36 weeks....Baby D is free to come whenever :-)

How Far Along: 

36 weeks

Due Date: 

June 13^th, 2013 (ish), though for whatever reason I keep thinking this baby is going to be coming sooner.  Maybe that is just me trying to make sure I am prepared, lol.  Braxton Hicks contractions increased in the 36^th week so maybe that’s a good sign.

Weight gain: 

Officially up 16lbs which turns out to be 5lbs more compared to with Alethea. J

Bump Picture: 

Baby Development:  

Baby D is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He/she now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. Baby D is shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected their skin during their nine-month amniotic bath. He/she swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.  At the end of this week, Baby D will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

Symptoms:

I haven’t really had any new or crazy symptoms.  I have begun getting some positional hip pain that I can actually nip in the bud if I lift my belly.  A bit of a crazy feeling, but it works so I do it, lol.  I also have had a lot more Braxton Hicks contractions in the 36^th week of pregnancy so my body is definitely starting the birth preparation process already.

Currently craving: 

I haven’t had any cravings, but I have had a lot more sugar in the past few weeks because of various celebrations that have taken place.

Currently Avoiding: 

As a result of the sugar eating mentioned above, I have gone through phases of abstaining from sugar just to recover from my sugar highs, lol.

Belly button status: 

It is still in, but the top part has a lip that sticks out sometimes.

Movement:

Baby D moves A LOT.  This baby likes to rock n’ roll in my belly, especially after meals and in the evenings.  Thankfully my sleep still has been left undisturbed.

Name:

We have both a boy and a girl name officially decided.  If it’s a boy the initials will be DTH and if it’s a girl the initials will be DBH. J

Any appointments?: 

I had two appointments over the last month and both were pretty uneventful.  My 33 week appointment baby’s heart rate was 149bpm and the doctor made sure to go over all of their concerns with VBACs and going beyond the due date.  Then the 35 week appointment baby’s heart rate was 129bpm (thought to be because of naptime) and they did my group B strep test, but I have still yet to hear the results of that.  Starting next week I am on to weekly, most likely uneventful appointments, yay…

Any baby related purchases?:

During this month we had two baby sprinkles so we received our Ergo, some miscellaneous supplies, and a gift card to get some goodies at Babies R Us.  Then my parent’s gift, they decided, was to give us the double B.O.B. we wanted so we will have that all set for running once baby arrives. J

Alethea: 

She loves to talk about Baby D and has finally gotten to the point of saying D instead of “deep”.  We have set up the pack n’ play and a few other things to get ready for Baby D’s arrival and Alethea has gotten in the habit of saying some pretty sweet things about Baby D as a result.  She loves to point to the pack n’ play and say “Baby D come out and sleep in Baby D’s bed.  Lala sing Baby D ‘so big’ song”.  She is so excited to sing to Baby D.  She also scolded Baby D the other day when we were talking about Baby D kicking so much during dinner.  She said “Baby D be nice! No hurt Mommy!”  I am so excited to see what a great big sister she is going to make.

Exercise:

I am still running typically 4 days a week for about 3.5 to 4 miles making my weekly total usually between 14 to 16 miles.  One fun motivator for the month of May has been a contest I joined where you have to run 26.2 miles before the end of the month of May.  It took me 7 days of running to complete the challenge.   I have had to do more walking on a few occasions when I can’t knock a cramp, but overall my running hasn’t changed much (other than being really slow).  I am noticing more pressure on my bladder during running so I am sure that will be a struggle eventually, but it hasn’t messed it up yet.  It’s hard to believe that Baby D has already run 450+ miles with me!

Maternity Photo Shoot

Thanks to our good friend Anna, we were able to capture some pictures of the bump this time around.  We attempted some family and couple shots as well, but due to tons of wind and an uncooperative toddler those didn't all work out as well.  Anna also had a wonderful idea of using letter blocks and we took pics with our boy and girl name so we will have cherished memories no matter whether Baby D is a boy or a girl. :-) Here is a sampling of our success:

Alethea's activity of choice, lol

April Update: Ben 28 years, Alethea 26 months

                This month has been an absolutely wonderful month.  It has been so much fun to have Ben home so much more.  We have had the family time we have so desperately been needing, yay! 

