4 month happenings

Little Miss Anna is growing so quickly. I cannot believe it's been 4 months since she has joined our family! (4 months and 8 days to be exact!)

December has been great. I love the holidays already but adding a little baby to the mix makes it that much better. I couldn't stop buying stuff for her to give to her on Christmas Day. Nothing too big or expensive just little things like books, puzzles, a Jenny Jump-Up, tummy time mat, chair, bath toys, and lots-o-links (Anna's favorite Christmas too besides her books). Blake kept telling me, "That's it Holly. She's not even going to know what is going on. Haha! I know! I know! But, it's so much fun.

We went to visit my mom's side of the family for their family Christmas and it was so good to see family and all the kids together. My brother and his family got to come down and I know everyone enjoyed spending time with them.

We also started a new daycare and we could not be more excited about it. Anna smiles when I drop her off and pick her up. Each day all the litle kids are in the bouncy chairs, sitting in a semi-circle around one of the teachers who reads to them and stops to show each of them the pictures. Anna LOVES to "read." She studies each picture and if I point to something on the page she studies it very closely looking like she's thinking, "What does Mommy want me to know about that picture?" I love coming home and reading with her.

We started rice ceral this month as well. The first day was great. She had it down after 10 or so spoonfuls. She'd suck the cereal off the spoon. Now, she isn't so into it. She starts to suck the food and then realizes it's not her bottle and she screams. Haha. She just wants to be held and fed. "Why should I have to work for this?!" Thank goodness I have an older sister who has the best parenting advice because she said we should start out with giving her an ounce or so of milk so the real hunger subsides and then she'll not get so frustarted because she isn't "starving" when she starts to eat. So, we will try that tomorrow.

Anna is a great sleeper. She's been sleeping through the night since October-ish but waking up around 11 after going to be around 7. She then no longer needed the 11 pm feeding and stayed alseep until 5:00 or sometimes 5:30 am. Now, she's sleeping until 7 or 8 am! This is great on teh weekends but during teh week I have to wake her up to feed and get her ready for the day and I HATE waking up a sleeping baby. She is so tired and I just can't stand it. I'm so thankful she is a good sleeper. She normally falls right back asleep after her 6 am bottle and sleeps until she gets to daycare at 7:30.

Anna is smiling and talking so much more! I've posted some videos on our youtube of her talking and "singing" along with one of her favorite toys. Also, some of her eating cereal. Kallemyn You Tube Channel

Anna still really isn't rolling over, almost there though. Each day when we get home and I get us un-packed and re-packed for the next day Blake gets Anna "part nakie" as our niece Trinity calls it (only down to a diaper) and let's her roll around on our bed. She loves that time with her daddy. No restricting clothing or tights and she talks and rolls around. It's so fun for her and I know she looks forward to it! :)

Anna also went to her 4 month check-up and weighed in at 11 pounds 10 ounces. I'm pretty sure she's well into the 12 pound, if not 13 pound mark. The doctor still refers to her adjusted age since she was born 4 weeks early, but she is pretty much the size of an "average" 4 month old. On the smaller side but that is expected. For development, until they are 2, our doctor uses her actual date she was originally due as her age to compare her to the "average" child instead of her actual birthday. So, technically she is only 3 months in regards to her growth and development.

Here are some December/4 month pic

Wishin' and Hopin' - Craft Room

What I really want for Christmas: An entire room dedicated to all my craft stuff with a huge table to use for wrapping gifts. A wall of little pegs I can hang ribbon and wrapping paper on! Another wall with built-in shelves (think Vera Bradley stores) with lined baskets full of fabric and other craft goodies. Oh...someday craft room, someday you'll be mine. A room Martha Stewart would drool over. Here's some visions of craft rooms danding through my head...

I love this small laundry/craft room. This is something we could probably tackle and start with! :)

Here is another small laundry room/craft room.



We do have a small walk in closet type room off of our master bath that was never finished. We put up drywall not too long ago and used it as a dog room since there is a door that goes to the back porch. There was a doggy door in the door and they couldcome in and out but slowly but surely my crap overtook the space and kicked teh dogs outside. :( Sorry pups. But, I could make that into a pretty good craft room. We've been in this house for 7 years now. If we stay longer maybe I can talk Blake into tackeling the project! :)

Oh, just wishin' and hopin'!

3 month happenings

Alright, I wish I would've started this sooner but I'm going to try a monthly update of little Anna's growth and happenings that month. I enjoyed keeping the weekly journal of my pregnancy and know I'll enjoy looking back on it when and if we decide to have another baby to compare so here goes...about a week late...Anna's 3 month happenings.

