38 Weeks

*****As most of you know, I am a little late posting this and our little baby O has already arrived,  but I had already been working on this post prior to her arrival and just couldn't leave it out. Here is the last weekly post in the Presley Pregnancy Timeline, hope you enjoy!

How far along? 38 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +37 pounds, lost a few pounds at this weeks appointment! YAY!
Maternity clothes? OHHHH YEAHH!
Stretch Marks? Not yet, and hopefully not at all, we're almost to the end here!
Sleep? What's that? I never stay still in bed anymore for longer than about an hour and a half to two at a time. Between waking up randomly for no reason, to waking up worrying over the.most.random. things, to bathroom breaks, to waking up for contractions....clearly there is very little time left for the physical act of sleeping
Best moment this week? Weekly doctor appointment duh! It's my new thing to look forward to! To be honest, that's about it! This was a tough week emotionally for me!
Miss Anything? I miss so much from pre pregnancy, but on the other hand, the fact that we are going to start our family and meet our little girl in a month or less trumps all of that!
Movement? Constantly! This chick wants out!
Food Cravings? Still chomping ice, morning chocolate milk ritual, and I'd all but trade all my meals in on steady servings of sweets and carbs!! Who am I? Never have I been a big bread fan till now!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Not too bad this week, just get super full super fast and pretty much anything makes me have reflux
Have you started to show yet?  Maybe I should just remove this question for remainder of pregnancy, cuz that's a big fat DUH!!
Gender? Girl!

Labor signs? Braxton Hicks contractions still, which sometimes keep me up at night, all night one particular night. Of course, no consistency yet to make them true labor. I'm also sure that baby has made the drop this week! I could tell almost instantly even though I never felt a lightening feeling. This weeks exam showed me to be a 2 and 80% effaced, Dr. B could also feel her head and the bag of water so we know her head is pretty much engaged...so, I ask, What's the hold up sister???

Symptoms? Super swollen of course and just general 9 month pregnant uncomfortable. I guess you could also say reflux and heartburn are pretty much at a high. Maybe soon she'll drop on down and relieve a little of that pressure.

Belly Button in or out? Outie and pretty obviously! 
Wedding rings on or off? Off, I've given up!!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy for the most part but moodiness sorta took over this week, one day in particular was just horrible where I cried all day.
Looking forward to? Having her in our arms safe and sound!

Ok so like I said, as I finish up this post, I must include that Presley has already made her arrival...She arrived before I was even able to make a 39 week post so 38 weeks is our last official picture/weekly update. There is so much to share on her birth story, one week in pictures, and then there's that dang nursery post that I am determined to make to include all of the details bit by bit. As I get to all of that I just couldn't leave out our last official chalkboard week and all of the details from that week as well. So please read below in past context, haha. More to come soon!

38 weeks-whew, what a toughie for me. Dealing with lots of uncomfortableness, sleepless nights, anxiety for whats to come, I'm ready!...wait, I'm not ready! Such a roller coaster. At any rate, here are this weeks highlights...
We started out the week with another Sunday outing with lunch at Big Orange and  to go see The Dark Knight Rises at the Imax. I LOVE the batman trilogy and have been waiting for this to come out all summer. I knew it was gonna be a super long one and multiple times I squirmed in my seat with my 38 week pregnant self but it was definitely worth it. Me, Jason, and Robby made a day of it and we were all really happy with the movie as well as the lunch choice...Big Orange, YUM!!!
The next day, Monday, at work was super horrible, I'm not even gonna lie. I had been up all night long with contractions and had gotten no sleep whatsoever. Mondays at work are always a little extra challenging as I am by myself at the clinic and don't have my trusty sidekick Saundra to help me out. Generally I make it ok because you just gotta buck up and do what you gotta do. This day, not so much! Maybe just the surge of hormones and emotions coupled with no sleep whatsoever, but whatever it was, caused me to cry almost all day long! The first time this has happened in all of pregnancy. I kept thinking of how I was so tired of hurting and then feeling guilty for being so selfish. All I could think of is how I was just so ready to have her here and meet her in person. Tired of waiting with my impatient self. Tired of waking up every morning thinking it should be the end and it's not. And mad at myself for trying to take control of something that I have absolutely no control over. So that night I went home, cried the entire 25 minute commute from the clinic parking lot to my driveway and drug myself inside and got right in bed. Thank goodness for those moments of peace, what will I do when we have #2 and #1 refuses to let me rest/relax after a tough day of work.....ugh, that's for another day....another day far far down the road. I didn't make it to bed without having one of these little bad boys to treat myself.
YUMMMMMMMY! My lovely little Jessica sent me her daily text of "Anything??" which decoded to "Are you in labor? Any progress?" and after I totally unloaded my bad day on her she went and bought me 3 of one of my favorite little treats and dropped it off at the front desk at work for me. I cried all over again when I went to the front to pick them up. Petit Fours from Blue Cake Company. It's what we had at my baby shower and they sell them from the bakery case daily...DELICIOUS!!!! In the pic you only see 2 as I couldn't wait to take a pic before I gobbled the first one up! Thank you Jess, me and Presley love you, and the little happy certainly brightened our day!

