35/36 Week Pregnancy Update

We are officially nine months pregnant.  Wow!  It’s hard to believe.  Time has flown by so quickly.  We are almost to the end of the road. 

As we get closer, I’m slowly getting more and more miserable.  It’s harder to get comfortable at night, and I am constantly out of breath.  My ribs are almost always aching, and my back is starting to hurt more than ever. 

But that’s what we call pregnancy.  If I didn’t have these symptoms, then I wouldn’t be pregnant.  Which would mean little Jason isn’t in my belly.  I love Jason being in my belly. 

It is the most amazing thing to feel him moving, and to be able to tell how he’s situated.  Just the other night Mason and I could feel an elbow or knee poking out of my belly.  It is no longer gross for Mason, but it’s entertaining and special.  I find it amazing to see Mason feeling Jason move, and smiling.  His face is full of a big smile when he gets to feel him move.  The other night Jason had hiccups, and Mason could feel it. 

It’s so special because we know that soon this will be over.  Soon Jason will be outside of my belly, and all of this will go away.  Of course we’re excited to see him, but we’re also scared.  It’s scary bringing a baby in the world.  You have all these what-if’s.  We want to make sure that we are financially ready, but we don’t know how we can be any more ready than we are.  Everything is pretty much set, and we can’t really do anything else to prepare. 

All I have left to do is finish washing all of his clothes and blankets.  Then, I have to move all of his stuff from the spare room into our room.  I’ve made room for it all, now I just have to move it from one place to the other.  It is organized in the other room, but we need most of the stuff in our room because it will be easier.  We’ve also pretty much got everything that we need for him too.  Now we are just randomly buying diapers.  We should have enough newborn and size one diapers, but we don’t have any size two.  Therefore, we’re going to start stocking up on those.  If we need newborn or size one diapers, then we’ll get them when we start getting low.  That way we don’t end up with a ton of extra diapers that we never used. 

Mason’s dad, whom we are talking to again, is going to throw me a small shower.  That will give us more stuff, but we’ve got practically everything now.  My mom is getting the going home outfit, and Mason’s coworker is getting us a memory book.  The only thing Mason and I have yet to get is the first-aid thing that comes with nail clippers and all of that.  But we may be getting that from Mason’s family. 

As a little update, we officially have the truck paid off.  We made our last payment two weeks ago.  After that we had to get it inspected.  It ended up needing new back brakes (the front ones will be going soon, but the mechanic didn’t want to charge us more at the time), and a sway bar.  He also put the muffler on right so that it won’t keep falling off.  It turned out that it wasn’t a very cheap inspection, but we are happy because the truck is fixed.  It feels good to know that the truck is legal, paid off, and reliable. 

Anyways, my symptoms.  I’ve already listed a few, but there are a couple others. 

First, I thought I didn’t have energy before, now I really don’t have energy.  I’m still cleaning two houses with my mom to bring in at least a little extra money.  I know a lot of people work this far into their pregnancy, but it’s pretty tough on me.  I am still getting down on my hands and knees to scrub floors, which is not very easy on my back, but I do it. 

I’m actually pretty proud of myself seeing as I’m still cleaning.  In the beginning I didn’t expect to still be cleaning this far into my pregnancy.  I pay the consequences though.  By the end of the day, my feet feel like they’re about to fall off, and my back is killing me.  I’m also completely exhausted, and feel in desperate need of a nap.  Unfortunately, I am not a day sleeper, so it is very difficult for me to take a nap while the sun is out.  So I always go without a nap, but most of the time I go to bed a little earlier.

Getting around is even more difficult than it was in my last update.  I find that I need to always have support when I’m getting up.  I can’t just hop up anymore, but I have to ease my way up.  Once I’m standing I have to stand still for a couple seconds to make sure I have my balance. 

I was clumsy before I became pregnant, and we had thought that I had become clumsier in the beginning.  Now I’ve been having plenty of close calls where I feel like I’m going to fall, but I haven’t.  I know it’s not good to have close calls, but I’m being as careful as I can.  It’s just I can no longer see my feet, and I often end up tripping over things. 

Plus, I am not used to having a huge belly.  It is in the way a lot more now.  I’m always accidentally bumping things because I don’t realize how big I am.  This just recently started being a problem.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when I get even bigger. 

Before, I didn’t really have a problem with going to the bathroom.  I went once a night, and during the day I went pretty often.  Now I go about 3 times a night, and I have to go every two to three hours during the day.  I also can not completely empty my bladder.  Once I think I’ve finished I go to get up, and realize that I still have to go.  Therefore it takes me a little longer in the bathroom. 

I still haven’t really been having any swelling, but I have been having a lot more cramps.  Sometimes I get little cramps in my hand, but most of the time it’s always in my right leg.  That happens at least twice a day now where it used to not even happen every day. 

I think I’ve been having “lightning crotch” too, but I’m not sure what it feels like.  I’ve just been having random pains in my pelvic area when I stand up, or at random times of the day.  This doesn’t happen that often though; just every couple days. 

I believe that’s pretty much it for my symptoms. 

Now, I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday.  Everything was perfect, but it was definitely a more interesting appointment than usual.  First, my OB measured me, and she told me that I’m measuring two weeks ahead, but that it’s fine.  Then, she went to try and get the heartbeat. 

Well, first my OB always checks to see how he’s positioned so she can hear his heartbeat easier.  When she started feeling my belly she told me that he had no room.  She said that my belly was so tense because he filled it so much that she couldn’t even tell how he was positioned.  In the end she had to guess where his heartbeat would be.  She found it low in my belly first, but she had been pushing on my belly to move him at the same time.  My OB wasn’t happy with how it sounded, so she tried to find it somewhere else.  She then found it high in my belly.  This made her concerned that he had turned breech somehow.  I have no idea how he would manage this seeing as there is no room for him to flip. 

