34 weeks and finally up to date!

I was 34 weeks on Tuesday. And honestly I don't think I could possibly get any bigger, but I know it's going to happen with 6 weeks left til my due date! I can't believe it's only 6 weeks away, but I'M DEFINITELY READY FOR JOHN TO COME! I'm not a very patient person, so having to wait 9 months for him to come has been hard! We both are ready to met our son! So just a few more weeks!! I am ready to NOT be pregnant anymore which I think I've mentioned in an earlier post). Other than hearing his heartbeat, be able to feel him move, and seeing him on an ultrasound... the rest ain't so fun! hahaha, but the outcome is totally worth it! I just hope these next 6 weeks go by fast!! :0) The closer it gets, the more impatient I become! So here are some 34 week belly pictures!

 I look big, and trust me, I FEEL BIG! haha! It is getting harder to sleep every night and to get comfortable and stay comfortable. I literally have to pee like 3 times an hour, especially at night, which is a little annoying.. okay a lot annoying! But it will be over soon, I just wish baby John could find another organ to lay on besides one that makes me pee, because I know there are more organs than just my bladder! haha! 

I now have been blessed with the lovely symptom of swollen feet, ankles, calves and hands. YAY! (sarcasm for those who couldn't tell!) Brian and I did a lot of work in the front and back yards last weekend, since it was like 65 degrees. Let's just say I didn't listen to my husband and didn't take any break. We worked non-stop all day. That evening after coming home from dinner with my in-laws... my feet and ankles BLEW UP LIKE BALLOONS! Also my calves we very swollen... to the point I could feel my skin stretching and pulling - which is not a very comfortable feeling! I know that you're feet and ankles swell, but I ready didn't know that you're calves would or would that bad and the pain was really bothering me. So I called the on-call doctor at the practice I go to and he told me NOT TO DO ANYTHING the rest of the weekend, it was Friday night when I called - there's still Saturday and Sunday to go! He told me to drink loads of water and rest. So I did... however my husband heard the word "BED REST FOR THE WEEKEND" even though that's not what the doctor told me, the doctor just said rest. So for the following two days I STAYED IN BED ALL DAY DOING NOTHING AND LAYING THERE! (if you know me, you know I have to stay busy and be moving. I DO NOT like being stationary. However, every time I did get up, unless it was to the bathroom, my husband yelled at me to get back in bed and put my feet up! So I was waited on all weekend :0) which was very nice, but at the same time.. I am a big girl and can do things myself. But I have such a wonderful husband :0) After my weekend of rest and putting my feet, I am perfectly fine now! 

Which is a good thing... seeing as how we have our couple's baby shower this Saturday and I needed to finish cleaning our house, because it's being held here. So I'm happy my legs are fine and I'm back to normal! I have been a little stressed out this week about making sure our house is clean and stuff, which isn't that big of a deal.

3D Ultrasound, Christmas & 32 weeks!

3D Ultrasound

On December 4th we went and had a 3D ultrasound done to see if we could see (or at least get an idea on what our son will look like). And John Cayden DID NOT cooperate!! However, we were able to get a couple of good pictures, and by that I mean like 4 good pictures. It was fun seeing our son on the 3D ultrasound, however we do not feel it was worth the money we paid. The session was very short and we did not get the amount of pictures we paid for. Also the staff and service was alright. They kept repeating that it wasn't their fault our baby didn't cooperate, and by repeating.. I mean EVERY 3 MINUTES! I'm sitting there thinking, I KNOW IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! STOP SAYING THAT! That just ruined the experience of watching our son on the screen... having to listen to the ultrasound lady continuously stating the same thing over and over again. We were offered to come back a week later for another ultrasound, however we would have to PAY FOR ANOTHER SET OF PICTURES. Mind you, we did NOT get the minimum amount of pictures our package PROMISED us. We were supposed to get a MINIMUM OF 30 PICTURES, we ended up with LESS than 20, I DO NOT count the picture of the measurement screen as a picture. Needless to say, we did not return. We will wait until John is born to see his sweet face. We went to Window to the Womb (or something like that) in Cumming, GA. I would NOT recommend them to anyone; it's not a very good experience. Also, the quality of the 2-D ultrasound was horrible. The doctor's office 2-D ultrasound (from when we found out the sex) was SO MUCH BETTER than this place!

