Feeling a Little Stuffy

So for the past couple of days I've felt a little stuffy and can't breathe, snotty, sore throat, and my energy has been zapped. It was nice to stay home from work for the past 2 days to get better. According to Baby Center- its normal to feel this way towards the end of pregnancy. I hope it goes away soon. I already had these issues at the beginning of the month.

We went to our Birth and Baby Class again tonight. We just have one more next week and then they graduate us. I guess after next week we should be well prepared or experts at this baby stuff. We got a tour of the hospital and things started to feel more real. They have pretty nice rooms, feels like we are going to be staying at the Marriott.
9.5 more weeks and we will get to experience this for real. Can't believe it.

30 weeks

So yesterday was 30 weeks. Hard to believe our little one will be here in about 10 weeks.

Update on Baby's J growth
15.7 inches long
weighing almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage)
His eyesight continues to develop

I feel huge and my belly button is now an outie. Thankfully I haven't gained that much weight, but I still have 10 weeks to go. They say you gain more towards the end.

I definitely feel Baby J move. He's been pretty active lately. Brian felt him move. He gave us several good punches. It has been been pretty amazing to feel him move and kick. Only God could have created this little miracle inside of me for us to enjoy and experience together.

Psalm 139:13-16 "For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. "

Praying for you Baby J - can't wait for you to enter the world, so we can meet you

How I'm feeling...
backaches- I've got a great live in masseuse the best thing is he doesn't charge much
bought some support knee highs- had some swelling in my feet but not much, it seems to be helping
my allergies have been bothering me lately. What I have read is that stuffy nose is pretty common during pregnancy. Its because you have extra mucus and the amount of blood in your body increases during pregnancy, which may cause swelling in the tiny blood vessels in the lining of your nose and congestion in the surrounding tissue. Interesting huh?? It said that it can start within the first couple of months of pregnancy and get worse towards the end. I guess I am experiencing the end.

I had so much on my "to do" on Saturday, of course I attempted it and not all of it got done.
We got a free breakfast at Chick fil A. We never go out for breakfast but we couldn't pass it up.
Then I ventured out to Walmart and Super G to get some groceries. If you haven't checked out Super G international market here in our area, you have to go. They have all kinds of food there. But the best part is their produce and spices are super cheap and if you are looking to feed alot of people and need 25 lbs of rice they have it too. They have American produce as well as produce from different countries. On our first trip there we spent a couple of hours. Also if you are looking for meat- they have different animals parts available (intestines, ear, tongue, brain, etc) We've never tried any of that, we just stick to the produce. We figured its pretty safe.

Then I came home made a big pot of vegetable soup for the week and cleaned up around the house. I was pooped by the end of the day and had a sore back. My back has been hurting more lately, sometimes I think its from doing too much. There is so much to do before Baby J arrives. Seems like there is always something that needs to be done. So its sometimes hard for me to sit still.

My hubby was hard at work this weekend trying to finish the dresser/changing table. Hopefully we can bring it home this week. He just has to put the top on it and stain it. We are still trying to find the right knobs/handles for the drawers.

Also last night Brian thought it would be fun to watch an episode of Green Acres. I had heard the song, but never watched the show. We found it on Hulu. It was pretty funny.

my pregnancy journey

special parking at Babies R Us

So here are some pictures throughout the pregnancy.....
Watch Baby J grow

10 weeks
65mph + morning sickness=$5 car wash at 13 weeks (thankfully the only time I got sick)

14 weeks

20 weeks with my preggo friend Michelle
2 year anniversary (December 3 weekend)
me and my preggo cousin, Ashley ( a week before Christmas)
me and preggo friend, Rachel
25 weeks
29 weeks with the crib all put together in the nursery

My handy hubby

I just need to brag a little on my hubby. So thankful I married a handy man like my dad.
First he made me a glider for our front porch for my wedding gift.


Now he is making Baby J a changing table/dresser. He has been so excited from the very beginning. He just took a picture of one that he liked at a store and took some measurements. But other than that he didn't have any plans. He has been working so hard on it. I can't wait to get it in the nursery.

the legs
the drawer faces and the legs
the basic frame
the sides and back are on
Eric and Brian's dad- his helpers
the drawers before they are put together
the drawers
my hubby using his new router on the drawers
drawer slides are in ready to attach a drawer
one drawer is in
all drawers are done
a side view of the drawers
So pretty. Its almost done. Just the top and staining to go
somebody is pooped
the top is on

He used his router to make the fancy edges
all that is left is staining and putting the knobs on :)
Its so pretty. Can't wait to get it in the nursery.

putting the stain on

I'm a little late but..

