Week 38 - Nursery Pics

So I didn't have time this week to do my normal update, and let's be honest, we all know what is happening at this point - she is getting bigger and closer to making her grand entrance!  The doctor's appointments this week and last have been good and I'm pretty much progressing normal, if there is such a thing as normal with pregnancies. 

I'm definitely starting to feel like I'm ready - I have been saying this whole time that I have had an easy pregnancy and I have felt good, and while I still feel like I have been really lucky I finally feel like this is hard.  I am pretty tired at the end of the day, and getting really sore.  And my feet just stay nice and plump :)  But I know that it's not anything that I can't handle, and that she will be here when she is ready!

So now to the fun stuff, I thought I would share some pics of the nursery.  I think everything is pretty much ready for her to get here, although I'm sure there are things that  we don't even know we are missing.  But we will just figure that all out when the time comes!

The dresser that Clint spent a weekend painting.

Coming home outfit!

These are Clara's friends :)

A close-up of the mobile

All of the clean gowns that are ready for her to wear.

Shower Time

I have had the rare luck of staying close to my group of high school friends even 11 years after our graduation.  All of our moms have made a little tradition out of throwing wedding showers for our group, and since I'm the first one to have a baby they decided to use their talents to host a baby shower for Miss Clara!  It was wonderful and I couldn't have felt more loved.  Here are some pics from the day.

Margaret playing the game and being a good little mommy.

Our group with the stroller they bought me...so excited!

Do I look like I'm ready?

Sisters

Quick Check-in

So just in case anyone is checking this to see if there have been any updates, I wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the blog and I haven't had the baby yet.  I think my work just figured out that I am about to not be here and they have been keeping me super busy, so I haven't had time to write my weekly entry.  But Clara and I are still going strong!

The Belly Progression

In honor of being in the last month, I thought I should probably show a quick snapshot of how my belly has changed and grown over the course of the pregnancy.  It is really hysterical to look back at the early pictures where I was so proud that I was finally "showing", and to realize now that I had no idea what was to come!  

12 weeks

 

14 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

25 weeks

29 weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 weeks

33 weeks - and yes, same dress :)

36, almost 37 weeks

Less than a month to go!

Week 36

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: A crenshaw melon - over 18.5 inches long head to toe and weighs almost 6 pounds.

Baby changes:  She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.  At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term.

The layer of fat your baby has rapidly been putting on has now rounded out her face. Her sucking muscles, which are quite powerful, have also finished developing now, and are ready for their first real feeding -- your baby's going to be hungry soon after she arrives.


Best Moment this Week: This was another shower-filled weekend for me, except I was hosting instead!  I spent the weekend at Lake Conroe celebrating my sweet friend Heidi and her upcoming wedding in October.  We had a really fun girls weekend that involved lots of food and pool time.

We went last week and did a quick ultrasound to see how she is positioned.  She's head down and facing backwards, which means she is ready!  No other substantial progress...now we just wait to see when she wants to arrive.


Gender: Clara Jacqueline

Movement: I still feel her a lot, and it's fun now that we know she is head down because I can tell for sure if it's a leg or an arm.

Food Cravings: Still the same, nothing too exciting.  I do feel like I'm getting a lot hungrier again.

What I Miss: Running, wine, being able to keep up when I walk with people, clothes fitting. 

Sleep: About the same, getting more uncomfortable and restless.  It takes a lot more effort to roll over!

What I am looking forward to: We will have weekly appointments from now on, so it will be fun to see each week if there is any progress or not.  And we have a wedding shower for my friend Ashley who is getting married in October.


Symptoms: Still the same, getting really tired and slow and feeling huge :)

Week 35

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: A honeydew melon - over 18 inches long head to toe and weighs 5.25 pounds.

Baby changes:  Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Best Moment this Week: We had a weekend of showers.  On Saturday, my highschool friend's moms hosted a ladies shower, and on Sunday our college friends hosted a couples shower.  Both were great and really fun, and I think we are now officially ready for baby Clara!  And in case you were worried, she is going to be the best dressed baby around!

Gender: Clara Jacqueline

Movement: She is still going strong, some days there are just little kicks and some days she seems more spastic.  

Food Cravings: Still the same, nothing too exciting.

What I Miss: Running, wine, being able to keep up when I walk with people, clothes fitting. 

Sleep: About the same, getting more uncomfortable and restless.

What I am looking forward to: Our last big appointment is tomorrow!  I'm really excited to see her again and to find out how everything is looking.  I know that there are no guarantees or true projections with all of this pregnancy stuff, but hopefully we will at least get some kind of an idea about what the next month might bring. 

Symptoms: Still the same, getting really tired and slow and feeling huge :)

Week 34 - And the Name Announcement!

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week

How Far Along: 34 weeks

Fruit/Veggie: A cantaloupe - 18 inches long head to toe and weighs 4.75 pounds.

Baby changes:  Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. You'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Best Moment this Week: Last Sunday our Sunday School/Bible Study group threw us a "storybook" themed shower.  Everyone was asked to bring a book for the little one, and it was really great to see the variety of books we got.  We have a place of honor to display them all in the nursery, and can't wait to read them all.  The shower was really great, and we feel really lucky to have found such a great church family.

We had a little bit of an adventure at last week's appointment.  The baby's heartbeat was going really fast, so they wanted to be sure that everything was okay and strapped me up to the heartbeat monitor, which tracks the heartbeat for a period of time.  Of course then her heartbeat was going really slow, so they gave my belly a little zap to wake her up and see how she responded.  Everything ended up being perfectly normal, but it made for a little excitement.  I guess we learned that there is no such thing as a normal boring appointment!

Gender: Sweet baby girl! We can officially announce the name now...Clara Jacqueline.  Jacqueline was my Dad's mother's name, and I am very excited that we were able to include her name and involve her in this new baby's life. 

Movement: She is still going strong, some days there are just little kicks and some days she seems more spastic.  

Food Cravings: Still the same, nothing too exciting.

What I Miss: Running, wine, being able to keep up when I walk with people, clothes fitting. 

Sleep: About the same, getting more uncomfortable and restless.

What I am looking forward to: We have two showers this weekend - one on Saturday thrown by my highschool friends' moms, and one on Sunday thrown by our college friends.  This little babe is loved!

We also have the next big appointment next Wednesday - we will get to do another ultrasound to see how she is positioned and the doctor will check to see how I'm progressing.  After this I start going every week - it's getting closer!

Symptoms: Still the same, getting really tired and slow and feeling huge :)