Anyways, she was worried that he was breech, so she tried to find it in my lower belly again.  Luckily, she found it, and she liked the way it sounded.  She assured me that he was still head down, which I was very happy about.  I know that if he decides to flip into a breech position, that it will be very difficult to put him where he’s supposed to be.  It is possible for my OB to manually flip him, but because he has no room, it would be really hard.  Obviously, I was really relieved. 

At this appointment, I also had the strep B test.  I will receive the results of this next week. 

Plus, I had my first cervical check.  I was very nervous about this because I had heard that it is really painful.  I was also in the room by myself because Mason was working.  Therefore, I really couldn’t find any comfort in anyone. 

I had talked to my mom about it beforehand, and she had told me it wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t reassured.  I was still pretty scared. 

But, I’ll have you know.  It really wasn’t bad.  It was really uncomfortable, but not so much painful.  It was also very quick.  I expected it to be much worse, and it really wasn’t.  Now I can’t say that this is the same for everyone because it may not be.  Everyone’s tolerance is different, and no one body is the same. 

The result of my cervical check was that my cervix was closed.  My OB told me that I would not be having him any time soon, and that I was in for the long haul.  I’m not sure whether I’m happy about this or not.  I want him to stay in there as long as he needs, but I can’t wait to see him.  I’m so excited to be a mom and take care of my baby.  Of course, I don’t want to have him yet.  I want his lungs to be completely mature, and I don’t want him to have to spend any time in the NICU. 

Besides that, I gained one pound; making my total weight gain 22 pounds.  I was worried that I was going to gain more than that because of having my baby shower and eating cake, but it didn’t turn out that way. 

So that’s it for my regular appointment stuff.  But I have an appointment update.  My OB is leaving to go to family practice.  Actually, this was my last appointment with her.  Surprisingly my OB hadn’t even told me that she would be leaving.  I found out when I was checking out, and I was told that I had to see the male OB next time.  I’m not comfortable with a male doctor, so I was pretty upset about this. 

Plus my original OB is really nice, and I have had her for this whole nine months.  I don’t want someone that I barely know to deliver Jason.  I was comfortable with her, and I trusted her. 

Luckily, there will be another female OB coming in.  She just won’t be in next week, so I will have to see the other OB once; hopefully not more than once.  I’m still pretty upset about this, but there’s nothing I can do, so I’m pretty much just going with the flow of things.  I just hope my next OB is as nice as this one was. 

That is the end of my 35 and 36 week pregnancy update.  Thank you for reading, and have a great day.  Please let me know how your pregnancy is going in a comment below.  Also, if you have a blog that you would like me to check out, then leave the link below.  I will be happy to return the favor of you reading my posts.  Thanks again!

35 weeks and 4 days Pregnancy Belly

35 weeks and 4 days pregnant.  My total weight gain is 21 pounds.  As you can see, in this picture he is extremely high up.  Do I look bigger than my last belly picture?

Ultrasound Update

I'm sorry for being late with this update.  As you know on Monday of last week, I had an appointment.  One appointment was for my ultrasound to check his size, and my next was just a normal one.

First things first, my ultrasound.  Jason is definitely still a boy, and he is perfectly healthy.  We had a great time being able to see him again.  He has Mason's big nose, and it looks like he has his big lips too.  The ultrasound technician also said that it looks like he has hair.  She pointed it out to us, and we saw it too.

All of his measurements came out fine.  He is a big baby: 6 pounds 3 ounces.  We were told this could be off about a pound each way.

Then, I had my regular appointment.  I gained one pound at this appointment, making my total weight gain 21 pounds.  They measured me, and I measured a 38.  This means that I'm measuring three weeks ahead of what I should be.  My OB said not to worry about it though.

His heartbeat was normal, and everything was perfect besides the fact that he's big.  As of now, we are not determining any kind of plan because of his size.  Right now everything is going to go as normal.

Mason and I both have a feeling though that Jason had another growth spurt.  I feel enormous, and Mason says that I look a lot bigger.  I've also been told by several people that I look a lot bigger.  This may cause us to have to figure out a plan.  We will see.  I have another appointment tomorrow, on Wednesday.  This will be when I get my Strep B test, and when my OB does the first cervical check.

I will update you tomorrow or the next day on how my appointment went and post my pregnancy update.  It seems like there is a lot to update on for that.  Thanks for reading and have a great day!  Don't forget to check back in a couple days for my normal pregnancy update and appointment update.  Thanks again.

Baby Shower Surprise!

You wouldn't believe it.  As you know, I thought my baby shower was going to be after labor day.  This apparently was not the case.  

My mom had told me that she was cooking food for a party that she had to go to Sunday, and that my gram was going along too.  I was all excited that Mason and I would have the house to ourselves.  

Mason had told me that we had to go to our family friend's house for a picnic, and that I had to dress nice.  He also said that we would be getting water first.  We were supposed to be at the picnic at 1:15pm, and it was around 1:10 and we were still looking for the water fountain.  By the way, we get water from a local spring for Mason to take to work.  Once we get more gallon jugs we plan on only using spring water when we have our own place.  

Anyways, I keep telling Mason that we're going to be late, and he tells me that we're not.  I keep looking at the time like, "Uh, yeah we are."  Of course, he keeps reassuring me.  

Well, the whole time he's like I don't know exactly where the water fountain is because we were looking for a different one because the one we normally go to didn't have a lot of pressure.  All the sudden, he pulls into an alley.  I ask him, "Did we miss it?" 

He tells me, "Here you are." with that nice smile on his face.  I look around and see white and blue balloons and streamers and my family sitting around.  That's when I realized Mason had tricked me, and that they had surprised me with a baby shower.  

So I was actually surprised with a baby shower.  I expected to know the day and everything, but I had no idea.  Luckily I had listened to Mason and changed into nice clothes.  

