Month 9

Weeks 35-38 of pregnancy never made it on the blog. I went into crazy nesting mode and took 3 classes at the hospital, plus we had our big Easter musical on Good Friday and 3 Easter Sunday services, AND my Kindergarten kids choir's musical the week after. Your Daddy was so incredibly helpful and patient through it all. We were both so anxious to meet you!! Here are the highlights of our last month together...

Week 35:
Nursery prep!

35 weeks pregnant - it seemed like I went to the bathroom every 5 minutes.

{Free} hand-me-down lamp upcycled to use in your nursery. Painted it yellow and added a ruffle. Not bad for my first attempt at something like this.

Made this yellow cover for your changing pad from the leftover bedding fabric. One month into parenting and I'm so glad to have that little white washable cover on top of the yellow. I'm constantly washing those things and it protects the pretty decorative cover.

Week 36:

This was the week of Easter. Mommy had a solo in the Good Friday musical and all 3 services on Sunday. We started the first of 3 classes at the hospital and at our doctor's appointment this week found out that you are breech, which means that I would likely need a c-section.

36 weeks pregnant - you were wiggling around like crazy

Highlights from our Easter weekend. We took Sully to the lakes for a walk - one last round of spoiling. He was in heaven!

Week 37:

This week was the children's choir's musical. As usual, I was beyond blessed by the precious Kindergarteners that I was given the opportunity to teach this year. They did a wonderful job in their musical and you and Mommy made it through only mildly exhausted. Dr. C confirmed this week that you were still breech and we could either schedule a "version" (procedure where they attempt to turn the baby) or we would need to schedule a c-section at 39 weeks. Mommy & Daddy prayed about what to do and ultimately decided that the c-section was the best decision in our case. Let the countdown begin!

All of Praise Kids during the musical

My Kindergarteners! Yes, this was the "best" picture with the most people looking and not goofing off. haha!!!

37 weeks!! 

Week 38:

Final preparations, relaxing (ha!) and one last {fancy} date night as a family of 2! Also, the new Women's & Children's wing opened at the hospital this week! We went to the grand opening and got to tour the entire thing. What an awesome experience - and a beautiful hospital!! 

C-Section recovery area. This ended up being the exact beds that Blair and I spent our first few hours in after surgery. What a special experience to see this ahead of time.

Made the hospital's Facebook page from the tour!

The OR that is only for c-sections. It honestly kind of freaked me out to see this, but in hindsight, I'm so glad that I did. Had this wing actually been open, we never could've seen it ahead of time and taken pictures. It gave me a sense of peace as to what was coming. Kind of!

Movie date night the week you were born. I felt like everyone was gawking at my size!

The nursery, mostly. We have some finishing touches to take care of, but you get the idea.

38 weeks and my last pregnant picture!

Week 39:

Our c-section was scheduled for the morning that we were 39 weeks. But you had other plans...

Week 34 - Blessed

Week 34 {April 3 - April 9}
Size of a Butternut Squash, 17.2-18.7", 4.2-5.8 lbs
"By week 34, she's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're singing them."

Well, OF COURSE, I'm singing to this child! And no, they're not all just simple songs. There are two things our sweet girl seems to love...drinking cold water and singing praise music. May that never change!

In week 34 some precious ladies from choir threw a shower for us with our newest friends from choir. Blair's amazing grandparents drove in just for the shower...it meant so much to us. We are BLESSED!

Sweet hostesses & friends - Melanie, Venessa & Deborah

Darling decorations at the shower

Holy moly that cake was delicious!! So glad your daddy joined us for the celebration. :)

It's a girl!!! Meeting baby Zoey Greig - the newest addition to "The Crew" 

Now that we have been thoroughly showered, we gathered our gift cards and did a little shopping. WE HAVE OUR TRAVEL SYSTEM NOW!!! :)

My FAVORITE baby item...the stroller & carseat. (Refer to Week 27 for the importance of this decision & purchase)

BOB Motion = true love

34 weeks, whoa!!

We went back to the doctor and heard your sweet heartbeat again...142 BPM. Once again, Dr. C said everything is measuring just fine! I begged her to let me see you again, but I don't always get my way. ;) Mommy's up 20 lbs now and your daddy has become the most patient man in the world. I wish I could adequately express what a blessing he is! WE LOVE YOU DB!!

