An update....or lack thereof.

As convinced as I was a few weeks ago that this baby was coming early, the more convinced I am now that she’s not.

I thought that the purpose of the once-a-week appointment was to check your progress, and kind of estimate when the baby will come. But at my 36 week appointment the doctor said it was unnecessary, and today at my 37 week appointment she didn’t even mention it. I am a little grateful to have avoided being poked and prodded down there, but does this mean I’m not even close at all?

Really? I feel close. I’m so uncomfortable! I’m tired all the time. I don’t sleep well at night. I walk very slowly. Or waddle, I should say. I’m sick of being hot and sweaty all the time. Poor Dustin is always bundled up in blankets, while I sit next to him, fanning myself. I hate having to pee all the time. I despise my swollen face and feet. My back and neck are achy. My hips hurt like crazy! And I know she’s dropped because sometimes when she kicks, she’ll hit her head on my pelvic bone. Ouch! These sharp sudden pains will actually cause me to gasp aloud, which I wish I wouldn’t do, because every time they cause Dustin to react like this:

“Are you okay?” “Are you contracting?” “Are we having the baby yet?”
“No.”
“Dang it!”

He’s so excited to be a daddy. He loves to feel and watch her move. This, I have to say, is my favorite part of being pregnant too. She’s really active, and it’s so amazing to watch your belly move on it’s own. I’m really going to miss that part of being pregnant when it’s all over. Dustin has already warned me that once they give her to him in the hospital, he won’t give her to anybody else. He will, of course, let everyone have their turn, but I just thought that was really sweet. He just wants his little girl to be here!

Looking back on my post two weeks ago, I predicted she would be here on April 5th. That’s Sunday. Probably not going to happen. I won’t change my bet for the sake of the game, but those that chose a later date probably have a better chance at winning. I just hope she doesn’t come late. My due date is the 20th. My brother has to be in Canada for a summer job by the 27th. Which means the latest he can come and visit is like the 23-24th -ish. If I were to be late, and he were to miss it, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t get another chance to come to Arizona until Christmastime. Horrible. So, everybody pray that she comes at least a little early okay?

Snipes!

Okay, I know that it's weird that I'm posting another preview. But this is for all that have at one time in their lives been tricked into going on a "snipe" hunt.

That means you Jennifer, Jared and Alex!

Snipes aren't real. It was just another one of our cruel jokes we used to play on you when you were little.



Love you guys!

My first snipe hunt was my first year at girls camp. All the older girls in our ward took the youngest ones out at night to find "snipes". I knew that snipes weren't real, but I played along anyway. I must have went on a hunt with my Dad earlier in life, or maybe he just told me the stories. But I remember knowing it was a joke as we were all trying to catch snipes in our pillow cases. One girl got a little too carried away, and crashed right into a barbed wire fence!

Where the Wild Things Are

As I was lazily surfing the internet this afternoon, I came across this: A trailer for a live-action version of one of my favorite childhood stories, "Where the Wild Things Are"

Awesome right?

Well, watch the trailer and see what you think.



Hmmm.... I don't know what to think. If they pulled it off, it could be awesome. But it has major "flopping" potential. I don't want my favorite story ruined by a crappy movie!

So...let's play critic.

What do you think?

My growing belly...

Since I'm getting really close to the end of my pregnancy (34 days left!), I thought it might be fun to post all the belly pictures I've taken over the last 9 months. Watch my belly grow!

14 weeks

19 weeks

21 weeks?

24 weeks

26 weeks

28 weeks

32 weeks

35 weeks!

So this last picture is (obviously) the most recent. I feel so big! I guess that every woman feels that way at the end of her pregnancy though right? This picture also confirms my theory that the baby has dropped. See how much lower my belly is than in all the other pictures? I still technically have about 5 weeks left in the pregnancy, although I would be very surprised if I carried to term. I would be even more shocked if I was late. So... before my one-doctors-visit-a-week-weeks start next Tuesday, I thought it would be fun for everyone to guess when the baby will come! I'll put together a little prize for the winner!

So leave a comment and place your bet!

My guess is that I'll have her between 37-38 weeks. So lets say in 19 days. April 5th.



Which brings me to my next question for all the mothers out there. I am panicking about labor and delivery! It so soon! Eeshk! I've done a lot of research, so I know what to expect (sort of), but that's really not calming me down at all. So...any advice? Or what do you wish someone would have told you before having a baby?

Baby Shower!

