Month 8… wow!! I can’t believe we’re down to about 6-7 weeks before we finally get to meet our girl!! Like I tend to say with everything, it feels like it’s been dragging and flying all at the same time. But we’re getting down to the wire!
Ollie’s room is almost finished! We got the crib earlier this week (yes, we decided to go ahead and get a crib. We had finally decided to get one, and then Steven’s granny asked us if she could buy us one when we were there for Christmas, so we picked one out and got it ordered.). When I originally put in the order, it said it wouldn’t arrive until January 17 and I about lost my mind. Now, that’s a full month ahead of our due date, but as a member of the Amazon Prime instant gratification movement, waiting almost a month for something to be shipped to me seemed absolutely ridiculous. Steven convinced me that it was better to wait and get what we wanted than to settle to get something here sooner, and I’m glad we did since it got here much sooner than expected! The mattress arrived a week or two before, so it had plenty of time to expand to full size (it came all rolled up and vacuum sealed and needed time to expand). Even though we don’t plan to use it as a toddler bed, (our plan is for Olivia to transition to a twin-sized bed when the time comes, and her younger brother/sister will take the crib) it is convertible. I’ve had to rearrange the furniture a few times to get everything like I want it, but it’s really coming together! I’m debating whether to make a crib skirt or buy one, so we’ll see. Now that all the furniture is in the room, it’s time to figure out where to hang everything on the walls.
She got quite a haul at Christmas for a little miss that’s not even here! She got plenty of clothes, books and toys from Granny, Gran, and Bud (Steven’s granny, and his parents), and then more clothes, a panda blanket set, and a rocking panda bear from Grammy (my mom) and my dad (I’m not sure we’ve settled on a grandpa name for him yet?). Aunt Shelby picked her out the CUTEST swaddle and headband sets (I’m so excited to use them for her newborn photos!!), plus some books and toys. I’m sure I forgot a few things since there was so much, but we are so thankful for everything we’ve gotten for her so far!
And speaking of amazing gifts– we got the most amazing handmade gifts from one of my sweet best friends from college and her dear mom. Kerry has been such a blessing helping me figure out all this mess of what we need and what is the best since her sweet Savannah just turned a year old! She sent a bunch of goodies from our registry (that she has helped me work on since before day 1), and then her mom sent a handmade quilt, handmade burp cloths, and handmade bibs– and they are just gorgeous! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people here for our girl!
Other than getting everything ready, we’ve just been rolling along and getting closer! Once we hit the third trimester, my OB appointments dropped down to every two weeks. I passed the (dreaded) gestational diabetes test, but the blood panel showed that my blood count was low and my platelets are low. My OB had me start an additional iron supplement to help the blood count (she said it was only a few tenths off from the norm, so she wasn’t worried about it), so I take the iron pill every night before bed with orange juice (which apparently helps absorption). She said there wasn’t really anything specific that we could do about the platelets, but if they stay where they were, I wouldn’t be a candidate for an epidural. 😐 So, hopefully that gets better because I wasn’t really considering the epidural part optional 😉 I have a blood draw at my next appointment, so prayers that it has gotten better!!
We have our next ultrasound scheduled for mid January around Week 35-36, and they’ll be checking her position and projecting birth weight. On the last US, she was breech, so we’ll be looking for that, and honestly, I can’t tell what the heck she’s doing based off her movements. If we go solely based on movements, my best guess is that she’s doing her best Alien Predator impression, and is just flat all over the place. So, we will see!
While at Bass Pro a few weeks ago, Steven picked out her first hospital outfit for her picture in the resident newsletter. It’s so cute! I also left him alone for about five minutes in Target a few weeks ago, and when I found him, he had a bunch of outfits picked out for her. I seriously cannot wait to see this little girl with her dad!
And here are this month’s stats…
How far along: 33 weeks/ 8 months
Total weight gain: Between 15-20 pounds. I’m fluctuating between 140-145 depending on the day and how much holiday food is around! It’s a blessing and a curse to be this pregnant during the holidays– there is food everywhere that is delicious and fattening, but because of everything being all squished by our growing girl (who is apparently about to start gaining half a pound a week!), I can’t eat just a whole lot at one time. Small meals (which typically means more frequent meals 😉 ) are my friends!
Maternity clothes: Some here and there, but not for the most part. I did try to get some maternity dresses a few weeks ago, and nobody around here had anything in the actual store– all the maternity lines are online. So, I went back to the regular clothes and just sized up a size. Which, at least then I get to keep wearing it afterward if it fits!
Stretch marks: None that I’ve found… but I definitely feel stretched!
Sleep: Sleep… Well, I have some good nights, and some nights that I wonder why I went to bed because it feels like I was up the entire time. All nights, I wake up to turn myself over from side to side, and all nights (like clockwork) I have a bathroom break between 2:30-3:00. It doesn’t matter if I limit liquids or anything, like clockwork, I will wake up and feel like I am about to explode. I think Little Miss is a night owl because she is usually moving whenever I am awake in the night. Like a few nights ago, I got up to the use the restroom and when I laid back down, she had the hiccups, and I felt little consistent thumps for a while until she settled down.
Best moment of this month: I don’t know of one moment in particular, but I feel good about really having everything almost ready for her!
Miss anything: Is it weird to say being able to tuck in a shirt into my pants? Like I really like wearing shirts tucked into pants at times, and I can’t really do that right now. In fact, I wear pants pulled up to my bra line a fair amount of the time, which I don’t think I’ll miss later on. 😉
Movement: She’s a mover and a shaker, especially at night! One night when we were trying to go to sleep, Steven rested his arm over me and had to move it after a little while because she kept kicking him so hard! They still have their little daddy/daughter bond going strong– he talks to the bump and she karate chops and kicks like crazy in reply. I can’t wait to see these two in action together in a few weeks!
Food cravings: Just a sweet tooth, but no cravings of anything in particular.
Anything making you queasy or sick: anything acidic (orange juice, etc.) aggravates my heartburn, and that’s no fun, but it’s just kinda where we’re at right now.
Have you started to show yet: yep!
Gender: sweet little girl!
Belly button in or out: It’s officially out, and it takes a lot of layers to conceal it!
Wedding rings on or off: On, but my fingers will swell and go down randomly throughout the day (it’s probably not as random as I think it is, but I haven’t stopped and figured out exactly what causes it yet). I ordered my new Lisa Leonard rings in the same size as my wedding band/ engagement ring, and they fit, but get a little tighter sooner than my wedding set.
Looking forward to: our baby shower here in a few weeks, and then her finally getting here!
Here is a 31 week pic…
And 33 week pics!
And just a little note to end… I’ve had some sweet friends heavy on my heart lately that are experiencing issues with fertility and wanting kiddos of their own. I think the holidays are a rough time for this because there’s such a focus on family (which is good!), but it’s often just a reminder of how much you want to be a mom and how much you aren’t. It’s really hard to see others with exactly what you are wanting and have a happy heart about it. Please know that if you are walking that path right now, you are in my prayers every day. While our walk wasn’t nearly as rough as some, I know that hard feeling where all you want is to be a mom, and it feels like there’s very little you are able to do about it. But God’s timing is not only good, it’s perfect. I know that is not always the most comforting thing, and it doesn’t offer an immediate relief or solution, but it’s true. The time that we waited just worked into His perfect timing even though I didn’t know it in the trenches of waiting. Your time will come, sweet friends, I just know it. 🙂
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