38 weeks

We have made it to 38 weeks! Just some minor swelling (see my elephant feet below) and crampiness. Hurricane Earl did not send me into labor early, but I did have a minor freakout that I was leaking amniotic fluid. Turns out all is normal and progressing along and the baby could come any day now! Today at the dr's appointment the dr. was a little concerned about pre-eclampsia - so we did a few more tests. The non-stress test (?) was normal and the bloodwork is should be back soon to tell us everything is great. Other than that I am just going to relax and work on schoolwork!

Elephant feet

36 Weeks

I can't believe we only have 4 weeks or so to go! It never ceases to amaze me how fast the time has gone by. I think I will attribute it to the weekly monitoring of the pregnancy because I have been following the book "Your Pregnancy, Week by Week". Somehow when you only look at a week at a time it adds up really fast! The baby is still kicking like crazy and it always seems to be in the same spots. I am hoping that when I go to the doctor on Friday they will be able to tell if the baby is head down and about how big he or she is getting (the last visit the doctor didn't touch me, his PA in training measured and listened to the heartbeat...he is not my fav. But the visit before the doctor was pretty sure we were headed in the right direction but wasn't 100%). Most of the movement I have been feeling is on the top left of my belly, so hopefully that is a foot kicking :) Ross and I are convinced we are having a big baby due to family history...maybe we will be wrong!

This quarter of grad school is beginning to feel like it is wrapping up. I am very much appreciative because pregnancy brain has taken over and I feel like I am not doing the best I could. Actually, to be honest, I think I turned in my worst paper ever last weekend :( I guess that is life. Luckily I have a pretty strong A from the beginning 6 weeks of the quarter to help me out.

On a side note...Ross is such an awesome hubbie :) For my birthday (forever ago) he got me a floor to cieling cleaning by Molly Maid for me to use whenever I want during my pregnancy. I just scheduled them for early September and am beside myself with excitement. It just seems to be getting more and more difficult to keep up with the cleaning while at the same time all I can see is what needs to be cleaned. I feel like I am taking crazy pills!

Sorry for the lack of a picture this week. Our camera decided to quit on us this week and Ross is in the process of picking out a new one. Hopefully we can have this situation remedied ASAP!

Good luck Christy and Patrick...you are in our prayers! (twins to be induced this Sat :))

Bump!

35 weeks!

Well, the time is beginning to wind down and I am excited that we will get to meet our little bundle of joy soon :) The baby seems to be extremely active and sometimes it feels like his or her feet are stuck above or below my ribcage! It's really exciting to have so much movement going on because Ross can see (from across the room) and feel much easier now. We just laugh! Other than beingtired I am feeling pretty good...Although, if I walk for any amount of time outside I end up with elephant feet for a few days. But it goes away or I fall asleep and forget about it. One of the presents I got at the shower was a recipe book for making your own baby food...so naturally I am interested to hear what everyone thinks bout making baby food! There seem to be conflicting ideas about the nutrition, value, and tastyness of either store-bought or homemade. Some arguments say that storebought is best because they are fortified with extra vitamins and are a huge convenience while others arguethat homemade is more tasty, cost effective, and nutritionally sound (meaning there are no fillers). What have you tried? Or what do you think about this?

On a complete sidenote - I have decided I need to start being more crafty. I was extremely crafty in high school and at some point during college I lost my desire to craft. I miss it. So, I have spent a few years trying to decide what craft I want to commit to. In my opinion, this is no light matter. There are so many fun options and I would likely want to do them all...unfortunately each craft comes with a price tag and it is hard to make the plunge when I am not sure if I am even going to like it or be any good at it. But you should see some of the amazing stuff my crafty/artsy friends and family make! I have two beautiful necklaces and mobile for the baby room from my friend Tricia, I get the most adorable cards from my sister-in-law Taryn, A baby quilt from Nicole and Heather, An OSU wreath from Natalie, the most delicious home-made jelly from Erin and Ryan...the list goes on and on!

