Nine weeks to go, but who’s counting?

As I enter into the home stretch of pregnancy at 31 weeks, I am beginning to realize how fast this is coming.  I am both excited to meet our baby boy and a bit nervous for the many challenges ahead.  We still have lots to prepare for, so the time will continue to pass by quickly.  We have two showers coming up in the near future that I can’t wait for.  I am going to Babies R Us next Tuesday to fine tune our registry to make sure we got everything we needed.  I’m taking my expert friend, Amanda, so she can show me the ropes of what’s necessary and what will simply take up space.  This is much needed, as Mike and I were just going on the “oh, that’s cute” method.  I hear that’s not so productive.

A few days ago I went to the doctor for my regular check up.  All is looking great!  My nurse got a bit worried that my blood pressure was so low (something around 43/95), so she jokingly took my pulse to make sure I was still alive.  Real funny, nurse, real funny.  But the doc says that is completely normal to have extra low blood pressure.  Mine has always been low, so there wasn’t much surprise to the dr.  Bryson’s heartbeat was 145, which is exactly where it should be.  I think he is getting used to her checking on him, because he no longer kicks her.  He just seems to go with the flow now.  He does move around like crazy.  Now when he shifts positions, my whole belly shifts with him.  It is definitely strange to feel but almost more strange to see.

As easy as pregnancy has been, my body decided I wasn’t big enough to hold a 3-4 pound baby, so my ribs are expanding…literally.  For the past week or so, my left rib cage has hurt like crazy when I sneeze, cough or laugh.  If I had to imagine what cracked or broken ribs felt like, I would imagine this.  Anything to jar them sends some pretty rough pain to that area.  I asked my dr. about it, and she said that because my stomach is not very long (thanks to my height…or lack thereof), Bryson is running out of room to grow.  Therefore, my body is accommodating him by loosening the cartilage around my rib cage allowing them to expand to fit his growth needs.  How nice of my ribs, right?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad my body knows what to do, but I sure wish he could decide to grow out instead of up under my ribs.  When I asked how long they would continue this, the doctor says “it could last until you have him, depending on which way he grows – out or up”.  Lovely.

I have to give props to Mike while I am updating everyone.  I know I have talked about his graduation before, but the time has finally come and gone.  He officially has his MBA!  I couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishments.  He worked so hard almost EVERY weekend to achieve this.  I missed him dearly the past year, because he had to dedicate the majority of his time to his school work.  Our family got together this past Saturday, Dec. 18, to watch him walk across that stage and accept his diploma (well, the case for it…the diploma will come in the mail shortly).  I will post pictures of the graduation soon.  Mike was so worried because one of his teachers chose to wait until the last minute to post his final grade.  And by last minute, I mean two days AFTER graduation.  So Mike didn’t feel he was truly finished until Monday morning at 5:30.  He came running up the stairs saying “I got an A.  I got an A”.  That was his true moment of completion.  Happy MBA, Mike.  We love you and are very proud of you!

Christmas is coming up this weekend, so we are looking forward to being with our family and friends for the many days to come.  We certainly have a full schedule of family gatherings to attend.   Christmas Eve will be spent with my Dad and Sandi, as always.  It’s been our tradition to celebrate Christmas the day before ever since I can remember.   We always have lots of yummy food (which I am even more excited about this year) while we listen to Christmas music.  Then on Christmas day, we have four places to visit.  We will be going to Mike’s parents in the morning, then Sandi’s side of the family for brunch (Mike looks forward to this all year, and usually requests brunch for other events), then we are off to his Dad’s side of the family, then his Mom’s side of the family.  The day after Christmas we will celebrate with my Mom and Granny in Alabama.  This is always a special time because we rarely have the opportunity to visit my Granny.  So this may seem super busy to everyone else, but I take it as being blessed to have so many of our family so close for us to spend this time with.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a fantastic new year!

Baby, it's cold outside!

