38 Weeks!

Friday marked 38 weeks pregnant. I definitely feel tired and having more pain and overall crankiness. The heat is not helping my mood either. I am also still waiting for my new office to be finished so that I can get everything moved and ideally unpacked before this little girl comes.

On a positive note I have been fairly productive this past week finishing up our 2011 & 2012 family albums, 2010 is nearly finished and I have the photos organized for 2009. I have also finished the baby blankets that I was crocheting for my cousins twins that are due shortly after Caroline. 

The last person I know who was due before me had her baby this past week, she was due on the 22nd. Apparently the biology lab is the place to be as two friends have gone into labor there in the last three weeks. The key seems to be to go into the lab on a Wednesday the week before you are due. I plan to visit the lab this coming Wednesday!

37 Weeks - Full Term!

Today marks 37 weeks pregnant which also means that Caroline is now considered full term! I'm still predicting that she'll be a little late so we likely have at least 3 more weeks to go. 

I'm feeling pretty good, especially on days when I can put my feet up and rest for awhile. On days when I have to be up and about I get pretty swollen. Can't wait to meet our little girl!

36 Weeks

I hit 36 weeks on Friday, the last day of May which means that this baby could theoretically come at any time! Here is a picture from Sunday before heading out to church.

Today I had my check up with the doctor, today marked the first of my weekly visits and my first exam to see how close to d-day we are. Good news is that she is in position with her head down and the doctor says things look good and he doesn't see any indicators that I'll have a troublesome delivery. So, what do we do now? We wait, she'll come when she is good and ready and I wouldn't bet any money that she will come in the next week. We'll give her a little more time to get nice and chubby :)

36 Weeks

34 & 35 Weeks

Here are some more updates on the belly, again, taken with the self-timer which makes them a little grainy. Today I hit 36 weeks and I'll try to get those up next week. This week we also did our professional maternity pics and I'm really looking forward to getting those back soon!

This first picture is 34 weeks pregnant. Feeling pretty good but definitely waddling, especially when I've been sitting at my desk for a long period of time. This weekend we rearranged our living room so that I could use our recliner and still see the TV. I hate the way it makes our living room look but I have to say that sitting in the recliner is the only time when I'm fairly comfortable! I find myself even working from my recliner whereas I used to always sit at a table to work.

34 Weeks Pregnant

These next two pictures are both at 35 weeks, they are taken on successive days simply because I was really digging the brown shirt and necklace combo. I need to get my bangs cut soon but I am happy that I can still put my hair in a ponytail but that it's not so long as to take hours to dry!

34 Weeks, 6 days Pregnant

35 Weeks Pregnant

Belly Updates

Here are some belly updates from the last few weeks! I didn't get around to the traditional pics by the brick wall mostly because I didn't have my trusty photographer around, he's been pretty darn busy lately with work so here is what I have and I kind of like these better because they put the belly in context and give a glimpse of what life has been like during this pregnancy.

First up is my 29 weeks shot. This picture was taken at the Zeta Rho paint war rush. For those who are not familiar with these types of things I am an advisor for a women's social club (not really a sorority but sort of a similar concept only focused on God and they don't live in a house together). In the spring freshman from across campus get to check out all of the different clubs and begin to see if they would like to pledge a club in the fall. Each club holds a party or rush event that is meant to show off what the club is about and give the girls a chance to meet one another. This was the second year that our girls did a paint war and it was a blast! This picture shows the girls after splattering paint all over each other. I even got in on the action towards the end! You can see me there with the heart on my belly. It was a lot of fun!

29 weeks at the paint war

The week after rushes it was time for what most clubs call "Spring Formal." Well, our girls aren't super frilly and they are very budget conscious so we opted for a beach themed social held at the church. Here I am with my good friend Tara showing off my belly bump! Ps. I love this new dress, I plan to wear it at my shower tomorrow and for my maternity pics and then maybe every other day until baby arrives. It is super comfy and allows for good air flow!

