37 weeks pregnant!

So, we went to our 37 week appointment on Thursday. Baby's head is still really low and my cervix is softening but I'm still only 1/2 a centimeter dilated so our midwife wasn't able to strip my membranes like we planned.  But she was happy with the changes I had made from last week. So she is bringing me back in this Wednesday afternoon and if I have made progress then she will send me in to the hospital and induce Thursday morning! I'm really praying hard that I have made some progress by then because it would be so wonderful to have her here before Christmas so I won't be stressed about her coming when my Dr is out of town and because it is my last week of work! So, we will see what happens on Wednesday!

Baby Growth: This week, Kynslie is officially considered full term! Woo hoo!! If I go into labor now, her lungs will most likely be fully developed and good to go. She should weigh around 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches.

My Symptoms: Being totally honest, I'm definitely miserable. My belly is getting so heavy to tote around and I'm not really comfortable unless I'm stretched out where she can move around freely. I'm still having contractions on and off and they are beginning to get stronger but still sporadic unfortunately. I'm beyond ready for her to be here, not only because I'm physically worn out from being pregnant but I cannot wait to see what her sweet face looks like!

 
Weight:  Somewhere along the way, I've messed up my calculations, haha. I actually didn't gain any weight last week, thankfully. But I've gained a total of 37 pounds. Yuck!


Belly Pictures:

 

At this point, I am legitimately HUGE!!!!

Gender:  GIRL!!!!

Maternity Clothes:  Only able to wear a few things now and feel comfortable! Definitely ready to wear my old clothes again!


Movement:  We still have a super active little girl! Even though she is running out of room and supposed to not be moving nearly as much, she still constantly moves! I can tell shes nuzzling down further and getting lower which is totally fine by me! I will definitely miss feeling her move once she's born but that is probably the only part of pregnancy I will miss! haha


Sleep: This is getting worse by the day. Last night, I hardly slept at all because she was constantly moving around and making me uncomfortable. I still toss and turn all night from hurting on either side too.


What I Miss:  SOOOO much! I miss having energy to want to do fun things, wearing my old clothes, and my pre pregnancy body which I pray comes back at some point!


What I'm Looking Forward To: Meeting this sweet girl and seeing what she looks like! Looking forward to our Dr appointment Wednesday and hopeful for good news of progression!


Cravings:  Nothing really, just loving eating all the Holiday treats around right now!


Best Moment of the Week:  Spending quality time with the hubs this weekend and getting SO much done for her arrival. Reorganizing the kitchen cabinets, closets, and finishing up everything in her room!


Questions or Concerns:  Just waiting and wondering if I have progressed  from Thursday until this coming up Wednesday. And hoping so, so that we can meet our girl this week!


Goals for the week: Just enjoy our last few days or weeks of time together before she makes her arrival!

36 weeks prego!

So, obviously progressing in this pregnancy makes me slack on this blog! I'm trying, I'm trying :) I absolutely cannot believe that this week is starting my ninth month of pregnancy, unbelievable to think baby girl will be here 3 weeks or less! We had our 36 week appointment on Friday and our midwife, Sharon, said that baby has dropped in my pelvis and I'm about 1/2 a centimeter dilated. She also monitored her heart rate and my contractions for a little while and determined that are baby is super active (which I could have already told her haha), but she was very pleased with her heart rate pattern. I was having contractions the whole time I was monitored but they were just small Braxton Hicks and I couldn't even feel them but she said that is good news because my body is preparing for the real deal! We go back Thursday to check my progress and she may even strip my membranes if I've begun to dilate more! Yikes!


Baby Growth: At this stage, Kynslie is putting on about an ounce a day in weight. The average baby is about 6 lbs right now and is about 18 1/2 inches long. At the end of this week, she will be considered "Full Term" - yay!! I have been praying for this day since we found out we were pregnant!  Most of her systems are working just fine in there - she is just really concentrating on maturing those longs and packing on the pounds.

My Symptoms:  It is pretty safe to say that I am getting to the miserable point in pregnancy. I am SO worn down everyday and every little thing makes me so uncomfortable now! I am honestly ready for her to make her appearance now that we are coming close to the safety zone and will be full term by Wednesday, yay again!

