Swollen Feet :)

For all you moms out there... I think you know how I feel!
Officially 9 months along and very ready for this sweet boy to come into the world!  My best friend said it best: "God made the 9th month for a reason."  I suppose if we felt cute and comfortable throughout the entire pregnancy then it would make the transition a bit more difficult. 


At the same time, I am trying to cherish the last few weeks with Brooks.  Soon enough I will have to share him with the rest of the world :)  Here he is sleeping in my belly, hehe!

 36 weeks!

Speaking of being ready for baby- we have all his linens washed and ready to go, the car seat is installed, and my hospital bag is packed!  Some of you may be thinking I am way ahead of myself- but both my sisters went into labor 4 weeks early (which means if I followed the pattern I would be having a baby this week).  With my personality, being prepared is a MUST!  I am beginning to believe that with all my preparing he is going to wait until I have to be induced a week after my due date (December 16)!


Brooks' immune system is all set, his kidneys are functioning, and the vernix/lanugo are disappearing.  He is weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds, and right now he is simply working on gaining weight and allowing his lungs to mature.  On Friday (at 37 weeks) he will be considered full term and healthy to come into the world!


Mommy has been busy preparing for her maternity leave as well.  I officially have a supply teacher and have met with her to share how my classroom runs.  Teaching is a very unique profession- one of the only ones I can think of where I must rely on someone else so heavily during my leave.  I'm sure once Brooks arrives I will have my hands full and my mind on him, but its nice to know that my students are in good hands!

Yesterday Tim and I put some final touches on the nursery, and made some changes to Brooks' bathroom. 

Here is the shelf in his room, now all set up to change diapers!  Big thanks to Brittany for the cute baskets!

The blanket that matches his bedding came in and is across the back of the glider, and I put together this shelving to organize Brooks' books, toys, lovies, etc.

  

Here is Brooks' bathroom.  It used to have sliding doors on the shower, but Tim took them down and put up the shower curtain.  Check out the adorable elephant soap dispenser!

31 on 11/18/11

Upside Down!!

Good news... my BIG boy is head down!! He is definitely getting ready to join our great big world!  Now over 5 pounds and in the right position- he could technically come anytime.  Although, we are hoping he waits another 4 weeks :)  In the next few weeks he will hopefully start "dropping!"  He will also add about half a pound per week, so if he waits until 40 weeks we could be expecting atleast an 8 pound baby!

With this watermelon permanently attached to me, it getting quite difficult to roll over in bed!

34 weeks:

My doctors appointments are now every 2 weeks and will begin every week very soon!  I have found 1 doctor and 1 midwife that I actually enjoy seeing, but there's no telling who will deliver Brooks (it depends who's on call).  But for now, I will continue to make my appointments with the ones I like!

Brooks' room is officially finished, although his bed sheet needs to be washed and put on the mattress.  Here are a few pictures (although I don't think it captures it all):

 

In the past 2 weeks, I have also had 2 very special showers!  My fabulous mother-in-law, Sandy, threw a shower for Brooks and me, as well as my 4 best friends: CJ, Marie, Laura, & Jackie!  A HUGE thank you to every one that was so giving and generous.  Tim and I feel so blessed to have so many people that love us and are helping to welcome Brooks into the world!  THANK YOU!!

  

 

Now that's a belly!

Exhausted!

I'm 32 weeks now and the exhaustion is kicking in!  I can definitely tell I am carrying around an extra 25 pounds- my feet are beginning to swell and my bladder is constantly full!  This Monday has me a little down... I'm pretty sure it all started when I spilled a bowl of milk all over my belly (already at school so I couldn't change my shirt, and it only got worse from there).  But I know it will all be worth it in the end when I hold my lil' man in my arms and know that God created him just for us.   


The 32 week belly:

Brooks is about 4 pounds this week (ya, let's not do the math to find out how much of this weight gain is just me, hehe).  At this point, I am certain he has not flipped head down- considering he likes to nudge his head in between my ribs and hip bone.  Then, he tops it off with some upper cuts to my ribs- such a sweet little boy :)  His skin has been slightly transparent during his stay my belly, but now it is becoming more opaque as he packs on the pounds.  He is reaching his full length but will continue to get fatter in the weeks to come (gotta love a fat baby)!


We mounted his name in the nursery above his crib.  It ended up being quite a project, but we are happy with the finished product.  What do ya think?  (For all you teachers- especially my first critic...you know who you are, I am aware that his name is a proper noun and should be capitalized.  But we like the aesthetics of all lower case.  I will be sure to teach him the proper way to write his name)!

With our busy calendar, Tim and I have been quite the travelers.  We spent a weekend in Helen with my family- beautiful wedding, changing leaves, and good times! 

                           

And last weekend we headed to Kentucky!  It was a fun-filled, fabulous weekend as well!  We had a baby shower Friday night (a special thank you to all my KY family, especially Angie for all your hard work), went to the University of Kentucky game on Saturday, and were there for our God-son's baptism on Sunday.  

Time is really beginning to fly and I believe it's about time for me to pack my hospital bag.  All of you with experience- let me know what MUST be included! 

Little Stinker!

Brooks is already acting up!  I visited the doctor last week (for the pain in my upper abdomen) and while I did not get any answers about my pain, I did find out he is breech!  They performed an ultrasound to check on my gall bladder and discovered his breech position.  He is sitting with his legs folded up in front of him- which makes for lots of kicking!  This might also explain why is seems that I'm carrying so low!

He is probably about 3 1/2 pounds and will continue to gain half a pound EVERY week from here on out!  He's around 16 to 17 inches long and his brain is continuing to develop.  His asleep/awake cycles are very obvious to me now!  He has times when he is wide awake and extremely active, and then times when he is asleep.  While hanging out in there, his eyes are often open and becoming prepared for the 20/400 vision he will have at birth.


It's becoming reality that Brooks will be here before we know it.  All of the sudden, I feel like my pregnancy has flown by.  I really want to treasure these last 6-10 weeks of having him with me all the time.  Besides, for the rest of my life I will never have the priviledge of having him with me 24/7.  Right now, I know he is safe with me!  Here are few pictures of Brooks safe in my belly :)

30 weeks pregnant!

With my pregnancy well into the third trimester, I have lots of fun stuff to come! My sisters are throwing us a family shower this weekend!  Also this month we are spending a weekend at a cabin in Helen for a wedding, and taking a trip to Kentucky for a shower with Tim's family!! We are so blessed to have so many people that care about us- thank you!!


Last weekend we bought the "details" for Brooks' room and I am very excited for our plan to come together.  We will be adding lots of cute, rustic stars (to match the stars in his bedding).  They are brown, wrought iron and give the room a good masculine feeling for my little man!  Also, his letters for his name finally came in the mail today.  I still have to stain them, but here they are:

This is what the stars look like!

A cute coat hanger for his room!

These will be on the wall eventually!

Brooks has a full name now: Brooks Daniel Hourigan!

I will be seeing the Doc every 2 weeks now, and I should have atleast 1 more ultrasound to check if he has turned (hopefully we'll get some good pics, he was shy during this last ultrasound).  My next appointment is next week, so I'll keep you updated!

21.5 on 10/7/11