New Collage!

This is just the last 8 weeks that we've been in our new house! Crrrazy!

34 Weeks ♥

Only 42 days left until little man arrives. I can't stop thinking about how little time that is! Part of me (a HUGE part) feels like I've been pregnant for YEARS. I'm more than ready to not be pregnant anymore. But the other part of me is scared to death. I don't know what to do with a baby! What if I mess up his entire life??? I don't want him to grow up to be a wuss. Or a macho man who is derogative to women. I want him to be smart, witty, strong and brave. How can I make sure he's on the right path?? How can I keep him safe? HOW DO PARENTS DO THIS?!

I get stressed out a lot when I think about what's to come. I am such a planner, so it's hard for me to be just "going with the flow" right now; having no idea when Elijah wants to come out and meet me and his daddy. We still aren't ready. We do have his PnP now, where he will sleep at in our room, and, thanks to J's mom and a couple of her friends, we have a car seat! But I walk around daily with lists of things I need to get done before he arrives. I haven't packed a bag for the hospital. The house needs to get cleaned up. I need to finish his nursery. None of these things really matter in the end, but it would sure help with my anxiety if I could get the push I need to finally get things done. In 2 weeks, I'll be 9 months pregnant. In 3 weeks, Elijah will be considered full-term. THREE WEEKS. We still need the infant car seat for my car, the stroller, a monitor, and a few other things, but none of those are super-necessities at this point.

Had a doctor's appt Tuesday (my birfday). Everything was boring business as usual. I actually wrote down my questions (well, I put them in my phone...who writes things down nowadays??), so it was good to finally get answers to things I usually forget about once I'm in there. Good news--she said I should be able to ride roller coasters 6 weeks after delivery! (Yes, that was a question I asked.) She also said there's no need for a birth plan, because things don't usually go that way. Which I'm very okay with! As long as E comes out, and is healthy, and I get drugs, I don't care. I was measuring a week and a half ahead, which is typical and really makes me want to think that he'll be here sooner rather than later (not TOO soon...just a week or two). She also felt around and could tell that he is head down already! She pointed out where his body is laying inside of me, so now I know what I'm touching when he starts poking things out :) His butt is on my left side of my stomach, and he sure loves to poke that thing out! Like, almost all the time. It still makes me giggle. Hopefully his butt doesn't come out as big as his mama's! The little things I feel sticking out on the right side of my stomach are his knees and feet. :) So cool! He has also been hiccuping a lot more frequently, which is just adorable. As scared as I am to meet him, he is going to be one super cute baby. Just look at us! :) Oh, and I've only gained 10 lbs so far. I'm very okay with that.

34 Week Picture

I am wanting to put less and less effort into my appearance lately. If I felt professional wearing a ponytail every day, I totally would. My hair is at that "in-between" stage. I want it long, but it's not quite long yet and is getting on my nerves. J won't let me cut it because he knows I want it long, and doesn't want to have to listen to me whine about it. Smart man. :)

How big is baby?: As big as a butternut squash. Or 17-19 inches and 4-6 lbs. He's getting SO big!!! I'm feeling it.

Stretch marks?: They are ridiculous. I should win an award.

Maternity clothes?: Of course.

Sleep: Sleep still SUCKS. I have a super hard time falling asleep, and can't ever sleep in. Hence why I am writing this at 8am on my day off.

Best moment this week: Last night was pretty awesome. My parents had us down for my birthday dinner, and they grilled steaks and squash and potatoes, and my mom made the yummiest chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream filling! I love hanging out with my family. My brothers are starting high school in August (tear...), and I absolutely love being around them. They're such cool little people, and have the weirdest sense of humor! And they think I'm awesome, which always helps the situation. :) It's easy when you've been around since they were born and have been able to brain wash them! Still to this day, if I say anything close to "I'm so fat", they quickly shoot back that I am not, and that I am the skinniest person ever. Haha! Well, now it's more "You're the skinniest pregnant person ever"...but still.

Movement: It's been off and on lately. He's definitely running out of room. His movements aren't as quick anymore, but they're definitely strong. I always poke him back, and push his limbs/butt back in, and I wonder if he's going to come out all bruised because of this...hmmmm.

Food cravings: Honeynut Cheerios with milk. Super weird, since I hardly ever eat cereal, and usually when I do it's usually only dry and never with milk. I've had it every day for breakfast this week! I also ate an entire bag of Doritos in 2 sittings. I don't think I've eaten those since I was little! Not sure what it was about them, but I had bought them for J and could.not.stop eating them!

Gender: Still my little man! Guests at work ask me all the time what i'm having. Sometimes they guess before asking, and when they guess girl, and I tell them boy, they tell me that I'm wrong, and I'm definitely having a girl. Okayyy, silly old lady.

Labor Signs: Nothing yet. My stomach gets tight pretty much any time I'm standing up, but everything else is super normal.

Belly Button in or out?: SO. Close. To. Popping!