 

I had a weekend of feeling just plain poopy. My throat was killing me and I've had the lovely head cold/sinus drainage since then but luckily I'm starting to feel better!

 

I'm still having Braxton Hicks contractions, off and on, but they don't seem to be getting any more intense than they have been. I have been feeling pain all the way to my back when I get them, though, which I'm praying is not a sign that I will have back labor, ughh!!!

 

She has definitely dropped and our midwife confirmed this at our appointment Friday! She said that Kynslie is at a -1 station already in my pelvis (0 station is exactly lined up with the pelvis) so she said this is best case scenario for a first time mom, yay!  I thought something was going on this past week because she felt lower to me and I starting feeling pressure and some weird sensations down below.


Weight:  I gained 1 pound since my last appt and honestly I'm losing track of my grand total! I think that puts me at a total of 35 gained

Belly Pictures:

 

And prepare to be terrified....here comes the belly and all it's glory! It blows my mind how big it is now, it's so weird toting it around everyday!

 

 

Gender: Little Lady!


Maternity Clothes: My choices are SO limited now! I thought it was bad before but now I feel like I wear the same thing all the time (probably because I do, haha) I literally live in Merlin's tshirts and oversized pajama pants at any point that I am at home! I can only fit into 2 pair of scrub pants so it's usually those or jeans and work tshirts to work everyday! Ready to wear cute clothes again!

Movement: She is still an active little thing! She constantly moves and stretches out and since there ins't much room left for her, it doesn't feel to good when she makes sudden movements. When we were at our appointment Friday, they hooked me up to the monitor to watch her heartrate for about 10 minutes and she did not like that thing being on her! She moved and kicked at it like crazy and it was like she was mad because everytime, her little heart rate would go up!

Sleep: This is getting worse by the day it seems. I'm having pretty bad pain in my hips and my back when I sleep. I still toss and turn all night to make it feel better and it usually will for a little while but once I'm in one spot for a little while, the pain comes back. No fun! And I still have to get up to potty every night too!

What I Miss:  Breathing like a normal person and not getting winded just after walking down the hall! I feel like I breathe and sound like a severely obese woman!

 

What I'm Looking Forward To:  We go back to the doctor on Thursday and she will check me again to see if I have progressed any since Friday when I was only 1/2 a centimeter dilated. She is also planning on stripping my membranes then if I am dilated to try to get her moving naturally. I'm not really looking forward to this because I've heard it is painful and uncomfortable but if it's gonna get her to come out, I'm open to anything! :)

Cravings:  The only thing I've seemed to have wanted this entire pregnancy is breakfast at Chickfila! Egg and cheese biscuit, hashbrowns and sweet tea! So good! I only allow myself to have it maybe once every one or two weeks so I don't overdo it but I'm definitly going to need someone on call to deliver it to me when I'm in the hospital! Any takers? haha


Best Moment of the Week:  Merlin and I decided to have a "date night" Saturday night and treat ourselves to dinner and a movie because we figure we won't be doing that again for a while! It was so much fun just to spend time together and focus on each other before the baby gets here!

Also, Merlin has been great through this entire pregnancy but just within the last couple of weeks, he has been so attentive and interested in everything going on with the baby. I guess because I'm so much bigger now and he said he feels like she's poking out so much more now that he feels like he has to be extra protective over us. It's so sweet though because he rubs my belly and talks to her all the time, I absolutely love it! He's going to be an amazing daddy!


Questions or Concerns:  Sharon (our midwife) had mentioned last week the possibility of inducing early (like, as in next Thursday or Friday!) to go ahead and get her here before Christmas because I'm terrified of going into labor with my Doctor and midwife out of town! But it will all depend on if I'm dilating and progressing from last week to this week. So we want to talk it out with her and see what the best option will be. Whether to induce a littler earlier than we planned or just wait it out and see what she does on her own!


