What's Going On In There?

33 Weeks!

Your baby weighs about 4.4 pounds at this point. The crown-to-rump length of your baby is approximately 12 inches and the total length is around 19.4 inches. Measuring from the top of your uterus to your bellybutton is 5.2 inches. Total weight gain at this point of pregnancy is usually 22 to 28 pounds.

With the exception of crying, your baby is capable of doing everything that a newborn baby will do. Your baby is restricted now inside of the uterus, but still can kick and move. Your baby sleeps a lot of the time, just as newborn babies do. Your baby's eyes move in the manner of REM sleep and researchers believe that babies can dream vividly in uterus. When your baby is awake, she is listening, feeling and learning. There are billions of neurons in the brain that make trillions of connections. Your baby will probably have settled into the birth position by now and your caregiver can most likely tell which way your baby is presenting. If your baby were to be born now, the lungs would probably be strong enough to function properly, but your baby may still need extra care from specially trained doctors and nurses.

During these last few weeks of pregnancy, most women experience an increased urge to urinate. The uterus puts a lot of pressure on the bladder and can send you to the restroom frequently. Your uterus has actually grown 500 times throughout your pregnancy! Red blood cell production catches up with the production of plasma and physiological anemia may begin to fade at this time.
Your baby's eyes open during alert times and close during sleep. The eye color is usually blue, regardless of the permanent color as pigmentation is not fully developed. The final formation of eye pigmentation requires exposure to light and usually happens a few weeks after birth.

Ultrasound Follow-Up

Today I went back to the doctor for the 3rd time to do a follow-up after the ultrasound. The results showed that there is a thickening around my gallbladder that caused them not to get a very accurate reading. The doctor feels certain that it is gallbladder that is causing these issues. So they did some lab work today to check some more things, as well as my liver. We should have the results of those back some time this afternoon. He also checked Emma's heartbeat again and it sounded good. They are going to keep a close eye on her just to be safe though. They also checked my blood pressure and it was extremely low....79/61. He said that if it wasn't back up by my next appointment then he would give me some meds to bring it back up. I also got a prescription for the nausea that I've been having. I have to go back to the doctor again next Tuesday. Hopefully by then, we will know exactly what is going on. Until then, he has asked me to stay out of work for the rest of the week. He said it wasn't good for me to sit 8 hours at a time right now. Not until I'm not having the pain anymore. So hopefully I will be able to go back next week. The pain comes and goes. Sometimes I am only a little sore but at other times it is extremely painful. It also has caused my upper back to hurt. I am hoping that we can fix whatever is going on so that I can enjoy the last 7 weeks of being pregnant. I'm also just glad that Emma is ok and it's only me that is having problems right now. As long as she is ok, then I can deal with this. So I'll keep you all updated on anything we find out.

32 Week Check-Up

Today I went back to the doctor for my regular check-up. Even though they just made me go this past Friday, they still wanted to see me back to make sure everything was still ok. This time, they did all the normal stuff....pee in a cup, blood pressure, weight, and also checked her heartbeat. It still sounded strong. So Emma is doing just fine...it's just me thats falling apart. Since going to the hospital, things have gotten worse. I have started getting very nauseous and it is mostly after I eat. I also have had severe back pain. So we are all pretty convinced that it's probably my gall bladder that is causing these problems. I have to go to the hospital at 7:15 tomorrow morning for an ultrasound to make sure. Then it's back to my regular doctor on Wednesday again to see what can be done. The doctor said today, that if it is my gall bladder then they can do surgery during pregnancy, they just don't really like too. The risks are much greater in the 3rd trimester. So I'm hoping that everything is ok but if not, then hopefully they will at least wait until she's born to do surgery. We have 8 weeks or less left. So I'll let you all know what they find out from the ultrasound.

Finally Finished

Emma's crib is finally done. Josh and I got the crib mattress today and put the bed set in it tonight. It is so beautiful. Everything goes together so well. The little basket that is in front of the crib is one that matches the bed set that we got from the shower. A while back, I bought Emma her first teddy bear. So I decided to sit him in the crib until she gets here. We are so happy with the way everything has turned out. The crib, the paint, and the crib set look so great together. It makes me want her to hurry up and get here. But we aren't quite ready. We still have a few things to get to have her room ready.

