38 weeks!

How far along: 38 weeks!!

Size of baby: about 6-7 lbs. The size of a melon! 

Total weight gain: +30 lbs. And I am so ready to work out again.

Movement: Oh yes...still lots of movement, but he has definitely slowed down! He seems to be the most active in the evenings/at bedtime (naturally ;))

Sleep: The same. I'm just uncomfortable & waking up every couple hours to pee.

What I miss: Running around with my girl, easily climbing in bed with her for bedtime books, and feeling comfortable in general :) Not much longer though!!

Cravings: Anything & everything; I feel like I graze ALL day long!

Labor Signs: Lots of contractions throughout the day. I told Rob I'm worried I won't know when I'm actually in active labor this time because I never take contractions seriously anymore. I never had this with Jaqs until it was the real deal, so this is new to me. Hopefully daddy won't be delivering Slade at home. Hehe.

Maternity clothes: Most certainly. Large & in charge over here! 

Best moments this week: Getting a positive report at the doctor yesterday. I'm 3 cm & 75% effaced, so Dr. T went ahead & swept my membranes to potentially help move things along. I'm just glad all those contractions are doing some good! I'm feeling pretty antsy at this point...just ready to know when he'll be here & get this show on the road! With that being said, I can be patient and enjoy a few more days with just my girl & my hubby, too ;)
Everything is basically ready for Slade's arrival! The nursery is done, bags are all packed, the freezer is stocked with meals, and the grandparents are on stand-by. Now I just need my toddler tornado to quit destroying our house on the daily so it'll actually stay clean. Nesting is difficult with a 2 year old around! #momprobs

36 weeks!

What better time to do a pregnancy update than when you're just about full-term?! I wanted to get something down for memory's sake before Slade makes his debut, so here we go!

This pregnancy has been both very similar and very different from my first. I was tired with Jaqs the first trimester, but I feel like I've been tired the WHOLE time with Slade, with the exception of a month or two there in the middle. I had some queasiness here and there this time, but nothing to complain about as long as I kept my tummy full. Even though I've gained about the same, I've felt like a whale this time around! Could have something to do with the fact that I'm chasing a 2 year old around though ;) Overall, I've had a pretty easy pregnancy and shouldn't gripe about much!

How far along: 36 weeks!!

 

Size of baby: about 6 lbs. & around 18 in. long--or the size of a head of romaine lettuce, according to Baby Center. Dr. T thinks he won't be much (if any) bigger than sister & she weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz at birth, so I sure hope he's right! I like little babies ;)

 

Total weight gain: womp, womp.... +30 lbs.

 

Movement: Alllll the time. This boy has been a mover and a shaker (just like J) from 18 weeks on. I'm to the point where I can distinguish body parts sticking out now, haha. And I can tell he's dropped some because his feet aren't in my ribs anymore!

 

Sleep: Eh, it's okay. I'm waking up every 2-3 hours to pee or change positions. It's hard to stay comfortable now. Also, leg cramps!! Hate those things.

 

What I miss: Being able to play & pick up Jaqs easily & without worrying about my belly getting in the way. And sleeping soundly, but of course, that won't be changing anytime soon! Oh, and wine. Just being honest ;)

 

Cravings: ALL THE FOOD. Seriously. I eat constantly, I feel like. Salty, sweet, savory, I don't care, just feed me :) And tell me I'm skinny.

Labor Signs: I've been having contractions for about 3 months now & they've definitely picked up recently. I have them throughout the day & they usually pick up at night. Nothing "real" yet, but I sure hope they're doing me some good in the dilation department!

Maternity clothes: Oh yeah, and I'm ready to pack those things away again!

Best moments this week: I go to the doctor today for my first check. Anxious to see where we are and hopefully get a better idea of Slade's birthday! Also, Jaqs asks me all the time, "brother's out??" I'm not sure that she realizes how it's going to rock her world, but she seems to be excited about him for the time being. We'll see how she feels about sharing mommy ;)

Baby Galu #2--His Name

When it came to naming our little man, it proved to be a little more difficult than naming our girl. I knew I wanted a strong, one syllable name, and Rob pretty much shot down 80% of my choices immediately ;) Slade was one that Rob mentioned really early on, and we just kept going back to it. I don't know any Slade's in "real life," and it just felt right to us after considering it for a couple months before officially making the announcement that it would be our son's name! His middle name will be Robert...after his daddy, of course.