I have reached the 30 week mark…just 10 more weeks to go if Bryson stays on schedule.  The past few weeks have been pretty easy going.  However, I find that I already miss sleeping through the night thanks to my ever-shrinking bladder.  I suppose Bryson uses it as a pillow or a trampoline, because I usually get the pleasure of waking up every two hours having to go.  Maybe it’s God’s way of preparing me for the lack of sleep that is to come.  On the bright side, at least I’m being eased into the lack of sleep concept instead of all at once when Bryson arrives.

One thing I have heard is that while Bryson is developing, he is able to hear certain things.  The later I progress, the more he is able to distinguish and remember certain people's voices. I wondered how this works, IF it works, and if I would ever know by his reactions.  Well, the answer to all this is yes, he knows.  At least he knows his Daddy.  Whenever Mike comes home at night and we're having a conversation, Bryson starts going crazy.  He gets super active, like he is excited to hear Mike's voice.  It's one of the most amazing things I've experienced so far during pregnancy.  When Mike stops talking, he calms down.  Then when Mike starts up again, there he goes, moving all around.  We tried an experiment the other night where Mike was giving him play-by-plays during a football game.  That's the most active Bryson has been in a while.  Pretty cool, huh?  :)

Remember in the last post where the baby website referred to Bryson as a head of Chinese cabbage?  Well, I got on the website today and it stated Bryson was about 15½ inches long, weighs approximately three pounds and is about the size of a HEAD OF CABBAGE.  Really?  Cabbage again? This time it didn’t specify the “type” of cabbage, so I’m assuming it’s the plain old cabbage we all know about.  Whoever wrote these articles should be fired for such a lack of creativity and the lack of common sense.  I had to giggle when I read it though.  Maybe it’s some kind of inside cabbage joke with the baby website writers.  If so, not funny guys…not funny.   

Lots of people say you get super hot being pregnant.  The farther along you are, the hotter you get.  So since the temperature outside is unnaturally cold, I’m in luck.  It snowed all weekend and was so pretty.  Mike and I went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert on Sunday for date night.  We were really looking forward to it.  On the drive to Nashville around 2:00 (the concert started at 3:00), the snow was coming down fast.  It only took us about seven minutes before the car started to slide on the interstate under the bridges.  Mike and I contemplated turning back about nine times since it was getting scary out, but Mike is a great snow driver, so we charged ahead.  The concert was certainly not what we expected.  A bit of a disappointment, to be honest.  We were so ready to hear lots of fun Christmas music, but the band thought it would be a better idea to give a non-Christmas music rock concert.  It definitely could have been better, but I was still excited to have a date night with Mike.  Totally worth it.  When we left the concern around 6:00, every road within sight was covered in snow/ice.  It was a fun drive home.    

So with all the super cold weather outside, Mike nonchalantly questioned what we would do if there was a blizzard of snow and ice when I went into labor.  Not that I’m already terrified enough of the labor itself, but now I’m worried about the weather.  Please keep your fingers crossed this doesn’t happen.  Last year, we had a huge snow storm in February, so I’m a bit anxious.  Hopefully the snow will have snowed all it can by then and we will be good to go.

Here is a quick glimpse at how cold my car said it was on Tuesday morning.  Yes, that says 8!  Brrrrr.







A huge day is coming for Mike on Saturday.  He graduates with his MBA at 9:00 at MTSU.  The day has finally come for him to strut his stuff and get the well earned degree he has worked so hard for.  He finished his final exam last Saturday, which is fantastic.  I don’t think it has hit him yet that he will never have to do homework or study for a test again.  I don’t think it’s hit me yet that I have my husband back, free of school.  Ahhhh.  We are having a happy graduation party for him at the house afterwards, so I’m looking forward to having our family and friends over to celebrate the big day.

Hello December, you sure came fast!

28 weeks and counting...

