35+ Weeks

Holy cow!!!  That's all I can say about how SPOILED we were this weekend at the baby shower Aunt Debbie and Aunt Liz hosted.  The shower was too cute - everything you could imagine (including dish and hand soap!) was blue!!  There were so many great little touches, like handmade life-saver pacifiers, printed mints, mimosas (sad that I could not partake!), delicious food - could not have asked for more!!!  We were given LOTS of adorable clothes, 2 high chairs (one for home and one for on-the-go), a boppy and boppy cover, bedding for the nursery, a video baby monitor, 2 crib soothers (need one for day care too!), a snap-n-go stroller, swaddling blankets, accessories for the nursery, and from "Aunt" Jenny hand-knitted bibs, waschlothes, and an adorable hat, plus much more that I can't remember right now!!!!

I am kind of in shock that we are just about 4 weeks away from our due date!  We need to get ready for this baby!!  Luckily, I have a plan though - grandma Cindy is coming over on Sunday to help me organize the nursery while dad puts the strollers, swing, car seat, etc together.  We still need to wash all of the clothes, wash the blankets, the bed linens, and anything else this cute little baby can wear or lay on!  I did make progress this week though - I packed my bag for the hospital - well half-way at least, I have a list on the outside of the other things I will need to throw in last minute (hair dryer, straightener, make-up, make-up brushes) - this new mommy needs to look cute for all of those pics and visitors :)  Moms - what else do I need???  I have to pack the baby's bag still and arrange my diaper bag (which I LOVE and cannot wait to use - thank you Petunia Pickle Bottom!). 

Had another check up this week and according to my doc, this baby is "Large/Economy Sized."  He said, "I hope you want a big baby because this one is!"  We'll see, next week they will probably tell me he's growing right on target - I'll believe it when I see it.  My blood pressure is still a little on the high/normal side - 130/84 - but I'm not having any other symptoms of pregnancy-induced hypertension so we'll keep on checking it.  I do have terrible swelling in my legs though, especially after working 2 12-hour shifts in a row.  For the most part it goes away after sleeping for 12 hours :)

34 Weeks

Once again - sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been busy...I've had 2 wonderful baby showers, had a big project due at work, and having been resting with my feet propped up  A LOT due to my unfortunate development of cankles (oh yeah - and I grew a double chin! - that was tons of work - mostly involving eating Taco Bueno I'm sure!).  Still not doing too bad on my weight gain though - I've gained about 18 pounds, not too bad I guess. 

While Kristy was in town we went to Opening Day at the Ballpark to see our American League Champs, the Texas Rangers, play Boston.  The pre-game tailgate was tons of fun - Kristy and I had a few non-alcoholic beers ;).  Then we went inside to the stadium to watch about 2 innings before we called Uncle to the heat.  Plus Kristy was really craving some Freebird's and so was I! 

The shower thrown by my AWESOME friend Tricia was a hit!  I had several out of town visitors including my great friends from nursing school - Kristy & Amy, my Aunt Susan from Atlanta, Aunt Debbie from New Mexico, and a long-time friend of my mom's - Gail - from Austin.  Gail told a great story about how 29 years ago she threw my mom a baby shower for me!  Amazingly, my mom and Gail have remained friends all this time.  You aren't going to believe this - there were 5 pregnant ladies at the shower!!  Neat to think that we will all have children pretty close in age very soon!  We played some fun games, ate some great food and cupcakes, and opened up TONS of gifts.  I'll post some pics later.

Amy hand-made these super-cute burp cloths!!!

 My Aunts Susan, Debbie & Liz

 Julie, Amy*, Kristy*, Tricia*, Laura & Kristy*

(*- preggers!)

 Grandmas!

