32 weeks...almost 33!

So we are under 60 days, I hit 32 weeks on Monday and have now entered my 8 month of pregnancy! I mean she could be here next month…though I’m still feeling like she will be a February baby.

At my doctor appointment, little lady is doing great and is measuring right at 32 weeks. She is also heads down already so that’s good. My blood pressure has been very normal and I’m hoping it stays this way till the end. With Cole around 37 weeks it started creeping up, nothing alarming but in the end it ultimately led to me be induced right at 40 weeks. My doctor explained to me the chances of preeclampsia happening during your second pregnancy is very slim. I did however find out this awesome itchy rash I have on one side of my lower belly is PUPP. Never heard of it? It stands for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques…it’s a mouth full. It occurs in 1% of pregnant women, it’s a hives like rash that is very itchy that can cover the belly. It causes no harm to the baby or me. From what I have read it’s very common in women’s first pregnancy, carrying twins or having boys. Yea I’m none of the above. I will however be making sure it’s still a girl at my 36 week ultrasound just in case. It’s a very minor case and thankfully has not spread but it can be pretty itchy and annoying.

For the most part I still feel pretty good. The pregnancy waddle has not occurred yet and I still seem to be able to cart around my 32 pound toddler with no real pain. Its amazing how different this pregnancy has been from my first. Yes morning sickness sucked and my short stink with back pain was no fun but I feel 100% better right now than I did the first time around. I really hope this lasts for at least a few more weeks.

How far along? 32 weeks and 5 day

Weight: +17.5 lbs, that’s 4 lbs in the last month. It’s coming on fast now!

Stretch Marks? Yes on my belly. Honestly I think they are from Cole it’s just now that my belly is bigger you can really see them.

Sleep? Peeing all the time. Sometimes it’s hard for me to fall back asleep.

Best moment this week: Emery’s Nursery, it’s basically done!

Movement? Yes, tons! She really likes to stretch out which can be a bit uncomfortable for me.

Food Cravings: Grilled Cheese, Chocolate

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: NO

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Normal clothes..I refuse to buy anymore maternity clothes and I'm just sick of what i have!

What I am looking forward to: Christmas and spending a ton of time with my family  :)

39 weeks and a visit to L&D!

I have made it to my last week of pregnancy!!! And for a few moments today thought it may be my last day of this pregnancy!

I went in for my scheduled appointment and found out I was close to 2cm dilated and still 80% effaced. My doctor then proceeded to strip my membranes, folks this is not pleasant at all but he said he did it in hopes it would help me go into labor sometime soon.

My blood pressure was a little higher than usual and seemed to be increasing over the past 2 weeks. Due to this my doctor doesn't want me to go very long after my due date, so my induction is scheduled for next Thursday JULY 1st! But to make sure everything was OK now my doctor said he wanted me to do a NST (non stress test) to make sure Cole wasn't under any stress due to my high blood pressure & also do some blood work to make sure everything was OK with me.

NST, monitors the babies heart rate and monitors any contractions you may be having for a about 20 mins. So Cam and me sat there listening to Cole's heart beat and watching the screen then all of sudden it started to dip....I knew right away this was not suppose to happen. I told Cam anything under 100 is not good...it was reading 65! Then after what felt like forever it started going up again and stayed steady between 120-155. I told Cam this isn't good and when the nurse came in she didn't help calm us down either. Her exact words when she looked at the screen was "WHAT HAPPENED!" then left the room real fast! I looked at Cam and told him
stay calm everything will be OK we are here at the hospital already so if anything needs to be done we are OK. Yes folks I'm the calm one, whenever faced with an emergency I some how keep my cool. The nurse came back in about 2 minutes later and said the doctor wants to go over the reading and that they would be sending me to L&D for more testing. My doctor said due to the drop in heart rate we need to do more tests which included another NST screening and an ultrasound to check fluids, the baby and placenta. If anything else looked unusual that we would be induced TODAY!

