4 more days!

So. This is my last post without baby Grant. WHATTTT? Baby Grant will be here FRIDAY! He has a birthday, people. November 21^st, 2014 (as long as I’m not in labor for 24 hours – here’s to hoping :D).

Last week….

Pretty normal week…it drug on and on, waiting for my appointment on Thursday! I did have a little crafty time, and made a wreath for the front door once we get home! I’m a big fan of the burlap bubble wreath – they take a decent amount of time, but they are so incredibly easy. Let me tell you though, it’s pretty difficult trying to pick up push pins when you can’t feel your fingers. Dang you, carpal tunnel!

Thursday rolled around, and Bailey and I went to my doctor’s appointment. I met with a different doctor Thursday, and I really liked him. Poor Bailey - he's been to every one of my doctor's appointments lately, because we keep assuming we'll find out more information about when Grant will be here. So he misses part of work, drives 30 miles from our house to the doctor, just to drive another 40 miles back to work. Every time, we're in the office for maybe 15 minutes. He's a trooper :) As of Thursday, I was 1 cm dilated. I asked if we could go ahead and schedule an induction, but he said he’d like to wait until I was 39 weeks. It didn’t dawn on me that I would be 39 weeks within a couple of days. I don’t really process things in the doctor’s office – I always get a little bit rattled. So after I left, I called Dr. McDaniel’s nurse to see if we could schedule the induction. She said she would have him call me, but she didn’t see why not. Friday morning, Dr. McDaniel called – I was pushing hard to have him induce today, since my bet was on the 17^th all along. He didn’t think my body was ready yet, so we agreed to Friday, the 21^st. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday to check my progress and to fill out the induction paper work. I’ll wait on the hospital’s call to come in somewhere between 4 & 6 pm on Thursday. They’ll prep me for induction, and start the process on Friday morning! Ahh! I can’t believe the time is finally here!

I haven’t had the urge to nest at all during this pregnancy. I think it’s mostly because I’m gone from 6:30am – 7:00 pm every day, and spend 4 of those hours on the road. I’m just flat out pooped when I get home. However, now that an actual date for Grant to arrive is scheduled, I’m nesting in full-force. Nothing is safe! Cabinets have been reorganized. Grant’s closet and drawers have been reorganized. I’ve been vacuuming and cleaning like you wouldn’t believe. I came home from work on Friday, and my sweet B had cleaned the kitchen top to bottom for me. Have I mentioned he’s entirely too good to me?

We spent our last Friday night as a family of 2 + Coop on the couch in our PJ’s eating Zaxby’s at catching up on 4 hours of DVR. It was pure heaven!

Saturday, we slept in..meaning we woke up at 7:30. One day I’ll look back and miss that, right? I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Bailey did some work outside – he loves having his own yard to piddle in! I then went to get a pedicure, where the Asian lady kept arguing with me and telling me that I was having a girl, based on the shape of my belly. I appreciate your opinion, ma’am. But I pay my doctor to tell me that information, and I choose to believe it’s a boy, based off the anatomy he’s shown us. I pay you to do my nails, not to determine the gender of my baby. We had a date night Saturday night – Italian. You can’t go wrong. Oh, and we just happened to watch UGA dominate Auburn. We may or may not have adjusted our date night to be at a restaurant where we could watch the game.

Speaking of UGA – I knew my parents were UGA fans. If you talk football with my dad for 10 seconds, or see my mama’s worn out UGA pajamas, you can’t deny their fandom. However, I wasn’t prepared for this text message from my dad:

 Or maybe I was…this is the same guy who told me I’d need to get married on a UGA bi-week, or I’d have to walk myself down the aisle. Mama also sent me a text with a present she got from my cousin, Ashley, who’s stationed in Okinawa with her husband….

