Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Week 30

I’ve made it to 30 weeks. I can’t believe there are only 10 weeks away. It still sounds like a long time from now, but with the kids being in school, soccer, and all the pre-Holiday prep, it’s going to fly right by. For the most part, we have everything we need for Mark. M and I just need to buckle down and get the room ready. M will have to go into the attic and pull out the baby clothes. It’s just been so hot, that I don’t have the heart to make him go up there and do it now. We can wait a few more weeks. I need to wash all the bedding stuff and the newborn clothe. I think it would be better to wait until after my shower to do that in case we get more stuff.

30 weeks and 2 days.  Photograph by Matthew Fisher.
Last Thursday, I went for my bi-weekly visit and Dr. New says everything looks great. Mark is growing properly (heartbeat was at 140 bmp), my placenta looks healthy, weight gain is good (now at 152 lbs.), and there is plenty of amniotic fluid. I took and passed my glucose tolerance test (84; needed to be under 130). Only hiccup is my low iron count, so I have to take iron supplement. We have another appointment next Thursday to take another look the munchkin.

The boys and I are starting to get back to the school/soccer routine. Thank goodness we have Sarah around to help. I don’t know what I would so if we didn’t have her help. Between the 2 boys, we have soccer practice literally every day except for Mondays. Mondays would be filled to if I chose to let them got to skills night, but I need that like I need I shot in the head.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Week 29 (11 More weeks to go)

Pregnancy Highlights


How Far Along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: A little over 15 inches and weighs 2.50 lbs (Babycenter.com).

Weight gain: ??? We’ll find out tomorrow when I see Dr. New

Maternity Clothes: No change - I’m still wearing non-pregnancy dresses and am wearing maternity tops and jeans/pants. Wardrobe is getting to be a little limited because most of my non-pregnancy tops are getting too short.
Gender: Baby Boy we found out at 18 weeks – Mark Austin Fisher.

Movement: He’s starting to roll around. I can see my belly move when he moves, so I guess he’s starting to fill in. Sometimes it gets annoying, but I still love feeling him move.

Sleep: Waking up every few hours to use the bathroom. Backache is still there sometimes, but has not awoken me like a few weeks ago. I’m trying very hard to sleep on my left side because it’s better for baby.

Symptoms: Backache is getting more frequent and has become more of an issue especially before bed. I can feel some pressure and a dull pain in my lower abdomen, especially when I stand up. I’ve been told that I’m snoring very loudly and my breathing is getting louder.

What I miss: Still very hot in TX and still wanting my iced vanilla latte from Starbucks. This week, I also miss sushi and sake.
Cravings: Still anything that has lots of sugar, especially chocolate candy bars.

Best moment this week: Watching my belly move when Mark moves and getting the invitation to may baby shower

What I am looking forward to: Michael and Matthew’s first soccer game of the season! Games start this Saturday. Go Starjets and Stingrays!


29 Weeks.  Matthew took this picture with help from Daddy.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Looking Forward to Fall

I am so ready for fall to come.  We’ve had 59 days of 100+ weather in North TX, most of it one day after the other. With no relief in sight, I can only dream of the cool crisp autumn air with the smell of cinnamon and apples.  The beautiful rustic colors of brown, gold and red on trees seems like it will never come.  I’m just waiting and waiting to decorate for my favorite season.  I am so impatient that I actually went and got some fall hand soaps and air freshener so I get a little bit of a fix.  Can this be considered a craving as part of my pregnancy?  I would say yes. Now our house smells of cinnamon and autumn spice.  Love it!

Monday, August 22, 2011

1st Day of School

First day of school! Michael started 3rd grade today and my little Matthew started 1st grade. I’m very excited for them to get back into the routine again. I think it’s going to be a little bumpy at first because they haven’t really been on the school schedule for a while. This morning went OK. We had some issues with brushing their teeth and hair, but we made it out the door by 7:30. We need to be ready to be out the door by 7:25 tomorrow to make the bus.




