37 weeks

Hitting 37 weeks is a whole new ball game in pregnancy. I woke up and just felt this huge rush of emotions. Chuck and I have been through so much to make it this far. From starting out hoping for a family, being told how hard it would be, being told how dangerous it would be, to getting pregnant, being SO sick during first trimester, to ER visits and hospital stays, to Chuck losing his job while pregnant, to fighting because I was so scared and so miserable, to getting to the point where she is full term and healthy enough to arrive any minute. We have hoped and prayed and waited for this week. Thank you God, for getting us this far. And to our family, who still just blows me away with love every day, thank you for your consistent support, advice, and help. We are SO excited to finally meet our little girl. You can come anytime you want- we're ready!

How far along: 37 weeks plus 2 days in this pic

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: I stayed consistent in weight gain this week. Even though I've eaten all junk. Total weight gain is 28 lbs.

Maternity clothes: oh yes, and now that its fall I live in leggings and long, open cardigans
 

Stretch marks: no, I still can't believe it!

Belly button in or out: staying flat. Will it ever look the same again??

Sleep: I don't really sleep anymore. I may go to bed and fall asleep early around 9:00pm, but I'm awake probably every hour. I wake up anytime between 1:00 am and 4:00 am and can't go back to sleep so stare at my stupid iPhone for hours, looking up shit on the internet

Best moment this week: the gorgeous weather, a fun date night with hubs at one of our favorite mexican restaurants, and my 37 week ultrasound. Doctor estimated her at 6lbs 9oz!

Worst moment this week: an unexpected trip to my doctor because I had some really bad tightness in my chest. He sent me for an EKG. Doing a lot better now though.

Miss anything: DEFINITELY sleeping on my stomach. I know I say that almost every week. And now that it's fall, CLAMS. I've had bad reactions to lobster, clams, and calamari during pregnancy so far so I've been avoiding them. I can't wait to take our baby to her first Myers Family Clam Bake!!

Movement: so much, all the time, as usual. She is so stinkin cute I can't even wait to see all her little kicks on the outside

Cravings: this week definitely apple cider and apple juice. Or apples dipped in caramel. I actually woke up last night starving at 1:30am and chugged a huge glass of apple juice. Turns out, apples are good for heartburn too! Win-win!

Symptoms: lower back pain, mild heartburn, LOTS of cramping and braxton hicks. I thought I was going into labor on Tuesday night for sure, but was able to fall asleep and the braxton hicks went away

Looking forward to: meeting this bundle of joy we have waited years for 

36 weeks!

How far along: 36.5 weeks in this pic

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: I lost 2 lbs this week, then gained them back. So I'm up 28 lbs now.

Maternity clothes: yup. but I still hate wearing pants
 

Stretch marks: no, I really can't believe it

Belly button in or out: not in or out, looks so tiny too

Sleep: sleep has been kinda bad this week. I've been waking up a lot and sweating like crazy

Best moment this week: installing the carseat, preparing freezer meals with my mom, and celebrating my brothers birthday!

Worst moment this week: getting ANOTHER bladder infection and being so uncomfortable

Miss anything: being able to stand for more then 5 minutes

Movement:  all kinds of stiff kicks still. some painful, some adorable

Cravings: this week I'd have to say Hersheys bars. I bought them earlier this summer for smore's and we didn't make very many 

Symptoms: lower back pain and bladder pain

Looking forward to: my ultrasound this week! can't wait to see how big she's getting!

Freezer meal prepping :

All ready to go in my freezer and my parents freezers for maternity leave and winter! Took a while but always fun with my mom! Thanks Brenda Kay :) 

We made:

Stuffed Taco Shells

Apple Butter Pork Chops

Lasagna

Meatloaf

Chicken Pot Pies

Chicken Fajitas

35 WEEKS

How far along: 35 weeks

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: hate answering this one. 27 lbs!!!!!!!

