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.