We looked at each other and said OMG! We were both nervous that things were not ok and tried to do our best to look at the bright side. We may be meeting our son today! So over to L&D we went after lots of waiting around, another NST screen and an Ultrasound it turns out the dip in heart rate was just a fluke. Cole passed all the tests with flying colors and today was not going to be the day we would be induced. While we were sad about that we were very happy to hear everything was OK! I'm scheduled to go back to my doctor this Friday for another NST screen just to make sure everything is still OK then we wait to see if Cole comes on is own before next Thursday!!!!

I will update what the doctor says Friday till then I'm relaxing at home and enjoying my time out of the office!

38 weeks!

I had my 38 week check up today and it seems there has been some progress! Since my last week appointment the only change I can say I have noticed is the sudden "lightning crotch" while I'm walking. Cole seems to have made some major movement toward the light and is putting pressure in my pelvic region. This pressure hits some nerves and stops me dead in my tracks when walking!

So when the doctor did my internal exam today I was happy to hear that he in fact has moved deeper into my pelvic bones! I'm still at 1 cm dilated but now 80% effaced! And some how lost 3lbs this past week, how this occurred I do not know?!

What does this all mean? Nothing! It still means he could come tomorrow or July 2ND!
My doctor did give me some hope saying that at next weeks appointment that if my cervix is agreeable (huh?) that they will schedule an induction for the following week (a day or two after my due date). I think agreeable means it's effaced and is soft, but will see what happens.

While I would like to go into labor on my own I figure scheduling an induction for after my due date is fine! I'm mean I'm giving Cole every chance to come in the next 2 weeks but come 40 weeks... eviction notice is being given!

Now here is what it looks like to be 38 weeks and 1 day along, +41 pounds, so swollen your hands barley bend and beyond sleep deprived! All kinds of hotness!!!!

Full Term!

37 weeks and looking like a large water balloon about to pop! My hands, ankles,feet, face, eyelids,lips and neck seem to be retaining massive amounts of fluid these days. My doctor even remarked on how swollen I was looking today! Awesome!
I had another internal exam today which was a lot less painful but relieved no progress. Boo :( ,I'm still at 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

At my last weeks appointment they didn't have the results of the ultrasound yet so we didn't discuss it, we did however talk about it this week. My doctor all about busted out laughing that my baby was only 5 pound 10 ounces as of last week! He said the average baby is around 7.5 pounds at birth and there is no way I'm having a baby that small. He literally looked at my belly and shook his head saying he's going to be a big boy 8 to 8.5 pounds! He said the ultrasound can be a pound off and in this case he believes it was! I guess we will see if he's right soon enough...I'm trying not to put much merit in what he says about size and when because you never know! He did confirm what I had suspected that I had in deed lost my mucus plug! Yea for that!

Cam, of course asked him when he thought Cole would be arriving...the doctor said he thinks I'll be within 7 days of my due date. The doctor said he doesn't think I'll go past my due date...can I get that in writing?!?! Ha! Till then I will be soaking up all the "Cam & Sarah" time I can get till Cole arrives.

I want Cole to take his time and come when he's ready! It just better be before July 4Th! We can't wait to meet you little man!

36 weeks!!!

This may be a record for me with this entry it will be my THIRD blog this week! With only 25 +/- days left, I want to make sure I write this stuff down so I remember in years to come how the last few week of pregnancy went with our little man.

OK so 36 weeks and 3 days along, here's how I'm feeling...

I have been having more Braxton Hicks contractions and menstrual cramps but nothing that is consistent. Walking is starting to become more difficult, I always thought pregnant woman waddle because of weight gain and back pain. No one ever told me about the pressure on my cervix and my rectum that makes it hard to walk. I have been getting lots of shooting pains on my cervix,which take my breath away( which means Cole's head is hitting some nerves down there).

Sleeping has become a joke, I now wake up every hour and a half to pee. Or at least it feels like I have to pee, but sometimes its just pressure making me think I have to go. My hip pain has entered an all time hurt, I'm debating on moving to the sitting chair in our bedroom. I think I may get more sleep sitting up and also it would be easier for me to go for my many bathroom trips. If only I could get a few hours in a row in I would be OK during the day but the truth is I'm dragging by mid afternoon.

Cam was on business in NY this week, I have become even more dependent on him these last few weeks so without him being here was hard. I mean I know I have it good, he usually makes dinner every night and takes care of almost every chore around the house. So it was somewhat of a challenge for me this week to actually muster up the energy to cook every night. Emotionally at 36 weeks a women needs her husband more then ever...he is my rock and keeps me somewhat sane through all this!

