Weekly Update: 31 Weeks

After last week's craziness, this week has brought much rest and relaxation. Which has been so nice considering I am not getting around quite as easily here lately. Despite strict bed rest orders, with only bathroom and shower privileges, my dear college friends threw me a sweet, sweet shower this past Saturday. They did an incredible job, with yummy food, a fun game, and lots of laughs. Not to mention wonderfully thoughtful gifts as well :) Everyone came in from out of town to make me feel special and to spoil their sweet niece and nephew! We are like sisters (actually, all the hostesses were sorority sisters of mine), regardless of distance apart and time away from each other so Mattie Rose and James are definitely blessed to have so many close friends of mine to call their "aunts."

They didn't let me do a thing. They made me sit in the chair. Made my plate for me. And brought my gifts to me to open. All that was needed was to be fanned with palm leaves and fed grapes. Ha. They spoiled me. Quite honestly, I think they were terrified of me having contractions again. My doctor would have been proud. 

I did a horrible job again with taking pictures. I get so wrapped up in talking and visiting that taking pictures takes a back seat. Hopefully everyone else took some good pictures!

{big ole 31 week belly}

{awesome diaper wreath}

{the spread}

{the dental wives - kayla, lauren, me, and julie - we will all have kiddos within a year of each other and i cannot wait to watch them grow up together}

{i mean, really...how lucky am i to have such incredible friends. if you look very carefully on the left, you can see baby campbell inside kimberly's belly. he and james are sure to get in trouble together somewhere in the future}

This week also brought with it two baby prep classes. Rather than taking a 7-week course, I only forced Kyle into two classes. Forced is the wrong word. He went willingly, and I am so grateful. We had infant safety and CPR class Tuesday night. Even though we both have to stay CPR-certified with our work, it was a nice refresher and reminder. All dads were present at that class. Yet, last night we went to a breast-feeding class and let me brag for a second when I tell you that Kyle was the ONLY male there. I am sure he wasn't too happy with me when we walked in the door, but I can't tell you what it does for my heart to know that he supports me and realizes that two babies automatically make this new adventure a team effort (even though parenting one child requires mutual work as well). James and Mattie Rose don't know how good they are going to have it with Kyle as their daddy. Even though he takes embarrassing pictures of his wife during class....

{31 1/2 week belly}

This morning I had my almost-32-week check up. This appointment has been scheduled for a month, as opposed to all the surprise visits last week. 

The babies were laying on their bellies again, which kept us from getting any good pictures of their face. Mattie Rose turned just enough to snap a quick profile picture and James just enough to capture his face.

{mattie rose's profile}

{james looking at you, his head is on the right, you can barely make out his right eye socket and the bridge of his cute little nose}

31 1/2 Week Stats:

     *James weighs 3 lbs 15 ounces. His head is bigger than hers (typical male).

     *Mattie Rose weighs 3 lbs 10 ounces.

     *Everything having to do with me (amniotic fluid, cervical length, etc) looks great and normal!

     *They both scored 8/8 today on their BPPs.

     *I still have to take the Procardia daily until I reach 36 weeks, then he will take me off of it.

     *And now we will go WEEKLY to the doctor!!! CRAZY! Time is really about to start flying!

Mom has been over the past few days to help me wash clothes, organize, and make sure everything is ready to go in case they decide to surprise us with an early debut. What would we do without our mothers....Hope my children say they same thing about me one day :)

Weekly Update: 30 Weeks Brings Craziness

Before I even start this post, forgive me if things are out of place or look funny. Blogger keeps changing their format and I can't quite keep up.

We are rounding out week 30 today and I must say things had been pretty uneventful until this past week. Let's start off on a good note, shall we?

This past Sunday, my wonderful work family threw me (or should I say James and Mattie Rose) our first shower. It was beautiful, more than anything I could have expected, and just made me and our little mcnuggets feel so overwhelmingly special. 

Here are a few pictures from the day. I was so mad at myself when we left because I did not take ANY pictures. These are all from my mother-in-law and a few someone snapped off my camera. I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone who was there and all the special details throughout the house.

{the table - the MOST delicious food i have ever eaten at a shower}

{mattie rose's sweet diaper cake}

{and one for james}

{the cute invitations}

{delicious cake - i hated to even cut into it}

{the goods}

{my awesome work family - candice, phyllis, me, and val}

{a few of the guests}

{my friend megan made this handsome little onesie for james}

{and a matching dress for mattie rose}

{mom had to get a little spoiled too with a brag book}

{my 2nd momma sami bought me a huge travel tote bag that i had been eyeing at vera bradley for several months - we are going to need big bags with two babies - love it}

{pack-n-play from my sweet grandmother}

{just some of the swag we got}

I had the nursery all clean prior to the shower, and when we got home it was destroyed with loads of incredible gifts!!!! I am totally not complaining. Everyone was way too generous to us and our little ones! 