These are the BEST two pictures we have, the top one is of baby John's face, little hands and cute nose! The second picture is baby John yawning! :0)

Christmas

My mom got a new puppy Christmas! Another Bernese Mountain Dog! We named her Maggie! She's so cute!!! Below are pictures of her! She LOVES to play and bite, haha! But my mom is working on breaking the habit of biting!

 She's so cute! She weighs about 22 pounds now, so I can still pick her up. But she'll need up being 90 pounds or so, so it won't be long before I can't pick her up anymore! haha!

For Christmas we also got plenty of things for baby John! My mom bought us the Travel System - stroller & car seat! She also got us the Pack N Play! So baby John is getting everything he needs! Brian got the Flip camera/recorder from his grandparents so we can videotape all the cute things John does! And everyone else got us money or gift cards so we can get all the things we need! We're so thankful to have such a wonderful family!

I would put up pictures from Christmas Eve, but they are less than flattering. So I'm not going to. But I will put up 32 week belly pictures! He's definitely getting bigger every week and every week gets closer and closer to his arrival!!

November Baby Shower & 27 weeks!

In November I had a family & family friends baby shower, hosted by Catherine Myrick. It was a lot of fun!! We got so much stuff off our registry and that baby John needed! So I am VERY THANKFUL! Above are pictures from the baby shower! John got an Alphabet picture for his room from Brian's grandmother, a gym play mat, bouncer, activity motion jumper, and highchair from Brian's other grandmother! And he got so much more... but I'm obviously not going to list everything. We're very thankful for all that we've been given for our first child! It has helped out a lot!

Here are a few 27 weeks belly pictures! (the week of my November baby shower) He's getting bigger, but he's definitely bigger now since it's January and these pictures were taken in November. It seems that this pregnancy is going by very fast...and I'm VERY HAPPY about that. I can't wait to meet baby John & and for him to be here! And to have my body back... hahaha!

26 weeks today!

So I noticed I haven't blogged in a while, even though I doubt anyone ever reads this thing. But I thought I do some catching up, so it will definitely be a long post...so be prepared!

I think the last time I blogged I was about 19 weeks, and now I'm 26 weeks along TODAY! So there be LOTS of pictures! This is my last week in the second trimester, next Tuesday I'll be in the last 13 weeks of my pregnancy and let's just say... I'M ECSTATIC! haha! For those who haven't heard me talk about it..I'm not the biggest fan of being pregnant. Don't get me wrong.. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that in 13 short weeks I'll being seeing my first child and son for the very first time. But being pregnant sucks. Other than getting to see him on the ultrasound, hear his heartbeat every appointment, and being able to feel all his little movements; there are no other upsides. I dislike the nausea & vomiting (although I didn't have much), migraines (which I had for about 5 weeks straight), gaining weight, constant back pain, never being able to get comfortable, gas (sorry!), heartburn and the list goes on and on. So I ready to not be pregnant anymore. I really wish he would come now, only because I'm SO excited to meet him and for him to be here. But I don't want him to come now because he's not fully developed. So I can wait another 13 weeks because I know that the end result of these 9-10months of pregnancy is my son. :0)

Since my last post, I've taken belly pictures again and we have completed the basic design of his nursery! YAY! I'm so excited about it and finishing the nursery. I love walking into that room and knowing in 13 weeks we'll have a new addition in the room. Because right now it still feels surreal that we're actually having a baby. Even though we've seen the pictures, heard the heartbeat and can definitely tell by my stomach growing... it's still hard to believe and hasn't completely sunk in yet. But I LOVE IT! Below are belly pictures from 22 1/2 weeks:

 

 For the nursery we decided on doing a train theme. The train theme can about because every year Brian gets a train car from Georgia Power for being a safe worker and having no accidents all year long. He has worked at Georgia Power since 2005, so we have collected some train cars. We have no where else to put or display the train set, so once we found out we were having a boy...that was it! TRAINS! While John is a baby we were just going to put the train set on wall shelves to display and then once he's old enough (more than likely a toddler) Brian plans on building a track that goes around the ceiling of the room and the train will actually be able to go around the tracks and John will be able to play with it. :0) It's exciting! We got his nursery bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (thanks mom!) that has trains ALL OVER IT! It's so cute! Below are pictures of his nursery so far:

I'm so excited to bring John home and for him to see his new room! YAY! Only 13 more weeks! I can't wait!

