32 Weeks

Only 8 or so weeks to go!

I feel very prepared for Colin's arrival, all we need to do now is get the car seat installed, wash everything, register for the hospital and pack our hospital bag. My goal was to have all of this stuff done by 36 weeks, so I have a few more weeks to do these "finishing touches". I am not too worried about the dresser getting built in time, I only use a few drawers in Carson's dresser, so if needed they can share, no big deal, that would just mean more room for Carson to play in his room and more room for the many toys he will get for his Birthday coming up! Nursery pics to come soon.

• I am starting to waddle - I was told today by a co-worker :) 
• My tailbone and lower back are sore, and I am dealing with the usual pressure where Colin's head is.
• I am SO exhausted, I go to bed pretty early, usually very soon after Carson. I toss and turn a lot.
• I have been noticing some Braxton Hicks contractions, very weird feeling, I never had these with Carson. 
• I don't really have any cravings these days...I really am just craving a personal chef and a maid to do the work for us :) I just look at the dishes in the sink, the laundry piling up, realizing a meal time is approaching and I could literally cry...I just don't have the energy to do any of it. 
• I would give anything to have a week at the beach right now!
• I was a loyal follower of babycenter.com, but I am now into a site called http://www.baby-gaga.com/. Check it out if you are pregnant. This site is much more informative than the others in my opinion and it gives you pros and cons of your decisions in labor when you read about the last few weeks of pregnancy. Love it! I am still amazed at all of the procedures hospitals do for their own convenience at the expense of the mother and baby wellness.
• My next Dr. Apt is next week on July 6th. She said we would discuss what to do if I didn't go into labor...I wanted to say "Thanks for the vote of confidence lady!" Anyway this should be an interesting conversation. 
• I have no idea what my weight gain is this week, I haven't thought to check it. 
• Movement is consistent, even though this is the 2nd pregnancy, Cory is still amazed at the crazy shapes of my belly when he moves.

Fathers' Day 2011 and Carson's new room!

For Fathers' Day this year we took Da-Da to a Gwinnett Braves game, we love the Atlanta Braves, Cory is a huge fan (he watches nearly every game, Carson as well). But, I wanted to see how Carson would do before we spent a lot of money on ATL Braves tickets. We went Saturday night, I don't think I could have handled the heat at a Sunday 1pm game! It stormed right before the game, so there was a delay, but the weather was quite pleasant when everything got started. The food was to die for, and Carson was very excited to see "beeseball". He did really well staying in one spot for a long time and he loved watching all the life-size Warner Bros. characters walking around. He was obsessed with the foul balls that went "gone-gone", and he kept clapping and saying "YAY Beeseball! Go Braves!" So sweet..........It was definitely a success, and we will definitely have to take Carson to Turner Field in the future.

He called Tweetie Bird "Big Tweetie"

He looks so cute in his Braves shirt:

Just having a good time...

Headed home, he made it until 10:30pm, 7th inning....and still walked the entire way to the car! He was a trooper, and such a big boy.

Speaking of baseball....we changed up Carson's room to make it a little more like a big boy room. He loves balls, so he was beyond excited when he saw the updates to his room. He still shows us the balls everywhere when we go into his room to get him in the morning. He is doing good sleeping in his toddler bed, knock on wood :) 

 Here's the view from the door:

A close-up of the sports fan and his bed, he loves those ball pillows:

He had fun helping me put those decals on the wall: 

I just stuck with a regular fleece baby blanket for now, he is pretty hot-natured and doesn't like covers a ton:

Valance:

Since we moved the crib and changing table to Colin's room, we now have room for his bean-bag in here, Carson loves all of this space, he just hops around constantly...

He looks like he's 5 in this pic :(

He is so proud of his new room, he loves playing in there:

I changed his light switch cover:

And got him a new night light:

Now he has a big boy room!

31 Weeks

Wow...this baby will be here before we know it!

Signs that the end is near.....

• My rings no longer fit comfortably 
• My shoes feel a bit tight 
• Pretty sure I will need a belly band in a couple of weeks, my belly feels so heavy already, I feel like I need to hold it with my hands to be comfortable.

Other pregnancy news....

