pregnancy updates & belly pictures

1st of all, happy first day of October! :)

October is a special month for our family, because of all the birthday celebrations and is about to be even more special with our new bundle of joy joining us this month!

Here is my 37 & 38 week belly shots! I can't believe how huge I look! At my 38 week appointment my total weight gain is 35 pounds! That is so crazy to me! The best thing is that hopefully after a few months of having the baby girl, I will lose it all! :) lol. I am going to breastfeed, which also helps with getting rid of all that baby weight too!

I can't really complain overall about my pregnancy, but once I hit week 36, it really has been miserable being pregnant! It is hard to sleep, hard to get up out of bed, hard to move, hard to bend over... etc. The worst things that have happened to me during pregnancy is getting carpal tunnel in my hands, and swelling in my feet. I've heard that once the baby comes out, both of those things almost go away immediately, so I am looking forward to seeing my skinny feet again, and my fingers not being numb all day! I can finally finish writing all of my thank you notes! :)

Tomorrow, Saturday, I will be 39 weeks! I will of course take another picture, and a bittersweet moment is that my 39 week picture will be my last picture! :)

hip hip horray!!!

At my doctor appointment today, my doctor informed me that I was ready to go into labor at anytime! My cervix is ready to go, and has progressed! He also told me that he was willing to induce me into labor next week if Maggie Claire hasn't come on her own before then! That means in a few days, I will be holding my sweet baby girl! My blood pressure was up a little bit, and my doctor said that it was most likely from being on my feet so much, and he wasn't too worried, but since today was my last day of work, it should help some if I take it easy! :)

I'm just super excited about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! She is finally going to arrive! I got really nervous today for the first time about having Maggie Claire, but of course, I just want everything to be perfect, and for Maggie Claire to be healthy when she arrives!

I'll keep you all updated and please keep me in your prayers!!!

photos & a beachball :)

At 35 weeks, I got some maternity pictures done by the same girl who did my bridal portraits! She showed me about 11 photos from that day and I just can't wait to see the rest! Here are a few to show you!!!

This week, I was 36 weeks, and on my weekly emails that I get from parents.com said that the baby is the size of a beachball! That is so crazy to me!

Week 36

Baby's Length: 20.25-20.75 in.

Baby's Weight: 6 lbs.

Baby's Size: Beach ball

Pregnancy Tracker: Week 36

My Growing Belly: Month 9

Fetal Development: Month 9

Today(friday) I had my 37 week appointment, still just dilated 1 cm but my effacement moved up to 60%! Tomorrow I'll take my weekly belly shot, because I'm technically not 37 weeks until tomorrow, but my belly was measuring 37 1/2 weeks today! Her heart rate was right at 140 beats per minute, I just love hearing her heartbeat, it's one of my favorite things about my weekly doctor visits! I also got to see a glimpse of Maggie Claire on the ultrasound today, my doc wanted to make sure that MC was head down, and

she is! yay!

So excited to be meeting my baby girl in just a couple of weeks! I only have 22 days to go until my due date, but maybe she'll make her grand entrance before then! My doctor said anytime now she could come! I better get to packing my hospital bag!

a bunch of miscellany!

1. the perfect weather.... after being pregnant all summer long, I am looking forward to jeans & boots again. Let's bring on the fall weather soon, so I can wear my super cute maternity jeans before MC gets here! Plus, yesterday I bought some new gray suede boots from Ross. If you want to beat everyone from buying all the good boots that you'll want this winter, so now and get yours. I found mine for $14.99. Can't be that! Anyone else with me on wanting some fall weather???

2. Updated 33 weeks and 34 weeks belly pics... check out my new super cute pink flower headband too! :)

3. car seat change. We went to babies r us to take a few things back the other day only to find out that our car seat is not sold in the store anymore! How annoying is that?!?!? So, look at this cute one that is replacing the other one. We added it to our registry! It is the Graco snugride 35 in Logan print. It has a houndstooth print on it! Plus it still matches our stroller with the green and black! So exciting! :)

4. cutesie pootsie. Two of my friends from church couldn't make it to my baby shower last week and later on gave me these two gifts.