In Mrs. Neathery's 3rd grade class

Matthew standing in front of his cubby.  Mrs. Eads' 1st grade class.

Walking to class with Daddy
They don’t seem all that excited, so I hope they had a great 1st day. They have early release at 11am and on Friday, they go in for assessment at noon. This schedule will hopefully ease them into a full-day schedule. They were so cute this morning with their little backpacks! Hey are growing up so fast!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Week 28 (12 more weeks left!)

Another milestone. I’m going into my last trimester.


Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 28 weeks

Size of baby: 14.8 inches and weighs 2.25 lbs (Babycenter.com).

Weight gain: ??? We’ll find out next week when I go see my doctor

Maternity Clothes: No change - I’m still wearing non-pregnancy dresses and am wearing maternity tops and jeans/pants

Gender: Baby Boy we found out at 18 weeks – Mark Austin Fisher.

Movement: No change-Mark is active in the early afternoon and in the morning when I wake up at around 6:30am. He is moving more frequently and kicks are getting strong. His movements are different from both his brothers’. His movements are small and rapid; kind of like a mouse scurrying along my belly. There have been some big kicks, but they are few and far between.

Sleep: Waking up every few hours to use the bathroom. Backache is still there sometimes, but has not awoken me like a few weeks ago. I’m having a hard time sleeping on my side, so I may need to purchase a pregnancy pillow.

Symptoms: Backache is getting more frequent and has become more of an issue especially before bed. I can feel some pressure and a dull pain in my lower abdomen, especially when I stand up. I’ve been told that I’m snoring very loudly and my breathing is getting louder.

What I miss: Still iced coffee because it’s still been over 100 degrees out here. We’ve had over 50 days of 100+ weather. I am so looking forward to the fall weather so I can wear my sweaters and my brand new riding boots. I tried on these boots when I got them and they were too small around the calf and I was so disappointed! I had made up my mind to return them, but I tried them on again the other day and they fit! It’s the little joys in life.

Cravings: Still anything that has lots of sugar.

Best Moment this week: Knowing I only have 12 more weeks to go to meet my Mark.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting Michael and Matthew’s teacher and the 1st day of school for my little men. I’m looking forward to an exciting school year! Oh and we are starting to visit the Dr. every other week now. I’m looking forward to seeing Mark on the sonogram twice a month.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Another Tooth Gone!

Matthew lost his third tooth on Sunday, and if he didn’t look like Lloyd before, he does now. Poor boy. This weekend was pretty quiet. It was nice to be home because we were gone for the last couple of weekends. Not that I’m complaining about vacation, its’ just that when you’ve been gone for that amount of time, the house starts to need attention. It was nice to relax and get things back to normal and get back into a routine.


I did go and see a fabulous movie this weekend. It could be just my hormones but this movie made me cry several times. I read “The Help” and finished it in a couple of days because it was just such a great book. And the boys were in CA so I had a little more time on my hands. It has to be one of my top five books that I’ve read, so yes, it is that good.

I went into the movie expecting it to really be a lot different from the book and not anywhere near as good, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the movie stayed true to the characters and the theme of the book.

Anyway, I’m trying to get the boys back into the school year routine because it starts up again next Monday. I know this is a cliché, but I’ll say it anyway. Where has the summer gone? Trying to get things ready for them to go back to school. School supplies have been bought, no new school clothes yet, but it’s still too hot for them to wear anything other than shorts and t-shirts, so that can wait. By the way, we never made it to day 42 to even tie the record for most days over 100 degrees. It rained the day before. Now we are on another string of 100+ degrees. Welcome to TX.

We got the glider for the nursery. I would have liked it to be a little bigger, but it looks nice. Big thank you to my in-laws for their very generous gift. We also got a little mini-fridge for the nursery so we don’t have to walk al the way downstairs for night time feeding. We are lazy that way. I think we are pretty much ready for our little Mark.
Tooth Fairy gave him $5 for that tooth.


