30 Weeks!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 weeks, 6 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce weighs almost 3 pounds and is a little over 15.7 inches long from head to heels. 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far...geeze, that seems like a lot! 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.   
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  I feel more and more of his body parts now.  I'm not sure what they are, but I think I can feel his bottom sometimes and I also feel something pointy...maybe a foot or knee or elbow.  He still gets the hiccups every day, several times a day!  Ashley got to see him in action and she was amazed at how much he moved around.   

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Still having reflux, swollen feet, a little back pain, and a few Braxton Hicks contractions.     

Cravings:  Lately, it's been Starbucks:  Decaf Mocha.  I drink a ton of water all the time, so Starbucks is my little treat :) 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  I got to hear his heartbeat on Monday AND my doctor set his birthdate:  January 25!!   

What I am looking forward to:  My second baby shower is coming up on December 3!!  I am so excited to see everyone and celebrate my baby boy! 
How's that scar looking? It's gonna be a doozy at the end.  It feels really hard...I just don't see how it can stretch more than it has already.  But, I don't care! 

Belly Button: Pretty flat now.

 

Right now, I am still in Dallas for Thanksgiving Break.  Just for fun, here is a picture of Otis.  Do you see that long string of drool hanging off his mouth?  That's because he was watching Charlotte eat her peanut butter sandwich :)

And here is my beautiful niece who turned 15 on the 22nd.  She's way taller than me and oh so stylish!  I just can't believe she is growing up so fast!  Charlotte LOVED being with Alexandra. 

29 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 29 weeks, 3 days (in the picture)

Size of baby:  Pearce weighs about 2 1/2 pounds, about the size of a butternut squash.  He is a little over 15 inches long from head to heels. 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far...geeze, that seems like a lot! 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.   
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  He is moving SO much.  He doesn't roll around as much now...it's mostly like little kicks and stretches.  Sometimes his little jabs catch me off guard because they are so strong.  I can feel more little parts from my stomach now.  I just absolutely love it when he gets the hiccups which are quite often.   

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  I've been experiencing a little bit of heartburn, but not too bad.  I think the cankles are here to stay!  I've been pretty tired lately, too.   

Cravings:  Really just food.  But, I do feel like I get fuller much faster.  I guess my stomach is starting to get cramped. 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  Knowing I am officially in the THIRD TRIMESTER!!!  Also, when I walked into Starbucks, a man held the door for me and said "Come on in...both of you."  Ha! 

What I am looking forward to:  Getting the window treatments attached to the window as well as the hutch on his changing table.  Then, just putting finishing touches on his nursery. 
How's that scar looking? It's gonna be a doozy at the end.  It feels really hard...I just don't see how it can stretch more than it has already.  But, I don't care! 

Belly Button: There is still a slight indentation, but it's pretty much flat now.  Chris saw it last night and was totally surprised, maybe slightly grossed out that it was flat :)  I kept trying to get him to touch it because it's so smooth and he said NO WAY...ha!  



28 weeks and my first baby shower!!!

How Far Along: 28 weeks, 4 days (in the picture)

Size of baby:  Pearce is 14 .8 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about 2 and a quarter pounds, about the size of a Chinese cabbage (once again, what is this?). 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far. 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  I've started wearing my Fall tops and I love that because that means it's getting closer to winter time which also means closer to baby! 
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  He is moving SO much.  It feels like he just rolls around and does flips.  Sometimes his little jabs catch me off guard because they are so strong.  I can feel more little parts from my stomach now.  I just absolutely love it when he gets the hiccups which are quite often.  As I type right now, he has them :)  

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  I think the cankles are here to stay!  

Cravings:  Really just food.  But, I do feel like I get fuller much faster.  I guess my stomach is starting to get cramped. 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  I went to the doctor on Monday and got to hear this heartbeat.  I have started going every two weeks now, which I LOVE!  Also, my very first baby shower was Wednesday!!

What I am looking forward to:  Putting his things away in the nursery.  I have another baby shower in December, too!

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: It's pretty flat now.  I don't think I'll have any type of "button" by the time he comes.  

Yesterday I had my first baby shower!  It was thrown by my First Grade Team at school.  I was so excited for this, not because of all of the gifts I would get, but for the experience of having a baby shower.  There were times in the past that I wondered if I would ever get to have a baby shower, and now here I am at my own baby shower.  My team did such an awesome job planning it!!

Here's my belly up close and personal...thanks Christie!! 

My sweet mom came for just the day.  She had something going on the day before and the day after, so my dad drove her down.  Only my mommy would do that...she said she wouldn't miss this for the world :)  I love you, mom!!!  

While I opened presents, everyone played a cute game.  The theme was "Movies" since I love going to the movie.  My teammate, Ashley, read "baby movie quotes" and you had to guess the movie.  Whoever won got the coveted "Golden Prego Award."  Ha!  I knew my friend, Christie, would win because she is a movie GENIUS!!!   