I got a lot of nice stuff, and had a lot of fun.  It was a little awkward being the center of attention and getting to eat first and all of that.  It wasn't something I was used to, but it was fun.  I am very blessed to have such a supportive family.  

I will be posting a list of everything I got because everything was written down for me so I can send thank you letters.  I'll post this possibly today, and I might take a couple pictures depending.  You will see more pictures of the stuff when Mason and I get the room ready and have everything set up.  

Also, my ultrasound is later today.  Mason and I are extremely excited to get to see Jason again.  We can't wait.  I'm also having my regular doctor's appointment after the ultrasound.  Therefore, I should have a post today or tomorrow about how that went.  

That is my special news for the day.  Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Handmade baby shower gifts (pictures)

 

These are pictures of the quilt that was made for us.  I'm not sure how well you can see, but the second picture shows the stitches.  This was done without a sewing machine.  It looks amazing.  The stitches are perfect.  I can't imagine how long it took to make this.  I love it.  The design is extremely adorable.

 

The little booties that were made for us.  It's part of a set.  They are really adorable.  I can't believe people can make stuff like this.  It's perfect.

 

This is mainly to show the sweater because I have a close up of the hat next.  The sweater is also handmade.  It looks perfect, and I love it.  The colors are great, and the whole set matches really well.

 

This is the hat that goes with the whole set.  I really like this hat.  It'll be nice and warm for him.

 

I am extremely thankful for all of these things.  They are so adorable and perfect.  I can't believe how lucky we are to have people take so much time to make stuff for our baby boy.  I would never be able to make something so perfectly.  I honestly can't find one thing wrong with any of these things. 

 

I thought I'd share them with you because they are so special to me.  I love them, and I can't wait to use them.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day.

Our Crib (Pictures)

 

This is our crib.  I really like it, and I can't wait to be able to use it.  The blanket is in there just for decoration right now.  We won't be needing a blanket in the crib because we have wood heat.  It's always really warm in the house when you have wood heat. 

 

Also, I know that the bumper is not safe anymore.  My mom wanted me to keep it in, and I was going to keep it in until he could roll over because I talked to an adult friend of ours that her daughter had a son and used it until he could roll over.  She works in a hospital.  After that, I asked my nurse at my doctor's appointment about it, and she said that it is okay up until they're 2 1/2 months old.  Then, they can roll themselves over without actually meaning to just by kicking their feet.  I shortened this, and decided I will be taking it out when he's two months old, or before depending on how he is.  I don't just go on statistics because I know every baby is different.  I won't go past two months with it in, but I may take it out before two months if I feel that he is strong for his age. 

 

The picture that is on the wall will be taken down this weekend or next when we finish moving the room around.  I don't trust a picture being over the crib, and I definitely won't be keeping it there.  We have little pillow decorations to go on the wall that matches the set. 

 

So that's our crib.  I hope you like it.  If you have an recommendations or anything please let me know.  I'm open to suggestions.  This is my first baby, and I know that I don't know everything in regards to safety and all of that.  I want everything to be perfect for Jason.  Thanks for reading and have a great day.

34 weeks pregnant baby belly

 

34 weeks pregnant baby belly!  Do I look any bigger from my last picture?  I feel so much bigger.  Jason is still really high up, and he hasn't dropped at all.  This is a good thing because we want him to be completely healthy when he's born, and not have to spend any time in the NICU.  I personally wouldn't mind going past my due date on Oct. 2nd, except for the fact that I can't wait to see him.  My total weight gain is twenty pounds, and still going up.  We're getting close to that 25-35 weight gain goal, but who's counting anymore.  At this point, I don't think we can stop the weight gain.  I'm just accepting it, and being proud that my baby is healthy and growing.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

8 Months Pregnant Belly

My baby belly at eight months pregnant.  I just got my new camera, and I'm extremely excited.  The quality isn't the greatest because of the lighting, but it works.  I've gotten so much bigger since my last belly shot at seven months.  I knew he had a growth spurt but it's so hard to tell until you see the pictures side by side.  My total weight gain is sixteen pounds.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

31/32 Week Pregnancy Update

We are eight months pregnant!  I can’t believe how close we are getting.  Have we started the countdown yet?  Mason and I have been counting down the weeks with a note of fear and excitement in our voices.  We are so excited to be parents and raise this child, but the idea of it is still scary.  Money is what scares us, but we have faith that everything will work out.  We have a plan, so we’re not going into this with nothing.  That’s what makes us feel more comfortable about being a family. 

So to start, surprisingly I have noticed a slowdown in Jason’s movements.  Of course he still moves a lot, but it isn’t like it used to be.  I don’t like this at all seeing as I count on his movements to tell me if he’s okay.  I believe this is where everything gets the most stressful.  I worry about going early, and I am terrified that something could happen in these last few weeks.  I hate voicing this worry, but it’s true.  Do other new mom’s feel that way?  I can’t be the only one. 

Something else that has surprised me is that his kicks rarely hurt.  There has been a couple that hurt a little bit, but nothing serious at all.  I always thought that once they get stronger it starts to hurt.  But the only ones that have hurt me are when he really stretches my skin, and he’s also kicked my back twice.  I wonder if it’s further along that the kicks start to be painful.  It’s hard going into this without a clue of what to really expect.  That’s why I make this blog.  Even though I’m learning, at least someone can still learn from my pregnancy. 

Anyways, my symptoms.  My morning sickness has gotten a lot better.  I still get nauseated sometimes, but I haven’t actually gotten sick in a couple weeks.  I forgot to mention that at my last doctor’s appointment we figured out that it was my prenatal that was making me sick.  So they switched me to Flintstone Complete vitamins.  Since then I have been sick a lot less.  I can’t believe it took us so long to realize it was the vitamins that were making me sick, but at least I know now. 