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Week 27

Pregnancy Highlights:



How Far Along: 27 weeks

Size of baby: 14.5 inches and weighs 2 lbs (Babycenter.com).

Weight gain: I was 144 during my last Dr.’s visit on 7/25.

Maternity Clothes: I’m still wearing non-pregnancy dresses and am wearing maternity tops and jeans/pants

Gender: Baby Boy we found out at 18 weeks – Mark Austin Fisher.

Movement: Mark is active in the early afternoon and in the morning when I wake up at around 6:30am. He is moving more frequently and kicks are getting strong. His movements are different from both his brothers’. His movements are small and rapid; kind of like a mouse scurrying along my belly. There have been some big kicks, but they are few and far between.

Sleep: Waking up a couple of times each night for the bathroom and continue to have achy back. I’ve also noticed more leg cramps. Boo

Symptoms: Backache is getting more frequent and has become more of an issue especially before be. I’m still hold back from taking anything, but may have to start if it keeps me from falling asleep. I can feel some cramping and round ligament pains early morning and at night. I just feel a lot heavier, especially when I'm climbing stairs.

What I miss: Iced coffee. It’s been over 100 degrees here for over the past month and I would love to indulge in an iced vanilla latte every day. I treat myself to one once in a while, but if I weren’t preggo I would have one every day.

Cravings: Still anything that has lots of sugar.

Best Moment this week: Being able to have my sister and brother feel Mark kick in St. Thomas

What I am looking forward to: Getting my glider this Friday!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

St Thomas and St. John

Where to start? There’s a lot to catch up on since my last posting. We’ve been to St. Thomas and St. John and back. I’m now 27 weeks pregnant and getting bigger by the hour. I’m not kidding about that either.


St. Thomas was a very nice break, but everything was so expensive. I had forgotten how expensive island vacations are. We had a very laid back vacation just hanging on the beach or by the pool. We met my sister at the airport in St. Thomas and took the ferry to St. John to stay at the Westin Resort and Villas for a couple of days. We didn’t get to do much because taxi is expensive and there really was not much to do except for hanging out at the beach, which we could do at the hotel.

After St. John, we took the ferry back to St. Thomas and stayed at the Marriott Frenchman Cove where we met up with my brother and his wife. We decided to rent a car here because we didn’t want to be stuck on hotel property. We drove out into Charlotte Amalie for a day and got bored with the shopping. All there was were jewelry stores. I looked into buying some Tanzanite jewelry, but discovered that they weren’t that much of a bargain.

We also drove out to Magen’s Bay because everyone we spoke to said it is an amazing beach and we shouldn’t miss it. I must say I was a little disappointed. It was a pretty beach and it was cool because there were little fish there that would kind of hang around and nibble on our toes, but I was expecting something more spectacular. On the way back, we stopped by a St. Thomas Dairies and had some really yummy ice cream and shakes.

There was a little bit of drama at the end of our trip. All along, we thought our last day on St. Thomas was Saturday. When M went to check in online, the system would not let him check in yet. It was then he discovered that the return tickets were scheduled for Sunday, not Saturday. We had to scramble to find another place to stay. Luckily for M, we ended up at the Ritz-Carleton which was a beautiful hotel. Not only was service impeccable, there were so much more things for the kids to do. They were only able to go kayaking and paddle boating because we only spent 1 night there. I was very impressed with the hotel and wished we had planned another couple of days there instead of going to St. John. I will post pictures when I can get them from M.

It was a very nice vacation, but I am so glad to be back home. I feel like I have so much to catch up on even though we were only gone for a little over a week. School starts in a little over a week and I have not done anything for the boys to get ready. Our nursery is still not ready. Once we get the glider on Friday, we will start to get things set up. I have to stop or I’ll get totally stressed out about the things that still need to be done.