I'm also excited because I have my first baby shower Saturday, a family shower. Showers are fun! I really excited to see everyone and obviously to see what baby John will get. And then comes CHRISTMAS! THE ABSOLUTE BEST HOLIDAY EVER! So I'm excited for that too. And then shortly after that in the beginning of January is my second baby shower with all my friends!!! :0) I'M SOO EXCITED FOR THAT ONE! I get to see all my friends in one place at one time, YAY! And then in February..... JOHN CAYDEN THOMAS WILL ARRIVE! So the next 3 months are packed with WONDERFUL THINGS!!! 

I also can't wait for our next ultrasound... which is the 3D/4D Ultrasound. I'm really excited to see what our baby looks, although no matter what he looks like, I will love him just the same. I just think it's incredible how you can see what your child will look like or an estimate while he's still in the womb. It's AMAZING! And that ultrasound is only 3 weeks away.. beginning of December! Can't wait!

Even though this has nothing to do with pregnancy and John, I still think that I need to show these pictures of Lily & Fred on Halloween! Lily was a kitty and had kitty ears and Fred was a pumpkin and had a pumpkin hat.. it was so cute!

The best pictures ever! They look so thrilled to have those on their heads! HAHAHA!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

Before I tell you what we're having (even though you can tell by the title), let me update you on things that have happened since my last post. Below I've posted 19 week belly pictures.... two are of the side of my belly and one is of the front of my belly.

I have gotten bigger since then, I'm 21 weeks today. So I'll have more belly pictures at 22 weeks. Since my last post A lot has happened. We finished cleaning out the room that we are going to use for the nursery :0) YAY! and it has been painted a nice light sky blue color. We also, bought and put together the cubby holes for the closet, so there will be plenty of storage space for toys, books and so on. This past weekend I bought the nursery letters and painted them, red to match the bedding. We're just waiting on the furniture before we put them on the wall; which my dad ordered the day we found out the sex of the baby, so hopefully it will be here soon. Also, my and I went shopping this weekend for my birthday which was the 27th and she bought us all the nursery bedding at pottery barn kids!!! :0) She's awesome! She also took me shopping for maternity clothes and for some baby clothes! YAY! The baby's not even here yet and he's already being spoiled!!! The nursery bedding has trains on it, it's so cute! I'll post pictures as soon as the furniture comes in, so the nursery looks more complete!

My goal is to have the ENTIRE house cleaned, organized, trash gone, and stuff to goodwill BY OCTOBER 31!!! That way I can spend the 3rd trimester resting and off my feet. Since my belly is getting bigger and all. I'm only 21 weeks and it kind of gets in the way now, haha! But I LOVE feeling my little baby kick all the time now! :0) It's a wonderful feeling, I can't wait til Brian can feel it too! So far I have the Master bedroom and laundry room done, just have the rest of the house, which includes the garage... so hopefully I'll be able to get it done. I wish we didn't have so much crap, haha! Wish me luck! 

Well, I know you all have been waiting..... WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!! We're so excited! I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a girl, but I'm still EXTREMELY HAPPY! John Cayden Thomas :0) I can't wait til my little son arrives!!! Only 19 weeks, estimated. That still seems like forever, but I know it will be here soon! Below are our ultrasound pictures....

Profile picture of baby John!!!

First baby kicks and 18 days to go!!!

I felt my baby's first kicks Thursday evening! :0) YAY!!! It was very exciting! I hadn't really thought about what it would feel like or was really paying attention because I was under the impression that most first time pregnancies don't feel the baby kick/move until at least 20 weeks, but that wasn't the case for me! At 17 1/2 weeks along I felt little Jellybean move! It was like popcorn popping in your belly or like little tapping coming from inside! Since Thursday evening I've felt Jeallybean move 3 more times, and each time is very exciting!! I can't wait until I can actually feel constant strong kicks!

