The Hunnie Pot: Pregnancy

Tick tock

I have washed, organized, washed, cleaned, checked off lists, washed, folded, and now I am officially ready.

More like officially bored and twiddling my thumbs waiting for her to get here.

I always get like this when I have spent a lot of time with my family and waiting on our new addition makes the days go by so slow! My parents came up this past weekend and we had a wonderful time. We ate tons of good food and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I have been fortunate enough to have one of my family members up here or be in Georgia for the past several weeks, so needless to say, I am spoiled rotten and on people underload. Everyone told me these last weeks were going to creep by, and I do believe they were correct!

I feel like my stomach is much larger this week than last.....
I go to the doctor tomorrow for my 37 week checkup. I am a tiny bit uncomfortable and have not slept well the past few nights. I hope that it's just a fluke and I will be back to my normal self soon!
Total weight gain: 29 pounds
I am not overly tired, but I have been taking a nap in the afternoon. This may be contributing to my sleepless nights :)
Not much change with Little Miss - still moving a lot, still hiccuping.

I just ordered a pattern and I am going to try my hand at sewing an outfit. I got a bubble/romper that people say is quick and easy and I hope they are telling the truth. I am going to get some fabric tomorrow when I go to the doctor and I will post some pictures when I get it completed! I think there is nothing cuter than a precious baby in a bubble!!

Nursery Time

We are close to being finished with our nursery! We still have a few things that I am looking for to complete the room, but for the most part we are done. All we need is our sweet baby girl!

Looking in from the door. There is going to be a valance above the curtains and I also need to find a bookcase for her growing library.

It is a huge relief to be finished with the bedding. I think it looks great in the room and I am pleased with how it turned out.

Don't you love the sign above the bed?!? Georgia found that for us and it looks perfect with everything. This is the nighttime prayer that we grew up saying every night. (We also love our bunny, Maggie and Amy!)

Our comfy chair finally came in! I have already enjoyed lounging in it and she isn't even here yet. I know we are going to put many miles on this rocker.

I also made a blanket out of some leftover fabric I had. One side has the crib skirt fabric and the other has a minky stripe.

I wanted to get it monogrammed, but I wasn't patient enough to send it off and wait, so I sewed an "F" on there instead of doing a full monogram.

This is one of my favorite things about the nursery. I got this painting of one of the streets of Monterosso in Cinque Terre when I was there several years ago with my family. I have had it rolled up in the tube I brought it home in since I purchased it and I was waiting for the perfect place to hang it. When I found out I was pregnant I was hoping she was going to be a girl because I thought it would be perfect in a girlie nursery. My talented mother-in-law framed it for me and it looks perfect!

I found this cube on clearance at Target last week. I also found a green basket and I think they are going to be great for toys or dirty clothes or whatever we may find to fill them up!

This is where it gets a little ridiculous. I was a little worried that I didn't have enough onesies for when she first came home. I raided Belle's and Blair's closets and now I am overflowing with clothes! They both had so much stuff and now combined with the things I already had, we are set!

This is her drawer of newborn and 0-3 month clothes. They are probably seven or eight outfits deep. When my dad saw this, his eyes were as big as saucers!

This drawer is full of blankets and cloth diapers. No, I am not cloth diapering. Ben was rather disappointed that I did not choose to do that. He is counting diaper dollar signs already. I grew up carrying around cloth diapers and they are handy for burp clothes as well. I have no idea how I came up with this, but I called them "ice" when I was little..... strange, I know, but Blair loves cloth diapers and I hope my little one follows suit!

36!

No, I haven't had her and fallen off the face of the earth, I have just been super blogger slacker. My days have been filled with washing baby clothes and organizing. I was showered with the most wonderful gifts from even more wonderful friends in Georgia and Alabama. I think I am finally ready! Ben and I put the car seat in yesterday so we are ready for our little girl!

I went to the doctor yesterday and had a great checkup. My actual doctor has been out of town for the past three weeks and will return next week, but I have been able to see the wonderful nurse midwife in the office and I really like her. Little Miss is growing just like she needs to and her heart rate was in the 130s. I am dilated to a two or three, which does not mean that I am about to go into labor, but it does mean that things are progressing. She is head down (Hallelujah!) and she kicks me pretty and stretches constantly. I was hoping that it was a little bottom that I was feeling in my ribs rather than a head. I didn't know what she was scraping across my stomach, but I assume that it is a heel.

I am so excited to meet her, but I am really going to miss being pregnant. I have been blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy and I love having her with me at all times and learning her already forming quirks.

