35 Weeks ///\\\// 8 Months!

Eight.  Months.  Pregnant! 

November is here and baby boy will be in our arms next month--perhaps even this month!  Thirty-five days left until David's due date!

Thinking he might arrive before his due date excites me.  I would love to meet him and hold him sooner but since Trevor's command announced they may send him home early, I have mixed feelings.  The later, the better with regards to Trevor making it home in time for the birth.  I have another OB appointment this Tuesday (weekly appointments now!) so I'll be asking Dr. Friedman how overdue he'll let the baby go before inducing.  A week past DD would put us at December 17th and 2-weeks late would fall on Christmas Eve.  Nevertheless, baby will make his entrance when he's ready and we only hope he's healthy.

Occasionally I'll experience some cramping, usually at night as I turn over from one side to another.  Even with the periodic pain and uncomfortable weight load, I can't help but think I'll miss seeing him wiggle and stretch inside my belly.  Pretty soon he'll be outside the womb and I'll never have these specific moments with him again and, maybe it's the hormones talking, but that brings forth a bit of sadness for me.  With a few weeks left until that day I'm making a special effort to soak up all of these sweet moments as best I can.

This past week I spent a lot of time with friends--which was much needed!  Ashley and I grabbed Subway and searched Target for nursing bras, Carrie drove up from Bible School to catch-up, Anna and I celebrated her 27th birthday in Long Beach and I ran errands with Marla and we had lunch together at the new Shake Shack!  Thanks for the time spent together, friends!

Carrie and I became friends pretty instantly after meeting at a mutual friend's clothing party in Fort Collins.  We share a love for all things military and even planned on serving in the Air Force together.  She was my running buddy and our weekly get-togethers made our time in Colorado that much more enjoyable.  And as our lives would have it, she's right around the corner in Anaheim finishing bible school!  With gift in hand, she drove the full distance to meet me at Classic Burger so we could catch up.  She's eager to minister in Germany and we joked that perhaps we'll get the chance to live near each other again if Trevor receives orders there.  All I can say is... yes, please!

A second large load of baby laundry is complete after receiving a ton of clothes from the baby shower a few weeks back.  Ash, I'm still obsessed with the raglan-sleeved onesies you gifted David!  They're my favorite.  Baby's dresser is stocked with his newborn and 0-3 month clothes, just in case he's on the bigger side.  Not too sure how long we'll be here post-delivery but baby's clothes, diapers and wipes are ready and waiting for him.  The larger-sized outfits are organized in bins that will likely be relocated into the garage to save space.  So far I'm pretty happy with the diaper bag I purchased; granted, I'm not using it just yet but I have started organizing it and I think it'll be a good fit for us.

The stroller my mom bought for the baby is in the back of the Jeep and the car seat is now installed!  The CHP officer who installed the seat was so helpful as he took his time explaining all aspects of car seat installation including how to properly fix the straps so baby rides safely.  I'm thinking I'll make another appointment once Trevor returns home just so he can ask questions and hear all of the information for himself.

Speaking of Trevor, he received the two boxes I recently sent his way.  Right now I'm putting together a Thanksgiving-themed care-package and I'm super jazzed about it--probably more so than I should be, haha.  He's aware of the next box's theme so he's requested two cans of cranberry sauce (1 jelly, 1 whole berries), crispy onions (think: green beans casseroles), and eggnog.  Trevor really wants eggnog but after troubleshooting how to mail it to him, I told him he might have to forget the idea.  Poor guy.  He seriously loves eggnog.

Well, I found some in a mix form that just needs milk added to it.  Only problem is, for some odd reason, he can't buy milk out there.  So, I'm thinking of sending some almond milk (as it doesn't have to be refrigerated) and condensed milk in the box so that maybe he can satiate the craving for a few weeks.  Additionally, I'll be sending Hawaiian sweet rolls, beef jerky, two small bottles of sparking apple cider, Belgium chocolate pumpkins, hot cocoa mix with marshmallows, fig cereal bars and dried cranberries.  He's spoiled but he deserves it.