Last big event at 38 weeks was my sister's birthday! Randi's birthday is July 30 which fell on a Monday so we celebrated on Sunday at my moms with a delicious dinner of bacon wrapped hamburger steak, twice baked potatoes, fresh corn, homemade bread, green beans, and pasta salad. Mama also made a strawberry pie per Randi's request and got her a delicious birthday cake. We had a great time stuffing our faces and celebrating Randi's birth. How lucky I am to have a sister, I already hope Presley has a sister some day. Such a special, irreplaceable bond. We love you so much Randi and hope your day was perfect!!

Randi's fabulous cake

Mama and her sweet sweet man!

Little boo waiting on some cake

Bath time at Nettie's-always a huge hit!

Brady like the jets and lots of bubble but it scares A so he gets out and lets Brady play at  the end

LOL, more bubbles than you can imagine!!

Well, the very next day, Monday July 30, Randi's actual birthday, started 39 weeks. And on that evening I went into labor with Presley. So no 39 week picture but oh what a story!! I can hardly wait to share her birth story, reliving it in my mind gets me excited all over again! More posts this week!

37 Weeks-We're FULL TERM!!!!!

How far along? 37 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +40 pounds, and holding steady
Maternity clothes? Most definitely! And with that being said, I'm going to make a VERY non me statement by saying, "Bring it on Fall!!" I'm ready to purchase some cute clothes and am TOTALLY over summer this year...maybe my love will return next year?
Stretch Marks? Not yet, and hopefully not at all ; )
Sleep? What's that? I never stay still in bed anymore for longer than about an hour and a half to two at a time. Between waking up randomly for no reason, to waking up worrying over the.most.random. things, to bathroom breaks, to waking up for contractions....clearly there is very little time left for the physical act of sleeping
Best moment this week? Weekly doctor appointment duh! It's my new thing to look forward to!
Miss Anything? I miss so much from pre pregnancy, but on the other hand, the fact that we are going to start our family and meet our little girl in a month or less trumps all of that!
Movement? Constantly! This chick wants out!
Food Cravings? Still chomping ice, morning chocolate milk ritual, and I'd all but trade all my meals in on steady servings of sweets and carbs!! Who am I? Never have I been a big bread fan till now!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Not too bad this week, just get super full super fast and pretty much anything makes me have reflux
Have you started to show yet?  Maybe I should just remove this question for remainder of pregnancy, cuz that's a big fat DUH!!
Gender? Girl!

Labor signs? Braxton Hicks contractions daily. This weeks exam showed me dilated to a 1 still but 70% effaced. Dr. B said he was super impressed with that kind of progress for a first time mom and was happy for the effacement even with no extra dilation

Symptoms? Super swollen of course and just general 9 month pregnant uncomfortable. I guess you could also say reflux and heartburn are pretty much at a high. Maybe soon she'll drop on down and relieve a little of that pressure.