She is hiccuping most every day several times a day.

She starts moving/wakes up as soon as I have my first sip morning coffee (decaf, of course).

She doesn't like for me to drive for long periods of time - she responds by pushing my right rib cage to the point of breakage.
I am up to 29 pounds. Ouch.
My feet have been swelling a good bit since I went to Georgia last weekend, but they aren't hurting any.
I am definitely in nesting mode!

34 and 35

My weeks are starting to run together! I am now 35 weeks still hanging in there. She started having the hiccups last week and she is still moving all the time. I can't ever get Ben to feel her move at the right time, but he had not experienced the alien-like moving she does when she gets going good. He finally got to feel it this week and he was a little freaked out! She is moving on both sides of my stomach now and she gets either an elbow or heel going and runs it across my belly and I think it is the coolest thing ever. She has gotten to where sometimes she will hurt me a little, but usually it is just for a second and then she stops. She is still under my ribs and it seems to be worse when I am driving. I am going to Georgia this weekend and I am planning on several pit stops along the way to make things more comfortable.

I am finishing up at school this week trying to get my maternity leave lesson plans ready. Sitting at my desk has made my feet fat, but they usually go down when I get moving. I only thought they were fat and uncomfortable until yesterday when I was walking barefoot in my yard and stepped on, of all things, a bumblebee. It hurt like crazy and I had to pull that stinkin' bumblebee out of my foot. It really hurt last night and now it just itches like nothing has ever itched me before. I have put almost a tube of Cortaid on it and it is just not cutting it!

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

Total weight gain: 25 pounds

I am running out of non-maternity clothes that fit me. I bought a few shirts in a size bigger that I have been wearing and now my stomach is starting to show on the bottom. I am about to live in my maternity tank tops and shorts!

33 Weeks

33 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 21 pounds

Feeling great!

I went to the doctor last week and her heart was beating at 142 beats per minute and I was measuring on track at 34 cm...I grew 3 centimeters in two weeks! She is definitely growing!

This is the last week of school and I have been super busy. My feet have officially started swelling and they have started hurting a little. I can get them to go down if I put them up, but then they usually swell back up once I get going again.

I have noticed that she is responsive to loud noises. Ben was hooking a trailer up this week and I was standing next to him and every time he banged on it she would jump. It may have been coincidence, but it happened several times. Poor thing probably got woken up from her nap!

I have been absolutely spoiled rotten this week with gifts from my wonderful friends and family. I had a shower at work as well as another shower in town and I got some really great things. More on that in another post!

32 Weeks

32 Weeks!

Total weight gain: 21 pounds

She moves pretty constantly now. If I haven't noticed her moving, I can usually sit down for a few minutes and feel her move right away. Ben says she moves all night long, but fortunately I don't feel her! I have said it before and I will say it again, I sure hope this little girl sleeps like her Mama! My entire family sleeps like rocks - my parents, sisters, brothers, and Blair too! Ben unfortunately does not - he wakes at the slightest noise.

I think she had the hiccups last night. She was "bumping" me every two or three seconds pretty consistently for about 10 minutes. I told Ben and he looked at me like I was crazy. When he felt her he said "Aww, poor thing! She does have the hiccups! Go eat some peanut butter!" He also tried scaring them out of her by yelling through my stomach. Needless to say, it didn't work. :)

It was hot up here this past week! I was a little puffy and I am assuming it had something to do with the heat. I thought I was going to have to break down and take off my wedding rings, but it has cooled off and helped tremendously with the swelling. My thermometer outside was reading 94 degrees and I had a little bit of a freak out and thought there is no way I am going to be able to make it through this heat until July. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather stays mild until delivery time!

31 Weeks

We are counting down in the single digits now!

31 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 20 pounds

I am still sleeping through the night with no bathroom breaks. I got my wedge back from Mom and Dad's house and it is heaven. I have started having some Braxston Hicks pretty much daily. I don't have anything too regular (and I know to watch out for if they are regular), just every now and then and especially if I haven't had enough water.

Either a head or foot is under my right rib area and that is her favorite place to push. This makes traveling and sitting for long periods of time pretty uncomfortable. If I push back I can get comfortable, but then I make her mad and she starts to push harder. On the way home from Georgia this weekend I had the car seat laid all the way back pretty much the whole way home. I may or may not have taken a nice long nap like that too :)

I have been diligently working on baby bedding this past week. I am trying to get it done before my mom and sister come up next weekend. I have quite a bit to do and I am trying really hard not to mess up so it is taking me a little while to get it completed. I have only had to break out the seam rippers once so far - that is a record for me!

