Getting Closer...!

31 weeks

32 weeks...no picture :(

33 weeks.... no picture :(

(baby brain in full effect because I completely forgot to take pictures those 2 weeks! ah!)

34 weeks

35 weeks... 5 more to go!

I thought with being off this summer I'd get better at blogging on here and write weekly... definitely didn't happen. Whoops!

Heartburn is still a pain in my rear end. Zantac extra strength has been a life saver! Occasionally it doesn't work, but for the most part it helps a lot. My belly feels huge and it aches at night. Sleeping is just non-existent. I feel bad for Robbie because my constant restlessness, getting up to pee, and changing positions keeps him up. I guess he has to prepare for our soon to be lack of sleep though too, right?!

What we've been up to.... I washed all of Norah's clothes, blankets, and bibs. I organized her cute little closet and dresser. Besides her room, I've also been organizing other rooms of the house... nesting?? Robbie put together the crib and finally~~ WE SET UP THE NURSERY!!!!!! I'm obsessed. My sis had planned to come this weekend for my last baby shower (given by Meagan :) so I waited to do the nursery so she could help us with where to put everything on the walls. I love, love, love what we did. Pics to come! I've also set up maternity pictures for tonight!! Hope the rain holds out. We've been talking to/interviewing potential baby sitters and pediatricians. Robbie and I have been busy! I'd like to get the pediatrician and baby sitter nailed down this week so maybe we can relax a little before Norah decides to enter the world. I'm up to weekly doctor appointments now, exciting! Last appointment the doctor said I was "measuring small" so I'm getting another ultrasound this Friday. She didn't sound concerned because she thought since Norah is head down now (YAY!) that the uterus and everything has just shifted down more. She thinks Norah will be a small baby, 6-7lbs? I'm fine with that! My blood pressure and weight gain is still good... 24 pounds total so far. 

Hellooooo 3rd Trimester!

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

28 weeks: I had my glucose screening test and a 3D ultrasound! My glucose test came back normal...yippee! The 3D ultrasound was great- we loooove getting to see Norah. She was folded in half! Crazy! Like her feet were up by her head hahah! So her hands and feet were basically covering her face so we couldn't see much of her. We got to see her face a little bit and she looks more like a baby instead of an alien now ;) We got a picture of her profile and she's got a cute little nose, lips, and chubby cheeks. We love her so much already!!

The third trimester came in with a bang!!! omg!!! I instantly became more tired and feel helpless at times because I can't do much without getting out of breath now. I'm very slow and it's frustrating at times. My legs, feet, and hips are extremely achy and it feels like I'm constantly working out. My pelvic area (bikini line) started hurting, so I did stretches to help it out. It sort of worked. That lasted a few days. We had our 2nd of 4 childbirth classes! Norah is kicking more and more... love it.

29 weeks: Pretty much every other day my feet and ankles are swollen. Disgusting. Sometimes my fingers swell up too and I can't get my rings off! Norah went to her first Dave Matthews Band concert...woohoo! She kicked almost the whole time!

30 weeks: This wasn't the best week. Although it's exciting to be 30 weeks (10 weeks to go!!), it's been difficult. I feel huge and uncomfortable most of the time... I'm soo slow... I'm tired all the time... I can't sleep!!! My belly hurts when I sleep on the side, even with a pillow underneath. Sometimes I can get it just right and be fine, but other nights it's pretty bad... I have to pee 7137462923 times a day... I can't stand for very long... worst of all, I developed heartburn/acid reflux/indigestion. OH MY GOSH. How do people deal with this all the time?? It started one night while I was sleeping- it woke me up. I was drenched in sweat and my chest and throat were on fire. I ran to the bathroom and puked!!! Eww!! After that night, it hasn't really subsided. I've been trying Tums for now and I'm thinking I might need something stronger because it's not doing the trick. I've had to limit my chocolate :( and pizza, well anything with tomatoes, and vinegary things. Kinda sucks. I don't wanna complain because I didn't get morning sickness and I've had it pretty easy so far, but this heartburn has.got.to.go.