In his Halloween box, he received real and fake pumpkins to decorate for the holiday.  As it turns out, his whole unit joined in to help!  Had I known he would open the box at work I would have sent more pumpkins for the rest of the guys.  Trevor said he let them mess around with the fake pumpkin and he had fun with the real one so it worked out well.  With this concept in mind, I've put together a "Baby Shower in a Bag" kit complete with some of the games we played at David's baby shower.  I figured Trevor and his unit can decorate the leftover bibs with fabric pens and, if they want to, they can have some fun with some of the paper games we played.  I'm sending him my belly photos (weeks 4-35) to emulate the "Follow The Belly" board I made for the party and a picture frame with David's first ultrasound as well. 

Week-In-Review

Beef tongue.

Jacob high-fives his baby cousin.

Halloween 2017, baby!

 

Dreams do come true.  😂

Ready and waiting.

Minus the cup holders.

Special number.

Shake Shack is cooooooool!

Thanks to those who filled out a letter for Trevor!  First batch has arrived.

Week 35 Updates

1.  Size of the baby?  Baby weighs 5.3lbs (say whaaa!) and measures 18.2 inches long.  Apparently he won't get too much longer but will gain about an ounce a day from here on out!  This week he's about the size of a pineapple!

2.  What's developing this week?  

3.  Current weight?  144.  I gained 3 pounds last week, yikes!  Between the plethora of burgers and pancakes I enjoyed, I shouldn't be too surprised.  +3lbs from last week.  +27lbs pre-pregnancy.

4.  Movement?  Hiccups several times a day and he's lifting up my ribs, y'all!  And Trevor has caught a few David's large body movements when we skype. 

5.  Sleep?  Cramps in my piriformis are killing me at night.  Crampsin belly as I turn over. 

6.  Symptoms? 

• Trouble breathing while standing after a shower.  Assuming it's a combination of the steam/lack of oxygen and the positioning of the baby.
• Clicking/popping sounds from belly are back.
• Lightning crotch.
• Fatigue some days, lots of energy other days.
• Indigestion on and off.
• Pain in pubic bone.  Some days my vagina feels so sore!  When I walk I can feel the tenderness in that area.

7.  Cravings and Aversions?  Not really but I enjoy SweetTango Apples so very, very much.  When Trevor suggested I pick up a few Lean Cuisines I felt sick... again.

8.  Best moment this week?  Envisioning myself placing a tiny baby into the car seat as I peered into the rear-view mirror on the way home from the CHP appointment.

9.  Prayer requests?  Prayers that I would finish the baby's room this week would be much appreciated!  Also please pray, if it be God's will, that Trevor would find an active duty recruiter who is willing to work with him so that plans are arranged sooner than later.

10.  What are you looking forward to for next week?  I have a bunch of appointments next week but I'm most excited about decorating and sending off Trevor's Thanksgiving care-package, haha.

Week 35 Photos

34 Weeks

Cheers to our last post for the month of October!  The Holiday season begins soon and we all know what that means...

T-minus 6 weeks (or so) until our baby arrives! 

Our little guy still moves all the time and has hiccups multiple times every day.  I love it.  I love feeling him and knowing he's okay.  If he were to be born now he would be considered a late preterm, so we're right on the cusp of being full-term.  Babies born after 34 weeks don't generally have any health problems so, in my eyes, we've hit another milestone!

The nesting urge is sinking in because... I detailed the Jeep.  That is to say, I busted my ass trying to clean every nook and cranny of the Jeep.  It feels like I'm running out of time and this stuff needs to be done... soon.  Like now.  I have a steam mop with a detachable hand tool so I'll be steam cleaning the seats sometime next week.  Finally purchasing a car seat prompted all of this, and the thought of putting our baby's car seat into an unclean car just didn't sit right with me.

We opted for this convertible car seat as it fits baby from 4lbs+ right off the bat!  No need for an infant seat and I'm all about saving money if I can.  An appointment to have the seat installed is set with Torrance CHP for Friday, November 3rd.

23 October 2017:  Deployment Date #1
Trevor, being the sweet guy he is, has been trying to arrange a "date" for a few weeks now.  Early last week he finally set things up for us.  "This Monday, grab a bite to eat then meet me at a little coffee shop for our date."  And so I did.