I think it's safe to say Grant will be a bulldog fan too :)

Side note – one day last week, I was having pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions. They didn’t hurt – they were just more annoying than anything. I texted Bailey (because what else is a girl to do besides complain to her ever-loving husband). I immediately received a panicked phone call – “what do I need to do? Do I need to stop and get your bags? Do you need to call the doctor? Go to the hospital?” I’m sorry for the false alarm, B. I thought you knew they were fake…

Most of you know I teach 8^th grade girls on Sunday mornings. As much as middle schoolers terrify me, I LOVE this group of girls. They seem WAY cooler than I ever was in middle school, though (but don’t tell them that). This past Sunday, they gave baby Grant a book shower – they all brought their favorite children’s book and wrote a sweet note on the inside. So incredibly sweet. Some of their favorites were my favorites growing up, too (see girls, I'm not THAT old). I’ve enjoyed watching these girls grow just in the past few months I’ve been able to be their teacher. I can’t wait to get back in the classroom on Sunday mornings!

So I've been promising pictures of his room for weeks now, and keep forgetting. It's actually the reason I didn't post this blog yesterday. I said "ohhh, I'll wait until I get home, take some good pictures of his room, and then post the blog Monday night". Well, I forgot to take pictures until I was running out the door this morning! Whoops! There's still a few spaces on the wall that I need to fill - it looks a little bare, but I can't figure out what I want to do with it, and I figured there's no point on wasting money on something I don't love :)

Thanks, Katie, for the tractor prints :)

 Those books in front of the diaper pail are the ones from our shower Sunday - I've got to move them into his book basket!

 

See that little basket with books and stuffed animals? Yeah, Coop thinks those stuffed animals are his. To his credit, he does have a very similar basket full of his toys...

This is probably my favorite little spot. I love how it all came together!

That’s about it for this week – the remainder of the week will be spent prepping for Grant’s arrival. I’m having flashbacks to college, and feel like I’m cramming last minute for an exam. I started reading my books…last night. Here’s to hoping I do better as a mom than I did as a student. Otherwise, Grant’s in for a C+ kinda life. My last day of work is Wednesday – I may be just as excited about that as I am for his arrival…maybe, maybe not.

Another side note - did anyone send us a breast-feeding gift from Amazon? We received it Sunday afternoon, but there's no return address or note inside! I need to give thanks where thanks are due :)

I know you’d all cry if you thought this was my last blog post ever. Don’t worry, people – it won’t be. I actually look forward to writing this blog each week, and plan to keep it up once Grant gets here. I can’t promise you that it’ll be updated every Monday, but I can guarantee it’ll be filled with a lot more pictures! Baby faces are way cuter than baby bumps!

Can you tell I'm ready for him to be here? That belly - I don't know how much bigger it can get. I'm just glad my butt didn't get as big as well. My apologies for my extreme vanity :)

 

How far along: 39weeks

How big is baby: Huge. He’s just huge.

Total weight gain/loss: 29 lbs at my last doctor's appointment Thursday.

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

Sleep: It’s not happening. I guess it’s just training for his arrival.  

Best moment this week: Scheduling his arrival date!!

Food cravings: Fruit Loops! I can’t get enough this week. But maybe that's just because I'm over cooking.

Food aversions: No real aversions, although I do get tired of getting so full so quickly.

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: I can feel that this baby is coming SOON, but no official labor signs.

Pregnancy symptoms: Heartburn, swelling, and carpal tunnel.

What I miss: My ankles and normal sized hands. I just want to be a girl who can wear her wedding rings.

What I am looking forward to: MEETING BABY GRANT ON FRIDAY!!

It's the final countdowwwwwwwwn (for real)

How am I 38 weeks pregnant already? It's happening, people. This baby is coming. Duh. Ok, moving on.

No. Back up. I am 38 weeks pregnant. I am feeling every. single. bit. of that 38 weeks. I may or may not feel like I'm 83 weeks pregnant (holy cow, could you imagine?). I can't bend over. I can't wear my wedding rings. My hips hurt. My back hurts. I can't sleep at night, but I can't keep my eyes open after 10:30am. I cry at anything and everything. Oh, and I've started using the handicap bathroom at work because it's easier. So there's that. On the flip side of that, I am completely and totally thankful that we have had a healthy pregnancy. My baby is big, but I'm sure that's genetic :) I've had no health scares. He's active and healthy as far as we can tell. I'm grateful that I've been able to carry him 38 weeks safely thus far. So as much as I want to complain these last couple of weeks, I remind myself that there are so many women who don't get to complain at 38 weeks, because they haven't been able to carry their baby to term. There are moms and dads right now who are crying over the loss of a child they never got to meet, not because mom couldn't bend over to tie her shoes (see below for things that made Brittoni cry). So yes, I know my complaints are petty. And I know that Bailey and I are blessed beyond belief and can not wait to meet baby Grant in just 2 short weeks.

