36 Weeks & Counting

 We've waited almost 9 whole months ... and we're SO close to the answer ... Boy OR girl?!

 When I put this picture on Facebook, there were 8 guesses for boy and 9 guesses for girl. (And one for healthy -- oh, Joyce!)

Well, at the end of every appointment our doctor would say, "Your goal is to stay pregnant until 36 weeks." Mission accomplished. We had a close call, but I'm officially 36w5d now so I'd say we are good to go.

How I'm feeling:

Anxious to meet our little one

No swelling - ring still fits!

Heartburn (just a little..)

COMPLETE exhaustion - I left work early every day to come home and take a very long nap and then still go to bed early. But I am awake from 3-5 or sometimes 3 on every morning so what do you expect?

Less contractions at the beginning of the week, but they are back stronger than ever now!

Holy backache!

Itchy Tummy 

(I feel like I've tried everything from different lotions to baby oil to olive oil to benadryl and nothing provides relief. So I just have to do what I can to keep my mind off of it so I don't scratch away!)

Cravings:

Milky Ways

Smoothies

Butterfinger Blizzards (homemade by the hubby)

(See a theme yet?!)

Chicken Quesadillas (from El Parian to be specific)

Overall, I feel pretty good okay. The heat got the best of me this week, but I've been staying hydrated and trying to stay in the A/C. Thank goodness I have the most flexible job and most understanding boss! The contractions are getting stronger now and occasionally even painful, but they go away if I walk around or change positions or drink water. Baby is very active which always makes me happy (even if it is at 4am). I don't feel kicks so much anymore, just lots of squirming. And I always have body parts poking out of me. Benny loves watching them move around.

Most of you already know we had a little scare at our weekly appointment. The doctor sent us in for an ultrasound as he was worried baby might be out of space and there might not be enough fluid left in there. I've been telling Benny for awhile now, "Baby could really come at anytime." But I think him actually saying it made me realize -- oh, yes, baby REALLY could come at anytime. Trust me, I'm thrilled to meet baby, but it's also terrifying. And for those of you trying to guess Poppy's gender, the heartbeat was 142. :)

I shook through the whole ultrasound and at one point thought I was going to be sick. It was not enjoyable like our other ones - especially because she wasn't pointing out cute little noses or feet - she was just getting measurements - and she was in a hurry. But mostly, it just hurt because my tummy is so tender these days. Anyway, in the end it all turned out normal and baby can stick around in my tummy for a little while longer (unless Poppy decides on his/her own to make his/her grand entrance).

Packing the hospital bags!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other baby news, the car seat is installed and Benny put the stroller together (like we plan on going for a stroll anytime soon). We pushed it around the kitchen some and then I insisted Benny leave it there just so I could play with it. Ha! We're such freaks but we really are beyond excited for this baby to get here! We finished up some last minute shopping and used some gift cards from my showers to purchase some of the necessities we had left. It was quite the day! We had to go back to Babies 'R Us and take off our entire purchase and do it all over again because the lady didn't give us our 10% off, any of the buy one get one 50% off, or our other coupons.. what an ordeal! Our hospital bags are packed and ready to go at any time ... minus a few things we use every day. I've packed and re-packed probably 10 times just out of excitement.

Ready for a stroll?

We had an awesome weekend! We were so excited our friends Chris and Wendi came to see us and brought their adorable daughter, Emma. Wendi has been so helpful throughout my whole pregnancy by answering a million questions and giving lots of advice/moral support so I was pretty excited to chat babies with her. I've been dying to meet Emma forever and she's now 6 months old - definitely have waited too long. We had a blast watching Emma - she's probably the best baby I've ever seen - and Benny told me today he misses her! Ha. I'm also glad it motivated us to get our house clean!

Hanging out at the Barefoot

Since we know our lives are about to get crazy busy for awhile, we decided to go out and do some things this weekend despite the heat. We had some "AGCO fun money" from Benny's work to spend at the amusement park so we went there Saturday evening. I obviously wasn't getting on any roller coasters, so we walked through the mirror maze and laughed at my belly, ate GIANT ice cream cones, and I used the remaining money to buy my first "Okoboji" shirt. Ha! Saturday night we went to the Barefoot Bar and hung out with my dad, Tami, and a couple friends for awhile. We couldn't believe this was our first time at the Barefoot this summer. This morning we got up and went to church and then met with the pastor to discuss the possibility of becoming members and also to talk about Baptism. We already feel like we're part of the church family -- the man that said he would pray for our baby sought us out today and told us he's been praying! It was so sweet. And the pastor said the ladies at the church will make us a weeks worth of meals when baby arrives. Benny got everything done on his honey-do list, so we went back to the Barefoot and listened to the Dueling Pianos. It was kind of nice to just sit by the water (in the shade with a cool breeze) and listen to the music/talk to Benny. They have helicopter rides around the area right now and Benny REALLY wanted to take one, but they took one look at me and said I couldn't go. Lame.

And other than that, we've been playing with our new toys -- smart phones -- this week and are officially addicted to Words with Friends!

Addicted?

Testing out the new phone camera! I hope Poppy is as attractive as we are!

We are really looking forward to the 4th of July and hoping it won't be too hot for me to enjoy the festivities. Our next appointment is Tuesday so we'll see what the doc has to say!