37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks!! (FULL TERM today!!) Come on out Baby Girl! I'm ready!

Size of baby: 19.1 inches long, 6 lb, 5 oz. About the size of a stalk of swiss chard.

Gender: Baby girl!

Total weight gain: + 27 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Symptoms: Contractions! Very hormonal and short on patience. Also, linea negra appeared this week from my belly button down. 

Sleep: Approx 6 hours with 3 potty trips.

Food cravings: Mexican food, chocolate & coke. 

Movement: Still super super active!! 

Best moment this week: My surprise baby shower! 

What I miss: Alcohol. A margarita would have been perfect with the Mexican we had twice this week! 

What I'm looking forward to: Baby being born!!

Don't Ignore NIAW

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. And even though I'm unsure if I can still call myself "infertile" after our surprise pregnancy?, I can still relate so deeply having been there. I've said before, infertility is not something you simply "get over" and move on from...the pain and the journey we had to walk will stay with us forever.

This year's topic is "don't ignore..." So I didn't want to ignore this week. I don't want to ignore the fact that two blog friends from when I first became a part of the infertility blogging community are still waiting for their blessings. I want to ask all of my readers to please join me in praying for Lianna & Faith. I can't begin to understand why some journeys last so much longer than others, but I have to keep believing that God will answer their prayers in His perfect timing.

Prepping for Baby & Nursery Tour

I'm excited that almost everything is ready for Baby Girl! We had our hospital tour a couple weeks ago. All the clothes have been washed, freezer meals in the freezer, pack n play beside my bed, and nursery is done! Just need to finish packing for the hospital this week and we will be as ready as we can be!

I wanted to share pictures of the nursery! I am so pleased with how it turned out. When we first moved in to the house in July this was our office. It was the only room we hadn't hung pictures up...and good thing because then we found out we needed to make it into a nursery! :)

So even though we don't use real names on this blog (other than mine), I felt like I could still share this picture because I'm not going to write Baby Girl's name. :) She will be called "E" on the blog...for obvious reasons I couldn't call her "ET" (hello movie!) or "EH" (less than pleasant sound), so E she will be. I painted all the butterflies, flowers and ladybugs on the letters!

I bought the quilt hanging above the glider in Hawaii before we moved in 2008. We'd started trying to have a baby, and it was the only thing I allowed myself to buy ahead of time because I didn't want to jinx things if we couldn't have a baby. What a sweet reminder of God's promises fulfilled it is for me to see it hanging in her room. :) This was CJ's crib (that he outgrew), so now it belongs to little sis! The pom pom of blue hydrangea flowers hanging from the ceiling was a decoration in one of my best friend's weddings where I was a bridesmaid! We had blue hydrangeas in our backyard growing up, so they also bring those memories. I thought this was the perfect "reuse" for that decor! And the rocker got moved into the nursery too from CJ's room, and CJ now has a beanbag chair.

Baby E's room is directly across the hall from CJ's room and caddy-corner across the hall from us. We had a limited amount of space for a changing table because we couldn't block her closet on the left (the one on the right opens from the other side of the hallway). I found the changing table I wanted on Craigslist for about half the price!!

I got the pink baskets from Michaels, and the drawer pulls are Olive Kids. Her coming home from the hospital outfit (laid out on changing table) has an elephant on it just like her big brother's did! :) But E's pants have a ruffle butt! 

I was inspired by a couple of different bow holders I saw on Pintrest, and I made this bow holder! I painted the different pieces of wood and put it all together. I should have taken a close up, but the bows are hanging on braided brown yarn (because she'll more than likely have brown hair?). The bows are a mix of some that I've made, and some that have been given to our sweet girl.

This is the view from the glider. Blankets, and burp rags on top shelf for easy grabbing, and "baby" toys and board books on the other shelves. CJ loves "sharing" E's toys already! And our little "princess" couldn't NOT have a little Disney in her room...Sleeping Beauty prints.

We have been SO very blessed by the generosity of friends and hand-me-downs with this baby. We were given new clothes for CJ as gifts, but the majority of things we had to purchase. Expensive! So I was concerned about the finances of a surprise baby. We were taken care of! E has been given boxes and boxes of beautiful girl clothes. I have them all sorted by size and ready to go! :)

On top of the toy shelf, the bear music box and angel figurine were mine as a little girl. So neat to have those to pass on to her. And I LOVE the frame that has Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I chose you".

The view from the hall, coming from our bedroom. The big window looks out into our front yard, but is shaded/given privacy by a camellia tree (which reminds me so much of SC!) The pink bunny hung in my room as a girl. The crocheted blue hat with pink flower was made by my Mom a long time ago. That word "HOPE" hung in our empty room, would-be-nursery in Michigan as we prayed to be blessed with a child. Now, that will be E's middle name, and I glued it to a frame holding the scripture Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future."