30 Weeks

This week marks the beginning of the countdown. I have ten weeks left and I could not be more excited to meet our little one! I have been busy getting things together for her room and I am trying not to think about all I have to do and my fast approaching deadline.

I started sewing her bedding this week while we were out of school due to tornadoes. I didn't have power for four days, but as soon as it came back on I got busy. I now know how to sew a fitted crib sheet and I have also finished the panels to the bed skirt with some major calculating help from my mother-in-law. Remember your algebra if you want to sew! Next up, bumper pads!

30 Weeks

Total weight gain: 18 pounds

She weighs about three pounds now and is the size of a head of cabbage.

She is moving a lot lower now than she has been. She is still moving on the right side, but she has started pushing down as well. I was a little worried that she felt so low, but I went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and she said that I am measuring on track and she probably only just feels low.

Speaking of doctor appointments, I had my last four week appointment yesterday. I now will go every two weeks for three more visits, then I will go once a week until she comes! Everything looked good yesterday and her heart was beating away at 140 bpm.

Another movement note (for my memory), she is either laughing or practicing her boxing moves or she has some serious hiccups because sometimes my whole stomach will start shaking. It is the weirdest feeling in the world. It only lasts a few seconds and isn't uncomfortable, I just wish I could see what she is doing in there!

Ben and I have a fun weekend coming up. My sister Ashlee is graduating from nursing school and we are making the trip down to Georgia for her pinning ceremony. I couldn't be more proud of her for graduating with honors while taking care of a husband and an extremely busy two year old. Go Ash!!

29 Weeks

11 more weeks! I didn't realized that last week was the first week of my third trimester. The countdown is on!

She is the about 15 inches long now and weighs as much as a butternut squash.

I think she is doing somersaults in my stomach because she is moving all over now. Over the past week I noticed that she moves as soon as I wake up (or I start being aware of her moving!) and I have found myself really looking forward to it. I find myself staying in bed longer and longer each morning for our quiet time. She will sort of "play" with Ben too. She kicks, he nudges, she kicks harder. I think Ben gets more enjoyment out of that game than me!

Total weight gain: 18 pounds

(Ben says "That's mostly her, right?" - I kindly informed him that no, she only weighs a whopping 2 1/2 pounds right now!)

I still am feeling great. I definitely have been forced to improve my posture since I have gotten a little bigger. She gets all under my ribs when I slouch and it does not feel good. My doctor hasn't called me about my sugar test, so that means I passed it. Thank the Lord!

28 Weeks

I took a much needed trip to the beach this past week for Spring Break and now I can't wait for Summer to get here! My mom was able to go with me and it was lovely to be able to spend some relaxing time with her. I was able to go back to Georgia with her for a couple of days and spend some time with my parents, Mo, Ash, and Blair. We had a family reunion as well so I got to see some extended family too. I didn't want to leave the beach or my parent's house, and I especially didn't want to leave the company of my family! Seeing them for a week at a time makes me realize how much I miss them.

Ok, back to the baby. Sorry for all of the belly pictures. I do these mainly for my memory and also for my family since they aren't here to see me grow!

Here I am at 27 Weeks:

I am now 28 weeks!

Ben and I were talking this week and he said something about her getting here in four months.... I told him he needed to recalculate! We are working on a little less then three months until we get to meet our sweet baby girl. Ben and I have a lot of change facing us right now and I am trying to remain stress free. Three months is a long time, right?!?

Total weight gain: 18 pounds (yes, I ate everything in sight at the beach. Thanks for the strawberry cake, Mom!)

She has started moving my whole stomach when she moves. Last night I was lying on the sofa and Ben was watching my belly move and his facial expressions were priceless. I wish I had taken pictures of the shocked and slightly grossed out face. She was moving both sides of my stomach and Ben says it is "alien-like".

I have been sleeping well, but I left my wedge pillow that I stick under my stomach at my parent's house and I didn't realize how much I loved that thing.

I am in all maternity clothes minus a few tops that I have bought in a size larger to accommodate my growing belly. I think the most exciting thing this week was having her move so much when I am on my side. It is so weird to see your stomach moving so much!

The Beginnings of a Nursery

This one is going to be a rambler! Sorry!

The nursery isn't very far along, but I have had some requests for nursery photos, so here they are! This is what her room looks like in it's current state. It's still pretty bare, but it has potential!!