"Fishing" with Daddy at the pond using sticks

                Ben finished his last grad school class, though he officially doesn’t graduate until May.  He also handed over all of his leadership and collateral duties at work, which means all he has to do is teach and grade now.  Like I said before, this means a lot more Hubby/Daddy time.  He has been so much less stressed and has enjoyed spending a lot more time with his girls.  His job search is at a bit of a halt due to a hiring freeze at the company that is very interested in him.  We are praying for good news mid-May, but he is also continuing to send his resume to all his contacts and apply. 

                April has been an eventful month for Ben and one last exciting thing was that he celebrated his 28^th birthday.  It was a bit of a two day affair involving an eating contest burger at Matt’s Burgers the day before, then a date sans Alethea involving delicious local food at Husk followed by from scratch strawberry cheesecake that I made.  Alethea had so much fun talking about Daddy’s birthday saying “Happy beht-day Dadday” and “Dat Daddy’s happy beht-day bag?” She was so excited to give him his present (protein shaker bottles and money toward new bball shoes).  I am so thankful the Lord has blessed him with 28 years and looking forward to many more with him in our lives.

bday cheesecake

Husk date

Posing with Daddy and his triple bomb burger

This month has been less involved for me involving a lot of the same old things.  I am still cooking up a storm while I still have the time and I am beginning to get the house ready for Baby D.  I have definitely been staying busy and enjoying a lot more solo runs because Ben has been home in the afternoons.  One special thing this month was having a small baby “sprinkle” with a few good friends.  Thanks to Anna it was a perfect little celebration and I got an Ergo, clothes, and a few baby basics.  To top off the evening Anna and I had a chance to hang out for a few hours after the shower and chat sans kiddos and it was wonderful.  Definitely a rarity and such a treat!

posing for Mommy's bump photo

favorite cooking creation #1: from scratch strawberry pop-tarts

favorite cooking creation #2: from scratch cinnamon roll cheesecake

Alethea is still working on being a jolly green giant, lol.  She is up to 37.5inches (up almost an inch in the last month) and 29lbs 9.6oz for her 26 month stats.  I think she has been adding some longer naps on occasion to accommodate this growth, which I have been very pleased to enjoy.   Although, she has started into a bit of a phase where she takes forever to fall asleep.  At naptime she is fussing and asking for us to come back or talking to herself and at bedtime she lays in her bed quietly for the most part, but is often still randomly talking or singing sometimes an hour after going to bed.  Not sure what the motivation is for all of that, but she doesn’t seem to have any ill effects from it thankfully.

This is what happens on the way home from the grocery when she 

plays for 1.5 hrs in her bed instead of napping

She is also moving into a stage involving a ton of curiosity.  She is constantly asking “What’s dis/dat?” and asking other questions to affirm her understanding of her surroundings.  I love this new stage most of the time, but at times it can be a bit exhausting.  I am amazed at how much more she is learning every day and she never ceases to amaze me with her grasp of concepts that I don’t even remember ever teaching her.  She is definitely in the sponge stage and absorbing everything around her.

"What's dat?"

"What's dis?"

Her speech is continuing to grow exponentially it seems.  She is speaking in longer sentences with each passing month it seems though, if she gets overly excited about what she is saying, she might take an eternity to get the sentence out, lol.  I am very impressed to see how great her understanding of directional words has become.  She uses words such as “on top”, “unda-neath”, “inside”, “outside”, and many more to describe where things are.  We hear a ton of these words on a daily basis because she loves to describe/narrate her surroundings.  She is even beginning to grasp her numbers and letters some and understands what they are for.  One of her favorite things to do is point out “lettees” on our shirts and often times she is correct with identifying them and it is very common to hear her counting “1, 2, 3….8, 9, 10” or saying “A, B, C, D….W, X”.  She will say all the numbers and letters when repeating after us, but only portions of them on her own.  Definitely not concerned because I know she will know them all in due time.