• On Monday 11/22 at her 3 month check-up she weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces. Up from 8 pounds 6 ounces since Tuesday 11/2! Seriously! The first four weeks of her little life we begged her to eat but now, it's every 3 hours on the dot! :)
• She was 21 and something inches at her 11/2 check up and her head was...I forgot. :) But, she's still really little for a 3 month old but she is catching up fast!She loves her baby lounger/bouncer but hates the swing. She loves her lounger because it has vibration button. She will sleep so soundly and once that thing goes off, every 30 minutes because I have set timers during her nap time, she wakes right up and starts to squirm. She loves to be bounced and jiggled.
• I went back to work this month on the 4th and she started daycare. Broke my heart to leave her but they love her and say she's a good little girl, never fusses (unless she's hungry)
• Such a good little sleeper. She has been sleeping between 5 and 7 hours every night since she was about 6 or 7 weeks. She takes a bottle around 7, wakes up or we wake her up around 10 or 10:30 and she sleeps until 5:30 or 6 am. So nice.
• She enjoyed her first Thanksgiving this past Thursday. Loved seeing the family. :)
• She started to smile this month and it melts our hearts. When she sees us coming she grins from ear to ear. When you talk to her she is starting to talk back. Sometimes she will talk for a good 10 minutes. Just cooing and squealing. It's precious music to my ears.
• She loves, loves, loves the car. Is such a good little rider and I pray it stays that way.
• She started taking 5 ounces just recently...growing girl!
• She sat in her Bumbo chair for the first time...still bobbly headed but she enjoyed her time
• She's starting to roll from her back to her tummy

Starting to roll around!

3 months old!

Wow! Three months have flown by faster than any other three month period in my entire life. We found out our baby was a girl when she was welcomed to the world on August 19th, we went through the ups and downs of having to see her struggle while she stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks and 5 days, we experienced the joy of finally bringing our baby girl home, and each day that has passed Anna has brought more and more joy in our lives. We've enjoyed going to the doctor to see how much she's grown and loved putting her on the scale to see how much weight she's gained. I think it's the only time in a girl's life that we are celebrating every ounce gained! :) Anna and I took a trip to visit and meet her Aunt Laura for the first time on October 14th. The girls loved, loved, loved little Anna and of course Chris and Laura too! It was Anna's very first flying experience and she did great. She slept the whole time and didn't fuss one time. I was worried about the cabin pressure hurting her little ears but if it bothered her she never let on. meet her Uncle Josh when he came in for the weekend in late October. She fell in love with Unckie Josh. :) She got to We also got to dress her up for her very first halloween. She was a banana. :) Little Anna Banana. I also had the heartbreak of going back to work and leaving her at daycare. That day really was the worst day of my life. But, she doesn't know any different and the ladies at the daycare love little "Annita." We've also traveled up to my mom's hometown and Anna got to meet her family. One of the most touching moments was when she met Uncle Bubba. Uncle Bubba is my Granny's brother. My Granny passed away in July and didn't get to meet Anna. Watching Uncle Bubba hold and talk to Anna made me sad that Anna didn't get to be held and talk with Granny. I can hear her now, "Oh, what a little screwdriver." :) She has always called kids "little screwdriver." One of her funny sayings. Of course my daddy's parents are no longer around and my mom's dad, Pawpaw. I wish so much that they were here to meet her.  I am so thankful that we live so close to Anna's grandparents. Literally blocks away from both my parents and Blake's parents. They of course adore her and love seeing and spending time with her. For that I am so thankful! Anna has grown so, so much since she was born. From 4 pounds 5 ounces to 8 pounds 11 ounces at her last appointment on November 4th. She is so alert and is starting to coo. It's so fun! I have thouroughly enjoyed the last three months and can't wait to see what else is in store for little Miss Anna.

It's been 2 months since I've blogged. I've often times come and started updating but then never finished. I'd be sitting next to Anna in her Boppy Lounger or bouncy chair and her cuddly little self would make me stop whatever I was doing and I'd pick her up and love on her. Blogging, laundry, dishes, dusting, vacumming, cooking, even showering couldn't keep me from loving on her. But, she's so comfy in her bed right now that I think I can now update the blog.