Next, I don’t have any energy.  I can sleep in until ten in the morning, and still be yawning at two in the afternoon, and be ready for bed by nine or ten at night.  I feel like a bum because of how much I sleep, but I guess pregnancy is an excuse.  At least I still get stuff done during the day. 

My newest symptom is a weird feeling in my legs.  It’s always my right leg.  When I stand or walk, every once in a while I’ll get a weird feeling that goes down my whole leg.  It starts at my hip and goes all the way down to my feet.  It feels almost like your leg is falling asleep, but different because it’s not the tingling or the squeezing feeling that you get when your leg falls asleep. 

I talked to my doctor about this at my doctor’s appointment and she said it was perfectly normal.  She said if it caused me pain in my butt/hip then it was probably my sciatic nerve, but if it’s my whole leg than it’s probably him putting pressure on the blood vessels to my legs.  Either way it’s not too bothersome or painful.  It only happens once in a while and it usually goes away within five minutes.  So it’s not too bad of a symptom for me.  

Besides that all of my symptoms have been pretty much the same.  I still have the achiness in my ribs.  It’s getting a lot harder to pick things up off the floor.  I get out of breath a lot, but it’s not all the time.  I think I’ve been a little bit more moody lately.  I haven’t really had too bad of moods throughout my pregnancy, but lately I’ve been feeling so jumpy with my emotions.  One minute I’m laughing hysterically, and the next I’m as serious as can be.  Thankfully I don’t break into random crying fits though. 

I still haven’t had too much swelling.  I think there have been times where I have gotten swollen, but not bad.  I could only tell because of that feeling you get trying to bend your fingers or toes when they’re swollen.   It hasn’t been bad at all, and it’s only happened a couple times so my engagement ring still sits comfortably on my ring finger. 

I’m not sure if this is a symptom or not, but I have been nesting really badly.  I have to wait until the baby shower to get everything ready in Mason and I’s bedroom, and it’s killing me.  The baby shower should be coming up soon, but I can’t seem to wait.  I can’t stop thinking about how we’re going to change the room around to fit the crib and everything. 

The reason we’re waiting for after the baby shower is because we want to know everything we have to fit in our room first.  Therefore, we can make room for it all at once instead of reorganizing the room more than once.  I can’t wait though.  I want to get the base of the car seat in the truck, but I can’t because it’s a baby shower present.  I want to dust everything and make it really clean but I can’t because it would be pointless to dust twice because I would end up dusting again before we put the baby things in here.  I know that once I get everything ready though I won’t be able to wait for him to get here.  Everything will be ready; we’ll just have to wait for him.  That will drive me insane.

So that’s pretty much it for my symptoms.  I’m extremely thankful that my symptoms haven’t been bad at all.  I feel like the luckiest pregnant girl in the world.  I have an outstanding fiancé that’s always there for me, and I have so much support from my family.  This pregnancy has been flying by, and there haven’t been any complications.  We are very blessed. 

Finally, as you know I had an appointment on Monday.  Everything went great.  His heartbeat was normal, and his growth was right on track.  I swear he had a growth spurt because I feel a lot bigger now.  My belly button is still in, but it’s puffing out around the edges of it.  And it’s getting pretty obvious no matter what I wear that I’m pregnant. 

Basically, my appointment was the same as usual.  I managed to make my OB laugh though.  She asked how my heartburn was, and I told her that it was good and I haven’t had to take my prescription for it.  I also said that the only thing that kills me is barbeque chips because they’re so good.  She said, “Middleswarth?”  Middleswarth is a brand of potato chips that only the state of Pennsylvania has.  They are extremely good.  So I said yeah, and she started laughing.  Then she said that she had to go buy some now because of talking about them. 

I thought this was funny.  I wonder how many pregnant women mention what they’re craving, and then the OB has to go buy some because she hasn’t had them in a while.  We pregnant girls are bad influences. 

Lastly, you wouldn’t guess how much I’ve gained.  Five pounds!  Five pounds in two weeks.  That makes my total weight gain sixteen pounds.  I’m pretty happy about this, but at the same time I’m worried.  I keep thinking, “What if I gain five pounds at my next appointment too?”  I’ll be getting close to my 25-35 pound mark if that happens.  But what can you do?  You have to gain weight when you’re pregnant, and you might as well be proud of taking care of your baby.  At least I’m not underweight.  I’m glad that he’s healthy and growing perfectly. 

That’s it for these two weeks.  It hasn’t been much of an eventful time, but who needs it to be exciting?  We just want Jason to be healthy, and stay in my belly as long as possible.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day.  And if you’re pregnant and reading this, I hope your pregnancy is going just as well as mine.  Let me know in a comment below.  Thanks again.

29/30 Weeks Pregnancy Update

We are inching closer and closer to my due date.  I can’t believe how fast time is flying.  This pregnancy has gone by so quickly.  I wonder if it’s because we didn’t find out until I was 9 weeks pregnant, so we just started the pregnancy off weird.  Anyways, we only have 10 or so weeks to go.  That is crazy! 

Unfortunately these past two weeks have been pretty uneventful.  I say unfortunately because it gives me less to update you on, and makes this update not as exciting. 

Jason is kicking all the time and freaking Mason out.  He is also always on my ribs which gives me a horrible achy feeling, and makes it harder for me to breathe.  But I still love him more than ever. 

I find myself really wanting to settle down now.  Before I was kind of still in the stage of squeezing in whatever we could before he got here, but now I’m really excited to be a mom.  I know it won’t be easy, but I’m excited for the responsibilities.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m worried and scared too.  Babies aren’t cheap, and Mason doesn’t have the best job even though it’s stable. 

Yet, I know people have made it by with less.  I try to be thankful for what I have because I do have a lot.  I have parents that help me as much as they can, and Mason’s dad is too.  I’ll be having three, yes three, baby showers. 

