Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!!   

We were kind of hoping for our own lil Easter bunny today, but it appears that will not be the case.
It would seem that she is still snug as a bug...

There isn't too much intentional timing that goes into a pregnancy, but boy the timing has been perfect this week. Having Spring Break two weeks before our due date has been amazing. I was able to be super productive, get some work done, take naps and spend quality time with J all before Graycen's arrival. Woo-Hoo.

Spring Break started like so... 

Monday

And finished like so... 

Friday

J took the day off on Friday and we had a "date day." We discovered a BBQ place in Alexandria that serves Sundrop & Cheerwine in glass bottles-Holla!! We then ventured into the city. The two museums that did not seem to have bus loads of children outside were the National Gallery of Art and the Native American Smithsonian. Shockingly neither of us have been to those museums before. We did some meandering around both of them. I guess we could say we feel cultured now... We also saw a movie (happens on average once a year,) Olympus Has Fallen, which was so good. Highly recommend it.

The only negative about having so much time to be productive is now we have a super clean house, I am caught up on thank you notes, we have cleaned out the DVR, I finished reading my birthing books, laundry is all caught up...now we are just sitting and waiting... I can't complain because it is exactly where I wanted to be when she does make her appearance, stress free. In fact, the scripture on my 37 week board was all because I haven't been vocal enough about how blessed we have been with this pregnancy. It has been so easy that I feel guilty about it. When people ask how I am feeling- I feel like I have to find something to complain about because I have friends who have had such rough pregnancies. I mean, sure, I have to pee every 10 minutes, I have sleepless nights, and sitting through that 2 hour movie was pretty stink'in uncomfortable, but this is the part where those who have had "typical" pregnancies are cursing me.
But seriously, I have not even begun to offer enough praise and gratitude for God's work in the creation and development of this little girl. We could not have requested a better experience over these past 9 months. Is it wrong that I am a little nervous that since the pregnancy has been so easy, the labor is going to make up for the ease of the past 9 months?? What am I saying-of course it is wrong for me to doubt God's work. But am I doubting or am I just being realistic?? Just a glimpse into one of the ways I fall short in faith. Regardless, we continue to pray for the health and strength of this little one and that when she and God are ready, we too will be ready to welcome her. No sooner, no later.   :-)

Have I mentioned I am hoping to do an all natural delivery...

I hope I'm a better mom than I am a Blogger!!

Okay, so this blogging stuff hasn't worked out like I envisioned it. I pictured doing a blog post and baby bump pictures once a week through this pregnancy. Looks like I can't even make it happen once a month! Hence why there are no diaries, journals or scrapbooks from my life that go on for more than a month. I always have the best of intentions, but I need to just come to terms with the fact that I am not one of those people...

Part of what has made this so hard to keep up is that I feel like the longer time goes on the longer my post has to be to cover what I have missed-thus I put it off because I can't justify the time it will take to sit down and write it. Excuses... any who, I promise not to recap the past 10ish weeks in this post-partially because I can't remember everything.

Let me start with where we are now.
I am at the end of my 37th week and I think I can say we are officially ready for Graycen's arrival.
I have been reading every chance I get, I figure the more I know/hear the more prepared I will be. We did a Costco run today and stocked the freezer, we have stocked up on coffee and drinks for visitors. J got a hair cut today & I have a hair/nail appointment on Tuesday (you know, the things that will take a major back seat once baby girl gets here.) We have been getting together with friends and co-works over the past few weeks. I have a towel in each car & a puppy pad under my side of the bed. (no joke-we really like our mattress)
This past week we finished the nursery, packed our bags, installed the car seat, got our TDAP vaccines, did our hospital tour and selected our pediatrician. Phew.
Here it is-finally- Baby Gray's nursery:

Before

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are in love with how it turned out. Really it is all thanks to her daddy, as most of it I would have never been able to do on my own-no matter how much I insisted or tried. This nursery was a labor of love and there are touches all over this room of people who are already so in love with her and can't wait to meet her.
Her Big Daddy (J's dad) was here to help with the initial stages of taping off the room and getting it ready to paint. My mom (grandmother name TBD) made the curtains, glider covers, boppy covers, changing pad cover. Britt helped with the name since I am a horrible bow-tier, and the bookcase.



The hospital tour went really well, and started to make things sink in for me a little more. (And yes, I don't think it has quite hit me that I am having a baby...more on that later.) We are planning to deliver at Fair Oaks Hospital, which is a five minute drive from our front door. We are really excited about delivering here. Those I know that have done so have raved about their experiences. We were impressed with the facility and everyone seemed super nice. As we walked the halls I was super curious, really wanted to pop my head in one of the closed labor & delivery rooms to check out what was going on. Jamie told me that would be frowned upon, plus, what is that saying...curiosity killed the cat? I kept my ears peeled for the screaming I anticipated, but all I heard was a baby crying. The delivery room was huge and depending on availability you can get a room with a jacuzzi tub for laboring (not delivering.) One piece of information that did surprise me was that they no longer have a "well nursery." Meaning, that if the baby is in good health, they stay in your room 24-7. I have to admit I was a little bummed about this, because one piece of advice I consistently get is to let them take the baby to the nursery at night so you can get some sleep. I was planning on following that advice, even if people say I won't want to. Guess that decision has been made for me. A little foreshadowing perhaps? I have a feeling some decisions are going to be made for me in these next few weeks.

So the real stuff people want to know- do you feel different, are you ready, has anything started?
How far along are you?  37 weeks
How big is the baby? 19+" and about 6.25 lbs.
Any weight gain/loss? still on track, last week was 147lbs, just about 30 lbs.
Maternity clothes?  beginning to hate them and favor my yoga pants, ready to get back into my real/"cute" clothes
Sleep?  not so much-there are random nights that I can't sleep at all, but for the most part it is naps between bathroom breaks and shifting sides
Baby Movement? all the time-she is super crowded in there and likes to stretch her legs a bit, her movement also can be triggered by the touch of her daddy's hand, never fails-every time!! Daddy's girl already.
Belly Button?  outtie
Cravings?  no serious "stop traffic" cravings, but am loving fruit
Aversions?  avocado/guacamole - still
Gender?  girl
Labor signs?  not really, but she has moved to head down (that was one of those sleepless nights because she worked hard to get from transverse to head down)
Dr. says she has dropped but I don't notice a difference.
Braxton Hicks have kicked up, if that is what you call the hardening of my belly-but I'm still not sure that I am having them because they aren't uncomfortable and don't bother me.
My 36 week check up I was effaced 50% and not dilated. At 37 weeks I was 80% effaced and started dilated, but less than 1cm.
Oh yah- and the swelling kicked in at full speed about a week ago-it is a great look...(see 2nd picture below)
Symptoms?  see above
What I miss?  brie cheese, sandwich meat, my real clothes, being able to bend down, my ankles, my shoes
Upcoming appointments?  ^{tomorrow, and an ultrasound on Tuesday (I get to have one since my belly measurement didn't change from 36-37 weeks.)}
What is next on the To-Do list?  get the car seat inspected, do some deep cleaning of the house, finish some grading and sub planning for maternity leave & kicking my feet up because it is Spring Break!!

My last two bump pictures:

So I better stop there for now. Since I am on Spring Break, I really have no excuse for not doing another update on Tuesday & hopefully I will have an ultrasound picture to share. 

Until then...unless of course she gets here before then...

xoxo - Lindsay