As you can see above, I have decided to try out crochet and made a lovely winter hat during the month of August (hehe). Archie is such a great model...I tried to model this but the circles under my eyes do not look good in a close-up pic. So...stay tuned for more fun crochet projects!

Banfield Baby Shower!

Healther Lane, Kim Fry, Virginia Perkins, Me,

Amy Granbois, Lindsay Notargiacomo, and Jamie Catanzaro

My friends from Banfield threw me a baby shower this weekend. It was so much fun! We played some fun games (I need to re-learn my nursery rhymes) and ate the most delicious cake from Apple Annies here in Wilmington. I love all these girls and miss working with them so much. The baby even kicked for a little bit for them :)

We brought the balloons in this picture home - Lizzie loves them... and Archie is scared of them. Too funny to watch!

On a side note...I can't believe we are coming up on 35 weeks! The time is flying by so fast now. I am finding that the third trimester is full of fun things like wierd sleeping patterns and heartburn. However, I think my hair and nails have never appeared so fabulous.

Gender Prediction

Please ignore the circles under my eyes... Bump at 31 weeks

Well....I have gotten a lot of flack for not finding out the gender of the baby (or sharing the name options). So, thanks to the wonder of the internet, we can now have a theoretical answer to this question (www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html). I completed a survey to determine the gender! Please keep in mind that the majority of my answers are based on what someone has told me during pregnancy or how I am feeling currently, so you might disagree. In addition, a few questions did not provide my true answer as an option so I went with the closest possible answer. I am going to add a poll to the side of the blog for you to vote on your choice :)

You have a 33% chance of having a boy

You have a 66% chance of having a girl

And Here's Why...

You are carrying the extra weight out front - so it's a boy

The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your pregnancy - so it's a girl

Girls are carried high - You are going to have a girl

Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the North indicates that you will be having a boy

Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy - you are having a girl

You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread - you are having a girl

Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with mom-to-be - so it will be a girl

The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural) -so a girl will be born

You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy - so it will be a boy

You are looking particularly good during pregnancy - therefore it must be a boy because girls steal their mother's looks

Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy - you should expect a girl

The sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of month of conception is even - it will be a boy

A needle on a thread held over your belly moves in circles - so it will be a boy

Your urine is a dull yellow color - so you will have a girl

You are craving sweets - which means that it is a girl

Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy - which indicates a girl

You have been craving fruits - so it is a girl

Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute - so it's a girl

Bump!

Hello! I know...this picture is from the front and doesn't show off the belly too great. However, it does show off my new outfit that I love :) Last weekend Ross and I went to the beach and then shopping and he was the best hubbie ever - he sat in the maternity store and watched me try on 1 million outfits and then helped me decide which ones looked the best. Now I have some summery clothes for this crazy hot weather! Yes, it reached 100 degrees two days this week and having only one pair of mat shorts suddenly was not enough. This is a problem ...you are pregnant for 3 seasons which can put a damper on the pocketbook if you live somewhere that is less temperate than others. So, I must thank Trisha and Lori for giving me some of their mat clothes. I am eternally grateful :)

In other news...our baby furniture is on the way! I have been monitoring the availability of the pieces we want (Baby cache - uptown) and just recently they showed up in Raliegh. This is 100-120 miles away which is the closest they have ever been. So now we have money down and they are on the way to Wilmington. Yaay! I was beginning to worry we wouldn't be able to get them because all the reviews online were about how hard it was to find them. I guess patience is the key.

Bump!

Oh my goodness....the bump looks huge. And I am only 25.1 weeks in this picture!! I'm beginning to think that I haven't seen anyone else pregnant past this point since my mom was pregnant with Leanna (which I don't remember too well). Everyone I remember being pregnant looked about this big or smaller. Do people generally go mia for the third trimester?

In other news....Ross felt the baby move last night for the first time! Too exciting :)

We also ordered the crib and were put on the waiting list for the dresser combo unit. My goal is to have a lot of my nesting done before I begin my next quarter of grad school (July 12-Sept 17). I want to get ahead in my classes in case the baby comes earlier than Sept 21 which will probably be difficult if I am distracted by nesting. Here's hoping!