And lastly I feel HUGE! I have never seen this amount of cellulite on my legs, I love how my arms now resemble what my pre-prego thighs use to look like and I just adore my double chin more then anything else! But I can say it is all worth it, if this is what it takes to get my little man then bring it on! I will however complain on the way.... :)

Now enough about me, this week I had an ultrasound done and my first internal exam.


Ultrasound
Cole is weighing in at 5lbs and 10 ounces at 36 weeks! Not to small not to big, just right in the middle! He is in perfect position (LOA) for delivery. The three most optimal positions are OA, LOA and LOT. Here's a cool picture of the different positions a baby could be in,



Internal Exam
I didn't know exactly what to expect with the internal exams, but let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant thing ever. It feels like the doctor is sticking her entire hand up you and prodding to find your cervix. Thank goodness it only lasted like 30-45 seconds but I'm already dreading it next week. The good news is that we have progress!!! I'm one centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. This means my cervix is thinning out and getting ready for delivery! I know this also does not mean delivery is near it just means my body is getting ready. My doctor told me she is very happy with my progress and that my cervix is very good for a FTM. Who knew?!

We go back Wed for my next internal and I can't wait to see if I have made anymore progress!

35/35

35 weeks along with 35 days till D Day! With 35 days to go we have almost everything ready. I have washed all clothes, towels, blankets and bibs. All I have left is washing his bedding, installing the car seat,packing Cole’s hospital bag and packing my bag. I’m leaving Cam to fend for himself and he’s also in charge of making sure we have the camera and video camera with us. This past Sunday I went to Babies R US with my mom and bought the last of all the essentials we needed for Cole’s arrival. Knowing that we have everything is such a relief and lets me think about other great things like Episiotomy! HA!

When I think of going into Labor there is this feeling that comes over me, I know it’s going to hurt but my competitive nature has me thinking I can do this! Maybe I’m in complete denial about the magnitude of pain I will be in but that’s what epidurals are for right? While I understand some people’s belief to go all natural I’m not opposed to getting some pain relief. This brings me to birth plans...

I receive weekly emails from numerous baby websites telling me each week what to expect that week, how the baby is growing and suggestions on things to do to get ready for baby. This week it says finalize your birth plan in writing and make sure you tell your doctors how you hope/want labor and delivery to go. I started thinking about what I want and don’t want to happen when the day actually happens to come.

I’m hoping to do most of early labor at home. I want to feel comfortable and not be hooked up to any unnecessary monitoring. Depending on the time of day I go into labor this may have to be changed, we are about 40 miles away from the hospital and during rush hour traffic can make the trip take about an hour and a half. So to avoid me going into active labor in the car I will head to the hospital earlier if needed.

I have a few things made up in my mind before the big day. I want Cam to be by my side at all times and I plan on having my mom with me too. They are the perfect team and the two most important people to me to help me get through this all. I don’t want any kind of Systemic medications, which is narcotics and its often given to take the edge off the pain. I feel like the disadvantages out weigh the advantages, it can cause unpleasant side effects to you (like nausea and drowsiness), it’s not always very effective and the biggest thing for me it can affect your baby’s heart rate and make your baby less alert at birth.

Besides that my plan is to have no plan. To be open to whatever works best at that moment to help me deal with the pain. I’m not trying to be wonder women; I want my labor to be as pleasant as it can be. Taking each contraction one at a time till I feel I’m ready for the epidural. I hope to make it to about 5cm before getting an epidural so my labor has had time to progress.

If I have one fear it is of tearing, I have heard that during labor most women (with epidurals) actually don’t feel any tearing. It’s the days after that can be painful. I hope this is true because with so much going on between contractions, pushing and everything else it seems like a knockout punch right near the finish line.

I feel anxious and excited about when our little man will decide to make an appearance but that's also the fun part! :)

34 weeks

So yesterday I had my 34 week checkup. As per usual the basic blood pressure was checked (all good), protein in urine (NO) and weight (a pound to 2 pounds a week for this heifer). Then they measure your Fundal Height which measures the top of your uterus to the pubic bone which assesses how big Cole is, he's measuring right on target at 34 weeks! The doctor then started really pressing down on the belly to see which direction Cole was in, he hasn't moved and is still heads down with his feet up in my ribcage(vertex).