I am sort of disapointed in myself for not updating more often because it is like a little diary of daily goings-on and milestones that I can come back and look at but here I am and I will try and update myself, and you, on our precious little Anna. Since the last time I blogged, September 6th, she's come home and we couldn't be happier with her. She actually came home 3 weeks and 5 days from the day she was born. We brought her home on September 14th. Two days before her "real" due date of September 16th. It was the happiest and scariest day of my life. I had become dependent on the  monitor that she was hooked up to. If she had any bradicardia episodes where her heart rate dropped below the normal (I can no longer remember what the "Normal" was) but I'd know to "shake" (NO, not like shaken baby shake) her out of it and get her breathing again. I knew her exact 4 hour feeding schedule. I was so happy to have her home but I was so nervous I'd "break" her or not do something right. We had doctors and nurses around all the time to ask questions and to tell us what to do about her not eating or anything we were curious about. It sucked having to be in such a sterile environment with her, and having her away from us but it was super safe. When i got her home I worried if she would eat normally or if she'd get sick. But, here we are almost 3 months since her birthdate and she's growing and healthy and happy.

This past Tuesday we went for her check up and she weighs 8 pounds 11 ounces. A little more than double her birth weight. She is smiling and is awake more. she's just now starting to coo. She's such a happy baby girl. We had about a two week stretch of colic. That wasn't fun. It would start int he evening and last a couple of hours. Poor thing was in pain. She would be fine for about 30 minutes but a little gas bubble would get a hold of her and she'd cry for a good 30 minutes. It was so sad seeing her in pain. But, she's grown out of it and she started sleeping at night for 5 to 6 hours straight about two weeks ago too. That's been really nice. We try to get her last feeding in between 10 and 11 and she'll stay asleep until 5 or 6 am.

She's still little for her age. She's just now on the growth charts. She is in the 5th percentile for her weight and 3rd for her height. She was 21 inches at her last doctor's appointment. This is normal since she was preemie. They said by her first birthday she'll be with those kids in her age group. She is fattening up and filling out. I look at pictures of her from the days in the hospital. she was so teeny and scrawny. No meat on her bones. I always knew I'd have a big baby. Blake was almost 10 pounds, I was 8 something. All my nieces and nephews were "perfect" size and I love, love, love, love chunky babies. Babies are supposed to be chunks. :) So, now that she is filling out she's getting those precious rolls on her thighs and arms. Her cheeks are getting fluffy and she's getting a little belly.

I got to stay home for 12 weeks but the first week I was out I was on bedrest and the next almost four weeks she was in the hospital so I really didn't get to spend tooooo much time with her. I went back this last Thursday on teh 4th. It was the worst day of my life. It is the most unmotherly thing to leave your baby in the care of someone else. This wasn't what I had planned either. We talked about starting a family but in a couple years so I could stay home. however, God has another plan and gave us a baby on His timing. I wish I could stay home but we are on the right track and hopefully in a year I'll be able to be a stay at home mom with Anna. Leaving and going back to work does make me love my time with her that I do get even more.

I loved staying home with her though. I know her sleepy time and play time and fussy time and we had music time and tummy time and she'd lay in her bouncy chair while I did all the projects I wanted to do for her. I made her pacifier holders, a pennant banner to hang from her cieling to give her something to look at, made her bows. We would talk and I'd laugh and smile at her silly faces. :)

So, since we've been home we've gotten into some sort of routine and just enjoyed our time together. She is precious and we are blessed with a really good baby.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get some pictures uploaded of her first two months. :)

Anna progress update

Anna is officially a 5 pounder as of tonight! she weighed 5 lb .06 ounces.:)

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Anna Hiccups

Bless her heart! Anna got the hiccups and I can't help but laugh. She sounds like our dogs squeaky toys. Hehe. Enjoy!

Ok, here is the link to our youtube "channel"
You can view it bigger there. :)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kallemyn

Step in the Right Direction

Look at me go! Two posts in two days. :) But, I have to document what happened last night because Anna made us so happy and proud...as if Anna couldn't make us any happier than her just being here! Little Miss Anna ATE HER ENTIRE FEEDING with me and Blake!! Woooooooo-hoooooooo!!!

Since Anna was a little premature and still had some growing to do in my belly that she didn't get a chance to do she has been having some eating issues. She just isn't interested. She starts with her bottle feeding but zonks out about 5 to 10 cc's into it and they have to give her the remaining 30 or 35 cc's through her feeding tube. It makes sense because she was four weeks early and the last four weeks in mommy's belly she'd be sleeping, taking in nourishment from me so she can gain weight for birth. Everything else is mostly 99% done at that point except for the weight gain. It is just difficult for us because she's out here, being loved, but she can't come home until she starts to eat on her own.