Now all that's missing is a baby girl!!! :) 

Last Trip (for a while)

Two weekends ago we took our last family trip (for a while). I was feeling pretty good, and knew we'd primarily be riding in the car, so why not? Looking back, perhaps not the smartest thing to do...venture to a place where there is no cell phone reception and the nearest hospital is hour(s?) away...at 35 weeks pregnant...but oh well. 

We drove over to Joshua Tree National Park. It was such a pretty day and drive. We even got to see SNOW! :) 

There was a patch of Ocotillo Plants. So pretty!

Close up of one of the blooms

Blurry, but CJ snacking in the car!

Next was the Cholla Cactus Garden. It was so neat to see how the desert landscape changed as we drove along.

Cactus fruit.

Rock piles.

Little man next to a big rock!

My boys hiking!

Beautiful rock formations!

CJ had a fun time piling up rocks. This one was too big for him to pick up by himself, so he asked for "Dada help?"

Then we entered the Joshua Tree area! They were really neat looking! I'd never seen one before!

A joshua tree bloom.

Skull Rock. 

More rocks and joshua trees. 

A huge windmill energy area on the drive home.

Another snow capped mountain.

And a beautiful sunset was a perfect end to our beautiful day together! 

Can't wait for our next family "trip" with Baby Girl!

36 weeks

How far along: 36 weeks today!

Size of baby: 18.6 inches long, 5 lb, 13 oz. About the size of a crenshaw melon (whatever that is!?).

Gender: Girl

Total weight gain: + 25 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes

Symptoms: Tired!! Backache

Sleep: Approx 7 hours with 3 potty trips.

Food cravings: Ice cream and chocolate.

Movement: Yes! ALL THE TIME. ALL NIGHT LONG. I'm kinda worried about that... ;) 

Best moment this week: It was a long week. Nothing bad, just feeling defeated by an active two year old in my very pregnant, highly hormonal state. The best moment was when it was over! 

What I miss: Alcohol!

What I'm looking forward to: A weekend with my boys. The start of weekly Dr visits begins this week!! Getting closer to having our sweet baby girl!! 

The Planner

A couple of things about this pregnancy I wanted to share before I forget (& before it's over!)

One thing I had always said from the time we first got married in 2005 was that I wanted to have both of our kids (we always wanted 2) before JT turned 40. JT turns 40 in October. (yes, there is a bit of an age difference between us!)

When we first moved here last July, being the planner that I am, the first doctor that I found for myself was a new infertility doctor. Even though we weren't planning on "trying" again until the Summer of 2012 (ha ha! we'll already have our baby before then now!), I set up an appointment for us to meet the doctor and get the ball rolling (not knowing what tests they'd want to rerun, etc). Our appointment was going to be on September 27, 2011. I had "jokingly" said a couple of times "Wouldn't it be so funny if I went to the appointment and they said 'you're pregnant'". Well, I guess God thought that was funny too. ;) Needless to say, I didn't need to go to that appointment.

According to my calculations, we got pregnant somewhere around the same time I wrote this post. How crazy is THAT?!

And the last, most ironic thing in my mind was a conversation that JT and I had about a week before we found out we were pregnant. I still remember, we were walking through the Safari Park talking about what if we couldn't have a baby #2...would we be "okay" with CJ being an only child, or would we think about pursuing adoption. We were ALREADY pregnant!!

On September 12, 2011 I took a pregnancy test. I'm still not even sure what prompted me to do it. I hadn't had any symptoms, and I had a period pretty recently ago (for me). It was the day before "trash day" and I typically liked to pee on sticks right before the trash would go out. A couple of reasons for that...1) so I didn't have to look at the "no" staring me in the face from the trash can every time I stepped out of the shower/went to the potty. 2) so JT wouldn't see the thousands of dollars worth of pregnancy tests that I continuously "wasted". GOODNESS was I EVER shocked to see a faint line that evening!!

God, yet again, in His infinite wisdom and perfect timing had given us the most beautiful gift. Another baby. There are SO many things that infertility, and being a mother has taught me...but I think that the biggest lesson of all for me is that not everything can be planned by us but God always has a perfect plan! "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

35 weeks

How far along: 35 weeks yesterday

Size of baby: 18.2 inches long, 5 lb, 6 oz. About the size of a honeydew melon.

Gender: Baby girl

Total weight gain: + 27 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Symptoms: Backache, right rib pain, TIRED!

Sleep: Approx. 8 hours with 3 potty trips.

Food cravings: Seafood, spicy, red meat, ice cream and Cadbury Cream Eggs! (I stocked up Friday when they were 70% off!)

Movement: Still super, super active!