Last Two Weeks of the 2nd Trimester

26 weeks

27 weeks

I've had swollen ankles and feet a few more times. Usually it's salty food that does it, but sometimes I haven't had salty food and can't figure out why they're swollen. My hips, legs, and feet are SOOO sore and by the end of the work day they are KILLING me. I'm looking forward to summer time when I don't have to work all day. My skin is really different now... I got a sun burn!! This never happens! I've had like one bad burn in my life and that was when I went to Florida as a teenager. We went to the OBX 2 weekends ago and I was constantly putting on spf 15 or 30 but I still got burned! yikes! I refuse to stay out of the sun, so I'm going to invest in some spf 50, haha!

We had our first of a 4 part series of childbirth classes! Both of us were so excited to go! The lady who teaches the class is hilarious and loves to tell stories, which I like to hear. We learned about pre-term labor signs, early labor signs, and watched a video. The video totally confirmed the fact that I'm going to die in labor. Yes, you heard me. I'm going to die!!! Lol. I love being pregnant and I love the idea of birthing a baby that Robbie and I made, but I'm terrified of pain. I still remember when I was little and my mom was taking the stitches out of her friend's head and I threw up. I also passed out when explaining to my coworkers that Robbie was in the hospital about to get an emergency appendectamy. Ugh. I can't get my blood taken without passing out, or almost passing out. The nurses know I HAVE to lay down to get my blood taken. Talking about pain makes me queasy, break out in a sweat, and get anxious/high blood pressure. Seeing the woman on the childbirth video give birth was beautiful, and seeing the placenta be delivered was disgusting, but I can watch it and appreciate it. It was more of the before part- seeing the woman's face while she was having contractions and the painful screams- that really gets me anxious. I'm going to need to learn some serious relaxation techniques. Please pray that my labor is quick!!! ;)

June 5: My coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower!!!! It was soo sweet and I was totally overwhelmed, in a good way! We got a lot more goodies for Norah!

25 weeks, 15 to go OH MY!

25 weeks!

May 16th: We had a doctor's appointment. This time we had a million questions for the doctor, and she was really nice and helpful answering them all for us! She said Norah was perfect :) Her heartbeat was between 120-130s and she kicked while we were listening to her. My next appointment will be an ultrasound and will be my glucose test.

I'm having a hard time sleeping because I can't get comfortable! I put a pillow between my legs and it helps, but it's not that great. Sometimes my belly feels like it's pulling down, so I've tried a pillow under it, and that still hurts. The dr. said I can't sleep on my back at all anymore...which I knew...but I was still trying to get away with it occasionally. She said I could sleep turned a little on my side, a little on my back....make sense? Well I tried that the last 2 nights and it worked pretty well...or maybe I was just exhausted!

May 19th: My mom's wonderful friends threw me my 1st baby shower and it was sooo nice. They really went out of their way to make it special. I can't wait til my mom send me the pictures from it. I had a lot of fun and we got some great gifts! My sis gave us our changing table/dresser that I wanted from craigslist. We are gonna paint it light yellow (well, Robbie is) and hopefully soon start getting the nursery all set up. YAY! 

24 weeks

24 weeks!

Norah is kicking like crazy! Angela and Irene at work have felt her kick, too! Robbie loves to feel her kick; he gets excited every time!

I ate some chicken wings on the grill.... I'm getting used to it again, lol.

23 weeks, 2 Kicks, and Swollen Ankles!

23 weeks!

WOOOOHOOOOOO! The waiting game is over. Thank you Norah for finally showing your presence (other than that big round thing I see when I look down)!!!

Sunday, May 6th: Robbie wasn't feeling too good so he went to bed pretty early. I went to bed a little bit after him, and like usual I layed down with my hands on my belly. After a couple of minutes I felt something and gasped. It didn't feel like anything besides an actual kick! I waited to see if it happened again, just to be sure. Norah kicked again! I gasped and shouted for Robbie to wake up. He was very excited, but very sick at the same time. I couldn't believe it had finally happened... sooo exciting.

