37 Weeks!

Hurray for 37 weeks! Yesterday I hit the 37 week mile marker, which means little Harry is now full term. Yesterday was also the anniversary of when Marcus and I met for the very first time! Because of that, I wanted to reminisce about that day. :) 

We were both at a party where I knew practically no one except my girlfriend who I drug with me and he knew everyone. I was in the kitchen getting myself a drink when Marcus came over to introduce himself and ask if I was having a good time. When he asked me, though, I was mid drink and decided to finish my drink and swallow lol. This is actually really funny because he really thought I blew him off so he said, "Okay" and began to walk away very awkwardly! I still feel so bad about that. Of course I told him sorry and told him I wasn't having a good time at all. It's never fun being a girl in a cocktail dress surrounded by mostly boys. After that we talked........and talked ....... and talked, for many hours, there in the kitchen. We moved to a bedroom with a friend of mine where we could actually hear each other and the conversation kept going. I knew right away that I liked him a lot, in particular his kindness, his mouth, and the way he talked. We met up again the next day for another day of the three-night party, and the next day (Valentines Day) we exchanged phone numbers. We started dating then, I asked him to move in on New Years, he proposed the following Christmas, we got married the following June in Greenville, IL, and now, here in February, we are expecting our son. :D Time flies!

Anyway back to baby! I have been feeling quite a few stabbing pains and LOTS of pressure. When I walk it is often uncomfortable because I feel like I can't straighten my back all the way from all of the pressure. Tomorrow I have another doctor's appointment so my doctor can see if I'm any further along. I have a whole notecard full of questions to ask her and I WILL get them answered this time! I always feel very rushed, because our visits are literally 3 minutes long. She is very nice and I know she would answer them I just always feel like she is trying to get to her next patient....but you know what? It's MY baby and I shouldn't care that she's rushed! I just think that in order to do this I will literally have to grab her by her white coat to keep her from flying out of the door. lol.

The nursery is coming together! Here are a few pictures. We are still waiting on his awesome solar system rug, a world map for above his bed, and a few other pieces of furniture. The tiny bird house on his bookcase was made by Harrison's aunt, Elle, who is just 7 years old! She made it at Home Depot and gave it to us at our baby shower and it's such a perfect addition to his room :) By the way, there is no theme to his room. It's all over the place, all different colors, all different toys. I guess the theme is  fun, learning, and love :D

Harrison's bookcase.

Billy Goat hamper! One of my favorite childhood books was Three Billy Goat's Gruff, a book I still need to purchase to add to his collection. :)

Toy bin! Even though it will be a while before he is able to play with some of these toys, they are there and ready for him :) The personalized quilt is just awesome. Thank you Maria!

Dresser. The big stuffed giraffe belonged to my Grandma Sherwood, Harrison's great grandma, and is wearing the "It's a Boy" pin that my mom gave me and pinned on my shirt the very moment we found out we were having a boy. It's a great memento to remember such an awesome moment!

His elephant is waiting and ready to celebrate his first birthday (well, his 0th birthday) by wearing a party hat sewn by Aunt Dixie. His birthday could be any day now! 

Bookshelf. The caterpillar and elephant on top are a few gifts from my students, the super cute shoes are from my aunt Luanne and uncle Robert and are for when we go to Dana Point (hee hee) and the little wooden construction vehicles are just some toys that I bought. They are actually little wooden puzzles! So cute. And I still need to paint the H white! Ahhhh one more thing to do before he comes. I'm running out of time.

Tried to fit all of his nursery in one shot but it's very hard. It's almost done! 

It is SO much fun getting his room together. I am in heaven. We are so ready to meet him! Hurry Harry, hurry!

The Countdown Begins!

Friday, February 8th: 1 cm dilated - 30% effaced

Today at my doctor's appointment I found out I am 1 cm dilated and 30% effaced. My doctor said he is far down in the birth canal, but because he is still so active and wiggly he could move out of that position easily. She also said she could feel his head! Which means (sorry to use a somewhat-gross medical term here) I already lost the mucus plug, and based off of everything I read, you can lose the mucus plug up to 2 weeks before you go into labor. Up to 2 weeks? I'm still 3 and half weeks out so maybe he will come in a few weeks after all! Does anyone remember how soon they went into labor after losing the plug? (hee hee) Everything I have read online says there is no relationship between losing the plug and starting labor, but I am still curious :)