• Some nights I sleep well, and other nights I am awake every hour trying to get comfy
• My lower back muscles are starting to get achy from time to time - I am trying not to pick up Carson as much, but that is so hard for me :(
• No cravings really...just love having sweets around; I did love all the "ballgame food" we had this weekend - hot dog, nachos, funnel cake....YUM (need to get my pics uploaded for the Fathers' Day post)! My little family is in for a rude awakening after this baby is born...in order to "be good" and eat right, I just can't have any temptation in the house :)
• At my check up today everything looked good, heart rate was 138. I go back July 6th.
• I was telling Cory that this baby hardly ever sleeps anymore...he is constantly moving!
• Weight gain is +26, Baby Center mentioned a growth spurt coming, so here we go! I remember toward the end with Carson I just quit keeping track b/c it was so depressing gaining so much weight so fast! This time, I really don't care, I know that most of the weight will come off, my body will NEVER look the same and I am ok with that, there are worse things in life than not having a perfect body. My babies are worth it!
• I cannot wait to get some final items checked off my list, and then get the nursery "set up" and take pictures...this is such an exciting part! 
• Carson loves playing in the "baby room" he loves to look out the window at the birds, etc...and then we sit in the glider and he jumps to me from the foot rest, not sure how long I will be able to keep that up! I swear that kid is always on the look out for a place to jump. He also enjoys throwing balls in the crib for me to fetch.
• Must get registered at hospital! As long as I get this done by 36 weeks we should be fine, I will probably go during lunch one day and then just poke around instead of taking a formal tour - they only offer the tour at 4pm on weekdays and that just doesn't work for us at all. 

30 weeks!

I am little late getting this post up....things are crazy right now, work is very overwhelming and I feel like my house is never clean; these days I just make sure my kid is clean and fed and I am doing good!

• My last check up was a week ago and everything looked good. Next apt is Monday the 20th.
• I passed the glucose test, thank God!
• The baby gets the hiccups quite often, just like Carson did.
• I am SO exhausted by the end of the day.
• I feel like I have to pee all the time, especially when standing, just so much pressure on the bladder.
• We put the crib together in Colin's room now that Carson sleeps in his toddler bed. Carson enjoyed helping Daddy "fix" the crib. I don't know what it is about moving furniture, but Carson loves it when we do this, he screams out of excitement and hops around...so funny. He now knows that Colin's room is the "baby's room".
• Although I look and feel huge, my weight gain is only +23, I think this will increase greatly when the swelling begins. Oh how I dread the cankles...you have no idea how much I hate that part.
• Still able to wear my wedding rings, but I am sure that will pass soon too. Last pregnancy, when my rings got too small, I went and bought a fake big bling ring, I'll probably do that for fun again...I feel so naked without a ring on my left finger. Last time I did that, all my friends thought I got an "upgrade"...but I could never part with MY rings...I love them so much. I still get compliments on them from strangers all the time...mostly from men...odd.
• There is really not much left to do at this point, just getting Carson's dresser made, order my sling, get all the baby gear and clothes cleaned, buy a few small toiletry things closer to time, and we are all set! Oh yeah, we need to register at the hospital and take a tour...I keep forgetting this.
• When I get closer to the end I will get the bedding washed and put in, then post some pics of the nursery.
• I have been thinking a lot about the delivery lately and just like with everything else in the pregnancy, I am much more relaxed and ok with whatever. My "birth plan" is very similar to Carson's: wait to go into labor spontaneously, stay home as long as possible so I can eat/drink, relax in the bath and keep moving if I choose to; avoid IV narcotics, if I need the epidural I am ok with that, and I want this birth captured on VIDEO. Yes, you read that correctly. The only trick is finding that person (I don't want Cory worried about the camera) who I am comfortable enough with to video it for me, and keeping the staff from knowing we are videoing (most hospitals prohibit this b/c they are terrified of being sued). I have completely changed my outlook on the way I view birth and to me it is very sacred, so I am really hoping I can achieve this. My sons will never see this, it is really just for me to remember those divine moments of giving birth. I just really hope I don't have to have surgery this time, I just want to have an active role in the birth of my baby.

Here is the belly update, and these days my hair is usually on top of my head. :) 

My baby...22 months old

Oh Carson...what did we do before you? You are so hilarious and are constantly cracking us up.

At 22 months Carson...