Best moment this week: Having a PERFECT last ultrasound to check on her. Isn't she beautiful?! She is head down, and everything looks great: umbilical blood flow, placenta and BABY! On Monday, Baby Girl weighed 5 lbs, 5 oz, putting her in the 53%. (Which means she is going to be a very AVERAGE sized baby, not a giant like her big bro, CJ! Praise!!!!) She was measuring 4 days early, putting my adjusted due date on May 15...but who knows when she'll decide to make her debut! We are so thankful that she is doing well. My blood pressure is good and my weight gain is much more reasonable this time around! :) Can't believe she'll be here SO SOON!

What I miss: I wish I didn't have to RUN to the bathroom quite so often...but overall very content this week.

What I'm looking forward to: A "relaxing" week with minimal plans, and beautiful weather on the forecast.

Worth the Wait

Since this pregnancy has been pretty rough on me, I've said a number of times that "I'm ready for her to come". I do feel guilty saying that, after going through everything we had to to have CJ, and knowing there are still so many ladies who would love to be in my shoes. I find it to be such a fine line to try and walk...between being considerate of my friends with infertility, but still being real about pregnancy and motherhood. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but not every moment of pregnancy and being a mom is always perfect and wonderful.

Anyhow, I saw something this week that kind of snapped me back to reality, and made me want to stay pregnant just a little while longer.

WOW! Talk about a difference. There were several other risk factors and important reasons listed, but probably since I'm a visual person, the comparison of the brains is what struck me the most.

I'm going to try to enjoy my last few weeks of being pregnant, since I'll never again feel a baby hiccuping or wiggling around in my belly. I'll tough it out, as long as she wants (within reason!) for HER. Because, just like her big brother, she is most definitely worth the wait!

Easter 2012

The week of Easter we dyed eggs for the first time as a family! CJ was old enough this year to do it and had fun while he did! (But his attention span only lasted 6 eggs, so I ended up doing 6 on my own, HA!)

JT and CJ stirring up the vinegar, water and dye.

Such concentration as he colors one of the eggs with a crayon! (surprisingly NONE got broken!)

Dipping the "E" egg into the pink cup for his little sister! :)
Pulling out the finished egg!
Here are some of our eggs from this year! My favorite was the pink and green with the swirls on the left (CJ drew those swirls and chose what colors to dip so not only did it turn out so pretty, but CJ did it!)

On Saturday morning, the moms group I'm in, hosted an Easter egg hunt. Let's just say CJ isn't going to enter any competitive egg hunt contests anytime soon, but he had fun! CJ and Dada on the hunt!

I found one!
CJ ended up finding just 5 eggs because he was too busy trying to open each one as he found it instead of filling his basket. That's okay! I was proud of my little boy!

CJ is still too young to understand death. Every time I read our "Story of Easter" book and it talked about Jesus dying and his friends being sad, CJ was very perplexed. So the Christianity aspect of Easter will have to wait for another year... but this year CJ knew that the "Easter Bunny" was going to bring "presents, treats & eggs".

Easter morning CJ got a new alphabet puzzle and an Easter Basket from the Easter Bunny.
CJ is LOVING puzzles right now! He is really good at them too!
Look what the Easter Bunny brought, CJ!
WOW!
"Big Thomas" (the little Thomas sticker was "Baby Thomas").
We did an egg hunt in our backyard, and CJ was MUCH more successful (since he didn't have any competition). HA HA!
It was so funny, because as he picked up each egg he would announce "Blue Egg" or "Yellow Egg" or "Pink Egg" etc. as he put it in his basket! HA HA!
On the move!
We let him have a little bit of candy...scoping out the jelly beans from one of his eggs as he shoves them in his mouth.
A mouth FULL of jelly beans!
This is what happened when we told CJ that he'd had enough candy...The "MORE TREAT!" tantrum.
Our family Easter photo, taken in our beautiful front yard!
Easter Sunday was SO beautiful in San Diego, so we decided to spend the afternoon on the coast! CJ is so observant, when we turned onto I-5 North, he said "Mickey House?" (because that is the way to Disneyland. This is the 2nd time he has said this...the first time I figured it was a fluke...but again?! And, not to mention this turn is 45 minutes away from our house! He amazes me in so many ways every. day.) The beaches and parks were all pretty busy but the aquarium wasn't so we stopped there. "Baby jellyfish"
I LOVED seeing my "twin" boys. ;) CJ looked SOO handsome in his Easter outfit that his Nana bought him! We got so many compliments, and our little hat lover had a BLAST sporting his adorable cap!

The "Fish are Swimming".

Another thing that amazed us, was when CJ showed us his recall ability. When we finished with the seahorses, CJ told us it was time to "see sharks!", when we left that exhibit, CJ ran to the railing to look out at the ocean to "find whales!" And finally, (because we always do it last!) CJ knew it was time to "touch sea stars!" He did a great job lightly touching the sea creatures until he started splashing, and then he was having so much fun!

So thankful for our beautiful day. So thankful for our growing family. And so thankful that Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we can all be saved.