My aunt thinks he will come February 23rd or 26th, my mom thinks February 17th, and I think February 19th OR March 5th. So exciting. Gonna go finish packing his diaper bag with the last few items. . . :)

36 Weeks

36 Week Belly

I am now including my face in these pictures because the closer we get, the more I want to remember what I looked like right before Harrison was born :) And also to document my starting-to-become-puffy face! (to match my now puffy feet hee hee)

Okay, 36 weeks! What's exciting about 36 weeks? At the end of this week Harrison will be considered full term! Also, the possible due date of February 17th is 10 days away now! Although I would be really surprised if he came in February. I still think he will be a March baby but you never know. We are ready for anything :)

My parents ordered our baby monitor and it came in the mail, and that was officially the last baby item we needed. We're set! I've even washed my baby blanket from when I was born and have it ready in the diaper bag to bring Harrison home :)

Okay, so after seeing Harry's face in 3D at Stork Vision, Marcus and I pulled out our baby pictures. Some people think Harrison looks like Marcus, and some people think he looks like me. Maybe he won't end up looking like either of us, but grandpa or a great aunt! So exciting. Anyway, take a look!

Harrison and Marcus

Harrison and Me

And here are a few of Harry with his eyes open and Marcus

Aw! So cute! I'm so anxious! I am almost finished putting together my long-term sub binder and am starting to bring things home from my desk since I will not be returning to teach this year. Today I got the confirmation that my last day will be March 4th and that my long-term sub is all set up. Between that and these awesome ultrasounds and our mounding baby supplies I am growing more and more anxious, not to mention impatient! But I'm trying to not rush it and just slow down and enjoy it like everyone says. 

I am continuing to have an awesome pregnancy. Just the other night I experienced heart burn for only the 3rd time since I became pregnant (which is weird because Harrison is LOADED with hair). Also, I have been up on my feet teaching all day every day and just recently have my feet become slightly sore or achey. If I didn't have this giant belly or feel this very active baby dancing all the time I would not even know I was pregnant! I am so thankful for such a smooth pregnancy. Even if all the other pregnancies are rough, at least I had one smooth one :) It is going to be weird to not have this little one with me every second of every day. I love having him here knowing that he is alive and doing well all the time. I can see how no longer being pregnant makes some women sad. :( However, being able to HOLD him and kiss him, to me, will be the most awesome feeling in the world. Even more awesome than feeling him move in my belly :)

My weekly doctor's appointments begin this Friday, so I will know in a few days if I am dilating or not and will post as soon as I find out! Like I said though, I don't think he's coming early. I think he's in it for the long haul :D

35 Weeks...or is it 38?

Today I am 35 weeks and 1 day and am ready for anything now. Here is my belly!

Friday morning the ultrasound at my doctor's office showed Harrison at 37 weeks according to his head and tummy size as well as his weight. He was 6 lbs 6 oz with a big head, fat belly, lots of muscles, and lots of hair! 

Stork Vision!

Saturday morning we went to Stork Vision to see Harrison in 4D and she had him even heavier, and even older! Some of her measurements were putting Harrison closer to 37.5 to 38 weeks. Her due date was February 17th, which is significantly sooner than March 5th! Even though he is bigger than average, I still do not think I will have him early. I think he will come in March, but will just be a very big baby :)

Here is Harrison in 3D smiling....

and looking just like my baby picture...

 Opening his eyes...

Showing off his cute lips...

 and his big feet! Daddy said, "The proportions are all wrong!"

 He had a death grip on his umbilical cord the entire time and only let it go very briefly before snatching it back up. He kept it up to his mouth the whole time :)

 Mustache....hee hee

I love these pictures that show his arms, legs, and hands. His hands are so beautiful. And big!

And here is Harrison in 4D!

(I have not added music or cut it yet, so it is over 25 minutes long)

34 Weeks!

Just chuggin' along at 34 weeks! The weeks are going by a lot faster now that I am much closer to my due date. 34 weeks! That's only 6 weeks away from meeting Harrison if not sooner! I can't take it anymore. I was just telling my mom that before, I was able to block out how anxious I was due to the fact that my due date was still pretty far away. But now that it is a mere 6 weeks I'm starting to really ache to see my baby boy. 

Speaking of SEEING my baby boy, we are off again to Stork Vision this Saturday for more pics AND a video! (4D) I will be SURE to add music and post the video asap. We cannot wait to see out little man. Last time we saw him 3D and in action he was a wee 15 weeks! He had my face shape and jaw but looked just like Marcus. So we shall see! Here is more belly at 34 weeks. :)

The one below really shows how out there and pointy my belly is getting!

