La Petite Chic

Bump Day - Week 38

How Far Along:  38 weeks and 5 days. Just 10 days to go until 10-10-10!

Weekly Fruit Comparison: A watermelon (I carried a watermelon last weekend and was reminded of how large and heavy those things are!)

 
 

The Good: So because I'm slightly ambitious and stubborn, I decided months and months ago that I was going to throw Jonathan a 30th birthday party last weekend. (He turns 30 on Oct. 2nd and I couldn't let such a momentous birthday go by without celebration!) I had hoped to throw it a little earlier in September to avoid being quite so huge and pregnant, but alas, the only date the pavilion at our community beach was available was last Saturday. So I gathered some great helpers (my parents and Jon's parents) and threw him an awesome Oktoberfest birthday celebration. I even had personalized beer mugs made up as party favors! I made delicious hot German potato salad, German baked beans and red cabbage with apples and had plenty of wurst, soft pretzels and kegs of Oktoberfest beer to go around. I think a good time was had by all!

Oh, and we finally got her dresser last week! The one we ordered had been backordered yet again and my mom and I happened to come across a gorgeous and perfect one while shopping. It's a vintage dresser that was handpainted by a local Annapolis artist in just the shade of white that we've been looking for. There are gorgeous handpainted seahorses on each side and crystal knobs and well, it's just perfect. We also had the ceiling fan/light installed in her room (and the remaining two bedrooms) so everything is just about set. We just need to hang pictures and then it will be finished. Hooray!

The Bad: So much for the swelling in my feet going down! The heat came back with a vengeance shortly after I wrote my last update and of course, my feet responded by blowing up as big as they ever have been. Luckily, the heat has gone away again (I think for good this time) so my feet are almost at their normal size. The knuckles on my hands are killing me though. Now I can completely empathize with people who have arthritis because it really hurts! It's worst when I wake up in the morning and subsides throughout the day.

The Weird: Still with the lovely comments from strangers. "Are you sure it's not twins?", "Girl, you're huge!", "Oh my god!" and "You look like you're about to pop!" seem to be the most commonly heard. Note to strangers: A nice "You look great! Congratulations!" would do.

Best Pregnancy Moment: While waiting for a table at a restaurant last Friday, I was surrounded by a pack of little girls who were amazed by my belly. They all wanted to feel and pat her and had all kinds of questions. It was absolutely darling and reassured that me that I can totally relate to and talk with little girls.

The Weekly Belly Bump: I think I had some Braxton Hicks contractions last night. It kind of freaked us out because I honestly couldn't tell you how any contraction is supposed to feel! 

 

Bump Day - Week 37

How Far Along:  37 weeks and 4 days. We're talking days now, people!

Weekly Fruit Comparison: A watermelon (The last fruit! The very last fruit! And oh, what a large one it is!)

 
 

The Good: I don't want to jinx myself in these last few weeks of pregnancy, but as far as pregnancies go, this has been easy peasy. I still take the three flights of stairs up to my office every day, Lola, Jonathan and I still go on our evening walks and I still cook dinner and obsessively organize my house as much as I ever did.

The worst things I've had to deal with are swollen feet and heartburn and even those have subsided lately. (Though my hands are taking over a bit in the swelling department!) My weight gain is under the 30 pound mark, my blood pressure has been really good throughout and minus my cold a few weeks ago, I've been really healthy. I pray that La Petite Bébé will be just as healthy when she makes her grand debut.

Oh, and I turned 29 yesterday. My last birthday of not being a mom! So crazy. My birthday present from Jon is a yet-to-be-taken shopping spree (at my request) for new clothes once I figure out what size I am. (Fingers crossed that I'll be able to fit into my old clothes soon enough!)

The Bad: Nothing bad to report. Except for the new bit of swelling in my hands, I'm feeling considerably fantastic for being full term!

The Weird: Every stranger I meet seems to think I'm having a boy. And when I respond with, "No, we're actually having a girl," they all look at me like I'm crazy and say, "Are you sure?" Well, nothing in life is sure, but the doctor seemed pretty confident that there was no penis present at our gender ultrasound! Just the girly bits!

Best Pregnancy Moment: We had our baby bump photoshoot on Saturday and it was so much fun! I can't wait to do our newborn photoshoot once the baby girl arrives. Our photographer is wonderful and we absolutely adore the photos. I'm so glad we'll have them to remember this special time in our life. (I did have a link to the slideshow here, but then I realized it showed my last name. I'll share some of the photos once I get our photo cd.) 

The Weekly Belly Bump: Now I'm getting a lot of the "You look like you're ready to pop!" comments. Baby Girl is riding low! 

