Due Date Week!

Well, another 3 weeks just flew by and now we are exactly 5 days away from Baby Rice's due date [insert shocked emjoi face]. It has gone by so fast, yet also seems like it has drug on for a long time. I can't imagine how fast time is going to go once this baby actually gets here. Trying to savor every moment.

36-37 weeks

 

Not too much happened these weeks. We started going to the doctor once a week at 36. At visit they checked for dilation. Yes, it is as pleasant as everyone says it is. I was not dilated and I was really excited about that. The doctor thought I was bonkers and said very few women get that excited about not being dilated. I told her I wouldn't mind if the pregnancy lasted a few more weeks. Hey, I still have a nursery to finish and loose ends at work. Weight gain is steady and feet swelling is continuing. Week 37 we finished up some final touches on the nursery. Jared hung the bookshelves, the paintings, baby boy's initials above his crib, and we finally rolled out the rug we bought back in December...

38 weeks

This week I celebrated my 27th birthday! I spent my birthday weekend down in Wilmington getting spoiled by my mom, brother, and Matthew. We went to the beach, where I got fried, and had some much needed relaxation (and a virgin daiquiri).

They treated me by taking me to get my nails and toes done. Thank goodness because I was starting to worry my toes would look hideous in labor. You can't paint your own toes when you can't reach them.

I came home and celebrated with my girlfriends at Kanki, of course. I have been eating at Japanese Steakhouses for my birthday for as long as I can remember. Even more fun to eat there when pregnant!

Jared and I both had pretty busy weeks so we weren't able to really celebrate my birthday until later in the week. We treated the dinner as a combo, Lauren's birthday and our possibly last date night before baby arrives! The sweet waitress brought us out a complimentary dessert and wished us congratulations.

As for the doctor update, I let them check me again at 38 weeks to see if I had changed any. We found out I am 1 cm dilated, which is basically nothing. I don't have any real signs of labor, just what seems to be Braxton Hicks contractions here and there. The scale has me weighing in now at a total of 50 pounds gained (oy vey). I am attributing that to all the swelling, I swear I am retaining all the water I am consuming. I give myself a +1 pitting edema on my assessment (only my medical friends will get that).

I thought this was pretty crazy to see. Everyone at work had told me I was dropping and they are all guessing I am going to deliver soon. The left is 37 weeks and the right is 38 weeks, exactly one week apart. I'd say I see the drop they were all talking about.



39 weeks





Here we are, 39 weeks, standing in the completely finished nursery, which will at some point get its own post. I am obsessed with it and can't wait to share all the little details. I love how everything turned out and it is now easily my favorite room in the house.

I kicked off my 39th week by celebrating a good friend's bridal shower. She is going to make one stunning bride! I am really looking forward to their wedding at the end of April not just because it will be our first evening out post-baby, but because her and her groom have been together forever and its about dang time they got hitched!

I swore I would not be one of those women that obsessed over their due date approaching soon (5 days to be exact). Being clinical, I know that the dates are simply estimates and only about 5% of women deliver on their due date. I promised myself I would remain calm and realize baby boy would come into this world when he is ready. However, all the other pregnant women around me are delivering like crazy! Two moms from our childbirth class, one was due two days before and the other one the day after me, a girl I work with was due 5 days after me, all delivered last week. I know my time is quickly approaching which makes it hard to focus on anything else.

I am not necessarily ready for this pregnancy to end, because I have really enjoyed this time. I think I am more anxious about the unknown of all of this. He could come today, tomorrow, or two weeks from now and all those would be perfectly acceptable from a clinical standpoint. I however, do not like the surprise element in this. I wish I could get a narrowed down date, like, he will arrive between Wednesday and Friday this week. That way I quit freaking out and overthinking every little symptom I have. Honestly, I don't think I have any signs that he is coming soon. I just have some minor cramping, feeling tired, and backaches, but those are all signs of pregnancy itself.

In addition, I am trying to go as natural as possible with this labor. I understand that there are some things that are going to be out of my control, but I want to try to go with a little medications and interventions as possible. With each day that passes I get more worried I will go over my due date and they will start talking induction, which is the absolute last thing I want.

Finally, I think it is hitting me that I am actually going to have a baby at the end of this. I have been living in a little bit of denial about all of this because my pregnancy has been so "easy." But, in a few days or weeks (hopefully not) our lives are going to change forever. I know all for the good, but nothing will ever be the same again. We will be parents and will be responsible for keeping a tiny human alive.