Hospital Trip

For the past 4 days or so I have had some pain in the upper right side of my stomach. It is a constant pain that just will not go away. Well, Thursday I was actually able to sleep most of the day and when I got up, it had gotten a little better. So Josh and I went to the grocery store and when we got home it came back, a lot more painful. I called the doctor's office and the nurse put me on bed rest and told me that if it didn't get better in an hour that I should go to the hospital. After an hour, it was still the same so about 9:30 Thursday night Josh and I went to the hospital. They got me registered and took me back to a room. They hooked up the fetal heart monitor and everything with Emma was fine. She was kicking and moving all around. The nurse said we had a crazy baby. She kept having to come in and re-adjust the monitor to get an accurate reading because she was moving so much. The monitor was also picking up that I was having some contractions, even though I couldn't really feel them much. They did a test to see if I was going into premature labor and it came back negative. They also did an exam to see if I was dilated and I wasn't. So all that was good news. But the pain still wasn't going away. They eventually sent me home about 3:30 am and I had to go back to the doctor Friday morning. They checked once again to make sure I wasn't dilated. Everything still seemed ok. The doctor thinks it may be my gallbladder so I have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday morning. I also have to go back to the doctor on Monday for my regular checkup. So really, after going to the hospital Thursday and the doctor on Friday, I still feel exactly the same. I'm hoping that there isn't a problem with my gall bladder but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I just want to find out what's wrong with me so we can try and fix it. I'll keep you all updated on what we find out.

32 Weeks!

WoW! The weeks keep flying by. I can't believe that our little Emma will be here in less than 2 months. Hopefully it won't be for atleast another 5 weeks though. Babies aren't full term until 37 weeks, so thats what we are aiming for. Emma is so active. I was having a little problem with her on Tuesday night and Wednesday. She was so far up in my stomach that it was giving me cramps and really making me hurt. I called the doctor while I was at work Tuesday night and they said that she could just be in a position that doesn't agree with my body and she would move on her own. Well, she wasn't going to budge. She was pretty content with where she was...which made me absolutely miserable. But the nurse said that nothing was wrong with Emma so I would just have to deal with it. Well all day Wednesday I was in too much pain to sleep. I think I got about 3 hours or so. But ofcourse, while all this is going on, Josh is out of town. He had to got to Florida for a company meeting. But he got back very quickly to take care of me. Especially on Wednesday, she was so active that it was making me feel worse. But all Josh has to do, is rub my tummy a little bit and she calms down...meanwhile, I can rub all day long, and she doesn't care. I guess it's just the little special bond that Emma and daddy share. She is definitley going to be a daddys girl. We are so excited that we finally got a new car this week. I am getting used to being in a car thats bigger. It is definitley easier for me to get in and out of. Plus, it is going to be so much easier with Emma, and safer too. Now we can cross getting a new car off the list and work on getting some of the other things we need. We are almost ready for her. We still need to get her changer/dresser so that I can get all her clothes washed and get everything in it's proper place. Josh and I are working on getting one. Other than that, there are just a few odds and ends things that we need. We will be getting a mattress for her crib on Sunday. We are getting it from Nicki's brother and sister-in-law. They have a mattress that hasn't been used and they are going to give it to us. We are so thankful for that. It is one less thing that we won't have to get. Once we get the mattress, I can put her crib set in. I'm so excited to finally see how it looks. I have had it for months and it's driving me crazy that I can't set it up yet. But we will in a few days. Tonight we are going to Josh's aunts house for his grandmothers birthday. They are having a big family dinner. This weekend, we actually don't have anything planned at all. :] Hopefully we can catch up on some things that need to be done. Maybe we can do some more baby shopping too. [if Josh lets us] I tend to go a little overboard with the baby stuff....but what expectant mother doesn't? I have another doctors appointment Monday morning for a check-up. I'll let you all know how it goes.

New Car

This past weekend Josh and I went to Charlotte to look at this car. We ended up trading my mustang and coming home with it. It is a 2006 Ford Explorer. It has plenty of room in it for us and Emma. We absolutely love it. It is so strange for me to drive a SUV. Since I was 16 I have only had a car and for the past year and a half I've driven a 5-speed everyday, so this is a huge change. I feel like I graduated from teenager to PTA mom. :] Josh even put a remote starter on it today so that on the hot summer days and the really cold winter days we can have the car cooled or heated before having to put Emma in it. Isn't he so sweet? He's always thinking of his girls. :]

Pack-N-Play

Josh and I set up Emma's Pack-N-Play this afternoon. I absolutely love it. It matches her car seat and stroller too. It has a bassinet that she can sleep in that is very soft. It will play music and also has a night light on it. It has a changing table that you can put on it and it will flip up on the top of it but we aren't putting it on there just because we don't think we'll really use it. But I'm glad that we have it now and it's all ready for little Emma to use it.