And the Golden Prego Award goes to....CHRISTIE!!!  I think she got 6 or 7 out of 10 right....some of them were really hard and she got them!  

Every table had sacks of popcorn and candy.  They also had nachos and soft drinks.  My kind of food!!!

Here are all of the sweets.  Tons of cute blue cupcakes and my teammate Erin made the cutest alphabet sugar cookies with blue icing drizzled on top.  The cookies all spelled his name, PEARCE.  So CUTE!!!  I wish I had gotten a close up of the cookies.  Erin also made the diaper cake.  It's filled with all things that I registered for:  bottles, pacifiers, toys, and blankets.  Isn't it so cute?! 

Another unique touch was this tree.  The guests made a green thumb print on the branches and then signed their name next to their "leaf."  What a neat idea!  I can't wait to frame it and hang it in Pearce's nursery! 

Time to open presents.  When I first started opening, I was holding back tears.  I just couldn't believe I was opening presents at MY baby shower!  I kept telling myself, "Don't cry, don't cry." 

Then I get to this gift...my mom and dad's.  As soon as I opened it, I just lost it.  My mom had sewn two beautiful day gowns for Pearce.  They were so sweet and soft and made with love, I just couldn't hold back the tears anymore.  From then on, I cried off and on.  Tears of pure JOY and HAPPINESS and THANKFULNESS! 

Terrible picture of me, but out of all of the gifts we received, Chris was most excited about this outfit!!  He thought this little Nike running suit was awesome...ha!    

After I finished opening presents, we played one more game.  Melanie, our librarian, asked if my mom was easily offended....ummmm NO!  So this is how she started it:  "Erika was at Carrie and Chris' house the night Pearce was conceived and this is what she heard through the walls:  Awww, it's so cute!  Oh, look how little!  Oh! Why do I keep crying? Oooh, this is nice!  Oh my gosh!"  There were lots more, but we were all rolling with laughter!!  She wrote down all the things I said while opening presents...just in case you didn't quite catch on to the game.  It was so funny!! 

My sweet First Grade Team:  Tammy, Marjan, Ashley, Me, Rachel, and Erin.  Thank you so much for all you did to make this day special for me.  I love you girls so much!!!! 



We got so many wonderful things for our baby boy.  We got a bouncy seat, Bjorn baby carrier, Baby Einstein activity jumper, closet organizer, blankets, clothes, sound machine, gift cards, and several other things!  Wow....I am so lucky to work with such sweet people who are genuinely happy for us.  What a wonderful day it was!!!!

Teacher's Pet

I took Otis to school with me last Friday.  He is always so good with my kids.  He's actually been coming to school with me since he was a puppy.  My kids were so excited to have him!  They LOVED him!  He definitely got lots of love and attention and by the time the day was over, he was doggone tired!  One thing the kids loved was taking him outside to go potty :)  I would choose a couple kids to hold his leash and together we would take him out.  Also, I told my kids that he does slobber, so watch out for that!  One little girl noticed he was a little messy when drinking from his water bowl, so every time he got finished taking a drink, she would run over and wipe his mouth :)  Here are some pics from the day!

Fatty is waiting for the kids :)

He got lots of love and attention! 

He really enjoyed being read to. 

The kids LOVED reading to him, too! 

Then we of course had to put on his Halloween costume.  I think he looks adorable.  He thinks he looks ridiculous :) 

"Mommy, can you take this off of me now?" 

By the end of the day, he was fading.  Going... 

....Going.... 

GONE!   

Then he perked up when two of his favorite little girls came to visit him!  These girls are sisters.  Lauren is on the left and Sarah is on the right. 

I had Lauren two years ago and Sarah last year. 

Here's another one of Otis' buddies.  This is Gus.  I had him last year.  LOVED Gus! 



27 weeks, 4 days pregnant and Happy Halloween!

These pics were taken at my friend, Christie's Halloween party.  I was a black cat :)  On this day I was exactly 27 weeks.

How Far Along: 27 weeks, 4 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce is 14 1/2 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about 2 pounds, about the size of a head of cauliflower. 

Weight gain:  I think I'm up about 22 pounds so far. 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  I've started wearing my Fall tops and I love that because that means it's getting closer to winter time which also means closer to baby! 
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  Now I KNOW that he knows my touch.  The other night, Chris and I were both in bed and he was going crazy.  I grabbed Chris' hand and put it on my belly for him to feel AND.....nothing.  Chris did feel a little movement and he thought it was so strange, but I wanted him to feel the big, crazy movements!  Then Chris would take his hand away and start watching tv again...and then baby started kicking up a storm.  I grabbed Chris' hand and put it on my belly AND....nothing again!  It was so crazy he would stop when I took my hand off my belly.  Oh well!  The latest movement I love is him having hiccups.  I couldn't wait for me to feel him have hiccups and he actually gets them quite often!   

