32 & 33 Weeks...Starting twice a week doctors visits

July 18 & 25, 2013

Baby news: Our baby is 17.5 inches and 4.75 pounds!

How far along? 33 weeks- I can't believe we are in the single digit weeks countdown!

Total weight gain/loss: 15 pounds....I'm going to blame it on the Italian and Mexican food we ate in the same weekend. =)

Sleep: Still not sleeping great, but there are more good nights than bad. I started back to work last Monday, so I have been sleeping better since then. I think the early mornings and less rest during the day has lead to better sleeping at night. I feel asleep at 11pm a few nights this week, which hasn't happened in a few weeks. 

Best moment this week: Last Tuesday, we had a baby shower at Christus St. John's Sports Med, where Eric works. His coworkers gave a wonderful shower for us and another girl he works with. They had lunch, games and spoiled us with wonderful gifts for Madison. We are so lucky that he works with such a great group of people!

Cravings: I still really don't get many cravings. We were watching The Bachelorette last week and one of the guys had a snow cone truck. As soon as it came on, Eric knew what was coming...I was on a snow cone kick this summer, but I haven't felt the need to get one since we watched the show. 

Movement: Madison's movement has been a little worrisome the past 2 weeks. She seems to be behaving herself a little better during week 33 than week 32. More to come at the bottom....

Wedding rings/Swelling: Wedding rings are still on. I really hope I can keep wearing them...it feels very weird when I don't have them on. My feet have been a little swollen this week at the end of the day since going back to work. It has been kind of comical to look at them. 

Mood: I started back at work last week, so I have definitely seen a difference in my energy level. It's always a little weird the first week back at school, trying to wrap your head around the new year. It was a productive week and I'm starting to feel like I'm in the swing of things. 

My mood has been a little all over the place the past 2 weeks! I have started to see a little more ups and downs, crying and worry. Eric has been very kind dealing with the crazy lady! 

Looking forward to: This weekend, Leslie, Georgina, Carol and Heather are throwing a baby shower for Madison and me! I can't wait to see everyone at the shower. We are also going to have Brandi, Drew and their little boy Tripp come stay with us this weekend. My Aunt Donna, Uncle Mike and MeMe are going to stay with my parents. Looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating Miss Madison!

Anything Else?? This pregnancy has gotten a little exciting in the past 2 weeks! During the weekend of week 32, I felt really sick to my stomach for a few days. I ended up throwing up on Saturday, which has only happened one other time since i have been pregnant. It went away by Monday, but Tuesday I started to feel very lightheaded, weak and dizzy. I spent most of the day laying around the house and drinking lots of water. I started to notice that afternoon that I wasn't feeling nearly as much movement as I usually do, but still feeling regular movement at least every hour. Wednesday morning, I decided to call my doctor just to check in. They wanted to me come in that morning to get checked out and monitored for a little while. As soon as I got hooked up to the monitor, Madison went crazy and moved nonstop for 30 minutes! They let me go home and told me to just take it easy and call back if anything else happened. 

Through Wednesday and Thursday, I felt regular, small movements but still not big movements at the usual times I was am used to. Thursday night we went to our prepared childbirth class and I began to feel sick to my stomach again that night. Around 11pm, I drank orange juice and laid on my left side for an hour, which is supposed to make the baby move. I felt some small movements after that, so I went to bed and feel asleep around 12:30. Eric had been waking up early the past couple days to watch the Brittish Open. I woke up around 4:30 and laid in the living room with him. I was really started to get worried about her not moving, so I drank some more orange juice and waited. Around 6, I was a wreck, crying and worried that something could be wrong and I was going to miss something. We decided to go to the hospital instead of waiting to call the dr at 9. I called the after hours number for the doctor, which ended up being very helpful. It turns out that UTMB has a nurse and doctor on call 24 hours a day to talk to. After talking to both and explaining the past week, they told me to try and sleep for an hour and then meet one of the doctors at the office. 