Belly Button in or out? Outie and pretty obviously! 
Wedding rings on or off? Off, I've given up!!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy! I've had lots of talks with myself about becoming a mom and I'm starting to get really anxious about it all, ready to meet our daughter!
Looking forward to? Having her in our arms safe and sound!


That's right peeps! We are now considered FULL TERM! This means our baby could arrive at any time and be totally healthy and ready to thrive in this big ol' world! I can tell when I peek at her on ultrasound that she is definitely practicing her respirations well This is definitely a milestone I was super excited to get to. And after a quick ultrasound with Saundra for measurements because I managed to freak myself out one day when I thought her fluid was low and placenta was aging, we found out that she measured right on to dates at 7 lbs 10 oz.... : )


So at 37 weeks we are SOO READY! Here are our 37th week highlights!


First of all, we started out the week by nailing down one of my top to do's on my pregnancy list, which was, making the trip to see this..................

OMG! SOOOOOOOOOO Funny! I'm so glad we made it a point to see this! Mind you, in true "me" fashion, I procrastinated long enough that we had to go to the dollar theater to see it but on the other hand it was sort of nice because we made a Sunday afternoon date about it and got to see a movie with concessions for $9 total. Not a bad deal if you ask me! I so enjoyed it and could totally identify with so much going on in the movie. If you are pregnant or have ever been pregnant, you gotta see this! It's so cute! After the movie we went and met Dustin, Lauren, and Adler and had a yummy dinner at Olive Garden, another pregnancy bucket list stop for me! It was a GREAT day!


Let me also just share with you my lovely leg swelling pic from this week..oh dear, I said I wasn't gonna do this but this pretty well blew me away. I figure Presley deserved to know what I went through on a daily basis to get her here. So this picture was taken after I had simply gripped my leg and this was what my thumb left behind


Gross huh?? All I could say was wow, pretty sure this is not supposed to happen. If this doesn't show the fluid in my extremities, I don't know what does!


Another 37 week highlight was my doctor visit! Dilated to a 1 and 70% effaced really excited me. It's not a lot but progress is progress, after so many women that I scan week after week that are to their due date and have made either very little progress or none at all. Especially first time moms. Dr. Breniman said that with that progress we may go to my due date but not past it! YAY for not having 41 weeks to look forward to.


This week we also made a trip which I was really skeptical about. We decided to take a trip to the lake and take Auggie swimming and the nephews out for a quick boat ride. Wasn't real sure how I would feel about this and I was super scared but at the same time we didn't have anything to do on Saturday and going for a swim did seem nice. I knew we wouldn't do much riding so I was pretty safe on that. Boating is definitely NOT as much fun when you are 9 months pregnant, but it was so great to see the boys having a good time! I was so scared we would let the summer get away without taking them out. Here are a couple pics I snapped quickly from the day, the rest of my time was spent being paranoid that Auggie would fly out or my water would break right there on the boat! Not much time for photo ops!

Little A

Auggie's first boat ride

Sweet guys!

ANNNNDDD...I can FINALLY say that we are DONE with the nursery!! YAY! I have several pics I want to post so I'm doing that post separate this week but it's coming! I promise I'm not trying to tease, just OCD about keeping things organized!  It feels so great to have it done, yet so sad too : ( it's been our little every weekend project for a couple months and I have to say it's been so fun watching it come together, spending time with Jessica on the weekends, making food runs for her and Jason and cooking yummy desserts for them, and really just watching this whole room transition. I promise I'm going to make the post soon, I better at least, hopefully there will be a baby soon and my head will be other places for oh, the next 18 plus years!

We also got our maternity photos back this week and I really just want to add ALLLL of them to this blog because I was so happy with them, but that would just be silly, so I'll try to add just a few favs!

Yep, that's you in there P baby! Luckily at 32 weeks and not quite as big and strong as you are at 37 weeks! So ready to meet you my dear!

