One More Week!!!

I can't believe it! I'm 38 weeks today and counting down the minutes until I get to welcome our jelly bean into the world. In 7 days I get to finally hold him in my arms. If he doesn't come sooner, that is. 

I haven't done much this week. I've been trying to take it easy and not push myself too hard. I worked on some of the decorations for Charlee's birthday party (I want everything except done before Beck arrives so I don't have to worry about it) and am almost done crocheting Beck's baby blanket. I tried cleaning the house, but I'm definitely not as able as I used to be. I think it's time to throw in the towel on that one. Good thing we have a housekeeper coming next week!

We got the rest of our maternity photos back and I love them. You can see my hair falling down and getting saturated with more and more sweat in each picture, but I still love them! I put the picture of Charlee kissing my belly in the nursery until we get our newborn photos back and developed. She was so excited to put it in the room. I think she's going to make a great big sister! 

I haven't been feeling my best this week. I've had a few of my episodes where I feel off and my BP elevates a little, but it always goes down. Since Wednesday I've been having terrible lower abdominal cramps and back pain, coupled with tummy troubles and increased Braxton Hicks. Wednesday night I was sent to Labor and Delivery to make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid. My BP was pretty high when we arrived (144/99, the highest it's ever been) but it went down after a couple hours. I was contracting while there, but they stopped after 2 hours and we were discharged after 3 hours. I was told that I need to rest and should not lay on my back for the remainder of the pregnancy. Which is making my upper back sore from always being a little twisted. I miss feeling comfortable...

I had my last OB appointment today. I'm only 1cm dilated and my BP was totally normal this morning. There was a concern about my protein levels, so they are sending my sample to the lab for extra testing. With the cramping, back pain, tummy troubles, and BP issues, the doctor said I may be in pre labor and should go to the hospital for any little change. Don't be alarmed though, pre labor can last for weeks for some people. So let's hope this kid sticks around until next Friday because it would be much easier for everyone (except my back) that way! Especially since Eric is sick and it would be great if he could be in good health when our boy arrives! 

At this point the jelly bean is about 6.8 pounds and about 19.75 inches, or about the size of a leek. He is still developing lung function and packing on fat. I'm wondering if he will have as much hair as his sister. If the old wives tales about heartburn are true, he will. He's dropped a little and I feel like I can breath again. I'm still craving chocolate ice cream but that's about it. My other cravings have really subsided. I need to take another bump picture. I took my 38 week picture a couple days late because I've basically been hanging around in pjs. I'm all about finding comfort where I can nowadays. 

So Close And Yet So Far Away...

Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks! Wow, that's so crazy to think about. I feel like time fast forwarded to now. But I'm also to the point where I'm too uncomfortable to really go anywhere or do anything, so now time is crawling. The next 15 days will probably feel like 100. 

We have had a busy couple of weeks. We finished the nursery and I absolutely love it! I wanted to get new bedding for the guest bed that's in the room, but now I just don't see the point when we will be moving at the end of the year. I think the nautical theme came together perfectly. I am so proud of all of the DIY work that Eric and I put in to it. I made the bedding, Eric made the shelves, we sanded down and painted the table, I used my own painting of the Ravenel bridge, and I even made some cute curtain ties out of rope. We just need some pictures for the picture frames. Hopefully the jelly bean loves it too!

We also finished our master bedroom except for the other night stand and a blanket ladder. Eric is going to work on those after Beck arrives. He doesn't want to get into any more projects before then. I'm just so glad it's basically done! Another DIY project that I'm pretty proud of. 

We had our maternity photo session when I was 35 weeks. We got a couple of teaser photos back and I am beyond excited to see the rest. The photographer said it would take a week or two so I have been frantically checking my email daily for the link. It's like torture. Charlee wasn't too cooperative for the session. She wanted to run around and refused to let Eric and I take pictures without her. The few times we did get to pose without her she would photobomb us within seconds. It was also extremely hot and ridiculously humid that evening. So the end result should be interesting!

Last weekend we went to visit Eric's family. I was beyond uncomfortable from the 2 hour drive. We went for a surprise party for his father and had a great time. However it was very hot and my back was extremely sore from sitting in a camp chair for several hours. I was more than ready for bed that night! Charlee was up until almost 11 after running around with Kip and Kimber and I admired her energy.  The next day I kept putting off leaving because I didn't want to get back in the car. So we had lunch at Wawa's and then finally left around supper time. It was another long day and night for Charlee and it but it was worth it. 

I have another doctors appointment tomorrow and I can't wait to hear the jelly bean again. I wish I could see him again before I deliver. Twice the entire pregnancy and no ultrasounds since 19 weeks is hard! But he will be here soon. I'm trying to "take it easy" per the doctors orders. I'm still having my episodes where I feel weird (like I drank too much and am dizzy, but the room isn't actually spinning), my body feels heavy, I feel lightheaded, and my blood pressure goes up slightly. I've basically been told to relax and monitor my BP. If it goes above 140 systolic (which it hasn't gone over 133) or 100 diastolic (it's gotten close a few times), I have to go in to the hospital for monitoring. I'm really hoping to avoid that! I just need to hang on for 15 more days!

The jelly bean is about 5.75lbs and 18.75 inches (about the size of a Crenshaw melon). He's mostly focusing on gaining fat and practicing his breathing technique. I am craving chocolate ice cream, strawberries, tomato soup (regardless of how much heartburn it gives me), and yesterday I had a ridiculously strong craving for pretzels and cheese from Buffalo Wild Wings (and my amazing husband surprised me with them when he came home from work).