34 Weeks

Here's the most recent picture of me, taken on Sunday:




























I've grown a little since the last picture... but not much. As you can see, I've officially retired my rings, which is very depressing. Not so much because my fingers are getting fatter... that's normal. But I'm very sad that I can't wear the rings that Toby gave me. I wore my Claddagh on the right ring finger, and of course my wedding ring on the left ring finger... both which mean the world to me.

I'm now wearing Toby's Claddagh that I gave him... matches the one he gave me. So at least I'm wearing something that's special to us. But I still feel naked without my wedding ring!

I'm still feeling great... although not sleeping very well nowadays. I tend to toss and turn alot at night... that combined with frequent visits to the bathroom makes for a restless night. Oh well, I guess I should get used to not being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time... I'm sure once baby arrives, I'll have a similar sleep pattern!

Toby's been a busy little bee around the house, like usual. Here are some pictures of him getting the garden ready for planting.



























And here a couple shots of the wood duck boxes he put up in the back yard.




















Oh, and here's that picture Mom took of me on Easter... I really like it!




















Less than six weeks to go!!! The countdown begins!

A pineapple?!

According to BabyCenter.com…

“Your baby is proportioned like a pineapple when it comes to weight -- a little over 4 pounds.”

A pineapple!?


No thank you! That looks a bit painful!!!

Blue and Pink Eggs

Happy Easter, everyone!

The Easter Bunny brought Toby and I an Easter basket, like usual… but this year, he also brought Thumper a basket!! It was filled with blue and pink chocolate eggs!!! Of course, Thumper can’t eat the candy yet, so mommy and daddy are eating it for him/her.

I got home from work yesterday and Toby said “It’s a boy!” Apparently, he took a handful of eggs… some blue and some pink… and then ate them without looking. His thought was if the last egg he ate was blue, it would be a boy… and if the last egg was pink, it would be a girl. A few eggs in, he looked and saw he had 2 blue eggs and 7 pink eggs… not very good odds for the man that wants a boy! He ate a few more eggs… now he had just 1 blue egg and 5 pink eggs. He continued to eat the eggs, only to find the last egg was pink. Poor guy. He got up to get a glass of milk… and returned to the couch to find a single blue egg sitting where he had been… now he’s convinced we’re having a boy!!! A very cute story… especially if it does turn out to be a boy!!!

I went for my check up today, and all is well. Baby is still turned downwards, waiting patiently for the big day! The heartbeat is still great… ranging from 140s to 160s. My blood pressure is still wonderful… and I only gained ½ pound in the last two weeks… for a total of about 25 pounds. Thankfully it’s all in the bump… just looks like I’m smuggling a soccer ball!

On Saturday, the family came over for an Easter cook-out! Toby grilled his famous burgers and the wonderful LG Meat Company’s mushroom/swiss brats! Yummmmmm! I sat in the same place all day and am now sporting a partial tan… only on the right side of my face!!! It looked really nice on Sunday when it was red. I was tempted to wear makeup… just to even out my complexion!

Mom took some great pictures of me out on the back deck on Saturday morning… with my posh camera, of course. I’ll post my favorite in the next couple days… I’ve been too lazy to put them on the computer.

I haven’t been sleeping really well the past few days, thanks to a very active baby… and a snoring husband! Therefore I’m exhausted during the day. Even though my job isn’t physcially demanding, all I want to do when I get home is lay down and nap!

Other than that, nothing to complain about! Still loving every second of this experience! I’m super excited to meet Thumper, but I know I’ll miss the feeling of having him/her inside of me… it’s a very humbling experience!

This Saturday will be 34 weeks… I know I’ve said it before… but it’s crazy how time flies!!!

SIDE by SIDE by SIDE

15 Weeks... 30 Weeks... 32 Weeks

You can see here that the Thumper has dropped a bit... and getting bigger!!!

32 Weeks

Yesterday marked the start of Month #8... I know I've said it before... but I can NOT believe how fast time has gone by! It seems like just last week I was at 20 weeks, and thinking "I can't believe I have another 20 weeks to go!" Now I only have eight weeks to go!!!

Thumper will be here before we know it!!! And I'm glad to say that we're pretty ready for his/her arrival. Of course we'll be even more prepared after the main Baby Shower on May 2nd.

Here are the latest bump shots, taken about 20 minutes ago by Daddy Toby.







Hot Mama!

BABY SHOWER #1

On Thursday, April 2nd, Mary Martha Circle threw me a Baby Shower! MMC is a group of women from church that I belong to. We get together once a month to plan various church activities... but mostly, we just socialize!

Thanks so much to Sue Schowalter for opening your home and throwing a great party! It was a a lot of fun! And thanks for the cake... it was YUMMY!

I'd also like to thank everyone for their wonderful gifts!

Here are a couple pictures of the fine women who attended (Note: Sue is taking one, Ellen is taking the other):

And here are a few pictures of me opening presents...

Newborn diapers are SOOOOOOOOOO cute!

Gotta love baby clothes!

Woo hoo!! Breast pads!!

I love socks!!!

Thank God!

I'm happy to report that I did go swimming last night... and it helped!!!

Floating around for a good 30 minutes did wonders... it was INCREDIBLY relaxing! And the pinched nerve is better! It's not 100% UNpinched... but it's MUCH better! I can move around, stand up, sit down, lay down... without cringing in pain! Every once in a while I'll do something to spark it, but even then it doesn't hurt nearly as bad!

So thanks to Matt Brill for letting me swim at the hotel... you're the best! For those of you who have NO idea how Matt is... he's Erin Jo's brother-in-law... and he manages a hotel in Lake Geneva.

And thanks to Mom for joining me! She came along to help me float on my tummy... since the big air bubble on my belly kept wanting to flip me over onto my back! hahaha Toby would've come with me, but he was at home suffering from his own pinched nerve... he woke up yesterday with a stiff neck. Poor guy!

I am definitely going to swim again for a couple reasons... 1) my swimsuit is super cute, and this is the only time I don't have to worry about looking 'fat' in a swimsuit, and 2) it was sooooooo relaxing... I could've floated there for hours! Although I'm sure my skin would look really funny and wrinkly afterwards!!! hehehe

32 Week Check-Up

Today I'm 31 weeks, 4 days... close enough to 32 weeks.

I had my check up this morning, and we're both doing great! I gained one pound in the last two weeks, and my blood pressure is normal.

The doctor did confirm that Thumper is sitting lower and on my right side, accounting for the pinched nerve. She recommended swimming, which I will do tomorrow... or maybe even today after work. She has hope that Thumper will move around sometime soon and relieve the pain... let's hope so!

Other than that, all is well! Thumper's heart beat is in the 140s/150s... so doing very well!

I go back in two weeks for my next check up. The only "bad news" is that I don't get another ultrasound unless the doctor thinks it's necessary. I said "awww... I want to see the baby again!" ...and she responded with "Don't worry... I could always make up an excuse to need to see it!"

Tomorrow night, my women's group at church (Mary Martha Circle) is throwing me a Baby Shower... I'm very excited!!! I just hope I can make it up the step's at Sue's house! hehehe