Marcus is loving my pregnant belly. And it's great because at a time when I couldn't feel less feminine, he has never made me feel more beautiful. He loves my belly (and everything else that's changing) and it feels awesome to feel so supported. Here he is after falling asleep on the couch tonight. And where is his hand? Right on his son. :) 

Harrison's Nursery! This is Harrison's dresser, loaded up with all the diaper, first aid, and grooming supplies we will need (at least I hope). Also, even though we chose to cloth diaper Harrison, we have a giant stash of disposables just in case we either don't like it, or we just can't keep up. I have done my research and I know it will be a commitment, but even though I am still so sure I am a cloth diaper gal, I don't want to be naive either. I've never been a mother to a newborn and cloth diapering might just make me want to cry so we have back ups. ;) BUT I really am excited to cloth diaper! So far we have 24 cloth diapers, tons and tons of cloth wipes and all-natural baby diapering products like diaper rash cream and wipe solution that are highly recommended by moms all over youtube and facebook.

We have the diaper pail for the cloth diapers, washable diaper pail liners, wet bags for home and on the go, wipes bags for home and on the go, EVERYTHING! I'm so excited. After using cloth diapers for a few months I am going to make a youtube video review of the ones I like for newborns :)

As for everything else aside from his dresser, we still need curtains and a rug. Almost there!

And here is a close-up of some of the diapers. We are trying FuzziBunz perfect size smalls, Thirsties, and Bottom Bumpers. These will supposedly fit up until 18 pounds, and then we will need to get some one size diapers for 18 until potty training. They're just so cute! I also heard Kissaluvs are good too but Zoolikins did not have any for newborns. BTW I LOVE Zoolikins. The shopper for that store has good taste because it is LOADED with Dr. Seuss, my all-time favorite. Marcus is very on board and very excited to use the cloth diapers, too. Well, I don't know if I'd say "excited" lol, but he is very pro cloth diaper. 

And I will leave you with this cute pic. My precious baby girl, Matilda, moving up and down as Harrison plays in my belly. I would LOVE to know whether or not she is aware. Our other kitty, Renwick, doesn't seem to notice but Mattie does. She is sensitive and won't lay ON my tummy anymore, only off to the side or on my legs. She used to be all about the tummy and chest. She also stairs at my belly when he moves. In this pic her arms were bouncing up and down and she would just glance down and blink her eyes ever so lovingly. I just really wonder if my baby girl knows there is a baby boy just below :) 

33 Weeks

Holy cow, 33 weeks. I can't believe we are 7 weeks away from meeting our son for the first time! And that's if he doesn't come early. At my last doctor's appointment my uterus measured 2 cm larger than 33 weeks, and because every newly grown centimeter usually coincides with another lapsed week in pregnancy, that put me at 35 weeks, not 33. I have an ultrasound on the 25th so they can take measurements and get a better idea of when he will be here so I can't wait! I feel like he is very active, but then again I don't have another baby to compare him to, lol. When he moves, though, it goes for hours and its so neat. Today during a meeting with our principal, vice principal, and other admin, he was break dancing, I'm sure of it. One of them even stopped and said, "Wow! You're stomach is moving all over the place!" haha. Little Harry. Making himself known :) Right now I can feel his head moving all around on my bladder, and its so crazy to think he is already upside down, locked and loaded! Ready to launch!  I can't believe it. Yay!

Last weekend my parents took us to go get our baby furniture! We got Harrison's crib, dresser and hutch, and changing pad. It was so fun. I tried to remember the moment as best as I could because I will   always look back when Harrison is older and think of the day that daddy and grandpa were building his crib. We made sure to take lots of pictures! We also went out and picked up bottles, diaper rash cream, and an emergency stash of disposable diapers in case I end up not liking cloth diapers. We are stocked and ready just in case! And check out the awesome job grandma and grandpa Randolph did in the nursery! They painted and put up white wainsoting for us on the walls. They had to cut the wood at all crazy angles to get the corners just right and even made the wainscoting go into the window which you can see in one of the pictures. It looks awesome! We are so appreciative. Harrison's entire room is already full of love from his grandparents on both sides. :D We are so lucky to both have such awesome and always involved parents! Makes me cry . . .

And I can't WAIT to see my little-big boy in this, hee hee!