32 Weeks

It seems so crazy to me that we are already at 32 weeks! HOW ARE THERE ONLY 8 WEEKS LEFT? It seems like pregnancy takes forever when someone else is pregnant, yet ours is almost over! Ahh!

It seems like so much has happened over the course of the last week! I do have a funny story that I forgot to mention last week in my rant about how large Grant was. Like I said, mama and daddy came to the house to help us paint. Mama decided to tell me about the dream she had the night before regarding my linebacker of a child. Apparently, Bailey and I had Grant, but didn't tell anyone (just call us Ryan Gosling & Eva Mendes). My parents decided to come over to the house after they found out he was born. Mom was HIGHLY  offended when they got to the house and he was sitting up on his own in the stroller. WHY was no one holding this child? Well, that's because he's a newborn, but weighed approximately what a one year old would weigh. Why should we hold him when he could sit up all by himself? I'm fairly certain this child is just going to walk out of me. There's also a good chance he'll be driving us home from the hospital. What's even scarier is after I posted last week's blog, mama told the Asian baby I posted was exactly what Grant looked like in her dream. Umm...excuse me?

Let's see - I also happened to let my dog lock himself in the closet last week. So there's that. I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to keep a child safe when I've lost my dog (in the same closet, mind you) twice in the past month. I think it's safe to say there will be a LOT of baby proofing once Grant is mobile. Speaking of Cooper - he's going to be in for SUCH a rude awakening when Grant gets here. He's already loving on all of Grant's things - I walked in the nursery the other day to find Coop precariously standing on the edge of the glider trying get ANOTHER one of Grant's blankets. Ay yi yi.

Lately, Grant has been super active. He moves a lot from about 9am - 10am, 2pm-3pm, and anywhere from 8pm-10pm. In the past couple of weeks, we've been able to watch him physically roll across my abdomen - THAT is a freaky thing. Last week at work I was distracted watching my stomach move out of the corner of my eye, so I tried to film it. Granted, this is a pretty weak movement in comparison to all the others, but if you watch carefully you can see my stomach move.

I love all of his movements, but I'm not incredibly fond of the ones where he rolls over, kicks, or punches my bladder. Have I mentioned I can't believe we're having a baby?!!?

There's a disclaimer for the following picture - IT'S NOT FLATTERING AT ALL. Bailey was feeling Grant move one night last week and Cooper became very intrigued. He came over and placed his little paws on my belly. I'd like to think he knew exactly what was happening (because obviously he's that smart), but I'm fairly certain he was just using my stomach as a stepping stone. Either way, it was adorable and I had to capture it.

Friday night, Grant experienced his first concert. Elizabeth and I went to see Garth Brooks at Phillips Arena. Hands down, one of the top 3 concerts that I've ever been to. Dierks Bentley was #1 (solely because I was able to touch his mic stand from where I stood), George Strait was #2, and Garth is #3. It was such a good performance and wasn't a huge production! Elizabeth wanted Grant to move SO badly, so after (not so) awkwardly sitting with her hand on my stomach for 1/2 of the show, he finally gave her the performance she was looking for :)

Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon Bailey and I got SO much done around the house. I came home from the concert Friday night and he had surprised me and painted the master bedroom! We cleaned and decorated a little on Saturday morning, then Sunday afternoon he painted the guest (side note - for some reason I just typed google instead of guest. preggo brain?) bathroom. We have our first house guests this week (can't wait for Justin and Ashley to get here), so it was an excuse to get my butt in gear and get things done! All of our curtains are finally hung, and we actually have a couple of pictures on the wall. I bought a couple more things for Grant's room (storage for his closet, blanket for his glider) and I've found the curtains I want to buy. It's beginning to look more like a home than a squatter's paradise!

Side note - does anyone remember the book "Henry's Happy Birthday"? I found it on amazon for next to nothing. It was my favorite book growing up, and is the first book I can remember reading! I may or may not have purchased it immediately, and can't wait to begin Grant's little library!

Another side note - I'm at the point now where people can clearly tell I'm pregnant and it doesn't just look like I have a huge muffin top (he was sitting so low for so long, it just looked fat). I've had quite a few strangers ask me when I'm due, or if I know if I'm having a boy or a girl. This question does not offend me at all (now, if they were to reach for my stomach, it'd be different. I don't mind friends/family touching, but ma'am, your job is to bag my groceries - NOT touch my stomach). But just once, I'd like to look them dead in the eye and say "excuse me, I don't know what you're talking about". I know that's hateful, but I'd love to see the look on their faces, and there's only a few months out of your whole life that you can do that!