Let me explain.  Mason’s dad’s family doesn’t get along with mine because of their drinking habit.  Therefore, Mason’s dad is throwing me one with the girls from their family.  Plus, I think you already know that my mom is throwing me a baby shower with my family.  And finally, my cousin is throwing me a baby shower also.  Mason’s dad’s baby shower will only be about five people, and my cousin’s will only be about four.  My cousin is throwing a baby shower because of the fact that she doesn’t know my side of our family, and we wanted it to be a fun small get together where it could be personal. 

Either way I am extremely excited for all of them, and I feel very blessed to be supported by so many people.  God has a plan, and I know that this was part of it.  It has only turned our life around for the better.  Of course it’s brought struggles along with, but what is life without its battles? 

So, to get back on topic.  I haven’t had many symptoms.  I’ve been pretty achy like usual especially on my ribs.  I’ve also been having a lot of trouble breathing.  I can’t seem to get comfy in bed, but I still sleep fine once I fall asleep.  It just seems that every time I lay down I can’t catch my breath even though I don’t lay on my back.  My appetite jumps around.  Sometimes I feel like I could eat and eat and eat, and other times I don’t want to eat at all.  I’m not sure if this is normal or not.  Please let me know.

I’ve also still been having back pain.  It is all over my back.  I know my upper and middle back is in pain because I haven’t been able to crack it in months, and my lower is obviously from the weight change in the front.  Surprisingly I still haven’t had much swelling or leg cramps.  I still wear my engagement ring all the time, and I don’t have any problem with the shoes that I wear besides I like my support a lot more now. 

Well, I believe that’s pretty much it for my symptoms.  Let me know what your symptoms are in a comment below. 

Now for my doctor’s appointment.  You’ll be happy to know that Jason is perfectly healthy.  His heart rate was 145 which she said was perfectly normal.  She also measured my belly and told me that he was right on track.  I was very happy to hear this as I’ve been afraid that I haven’t been gaining enough weight.  As you know, at my last doctor’s appointment I lost three pounds.  They weren’t worried, but I was.  Isn’t that how it always is? 

Well, before this appointment I had been eating quite a bit, and Mason and I went to a restaurant too.  I was sure that I had gained like five pounds, but I was still worried.  So the first thing they do is check your weight and ask you to pee in a cup, right?  So I always get weighed before I go to the bathroom.  My nurse asked me if I wanted to go to the bathroom first so that I could shed a couple ounces while in there because a lot of women like to do that.  Of course I said no because I wanted any extra weight I could get. 

So it turns out I didn’t even gain a full pound!  Granted I was only a couple ounces off, but still.  I asked my nurse if my weight was okay, and she said yes it was okay because I was still gaining and making up the difference of what I had lost.  Later I asked my doctor to double check and she said that it was good too.  She told me that they like you to gain between 10 and 25 pounds.  In the beginning I was told 25 to 35 pounds, so that was confusing.  I think she might have said that because that’s like the least amount they want you to gain. 

Anyways, my total weight gain now is eleven pounds, and it’s all baby.  I know everything’s fine as long as he keeps growing at a normal weight, so I’m not too worried now.  I’m actually pretty proud that I haven’t gained more than I was supposed to. 

That’s it for this update.  I hope you enjoyed, and that you could relate.  I would love it if you left me a comment down below.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Update (Allergies to Cats)

I know, I know.  I owe you a huge apology.  I haven't posted in weeks!  Normally I am a little late with my pregnancy updates, and this was the case at first.  But then we had to go to Mason's dad's to housesit while he was on vacation.  Unfortunately I didn't have internet access there which I didn't know beforehand.  I thought I would have internet there and be able to update you guys. 

Anyways, excuses never work, so I apologize for not posting for that period of time.  I have my 29/30 week pregnancy update mostly typed, so that will be posted today.  I will also be posting my 31/32 week pregnancy update after my doctor's appointment on Monday. 

You will also be happy to know that I'll be getting a camera this week or next.  At the latest it will be Friday.  That means more belly pictures, and who knows what else.  I love taking pictures so you might get to see some random photography on here. 

Oh, and just a random little sidenote.  I was completely allergic to Mason's dad's cat who is a fluffball with a lot of hair.  I knew that I was a little allergic to certain cats before this because if I would pet a cat and then rub my eyes, they would get really itchy and if I continued to itch or rub them they would get cherry red.  But it only happens with certain cats, but I had it happen before with his cat.  I thought I would be fine though if I didn't pet her. 

Little did I know that I didn't even have to pet her.  Cat hair was covering the house, and therefore quickly covering me.  I was congested whilst having a runny nose and sneezing all the time.  My eyes were irritated, and they watered a lot.  There were times where I sat there just holding my hands over my closed eyes to stop myself from rubbing them. 

So I am extremely happy to be home.  I feel better already from the fresh air.  I know now that I will never own a cat.  I've always been more favorable towards dogs, but I still liked cats.  Now I still like cats but they obviously make me pretty miserable. 

Again, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for so long.  Like I said, I will post my 29/30 week pregnancy update today and my 31/32 week pregnancy update after my doctor's appointment Monday.  I should also have a baby belly picture this week or next once I get my camera.  Which by the way I am extremely excited about. 

Please forgive me for not posting.  Stuff like that is a rare occasion so you won't have to expect a delay like that again.  If I know that I will be away, I will be more prepared.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

How we plan on taking care of our baby.

As I’m telling you this, I’d like you to keep in mind that this is what we’re doing.  What we do isn’t necessarily what you should do.  Our life circumstances are different, and our views may be different also.  Either way, I hope you can learn from this. 

First things first: where will we be living when Jason is born? 

Well, right now we have our application in at housing.  If you don’t know, housing is for people with lower incomes.  You are put on a waiting list until an apartment becomes available.  We could be waiting for six months before we get in.  For us this works out though.  We will not have the truck paid off for about two or three more months.  Therefore, we will not be able to afford an apartment until it is paid off.  This gives us time to save up our money. 