The doctor asked me how I was feeling and if I had felt anything different these past 2 weeks. The only thing I could think of was some mild menstrual like feelings this past week but besides that nothing. He looked at me and said "Sarah, that's contractions!" Huh?!? He assured me it was nothing to be worried about and was completely normal. It's my body getting ready for labor! I still can't believe I had no clue that this was a sign of labor...menstrual cramp= contraction? OK so now I know what to look for and since leaving his office I have had two! They are not consistent, I don't have any other symptoms of labor, and they are not painful at all. Oh I can only hope when I do go into labor that there this easy at the beginging! I can dream right!?!

I have to admit it made me freak a little...like wow could he be early?! I know the chances are I will have these menstrual cramps till my due date but it does make you start thinking what if!?!

So my list of what needs to be done is now on warp speed to get done! Wish my husband luck while the nesting begins!!!!

33 weeks!

Feeling pretty good! Cole has his little feet lodged up under my ribs which is not very comfortable. It can make it hard to find any kind of comfortable position weather its sleeping or just laying on the couch. The Shinaberry's have completed are birthing classes! While we still have 2 classes left we feel we have got our moneys worth. The truth is these classes didn't really have much value to us. Everything gone over in the class I had already read about, the breathing techniques (deep breath through your nose deep breath out your mouth)is something you can pick up in 5 mins and lastly the video we watched of labor & an epidural being administered I have seen more on the Birthing Story on TLC! While it was helpful to know the hospital's rules and take a tour of the OB, a four class series is far to much!

So here is a quick 33 week belly shot! And since I don't seem to ever include Cameron on my pregnancy belly shots ...here's one of the proud Dad to be!

32 Weeks!

So we are under 60 days, I have hit 32 weeks and have entered my 8 month of pregnancy! Some days it feels like I have been pregnant forever...but when I think that Cole could be here next month it seems like we are on warp speed now!

We started birthing classes last night, it's one class a week for 4 weeks. The first class went good, lots of what they went over I already knew from reading but it was a lot of new information for Cam. They talked about third trimester symptoms, signs of labor, timing contractions, pre-term labor and warning signs of problems. We also went over some breathing techniques and relaxations techniques for the Spouse to do. Of course Cam and me are like 5 year olds and laughed the whole time we practiced these relaxation techniques. Honestly for me there was only one thing ...the rubbing of my forehead that actually seemed relaxing the others seemed annoying! ha ha...

This morning we had my 32 week checkup, all is going good! I asked the doctor if she could tell us which way Cole was positioned. After a bit of prodding it was what I had suspected...Our little boy is heads down and ready! She even commented that his head was VERY low in my pelvic area...explains the pain. And she confirmed the position with the reading of his heartbeat! I'm so excited about this because the chances of him moving from this position are very slim and my wish to have a vaginal birth seems more real!

I have officially hit the 30 pound weight gain. My doctor doesn't seemed concerned one bit and told me very nicely "It looks like you will be at the top of the recommended weight by the end, but no worries you look great!" She also informed us that they do a standard ultrasound for everyone at 36 weeks to confirm the babies position and weight....this is a great surprise to me! I wasn't sure if we were going to get to seem him before his big arrival so I'm totally psyched!


How far along? 32 weeks

Baby's weight: Cole is around 4lbs!

Stretch Marks? None on my tummy and hoping it stays that way

Sleep? Hip pain has caused me some loss of shut eye, but the doctor has told me to lay on my back and just prop up one of my hips to allow circulation. Hopefully this helps because the whole pillow between the leg thing DOES NOT WORK!

Best moment this week: Cam and Me not realizing that we were suppose to bring pillows to are first birthing class...first parent duty...FAIL! We improvised and didn't seem to really need the pillows anyway!

Movement? Yes, I can feel him turning just his head...digging into my pelvic bones. The best is seeing his little butt bump bulge out when he moving around...love it!