And hooooooow do I know we'll meet him in less than two weeks? Because my doctor promised me last week he would NOT let me go past my due date. Hallelujah. Usually with boys, doctors prefer not to induce early, solely to insure that they are fully developed (since boys develop slower than girls). However, since I seem to be growing a small monster, Dr. McDaniel told me on Friday that the safest option for both Grant and I was to induce. BRING IT ON! You guys know me anyway - I'm a planner. So to be able to say, yes, we're scheduling his birth on X date, makes me a lot happier. Now, if we can just get that day scheduled :) Dr. McDaniel checked to see if I was dilated at all - right now, Grant's head is "floating" (if that's not a weird term, I don't know what is) in my pelvis, so he's not putting any pressure on my cervix to dilate. I have an appointment with another doctor in the practice on Thursday - they'll do an ultrasound at that point to make sure everything is still in position. The scheduler wanted to schedule me with the crazy midwife on Friday, as she was the only one who had any appointments available. Um, no. I said I would come in on a different day, but I refused to see her after last week's debacle.

Side note - sometimes, I forget just how sweet and generous people are. Then you have a baby, and it's like you experience everyone's outpouring of love to the nth degree. Maybe I'm just jaded. Maybe people are always this generous, but we just all get a little bit too wrapped up in our own day-to-day lives to notice. Y'all. I've got friends offering to make sure my house is clean and ready for us to come home to when we go to the hospital. I've got friends who have offered to watch my first-born while we're in the hospital (thanks, Brooke). Bailey works in Chateau Elan every day - one of his client's told him to give me his phone number, in case an emergency happened and I couldn't get in touch with Bailey. He said he would ride through the neighborhood to find Bailey for me. Someone I've never even met is offering to hunt down my husband for me, should we have an emergency! I said all that to say - there are crappy people in this world. But for every crappy person, there's at least 5 nice people out there!

Another side note - there are no pictures this week! I have been slacking severely in that area. I plan on taking pictures of Grant's room tonight...I'll post those along with the weekly bumpdate picture!

Hmmm...last week's happenings:

Tuesday, my office surprised me with a baby shower for Grant. So incredibly sweet, and lots of good goodies! We got Grant's carseat (hallelujah - now we can actually bring him home from the hospital), along with several other things off of our registry. It was a super sweet gesture, one that I greatly appreciated! However, I don't do well with being surprised by people I know well, much less some people I hardly ever see! They just kept staring at me. And I just kept saying "I don't know what I'm supposed to do..." over and over again. Incredibly awkward.  But incredibly sweet :)

Wednesday night, Bailey and I ventured out to Babies R Us to complete our registry. Ya'll - I know I posted this on social media already, but we saved a BOAT load of money. Our total when we checked out was $853. Keep in mind, Bailey had a pretty glazed over look on his face the whole time we were there. I think Babies R Us overwhelms him just a little bit - I get it, it overwhelms me too. :) We checked out, and ended up only spending $83 out of pocket. We had about $350 in gift cards. But I also had about $80 in Babies R Us cash I had saved, a few 20% off coupons, and then our registry completion coupon for 15% off our entire purchase. As I watched that total whittle down, I watched Bailey's eyes light up. He got more and more excited. I can't blame him! Once we got home, he put together the car seat and stroller while I watched the CMA's and played with the baby monitor.

I stayed up entirely too late watching the CMA's on Wednesday...I called Bailey Thursday morning and told him if I ever tired to stay up until 10:00 during the next few weeks, to knock me out. Needless to say, I was asleep by 8:00 Thursday night. During the day on Wednesday, I was having a pity party. I'm too big. I'm too tired. I'm too everything. Elizabeth, being the great BFF that she is, cheered me up with a text message:

In case you've been living under a rock (or you're my grandparents who care nothing about the CMA's), Carrie Underwood co-hosted the CMA's. She's pregnant as well. Girl, stop trying to steal my thunder. Have I mentioned how much I adore Elizabeth? ;)

Friday, Bailey loaded the car seat into the truck and put the other base in my car. IT'S HAPPENING! BABY THINGS ARE TAKING OVER EVERYTHING!!! And then we went to sleep. at 9:00. It was a feat to stay up that late.

