling from coming back.

I am going to weekly appointments now, my next one is on Wednesday. I can't wait! Not that they do anything special, but I just love getting checkups and hearing that everything looks and sounds good. Its reassuring. Throughout the whole pregnancy, Joshua and I have thought the baby is going to come early. I even dreamed once that I delivered the baby 11 weeks early. The other day, Josh looked at me and said very seriously, "The baby is coming soon". I said I know. I'm not sure why we both have this feeling, but we've probably jinxed it and now the baby will be 2 weeks past the due date. We're happy with it either way, although we both finally feel ready. Josh says he's nervous about the labor and delivery, that he won't know what to do to help me. I'm more nervous about actually bringing the baby home, that I won't know how to care for her or something. With all the preparation we've both done, neither of us should be scared of either of these things, but we are. I know we'll figure it out...people always have.

My last day at work is September 17th. Four more weeks! I am looking very forward to that. Not because I dislike working, but just because it has started to become uncomfortable to be sitting at a desk all day. I try to get up and take strolls around the office periodically, but it only helps for a little while. By the time 4pm rolls around, I can hardly even stand to be sitting anymore! Yesterday I was fidgeting and moving around for the last 2 hours I was here. I just need to be horizontal!! It feels best to lie down - the weight all out front is tough to carry! On a random note - I think it is a little rude for people I don't know to say "Wow, you're belly is huge!". I don't mind it from people I know at all. But from some random woman at a restaurant to tell me I'm gonna have a big baby because my belly is so big? I told her "no, actually my doctor thinks I'm going to have a small baby. You must not see a lot of pregnant women, do you?". I measured my waist this morning and I don't think it is that big. Maybe it just looks big on me because it is all out front. But whatever, that lady is rude. And I'm a little sensitive.

I will post pictures soon, but our computer is currently experiencing technical difficulties and so the pictures are inaccessible. Love you all! And Happy Monday!!!!!!!!

xoxo

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Our baby shower was two weekends ago, and all I can still think to say is THANK YOU!!!! We are so happy that we were able to celebrate with so many of our family and friends, and we were (and still are) overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone. It was such a fun and exciting day for us, and by the end of it all, we were exhausted! We are lucky to have a very big family, so the party was put together by a bunch of different people. My mom surprised me and flew in from Dallas on Wednesday so that she could be at the shower. It was such a nice surprise, and very unexpected. I love surprises and had no clue that she was even coming! She and Lisa (my stepmom) put together a beautiful diaper cake that will keep the baby clean and dry for a while.

Lexi also flew in from out of town and although it wasn't a surprise, it was still so great to spend time with her. My cousin Sarah and her family drove up from the Virginia Beach area, as did our good friends Kristie and Denie with their little girl, Sloan. We had my family from Maryland there too, and some of Josh's family that I hadn't met yet! It was so great to see everyone, and we are so appreciative that you all made the journey to spend the afternoon with us. We are so lucky and happy that our baby has such a loving and caring family and extended family to look forward to.

Cheryle worked very hard on the decorations for the party, and Maria put together some awesome party favor bags full of candy and goodies for everyone to take home. Luckily she packed me one too, or else I would have forgotten to save them!

Lisa made some delicious cupcakes and a cake for everyone to enjoy, and I think it is safe to say that everyone did indeed enjoy them!

Kristie and Denie made this awesome diaper cake, and filled a basket with lots of goodies - even a Daddy's Diaper Kit! This includes gloves, a mask, tongs, and a work belt. Josh had fun with that...

Here is a picture of the nursery once we were home. Lots and Lots of baby stuff!

Thanks to so many generous family and friends, our baby is set for quite a while!!! Thank you all for participating and I hope you had fun - we sure did!!!!

First Exclusive Pics of Baby Falcon's Room!

We finally got working on the nursery about two weeks ago. It was quite a challenge, because we had been using this room as the guest room and the other bedroom as our office/junk room. So turning this into a nursery involved combining a guest room with an office and junk room and trying to make it all fit! This was especially hard not because we have a lot of guests or office supplies, but LOTS AND LOTS of junk. Really, two packrats do not fare well together…

Once we got everything moved out, we picked out a paint color that we liked. I think it is called Sunset Peach or something, and I know it sounds strange at first, but we love it and it adds an extra color to our theme (monkeys) which is mostly brown and green. Once Josh was done painting, he got the idea that he wanted to try to install crown molding. I was hesitant, but I agreed. With the advice of Dad and our friend Paul, Josh was able to figure out the supplies he needed and even (eventually) figured out how to make those pieces fit! I fell asleep on Saturday afternoon to the sound of drills and saws, and awoke to a beautiful room. I am so glad that Josh had the patience to figure out how to do it because it sure was worth it. I think the room looks great, and the crown molding just adds a subtle touch. So here are some pictures!!!

Lets get this show on the road!! Here is Josh starting the nursery:

Installing the crown molding:

Power Tools, Yeah!