Saturday night we had our first baby shower for Grant. Y'all - we have some of the most caring, loving, and generous friends. The shower theme was "southern gentleman", and the sweet hosts, Josh and Kristine, went all out. All of our friends (well, the ladies anyway :D) are genuinely so excited for Grant's arrival, which makes me even MORE excited. They say it takes a village, and I'm so grateful that we've got wonderful people in our lives who will surround us and this baby with love in the coming years! Now - I can't wait for THEM to start popping out babies so we can do the same for them! (hint, hint ;))

All of our friends sent in their "rule" for being a southern gentleman, and Kristine made this print for Grant's room. I LOVE it, especially because all of our friends put in their input.

Such an adorable spread!

 

Even the deer was decked out for the party.

Such cute bowtie decorations EVERYWHERE! 

 

So many cute things!

 

 

Obviously, if it's UGA or football related, B loves it!

 So when I mentioned that my friends were obsessed with feeling baby Grant move, I wasn't joking. I'm fairly certain there was at least one hand on my stomach all night - I loved it :) at one point, there were 6 hands on my stomach, and I had friends singing the Macarena and cupid shuffle trying to get him to move. No worries - everyone was able to feel him move at SOME point during the night. Have a I mentioned that I love my friends?

 

THERE ARE REAL BABY THINGS IN MY HOUSE NOW.

 

 

The coming weeks for Bailey and I are a whirlwind. We sat in bed last night looking at our calendar and both ended up with our jaws wide open at all that is supposed to happen in the next 8 weeks! We have 2 weekends free before Grant gets here, and those are the 2 weekends before his due date (IF he makes it that far). Wednesday I have my 32 week appointment - there's no ultrasound, so hopefully it'll be a quick one where he tells me I'm perfect ;) Wednesday night we have our hospital tour at Northside (I scheduled one for 2 weeks ago, only to realize I scheduled it for their Forsyth campus...whoops). This weekend, Bailey is going to the UGA game (jealous wife, over here) and I have another shower for baby Grant. The ladies of our life group class are hosting one for us on Sunday afternoon. I'm excited to celebrate with them, along with my 8th grade girls. Let me tell you - 8th grade girls are wonderful for a pregnant lady's self esteem. You have a day you don't feel so great, and you get a message from one of the girls telling you how much they appreciate you, or something as vain as how pretty you are. They may be lying, but I don't care - I'll take it ;) We have maternity pictures coming up in 2 weeks - EEK, must find something cute to wear. Best part? photog doesn't care if Cooper is in the pictures!

 

 

 

 

How far along: 32 weeks

How big is baby: He's still the size of a head of lettuce. This week the average size of a 32 week baby is 19 inches and 3.9lbs. But we all know Grant isn't average, apparently.

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained a total of 13.5 lbs so far! We'll find out where I stand with that on Wednesday.

Maternity clothes: I get so bored of answering this question every week. obviously.  

Sleep: These last couple of weeks I've gotten really bad "dead arms". I'm assuming it's the way I sleep on my hands or arms mixed with poor preggo circulation, but I am not a fan.

Best moment this week: Being around all of our friends celebrating Grant this weekend.

Food cravings: Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch gelato. DELISH. One of my colleagues brought a pint to work as a thank you for helping her on a project last week. This could be trouble.

Food aversions: No real aversions right now!

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: None this week!

Pregnancy symptoms: Swelling still.  A little bit of heartburn, but mainly after I eat chick-fil-a (sad day). Soon, I'm going to have to make a trip to Belk to buy a new wedding ring set. They usually fit, but some days I swell more than others. Call me vain, but I don't want to be 9 months preggo and not be wearing a ring.

What I miss: my ankles.

What I am looking forward to: Decorating Grant's room!

Milestones: No huge milestones this week.



Week 31

Less than 9 weeks left! Eeeep! Where is time flying? There is SO much left to do, and in all  honesty, NOT that much time left to do it.

Last week was a good week :) On Wednesday, I had my 30 week appointment with my normal OB, Dr. McDaniel. I thought it was an ultrasound appointment, but they scheduled it incorrectly (high five for smart office staff), so it ended up being a standard appointment. It's a good thing they took my blood pressure when I first got there (after I sat in the parking lot for 15 minutes to let my traffic blood pressure settle. Had they taken it AFTER I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes, it may have been through the roof. Doctor's appointment went well. Grant's still a giant baby. Dr. McDaniel's words to me were "You aren't going to break any Guiness world records, but I can almost guarantee this baby will come early and not be tiny." Thanks for the reassurance, doc. I told my Pepa this story last week, where he proceeded to tell me that the legend is he was a 13lb baby. Dear Lord, please don't let that be hereditary....