30 weeks at spring social

This last update is from week 32, see my post about my Zeta Rho shower for week 31 1/2. I decided to try the self-timer on my phone and it worked, this is the 6th take :) It's a little blurry but not bad considering the method used. I was getting ready for work that morning and thought it would be a good opportunity to take a picture, especially since my hair was looking pretty great!

32 weeks in the nursery

Updates on Baby Caroline!

The pictures from the last few weeks aren't the greatest as the husband has been out of town quite a bit and wasn't able to take the pictures for me. I'm not a huge fan of taking pictures in the mirror but I'd rather have those than nothing!

This first one is at 26 weeks and I never thought that I would be wearing a long-sleeve shirt at that stage of pregnancy considering that I live in West Texas! This day I got dressed and looked in the mirror and felt huge, I had to take a picture! I think it's just the style of the shirt and how fitted it is but it was kind of fun and I got all sorts of comments that day.

This second picture is at 27 weeks, this was also the week of my last flight before Caroline arrives. I traveled to New Orleans for the Southwestern Social Science Association meeting where I presented some research with one of my colleagues. We had a great time and I took advantage of being pregnant and ate lots of Beignets and a Po'Boy the size of my head. It was a great trip but it wore me out completely, traveling in the third trimester is much more challenging than I had anticipated. I was also awfully swollen after this trip, a combination of poor eating and not enough water led to some serious water retention. My doctor was a little concerned at my appointment the following Monday but since then the swelling has been much more manageable and is only bad at the end of the day when I've been on my feet a lot.

This last belly shot is back to our traditional outside shot, it was finally warm enough to wear capri's and short sleeves! This is 28 weeks and I was feeling 28 weeks. This was also a rough week of work, I had to deal with some cheating issues and some other work situations that were challenging and so it was a very emotional ride for me. I am pretty proud of how I handled everything and then after an overnight retreat focusing on prayer and solitude I was feeling refreshed and renewed going into week 29.

Over the last few weeks Baby Caroline has also been blessed with amazing gifts from her family! We got this quilt in the mail from her Great Aunt Marie who lives in Kansas. I a just adore the colors and the pattern and I'm sure that Caroline will love it for many years to come as well!

More gifts came from Grandma Sally, she sent a box full of great stuff including some burp cloths, receiving blankets, adorable clothes and Caroline's first baby doll! One of the outfits that came made me smile, it is the "I love Auntie" bib below. I sure wish that her Auntie Sarah lived closer but I know that she will love her aunt and her cousins and I hope that they'll take good care of her when she comes to visit and I hope that they show her all of the secrets of Disneyland as well :)

Coming up we have our classes at the hospital, my church baby shower and my work baby shower so stay tuned for lots more pictures and goodies for Caroline!

Bump Update

Here are some bump updates, I didn't mean to be wearing the same pants in both pictures, it just sort of happened that way! I am definitely feeling her move around quite a bit, especially in the evenings and early morning. When I'm busy at work I tend to not feel her, I get distracted!

I certainly can't wear any of my "normal" clothes anymore and am extremely grateful for the hand-me-down maternity clothes from my good friends.

Lately I've been craving pancakes, brownies and I will never turn down ice cream! I am working to balance all of that out but without much success. I have pretty constant heartburn and should really buy stock in tums at this point!

Me at 18 or 19 weeks, I need to do a better job of labeling the pictures!

23 weeks along and clearly pregnant!

A peak at our little girl, we didn't get a traditional profile picture as she just kept moving around but that's her little skull (kind of creepy but in an adorable way)

The Baby Bump!

8.5 Weeks Pregnant, Thanksgiving 2012

Baby at 8.5 Weeks, about the size of a gummy bear!

9 Weeks Pregnant

11.5 Weeks Pregnant, Christmas time at ACU

14 Weeks Pregnant, Visiting Aunt Sarah in Huntington Beach

15.5 Weeks Pregnant, First day I felt truly pregnant!