As we are waiting for a place to become available, we will be staying with my parents.  My mom has offered a room in the house for the nursery, and as long as we continue to pay rent, we are welcome here.  For the first few months, Jason will be in our room sleeping in a bassinet.  Then, once he has outgrown the bassinet, we will move him to the nursery in a crib. 

Who will be taking care of him?

Jason is due in the beginning of October.  I only say this because around Thanksgiving Mason will be laid off for the winter.  He will still have plowing to do if it snows, but during winter he will be collecting unemployment. 

In the first and possibly second month, I will be taking care of Jason during the day, but Mason will help in the afternoons.  I will also be taking care of him at night because Mason will have to get up early for work.  On the weekends he will help at night unless he has to work Saturday.  In the fall they have to work Saturday’s because they get busy again.  Therefore, he will probably only help me Saturday nights. 

To give you an idea, Mason leaves for work at 7:20am, and gets home any time after 3pm.  Some days he will work as late as 7pm.  During the fall months he will have very long hours and probably won’t get off until between 5 and 7pm. 

Once Mason is laid off for the winter, we will both be taking care of him during the day and at night.  On a side note: Mason will be looking for a job that will give him his CDL so he can start his trucking career.  We already have a few places in mind, but we have to wait until then to start applying due to unemployment and everything.

Babysitters

We will not really be in need of babysitters because I will be staying home with Jason.  But on the off chance that we do need one, we would go to our family friends or Mason’s dad first.  The reason we will not go to my parents first is because of their drinking habit.  Neither of us are comfortable with Jason being around alcohol, and we don’t want to risk it. 

Of course, we are going to give them a chance to prove that they can handle it, but once they ruin it it’s gone.  We want Jason to be able to spend time with his grandparents, but this is a touchy matter for us.  They have done a lot for us, but we don’t trust them.  That is a story all in its own, but that’s where we stand with my parents babysitting.

As for daycare or anything along those lines, we won’t be enrolling him in that.  For one, we don’t need to, and for two, it is expensive.  Lastly, I have problems trusting people I don’t know with my baby.  You may not agree, but this is just how we plan on raising him.  Again, what works for us may not work for you.

I believe that’s it.  If you have any other questions that I forgot, feel free to ask.  I will answer all of them in a separate post so that I can go into detail.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

27/28 Week Pregnancy Update

Wow!  I am finally twenty-eight weeks pregnant.  It’s hard to believe that we only have twelve weeks left or sooner to see our little boy.  I hope it isn’t too soon because I want him to be perfectly healthy and not have to spend any time in the NICU. 

So we have reached the third trimester, and I am extremely excited.  I’m getting bigger every day, and I can feel him kick all the time.  He is getting extremely strong which is great. 

This past week has been really hectic.  I was feeling great in my 27^th week, but as soon as I hit my 28 week mark on Tuesday, everything went downhill.  I got extremely bad heartburn to the point where I couldn’t lay down in bed.  I also felt very sick to my stomach.  I was getting sick practically every day, sometimes three or four times a day. 

I was extremely miserable.  I couldn’t seem to get any sleep.  I was waking up every hour or so thinking I was going to get sick, and feeling horrible from heartburn.  I would take tums but it didn’t help. 

Thankfully by Saturday I felt a little bit better.  Mason and I were able to go to his dad’s, but it was very hot out which made it horrible because we were outside all day working on the truck.  Mason actually got heat exhaustion so I was up with him until three in the morning.  So I was running on hardly any sleep, and we went to his dad’s again on Sunday to finish the truck. 

I felt good until Monday then.  When I woke up Monday I felt very sick.  I couldn’t keep anything down until noon, and my doctor’s appointment was at 1:30pm.  Therefore at the doctor’s appointment I was dehydrated, but they weren’t worried because I had just started being able to eat and drink again. 

Otherwise my doctor’s appointment went great.  Jason’s heartbeat was in the high 140’s which she said was normal.  I also asked if he was breech or not, and she told me that he wasn’t because his heartbeat was low in my belly meaning he was head down.  I was very happy to hear this seeing as I was a breech baby with my mom. 

Also, my doctor has been regularly checking my growth, and she told me that I was 29 in.  I don’t know what I was before, but she didn’t say anything about whether it was good or bad, so I’m guessing it’s good. 

I lost 3 pounds since my last appointment, but they didn’t say anything about it because they knew that I had been really sick.  That makes my total weight gain 11 pounds so far, and I’m trying to gain more now to make up the difference.  It’s actually kind of weird having to try and gain weight instead of worrying about not gaining too much weight.  My glucose test came back normal which didn’t really surprise me.  Ever since I’ve started eating better and squeezing in more snacks I haven’t had any weird spells of lightheadedness.  So that’s pretty much it for my doctor’s appointment.  I’m extremely happy that everything is going so well. 

Now for the rest of my symptoms.  I’ve gotten over the sickness, but I’ve been feeling pretty achy lately.  I’ve taken advantage of Mason’s massaging skills again because of back pain.  He is absolutely amazing at giving massages and relaxing me.  Again, take advantage of any chance you get for a massage! 

It feels like Jason is always on my ribs which is not very comfortable.  Sometimes it can be painful, but I love it either way because it shows me that he’s okay. 

I have also had a couple times where I felt like my heartbeat was racing.  From what I’ve read, this is normal, but please let me know if this has also happened to you.  It is a very uncomfortable and scary feeling for me when it happens. 

Well, that’s about it for my 27/28 week update!  I’m sorry that it was so late.  This week has been pretty hectic.  I’m going to post an update today on how Mason and I’s relationship is going, and just how everyday life is.  Please check that out, and don’t forget to comment!  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

25/26 Weeks Pregnant

I have finally reached the third trimester!  This pregnancy seems to be going so fast.  All the sudden I'm huge, and it's definitely beginning to be noticeable.  He is kicking all the time, and you can see it from the outside clearly.  He loves to roll and freak Mason out, and every time Mason touches his hand to my stomach, he kicks. 

