January 13, 2014

No baby yet...

DSC_0012.jpg Everyone keeps asking so I figured I would post a little update.  No baby yet.  She seems to be quite content (or stubborn) and is taking her time.  I'm now 39 weeks, my due date is in six more days.  Everything is waiting and ready for her arrival.  My walls & floors are scrubbed, my house is spotless, Claire's dresser is full of clean folded clothes, and our hospital bags are packed.  Now we are just waiting.....and waiting.  
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(Here's Claire's little coming home outfit)
My whole pregnancy I pretty much planned on going at least to my due date if not over,  until my 37 week appointment when my doctor told me I was already dilated and effaced and probably wouldn't make it to my due date.  I let that get my hopes up and I was so excited with the possibility of her coming early.  It has made the last two weeks LONG.  She has six days to still prove him right and come a little early, but I'm not sure if she will on her own.  After my doctor stripped my membranes last week I was way sore and crampy the next day and I lost my mucus plug (sorry if that's tmi), but I didn't have any contractions or anything.  Ever since my appointment I have felt like I've been walking around with a broken tailbone.  I guess she must've moved down even further (I didn't think that was possible!) and is just putting tons of pressure on it.  I go back to the doctor Wednesday morning and I will talk to him about a possible induction if I don't seem to be making any more progress.
DSC_0026.jpg My last day of work was on Friday.  Staying home all day is new territory for me!  I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series to give me something to do the last little bit of my pregnancy.  I started reading them Wednesday (mostly at night when I couldn't sleep) and I am on book 4 today.  Hopefully Claire will be here by the time I finish the 7th or I'm going to need to find another book series to try to occupy my mind and keep me from going stir crazy!  

Watch Me Grow: 46 Weeks

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Rory is 46 weeks old.  The big update for this week is that we've been leaving her crate door open at night.  We waited a long time to try this because I was paranoid she would get in to something while we were sleeping.  We decided to give it a try since I haven't really been sleeping I would hear her if she tried something.  I'm happy to report she has done awesome!  She sometimes comes in our bedroom with us for part of the night and then will go back to her crate for the rest.  She hasn't even tried any mischief, she just sleeps the whole night.  She really is turning out to be such a well behaved dog.  All of our hard work training her is paying off!  I'm sure we'll have more to work with her on once the baby comes but we are so thrilled with her progress up to this point!

January 8, 2014

Pregnancy Update: 38 1/2 Weeks

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How far along? 38 1/2 Weeks
How big is baby? At my doctor's appointment today she was measuring just about 7 pounds (my doctor said to keep in mind it is just an estimate so she could be a little bigger or smaller than that).
Stretch marks? None still!  I think I may have lucked out of getting any!
Sleep: Ugh.  Sleep has been terrible lately.  I don't think I've fallen asleep before 3 a.m. since last week.  My body seems to switch every other week.  One week I'll sleep fine and the next horribly.  This past week was horribly.  My back has been hurting much worse, my hips ache, and my pelvis constantly aches from her being so low.  I can't seem to get comfortable so I toss and turn and switch from the couch to the bed until I finally fall asleep at some point.
Best moment of the week?  Doing all of Claire's laundry :)  That's probably a weird thing to be excited about but I had so much fun folding all of her teeny clothes and putting them away in her dresser.
Food cravings?  Apples + Peanut Butter
Symptoms? Occasional heartburn, aching back & hips, very sore pelvis.  She is so low and it is putting so much pressure on my pelvic bones that it hurts to walk and move around.  I read that sitting on an exercise ball helps with back, hip, and pelvic pain so I finally bought one on Monday at it has been amazing!  I wish I would've bought one so much sooner.  It is so comfortable to sit on and takes all the pressure off of my back and pelvis.  I seriously love it!
Movement: Still lots of squirming and kicking.  Every once in a while she pushes her head down in my pelvis pretty hard.  It's not the funnest thing I've ever felt.  Hopefully she'll just decide to come out soon so she can move and wiggle all she wants out here and not be so squished!
Gender? girl!
Belly button in or out? Halfway out.
Wedding rings on or off? Still on, no swelling or anything.
Anything making you queasy or sick?  No.
Happy or moody most of the time:  Happy but feeling exhausted and ready to be done.  I would much rather be tired from being up with a newborn than from being hugely pregnant, uncomfortable, and unable to sleep.  Hopefully not much longer!
Miss Anything?  Laying on my back and caffeine.  
Labor Signs? I've been having contractions every day since last Thursday but nothing consistent.  They will last for 30-60 minutes and will get pretty painful so I start thinking okay it's starting this is it, and then they just stop.  My doctor said it is just false labor and my body's way of preparing for the real thing.  It's annoying though because it keeps getting my hopes up every time!  (I never thought I'd be excited about contractions/cramps?)  I got checked today at my appointment and I am now 3 cm dilated and still about 75% effaced.  My doctor said I probably won't efface any more until I'm in active labor and start dilating more.  He laughed when he checked me and said, "There's her head!  I don't think she could get any lower without falling out."  Tell me about it!  It's no wonder I have to waddle around everywhere.  My doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes to see if it would get things moving but he said he doesn't always see it work with first time moms.  If it does work I'll go in to labor within the next 48 hours.  If it doesn't work and I don't have her before my appointment next Wednesday he said we could have the option of being induced next weekend since I am already dilated and my cervix is favorable.  It is nice to know I won't have to go past my due date if I don't want to, but I still kind of want my body to go in to labor on its own and not have to be induced.  I haven't decided but I've got a week to think about it (or hopefully she'll just come on her own and I won't have to decide)!  
Looking Forward to? I know I sound like a broken record but I am so excited to finally hold my baby and see what she looks like!  I can't wait to be done with pregnancy and move to the next stage of motherhood.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me that she will come soon!  