Food Cravings: Sweets and carbs...great for weight gain! :(

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: No, however I did experience my first Braxton hicks contraction. It felt like a muscle cramp in my side tightening my belly. It only lasted like 2min and I haven't had any since.

Belly Button in or out? In and I'm thinking this may not change. By the end it may just shut completely no hole to be seen!

What I am looking forward to: Mother's Day on Sunday...Celebrate My wonderful Mom and Mother-in-law!

Weekly Wisdom: At this stage in pregnancy you will hear the same question over and over again "Wow, you must be close to the end huh?" My response use to be " I have __ many weeks left" now my response is "Yes sometime next month" no details besides that needed! Otherwise you may receive responses from people you don't wanna hear!?!?

31 weeks

So I’m at 31 weeks and feeling a bit deflated. I really don’t want to complain because I have had a relatively easy pregnancy so far but sometimes a pregnant lady needs to rant!

Sleep seems to be getting worse and that tired feeling just never seems to leave me. My hips feel like they’ve been hit by a sledgehammer by 2am and the constant chore of rolling in and out of bed to pee at night is getting difficult. If only I could take 2 hr naps everyday...oh to dream the dream....

Heartburn has shown its ugly head again and the lower back pain was become a real Bi#*h! I do realize lots of this back pain is my unrelenting efforts to still do everything as if I wasn’t pregnant. Bending over and cleaning my kitchen and bathroom floors is not the best thing to do at 31 weeks pregnant, you will feel the pain!

My little man is in an all out growth spurt till the end. This has made me look like I have doubled in size in the past few weeks and made some basic hygiene a daily battle. *WARNING –TMI* Shaving the lady bits has become nearly impossible, it’s like an extreme sport...Shave blindly at your own risk and pray no injury occurs!

The unrelenting pressure to read every baby book that has been recommended to me. Honestly what happens if I don’t read them? Does this make me a bad Mom? Will my son suffer from his slack ass Mom? I have tried to read but retaining some of the information given seems like foreign language class again. I mean how can I absorb any of this until I’m actually on the front lines...going through this all with my little man? I mean I know the basics but a scholar in Baby Education, I’m not!

The hormones have begun to rage once again, last night I laid there in bed telling Cam how I was feeling overwhelmed with all the baby books and expectations. I suppose he heard my voice change and asked me if I was going to cry. I didn’t feel like I was going to start crying but the second he said that BAM! I was full fledged bawling; he consoled me and said “Why are you crying??” In a half laugh half cry said “I have NO idea” then I proceeded to keep crying! Two extremely different emotions laugh/cry wrapped up into one has now made me that emotional pregnant lady you always hear about!

The reality is I still have 9 more weeks, give or take some and things will be getting more difficult. Things to look forward to swelling, hemorrhoids, waddling, stretch marks, etc...

After all my ranting, I would go through this all 100 times over and over, all to be able to have my little man! I can’t wait to hold him and see his sweet little face!

Thank you for letting me vent!

70 days! Oh My!

How far along? 30 weeks

Baby's weight: Cole is around 3 to 3.5 lbs!

Stretch Marks? My boobs are not suppose to be this big, so now I'm paying the price! :( But thankfully nowhere else has been blessed with these love marks from Cole!

Sleep? Well hard to answer, I have been sick for about a week now and the whole sleeping thing just hasn't worked out for me. Last night was the first time I actually got a decent amount of sleep! But baby wise, I'm doing pretty good!

Best moment this week: Sister's Wedding with baby Cole along for the party!

Movement? Yes, major movement. I still get the occasional jab but now it's more like whole body movements. He can take my breath away when he moves so quick! Cam has witnessed this and is in absolute amazement.

Food Cravings: Not really...Crunchy chips, sourdough bread and well any kind of carbs...

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? barely in

What I am looking forward to: Child Birthing Classes! Should be very interesting...

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to take to many pictures of yourself straight on...it can be scary!

28 weeks! Third Trimester...the home streach!