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family.  I know Mike and I sure did.  We ate lots of yummy food, spent lots of time with family, did lots of shopping and did I mention eating lots of food?  At one point, I had a massive plate of food and thought if I eat the entire thing, I'm going to feel rough.  So naturally I ate the entire plate full, then noticed Mike still had some sweet potato casserole on his plate, so of course I had to eat that too.  It's incredible I'm not up 96 pounds by now.  I'm not sure where all this food goes that I continue to stuff my face with, but boy am I glad it's not sticking (at least not too bad).

I had a doctor's appointment this past Monday, and the doctor tested for gestational diabetes.  I had to drink this super sugary orange drink that was like drinking 9 cups of coffee.  I was jittery for 6 hours after I drank it.  When I told people that I was having the test, more than once I was told to drink the fruit punch flavor over the orange, because the orange is horrible.  Well, apparently my doctor neglected to advise me of these oh so important choices, because I was handed the orange one only.  I'll admit it wasn't completely disgusting.  The first few gulps I thought it tasted kind of like that carbonated orange drink, Slice.  But after I drank about half of it, I changed my mind and it began to resemble carbonated orange coffee that one would wish upon an enemy.

There is good that came from the super gross orange drink.  I tested negative for pregnant diabetes, which is a big plus.  I think if I tested positive I would have to drink that stuff again.  I'm certainly glad I passed that!  The doctor and I listened to Bryson's heartbeat, which was around 146.  The doc says that's good.  Plus she didn't have to mash on him this time to hear the heartbeat.  Bryson and I were thankful for that.  The baby website that sends me weekly updates says Bryson is a little over 2 pounds and is about 15 inches long.  They went on to compare his size to a head of Chinese cabbage.  I'm sure you all know the difference between Chinese and the standard American cabbage, so we have a good idea of how big he is.  Wait, you don't know what Chinese cabbage is?  Yeah, didn't think so...me either.  Way to go baby website, thanks for the great un-information that few of us can follow.  How about comparing his size to a sports ball or even a regular item of food, like just cabbage?

I also learned at the doctor's office that I have gained 17 pounds.  Remember at the top when I said I was glad all that food I am eating isn't staying with me?  Remember when I said Bryson only weighs 2 pounds.  I guess the other 15 is from all that yummy food.  Good thing I'm still venturing my way to the gym.  After I got weighed, I have gone to the gym every day (three days in a row).  Hopefully I can keep that up, because I still have a little ways to go.

Bryson has learned a new trick since the last post.  He found my ribs and has figured out how to lodge himself under them.  It feels like a baseball (or a head of Chinese cabbage) is under my rib cage pushing out to escape.  I won't lie, it's pretty dang painful.  I got a tip to put a cold coke can on my ribs to get him to back off, because he would eventually get cold.  That sounded like a great idea.  I went with it but gave in when I was the one that got cold.  I guess having Bryson under my ribs is better that rib frostbite...so far.  I may change my mind when he gets bigger.   He still moves around in my stomach a lot.  The feeling is growing on me so I can enjoy the movements now instead of getting weirded out from them.  It's comforting to know he's having fun in there.  I tend to worry if I haven't felt him in a while, so I'll get still and concentrate on his moves.  He puts me at ease quickly every time.

Mike and I registered about two weeks ago.  I was so excited to go and pick out all the fun stuff.  We got to Babies R Us, and within 10 minutes of starting, I was almost in tears and having a minor panic attack.  I had NO clue what I was looking for.  Mike continued to say "I have no idea what to get."  "I have no clue what we're looking for."  "I don't know what to do."  So with all these helpful comments and being mutually terrified, I had a moment in the store.  I told Mike if he says one more negative comment, I will cry immediately and that I needed him to be strong for me.  This may seem a bit over dramatic, but what can I say, I had a moment.  Mike did great after that.  He helped calm me down.  Then a dad that was about five feet away from my breakdown came over to save Mike from his crazy pregnant wife.  He proceeded to give us tips on the bottles we were looking at.  I guess it's in the Man Code to save a fellow guy in distress from the prego crazies like myself.  After that, we decided when we needed help (like with car seats and strollers) we would get a Babies R Us employee.  That worked out well.  It took us two and half hours to register, and by the time we were done, we wanted to go to bed.  It was exhausting...but necessary.  Now I need to go back and add about a bazillion more things we missed that people tell me we need.  But at least the hard part is finished.  Yay!