Anyways, you're probably wondering why I didn't update in my 25th week.  Well, nothing seems to be changing that much.  Because of this, I figured I would update every two weeks since I have appointments every two weeks.  This way my updates are longer, and less boring. 

First, I POPPED.  I seriously feel huge now, and everyone says I'm getting big.  It's as if I have a basketball under my shirt.  Every one says that this shows I'm definitely having a boy since I'm carrying so much in front. 

Back pain came along with the hugeness of my belly.  You can obviously see the bend in my back, and I can feel it.  I've already used Mason for a massage which helped a lot.  I would recommend taking advantage of a family member to give you a massage every once in a while.  It is extremely relaxing, and definitely helps with lower back pain. 

My hips have also been hurting me a lot which I think is from the added weight.  They always feel like they have to pop, but instead they grind together and it's pretty painful.  I haven't found a way to relieve this yet so if anyone can help, please do.

Surprisingly I still haven't had any swelling that I've noticed.  I can clean for three hours straight scrubbing floors, vacuuming, dusting, and everything else, but still not have any swelling in my feet.  My feet will hurt, but they just don't swell up. 

Of course I've been having cravings.  My number one craving has been strawberries, but now that I ate so many of them in such a small amount of time, I'm getting tired of them.  Besides that I'm still craving sweet things, but I haven't been fulfilling this craving.  I also found out that I love tater tots.  So far I haven't had that bad of cravings though which is good. 

Now for weight gain.  I have gained about 14 pounds total which is scary.  I don't want to gain too much weight during this pregnancy and then not be able to lose it.  I know that I have to gain weight though, so at the same time I'm proud that I'm on track and my baby is healthy. 

I have had some doctors appointments since I last updated.  First, I had to get a holter monitor.  This was because I was having spells where I would get dizzy and weak.  Nothing abnormal showed up on this test.  Then, on Monday, I had my sugar test a little early.  This also turned out normal.  As for the drink; I almost couldn't hold it down.  It wasn't the taste so much, but holding it down afterwards was hard.  I think it was because of having to drink it so fast; it didn't want to settle in my stomach. 

After my sugar test, I had my regular appointment.  During this appointment he was kicking the whole time.  My OB checked my measurements which she started doing at the last appointment.  She said we were both right on track and that his heartbeat was normal.  That is always a great thing to hear.  I feel blessed to have such a healthy baby. 

Well, that's how my pregnancy is going.  If anyone else is pregnant and reading this, I hope your pregnancy is going just as well.  Thanks for reading and following my journey.  Have a great day!

Babysitting

Turns out I get to babysit my baby cousin for two more weeks, yay.  I love watching him.  It gives me good practice, and makes me even more excited for Jason to get here.  I don't know how I can get even more excited. 

I've been up since five seeing Mason off to work, and couldn't get back to sleep.  Now I'm waiting for the little one to get here to start the day.  Mia is currently staring at me, begging me to let her on the chair with me, but there isn't enough room.  She doesn't seem to mind though.  Her eyes are drooping while she lays on the couch as I type.  Don't you just love dogs? 

Pretty soon she'll have at least five toys out begging for attention because the baby's here.  Even though she doesn't beg for attention any other day, and just lays on the furniture sleeping all day.  Of course she decides she needs attention when the baby is here.  But I still love her. 

Mason and I finally applied for housing.  I know, we procrastinated a little bit, but at least were in.  My mom wanted us to wait anyways because she says we need to save up our money before we start renting.  The added bonus is that we probably won't get in until he's born, so she'll get to see him every day.  I'm pretty sure that effected her opinion on housing too. 

We can't wait to have our own place though. I want my independence back, and my privacy.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything my parents are doing, but we would still love a place of our own that we can call ours.  It will make everything seem more stable. 

Hopefully the little one isn't fussy when he gets here.  He's awake even more now.  Wish me luck!  Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Old People, New Skin

It feels like it's been forever since we have seen Mason's grandmother.  Mason has seen her like two months ago, but I haven't seen or talked to her since we've been kicked out.  I guess today is the day that we see her again.  It feels like she knows the old us, and now we're new people. 

So today Mason's dad is having a family dinner, and his grandmother is coming.  We were invited/required to come if you know what I mean.  But she doesn't know that I'm pregnant, so I'm wearing a shirt that kind of shows off my baby bump.  Mason says I'm still in the in between stages of being obviously pregnant and not showing much.  We just want it to be an easy reveal, and no stress, but who knows what will happen. 

Wish us luck.  It should go well because Mason's been inching into talking to her again since the certain issues we had have been kicked out of the house.  I'm not so sure I'm ready to talk to her again though.  She almost ruined our lives and it didn't seem to bother her much, but it definitely bothered us.  I don't know if I've forgiven her yet.  I know you can't hold grudges, but kicking us out when she knew we didn't have anywhere to go was a big deal. 

I guess we'll have to see how everyone fends, and where the table conversation goes.  Who knows with her.  I'll let you know how everything goes tonight or tomorrow.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day. 

Don't forget to thank God for the blessings today.  Even just the sky looks beautiful.  Maybe that's a good sign.  God is with me for this battle.

God Loves Us

God loves us.  He loves me, and He loves you.  But how is that possible?  How can God love me when I've made so many mistakes.  I mean, I'm pregnant out of wedlock at eighteen years old.  That's a sin. 

The truth is, everyone sins in their lifetime.  Some sin more, some sin less, and some are more serious sins.  When I talk about sins, you probably think about all of the things that you've done wrong.  Then, maybe you think, "Well, how does God still love me when I've been such a horrible person." 