Sunday must have been way too much excitement for me, because at work on Monday morning, I began to experience a good amount of pressure and some cramping. I took the afternoon off and decided to go home and rest. On the way home, I had a little feeling inside me saying "you may just want to stop by the doctor's office." Good thing I did because I was having contractions. Even though I was not dilated or anything like that, the doctor finally called it quits on work. 

He sent me to the hospital to try and see if getting some fluids would stop the contractions. They helped, but were not enough. After two injections of Terbutaline they finally stopped and I was sent home with instructions to "take it easy." I think I needed a little more specifics...

While "taking it easy" on Tuesday and Wednesday, I organized all the presents from the shower and tried to get a few things in order around the house. Apparently this was too much, because Wednesday afternoon I started to have quite a bit of back pain. I didn't think much about it at first, but as the pain got worse throughout the night and brought me to tears, I decided to call the doctor to make sure that this wasn't something uncommon or wasn't something I needed to go to see someone about. He told me to head to the hospital.... Wonderful. 

So about 2:00 Thursday morning I woke Kyle up and we headed in. Sure enough it was contractions again. This time they skipped the fluids and went ahead and gave me two shots of Terbutaline and then an oral dose of Procardia. They decided to do an ultrasound to make sure both James and Mattie Rose were doing okay since I told them that they had not been moving as much as they normally do. They did a little test on each them, just looking to make sure their bodies were doing specific things. James scored an 8 out of 8, and Mattie Rose scored a 6 out of 8. Both passing scores, but for this over-achieving momma, I was a little upset why she didn't have a perfect score. They were having trouble seeing her diaphragm move. And of course, this freaked me out. They told me it was not a red flag and not to be worried, but really.... So after leaving the hospital around 9:30 in the morning, with no sleep the night before, I headed home and crashed the rest of the day. 

We followed-up at the doctor's office this morning to have another ultrasound performed. Mattie Rose and I had a little chat prior to, where I was teaching her what it means to be obedient: do what you're told, when you're told, with a good attitude (never too early to start, right?). She apparently is a quick learner, because she quickly scored an 8 out of 8 today!!! I was proud! 

So everyone is perfect as of right now! I am now on bed rest with bathroom and shower privileges only until told otherwise. And if you know me, sitting around is not something I do very well so I will definitely covet any prayers in this area! 

We go back to the doctor for our 32 week check up next Thursday, so I will post some new stats on the babies then. 

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Weekly Update

I feel like we are rounding third and headed for home. This weekend we will hit 30 weeks! Which means anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks until we get to meet James and Mattie Rose. I have began to enter panic mode, trying to make sure everything is as ready as possible. We are still waiting on our bedding to be finished, but the curtains are hung and look fantastic!

The nursery is a work in a progress. I didn't want to decorate the walls yet until everything else was in place, so it is still rather bare, but good things are coming!

There is another window just to the left of this picture. I am still on the hunt for a short, but long dresser to go in between the windows for some more storage. Two babies take up A LOT of room! And I am thinking of switching the white rug out for a dark gray one to ground the room. Their bedding is just a bold and full of pattern as the curtains.

Another shot of the room. To the right of this picture is another long wall where I have a long dresser that will also be used as their changing table. THAT CHAIR! Can we say comfortable?! That big armoire used to be our coat closet (old houses equal no closet space) and has now become their closet. I just hung another rack inside and they each have a "closet" for their nice clothes. :)

As more comes together, I'll post some more pictures....

This weekend starts a 3-week run of baby showers and I cannot wait! I am just beside myself knowing how many people Kyle and I have in our lives who love us and love our babies and get excited about the excitement in our lives! If I think about it too long, I start crying. Which I'm sure will happen at least once during each shower.

This week has been physically challenging for me. Sleeping like a rock has now been replaced with constant position changes, trips to the bathroom, and horrendous heartburn. Standing at work all day is impossible, and I am finding myself scooting around on stools quite a bit. And I have never had such awful heel pain. Sorry, I just needed to get that off my chest. HOWEVER... They are constantly moving, which in my mind means everything is going great with them! And if I have to be uncomfortable for the next few weeks for them to grow and get big, then so be it. I am just constantly praying against pre-term labor! Feel free to join me!

Here is a quick pic of our 29-week belly. Proof of exhaustion after a long day at work. My poor husband....

Several weeks ago, Kyle and I had some maternity shots taken by the beautiful, talented, and ridiculously cool Lisa Mac (McAdoo). I am so awkward in front of a camera where I have to "pose." But she was great at making it such a relaxed atmosphere and making me feel great about my body that is no longer my own. I cannot wait for James and Mattie Rose to meet her and let her take their pictures as they grow up! We will definitely be using her as long as we live in Memphis, and if for some reason we move, we will just have to drive back to see her! She is just that great!

Here are just a few of the sneak peeks she let us see...

Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!!!! More than half-way there. Finish strong!