She starts off wide awake and alert, rooting around and ready for food but then she is over it and wants to go back to sleep. With her bottle feedings Anna also does a little better when the nurses feed her. When Blake or I try we aren't as successful, so that's been hard as well. Well, last night she ate HER ENTIRE FEEDING with me and Blake!! She's never done this, not even with the nurses. Blake and I were grinning ear to ear! For having to still leave our baby at the hospital, we left the happiest we've ever left.

I have been pumping and so most of her feedings are breast milk but I haven't actually breastfed in a few days because I was thinking it was making her work harder and tire out quicker. I want to make sure she eats as much as she can from the bottle so we can start the process to coming home. However, the nurse last night was really pushy about me breastfeeding first and then finishing up with the bottle. I was nervous but she did fine, and amazingly stayed awake, and so after about 5 minutes we gave her the bottle and she still stayed awake. Eating away. I had to stop after a while to burp her and this also makes me nervous because this is normally when she isn't interested any longer. If she is actively eating I hate taking the bottle away because once I try and get it back in she purses her lips and she is done. But, after she burped so started rooting around again looking for her bottle. It was amazing. This happened a couple of times and before we knew Anna had finished her entire feeding!

We laughed all the way home at how dorky we are for being so excited over a child eating. But, it is very, very, very exciting! Maybe, just maybe, this is "the click" that the nurses have been talking about that would happen. "Something will just click and she'll start eating!!" I am wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin' that that was "the click!"

08/30/2010

Sweet Miss Anna.

She's the only bow head in NICU! :)

Anna Kathryn Kallemyn

Anna Kathryn Kallemyn officially joined our family on Thursday, August 19, 2010. She weighed 4 lbs 5 oz and measured 16.5" long. A little bit of light brown hair and of course the newborn dark blue eyes. She's perfect and we fall more and more in love with her every second of every day. Here's the story of how she arrived, four weeks early, and where we are as of today...

The Birth:
Mother's are always asked what it feels like the first time they lay eyes on their baby. Mostly everyone says it is indescribable and well, it is. The closest I can come to describing it is almost dreamlike. "Is this really happening? That little human is really MINE? This is it?” It’s the “this is it” feeling like you’ve been blown away by happiness and love not the "this is it" feeling in a way that you were expecting more and were let down. :) It really is indescribable. The moment you waited for, for 9 months, finally arrived and now this little baby that had already consumed your thoughts and dreams and life is actually here, right in front of you, ready to take part in all the plans you made for him or her and the preparation you had done.

She is always so calm. This was about 5 minutes after she was born.

When the doctor brought Anna around the curtain to hand us our baby girl it was like everything stopped. I've never had that happen. I’ve had some slow motion moments (walking down the aisle to marry Blake, his engagement proposal, getting up from falling flat on my face in front of EVERYONE in the high school), but time-stopping moments, that has never happened. I just stared at her. My heart felt the fullest it's ever felt. She was crying that sweet, sweet newborn cry. Then, really quickly, everything went back in motion and the person holding her continued walking her towards us for a closer look. I peeked up at Blake and his sweet face was awe struck and tears welled up in his eyes. He was IN LOVE. I actually watched him fall in love with our baby girl. It was amazing. I’ve never seen someone INSTANTLY fall in love with someone else. It was, well, like I said, amazing. There’s no other word to describe it. I’ll never forget his face in that moment. I fell madly in love with him more than ever at that very second all the while falling madly in love with this tiny little crying baby in front of me. Amazing.

Another exciting part of our delivery was finding out what the sex of the baby was. Both Blake and I knew deep in our hearts it was a little girl, so much so that finally finding out wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. We just knew. But, when our doctor yelled out, "It's a girl!!!” it was such an amazing, happy moment. I can still hear how she said girl, all drawn out "Grrr-url!" So funny. “It’s a grrr-url!” Blake knew he “was meant to have a girl.” Little girls, including my four nieces have always been drawn to Blake. All little kids mostly, but his sweet and kind nature must attract girls. He’s going to be the best dad and I’m sure our little Anna will most definitely be a Daddy’s Girl. So precious.

What happened next was all too fast...they took her to the baby warmer thing, cleaned her up, wrapped her in the pink and blue striped hospital blanket and then gave her to me and Blake. I just held my head up against her and we both kept saying, "She's so beautiful" over and over and over and over. I threw in "She looks just like you!" (she's Blake's twin 28 years seperated!) every once in a while. She was so perfect. I was so happy she was here and all the health concerns and scares we had been through melted away. It was perfect.

