38 weeks

How far along? 38 weeks, 4 days

How big is baby? Estimated around 7 lbs (James was already 7.13! And he came at 38 weeks, 3 days--crazy to think we'd already have her!), approx. 20 inches long and watermelon sized! And boy don't it feel like it!

Weight gain? 30 lbs

Sleep? Ha. What sleep?? Between sick babies crawling into my bed, stealing my nest of pillows, getting up to pee a million times, and a small child lodged in my rib cage, sleep isn't really happening these days.

Symptoms? Swelling up like a balloon. Nausea. Killer rib pain. Oh and I'm so huge that I'm pretty much wearing Jason's clothes all the time. I try to look a little nicer when I leave the house, but even in warmest of weather I'm layering up tank tops underneath and sweaters on top so I don't accidentally expose a naked belly.

Movement? Baby girl is running out of room! She's dropped, but she's grown so much that her feet are always in my ribs. Nothing seems to get them out unless she's sleeping, because she'll curl up a little and quit kicking around so much. She's still dancing, but it's obvious things are tight in there.

Cravings? My ritz crackers are starting to lose their magic. 11 weeks in, they are actually making me nauseous.

Best moment this week? Fun get-togethers with my friends (while I still can!), finishing up the nursery and packing the hospital bags (got her coming-home outfit in the mail that my mom sent me, so she's all set!), anticipating her arrival with the boys (James is super excited, Riley thinks we're getting flowers), and getting my hair done today so I can look spiffy in all those swollen hospital photos!

Looking forward to most? In just a few days, having her! I can't wait to see how the boys welcome her, being comfortable and sleeping again, and getting to meet her. I wonder who she'll look more like and how big she'll be. I can't wait to have a tiny baby in the house again. And I can't wait to burn my maternity clothes.

3 days to go!

4 day weekend

This was our last weekend as a family of four. Jason had a 4-day, since it's President's Day, so we made all kinds of overly-ambitious plans. Plans that did not include the boys getting sick. Again.

We started off running some errands, finishing up our grocery shopping pre-baby, and made some time to play at the train table at Barnes & Noble.

Everything seemed fine, until Riley woke up from naptime spiking a fever (again), crying, coughing, and all stopped up. Since we just went through all this mess 3 weeks ago, Jason packed him up and took him to the ER. James woke up shortly after they left, complaining that his ear hurt. I didn't have another carseat to drive him over, so we were just going to wait it out til Jason came home and switch kids. I gave James some tylenol and dug some motrin out of the medicine cabinet, but after 3 1/2 hours, Riley still hadn't been seen by a doctor and James wasn't feeling any better. I did a little online research and found a pediatric urgent care clinic in town that takes Tricare and didn't need a referral, so I called Jason right away and told him to come home. Thank the Lord for this clinic! From the time we walked in til we walked out, even with a little wait, was an hour and a half. The staff was amazing and called the next day to check on the boys.

After some amoxicillin for James's ear infection and a motrin regimen for all the viral mess, both boys were feeling better by the end of the weekend.

We've been meaning to take the boys to see a movie for a couple weeks now, but between all the bugs and Jason's crazy air assault schedule our plans were put on hold. Finally, we made a trip to the Imax at the Infantry Museum to see Puss in Boots in 3d. The boys were particularly excited about their 3d glasses and popcorn.

Both of them did really well for their very first movie theater-movie. Riley got a little impatient toward the end and didn't want to sit still, but James was glued to the screen! We had a great time :)

I got to enjoy a little fun this past week, myself. A few friends and I went to see "The Vow" the other night. It was good, but not quite the estrogen-packed-tearfest I was expecting. Then, this Saturday was Bunco night, pajama/sweats themed (which worked in my swollen favor). It's so crazy to think that delivery is only days away! Everybody got one last rub on the belly while she's still in there. I'm going to miss frequenting the meet ups and seeing everyone while we get into our routine, but I know I've got a great support system of friends around. And eventually, it'll be nice to enjoy some girls' nights without carrying around a great big belly!

Baby shower

A couple of my fabulous friends threw me a baby shower this weekend. We had the best time and everything was beautiful! Erin hosted at her home and made these strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (they were soooo good! don't they look amazing??) She and Crystal (who took all the pictures so I have plenty of them and could just relax and enjoy the shower) put the whole thing together.

The turn out was great and I got to celebrate with many of my closest friends. We snacked, chatted, played some games...

"Diapered" each other in toilet paper

I was "showered" with lots of goodies for Poppy

There's 6 people in this picture (and something in the water?).

Here's the whole group of us!

And at the end, Crystal took some belly shots for me :)

I'm so lucky to have made such creative, thoughtful friends who have gone above and beyond for me in these last 10 months! I would've gone crazy a long time ago if it wasn't for them!

Air Assault Graduation

After two weeks of hardly seeing my husband, Jason graduated Air Assault School this morning! Some mornings he left before 5 (this morning he was gone by 2 am!) and several nights he was home after 8-9 pm. Two 12-mile ruck marches, a bunch of classwork, 8 repels off the 65-foot tower (pictured below), one repel from a helicopter, little sleep, missed suppers, several Meals-Ready-to-Eat, and lots of adrenaline later, I got to pin his wings on! And I totally stabbed my finger. Apparently it has to be mid-February for winter to hit mid-Georgia. And by winter, I mean 40-50 degrees. I'll take it!

Woody joined us at Graduation.

The instructors demonstrated some of the things our soldiers have been doing/learning these past couple weeks, including a repel off the tower. The boys loved that part!