My artist

Oh yah, and she can climb way to well

One of my favorite things she has started to verbalize a lot lately is “for you/me/Daddy/Mommy”.  She loves to say “I get wa-wa for ….” and then hand it out to whoever is in the room.  It’s also so cute to see her get excited when someone does something for her and she says things like “Daddy sing songs for me, Mommy!” I love seeing her excitement about life and how much she enjoys sharing it with those around her….even if sometimes it can be a bit loud on the volume scale, lol.

Using her food cans as "wa-wa" cups

"Here go Daddy.  Dis for you!"

My little songbird is continuing to develop more and more of a love for music.  She requests “dance” music in the car which usually ends up just being K-Love or occasionally we rock out to one of my Glee CDs.  It is also a frequent occurrence to hear her waking up by singing songs in the morning and then she comes into my room to cuddle/talk or sing my ear off, lol.  Some of her favorites that she loves to sing/have sung to her are “Skin-a-marinki-dink-e-dink , I luh you….unda-neaf da moooo”, and “God so big…stars hanny-work too”.  She gets really into songs with motions and her Daddy and I love it!

She has also become quite enamored with looking at herself in the mirror.  We have a mirror on her toy closet door and she will intentionally walk over to it just to see what she looks like while laughing, whining, crying, screaming, etc.  I love this, not only because it is super cute to witness, but I also know that it is giving her a visual example of the different emotions she is experiencing.  It is her childlike way of developing self-awareness.  She also has been known to dance and make faces at herself in the mirror which entertains her for quite some time and often entertains Ben and I as well.

Oh the many faces of Alethea

Sheer joy looking at herself in the phone camera

I have also loved seeing her excitement about her friends.  She absolutely loves going to “play friends” and when we do she talks about what she did with them for days/weeks.  Whenever she gets to stay with a friend while I go to an appointment, she always comes home telling us about what she did (even with the mommies) for days.  It’s pretty hilarious at times to hear her perception of what happens.  For example, after she stayed with her friend Reese while I took Ben to the doctor for his surgery, she frequently said “Mommy take Daddy dockee, A-la-la play Reese’s housey….Reese’s mommy pick A-la-la up and kiss boo-boo.”  She has even asked many times since if that is where she gets to go again when we are leaving the house to go somewhere. So sweet that she loves her friends, and their mommies, so much already!

April brought lots of sunshine into our lives and I know life is only going to get more exciting over the next few months.  Only one more full month as a family of 3!  So thankful that God has provided us with such a busy, fun, and exciting, yet restful month of April!

She did help cheer Louisville on to win the NCAA Championship in Men's Bball

And one last dose of cuteness!

32 weeks down....8ish to go!

How Far Along: 

32 weeks

Due Date: 

June 13^th, 2013 (ish), though for whatever reason I keep thinking this baby is going to be coming sooner.  Maybe that is just me trying to make sure I am prepared, lol.

Weight gain: 

Officially up 12lbs so far.  At 32 weeks with Alethea I was only up 7.6lbs, so I have actually managed to gain more weight this time around.  Must have been because I started a bit lighter and am trying to catch up, lol.

Bump Picture: 

Baby Development:  

By now, baby weighs approximately 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I am supposed to be gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby, but that doesn’t usually pan out for me. In fact, baby will gain a third to half of their birth weight during the next 7 weeks as baby fattens up for survival outside the womb. Baby now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Baby’s skin is becoming soft and smooth as they plump up in preparation for birth.

Symptoms:

I am having more hip pain that I was a few weeks ago, but it is still not all that bad as long as I don’t overdo it.  The worst is when I have been lying down and go from that position straight to standing.  I think the Braxton Hicks contractions have already begun.   They aren’t really painful, just uncomfortable for a few moments. 

Currently craving: 

I wouldn’t say it is a craving, but I am making it a point to limit my sugar intake and up my veggies.  It’s motivating because I always feel better when I am eating healthier. J

Currently Avoiding: 

Like I said before, trying to avoid sugar, except in limited quantities.  Usually involves dessert 1-2 times a week.

