36 weeks {+5 days}

I really do try to get these posts in earlier in my gestational weeks, but it just doesn't happen. I forget to have my husband take a picture when he's around and then when I think about doing a blog post, I realize 'crap, I need a picture taken.' But it's okay! I know I'll be glad I did all of these so I can look back on them. Things got a bit hectic this week as J received an email from his school stating that there are no OB doctors in the area willing to take on a male student for his next rotation and they set him up on an away rotation with housing. Wait a minute..one problem..Baby is due then! So panic sort of set in and we were both a little desperate to figure out a way to work this out. We contacted whoever we could, and thankfully, there are some good, good people around these parts!! (including my doctor who went above and beyond to help us find him an OB in the area to work with) Big thank you to those who put forth the effort :) Relief set in.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the first cervix check. She seemed a little surprised that the baby had not dropped at all with me being nearly 37 weeks, but was optimistic that it can still happen on it's own in the next few weeks. She did cause a few contractions (that only she felt, not me!) Baby girl must be very comfy where she's at. No dilation either, but head is down..so there's a plus! The doctor also asked J if he wants to help deliver our baby....and the labor and delivery nurse asked him today as well! As of now, he's thinking he just wants to be "Dad" that day, but we shall see when the moment strikes. The appointment went well overall..soo, moving right along!

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36 weeks, 5 days!

Excuse the nerdy glasses look ;) The contacts are making a comeback in the next few days!

• How far along?: 36 weeks, 5 days
  
• Baby is the size of a: Watermelon (Approx. 19 to 22 in, 6.5 lbs)
• Total weight gain/loss: +25 -- "Normal" weight gain is between 25-35 and I was reallly hoping to stay under 25. So much for that! It's all this danggg swelling. (Also doesn't help that Halloween treats and goodies are up for grabs these days)
• The Bump: Big. Every single place I have been to in the past week, I've been told, "That baby looks like it's ready to come on out!" Except for the lady at the dollar store who asked if I was due late this year or next year. I would sure as heck hope my belly wouldn't look like this if I still had to wait til next year!
  
• Symptoms: Feet/ankle SWELLING. Gross. My feet get ginormous at times and balloon a bit. I couldn't get a pair of (usually loose) sandals on the other day because the strap wouldn't buckle around the ankle. How sad. Lot's of elevating for these babies.
• Food Cravings: I'd love a Subway Spicy Italian sub...not even sure why cause Subway is certainly not my favorite! I'm saving that for the hospital...if I still want it then! And I've been wanting sweets lately. Trying to hold back! Keyword: Trying
  
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.
  
• Sleep: Don't want to jinx anything...so I'm going to skip this answer today ;)
  
• What I miss: My ankles..haha
  
• Weddings Rings On or Off: Off :(
  
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes, actually, this came very easy for us contrary to what everyone told us about picking out names...but you'll just have to wait ;)
• Gender: Baby Barr is a girl! :)
  
• Movement: We had a date night over the weekend since we rarely think to do that..and she was moving like crazy the whole night. She actually hurt me a few times which is rare, but absolutely worth it!
  
• Maternity Clothes: All regular clothes in this week's pic. Oh yes I can still get those jeans on. Probably not after I wash & dry them tomorrow...
• Labor Signs: Nada
• Best Moment of the Week: Well I think I officially finished cleaning baby clothes, blankets, etc. --well all the stuff I wanted to get done in advance at least. So that's a good feeling! Today we finished signing all the consent forms at the hospital with one of the labor & delivery nurses. Now to wait on baby girl to begin dropping!
  
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Lots! Baby girl making her debut in the next 3 weeks, 2 days! (hoping to not go over the due date, but we shall see!) And family coming into town :) I've been meaning to start packing our hospital bag -- I'll try to get on that this week!

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So unfortunately we are only about 1.5-2 hours south of where we used to live, yet the trees just DON'T change like they do up there! Sad story for this girl who looooves the look of fall outside! Buttt, I did finally got some fall decorations up! Woohoo. Pictures to come :)

35 weeks {+ 6 days}

Typical of me :) Waiting until 35 weeks, 6 days for the post -- so, tomorrow I will hit 36 weeks and come up with a whole new chalkboard drawing..woohoo! But for now, enjoy this one!

The 35th week has been a fun one. All the weekend festivities and lots of friends involved -- it certainly was busy and great. I got more of the nursery finished -- we are near completion! And finished up all of our birthing classes -- which included a tour of the hospital's maternity ward, labor and delivery rooms, and the postpartum rooms as well. Whew, $h!t just got real, people! We officially have under a month left on the countdown. I do still have more preparing to conquer, though, so I betta get a move on!