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  I now definitely have CANKLES!  

Cravings:  Still sweets.  Halloween was fun :)  I thankfully did my glucose test on Friday, so hopefully that comes back just fine. 

What I miss:  There are some things I miss, but I hesitate to type them out because when it comes down to it, I really don't care.  But now that Fall is here, I do miss my cute Fall shoes.  All of my boots are too small.  I had some cute sneakers, too, and they are too small.  I did just buy two pairs of sneakers, but they're not all that cute.  Oh well.  I don't have a whole lot longer, so I can do without!  I also miss turkey sandwiches from Jason's Deli.  I know I can warm up the turkey, but I just can't bring myself to eat any lunch meat.   

Best moment this week:  Baby furniture came!!!!!!!  We haven't unpacked it yet :(

What I am looking forward to:  Decorating the nursery with the finishing touches AND....my first baby shower is next Wednesday!

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: Very shallow.

My friend Christie threw her annual Halloween Party this past Saturday.  That's the day I turned 27 weeks, so she took my pic.  We had so much fun.  Chris couldn't come because he was cheering on the Hogs in Nashville, but several other couples were there.  Christie had all kinds of yummy food and drinks.  The best part was sitting outside watching a scary movie on the HUGE screen that her husband Mike built.  Even though it was chilly, it was so fun! 

I wanted to be comfy, but I also wanted to be festive, so I settled for a black cat.  You can't really tell in this pic, but I'm holding my tail...ha! 

Here's a close-up of how I did my makeup.  I think I look pretty cute for coming up with a last minute costume!   

Here's the hostess, Christie on the left and our friend Michelle on the right.   

Leann and Christie 

Veronica, Paige, Michelle, and Paige's husband.   

Rachel and her boyfriend, and Veronica's husband.   

Here's Leann and her husband Trent.  They were dressed as Nicole Simpson and O.J.!!!!  See his gloved hand and knife?  

The drink table.  You can't tell very well, but there's dry ice in that middle bowl and it looked really cool!  See that bottle on the right?  That's the one I enjoyed....Dr. Pepper :) 

The host and hostess

And I had to add this one in.  Chris came home Halloween evening from the grocery store and decided that one of our dogs needed to be a bumble bee for Halloween!  It would have fit Daisy best, but we knew Otis would let us put it on him, so he was the lucky one.  He looked so cute! 



26 weeks, 4 days!!

This pic was taken in the school library because Chris is gone all week.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 weeks, 4 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce is 14 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about a pound and a half, about the size of an English hothouse cucumber.  What is that?

Weight gain:  I went to the doctor on Monday and my nurse said my weight gain is right on target.  I weighed in at 127 pounds...whoa!

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  I've started wearing my Fall tops and I love that because that means it's getting closer to winter time which also means closer to baby! 
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  I just love getting into bed and feeling him roll around.  I love watching my belly move all over the place.  There are times when a kick or movement is so strong that it sort of takes my breath away.  It's just amazing!  I read that he can recognize his parents' voices and react to them.  I totally believe that.  When I talk to him I can feel him move.  I really think he can also sense my touch.  When I put my hand on my belly, he moves where my hand is.  I think he knows it's mommy's hand, too.  It never fails when someone else touches my belly he won't move, but when I touch it, he does :)

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  BUT I DON'T CARE!  

Cravings:  Lately it has been sweets.  Which is not good since I have to do my glucose screening in the next week!  

What I miss:  Ummm...nothing! 

Best moment this week:  Had a doctor's appointment on Monday and everything was great!  I just can't help but have the biggest smile on my face when I hear his heart beating away.  !!!

What I am looking forward to:  The nursery furniture is coming next Tuesday!

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: Very shallow and fun to play with!

I enter the 3rd trimester at 28 weeks.  I can't believe I'm almost there.  At times it seems like the days and weeks are crawling and at other times I think WOW....time is flying by!  The other day someone asked me when we'll try for a second baby.  That question totally caught me off guard.  A second baby?  How in the world can I think about a second baby when the first one isn't even here yet????  I just told her I had no idea.  But I've been thinking about that and I've come to the conclusion that if God just lets me have Pearce, that's all I need.  During this whole journey I always told God that if He just lets me have one healthy baby, that would be fine with me.  I think deep down I would like for Pearce to have a sibling, but I've already decided that I will not do any fertility treatments.  I am done with that!  In the end, we didn't need them for Pearce, so if it's God's plan for us to have another baby after Pearce, then great.  If not, that is o.k. too.  I am just so INCREDIBLY thankful for the sweet baby boy that is growing inside of me.  I do not want to be greedy and try for another baby.  If it happens, it happens.  Afterall that is how we got Pearce...we weren't even "trying" at the time.  Anyway, that's just how I feel right now.