We are still working to get Bryson's room complete.  But here is a sneak peak of one wall...we love this wall.

My back tends to hurt when I sit on our couch upstairs, so I generally warm up a neck pillow in the microwave to put on my lower back when I sit there.  I also have to use a back cushion to support my back since the couch is so large.  While I was typing this, Aspen decided to take over my couch creation.  She added her bedtime toy to tell me she was ready for bed.  That's her thing.  Once she brings out the bobo (her pink toy), it's bedtime for Aspen.  And she gets super cranky if you don't put her to bed fairly soon once the bobo has emerged.

Here is another shot of her passed out on the couch after the Auburn v Alabama game  (notice she tends to steal my neck/back warmer).  I think that game made everyone tired (including Mike, that's him she is laying beside) because of how intense it was, but we won regardless by one whole point.  Whew!  War Eagle!!

 

Well, until next time, thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!!  Love you all!  :)

Time flies when you're having fun

 

Before I begin, I have to tell you about this picture.  I'm 26 weeks in the picture, which was taken this Sunday.  I realized I only had one "belly" picture on here, and that was just not acceptable.  I had Mike be the photographer as I tried to show off my belly.  This picture is FIVE outfits later.  Seriously, I changed for this, so please enjoy it.  Would you like to know the reason?  Mike's exact words after taking the picture in the previous FOUR outfits was "no, you don't look pregnant enough".  So off I went to change.  I suppose he was going for the whale look, but I couldn't quite pull it off.  This is apparently the closest outfit to whale that would work.  We couldn't get Aspen out of the pictures, so I guess she wanted a cameo in this update.

I have been super busy since the last time I have updated this page, hence the super long delay.  Sorry about that.  It seems like my weekends have been filled with tons of activities lately.  Work is super busy, so my weekdays go by way fast.  All of a sudden, I realize I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant and a little freaked out.  Not a lot, just a little.  I thought it would take FOREVER to finally get to the stage of embarking on the third trimester.  But with how busy I have been, it has gone way faster than I braced myself for.  My mind frame says I should be about 5 months along, not almost 8.  Yikes!

Pregnancy and Bryson have been very kind to me so far, and I can't be more thankful of that.  Other than some pretty rough lower back pain, it's been a breeze making a baby.  I've read several books on preparing for pregnancy, and they mention some pretty scary stuff could happen.  So I feel very fortunate this has been easy and I can enjoy it.  According to the prenancy books I mentioned, Bryson weighs a little over 2 pounds.  He is still a little fella in there and has lots of time to grow.  I, on the other hand, have gained 13 pounds so far.  That may seem like a lot, but the doc says I'm right on schedule, even a little under.

Speaking of the doc, I have a cute story.  I went to the doctor for my monthly check up (soon to be bi-monthly starting Nov. 29) last week. She was searching for Bryson's heartbeat on that handheld monitor thing (not sure of the technical word), but she couldn't hear it very well.  She pushed on the left side of my stomach to move him around a bit.  He was not a happy camper about being pushed on without his permission, so he kicked her hand VERY hard.  Three times in a row, to be exact.  He was not a fan of being mashed on, and I can't say that I blame him.  But none the less, it was funny.  She jerked her hand back after the first one and seemed surprised that he kicked her so quickly.  But she didn't let a little kick deter her, because there she went again, mashing away in the same spot.  That's where the other two kicks came in to play.  His heartbeat was 154, and I was told that was excellent.  I was a proud momma.

Bryson is starting to do other things besides kick (at least that I can feel).  I can feel him when he turns or changes positions.  I can feel him stretch.  I can feel him kick me as hard as his little legs will kick.  It's all incredible.  I do have to admit when I feel him changing positions it is a bit alien like.  I can't quite describe how it feels, but it's definitely something I haven't gotten used to yet, but then again it's still new.  I love his kicks, and I have from day one.  Maybe I'll get used to him turning around.  But for now, it feels completely weird...in a good way though.