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35 weeks {+ 6 days}

• How far along?: 35 weeks, 6 days
  
• Baby is the size of a: Coconut
• 
• Total weight gain/loss: +23
• The Bump: Growing by the day. And I was told I'm looking like I've started to 'drop'
  
• Symptoms: Heartburn! I can say this is a first for me. I haven't ever had the pleasure of knowing what heartburn feels like, but now I can cross that off the list. My weekly updates I get have always included heartburn as a common symptom, but I just thought I was one of the lucky ones missing out on that. No longer the case! I also wake up with my hands/fingers hurtinggg to move, squeeze, apply pressure -- they feel arthritic! What's up with that?!
• Food Cravings: Oh boy did I eat a crap load at the fair...whew! Too much. Oh, and Erica made BLT muffins to go along with my BLT cravings I've had throughout my pregnancy! How funny :) and yummy!
  
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.
  
• Sleep: On and off. Saturday night J stayed up late with friends and I woke up when he came into the room at 2:30am -- and I was up until 6:00am -- blah! But then Sunday night I went to sleep around midnight and woke up at nearly 11am!!! That is pretty crazy for me these days :) I was shocked, but Grizz didn't seem to mind sleeping in!
  
• What I miss: My wedding rings
  
• Weddings Rings On or Off: Off :(
  
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes, actually, this came very easy for us contrary to what everyone told us about picking out names...but you'll just have to wait ;)
• Gender: Baby Barr is a girl! :)
  
• Movement: It's there. And her baby hiccups - they're funny, but I love 'em!
  
• Maternity Clothes: I'm actually wearing maternity pants AND a shirt in this week's post. But I do still squeeze into mainly regular clothes.
• Labor Signs: N/A
• Best Moment of the Week: Feeling baby girl squirm about, being told she is in the head down and ready position by the doctor, and all of the excitement of the shower, fair, and friends :)
  
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Finishing her room. And of course, getting more and more anxious to meet baby girl! All they talk about in the birthing class and videos are how important baby and mommy skin-to-skin contact is right after birth..and it get's me emotional just thinking about those moments! We are excited.

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I love that Monday brought such beautiful weather. Walking at the park was a must, followed by a crock pot meal. Mmm...

Some of our walk {in pictures}













Oh, how I love this time of year! {Not sure how many times I'll say that!}

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Join me on our official countdown -- 29 days left until the due date!

100

100...
...blog posts I will have written once finished with this...woohoo!
...times I heard the word y'all this weekend
...girly onesies I've probably washed, dried, and folded in the past week
...times I said "aww.." while gawking at baby girl things at the shower
...dollars spent on just terribly good fried food between all of us at the fair
...times I thought 'holy crapppp, my feet are killing me'
...percent of awesomeness this weekend brought!!

Amen to that!

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I hope the start of October has greeted everyone with cool weather, fall foliage, and all the fall scents you can sniff up! The weather has justttt started to dip a little, but that sun shining keeps things from cooling off too much.  Today was actually beautiful and cool, with long sleeves on during a walk at the park.  I'm still waiting on that fall foliage, though. With the weather beginning to cool down, pup loooves being outside.  His current obsession: frisbees. He even sneaks them down from the table when he thinks we're not watching. Silly pup.



Oh yeah, and just look at how I've been spending my days....cleaning and organizing. I know there's usually a point where a pregnant woman 'nests' and of course that is what my husband thinks I am doing. But let me assure you that I have not reached that point yet. I still do not feel like doing this stuff, I just know I have to and I've been putting it off for a while. Once the nesting phase does set in, I will be excited, because I know there is more to be cleaned and organized to get ready for baby to come and family to be here!

This is just the newborn-3 month stash -- it sure does help having 2 baby nieces :)


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Our wonderful friends (or should I say Erica) wanted to throw us a little baby shower here in Georgia and came up with the most clever idea for a shower in which she knew most out-of-town family/friends would not be able to attend. She told me she was having something for us (a small co-ed get together) but that she would not share any further details.  And what she came up with was so creative -- and so appropriate for us :)




There was delicious food and treats catered to my liking, yummy punch, and incredibly cute DIY gifts made from the heart! Our friends here are awesome :)



How adorable is this diaper wreath and equally as important -- those amazing DIY baby shoes made by Erica! I am so in love with them!


Some of our wonderful gifts -- and that quilt made by Erica.. holy adorable! Not quite sure who will like it more -- mommy or baby?!


The idea here was for anyone who wanted to participate to send her a baby photo of themselves, a onesie, and a children's book.  She then created a banner, hanging each person's baby photo from it with clothespins, and placed their wrapped gifts above their photo on the mantle. Erica would hand J and I a baby photo for us to guess who the gift was from, and if we couldn't figure it out, then the gifts might help us to know. The idea was so unique and wonderful.  It made opening the gifts a game, and left us with an awesome stock of children's books that I was almost ready to go buy myself! I LOVED it!!



It was a great way to incorporate family and friends who couldn't attend. Loved having them 'there'!


Grandma's baby photo on the left and Mom's on the right..


Books and onesies!! Yayy :) And those 3 on the bottom left -- the author of those would be my husband :) Made back in elementary school!


