37 Weeks

37 Weeks: Full term!

How far along: 37 Weeks. We can officially say full term!

Gender: Big boy!

Weight gain: 21+ lbs.

Maternity clothes: oh yes! I am trying to not buy any maternity, but with the warmer weather and my growing belly I may need to get a few more pieces.

Stretch marks: Still clear

Belly button in or out: Flat

Sleep: Still struggling to get comfortable. I am having lots and lots of BH contractions. Hopefully this means my body is getting ready for go time.

Best moment this week: The long weekend was so welcomed. We spent most of the weekend on he lake and by the pool. We spent the weekend with good friends and quality time with one another. Relaxation was just what we needed as we quickly approach our due date.

Worst moment this week: Definitely all the discomfort I have been feeling.  

Miss anything: With all of the waterside fun we had this week I really missed having a cold beer or salty margarita! Mmmmmhhhhhh!

Movement: Soooooo much!!!!

Cravings: Since baby has dropped some I definitely have my appetite back. Therefore, I feel like I want to eat everything in sight! :)

Queasy or sick: Nope!

Looking forward to: Summer! School is so close to being over and that means I am that much closer to having Brady in my arms!

Weeks 35 and 36

36 Weeks

How far along: 36 weeks today!!! Finally in the home stretch!

Gender: Boy

Weight gain: 20 pounds exactly and feeling every bit of it lately.

Maternity clothes: Oh yes!!! I am really struggling to find work clothes that are comfortable and fit. I did make a daring decision to go into Victoria Secret and browse their PINK section. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like everything is sized HUGE in there. I bought a couple of V-neck ts and the softest hoodie ever, all xs. They are so comfortable and fit over my belly great! I even plan to make a few of those pieces my "going home" outfit. Now the VS underwear on the other hand..... I"ll pass for the next few months. 

Stretch marks: If you don't count all of the indents that my too tight clothes are making these days I think I am still in the clear for now. 

Belly button in or out: Flat as a pancake.

Sleep: On and off. Most days I feel like I am back in the second trimester where I needed a two hour power nap on top of my regular 8 hours. Definitely taking advantage of the free time I have to do that for now. 

Best moment this week: I completely missed last week's post. However the girls at work planned a shower for me and it was fantastic! They had some of the cutest onesies made for me. Not to mention our school nanny made the BEST cupcakes ever!!!! Brian and I received a ton of Amazon gift cards that will really come in handy for diapers and such in the future. 

Worst moment this week: I believe my body has entered the "girl, slow it down" mode. I have had a Terrible cold and everything feels achy. I also feel my hips loosening and my hormones are all whacked out. This has been the roughest week of my pregnancy thus far. Hoping that once this cold passes I can start to feel 100%  again. I know I am going to need that energy for work and oh, ya know, birthing a human and all. 

Miss anything: Bladder control. Can I get an amen from all the mamas out there!?

Movement: Tons and I love it! 

Cravings: For whatever reason corn dogs sound super appealing lately. 

Queasy or sick: Just from the cold.

Looking forward to: Our sunroom is almost done!! This will room will be Brady's playroom once he gets older so I am super excited about! I planning on doing a before and after post once its complete!

Now for a very special Baby Brady update!!!!

Unfortunately, Brian has only been to the first ultrasound where he still looked like a gummy bear. I have been wanting to do something special for him and thought what better than a 3d ultrasound! We have both always kinda poked fun at people that get these and post all 400 pics on the facebook saying how baby looks like this grandparent or this second cousin. However, we were shocked to find that there was so much the tech was able to tell us and how much we were able to see from the pictures and video!

To be sensitive to those childless peeps I have only posted two pictures to spare you the boredom you may endure from my super cute kid! 

Brady's stats:

Height: 20.3 inches long (I think he is going to be lanky like my sister.)

Weight: A whopping 6 pounds already.

Estimated Weight for delivery: Between 8.0 and 8.5 lbs. 

Hair: He had a pretty good amount on the ultrasound. We were both surprised. However, we found out the hair gene comes from the maternal grandfather. This makes total sense because my dad has a ton of thick, dark hair. 

Estimated due date: This blew my mind. The tech took a ton of measurement including height, weight, head and leg size, fluid amount, etc. and found out his ETA was June 14. She said the due dates they give were fairly accurate within 24 to 72 hours! I am looking forward to seeing if she is right. 

Fun features: Brady's foot already measures at 3 inches long (no newborn socks for him). Also, Brian and I both agreed he has the Mcguinness (Brian's mom's side) nose. The profile picture below gives a much better look at it. The picture to the left left me worried. I asked the tech why his nose looked so flat. She laughed and said because he has no more room. Brady's nose is pressed up against my uterus. It is basically the equivalent of someone pressing their face up to a glass window.  Absolutely precious. 

Brady, Mama and Daddy had the best time watching you in action this past week. We can't wait to see you in action everyday! Love you so much precious little boy of ours! 

 

My First Mother's Day

Dear Brady,

I am already so blessed by your life.  You have taught me so much and I couldn't be more proud to be called your mom.  I can't wait to see all of the milestones you hit in your life.  I have so many dreams for you and I know that God will have a hand in whatever it is you choose to do. 

