6 Weeks To Go

I am now in my 34th week of pregnancy and inching closer and closer to d-day. It seems pretty surreal. Jon and I spent our weekend organizing things to try and make room for baby Groves. Our dear friends Shelby and Amanda have lent us some space in their basement to store some furniture and boxes in hopes that we can set aside some space for baby items. We cleared out closet space for baby clothes and bought some storage bins that will hopefully help keep the clutter at bay.

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and things still look great. The baby's heartbeat was in the 150s (which according to some would hint that our little one's gender is female...but who knows). I was measuring right on and my blood pressure was good. I'm thankful. In two weeks I go back in to see the doctor for my important 36 week visit and from there on out I'll be heading to the doctor's office once a week until our baby decides to make an appearance.

God has continued to provide for us and our baby over the past few weeks. My mom and two younger sisters threw me a surprise baby shower and I have another small shower put together by two close friends this weekend here in Louisville. We've been blessed and God's graciousness serves as a constant reminder that he is faithful even as we wait for Jon to find a job. I'm getting to the place where I am more than ready to start my maternity leave and spend 12 whole weeks home with my baby.

I haven't been great at keeping this blog updated but one of my excuses is that I spent most of the month of July out of town. Last week Jon and I were actually visiting my family in Pennsylvania. On one of our last days there Jon took me on a surprise day trip to Washington D.C. That city that has special meaning to us because it happens to be the place where Jon proposed to me back in 2006, on this exact spot actually (except it was night-time and the lights of the National Mall were a beautiful backdrop). So yes, I've been married to this handsome guy for four amazing years. I love you hon and I can't wait to see you as a dad!! Only 6 weeks left!

Hospital Tour

There seems to be a never-ending checklist when it comes to preparing for a baby's arrival. Between doctor appointments, registering for needed baby items, childbirth classes, saving up money etc it can all be a bit overwhelming. I've never been one who is good at seeing the whole picture and then breaking things into manageable pieces. I do much better when I'm given the multiple steps that are needed to arrive at the goal so that I see what specific tasks need to get done. It's a good thing that there is plenty of information out there on what soon to be parents need to think about when preparing for their new addition. As Jon and I have slowly been checking things off our to-do list our most current accomplishment has been touring our hospital.

We were exhausted due to working the night before but once we started the tour the two of us couldn't help but get excited. Walking through the halls of the hospital made this journey seem even more real, as if this baby inside me wasn't enough! Our guide walked us through where we need to come in to register, triage, labor and delivery rooms, the nursery and after care rooms for mother and baby. I love it!! According to my countdown I have 60 days left until D-Day. Good grief! I wonder when this little one will choose to make his or her appearance.

Next things on our checklist:
- Find a pediatrician
- Finish writing our birth plan (there may be a good blog post coming associated with this, we'll see.)

30 Week Survey

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 20 pounds!!

How Big is Baby: The total length of our baby is about 17 inches and our little one weighs about 3 pounds now.

Maternity Clothes? Yep. There are a few old shirts that still work for me but I'm pretty much living in maternity clothes, complete with elastic waste-bands. Honestly, with how hot and humid this weather has been I would be happy with not wearing anything at all. Good grief it's hot!!

Sleep: I have my good days and bad days. It's pretty much a common occurrence now that I wake up multiple times during the day when I sleep, roughly every couple of hours.

Best Moment this Week: Continued reassurance that our baby is growing big and strong. Also God has been SO faithful dragging me out of a pit I have been wallowing in for a while. His mercies are new every morning and that gives me great joy!!

Movement: The little one is still moving like crazy although instead of tons of punches and kicks it feels a lot more like rolling around since our baby is beginning to run out of room. I can now feel knees, feet, elbows etc poking my stomach. The movement of baby Groves never gets old!!

Food Cravings: Not really.

Gender: Still a surprise!

Labor Signs: I have multiple braxton hicks contractions throughout the day but thankfully nothing more than that. My mom had me at 30 weeks but hopefully our little peanut stays put for longer!

Belly Button In or Out? I've got an outie!

Stretchmarks? Not yet. I'm still waiting on those guys to show up although if they don't make an appearance I wouldn't be disappointed.

How are you feeling: I'm actually feeling pretty good. I haven't felt overly tired, which I hear is a big thing in the 3rd trimester. My legs get tired when Jon and I take the dog on walks but other than that things are great!

What I am looking forward to: Holding our little one. I can't believe we only have 10 weeks left.

What I miss: Oddly enough...tuna. There are a couple cans of tuna that have been sitting in the pantry at my workplace and every time I see them I miss eating tuna. Oh I also miss eating sunny side up eggs with a nice runny yoke. Ah well.

Weekly Wisdom: This being my first pregnancy I don't feel like I have any wisdom to impart except for what I have been learning lately. Surrendering is not easy. Nothing makes you realize how little control you have until you are pregnant (and I'm sure even more so once the baby is born). Things are incredibly uncertain in our lives right now but God has been so faithful in walking me through this season of worry and doubt. He has gently rebuked me and surrounded me with encouragement as I have desperately sought to refocus my heart on Christ. I'm in a much better place now than I was last week and I'm grateful. So my weekly wisdom...this pregnancy is not my own and neither is my life. May God be glorified.

Milestones: 3rd trimester baby!!

Weeks 29-32 (Month 7): Squash

"Big news for baby's brain this week: It's starting to wrinkle and fold and looks like something that grew in the back of your fridge. This is due to the rapid growth of your little genius's brain cells. Other highlights this week:

Fingernails and toenails are finally finished—causing his or her parents great fear and anguish the first time they try to cut those little daggers (it gets easier, we promise)! Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. Trust us, this is a good thing.

Baby is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7.

"I spy an umbilical cord and the inside of my mom's uterus!" When your baby is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's whittling away the hours looking around, checking out his rather dark, limited environment."