Maternity clothes: this dress looked so stupid on me for the longest time, now my belly is big enough to fill it out
 

Stretch marks: nope, none

Belly button in or out: not in or out. Just flat still

Sleep: sleep sucks, I'm uncomfortable all the time

Best moment this week: having my mom come over and deep clean my house with me. It feels SO good to have a clean house, and having my dad take my car in to be detailed. It looks brand spanking new. My parents are THE BEST

Worst moment this week: being so uncomfortable the other night while trying to sleep that I was crying

Miss anything: being able to walk faster then a snail,  being able to bend down and pick things up, being able to put shoes on, and definitely still sleeping on my stomach. So pretty much being able to do anything in general

Movement:  her movements are so strong now, I can tell she's getting bigger and longer and stronger

Cravings:  definitely still ice water. a lot of ice water

Symptoms: mostly just being uncomfortable now, some braxton hicks, and some stiff kicks to the ribs

Looking forward to: a relaxing, but accomplished Labor Day weekend!

34 Weeks

How far along: 34 weeks

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: 23 lbs! Moving on up

Maternity clothes: yes, other then longer tank tops and leggings, I wear maternity clothes every day. Now that it's getting colder I hate wearing pants again
 

Stretch marks: nope, none

Belly button in or out: still flat and can't believe it never came out

Sleep: sleep is getting worse and worse. Rolling over is SO much work, and I'm shoving pillows in every crevasse!

Best moment this week: getting a call that our rocker is FINALLY in to pick up and getting so many things accomplished in her nursery!

Worst moment this week: I was cleaning my house and feeling so exhausted from organizing the nursery and just wanting everything to be done. Then I got a call from my dad saying he passed out, fell off a ladder and couldn't get up and there was blood everywhere. I'm pretty sure I have never left my house so fast in my life. No bra, no purse.. grabbed keys and left. My husband was hiking in the woods about a half hour away. My mom wasn't home and I was the closest person to their house. I made my dad call their neighbor because I knew he would get there before me. I drove like a maniac, hyperventilating the whole way there. My parents live right by a fire station, and as I was about to pass it, an ambulance was pulling out. I KNEW it was headed there. And as soon as I saw it, I knew it was worse then I thought. The paramedics thought he had a broken nose, concussion, and broken neck. I was in pure panic mode. Long story short, he wound up with a broken nose and concussion, but seeing him on a stretcher with a neck brace, and shaking uncontrollably, I knew there was so much more to life then having my house clean and organized. The house could wait. My family won't be around forever, and although it's a great realization, it's a terrifying one at the same time.

Miss anything: uhm... summer? Where did it go???

Movement: all. the. time. When she stops moving, I get nervous

Cravings:  water! I've been SO thirsty this week. I drink an entire 32 oz water bottle every night waking up so many times to pee. so thirsty

Symptoms: mostly just being uncomfortable now, definitely still some acid reflux here and there though

Looking forward to: I look forward to seeing my doctor every Friday, and definitely look forward to getting more and more things accomplished on weekends

Look how cute louie is with her already!! 

Here's a few pics from the past couple months

32 and 33 weeks

32 WEEKS

How far along: 32 weeks

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: 21 lbs!!!

Maternity clothes: yes, a lot of maternity clothes!
 

Stretch marks: still surprisingly, no.

Belly button in or out:  still flat and looks so small now!

Sleep: sleep hasn't been too bad, I just wake up to pee a lot, and turn over a lot

Best moment this week:  having my best friend in town from Florida! Can't stand being away from her, but so thankful I get to see her at least once a year, and usually twice a year! We had fun (see pics below)

Worst moment this week: finding out I have ANOTHER bladder infection, and my doctor isn't letting me delivery passed 39 weeks. Hoping I don't need to be induced and this little girl decides to come on her own between 37-39 weeks!

Miss anything: still miss sleeping on my stomach the most, but really beginning to miss being able to walk around for more then 5 minutes without being exhausted

Movement: she moves a lot still but I love watching her wiggle in there
 

Cravings: this week I'm going to have to go with french fries and hot dogs

Symptoms: tail bone pain, lower back and leg pain!

Looking forward to: finishing up the nursery, and packing my hospital bag

33 WEEKS!

How far along: 33 weeks

Gender: Girl! 