The last trimester, the final 3 months, double digits, the home stretch! Anyway you say it at the end of this trimester we will have baby boy Cole! I had my 28 week checkup today and everything looks good! Cole's heartbeat was 140 and he was kicking up a storm during the checkup! I also got back my Gestational Screening results, I PASSED thank god! The thought of having to do the three hour test, which includes fasting for 12hrs before just didn't sound like to much fun! Normally once you hit the third trimester your doctor will ask you to come back every two weeks till the final month then every week. Since things have been so good so far (knock on wood) my doctor said I don't need to comeback till 32 weeks. Then the visits will become more frequent and June will be here before we know it!

There has definitely been a shift that has taken place from how or what is going on in my pregnancy to what and how will I take care of my baby when he arrives! While of course I have read and thought about this prior to now, it now consumes most of my thoughts. I want to be as prepared as possible for the expected and unexpected. I'm in the process of reading the Baby Whisperer, its a bit overwhelming at times but it does help to have some ready knowledge about my baby's eating, sleeping and activity routine in my back pocket! I keep reminding myself that I need to not put so much pressure on myself to be the perfect mom, I will make mistakes and I will learn from them. One thing is for sure I'm going to love that little boy so much that I will find a way to make everything work!

28 weeks belly shots;





How far along? 28 weeks and 1 day


Weight: Sadly I must report that I'm +24 pounds with about 11.5 weeks to go. My hopes of staying in the 25-35 recommended weight gain seem very slim.


Stretch Marks? None on the belly & legs as of now! Thank God!


Sleep?Lately I'm on the every other night schedule. One night, I'm up about every two hours peeing, trying to get comfortable, numbness in my hip, or sheer pain in my side from flipping to fast in my sleep. The next night, I sleep like a rock due to the lack of sleep the night before.


Best moment this week: Seeing Cole's Sweet Face in the 3D ultrasound!


Movement? Yes, tons! He's currently positioned with his head near the left of my pelvis with his body and legs stretched across to right under my right side rib cage. After seeing him in the ultrasound this week it seems lots of the movement I feel is him moving his little legs up to his face!


Food Cravings: Chocolate, I have been good and have restricted this to sugar free pudding. I would also have to say banana bread!


Gender: Boy!


Labor Signs: NO


Belly Button in or out? barely in


What I miss: being able get up from by favorite corner seat on our couch without some real effort. I have to wiggle myself to the edge then lift my self up.


What I am looking forward to: The amazing weather and taking walks with my hubby after work.

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to bite your husband's head off when he asks why you don't use the Treadmill more?! He means well. But really how does he expect a pregnant women to not take that question to heart! Are you saying I need to be on the treadmill more?! That I'm fat?!...deep breath...

Milestone this week: Booked the photographer Kristin Staples for Cole. We have been instructed to call her the day we have Cole and within a week of his delivery she will be coming to our house to take newborn shots of our baby boy!

Thank You Ben & Jerry's!!!

Today I had appropriations meetings on Capitol Hill, in an effort to avoid DC traffic I took Amtrak train down to Union Station. When I departed the train I saw a longer then usually line coming from Ben & Jerry's, was everyone having the same cravings as me?!? To my delight it turns out that today is free ice cream cone day for Ben & Jerry's! Probably one of the best things a pregnant lady could hear!So of course I took part in the yummy fun, I went with a milk and cookies cone! Pretty much made my whole afternoon! :)

25 weeks!

So 106 days to go! Feeling pretty good still,I really hope it lasts for weeks to come! I'm have been keeping busy doing some traveling for work so I haven't had much time to work on the nursery. But I did find window treatments this weekend I liked and are very affordable!
Cole has been moving a ton this week he kicks around the same times everyday, huge kicking when I lay down to sleep. Cam and me lay in bed watching my belly move all over its such a cool and weird thing to see! I can't wait to meet our little soccer player!

25 weeks!


In Richmond- 24 weeks!


How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Cole is around 2 lbs this week! Wow!
Maternity Clothes? Yep
Stretch Marks? No
Sleep? Pretty good, seem to have figured out the whole pillow between the leg thing.
Best moment this week: Laying in bed watching Cole do some major kicking and Cam's amazed face by it all :)
Food Cravings: Ice tea and banana bread
Gender:Boy!
Belly Button in or out? In, I think I have about a week till it's out
What I am looking forward to: 3D/4D Ultrasound in about 2 weeks! I just had to see him again before June! Our mothers are coming with us too! Also turning 30 tomorrow, birthday celebration this weekend!