Yesterday was my baby shower. My mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law Sherice and Bethany threw it for me. It was sooo cute! We had great food: chicken salad sandwiches, fruit with dip, lemon bars and cream puffs. Everyone had a great time! Although, I do have to apologize a little bit. I was so tired! Like... about-to-fall-asleep-opening-my-gifts tired. So, if I seemed inappreciative, it was because I wasn't fully functioning. haha. I really did LOVE everything!

Me opening my gifts.

My sister Jennifer drew this! She's such a talented artist!

Amy made this for me! Soo cute!

My mother-in-law bought us this swing. It matches our pack-n'-play!

Kate got a bunch of cute outfits. The yellow one is from Bethany, the red dress is from my mother in law. The blue one with ladybugs is from my visiting teaching companion.

Sherice got her this swimming outfit. She's going to be a little diva!

Two more outfits from my mother-in-law.

I also recieved swaddling blankets and a nursing gown from my mother, books and onesies from my friend Kendra, a fancy thermometer from my visiting teachers, and a home-made crocheted blanket from my friend Tiana!

Thanks so much to everyone for the gifts! They are fantastic!

Later that night my mom surprised us by going to Target and buying everything else we could possibly need for the baby. We are now one very prepared couple!



I feel more at ease now.



Now I just have to worry about labor and delivery....

5 weeks left!

All good things come to an end...

Last night was my last night of work.

I was originally planning to work all of March, but I'm sooo glad that I decided to take off a couple weeks early. It was just getting way too uncomfortable to work. I have very mixed feelings about this. Although I am going to really really miss doing hair, I'm so excited about the upcoming part of my life! I am very grateful that Dustin and I have a budget, and although it's tight, we do not rely on my income, so I will be able to stay at home with baby Kate. I'll eventually return to work, but for now I'm super grateful that I can just focus on being a mom.

In honor of my last night, I made sure to get an appointment with my favorite nail tech, Laci. We decided to do ladybug toes. (are you noticing a theme yet? haha) Please ignore the horrid swelling of my feet and toes and just focus on the nails.

Cute right?

On Wednesday morning I had a doctors appointment. I didn't gain any weight this time! In fact, I think I may have even lost a pound or two. I can't be sure though because I don't recall what the scale said two weeks ago. The doctor said everything looks good, and that the baby is already in a head down "ready to launch" position. I think she may have "dropped" already as well, which explains the added discomfort I have been feeling.

All in all, I'm still feeling pretty good!

Nervous...but good!

You're Invited...

We ended up only making a few invitations, so to all the readers of my blog (especially Darah, Lisa, Elise, Nicole, Sam, Jessie and all my out-of-towners who'd be willing to take a trip--Dayna, Tiana, Shandi, my cousins...), here is YOUR invitation. My sister-in-law Bethany made them. Aren't they sooo adorable? She's so crafty and talented like that. Thanks Beth!

The shower will be at my sister-in-law Sherice's house. But you'll have to email me for her address and directions: erin4e@yahoo.com. I don't want some weirdo blog stalker showing up at my party. haha. It's this Saturday, the 14th from 2:00-4:00. It's just a come-and-go whenever you can type thing.

Hope to see you there!

Finished!

We finished decorating the nursery today.

Only 6 weeks left!

Preparing for Baby

We got our Saturday off to a good start by eating lunch at Cici’s Pizza. I have never eaten there before, and I was curious since Dustin is always bragging about how many pieces of barbeque pizza he can eat. He and his co-workers go there every Friday. It was really good! They have a lot of unique pizzas: alfredo, macaroni and cheese, chicken fajita…etc. Jaron and Bethany met us there, and we had a great time enjoying our $3.99 all-you-can-eat buffet!

Dustin and I went spent the rest of the day finally purchasing some of the bigger items we would be needing for Kate. We finally got a mattress for her crib, and a Pack ‘N Play so she can sleep in our room for awhile.


I was originally going to purchase the blue and green pack ‘n play. Makes practical sense right? What if our next child is a boy? But Dustin insisted that the blue one just wasn’t cute enough for Kate, and I caved.


I love this bedding! It's so cute, but now I'm starting to wonder if white was the best choice...haha. Oh well, I got a killer deal on it.

We decided to be crafty and we got these letters from Michaels. They will hang above her bed.

As the big day draws nearer, I have my excited days (SHE'S ALMOST HERE!!) and my days of panic (she's almost here?!?). But mostly I'm just excited to be a mom!