picture this

So being just a few days shy of 40 weeks pregnant attractive is definitely a defining trait that went out the window when thinking of myself quite a while ago. But picture this and I'll spare you a photo for this post:)

So tonight I'm sitting on the couch with a shirt that's about 4 inches too short for me and pants that I have to fold down under my belly because it just rubs the wrong way. So the bottom few inches of my belly are hanging out, resting on my thighs becaus e its so huge. Then there are my boobs. I have forgone wearing a bra unless absolutely neccessary so my boobs pretty much rest on my huge belly. So, huge belly resting on thighs, huge boobs resting on my huge belly - hot I know. Then top off the picture with a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk in front of me and now you've pictured me this evening in our living room.

I'm sure glad my husband loves me as much as he does because this is definitely not an attractive picture - it just can't be:)

appointment update

Well we had another appointment yesterday afternoon and unfortunately didn't get great news but I'm trying to remain optimistic. Doctor said I'm dilated a little bit - maybe a "finger tip" or 1cm and still 60% effaced. During my exam she said she actually felt her head!

We discussed inducing and she said we'd be looking at an induction date of May 9th if she doesn't come before then. She really likes to let your body do its thing and allows you 7-9 days over your due date to do that. She definitely takes the conservative approach when it comes to doing things to help move things along and while I am so ready for her to be here I  know that that is what's best for our baby and my body. However, one of my concerns is her size and that she will continue to grow each day however, she assured me that this is not a concern of hers. She said all my measurements are normal and as she feels her outside my belly nothing tells her that she's bigger than she should be at this time. So, that's a good thing!

Other than that nothing new - we continue to pray daily for a healthy baby and safe delivery and trust that she will come when she is ready. As my dad says, this is just God's way of teaching me patient before she even arrives! Which, if you know me very well know that patience is definitely not one of my virtues:)

39 weeks

7 days and counting. We are officially in waiting mode and excited that it is so soon. I don't think there's much to update from this past week. I will post another update after our appointment on Tuesday and let you know if I've progressed at all - lets hope so!


Jimmy and I missed our families this weekend as they celebrated Easter in Iowa but we were able to attend our church here in town and hit up Buffalo Wild Wings for an Easter lunch!:)


I continue to feel baby move although it's obvious she's running out of room. We pray every day for a healthy baby, a healthy delivery, a clear sign that "it's time", safe travel for our families when it's time, and for our journey to parenthood!

So until it's time I'll keep you posted - have a good week!

Latest email update & photo:

Hang in there -- you're almost done! Predicting a due date isn't an exact science (and can make for some pretty lucrative wagering), but there are definite signs that the time is near. Look for the bloody show, the passing of the mucous plug, diarrhea, nausea, energy spurts, contractions, and breaking of the water.

moving

We can officially share our news, we are moving back to Iowa – Cedar Falls to be exact! It has been a whirlwind few weeks for us – on top of preparing for our baby’s arrival we have been praying and discussing a job opportunity that presented itself to Jimmy. And we are very excited to share that Jimmy has accepted a different job with John Deere that will be moving us back to our “hometown”! Ever since we found out we were pregnant we knew we would like to get back closer to home before, or soon after, our baby is born. We’ve had a few opportunities come and go but we are glad we were patient and remained hopeful as we seem to have been given a really great new gig.

The plan for me post maternity leave is that I will cut back to part time and work remotely from home doing pieces of the same job I have today. We once again feel incredibly blessed to work for a company that provides new opportunities and flexibility in our work and personal life. Part time and working from home will be an adjustment for me and I am excited to give it a try!

Timing is a little bit up in the air given our certain situation (me being 39 weeks pregnant) but Jimmy’s new job’s effective date is June 1^st so the plan is to get up there as soon after little miss arrives as we feel comfortable. We have started the house hunt virtually and should be paired up with a realtor in the next day or so to get us started. Then we will have to take care of all the things on this end in terms of selling our current place. So, we will have a busy few months, to say the least! But, we know that God never gives us more than we can handle and it will all work itself out!