Weight gain: still at 21 lbs this week

Maternity clothes: yes, everyday
 

Stretch marks: nope, none

Belly button in or out: still flat, just waiting for it to pop

Sleep: sleep is getting a lot harder this week. I'm definitely more uncomfortable and peeing a lot more

Best moment this week: coming home from a long day of work to Chuck working in the nursery.

Worst moment this week: getting sick again from seafood. Worst feeling ever

Miss anything: walking with my mom on the bike path!

Movement: she moves all day every day non stop!!!

Cravings:  I seriously have never been a picky eater, and I don't feel like I've had any specific cravings lately cause I eat everything. Though I did HAVE to buy a 24 pack of fruit punch juice boxes at the grocery store this week because, JUICE BOXES. And I have 2 left. I guess that's a craving.

Symptoms: hip pain like crazy this week. I don't know if shes moving down or what, but I wake up in the middle of the night and feel like my hips are being pulled apart or crushed by a crane

Looking forward to: washing and folding all her cute little outfits this weekend

TO-DO

"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you."
-Willy Wonka


I'm pretty much a crazy person when it comes to making "to-do" lists. My husband says I make lists of lists I need to make (he's sort of right). I have fun notepads all over for different things. I mean, how fun is it to cross something off your to-do list?

What a normal Saturday morning looks like for me:

The Endless To-Do List

With my baby baking days coming to an end, it's becoming more and more overwhelming to look at the things that we still need to do. Here are a few things that have been overlooked but now keep me awake at all hours.

Pack Hospital Bag

I've sort of been doing this for 2 weeks, finding something I might want and throwing it near the hospital bag, I need to get a real list started and get this one done, as it seems to be MOST important. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Pack Diaper Bag
I realize this isn't really a necessity right now, because everyone says the hospital pretty much provides you with anything you would need from a diaper bag, but again, I want to be prepared 

Register & Do Hospital Tour

With how many trips and over night stays I've had in the hospital during this pregnancy, you'd think I'd know the hospital like the back of my hand, but I've pretty much just been wheeled around, and want to feel more prepared when D-Day hits

Hang Wall Art in Nursery
Hoping to do this one this weekend, but I always bite off more then I can chew and planned two of my own paintings for the nursery that I haven't even started yet

 

 Find a Daycare

I have 10 weeks maternity leave, which puts me going back to work right around Christmas/New Years, so I've really been putting this one off because 1-I have a lot of time and 2- I'm terrified of doing this

Pediatrician Meet and Greet
Fulfilling this one this Friday and I can't WAIT to meet the doctors in the practice so many parents have suggested to us
 

Purchase Remaining Registry Items
We FINALLY got a call our rocker is ready for pick up, so we're headed to Buy Buy Baby this weekend to get the rest of the essentials and the rocker

Clean Cars and Install Car Seats 

I generally would be going to my dad for this one, but the poor man broke his nose this passed weekend and I don't think he will be cleaning any cars anytime soon. Either I'll beg hubs to do this one, or I'll take it in for a detail

I think I'll feel a lot better after this weekend cause quite a few of these things will get done. Stay tuned ;-) 

Falling In Love All Over Again

You know how they say having a baby puts so much strain on your marriage? If you're in a rocky marriage, prepare for it to get even worse? I think the same goes for the opposite. If you're in a great marriage, having a baby lights the fire in your marriage even brighter.

We had maternity photo's taken a few weeks ago, and I just got them back today. I am thrilled with how they turned out, and seeing them made me stop and think about how lucky I am to be going through this amazing time in my life, with someone who supports me like crazy. We have so many people tell us what an amazing couple we are. How perfect we are for each other. Okay it sounds like I'm bragging, but I'm serious. So many of our friends, our family, even strangers we just met say they think we're perfect together. It feels amazing to hear that. We just love each other, respect each other, and want whats best for each other. Its really as simple as that. 

Some days, I don't think I deserve him. Don't get me wrong, some days I want to rip his head off or throw my purse at him. And I'm sure some days he wants to do the same. Right babe? Don't you dare answer that! But in the end all we do is love.

So here are just a few of my favorite photo's from our session. 

When he looks at me, there just aren't any words for how I feel. 

Thank you Ashley Sasak Photography