Seeing these shirts that Leah made for our littles brought on one of those HOLY CRAP!! moments that I've been having lately. It seems like everyone says the transition from 1 to 2 kids is the most difficult, so I really have no idea what to expect. I know that we'll adjust and find our new normal, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared ;) Thankfully, the timing of this baby could not be better. Thanks, God! Rob's Christmas break will be around the corner, so we may be on our own (with GG & Pop help though!) for a week or two, but then daddy will be home with us for 2 full weeks. I'm so excited about that!

Slade, we are SO READY to meet you and kiss your sweet face!!!

39 weeks!

39 weeks & looking tired...ha ;)

How far along: 39 weeks!

Size of baby: Baby girl is the size of a watermelon! She's weighing in somewhere around 7-8 lbs and is about 20 inches long!

Total weight gain: +28 lbs.

Movement: Still plenty of movement. Lots of squirmy feet and hiccups :) She'll also stick her little hiney out to one side of my stomach...it looks so crazy!

Sleep: Well, I'm still sleeping! In between hoisting myself from one side to the other and bathroom visits, that is ;) I'm feeling really tired all over again, though.

What I miss: Being able to get dressed without worry that my belly is hanging out!

Cravings: I'm still digging milk and cereal, but my appetite has definitely decreased. Feeling so full is just not appealing right now...

Symptoms: Sporadic BH contractions, cramping, lower back pain, pelvic pressure, constant peeing, and puffy feet at the end of the day. Still no "true labor" signs to report. 

Maternity clothes: Maternity...most definitely. Big mama.

Best moments this week:

--We made a little progress at the doctor this week...I'm dilated to a 3, so we just need some contractions! Come on Jaqs! Lots of people are waiting for you, angel.

--Getting more and more anxious to see our baby girl's face and kiss her sweet cheeks. We're so ready!!

--We had the option to induce this week, but we wanted to give Jaqs a little more time to come on her own. If she hasn't arrived by Monday, then we'll set a date for eviction ;) So we're looking at a max of about 10-14 (depending on scheduling) days! Eeeeeee!!

38 weeks! {{warning: bare belly}}

another self portrait! 

How far along: 38 weeks!

 

Size of baby: Baby girl is the size of a watermelon! Dr. F guestimates that she weighs about 6.5-7 lbs right now, but he said babies have a tendency to hide in taller people, so he could be off, but he feels confident I won't be delivering a 10 pounder....PTL. She's somewhere around 20 inches long.

 

Total weight gain: +28 lbs.

 

Movement: Still quite a bit of movement in the way of kicks. Jaqs has been having the hiccups, too! I felt those for the first time last Friday...so cool! I still enjoy every little movement...I know I'll miss it!

 

Sleep: I'm still sleeping well; thank goodness because I'm pretty tired by then end of the day! Waking up several times to pee, of course ;) That's a given.

 

What I miss: Being comfortable.

 

Cravings: Y'all know this one by now! Milk & cereal.

Symptoms: Sporadic BH contractions, lower back pain, pelvic pressure, constant peeing, and puffy feet at the end of the day.

Maternity clothes: Maternity!! I don't have much left to work with. Good thing I only have 8 work days left to go!! (max...I wouldn't mind if it were fewer! You hear that, Jaqs?!)

Best moments this week:

--Bags are packed, nursery is 100% ready, and all baby gear is ready to go!

--Knowing we could have our girl at ANY time. I have a little anxiety about delivery having never done it before, (duh) but I'm ready to get the show on the road! That being said, I can definitely be patient for a couple more weeks if that's what happens, too. God knows Jaqs' birthday!

--The wonderful people I work with gave us one last shower...it was so sweet! I'm thankful to be surrounded by GOOD people...such a blessing!

The Texas wildflowers are BEAUTIFUL right now, so my mama wanted to get my picture in them bare-bellied. I didn't really plan on sharing any, but what the heck!

No shame in my game.