Goals for the Week:  We have surprisingly got lots done now that Merlin is done with classes for the quarter and has so much more time now. The nursery is almost completed, we just have one more canvas of a scripture to get in and hang and it will be completely done (I'll post pics soon). I've packed my bag and her bag for the hospital, we have put the car seat in, her going home outift is ready (just have to pick it up) and started cleaning out and regorganizing closets so we can have more space for her things in the kitchen and other areas! So, for this week, I hope we can get more cleaning and organizing done since we are in the home stretch now!
Here is her super cute diaper bag from my sweet friend, Julia, all ready to go to the hospital!

 

34 weeks pregnant!

I seriously cannot believe how far along I am! It just seems so crazy to think that she will be here within 5 weeks!

Baby Growth: This week, baby girl weighs almost 5 lbs and is almost 18 inches long.  She's really starting to pack on the fat and her skin is getting smoother and smoother. The biggest thing that she works on from here on out is lung development.

My Symptoms:  Exhaustion has definitely set in! I'm starting to feel like baby girl is so far up into my chest that it makes it difficult to breathe! I'm ready for her to drop so this will be alleviated a little. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions but they are still inconsistent. They do seem to be getting more intense when they come but they still come randomly. I had a really bad one Saturday night, the worst they have been yet so I can only imagine how fun real contractions will be! :)


Weight:  I've gained a total of 30 pounds so far and go to the Doctor tomorrow so hopefully didn't pack on too much from all that Thanksgiving food!


Belly Pictures:  We were finally able to get another chalkboard photo in this week! Looking so huge at this point!

Here, also, are some pictures from our maternity shoot we did with my sis and bro in law over Thanksgiving. I was surprisingly happy with them for as bad as I feel I look!

Gender: Girl!!!!


Maternity Clothes: Definitely all I can wear now besides my tshirts and yoga pants!


Movement: I am starting to notice her movements not being as strong as they had been. She definitely still moves all the time but I can tell a major difference in how intense the movement is now. This is to be expected though, since she doesn't have much room to move around any more!


Sleep:  This is finally starting to get to be uncomfortable. I toss and turn all night and wake up because my hips or back or hurting and I just can't seem to find a sleep position that is comfortable. I'm also super stuffy when I sleep and so I can barely breathe, so Merlin gets to be blessed with my snoring, haha!


What I Miss: A good night's sleep and having clothes to wear!


What I'm Looking Forward To: I have officially chosen my last day of work to be Decemeber 20th and I'm really looking forward to being able to be off work and relax Christmas week, unless she decides to come before that!

Cravings: I've been craving holiday treats that my mom always bakes! Monkey bread, martha washingtons, Christmas cookies, icebox cake, mmmmmm I can't wait!


Best Moment of the Week: Thanksgiving and being able to spend time with the entire family! It was so nice being able to see everyone and catch up! I also thoroghly enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal and didn't even feel guily after eating all of it and then some this year! :)


Questions or Concerns: Just wondering how much baby girl is estimated to weigh. I know she should be almost 5 pounds, but I want to know if that's what she most likely is or more/less. I'll ask at my appointment tomorrow.


Goals for the Week:  Get our Christmas cards out! Also finish her nursery. Her monogram came in this week along with a few other small things I needed to complete the nursery. So, I want to get everything hung on the walls and finalized this weekend! Can't wait to see the finished product!

33 weeks pregnant

So....once again, I'm a slacker and totally missed a post last week! I'll try to get ya'll caught up on what's been going on since then!

Baby Growth:  Baby Kynslie is over 4 lbs at this point and is over 17 inches long.  She is growing like crazy this week and may grow up to an inch in length just this week alone! Her bones are starting to harden this week and she is also starting to keep her eyes open during the times that she is awake.

My Symptoms:  I've started to really feel big pregnant this week. It's getting harder to do simple daily things like get up and down off the couch or floor, put my shoes on, and shave my legs. I seem to forget how big I've gotten because I still feel like I can slide in small places and then end of hitting something or someone wtih my belly. haha. My back has really started hurting during the night and when I first wake up in the morning. I've also been having Braxton Hicks contractions on and off. I get them alot when I turn sides during the night (which is constantly). Once I turn, my stomach just turns into a huge, tight knot. My midwife says this is a good thing, though, because my body is getting ready for the real deal and most likely will have contractions on its own without having to induce (fingers crossed!)


Weight:  Up to a total of 30 pounds now, yuck!

