38.5 Weeks

If everything goes as planned, Karlie should be here within the next week. I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow at 2, and we will schedule induction then.
I thought I was going into labor last night- was up with sharp pains that lasted for a while, but then eventually tapered off. What a bummer that was!
I better be dilated more after going through all of that pain!! I was really close to waking David up and saying "This is it"..then all of a sudden..they were gone!

Good news is that my sister is coming into town tomorrow. It is her birthday- and if we are lucky, maybe Karlie's too! Hopefully she will make an appearance sometime while Baylie is here, so she does not have to go back and forth.
Bad news is that one of my best friends, Mallory, just moved to Georgia this week. She will not be here for the birth, but gets to come back a week during Thanksgiving. Better than nothing, I suppose!

Here I am a little past 38 weeks..belly doesn't seem to be getting any bigger to me, but other people say they are able to tell that I have grown! She is still sitting very high, but I am sure she will drop a bit soon!

I did not want to take actual maternity pictures, so instead I went to Pinterest and found an idea for a cute pose that I could do at home. David was the photographer, and tied the bow..so I guess he gets all the credit. I think it turned out really cute. Once we know an exact day for induction I think I am going to put that on there instead of just "October, 2012". Either way I love it.

 

 

How far along? 38.5 Weeks

Total weight gain: 19 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, pants mainly. My shirts have fit pretty good this whole time.

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: Sleep really does not happen for me. I wake up with some pretty painful cramps, or to use the restroom a lot.

Best moment this week: Losing my mucus plug...just means she is closer!

Miss Anything? Being comfortable in bed or on the couch

Movement: Movement has decreased a bit, and I mostly feel it at night

Food cravings: Nothing really. I have not had any cravings this whole time!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I have actually felt a little queasy the last few days..I hear that it could be a sign labor is nearing.

Labor Signs: Yes- cramping and some contractions- as well as losing my mucus plug.

Symptoms: Stomach hardening, and period like cramps.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: A little bit of both...depends where I am.

Looking forward to: Finding out tomorrow if I have dilated further, and when we are scheduling me to be induced.

Almost there..

We have now reached the 37 week mark. Karlie is considered full-term and can come anytime now. I hope that is the case, I am ready!
At my doctor's appointment today, I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. This is a change from last week (1cm dilated and 60%effaced). Karlie is weighing in at approximately 6lb 8oz.

I am going to do my best to have this little girl come on her own, but if she doesn't, we are scheduling induction for the week of October 22nd.

Here is the baby bump..

It is not the biggest thing you have ever seen, but it is getting there!
I have gained a total of 17 pounds at this point.

My Mom went and got Karlie's going home outfit this past week. It is sooo cute, I can not wait to put it on her!

I am still looking for a navy headband to go with it. Have not had any luck yet! You would think navy would be an easy color to find...well it is not!!

So with only 2-3 more weeks left...I am feeling anxious, and ready. My back has been killing me and I have a lot of pressure in my abdomen. Sleep is getting more difficult and I wake up so many times during the night. I guess it is just preparing me for those midnight feedings.

I was also told that Karlie has a whole lot of hair. When I was born I was the same way, and it was black. I bet that she will be the same!

I have had family and friends record their guesses on our little white board we have hanging on the fridge... everyone seems to have a guess that is only a week or so away from today pretty much. We will see who is right!! I do not go back to the doctor until the 19th for my next check-up, so fingers crossed she decides to make her appearance before then!

Message to Karlie:
Hurry up and get here, your Daddy and I are patiently waiting to meet you :)

34 weeks and counting down

Well, it looks like Karlie could be a Halloween baby. I hope not, but if thats what she wants, then that is what she will get!!
At my last visit-which I was there waiting to see the doctor for over 3 hours- I was told that I have an aging placenta. This means that in some spots the blood flow is not as good as it should be to the baby. I will more than likey not go past my due date- which is fine with me, as long as she is healthy and it does not harm her. I was told it was nothing  I did, and nothing to worry about.
We will see what happens during the next few weeks!