37 weeks, 5 days

Also, just wanted to say THANK YOU for all your sweet comments on our maternity pictures! Y'all really know how to make a girl feel good! :) Thank you also for your help on what to pack...I feel like I have everything I need now! 

a nest-ful weekend!

We had another fabulous weekend! My dad's iPhone needed to be replaced, and there just so happens to be an Apple store about 45 minutes down the road from us, so my parents decided to spend the weekend in Temple :) I'm kinda getting used to seeing them all the time!

They came in late Friday evening, so I spent most of my evening at the track meet so I could spend a little time with my hubby. He's a busy man right now due to track!

Saturday morning, my mom and I just ran some errands while my dad golfed and Rob worked at the meet. My parents and I then spent that afternoon in Austin, and my brother was able to join us, too! Dad got his new phone, and we ate at P.F. Chang's....YUM. My fave.

Saturday evening was spent outside! The weather has been awesome, so I've been itching to get some things planted for Spring! Let's hope we don't have one of those unexpected Easter freezes this year ;) Being that I'm 9 months preggo, no one in my family lets me do much, so my mom and dad did all the work! How great is that?! Dad mowed for us since Rob was still gone, and my mom planted flowers.

front porch planters

now our front entry is even ready for Jaqs!

my mom hard at work!

Before my parents hit the road on Sunday, my dad & Rob added the FINISHING touches to the nursery! The chandelier is now hung and the curtains have tie-backs. Woohoo! 

Feels good to have that 100% ready for our girl :)

Plus, I can finally share the nursery pics!

We love when G-Pop and Sugar come to visit!! They're the best!

Totally unrelated note, but I ordered blog books via Blog2Print, and they came in over the weekend! I'm so excited to have the first 2 years of this blog printed into books now. This has been my intention for my blog all along, but I just hadn't got around to doing it. Blog2Print makes it really easy to organize your books...you can choose exactly which posts go into your book as well as the layout of the pages, covers of the books, etc. The only thing I don't really like is that the cover choices and fonts are kinda blah. BUT what's important to me is to have the memories on pages to flip through in the future!

 B2P didn't ask (or pay) me to share my opinions on their products...I just wanted to share my opinions with you in case you were thinking of doing something like this as well!

maternity pictures!

Our maternity shoot was so much fun! The fabulous Jenny of Jenny Linh Photography worked her magic for us, and we're extremely pleased with the result. Jenny is the daughter-in-law of the HC Rob has worked for since the beginning of his career, Coach Spradlin, so we've had the pleasure of knowing her for several years now. She's amazingly talented, so easy to work with, and just downright sweet! You should definitely check out her blog to see how great she is :)

Here are a few of my favorites from our sesh...

37 weeks!

Hey y'all! Remember me?? Still preggers.

I haven't had any motivation to blog in the last week...I blame it on Spring Break! We had such an awesome break together...we got to go home-home for a few days and spend some QT with family and friends. It was perfect! I'm so glad we got to do that one last time pre-bambino.

I've got a few things I need to post...mostly baby-related, so if you're not into that sorta thing...well, you've reached the wrong blog at this time ;)

Just kidding.

Aaaaannnnyway...how about a bump-date??

Check out that belly-button! Haha, I feel like it will never recover from being forced so far out there!

by the time my photog gets home, i'm in my pj's...whoops.
iphone pics it is this week! ;-)



 

How far along: 37 weeks -- FULL term!

 

Size of baby: Baby girl is the size of a watermelon! She feels like it, too ;) She's anywhere from 19-22 inches long and around 6-7 lbs.

 

Total weight gain: +28 lbs. I'll be glad when I stop seeing the scale climb! But our goal was 30 lbs., so I guess that's good...

 

Movement: Yes...baby feets are in my ribs pretty often! Reminds me to sit up straight. And that I can't wait to kiss those tiny toes.

 

Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good. I get up 3-4 times to pee, but I can usually get right back to sleep. Rolling over sure does require a lot of effort.

 

What I miss: Being comfortable.

 

Cravings: I'll give you one guess....

(If you said milk & cereal, you'd be correct.)

Symptoms: Sporadic contractions, lower back pain, pelvic pressure, constant peeing, and my feet are starting to swell by day's end...ahh, pregnancy. It truly is a beautiful thing. And no, I'm not being sarcastic...I've loved it.

