Week 31 [ July 31, 2012 ]

How far along? 31 weeks 7 days 

Baby is the size of: a pineapple

Total weight gain:  {136.2 to 138.0}

Maternity clothes? mixture of regular and maternity...needing some more maternity tops because I've gotten big this past week

Belly growth: 

Stretch marks? no belly marks please

Sleep: i decided to switch back to my normal pillow set-up and got rid of my preggo pillow and it has really helped me sleep better - thank gosh

Best moment this week: seeing our little babes cute face :) I'm looking forward to see if that's how she'll look when she gets here

Movement: oh yeah...she doesn't like when i bend over, hunch over at the computer or dinner table - she just kick, kick kicks me in the ribs

Food cravings: brownies

Miss anything?  having an occasional adult bev

Anything making you queasy or sick: smoke

Gender: IT'S A GIRLIE!!!

Labor Signs: no just the every now and again braxton hicks

Symptoms: hard to breathe, lots of peeing, tired

Belly Button in or out? still in but very close to being flat...it pops out when i laugh or cough and bru can't stand to look at it. ha!

Wedding rings on or off? on

Feelings: feeling really great! i feel so much more like myself and am so happy to be over the virus

Looking forward to: being able to start putting decor in the nursery...we finally have the crib up, book shelf up (after hating the first one bru put together...oops), dresser and night stand almost done being painted, closet almost done being put together... things are starting to come together and its making me very excited and relieved 

This weeks developments: her brain, nerves and eyes are going through major development - her irises now react to light. All 5 of her senses are in working order!

Michelle's shower

Our baby's beautiful face

So let me start off my saying today is exactly 2 months from my due date....ahhhhh! And after seeing Livvy's cute little smooshie face yesterday, I am even more excited to meet her. :)

Seeing her sweet little face did something to me... i fell in love, plain and simple. i love her luscious lips, chubby cheeks and little nosey. i love how obsessed she is with her tiny thumb and how content she is just sucking away. I can only imagine how overwhelmed i will feel when i meet her in person... <3 <3 <3


We got to see beebs swallow, yawn, stretch and open her eyes. It was pretty hard to get a good shot of her full face because she was very sleepy and sucking her thumb the whole time. But we were able to jiggle her around a little to catch a few glimpses of her lovely little face... i could watch her forever, i never wanted those 15 minutes to end. We could see she has a little bit of hair on her head, chubby cheekers (too many cheese fries on my part!) and big beautiful lips. I can't wait to kiss her face all up! We also got to see her little booty in one of the shots. Baby got back! ;)

Thumb in mouth - Standard :)

Profile with mouth open and hand by face

Eyes open with hand by face

Luscious lippers and good shot of hand

Smooshie face - very few shots like this :(

Lips together and Momma's nose?

Everything is so much more real now...

Week 30 [ July 22, 2012 ]

How far along? 30 weeks 5 days >>> 10 more weeks! eeks!!

Baby is the size of: a cucumber

Total weight gain:  {134.6 to 136.2}

Maternity clothes? i haven't been wearing normal clothes all week... been on house arrest 

Belly growth: 35"

Stretch marks? please no

Sleep: ugh... so hard now! turning hurts - i pulled a stomach muscle shift sides and woke up monday morning around 12:30 with an excruciating pain all up my right side from my hip to my neck... that sucked

Best moment this week: getting all my tests back normal and hearing that beebs isn't breech anymore!! :)

Movement: yes, but you can tell its getting cramped in there

Food cravings: ehh been kinda tired of food

Miss anything?  leaving the house...

Anything making you queasy or sick: smoke

Gender: IT'S A GIRLIE!!!

Labor Signs: weird sensations in my uterus/woman parts?

Symptoms: hard to breathe and just uncomfortable

Belly Button in or out? in and hoping it stays there

Wedding rings on or off? on

Feelings: scared she's going to come early and I'm not ready. laying in the hospital on thursday made me realize I'm just not ready for all this yet

Looking forward to: getting some energy back and seeing our babes on wednesday for our 3d ultrasound!!!