I was actually able to fall asleep, which was very nice. We went to the doctor that morning and they hooked my up to the fetal monitor again. Madison started moving, her heart rate was good and I wasn't having any contractions. We saw the nurse practioner that day and she was very sweet. She made me feel better and asked lots of questions about what had been going on. One thing we talked about was my concern about the unbilical cord. We found out at our 18 week ultrasound that the umbilical cord had 1 artery and 1 vein instead of 2 arteries and 1 vein.  Everything looked good with the heart at the ultrasound and Madison has been growing right on track, so there havent been any worries. I told the NP that I had been worried the past day or two wondering if for some reason this was why I had been noticing reduced movement. The NP left the room to go talk to my doctor and when she came back she said my doctor wanted me to start coming to the office twice a week. 

So....long story short, I now go on Tuesdays for a doctor appointment and monitoring. I then go back later in the week for monitoring only. When I went during week 33, everything looked good. She was moving up a storm all week! It definitely makes me feel better to get monitored twice a week. My stress level has been much lower this week. =)

Here are a few pictures to end this post on a lighter note!

 This is how we spend 2 mornings a week!

 Kicking back, watching The Today Show while I get monitored. 

30 & 31 Weeks

July 4 & 11, 2013

Baby news: Our baby girl is 16.25 inches and 3.3 pounds!

How far along? 31 weeks- I got behind, so this post will cover 2 weeks. 

Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds. Mama and baby had a growth spurt this week! I woke up on Monday of week 31 and noticed that I grew overnight.

Sleep: I remember last summer when Leslie was pregnant, she would tell me about the variety of hours that she was up at night. I have officially hit that point! I can only sleep for about an hour before I wake up. I usually sleep from about 1am- 7am. I am hoping that when I go back to work I will be more worn out and sleep better. 

 I am very sad that my good sleep seems to come to an end. I have been having lots of pain in my pelvic bones and ligaments in my lower stomach. As silly as it sounds, rolling over at night almost brings me to tears. 

Best moment this week: We have had lots of fun moments the past 2 weeks. Michael, Heather and the kids came out for 4th of July weekend. We had a great time hanging out with them and loving on the kids. On July 4th, Eric and I celebrated 15 years of dating. We started dating when we were going into 9th grade, on July 4, 1998. Eric asked me that morning if I ever thought we would have been together 15 years before we had a baby...I very firmly told him NO! It has been a wonderful 15 years and I can't imagine spending it with anyone else. 

We also went for our 3D ultrasound this week. At first, Madison wasn't cooperating. She had her hands and a foot in front of her face. After so coercing, she finally moved and we got some good pictures. We did find out she was breech, so here's to hoping she decides to turn! I'm lucky enough to get to feel Madison move all the time. I think the 3D ultrasound really made things real for Eric. He goes to look at the pictures on the fridge all the time. He was so excited afterwards that we went to his office so he could show people the pictures. 

That night, Eric and I had our first "prepared childbirth" class. It is at St. John's, where I will deliver. There is only one other couple in the class, so it is nice to have a small group. Next week we get to tour the labor and delivery floor. 

Cravings: Not many cravings. I am starting to get full so fast. I will barely eat anything and then I am too full to eat anymore. 

Movement: This is by far my favorite part of being pregnant! I am starting to feel some big rolls, elbows across the belly and even an arm to the rib. Madison likes to hang out on my left side, with her head right below my ribs. I found out at the ultrasound that my placenta is right there, which she likes to use as a pillow. 

Wedding rings: Still on, I think my excessive water drinking is paying off!

Mood: I have been feeling good and enjoying my summer routine. It has been nice to have extra time to relax, see friends and do things with my mom during the day. Unfortunately, next week is my last week of summer.

Looking forward to: I am looking forward to going back to work because I know the days will pass quickly. It's always exciting at the beginning of the year to make plans and goals for the year. I got a lot done at the end of the year to prepare for next year, but I will be spending the first 5 weeks back at work getting things prepared for when I go on maternity leave. 

