Week #37

Only 3 weeks to go, I can't believe it!

This week's gift was "all about me".....it's about time, just kidding!

                              ...............a super soft robe and fuzzy socks!

Our little lady continues to grow and gain weight during these next few weeks.  Also she is practicing breathing movements in preparation for the outside world.  She will also turn her head toward light and sounds just as a newborn would.  Around this time her head should be down (which it is according to my doctor's appt that I had on Wednesday!)  She is also anywhere from 19 to 20 inches long and weighs approximately 6.5 pounds.

Week #36

Here we are another week closer to our goal of 40 weeks.
I must say this last month or so has really gone fast I don't know if it's because work has gotten a little crazy and/or since our "social" calendar for this summer is in full swing.

Our little girl continues to put on weight by the 1/2 pound each week.  It's no wonder the womb is becoming very cramped.  She is gaining weight quickly because layers of fat pile on and help in both body temperature regulation and developing her immunity in preparation for lie in the outside world.  I may find myself carrying her much lower now now thus this week's gift.

 

I think we'll find this gift to come in very handy especially if there are times when she wants to be held but I'd still like to get something done around the house, I love to multi-task you know!  Thanks Mom & Angie!

Yesterday's doctor appointment went good.  I lost a pound so I'm back down to only gaining 10 pounds with this pregnancy, hopefully I can get rid of that extra baby weight pretty fast once she is here.  I also had to get blood drawn so they could check my platlet levels again, other than that my blood pressure was good and I will head back next week for my weekly appointment.  That's unless this little lady wants to enter the world over the weekend, she can - I think we're ready!  Trust me I'm not getting my hopes up though, just like to think it!

Week #35

We have now passed the week #35 mark, only 5 weeks to go!  How exciting!  This week's gift included a bag with her "pretend" name on it, trust me it's not Estelle.  In her well decorated bag was a sippy cup (her 1st), travel size lotion, shampoo, body wash, etc. a bottle brush and baby orajel, before we know it she'll have teeth I'm sure. 

This week's note states that her lungs are completely developed and producing what is called surfactant, a substance that helps in the exchange of oxygen in the lungs.  Our baby is now approximately 18 inches long and weighs about five pounds.  It also noted that if she was to come now, prematurely, she would have a 99 percent chance of surviving.

Aunt Angie also gave her her 1st pair of shoes, 1st of many I'm sure! 
Her closet is now complete.....she is a true girl now!

                                                     Aren't they cute?

Here we are at the end of another weekend.  Our weekend consisted of a lot of odds and ends.  Friday night we hung out at home, grilled some burgers and did a little cleaning/laundry.  Saturday we headed to the Hudson Parade in the morning and then rode our bikes downtown to grab a burger for lunch.  In the afternoon I did some stuff around the house while Nathan and a friend checked out the Hudson Depot Museum.  Then later in the afternoon we made our way into Cedar Falls to grab some last minute baby stuff at Target.  The main item we went for was the car seat/stroller travel system, we ended up getting one, not the one we wanted because they were sold out of the one we really wanted but I think we'll be happy with what we got.  Saturday night we walked down the road to hang out at some friends' house for the evening.  We grilled out for supper and hung out for a while before heading home.  We were planning on going to the fireworks downtown but after getting home, showering from being out in the heat all day all I wanted to do was head to bed. 

Our Sunday consisted of church, a quick trip to Blain's, a sandwich at Subway and then an afternoon of hanging out inside, no other place I'd rather be on a HOT day.  I think I'll be hanging out inside a lot this week, being that the temps are supposed to be in the high 90's.

Hopefully you had a good weekend too! 

Here's onto another week full of activities.

Baby Shower #2

Tonight the gals at work had a baby shower for me at Doughy Joey's in Waterloo, we had a great night of laughing, playing games and eating.  Not a lot of people could make it due to busy summer/vacation schedules but I was happy with the turn out....it's hard to get everybody in the same place at the same time.

We started the night off by playing some games, the 1st game was the toilet paper game.  Everybody had to guess how big I was around with toilet paper. They had to unrolling as much (or as little) and then compare it to the real measurement.  Let's just say some people were WAY off, guessing I was huge and other people's guesses were pretty close.

The next game was the baby bottle/candy/guessing game.  Everybody had to write down there guess on a piece of paper and whoever got the closest without going over WON!  My guess was close but I didn't win!

The final game of the evening was one we played through-out the night.  We were all given a close pin to wear on our shirt and whenever you said the word "BABY" others could steal your close pin, I lost mine right away but in the end look at who won, my shirt sleeve is full.

We also received this awesome gift from the group.  The swing/bouncy seat/chair that we registered for, thanks gals I think we'll find this gift very handy.

There's always room for dessert.....right?  Well eventhough we were all full we ended our night by having a slice of this yummy cake, isn't it cute?



 

Thanks again for a fun night gals, it's something I will always remember!