We left Saturday morning for Mansfield to celebrate Pepa's birthday at mama and daddy's house. My family wouldn't be my family if they didn't constantly make fun of you (that's code for "we love you"), so there were fat jokes just a-flyin'. And they think they'll get to hold Grant once he's here...ha. Sunday afternoon, mama and daddy's church threw us a shower - it was so good to see people from the church that I grew up in! We got lots of goodies - Grant will be one well dressed little boy! Laundry seems to be a lot more fun when it's for babies :) After the shower, we stopped by my Granny and Pop's. Granny has Parkinson's, and I didn't think she had much (if any) range of motion in her arms,  until she reached up from her bed and rubbed my big ole' belly. I may have struggled right then and there to not cry. She just kept saying "next time I see you, I can touch him!". Oh how right you are, Granny. That seemed to be the theme of the weekend - "next time I see you, you'll have a baby". When we got home, Bailey and I had plans to get so much done around the house...it didn't happen. It was only 7:00 when we got home, but with the time change and the trip home, it might as well have been 10:30. Laundry can wait until tonight. :)

Things that made Brittoni Cry This Week:
1. Folding Grant's clothes, again. I know one day this will make me cry, solely because they'll smell so bad. But this time I just cried thinking of how I can't wait to hold his sweet little self. And yes, he will be "sweet". and kind. and gentle. and polite. and will never throw a tantrum. ;)
2. Tuesday, Cooper followed me into the bathroom after work, per usual (judge away). I was tired, hungry, and cranky, and yelled at him to get out of the bathroom NOW. Ya'll, I've never seen him cower down and slink away. I immediately lost it and cried big, heavy alligator tears. Coop and I stayed snuggled up on the couch all night long. I'm sure he got tired of my incessant apologies (judge away, again), but I can assure you he did not tire of my scratching his ears for 3 hours.
3. Wednesday's deals at Babies R Us. I mean, who wouldn't cry at saving 90% of their bill ( I think that's 90%. I'm probably wrong)?!?!
4. I couldn't get my boots to zip up. They're the only pair of boots I have that fit right now. I was hot and running late to work. I literally sat in the floor of my kitchen sweating and crying because I couldn't get my dang boots zipped. Don't you worry. After a little Coop lovin, I took a deep breath and reassessed the situation. My jeans were stuck in the zipper. It wasn't just because my legs are huge (or at least that's what I keep telling myself) :)
5. A friend sent me this song on Friday. I don't care who you are - it'll make you cry. Go ahead, give it a listen.

How far along: 38 weeks

How big is baby: Grant is officially full term, and is the size of a "swiss chard" - These fruits & veggies are getting weirder and weirder. He's "supposedly" 19-22 inches long and 6.5lbs. (dream on)

Total weight gain/loss: 27 lbs at my last doctor's appointment Friday.

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

Sleep: I'm not. I mean, I am. But it's very restless (to be expected). I think I would be ok, except this carpal tunnel is the WORST. I woke up Saturday night at 3:30am and couldn't sleep because my arm was in so much pain...Finally I got out of bed at 6:00am and just sat in the recliner. The best part about not sleeping well one night is being able to zonk out easily the next.

Best moment this week: Putting that car seat in the truck! it's go-time, people!

Food cravings: Nothing really!

Food aversions: No real aversions, although I do get tired of getting so full so quickly.

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: I can feel that this baby is coming SOON, but no official labor signs.

Pregnancy symptoms: Heartburn, swelling, and carpal tunnel.

What I miss: My ankles and normal sized hands. I just want to be a girl who can wear her wedding rings.

What I am looking forward to: Holding Grant in just a few short weeks :D

IT'S BABY MONTH!!