(Excuse the ladybug invasion on the floor)

Aren't those pieces of furniture the most precious things you have ever seen? They are from Welch's Antiques and a gift to Little Miss from her Grandma Karen and Aunt Jo. They are just what I was imagining in her room and I can't wait to fill them up with baby things! The smaller piece is going to be used as her changing table.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but we are going to make her bedding. I fell in love with these Free Spirit fabrics and then found out that they are discontinued. Thankfully, Shannon at Wilson's Fabric in Boaz, AL found them and ordered them for me and we picked them up this week. I think I am even more excited now than I was before now that we have them in hand! I can't wait to get them on her crib. I think it is going to look fabulous!

Love Bird Damask Fabric 500x500 image

This fabric is going to be the bed skirt and the outside of her bumper.

Pink and Lime Diamonds Fabric 500x500 image

Pink Circles Fabric 500x500 image

Sheets are going to be made of the two fabrics above.

We also have some ivory minky thrown in and this cute pique dot by Fabric Finders:

Fabric Finders - TINY WHITE DOTS ON PINK PIQUE

Mini Dot Panel with Blackout Liner

These are her curtains.

Tryp Swivel Glider Recliner

I ordered a chair for her room so we can cuddle and be comfy. I decided on a swivel, glider, recliner from Best Chair Company in a linen fabric. I tried to get something that didn't scream "nursery!" and that we could possibly use in another room after the nursery is no longer a nursery.

Her crib, sans mattress.

These ghetto fabulous wheels are going to be removed. I call them her "rims". Why in the world would they put these bright gold rollers on a sweet nursery bed?

Here is a peek inside her closet! She already has so many cute things. I can't wait to dress her up.

I think one of my favorite things so far is this tiny bathing suit.

We are going to have to make a trip to the beach before I have to go back to work and she is going to be in style! It is so tiny I don't know how she is ever going to fit in it!!!

I also got her this little outfit that Blair had once upon a time, but it went MIA the night after she wore it at the beach. When I saw it on the clearance rack I had to grab it!

There it is! It ended up being pretty pink, which I did not imagine I would ever do, but I think it is going to be perfect. I will post more pictures as it comes together!

26 Weeks

26 Weeks!

She is the length of an seedless cucumber and she is a mover! I continue to feel her throughout the day, mostly on the right side.

Total weight gain: 16 lb

Not too much exciting happening right now. I got her furniture moved in her room and it looks just as cute as I thought it would. I go to have my sugar test this afternoon. I hear the goo they have you drink is just fabulous. I think the worst part of the whole thing is going to be that I am going to be anxiously awaiting the departure time for my Spring break beach trip! The countdown is on and I could not be more excited!

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful Spring weather!

25 Weeks

Apparently my Belly Book doesn't know what it is talking about, because according to other reliable sources I have three more weeks of my second trimester. Phew! I enjoy the clock not ticking down on me too hard to get her room ready.

25 Weeks!

Total weight gain: 16 pounds

Movement: She is moving all the time! I watched my stomach move every time she kicked last night and I was just beaming. I love feeling her move and she isn't keeping me awake at night so far!

Speaking of stomachs, she is very crooked right now. She is definitely hanging out on the right side and when I look down, I have a rather crooked stomach.

Cravings: Not really craving anything super specific (other than the chocolate chip cookies), but I still am enjoying fruit. I got some Florida-grown strawberries and they are delicious! I haven't had anything on my mind that I have just had to have that instant.

Everything is still going great! The hardest part for me right now is not being able to do the things I want to get her room together. Old furniture needs to be moved out, new furniture needs to me moved in, and I hate asking other people to do things for me. I normally would break my back (and my mother-in-law's) but I have refrained since I am trying to be a good pregnant girl and follow my instructions.

We have picked out a first name, but we are still trying to decide on a middle name. We have a possibility, but I keep rolling it around in my head to make sure we both like it before we set it in stone. I will let you know as soon as we decide!

24 Weeks

I had a little bit of a heart attack this week when I opened up my Belly Book that I have been writing in and it says "Welcome to the last week of your second trimester!"!!!! Does that mean I need to move all of the piled up furniture out of her room and start making the nursery a real nursery?!? I keep thinking I have all the time in the world, but she is sneaking up on us!

24 Weeks!

She is the size of a cob of corn and weighs over 1 pound!

Total Weight Gain: 14 Pounds

Still moving tons - pretty much all throughout the day - and Ben said she kicked him in the back this weekend while we were sleeping. I'm afraid she may be like her momma! Poor Ben!