The coffee shop at his base is pretty popular during the day but luckily it's cleared out at night.  He's 10-hours ahead of California time so we had our date during his nighttime, my morning.  Walking into a crowded Starbucks initially fueled concerns that skyping in a public place would invite unwanted eavesdroppers and lookiloos, but I ended up not caring.  I ordered a white chocolate mocha and a chocolate croissant; in part because Trevor recently requested a few Hersey's bars to melt down and add to croissants.  He ordered some fruity drink and had to go outside a few times because internet inside the shop was spotty.

This date was seriously awesome, and that's a bit surprising to me.  There's so much we're use to experiencing while physically being with someone that it seems dating from a distance would be at a disadvantage, but it wasn't!  We talked and laughed together and I felt so very loved.  This man I married is simply incredible.

We spent about an hour together before he encouraged me to go to Chick-fil-a as my next destination.  I was supposed to grab a bite to eat beforehand but I hadn't so I tossed my trash and gathered up my things.  Trevor kept me company along the drive to Chick-fil-a as I set the tablet on the seat next to me so he could see me.  I drove through the drive-thru so we could keep chatting and when one of the workers approached my window to take my order I introduced her to my husband, haha.  She thanked him for his service and wished him well.  Chick-fil-a is selling children's books right now so I bought two for David.

Not wanting to park in the restaurant parking lot, I kept driving until I reached home.  Well, almost home.  I wound up in front of the little park near my mom's house and I ate my lunch there under the shade of the trees with Trevie.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to feel so rejuvenated by that date.  For the rest of the day I felt as if I was on cloud 9.  Trevor is so thoughtful, so sweet and has the ability to make me happy even from so far away.  There are plenty of negatives when it comes to deployments--but the choice to overcome and adapt to any challenging situation is always within our grasp.  And in this family, we choose joy.  We choose happiness.

24 October 2017:  OB Appointment + Ultrasound + Arbitrary Head Measurement
It took the doctor a few seconds to find David's heartbeat.  As usual, David was wiggling around and evading the doppler wand but for a split second, my heart sank.  For a few seconds I couldn't feel him moving.  I took a huge sigh of relief once Dr. Friedman located his heartbeat, but as you can see in the video, David snuck out from under the doppler's reading a few more times.  Funny how Trevor and I both think the baby will be like each other, respectively.  I envision this little guy to be sneaky and funny like his daddy, and Trevor thinks he'll be persnickety like me.

Dr. Friedman offered to perform another ultrasound after I mentioned Trevor's command is awaiting the results on the baby's position; breech or head down.  Never thought I'd ever be bummed to hear, "Yeah, he's head down.  He's ready and in-position" but as you know from last week's post, if David is breech then Trevor's command is likely to send him home even sooner.  Trevor and I decided to wait until the 36-week anatomy scan before we communicate back with his command.

Dr. Friedman attempted to measure David's head.  Hopefully his calculations are off because baby's head is measuring at 37w4d when he's only supposed to be 33w1d.  We'll see what the results from the 36-week anatomy scan indicate. 

Week-In-Review

Learning how to play Yahtzee at Beth's 28th

Trevie Box #3:  Halloween Edition.  Includes a shitton of candy, 2 pumpkins (1 real, 1 fake), 1 LifeStraw, Starwars Kleenex and more candy...

Week 34 Updates

1.  Size of the baby?  Baby weighs about 4.7lbs and measures about 17.7 inches.

2.  What's developing this week?

3.  Current weight? 141.  +1lb from last week.  +24lbs prepregnancy.

4.  Movement?  Lots of pressure against my ribs this week.

5.  Sleep?  Sleep is okay.  Piriformis still acts up but I feel well-rested.

6.  Symptoms?

• Eye pain, possible dry eyes.  Drops helped a bit.
• Mid and lower back pain.
• Fatigue. 
• Patches of dry skin.
• Pubic bone soreness.  Thinking it might be from my PT exercises.
• Excruciating wrist pain on both wrists one night.  Thought I might have pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel but thankfully it hasn't happened again.
• Swollen feet after a night out with friends.

