36 Week Belly Pictures

I was shocked to see just how much my body has changed over the last few months. It amazes me that when we got to TX you could hardly tell I was pregnant and now, well, enough said. So here are all the Belly Pictures that I have previously posted. I am simply amazed at how perfectly our bodies, as women, are created to do this. It's even crazier when it's your belly that is hitting max capacity... So on to the 36 week picture.

36 weeks, 26 extra pounds, a serious forward center of gravity, and a perfected pregnancy waddle. This week is exciting as we approach the finish line, or maybe I should say we end training and approach the beginning of the race.

At last weeks Dr. appointment she checked me and said that we are right where we should be and my body is definitely progressing towards labor. What??? I have been saying that I just want her to stay in there until Nov but any time in Nov would be great. Look at your calendar... that's next week. Is there such a thing as take backs? That is so soon. I told my friend that I had just gotten the hang of pregnancy I don't know that I'm ready for this labor thing yet. She said "that's about like waiting until you have enough money to have a baby, it never comes". So come what may, 2 weeks, 4 weeks or more she's a comin!!! And we're as ready as we can be. Car seat installed, bag packed, and baby's stuff/room ready to go. Everything else, I guess, we'll just have to figure out as we go.

Long to Bobbed in 35 Minutes

Well, I made it to 35 weeks of pregnancy before I could resist no longer and succumbed to the Pre-Baby chop. Okay ladies you know it gets even the best of us:)


After spending several days blow drying my long hair only to eventually put it up in a pony tail or clip I decided that short hair would be the way to go. Baby's impending arrival only confirmed the decision. My hubby agreed and I made the deal with him that if I got it cut off I would also make it more blond. Done.


We both love the new style and it sooooo much easier to do. Plus it still looks super cute with little barrettes and the new head bands I got. On the right is my curly do that I did this morning and on the left is the straight look that the stylist did. I love them both and like that I have a style that allows for variety.

Reminiscing

Well the decision has been made, I am getting my hair cut. Feeling like a giant pumpkin, and a bit frumpy these days, I have decided to have a pampering hair day. So in preparation for the big even I went through some old pictures to try to find a length I, and my hubby, like. As we were reviewing old pics I came across a couple that just made me smile so I thought I would share....

Hope you like these photos as much as I do. They really put a smile on my face today. And don't worry if my hair excursion is successful today then I'll post pictures of that too. Oh, and next week is 36 weeks so stay tuned for pictures of the big pumpkin belly:)

Mom B's 50th Birthday. My Dad was so romantic. Mom always wanted to go up in a hot air balloon so Dad surprised her with a balloon ride for her birthday. I love this pic because it just makes me think of how much Dad loves Mom and I think my Mom looks so beautiful in this picture.

Mr. Seth when he was just a little guy:) This is before they left Omaha to live in Okinawa. He was the most hansom baby I had ever seen. I think he still holds that title by the way. He was such a happy baby and just so darn cute even at this age. It is amazing to see the little man he has grown into but there is a part of me that will always see him this way.

Reflecting...

I have been wanting to write down some things that I have learned during this pregnancy for posterity (aka baby #2 Lord willing) and also so I don't forget pregnancy with all the craziness of having a newborn, moving, and trying to figure out this next season of life.

1st Trimester:

"Every pregnancy is different"

Morning Sickness - not as bad as I expected. I think I had feared pregnancy because I had heard so many horror stories about nausea and vomiting - no thank you. But in the end I was surprised that it wasn't as bad as I thought. Here was the secret I discovered. Eat a "white diet". My daily routine: Breakfast - Frosted Mini Wheat's, Snack - 1/2 plain bagel w/cream cheese, Lunch - Turkey sandwich on white bread, Snack - french fries, Snack - other 1/2 of bagel w/cream cheese, Dinner - something with veggies.

Aches & Pains - I had never heard anyone say anything about how your guts ache during the first trimester so that caught me off guard. Especially since you have no idea what is going on during your first pregnancy and are worried that they uncomfortableness in your guts may be something wrong. One of my friends said, yeah, your guts have to move out of the way for the baby and that takes some effort. Thank goodness for friends who tell it like it is.

Books: wish I would have started "I'm having a baby, Help me Lord" devotional.
Your Pregnancy Week by Week - better than "What to Expect"


Second Trimester:

"The comfortably pregnant stage"

The body pillow theory - Every book I read, every friend I talked to, said get a body pillow and stick it between your legs, you'll be more comfy. NOT ME!!! The pillow theory actually hurt my legs and hips more. I don't know if this is because I am naturally a side sleeper but I threw that pillow out and no more hip & leg pain. Whew!!!

