2 weeks to go!!

Wow....only 2 weeks to go!  Though I am exhausted, I think continuing to stay busy has made the time seem to pass more quickly.  I am hoping this coming week is our last busy week.  I am hoping to make next week a relaxing one.

Last week we celebrated Halloween.  Jacob had his Halloween parade for preschool on Wednesday.  They paraded around the classroom then sang a couple Halloween songs.

Thursday I went into Eric's class to help with his Halloween party and parade.  They decorated their own cupcakes, played a few games and then had a school-wide parade outside.

We went trick-or-treating to family on Wednesday night and through the neighborhood on Thursday night.  The boys got a TON of candy...we'll be eating it until Easter at least!!!  They had a blast!  I was so proud of Jacob for using his manners while trick-or-treating through the neighborhood.  He only took 1 piece of candy from the bowl that was offered and always remembered to say "Thank You".  I was worried he would be one of those kids that takes a big handful of candy!  Of course I wasn't worried about Eric, he knew the drill!

Here are the finished Ninja Turtle pumpkins the boys painted using the green pumpkins that grew in our garden....such talented boys we have!

 Saturday morning we took the boys to the Movie Tavern to see Free Birds.  They got to order breakfast.  The kids love this theater!  The movie was really cute too.

Saturday afternoon we finished setting up the living room to get ready for the baby.  We brought the cradle down from the attic and set up the swing.   We are ready!!!

Sunday night we had dinner at Mommom Kolb's to celebrate Matt's birthday.  Next year we'll be celebrating the new baby's birthday as well!

Monday and Tuesday, Eric was off from school for in-service.  Jacob had school Monday, so Eric and I went to the library and ran some errands in the morning.

Tuesday was voting day so the boys wore their "Vote for My Grandpa" shirts and we went to the firehouse to vote.  We had lunch with Jim in the afternoon and then met Eric's friend at Manderach park.

This morning I had my 38 week OB appointment.  Good news was they did another ultrasound to check baby's position and he is still head down so my c-section was cancelled!!!  Bad news was my blood pressure was up and I had protein in my urine so I had to go for a non-stress test.  I already had one scheduled for right after anyway.  They checked my urine again and said it was only trace amounts of protein which wasn't a huge deal and my BP was back to normal after only 15 minutes.  I've had a headache through the night from my allergies so I am guessing that had something to do with my higher blood pressure.  Because of all this though I now have to see the doctor and go for NSTs twice a week....ugh!  At least we only have 2 weeks left.  I'm still not dilated at all, so hopefully something will start happening sooner than later!

How far along? 38 weeks

Maternity clothes? Same old, same old

Sleep: exhausted…napping most days.  Sleep is difficult at night when you have to get up to use the bathroom 2-3 times. Insomnia between 2-3am each morning…not fun!

Best moment this week: Movies with the boys this past weekend. Only a couple more weekends as a family of 4. 

Miss Anything?  Not being pregnant :) So ready to be able to feel normal again!  

Movement: lots of movement everywhere…

Food cravings: Nothing this week….seems like everything gives me heartburn!

Anything making you queasy or sick: still brushing my teeth…ugh!  1^st trimester nausea has come back….I gag really easily at different smells.

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: more contractions each day, lots of pressure

 Symptoms:  same as usual….tired, sore, backache, heartburn, sciatic nerve pain

Belly Button in or out? It finally popped!  Wish it was like a turkey timer and I would be done!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  still happy and getting impatient!

Looking forward to: a relaxing two weeks before my due date….not making any plans from here on out!

HE FLIPPED!!!!!

Just got back from my doctor appointment and the baby has flipped!!! He is now head down, but not engaged in my pelvis and I am not dilated at all.  I didn't dilate with the boys until I was closer to my due date so I'm not too concerned.  My main concern was that since he wasn't engaged that he could flip back again.  The doctor was very encouraging though and said since the head is the heaviest part of his body it is very unlikely that he will flip back.  They will do another ultrasound next week just to make sure before they cancel my c-section for the 14th. 

Super excited about this news!!!!

Happy Halloween!

37 weeks...getting closer!  This past week has been packed full of baby and holiday preparations.  I am doing everything I can to make the after-baby recovery period as stress free as possible.  I still have a list of stuff to get done, but I am confident we will be ready whenever the baby decides he is ready!  I would prefer that he decides to flip first though :)

Thursday we spent the evening cleaning up the yard and the garden for winter.  Boys were being silly in the back of the wagon!

On Friday Jacob had a field trip to Colonial Gardens.  He got to play in their play area, go on a hayride and through a corn maze.

Saturday Jim and I finished all our Christmas shopping for the boys and bought everything we still needed for the baby.  We also had a nice dinner out...probably the last dinner just the 2 of us for a little while!  The boys spent the night at Grammy and Grandpa's.  They were invited to the Mowrer's for a hayride and bonfire.  They had a blast!

Sunday we carved pumpkins and painted the green pumpkins to look like Ninja Turtles.

The boys are all ready for Halloween.  They got a treat in the mail from Aunt Caitlin this week....pumpkin sugar cookies from Cheryl and Co.  They said they were delicious!

Jacob made chocolate acorns at school the other week....hershey kisses with a nutter butter mini cookie glued (icing) to the top.  He decided to make them himself at home!

This morning is Jacob's Halloween parade at school, then Eric has his on Thursday.