Baby Shower #1

This past Friday night my sister, Angie and sister-in-law, Kasey hosted an amazing "Sweet Pea" Baby Shower for me at my Mom's house.  What a great night of seeing old friends, playing some fun games and being blessed with some many great gifts, thanks again girls for hosting a baby shower for us!

Here is a picture of the corsage I got to wear for the night, it had beautiful flowers (my favorite colors right now, pink and lime green) plus a toy rattle on it, very creative huh?

Here is a picture of the "Sweet Pea Dessert Bar" table which was FULL of all types of yummy desserts!

Some of us playing the "Sweet Pea" crossword puzzle game!

 

Opening gifts......

All of our gifts, yes it took us a while to find a place for all of our (her) goodies...

A picture of me and my good friend (since Kindergarten) who made the trip from Des Moines, thanks again for coming Brandie.....



 

Last but not least, a picture of the adorable "thanks for coming" gifts that all the guests could take as they left the baby shower.....little "sweet pea" hand sanitizers.  What a cute little favor that I think everybody loved!

Week #34

Here we are a week later.....

I must say this week has been a busy one for us with something going on every night, plus it's been a short week at work with the 4th of July falling on this past Monday....it was great having Monday off of work, what an awesome way to start off a week! 

Today after work I had a fun little surprise waiting for me in my car for Week #34, #35 or #36.......since we really don't know what week we are on due to the fact at my doctor's appointment last week my doctor said I was measuring a little big. 
I also had an appointment at Allen Hospital this week to get another ultrasound done to check the size of this little girl.  They are guessing she is around 6 lbs. already and is measuring closer to week #36 instead of the week #34 that we thought we were at.  What does that mean?  Well they are leaving my due date as August 17th and she will enter this world whenever she is good and ready, she is in charge you know!

Back to this week's fun gift......well again my Mom & Ang know me all too well!

A very touching card with a gift cards to two of my favorite "pampering" places....LA Nails to get a pedicure, which I better use sometime soon!   I should probably have pretty toes just in case I go into labor early, right?  And the other gift card is to Beau Monde, which is where I get my haircut at.  I'll get to use this fun gift card in a couple weeks because I already have a cut and color scheduled.  My hair stylists thinks I better have some "fresh" highlights for all those wonderful hospital snapshots.....yeah right, but okay, twist my arm, I haven't gotten highlights in a while so why not pamper myself now!

Thanks again gals, I can't wait to use both of these fun gift cards.

Emmalee Marie

Yesterday we left the house bright and early......6:30 a.m. now that's bright and early for a Saturday morning.  After our 4 hour car trip we finally made it to Milwaukee to meet this little princess now just 1 week old...

          Emmalee getting some loving from her two brothers Nolen & Braeden!

After lunch we spent the afternoon playing kickball with the boys, let's just say we all headed inside an hour later nice and sweaty!  What a beautiful day it was!

We ended up driving back home Saturday night, we had to make a couple extra stops so I could get out and walk around but it was nice to sleep in our own bed and get up and do our own thing today.  Not much on today's agenda so far, we went to church this morning, grabbed a few groceries and now we are home napping/resting.  We need to mow our lawn and do a few other things outside yet today or tomorrow but now we're just enjoying some R & R time.

Week #33

Here we are a couple days into Week #33 already. 

The big news this week is lung development, her respiratory system is almost completely mature.  Which means, we need to keep her safe from the harsh winter.  Bundle her up, and keep her cozy.  I don't think we have to worry about bundling her up right now being that is was 90 some degrees outside today but with this week's gift we will be ready for when winter does return.  She can also now detect light and tell the difference between night and day (of course that ability will miraculously disappear once she's born and is up all night screaming......we hope that's not the case).  Her pupils will constrict and dilate in response to light.  She will also continue to pack on the pounds gaining around 1/2 a pound a week from here on out.  She now weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and is approximately 17.5 inches long.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday, I'm now on a every 2 week schedule.  I gained 3 pounds which my doctor was happy to see/hear since the appointment before I had lost.  I didn't have to get any blood drawn which was good news to me since I finally got rid of the bruise on my arm from the last time I got blood drawn.  The doctor also scheduled an ultrasound at the hospital for me next week, I am measuring big still (I have been for a couple months now) so she wanted me to get an ultrasound done to check the fluid around the baby and other things.  Maybe I'll have this baby earlier than August 17th but I'm not getting my hopes up yet.....I'm guessing she'll come late.

Onto a nice long weekend, we've been enjoyed a relaxing night at home tonight.  Working on some laundry, watching TV and enjoying the temps inside the house.....I must say it's a HOT one out there today!

Tomorrow we are off to Milwaukee to visit Nathan's brother, sister-in-law, 2 nephews and their newest addition to the family.  Darren and Heather had a little girl last Saturday, Emmalee Marie weighing 7 lbs & 8 ounces.  They weren't going to induce Heather till July 5th so we didn't think we'd make it out there to see her since I won't be able to do much traveling after the middle of July with my due date fast approaching but since she is here already we get to see her.  I'm charging my camera right now so I can report back with some cute baby pictures.

Hope everybody has a happy & safe 4th of July weekend!