34 Weeks and 1 Day

We have 6 more weeks to go, which is less than 2 months. I am so ready to meet this little baby. As much as I love being pregnant, it’s getting harder and harder to move around. I’ve been doing a lot of grunting lately, and picking things up of the floor takes a lot out of me. So it might be a little bit of a relief after Mark is born. Or it might be the opposite and I miss being pregnant. That’s how it was with Michael and Matthew.


Mark is 4.75 lbs and about 18 inches long (Babycenter.com). We won’t really know until Dr. New measures him a month before our due date. I have another appointment with him next week, and then we go to weekly appointments. I can’t believe we are almost there. The time just flew by.

34 weeks and 1day

I guess I’m in “nesting” mode because I feel like the house needs to be clean all the time. I did not make the bed this morning and I can’t stop thinking about it. I had to do the dishes this morning because it really bothered me that the sink was such a mess. I am usually pretty laid back about that sort of stuff.

And I think I have separation anxiety with my two older boys. I feel like crying every time they get on the bus to go to school in the morning. One of these days, I will make them miss the bus on purpose and have them stay with me all day. Just kidding. Maybe not….

What a Great Weekend!

What did we do this weekend? Here’s a list:
1. Michael’s soccer game (I had to miss because Matthew had a soccer game at the same time, different place)

2. Matthew went to a friend’s birthday at Bass Pro Shop. I’ve never been there before and was amazed how many things come in camo print. I now also know where to get a machete if I ever need one. It was interesting. Matthew got to practice his “shooting skills.”

3. M and I went to our friend’s 40th birthday party. We did not bring the kids and we even stayed overnight at the Westin. It was a nice night spent with friends and food. However, we left at 9:30 because I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. The next day, M and I enjoyed a nice, quiet breakfast where I found my new favorite croissant - the blackberry-cream cheese croissant. Yummy!

4. Sunday was mostly an errand day. M finally hung our family portrait that we took last fall. It will be obsolete when Mark gets here, but it was such a beautiful picture that I thought we would keep up until we can get another one done with Mark in it.

That’s pretty much a rundown on our weekend activities. Next weekend, I’ll write about our hospital tour. Wow, we have such an exciting life!

Today, I surprised my little men with lunch. Pei Wei for Michael and McDonalds for Matthew. I think they were happy to see me, and I love to make them happy.

Welcome Back, Fall!

I am so happy to welcome in the Fall Season! Fall has always been my favorite time of the year, but this year is going to be especially awesome. This year, we will be welcoming our 3rd Little Man into our lives. We are just so, so excited! By Thanksgiving he will be here and I cannot wait.


I am also happy that the weather is much cooler. We are still looking at the high 80s and low 90s, but it sure feels a lot cooler than from what we have been experiencing for the last 3 months. The cooler weather has inspired me to do some decorating for the season so that’s what I will be doing this weekend. I’ll be making my rounds to Garden Ridge, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby to get my fix.

I might not have time to do much because we actually have plans this weekend, but I’m hoping to at least get my scarecrow up by the front door. Both boys have soccer games on Saturday and Matthew has a birthday party later that afternoon. Then M and I are off to a friend’s birthday party and spending the night down where they live.

33 Weeks

I had another doctor’s appointment this morning. I swear I just saw him yesterday. I got to see little Mark again. He did not want his face to be seen today because he blocked it with both his arms and hands. We did find out that is will not be born bald. We saw his spiky tufts of hair.


My weight stayed the same as it was from the last 2 weeks, so I’m still at 154. Dr. New says Mark’s heartbeat is nice and strong at 142 bpm.

I don’t have much to complain about except for the normal pregnancy aches and pain. I’m having a hard time finding a comfortable sleep position and getting out of bed is getting to be a little difficult. I’ve been cheating and having my occasional Starbucks. To be fair, those specialty seasonal drinks are really hard to resist, especially since the weather is getting cooler.

I talked to the doctor about the possibility of inducing this birth and he does not have a problem with it. However, it needs to be after 39 weeks. M wants mark induced on the 1st or the 11th, but I think that the 1st is too early and the 11th is too late. It’ll probably be 11/4 – right between Sandi’s birthday and my FIL’s birthday.

Oh, in other news, I am getting to be an expert at exterminating lice. Yes, lice. The boys caught them again yesterday and were sent home. Thankfully after the treatment yesterday, they are lice free and are now allowed back in school. I’m hoping that’s the end of it.

33 Weeks

Starving My Kid and Other News

Matthew told me this morning that he almost starved the other day because of me. A couple of weeks ago I switched his lunch box with Michael’s on accident and he almost starved because of that. Two weeks ago, people, and he’s still holding on to it. I asked why he just didn’t eat Michael’s lunch. “There wasn’t anything I liked. There was only an apple and yogurt. I hate yogurt,” was his response. “Thanks to you, I almost starved to death.” No, he’s not a drama queen at all…

We had a very productive weekend. I’m proud to say that Mark’s room is ready for his arrival. We ran around this Saturday and bought stuff that we think we will need, and on Sunday, M spent the day putting in light dimmers and hanging what needed to be hung. I washed most of Mark’s clothes and organized the room. It actually looks pretty nice. There are a few more things that I need to pick up, but for the most part things are do.

