35 Weeks (March 23rd - 29th)

I’m a little less than 19 inches tall and all my organ systems are complete and being finalized. Less than 5 weeks to go!

Tony’s parents recently ordered us a cushion for the rocking chair in the nursery. Now we won’t have a sore back/butt from all the feedings and sleepless nights I am sure we will spend rocking Lydia! Thanks Mom & Dad Spencer!

This week, we stocked the diaper bags (we have two because Tony wanted his own “non girly” looking one). We also started packing the hospital bag. Anyone who knows me well knows that I over pack for everything, so I am trying really hard to keep it down to one manageable bag! After delivery, I will have Tony bring up the baby girl wreath that Tony’s aunts made for our hospital door, along with anything else I forgot to pack.

At my doctor’s appointment this week, I went through the normal activities (weight - same, blood pressure – 122/80, baby’s heart rate – 140s) and everything was good. They also did a test for Group B Strep, which is a bacteria infection that many women carry that could be potentially harmful to the baby. I will find out if I am negative or positive next week. The doctor notified me that I will get to have an ultrasound at my next week’s appointment and he decided that after April 9th, I will be off work and officially on maternity leave (Yay)!

My work had a baby shower for me this week! I had no idea that they had been planning it until I received an invitation on the day of. Everything was decorated in pink and we had giant cupcakes with little pink booties on them. One of my co-workers even made a diaper cake (a decoration that looks like a three tiered cake out of diapers) as a keepsake for me! I also received clothes, rattles, hair clips, hangers, burp cloths, bibs, diapers, wipes, and a generous Target gift card for Lydia. I just want to give a huge Thank You to my co-workers at HMMA!



















My Dad called me and told that his work through him a Grandpa Baby Shower this week! I have never heard of such an event before, but I think it is a great idea! He had to wear around a pink shirt that said, 'Grandpa Steve' and had 'It's a Girl' balloons tied to his work cart (he had to do pharmacy runs throughout the hospital that day). His co-workers also made him a cake and gave him gifts for Lydia. A special Thank You to my dad's co-workers in the pharmacy at Genesys!

34 Weeks (March 16th - 22nd)

I’m over 5 lbs and 18 inches long! My kidneys are fully developed and my liver is finishing up. Less than 6 weeks to go!

The nursery is finished! We finally got the new snowflakes for the wall and put them up. Lydia’s winter wonderland is complete and it looks exactly how I imagined it to be...perfect!


I had two different doctor’s appointments this week. The first one was a follow up to the passing out spell that I had last week. They looked over my blood sugar levels (I have to keep a chart). They also weighed me (I lost a pound) and took my blood pressure. I then had to be hooked up to the baby stress monitor for about 30 minutes. Lydia was moving all over the place and the doctor couldn’t get a good baseline on her heart rate. He sent me back over to the OB triage at the hospital to have a bio-physical profile (an ultrasound that tests for a variety of things) done and another round of the baby being hooked up to the stress monitor. From the BPP, I found out that Lydia is head down in the birthing position, she is estimated to weigh 4 lbs 14 ounces, and I am having slight contractions already. She scored 10 points out of 10 on the BPP, which is perfect and her stress test came back normal.

At my second doctor’s appointment they looked over my blood sugar levels, took my blood pressure, weighed me, and listened to Lydia's heart rate (140s). Since everything looked good, I don't have to go back until next week. From then on, I will be on once a week appointments.

33 Weeks (March 9th – 15th)

I’m about 4.75 lbs and almost 18 inches tall. My central nervous system is still maturing. Less than 7 weeks to go!

We had a doctor’s appointment this week. My blood pressure was good and I gained 3 more pounds. Lydia’s heart rate was 140s-150s. My urine analysis came back high for sugar so they pricked my finger for a blood sugar test. The results came back really high. Since I had already passed both of my gestational diabetes tests with flying colors, the doctor wanted me to come back in 2 hours to test my blood sugar again to see if it was a fluke. It wasn’t, I was diagnosed with a late onset of gestational diabetes. Even though I am considered borderline gestational diabetic, he set me to the OB triage at the hospital to monitor the baby and get counseling on gestational diabetes (GD). To control my GD, I am on a low carbohydrate diet and I have to test my blood sugar four times a day. At this point in time, they think I should be able to control it through diet alone. If it gets worse, I might have to go on medication for the remainder of my pregnancy.

