Goodbye 2011 {32 weeks!}

This has been a really good year for us, mainly because we are finally expecting our little baby. :) But we think that 2012 is going to be the best year since we got married. There are so many changes coming our way in 2012 and a lot of unknowns but just like we have for the past 5 years, we will get through it together because that is what we do. We are the best team. {I love you bubba.}

The nursery is coming along rather quickly now. We have all of the big furniture in the house... but we have to put together the dresser still. We picked it up yesterday and it was heavy, so we had to open the box from the Audi and carry the pieces into the house and upstairs bit by bit. There are SO many pieces to this dresser and the instructions have 34 steps to put this together. For all those people who warned us about the crib... the crib has nothing on this dresser. I am going to have to buy Brad lots of beer this weekend so we can get it together. Haha.

A million freaking pieces:

Once we get this bad boy put together then we just have the finishing touches to the nursery and it should done. Hooray. It feels like yesterday I was having a breakdown because I couldn't decide where to even start with the nursery. But now it's almost done and that makes me so happy. And relieved.

Today my belly feels bigger than usual. Which I am sure is right because I guess it still has some growing to do. ;)

From BabyCenter.com:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Outside of the usual, getting up and sitting down is now getting a little more difficult. I try to avoid going up the stairs in the house more than I need to because I get winded realllllly easily. And our next appointment isn't for another 3 weeks....

So until next week...

<3 Brad, Jenna, & Bean

The holiday season... {30 & 31 weeks}

Looks like I am doing another double week post this week, sorry about that. Unfortunately, both Brad and I got sick last week and although we are still battling the end of the cold, we are both feeling MUCH better.
So let's recap last week...

I started getting sick around two Fridays ago. I stuck it out through the weekend because I knew that there really wasn't anything that I could take for it, but on Monday I went to the OB just to be safe. And naturally they said that they couldn't give me anything but they did give me the rest of the day off from work! So I spent the day in bed, but sleeping without taking any medicine just didn't help me. I went to work the following day and got sent home again. Finally by Wednesday I didn't feel like dying and now I just have some sniffles. Hooray. Last week we also received a handmade blanket from Brad's grandma. We actually have two handmade blankets now, one from Brad's Nana and one from Brad's grandma. They are so cute.

 

And the belly:

From BabyCenter.com:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

And now on to this week...
Two Fridays ago I caught a cold. Last Friday, I thought I was going into pre-term labor. Yeah, it's been a pretty exciting two weeks for us. Haha. I woke up on Friday night with really bad cramps, so I went into the bathroom and the cramps got worse. I am already blessed with Braxton Hicks, so I know what mild contractions feel like, but these felt like full blown contractions. After about 10 minutes they went away though and I was able to go back to sleep. The rest of the weekend I just tried to lay low and not move around too much.
Monday we had our OB appointment. I brought up what happened on Friday and the doctor said that I handled the situation perfectly. Only if my contractions continue on a regular basis for an hour then I would go to labor & delivery. Bean is doing well. Her heartbeat was strong and she was moving like crazy at the appointment. The doctor had the hardest time finding and holding her heartbeat and Brad got to see her jabs to my stomach while the doctor was trying. Our next appointment is 4 weeks away, sigh. That will put us at 35 weeks. After that I think we will be seen at 37 weeks, which is technically full term, and then every week after that until she comes. That leaves us with about 5 more appointments to go! Holy moly! And yes, she is staying in there until 40 weeks at least. As long as she is on time or late then I will be happy.
We finally have all of her big furniture ordered and on the way here. We should have her nursery done by the end on January. It looks cute so far and with the rest of the stuff we got it will easily be the cutest room in our house. :) We also got a box from Brad's parents full of stuff for her. Lots of cute clothes and our first package of diapers. Haha.

My belly is growing and growing and oh yeah, growing. It now takes me a few tries to get out of bed in the morning. I imagine that I look like Randy from A Christmas Story when he falls in the snow. "I can't get up!!!" Yup, that's me. Haha. I have some stretch marks but I do my best to keep them lotioned. I know that they are inevitable, but I am hoping to keep them at a minimum. ;)

 

From BabyCenter.com:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

And since we have been sick and busy trying to get ready for the holidays and the baby, we are behind on getting our Christmas cards out. They will be more like Happy New Year cards at this rate. Haha.

Gah, someone reminded me that I wanted to do a progression picture, so here it is!:

Until next week...

<3 Brad, Jenna, & Bean

I feel nakey... {29 weeks!}

Well, we have good news: I got my wedding ring off! Yay!
We also have bad news: We had to have a jeweler cut it off. :(

Now I feel naked. I miss my ring. I wish it didn't have to come to this. And although they can and will be fixing my ring for me once I am done being pregnant and swollen, it's still really really sad. Also, I told Brad that the second we find out we are pregnant again my ring is coming off and going on a necklace. Haha. We are NOT going through this again!

The weeks are flying by and we still have so much to do in preparation for Bean's arrival. Her nursery has a crib aaaaaand that's about it. We have no clothes, no diapers, no changing table. We are pretty behind on all this. Haha. I hoping to have it all done by the end of January. Let's just go with that for now...

I was asked not to reveal Bean's initials... so we will keep them on lock down for now. :) But earlier this week the top 100 boys and girls names of 2011 came out. I am happy to say that her name is not on this list. So if you would like to know what she isn't going to be named, please take a look here: http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2011.

Bean is still really really active. It's fun. And I am pretty sure that she is going to be really long because I feel kicks at the very top of my belly to the very bottom at the same time. Haha. It's so crazy. This is one of the best feelings ever. I often tell Brad that I wish he could have her in his belly for a while so he can feel her inside kicks. It's just so weird. It will probably be one of the things I miss most about being pregnant.

We finally moved on to a new fruit. From 29-32 weeks Bean is the size of a squash. Only 2 more fruits (months) left. Eeeeep!
From BabyCenter.com:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Our next OB appointment is scheduled for December 19th, where I hope that we will get an ultrasound but I won't hold my breath. I would hope that at 31 weeks they would want to make sure that she was positioned head down... I guess we will see. :)

Until next week...

<3 Brad, Jenna, and Bean