Fiber - Metamucil = no help, other brands that dissolve in anything = even less help, adding 1/2 wheat flour to anything I could = correct answer. Turns out that Pancakes 100% whole wheat, cookies 50% whole wheat, and berry bars 50% whole wheat, all did what Metamucil only dreamed of. Enough said:)

Movement - "you'll just know" when you feel movement for the first time. NOT ME!!! It was very frustrating to feel something but not be sure. It is such a tiny feeling that the only thing that keyed me into what it was was the location I was feeling it in. Then as the movements get stronger I was wondering why mom's like it. It wasn't very comfortable. Like a brother or sister poking at me all the time:) That changed during the end of the 2nd Trimester and the start of the 3rd. With less room she moved less and I loved feeling her move around. It is like a charades game where she's trying to act out who she is. I think she is great already.

Books: Baby Wise - reasonable schedule expectations and ideas
A Mothers Heart - expectations and focus for the direction of our family.


Third Trimester:

"Worrying takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent"

Worry - No amount of books, talking to other people, setting up a baby room, or trying to organize and control what I can will fix the worry that floats around inside of my head. At this point I wish I would have focused more on God's Word than all the million books I had read. Realizing that a few key verses were what guided me all along, comforted me, and brought me closer to God make me realize that, while books are good information, only the Word of God can truly calm a stormy heart and anxious thoughts. Though I still get "excited" sometimes by the news and information, I am excited about what the Bible has shown me about being a parent.

Propping - Leg cramping, aka Charlie Horses, in the middle of the night are for the birds. Extremely propping myself up with 2 pillows at night when I sleep is the key. No charlie horses and an added bonus of no stuffy nose in the morning sold me on this little trick. Still no pillow between the legs though, that lead to instant leg aches.

TUMS - are my friend. Acid reflux and heart burn visit most evenings.


Books: Parenting from Surviving to Thriving

Well I guess those are the really important things I want to remember for now. I may have to add or take away. Maybe some of the books will change once baby gets here but for now these are the things that worked. For this pregnancy:)

Green Poop

Yes, yes I know most of it will be green at first but that is not exactly what I meant.

My hubby and I went into the diaper conversation sold on disposable diapers. Which we are going to use since I have 4 cases of them in our closet and because we will be moving. But the more people we talked to and learned about the "advances" in cloth diapering we thought, why not give it a try? At least that way if we stick with the disposables we can say that we attempted to use cloth and it's not for us.

Since we will be moving, we are not going to embark on this adventure until we get a house and our own washing machine. However, there is the matter of the gDiaper. This spiffy little diaper has a cloth outer, water proof liner, and you load them up with flushable bio-degradable inserts. So this is one cloth diaper we can try even when we're traveling. It came with 10 flushable inserts so this is definitely just a trial, and it's for 8-14lbs so we probably won't be able to use them for a couple of weeks. No problems there because 2 of those cases of diapers are Newborn. After we get settled in our new home we can substitute the flushable diapers for cloth inserts and wash as usual.

For now, I just think it's cute that there will soon be a tiny little bum in those britches:) Oh and Chibi has an affection for stink and is preemptively trying to get to know baby.

How to hold a baby?

Too funny not to share. This explains why Chibi comes to Mama to snuggle.

Too cute not to share. Papa is for playtime. He never gets tired of throwing her new favorite toy around.



Just added this but she is too cute when she is napping in her "den"

33 Week Appointment

Yes, a bit unusual, but this week we went in for our 33 Week appointment. We are a week off because I got my customary head cold and had to skip a week.


All news was good news. I have started to have Braxton hicks, my tummy does a tightening routine when I'm really active, and baby is hanging out down between my pelvic bones. According to the Dr. this is all great stuff as my body is preparing for this little girls debut. So far for me the Braxton hicks and tummy tightening are kinda fun and my hubby gets a kick out of it. He keeps threatening to bounce quarters off of my trampoline tight belly. As for the hanging out between my pelvic bones, um yeah, as long as I don't walk or sit for too long we're okay but it is definitely the most uncomfortable part of the "great stuff".


The Dr. has pushed us back to 2 1/2 weeks for the next appointment so it will be 36 weeks. This is the appointment where she starts checking to see if my cervix is opening and baby is getting ready to come. On one hand 36 weeks seems so far away but on the other it's only 2 1/2 weeks away. The finish line is definitely in sight.

Raised to New Life

"Buried in the likeness of Christ and raised to walk in newness of life" Or at least that is pretty close to what Pastor Kirt said this weekend as my hubby was being baptized. You'll have to forgive me for not remembering word for word as I was a bit teary and emotional.

God really got a hold of his life while he was in Germany and as he read the Scriptures he sensed God leading him to be baptised as an outward symbol of an inward condition.