Ahh!!!! Disaster Zone! This was the aftermath, it was actually much worse while the work was in process.

And now it is done.

Look at that beautiful woodwork! He’s pretty good at this!

Here are some other pictures of us in the past couple of weeks.

The cute kids:

Us at 29 weeks:

M

Us at 30 weeks:

That is all for now. I will write more next week!!! xoxoxo

Finally!

I finally got to experience the part of pregnancy I’ve been so looking forward to - Cravings!!! On Monday, I had the most insatiable craving for sweets, and it was amazing, aside from the extreme guilt I felt about giving the baby that much sugar. But since it was the first time and I have been really good about eating healthy lately, I gave in. I had my usual bowl of cereal in the morning, and then throughout the rest of the day I had some m&m’s, lemon meringue pie, 2 popsicles, a mango, an oreo ice cream cookie, another bowl of cereal (fruity pebbles), and then the neighbor brought up some cake (actually HALF of a cake!) so I had that even though I was nearly asleep when Josh brought it to me in bed. I couldn’t resist. I probably could have eaten the whole cake, but I wasn’t even hungry and I couldn’t fit any more in my belly…still, my taste for sweets was there. Aside from ice cream and cereal, I normally don’t have much of a taste for sweets, especially cakes or other pastries, but I surely couldn’t get enough of them that day.

I am back to my usual snacks which consist of apples, peaches, and pineapple. Ahh well, even though I felt guilty about eating all that unhealthy, sugary food, it was worth it to experience a pregnancy craving, although I had hoped it would be something really bizarre like pickles wrapped in bacon and dipped in cream cheese, but alas, I am satisfied with the sweet tooth.

By the way, I spent 45 minutes writing a blog post last night with pictures and all that other stuff, and then it disappeared when I tried to actually post it. I was too tired at that point to try it again, so maybe sometime in the next week or so I will try again.

xoxo

Great 28 week checkup

I had my routine 28 week checkup yesterday and it was great! My weight gain was much better last month (thanks to replacing ice cream with popsicles!) and she said my blood pressure is absolutely perfect. I had my glucose tolerance test 2 weeks ago to test for gestational diabetes, and she said I passed that with flying colors. Baby Falcon’s heartbeat was heard loud and clear, too, so I am happy to report that at almost 7 months pregnant, me and the baby are doing wonderful! I am so happy that I am having such an easy and enjoyable pregnancy. My next appointment is in another 4 weeks. I hate waiting that long! After that, the appointments will be every two weeks and then down to once a week when we get to September.

Here is what the little one is doing this week:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

She is also learning to tap dance. On my bladder. How fun!

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Ocean City Vacation

Just the two of us…but not for long! We took our last vacation alone (at least for a while!) this past weekend to Ocean City. We rented this really cute little condo that was one block from the beach and had a beautiful view of the bay and the sunset. We got in late Thursday night and got up Friday morning with no plans! We had a minor issue that first day - the electricity was out for about 6 hours so we had to pack up all of our food in the cooler, and we decided since we didn’t have AC we would go ahead and hit the beach. We spent a few hours there, enjoying the hot sun and cold ocean water. I had to sit under the umbrella a lot because I didn’t want to get burned, but despite my efforts I still got pink. After an afternoon nap, we hit the boardwalk and got some boardwalk fries. What a disappointment! The boardwalk wasn’t as cool as I remember it, and the fries sucked. I guess things just aren’t as you remember them, huh? Plus, the fries were so salty that I felt dehydrated for the rest of the night. :( We made it an early night and just enjoyed the evening on the couch watching tv, then got up early Saturday morning for another beach day! We spent most of the day on the beach…reading, chatting, taking dips in the water, and building a sand fortress. We even got to listen to the World Cup on our radio! Then we sought out an awesome all you can eat crabs place and had some delicious crabs and corn on the cob. I even got a “mocktail” - virgin strawberry daquiri. It was cute and fun.

stuffed from the crabs!!!

Enjoying some delicious Maryland Blue Crabs

Playing in the sand!

View from the top…

My bump at 27 weeks (almost 7 months!!)

He got sooo sunburned from this!!!

We had an absolutely wonderful trip and can’t wait to make it back to Ocean City again next year with our little family of three. Next Up: We are headed down to the Virginia Beach area to visit our friends Denie and Kristie in July, so we are looking forward to getting to hit the beach one more time this summer. After that, we’re pretty much just gearing up for the arrival of our little baby Falcon. Whooooo where did this time go???