I had a lot of fun looking through the baby store to find a “going home” outfit with my Little Men. They were so excited to help. They came to me with some really cute options, but in the end, we all agreed on an outfit the M found. It matches the crib set we got a few months ago. Very cute.


Mark's Nursery

 

Mark's "going home" outfit that matches his nursery!



32 Weeks and Other Things

For some reason, I thought I was at 33 weeks. Oh well. Pregnancy brain taking over I guess. I’m so forgetful these days. More than usual anyway. I had my shower last Saturday and it was wonderful. I had 8 great ladies there to keep me entertained. Big thanks to them for braving the 114/121 traffic to get to the shower. Some sat in traffic for an hour and a half. I’m grateful that they decided to stick it out. Jennie did a awesome job organizing and hosting the shower. I think everyone had a great time. We played a few games, but most of the time was spent in good company with good conversation and food. Jennie also made me a beautiful diaper cake, which I’m really hesitant to take apart because it looks so nice!

Isn't this beautiful?

My last appointment was last Thursday and it was one of the best appointments because I got to see Marks little face. I saw him blinking his big eyes and his little lips were moving. I just know that he’s a beautiful little baby! I can’t wait to meet him. Dr. says everything looks great. My weight was 152, up 2 lbs. from 2 weeks ago. Marks heartbeat was a little fast at 154 bpm up from 146 2 weeks ago. I think the coffee I had earlier had something to do with that. Dr. remarked on how active he is. That also may have been the caffeine as well.

Matthew is so excited for his little brother. He keeps asking how much longer. Michael doesn’t seem as excited, but I think it’s not in his personality. He doesn’t really express his feeling as easily as Matthew. We had a pretty busy weekend with the shower and the soccer games.

We’ve decided to opt out of Saints soccer because M doesn’t feel like it’s helping Michael with development. Aside from that, there are not enough kids on the team and most of the kids on the team are just not very good. It’s hard to go to game after game and get badly beaten. The score was something like 14-0 last week.

We took him to another Academy team practice and he didn’t seem to like it too much. We are at the point where he needs to make a decision on whether he wants to play competitively or just stay with a recreational team. I want him to give competitive soccer a try because I think he’s very athletic and he loves the game so much that he could be a great player, but at the same time, I don’t want to push him into something he doesn’t want to do. I just don’t him to miss out if he has a chance to really be great at something.

31 Weeks (9 more weeks to go!)

Pregnancy Highlights


How Far Along: 31 weeks

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

Weight gain: I was 152 the last time I had my regular appointment 2 weeks ago. I have my next 2-week appointment tomorrow.

Maternity Clothes: I haven’t tried wearing my non-pregnancy dresses in about 2 weeks. I’m just not feeling the dresses right now. I’m wearing maternity tops and bottoms. I went and got some more tanks and another pair of jeans at Old Navy yesterday. I can wear my non-maternity cardigans over them and that should hold me over for the rest of my pregnancy and post-pregnancy.

Movement: Movement switches from pop-corn popping-like to full on rolling around. This morning it felt like he was using my bladder as a punching bag. When I haven’t felt him move in a little while, I drink Coke so he moves. Don’t judge…

Sleep: Waking up every few hours to use the bathroom. Backache is actually getting less frequent and I’ve stopped waking up to them. It’s harder to find a comfortable position to sleep in as my belly gets bigger. Pillows are my friends right now. I sometimes wake myself up from my own snoring.

Symptoms: I feel very heavy. Going up the stairs is getting harder. I have had some Braxton-Hicks contractions and had my first bout of heartburn last Sunday. I think I’ve only had heartburn 2-3 times in my life and I can definitely live without them. I’m hoping this does not become a regular thing.

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy and having a nice cup of coffee in the morning, especially now that it is cooler in the morning.

Cravings: Trying to cut back on the sugar. Craving coffee drinks.

31 Weeks. Photgraph by Matthew Fisher, the official photographer of belly shots.

Little Liars

Michael and Matthew got up at 3 in the morning, got dressed and started playing with their DS. I heard them at about 4:30 and made them go back to bed. I should have known better because they did not put up a fight. When I went to wake them up at 6:30 for school they were up on the top bunk, playing. Apparently, Michael stuck the DS in his shorts pocket and had it with him the whole time. I don’t know if they stayed up or if they went back to sleep. They said that they went to sleep for another hour and got up to play. Should I believe them? Probably not. I just hope they are not grumpy when I get home.


I think my nesting instincts are kicking in. I went to HomeGoods and bought a few things. Nothing big. A few things for here and there. I got these cute glass pumpkins that I love, and would be perfect for fall decorating. Which I must add, there’s a cold front coming in on Monday so we are going to be in the 90s next week! We are getting close, people!

Aren't these pretty? I saw similar ones on Amazon for $65 each.  I got these for a little over $10.  Love a great deal! Love the little smiling baby in the background more, though.

Here they are again after I added my ceramic pumpkin that I got last year. I think I'll put these a trays so they look more pulled together.