I have been trying to stay in the gym as much as can.  It seems to get a bit more difficult the larger I get.  I love the treadmill, but it hates my back.  I had to move on the bikes because the treadmill has been unforgiving to my situation.  Not nice, treadmill...I miss you!  Don't get me wrong, the bikes are fine.  But I like having the option to choose the bike, not to be forced on it because my back is a big sissy.  My goal for the gym has been to go at least 3 times a week.  I have been doing really well with that, except for last week. I went twice.  But I have a great excuse to missing the third day (Friday).  Girls Night!!  Who could pass up girls night for the gym?  Not me!  Here's a shot of us. 

Mike has been very busy with school the past few months.  He is set to graduate on December 18, and I couldn't be more proud of him.  He has worked his tail off trying to get everything finished by December, and he is doing a fantastic job.  When he tells me all the assignments he has to complete each week, it is unreal.  So here's a shout out to my honey for doing an amazing job and working hard to get his Masters.  Bryson and I are oh so proud!

So much to do, so little time

Mike and I have been super busy getting Bryson's room ready. Sandi and I went shopping two Saturdays ago and got the bedding, mattress, hamper, window valance and paint. We spent about seven hours shopping, which was awesome. The funny part is that about four of those hours we didn't buy a single thing. We were on a mission to find shelves to put on the walls (the decorative kind to put small stuff on). I think we went to about six different places with no success. How hard is it to find brown shelves? Very! There were tons of black ones and white ones, but that just wouldn't work. So, the search continues.

Now back to the cool stuff we got. I hope you all are as anxious to see the end result as I am. It's still a work in progress, so I will not be sharing any pictures of the room just yet. But I will say it looks awesome! Spoiler alert...the walls are an apple blossom green (kinda like a Granny Smith apple) and look fantastic. I can't wait to share. It brings out the colors in the bedding so well. Plus, our chair arrived last Saturday. Yay! Mike and I have already been enjoying it, sorry Bryson.

As for me, I'm doing great. I feel like I'm massive, so I'm a bit worried about how much more I can grow. My current size, luckily just in my stomach, is something I'm not used to just yet. I can't bend over completely, because my stomach doesn't have any give to it. It's hard as a rock, so it can be a bit difficult to maneuver. Bryson kicks ALL the time, and I can see him doing it a lot. It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. If I catch him at the right time, I'll try to record it and post it on here.

Here is a picture of his feet. This is one of my favorite pics of him.

Aspen is still addicted to Bryson's room, especially the crib. She's not too sure about it and constantly whines to see inside of it. She gets on her hind legs and dances around the crib thinking something may happen. I certainly wonder what goes through her head when she is in his room. She is very curious. I'm excited for when she actually meets Bryson. It could really go either way.

Here is a shot of Aspen sporting her Auburn shirt.  War Eagle Aspen!

I didn't post any pictures last time, which is no fun, so I wanted to share a few random pics. Mike carved a pumpkin on Monday night, so we have officially "decorated" for Halloween. Maybe next year we will branch out and do more.

Mike carving the pumpkin

The finished result. Good job Honey!

Furniture…Check! Chair…Check! Decorations…working on it.

We officially have all of our nursery furniture, hooray! Bryson’s room comes complete with a crib, dresser, combo unit dresser/changing table and a recliner. We went recliner shopping on Saturday, and Mike was officially worn out when we were finished. Apparently chair shopping takes a lot out of him. It was a lot of fun. Mike picked out his favorite chair (a.k.a. the baseball chair, due to the fabric) and was determined to have it in Bryson’s room. It was definitely the most comfortable chair we sat in. However, it was by far the ugliest chair we sat in (sorry Mike!). I would post a picture to show how scary it was, but I would feel terrible if anyone that read this actually has a chair like this. So, no picture for anyone! We did find a fantastic chair that was equally as comfortable and is pretty to look at.