How we got here:
The whole process actually started when I was 33 weeks pregnant, 3 weeks before Anna was born, when I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was high. She told me to watch and keep track of it and luckily we have a clinic at work so I’d waddle down on my lunch breaks to get it checked. A few times during that week it was higher than my doctor liked so she’d send me home for bed rest. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, August 11th and we discussed my high blood pressure and she also asked me to take a 24 hour urine test to determine the exact amount of protein in my urine. High blood pressure and protien in the urine is a sign of pre-eclampsia which is dangerous for both the mom and baby. She asked me to talk to my manager about starting to work 1/2 days so I could be on part time bed rest to keep my blood pressure in check and we'd know more once the results of the urine test were back. So, on Thursday August 12th I started my 1/2 days at work. Friday morning the 13th I woke up with a terrible headache and I went to the clinic earlier than normal. My blood pressure was sky high and the nurse put me in one of the beds. Whenever I lay down on my left side it automatically goes down but when I got back up it would sky rocket again. So, that day I was put on bed rest full time.

My next doctor's appointment was on Wednesday, August 18th. Dr. Vanover wanted to do a non-stress test where they hook me and the baby up to heart monitors to see how the baby is doing and to determine how much the baby is moving. After an hour, and not a lot of movement, Dr. Vanover stopped the test and had me come back for my exam. She wanted to do an ultrasound to further determine the health of the baby. The urine test results were still not back so she popped her head into the sonogram room and said she had to go assist with a c-section but she put in a call to the lab to re-run the test and have her the results in 45 minutes. She told me she'd call me if anything was not right but if I didn't hear from her that she wanted to see me Friday. The sonographer said everything looked good with the baby. That made me feel good. Amniotic fluid was good, baby placement was good, heartbeat was good, we just had a really sleepy baby on our hands.

I made my appointment for Friday and headed home. Blake and I had dinner and I was laying on the couch dozing in and out of watching whatever was on tv. My phone rang around 7:45 pm and it was a private number. I never answer calls from private numbers but this time I felt like I should. I'm glad I did. It was Dr. Vanover. "Do you want the good or the bad news first?!" she asked. I opted for the good. "You're going to have a baby tomorrow!!" she said. "What?! Tomorrow? What are you talking about?" I asked. She got serious and explained, "Holly, your urine test showed the protein at too high a level for me to feel comfortatble enough not to start the labor process especially with today’s unsuccessful non-stress test and since 3 days has already passed since you actually took the urine test the protein counts could be even higher at this point. So, come in tomorrow morning and we will get the process going.” We got the info on where to go and what to do and for a few minutes Blake and I just stared at each other. This was pretty crazy. Tomorrow we're going to have our baby. This wasn't supposed to happen for another 4 weeks. We have NOTHING ready to go. We called family and our close friends and started packing. Needless to say we got very little sleep that night.

When we got to the hospital the next morning they hooked me all up to the monitors and started the medicine to induce labor. The day drug on with a few random and sporadic contractions. Most I couldn’t even feel. Blake would look at the strip of paper running from the machine and ask me if I felt that one and most of the time my answer would be no. It mostly felt like the little baby was rolling around inside me. Throughout the day my blood pressure still remained elevated. I'd roll to my left side and it would go down but each time I'd lay on my back or sit up it would go back up. The medicine they gave me was to soften my cervix and get it ready to start the "real stuff" petocin. I wasn't dialted or anything when I got to the hospital and they can't start the petocin until my cervix was ready. Around lunch time the doctor explained it probably wouldn't be until tomorrow until the baby was here.

Around 4 pm our nurse came in with the strip of paper that had been printing out all the contractions and baby's heart rate all day and started to show us how little Anna wasn’t responding well to the medicine that was being used to induce labor and that my blood pressure was also not good for myself or the baby. She showed us how Anna’s heartrate was dipping after each contraction instead of elevating like it should. So, it was showing them that she was in distress. The nurse also said that she wanted to prepare us for when the doctor came in because one of the options might possibly be an emergency c-section depending on how she felt the baby was doing. She left us to discuss everything and said Dr. Vanover would be in around 4:30. I broke into tears and just felt so terrible. First for Anna. That she was in distress and not responding to our best efforts to help her. Second, because I was scared TO DEATH of having a c-section. This isn’t what we planned or wanted but Anna’s health and my health were in danger and that wasn’t good either.