7.  Cravings and Aversions? Aversion to nacho cheese.

8.  Best moment this week?  Date with Trevie.

9.  Prayer requests?

• Prayers for employment opportunities for Trevor post-deployment; whether active duty or civilian.  And for wisdom to make these big decisions.
• Prayers that God will strengthen my body and prepare it for birth.  That I would be prompted to do whatever needs to be done to be ready in-time.  And that my body and skin would continue to stretch and grow to meet baby's needs.

10.  What are you looking forward to for next week?  Seeing my friend Carrie from Fort Collins!

Week 34 Photos

Note:  Unlike previous weeks, these photos were not taken with an empty stomach.

33 Weeks

Thirty-three weeks today and overall I'm feeling pretty good.  I had a little bit of cramping this morning before taking this week's belly photos.  Day by day, we're getting closer to meeting our son and each morning I give thanks to God that our little guy is still in the womb and growing strong.

As far as this week goes, all I can say is God is at work!  I'm beside myself with humble gratitude as God continues to reveal to me who He is by way of our personal relationship.

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown, where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours.  And You are mine.

Like I mentioned last week, I finished reading Jackie Mize's faith-based childbirth book.  Reading this book provoked me to pray for a stronger foundation of faith.  Since finding out we were pregnant and knowing that Trevor would be overseas, I confided in the Lord to be my "birth partner" and asked Him to guide me through.  Early this past week I prayed He would strengthen my faith and provide support for me during the delivery of David.

As I spent time getting ready Tuesday morning, I felt the Lord prompt me to pray for Trevor to come home for the birth.  I was resistant to it and shrugged it off as I thought to myself, "No, that's not possible... don't want to get my hopes up by praying for it."  God pressed on and the prompting grew stronger to where I couldn't think of anything else.

"If I prayed for this..." I reasoned, "that would mean he would likely be injured, or something bad would happen that would bring him home.  No, I don't want that."  As soon as I finished my thought I was made aware there are other ways in which Trevor could miraculously come home.  God responded by asking me to trust Him and that it wouldn't be bad.

"What have I got to lose?"

So, I mustered together a few words for a half-assed prayer.  Mentally, I kept the idea of the whole Trevor-coming-home-for-the-birth fantasy at a distance as to not be disappointed and hurt.  And really, I had already come to terms with him not being there.

The next morning, Trevor calls and says he has possible good news.

His supervisor approached him that morning, which is rare because they work opposite shifts.  He asked Trevor when his "mini me" is set to arrive to which Trevor shared our due date of December 10th.  "Ah, man!  If it had been towards the end of December I could have sent you home.  I'm not sure about early December.  But what the heck?  Let's try anyways!"

Without any initiation or prompting from Trevor, a form was submitted on his behalf up the chain of command requesting that he be sent home to be present for the birth of our son.  How.  Freaking.  Amazing. Is that?!  I mean... really?!

My jaw dropped and my mind went straight back to the previous morning.  To God prompting me to pray.  To my half-assed, no-good, sorry-excuse for a prayer for something huge.  Oh ye, of little faith.  Yup, that's me.

God's providing, you guys.

As Trevor and I are still on the phone I quickly fill him in on my moment with God the morning prior.  He's left speechless as now we both know for sure... God's will be done.  If He wants Trevor home for birth then it's a done deal.

We hang up and I immediately pray and worship.  How great is our God that He would bother with me?  Time and time again I fall short of deserving His blessings and yet, here I am, still receiving.  Still in awe of who He is.  Amazed by all of the little things that God provides for me, much of which I don't even bother to acknowledge.  None of us do... we're so accustomed to living our everyday lives that we move past glorifying the One who provides our every day.  Our every night.

In my prayer I asked God to tell me how He wants me to pray about this situation.  Then, as usual, I head to Target, haha.  It's where I walk around for exercise, as you know.  And maybe I browse through the baby boy clearance rack but I digress.

As I'm walking around Target I start chatting with one of the workers; a middle-aged man whose sense of humor matches my own.  As we're talking and laughing together somehow we start talking about Jesus.  Not even exaggerating, I ended up chatting with this man (whose name is Albert) for over an hour!  We could not stop talking about God!