This weeks developments: her skin is getting smoother and her brain is getting wrinklier making room for all the brain tissue. she is also strong enough to grasp a finger

thursday morning came and i was feeling just awful and still waiting for my test results. I called to talk to a nurse. she gave my my results, said they looked good but hadn't been reviewed by a doctor yet. i told her how bad i was feeling and she suggested i come back in... said its in the best interest of me and the baby. my appointment wasn't until 450 and as the day grew on i started feeling a tad better and felt like why would i go back to the doc when they're not going to be able to do anything more for me than they did on tuesday? but bru insisted we go ease my mind. so we got there and i got hooked up to the non-stress test monitor again to check on baby and contractions. the doc wasn't overly concerned about my contractions but she wasn't ok with them. she checked my cervix and said it was soft and posterior (not sure what that means). but she could tell in my face that something just wasn't right so she suggested i go to the birthing center for longer testing and to be hooked up to IV fluids. i lost it, i tired to stay so calm but at this point i was freaking out... i just wanted to know what was going on.

soooo off we went to find our way to the birthing center (we got lost - that hospital is confusing!). I got there and they were waiting for me. I changed into one of those awesome hospital gowns and hopped on the bed. the nurse asked me a whole slew of questions about my health and the baby as she hooked me up to the monitor. then she stabbed me with the IV needle and really messed up the first one and had to redo it (ugh!). I sat hooked up for 3 hours and got a bag and a half of fluids. poor bru sat there freezing his ass off and probably bored out of his mind. as i sat there i was overwhelmed with the feelings that I'm not ready for this. I'm not mentally prepared to give birth yet and be trapped in a hospital for days and go through all that pain. I'm just not.

once i had more fluid in me my contractions started leveling out which is great. and baby looks excellent! :) after i had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich the nurse checked my cervix again to see if anything changed and it hadn't so i was discharged. but let me just tell you this nurse was not gentle AT ALL! holy cow, i swear she shoved her whole fist up there. now I'm REALLY not ready for birth. :(

the conclusion is doc thinks i have a virus that I'm struggling to fight off and its causing dehydration (this extreme heat doesn't help either!!). i am put on bed rest for 7 days with lots of fluids. so i have been stuck in the house since thursday night, doing very little except eating, drinking and peeing. i have been trying to love it since i won't have many more days like this...sigh.

all for liv <3

my happy camper thinking about 'tillos

my lovely view this week

Week 29 [ July 16, 2012 ]

How far along? 29 weeks 6 days

Baby is the size of: an acorn squash

Total weight gain: no change {134.6 to 134.6}

Maternity clothes? i just bought a super cute maternity skirt from old navy... I'm obsessed! it really doesn't look like maternity though and i know I'll wear it when I'm not preggo cuz i love it that much. 

Belly growth: 

Stretch marks? not on the bump

Sleep: not real great... having been feeling well = not good zzzz's

Best moment this week: getting my glucose and blood test results back...i passed!!! woo hoo! but I'm borderline anemic (always have been) but that can cause complications for delivery so I'm going to take a supplement. we also met with our midwife to talk through the last couple things before her arrival. holy cow, i can't believe were this far along already. we talked about my birth plan (which is going to be very go with the flow), taking a tour of the birthing center among other things. babes hr is 138-144 and I'm measuring at 29 cm...shes not measuring small anymore.

Movement: I've been feeling her moving her limbs, like a back and forth movement of an appendage. its so weird! and i can feel her hiccups...so cute!

Showing? i think i can take this one off

Food cravings: BLT - YUMMMM!

Miss anything?  not getting winded from walking to the car

Anything making you queasy or sick: smoke

Gender: IT'S A GIRLIE!!!

Labor Signs: braxton hicks contractions are still happening ALOT and its starting to worry me.