Belly Pictures:

 

Here's the big ole belly!

 

Gender: All girl!

Maternity Clothes: I'm definitely in all maternity clothes now. For work, I've basically been in my work tshirts (thank goodness I ordered some mediums to cover this belly!) and jeans. I have a few scrub pants that still fit comfortably but those are becoming limited because when I sit down, they cut into the belly.

Movement:  She's still moving alot. The midwife said that this will probably slow down over the next few weeks as shes getting bigger and having less room to spread out in there. She loves to poke her little feet out on my right side and it really takes my breath away most of the time. She likes to karate kick pretty hard and can be pretty painful! She's starting to move more up to my ribs but not to the point where its hurting....yet!

Sleep:  This is beginning to get a lot more uncomfortable. I feel pretty good when I first lay down but as the night goes on, I wake up a million times to turn sides because my hip and back will be hurting. And it hurts badly to flip this big belly over, which normally leads to a contraction, ughhh!

What I Miss:  Being comfortable and having energy to do simple things and having clothes to wear that don't make me look totally frumpy

 

What I'm Looking Forward To: Thanksgiving!!! Excited to be able to see and spend time with all of my fam and also eat too much of a yummy meal and actually not feel guilty about it for once, haha! We are also doing more maternity pics with our fave photogs for our Christmas cards, so I'm excited about those too!

 

Cravings: Still the sweets. I can't seem to get enough anymore!

 

Best Moment of the Week:  Since I missed last week, I'll include that moment first, which was my shower! So many of my wonderful friends put in so much effort to make the shower so pretty and perfect for Kynslie and we are so blessed to be given so many gifts again to start her life! Here's all my lovely hostesses minus one, who was home with a sick, tiny baby.

 

 

 

 

 

This week- My birthday! It was probably the first year in many that I spent it doing absolutely nothing but sitting on the couch and watching tv with my sis, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! It was so nice to be able to relax! My parents cooked a wonderful birthday meal for me Thursday night and my mom bought me a prenatal massage. I got the massage on Saturday and it was A-MAZING!!!! I would highly recommend this to anyone who is pregnant because I was so relaxed and felt awesome afterward!

Questions or Concerns:  Nothing I can think of. Ive been going to appointments every 2 weeks now so I seem to get all my questions answered pretty quickly! 


Goals for the Week: Finish organzing Kynslies room with all the gifts we have been given! We bought a toy chest for her nursery and I defintiley want to get that put together and in her room by this week! Nursery is almost complete, yay!

31 weeks pregnant!

Baby Growth: This week, Kynslie is measuring in at about 16 inches long and about 3.3 lbs (about the size of a pineapple!), and she is heading into a growth spurt. She can now turn her head from side to side.  She’s still going through major brain and nerve development. Her irises now react to light, and all five of her senses are in working order (although she won’t use his sense of smell until she is born)

 

My Symptoms: This week, I've just been tiring out alot easier. I feel like she has really popped out so much more within the last week. My tummy has finally gotten to that majorly firm and tight point and when she pokes and stretches out, it can be painful in some points.  It's also hard to get in a good, deep breath lately. I seem to huff and puff when I'm doing simple things or just walking distances.


Weight:So excited that I only gained 1 pound the last week and a half! Woohoo! So total is up to 26 pounds, uughhhh

Belly Pictures:

 

And here is the big ole belly at 31 weeks!

 

 

Gender: Sweet little girl


Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all maternity except for tshirts and dresses, which I'm still just wearing mediums and larges in. Most of my scrub tops are getting too tight or mostly too short to cover this growing belly! So glad the formal events I had to go are over now because it was so hard finding something that looked decent to wear!

Movement: She is still moving all the time! She is getting where she will practically wrap around my side, it must be with her feet, but it hits something that really hurts so I try to push her back the other direction!


Sleep: Still sleeping good except for turning from side to side all during the night. But once I wake up to turn, I can always go right back to sleep so it's not been bothering me too much. My hips will start hurting if I lay on one side for too long and then it can be a little painful to flip.


What I Miss: Easily being able to get up and down from the floor or the couch. I feel like an old, obese woman!