Just when I think I am about to lose it and have even more crazy thoughts, Jared does something like this:

 

he hid a thank you card to me in my stack of cards I was addressing

He is constantly reminding me how everything is going to be alright and we will figure all this out. And yes, everything is going to change, but it will all be worth it. He reminds me that soon we will be holding our son and all the worries will be gone. Though I am sure I will be plagued with more worry as our boy grows and we venture through this parenthood thing. But, I am so lucky that I get to do all of that with this man. He is one amazing husband and I know he will be an even more wonderful father. 





31-35 weeks

Wow, it has been awhile. These past 6 weeks have literally flown by. I can't believe I am in my last month!

The time has been filled with nursery and master bedroom renovations, baby showers galore, lots of organization, and eating (of course)! Nesting is certainly in full effect (even though Jared claims I was nesting well before actually pregnant).

31-32 weeks:

Slowly but surely getting bigger here.

These weeks were jam-packed with home updates! We put all new laminate hardwood flooring upstairs which means, no more carpet (thank goodness)! All three bedrooms feel like totally new spaces. We knew we were going to redo the nursery, but the master bedroom facelift was a bit of a surprise. Once the floors started to go down I knew I wouldn't be happy with the horrible vomit-beige-brown colored walls for much longer. So it started with paint and then progressed to new bedding..a painted dresser and side tables...new curtains...and mounting the TV on the wall. I am so happy with the outcome and will be so thankful for this space where Jared and I can hopefully retreat.

before, you can kind of see the horrible carpet and paint color

after, I picked a color totally out of my comfort zone, sea salt, and I love it!

Aside from being sore from helping managing the floor laying and painting, I felt great. Some back pain from sitting at my desk too long. Still loving to eat and enjoying my sweets. Baby boy moves all the time and I love it. Trying to walk regularly and using my pregnant Pilates DVD, which I am sure is getting more entertaining to watch as I get bigger.

33 weeks:

The excitement of baby's first shower threw me off and didn't take a proper belly picture.

This week my long time best friends, Caitlin and Meghan, threw me and baby boy the sweetest shower! Friends and family from near and far came to celebrate with us. I can't believe how much love everyone has for someone they haven't even met yet. The theme matched his nursery, woodland, and was just too cute for words! Of course my baby brain was in full swing and I forgot to take pictures of the set up.

The girls had everyone fill out a card of questions and leave some thoughts for Baby Rice. I can't wait to show these to him when he is older. It was especially fun to hear everyone try to guess his name. Yes, Jared and I are still the only ones who know what his title will be :)

I am so thankful to be bringing this boy into such a loving family and friend group. We were spoiled beyond words and can't thank everyone enough for all their generosity!

This week my sweet co-worker found out she is having a little boy too! She is due July 22 :)

34-35 weeks:

oh yeah, the belly grows.

I dubbed week 34 "the week of showers" because we had three in one week. First, we had Jared's work shower with his team. Everyone was so sweet, gave some great advice and baby boy stocked up on some fun toys. Then it was my work shower where my team was seriously far too generous, meaning they basically bought everything remaining on our registries. Finally, we drove to Wilmington for a quick trip to see the people that couldn't make it to the Raleigh shower. Again, so many people love this little boy and it is incredible to me. We feel so loved and supported!

Baby boy has been enjoying kicking me in the ribs, nesting himself under my breast bone so I can barely breathe, and pushing down on my bladder these weeks. I officially have the full on pregnancy waddle and feel like a big mama duck. Found out at my 34 week check up that I have officially gained 45 pounds total, so that was fun. But, the doctor doesn't seem worried, my blood pressure is still normal and I am measuring on track belly-wise. I was able to coax her into feeling baby's position and guessing his size. She said he is head down and about 5 pounds! Woohoo!

Swelling struck in the middle of week 35. I was told by the husband I am no longer allowed to wear my wedding bands because he does not want them to be cut off me. I guess I understand that. I couldn't stand having a bare hand so I went to Target and got a fake one :) How attractive are these cankles? (disregard the state of my toes, I can reach to paint them)

I am most looking forward to our 36 week check up this week. I hear a lot of fun things happen, like checking for dilation which I also heard feels amazing (sarcasm of course). Can't wait to find out where exactly they think he is positioned and how big he is! Also, looking forward to finishing the nursery this weekend and sharing the updates! This is the current state:

30 weeks and pregnancy thoughts

30 Weeks

30 weeks and 4 days.