Weeks 32 & 33 - Sewing & Bryan Shower

Sorry I get so far behind. We've been so busy celebrating baby Blair's upcoming arrival, buying last minute necessities, celebrating the birth of friends' babies, preparing for TWO musicals, and just trying to make room for this little Princess in our home! Not to mention I have taken on all sorts of projects for the nursery. Oh, and don't you dare utter some variation of the statement "She won't even sleep in it for [insert any amount of time here], you don't have to finish before she's born" to me!!! Have you met me?? Yes, it has to be done.

Anyways...here are the high points (or the things I don't want to forget) from weeks 32 & 33. I am hoping to get 34 & 35 up tonight, because I'm actually 36 weeks now!!!!

Week 32 {March 20-26}

Blair - Size of a squash, 15.2-16.7", 2.5-3.8lb, should be turned head-down now, wiggling around like crazy - all.the.time.

Me - Still overly emotional about everything, +17 lbs, currently obsessed with my little girl's movements and my husband's servant heart!

Our Life - This particular weekend, Patilyn brought her sewing machine & Aunt Kiki on Saturday to help me work on the bedding. We made some major progress and I am loooooving it!! Then us girls went to meet up with Pappa in Katy to watch Aunt Layne in her first ever ride as a Catalena Cowgirl. So much fun!!!

Watching the Catalena Cowgirls after our day of sewing.

Our favorite CC on her first official ride!

Me & baby sis...I can't believe she's grown up and chasing her dreams already!

Our official 32 week photo

Week 33 {March 27-April 2}

Blair - Size of a durian fruit (a what??), 17.2-18.7", 4.2-5.8lb, opens her eyes, started coordinating breathing, sucking, & swallowing, bones are hardening

Me - Realized that I have a full blown outtie now, ha!! I think this has happened over the last 3ish weeks?

Our Life - I finished sewing your beautiful bedding and I LOVE it! Daddy went on a big golf trip & we went to Bryan for the most amazing shower put on by some people who have loved you (& your parents) for a very long time! We got to see lots of family and friends, including my most favorite little nieces! :) We were so blown away by everything - it was perfect! Sorry, I'm still working on finding that darn camera cord.

Sneak peek!! 

...more sneak peekin'!!

Beautiful and tasty strawberry cake made by Ciana for the Bryan Shower. 

I had the cutest little helpers for opening gifts. Not sure Avaree nor Emma loved taking turns though. :-P

My Uncle Larry took us out for dinner and Spoons after the shower. I! LOVE! SPOONS!

Official 33 week photo...with a little Versa tan!! :)

More to come!

31 Weeks - Our first Baby Shower!

Week 31 (Mar 13 - Mar 19)

Your baby's the size of a pineapple!
 (What a terrible analogy! The thought of a prickly pineapple wiggling around in my stomach, hm.)
 

She's about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds this month. She's getting so big, she's probably crowding your lungs. (This is actually not the case for me - PTL. She is so incredibly low that my lungs and ribs have been safe from all jabs and discomforts that most people experience.)

your baby at 31 weeks

• She's going through major brain and nerve development.
• Eye development, too. Her irises now react to light!
• All five of her senses are in working order.

Week 31 was so busy and SO MUCH FUN!!! I've been delaying this post because I wanted to include my pictures from the week, but my camera cord is MIA and I just can't delay any longer!! I'll have to settle for the pics I was able to snag on my phone, for now.

Week 31 started with a trip to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the artist for the night was Maroon 5. We had a blast enjoying some good ol' Texas food & fun from a suite - woo hoo! I did so much walking from the parking lot and around the arena that I started having contractions on the way home. (Just some mild tightening, nothing bad.) My feet even swelled up a little bit!

Suite view just before Maroon 5 got started

 On Saturday, our family came in for our first baby shower & Darrin's "Man Storm"/Diaper Party/Excuse to go play at Dave & Busters. My sweet girl friends from Bryan put together a beautiful celebration for baby Blair and we had a wonderful turn out from family, Bible Study friends, and coworkers. We are truly overwhelmed by the love and blessings in our life! THANK YOU!!!!!




Shannon, Patricia, Hannah & Amber - my sweet hostesses. Love this banner that Shannon made for her!!

My precious sisters and Blair's sweet grandmothers. Love them!!!

The boys came back to help us carry gifts home! Papa, Patilyn, Mommy, Daddy, Gigi & GPops

On Sunday, I helped host a vintage school themed baby shower for one of our friends who is expecting a little girl just days after baby Blair. I know they will grow up to be great friends.