January 6, 2014

Watch Me Grow: 45 Weeks

DSC_0001.jpg DSC_0003.jpg DSC_0009.jpgRory is 45 weeks old.  I can't believe her 1st birthday is next month!  She still weighs about 55 pounds and is 25 inches tall to her shoulder.  She has the sweetest temperament.  She is so friendly and just wants to play with everyone she meets (humans & dogs).  She is such a good dog and we can't wait to see her grow up with Claire (and our other future kids)!

January 3, 2014

2013 Year in Review

2013 was definitely a year of change and growth for our family.  I feel like Bryce and I have grown a lot in our marriage and in a lot of ways personally.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at our journey.  Here are some of my favorite memories from 2013: 
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*Building a snow cave with Bryce after the huge winter storm Gandalf*
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*Snowboarding with Bryce*
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*Celebrating Valentine's Day together*
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*Feeding Geese at Beus Pond*
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*Celebrating our 1st Wedding Anniversary in March*
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DSC_02372 *Getting our puppy Rory in April*
DSC_0206 *Celebrating Bryce's 23rd Birthday on May 13*
DSC_0222 *Getting a huge surprise and finding out we were pregnant.  We found out on May 18th, the Saturday after Mother's Day.  We were so thrilled!*
Untitled *Celebrating the 4th of July with a concert & fireworks*
DSC_0208 DSC_0223 DSC_0116 DSC_0268 *Watching our Puppy Grow*
DSC_0118.jpg DSC_0198 Untitled *Announcing our pregnancy & that we were having a baby girl in August*
DSC_0075 *Welcoming the first baby on my side of the family in September (my sister Laci's baby girl Lydia)*
DSC_0172 DSC_0169 *Working A LOT with Rory on getting her all trained before our baby's arrival*
DSC_0030 DSC_0027 *Enjoying my favorite season (Fall) with lots of family time* 
DSC_0142 *Celebrating Halloween & my 24th Birthday*  
  DSC_0229 *Bryce building our Dining Table* DSC_0238 DSC_0246 DSC_0025.jpg< *Getting spoiled at Baby Showers for Claire*
DSC_0077 DSC_0079.jpg *Playing in the snow with Rory after the first big Snow Storm*
DSC_0259 DSC_0122.jpg *Experiencing my first pregnancy and seeing my baby & bump grow and grow*
  DSC_0007 DSC_0032 DSC_0085 *Finishing Claire's nursery and getting everything ready for her arrival*
DSC_0086.jpg DSC_0181.jpg *Celebrating our third Christmas/Holiday Season together (our first with Rory and last without kids)*

2013 was a good year for our little family, but we are so ready for 2014.  We can finally say we are going to become parents this year!

*See 2012's Year in Review here*