It was far too cold to take the belly picture outside this week. Thus, we are moving them indoors to the nursery. What happened to our 60 degree winter days? Thankful for my extra layers this winter, but still dreading the ice and snow they are calling for this week. 

Baby Size: cucumber or butternut squash. Roughly 17 inches and 3.1lbs. We go to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully will get a better idea of how big he actually is. 

Movement: all the time! I am sure I have mentioned this before but this is hands down my favorite part of being pregnant. I absolutely love feeling him move inside of me. It is something that can't be explained until you experience it. I also love that this little daddy's boy responds with lots of kicks and jabs to Jared playing the guitar and rapping his favorite Notorious rhymes.  These boys are going to have so much fun together. 

Cravings: still loving my sweets! I swear I could eat just dessert and be one happy mama. However, our birth class instructor scared me to death and said we are in the most important stage of development, the brain. So it is even more important to eat healthy, nutrient-rich and brain building foods (aka everything baby and I don't like). I balance my broccoli with cookies. It is a win-win. 

Symptoms: starting to get lower back pain frequently but changing positions usually helps with that. The newest and possibly the most uncomfortable symptom yet is this pelvic pain. I feel like I took a 4 hour spin class. Other than that I continue to feel great and sleep soundly.  

Thoughts/Feelings: I love being pregnant! Honestly, I do. It is seriously amazing! I know that I have been really fortunate to have an "easy" pregnancy [I don't like saying this because every woman and mother are different and will have different experiences]. I remember telling someone around 18 weeks how great I was feeling. They scoffed and said, "wait, until 30 plus weeks honey, you won't be singing the same tune." I beg to differ. 

Pregnancy is the coolest and most wonderful thing I have ever done. I would take the back acne, hourly bathroom trips, swollen ankles, heavy breathing/snoring, waddling in place of walking, forgetting I can only bend down so far, not ever seeing my toes, congestion, rolly-polly maneuver to get out bed and off the couch, pregnancy brain, dessert cravings, weight gain, anxiety, crying for no apparent reason, bottomless pit of a stomach, and the ever so lovely gas, a thousand times over. Because the feelings I have had throughout this outweigh all the negative/not so attractive things about being pregnant. 

I have loved watching my stomach grow, seeing my body change to accomodate this new life inside of me, feeling our baby boy move and wiggle, falling more in love with my husband as he falls more in love with our unborn child, feeling and hearing his giddiness everytime he feels the baby move, prepping for birth of our son with Jared, daydreaming about what he will look like, hearing that precious heartbeat at every doctor visit, knowing that our lives will never be the same again, and so much more to love about this season of life.

It makes me sad that I only have a short time left in my first pregnancy. I will never get to experience these "firsts" again. But I am so excited for what is to come, the challenges, victoires, and changes that will rock our world. I would do this all over in a heartbeat.  

27, 28, 29 surprise!

27 Weeks

Baby size: rutabaga! I had never seen one of these before or really noticed them before. But while in the grocery store with my mom I picked one up. That's when it became very surreal how big our little one has grown. No wonder those kicks and jabs are feeling stronger than ever.

Week Recap: phew, this was by far the roughest week for me and it was not pregnancy related. We woke up on Christmas morning to fly home to be with my family, but I had the worst pain on the right side of my face and my tooth felt like it was being stabbed. We made it to my mom's house and enjoyed opening gifts and eating (of course) but I still felt like death. I slept most of the day and the whole thing is really a blur. The next morning I woke up with a swollen right side of my face. Well, 3 hours at urgent care, a call to my OB, a sinus infection diagnosis and a trip to the pharmacy later I was on hooked up on antibiotics and baby-safe pain medication. It took a nearly a week to recover which meant spending New Year's Eve and Day in bed. Oh the joys of a pregnant immune system.

28 Weeks

Woohoo, hello third trimester!! We hit 28 weeks on New Year's Day. I could not think of better way to welcome 2016 than hitting this pregnancy milestone :) Bonus, we now get to say, "we get to meet Baby Rice this year!" aka, less than twelve weeks (insert shocked emjoi face).

Baby Size: he is as big as an eggplant. Fun fact, eggplant is my least favorite vegetable. 

Weight Gain: I had my doctors appointment this week where I got to meet the dreaded scale. I am up 27.5 pounds total! Phew, yes, still embracing the weight gain. 