I'm fairly certain I'm giving birth to a non-Asian version of this child.

Bailey and I are finally starting to settle into the new house. SLOWLY, but it's coming along :) We purchased Grant's glider and crib last weekend. The glider came in on Friday, and we were able to put it in his room Saturday! One step closer :)

His room looks green - but I promise it's more of a gray brown. I think every second of "down time" I've had since Saturday has been spent sitting in this chair.

This weekend, my parents came to help us finish painting upstairs. Everything is done EXCEPT for the master bedroom, which Bailey plans to tackle this week. Hopefully that won't take too long! Having two extra hands (I guess four extra hands), helped immensely! When they came, they brought the cradle that both my brother and I used when we were babies. We'll use this in our room for the first month or so while Grant is teeny tiny (ha). I don't want him in the bed with us, but I do want him nearby for the first few weeks, so this seemed like the perfect solution!

Loving the cradle! Can't wait to see baby Grant in it!

Grant received lots of good mail this week! His puppy dog lovey's came in the mail, as well as this fabulous package from my cousin who is currently stationed with her husband in Okinawa, Japan. Grant's puppy dog lovey's are about the size of Cooper's toys. He seemed VERY interested in them when the package came in the mail, so I put them in Grant's room in their box with the door shut. I opened it one day last week to get something, and forgot to close the door back. I came home the next morning to BOTH blankets in our bed, where he decided to play with them. Luckily he was fairly gentle with them (HUGE, but welcomed surprise), so they're still usable :)

Thanks for the UGA love, Ashley - Grant will look adorable!

Just in case you were wondering, I still hate pregnancy hormones. Things that I may or may not have cried over in the last two weeks:
1. Dance Moms (I can't help it, I was extremely proud of Nia for taking first place).
2. Cooper getting locked in a closet at our house (to my defense, all I heard were faint whimpers and thought he had been hit by a car).
3. Looking forward to making a delish pear, nutella, and brie dessert...only to realize I forgot to buy brie.
4. Bailey ripped out the black-eyed susans from our front yard. I hated them, and was slightly overwhelmed at how big of a change it was.
5. Bailey also brought me home my favorite ice cream last Thursday night after he worked late. That's sweet enough, and would probably be worth tearing up over if he surprised me with it. Except he didn't. I basically begged for it on his way home, and then teared up when he gave in :)

This weekend we have our first baby shower - I'm super excited! Two of our sweet friends are hosting all of our college friends for a co-ed shower in Carrollton. Any excuse to hang out with our friends is a fabulous event to me!

Bailey wasn't home this morning when I was getting ready, so I didn't get a bump picture - I'll update later tonight!

How far along: 31 weeks

How big is baby: A head of lettuce. This week the average size of a 31 week baby is 18 inches and 3.2 lbs. But we all know Grant isn't average, apparently.

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained a total of 13.5 lbs so far!

Maternity clothes: I get so bored of answering this question every week. obviously.  

Sleep: I've shifted my pregnancy pillow around to a different position, and that seems to help with my sleeping a ton! Last night I was so tired (apparently), I slept from 9:30 until 5:30 when my alarm went off. Didn't even wake up for a potty break - THAT is impressive!

Best moment this week: Getting Grant's glider in and just sitting in his room thinking about the day he's finally here (tear..)

Food cravings: Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch gelato. DELISH.

Food aversions: No real aversions right now!

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: None this week!

Pregnancy symptoms: Swelling is getting worse! I was on my feet all weekend, so I think that's why it's still pretty gross today. I miss my ankles.

What I miss: See above!

What I am looking forward to: Decorating Grant's room!

Milestones: No huge milestones this week.

30 weeks!

I'm BACK!

It's week 30. Meaning technically I have 9 weeks left (and 6 day. Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe). I completely freaked myself out last week. We were in Hilton Head for vacation, and the realization hit me - "oh man, next time I'm here, we'll have a one month old". Then yesterday, as I was griping about having to go back to the real world, I realized "oh man, only 10 more working Mondays". Y'all. This is crazy. I am so incredibly excited, but so incredibly nervous. What kind of parents will we be? Am I going to drop Grant on his head (hey, I jumped off a counter in my car seat - stranger things have happened). What's his personality going to be like? Will he like me or Bailey better? And the biggest question - how am I going to hold Cooper in one arm, and Grant in the other? ;) I kid, I kid.

