Baby H: Onesie Themed Family Baby Shower

Last weekend, two of my sisters and my step-mom threw us a onesie themed family baby shower.  

The shower was held at my parents church to accommodate my large family. They did a great job on the shower - I loved the theme, the food was great and we got some nice gifts for Baby H!

We enjoyed some treats...

The onesie theme was really cute and everyone was able to decorate a onesie for the baby!!

 

Nick was unable to make the shower because he's working on the farm getting ready for planting season {the life of a farmer's wife} - so I was on my own for gift opening this time. We got great gifts for Baby H. I was excited to get several of the gifts...including my diaper bag!!

 

 

The best part of the day was being able to spend time with my family. {I wish I would have gotten more pictures with my family members}

 

 

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family - a big thank you to Franny, Nancy & Donna for hosting a shower for us and thank you to all my family that traveled near & far to celebrate Baby H! I can't even imagine how much love Baby H will feel once s/he gets here!! 

 

Baby H: 34 weeks

I was out of town for work this week, so I wasn't able to take my normal weekly bump picture
  

How far along? 34 weeks.

Baby Size: Baby H is 17.75 inches and 4.75 pounds. The size of a cantaloupe.

Total weight gain: 35+ pounds. {I was out of town for work this week and haven't gotten on a scale - but I've been feeling very plump these days so I bet it's close to 45 pounds - HA!}

Maternity clothes?  If I could wear maternity maxi dresses every day - I would!
 

Sleep: Oh sleep...how I miss it! Last weekend was rough - I stayed at my parents {for my family baby shower} and didn't get very good sleep. I was out of town for work for 2 nights and didn't sleep well at all in the hotel room. I got home yesterday and slept all.night.long - didn't even get up to go to the bathroom!! I'm hoping to have a low key weekend and get some good sleep!

 

Best moment this week: Schuler Family Baby Shower - it was so nice to see my family and celebrate Baby H! But the best part about the shower was being able to see my nephew Blake, who has cancer, and my Grandpa Schuler, who just got out of the nursing home. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see my Grandma Schuler because the nursing home was under quarantine due to the flu.

 

Miss Anything? Same ol' stuff - Bending over/moving normal/working out/pre-pregnancy body.

 

Movement: Nick was able to feel the hiccups last week. I feel movement all the time, so I love when Nick is able to experience the same movement as me. He lays in bed at night and plays with the baby...moving him/her around and s/he pushes back on Daddy - I love it!

Food cravings: Nothing.

Anything making you queasy or sick/symptoms:
- Nose Bleeds/Stuffy Nose.
- Pregnancy hoof.
- Pregnancy paw.
- Tailbone pain.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Rib pain - The rib pain hasn't been as bad as long as I sit straight up...it's when I'm sitting on a couch is when it hurts more.
- Swelling - the swelling has started...my ankles are turning into cankles....

Gender: Still thinking girl!! At my 34 week appointment, the heartbeat was in the mid-140's {higher than 140 means girl}

Have you started to show yet: Everyone keeps telling me they think I'm going to have the baby 2 weeks early - due partly because of the size of my big ol' belly!!

Mood: Tired but excited!! 6 weeks left...it seems SO close now!!

Stretch marks: Nope.

Belly button in or out: In.

Wedding ring on or off: Off.

Labor Signs: No.

Thoughts:
My sisters & step-mom threw a family baby shower for us last weekend and it was amazing! We got some great gifts for Baby H and it was so nice to be surrounded by my family. I live 2+ hours away from all my family, so I don't get to see them as much as I'd like and we all had a great time catching up.

When I got home on Sunday from my parents, Nick was in the middle of cleaning. We spend 3+ hours deep cleaning - the master bathroom {which hardly ever gets cleaned}, the walk-in closet {I threw away 2 sacks of clothes & have 2 sacks to go to goodwill} and the master bedroom {we even moved the bed to vacuumed behind it and cleaned the baseboards}. I love how fresh & clean the room feels!! Unfortunately, since we did so much cleaning - that means Jayde is out of the house until next fall {that makes me alittle sad!!}

At my last doctor's appointment, my normal doctor was called into an emergency delivery so I met with a different doctor. She measured me at 38cm!! That was a big jump from what my normal doctor measured me at my prior appointment, so I'm not sure how accurate that measurement is. But she did mention that I might want to talk to my doctor about getting a growth ultrasound in the next couple of weeks since big babies do run in the family.






 

Baby H: Elephant Themed Couples Baby Shower

This past weekend, my friends Becca and Steph threw a couples shower for us.