Grandma Cindy, Gail & Pam 

This past Friday I had a shower thrown by my wonderful co-workers at Maggiano's restaurant.  We had a great time there too!  Tommy got lots of clothes and other baby goodies that will be put to good use very soon :) 

This weekend we also went to the Zac Brown & Kenny Chesney concert.  I LOVE both of these guys and they both put on amazing shows!!  The concert was at Cowboys Stadium, which never gets old going to, and I'm still amazed every time I see the Jerrytron.  Did you know that the Jerrytron cost more than the old Texas Stadium cost??  Matt and I had a great time! 

Still getting ready for Tommy, I'm working on packing my bag for the hospital and organizing his room.  I think I'm going to have give up my closet and start sharing again with Matt :(  We need more space for baby things, at least I had about 3 years of bliss though!  This weekend my Aunt Debbie and Aunt Liz are throwing us another shower - my cousin Aly is supposed to come and bring her 4 month old daughter Laney, totally excited to meet her!! 

My doctor's appointments have been going well, I just learned that Tommy is head down with his bottom resting right under my left lungs, making it difficult to bend over and breath all at the same time.  Matt had to help me buckle my sandals the other day and its getting more difficult to tie my shoes on my own!  I can only imagine what the next 6 weeks will bring....

31 Weeks

I can't believe there are only 9 more weeks until Tommy's due date, it almost seems too soon.  Yesterday at work I took care of baby who's due date was 1 day before Tommy's - it was surreal to see this baby and think, this is the same size that Tommy is and to also be so grateful that he hasn't delivered early.  Speaking of work, its getting a lot more difficult to make it through the 12.5 hour shift, especially if I have to bend over a lot!!!  I'm going to keep trucking on though because I don't want to take time off before the baby is here. 

This weekend Matt and I went to Wes & Linda's to play games.  This was the first time I had seen a lot of my college and high school friends since I've actually looked pregnant and I'm the first one of us to have a baby and for some reason it felt a little strange.  I'm not sure why I felt strange, after all I am 29 and married, its not like this was some accident, but I guess it just showed how we are all at such different places in our lives.  Maybe I sensed that my life is really about to change, for the better of course, but I just couldn't help but think to myself, I wonder when we'll get to do this again? 

On a lighter note - this weekend is my first baby shower hosted by Tricia!!  My great friend Kristy is coming all the way from Florida and Amy is coming from San Antonion - I can't wait to see them, its been too long!!  Tricia, Kristy and Amy will be a great support for me as a mommy because they each have a child already and are both expecting their second late this summer!!  I'm so lucky to have these great women in my life. 

Here are a couple of pics of the nursery painted by Matt!

  

3rd Trimester!

Today is the first day of my third (and last) trimester, 12 more weeks until Tommy is due.  Matt and I have been busy putting the nursery together - last Sunday I worked and came home to a painted nursery!  Such a great surprise!!  Just a few more finishing touches like artwork on the walls and some shelves up and we are ready for baby. 

Last week we went to the OB again, everything checked out just fine.  From now on I will be going every 2 weeks until we get to 36 weeks and then it's every week until delivery.  After our appointment, Matt and I went to tour the day care center that is at the hospital I work at.  I've been on the waiting since I was about 5 weeks pregnant - needless to say it's a very popular day care.  Several friends and co-workers have recommended the day care, which makes me feel much better.  The plan is to have Tommy at day care 3 days per week, if I'm working the weekend that week then he will only have to go 2 days during the week, but we still have to pay for 3 so that means one day off for mommy possibly - you know to clean the house or run errands OR have a mani/pedi and lunch with the girls :)

I've been reading the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" on the recommendation of Travis & Laura and my friend Julie.  The book emphasizes how important sleep and a routine is for infants.  Being a NICU nurse, I'm very big on having the baby on a schedule for eating and sleeping.  I'm just hoping the baby starts sleeping through the night sooner rather than later! 

Registering...