What I’m Looking Forward To: My shower this weekend!!!! I can't wait to have so many of my favorite people in the same room at the same time! I know all the hostesses have worked very hard getting everything together so I can't wait to see how it all turns out!


Cravings: Not really anything specific.


Best Moment of the Week: Going to the doctor Friday and hearing my UTI had cleared up! Yay! I did decide to take the medicine so I was glad that it worked!


Questions or Concerns: Talked with our midwife Friday about when we could induce if Kynslie doens't come on her own before 39 weeks and she informed me that her and Dr. Sharon will both be out of town the weekend before Christmas and until the Wednesday after. It freaked me out a bit because I am terrified of going into labor when they are not here! There is another Doctor on call obviously but I would be devastated not having my midwife or doctor that I am comfortable with to deliver her! So, she said she would start checking me at 36 weeks and working my membranes each week, if possible, to get her to maybe come on her own a little early. But if that doesn't work, then I just pray she waits until the Thursday after Christmas to make her appearance!


Goals for the Week: Finish organizing her nursery, especially after the shower this weekend, I'll probably need to re-organize a few times! But I don't mind because I love spending time in her nursery right now! :)

29-30 weeks pregnant!

Ok, I know, I know, I've totally missed my 29 week post! Things were crazy last week and Merlin had lots of studying to get done so my computer time was limited but I'll try to do my best not to miss any from here on out!


Baby Growth: Baby Kynslie is about 15.7 inches long and should be weighing in around about 3 lbs at this point! There’s a very good chance that she is dreaming now when she sleeps. She is also starting to get wrinkles in her brain. These grooves and indentations create more surface area, meaning that she has more room for brain tissue. She’s also starting to get some strength – she is now strong enough to grasp a finger! There is about a pint and half of amniotic fluid in my uterus right now, but that amount will start to decrease as his size continues to increase.

 
My Symptoms: Tired, tired, and more tired! It feels like my first trimester all over again, well, besides the sickness! Ughh!!! The nerve pain on my right side seems to almost be gone now which is A-mazing! It makes for much better days and afternoons at work. I have started noticing a little bit of swelling in my hands and feet if I overdo it or stand up too long. I usually just try to rest and prop my feet up when this starts happening.

I'm still having trouble slowing down and not doing as much. Lindsay and I went to Kentucky this past weekend for a good friends wedding and I thought I could just stand up and do what I usually do during the reception and yes, in heels the whole time. But by the end of the night, my feet were killing me and after not going to bed until 3, I was hurting and uncomfortable the whole next day. And 12 hours traveling in the car was not as easy as I had expected! I can't hang like a non-prego anymore! This has been so hard for me to accept because I still want to go and do fun things but not taking into consideration how much different it is for me right now!

Also, at my doctors' appointment this past week, I was told I have a UTI. Which really surprised me because I had no symptoms (and I usually can always tell when I have one). The midwife prescribed me the antibiotic Macrobid to take to clear it up. I was fine with that until I made the mistake of researching it online and reading all kinds of horror stories about babies stopping movement and having to be immediately delivered after taking it. So, I've been trying some natural remedies to flush it out because antibiotics during pregnancy really just scare me. But I go back to the Dr on Friday, so if it is still lingering, I'll have to really consider the medication.


Weight: Ughh, getting to the point where I don't like talking about this now! I gained 2 more pounds in 2 weeks which the Dr was happy with and they said was normal. So that puts me at a total of 25 pounds, yikes!

 
Belly Pictures: Since I missed last week, I'll show you pictures of 29 and 30 weeks! :)

Here is 29 weeks!

And 30 weeks!

 

 

Our first baby was jealous he hasnt been on the blog yet! Poor baby doesn't know what he is in for with his sister on the way! We love this baby so much!

 

 

Gender: We had our 3d ultrasound last week and she's still a girl!


Maternity Clothes: It's getting harder and harder to find things to wear! I can wear dresses in bigger sizes but most of my small tshirts are way too short to pull off now!

Movement: She still loves to roll around and kick like crazy! She sticks out body parts but I still can't tell what they are! At our 3d ultrasound, she was in breech position but they said she still has a few weeks to roll around so they will still be keeping an eye on that.