Well I'm almost 10 weeks from the due date. Baby J has been very active. It feels like butterflies in my tummy. Its the greatest feeling. Can't believe its getting closer.
Last night I decided to try out a Prenatal exercise class that the hospital offers. Better late than never.
Its called Fit 4 Two. I'm going to do the Pilates and the Yoga class. Since I haven't been that successful going to the gym, maybe signing up for these classes will motivate me a little.
Brian and I have walked around the neighborhood. I do some stretching exercises at home as well. We just get home from work feeling exhausted and I don't have much energy. The first half of my pregnancy I struggled with a lot of headaches so there was no energy and I didn't feel that great. But I feel much better now, thank the Lord I haven't had to deal with headaches every day. I felt like I was popping tylenol pills every day.

Some of my cravings since I've been pregnant are:
Chocolate
going to Yogurt Bars
Chocolate peppermint milkshake from Chick-fil-a (it was only during the holidays though :(
one evening I wanted a egg and cheese biscuit from biscuitville the next morning for breakfast
Doritos
One thing that has helped me drink more water is to add from fresh lime juice to it.

Sleeping hasn't been too bad. I'm thankful for my body pillow that my aunt made that supports my back and then an extra pillow to support and cushion my belly. Poor Brian doesn't have much room to fit in the bed with all my pillows. He hasn't complained though. We've made it work in our double bed.

According to Baby Center's website, this past week Baby J weighs around 2.5 pounds like a butternut squash. He is around 15 inches long.

We had our first baby shower at Brian's work. Getting excited!!!! So thankful for family and friends that helped us get what we need for Baby J.

Our first diaper cake

Baby J got some socks (they are so little)

Looking forward to the weekend trying to work on getting more organized.

Our Journey so far.....

I know I’m a little behind and I wished that I had been journaling/blogging more since we got married. But I’m going to start now. Let me do a brief summary since last summer about our journey that God is taking us on. 

So after our vacation I still had to go to the bathroom a lot, especially right before bedtime. On August 19, I saw my neurologist that morning and decided to go to the drop in clinic that night. They checked me for any infection. The doctor said it was probably too early to tell if I was pregnant but decided to check anyways. He came back and said "YOU ARE PREGNANT." I couldn’t believe it. My GYNO had originally said it might take up to a year to get pregnant and we hadn’t been trying that long. How in the world was I going to tell Brian.

He called me and wondered how my appointment went. I told him it went fine and the doctor said just to monitor my symptoms. I’m a really bad liar but it was a little easier over the phone. When he got home that night I brought him upstairs and pulled out a little onesie and a bottle. I told Brian that the girls at my bachelorette party gave it to me and I told him that we might be needing to use it in about 9 months.

He was excited, he couldn’t believe it. He told me later that he had his suspicions that that’s what was going on with my body. Now we just had to figure out how to keep quiet about our news. At that point it was still so surreal to me. It was hard to take it all in.

We took a pregnancy test at home just to be sure

On August 26-28 we went to visit some friends from college and their families at a near by lake house. It was a gorgeous house and we had a lot of fun. I had a hard time telling them I was pregnant because it was still so surreal to me. I finally told them and they were excited. They wondered how I had kept it in all that time.

Around my birthday in September after work one day Brian surprised me with having a bunch of our friends over plus his parents and grandma. We decided to share with everyone that night that we were expecting. We had made t-shirts for the grandparents. Pat and Wayne's said 1^st Time Grandma and Grandpa and Bessie’s said GREAT Grandma. Brian told everyone to close their eyes and then he whispered to everyone except pat, wayne, and grandma to keep their eyes open. We held the t-shirts in front of pat, wayne, and grandma. I think Pat was excited for all of us. Pat had talked to a few of my friends that night already saying that she really wanted a grandchild.

On September 9-12 we went to PA for Brian’s brother, Jason and Anne’s wedding. On way there we stopped in VA to have lunch with my parents. We gave them t-shirts too. They didn’t know what to think when they pulled the shirts out of the bag. They were excited, I think a little in shock. Mom being a nurse was concerned since it was early. She wanted me to get to 12 weeks and in the safe zone. We called my sister and brother in law when we got to PA and ask them, “How would Maddie Grace like to have a cousin?” They were excited too. Maddie Grace was almost a year old at that point. It seems like my sister and I do things a year or so apart to keep my parents busy. My sister and I got married a year apart and now our kids about 1.5 years apart.  We broke the news to Jason and Anne too.

I wasn’t sure when and how I was going to tell my coworkers. They are like family to me. I have been with them since graduation from college, through my single years, marriage, and now becoming a mother. I’ve been working there for over 8 years. On September 20 I broke the news to Lisa, my boss. We both cried in her office. That was the first time I had cried over our news. Then I shared the news with my coworkers at a staff meeting.

On September 22, I had my first visit with my OB, Brian was not able to come. I wasn’t aware of all that they were going to do. They confirmed that I was pregnant by doing an internal ultrasound, which was interesting and fun. They gave me a picture of the baby. It just looked like a big blob, at that point it was hard to tell that it was a baby. They said my due date was April 29.

On October 7-9 Maddie Grace turned 1 year old. Brian and I took our cousin Ally to the ladybug birthday party for our niece. My parents were there and we spent time with other family. I got some maternity clothes from my sister and cousin, which was a great help.