Karlie is weighing in a 5lbs right now. This is about average for how far along I am (34 weeks).
She is head down, so no more worries with her being breech!

I have gotten everything ready for her newborn pictures that we are doing about 2 weeks after she is born. We have some really cute props and poses in mind for it!

Here are a few more pictures of her nursery. I still have some stuff I need to get to hang on the walls, but other than that- we are done!

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain: 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, mostly work pants and shirts

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: What sleep? Can't seem to get comfortable.

Best moment this week: Knowing that Karlie is not breech anymore

Miss Anything? Being comfortable in bed or on the couch

Movement: All the time

Food cravings: Nothing really. I have not had any cravings this whole time!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Labor Signs: Just Braxton Hicks contractions. Gearing myself up for the real thing!

Symptoms: Just nonstop bathroom trips.
Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On...no swelling yet

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!! 
Looking forward to: Our little girl arriving!

Showered with gifts!

David and I are so lucky to have the people in our lives that we do. Family, friends, and co-workers have made this experience for us unforgettable.
We have had 3 showers total, one that was family/friends, one at my work, and one at David's work.

These are from the shower at Freese and Nichols (David's work). I should have took a picture of the amazing Mexican buffet they had for us. It was so good!! I love this cake, too!

Here are a few pictures (above) from the family/friend shower at Mark Deans. It was such a cute set-up. My step mom, Larissa made the little baby carriage out of fruit..so cute!

And here are pictures from the one my work put together. We played a few baby games and had a lot of fun. 

I can not thank everyone enough for what they have done for us!!
We have everything that we need, and now we are just waiting for our little girl to arrive!!! 


32 Weeks:

Karlie is breech right now...pushing into my lungs and making it a little hard to breathe sometimes. I am hoping that she flips soon!
At night I wake up every once in a while to some sharp pains- I am assuming those Braxton Hicks transactions. They do not last very long, so no worries there!

14 pound weight gain so far- watch out now!

Blogging..

I am really not a huge fan of blogging. I love to read them, but write them...not really my style. My friend mentioned to me that it would be something cool I could keep up with and show my daughter years down the road. That got me thinking, should I?
Well, here I am.

To start off, David (my husband) and I found out late February that we were expecting our first child! Very exciting news!! I first went to the doctor around 8 weeks, where we got the hear the heartbeat. That was a definite relief, and made it more real that we were actually having a baby! Here is the first little sonogram picture. Can't see much, but she is there!

Since I started this so late- I am going to post about 6-7 months worth of stuff at once :)

Here she is at 12 weeks. This is one of my favorite sonogram pictures- she is sticking her tongue out. Such a fun personality...like her mother!

We found out at 18 weeks that we were having a baby GIRL! David and I already had a name picked out (after going through a long list of "maybes"), we finally decided on Karlie Brooke Smith.
We had a "reveal" party at Mark Deans and invited all of our family in friends. Becky made cake balls with strawberry cake inside, and everyone bit in at the same time. This was a lot of fun, and I will never forget how excited my Mom was :)

Here is a picture of me at 23 weeks. At this point I have gained 5 pounds.

We started to think about the nursery and what color themes we wanted to do. I had wanted to paint the walls green ever since we found out we were expecting. I do not know why green, but that is what it ended up being! We put up a chair rail, and painted letters and a frame to go above the crib. I think it turned out really good!

Around 28 weeks we went to a place called A Miracle to Behold. They do the 3D/4D sonograms. Our little pride and joy was being a little difficult the whole time. Kept having her hand over her face, or would not move much at all! I ate a cookie and drank a Diet DP on the way there, I thought that would be enough to keep her moving-- I was wrong! Here is a shot of her sucking her thumb, so sweet.

I am almost 31 weeks today. I am starting to feel a little tired again, and keep getting charley horses at night. Other than that, no complaints at all!
Karlie is moving around A LOT

My growing belly:

18 weeks: up 1 pound

22 weeks: up 5 pounds total

26 weeks: up 10 pounds total

29 weeks: up 12 pounds total