31 Weeks!

Yay! We have finally made it into the single digit week countdown. Only 9 weeks to go!! This past week was full of ups and downs. Josh was out of town Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of Thursday. He got back around 6:30 last night. Sooner or later I might get used to him being away from me for that long, but not yet. I still have a hard time when he leaves. I went to my mom and dads house on Monday and Tuesday night so that I wouldn't have to be by myself. That makes the time pass a little quicker too. I went to the doctor Monday morning and went on a shopping spree afterwards. I got so much stuff for little Emma. Josh and I are going to order her dresser/changing table soon so that I can start putting stuff where it needs to go. Emmas arrival is quickly approaching and I want to get ready for her as soon as I can. Tuesday after I had gotten up Emma gave me a little scare. Usually she moves all the time. She sleeps when I sleep but usually, if I'm up, then she's up. She is a very active little baby. Since I was supposed to work Tuesday night I didn't get out of the bed until around 1 or 2. Well around 3 or so she still hadn't moved. And I noticed Monday night that she didn't move any after I ate dinner around 6:00. So it had been about 21 hours since I had felt her move last. So ofcourse I paniced a little bit and called the doctors office. They told me some things that I could try so that I could get her to move. She still wasn't moving though. The nurse called me back around 4:45 and as soon as the phone rang...I felt little flutters. After that she started moving like normal. And since then, she has been as active as ever. I guess she just wanted to hang out in there for a little while. But especially with Josh being out of town, it really scared me. But our little girl is ok and thats all that matters. I feel like my tummy has gotten bigger this week. She is supposed to gain 1/2 per week until about 2 weeks before she is born. So we both still have some growing to do. At this stage in the pregnancy, I am feeling pretty good. I can't really complain about anything. Working in the NICU [Neonatal ICU] I see babies born prematurely and with all kinds of different problems. It makes me feel very lucky that we have made it this far without any complications. I'm hoping that these last 9 weeks will go smoothly and we will have a healthy little girl. This weekend is going to be another busy weekend. Josh and I plan on going to Kenly, NC on Saturday to look at a car that we have had our eye on. Hopefully this time next week we will have a new car. I'm going to need some butter to get in my car if I have to drive it much longer. :] Then Sunday, we are going to my Grandmas annual Family Reunion. I am looking forward to it because it is absolutely the best food anywhere. [all I seem to think about is food lately] But it should be alot of fun. Maybe between all of that, we will have some time to get in the pool a little while. Yesterday, July 17, was my best friends birthday. She turned 21. So, Happy Birthday Brittany!!! I hope you all have a great weekend!

30 Week Check-Up

Today I went to the doctor for another check up. Everything went great. As usual they made me pee in a cup and checked my blood pressure. My blood pressure was a little low...90/60. But it's not too bad so the doctor isn't really worried about it. Especially since mine usually runs low anyway. Then they weighed me and I gained another 3 pounds. I guess 3 pounds isn't too bad. The doctor measured my tummy and then listened to Emma's heartbeat. It was very strong. I will go back to the doctor in another two weeks. He also told me that I will have another ultrasound done in about 6 weeks to see how big she is. After my appointment, I went to Babies R Us on a mini-shopping spree with the money and gift cards that we got yesterday at the shower. I got a bunch of stuff that we need including her Pack-N-Play. I can't wait till Josh gets home so he can set it up. [he's out of town until Friday though] :[

Emmas Baby Shower

Today my mom, Autumn, and Katie threw me my first baby shower. It was a lot of fun. We got some great stuff for little Emma. We got a travel system from my mom, dad, Autumn, and William. We got a swing from my best friend Brittany. We got an infant seat, clothes, bibs, books, and other kinds of cool stuff. My little sister Katie got us a bath tub too. It's so cute. I am so glad that so many people were able to come and celebrate with us. We are so thankful to everyone who helped throw the shower, for everyone who came, and for all the things that we got. Here are a few pics .

30 Weeks!

Only 10 weeks left to go! [or less] This week has been really good for us. We finally got our crib which is a big step in getting Emmas room done. We are still working on it though. We have a long way to go before we are ready for her. She has been more active than normal the past couple of days. She will sometimes go hours before she finally goes to sleep. Her kicks are getting stronger and stronger too. By 30 weeks, she should now be about 3 pounds. Now she is supposed to start gaining about 1/2 lb. per week. So she will putting on all her baby fat between now and the time shes born. I have a feeling that she will probably be here atleast a week early. Both Josh and I were big babies when we were born and I think she will be too. We'll just have to wait and see though. I feel like I am getting bigger and bigger by the day. My maternity clothes that I bought back in April are now getting a little snug on me. I can still wear them...they just aren't as comfortable as they used to be. So this week, I had to get a few more things to hold me over until she gets here. Atleast I only have a couple months left. I didn't think that I had started to waddle quite yet but Josh informed me otherwise last night. :[ He said I only start to waddle a little bit if I'm really tired....so atleast I don't do it all the time yet. I don't know if it's possible but I think I have started peeing more than I was before. I usually have to go atleast twice an hour now. It's so frustrating....especially when you are trying to sleep. But since she will be here soon, she is starting to get lower in my tummy and shes growing so fast, she is pushing more on my bladder. So from what I've been told, the last month or so, you pee all the time because she is getting ready to be born.I know I probably complain alot...[especially to Josh], but I couldn't be happier about having a baby and getting to experience this whole pregnancy thing. Some people never get the opportunity and I feel so blessed that I do. This weekend is going to be pretty busy. Saturday, Josh and I are going to look at some new cars. We have discovered that my mustang just wasn't made for a newborn baby. The carseat just won't fit in there. So we are going to go try to find something a little bit bigger and safer too. My mom and my sisters are throwing me a baby shower on Sunday. So we are really looking forward to that. We can't wait to play with all the new stuff. After the shower, Josh and I can start getting the rest of the things that we need for Emma. I'm hoping to have everything completely done by the time I'm 35 weeks. We'll see if that works though.