This weekend we went on a tour of the labor and delivery area of our hospital, Baptist Medical Center East. They showed us the rooms that we will deliver in, along with the nursery, and post delivery rooms. While we were there, we ran into my doctor. He pulled me aside to talk about how my blood sugar levels were doing. While we were talking to him, I had a passing out spell! I was so embarrassed and ashamed since he is the one I am trying to prove to that I can manage myself right now! He took me to the nurse’s station and tested my blood sugar (it was normal). He then said he wanted to see me first thing next week to monitor the baby. I sure had a dream pregnancy until this week and then all hell broke loose!!!

On a more positive note, I am a part of an online web board with other mothers to be due in April 2010. We started this gift giving ring called ‘Secret Stork’. Basically, each person who wants to participate is paired up with another participating mom to be on the web board. The idea is to send a gift to your Secret Stork twice during their pregnancy (one before 20 weeks and one after) and they do the same for you. For the first round, she sent me a baby outfit, baby hair bows, and a nursery rhyme book. For the second round, she sent me a silver picture frame for the nursery and a toy purse. We have been keeping in touch online throughout our entire pregnancy. I just wanted to give a big Thank You to her for the thoughtful gifts and the encouragement she has given me!

32 Weeks (March 2nd - 8th)

I’m nearly 17.2 inches tall and weigh a little over 4 lbs. My skin is now less wrinkled looking. 8 more weeks to go!

The third trimester is kicking my butt! I have hardly any energy now and acid reflux is my constant companion! I remember when I used to boast that I didn’t even know what heartburn was because I had never had it!!! My doctor intends to keeping me working all the way up until my due date, I just hope I can make it without falling asleep at my desk!

After Mom Hoisington heard about the snowflake dilemma in the nursery, she offered to buy us some new vinyl white snowflake decals. I have had a great experience before with vinyl wall decals, so I am hoping these are a success. Plus, I think the white will show up better. Thank You Mom!

We are now working on washing Lydia's clothing up through size 3 months. We also purchased new hangers and organized her closet by size. I have started stocking up on baby medicine (Tylenol, Mylicon, Orajel, etc), so we’re not running out at 2 am once she gets here looking for medicine!

We framed a poem in the nursery that I had in my room growing up:

Why God Made Little Girls
God made the world with its towering trees,
majestic mountains and restless seas,
then paused and said, "It needs one more thing.“
Someone to laugh and dance and sing,
to walk in the woods and gather flowers,
to commune with nature in quiet hours.

So God made little girls
with laughing eyes and bouncing curls,
with joyful hearts, and beautiful smiles,
enchanting ways and feminine wiles.

And when He'd completed the task He'd begun,
he was pleased and proud of the job he'd done.
For the world when seen through a little girl's eyes

greatly resembles paradise.

31 Weeks (February 23rd - March 1st)

I’m nearly 4 lbs and 17 inches tall. Soon I’ll be too big to move as much as I can now. 9 more weeks to go!

We had a doctor’s appointment this week. The doctor joked with me that he is going to have to put me on a diet because I finally gained a pound! My blood pressure was 100/70 and Lydia’s heart rate was in the 140s. My stomach is measuring on track and everything is going as planned. We have two more appointments in March until we move to once a week appointments in April!

We hit a snag with the nursery. The “removable” snowflake decals that we purchased for the wall actually took the paint off when we tried moving one. Since we are not up for repainting 45 spots on the wall, we have decided those ones won’t work (thank God we hadn’t put them all up yet). I am currently waiting to hear back from the company about a refund. I am so disappointed because the room looks GREAT, but it is a winter wonderland with no snow! We are trying to decide what we want to do instead.

Despite the snowflake crisis, the nursery is pretty much complete. We have everything in place and ready to go! A huge THANK YOU to Mom & Dad Spencer for all the work they did on the nursery, we absolutely love how it turned out! I also want to thank Joan and Jason for giving us their crib mobile. I was able to snip off their sailboats and rig up our snowflakes...I think it turned out great (if I do say so myself)!

I had a minor accident with the curling iron this week. I went to set the curling iron down in the bathroom while I was curling my hair and my stomach got in the way. That’s right, I burned my pregnant tummy with the curling iron! The worst part about it was that I turned around and did it again a few days later! I am now sporting two ugly burn marks on my tummy that I highly doubt will go away before labor!

Symptoms:
Leg cramps

30 Weeks (February 16th - 22nd)

I am over 3 lbs and 16 inches tall. My skin is turning from red to pink from the fat deposits. 10 more weeks to go!

This week, we bought two white gold necklaces with diamond snowflake pendants. I will wear one once Lydia is born and the other will be saved for her until she is old enough to wear it. That way, mother and daughter will have matching necklaces (that match the nursery too)!

