The Last Days (Week 39 & 40 Updates)

How far along:

39 Weeks

Baby is as big as a:

Watermelon!

Total weight gain: 

32 lbs

Maternity clothes: 

The looser the clothing the better. Are moomoo's back in style yet?

Sleep:

It's starting to get tougher to sleep. I find I can't get as comfortable and sleeping on my back officially hurts. I prop the belly up with pillows as I sleep on my sides but sometimes the belly feels so heavy it pulls on my ribs close to my sternum and I wake up so achy. It also hadn't helped that I got mosquito bites GALORE all over my ankles one night. They are so itchy!!

Movement?

Lost of movement still. I thought the movement was supposed to decrease right before labor but my doctor says I just have an active baby. Maybe all that movement will kick labor in sooner?

Best moment this week: 

On Monday my coworkers threw me an 'Aubrionna Day'.  Wednesday was my last day of work which is bittersweet and I'll explain more about those tow below.

While shopping for some last minute things at Walmart this random lady stopped me and started telling me how beautiful I looked. All pregnant ladies need a self esteem boost! Thank you random lady! Then another lady offered to let me go in front of her in the check out line. People are nice to the bump!

Weird pregnancy moment:

All the fun looks I got while attending the Carrie Underwood concert 39 weeks pregnant!

Symptoms:

Alright guys it finally happened. After mostly standing at the concert for about 4 straight hours I had cankles. Bad. Obviously my own fault but was it worth it? YESSS. If I had the choice to do it again I would!

Food cravings:

Milk. The cereal craving is dying down now. I'm mostly still eating cereal because it involves milk. I really wanted lasagna one night so I made one and it was awesome.

What I'm looking forward to: 
Meeting our baby! It could be any day now!

Aubrionna Day

I came to work Monday and everything started out normal but that changed very quickly. To give you some history our branch started this thing where we would make it someone's day. One particular teller was constantly stepping up and offered to close every Friday for the next month while we were short handed. No one wants to close on Friday so that fact he stepped up and volunteered was a big deal but he also just kept pitching in and helping us a lot. So to thank him we came up with Rey Day and celebrated him, got him gifts and surprised him every hour, bought his lunch, decorated his station, you know because he deserved it. Well we did for another one of our coworkers too. She was going to be out of town on her birthday and we just really felt like she deserved a day too so we made it Tina Day one day. Well when I came to work that Monday little did I know it was Aubrionna Day. I love showering people with praise, thanks and surprises but it's totally different to be on the receiving end and I was not expecting it! They're lucky I made it through the day without crying like a hormonal pregnant lady.

I got a banner to decorate and my first gift was a little stuffed corgi named Steve and corgi socks! 

My boss made a breakfast yummy casserole. I got a $50 gift card to PF Changs (lettuce wraps for DAYS!) and a $45 gift card to Target and cash. I got a sweet baby gift. They brought me tons of fruit and a cupcake to go with my lunch YUM! (and this was all before lunch). After lunch I was surprised with one of those awesome coloring books with the intricate designs, markers and some movies, a bag of Reeses, a broncos bracelet that is SO cute and an amazing cake! Look at this thing!

Then came the bouquet of balloons because my favorite movie is UP complete with UP pins as the anchor! I was and still am just floored by the generosity of all my coworkers wanting to do this for me. It was kind of my going away party I guess you could say but they made it clear they weren't celebrating me leaving haha! I still just don't feel deserving of their kindness and I can only hope I left the Credit Union better off than when I started and that I made some kind of positive difference while I was there.

Queen Carrie

Dan and I were originally going to buy tickets to see Carrie Underwood in Dallas, but when we found out the date we thought we'd better not in case baby comes early. Well Shane and Jaclyn had tickets and last minute Shane couldn't go so Jaclyn invited me! It was hard to say yes right away because I know Dan really likes Carrie too but he treated it as my last spontaneous hurrah before baby comes and encouraged me to go. Obviously I was so glad I went because it was amazing! People say Beyonce is queen, they are highly mistaken because Carrie is in fact QUEEN. She put on an amazing concert and I took way too many pictures!

This is the view of the whole stage. Our seats are right in the middle of the picture on the 5th row.

 Thw Swon Brothers

Easton Corbin

CARRIE

Here's a view of where our seats were after the concert

It was AMAZING! Huge thank you to Jaclyn for inviting me, it was a dream come true! My feet swelled so badly but hello- totally worth it! It took them about the whole next day to recover and I had to work the next day but I didn't care!

Last day of Work

I decided my last day of work would be Wednesday because that was a week before my due date. I've written about this in spurts before but as it comes to an end it doesn't seem real yet. I've been blessed to have jobs that although they have been far from perfect, in hindsight, it seems to be exactly what I needed at the time. Yes there were some frustrating, shocking, unfair days and times but because of the flexibility of this credit union I've been able to finish my degree, buy a home and continue to work through a majority of my pregnancy. While I was taking classes they let me leave during the day to go take proctored tests. I was an online student so I couldn't take them after work. Then when I had to do an internship they arranged my work schedule for 4 months so that even though I was working part time, I wouldn't loose my vacation and sick time benefits. Plus putting up with that for payroll I'm sure was a headache! Shortly after that I graduated with my Bachelors and in the middle of all this, with the help of my income we bought our first home. While I've been pregnant I've been able to work around sickness and doctors appointments. And now because of where we sit financially, partially because of this job, I'll be able to stay home with baby boy. Not everything was perfect and there will be a lot of things I won't miss, but the people I worked with everyday made a difference and they are what I'll miss the most!

