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