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all maternity. I have a few non-maternity tops that still work, but I don't even mess with the belly band anymore. Too tight!

Best moments this week: 

--Just knowing we've MADE IT! Jaqs can come any time she pleases now.

--Had our appointment yesterday...dilated to a 2 & 50% effaced. Dr. F said she's started to make her descent, so that explains the pressure, of course!

--Rob & I have been working on getting the last of our "baby stuff" ready. We finally got the travel system...yippee!

--I've yet to dream about what Jaqs looks like, but Rob, who NEVER remembers his dreams, had one the other night. He said she was "perfect & so pretty." What a sweet daddy he is. He's already smitten with this little princess.

--I'm getting SO ANXIOUS to meet this girl! She is so, so loved already, and she has lots of people waiting to get "the call." I'm over-the-moon excited!

 

 

We still have some things to get done before Jaqs gets here...like pack our bags!! I'm usually so on-top of things like that, but this is one thing I've put off, and I'm not sure why. Any advice on what to pack or what not to pack?? Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

Hope you're having a fantastic week! :)

 

36 weeks!

i think what i have is more than a bump now ;)

How far along: 36 weeks! Almost full-term!

Size of baby: These baby websites are all so different...one says coconut (which seems way too small), one says a crenshaw melon....um, what? And another says watermelon. I think I'll go with watermelon! ;) She's somewhere around 6 lbs and 18-21 inches long.

Total weight gain: +25 lbs (supposedly anything I gain now is baby...ha)

Movement: She's still kicking away and working those little legs and arms constantly. Dr. F said she was head-butting him when he was checking me today! Probably to say, "get out of here, I'm comfy!"

Sleep: Sleep is probably as good as can be expected! I feel rested during the day, so that's what is important.

What I miss: My wardrobe...it will all be new to me when I'm done being preggers! Of course, if it fits ;) I may still need to do some shopping!

Cravings: Still the same...milk & cereal! On Sunday I bought half a gallon of milk...it was gone by Monday evening. Whoops. 

Symptoms: Sporadic BH contractions...I think I'm feeling some contractions in my lower back as well. Peeing constantly, pelvic pressure, foot cramps, etc. All normal things...no complaining here!

Maternity clothes: Both, but I'm getting more limited with each day. So if you see me, just pretend like I wasn't wearing the same outfit a few days ago, k? Gracias.

Best moments this week: 

--Weekly doctor appointments started today! Yippee! We have a little progress...dilated to a 1.5. I realize that's not much, but to me, any progress is good progress!

--Last night Rob was in the bedroom, and I was in the living room...the remote was on the other couch, and it just didn't seem worth it to roll off the couch for it. So I did what any almost-9-months-preggo girl would do and yelled for my darling husband. He came running in the living room thinking my water must have broke. Needless to say, he was a little disappointed. Haha, sorry for the false alarm, honey. Good story, though.

--Non-baby related, but it's SPRING BREAK!! Rob and I are definitely enjoying it! Just the right amount of house-work and relaxation over here.

Temple baby shower!

Last weekend, my wonderful Temple girls gave Jaqs and me the most darling baby shower! Cassi hosted it at her beautiful house...the decorations were seriously adorable, and the food was delicious! We felt so special! 

And grateful to be exactly where we are.

the door decor...such a cute welcome!

Roxanne made this "rattle" out of my favorite little green button flowers!

how awesome is that fruit tray?! the cupcakes were AMAZING, too! GF just for me!

with my SIL & momma...they came in town for the occasion! love them so.

friends & hostess gifts

my aunt linda also came for the shower! so fun to have her here :)

thankful for each of these little ladies

our new diaper bag! yay!

the wonderful hostesses:
vanessa, claudia, (me), roxanne, kendra, kim, cassi

I wish I had the words to describe just how thankful I am for the friends that we have here in our new home of Temple. We haven't even been here quite a year, but it just feels right at this point in our lives. We're surrounded by awesome people...some friends old, some friends new, but they're all so excited for us and our growing family. What a blessing that is! I know they'll be a blessing to our baby girl, too, and that is gift enough. 

Thank you ladies for an amazing afternoon! It couldn't have been more perfect...I loved every single minute of it.