The next couple of days she was a wiggle worm allllll day and night long. I love every second of it! When she stops kicking, sometimes I get nervous. Some days she kicks more than others, and some days she is quiet for hours at a time. My mom says she has to nap. I guess she's right, haha! Norah is mostly active after dinner (especially pasta) and at bedtime. Some nights she keeps me up all night, but I honestly don't mind. I love my baby girl!!

My ankles, feet, and fingers have begun to swell. Blek! Ugh! Boo! This isn't fun. The first time was at the Tides game.... it was hot, we had walked about a mile in Ptown to catch the ferry, and I was eating nachos.... all those combined, I looked down and BAM! Fat feet! Within the next couple of days I had my blood pressure checked just incase and it was fine. Since the Tides game, it's happened a few other times. I'm on my feet all day teaching, plus eating salty food (Chinese, pizza) are both contributers to my fat feet/ankles. I can only imagine July and August when it's 100 degrees outside :O

21 & 22 weeks

21 weeks!! 5th month of pregnancy :)

22 weeks!! see that vein on the side of my stomach?! weird!

So, still just truckin' along waiting to feel Norah.... not happening. It's pretty worrisome considering most people (pretty much everyone under the sun) have felt their baby by now!! Tomorrow I'm 23 weeks and still nothing. I hope she's just safe and sound in there :) Everything is going smoothly though!! I get back pain sometimes, usually when doing dishes or laundry, and just this past week my feet have been KILLING me!! Robbie has been a good hubby and has been giving me foot massages....my fav! No swollen ankles yet, yay! I've gotten lots of spider veins....ahhh (they are like the purplish ones that look like branches on a tree) they're on my legs and a few just popped up on the sides of my stomach. Google says they should disappear after birth.... don't know how that will magically happen but we'll see. No stretch marks yet. Cross your fingers!!

We registered at Babies 'R Us!! It was definitely exciting and fun!! The people there were so helpful and we had a great time going down every single aisle!

                 The highlights for me: 1) We were trying to decide on a crib mattress and Robbie says to me, "We are not getting the cheapest mattress they have!! This is our baby and she needs a nice mattress to sleep on! Geez!" and 2) We were picking out bath towels for Norah and Robbie sees a pink hooded towel that says PRINCESS on it with a princess crown and he says, "Oh! Oh! We are definitely getting that one! Give me the scanner! She is my princess!" :) how sweet

18, 19, and 20 weeks

18 weeks! The belly band is pretty cool, but sometimes it's annoying because it rides up. Other than that, it has been a life saver.

19 weeks!

20 weeks! Whew... no wonder my back hurts today, that is a bump! HALFWAY THERE!!

So, let's play catch up....

I pretty much have to eat every 2 hours still. I don't NEED orange juice first thing in the morning anymore, so I cut that out because of the amount of sugar. I got on a caesar salad kick for the past couple of weeks...yum! Still no chicken...until 20 weeks! Hoorah! I had it for the first time again in buffalo chicken dip, so it was shredded. I was good to go! Then, just yesterday I stopped at Wendy's for lunch. I didn't know what to get and as soon as I read the menu, Spicy Chicken Nuggets popped out to me, so I ordered it! I was a bit scared, but I didn't cringe when I ate it!.... I'm going to wait on eating a full chicken breast, so for now just baby steps, hahah!

I still love reading baby books and googling/researching everything baby. Robbie started reading a little bit, but he's got a lot more to read! I've been consumed with thinking about baby girl's nursery and we've decided on keeping the walls blue. We are both such blue people so she will be one too!! Her room colors will be blue, yellow, pink, and some green. I've been researching what to register for..... and it's nuts!! There's sooo much you need for a baby. I mean, I knew that...but I didn't really know! Paige came to visit and we went to Babies R Us just to get a feel for things... it was fun and I really appreciate her help! Last night, Robbie and I sat down and sketched the layout of her nursery. This is the fun part!