Belly button status: 

It is tenderer than it was before pregnancy and it getting shallower by the week.

Movement:

Baby 2.0 likes to party!  This baby seems to be much more active than I remember Alethea being.  He/she moves a lot more when Alethea is sitting in my lap and I love it because it is almost like baby recognizes her presence.  Many of the movements are becoming more forceful and involve a lot more bony protrusions.  Baby 2.0 still loves post meal and evening movement times.

Name:

We have both a boy and a girl name officially decided.  If it’s a boy the initials will be DTH and if it’s a girl the initials will be DBH. J

Any appointments?: 

My glucose test appointment was a success.  I was able to use my 100% grape juice instead of their toxic drink.  They haven’t given me any results so I am just assuming no news is good news.  The next appointment is next Friday as a 33 week appointment.  For whatever reason, they have me on odd weeks.

Any baby related purchases?:

We haven’t purchased anything yet, but I am on the verge of a monitor and double jogging stroller purchase.  I am just waiting for the timing to be right.

Alethea: 

She still loves reading her “new baby books” as she calls them and as always, she loves playing with babies real or pretend.  After a suggestion from a friend, we have started referring to Baby 2.0 as Baby D (since that will be the first initial regardless) and Alethea repeats this as “baby deep” so it’s still a work in progress, but I think it makes it more tangible for her.  She has also been super sweet several times when babbling as she goes to bed and said “baby mommy’s belly come play lala (Alethea)?”  Love it!  She is going to be such a great big sister!

Exercise:

I am still running typically 4 days a week for about 3.5 to 4 miles making my weekly total usually between 14 to 16 miles.  I have been surprised how little has changed with my running.  The biggest changes have been the speed at which I can run and I can no longer wear my heart monitor since there isn’t enough room between my belly and my chest to fit the monitor.  Thankfully I have gotten used to how my body feels when my heart rate gets too high and I also know my trouble spots (typically hills).  Running has been a way of keeping my sanity and a sense of normal during this pregnancy so I hope it doesn’t have to end any time soon.

Oh how these babies are so different already. :-)

March Update

                I am not even sure where to begin with our March update.  It has been such a whirlwind and a blur of life that I am not even sure I remember everything that happened, lol.  We enjoyed lots of fun trips to the playground as well as fun walks enjoying beautiful weather.  We even made it to the beach one Saturday for Alethea’s 2 year photo shoot.  I am so thankful for the spring-like weather that we were teased with throughout March.

Favorite family pic from the shoot

Favorite Alethea pic!

                We also celebrated the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ this month.  It was a bit of a busy day for us, but it was still great to remember the sacrifice He made for us and why we truly celebrate Easter.  We want this to be the focus for our family on Easter, but we also had a little fun this year with an Easter basket and egg hunt for the day too.  Alethea really enjoyed those additions to the day.

Mommy and Alethea...attempt at a post church photo

In her Easter dress

opening all her egg hunt eggs

her candy free Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy 

                This month also marked the beginning of a fun tradition with our good friends the Smiths.  We have started a date swap with them so each couple gets a chance to go out on a date once a month.  It was so much fun for us to head downtown and spend some quality time, just Ben and I, and we enjoyed some fabulous dinner at Slightly North of Broad (SNOB).  Then of course we had to finish off the night with ice cream from Wholly Cow, delish!

Our romantic table :-)

                Ben’s month was overtaken by an audit at work, the final month of grad school, and two trips for interviews for his dream job.  As a result, this meant that we saw him even less than we had been already.  With the audit, the first few weeks of the month meant long hours at work to prep and then go through the process of the audit.  Grad school meant evenings and entire weekends were spent working on projects and trying to keep his head above water.  Then he flew to Texas at the beginning of the month for an interview conference and then was called back for a second interview in Louisville, KY for a job he is super excited about.  Alethea and I were supposed to go with him for the KY trip, but unfortunately a change in schedule and lots of doctor appointments prevented that.  So, all in all, this month really made us cherish the time we do get to spend with Ben and has us praying as well as anxiously awaiting a budget approval so the company can offer Ben a job!