Leaving Springfield will be bittersweet. While we are of course excited to be back close to family and old friends we have a lot of good memories from our time here as well. We’ve established some close friendships, found a church we love, came home from our honeymoon and started our life as a married couple together here, will bring our first baby home here, enjoyed many days at the beautiful lakes, and so much more. However, we also knew this was a temporary stop for us and that a home is just a home – what’s important is that we are doing this move together and simply moving on to the next chapter in our lives.

update

So we had our weekly doctor’s appointment yesterday and she checked me for the first time. Turns out I’m approximately 60% effaced and just barely dilated. Better than nothing, right?! My doctor assured me that those measurements really don’t tell her much as every woman’s body is different and that I could go into labor today or it could be 2 weeks from now. She said she does look at dilation as an indication of how my labor will progress and/or how long it may be. Meaning, if I were to go into labor today and have barely started to dilate, labor may be a whileJ however, she’s known woman that dilate from 0-10cm in no time so it really does just depend. And since this is my first baby we aren’t sure what to expect from my body. So, I’m taking the news for what it is – trying not to get too anxious, disappointed, or excited about it and just remain patient. I keep praying that God will make it clear to me when “its time” and until then enjoy the kicks inside of me that only I can feelJ

surprise?!

Friday my coworkers decided to throw me a surprise baby shower complete with yummy punch, cake, and lots of gifts! They definitely caught me by surprise as I had no clue and they even got Jimmy in on it.

The story: Jimmy had put a lunch date on our calendars a few weeks ago while I didn’t think anything of it as we often will grab lunch together out of the office on a Friday. So Friday rolls around and we had a scheduled lunch for 12:30pm. The only problem is I usually eat lunch between 11 and 11:30am so when I noticed it wasn’t until later in the day I started bugging him about why we couldn’t go earlier. He fed me excuse after excuse about having different meetings and needing to finish something up, etc etc. So by the time 12:30 rolled around I was definitely ready for lunch. But, to my surprise – we weren’t going to lunch.

I met him at his desk and we were heading out of the office when he made a slight detour to the General Manager’s office. He opened the door to a flood of pink and full of people. This picture captures my surpriseJ

It was so sweet of our coworkers to put together something special for us and baby girl. I LOVED the cake, the punch was yummy, and they were too kind with all the gifts we received! Someone even snagged me a piece of pizza to curb my hungerJ

 It’s nice to know that the people we work with day in and day out care about us and our life outside of the office too. Jimmy and I have met some great people here and moving will definitely be bittersweet.

Wait – we’re moving?! More to come on that later this weekJ…………

38 weeks

We are now 2 weeks from our little girl’s due date and I am anxiously awaiting her arrival! My belly just feels heavy and low to sum things up. It seems I sleep well every other night meaning those days that I don’t sleep well are a bit tough.  I have wrapped things up at work and gotten them to a place where it should easy to hand things off. We hired a part time employee to take over parts of my job while I’m on maternity leave and I have spent the last 2 weeks training him. So, my stress level at work is low – which is great. Jimmy and I have gotten things to a place at home where we are ready to go as well, to the point where we are in wait mode. So, my stress at home is super low, which is also great. So I feel like we  just waiting.

Jimmy and I haven’t planned much on our weekends because we don’t know what each day will bring so we’ve definitely enjoyed this time together, even if it’s doing nothing at all.

This weekend we stayed in bed until 10am both mornings even though we were awake at 7:30 because we know that soon that will not be possible. Friday night we got Chinese takeout, made a blanket fort in the living room and snuggled up for a movie at home. Saturday we slept in before heading out to run a few errands, swung by a local outdoor music event, hit up an afternoon movie, and had dinner out. Then today we wrapped up our weekend with church, errands around the house, and an afternoon baseball game in the sun.

We really had a great weekend. I can’t help but wake up each day thinking that today may be the day that our lives will forever change. I am anxious for our appointment on Tuesday, if I make it until thenJ as my doctor will check me for the first time!

So, that’s all for now. I’ll leave you with the words from our baby update for this week and some 38 week pictures!

 The last bits of vernix caseosa (the white goo keeping baby's skin moist) and lanugo (downy hair) are slowly shedding into your amniotic fluid. Baby's head is about the same circumference as her abdomen, and her head could be covered in an inch or so of hair.

38 weeks - taken on Apr 17th, 2011

life's firsts

Have you ever thought back on some of your life’s firsts? Experiences tend to shape us into the people we are today and lately I’ve been having some crazy memories and dreams of my life experiences thus far so I thought I’d document some of my firsts in life. EnjoyJ

First Kiss

My first peek was in elementary with one of the “boyfriends” my 2 best friends and I switched every week or soJ But my first real kiss was in 7^th grade in Tina Bremner’s basement at her birthday party with Kevin Holtz, whom I dated through much of my middle school days. I still remember that “our song” was “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic and I sang it that year at our school’s Homecoming talent show, how cheesy?!