Most importantly, we decided on a name!!!!! It wasn't easy picking a final name. Trust me. It took 3 weeks to decide. That doesn't sound like a long time, but when I was thinking about it every second of every day for 3 long weeks, it was a long time.

Baby girl's name is....

I've always loved the name Mae and planned to use it for a middle name if I had a girl. Then, I found out that it was my Great Grandmother's middle name. Totally meant to be! I've liked the name Norah for a few years now because it's old fashioned, not popular, and pretty. Robbie decided he liked it...so that's her name! Norah Mae Hudson, we love you and can't wait to meet you!!!

Where is she?

When am I going to feel baby girl?? After seeing her move around inside my belly, Robbie just can't understand why I don't feel her. It's a bit tricky....there's the fluid, the uterus, plus fat and muscle layer!! "They" say you should start to feel between 16-22 weeks....so I hope it's soon!!! She's constantly moving and I can't wait to feel that "flutter"!!!

17 weeks!

P.S. I still hate chicken. Robbie, do you realize we haven't had chicken for dinner in a month?!?! ....We've had to resort to pork, beef, turkey, and pasta. I'd be happy with having a baked potato for dinner, but I don't think that would fly with the hubby. ??

And the winner is.....

16 weeks pregnant!

A friend from work had told me about Prenatal Miracles. It's in Va Beach and she did an early 3D/4D ultrasound at to determine the sex of her baby at 16 weeks! Most doctor's offices wait until 19 or 20 weeks. When I heard of this, I immediately told Robbie and we booked an appointment for the day I became 16 weeks preggo (Wed. March 14). It was only $100! Yes, I say only because the thought of waiting 4 more weeks was so nerve wrecking and if we had the chance to find out early we would have paid anything!!!

The whole experience was insane and amazing! They took us into a huge room with sofas and baby music playing in the background. I layed on the bed and the ultrasound technician found baby right away. Within 30 second she knew it was a GIRL!! She showed us the underside of her bottom and legs....kinda like if she was sitting on top of a copier...and sure enough... it was definitely a girl!!!! She told us so quickly that I was like, "What! Are you sure?!" hahah...I was seriously convinced we were having a boy. My instinct was dead wrong... I hope that's the last and only time LOL! Anyway, we got to watch baby girl sleep, wiggle her legs and arms, cough, and smile for 15 minutes!!!! OMG it was unreal. Her heartbeat was 152 bpm. They gave us a copy of the DVD and a CD full of still images, plus a gift bag. I would definitely recommend Prenatal Miracles!!

So....the night before I baked 2 cakes...one with blue batter and one with pink and covered both with chocolate icing. We had Robbie's parents, sister and fiance, MeMaw, Casey and Chris come over that night to reveal the gender! Everyone showed up in either blue or pink, depending on what they thought it would be. There was more blue! Ha! So, Glenda cut the cake and we all celebrated! Robbie and I showed them the DVD too. It was a great time :) MeMaw had bought girl and boy clothing so she went out to her car and wrapped the girl clothing and gave us a few VERY CUTE outfits. Robbie thinks we are all set now...hahaha!

That Sunday (March 18) Robbie and I had planned to go to Richmond to see my parents and sis. We were gonna go to the zoo, so that was our "excuse" to go home. The zoo ended up being closed though. Anyway, we showed up with a cake =) They were confused at first until they read the top of the cake and understood.

My mom cut the cake and we all stood around....

 priceless faces

my mom blew my dad's ear drums out, lol

BABY GIRL!!!!!!

Robbie and I are THRILLED!!!! We are just so excited that we KNOW and now we can decide on a name and decorate the nursery! baby girl!!!!!!!! :)

Pictures, Pants, & Chicken

My computer wasn't cooperating when I was trying to turn this top picture!