Symptoms: nausea, shortness of breath, restlessness, leg/feet cramps, tightening of belly, tiredness, itchy belly, clumsiness, tired

Belly Button in or out? in and hoping it stays there

Wedding rings on or off? on

Feelings: can't even believe how time is ticking away. we have so much to do to get this house in order before her arrival. she needs to stay put!

Looking forward to: feeling better

This weeks developments: white fat deposits are growing under her skin giving her surges of energy (which i can feel when she goes crazy in there) 

so friday i worked in the morning and started getting ready for the day. I got out of the shower and something came over me... i felt SOOOOO sick. I was so dizzy when i closed my eyes the room spun, super nauseous that i just wanted to puke this baby out and achy, the type of flu achy. I was fatigued and couldn't even get out of bed. I had to force myself to get up and out to go sign refi papers and man was that hard. Good news is it went away by 3ish and i started feeling better. Saturday i felt better, sunday i was just a little bit out of it and monday was ok as well. but tuesday i felt like i was hungggg over! yuck! so i called the doctor and the nurse told me to come in. mom had to drive me since i was feeling a tad dizzy. the doctor wasn't really sure what was going so she ran a bunch of tests - blood, pee, non-stress and fetal fibronectin. we won't have results until my next post.

we got all our bedding and stuff! we had it custom made and it looks great! i will show you in a separate post once i have some more energy. :)

we also brought the dresser/changing table home from grandpa carls, so its slowly coming together!

my mom suit

hanging out in the nursery

our lump of love

The Good Looks!

Mommy's Predictions

Eye Color: Blue-ish-grey-ish
We both have lighter colored eyes, so a shade of blue.
Hair Color: Light Brown-ish-blonde-ish
We both had blonde hair when we were born but I'm thinking she'll have a dirty blonde.
Skin Color: Fair
We both have lighter skin (when we aren't tan) so I'm gonna guess she'll be lighter too.
Bald or Full Head of Hair: Some hair but not tons
We all know I have tons of thick hair and Bru has "ducky fur" for hair, so I'll say she's going to have something in between.
Hair Type: Straight
I have wavy hair and Bru has stick straight hair so I'm going to go with straight
Who Will She Look Like: Me as a baby
I have a feeling she's going to look very much like me :))
Bad Traits She'll Probably Get: 
1. Big Nose: I mean let's just be honest here... both Bru and I have big noses. I think it's a pretty safe bet to say she's going to have a larger nose - hopefully not right away but as she grows up.
2. Big head: Again, I'm just being honest - we both have decent sized noggins (especially Bru!!!). So, I'm gonna guess she will too but hope not because I don't wanna have to push that out! EEK!
3. Ugly Feet: While I could be totally wrong about this, I think she will have some weird looking feet - Bru has some ugly toes and I have some slightly misshapen (or deformed) toes. However, I hope I'm wrong cuz baby feet are just the cutest!

Daddy's Predictions

Eye Color: Blue
We both have blue eyes
Hair Color: Dark brown/black
Both grandfathers had black hair (before they went gray)
Skin Color: Fairly olive
A mixture of mom and dad
Bald or Full Head of Hair: Full
The Grahams are freaks when it comes to amount of hair
Hair Type: Straight
Like daddy
Who Will She Look Like: Mommy
She's mommys daughter
Bad Traits She'll Probably Get:
1. Mommy's worry-ness
Like mother like daughter
2. Potty mouth
Like Mommy
3. Big feet
Like Daddy
4. Big shnoze
Like mommy and daddy

Week 28 [ July 10, 2012 ]

How far along? 28 weeks 7 days

Baby is the size of: an eggplant
Total weight gain:  {134.2 to 134.6}

Maternity clothes? ive been wearing a couple maternity shirts to work, but i prefer wearing my normal tanks...they make my belly look cute. i also broke down and bought a maternity bathing suit. its a cute one but i still feel like a mom!
Belly growth: 
Stretch marks? nada
Sleep: ehh fine just lots of tossing and turning...feeling restless
Best moment this week: well the worst moment of the week was when bru finished painting the nursery and it turned out baby blue! but the best is when he repained it and it's perfect!!! :) I LOVE IT! registry is finished!!! yay!!!! i keep adding things here or there but its pretty solid!
Movement: wild woman! shes been doing this weird shaking thing...almost like 'let me out of here!' it freaks me out a little bit. shes also been kicking my ribs a lot which is making me wonder if she's still breech.
Showing? yup...imma growing!