First Friend

This one was a little tough for me but I’m going to go with my elementary inseparables of Alli and Becky. My parents were good friends with Alli’s parents so we grew up, before school days, doing lots of things together – whether it was grilling out, going camping, playing backyard baseball, etc. Alli and I both went to Southdale Elementary and instantly began a friendship with Becky. All through elementary we were the best of friends. We spent the night together almost every weekend, on Friday nights we’d watch TGIF, swim in Becky’s backyard pool, play tee ball and soccer on each other’s teams, form the club CC4LifeJ, and I could go on and on. These girls and their families were extensions of my own and our friendship continued into middle school and high school years before our lives began to evolve in different directions. These are 2 people that I still consider dear friends and always will. We live in different places and live different lives – Becky is a wife of a farmer and a stay at home mother of 3 beautiful daughters, Alli is a musician, wife, and mother to a handsome little boy, and I live in southern MO with my husband and anxiously await our first child. It’s amazing what God does with willing hearts and people’s lives and I am so thankful these 2 were a part of some of my earliest childhood memories and best friendships.

First time I wore makeup

The first time I wore make up…..it must have been about 6^th or 7^th grade. I don’t remember ever actually asking my mom if I could or asking my mom to buy me some so I have no idea how it came about but I know it was about this time of my life because I switched schools in 7^th grade and the one thing all the girls at my new school say they remember first about me was that I wore makeupJ  This proved to be problematic for me as well as they say that was why they didn’t like me right away – haha. Now I think about my little daughter asking me if she can wear make up to school when she’s in 6^th grade and I’m not so sure I’ll be on board with thatJ

First love

My first love. I was fortunate enough to experience a good high school relationship that lasted throughout most of my high school years and he was unmistakable my first love. I started dating Kody at the end of my freshman year and he was a junior. He was an older man, he could drive, he played football, he liked me and I thought he was cute – so why notJ?! Due to our age difference my parents set pretty tight restrictions on the amount of time I could spend with Kody and looking back I think that was a great compromise – after all, I was only 14! Kody and I dated until he graduated the following year and then did the on again off again thing for the last few years of my time in high school. Kody and I became good friends that genuinely enjoyed spending time together. We got along very well with each other’s families and I know the things I felt for him was love. We’ve had our share of back and forth dating or “hanging out” through my college years before officially calling it quits quite some time again. We don’t talk and I haven’t seen him for over a year, however, I will always have a place in my heart for Kody and the things he taught me about love at a young age.

First Sports Memory

Sports were such a big part of my childhood and adulthood. For as long as I remember I was playing tee ball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball but softball was always my favorite. I remember playing on my first competitive softball “travel” team in 5^th grade and officially becoming a pitcher. Once I finished 8^th grade I could play high school softball because I was unofficially a freshman and I remember how excited I was for that. I was the JV pitcher but after our Varsity pitcher got injured just a few games into the season I became the rookie Varsity pitcher at the young age of 14! I played Varsity all 5 years of high school – with several ups and downs. Our team was never overly successful but I remember being proud of the area, conference, and all-state honors I won each year. One of my proudest moments for my family and I was when I signed a scholarship letter to play softball in college at Morningside College. Again, due to circumstances I was thrown into the fire as a freshman and had 2 successful years of college ball before permanently injuring my back.  Softball taught me so much throughout the many many years it was a part of my life. I still miss it around this time of year and really enjoy catching some area high school games when I can. Who knows maybe down the road a bit I will pick up coachingJ?!

First Solo

I have always really enjoyed music and singing so while I know I had a handful of mini solos throughout elementary my first distinct solo experience came in middle school at an honor choir event. Our music teacher, Dr Sharp, had entered me and 2 other girls into a solo audition spot - we auditioned and got it! We had a special music selection during the concert where the 3 of us would perform “The Rose.” We each had a solo verse and then the chorus was a 3 part harmony – haha. Bethany, one of the other girls and still a good friend of mine, still has our debut on tape and it’s hilarious!