So much has happened since the 28 week post. We're all moved in, but no where near settled! All I can ask is to be settled by November :)

Last week we were on vacation - sorry for the post, or lack there of. I just couldn't muster the energy to post...lame excuse, I know. I also figured this blog has about 6 or 7 readers, and the majority of them were on vacation with me anyway ;) I didn't even get a belly picture last week - bummer! It was a nice, relaxing week on the beach. A little rain, alotta sun - I couldn't ask for much more. Coop loved playing fetch on the beach. We celebrated his birthday Wednesday - it's hard to believe he's FOUR! Such an old man!

ice cream at Harbor Town on one of our rainy, relaxing days.

playing fetch on coop's birthday

does this count as a 29 week bump picture?

After lunch with Bailey's family yesterday, we finally purchased Grant's crib and glider! I'm so excited for it to come in - it's going to be a long 7-10 day wait! Ahh! Bailey is painting the trim in his room this weekend, so once his furniture gets here I can finally start decorating the nursery. Woo Hoo! Saturday night I organized all of his clothes - he's already got entirely too many newborn clothes that I'm fairly certain he won't even be able to fit into. HA! I did get to order Grant's little lovey blankets last week (and just got notification that they arrived - woo hoo!), and ordered the monogram for his room. No worries, it's as manly as a monogram can get, and I'm trying REAL hard not to go overboard.

MK wanted in on the belly picture - this just makes me laugh

i mean, COME ON. 

Sweet gift from Mama Dean and Daddy Jack  - thank you!

I've got my 30 week appointment coming up on Wednesday. I guess soon I'll be moving to more frequent appointments - EEK! My list of things to do keeps growing - reserve our spot at the daycare, begin decorating, pick a pediatrician, start getting things ready for our hospital bag (at least thinking about it)..I'm not sure that this big ole boy will make it to his due date - the doctor doesn't seem to think so either. Only time will tell. We have our hospital tour coming up next week! IT'S GETTING REAL-ER AND REAL-ER :)

Bailey's been able to feel Grant kick a few times, but it's always been sporadically (i don't know if that's spelled right). His movements have been stronger and more prominent in the past couple of weeks, so Bailey was able to feel him a little bit more at the beach - I was the weirdo at the restaurant while we were sitting down at supper placing everyone's hands on my belly so they could feel him move. Saturday night when we got home, Grant was moving like CRAZY - Bailey was able to feel him moving for a solid 10 minutes. I may or may not have cried...hormones.

So I forgot to have B take a picture before he left for work. I also knew if I didn't update today, certain family members would kill me. so excuse the awkward bathroom selfie, along with the box of shoes i have yet to unpack. P.S. people have started calling our baby Bam-Bam. Look at that belly - I'm starting to understand why. 

How far along: 30 weeks

How big is baby: A butternut squash. This week the average size of a 30 week baby is 17 inches and 3.1lbs. He passed that weight mark about 3 weeks ago, so we'll find out on Wednesday how big he actually is 

Total weight gain/loss: I was sitting at a 12 lb weight gain, which I wasn't upset about. But I'm a liiiiiiiiitle nervous to be weighed after vacation this week.

Maternity clothes: I get so bored of answering this question every week. obviously.  

Sleep: Pregnancy insomnia is a real thing - even for a heavy sleeper like me. It's hit me a couple of times, most recently last night. all in all, I got about 3 hours of sleep. I was in bed by 8:45, and up at 4:00am. I'm not a fan.

Best moment this week: Well, technically it was last week, but getting cleared for gestational diabetes was a HUGE relief.

Food cravings: Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch gelato. It's a good thing that stuff is so expensive, otherwise I'd eat my WEIGHT in it!

Food aversions: No real aversions right now!

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: I THINK I experienced my first Braxton-hicks contractions last week. However, I don't know what they feel like, and they've only happened once, so I can't be sure. Judging from everything I've googled, that's what it appears to be, but I'm not sure!

Pregnancy symptoms: swelling! and i experienced heartburn for the first time this week. eck - not fun

What I miss: Not grunting every time I move :D.

What I am looking forward to: Decorating Grant's room!

Milestones: Answered prayers for both mine and baby G's health!

Week 29 is on vacation :)

Obviously I missed week 29. Despite the incessant nagging from certain family members on this trip, there won't be a week 29 post. I'm fairly certain that the majority of people who read this blog are I this trip anyway :) I'll update you on week 29 when I update you on week 30 (holy cow) on Monday :) happy Friday, friends!!

Week 28...is late again

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I got sidetracked with yesterday being a holiday. I promise I'll try to be better :)

I'm officially 28 weeks and 1 day! Which means I have less than 12 weeks left. If that doesn't freak you out, I don't know what will! EEK!