Only 18 days to go until we find out the sex of the baby, however, I definitely think it's a girl. But not just because I want a girl first. I honestly don't mind whether we have a girl or boy first, I personally think that having a girl first would be fun, but so would a boy. I just have a strong feeling it's a girl and whenever I walk into a place or am online doing registry stuff, I always look at girl things. I don't even go look at boy things, not because I don't want a boy but because I just don't think it's a boy. However, I could always be wrong. I just have a strong feeling that it's a girl :0) but I'm really excited to find out! We go on September 28th, 20 weeks, to find out. My appointment isn't until 2:00pm and I was told to drink 2 glasses of water an hour before the appointment. But I was wondering if I ate lunch would it effect the ultrasound??? Should I just eat breakfast normally and wait to eat lunch until after the ultrasound, just to make sure that Jellybean cooperates??? Because I really don't want to have to go back if Jellybean doesn't cooperate so we can see if it's a he or she. I would like to find out at 20 weeks, I mean I have been waiting all the that time. So just let me know what you think the best thing to do is....

I've been doing a lot of work around the house lately, in preparation for Jellybean! YAY! I have completely cleaned out, cleaned and painted the junk room. It is now being organized and the office and guest bedroom furniture are being moved into that room today. I have painted the hallway and bathroom this week as well. And have completely cleaned and organized the guest bathroom, which will be Jellybean's bathroom. The only thing left to do, on that side of the house - which is a BIG task, is getting EVERYTHING out of the big room and organized, thrown out, or donated so that big room is empty because.... THAT'S THE NURSERY! YAY! I want to have the big room completely emptied out before we find the sex of the baby, because once we find out we'll probably be getting things. Plus I want to be able to put things away after we get things and after showers instead of just piling them in the room. I plan on designing and building a custom closet for the nursery, to utilize all the space in the closet and to maximize the storage space for clothes, toys, and extras. YAY! I'm so excited to start decorating and organizing the nursery, CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT THE SEX!!!!   

16 weeks and only 27 days to go

I had my 16 week appointment yesterday and finally started taking belly pictures, so here are a few. First picture was taken before my appointment early in the morning. The second picture was taken late in the afternoon and is a close up of my belly (probably why it looks bigger than it should). The third picture was also taken late in the afternoon and is a front picture of my belly :0) YAY!!!

 Okay, now that we've all seen the belly pictures it's time for the actual post. So my appointment yesterday was at 9:15am, my doctor is near/very close to Piedmont Hospital. So since I live in Bethlehem, which isn't as close to Piedmont. I have to leave early to make it there. Well since I was probably going to hit traffic (morning rush hour), I decided to leave at 7am and I did. I TOOK AN HOUR AND A HALF to make it to 285... so by 8:30am I was only at 285, but luckily once you hit 285 traffic disappears. So I got to my doctor's office by 8:50am, which was good. 

I told my doctor all about my migraines and symptoms that went with them. She offered to write me a prescription for strong pain killers (that I could take during pregnancy), however since she didn't seem that comfortable prescribing them and they were narcotics, I declined and since that Tylenol helped a little and that I'd rather stuffer through it. She also told me that headaches and migraines were normal during pregnancy, especially in the 2nd trimester, but as my pregnancy continues the headaches/migraines should become less and less. However if I'm still having as many as I'm having by the 3rd trimester, she suggests that I might get an MRI just to make sure. But she's not concerned at all. Plus I had my blood pressure checked and it was 102/64, which they said was really good. So everything's good.

The best part was when the doctor was listening to the heartbeat, it took a couple minutes because every time she found it and started counting Jeallybean would start to kick and move and all you could hear was the movement, haha..not cooperating already! She finally was able to get the count of the heartbeat, which was 160 again and really good. So I'm happy. But now the countdown begins....ONLY 27 days til we find out if we're having a BOY OR GIRL!!! :0) I'm so exciting! I really think it's a girl, not just because I would like a girl first, I just have a feeling. But we'll see. I could always be wrong! But on September 28 at 2:00pm we'll know! YAY!! Plus my birthday is the day before, so it's going to be a GREAT birthday present! Plus we'll also get to see our jellybean again, haven't seen him/her since week 12 of pregnancy, so I'm excited! YAY!!!