lil bro 38 weeks

TWO MORE WEEKS! Ah I can't believe it! I'm ready, not ready, excited, stressed, so many emotions going in to the final stretch! I finally have the nursery ready, a stock of diapers, clothes washed, cleaning underway but the list goes on still!! Good thing I have a 3-day weekend coming up.

For being two weeks out I'm feeling pretty good. I have been going to a pre-natal BARRE class on Saturday mornings and yesterday one of the other ladies commented, "If I were 38 weeks I'd be in bed or on the couch!" I definitely do not exercise as much as I should (aside from chasing around the toddler or cleaning up the yard and house) and I have been trying to be more motivated about it, but for whatever reason right now I focus more on organization of the house and getting last minute things done. And unfortunately my body is hurting because of it. With Carson at this point, I remember feeling so large and unable to move at a reasonable speed by the end of the day. But I was waking up every morning and doing 10-15 min of stretching/yoga before work so my body wasn't achy. Actually I was achy for other reasons. I've learned this go-around that I can not eat full meals as it creates a pain in the upper side of my back. So you will find me snacking lot these days. Now I'm a different kind of achy. My hips hurt and thanks to the summer heat my lower legs and feet feel swollen. But thankfully I do not feel as large this go around, I still walk at a decent pace and have energy to chase the toddler around/do housework. Overall I feel great for for being 38 weeks.

At my latest appointment there was still no signs of dilation. When asked if I had any concerns, I said only if this kid is bigger than Carson was and having a c-section. So we played the "guess what baby will weigh game" and my doctor is estimating 7-7 1/2 lbs. While this sounds great, I'm not getting my hopes up because she said the same thing about Carson (I think she may have said upper 7s for him) whom I delivered at 8lbs 6.3 oz. But she also said that there have been some recent studies between a mom's guess vs an OB's guess at the size a baby will be at birth and the moms were more accurate. So I'm crossing all fingers and toes that since I'm feeling smaller this time luck might be on my side! I guess all we can do is wait and see!!

Lastly Reid and I had a wonderful baby shower from his co-workers. There was delicious snacks and a ridiculously good white-chocolate raspberry bundt cake and everyone was so kind in getting us a few last minute things to help prepare for our newest bundle. Unfortunately I didn't snap any pictures, but someone did a fantastic job hand-making adorable nature-themed decorations in teal, green and orange. Reid is so lucky to have found such a great work environment.

Final Adventure as a Family of Three!

Last weekend we decided to take a break from the house projects to enjoy one last adventure as a family of three. We decided to head out west on 285 to avoid the hustle and a bustle traffic of I-70, or so we thought. We ended up getting stuck in major traffic on 285 due to a merging lane. The traffic in Colorado in to the mountains drives me CRAZY!! You can never seem to catch a break. But we finally made it to Conifer and headed south on Colorado 126 through Buffalo Creek where we found some dispersed camping just before reaching the Buffalo Creek campgrounds. There were quite a few camp spots, and unfortunately for us a lot of them were already claimed by the time we rolled in at 6:30pm. Another crazy, small world we drove right past the gate to some to some of my relatives cabin. We have only been once before and didn't know we'd be so close. We even thought to ourselves we should give them a call and see if we could camp on their land since our luck seemed to be running out of finding a spot. But luck was on our side and we found ourselves a spot.

Poor Reid had to do most of the work setting up camp as I was a very pregnant 36 weeks and 5 days! But he got a fire going and I started on dinner while he then got the tent set up. And much to my surprise my non-meat eater son grabbed a chicken sausage and ate the whole thing while walking around the campsite! He even went for seconds :) Carson did great at the campsite, other than standing in the campfire smoke then crying when it burned his eyes. Silly boy! Our campsite wasn't remote, but it was far enough away from the neighboring sites to be comfortable. The parking area for our site was up a hill, and we pitched out tent about 50-100 yards down the small hill. Well just as we were wrapping up dinner someone decided they wanted to pitch a tent on our grounds up by the cars. They ended up playing R&B music, not quietly, and their conversations grew louder and louder as the alcohol was consumed. We were nervous it would last all night, but thankfully they quieted down at a decent hour. It only ruined Reid and I relaxing by the fire and enjoying some country music from the neighbors site.