During our chat I feel encouraged to tell him what God is doing for Trevor and I.  I even ask him to pray over it and his response was just what I needed to hear.

"It's already done.  You don't need to pray over this at all.  Just give thanks."

God answered my prayer yet again, you guys!  The Lord doesn't need me to keep asking for this situation to work-out.  He's already handling it.  All I need to do is give thanks.  It's incredible to receive an answered prayer three times in a single week!  First, I prayed for strengthening of faith and support during the birth... check.  Second, after God's prompting, I pray that Trevor would come home for the birth of David... God's working on it.  Lastly, I asked God how I ought to continue to pray over this matter... just be thankful, He says (through Albert).  Gotcha.  I can certainly do that.

Towards the end of the week we heard back from Trevor's commander.

Basically, they agreed to send him home early but they're unsure of if it will be in-time for the birth.  With that said, he's set to come home early!  They're asking if I have any medical issues and if the baby is breech or seems to have any issues of his own.  He sent up a follow-up letter informing his commander we will discover our baby's position in a few weeks and we'll keep him in-the-loop of any changes in health; the baby's and/or my own.

I'm still blown away.  All I can do is smile to myself.  When I was younger, God revealed to me I could pray about anything.  He made it clear He would always be with me and any prayer I prayed that glorified Him... He would provide.  I think that's why I'm so quick to share about my relationship with God with all of you.  He has done so much for me and once I knew Him, I could never turn my back away.

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of the my Savior

21 October 2017:  Baby-Stuff Shopping Spree at Target!
Did you guys catch the great sale in the baby section at Target?  Holy moly.  Tons of things were on sale and if you spent $100 on baby items, you received a $20 gift card.  Likewise, if you spent $250, you got a $50 gift card.  Being that we have two registries, we received a few doubles so I simply returned any extras to Target.  Well, along with gift cards we received as gifts, I ended up with over $300 to spend!  As mentioned last week, I was more than ready to get everything prepped for baby's arrival--and it was a little stressful not being prepared.  Plus, with a completion discount of 15% off anything in my baby registry, I was ready to shop.

Do you guys price check online?  I do.  I saved over $80 on this baby monitor by asking customer service to price-match for me. 

At the end of it all, I still have money left on gift cards plus I earned $70 in new gift cards by splitting up my purchases.  I got a ton of stuff and now I'm wishing I had taken pictures of everything for you guys.  Or maybe I'll just link it if that's preferable.  Either way, I'll be sure to do that for next week's post.

Week-In-Review

Care Package #2 is finally on it's way!

Theme:  10 Things I miss about you, Trevor.

Trevor makes even the most mundane of tasks fun.

Finally got some Subway, y'all!  No deli meat.  Went with meatballs.

The many faces of Trevor.

Week 33 Updates

1.  Size of the baby?  Baby weighs about 4.2lbs and measures 17.2inches long, about the size of a head of celery!  He may grow up to a full inch this week!

2.  What's developing this week? 

3.  Current weight?  140.  No weight change this week.  +23lbs pre-pregnancy.

4.  Movement? What were once small little kicks are full-body movements.  It's such a trip to watch my belly and see him turning over.

5.  Sleep?  Overall it's pretty good.  A few times this week I've woken up because my belly itches.  So I've had to get up and add oils and lotions.

6.  Symptoms?  Many symptoms are the same as last week, actually.

7.  Cravings and Aversions?  Nope.

8.  Best moment this week?  The answered prayers.

9.  Prayer requests?

• Join me in a Praise Report?:  Lord God,  You are amazing in every... single... way!  Thank You for all that You've done, all You continue to do and all that You will do.  We are humbled and amazed that, even while we were still sinners, You died for us that we might know You.  Yours is the Kingdom, the Glory and the Power, forever and ever!

10.  What are you looking forward to for next week?  Another OB appointment on Tuesday but I'm sure he'll just be checking baby's heartbeat with the Dopper and measuring my uterus... nothing too exciting.  Around week 35 we'll get to see baby boy again!

Week 33 Photos