36 Week Grey Baby Update...

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and had a fantastic appointment. He startled Dr. H with his wild kicks when he was measuring my belly.Grey is apparently quite snug in his belly house. So, I've been trying to walk everyday to try and help speed things along naturally. My walks aren't all that brisk, but I'm doing the best I can. Poor Lilly thinks they are so boring.

We're still looking to have an induction date of April 9 or April 15. I'm really pulling for the April 9 date!

So, I had a bit of a scare yesterday. I didn't feel like he was moving as much as he normally does. So I went back to the drs. office and they did an ultrasound. It did wonders to relieve my mind when I saw sleepy Grey's heartbeat! Grey finally started moving around when I got there. At one point I felt stupid, but then I didn't care. Better safe, than sorry.

The ultrasound was really great. Grey is looking SO cute! He cheeks are so chubby!! And he was pretty dramatic. First, he was sleeping with his little arm over his head, then he moved it and laid it over his eyes. We got to see him sucking and drinking in fluid...which of course is great since that fluid helps develop his lungs. We absolutely can't wait to meet Grey!

In other news, Grey is estimated to 6 lbs 12 oz. already. I realize that these things can be off; however, he's been measuring a little ahead each ultrasound so I'm thinking there has to be some truth to it. If he continues to grow at this rate, an average of 1/2 lb. a week, we're looking at having at least an 8 lb. baby....eek! Well, we knew it was possible since we were both big babies. Hopefully, it's not true that babies are an average of their parents weight; otherwise, he'll be around 9 lbs. 3 oz.

Here's a great shot of those cheeks! Can you stand it?? I have to kiss on those cheeks!

Anyway, everything is ready on our end. Please keep praying for a safe delivery of this sweet little guy!

33-week update!

Today marks 33 weeks! It's really starting to hit me that we're getting close to the end. I'm SO excited too! Each day is just one day closer to seeing this little dream baby. I cry watching almost every birth show on TV imagining how indescribable that moment will be for us.

I'm going to the doctor now every two weeks. I went last week and had a great visit! Grey's heartbeat was really strong and he received another A+. He's such a good little student! ;) I've gained a whopping 27 pounds. Yikes! Good thing I really don't have a sweet tooth right now! I go back to the doctor next week and begin the lovely exam process. Maybe this is odd, but I'm looking forward to these visits simply to hear that progress is being made. I know some of you are thinking, "Poor girl. Little does she know that there will probably be very little progress until the end." I totally recognize that, but I'm interested to see just how low he is.

Throughout my entire pregnancy I've carried really low. Lately, I've had really horrible pelvic bone pain. Not only pressure, but pain in the front of that bone. So, he's there. As I've written about before, my doctor is planning to induce about a week to a week and a half early. Depending on how things are progressing. Grey is still a little big and he's got his daddy's head to boot, so I'm thankful we're going to be looking at the situation closely. Honestly, anything past 37 weeks is fine with me...so long as his little lungs are ready.

Next week is my last week of work. Hallelujah! Being on my feel was killing me.

Please pray for me and Grey in the coming weeks. I'm feeling pretty anxious about the birth. All first-time mom stuff, I suppose. We did do a birth class and while it helped in some areas, it gave me about a million things to over think. I just keep reminding myself that millions of women give birth everyday. I can do this. And I actually have a pretty high pain tolerance, so I'm not sure where the worry comes in other than just worrying about Grey. Speaking of, please pray that his lungs are developing as they should and are ready at "go time". We're also praying that there are no space or cord issues as he gets bigger. The last one, but pretty important is that he holds that first poop in until after he comes out. I just really want to be able to bond with him right away. So, anything that keeps him out of the nursery is great!

Grey is still an excellent kicker! In fact, during our birthing class he was being a little class clown. He was going wild! He either loved all the oxygen from the "deep cleansing breaths" or he HATED it. Either way, my belly was all over the place. What was even more crazy is that other couples were watching my belly move all around. He kicked and kicked and kicked the entire class. None of this was really out of character for him. All fun though! I love to feel his movements!

So that's about all for now. I promise I will post room pictures. Our camera died...which is perfect timing to get a new one. Better now than realizing it in the delivery room!