With all this furniture, it’s definitely a tight squeeze to fit it all in the room. I think we have decided on our bedding and paint color too, but until it is set up, I can’t make any guarantees yet. I’m looking forward to the finished room, but I’m really looking forward to decorating it. I’m even excited about painting. I promise to post pictures once the nursery is complete.

As for Bryson, he is kicking in full force now. I can without a doubt tell if the feeling is from Bryson or something else. He is certainly getting stronger by the day. Mike was able to feel him really kick for the first time last night. It was the strongest one yet, so we were both really excited. He gave me a mini kick, so Mike came over to see if there would be a repeat performance. After about five minutes, Mike was a bit discouraged because he couldn’t feel anything. Then all of a sudden, Bryson gave a power kick. I wish I could have a picture of our faces at that exact moment. Priceless! Bryson weights 13 ounces (average is 10 ounces, so he is a growing boy!). According to several books, he is the size of a banana…a really big banana.

As for me, all is still going well. I have gained 7 pounds in 21 weeks, so I’m right on track. Some days it feels like I have gained 20 pounds already, especially at night. Bryson has a tendency to stretch out more as the day goes on, so my stomach goes from a pretty normal size in the morning to really massive by 8:00 at night. It amazes me how heavy my stomach can get. I can’t imagine what it will be like when I’m almost ready to deliver. I am now in maternity pants, which is a must. They are awesome, by the way. I feel like I’m wearing pajamas, but everyone else sees I’m wearing work pants or jeans. They should make these pants for everyone to enjoy! I highly recommend them.

First round, here we go

To start out, I am completely new to the blog scene.  I honestly have no clue what I'm doing, so bear with me here.  Creating a blog seemed like a great way to keep family and friends posted on what's happening with the family.  Hopefully, I will be dedicated to this and keep a regular posting for everyone.

The main reason this blog is being created is to talk about an exciting time in life for me and Mike.  This blog is dedicated to a new edition that Mike and I would like to introduce you to.  His name is Bryson, and he is 20 weeks old today (in my belly). But let's not get ahead of ourselves...I'll start about 14 weeks earlier.

I found out I was pregnant on July 1.  I had that feeling of "there's no way I'm not pregnant", so after a week of debating on whether or not to take THE test, I bought one.  Yes, just one.  Word of advise, always buy three.  I completely read the first one wrong, and immediately threw it away.  (Apparently the negative sign shows up immediately.  You have to be patient and wait for the positive line to gradually come up.  Who knew?)  Anyway, four days later, I had that thought again.  So this time I bought two tests.  You can guess the rest of the story.

So, pregnancy overall has been fantastic.  I was a bit nauseaus for the first two weeks, but once that passed, it has been smooth sailing. No morning sickness, no super weird cravings, no aweful mood swings.  I know Mike is extra happy about the last one.  We had our first ultrasond at 12 weeks, which was amazing.  Talk about a baby that loves to dance.  It was quite a show.  That appointment was after lunch around 1:00.

Our second ultrasound was today at 8:00, bright and early.  The baby wasn't nearly as active and still quite sleepy.  In fact, we caught him yawning.  The ultrasound tech had to press on my belly to get him to move around a bit so she could see everything she was looking for.  Sleepy baby.  Today was the day we found out we were having a beautiful baby boy!  This has been a truely incredible day for us, not to mention the grandparents that are on Cloud 9.  What a perfect day!

Well, I feel I have rambled, so maybe my next posts will be more condensed.  Hey, I said I was new to this.  I'll figure it out.  Thanks for reading, and to all of our family and friends, thanks for all the love and prayers for our Bryson.  We love you!  Talk to you soon!

Profile shot

The yawning I was telling you about

P.S.  The picture at the top is of me at 19 weeks.  I thought I would be crafty and put "19 weeks" on a post-it.  Clearly, you can't read it...but that's what it says.