Doctor Appointment Update: this was the one I was not looking forward to at all, the glucose test. I was worried all those frostys and cookies would catch up with me. Luckily though I do not have gestaional diabetes! The cut off is 139 and I was 79 (yay)! Baby Boy's heartbeat was 150 and doctor says we are growing great! I still feel wonerful and beyond thankful to continue to have a positive experience. Now we start going for visits every 2 weeks. 

Best Moment This Week: there are two of course. 

Jared and I went to our first child brith class. Of course I loved it but I think Jared is a little skeptical about it. The first class was introductions, a really quick "this is what happens in birth," and some relaxation techniques. I like the teacher a lot. I am excited to see what she can share with us about the birth experience and our options during the delivery process. I will also enjoy seeing all these dads squirm everrytime the teacher mentions details about birth. 

My favorite part of this week was celebrating Jared's 30th birthday. In true Jared fashion he requested nothing fancy. He just wanted a relaxing night of wings and to watch the NC State basketball game. That is exactly what we did.  

After dinner we opened gifts. I got him a universal remote, new pair of sunglasses and a mandolin. He was by far most excited about the mandolin. He had mentioned it a few months back and all I could picture was him playing our sweet boy tunes. I knew he had to have one :)

Of course, chocolate mousse cake followed presents. A very low key 30th birthday for my sweet man. Well, at least so he thought...

29 Weeks:

SURPRISE!!! 

The Saturday after Jared's actual birthday I threw him a surprise 30th birthday party at the bar that we used to go to all the time in college, East Village. This place holds a lot of memories for us. We even took some engagement pictures there. I knew this was the perfect location for such an eventful occasion. 

Wonderful friends from near and far came to help us celebrate The Jared turning 30. He was so surprised to see so many people there for him. He is a humble man ;)

I made these party props that were all these different pictures of Jared making his crazy faces. They were so much fun to play with and have in pictures. Plus, I can't lie, I love seeing at his cute face everywhere! 

He broke down the party into top three favorite moments: 1. the surprise and all those people that were there, 2. the fact it was at East Village and, 3. the ice cream cake. Thank you so much to all our family and friends (not all pictured) that made this surprise possible and helped celebrate my favorite person! He claims this was the best birthday ever. He deserrves it :) 

Most Looking Forward To: this week has just begun, but I am most looking forward to our second child birth class, ripping up the carpets in the bedrooms upstairs (especially the soon to be nursery), laying new floors, and picking a paint color. Yeah, it is going to be a long one. 

24..25...26...

Ahh yes, there is a trend here. I keep forgetting to blog. Honestly, all the weeks are running together. I am currently in my last week days of the second trimester which is really hard for me to wrap my head around.

24 weeks

Baby Size: baby is as big as a cantaloupe

This was our first week at home just the two of us. We took full advantge. We decorated the house and put up the tree.

We also filled out our baby registries. I must say I am not a fan of registering. I hated doing it for our wedding and still wasn't very fond of it for our baby. But, it was fun to imagine getting to use all that stuff with our little guy in a few months. Who knew something so tiny would need so many things to survive. Don't even get me started on the things I learned that I personally will need post-baby. Ever heard of nipple butter? Yeah, I don't think it is used for fun.

25 weeks

Forgot to take a belly picture this week so the picture of us at Laura and Pen's wedding will have to do :)

Baby size: Cauliflower, about 13.5-14.8 inches and 1.5-2.5 pounds!

This week we celebrated our last wedding of 2015 and last one before Baby Rice arrives! It was for the final Boddie boy, Pen, and his new wife Laura. We had so much fun dancing the night away to an awesome band, The Janitors, and taking in the gorgeous views of Rose Hill Plantation. As always, a blast getting all our friends together under one roof and playing the cow bell ;)

This was also the week I broke down and admitted I was not sleeping well to Jared. His response, "I know, I noticed it a couple days ago so I ordered you a pregnancy pilliow from Amazon and should be here soon." Hello, husband and baby daddy of the year! He seriously is the greatest. This pregnancy pillow is ahh-mazing! It took me a few nights of shifting, finding the right position and getting over the fact that it felt like pillow jail but it has made a world of difference.

26 weeks

Baby size: head of lettuce. Which, I should probably eat more of but Baby Rice is just not a fan of vegetables, just like his daddy.

This week we are in Texas celebrating Christmas with Jared's side of the family. It has been busy since the minute we landed but I love every second of it!

I especially love all the time with this sweet sister-in-law aka built in friend of mine!