• loves to sing along to his toddler music, it is the sweetest thing I have ever seen
• is obsessed with balls and cups
• really started to get into "playing pretend", his favorite pretend thing is cooking
• imitates faces that we make
• loves to take showers
• only has passy when its time to sleep, I thought this would be much harder than it actually is
• sits (I should say stands) in a regular chair at dinner time and puts on a show for us while we all eat
• loves when the dogs give him kisses, he laughs and yells "a kiss!"
• can speak in sentences, he says a new one each day; everyone is always commenting on how smart he is...makes me so proud
• minds his manners: when he burps he says "cue me" and when we leave a drive through he says "thank you, bye-bye!"; and when we sneeze he says bless you or achoooo!
• loves to eat "see-roll" (cereal) for breakfast, I don't mind b/c its easier on me!
• when he sees me use hairspray or perfume, he wants me to put some on him, so I pretend to and attempt to make the "spray noise"...he believes me..for now. He also likes to pretend to put on deodorant. 
• He says shooo-weee when we take his diaper or shoes off.
• is learning Spanish at school, he says awa (aqua) and olo (hola), I think he kind of mixes English and Spanish together :)

This is him "cooking"...... in the new dog bed.

Showing me his teeth.

I went shopping for Colin the other day and found nothing...but I spotted this stuffed Barney that played the "I love you" song and couldn't resist getting it for Carson, he loves it. He sings along with it.

Loving on Barney...

And...he had a big 1st this weekend.....he is sleeping in a toddler bed! We are just doing a trial run to see how it goes.

29 weeks and our Memorial Day Vacation

Colin:

• I really hate Murphy's law right about now! Last week I stated that I wasn't experiencing very many leg cramps or carpel tunnel symptoms. But since then I have been having more leg cramps (more often and more intense) and my hands have been falling asleep more often while I am sleeping, so annoying. 
• This kid prefers the left side..a few times during each day there is a big knot right beside my left rib and Cory and I play the head or butt game like we did with Carson (basically just try to figure out if its the head or butt...duh)
• I can not get enough chocolate these days! Over the weekend I was specifically craving babe ruth and snickers ice cream bars. I think its b/c we were at the pool for 4 days and when I was a lifeguard I would eat candy bars on my break :) Good times, have to give a shout out to my friend Cyndee, those were some good summers weren't they Cyn!
• I haven't done much in the way of preparation, but we still have some time, I just want everything done by 36 weeks that way I can focus on Carson's birthday party and my friend's baby shower. And then attempt to relax in this heat until Colin arrives. I plan on many pedicures from 37-42 weeks. I don't think I will see a pedi for a long time after Colin arrives, daycare ain't cheap, and now that bill will double for us!

On to our "vacation"...we won't be going to the beach or anything like that this summer, since we need to save some vacation days for Colin so we made the best of a 4 day visit to Grandparents' pools in AL. We had so much fun since Carson loves the water and we had some time to relax now that Carson remembers his Grandparents, we get to sleep in and let them take care of him.

The water was pretty cold and I was worried he wouldn't want to play in it, but once he got used to it he had a blast playing with balls and cups on the stairs. He loved throwing his balls into the water and then "swimming" to go get them. He would say "kick, kick, kick" while we would help him swim. He also learned not to run beside the pool, he kept saying "walk slow, walk slow" it was so funny.

He wasn't a huge fan of floats or swimmies. He kicked around the swimmies like they were footballs! Typical Carson.

This is what he called "big jump" where Cory would let him "jump" off of the diving board. He loved watching Cory do cannonballs and getting splashed! I have never heard him laugh so hard!

He LOVED the slide, pretty sure this was his favorite thing. It made me super nervous at first, but Cory was tall enough to keep Carson above the water when they hit the water. Carson kept saying "more slide, more slide"

Then while we were at my in-laws house, my MIL dressed Carson up in a 33 year old outfit (cap, overalls and boots that all of her children and grandchildren have been photographed in) and we did a little photoshoot. We got some really good ones. Carson is so hard to photograph these days. He will rarely look at the camera. If I had a penny for every picture of the side of his face I would be rich!

We ended our trip by visiting my new nephew, Crewe. He is SO tiny and as I predicted, this made me very ancy to have MY tiny baby here soon! Carson was jealous, but not too bad. We will see how he does in August!