Fun News

I had my (almost) 37 week appointment today. Surprisingly I am 3 centimeters dilated, 80% effaced, and at 0 station! In layman's terms...that's progress!! According to our Bradley class a woman can easily walk around 3 centimeters dilated or more for weeks before going into labor so this is nothing to get overly excited about. However, that news is encouraging. It just feels good to know that as of right now my body seems to know what it's doing. We'll see. Our doctor is going out of town Saturday and will be gone for a week so hopefully this little one stays put for a while longer. I will feel much better if this baby has time to cook for a few more weeks!! :-)

When did this happen?

We're down to the home stretch now, but there are still a lot of things that we have to do to get ready for the baby. Many of these things are merely details...pack the hospital bags, preregister, make arrangements for the dog, stuff like that. Although most of these tasks are matters of simple details, one of our baby-related responsibilities caught me off guard recently.


On a Thursday evening, Kristen and I attended an open house for a pediatrician. We really liked the practice, the facilities and the doctor we spoke with. What threw me off was being back in a pediatrician's office again. Throughout my childhood, I saw Dr. Marvin Giddings as my pediatrician and despite the fact that visits to the doctor are rarely fun, I have nothing but positive memories of him.


But now I'm in a new pediatrician's office not as a patient, but as a parent. I really can't believe that...it seems like I missed a step somewhere. When did I graduate from going to the pediatrician to bringing my child there? I don't know if I have ever felt more like an adult than I did standing and listening to vaccine schedules and insurance information. Now I'm picking a doctor for my child...I can't think of anything that could underscore more the huge (and exciting) changes that are coming in our lives.

36 weeks!!

How Far Along: 36 weeks 2 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 24 pounds

How Big is Baby: By this week of pregnancy your baby's crown-to-rump length reaches about 13.5 inches and the total length is approximately 20.7 inches. Your baby weighs about 6 pounds now.

Maternity Clothes? Umm, yeah!

Sleep: Sleep is very hard to come by. I wake up numerous times to use the restroom. Trying to turn over in bed is quite a feat and with the weather the way it has been I'm always hot when I sleep during the day. It's hard to get comfortable!

Best Moment this Week: We are now seeing my doctor every week. I'm measuring right on and everything still looks great. Next week my doctor will check for sure but Dr. Evans is pretty certain that our little one is heads down!! That's what I like to hear.

Movement: Yep, this little one always seems to be tossing and turning. Since he or she is running out of room the movements are getting to be a bit painful at times but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love knowing that our little one is healthy!

Food Cravings: Nope.

Gender: Still a surprise!

Labor Signs: It feels as if I'm having more braxton-hicks contractions. Next week my doctor is going to check and see if I've made any progress so I guess we'll know by then if anything is happening yet. I am completely fine letting this little one cook for a while longer!

Belly Button In or Out? Outie of course.

Stretchmarks? Nope. It's kind of weird that I don't have any yet but I'm not going to complain!! :-)

How are you feeling: Tired, uncomfortable and hot. This 90-100 degree weather is horrible and I hate even walking out of our apartment. Ugh. Besides that I'm getting more and more excited by the day. I am SO ready to hold our baby!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out next week if our little one is in the right position and just getting closer to meeting this baby!!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back and being able to move around without it being such a chore.

Weekly Wisdom: Well I've heard people say this all the time but I really want to do my best not to wish the next 4 weeks away. I want to enjoy what time I have left in this pregnancy even though my body is exhausted.

Milestones: As of next week my baby will be considered full-term!!

The Provision of Our Great God

Last month was so full of the goodness of God. It's not that His goodness changes, just sometimes my heart is in a better place to take notice. We have been so blessed by the amazing love and support we have received from our friends and family. My mom and sisters threw me a surprise shower in Pennsylvania when Jon and I went to visit in July. Here is just a small pictures of the graciousness of those closest to us.

And this is how the love of Christ was displayed...

Last weekend, two of my dear friends here in Louisville put together a wonderful shower for me. I've told Jon this numerous times but I never imagined I have would made such amazing godly friends through such a crazy job. That Saturday I was surrounded by tons of girl friends and some family too. What did I say? Yes, we are blessed beyond measure. I love these girls!!

Can I just say that many of these women have the love language of gift giving. Their generosity is so humbling.

Now Jon and I are busy organizing and preparing our apartment for our new addition. I can't even say how wonderful it feels to have little baby things all over the place. It makes this seem even more real. We have what we need, and are putting everything in it's place...now I think we are about ready to meet our little one. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

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."