36 Weeks

How far along? 36 Weeks
Weight loss/gain? +40 pounds, and holding steady
Maternity clothes? Are you kidding me? Actually starting to run out of things to mix and match for outings...I'm refusing to purchase any more though!
Stretch Marks? Not yet, and hopefully not at all ; )
Sleep? What's that? I never stay still in bed anymore for longer than about an hour and a half to two at a time. Lately I've also been waking up wide awake anywhere from 2:30-3:30 and staying awake for about an hour before falling back asleep. Maybe it's preparation for the late night feedings we will soon be taking part in.
Best moment this week? Final touches on her room, washing her clothes and blankets, and making decisions for what all will go in our hospital bags
Miss Anything? I miss so much from pre pregnancy, but on the other hand, the fact that we are going to start our family and meet our little girl in a month or less trumps all of that!
Movement? Constantly! Her favorite move is to push her left foot out against the left side of my belly, Jason and I like to watch her do it at night and push back against it!
Food Cravings? Still chomping ice and the new one this week is a big glass of chocolate milk while I am putting my makeup on in the morning
Anything making you queasy or sick? Not too bad this week, just get super full super fast and pretty much anything makes me have reflux
Have you started to show yet?  Maybe I should just remove this question for remainder of pregnancy, cuz that's a big fat DUH!!
Gender? Girl!

Labor signs? Braxton Hicks contractions daily, some painful, mostly not though. Still dilated to a 1 on this weeks exam. Also, lost a portion of the mucous plug this week. Maybe TMI, but c'mon, you're reading a blog about pregnancy...what'd you expect??

Symptoms? Lots of swelling still, my feet have gotten super uncomfortable. I also noticed this week how sore they have gotten. Mostly on the top of my foot, maybe from all the extra pressure of water weight?? In areas they hurt more than any sore muscle I've ever had. In general, I start out the day pretty strong but too much activity, even working, wears me down super quick. It's hard to know how much you WANT to do yet your body is literally stopping you. A little in small doses goes a long way!

Belly Button in or out? Outie and pretty obviously! 
Wedding rings on or off? Off, I've given up!!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy! I've had lots of talks with myself about becoming a mom and I'm starting to get really anxious about it all, ready to meet our daughter!
Looking forward to? Having her in our arms safe and sound!


Did I mention I was ready? LOL! Seriously though, 4 weeks out and the one thing that comes to mind is Are we there yet??? Sometimes I feel like I've been pregnant for about 15 and one half months...other days I feel like it has really gone by pretty quickly. I think overall I am just really ready to have her here safely. I have to admit that I'm more than a little apprehensive on most days mainly because I do see some OB problems in my job. Even in late 3rd trimester when you would not expect it. A sad story at work goes a long way and really makes me want to have my baby here where I have more control over her environment. Even though I know she has to grow enough to get to a point that we can effectively care for her, I still get a little anxious from time to time. 


The beginning of this week we had our last shower for baby P! My mom's teacher co workers threw us a super sweet, beautiful shower in Sheridan at the home of one of my mom's best friends. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! I have to say, I am usually not big on being the center of attention but I really have enjoyed these baby showers. Not for my benefit, but for the fact that baby stuff is just so darn fun! I just thought I loved a wedding shower, WHOA!! I was wrong. Playing in all the little bitties is just too cool and we have been overly blessed by such sweet friends and family. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Me and all of the hostesses

Beautiful Table

Delicious Cake!

The picture that Allison, our niece drew of our new family! Love it!

I'm cracking up because this onesie from my mom says "I get the drama from my  mama"....oh so true!!! LOL

Presley's first birthday outfit from Aunt Randi! We LOVE IT!!!

We also finally started putting together some baby gear this week!

And someone was VERRRY curious!!

Well that about sums it up for the weekly notables here. Other than the fact that I FINALLY packed a couple bags for the hospital. Picked out some favorites for her and started gathering materials I would need for myself. My mom and I also tried to complete the top things I would need for her arrival so I think we can pretty well say we are ready! We'll see how much progress we make in week 37, at this point it's down to just a few weeks, or days really! I hope we are ready!