I have a doctor appointment and non stress test this afternoon. Praying that the baby has flipped.  He seems to be in a different position than last week, but I'm not sure that he is head down.  My guess would be he is sideways (transverse).  Any movement in the right direction is progress though!

How far along? 37 weeks

Maternity clothes? No change, still wearing the last few things that fit and trying to be comfortable.

Sleep: Exhaustion has set in….I guess that means the end is near!

Best moment this week: Last date night out with Jim for a while! 

Miss Anything?  Energy and my shoes!  Sneakers and slippers are the only shoes I have that don’t make my feet hurt!                                                                                                 

Movement: I can feel more stretching than anything...anxious to see if he's moved at all.

Food cravings: Jim pointed out that he’s never seen me eat pop-tarts before while I was eating one for a snack this weekend.  I don’t usually but for some reason they have been one of my favorite snacks lately.  And I bought Chocolate peanut butter ice cream this week….my favorite!

Anything making you queasy or sick: brushing my teeth…again!

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: some stronger contractions…nothing else new

 Symptoms:  exhaustion, sore everywhere, getting impatient now that we are a few weeks away.

Belly Button in or out? It’s out a little bit but not noticeable through my shirts :)
Happy or Moody most of the time:  still happy and getting impatient!

Looking forward to: Trick or Treating with the boys! (and sharing their candy!)

TURN, BABY, TURN!!!

Yay!  9 months...we finally made it!  We are so ready to meet this new baby....but not for another 2 weeks at least!  This weekend Jim and I are going shopping to finish getting all the baby items we need and try to knock out most of our Christmas shopping.  Then next week is Halloween and Trick-or-Treating so after that we will definitely be ready!

Last Thursday I went for my second Non Stress Test.  The baby was not cooperating so I ended up on the monitor for over an hour.  First he was sleeping and they wanted him moving so they gave me juice and wiggled my belly to wake him up.  Then once he woke up he was moving all over the place and kept moving away from the monitor so they couldn't get a consistent reading....I guess he showed them!  Eventually they said they had enough of what they needed and let me go home!

Friday I went into Eric's classroom to help the teacher with sight word testing.  Thankfully Eric hasn't hit that stage where it's "not cool" to have your mom help in school.  I really liked getting to know his teacher and working with the kids.  He has a great class again this year!

This is Tyler's favorite spot lately...and it is driving me CRAZY!!!  We have a chipmunk that lives under the front step and has been gathering his food for winter so he makes quite a few trips across the front step daily.  Tyler HATES the chipmunks (he's already caught 2 in the backyard) and each time he sees it through the front door he starts howling, which of course scares Jacob and I right off the couch!  Crazy Beagle!!!

 Saturday Mom and I went shopping in Exton while Jim stayed home with the boys.  He finished the table I asked him to make for the baby's room.  I wanted a small table to sit next to the rocking chair to put a small lamp on to use for nighttime feedings.  It just needs to be painted (white) but it's just what I wanted!  I love that I can make a simple drawing of what I am looking for and Jim can make it happen!

Sunday we decided to go to Valley Forge Park to walk around. The boys like going through the old cabins.  We walked pretty far...the boys had a great time "rescuing caterpillars" from the trail.   There were hundreds of fuzzy brown caterpillars and the boys didn't like to see them get run over by joggers or bikers so whenever they found a live one they would pick them up and move them to the grass!  It was pretty comical!  Jacob would run up and be the "caterpillar spy" and tell Eric where the next one was so he could pick them up and move them.  This kept them busy almost the entire walk.  I am loving spending our last few weeks as a family of 4....

Monday night we went to Jacob's school for his Back to School night.  They basically go through a quick version of their day.  During circle time his teacher explained all the academic things they are doing to get the kids ready for kindergarten.  I was really impressed with how much they are doing that align with the kindergarten curriculum.  Jacob is learning so much about letters and letter sounds and he's doing a great job with his writing.

Wednesday I went in for another Non Stress Test....passed in an hour so it wasn't too bad. Then I had my 36 week check up.  Baby is still breech and the doctor said he looked pretty comfy in there.  There is still time for him to turn, but for now I have a c-section scheduled for Thursday, November 14th.  They will continue to do ultrasounds for the next 3 weeks to check his position and will do one the morning of my c-section, just in case.   I'm going to continue to try to get him to turn, although I have decided not to try to have the doctors turn him.  There are just too many risks that I'm not comfortable with.

Crazy to think that 3 weeks from today we could be holding our new baby  boy in our arms :)

How far along? 36 weeks

Maternity clothes? Starting to outgrow most of them :) Just trying to be comfy right now!

Sleep: Daily naps when I can, sleeping ok til about 3am then have a lot of trouble falling back to sleep.  Baby wants to party in my belly at that time!  Have to discourage that soon!

Best moment this week: Walking around Valley Forge with the boys and Jim this weekend.

Miss Anything?  Walking without waddling :)

Movement: Bigger but slower movements….hard to distinguish body parts though.

Food cravings: nothing new

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week!

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: still just some Braxton hicks contractions

 Symptoms:  nothing new….uncomfortable, sore, tiredness, heartburn (like crazy)

Belly Button in or out? Depends on the day…it’s popped out a few times, but doesn’t stay that way.
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy and getting impatient!

Looking forward to: Shopping for the rest of the baby stuff this weekend!