Isn't this little night light adorable?!?!?

oh yes, and this is a hand knitted cupcake for maggie claire! I still can't believe that my friend Tiffany actually made this! She is so talented, and I don't even know why she hasn't opened up an etsy shop yet!! Go give her some lovin on her blog and tell her how she needs to start one!
5. we found a snake. Yesterday after church, we were outside admiring the new fish in my in-laws little tiny pond. Well, then this little friend of ours came out. I just couldn't believe it! My husband decided to catch it with the fishing net. I wouldn't come close. As you can see in the picture, me{in the white skirt} and my mother-in-law stayed far away. Yes, we eventually let him go because it was just a garden snake and won't hurt anyone, but I'm afraid my MIL will never go back and try to take care of her plants again.
6. Today I'm having lunch with my dear friend carissa from lowercase letters. She is the one who host miscellany monday! Link up and share what's so miscellany in your life today!!!

miscellany monday :)

Today I'm linking up with carissa's miscellany monday with all my random events that are happening!

1. I'm 32 weeks, only 8 more to go! woohoo! {hopefully less than 8 weeks, I'm not too excited about going into labor after my due date!}

2. my favorite pens. they are papermate flair marker pens. I love them and I am in need of some more, I plan on going to get some new ones this week! I use them mainly to write in my planner, but they are so colorful and they don't bleed through paper. aahhh-mazing! :)

3. school is in session! Today was the first day of school where I work {even though I wasn't even there today, I had to call in sick... blah blah blah}. I am a K2 preschool teacher, and there is no more water days. These are a bunch of the kids in my class enjoying water day last week. We are officially out with the summer schedule and in with the school schedule!
4. flash flood... turn around and don't drown! On Friday, we were on our way out the door, and it started pouring down rain! Our power went out and we weren't even able to leave our apartment because the entrances to our apartment gets flooded really easily. When the rain calmed down we were able to leave and meet our friends for dinner, but this is what we came home too! If you can't tell, the brown line was the flood line, we live on a small hill and the water was about 4 feet up the hill. You can see the debris line from where the water was! It was so crazy! I felt like we were having a hurricane coming through!

5. new blog design. If you haven't already seen it, I made a new blog design! I absolutely love it!! I designed the header myself, and I finally learned how to make myself a button with a grab box! What do you think?? Also, please feel free to grab my button and add it to your collection!

6. weekend full of baby showers. I attended two baby showers on Saturday and they were both really fun! When you are pregnant, you get to know a lot of pregnant ladies! haha, at Jessica's shower there were 5 of us there that were pregnant! My due date is just a few days ahead of Jessica, even though, I'm sure she'll deliver before me... this is her 2nd baby boy on the way!

Jenna, Jessica, Katie, & me {Jess Ray... you left right before we took this!}

I'm so glad we got this picture on Saturday, because today Whitney had her baby!!!!!!

Gemma Lane Randall was born tonight weighing in at 7 lbs 7 ozs 20.5 inches long

I plan on going to visit with her tomorrow. I am just too excited for her and can't wait to love on sweet baby Gemma! Gemma and MC will be best buds! :)

Courtney's baby shower... Whitney, Abbey, Courtney, & me

tomorrow my sweet small group friends are throwing me a baby shower and I am just so excited! I can't wait! My friend April keeps telling me how excited she is because her and Sara have so much stuff planned! ahhh..... I can't wait! Let's celebrate maggie claire!

bigger and bigger

{my belly that is!}

Can you believe my belly is just getting bigger and bigger! I feel like this week it's getting out of control... I mean, looking at last weeks picture and this weeks picture, my belly has to be growing twice as much! I guess having an estimated 4 pound baby in my belly is what's making it so big! Can you believe that MC is already 4 pounds??? I am just too excited to squeeze those sweet cheeks of hers when she gets here! :)

Today I am 31 weeks and 5 days.... that is just 8 more weeks and 2 days to go!!!!

At my shower last week my mom got me the curtains to go in maggie claire's room! We hung them up on Saturday, and I just love them! I got a double curtain rod to hang the black out curtains behind the floral ones, so the baby can sleep well during the day! They have white ones at walmart and target that I need to get! :)

I still don't have all the furniture in mc's room yet, therefore, I will be doing some rearranging because of the couch that we put in her room & I want to change the placement of the lamp.

Anyways... we have been super busy this week, and I feel like Mike and I haven't really even seen eachother that much! On Monday night we usually have small group, but this week there was a women's event at the church with an amazing woman of God who came to speak from Sydney, Australia. The girls in our small group decided to go to that while the boys went paddleboarding. I got to hear Christine Caine speak this weekend at church and on Monday just to the ladies, and she brought the Word! She has been known for started shelters all over the world for young women who have been trapped in slavery to human trafficking.