14 weeks down :)

15 weeks...what most people see (shirt down)

15 weeks ....what Robbie and I see! haha

About the pants.... On the first day of 13 weeks I was no longer able to button my pants! Isn't that a little early?! So for 2 weeks I've been using a hair tye (previous picture posted) but it's time to get the belly band! I went to get it this past weekend at Target with Ainsilie and Paige when they came to visit, but they didn't have my size. I'll try again though. When I get it and start to wear it, I'll post a picture for sure.

About the chicken.... our little baby doesn't like chicken anymore. Seriously?!?! That is really random. It started at 619 Cantina when I got the chicken tacos.... almost puked. The next night I made barbeque chicken.... couldn't eat it. Ugh. Chicken is like a staple dinner in our house and you can do so much with it. Guess I'll have to take a break from it for awhile because even the thought of it now is repulsive. Anyway, this is the first food that I really can't stand since being pregnant. I guess that's a blessing, right?!...and the fact that I haven't had any throwing up! Thank you, baby, for that one :)

What's Cookin'?

Today we are 13 weeks along!! 27 weeks to go...seems like forever, but I'm sure it will fly by. Robbie and I had another appointment today. We thought I was getting an ultrasound but no, no, no, apparently they only do a few of those (3-4 total). But, we did get to hear the heartbeat again!!! That little sucker was clocking in around the upper 130 beats per minute. And, we heard a loud WHOOSH. The doctor said it kicked!!! I can't wait until I'm holding that baby in my arms.....sigh.

So, what do y'all think it is? I think it's fun to speculate about it. Casey did the gold ring test on my belly and it came out to be a boy. Angela checked the Chinese lunar calendar for me and it came out boy. At our first ultrasound, the heartbeat was quite fast, which could mean a girl. At the last ultrasound, the heartbeat wasn't too fast anymore, sooo....?!?! Hmm... I can't wait to find out!! And we certainly will be finding out. There's NO WAY that we could wait. Not even so much for buying clothes or decorating the nursery, I just can't wait to KNOW and pick out a NAME!!! :)

Few randoms going on:

-I love being pregnant.
-I've totally decided to give the belly what it wants. There's no holding back.
-No matter how much I love being pregnant, or that we've seen our baby, or that we've heard its heartbeat twice, I never stop worrying. Worrying sucks.
-I feel like I have small little bump and I can't wait until it's huge!!! I don't like this in-between stage. People who don't know me probably just think I eat too much, haha!
-I've been craving carbs like crazy. Pizza! Pasta! Bread! Yumm!! And tostitos chips!
-I can't let myself get even the slighest bit of hungry or else I'm on my deathbed.
-No morning sickness yet. Ahhh! I can't believe I wrote that. I hope I don't jinx it...
-We think Laker knows I'm pregnant. He keeps laying IN MY LAP!! Or beside me with head on my belly. He's always been an affectionate dog, but has never fully cuddled IN MY LAP!! He's 50 lbs! Ha!
-I love reading pregnancy books!!!! I have 5 of them!! (Some were lent to me)
-Giving birth scares me to death. Holy cow. I refuse to even think about it until the date gets closer.

That's all for now... ;)

Belly Bump Pictures

7 weeks preggers.... pretty much looked like this before being pregnant.

8 weeks.... i look stuffed. but i took all of these pictures first thing in the morning before eating!

9 weeks....popped or bloated?! haha!

10 weeks.... a definite bump i'd say

11 weeks... impressive when looking back at 7 weeks!

12 weeks... 3 months down!

welcome to the 2nd trimester...I couldn't button my jeans today. hahahah!

13 weeks!!!! our baby is 3 inches long...about the length of a peach :)

A Miracle

January 25th was an amazing day. Robbie and I had our first ultrasound of baby Hudson. The doctor confirmed that the baby was 9 weeks and is due August 30th. When the baby popped up on the ultrasound screen and we could actually see the head, belly, hands, and feet, it was unlike anything we've ever experienced. Then, we heard the heartbeat!!! It was unreal- 174 bpm. Not only did we see the baby and hear the heartbeat, but the coolest part of all was we could actually see the heart of our baby pumping. Wow!