I have been craving blueberry pound cake and yes, I did bake to satisfy my craving. I also have been wanting some homemade bread. Maybe I will get brave enough to bake it and post the results on here!

23 Weeks

23 Weeks!

Little Miss weighs about one pound and is the size of a mango.

I am still feeling wonderful (aside from the fact that I really am not digging this whole weight gain thing) Total weight gain: 14 pounds

She really has started moving more consistently. She was moving just at certain times of the day, but now I feel her all throughout the day. She isn't really kicking me, just moving around. I am feeling her a little higher now, but it could be her arms. Still all movement on the right side, so I am thinking she is still sitting prim and proper and head up.

I have been having some super weird dreams - mostly about pregnancy. I have been beating poor Ben up in my sleep (which isn't all that unusual!) and I semi-successful at sleeping on my sides. No more stomach sleeping for me right now - she and I both are too uncomfortable.

She has a painted nursery and a crib sans mattress! Fabric is on order and my dear mother-in-law and I are going to venture into sewing baby bedding. I'm sure I will be much more of an observer than a sewer, but I can't wait to start putting it together! Stay tuned for a nursery post when I get it all together!

22 Weeks

22 Weeks!

This week she is about the size of a spaghetti squash.

Movement: Still moving and kicking me on the lower right side.

Total Weight Gain: 13 lb

Cravings: Not really craving anything right now!

I went to the doctor this week and her heart was beating at 150 beats per minute. She is on track and growing like a weed!

21 Weeks

21 Weeks!

This week she is about 10 1/2 inches long and the size of a carrot.

Movement: I thought she turned but now I'm not so sure. She is still mostly kicking me on my right side. It has changed from a poke to a more weird feeling - like a swoosh. It's hard to explain.

Total Weight Gain: 11 lb

Cravings: I really want a big fat sushi roll right now. Oh well! I am out of luck on that one!

20 Weeks and My Visitors

I'm halfway there! We are both so excited we can't stand it. Ben poked at my belly the other night and said "Hurry up and get here!". We have a crib and she has a few outfits, but other than that we haven't done much planning.

Here she is! 20 weeks!

She is the size of a banana.

Movement: I think she may have turned sometime this week. I may be wrong, but her movement is in different places and more up high than down low.

Total Weight Gain: Fluctuating between 9 and 10 lb

Cravings: Kiwi, Peanut Butter M&M's (thanks to one of my students that always has a bag in class)

One of the more exciting things about this past weekend was my company. I have had the pleasure of having my family up here for two weekends in a row and I am rotten now. I keep waiting for another group to come in for the weekend. Blair and Ash came up Friday and they were able to stay until Monday morning. It was so nice to get to spend time with them and play with Blair. She is full time!

First things first, brownies! Blair is a pro at making anything. She can measure flour, sugar, pour, crack eggs, and stir. She is even great at cleaning up the leftover batter :)

We had a baby cow born while they were here that Ben thought wasn't drinking milk. Just to be safe, we gave him a bottle of colostrum to give him a head start. He is up and running now, but he was not feeling so hot the day he was born. You normally don't want to be able to get this close to baby cows - it usually means that there may be a problem if they aren't running from you, but it was fun for Blair to see him up close and personal. As soon and she saw the big cows she said, "Mama cows!".

She was a little apprehensive of him at first.

She finally gave him a little pet,

and even a kiss!

I had such a wonderful time with my company and can't wait for them to come back!

(The only way I could get Blair to take a picture with me was letting her push the button on the remote!)

19 Weeks

The past week has been such an exciting week. I have still not gotten used to calling our baby girl "she" instead of "it". She is already running this house and has not even gotten here. She has successfully kicked her mom out of the biggest of our three closets (yes a total of three in my entire house) and has some precious pink outfits hanging up waiting for her arrival. My mom was up here this past weekend as well as my best friend Georgia and I loved all the baby talk! Blair and Ash are coming up this weekend so we are going to get lots of little girl practice!

19 Weeks

She is about 8 1/2 oz and 6 inches long, about the size of a large heirloom tomato.

Movement: I feel her a lot now. I only notice it when I am still and she moves mostly in the afternoons and closer to bedtime. Ben hasn't been able to feel her yet, but I am hoping that it will be soon!

Total Weight Gain: 10 lb (I almost died when I got on the scale this morning!!! I was out of town for three days at a conference and ate out every meal and it is showing on the scale!!! I think I got off and back on three times! No ice cream for me this week!)

Cravings: Still liking the kiwi, but nothing new

Update 2/15: She was kicking hard when I got in bed last night and Ben got to feel her!