39 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks  

Size of baby: Little one is almost 7 1/2 pounds and about 20 inches head to heel, about the size of a small watermelon.  *However, my doctor estimates she is definitely in the 7 1/2 lbs. range already and I think she's longer than 20 inches.  My doctor also estimates she'll be an 8+ lbs. baby by delivery.  Jay and I were both born before our due dates and we were both 8 1/2 lbs. babies.  He was 21 inches long and I was 21 3/4 inches long.  I guess we'll see how Mary measures up soon enough!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 33 pounds.  I have only gained one pound in the last 6 weeks (which is fine).  It means Mary is stealing all of my calories and then some. :)

Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing all maternity clothes, except for a couple of shirts and pajamas.  There are so many cute clothes out this summer- I am ready to not be pregnant so I can wear cuter things!

Gender:  It's a girl!  Mary Isabelle (see this post about her name)

Movement:  Mary has less and less room to move around these days so when she does it tends to hurt!  I keep telling her she would have a lot more space if she'd just come on out.  :)  I can feel her rubbing her feet together (before she kicks me!) and I swear she's just saying "there's no place like home."  Sooner or later, dear child, you will be evicted!

Sleep: Both of my hips are sore when I sleep on either side for more than a few hours, however, the pain seems to come and go depending on my daily activities.

What I miss:  Sleeping on my back!  I cannot wait to lay flat again!

Cravings: I am over the apple craving.  I am not craving anything in particular right now.

Symptoms: Heartburn/reflux, pelvic discomfort, lower back pain, puffy feet, ankles, and hands, nesting (that might be the only good one!)... your typical late pregnancy symptoms.  

***In other good news, Jay was accepted into the nursing program at this school and his classes start July 2nd.  Yes, 3 days after her due date.  Come on sweet Mary- make your debut a little early!

The picture on the left (below) is this morning... the picture on the right is this afternoon after a big thunderstorm came through- I think she dropped a little more!  Yay!

ta da! the nursery!

finally... the nursery is 95% complete!  the only thing i want to work on is the "family" bookcase and that will most likely be finished after she is born.  (i will have pictures of her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and 1st cousin on her bookcase so she will be able to learn who everyone is even though she won't see them as often as if we lived in the same town.)

we do not have a lot of choices for paint so what was already in her room is what we stayed with.  i love the green anyway so it worked out just fine.  :)  i chose her bedding before we even knew she was a she.  the girl version was way too pink- think pepto bismol!  my favorite colors are green and blue and i loved the boy version despite the fact we might have (and in fact do) have a girl on the way.  we will definitely make her room more girly when she's old enough to really care.  for now, the bedding is more for me- and i find it calming and relaxing instead of shockingly pink.

i love the elephants and they didn't seem to be overly popular when the bedding was purchased.  now, however, the current line of carter's baby clothes has elephants on them.  they are so sweet!  and trust me, she has plenty of pink clothes to make up for the fact that her bedding isn't pink.  we have been so blessed to receive so much.  i have knitted her 3 hats and a blanket and i have purchased one outfit for her.  everything else we have received as gifts and hand-me-downs.

anyway, i know you want to see her room.  i cannot wait for her to be here so we can use it!

a 4 foot wide door, of course, courtesy of 1938!

 come on in- her big sisters are already inside enjoying the views.

 inside her door- her bookshelf/cube drawers.

her diaper stacker is hanging on the back of the door- it is fashioned from a men's button down shirt.  one of my nurses, lisa, made it for her.

 here is a closer shot.  sorry for the shadow!

her closet filled with diapers, wipes, sleepers, and other goodies.

 

this will be the family bookcase.  the bag hanging on the door is packed for her for the hospital and the one in the floor is started for me.

 big sister cotton and the crib and diaper pail (the crib was purchased by jay's mom and stepdad and the mattress from his aunt and uncle).  we needed one that would contain odor and couldn't be gotten into by the dogs.  i hope and think we will be pleased.

 the glider (purchased with a few gift cards but mostly a gift from her great mamaw stella) and feeding station.

 the sweet elephant prints above her crib.

 her big sisters approve!

hamper & crib.  we had the hamper and are thankful it has a lid, too.

sweet elephant minky blanket and printed sheet (bedding purchased by her mimi and pops).

adorable plush elephant (from sweet friends) and blue elephant lovey with her monogram (from aunt erin) ready for snuggling.

her womb/sound machine bear from her great-grandparents.

sweet cross and prayer with her name on it from sweet friends.

crib construction.

so i decided to tackle putting the crib together last saturday while jay was at training for work.  i had pre-determined i would stop at any point that it got too difficult or heavy.  well, i must say that assembling the crib was easier than putting the glider together (which i also did).  everyone keeps saying this is "daddy's job" but he'll have plenty of fun (ha!) putting the swing, bouncy seat, pack 'n' play, etc together.  it only took me a couple of hours to assemble the crib thanks to great instructions and the packaging.  i am so happy with the one we chose.  i had great intentions to take more pictures but got distracted with my progress! :)

progression.

i think it's fun to look at all of these and see how much i have changed and how much mary isabelle has grown in the last 20 or so weeks.  it's amazing that at 4 weeks gestation she was the size of a poppyseed and now she's the size of a watermelon!  it is truly amazing what our bodies are made to do in order to create new life. 