Y'all. This MONTH we will have a baby. This is my last "3rd of the month" with NO CHILD. I'm freaking out a little bit. Don't get me wrong - we're VERY excited (in case you couldn't tell with all of the capital letters and exclamation points), but I am FREAKING OUT! The whole "being parents" thing - I can handle that. I know it's going to rock our world, but in a good way. It's the whole "becoming parents" thing that freaks me out. I have to somehow get this 8+ pound child out of my body. I'm the one responsible for figuring out if I'm in labor - no one tells me that. I'm the one responsible for pushing this baby out of me. AHHHH! OK - now that you know I'm slightly freaking out, let's move on, shall we?

Disclaimer - baby Grant, if you ever read this, know your daddy and I are SO excited to meet you. My excitement outweighs my freaking out by a long shot. But just know that before you were born, your mama was a (big) bundle of nerves and jitters. I probably will be every time you have a milestone coming up in your life. So if I want to tag along in the backseat of your car on your first date, or if I'm waiting outside your locker room before every (football, baseball, whatever) game, because I'm too nervous to let you go, just let it happen, ok?

This week was a busy baby week for Bailey and I! We did some finishing touches on Grant's room early this week. His bedding finally came in, and we'll get it from Bailey's mama tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of the nursery next week!

Tuesday morning, we had our last appointment with the high risk specialist. I knew we wouldn't find out much at this appointment regarding the timeline of Grant's arrival, but I was still excited to see his fat little body on the screen. Bailey couldn't make it to this appointment, so I was thankful my mama was able to be there with me! The nurse came in and took all of his measurements, taking the time to show us his little beating heart, and other parts of his body. We got a quick shot of his profile, but nothing in detail like we've seen before. She said it was a little more difficult to get a straight on face shot further along in the pregnancy. The doctor then came in to take a look on the ultrasound as well. And y'all. Let me tell you - he got a full-frontal facial shot of baby Grant. I wish I had a picture of it. He has the CHUBBIEST cheeks. I'm talking his nickname may have changed from Bam-Bam to chipmunk. AND WE SAW HIM BLINKING AT US. Am I the only one who had no clue babies blinked in utero? I know I'm not, because mama didn't know that either :) We were also able to see that he has a head full of hair. You guys know from day one I've said I hope our baby doesn't have red hair. But that's been said in jest (sort of) and only to close friends and family. As soon as the doctor showed us his head of hair, mama says "It's not red, is it?". Oh goodness - I don't think I've ever seen a doctor speechless. But he was.... After taking a look, he estimated that I wouldn't go past 39 weeks, which means that in less than 2 weeks, we could be holding Baby Grant. Do you see why I'm slightly freaking out?!

On Friday morning, we had our 36 week appointment with my normal practice, however we met with a midwife. Worst. Experience. Ever. I've met with a couple of other midwives, liked them, and felt fully comfortable with them delivering my baby. This lady? Nope. When we walked in, the nurse let me know she would be doing a strep test (details on that are only a simply need to know basis :D), and that she would check to see if I was dilated at all. The midwife came in, asking me how my appointment with the high-risk specialist was. After telling her that the doctor told me he was measuring around 8lbs, she told me that was ridiculous and that there was no way that was possible. Ok, that's fine if you don't think so. I have no clue - this is my first baby. However, I do trust a specialist a liiiiiitttle  bit more than I'm trusting you, lady. She just kept telling me how ridiculous that was, over and over and over again, and that she couldn't believe a doctor's measurements could be so off. I don't do well with being talked down to, so I just kept looking at Bailey and making eye-contact. He knows me entirely too well and kept giving me the "calm down, just let her talk and ignore her" eyes. As she's using the Doppler to check Grant's heartbeat, she proceeds to tell me "oh, I can't seem to find your baby's back. Oh, I can't seem to find his heartbeat either." Umm - excuse me? I knew he was alive and well - I had JUST felt him moving prior to her coming into the room. I don't care who you are - you do NOT tell a pregnant lady that you can't find her baby's heartbeat.  After she did the strep test, she started signing off on my paperwork and getting ready to herd us out the door. I asked her about checking to see if I was at all dilated, like the nurse said she would do. Her response? "I don't waste my time doing that for 36 week patients." Oh, ok, lady. I'm knocking on the door of 37 weeks, and seem to have quite a large baby. But I'd hate for you to waste your time. Had I known that all doctors usually begin checking for dilation at 36 weeks, I would have pushed for it (I haven't read any books - I'm doing this probably a little more blindly than I should. Oh well, plenty of women gave birth before books were around, and their babies were fine.) I was so frustrated with her attitude, I called the doctor's office after I left and told them to make a note in my file that she was not to deliver my baby. I will hold it in for 24 hours until the next doctor is on -call if I have to. Ok, I know I can't do that. But that woman is only delivering baby Grant if its the ONLY option left.  **Off my soapbox now.