I am 27 weeks right now and have an appointment this coming Thursday. Everything is pretty much smooth sailing lately, nothing new to report. I feel the baby moving around very often - in the morning, a little after lunch time, and then all evening. I think the baby must be in the head down position because it feels like she is trying to poke her way out of my uterus by way of my bladder. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but what I’m trying to say is that I feel a lot of movement down low. It kind of hurts a little, but it still makes me pause and smile every time I feel it. We are taking our tour of the hospital next Wednesday, and I can’t wait! I am so excited to see the rooms and ask all the questions I have. Then, we should be starting our Bradley Method birth classes the following day, which will last 10 weeks. In other news, I’m still not getting cravings!!! I was really looking forward to making Josh get out of bed to make me some crazy sandwich or something, but no. Nothing. Although, a friend did point out that I am eating two bowls of cereal a day, so maybe you could call that a craving. A craving I’ve had my whole life….

That is all for now, I suppose. I will update with anything new that happens at the doctor this week! Hopefully it will just be another routine appointment though. I had another dream that the baby is a girl - that is the third and none for boy. Unfortunately, this dream also had little Audrey being delivered 11 weeks (about 3 months) early. So that wasn’t a good part of the dream, but seeing my baby girl was. I can’t wait to see her again soon. In the meantime, I’ll be patient and settle for my dreams.

Moving Right Along!

Joshua’s belly - he isn’t growing so I don’t know why he has me take pictures of him! Although he isn’t getting a sympathy belly, he has started to get into a “nesting” phase. The other day we were on our way out the door to go to work and he was saying how he can’t wait to get started on the nursery and get the house clean and ready for the baby. I guess that is nesting. I don’t have it yet, really. I am very excited to start on the nursery and I totally feel like we are behind on things, but I don’t think I’m into the nesting and cleaning phase at all yet. I will get there soon, I hope.

Me, Josie, and Pussycat - Josie insists on sitting on my LAP when I’m on the floor, but that’s hard now that I don’t really have a lap. You may or may not be able to tell from the pictures, but my boobs have gotten big! Along with my rock hard bulging belly, I’m starting to feel like I really am pregnant. Lauren surprised me last week with some really cute maternity clothes, which was great. I have a wardrobe that should last me through the rest of the pregnancy, since I bought some things at Target and Old Navy, plus the stuff I got on Craigslist. I feel like I have done well budgeting a good amount of maternity clothes into our budget. :) That makes me happy (saving money always does!).

This is my bump at 24 weeks: It is getting bigger every day! I am 25 weeks now and I am having such a hard time believing that there are only 15 weeks left. I am getting more and more excited, especially since I can feel so much activity going on in there these days. He is really active at night after dinner and Josh and I have both gotten to see him bump and roll around. It is so crazy to see! I keep trying to catch it on video but I swear the baby knows when I’m trying to do that because he stops immediately.

I recently started having pain in my lower back/hip area that I think (from what I’ve read in my books and online) that it is my sciatic nerve. It is apparently somewhat common for the nerve to be pinched during pregnancy due to the extra weight and posture changes. It was really bad on Wednesday, but a warm bath made it feel better. Sitting down for too long makes it worse, I think.

I went to the doctor last week for my checkup, and everthing was great, except for my weight gain. I gained 10 pounds in 4 weeks!! Oops! That puts me at 11 pounds total weight gain at this point. When I weighed myself this week at the gym (one week after my appointment) I was 4 lbs less than at the doctor’s, so I don’t know if I lost weight or if the two scales are just a few pounds off. Either way, I am no longer indulging in ice cream sundaes every night. I’ve switched to Fudgesickles instead since they are only 40 calories each. I also drank a lot of sodas for a while, which I never did before I pregnant, so I went ahead and cut thoes out as well. Other than those two things, I don’t eat anything bad, so I should be able to stay on track by just stopping those two bad habits. Ice cream is hard though, I think about it all day, every day. I will only indulge every now and then though, I have to be strong! I am very focused on maintaining a healthy weight throughout the pregnancy so that once the baby is here, I can really be at my best, mentally and physically.

Frankie and DoJo, aren’t they cute?!

For the nursery, I found this glider on Craigslist and picked it up for $95! Great deal! It doesn’t have any stains or flaws that I have found, and it feels as though it has never even had anyone sit in it. It is very comfortable and I the wood color should be a perfect match for the crib, which should get here any day now.

We got the crib from Babies R Us and it is the convertible kind, so we can change it into a toddler bed when the baby is big enough, and then convert it again into a full size twin bed. You can see the crib here: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3427804&fromRegistryNumber=45308543&product_skn=205624

Josh and I both happen to get giftcards at work last month. I got $50 for filling out a health wellness survey, and he got $100 for performance (I think). So we used those towards the crib and only ended up having to pay out of pocket for less than half of it! This was the same weekend as we got the glider, so I felt like I had really had a great, money saving weekend!

We are headed to see our friends Paul and Angela tonight that had their third baby in March. I also got to visit my friend Brett this week, that just had her daughter 3 weeks ago. It was great to see such a sweet little baby, and it made me so excited (and scared) for what is to come. Talking to other moms of newborns is definitely is helpful though! It helps prepare me for the things that are coming, especially the things most people don’t tell you.

We are going to the beach in 2 weeks….stay tuned for updates and pictures!