First Roommate

This one just makes me laugh. When I went to college I did the whole random roommate thing because 1 – I didn’t know anyone else going to my school and 2 – I thought it’d be a good “experience”, which it was. I remember the excitement leading up to getting that dorm and roommate assignment packet in the mail and setting up that first phone call after exchanging a few emails. I remember enjoying talking to her and while thinking we may not share a lot of similar interests that maybe that would be a good thing. As I arrived that first day she was already there and was definitely excited. While she was a nice girl and we got along just fine there were a few things I remember that just seem to be a little off. For example: the time I got back from a long weekend of softball away games to find a pile of my stuff “neatly” placed outside our room containing a note that read “my boyfriend’s in town for the weekend so I thought you could stay somewhere else….” Or the multiple times I’d find a shirt hung oddly in my closet only to take it out and notice a strong BO odor masked by a mild hint of Febreeze…..ahhhh the memories.

37 weeks - FULL term!

I am officially full term! That is so excited for us. The chances for our baby to be born and live on her own have been better than the odds against her for quite a few weeks but the milestone of full term is one that is definitely exciting.

This weekend I really thought to myself “is this the last time Jimmy and I will go out as a family of 2?” We have spent a lot of time doing things with just the 2 of us to really enjoy this time we have left.

I cannot put into words the excitement I feel in my heart to meet our baby girl. She is so much a part of me and our lives already and we haven’t even met her. I know our lives will change forever the day she is born and I know that we cannot even comprehend how it will change but we can’t wait!

20 days until D day and as my latest status says my belly is definitely resembling a watermelon! I feel like she has “dropped” and I’ve noticed more contractions every day. They seem to be the strongest at night and mostly feel like the flu and my stomach gets really hard. It seems almost every other night I don’t sleep much due to crazy dreams, back aches, or just plain discomfort.

Little girl we are so ready to meet you – as each day passes I can’t help but wonder if today will be the day. God knows your birthday and until then we will wait anxiously for you!

Baby's now the size of a watermelon!
Your full-term (yay!) baby is gaining about 1/2 ounce a day and getting his first sticky poop (called meconium) ready. He's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!).

10 guilty pleasures

1.   Onion rings & a chocolate milkshake – this is something I very rarely allow myself to have but that I really do love

2.   Reality TV – my favs are Bachelor/ette, Biggest Loser, American Idol, and Khloe and Kim Take New YorkJ

3.   A Diet Coke or Dr Pepper fountain pop – there’s just something about fountain pop that I like so much better than from a can or bottle

4.   Reading blogs of people I don’t know – my hubs thinks I’m weird for this one

5.   Target – I’ve deemed it impossible for me to leave that store without spending 100 dollars or more

6.   Coach purses – I think I’ve explained this one enough on this blogJ

7.   Movie theatre popcorn – I never used to buy it at the theatre until I became pregnant now I wonder if I’ll ever be able to go to the movies without getting itK

8.   Running – I suppose this is a healthy pleasure, huh?!

9.   Baseball – I LOVE going to baseball games when the weather is just starting to get nice

10. Pedicures – love love love them, especially going with my mom and/or sisters

the finished product

Thanks to the help from my mom this past weekend her nursery is offically done! Enjoy the pics - now we just need to complete the room with a baby in the crib! We have our weekly check up this afternoon so I'm anxious to see if I've progressed - I will keep you all posted - happy Tuesday!

36 weeks

This past week we spent some time on all the last minute details in preparation for birth day. My discomfort is growing and I just feel big. Often times I notice pain in hips/pelvis area which I read is due to everything “opening” up - which I suppose is a good thingJ My back has begun hurting again but the heat pad and a husband that’s willing to give me a rub down whenever needed seems to help subside it. Jimmy has been so good at rubbing my legs, back and feet almost every night when we lay down for bed – have I said enough how lucky I am to call that man my husband?!

My parents really wanted to come down one more time before baby girl joins the family so they came down Friday afternoon and stayed through the weekend. I was so glad they decided to come one more time before she’s here. We always have so much fun spending time with them and they were so much help this past weekend. Mom and I put the finishing touches on her nursery, made meals to keep in the freezer, packed our hospital bags, and the guys picked up our BOB stroller (which I already LOVE). So, it was a busy but productive weekend and we are so thankful they were willing to come down and help! They are well aware they may be turning right back around and heading our way again but we miss them alreadyJ!

Jimmy and I finished up the weekend with some yard work and time outside today – it was 85 degrees here! I am soaking up every minute I have alone with Jimmy as I know those times will soon be less and less!

We have an appointment on Tuesday and I’m anxious to see if I’m dilated or effaced at all. We will then be seeing our doctor weekly which still seems surreal – it will make each week go so fast and I will be anxious to hear about my progress, if any, each week!

So that’s what’s new this week….here’s our online update, which also said babe is about 6 lbs and 18 inches long now!

Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are basically good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own.