Food cravings: not really

Miss anything?  feeling like myself

Anything making you queasy or sick: smoke

Gender: IT'S A GIRLIE!!!

Labor Signs: these braxton hicks contractions are outta control. it seems to be every time i stand up!

Symptoms: nausea, shortness of breath, restlessness, leg/feet cramps, tightening of belly, tiredness, itchy belly, clumsiness

Belly Button in or out? still in... getting flat on the sides now
Wedding rings on or off? on...been tight the past couple days

Feelings: still freaking out about labor and delivery...seriously this isn't good

Looking forward to: putting everything we have thus far into the nursery... i know its going to be so magical seeing it all come together :)

This weeks developments: she is gaining fat so her wrinkly skin is smoothing out and her lungs are getting more mature!

lunch with jenna, jennie and gianna!

4th of july

Week 27 [ July 4, 2012 ]

OK... this is getting to be one more thing for me to worry about and it's getting harder and harder to find time or energy to post every week. So this post is a day late and a dollar short...we're already into week 28! eeek!

How far along? 28 weeks 1 day

Baby is the size of: a rutabaga

Total weight gain:  {132.8 to 134.2}

Maternity clothes? still just pants... luckily some of the tops i have are maternity-ish so they still work. feels like I've been living in my bathing suit though, these 100* days are killin me!

Belly growth: i always forget to do this!!!

Stretch marks? on my boobs :(

Sleep: not good. i find my legs moving all around and have been waking up to cramps...i had the worst one EVER and my calf was sore until this morning - no joke. i must have had that cramp all night or something. i hope i never wake up like that again...in tears and beside myself. 

Best moment this week: getting my last hunk of fabric and taking it to the quilt lady so she can start making all the bedding! OH AND making HUGE progress on the registry. this is huge because its been hanging over my head and i just haven't wanted to do it... its HARD work! but i got a big chunk done on saturday... spent about 6 hours on it - no joke.

Movement: she's a squirmy wormy! she likes sitting on nerves and just making my uncomfortable...there she goes! she just kicked me when i typed that!

Showing? oh yeah...looking like a blob-o-baby

Food cravings: nothing really this week

Miss anything?  being over to bend over with ease...everything is so much harder when you're fat!

Anything making you queasy or sick: smoke

Gender: IT'S A GIRLIE!!!

Labor Signs: umm.. not really. but the contractions are annoying. when I'm on my feet too long my belly tightens up and gets really hard, i don't like it. good god am i in for a surprise with labor.

Symptoms: nausea, shortness of breath, restlessness, leg/feet cramps, tightening of belly and peeing! I'm so grossed out to even type this but this has become my pregnancy journal since i can't get it together and write in a real one. just the other night i peed (on the toilet), was washing my face and peed in my pants, cleaned that up then peed while i was brushing my teeth (this time ALL over the floor). I'm not kidding - - i wanted to give myself a time out. this has got to stop...and people say you'll never be able to hold it in like normal again :( wahhh

Belly Button in or out? still in... i really hope it stays put cuz it really grosses me out when it pops out
Wedding rings on or off? on...tight in the morning but lose at night

Feelings: freaking out about labor...coming early, being unprepared, scared for what its gonna feel like and be like...just plain freaking out

Looking forward to: finishing my registry and seeing the progress of the nursery

This weeks developments: she is practicing inhaling and exhaling with her lungs and her brain is now active!! i better start eating better, shoot!

Jennie and Ross' wedding

third trimester here we come!

toes have nearly vanished!