 18 weeks

19 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

34 weeks

35 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

38 weeks

38 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks  

Size of baby: Little one is almost 6 1/2 pounds and about 19 1/2 inches head to heel, about the size (length) of a leek.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained about 33 pounds.  I have only gained one pound in the last 5 weeks (which is fine).  It means Mary is stealing all of my calories and then some. :)

Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing all maternity clothes, except for a couple of shirts and pajamas.  There are so many cute clothes out this summer- I am ready to not be pregnant so I can wear cuter things!

Gender:  It's a girl!  Mary Isabelle (see this post about her name)

Movement:  You can watch my abdomen shift around when she's busy... and she's busy a lot these days!  She gets the hiccups usually 2-3 times a day.  They are getting stronger and are good because that means she's swallowing okay and practicing her breathing.  Her pokes, jabs, and kicks have gotten stronger- she likes to stretch out into my side with her feet.  She is starting to run out of room!  She has dropped some although she still has some more to go.

Sleep: Both of my hips are sore when I sleep on either side for more than a few hours. It is increasingly hard to get comfortable and I find that I don't sleep so great anymore.  I guess I'm being prepared for the nights ahead once she's born.

What I miss:  Sleeping on my back!  I cannot wait to lay flat again!

Cravings: I am over the apple craving.  I am not craving anything in particular right now.

Symptoms:  Oh the heartburn!  The heartburn has actually turned into acid reflux, although, now that she's dropped some this has gotten better.  Zantac is still my best friend.  If it's true what they say- that heartburn in pregnancy means the baby will have hair then this child is destined to have a head full!    I have puffy feet and ankles that are a mainstay now- although some days are better than others.  My hips and pelvic bones are sore and getting themselves in shape for birth- but that alone is partly what is making it so hard to sleep. I still can't really complain too much and I try not to! 

crafts inspired from pinterest.

i know i've said it before... i ♥ pinterest!  i have been working on a quick and easy craft project for mary's room.  i think it turned out super cute and only cost me about $11- i did have a few things on hand already though.

first i made my own mod podge thanks to a recipe i found on pinterest.  i spent 79 cents to make it for myself instead of $11.99 at michael's.  awesome!  want to know how?  check out how to make your own mod podge.

then i just needed a few canvases and some scrapbook paper (i already had these) and some wooden letters, craft paint, and a little craft glue.

then i got to work!  i painted the edges of the canvases a blue color similar to the blue in each piece of paper and similar to her bedding.  i painted the letters white.

then it was time for mod podge.  i had already cut the scrapbook paper to the size of the canvas and they were ready to be applied to the canvas.  i applied a few layers of mod podge over the course of an evening and the next day (sorry, no picture of that step) and then lined up the canvases and measured a little to make sure the letters lined up and then glued them on.

then it was time to hang them up!  i used our laser level and figured out how far apart i wanted them to hang and centered on the wall and carefully measured and hung them up. i think they turned out super cute... so here's a sneak peek of part of her nursery.  (and yes, i realize that the "y" is a little hard to see- it's easier to see in person...)  it was fun to get all arts and crafty- especially for my sweet mary isabelle!

37 weeks FULL-TERM!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks  

Size of baby: Little one is almost 6 1/3 pounds and over 19 inches head to heel, about the size (length) of a stalk of Swiss chard.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained about 33 pounds.  I have only gained one pound in the last month (which is fine).

Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing all maternity clothes, except for a couple of shirts and pajamas.  I don't have a ton of them so that is why you see them all repeated on here. I have finally found a couple of pairs of shorts that will suffice.  I am loving dresses right now and have some non-maternity dresses and some maternity dresses of my own and a few on loan.  So comfy!

Gender:  It's a girl!  Mary Isabelle (see this post about her name)

Movement:  You can watch my abdomen shift around when she's busy... and she's busy a lot these days!  She gets the hiccups usually 2-3 times a day.  They are getting stronger and are good because that means she's swallowing okay and practicing her breathing.  Her pokes, jabs, and kicks have gotten stronger- she likes to stretch out into my side with her feet.  She still seems to have a lot of room to move.  She has dropped some although she still has some more to go...

Sleep: Both of my hips are sore when I sleep on either side for more than a few hours. It is increasingly hard to get comfortable and I find that I don't sleep so great anymore.  I guess I'm being prepared for the nights ahead once she's born.

What I miss:  Sleeping on my back!  I cannot wait to lay flat again!

Cravings: I am over the apple craving.  I am not craving anything in particular right now.

Symptoms:  Oh the heartburn!  The heartburn has actually turned into acid reflux.  Zantac is still my best friend.  If it's true what they say- that heartburn in pregnancy means the baby will have hair then this child is destined to have a head full!    I have puffy feet and ankles that are a mainstay now- although some days are better than others.  My hips and pelvic bones are sore and getting themselves in shape for birth- but that alone is partly what is making it so hard to sleep. I still can't really complain too much and I try not to! 

the beauty around us.

the following pictures should speak for themselves...

i have beautiful lilies blooming in front of our apartment.  we walked/hiked down to the lake on campus today and took the dogs for a swim.

we live in a beautiful place and are so lucky to be surrounded by the beauty of nature.  enjoy!