The answer is this.  God loves us no matter what.  He also believes the best in us.  Unlike others, He will never give up on us.  Often times, God is standing at a closed door, continually knocking.  He never stops knocking.  More than anything, He wants us to answer that door.  He wants to be welcomed into our lives, and our hearts.  God wants to be a part of that. 

Plus, God is forgiving.  He is merciful, and loving.  Again, He doesn't give up on us.  Therefore, no matter how many times we sin, He will still knock on that door.  We will still have every opportunity to invite him in.  So why don't we? 

Maybe we're afraid.  God is such a huge being.  He's definitely not something to mess with.  This alone is enough to scare us.  Also, the matter of life and death.  That question is the biggest question.  Where do we go when we die? 

I believe that certain people go to heaven, and those people are the ones that have opened the door, and accepted Jesus into their hearts.  Sadly, I also believe that there is a hell.  I know that this place is not a welcoming place, and it is not a place that I want to spend eternity in. 

But why else don't we invite Him in?  I think that many people do not invite God in to their lives because they don't believe in themselves.  They don't believe that they deserve the love of our Father.  There could be various reasons for this, but they all amount to the same: a lie.  It is a lie that we don't deserve the love of God.  It is a lie that there is no hope for us. 

The thing is.  God doesn't lie to us.  Our hearts do.  Our hearts follow what they want, but not always what they need.  A lot of times they don't realize that what we really need is God in our lives.  We don't need to express ourselves through swear words.  We don't need to wear clothing that shows off our bodies, and we don't need anything to fulfill the love that God has for us.  We don't need it because God fulfills all the love that we need and long for.  He can help us express ourselves, and He believes that we are beautiful naturally, without wearing more revealing clothing. 

The lesson today is that all we need is God because God provides everything.  He will give us what we need, and He will bless us with what we want.  But we cannot expect these blessings.  To expect something from God is to dishonor him.  He does not go by our timing or our rules.  He has His own timing and His own rules.  Therefore, what God does for us is not what He needs to do.  He doesn't have to provide us with anything.  But because of His love for us, he provides everything. 

So what does this mean?  It means that God loves us!  He loves us no matter what, and that will never change.  Believe in His love, and trust in His forgiveness because He is the Lord our God, and we do desperately need Him.

Last Week

This is my last week in mommy training.  Unfortunately my cousin will not need a babysitter anymore.  I will miss taking care of a little one on Thursday's.  I can't wait to take care of my little one every day. 

So I'm typing this as the little one is sleeping, but he's deciding to wake up now.  My black lab has been jealous all morning because I've been taking care of the baby.  Once the baby was sleeping, she needed to sit with me on the chair and take a nap.  Keep in mind my black lab, Mia, thinks she's a lap dog when she weighs over 80 pounds.  She loves to take up the whole chair when sitting with you, but we love her anyways.  She's such a sweety, and loves to give the baby kisses. 

So far the baby hasn't been too fussy, and he even fell asleep in my arms.  How adorable is that?  Mason saw him before he left for work.  The baby was just waking up, and he was smiling in his sleep.  I could tell that Mason couldn't wait to be a daddy and see our own son sleep. 

I am so excited for Jason to get here, but so worried at the same time.  I want him to be born healthy, and I don't want him to be premature.  There's just so many things that can go wrong and it's scary.

Well, we got a fussy one.  Time for a diaper change!

I Love How He Loves Me

Another fact about me: I love writing.  I've been writing since my little sister passed away.  It's helped me to get my feelings out, and it turned out to be a great way for healing.  Mostly I write poetry, but I have wrote some short stories, and started some novels.  The only problem is finishing the novels, it never happens. 

I thought I'd share with you what I wrote for Mason.  It'll give you an idea just how much I love him.  Our relationship is not always perfect, I'll admit that, but we will always be there for each other and our baby.  He will have a mommy and daddy, and we'll raise him together as a family. 

Anyways, before I keep getting off topic, here it is.  It's called I Love How He Loves Me

A kiss on the cheek there,
An arm around me here.
The glimmer in his eyes,
Shows me how much he cares.

He takes me in his truck,
A ride to no where;
Just places for us to see,
Only us, together. 

The whisper of the wind,
The tweet of the birds,
All tell me the story of his heart,
In several words.
Yes, I love how he loves me.

Thanks for reading.

A Beautiful Day

Have I forgot to mention that we have two rabbits?  Yes we do!  A large callico and a black dwarf bunny.  We were debating on breeding them in the future, but now we think we will breed dogs instead.

Anyways, that's not the point.  Today has been beautiful: not too hot, not too cold.  So what did we do?  Spent time outside of course.  And what was Mason's choice for the day?  He wanted to work on the muffler on his truck (men!). 

So we pulled the rabbits out of their cage (much to their dismay), and stuck them in their outside "playpen".  Abby (the callico) being the spoiled one from daddy got to sit in the truck to keep cool while Bridget (black dwarf) laid in the shade with mommy.  They had a great time relaxing while Mason had his much needed truck time. 

After about two hours, Mason finally fixed what actually turned out to be broken (surprisingly), and now we have a quiet truck.  This is great for when the baby comes.  Everyone loves sleeping babies and a quiet truck equals a sleeping baby, most of the time. 

But did we have enough sun yet?  Definitely not!  First we had to test out the truck on the road.  Then we decided to go biking on a local trail.  Keep in mind, I haven't been on a bike since the beginning of my pregnancy when I wasn't showing at all.  Now I got a baby bump in the way. 

It turned out to be especially fun though, and great quality time with my amazing fiance.  Plus, it was great exercise to keep my weight under control.  With all these cravings, I may need it. 

Turns out that it was so fun that we're thinking of making it a regular thing.  This will be great because I love exploring nature. 

So if it's beautiful out where you are, get outside and enjoy it!  You only have so many beautiful days in your lifetime, and every one is different than the first.