Maternity Photos!

Yay! I never thought I'd see the day where I would have maternity shots! What a mighty God we serve! I know there aren't a lot of women that are into maternity shots, but we waited a long time and prayed forever for this sweet miracle and I really wanted to document it well.

Let me begin by saying how awesome Jason Pendley Photography is!! If you live in the Atlanta area -- call him!! He is SO creative and will capture your "event" perfectly! Enough said.

Curtis and I affectionately call my belly "Grey's belly house". So without further adieu, I present "Grey's Belly House"...

This picture has a lot of meaning: the first shirt "worth the wait" was given to me by my dear friend Becca. Without her I don't know if I would have survived the wait! The Tech shirt was Curtis' when he was a baby. And, the last shirt says, "For this child we prayed and the Lord heard our prayers!" Amen!!

Mommy and Daddy comparing bellies!

Do you see the outline of a little someone's leg above the "n"?? He's a long boy!

Love this silhouette picture!

Looking at sweet baby Grey.

"Whatcha doin' later??"

Praise God for big bellies!

Showering Baby Grey...

Last Sunday, my girlfriends hosted a shower for me and Grey baby. It was so fun! Baby showers in general are just so fun and exciting.

A lot of people came out and it was so special because so many of these friends had been praying for Grey long before he was ever conceived. It was a little surreal because even though I feel Grey moving inside, I still find myself so shocked and surprised that he's really coming. Everyone was so generous and I got a lot of great, really creative gifts.

This is Macy Brooks, my friend Ashly's sweet miracle baby. We just know Grey and Macy Brooks will end up married! So here's one for their rehearsal dinner of Macy Brooks telling Grey to come on out of his belly house!! ...and she didn't come shirtless...she was in the middle of a costume change! :)

My sweet hostesses: Summer, Ashly, (me), Debbie, Kim, Adriene, Judy, and Jan (not pictured). All long-time friends!

This is a shot of some of my friends that came. I'm sad we didn't do this when everyone was there... some had already left at this point.

Tiffany gave me this most creative gift. On one side it says, "Daddy's lil yellow jacket" and on the other side it says, "Mommy's lil bulldog". So perfect!! Doesn't that look like the perfect side for the floor??

I know their aren't a ton of people that dress their boys in monograms and sweet stuff like this, but Grey will be! I grew up with boys in smocked and monogrammed everything. They're only babies once, so I'm going to live it up! My sweet little niece, Faith, gave this to Grey. Can't wait to see him in it this fall!

One of my long-time friends, Chelsea, and her newest addition Kendan. What a sweetie he is!

Last, but certainly not least, is Grey's adorable cake! Have you ever noticed that really cute cakes often aren't that tasty? NOT the case with this cake. Oh my gosh, it was SOOO yummy! Good thing most of it was gone...

One of my favorite gifts, I don't have pictured, is a book with little notes of encouragement or prayers for me and Grey. Ashly had all the guests fill out a little note and she put it in a book. Such a great, sweet gift that I can't wait to show Grey one day!

Thanks again to everyone who came! It was such a great time to celebrate this wild, kickin' miracle!

Snow...and turkeys?!

Curtis and I were so excited to wake up Saturday morning and see that the snow stuck around. Our neighborhood was a little winter wonderland. It was beautiful!

Our neighbors were trying with their twin boys to slide down the road. Because we have a super steep driveway, Curtis told them to come slide down our driveway. Of course, no one had sleds. But the dad said he went on a website ghetosleds.com and came up with the "cookie sheet sled" but said he forgot to add Pam to the bottom. After a couple of runs, Curtis gets the idea that he would like to sled too. He went into the kitchen, got a roasting pan and asks for Pam. Well, I don't use Pam so he decides WD40 would work just as well. (Are you getting the picture of Clark Griswold??) He lubes up his pan and flew down the driveway, across the street, hit the neighbors driveway curb and flies off the pan into the yard. I just knew he had broken his hip or tailbone, but I was laughing so hard I could barely ask if he was okay. He was okay and even managed a few more runs. I have to admit...I was a little jealous that all I could do was watch. It looked so fun!

Heading down...our driveway was straight ice!

Lilly had the best time too! She gets so feisty in snow!