Day one was kids' Christmas. Our sweet family got us gifts for baby boy even though he's not technically here yet. He will certainly be decked out in Texas/Rice Man gear :) We had our annual meet up with Jared's old friends and went to see Star Wars.

Day two Jared's cousin got married. It was just a small civil ceremony followed by a family lunch. Then we met up with Gwyn and Neil at their new house for dinner.

Day three was shopping day which is Jared's favorite. Spending 2 hours in Best Buy is my nightmare but he loves it.

Day four (today) was Christmas Eve Eve where we did our immediate family gift exchange. My in laws got me set with a new fitbit and kindle. Jared also made me the sweetest most thoughtful gift, a mama coupon book for after Baby Rice's arrival. I'm telling you, Baby Daddy of the year.

Tomorrow is our traditional marathon Christmas Eve. The morning will be with my mother-in-laws side of the family. The evening is church and Christmas with my father-in-laws side of the family. It is a super long day but always so great to see all the family!

Then early Christmas morning we fly home to be with my family in Wilmington.

It is a whirlwind of a week but totally worth it. Can't believe our sweet little boy will be here next year for all the Christmas festivities!

21..22..23 weeks..oh my!

It has been pretty busy since we got back from Arizona and we have been playing catch up.

21 Weeks 

Unfortunately, we have been so busy since getting back from Arizona that we kept foretting to get the picture outside before the sun went down. Thus, we must settle for an indoor shot for the 21 week belly picture.

Baby Size: pomegranate or 10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces

Week Recap: nothing interesting happened this week. It was a lot of catching up at work and getting back in the swing of a routine. Baby boy is still moving a lot. Mama is still loving her sweets and will soon be regretting that at the doctor's appointment next week. A mix of maternity and pre-pregnancy clothes are making up my wardrobe.

22 Weeks

Baby Size: Papaya! Honestly, couldn't tell you what in the world a papaya tastes like, but baby boy is 10.5-11.8 inches and 12.7-20.8 ounces.

Total Weight Gain: brace yourself...16 pounds. Yes, SIXTEEN pounds. I gained 10 in just 4 weeks (insert shocked-face-emjoi here). For me, a person who has struggled with weight and body issues her entire life, this was a hard pill to swallow. I was quickly reassured by my husband and doctor that this is totally normal. Still it was difficuly for me to grasp especially since my plan was to only gain 25 total. I don't feel like I look 16 pounds heavier. Most of my gain has been belly and obviously my chest. I understand you gain weight with pregnancy however, this was a scale shock for me. I feel amazing and I am grateful that I get to experience such a beautiful thing. Quickly learning to love the weight while decreasing my ice cream intake and increasing pilates...

Maternity clothes: duh.

Best Moment This Week: of course nothing beats hearing our sweet baby's heart beat at our check up, but we also got to spend a weekend in Topsail Island with some of our best friends! 

We celebrated this guys 30th birthday! Hillman and I have been friends since high school and over 10 years. Well, now we are both married, one is 30 and one is pregnant. Oh life, you move so fast. 

Spent the weekend with these lovely folks eating oysters, enjoying Friendsgiving, and celebrating the birthday boy! 

The views from the house were unreal. I'm talking 360 degree water views. Hello dream vacation home. But let's be real, the picture is mainly to show off my cute husband and sweet Lillie bug.

Thanksgiving: 

Jared and I hosted at our home again this year for the third time. It was very low key and perfect for us. Very thankful for all the people above and the little turkey in my belly that will be joining us next year!

Sweet hubs with his turkey day set up outside

23 Weeks

Baby Size: Grapefruit! About 10.5-11.8 inches and 12.7-20.8 ounces

Sleep: still great! Having some crazy vivid dreams still.

Symptoms: I don't know if this is really a symptom or if I should attribute it to my increase in hormones. Well, I think I love my husband more everyday since I have been pregnant. I am literally bursting with love for him. I know it sounds weird (and cheesy) but knowing he helped/played a major role in giving me the greatest gift ever makes me just melt. I can't imagine what kind of puddle of love I will be be once I see my boys together.

Movement: all the time! I LOVE it! I think it is one of my favorite things about being pregnant. Plus I am way less anxious because his movement reassures me everything is ok.

Best Moment This Week: got my very first funny pregnancy comment from one of my patients. She said, "girl, did you swallow a watermelon?" Haha.

I survived being pregnant for an entire football season! Woohoo! We capped off tailgating/football season this weekend. Unfortunately, we had a sorry loss against the Tarholes but still had fun at the final tailgate of the year!

Now, on to basketball season...