Sleep: Still about the same! Haven't been waking up as much in the middle of the night to use the bathroom so that has been nice. But I do still wake up turning side to side and wake up on my back alot still which scares me!

What I Miss: Being able to have clothes to wear! I feel like my selections are so limited now!

What I’m Looking Forward To: Really looking forward to next weekend for my next shower! I have several friends coming in from out of town for it and I can't wait to see everyone and spend time with them!

Cravings: Still nothing crazy! I did want some pop tarts on our Kentucky trip so I got some blueberry ones and they were delicious!


Best Moment of the Week: Seeing sweet Kynslie at our 3d ultrasound (post to come)! And being able to spend time with my sister this weekend on our Kentucky trip and seeing old friends at the wedding who don't live close anymore! We stayed with my long time best friend, Renee (whose brother was the groom) and it was so nice to be able to spend time with her because I haven't seen her since I've even been pregnant! Here are a couple of pics from the wedding!

Renee, me, and Kynslie at 30 weeks at the wedding reception!

 

 

 Me with the groom, Nick, a long time close friend!

 

 


Questions or Concerns: I go back to the Doctor on Friday so I'm anxious to see if the UTI is still lingering around, I still haven't had many symptoms. I've also noticed I have alot of little red dots on my hands lately and just wondering what that is.


Goals for the Week: We bought a cubicle storage for Kynslie's closet and my sweet hubs assembled it while I was gone over the weekend. So I want to get her things organized now that we have more space! We took our epidural class Monday so just sign me up when I get to the hospital, I'm not even going to attempt to be tolerable of pain! :)

Derby Day - Our First Shower!

We had our first baby shower a few weeks ago thanks to some lovely hostesses! It was a couples shower so that Merlin and the guys could be involved and it was Kentucky Derby themed. Which, of course, we love themed parties when they give us an excuse to dress up! Merlin has been dying to wear a bow tie, so this gave him the perfect reason and I can't say I wasn't excited about wearing a ridiculously large hat!

Here we are in our Derby get up!

 

 

My sister, Misty, began getting ideas and things together for this shower months ago and put everyone to work to make our shower perfect!  With the help of some special friends and some awesome brothers in law, we had a shower complete with lights, hay bails for seating, drinks in mason jars, a specail preg-a-tini for me, and a sweet table filled with yummy mint treats, my favorite!

Here is view of the beautiful set up!

 

My favorite table, the sweets!

 

These were the best things ever! Mint brownies with a york peppermint patty in the middle, my dream come true!

 

 

The yummy food!

They even had a table of onesies for each person to decorate their own for Kynslie and hang up to display, such a cute idea! And we got some really cute and funny onesies for her!

 

And the best part....digging into all her presents! We are truly blessed with wonderful family and friends that showered Kynslie with so many clothes and gifts to welcome her into the world!

 

 

Here is one of the awesome presents she got, completely handpainted by her Aunt Kelly! She made her a bow hanger for the nursery, we love it!

 

 

And no shower can be complete without the Wild at Hart Photobooth!

 

 

Celebrating our best dressed win! Prize was my favorite kinds of wine,
can't wait to crack that open once she comes! haha!

 

 

Thanks again to all our wonderful friends and family for being a part of our shower!

 

The girls!

The fellas!



And a special thanks to all of our hosts and hostesses.... 

 Chris and Lindsay! Thanks for letting us invade your lovely home for the event and for all you did helping make everything great!

 

Christie and Myron!

 

Julia and Angie standing in as Chris, haha

 

Mollie and Christy standing in as Rick :)

 

Sadly, there are no pictures of Misty and Aarron together, they are always so busy taking the pics and making sure everything is running smoothly! So heres a photobooth pic of me and Mist!

 

 

 And also thanks to my sweet friends, Lauren and Raymond, who were also hosts but were unable to come! We love ya'll!

 

 

And the biggest thanks of all goes out to my sweet and handsome hubby since if it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened, haha! I sure hope baby girl looks like her Daddy! Doesn't get much cuter this this!

 



 

Kynslie had a great time celebrating with everyone and was pooped by the time it was all over! She can't wait to meet everyone! :)