This weekend we made the big move - we're finally all in one location with all of our belongings. And I don't plan on moving again. At least not while pregnant! :) Things are slowly coming together, they're just coming together a lot slower than I'd like. I realized very quickly how tired I get, and I'm learning to listen to my body and not push myself. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped us through this move - from packing, to painting, loading the truck, and unloading the truck and boxes. There is no way Bailey and I could have done this without any of you!

Of course, the landscaper of the family couldn't wait to get into the yard (even in the rain) :) This, my friends, is his happy place.

Onto baby news! I have had two appointments since we last chatted! Friday morning I had my appointment with my general OB/GYN. Chugged another glucose drink - still not as bad as so many people make it out to be! We should find out the results of the glucose test today or tomorrow, so keep praying all is well! Dr. McDaniel came in to do my 28 week checkup - Grant's heartbeat was around 150 beats per minute, so still holding strong! As he was measuring, I was slightly offended as he began chuckling. Turns out he was chuckling because Grant's measurements had him sitting at 32 weeks...5 weeks ahead of schedule. Dr. McDaniel wasn't worried, since all measurements & tests they had done in his office for both myself and the baby had come back normal, however he still wanted me to follow up with the doctors at the Perinatal Center.

They should fire the lab tech at this doctor's office...I took this picture today. My appointment was Friday.

This morning, Bailey and I made the trek to the Perinatal Center. We saw Dr. Lopez-Zeno, who I LOVED. Everyone in this office was uber friendly and accommodating. The sonographer came in and did an in-depth ultrasound, where they measured everything about the baby - size of individual limbs, brain function, organ sizes, and blood flow in the umbilical cord. Y'all - the amount of things we saw were crazy! I love watching Bailey's reaction to the ultrasounds - he hasn't seen one since our gender ultrasound, so he was in awe at all of the body parts (as was I). I watched him move as I felt it again - I don't know that it will ever get old.  I got to see Grant's individual heart chambers (I mean, I wouldn't have known I was looking at them, but the sonographer pointed them out for me :D). Dr. Lopez-Zeno came in after and took additional ultrasound pictures to confirm everything the sonographer had initially said. One of the things Dr. McDaniel was worried about was the amount of fluid around the baby, which is common with gestational diabetes and can cause doctor's measurements to be large. It was confirmed today that my fluid is normal, and everything with baby Grant is normal - this is a DEFINITE answer to prayer. Obviously, it doesn't mean I'm out of the woods yet with gestational diabetes. But it does mean that I have a freak of a child who is weighing in at over 3 lbs. Did I mention I still have 12 weeks left? Apparently patients with hypo-thyroidism (that's me), have a tendency to deliver low birth weight babies. Leave it to me to defy the odds :D Dr. Lopez-Zeno mentioned that it looks like my due date could be off, and he could possibly come early, but that it still fell within their margin of error, so he didn't want to change it. Side note - if my measurements are 5 weeks different from my estimated due date, how big is there margin of error?!?

All in all, I have had such a wonderful pregnancy experience. Was I nauseous? Absolutely. Do I wish my feet could fit into my shoes and that I didn't get exhausted constantly? Of course. But when I think of how blessed we are that we've been complication free thus far, and that we've been fortunate enough to be able to carry a healthy baby, I can't complain. I know one day I'll miss feeling all of his active movements, so I try to enjoy it as much as I can :)

Please ignore that ugly doggy door - it'll be gone soon enough!

How far along: 28 weeks

How big is baby: TOO big :) He's the size of a head of cauliflower (16 inches). He's only supposed to weigh around 2.5 lbs, but is rocking out at over 3 lbs.

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained a total of 12 lbs. Probably not the best, but definitely not the worst.

Maternity clothes: I'm wearing normal clothes today (jeans and a bigger top), and I'm definitely regretting the jeans thing. I am SO excited for boots and leggings weather.

Sleep: Sleep has been amazing these last few weeks - I'm assuming it's from being so exhausted from packing and moving!

Best moment this week: Getting the all-clear from the perinatal doctor today!

Food cravings: Scuppernongs…still. Bailey has two HUGE vines at his shop, so I pulled the pregnancy card (so sue me) on Sunday night and asked if we could stop by to pick some. We had over a gallon. Had being the operative word...they gone.

Food aversions: No real aversions right now!

Gender: I hope he continues to stay a boy J

Labor signs: Negative, ghost rider

Pregnancy symptoms: Just the swelling!

What I miss: Being able to fully bend over. I had to get a pedicure (oh, darn) yesterday because my feet looked like Fred Flinstone, and it's a huge pain for me to bend over to paint them.

What I am looking forward to: VACATION next week! Woo hoo! One full week where I'm required to put my feet up and not do a thing!

Milestones: Answered prayers for both mine and baby G's health!