The next couple of weeks Mom & Dad Spencer will be visiting and helping us get the nursery done. We were able to get the walls, doors, and trim painted, along with getting the crib put together and the closet redone. We were surprised with a gift from Grandma Spencer who sent along a handmade baby quilt for Lydia. She hasn't quilted in years, but wanted to have this quilt done to give to her first great-granddaughter. We were so surprised and touched by this special gift. Thank you SO much Grandma Spencer!

I have a really embarrassing story, but pregnancy is about the good AND the bad! Let me start out saying that I have heard of other women thinking that their water broke and going to the hospital only to find out that they really just peed the bed. I always thought, “how could you not know you wet yourself?!” Well, I seriously thought that my water broke the other night. Before I got into bed, I went to the bathroom one last time. On my way to the bedroom, I noticed that the front of my pj bottoms were all wet. I had just gone to the bathroom, so I KNEW that it had to mean I was going into premature labor! I remembered from my pregnancy books that if it was indeed my water breaking, that it might stop while I was standing/sitting (because the baby acts like a plug). So, I got into bed (after changing my pjs) and fell asleep figuring that if it was my water breaking that I would either wake up with contractions or wake up with an extremely wet bed (neither happened). It turns out that it is entirely possible to wet yourself this far into pregnancy and really not realize it! I am just glad it happened at home and not in public.

29 Weeks (February 9th – 15th)

I’m 15.5 inches and weigh nearly 3 whole pounds. I can now open and close my eyes!

We had a doctor’s appointment this week. They checked my weight and blood pressure (everything is good). They also checked Lydia's heart rate with the doppler and I swear she must hate that thing because every appointment that they try to use it, she kicks at it and moves all around. Once they finally got her to hold still, her heart rate was in the 140s-150s. I asked the doctor about the hot flashes and flushed cheeks that I have been getting and he said they were a normal symptom of pregnancy and not to worry. We have another routine appointment in two weeks.

We got pre-registered at the hospital this week and are all good to go when the big day arrives!

It had been a couple of weeks since our last trip to Toys ‘R’ Us so we decided to go do some browsing one night after work. We are planning a trip to Destin, FL when Lydia is about 3 months old, so we were looking at little swimsuits. We both fell in love with this lady bug swimsuit and ended up buying it for her, along with a matching sun hat. I can’t wait to see her in it! We also picked up an iPod docking station so we can put her baby music on our iPod Nano and play it in her room.

Baby's first snow! It actually snowed here in Alabama this weekend about 3 inches. Of course, everything was closed (we even had a snow day at work on Friday). It is fun to have it once in a while, but it can go away anytime now...it's ruining our Daffodils and Irises coming up in the front yard!

Craving:
Fried Pickles

Symptom:
Flushed Cheeks
Weird Dreams
Stomach Cramps

28 Weeks (February 2nd – 8th)

I’m about 15 inches tall. I’m beginning to regulate my temperature and blood production.

Hello third trimester! The pregnancy has been smooth sailing so far. However, I am starting to feel tired again like I was in the first trimester. My body aches and I have a lot of cramping/stretching in my abdomen area (I wonder why-haha). It is getting harder to move around and my bones are constantly cracking and popping from all the changes! I can see Lydia moving around from the outside now!

I decided that I am going to try and breastfeed the six weeks that I am off from work. However, we didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a breast pump if it is only going to be used for a short amount of time. We had some friends who recently had triplets and they had an extra Medela pump (the Cadillac of breast pumps). They gave us their extra one to borrow, along with all the extra supplies that they had. Thank you Kyle & Kim!

The nursery is completely cleared out, but we haven’t started on it yet. We plan to clean and shine up the wood floors in there this weekend and painting will begin in the next couple of weeks while Grandma & Grandpa Spencer are down to visit. Hopefully, by March the painting will be done, the crib/changing table combo will be assembled, and the mini chandelier will be installed. From there, it will just be a matter of putting everything where it belongs and finishing the rest of the decorating. I can’t wait until everything comes together!

Symptoms:
Skin breakout

27 Weeks (January 26th - February 1st)

I weigh about 2.4 lbs. My eyelashes are growing and I'm getting covered in cute baby fat!

I had a doctor’s appointment this week. They checked Lydia’s heartbeat using the doppler and it was in the 140s. My weight is still the same (overall, I am down 3 lbs from when I found out I was pregnant) and my blood pressure was perfect at 99/70. Since I am susceptible to Gestational Diabetes, the doctor had me take another 1 hour glucose tolerance test and I PASSED AGAIN – YAY! Therefore, I won’t have to take anymore glucose tests. They measured my belly and it was 28 cm, which is right on target (the number should roughly correlate with how many weeks along you are). I will now have appointments every 2 weeks until I am 35 weeks along (then they become once a week).