Here is Grey baby at nearly 31 weeks. That's the best I could do to get bundled up. The hardest part of being pregnant in the winter is finding a coat you can zip! Seeing the neighbors boys sled made me so anxious for him to get here. I just can't wait to see that baby boy!

One of the reasons we love our house so much is because of the location. The neighborhood backs up to a National Battlefield, so we see tons of wildlife. TONS of wildlife. Sometimes, hearing coyotes is a little...no, a lot scary, but the deer, turkey, bunnies, and foxes are pretty cool. Well, early Saturday morning we looked out and our "normal" flock of turkeys were making their way into our yard. I had a pretty big container of sunflower seeds and gave them to Curtis. He called them up and fed them! It was crazy. There were 13 at first, then 5 more came up, then 4 more. Over 20 momma turkeys were in front of our porch. Enjoy the pics...

30 Weeks

I know I say this most every post, but I simply can't believe how little time I have left! This pregnancy really feels like it's flying by. So, here we are at 30 weeks. Grey baby is getting so big and as active as ever.

We went for the hospital tour last Saturday. It was a lot of fun and made things a lot more real. This Saturday we have our birthing class. I'm actually really excited about this. I think it will help both of us with the fear of the unknown.

Nothing much new... He's still in my ribs. Uncomfortable, but not painful. I actually don't mind this because I love to put my hand on my side and feel his little foot move back and forth. He responds to me talking or singing to him. I love that!

One new thing is insomnia. I didn't think that's what it was but it is. I should be more than tired enough to sleep, but I just cannot get a good nights sleep lately. I'm going to try a couple of new things. Do pray this isn't going to stick around the full 8 weeks (yay!!!) we have left. I have to say there are a lot of sweet times with Grey during this no sleep stage. Last night we tossed and turned and finally got up from 2 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. It was great to feel him come out of a sleep stage, into being active and settling back down to sleep. I really can't wait to see if he does these same things when he gets here. I was reading scripture last night and read to him and it was like he listened. He still moved, but it was much more relaxed.

Here we are with Grey's big brother Gus! Love that kitty!

The room is fully painted! Hooray! We're going to begin putting furniture in tonight... pictures to come this week!!

29 Week Old Grey Baby!

This week was full of doctor's visits. I seriously LOVE going! It's so fun to see him and hear his heartbeat. Monday, we went to the perinatologist for our ultrasound and birth plan. Baby Grey is weighing in at 3 pounds and funny as ever. He was pretty sleepy during this visit despite the nurse jiggling my belly. He had been pretty wild that morning, so I wasn't super surprised that he didn't show off for us. You could tell he was a little over the jiggling though. However, she still took a lot of great pictures of him. I really wish we would have gotten a picture of him yawning. He yawned about 6 or 7 times, when she tried to wake him up. SO cute!

Grey is head down. His little bottom is off to the left (my left) with his hands and legs on my right side. ...just as I had suspected.

This picture is a great shot of his lips...most definitely given to him by his daddy! Those are some good pouty lips!!

This is another favorite... Grey is showing off his kicking skills. Actually, I think he's a toe sucker. Apparently, that's quite normal. He had one leg bent and the other extended in his face much of the ultrasound. You can see his little arms crossed in front of his chest too...
Another foot shot...
Front view shot... I love this picture because you can see the outline of his chubby cheeks! Love that!

Today I went and had my glucose test. We passed with flying colors. The worst part about that is not being able to eat or drink anything. I was STARVING! Dr. H gave Grey raving reviews, again. The best news of the whole day was learning that Dr. H will actually deliver Grey!! I really wanted him to be there. After all, he has seen us through quite a bit to get to this miracle baby. Every appointment I would ask, "so what's your on-call schedule looking like??" Finally, today he said, "Don't worry! You're having this baby either April 9th or the 14th while I'm at the hospital. " This was a huge relief that he's going to make plans to be there and also that I'll go around 38 weeks. I've gained an even 20 pounds so far. Not bad. My belly has definitely lost the point and is getting more round...belly shot to come. We have a hospital tour Saturday and our birthing class a week after that. Should be fun! No real complaints and so looking forward to seeing this little guy in nine short weeks!!