She challenged me to stay fully committed to our church and continue to do ministry with youth with an attitude of never serving enough. I feel like no matter what there is always more to be done in this world to help others, for me I feel like helping teens is where I am called, and to have a selfless attitude while doing it! She was such an inspiration to everyone who heard her this weekend, and I am so glad I was able to go to the women's event!

On Tuesday we went with the student ministry leaders to the riverdogs baseball game! I didn't take any pictures, but it was so fun! We got to sit in a VIP box that had air conditioning or you could watch the game from outside too! It was awesome! On Wednesday, I was so tired I couldn't even make it to church. I had a sore throat and cough all day, and today it hasn't gotten any better. Plus being around 20 two year olds all day doesn't help either!

I am so excited tomorrow is Friday! I have my 32 week OB appointment and I am excited to escape from work with Mike for a few hours! On Saturday, I am going to 2 baby showers and I am just too excited! One is for my friend Courtney, who is in our preggo mama group, and the other is for my friend Jessica who was in our parenting class this semester! I love both of those girls and can't wait to celebrate with them for their babies!!!

monday is full of miscellany! :)

{1.} I only have 10 more weeks until maggie claire's due date! That is so exciting, crazy, nerve-racking, and scary!!! I will have a baby girl in my arms in 10 weeks{maybe less}! wooohooo! :) 30 week picture... I feel like my stomach is looking more like an egg shape, and not round... interesting!

I also changed the ribbon out of the dress me up plate, I'm just loving pink and orange right now!

{2.} My friend found this at a yard sale a while back, and she was going to give it to someone else, but after a year of it sitting in her apt, she gave it to me! I gave it a good clean and tested this cute little piggy humidifier out today! The air comes out of t's ears, it's pretty cute!

{3.} Tonight Mike and I went to a 1 year old birthday party for these two little cuties. They are cousins who were born 1 week apart, and I get to keep them in the nursery every week. Both of them are such a joy to be around, and just sweet little girls! They will be Maggie Claire's 2nd or 3rd cousins,{they are Mike's cousin's little girls} lol... anyways...a bunch of cute little surratt's!

{4.} On Friday when I got my new windshield, I decided to clean all the trash out of my car, well... I found 20 sonic mints! That is what you call too many strawberry fruit slushes for this pregnant lady! haha

{5.} This lovely recliner will be delivered to us tomorrow, and I am so excited! :) Instead of buying a glider for MC's room, we decided to get a rocker/recliner for the living room, and move the little IKEA couch in MC's room! I can't wait... plus this will be super good to put my feet up after working all day these last few weeks of being pregnant!

{6.} Last weekend when I went to my grandma's 78th birthday party, my adorable cousin blair gave me a bag full of goodies from my registry.... a hot pink fitted crib sheet & a crib pad, and {this wasn't on my registry} a tervis tumbler sippy cup! How cute is that?!?! Blair knows how much I love tervis tumblers... and just a big thank you for MC's first tervis! She will love it! :)

P.S.- 5 years ago today{8.2.05}, I met Mike for the 1st time! :) 3 years later we got married! {8.3.08} A big anniversary post will happen tomorrow in celebration of us!

fashion, style, and other fun things...

So, I should have linked up with carissa's miscellany monday, but it's thursday, so I would be a few days late. It's been a busy week, and I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday!

Yesterday, I got pulled over when I was leaving work... all because of my cracked windshield! I was so scared, I thought it might have been for buckling my seatbelt as I was pulling out of the parking lot at work, but he just gave me a warning and told me that I needed to get it fixed, because it's dangerous! Tomorrow, Mike and I are dropping it off to get it fixed on my lunchbreak! {the crack is about 3 feet long, with a small spider crack below it, from a rock.} So, yes, it is dangerous, especially if I will be driving Maggie Claire around in my car in just a couple months!

On Wednesday, I had about an hour free time in between my doctors appointment and lunch with my friends, so I headed to ross to see what I could find, I dread getting dressed in the morning, because nothing fits like I like it being pregnant! I can't wait to wear my regular shorts again!! As I walked in to head to the maternity section, I saw a dress hanging on the end of a rack that I thought was cute, so I picked it up to try on, hoping that it would look cute. Well, out of everything that I tried on, it fit so cute, and I can't wait to wear it! I will wear it to one of my baby showers! It's a pretty purple and it has an embellished neckline with flowers on it!

I'm totally loving styles like these below that I found from googling embellished necklines! haha...

I love the ruffles on this gray dress! :)

and of course, I love the bow and ruffle combo on this top!