Bible Study girls, taken at Emily's shower on Sunday. How fun is this - we are all expecting little girls! Mindy's is due NEXT WEEK, mine & Emily's are due in May, and Jessi's is due in June. :)

 The week finished up with an early 32 week appointment and once again, we were told everything is "perfectly normal!" I even got us preregistered at the hospital. I love checking things off my To Do list. :)

31 Weeks

Blair's Heart Rate: 146 BPM
My Weight Gain: Still hovering around 15-17 pounds
Preggo Probs: SICK (cold/sinus), Charley Horses, cramps (when I'm on my feet a lot) & some CRAZY emotions.

30 - relaxing, kind of

Week 30 - Mar 6 - Mar 12

Your baby's the size of a cucumber!

Your 15.2- to 16.7-inch, 2.5- to 3.8-pound baby continues to grow.

your baby at 30 weeks

• Her skin is getting smoother.
• But her brain is getting wrinklier -- to make way for all that essential brain tissue.
• She's now strong enough to grasp a finger!

After the craziness that was week 29, week 30 was rather uneventful and relaxing. We had our 30 Week appointment and everything was "normal" again. Your heart rate was somewhere in the mid-140s. Pretty exciting that our appointments have started to get closer together now!!

I have had lots of "Charley Horse" cramps in my life (both before I was pregnant, and since I've been pregnant), but this Friday I woke up in the middle of the night with the mother of all leg cramps. It was absolutely awful and sent terrible pains through not only the back of my calf, but also the front of my SHIN!! I literally woke up screaming and didn't even realize I was screaming, it was so painful. Your sweet Daddy sat by my feet and moved my foot back and forth in an effort to relieve the cramps. The next day I bought the biggest bundle of bananas I could find at the grocery store and started chowing down. Hoping to get past these ASAP! Luckily, on Saturday I had a prenatal massage scheduled - ahhhh. Aside from the outrageous leg cramps, this week was very calm and relaxing. We needed the break! And I was able to get most of the fabric cut for your nursery bedding - FINALLY! Stay tuned for that...

30 weeks - Wait, did we just pass the 20s already!?

29 - Chaos (but fun chaos)

Week 29 - Feb 27 - Mar 5

Your baby's the size of an acorn squash!

Baby already measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long. Right now, she weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds but she's still got a ways to go -- can you believe she'll triple in weight before birth?

your baby at 29 weeks

• She's getting a little cramped in there, since she's growing so fast. But you probably already realize that, since you're getting all those jabs and kicks.
• She's growing white fat deposits under her skin, and her energy is surging because of it. 
• Feel a subtle twitch? It might be baby hiccupping. (I think I did feel some hiccups)

Week 29 was chaotic!! We went to Rodeo Cookoff Friday night; repainted the office (which used to be the dining room), met Gigi & GPops for lunch/dinner, and went to a surprise party on Saturday; finalized our registries on Sunday; started training my "work sub" on Monday; and went to watch the Rockets vs Heat game on Tuesday. Plus we had winter show up for probably the 10th time this year - I'm not kidding!! It was warm and sunny over the weekend, then out of the blue it got very cold and wintry again!! I don't mind though, I kind of like the cold. :)

Daddy was super excited about the Heat coming to town!!

Soaking up these spontaneous date nights while we can - I love him!!

Head to toe bundled up - this was one of those wintry days. My official "29 Week" picture was only two days earlier.

Mommy's brain settled down a little bit this week and I am pretty much obsessed with feeling your sweet little movements. You're quite the wiggle-worm! Weight gain is around 15 lbs and my stomach discomforts have taken a backseat to an even less lovely pregnancy plague that I will not write for the public to read about, ha! Now, if only we could focus this energy into something slightly more productive than "playing"... Did I mention, we've started the third trimester!?

Taken on one of those sunny warm days. Our official 29 Week photo

Front view of this fun and very appropriate shirt. When "Aunt" Abby first sent it to us, it was way too big. Loving this! 

Week 28 - Maternity Pics!!

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

Putting on layers of fat, your baby now weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches.

your baby at 28 weeks

• She's starting to develop more fat, so her wrinkly skin will start to get smoother.
• Her lungs are mature enough that she'd probably survive if she was born now. Wow!

Week 28 was too long ago for me to remember much of the specifics (really, 5 minutes ago was too long ago for me to remember anything).  I'm getting so behind!!  I do remember feeling much happier this week than week 27.  And being obsessed with feeling sweet Blair's little movements.  She moves a lot when I'm still - which is kind of never.

28 weeks

We went to Bryan the weekend of week 28 for a wedding and Allison came to take our maternity pictures!!!!!  Here are some of our favorites - actually, pretty much all of the pics. We love them all!! :)

All photos done by Allison Barton with Blessed by Grace Photography.

THANK YOU ALLISON!!!