When Dr. Vanover came in she showed us the same thing that the nurse had showed us and said she just couldn’t justify not performing the emergency c-section and that she had counseled with two other doctors in her practice who also couldn't justify not performing the c-section. She didn't want to perform a c-section (we had talked about the possibility at an earlier appointment, because of the possibility of pre-eclampsia) and she knew how much I was against it. So, I felt like she wasn't just jumping to the c-section. I have been seeing her for over 15 years, alnong with my mom and sister. She had delivered two of my four nieces so I trusted her decision. I didn't like it, but Anna was at risk and my health was at risk. So, with that the anestesologist and nurses were in my room and getting me ready for surgery. Within 15 minutes I was walking back to the operatating room. Another 15 minutes passed and I was out on the table numb from the chest down. It was a weird feeling and breathing was hard. I was so relieved when they let Blkae come back there. He wasn’t allowed back there while they were “druggin’” me up. But, once I was good and laid up he was by my side.

So, that's basically what happened that day. It was full of all kinds of emotions. Happiness that our baby was joining us and we'd actually be able to hold her. Fear for my health and Anna's health. Anxiety about everything that was happening, all so fast. It was a bunch of emotions! But, Anna arrived and all teh worry and fear melted away. She was here and she was perfect.

Anna's stay in NICU:
Since Anna was 4 weeks early and was under the 5 lb mark she was automatically taken to NICU. We thought it'd be maybe a one or two night stay but it's turned into an almost two week stay. The first night and day she was fine but once they got some of the results of routine tests back it showed that her glucose levels were very low and she wasn't regulating them on her own. They asked if I had gestational diabetes but I had passed the three hour test. They had to instert a PICC line because of the amount of fluids that hey needed to pump into Anna so her little arm veins wouldn't burn. This was a "mini-surgery" as it was described. It had to be in a sterile environment and it is a tiny IV tube that is inserted into a main artery close to the heart. This was a hard and scary day for us. Little Anna is also having trouble not zonking out mid-feeding. And, obviously they won't let her ocme home if she isn't eating. So, they are giving her her every other feeding through a tube and trying to bottle feed at the other feedings. I am praying SO hard that "the light" will just switch on. It is up to her now. She also had jaundice and had to stay under the lights for a couple of days.

This is the funniest picture to me! Anna under her lights for jaundice. Those little foam "Sunglasses" were so funny! This was her third day in NICU. She only had to stay under the lights for a couple of days.

At this point I am going up there during the day and then coming home to go back up at 8 when the NICU re-opens with Blake. It was been a very tiring week of travel back and forth to San Antonio. But, I am so thankful that our baby is healthy and is here with us. I just wish she was here at home with us. It is getting harder and harder to leave her!!

34 weeks

How Far Along: 34 weeks and 4 days :)

Fruit/Object: Honeydew Melon

Size: 20 inches and 5 or so pounds. I’m feeling like it’s about 8 at this point. :)

Baby changes: From What to Expect: “What's new this week? Your baby is clocking in at five pounds and could be as tall as 20 inches by now, and the vernix (the white coating protecting your baby’s skin) is getting thicker. This week, a boy's testicles start making their way down from his abdomen to their final destination: his scrotum (look out below!). In other baby-related developments, those tiny fingernails have probably reached the tips of his fingers by now — and getting ready for that first postpartum manicure.”

Best Moment this past week: This Saturday we had Jennifer’s baby shower. It was so nice and a lot of fun! She got some great things for Miss Elizabeth. Our friend’s Annie and Courtney brought their kiddos Kamryn and Hudson and it was so weird to think, “that’s going to be our kids SO soon!!”

Food Craving: Nothing in particular
What I miss: Sleep, breathing through my nose, having ankles and being able to wear shoes other than flip flops and I miss being able to wear my wedding ring. But, it'll all be worth it!

Sleep: Last night I slept from midnight until 6 am. This hasn’t happened in a really long time!! It was so nice.

What I am looking forward to: This upcoming Friday is my 35 week appointment. I’m going to be going every week now to check on my blood pressure and how the baby is doing. Also, this Saturday is our baby class at the hospital. We are going with Jennifer and Cayman so it should be fun to have our friends there to share it with. Can’t wait to see the babies in the nursery while we tour the hospital.

Symptoms: I’m feeling (and, honestly looking huge) and I’m still swelling and having high blood pressure. But, prayers are being answered in that it has never been over the 140/90 mark. Just always right below the mark. Other than feeling huge, I’m doing great! :)