Carson went to bed an hour or so before us. This was our first time camping with him without the pack n play so we were not sure how well it would go. He also doesn't sleep under covers, so I was a little nervous about him getting too cold. We weren't at high enough elevation for the temps to drop a lot, but enough I thought for not having a blanket. Well this kid did great! We put him in the tent and just let him wrestle around til he was tired enough to fall asleep. And this happened to be laying on all the pillows we brought to keep us, mostly me, comfortable. We had Carson laying on some sleeping pads and unzipped his sleeping bag for a cover, I ended up laying on Snyder's dog bed because inflatable pad had a hole, and Reid snuggled with Snyder to keep him warm. Well even though Carson slept all night long, he slept very restlessly and was all over the place. He eventually took over the dog bed and slept with no covers...but it didn't seem to bother him. Even though we didn't go far, we still had a great time escaping the projects at home and enjoying time as a family.

Another reason we picked this spot for camping (aside from it being less than an hour from Denver) was we knew there were some trails nearby for us to hike a little the next morning. We set out on the Colorado Trail where we hiked about 2 miles roundtrip. Mama can't do much hiking these days! But we were able to make it to a spot to see some snowy peaks and let Carson roam a bit himself. All in all it was a good trip and we can't wait to take baby 2 out now!

lil bro 36 weeks

My first thought about being 36 weeks pregnant is that time has seemed to completely stop! I feel like the weeks are dragging but I guess that's good so we feel like there's more time to get some last minute things completed around the house before turning our attention to caring for a newborn...and toddler! My second thought about being 36 weeks pregnant is that I now feel LARGE and very pregnant. I'm finding it hard to stand for extended periods of time, bra's and shorts/pants are uncomfortable. I find myself grunting and moaning anytime I move which sparked Reid to ask, "Is something wrong?" Well no, I just have a large protruding belly! Sleep has gone out the window. I'm so restless, achy (thank you Colorado rain), anxious for his arrival and all that needs to be done, and I now I'm in the bathroom every 10 minutes as this kid loves to push on my bladder. BUT it's not all horrible! I still love feeling him constantly on the move and it's still so surreal feeling his little limbs poking out. So while I feel like time is at a standstill right now, I can't believe that in 4 weeks our little family will be complete!

Last weekend I finally decided to schedule a shoot for some maternity pictures. A friend from my mom's group Maggie, who also did our announcement pictures, did AMAZING! and I'm so thankful the rain held off for us to get some pictures in!!

How Far Along: 36 weeks
Sleep: Very restless and now I have a cold!
Best Moment of this Month: Our maternity pictures
Miss Anything: I've reached the point I'm ready for my body back
Movement: Yes, yes and yes! Lots of pushing on my bladder
Anything Make You Queasy: Not queasy, just nothing is appetizing
Food Cravings: Vanilla frozen yogurt and carbonated beverages
Labor Signs: More cramping and pressure
Gender: Boy!
Belly Button: Out
Happy or Moody: Moody only because I'm feeling very "pregnant" and have a toddler who likes to throw temper tantrums
Looking Forward To: A baby shower from Reid's co-wokers
Comparison to Carson

'lil bro 34 weeks

When people ask me my due date and I say July it sounds like I have plenty of time. But then I say, yeah I have about 6 weeks left and I realize how soon our little dude will be here and how much more needs to get done! Thankfully last weekend was very productive and we are on our way to being prepared for our newest bundle to arrive.

We had a great trip back to Kansas and baby travelled well :) I'm so thankful to still not feel as "large" as I did with Carson, but I think it's because this kid has tucked himself away on my side instead of protruding straight out. A few more pregnancy aches are starting to set in though. When I'm on my feet for a while my legs start to feel swollen. They are also very achy in the evening making going to sleep a little uncomfortable. I'm also now getting up multiple times a night to use the restroom and have to place a pillow under my belly while I sleep. It just feels so heavy without some extra support. I'm sure Reid is loving my Snoogle pillow plus two other pillows on the bed to keep myself comfortable. I'm starting to stress out about when our little guy will make his arrival into the world. Since we have no family nearby and most of my friends have kids, I don't want to be a hassle to anyone, especially if we have to leave in the middle of the night...MY. BIGGEST.WORRY! If he can just wait and come the 11th or 12th all will be good! Are you listening little guy?!

Overall I'm feeling great, (knock on wood) I have been sick free for a while now. Workouts are not really happening as I feel like I'm always trying to clean up, cook, etc and then I just want to go to bed. I got a Groupon for fitness classes for Mother's Day so I'm excited to start a prenatal barre class this weekend. I still am taking walks but go at a much slower pace which Snyder does not appreciate. And I can't be out for too long without feeling like I'm about to pee my pants. Food is still hit or miss. Nothing ever sounds appetizing and I have no patience to prepare anything. But I'm trying to make due. Carson is becoming more aware of my belly and loves giving his brother kisses (as does daddy too telling momma how cute her belly is). Hopefully he'll cooperate for our maternity pictures this weekend!