This has been a great new year for us so far! We are getting settled back into our routine here at home, and the decorating of the nursery is in full swing. I will get back to that in minute though. First, here is my most recent belly picture!
Let me first explain my little guest in the picture. He was sitting at my feet and crying the whole time we were trying to get a good picture. He wanted me to hold him and give him attention, and he just wouldn't let up! It got to be pretty comical near the end, so I decided to leave him in the picture instead of cropping it above his head. This is the perfect description of my life with this little needy puppy, so I thought it was fitting that he be included. He is so cute...but so needy. It will be interesting to see how things go once the baby arrives.
Also, I have to apologize for my lack of drawing skills when it comes to the head of lettuce in this picture. It is pathetic, but the best I could do! It makes me laugh just to look at it!
Here are the questions!
How far along: 30 weeks 4 days
Total weight gain: 20 pounds...eek!
Maternity clothes: I can still squeeze into some of my pre-pregnancy tops (the top in this picture is not a maternity top) but can only wear maternity pants.
Stretch marks: I am starting to get what look like the beginning of stretch marks on my sides, but nothing really noticeable yet.
Sleep: Some nights I sleep really well, other nights not so much. It is just so hard to get comfortable!
Best moment of this week: Taking our maternity pictures!
Miss anything: Sleeping really well
Movement: Lots!
Food cravings: I don't really have any cravings, but I could always go for some peanut butter.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I have gotten to the point where the baby is pushing on my stomach, so I sometimes feel sick after I eat, especially if I eat a little too much
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Boy
Belly button in or out: In but starting to look kinda weird...
Wedding rings on or off: Wedding band on, engagement ring off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Seeing our maternity pictures and my doctors appointment this week
Total weight gain: 20 pounds...eek!
Maternity clothes: I can still squeeze into some of my pre-pregnancy tops (the top in this picture is not a maternity top) but can only wear maternity pants.
Stretch marks: I am starting to get what look like the beginning of stretch marks on my sides, but nothing really noticeable yet.
Sleep: Some nights I sleep really well, other nights not so much. It is just so hard to get comfortable!
Best moment of this week: Taking our maternity pictures!
Miss anything: Sleeping really well
Movement: Lots!
Food cravings: I don't really have any cravings, but I could always go for some peanut butter.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I have gotten to the point where the baby is pushing on my stomach, so I sometimes feel sick after I eat, especially if I eat a little too much
Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender: Boy
Belly button in or out: In but starting to look kinda weird...
Wedding rings on or off: Wedding band on, engagement ring off
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Seeing our maternity pictures and my doctors appointment this week
It is crazy to see how different my answers are from last time. I can definitely tell I am no longer in my 2nd trimester. I have started to feel really uncomfortable and my energy has decreased a lot since my last belly picture. I know it is only going to get worse, though, so I am just preparing myself for the long haul :-)
Like I said above, I have a doctors appointment this week. It is nice that I now have my appointments every two weeks because I don't have to wait as long to get all of my millions of questions answered. This week I am planning on talking to my doctor a lot about the hospital where I will deliver. The dilemma I am having is that I have a choice of two hospitals. One is a smaller hospital that doesn't have a NICU but is literally two minutes from our house. The other is a much bigger hospital with a NICU but it is probably a 20 minute drive. I don't know what the chances are that we will even need the NICU (I seriously hope we don't!) but if we do, it would be nice that the baby would be in the same hospital as me. If any of you reading this have any insights or ideas as to which hospital would be best, please let me know! I have no idea what I am doing and therefore don't know which one to choose. I would like to deliver at the one that is closer, but I also don't want to be worrying about the NICU situation. For those of you who are from St. Louis, it is St. Anthony's Medical vs Mercy Hospital :-) I am having a lot of anxiety about this decision, so any input would be MUCH appreciated!!!
Also like I said above, the nursery decorating is in full swing! My sweet parents got us our swing, bouncer, car seat, and stroller from our registry for my baby shower. We had a lot of fun putting it all together! Here are some pictures of the process:
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| Our little helpers :-) |
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| Everything put together. So cute! |
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| We made the dogs test it out... |
I also ordered the crib bedding, and I am SO in love with it! I will post pictures of it once we have the crib and everything is set up. We have the crib set we want all picked out, so all we need to do is order that. We have also been looking around for a chair for the nursery, but we are still trying to decide what will be best with that. Decisions, decisions!
I don't think I really have any other news. Things seem to be progressing how they should be so I am happy about that! Last night I decided to read in my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book about labor and delivery. Yikes!! I have to say it kinda freaked me out. I know I have to go through it so I need to toughen up but reading about everything that will happen kinda gave me the creeps. Is that normal? Haha.
Hope everyone is having a great new year full of love and blessings!
I definitely know what you mean about being freaked out about delivery! I was telling Forrest that I really just want to skip that part. I am scared!
ReplyDeleteSeriously! Wish I could just blink and he would be here! I do not want to have to go through the whole labor and delivery part. I guess it will be worth it though :-)
DeleteAlison, I'm delivering at a hospital without a NICU too. It's definitely a leap of faith to just say we won't need it. I'd see if you could tour both hospitals and see which one you're more comfortable with. Sometimes I get freaked out about labor too, but I just try and remember that women's bodies were designed to do this, and women have been giving birth for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteOk you made me feel a lot better about the smaller hospital! I think I will just see how things go, if at my 36 week ultrasound everything looks great, I will probably choose the smaller hospital. And yes you are so right, women's bodies are designed for this! Good perspective.
DeleteWhen do you have to make a decision about the hospital? I would choose the closer one unless your baby is at risk of having something wrong...like born early or something like that. Closer is better...and also, If you wait to go to the hospital til after your water breaks the closer one would be best... My water broke and Madeline was born twenty minutes later, so... it depends on so many things. For now I would plan on the closer one. :)
ReplyDeleteYea I think I am going to just see how things go, when the time comes if everything is looking good I will probably go with the closer and smaller hospital :-) My doctor told me today that I can decide basically whenever I want, so I could even decide once I go into labor which is nice. Thanks for the advice! It is nice to hear from other women who have had babies what their experiences were like.
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