My precious niece in her ladybug birthday outfit

On October 15- went to the mountains with our friends, Lisa and David. We got lots of veggies and sweet potatoes that would last us for a while. We also drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a very curvy drive, which made me feel a little nauseous.

On October 17- we took friends dinner and met their baby for the first time. I got more hand me down maternity clothes

On November 10, I had to make a trip to the hospital late that night. I had been having a terrible headache/migraine and couldn’t get rid of it. They gave me some good drugs.

On November 11- I went to the OB dr. with Brian and heard the heartbeat together.

November 18-21- Mom came to visit and we cleaned house. We got rid of stuff, threw stuff away, shredded papers, took stuff to pat and wayne’s house and loaded mom’s car down with stuff to store for us. It was a tiring weekend. I was so thankful for the help.

We had a busy Thanksgiving vacation. We spent Thanksgiving over at the inlaws with extended family.

December 3- Celebrated our 2 year anniversary. We went to an interesting house called Korner’s Folly. They let people tour it and it was all decorated for Christmas. We had dinner at a place called Sweet Potatoes. They serve soul food. I experienced some abdominal pain that day. Thankfully it went away and there was no need to visit the hospital. I think I freaked Brian out. Apparently since the baby is growing, things are going to stretch in your body and cause some pain.

December 5- 2 year anniversary- Brian was sick and he stayed home from work but he still had the energy to cook us a steak and veggie dinner. Then we watched a movie called Monte Carlo. Love my hubby. Its been a great 2 years.

December 7 we had our next ultrasound at the dr. office it was our anatomy ultrasound. It was pretty amazing see all of our baby’s body parts. We got pictures and the ultrasound tech told us to look away when she was looking at the private areas. Our idea was that the sex of the baby picture would be sealed up in an envelope and given to my friend Amy. I stole her idea and asked her if she would make a cake for us (pink or blue) so we could bring to SC the weekend of December 16-18. We wanted to cut the cake and find out with all of our family around. My sister thought we were crazy for waiting so long.

December 16-18 we picked up the blue or pink cake Friday afternoon and it sat in our car the 4-5 hour drive to SC. We were going to visit with my mom’s family for the whole weekend (my parents, cousins, g-parents, aunts and uncles, sister and brother in law, and niece). I promise you I did not once peek at the sealed envelope or the cake. On Saturday afternoon for lunch the whole family had lunch in the dining hall at the retirement community where my g-parents live. My cousin video taped the whole thing. I had a feeling what color the cake was going to be. When we cut it it was BLUE- So we were having a BOY. I know my dad was excited since he grew up with sisters and then he had 2 daughters. He finally got his boy. Brian was excited because boys are cheaper and he finally got a hunting and fishing buddy.

Our cake, made my my wonderful friend, Amy

Check out the gender reveal video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeUfeT7yTU&feature=share

Blue Cake- Its a BOY!!!!!

my niece, Maddie Grace enjoying her blue cake

my family

the extended family

We spent Christmas with my family in VA and I got to visit with some high school friends and then family from MD. My parents had a house full.

my niece enjoying her new wagon

edible mice that Brian made out of oreos, cherries, hershey kiss, and almonds

my niece playing with her new toy and is so proud of herself for figuring it out

me and my hubby in front of my parents Christmas tree

all the cousins together

my family together for Christmas

my hubby, my preggo friend, Rachel and her family. So excited I have several friends pregnant this year. Baby J will have lots of playmates.

Had another dr appt on January 6. I told them I had had some pain. Thought I could feel the baby. The doctor confirmed that my fibroid had grown and that was what I was feeling. He said it would shrink in size once the baby is born.

On Martin Luther King Holiday- day off from work- I had a wonderful friend Jaclyn to go with me to help me finish registering. It has been a long process to register for this little one. But she was a big help since she has been down this road before.

Thursday January 19- We went to visit some friends and went to Buy Buy Baby- another wonderful store to register. We wanted to look at cribs and other big stuff. Love that store. It was very organized and people were very helpful.

January 27-29 weekend the guys from our small group went on the Men’s Retreat with our church and the wives had a retreat of our own at a lake house that was owned by one of our friends. We ate, watched girly movies, did some fun crafts, and enjoyed sleeping in. This was the first time Brian and I had a weekend away apart from each other. We both enjoyed it.

The girls minus Jaclyn

Started our birth and baby class- every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks for the month of February. 

Brian wearing his empathy belly

February 3- glucose test. I had to drink a sugary drink and then wait an hour at the dr office before they drew my blood. Thankfully they never called me with the results, which means I passed 

February 6- I had my cousin over for dinner and showed her the nursery. She was excited to see all the baby stuff that we had been given already.

February 10- We picked up our crib and Brian set it up that night. It came in a huge box and it made a mess on our living room floor.

Before

After

February 11- We went to the cabin to take some furniture and Christmas stuff to store to make room for Baby J

February 15- another routine dr appt. Baby boy J is on track and is doing great.