Bump!

I know it has been a month since I last posted a picture of the bump....but I have had a lot going on. So, even though I look like a raccoon with dark circles under my eyes from exhaustion after this past month, I will still share with you my ginormous belly at 24 weeks. According to the books, the baby is over 1lb and is developing brain tissue and lung branches right now. And I am embracing what my friend Marisa at residency told me, "Jamie, of course you're tired. You're making a brain right now". That really puts it all into perspective!

In other news - we have registered at BabiesRUs and also have a list of items on gimmethis.com for anyone who is interested. Please note that you will have to register on the gimmethis site in order to search for me and view my "All things baby" wish list. I know this is may seem like a hassle but you can rest assured you will be protected. This is a family website we use for Christmas and Birthdays and is not commercial. You can use it for Christmas and Birthdays in your family if you would like!

A note about BabiesRUs - I am not a huge fan of this company due to the countless customer service complaints and problems I have heard from friends (seriously, a friend had a $500 gift card from their family that the number was stolen off at check out or before it ever left the factory and they have yet to get the money 6+ months later). Unfortunately, they seem to be the most universal store with a good selection of items. So, I only wanted to register for the things I truly have an opinion on with this company (furniture, bedding, stroller, car seat, pack and play, etc.).

The majority of the smaller items I registered for are chosen based on customer reviews on the website, word of mouth from my family and friends, or reviews from the baby bargains book. I would love anything you know to be tried and true and wanted to give you the option to choose whatever you think is cute when it comes to clothing, hooded towels, books, toys, etc. I tend to love those cutsey small-business baby stores where you can support local business when I am purchasing things for baby showers and did not want to make you feel limited by the longest registry ever. :) Of course, a car seat is reportedly the only thing we need to take the baby home from the hospital, so...that would be useful too!

Putting materialistic thinking aside - prayers for a healthy baby and mommy are always welcome.

Bump!

Today is 20 weeks...we are halfway! Wow my bump looks big! It seems so different in a picture from the side than when I look down on it. So far I have gained around 10-13 lbs or so which I guess is normal according to the books. I can't imagine how fast the rest of the time will go. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. So far I agree with what others have told me- the second trimester is better than the first. I never had morning sickness but I did have terrible back pain that seems to have gone MIA for the time being.

A note about dreams- I have never been one to remember my dreams. I don't know if I sleep too deeply, have dreams too close to reality that I think they actually happen, or if my dream cycles are too rapid that I can't remember it all. Whatever the case may be, I have never been a dreamer until now. I feel like those TV shows and movies that were produced at the beginning of the color era, "Now dreaming in technicolor!" I must really be missing my family and friends because each night I have a crazy, worried dream about someone I care deeply for. Following are some pieces of advice from my crazy dreams...Leanna- don't run off with some guy to Canada who lives in a dirty house, Kim- take care of yourself, Mom- don't wander too far from your phone, Trisha- you are a fabulous mom, sister, and friend, Tricia- Don't move to India or South America, Natalie- slow down when you drive or watch out for the bad c-bus drivers, Ashley and Erin- be careful in your residencies. Hmmmm....maybe I am only worried about the women in my life?

Bump - 18 weeks

Here you go! 18 weeks

A note (or question) about pregnancy clothing...why are the shirts either a crazy print that you otherwise would never wear or gray/brown/black? Alternately they could be the brightest shade of pink or green you have ever seen, causing flashbacks to the 80's. I just want to shout..."Yes, I am pregnant and getting huge, why must you make me wear ugly clothes too?!?!?" Not that I am complaining about the clothing my friends and family passed to me, I am extremely grateful everytime I open the closet. I just wonder how I got 5 gray t-shirts and one t-shirt with alternating dark and light gray lines.

In this picture, I am wearing my most comfortable brown shirt that I got from someone?

Bump!

16 Weeks