4 weeks to go

Today is a very special day for a couple of reasons.

First, I gained another sister-in-law today! Andrew and Jenny got married this afternoon in Memphis, TN. Since I'm so far along in my pregnancy, I was unable to travel to the wedding. However, they broadcast it on the Internet, so I got to tune in and be part of the celebration. Jenny looked beautiful, and I am so happy for them. Congratulations, you two! Today is the start of an incredible journey -- words honestly can't explain!

Also, today marks the end of my 36th week of pregnancy. Baby girl is officially due 4 weeks from today. WOW! Getting excited, but still feel like there is a lot to do. Scott comes home this evening from Memphis, and I've got a couple of things for him to help me with in the nursery. It's almost done!

Scott scheduled a massage for me today for our anniversary. It was bliss. The masseuse said the muscles in my left side were tighter than the right, which makes sense. Baby girl has been predominantly lying on my left side. She is curled up in a U-shape. Her head is down, and she's laying on her left side with her back pressed against the side of my stomach. Her legs are curled under my ribs. When she stretches her legs, they either hit my ribs or push on the other side of my stomach. She has stopped doing somersaults and major turns in the past few days. She is getting bigger, so there is not very much room for her to move around in there. I got a little panicky about her decrease in movement, so I called my doctor and she assured me that change in movement is normal as babies get bigger. Just need to make sure I am feeling her kick/move about 10 times within 2 hours. She moves the most right after I eat!

Our 6 Year Anniversary

Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary! We celebrated yesterday evening by going out to dinner at our favorite French restaurant, Tatsu's. This is also the restaurant we ate at the night Scott asked me to marry him. Afterwards, we went to the Plaza for gelato. When we got married 6 years ago, the heat index was in the 100's - very different from the beautiful evening in the lower 70s we enjoyed last night! I'm so blessed to have a man who loves me so intensely. Happy anniversary, honey!

At Tatsu's

Scott with his new Garmin Forerunner

Belly shot

More belly pics

Scott took a couple pictures of me last Saturday after my baby shower. This is my swimsuit for the summer, and you can really see the size of my belly. It keeps growing every day! And of course, I have to post some cute pictures of Maddie.

Baby Shower - Family

Last Saturday, my mom and sister hosted a shower for baby girl. Most of our family that lives in town was able to attend, and I loved having all our family together to celebrate baby girl's arrival! The shower was really personalized. Most of the decorations were items and pictures from my childhood, they served my favorite foods and the games were trivia themed (I LOVE trivia). Mom and Karla, thank you again for a fantastic shower! I had such a great time!!

Mom, me, Karla. We had yummy food and pretty decorations!

My cousin, Kari, made this cute diaper cake for me.

One of the many personalized gifts I received. This is a t-shirt that says "I love my Aunt Karla and she loves me!"

This is the baby blanket my mom made for our baby girl. It's so soft & special!

The cake! It had a baby blanket made of fondant that said "Peekaboo", just like the invitations.

Karla and mom serving the cake!

Marilyn bought her a tutu and jeweled onsie... perfect for a future picture! One says "Miss August" and the other says "Miss September". We'll have to see which one gets returned to the store!

We got so many great gifts, like this stroller/car seat travel system.

Cousins Sara, Emiy, Sage & Hazel

My dad got baby girl several 'fish' themed toys and outfits, plus this bib that says "I love Pa Pa".

Baby Prep

I decided to go with the pink, gray & chocolate brown bedding set. It's so cute and has a contemporary design that I love, love, love. I've ordered the matching drapes and mobile, and I found some art prints to hang in the room. I'll post pictures of the room once it's all together. Last Friday, Scott and his dad painted the nursery pink. It looks awesome!! When they got done painting, I had to cover my mouth with a wet towel so I could see the end result without inhaling the fumes. :) The color totally transformed the room, and it looks so girly and perfect. I love it; thanks you guys!

Scott and I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything looks good with baby girl. My doctor said she wasn't going to move my due date, and that I'm likely measuring small just due to us having a small baby. (Neither Scott nor I are setting any records in the height or weight department. Ha!) I still think my due date is off by a week because of the reasons I mentioned in a previous post, but I'm not going to debate the doctor. We'll just see when she comes! We've got another ultrasound scheduled for 38 weeks, just to ensure baby girl is growing on track. From now on, I'll be visiting Dr. Pearman on a weekly basis, which means that baby's girl's arrival is getting closer!

After our doctor's appointment, we had a tour of the maternity ward where I'll be delivering (St. Luke's East). The facility is top-notch and probably the most secure maternity ward I've seen. There's only one elevator that has access to the maternity wing, and you have to be buzzed up by the nursing staff for the elevator to even work. The maternity ward is not connected to the rest of the hospital, which means there isn't a bunch of traffic in the halls. The waiting room is exclusively for the maternity ward, and it's really large with lots of chairs, TVs, and food. The rooms are spacious & really nice (for a hospital). There are two flat screen TVs, rocking chair, couch that converts to a bed and jacuzzi tub. I will be able to labor, deliver and recover in the same room, which will be great. It was a bit surreal to see the bed and think that in a short time I will be having a baby there! I have never been a patient in a hospital, so this will be a new experience for me on many levels. I'm trying not to think too much about it. Thousands of women give birth everyday, right?!?!

Popped!

The fireworks weren't the only things popping this weekend. My belly button has official popped. Guess that means baby girl is close to being done! When we had our sonogram last week, she weighed about 3 pounds 9 ounces, and we could see her taking breaths in-utero. Pretty cool. Baby girl didn't seem to be too phased by all the fireworks this weekend. She would move from time to time, but no wild kicking... even during the loud ones. I was grateful! I think she's going to like the 4th of July, just like her momma.

Due Date Debate

On Monday, I had another monthly check-up with my doctor. By my calendar due date, I was supposed to be measuring about 32 weeks. When the doctor measured my belly, I was only measuring about 28 weeks. In my previous sonogram at 20 weeks, I was measuring about a week behind the calendar calculation of my due date. (Pretty sure this is due to the fact that my cycle is longer than the standard 28 days.) But the measurement this Monday was showing me 4 weeks behind - much further than 1 week. So the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to ensure our baby girl was growing okay. Naturally, Scott & I were a bit panicked, nervous, worried, etc. We didn't want anything to be wrong with our baby girl's development. This afternoon Scott & I went in for the ultrasound. Everything looks completely normal and healthy, praise the Lord! Her measurements came out to be about 31 1/2 weeks, so I am still measuring about a week behind the calendar calculation of my due date (August 22). The technician told us the low measurement on Monday was likely due to a combination of me really being a week behind and that baby girl was lying side-ways in my belly instead of head down. We were both relieved, to say the least! My mom told me this was a good introduction to parenthood because sometimes the only thing you can do for your child is to pray for her. I pray for our baby girl everyday, but this experience was a true reminder that she is God's child and He is taking care of her!

I start seeing my doctor every two weeks now, so I'm wondering if she will change my official due date. In my mind, it's always been the end of August versus August 22. So if all goes on schedule, looks like baby girl will be making her debut at the tail end of August or around Labor Day weekend - how appropriate!