24 weeks!

I had my 24 week check up today, Cole is doing great and I'm measuring right on track now! I however doubled the amount of weight gain this month with a whopping 7 lbs! I'm not happy or proud of that number, it looks like no more sweets or Chick Fil A for this girl! Thankfully it is becoming warm outside so I can actually venture outside after work and do some walking with my hubby! Hopefully this will help and I won't see another 7 lbs in 4 weeks or I may just breakdown. Don't get me wrong I'm happy my little guy is healthy & doing great, my doctor doesn't seem concerned with the weight gain either but I'm having a hard time adjusting to the new numbers I'm seeing on the scale. :(



Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.
Baby's skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. And, thanks to the formation of small capillaries, her newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow.

Bridesmaid Dress

The week after I found out I was pregnant I had to order my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. I went to the store and told the salesman that I would be almost 30weeks pregnant when the wedding came in April and that I had no clue how big I would be! He suggested I try on the dress to see what my original size in it was then go up 4 sizes, he even supplied a belly bump to show me how it would look. My mom was there to witness this and said "Sarah your belly won't be that big at 30 weeks, you will be fine!". So I bought my size 12 dress and thought there was no way I'll be this big! Ha! Was the joke on me! As of last week it was apparent this dress would not be working for me, it not only didn't hold my ever growing chest but the size of my bump was now making the front of dress come up above my knees!And i still have 7 weeks to go! Time to panic!?!?

Thankfully the gracious bride agreed that it was time to find a new dress! So i returned to the store with my mom where we found the best sales lady ever! She found me a great dress that comes in exactly the same color and she even let me return the other dress! She said the salesman should have never let me purchase it because it really would never work with on a 7 month pregnant lady! Ahhh crisis averted! The new dress is even a smaller size but was made to handle the BUMP!

So my word of advise to future pregnant women who will be in a wedding, always plan for a backup and never let a salesMAN assure you that a dress size will work. What do guys know?!?

Here is the bridesmaid dress everyone else will be wearing;


Here is my bridesmaid dress, I will be shortening it so it looks like everyone else's;

Half Way!!!

20 weeks down and 20 weeks to go! I have been blessed so far to feel pretty good during this pregnancy, there are a few things I have discovered since being pregnant I just wasn't expecting by the half way point. While I did read that your boobs could grow up to 2 cup sizes I wasn't expecting to already be at that point, the hormone raging breakouts that take me back to when I was 17 and lastly my sense of smell... I can smell everything within a 100 feet radius of myself! It's like it's right under my nose!

The Valentine Blizzards that hit this area have moved the nursery decorating into full speed! It has taken my already obsessive search for the perfect wall decal for Cole's room to a whole new level with my ambitious thoughts of having large zoo animals on the wall or having a monogrammed decal above the crib. I love love love doing this stuff it gets me so excited to make Cole's room a fun, loving and soothing space for him to enjoy! Updates on nursery project to come.






How far along? 20 weeks and 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: +11.5 at my 20 week check up 2 days ago
Maternity Clothes? All, second round of all new bra's...this needs to stop!
Stretch Marks? No
Sleep? OK, tossing and turning need to get a full body pillow
Best moment this week: Cam painted the nursery! What else is there to do during 2 blizzards?!?
Food Cravings: Sweet Tea from Chick-fli-a...I buy it by the gallon in jugs for home!
Gender:Boy
Belly Button in or out? In, but this won't last long :)
What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery...so many little projects for Cole's room.

17 weeks and Counting...

17 weeks! I have now officially entered into my fifth month of pregnancy! Time is just flying by and I can only imagine the next 160 days will too!

I'm happy to report that I'm feeling pretty awesome these days. Besides the ever growing belly and legs there are times throughout the day I forget all together that I'm pregnant. I have however started to crave chocolate after dinner every night :) This is very new to me I have never had a sweet tooth so I give into my/baby needs with a few Hershey kisses but besides that no crazy food consumption as of yet. I'm sure it will come at some point in the next 8 weeks since this will be when I gain most and baby Shinaberry will double and triple in size!