Friday night we went to a Halloween party at the Waters' house. I had plans to make an easy costume incorporating baby Grant...however, time got away from me and I just never got around to it. As of Thursday night, I had no intentions of dressing up. Until I got home and realized I could wear an uber comfy flannel shirt of Bailey's with some leggings and boots, and call it a day. What was I, you may ask? An overstuffed scarecrow. Or a pot-bellied farmer. Neither of which were true. However, if there was an award for worst costume? I would have won it hands down. At least I was comfortable, right?

Bailey went as Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon, and Coop was obviously Todd Gurley :)

Saturday, Elizabeth and Katie threw a fun construction themed shower for us. It was so cute! I didn't take any pictures, but my fabulous SIL Katie did! Once I get them from her, I'll upload them to the blog so y'all can see. We had some of our close friends and family from out of town there, and I loved getting to celebrate with everyone! I say it after every shower, and I'll continue to say it - Grant is so incredibly loved by so many people already. I'm so thankful that he will grow up not only being loved by his mama and daddy, but by our friends and family as well.

I've been feeling a cold coming on since Saturday evening (it may have just had something to do with being bummed that the dawgs lost), but I'm not feeling 100%. Yesterday, after life groups, Bailey and I opted to take it easy for the afternoon. Well, I took it easy for the afternoon. He was outside in the yard all day cutting grass, ripping up flowers, and cutting down trees. Our yard is looking more and more different every weekend - I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring when he's able to plant all of the new things! I also received this text message from Elizabeth last night, after she asked me if I knew how to swaddle. The answer is "eh". I used to do it to my baby dolls all the time. And I'm sure there are youtube videos about it. And if not, they make those swaddle blankets :D And if all else fails, obviously she knows how to, as seen in the picture below :D

This week doesn't vary from the past weeks, in that it'll continue to be busy! SURPRISE! Tomorrow night, we're meeting Bailey's mama for supper, and will get to bring home our bedding - YAY! We're also planning on stopping at babies r us and finishing purchasing the things on our registry that we still need (i.e. a STROLLER AND CARSEAT - I've heard they don't let you bring the baby home without one :D). P.S. - tomorrow is November 4th - don't forget to vote! Friday we have our 37 week appointment with Dr. McDaniel - I'm hoping at that point he says "you know what, Brittoni. Grant has cooked long enough, and you're starting to look sort of miserable. Let's go ahead and set an induction date for you." It may be wishful thinking, but a girl can dream! Saturday, we're headed to Mansfield to celebrate Pepa's birthday, and then I have our last shower Sunday afternoon and mama and daddy's church! Whew! Busy, but fun weekend ahead!

I didn't take a picture this morning. So we'll use one where I look abnormally large, since I was sticking my gut out, yet still feel small next to this guy.

How far along: 37 weeks

How big is baby: Grant is officially full term, and is the size of a "winter melon" - what is a winter melon?!? He's supposedly 19-22 inches long and 6.5lbs. "Supposedly"

Total weight gain/loss: 24.6 lbs at my last doctor's appointment Friday.

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

Sleep: Apparently growing a small giant is hard work. Saturday night I slept 13 hours, came home from church and took a 3 hour nap, and was back asleep by 8:30 last night, sleeping until 5:30 this morning! WHEW

Best moment this week: Seeing Grant's fat little face :)

Food cravings: Nothing really!

Food aversions: No real aversions, although I do get tired of getting so full so quickly.

Gender: Again, he's still a boy.  

Labor signs: I can feel that this baby is coming SOON, but no official labor signs.

Pregnancy symptoms: Heartburn, swelling, and carpal tunnel.

What I miss: My ankles and normal sized hands. I just want to be a girl who can wear her wedding rings.

What I am looking forward to: Holding Grant in just a few short weeks :D