Walking into the room for the first time was one of my favorite parts of the day. It was a elephant themed shower and every detail of the shower was incredible.  They went above & beyond our expectations and did an amazing job on the shower!

We ate and drank {Beau smoked a brisket & it was SO good!}

We opened gifts {with Chloe's help}

 
We cut into the cake and had lots of sweet treats to enjoy!

I will cherish these memories forever! Thank you ladies for hosting a shower for Nick & I and welcoming our baby into this world! I can't wait to watch all our little ones grow up together and be close friends like we are!

 

Baby H: 33 weeks

How far along? 33 weeks.

Baby Size: Baby H is 17 inches and 4.25 pounds. The size of a pineapple.

Total weight gain: 35+ pounds. {I love when people say that I'm all baby - the belly must be taking away from my double chin!!}

Maternity clothes?  Since we're not finding out the gender of the baby - I haven't bought very many clothes for the baby {only sleepers & onesies} - so I think I've been making up for it by buying lots of clothes for myself! This week decided I've bought too many maternity clothes and returned a couple of things - maxi dresses {4}, jeans {2} and tops {2}.
 

Sleep: Sleep isn't very good on the weekends for some reason. I moved to the couch both Friday & Saturday night because I couldn't get comfortable in bed. But I don't have an issue with sleep during the week. I still wake up twice a night to go to the bathroom, but I fall right back to sleep afterwards.

 

Best moment this week: Baby shower!! I feel so blessed to have such a great group of friends to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby H!

 

Miss Anything? Bending over/moving normal/working out/pre-pregnancy body.

 

Movement: Movement is something that has freaked me out lately. Is the baby's movement normal? What is normal movement? Just when I think I haven't felt the baby move in a while...I feel something. The baby is definitely more active at night than in the morning {I have a feeling s/he'll be a night owl & not a morning person - like mom!}

Food cravings: Nothing.

Anything making you queasy or sick/symptoms:
- Nose Bleeds - Yep...this is still happening.
- Pregnancy hoof - Numb but no pain.
- Pregnancy paw - Numb but no pain.
- Tailbone pain - Some days are good. Some days are bad.
- Trouble sleeping - Some nights are good. Some nights are bad.
- Rib pain - I was in pain early this week, but then my SIL adjusted me {she's going to school to be a chiropractor} and now I feel great!

Gender: Nick thinks we're having a boy & I think we're having a girl. We are 100% set on the girls name. We still haven't decided on a middle name for the boy - so we've been talking about it all.the.time. I don't want to be in the hospital for 2 days trying to decide on a middle name!!

Have you started to show yet: Yeppers - everyone says it looks like I'm about ready to pop!

Mood: After having our baby shower & getting so many incredible gifts from friends & family - I am getting SO excited and it seems so much more real that a baby will be here shortly!!

Stretch marks: Nope.

Belly button in or out: In.

Wedding ring on or off: I can wear it - but it's tight. So most days I just don't wear it.

Labor Signs: No.

Thoughts:

I can not express how grateful I am to Becca & Steph for throwing a baby shower for Nick & I {and Baby H}. They went above & beyond my expectations and the shower was amazing! I feel so blessed to be surrounds by such great friends and we got so many great gifts for baby!!

 

I kept wondering when this nesting phase was going to kick in...and I can say that it's here and I'm SO excited. I love making lists, checking tasks off, cleaning, organizing - everything that is included in the nesting phase!! On Tuesday night, I spent 5 hours in the nursery - putting away gifts from the shower, organized the dresser drawers {with changing table items}, hung the curtains and started organizing the closet. I know there's a lot more to do, but it feels good getting so much done!!

 

Baby H: Maternity Pictures {Outdoor Pictures}

Maybe I shouldn't have titled these posting - indoor & outdoor pictures - but outfit 1 and outfit 2. I forgot when I created the first post that I had indoor pictures taken in my second outfit!

Even though I love all the maternity pictures - I do like the ones in the second outfit alittle better. Not sure if it's because the color looks better on me or because the color pops more in the pictures or because I like outside pictures so much...but I have a feeling I'll be printing several of these off and hanging them around the house!

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

Baby H: Maternity Pictures {Indoor Pictures}

Not much to say about these pictures except our photographer has done a great job again!

 

Caleb has been through every step of mine & Nick's life together - engagement pictures, wedding pictures, family pictures {where we revealed to Nick's family that we were expecting} and now our maternity pictures. The next time we'll see him is when he does the newborn pictures for Baby H!