 

Bump Day - Week 36

How Far Along:  36 weeks and 4 days (less than a month!)

Weekly Fruit Comparison:  A honeydew

 

The Good: Baby Girl continues to be very active even though most babies slow down a bit in their last month of gestation. My doctor said she must not have gotten the memo! I love that she's so active, even though her pokes and prods can sometimes hurt a bit now that she's so big. At my last appointment, she was estimated to be at 6½ pounds already! I declined to have another internal exam and I really hope not to have any until I go until labor because I really don't see the point of knowing how dilated I am. She'll come out when she's ready! (Although they won't let me go more than a week past my due date).

The Bad: I caught a cold last week and was pretty miserable Thursday through Monday. And of course, after the loss of our first pregnancy to the swine flu, my mind couldn't help but drift to the "what if's?", but it truly was just a cold and nothing more and I'm feeling 100% better now. It just sucks to be sick when you're pregnant because you can't take anything!

The Weird: I had heartburn from hell on Sunday night and I have no idea what triggered it. Tums wouldn't soothe it and I finally had to end up sleeping in a reclined upright position because laying down just made it worse. I think that was probably the worst night of my pregnancy thus far because my throat was still sore from being sick. Not fun. BLEH.

Best Pregnancy Moment: I forgot to mention this last week, so I'll share now. For our anniversary, Jon and I went straight from work to a mystery destination that turned out to be a spa! I spent a luxurious hour having a prenatal massage done and then we went to dinner at one of my top five restaurants, The Melting Pot. Though it wasn't our usual anniversarymoon vacation, it was absolutely romantic and wonderful and relaxing.

The Weekly Belly Bump: Overheard in reference to me: "Is she having twins?" OY.

Bump Day - Weeks 34 and 35

How Far Along:  35 weeks and 5 days (I really did mean to post last week but I've been in full nesting mode. There are floors to sweep, people!) 

Weekly Fruit Comparison:  A honeydew (Just one frighteningly large fruit left!)

 

The Good:  At my last appointment (which was a little over a week ago now), I had my first internal exam and measured 50% effaced and a fingertip dilated! I was shocked. Of course that doesn't mean I'll be going anytime soon, but it does let me know that I'm making progress and that my body is preparing for childbirth. That is exciting! I go back today and should have the results of my Strep B test. Fingers crossed.

The Bad: This isn't so much pregnancy related, but Lola took a tumble down our flight of hardwood stairs on Monday night. She was checked out by our vet and is absolutely fine and in reality, I think I was more traumatized than she was! Putting a runner on those stairs (specifically for safety issues) has been on our list of to-dos and seeing my sweet Lola Bean fall down them was enough of an eye opener to push us into getting them done ASAP.

Oh, and Lola's fall? Totally made me realize that I'm going to be the "ohmygod, she's going to die!" parent while Jon will be the calm and rationale parent. I figured as much, but it was definitely confirmed by our reactions!

The Weird: This has happened throughout different parts of my pregnancy, but I really can't eat very much anymore. I'm usually a grazer and will eat small snacks every couple of hours, but now I'm just down to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, with maybe a tiny snack in between one of the larger meals. There's just no where for it to go as I assume my stomach is stuck somewhere up behind my ribs at this point!

Best Pregnancy Moment: My co-workers threw me a surprise shower at work last week! It was so thoughtful of them and Baby Girl was spoiled again with lovely little things and one very big thing (her awesome lamb swing). I washed a lot of her clothes and blankets and other thing this weekend and her nursery is just about done. We're just waiting on her dresser to come in, which has now been backordered a week. The nerve!

The Weekly Belly Bump: I've had a lot of strangers ask me lately if I'm having a boy and they all look at me in disbelief when I say "nope, it's a girl!". I'm carrying really low at this point and I guess they all subscribe to the old wives tale that you carry girls high and boys low.

 Week 34

Week 35

Four Years...

Like a river flows,

(Dunn's River Jamaica, Honeymoon 2006)

surely to the sea,

 

(Caribbean Sea Jamaica, Babymoon 2010)

darling so it goes,

 

(Jimmy Buffett concert, Summer 2008)

some things are meant to be.

 

(La Petite Bébé ultrasound, March 2010)

Take my hand.

 

(First anniversarymoon, Jamaica 2007)

Take my whole life too.

 

(Night of our engagement, December 2005)

For I can't help falling in love with you.

 

(Wedding Day, September 1, 2006)

Happy anniversary to the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in crime, the father of both our baby girls (furry and unborn) and truly, my everything. I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather take this journey of life with. I love you forever and always.