Lately, I've been tired of the same color pink that I paint my toes every summer. It's normally a hot pink, but I have decided to venture out. I went to target {my favorite store on earth} and found this aqua color, and I am sure loving it! :)

It was only like $1.29. I also bought a bright yellow that I might try out for August. Super cute & super bright!

{and now for the baby talk}

This week, Target released a new line of pampers diapers! They are super cute! Well, I haven't actually seen them in person, but from the pictures, they are so cute. I know that most of you have seen the hilarious huggies jean diaper commercial. Everytime I see it, I laugh... "I poo in blue", yes, hysterical. Well, I guess pampers decided to make a designer diaper now. haha. The one in this picture have a ruffle design on the butt! So cute! Can't wait to get my hands on these! :) Has anyone seen these in the store or bought them? I know they come in boys and girls designs.

Here are my belly pictures from the last 3 weeks! I can't believe that on Saturday, I will be 30 weeks!!!! That's so crazy! This summer is flying by, and I'm kind of glad because it is so hot with the heat index being anywhere from 103 to 120 everyday these past few weeks!!!! Seriously, not good for this preggo lady, I've been drinking so much water, that normally by lunchtime, I have drank 4 of my 24 ounce tervis tumbler of water! Which you all know what that means, going to the bathroom, like every 30 minutes!!!

I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday along with our preggo mama lunch, and it was a fun day! Maggie Claire's heartbeat was in the 130s, and my belly was measuring right on track! I have gained a total of 23 pounds so far... and I'm sure I will gain at least 10 more pounds these last 10 weeks! {I'm hoping to gain no more than 30 pounds total though} I don't want to blow up too much! ok, so has anyone done a belly cast of when they were pregnant?? The artsy part of me can't wait to do this! I'm going to get some of my friends to help me do this! They have the kits at babies r us for about $20, so this should be fun. I've read online that the best time to do it is around 35-37 weeks! I like the style of this one with the neckline coming to a v. Isn't the design on this one too cute?!?!
Oh! I have some good and exciting news!!!! I just heard from my friend Christina, who we visited over Christmas in Tulsa, OK, and she will be coming to Charleston to visit in October, a week before Maggie Claire is due! Christina hasn't seen me pregnant yet, so if MC hasn't made her arrival by then, she will see me pregnant, if not, she will get to meet Maggie Claire!!! I am just so excited!!!!

Have a great Friday everyone! :) I know I sure will!

baby updates

Today I had a doctor's appointment {26 weeks 3 days} to take my glucose test and have an ultrasound! I was of course super excited about my ultrasound... but sadly, I can't scan in the pictures because my computer is sick and waiting to get fixed so I'm using Mike's work computer which won't connect to our scanner! The pictures of her are so cute though! She weighed in at 2 lbs 4 oz! I was so shocked at how big she is getting! I didn't ask if she was measuring big for her gestational age, but the doctor said everything looked perfect and she is growing very healthy and strong! Her heartrate was a strong 132 bpm! We got to see her yawn 2 or 3 times, that was so cute, she had her hands up by her face and she just looked so sweet all cuddled up!! oh yes... and the chubby cheeks are definitely still there, I can't wait to kiss them!!!

Until I can get the ultrasound pictures scanned in, here are my belly pics for last week and this week! I changed the ribbon to be patriotic for the month of July! :)

The glucose test wasn't as bad as I has expected. They make you drink this very sugary drink, I had orange flavor and then you have to wait for an hour and they take some blood to see how your body reacts to the sugar. Now, I just have to wait about a week to get the results back, I'm hoping for no call from the doctor because, they said "no news is good news!" I guess we'll just wait and see!
Also, I just wanted to send everyone over to Adrienne's blog and pray for sweet baby Bennett. I just love that name for a little boy! Bennett was born on last week on July 3rd at 26 weeks 5 days. Adrienne's due date for Bennett was October 4th, just 5 days shy of my due date. I can't even imagine delivering a baby right now at this gestational age! Bennett was only 1 pound 4 ounces and 12 inches long! He is doing great, but of course still needs our prayers because he needs to grow stronger so he can go home to see his brothers and sister! I'm praying for little baby Bennett!

Stay tuned for my next blog post... I have pictures of Maggie Claire's nursery ready to reveal!!! I can't wait! It's coming together so fast! :)

Back to work tomorrow... I have enjoyed this long holiday, today I went to the beach for 2 hours by myself and it was soooooo nice! :)

4 weeks of updated belly pics