I have had the best time getting ready for your arrival! I have read everything I can get my hands on about being pregnant and taking care of an infant. Some of the books I have read are "What to Expect When You're Excpecting" - that is the most popular book for a mom-to-be to read. I read a book called "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" and one called "You: Having a Baby" which was a neat book written by two doctors and explained a lot about how my health during pregnancy could affect yours as you grow up. The past couple of months I have been reading some books on your first year of life - how to take care of you, what to expect from you, breastfeeding advice, etc.
I am almost 33 weeks pregnant right now and you are VERY active! You move around a lot and sometimes make me uncomfortable. You're most active in the evenings - late evenings. Usually when I go to bed you start to get excited and active. Hopefully after you're born we can work on getting your days and evenings right. The pregnancy is still going very well. I have gained about 30 pounds and still have seven weeks to go. However, I haven't gained much if any weight in the past month. I think I just gained most of it early. My belly is really big and I get a lot of comments about how "huge" I am. Almost every day someone will say one of the following:
"When are you due?... Wow, you're really big!"
"Are you sure you're not having twins?"
"You look like you could pop at any moment!"
"You are definitely not going to make it to August. You're carrying her low. I bet you'll deliver early!"
These comments get really old. I do look bigger than some of my pregnant friends who are due around the same time as me - or even a little earlier than me - but I like to think it's because I'm not very tall, I'm slender everywhere but in my belly, and my hips are narrow, so I carry you out front. I get a lot of nice comments too - probably because of that. A lot of women tell me I look great, I look like I feel great, or that I look really cute. I like those comments better!
Pregnancy has been kind to me for the most part. A lot of women in their third trimesters complain of frequent heartburn, terrible headaches and backaches, fatigue, and more. I do occassionally have back pain or fatigue, but it's not constant or even daily. And I haven't had any heartburn at all. A couple of weeks ago I did break out in a rash all over my belly. It was so hot and itchy! At the same time I experienced two or three days of severe fatigue. It was especially hard because it was the last few days of school and I felt worthless! A trip to the doctor ended with a prescription for some steroid pills that cleared the rash up in just a few days. And that has been the only real problem I have had to deal with.
I am having Braxton Hicks contractions every day now. Some days it just happens once or twice. Some days it happens for a few hours. They are uncomfortable but not painful. I'm told that they are my body's way of preparing for labor.
I have now had all of my baby showers and have received a lot of gifts for you! I had a shower at work - combined with my friend Jennifer Kelly. She is having a baby boy and is due on August 4th - just three days before you are due. At that shower I got a lot of blankets and little outfits. Only two or three people bought things from my registry. On June 5th the girls from church threw me a baby shower. Your Aunt Jennifer organized it and your Aunt Jessica offered her house for it. Their helpers in getting everything together were Hailey Krebs, Rebecca Lathum, and Jade Park. It was the cutest shower! The theme was Candy Land. At that shower I got a lot of great stuff! A little infant rocker, a baby bath tub, even your crib! (Your crib was given to me by your Grams, Aunt Jennifer, her mom Cindy, and her sister Jessica.) I was overwhelmed. I had SO much fun coming home that night and looking through everything. Your dad was out of town that week for the Guard and I spent hours that week doing your laundry, folding and putting away your clothes, finding a place for all of your things, and using the gift cards people had given me to buy things we still needed. By the time your dad got home a week and a half later, I had been able to finish getting everything we needed. Now we are all ready... we just need you!
You at 27 weeks.
This is your face right behind the placenta. It is a side view and you can see one eye (closed), your nose, and your little lips!
Me at 29 weeks.
You at 29 weeks. You're hiding again, so it's just your cheek, lips, and chin.
All squished in there!
See your nose and beautiful lips?
Me at 31 weeks.
This next group of pictures is from my baby shower at work. My co-worker Jennifer was pregnant at the same time so we had a shower together!
These are pictures from my baby shower thrown by family and friends. It was at Aunt Jessica's house. Aunt Jennifer designed the theme and did all the organizing. She chose an adorable Candy Land theme!
In the last three weeks, three of my friends have had babies. I have been able to visit them and hold their new babies and it makes me absolutely homesick for you. I know you, you are with me all the time, but I can't see you or cuddle you! I hope to use these last few weeks at home to get things done around the house, finish my planning for next school year, and be ready to devote all of my time and attention to you when we bring you home. And even as you are moving inside of me right now I am praying that God will give your dad and me wisdom in raising you, that you will honor us and Him with your life! I love you.
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