 

We did half the session indoor and half outside. There are too many pictures to put them all in one post - so I will separate them into indoor & outdoor pictures.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby H: 32 weeks

How far along? 32 weeks.

Baby Size: Baby H is 16.7 inches and close to 4 pounds. The size of a squash.

Total weight gain: 30-35 pounds. This weight gain thing is crazy! I can go several weeks without the scale moving and then it jumps in one week. But the next time I get on the scale I'm down a couple pounds. Water weight maybe?!? Either way...I'm feeling HUGE! That's alot of weight to add to a a 5'3" frame.

Maternity clothes? I can't believe how fast you can outgrow maternity clothes - some of the tops I wore at the beginning of the pregnancy don't fit the belly anymore. I'm trying to buy more flowy tops to get through the last 8 weeks.
 

Sleep: My sleeping has gotten better compared to the prior couple of weeks. I wake up around 1am and 4am and go to the bathroom, but sleep the rest of the night {for the most part}.

 

Best moment this week: Finished the curtains & crib skirt for the nursery with my MIL! Nick still need to put up the curtain rods before we can hang the curtains, but I did put the skirt on the crib.

Getting our maternity pictures back!! {I'll post more of them next week}

 

 

Miss Anything? Bending over/moving normal/working out. As I see all the new spring/summer clothes in the stores - I'm missing my old pre-pregnancy body. Remember last summer when I thought I was fat...yeah, I can't wait to be that 'fat' again!!! HA! {and I might miss my bangs, too}

 

**Same dress - last summer compared to last week**

Movement: Seems like there is less big movement these days {feels more like rolls instead of kicks & punches} - mostly due to lack of space in there for Baby H. I mostly feel her/him move at night when I'm relaxing on the couch. 

Food cravings: I'm starting to lose my appetite. I don't feel hungry for anything and when I do eat - I don't eat very much because I get full fast.

Anything making you queasy or sick/symptoms: I was sailing through this pregnancy and everything seemed pretty easy...and then BAM - the third trimester hit like a freight train!!  I'm definitely feeling the nagging pains that come along with the final trimester - rib pain, lower back pain, trouble getting comfortable at night and feeling tired all the time. I have had a relatively easy pregnancy so far - so I'm taking it all in stride and know that it's just part of the process. I'm not too uncomfortable yet, but ask me in about 3 weeks and it may be a different story!
- Nose Bleeds - Almost every morning.
- Pregnancy hoof - The entire top of my left foot is numb.
- Pregnancy paw - My left thumb is still numb, but I haven't noticed any shooting pain lately.
- Tailbone pain - I might have to invest in a donut to sit on at work.
- Trouble sleeping - Sleeping seems to have gotten better lately, but I still wake up twice a night to go to the bathroom.
- Rib pain - The baby has decided to take up residency in my rib cage & it's painful!

Gender: I've had several friends tell me what they've had dreams in the last week that we're having a little red-headed girl. I'm right there with them thinking we're having a girl!!

Have you started to show yet: Strangers have decided they can start touching the belly & tell me the gender of the baby. That's always fun. {insert sarcasm here}

Mood: Nervous!! I can't believe we're in single digit weeks until Baby H is here! I'm not sure if I'm ready for the baby - the pregnancy has been pretty easy so far...but some days I realize there is going to be a baby at the end of this pregnancy & I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a big change in my life!! I don't feel like I'm old enough or responsible enough to have a baby yet!!

Stretch marks:  Still using lots of lotion - hoping not to get any stretch marks.

Belly button in or out: In.

Wedding ring on or off: On...if I remember to wear it!

Labor Signs: No.

Thoughts:
Our friends, Rachel & Nolan, had their baby last week! We were able to visit them in the hospital and meet little Easton! Well...I shouldn't say little Easton since he was 9lb 11.5 oz - OUCH! He had a full head of hair and is adorable!! After leaving the hospital, Nick & I realized that we're the next ones to have a baby!!

I've had a new pregnancy symptom start this week - pain in my ribs. I talked to the doctor about it at my 32 week appointment and he gave me a few tips on trying to reduce the pain, but it'll be a nagging pain that I'll have until the baby is here. Especially as my belly continues to grow & get heavier and pulls on the ligaments/muscles. He also told me at my appointment that the baby is head down, but hadn't dropped yet. The heartbeat continues to be around the 135-145 range.

We have our first baby shower this weekend and I'm so excited to see all the fun stuff that Baby H gets!! We had a BBQ with friends on Saturday night and they surprised us with a bathing themed baby gift! This is always my favorite gift to give expecting parents...so I was excited to get it myself!