To Tell or Not to Tell...

The day we found out I was pregnant (Dec. 23) we kept the secret to ourselves. I was only 4 weeks into the pregnancy and we didn't know if we should tell people or not. That day/night we contemplated who to tell, if anyone. We decided it was too good of news not to tell our families and it would be an impossible secret to keep. I knew we'd see both families in the following days for Christmas festivities.

On Christmas Eve, I think I called my sister, Lindsey, first. She was absolutely ecstatic! Lindsey said just the other day she had told Dustin that all she wanted for Christmas was for me to have a baby! What a wish! Then, I called my parents. Robbie and I would be seeing them on Christmas Day, but we couldn't wait one more day! I asked them to get on speakerphone and apparently that's when my dad knew what I was going to tell them. I said I had some news. I was pregnant!! Both of my parents were very happy! My mom could not believe it. She said to take back any Christmas presents for her because this was the best gift she could ever get.

That same night we were planning to tell Robbie's parents in person because we knew we'd see them. Well, it never happened because we couldn't get them alone! We had a Hudson family function and didn't want to tell everyone just yet. So, Robbie and I just decided we'd tell his parents and sister, Meagan, on Christmas day when we went over there in the morning.

We got to Robert and Glenda's on the morning of Christmas and we had to tell them right away because it was pretty much written all over our faces. Robbie said, "Well-we have something to tell you guys..." At that moment Glenda got tears in her eyes and hugged me. We didn't even say the words, they all just knew!!! Haha!

Both of us wanted to tell all of our friends so bad, but we also wanted to be safe and wait a little while. Plus, we were headed on a cruise the following day, so there was no time to make phone calls. We went on our 5 day cruise to Key West and Cozumel, which was amazing! Our alcohol bill wasn't too bad either :) A few days after we returned is when we started to tell a few close friends about our news. There are going to be many aunties and uncles in this baby's life!!!!

On Feb. 5 we made it Facebook official. Laker announced the news to everyone because he is one proud big brother. I was 10 weeks (in my 3rd month) when we decided to tell EVERYONE. We just couldn't wait any longer! We kept that secret from soo many people for 6 loooong weeks. The secret is out and I love it!

Positive or Negative?!?!

Robbie was at work and I was on Christmas Break the morning of December 23rd. That day marked 2 days late of my period. What to do?! Take a pregnancy test, duh. I took the test....the kind that would make a plus sign if preggo. Well, after the dreaded 2 minutes, I looked at the test and I could see a very faint plus sign. It was so light, that I pulled out the instructions to get some advice. The instructions clearly said that if you can see both lines that make the plus sign, that it meant positive. No matter how faint the lines were. FOR REAL?!?! I was talking to myself saying, "oh my God is this real? is this true?!" I was in shock. So, I did what anyone would do... I drove to Walgreen's and bought another test! This time, I bought the kind that said "pregnant" or "not pregnant"! Ha! As soon as I got home, I took it. And it said PREGNANT!!! I started giggling, smiling, and crying at the same time!!

The rest of the day was pure torture because I wanted to tell Robbie FIRST and in person. I had to wait until he got home from work.

All day I was shaking, had an upset stomach, and was so excited to tell my hubby about our baby-to-be. It didn't even cross my mind to come up with any cute ways to tell Robbie, like I had always envisioned before. My brain was just totally focused on the fact that we were going to have a baby.

Finally Robbie got home. I could see him coming up the back sidewalk so I met him at the door. I opened it before he could and the first thing that popped in my head is what I said- "Are you ready?!" Robbie looked so confused and said- "Ready for what?!" I just kept repeating myself and he wasn't getting it so I showed him the positive test that I had behind my back. You should have seen his face. He dropped his things and had a huge smile from ear to ear! We hugged and laughed and I let him have his in shock moment for a little bit.