It did look fun! My palms got a little sweaty when the guy repelled off the open side...

Right before the pinning ceremony

Right after I pinned him! Jason with his wiiiiings :)

There's a smile!

The boys were so good!

Daddy and his little monkey.

Being 9 months pregnant and playing the single-married-mom role has kind of sucked the past couple weeks, but I'm super proud of Jason for all his hard work! I know that even as physically demanding and exhausting as the course was, it's something he's wanted to do for a long time and finally had the opportunity to do it. He's worked his butt off and deserved those wings!! Congratulations honey!!!

37 weeks

How far along? 37 weeks--full term!

How big is baby? The baby sites estimate around 19 inches long and between 6 and 7 lbs. Thebump says she's the size of a watermelon (and doesn't it feel like it!)

Weight gain? 29 lbs

Sleep? That cold threw everything out of whack and I'm so uncomfortable that sleep is pretty much non-existent these days.

Symptoms? Occasional nausea, lots of rib pain (she's running out of room), tired, cleaning maniacally (I spent the other sleepless night scrubbing the rust out of old cookie sheets with a concoction of peroxide and baking soda). Also, contractions suck. They're getting to that painful, strong point, but not regular enough to do anything (I hope!). It reminds me of the weeks leading up to the boys' arrivals, so I'm just thinking closed thoughts and hoping she doesn't get in a hurry like James and come before she's supposed to.

Movement? She was getting lazier for a while, but as I start to get a little of my energy back in time for nesting, she seems to be getting hers, too. Maybe she's just claustrophobic like James was and she's trying to bust out of there? She still gets hiccups, but they're in the same spot now so she's not spinning anymore (as if she'd have any room to).

Cravings? A ridiculous, embarrassing amount of ritz crackers. I found a Lindt chocolate bar while grocery shopping this week that was dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt. It had my name written all over it!!! Chocolate, with tiny, cruncy salt crystals throughout it. I wish I'd bought more, but I was afraid it wouldn't be salty enough. It held up! Sooooo good!! I'm going to be stocking up this weekend.

Best moment this week? Feeling human again after all this sick-mess. I finally got to meet my neighbor's brand new little girl, Emily (born last Tuesday). And Jason's Air Assault school graduation this morning (pictures to follow!)--now I'll finally have my husband home! And I know that if I do go into labor early, he'll be here to drive me to the hospital and keep our kids. Thank God.

Looking forward to? Getting everything done, having Jason's help, and my baby shower/sprinkling that a couple of my fabulous friends are throwing for me tomorrow!

super heroes

I've been meaning to make something for the boys (why should Poppy have all the fun?). My [hypothetical] project started out as a Spiderman costume--a little too ambitious, maybe--during James's Spiderman obsession around New Years. Then we had a Star Wars phase and one week he wanted me to make him a Darth Vader costume. The next week he wanted to be Boba Fett. Basically, no one was committing to anything.
Eventually, we figured out something that works for everyone, long-term: a super hero cape! I googled tutorials and ideas and found a great one! While James was at school this week, Riley and I went fabric shopping. James wanted red and blue (like Optimus Prime, because he's now going through a Transformers phase) and Riley wanted green (his favorite color) and blue. Riley chose the fabrics (such a good little helper!).

James has been begging me, since I bought the fabric on Thursday, to hurry up and make them. I've had this cold all week, so I haven't done much of anything, much less sewing projects. Today I started finally feeling human again, so I promised him I'd work on them. Things moved pretty quick and easy and by the end of naptime, two little boys woke up to their brand new capes.

Side one:

Side two: They were thrilled! Had to try them on right away.

It didn't take long for them to strip down to pampers and Transformers underwear and they've spent the last hour, arms stretched in front running up and down the hallway, making flying noises. Success!

36 weeks

Feet are down there somewhere

How far along? 35 weeks, 5 days

How big is baby? close to 5 lbs about the size of a coconut

Weight gain? A whopping 29 lbs. eesh

Heartrate? She was dancing around at 155 bpm today

Sleep? Caught the boys' cold this week, so sleep isn't so good right now. Otherwise, things are okay. Pretty uncomfortable and have to get up and pee a thousand times a night. I've been sleeping on a nest of pillows and I'm so exhausted that I can usually squeeze in a few hours at least.

Symptoms? I'm pretty sure she's dropped. Heartburn is gone (woohoo!), she's not on my ribs as much, and I have to make a bathroom stop everywhere I go. I'm having some hip pain and Braxton hicks are a little stronger and more noticeable, but nothing regular. Everything's going great for the most part.

Movement? Slowing down a little since she's running out of room, but she still likes to spin occasionally. She still gets hiccups, but not as often (maybe only once a day now). If she's having a lazy day, all I have to do is tickle her foot and she immediately starts dancing.

Cravings? Take a guess. Yep, still eating my weight in Ritz crackers. Pretty sure I'm never going to want to see another cracker again after this.

Name? Poppy Jane

Best moment this week? When I went to pick Riley up from school today, his teachers told me he had been carrying around a toy phone and talking to "baby". He does that to my belly, too. And the other day she got hiccups and both the boys took turns putting their hand on my belly so they could feel it.

Looking forward to? Poppy will be here 3 weeks from Friday! Time isn't slowing down any. I'm hoping she's not in any hurry to get here before the 24th. I'm looking forward to finishing up the last couple sewing projects, getting over this cold, and spending some quality snuggle time with the boys before the new addition arrives.