Kissy face pic to send to Daddy while he was gone

Movie night while Daddy was gone

                My month was full of a ton of time spent with a sweet little blonde girl.  Thankfully she was awesome for me most of the month. So even though I was exhausted by the end of most every day, I was happy to wake up a start all over again each day.  I also occupied myself with menu-planning, cooking, and involvement at church.  I am so thankful for the energy that God provided so that I was able to make it through this month.

                Alethea, as usual, is growing like a weed and continuing to develop quite the loveable, sweet personality that has Ben and I constantly turning to each other in acknowledgment of the blessing she is in our lives.  I would like to think our parenting has something to do with her personality development, but I truly think so much of it is a God-given blessing.  We are loving each stage of development as she grows more and more into a little girl and definitely not a baby anymore.  I took her stats again this month which I guess would be 25 months, and she is up to  28lbs 12.8oz and 36.75inches.  It was actually hilarious the other day because the cashier at the commissary just couldn’t get over the fact she had just turned 2 and kept saying, if it weren’t for the hair, she would look like a 3 or 4 year old, lol.  Due to this height she is also graduated to the forward facing settings on her carseat too.

In her forward facing carseat :-)

She loves to play at the playground

                This month has been so exciting in language development as well.  I cannot believe just how much her language continues to grow exponentially.  She is spouting full sentences out (obviously not always proper structure) most of the time now involving anywhere from 3 to sometimes 7 words.  It has been amazing to see her understanding and generalizing of concepts blossom over the month.  Car trips have also become quite the event because she often talks non-stop.  Her new favorite thing is to narrate life as it happens and we have quickly learned that, if we don’t acknowledge what she is saying, many things will get repeated until we do, lol.  She is our little chatterbox (and often songbird) and, though there are times I wish I had earplugs, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

"stwawwww"

"two leebs"

                She has also started to take after her Mommy not only with singing, but she is quite the little monkey.  In the last month, she as truly has begun to climb on pretty much any and everything.  Nothing is off-limits at the park anymore.  She wants to climb everything!  So fun, but at the same time it can be nerve-wracking when she is halfway up the climbing wall without a spotter.  I didn’t even know a 2 year old could use hand and foot holds with such ease, lol!

                Her little mommy instincts have also continued to develop.  She is like a baby magnet and is drawn to them, real or pretend, whenever they are around.  I love her sweet spirit and attention to making sure she cares for them well.  I don’t know that she really understands what it’s going to mean for her to be a big sister in a few months, but I am pretty sure she is going to love it.  We have started to tell her that the baby in Mommy’s belly will come out to play in a few months.  I am thinking this is actually making a bit more sense to her because she has started asking if “baby Mommy’s belly play?”.  Who really knows, but the whole process is fun to see her get excited, even if she doesn’t totally get it yet.

taking care of all her "babies"

Making sure baby sits at the table to eat

                One last thing to mention is my favorite part about her new developing personality.  She is such a compassionate, empathetic, and encouraging little girl.  I love how she gets so concerned when others seem upset.  If she knows she hurt one of us or one of her friends she is quick to go make sure they are okay.  She will say “okay….?” (fill in the blank with whoever it is) and then she loves to give hugs, kisses, or pats to make it better.  It is even common for her to try to share whatever she is playing with to try to make things better.  So sweet!  We see this evident even when we are reading books because she can see the hurt emotions in the faces of the characters.  It is not uncommon for us to have to reassure her that the characters in the book are okay when she asks “….okay?”.  She also loves to clap and say “good job” when anyone around her does something well, especially if it enjoys going potty.  I just love seeing this sweet spirit develop in her!

Her first attempt to pose like Mommy does for "bump" photos

Foamy soap head!

                I think that’s all I really know for now.  I am sure there are updates I am forgetting, but the details have long left this pregnant brain, lol!  It’s been a crazy month, but God has still been good to us.