Craving:
Jello

Symptoms:
Increased Appetite
Hot Flashes

26 Weeks (January 19th - 25th)

I'm 14.4 inches tall and you might be able to hear my little heart beating through mommy's belly!

Tony and I went to a Build-A-Bear Workshop this week to make Lydia's first stuffed animal. We chose the Happy Hugs Teddy (17 inches tall & tan in color). We bought the bear an "It's a Girl" t-shirt with a white pacifier for the hospital when Lydia is born. We also got a purple outfit with snowflakes to match the nursery. We were able to record a personalized message for her as a sound to be added to a push button inside the teddy bear. We also got to create a custom birth certificate for the teddy bear, which we named Snowflake (born on 8-18-09, the day we found out we were pregnant). I can't wait to give it to her!

We checked out the Toys 'R' Us in town this week and were very satisfied with the baby section. It looks as though we won't have to make anymore trips to Babies 'R' Us in Birmingham because our Toys 'R' Us store has everything we need. While we were there we fell in love with this little stuffed Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. When you shake it, he says all kinds of crazy phrases. We were laughing so hard playing with it that Tony was like, "We have to buy this thing for Lydia!" This little girl is spoiled already and she's not even here yet!

Symptom:
Stuffy Nose

25 Weeks (January 12th - 18th)

I weigh just under 2 lbs and am 14 inches tall. I can respond to noises from outside of the womb!

We took a shopping trip to Birmingham, AL this week for baby. We had dinner at IHOP for the all you can eat pancakes (a pregnant woman’s dream) before proceeding to Babies ‘R’ Us and Burlington Coat Factory. We used the remainder of our shower gift cards to buy some more stuff off of our registry and stock up on diapers, wipes, & bottle liners. The only things left to buy are some décor pieces for the nursery. We lost a member of the family this week.

On Friday, we had to have our cat, Kahlua, put to sleep. RIP pretty girl, 2000 – 2010.










Craving:
Salad

Symptoms:
Fatigue
Sciatica

24 Weeks (January 5th - 11th)

I am about 13.5 inches tall and I am finally starting to put on my baby fat!

The thank you cards are being completed for the baby shower and I hope to get them sent out by the end of the weekend. I am so happy that my mom took notes on all the gifts, it was a lifesaver!

We had a doctor’s appointment this week. Tony had missed year end inventory over holiday break, so we thought it would be a good idea if he didn't miss work for the appointment. It was supposed to be just a routine appointment...little did we know! When the nurse tried to get the baby's heartbeat on the doppler, she was having a hard time. She called in another nurse to help and I got kind of nervous. However, they started joking around because they could see the baby moving all around. They said that they couldn't get the heartbeat due to the baby's movement and my anterior placenta. After 15-20 minutes, I ended up getting sent to get an ultrasound, so they could get the heart rate. When the ultrasound tech started the ultrasound, she was ecstatic that everything was ok (heart rate 131) because she thought she was going to have to give me bad news. I guess the nurses didn't tell her that the baby was moving around, they just told her that they had a 24 week along mom that they couldn't find the heartbeat on. So, I got some more ultrasound pictures and she re-checked the gender (still a girl). I am bummed that Tony missed out on the ultrasound, but am glad that everything is ok.

Craving:
Honey Mustard

Symptom:
Bloody Nose

23 Weeks (December 29th - January 4th)

I weigh 1.25 lbs and am nearly a foot long. My body is almost completely formed!

Happy New Year 2010! Ringing in the new year really made becoming parents seem so much closer, since we are now in the year that Lydia will make her appearance in!

With our Christmas money, we were able to purchase a portable dishwasher from Menards in Michigan this week. We had been planning to get one, but the one we got was in stock and $50 cheaper than the one we had picked out in Alabama. I have never lived without a dishwasher and didn't even realize that our house didn't have one until we had already signed the paperwork! I am so happy that I won't have to manually wash dishes anymore, plus it will be so much easier with sterilizing once the baby arrives.

Dad Spencer constructed a covered trailer for us to bring the Baby Shower gifts home. This week, we packed the gifts in the trailer to get ready for the trip home. We left Michigan on the 2nd and made the trip in one day with trailer and all. Thank You Dad Spencer!

Baby had hiccups for the first time this week! At first I had no idea what was going on, but once I realized what it was…it made my heart melt!

I was able to feel baby's movements from the outside this week! Tony even got a chance to feel her kick on New Year's Eve!