What I miss: Not having heartburn and back pains. And being able to do my job 100%. My boss told me this week that I'm just a "body" to him, and he doesn't expect me to be like I used to, so to stop trying to overdo it. But that's just who I am! I've been taking it easier, but still feel responsible for what's going on on my cruises, so it's hard to find a balance. I still run around to get stuff done at work, but now I'm breathing harder and people are usually making fun of me for being so winded all the time. Jerks. :P

What I am looking forward to: Today!!! J and I are both off today and tomorrow. :) Today we're going to pick up a glider for the nursery (the same people who we bought the PnP from are selling us their super cute glider for cheap!). Then we're going to take a mini-trip to Williamsburg and visit the Outlets and hopefully find some comfy shoes for me to work in for the next 6 weeks. My feet and hands have started swelling this week, so all of my shoes, except flip flops, are uncomfortable. And they won't let me work in flip flops. Boooooo. OH, annnnd we get to go to Zaxby's for lunch or dinner!!!!! That's probably my favorite thing about Williamsburg :)). One of these days we wanna open one here. Then tomorrow is J's brother's graduation party, so we get to spend the day at his parent's :) And it's not supposed to be too hot tomorrow, so hopefully I can "hang" without super-swelling or being super uncomfortable!

50 Days Left!!!

I can't believe Elijah will be here in around 50 days! That's around 7 weeks. 7!! J was figuring out our bills for the next month and a half, and we both only have 3 paychecks left until he's here!!! Craziness. We still need a lot of things before he gets here, which adds to my already-stressful-nature. BUT luckily I've been scouring craigslist, and we found a super cute Pack-n-Play (portable crib) that we're picking up tonight :) So at least baby will have somewhere to sleep! I am pretty sure little man won't be here until right up to, or after, he's supposed to, but you never know with these things! He comes when HE'S ready, not when mom and dad have bought all the necessary things for him. haha :) Lots of other ladies who were due in July have already had their babies, so it definitely happens! Woo-saaaaaaaaaa.

Still super duper uncomfortable, but I'm managing. Work gets harder every day, and some days I feel like I'm not going to make it much longer. But I'm a strong lady, and come from a VERY strong lady, so for now I'm just sucking it up and dealing with it. Thank goodness my boss is the best EVER, and totally understands when I need to take things easy. And he wants me working up until I go into labor, too, because he needs me. :) Lately he's been saying he's going to be emailing me my office stuff, so I can still get that done and he won't have to do it. I totally don't mind, as long as they pay me! :)

I am not sure what position E is in...I kind of think he's diagonal, based on his movements, but that's not super normal. He has found my hips. Mostly my left one, because his butt (or whatever it is) is always poking out of the top right of my belly, right under my ribs. It makes me giggle to watch him poke it in and out. And he does these "tremors" or "crazy dance moves" (as I like to call them) often, and it's so strange! I wish I could see what he's up to...I realllllly hope we get another look at him before he comes out, but my doctor is pretty laid back and not concerned with anything going wrong in here, so I'm not sure if it'll happen..

Since I missed last week, here are two pictures for you!

32 Weeks

33 Weeks

Even though I'm not feeling 100%, at least I look good! :P I get tons of compliments on how good I look, and that I'm all belly. :) I live for these moments!

How big is baby?: As big as a Ukelele or a Durian fruit! (whatever that is) or 17-19 inches and 4-6 lbs. He's getting SO big!!! I'm feeling it.

Stretch marks?: they are ridiculous.

Maternity clothes?: Oh yes. I need some new ones because I'm bored with the old ones, but it seems silly to waste the money at this point..

Sleep: Sleep SUCKS. My back hurts all.the.time now, so it makes it really hard to fall asleep. I always wake up once or twice in the middle of the night, and have a hard time falling back asleep. It's ridiculous. I felt E hiccup in the last week, which was cute. But it was 3:30AM! And it's impossible to fall asleep when there's a fetus hiccuping inside of you.

Best moment this week: Hmm...the other night J and I were watching TV, and J put his hand on my belly and just kept it there. When E first started kicking on the outside, J wouldn't touch my belly much and he seemed a little freaked out by it. So I LOVED that he voluntarily put his hand there, and E was very active for him. :) I absolutely love my husband, and often sit back and just think about how great my life is, because of him. :) I'm a little nervous about how much this little man is going to change our dynamic, but since we're both super clingy to each other, I have a feeling it'll make me fall in love with him even more. :)) OH! And my sister came down for a day last weekend, and finally felt baby move! I love seeing someone else get so excited over my little creation :P

Movement: Frequent and STRONG still. Monday I didn't feel a whole lot of movement, but Elijah made up for it on Tuesday! I feel his kicks most when I'm sitting still, so when I feel a kick or jab while I'm standing or walking, it really takes me by surprise!

Food cravings: ICE CREAM. and Cake. I would REALLY love some. Right now.

Gender: still my little man!

Labor Signs: Just the "practice contractions"...they don't hurt so much as they're just uncomfortable.

Belly Button in or out?: still in, but barely! i hope it pops soon..

What I miss: There are too many to mention. Mostly having energy to do things. And my back not hurting. And being able to drink and eat anything I want to. And carrying things.

What I am looking forward to: My birthday is on Tuesday!!! I think this is the least excited I've ever been for a birthday. I guess once you're past 25, there are too many other things to worry about! All I want is some cake and ice cream. or ice cream cake. :P Also have a doctor appt on Tuesday. And work. BUT I do have next Friday and Saturday off! Can't remember the last time I got a Saturday off....VERY excited! :) J's little brother graduates next week, so we'll actually be able to make it to his graduation party on Saturday :) SUPER SCARY how fast time is flying!! <3