Your daddy has been working extra hard trying to get the house ready for your big debut. We have been remodeling your soon-to-be play room and working a ton so that we can spend lots and lots of time with you once you come home. Despite all of the work we have been doing your daddy still found time to spoil me for my very first Mother's Day.  However, it didn't come without its own very unique mishap. 

Last Wednesday was going to be a very long day for both of us.  I was stuck in a few meetings after work and daddy was going to be working until 6 as normal.  We asked our friend, Mrs. Austyn, to come by and let the pups out that afternoon. She texted me later that day and said that she hoped there was nothing too valuable in the chewed up Tiffany's box.  I responded that it was no big deal.  Daddy had gotten me Tiffany's for my birthday and the empty boxes were sitting in my closet.  One of the dogs had probably just gotten in a mood and tore it up. 

After not giving it a second thought daddy got home and I was telling him about my day and what Mrs. Austyn had said about the Tiffany's box.  He got extremely worried and asked if I was sure it was the one from my birthday.  After double checking we quickly realized it wasn't.  Panic mode set in.  Daddy got really upset and proceeded to tell me that this Tiffany's box had been my mother's day gift!! OH, NO! 

I felt so bad for him! He had been working so hard at his job and repairing the house.  He was trying to do something extra special for me, but it sadly had backfired.  We quickly realized that they had chewed the box, but one of them had ate the leather pouch that held my present.  What other choice did we have but to wait for it to.... well... surface. 

Sure enough a few trips outside later we found the pouch and part of my present, which I later found out was pearl earrings. One of the earrings was found on the floor, the other  part is still a mystery. Because the pearl had broken off one of the earrings in all the madness we may be turning my present into a necklace.  Needless to say my first mother's day has been very interesting. It is one for the books and I am sure we will be laughing about it by the next mother's day.  

At the end of the day no matter what gifts I do or do not receive (or how I receive them), they will never replace the love I have for you and your dad.  You are my family and though I haven't met you yet I can already tell that you share so many of your daddy's wonderful traits.  Only a few more weeks until I get to finally put my mother skills into play! I couldn't be more excited! 

Love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Maternity Photos

I had the best time posing for these photos.  Brian opted out of the maternity session.  This made me a little nervous to do these all by myself; however, the photographer and I had the best time hanging out and trying different poses. All of the photos were taken at our house in Lake Wylie. I loved knowing that Brady will come home to the same rooms in these pictures! So many memories are going to be created in this house.

I chose to go with a very natural, comfortable look and I couldn't be happier with the results. My gray lounge pants were purchase as the gap and the nude top was a long ago pre-pregancy find at the Limited. 

All photo credits go to Kristin Dustman at Kristin Dustman Photography located in Charlotte.  You can also visit her facebook page here.

            

      

And one for the road... a sneak peak of Brady's nursery. More pictures to come on a separate post! 

34 Weeks

 34 Weeks..... Whoa, BABY got back! (Or in this case front)

How far along: 34 Weeks.... only six more to go!

Gender: Boy

Weight gain: 18 lbs. Doctor's apt. tomorrow will confirm more I am sure.

Maternity clothes: I am wearing a lot of sundresses that aren't maternity. Anything with a high empire waist has been great. I have also been wearing skinny belts to define the smallest part of my body, or as one of our ESL students at school refers to it "Mrs. Anderson's seat belt".

Stretch marks: NOPE! Still in shock that my fair skin hasn't popped. I am sure the last six weeks will be the hardest though.

Belly button in or out: Still in.

Sleep: This is still the hardest part of pregnancy. I have been getting up 3 to 4 times a night now. Sometimes for a potty break, other times I just lay there while Brady has a dance-off with my internal organs.

Best moment this week: This is most definitely the shower I had this past Saturday. It was so great to have all my closest friends nearby. See below for pictures and a recap of Saturday's shower.

Worst moment this week: Still trying to get the house prepped for Brady's arrival. If this was just limited to cleaning out closets and cabinets I would be fine. However, we are still making repairs in our sunroom. It is definitely going to come down to crunch time with the completion of this project and Brady's ETA.

Miss anything: Definitely missed a frozen margarita during Cinco de Mayo yesterday!

Movement: TONS at night. Usually during the day Brady will just switch positions every hour or so. However, nothing drastic.

Cravings: Nothing in particular

Queasy or sick: Nope

Looking forward to: Little man being here! I am so excited to hold him, I can barely stand it!

This past weekend was an absolute blast.  First, one of my best friends and roommate from college, Morgan, came up and stayed the night.  We had the best time catching up and spending time together.  I absolutely don't know what I would do without her. 

Saturday's shower was hosted by my dearest friends', Holly and Jessi. Their grandparents were gracious enough to let us use their garden area.  It was absolutely beautiful out there.  We couldn't have asked for better weather. 

Guests included my fifth grade team from work, my closest friends from college (the fab five), their families, a few friends from church, and a few of the women from my neighbor. One of which I have become very close to, Austyn! 

 I have been so very blessed by all of these amazing and talented woman in my life.  God has used each and every one of them to positively effect me in some way.

Brady has been such a lucky boy to receive so many special things.  I will be creating a "registry favorites" list once I have organized all of the items we have been given! Thank you again to everyone who has spoiled this precious boy.  We cannot express out gratitude enough!