Last night after dinner I was laying down and felt this kinda butterflies fluttering feeling on my right side. I know it was not gas and not hunger pains ...it was my baby! I was so excited! I can't wait till this happens all the time it is such a great feeling to know your little one is in there and is doing good. :)

I can't put into words how anxious and excited I'm to find out if we are having a girl or boy. I have had the some crazy dreams these past few days, both have been about a girl and boy. Supposedly this is very normal due to all the pregnancy hormones in me. Either way I'm excited to put a name to he or she, to start thinking about nursery ideas and buy baby stuff! We decided we wouldn't buy anything till we found out the sex of the baby so I will be going crazy in February! Yippee!

Week 17 and two days!





How far along? 17 Weeks and 2 days!
Total weight gain/loss: 9.5 lbs...about a pound a week since week 12
Maternity Clothes? All pants/Some Shirts (My Mom has let me borrow some of her shirts for work :))
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? Very good these days :)
Best moment this week: Picking out the Crib we want for Baby Shinaberry!
Movement? Yep!
Food Cravings: Chocolate and anything sweet these days...
Gender: I going with Girl , Cam has switched to boy this week.. Ha :)
Belly Button in or out? In
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if Baby Shinaberry is a boy or girl next Friday!

15 week update!

We are back from Mexico and all ready for 2010! I'm officially 15 weeks pregnant and starting to see a bump :). Our baby is now the size of an apple...oh how i love apples!

My second trimester while only 3 weeks into it has been going pretty good, I have a lot more energy and my sickness has gone away. The only real complaint would have to be indigestion pretty much after every meal I eat. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat fruit or french fries or bread it's always soon to follow.

We had our NT Scan at week 12 that checks for down syndrome or any genetic disorders. Thankfully baby Shinaberry shows no signs of any problems! We couldn't believe in just 2 weeks from our last ultrasound that the baby had grown so much! When the tech started the screening the baby looked to be sleeping in about 3 seconds the baby started kicking away! In what I can best describe to you as an invert yoga position! Legs straight up and kicking away! I can't wait for the week 18ultrasound!!!

How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 7lbs
Maternity Clothes? One pair of jeans that have elastic...there for the in between real jeans and maternity jeans.
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? much better these days...peeing only 2 to 3 times a night!
Best moment this week: First belly shots taken!
Movement? not yet
Food Cravings: Meat!
Gender: I keep flipping back and forth..today Girl
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Champagne on New Years :(
What I am looking forward to: Is it to early to countdown till we find out the sex?!? 24 days!
Weekly Wisdom: When flying in your second trimester always take seconds when it comes to free on plane snacks! Or you may feel like causing bodily harm to the flight attendants.

Here is a picture of Baby Shinaberry at week 12


Week 15 Belly Shot

I'm Pregnant!

Obviously this is no big secret that I'm in fact pregnant but I wanted to share how I told Cam we were expecting our little bundle of joy! After this summer ended we decided we were going to start trying to have a baby. I was hoping things we would be successful but you just never know till you start trying. Well it was a success our second month I had become pregnant!

I was due to get my period the next day but just couldn't wait any longer to take a pregnancy test!!!! I honestly don't know how I waited that long...I had read somewhere it was best to take the test in the morning but I threw caution to the wind and took it on my lunch break! And to my surprise it said PREGNANT! My first thought was OMG we did it! Next thought was how I'm going to tell Cam!?!?!

So I came up with the idea to tell him after my lunch break that I had gone shopping during it and gotten some shoes for our upcoming trip to NYC. He seemed less then excited about my new purchase but I thought wait till he finds out!

After work I went straight to Target to find any gender neutral shoes I could and something that said Daddy on it. I raced home and got an old shoe box out and placed it on the bed,in which i put the new shoes, the adorable onesie and the positive pregnancy test! And then I just waited....folding laundry in the bedroom all awhile I was about to explode in anticipation! Finally Cam came home,I made sure before he did anything else that he look in the box at my new shoes and then the look I will never forget complete shock and confusion came across his face! He just looked at me saying over and over again "Are you!? Are you!?" until I answered him YES! It was priceless and I don't think it set in for him or me for a few days later! Below are some pictures I took of my little surprise!