Anything Else?? Here are some pictures from our last couple weeks!

 Tegan and Cainan spent the first night at my parents house. They were enjoying breakfast before Cainan went to play golf. 

  Brennin exploring the house. 

  The only thing cuter than a baby in pajamas is 2 babies in pajamas! Westin loves the phone camera. 

  Brennin had to crawl under every table in our house. 

  Westin got to try out the crib! I told him I would save this picture to show his future girlfriends. 

  We had lunch at Firehouse subs. The kids said we need to bring Uncle Keith to eat there. 

 15 years of dating and 30 weeks of pregnancy!

  Here are some ultrasound pictures!  They aren't the greatest pictures because they are a picture of the picture. I can't get over her cheeks and mouth! 

29 Weeks

June 27, 2013

Baby news: Our baby girl is 15.50 inches and 2.75 pounds!

How far along? 29 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds 

Sleep: I am very sad that my good sleep seems to come to an end. I have been having lots of pain in my pelvic bones and ligaments in my lower stomach. As silly as it sounds, rolling over at night almost brings me to tears. I went to the dr on Wdnesday for a check-up and he said it is due to a hormone called Relaxin that relaxes your muscles and makes your bones softer as you get towards delivery. On the bright side...I have caught up on a lot of Full House reruns in the middle of the night!

Best moment this week: we had to make on unexpected trip to Dallas this week to go to a funeral for a family friend. While this was definitely not the best part of the week, we did get to stay in Dallas and see my aunt, uncle and grandma for a few days. We didn't think we would get to go to Dallas this summer, but it worked out well. We did some shopping and hung out by their pool. 

Cravings: Not many cravings. I am starting to get full so fast. I will barely eat anything and then I am too full to eat anymore. 

Movement: Madison is moving quite a bit. Sometimes she will have big movements where my whole stomach jumps. It is so funny to watch! Apparently she doesn't like to perform though...my aunt tried all weekend to feel her move. Every time my aunt out her hand on my belly, Madison would stop moving or move towards my back. 

Wedding rings: still on, I think my excessive water drinking is paying off!

Mood: I have been feeling good and can't complain! I definitely get worn out quicker, but thankfully it is summer so I can take things slow. 

Looking forward to: I am now starting to go to the dr every 2 weeks. We are also starting our "prepared childbirth class" soon. We will go on Thursdays for 6 weeks. On July 11th we are going to get a 3D/4D ultrasound. I can't wait to see Madison again and see her little face! We are also hoping to see if she has a lot of hair like Eric and me. 

Anything Else?? As I mentioned, we went to Dallas this week for a funeral. My dad's childhood friend, Rusty, lost his battle with cancer this week. He has been sick for 3 years. Rusty has always been an entrepreneur, with a focus in restaurants.  For people in the Dallas area, his earlier claim to fame was Uncle Julio's, a Mexican restaurant.  Over the past 3 years, his newest business venture, Rusty Taco has become a hit in the Dallas area and also expanded to many other towns. 

Rusty and his family has been a part of our life's long before I was born. When I was younger, we both always enjoyed the Pee Wee Herman show. =) He was always such a kind person and has left quite a legacy for his 4 daughters and family. His funeral was absolutely beautiful. There were probably close to 500 people there. As my mom said, it says a lot about you as a person when there are more people at your funeral than your wedding. The room was full of people who loved Rusty, from all different parts of his life. While we were in Dallas, we went to go visit a few different Rusty Taco restaurants. He was a lifelong Aggie, and in the pictures you can see he always remembered to include Howdy in his restaurants. 

My dad started wearing a Rusty Taco shirt when he would go on vacation and take a picture of wherever they were. The trend has caught on!

These are some pictures from our last trip to Rusty Taco a couple years ago during Spring Break. My dad had shoulder surgery about 5 days before. While we were there, my dad, Rusty, Eric and Drew chased a guy down the street that had stolen a case of beer from the restaurant. =)