My last day felt kind of rushed because I had to leave early for a doctors appointment and I didn't get to reflect as much during the day and I wanted to but I realized that it's okay because I'm transitioning into something that I believe is vitally important- raising a family. It doesn't feel like reality yet when I say that this time period of working full time outside the home is over. (I'm writing this of day 2 of no work and I still just feel like I'm on vacation!). I've written it times before in this blog and I'll write it again-  I'm not ready in the sense that I don't have it all figured out but I'm ready for a new adventure.

Growing up I always wanted to be married. I thrive on relationships and I probably watched too many Disney movies (wait is that possible?) but it was something I always wanted for myself. However having children terrified me, for good reasons too. I never had confidence in my ability or skill to someday be a mother and I always felt anxiety about it. My last couple years working I've started to realize I didn't want to work for the rest of my life. That's not what I desired for my future. If we were blessed to expand our family, THAT was the work I wanted to put my hours in at. I prayed about it a lot and I've seen my heart slowly change, I've seen the fear and anxiety leave and be replaced with peace and humility. It's not going to perfect or easy but I feel so much peace that this is right for my family and I'm so excited. I cannot wait to learn about my new job!

Come, Baby Come!

I'm writing this section on my due date, I've hit the 40 week mark. It's kind of surreal to think that this baby could come any day now. I also feel like a ticking time bomb. The belly is definitely in the way and putting on my shoes is hard but I'm not wildly uncomfortable. This is mostly because my bump has been physically measuring 35-36 weeks. Baby's head dropped a while ago and has been low ever since so my belly didn't get as big as it could have.

Reflecting on this last week, not working was exactly what I needed. I didn't realize how much I let follow me home and how tired I was getting. The first couple days were so rejuvenating, it was heaven sent. And now I've been able to prep, clean, read, finish small projects, whatever I want before this baby comes! It's been great me-time and although I wish my baby was here, I'm glad I've had this time to do things I enjoy and prepare for labor.

As apart of my random nesting things I made thank you goodie bags for the nurses. This was totally not a necessity but I had time and thought why not!

Included are:

Gum

Pens

Mints

Reeses

Granola Bar

Werthers Caramels

Crackers

Then I packed us some snacks for Dad when I'm laboring and for the both of us afterwards. I know the hospital provides some food, but you never know who's going to want a snack at what hour of the night!

Included are:

Electrolyte drinks

Water

Granola Bars (Nature Valley & Cliff)

Fruit Snacks

Almonds

Hard Candies

Mints

 Better late than never I finished the blanket I started for baby boy!

It's General Conference weekend and it's my last bump picture, there was no way I was going to dress up. Or put make up on.

How far along:

40 Weeks!
I made it!

Baby is as big as a:

Jackfruit
Thank you Chopped so I know what that is.

Total weight gain: 

I peaked at a healthly 35 lbs this pregnancy... but then lost 2 lbs the next day

Maternity clothes: 

Being at home I don't have to wear professional looking clothes, hallelujah! My maternity shorts, leggings and sweats are comfy as can be.

Sleep:

Depends on the night. Some nights I'll be tossing and turning. I'll feel claustrophobic from the pillows around me but I need them to support the belly, it's a battle. My body is trained to wake up, probably at the exact same time (I haven't looked), to use the restroom. Which I'm grateful for because I don't want any accidents here! But some nights I get situated perfect and it's so comfy I forget I have a belly until I try to roll over.

Movement?

Still a lot of movement. I feel him almost constantly. I've feeling movements lower and lower each day and I'm hoping these are good signs that labor is coming soon!

Best moment this week: 

My doctor's appointment was great this week. I had a sonogram to make sure baby's amniotic fluid levels were good which they are. We got some good pictures of his face and saw that he smiled every time I spoke! Heart melted! Doctor checked me and I was still at a 2 barely effaced so she stretched me out a bit hoping something might come of it (nothing did obviously). He's happy as can be in there and I'm happy as long as he's healthy! 

Weird pregnancy moment:

I didn't have anything too strange happen to me this week. I watched Once I Was a Beehive with my mom and I cried, that's typical pregnancy hormones though :)

Symptoms:

Everything seems to be loosening up which is a sign that labor should be coming soon. Mild swelling, lots of baby kicks, decreased bladder size- the usual. Oh and I'm HOT. Like all the time. Thankfully I didn't feel this way the entire pregnancy but it's definitely kicking in now.

Food cravings:

I made cinnamon rolls and used self control not to eat the whole pan, Win! But then I drank all the milk...to the store!

What I'm looking forward to: 

Baby! Is there really anything else that trumps that?

My due date has come and gone and my mom flew into town. All we need now is a baby! Dan took Friday off and we spent the day at the Texas State Fair. I love fairs and it was so fun. My favorite part will always be the petting zoo (how old am I?). They have wallabies, tortoises, zebras, goats, camels, giraffes, yaks, bison, cows, porcupines, llamas, ostrich, donkeys, pigs etc. The camels were my favorite to feed and they were NOISY which was funny.

My other favorite part was watching the dunk show! The Lords of Gravity are from Hungary I believe but it was so cool! Amazing to watch their awesome tricks.

We ate some good food, walked a ton, saw exhibits and shows, walked more and had a great time! I was definitely feelin' it by the end of the day and Dan was sweet enough to slow the pace as I tried my hardest not to waddle. It was good weather (for Texas) and we had a great day!

Get ready for this, whenever I get around to writing the next post we'll have a BABY! We can't wait and are so excited!