29 1/2 Weeks!!

Well, I finally decided to put up a picture of my big tummy for you all to see. It's not a great pic but you get the picture......it's HUGE. We are almost 30 weeks now so things are starting to get a little more difficult. Walking up the stairs, shaving my legs, reaching to get clothes out of the washer. Things that I never thought I would have trouble doing, suddenly are difficult tasks. But it's all worth it. I can't wait for her to finally get here. It seems like it's taking forever.

Emma's Crib

Our crib is finally here. It shipped in today and Josh put it together this afternoon. We absolutely love it. It is so much more beautiful in person. We will get a mattress soon so that we can get the bed set in there. We are so thankful to Josh's mom and dad for getting this crib for us and Emma. They are going to be wonderful grandparents to her. We can't wait until she's finally here to use it. We only have about 10 weeks left. [or less]

Diaper Cake

This diaper cake was made for us by a girl I work with. She did such a great job for it being her first time attempting something like this. My mom and dad came over for dinner tonight and me and mom took it apart. It has about 75 diapers in it. It was also packed with a hooded towel, washcloth, baby shampoo, powder, 2 stuffed animals, and some other little things. It was so cute and we appreciate the time and effort it took to make this.

New Family Member

Today Josh and I went to the pet store and got a Betta Fish. A betta fish is a siamese fighting fish. He is so cute. I had always wanted a little wienie dog and thought that I would be able to get one once we got married and moved out but we are getting a baby instead. So Josh said a dog would be too much work for us, especially with a new baby coming. So we settled for a fish. They are pretty low maintenance. But he is very cool to watch. I haven't had a fish in such a long time. But since he is a fighting fish, we can hold a mirror up to the side of the tank and he will flare up and try to fight himself. We haven't decided on a name yet. We will try to think of one today.

Emma's First Hiccups

Just a little while ago, Emma developed her first case of the hiccups. I have never felt them before and it was absolutely the weirdest thing ever. She would hiccup once and then wait about 5-10 seconds and then hiccup again. It's so funny to watch. Ofcourse she had to do it while I was sitting at work so everyone was wondering what I was laughing at. She only had them for a minute or two and then they went away. It was so cute though.

29 Weeks!

Only 11 more weeks to go! This week has been a pretty good week for us. We had so much fun at the beach last weekend. It is nice to go and just be able to spend time with each other without worrying about work or anything else going on at home. We can't wait to be able to take little Emma with us though. It will definitley be more of a challenge, but we're ready for it. Monday night Josh had to work late so I met my mom and dad at my nannys house and we ate dinner a visited for a little bit. It was nice to see her for a little while. She is so excited about Emma coming. Tuesday night Josh went to Georgia for a company meeting. :[ I hate when he leaves but I always go up to mom and dads house and spend time with them. I don't really like being at home by myself. Today is my daddys birthday. We are going to their house this afternoon to spend some time with them. And then we are going again tomorrow to have our big 4th of July cookout. It will be a very busy weekend. Our crib is being delivered on Monday. So I know what we will be doing Monday night. I can't wait to get it set up. We don't have a mattress for it yet so I won't be able to put the crib set in it but I'll post some pictures once we get it put together. I'm so excited that it's going to be here. I have been waiting for this for weeks and weeks. Emma has been so active lately. The past few days she has kicked harder and longer than she ever has before. Sometimes I wonder if she ever sleeps. The other night I was laying on my side and I had the remote laying on me and she kicked it off!! It is just so funny that she is capable of doing that. She is just so strong. I got a letter in the mail yesterday from my doctors office telling me that my glucose test was normal. So I don't have gestastional diabetes...which is very good. I was really worried that with me having PCOS [Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome] that I would develop gestational diabetes. But I'm glad that I don't have to worry about that anymore. My bladder is finally better too. I can feel a little pain every once in a while but not like before. So everything is going really good for our little family. We can't wait until Emma gets here. Now that we are in the 3rd trimester, I'm hoping that the rest of the time will just fly by. We hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!