This past Sunday with the help of two great friends - Julie and Tricia - and my mom, we set out to register for all the things Matt and I are going to need (and want:)) to take care of Tommy.  I really wish that I could have participated in the mimosas at brunch before hand because maybe I wouldn't have been so stressed out during all of it!  The whole experience is a little overwhelming - which bottles do I want to use? - well it doesn't matter what I think is best, it's what the baby likes most and I won't be able to figure that out until after he's born obviously; am I going to use sleepsacks for the baby since the AAP recommends not using blankets?; which monitor do I want to use - the girls all recommended the video monitors but boy are they pricey; but then there's the fun stuff like the nursery decor at Pottery Barn Kids - loved every minute of being there!  When all is said and done I am registered at Pottery Barn Kids and at  Babies R Us. 

Matt and I are so blessed with so many great friends and an awesome family - we have two baby showers planned for April already!  All of these steps are making it so more real that we are having a baby and I can't wait until he's here!!!

Speaking of almost being here - I am approaching the end of the second trimester - March 7 I'll be 28 weeks and into the third trimester that I have heard not so great things about.  I'm sure I'll persevere through it because there is such a great reward at the end - but I hope to make it there without insomnia and cankles (swollen ankles so your leg and ankle all look like one)!!!  Being a NICU nurse makes you think of all of the bad things that can happen, baby being born too early, baby being too big or in the wrong position at delivery, and on and on.  I say things to Matt like, "As long as the baby makes it to 28 weeks, I'll be ok if he comes early."  And of course Matt is like, "Why would you say something like that?  Quit thinking about all of the bad things you see at work."  But its hard to not bring those things home with you and its hard not to obsess about it.  On the other hand, almost being a mom myself, I feel has made me a better nurse; I can definitely now relate to how these moms and dads are feelings when their precious little babies are born early - sometimes its hard not to cry along with them, but I love my job and love helping those babies get better so they can go home with their mom and dad!

104 days until Thomas Rush Canon arrives!!

So maybe it's a little too early to start a countdown in days since we have more than 100, but time sure is flying by!  I had another OB appointment on Thursday, Tommy's heartbeat was 141 beats/minute and my blood pressure was 104/78 - all within normal limits.  Now that I'm 25 weeks along, I had to take a glucose tolerance test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes.  To check for this, I drank a very sugary orange drink and then had my blood drawn an hour later.  Good news - no gestational diabetes!!

Well, I am finally starting to look and feel pregnant.  Tommy is kicking and moving around a lot, such a strange but fun feeling.  I really can't complain much about being pregnant, just having some annoying symptoms like acne (yuck!!!) and heartburn.  I'm also craving salsa from Taco Bueno all the time - I probably eat Taco Bueno twice a week  - which is really funny because my mom said that when she was pregnant with me she ate Taco Bueno almost every day because she wanted their salsa too.  Good thing there is one close and most importantly on the way home from work.  The only bad thing about this is that they are building an In-N-Out Burger right next to the Taco Bueno - this could be a disaster - so far I've gained ~12 pounds but with In-N-Out in Dallas now it is surely to sky rocket!!  

This weekend I'm going to register for all things baby - I have a feeling this is going to be very overwhelming - good thing my mom, Tricia and Julie have offered up their expertise and are coming along with me! 

The Nursery is Coming Along!!

Well, I really didn't think I would be having a baby and living in a condo all at the same time, but we are making it work!!  Of course, about 4 months after I finally furnished and decorated the second bedroom I found out I was pregnant so Matt and I've been busy selling furniture and cleaning out the room to make room for baby.  Thanks to Grandma Cindy we found our nursery furniture too, it's beautiful if I do say so myself:
Crib

Dresser/Changing Table


Uncle Travis and dad got the furniture all moved in and put together while I was at work during the weekend - it was a great surprise to see it all coming together.  Okay - for those of you who saw the bedding I posted earlier, I've changed my mind.  For my birthday Matt bought me the nursery bedding that I had picked out at Pottery Barn Kids:



Now, I need to paint the walls and get it all arranged.   Almost 16 weeks until we get to meet our precious baby boy - we can't wait!!!