33 Weeks & Nursery Reveal

We hit our 33 Weeks mark today!  The weeks following Week 30 seem to fly by and I'm all-the-more excited every day to meet our sweet baby.  So much still has to be done by the time Avery arrives, but knowing that we're finally getting to the point where some of those things are happening is exciting!

The following is a picture of me when 32 weeks pregnant with Noah:

These pictures are of me at Week 30 with Avery:

This picture is of me when I was 33 weeks pregnant with Michael:

And here's the Week 33 picture of Avery.  (ignore the make-up-less face!  It's been a long week!)

Avery's weight this week is about 4.25 pounds (about the size of a grown-up duck), and her height is anywhere between 16 and 17 inches (the length of a head of celery, a pineapple, or a ukulele). :)

Here's the "I-Spy" Quilt my Nana made for Avery!  It arrived in the mail on Monday and I LOVE it to pieces!

And......here's some more pictures of the nursery!  This is the first time I've ever had a designated "nursery."  This room was functioning as our guest room, but we moved the queen bed down to the shop in our backyard so that we'd have room for the crib, etc.  In our other house, Michael used the guest room as his room (his crib and the bed fit in the room-- not so in our new house).  Noah, poor guy, had a crib set up in our other spare room that I was using as our home office.  So, in our new house where we have an extra bedroom that serves as our home office, Michael & Noah share a room and we have a room left for Avery to have as her room!  Once she outgrows her crib, we'll move the queen bed back to the room and have her sleep in it.


Since my guest room has a "beach theme" I decided to keep that theme going and just add in some girly pieces here and there.  Michael's nursery/guest room was this theme as well except that house already had the room painted blue from the previous owners.  This room in our new house still has its original light taupe walls-- somewhat hard to tell in these pictures.


From the doorway looking in: (hanging over the front of the crib is a baby quilt I received at our baby shower in early June.  It was hand-made by a church member!)

A closer look at the rock-and-play to the left side of the crib.  Inside the rock-and-play is a baby afghan my Nana crocheted. 

A basket of goodies my coworkers gave to me!



Our swing and bouncy seat-- ready to make their way across the house as "stations" when we need them. 

The washboard that acts as a nightstand when the queen bed is in the room.  In the cabinet part of this I have sheets for all the beds in the house, and I'm still in process of moving these to another location.  The seashell lamp and the Auburn booties, and sound machine are on top.  I've never used a sound machine for a baby before, but it was a good deal at the consignment sale, so I decided to try it out. 

My current diaper hoard.  I LOVE getting diapers as gifts because they'll totally be used.  If I have an unopened package after she outgrows that size, I'll exchange it at Target for the next size up! You can also see the gift bag of books which were used as décor in the baby shower in June.  The boys like to come in here to pick out a book to read.  I make them keep her books in here because if the books were moved to their bookshelf, pages would go missing.



Here's a close-up of the art hanging above Avery's crib.  It says "A Little Mermaid Sleeps Here," so it's my touch of pink that keeps with the beach theme.



On the far side of the crib, I have baby towels and washcloths in a bin. In the center are the lovies she's received thus far.  In the bin towards the bottom of the picture, I put newborn and 0-3 month size sleep-gowns for easy access since this will be what she wears the most upon coming home from the hospital. 

Here are two pictures hanging by the door.  The picture on the left is of a view at our actual beach cottage that I printed a verse on top of.  The art on the right is a wall-hanging that my mom bought for me to remember that God is in control no matter what.  It resonates deeply with us because it reminds us of a song (I have this hope in the depths of my soul, through the floor or the fire, You're with me and You won't let go) that really helped us get through a family tragedy earlier this year. It still stings and we'll never fully get over it, but seeing this plaque reminds me that God holds all things.

 



Here's two other prints hanging on the left side of the dresser mirror, and on the dresser you can see a porcelain doll I picked out when I was about 10 years old.  She's been packed away for a while, but I got her out to add some more pink to the room and to celebrate the fact that someone is arriving who will like dolls! (hopefully)

This is a cropped view of the closet. The prior owner converted this room to a craft room and therefore, there's like a million shelves in this closet.  That was helpful when no one was actually living in this room, but I'm working at clearing off those shelves so I can add more hanging rods.  I hung up just a few things that really couldn't be folded well for the dresser drawers. 

Here's our 33 Week Stats:

How far along? 33 weeks

 
Total weight gain/loss: +17lbs  I've maintained my weight for the last five weeks since I’m on super-cautious low carb diet, and consistent exercise 4-5 days a week of alternating weight training and cardio.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  I haven’t really tried to wear any pre-pregnancy t-shirts in a while because I don’t want to stretch them out.  If I’m wearing any kind of pants that do not have an over-belly elastic, then I wear my Belly Band to offer support to my tummy.  My workout clothes are a combo of maternity & non-maternity tops and shorts.