Thank you, thank you, thank you! A very big thank you to our sweet friends Erica and Courtney for all you did to put on this wonderful shower! And thank you to everyone who participated and made it such a fun day for us! Oh, and must give credit to Eric here as well. He must be included :)

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We were also lucky enough to have friends in town! Dana, Dave, Rachel, and Anna graced us with their presence Saturday morning and we all got to watch the Seminoles together that night after the shower. What a sad, sad loss it was after our sweet little winning streak we had going. Aside from the loss, it was fun having friends around to hang out, including Ugo who also stayed the night.

The next morning we all headed to the Georgia National Fair and met up with the Clausons. It was a b-e-a-utiful day!



If you're unfamiliar with that fair, you must be missing out -- because well, it's a big deal round these parts. Anywhere I go, all anyone talks about is 'The Fair.' Well, it was pretty sweet! And huge! And tough to walk around after a few hours for this nearly 9 month pregnant momma! But it was worth it -- or at least the carny food was worth it!




Ugo's first go at fried Oreos. Oh. So. Delicious!


Baby faces at the fair make me smile..how fun for them!



And well, Fall 'anything' also makes me smile!





Must check out the world's largest live rat...obviously.





I must say that the fair lived up to all the hype it gets around here. It was wonderful, even with my feet swelling up to give me sausage-looking toes. Gross. But it definitely did not disappoint. Friends, fair, feel-good weather, and food that lives up to the carny food taste we know and love.


Georgia National Fair..you were wonderful :)

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On another note, I promise to get a 35 week post up before I hit 36 weeks in a few days. We've been busy in the best possible way here.

Happy, happy fall! And happy official one month left until my due date! And happy 100th blog post!

All that happiness calls for a photo of one adorable pup that brings mucho happiness to our home year round!! We love him :)

34 weeks!

Happy, Happy October! I love October. Plain and simple :) And now that it's officially here, I can say that our baby girl is due early NEXT month. But if she decides to come about a week early, which may very likely be the case, then we will be having an October baby! A Halloween baby could be fun...costume birthday parties, oh yes! And crock pot meals followed by cake before heading out for trick-or-treating...now that could certainly be fun ;) My husband is hoping for a November baby, as that is his birth month as well. What are your predictions?!

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34 weeks!

• How far along?: 34 weeks, 4 days
  
• Baby is the size of a: Large Canteloupe (19 to 22 in, 5.5 lbs)
• Total weight gain/loss: +21
• The Bump: Definitely getting bigger. When I'm out, I see people take a look at me and then I notice their eyes drop to my belly. It's pretty funny, actually. People have now started telling me I look like I'm about to pop. Oh and my belly button has still not popped which I am very happy about haha...but it's getting pretty dang close to being flush with the rest of my stomach! Gross.
  
• Symptoms: J said he's noticed my breathing change...shorter breaths most of the time and deep breaths when I'm doing something. Something a future Dr would notice lol. Baby is cramming my lungs so they have less capacity!  
• Food Cravings: We had steaks the other night that were a-may-zing! And I'm the type who alwaysss leaves room for dessert, but I was just too full to even get to it. It's still sitting in the fridge. Oh and  I have been fine not eating deli meat this entire time, but recently I have been craving a spicy italian from Subway..Mmm!
  
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope. But, a not so great story -- I thought I might be getting some sort of urinary infection but the nurse and doc said my urine was clean and negative for any bacteria. Then on Saturday, I passed a few pieces of a kidney stone. Not so fun!
  
• Sleep: My body has certainly been preparing me for middle of the night wake-ups. I see the clock pretty frequently around midnight, 3:30, 5:30, etc.
  
• What I miss: I guess nothing in particular.
  
• Weddings Rings On or Off: They are off :( My fatty fingers can't fit my size 4 rings! Boo.
  
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes, actually, this came very easy for us contrary to what everyone told us about picking out names...but you'll just have to wait ;)
• Gender: Baby Barr is a girl! :)
  
• Movement: She moves when she wants. And rests when she wants. Both seem to be an equal amount of time. She was moving a bunch in church yesterday and I kept staring down to see her body parts floating through my belly!
  
• Maternity Clothes: Not so much...I guess I have enough clothes that I can squeeze into. I've been wearing a lot of dresses lately as I just feel like ditchin' the pants.
• Labor Signs: N/A
• Best Moment of the Week: We pre-registered at the hospital so now it's official...they are ready for me in the next 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 weeks! I got a lil peek of the women's floor, but the real tour will be next week.
  
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Seeing our baby girl! We are getting so close! 

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Aside from all of the wonderful fall festivities that come along with October, it is also National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

So wear yo pink, get yo mammograms, or make a purchase from the Breast Cancer Site to help fund mammograms for others!

{Like these adorable purses for $28.00 -- Each item you buy helps give free mammograms administered by clinics and hospitals -- woohoo!}

 

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Enjoy your October!!