Stretch marks?  Yes, but I do feel like I haven’t gotten any additional ones since I’ve started lotioning my belly post-showers.  Of course, I can only see what the mirror shows me, so I have no idea if I have additional stretch marks on the underside of my belly.

Sleep: Unfortunately, it’s getting worse.  Last night was HORRENDOUS.  My left leg calf muscle is super tight, so it either hurts or gets a Charlie Horse in the hours leading up to bedtime, then severely right at bedtime, and also during the night I can wake up from leg pain. My hips are also pretty sore throughout the night as I “rotisserie chicken” myself back and forth.  That first night in the hospital post-delivery when I can sleep on my back will be so great!  Each time I came home from the hospital with my other two pregnancies, I’d lie on my back and just breathe a sigh of relief because it was so comfortable! 

Best moment this week: Feeling Avery move a whole bunch.  She gets hiccups nearly every day and I think she’s head-down because of where I feel the hiccup bumps.  Also, my Nana sent Avery’s “I-Spy” Quilt this week and it’s ADORABLE.  She’s made one for each grandkid and this is the first time we’ve gotten to see what a girl “I Spy” quilt is like!  It’s so super cute and I now have it hanging on the side of the crib.  I plan to use this blanket for tummy time until Avery is old enough to really match the objects shown on the quilt squares.  It was such a fun day when Michael could match the objects on his quilt! 

Have you told family and friends: Absolutely.

Miss Anything? I still miss being able to snuggle my kids close and I miss picking up Noah. I wasn’t really able to pick up Michael prior to this pregnancy anyway because of how big he is, but I am sad that this pregnancy kind of removed my ability to pick up Noah.  He’s still a little guy and a definite “threenager” and needs hugs sometimes to get him out of his moods.  I look forward to picking him up once I get the doctor’s clearance after the post-partum recovery weeks.

Movement:  She’s still active, and I know that this will lessen a bit as the weeks progress because she’s running out of space.  On Sunday, though, I thought she might be transverse because the jabs or kicks on my right side were SO INTENSE that they made me tear up…. in church.  I’d grab Aaron’s hand or his leg and stiffen my back.  Fortunately, I haven’t felt such hard movements again since that day.

Food cravings: Peanut butter milkshake.  Also, Oreos and a glass of cold milk.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Certain smells still get me periodically.  We made a pasta side dish to go with a meal last week and the smell of the pasta was really working a number on me.   

Have you started to show yet: Yes.  I think I’ve surpassed my prior pregnancy carrying size for this far-along.  I took occasional bump pictures throughout both prior pregnancies, and I compare how I looked then with how I look now and I do think my belly is bigger this time around.  I’m carrying pretty differently though, so maybe I’m not as big as I think?  

Gender: GIRL! 

Labor Signs: Not yet. I think I’ve had some Braxton Hicks contractions—which I didn’t feel or didn’t have at all with Michael or Noah. 

Belly Button in or out? Out out out.

Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(  Still so super sad about this.  

Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy since we’re on a countdown to meeting this sweet girl!  I’m also pretty moody or overwhelmed at times when I think of the school work that I have to do this month!!!  I’m also moody when all of my “roles” start coming to the forefront of my mind and I’m trying to balance them, while preparing for Michael to go to school, and nesting at the same time!  Hello, tears and a racing mind!

Looking forward to: My OB appointment tomorrow.  I’m now on weekly visits.  This shouldn’t have happened until Week 36, but for patients who are on oral meds for diabetes, weekly visits start at Week 32.  Tomorrow, I will have an Non-stress test (NST) where I will sit in a recliner and have fetal heart monitor and contraction monitor on my belly, and every time I feel Avery kick, I will press a button on a remote.  The monitors will create a paper print-out of her heartrate, and the remote will input a dot onto the paper with whenever I felt her kick.  The doctor will then be able to look at the paper and see if her heartrate corresponds with her movements, etc.  With Noah, I had only two NSTs (at Week 36 and Week 38 I think), but since I’m taking medication for the gestational diabetes this time around, I’ll have weekly NSTs.  After my NST tomorrow, I’ll have an ultrasound.  This will determine Avery’s measurements. It’ll also allow the doctors to measure the amniotic fluid level and Avery’s position in the womb.  I’ll have another ultrasound three weeks after this one.  After the ultrasound, I’ll meet with the doctor to go over all of the results.  These tests tomorrow might help us solidify a plan for delivery—whether we think we’ll have to go early or if we can hold out to week 39.  We’re looking at Week 39 to deliver just because sometimes it’s better for babies of Gestational Diabetic moms to go ahead and come out so that they can start regulating their own blood sugar.  Michael was born at 39 Weeks 5 days, and Noah was born at 39 Weeks 2 days because of gestational diabetes.  This time I’ve already put in my request for a 39 Week delivery and the doctor said it’s perfectly reasonable.  That means, we’re 6 weeks away from Delivery!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba