40 Weeks!

How far along? 40 weeks!
Trimester: 3rd!
Days to Go: ????
Baby size: 20 inches, the size of a small pumpkin!!!
Baby weight: 7.5 pounds!
Sleep: Getting worse and worse! haha.  Having to get up MULTIPLE times to pee, seems like every 2.5 hours or so, also having lots of middle of the night-heartburn, my hips are going to sleep more often where I feel like I need to roll over more often, which takes an act of GOD to do! I'm still hot and sweaty unless (or even sometimes if I do) I have a fan blowing right on me!
Best moment this week: Realizing that Tenley didn't arrive before all my family got here!  (Now I just need to make sure she comes out before they all have to leave again!!!)
Miss anything? Yoga! Exercising, sushi, wine! Now that my parents are here, I'm missing Diet Cokes a bunch b/c they like them, but they're being really sweet and not drinking them around me at least!
Movement: Lots and lots! Love watching her squirm!
Food cravings:  Snow cones! lol  That's really the only thing I'm going out of my way to get! lol
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing really lately
Labor Signs: I've been having lots of little contractions!  I usually feel a small pain in my lower belly, and then if I touch the top of my belly it feels all hard and tight everywhere!  It doesn't really hurt at all, and I'm not even sure if I would notice it if I didn't feel the tightness in my tummy!  That's it!  I keep checking for the mucus plug every time I pee, and wondering if my water breaks when I'm in the shower or when I'm going to the bathroom, or whatever, would I know? LOL  Carol says I can't worry about that though! haha  Carol did say that she's "very very very low" and I'm feeling lots of pressure "down there"!
Carol thinks it'll still be a week or so, but I'm hoping she just told us that to alleviate some pressure!
I'm really feeling quite comfortable, all things considered.  I'm ready to meet my sweet daughter!
Belly Button in or out?  Still in, pretty much completely flush with the rest of my belly!
Wedding rings on or off?  Oh definitely off.  ;-)  My hands are still feeling kinda arthritic, not sure if it's the pregnancy induced carpal tunnel or swelling or what.  Carol said I should avoid pork, shellfish, and sugar..... well I'll see what I can do! haha.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!!! and very Excited!
Weekly Wisdom: Patience patience patience! Get all the rest you can while you can!
Current Reads:  Finishing the last 50 Shades book!  Then I'm going to try to get through a few more baby books before Tenley arrives!
Looking forward to:  Getting my first labor pain and knowing that meeting my little girl is just around the corner!
On the "Honey Do" list:   Resting!!!

Blew up the birth pool to check for size and leaks!  Got me really excited!! 

For our 40 Week Appt Carol came to our house!  Not a great picture, but I wanted to share anyways! 

"Past Due Date" is what my app said today, the first day after Tenley's due date!

We had a beautiful double rainbow after a storm last night on what was Tenley's due date!!!
I was hoping it was a sign she was going to come, but no! lol

Took this pic on Saturday.  Think we need to take one every day till Tenley comes,
b/c we never know what  day will be  our last day as JUST a couple! 

Thirty NINE Weeks (and 3 days)!!!

How far along? 39 Weeks, 3 days
Trimester: 3rd!!!  Almost done!
Days to Go: 5!!!  (8 as of Monday, but 5 today!)
Baby size: 20 inches, the size of a mini watermelon
Baby weight: 7.25lb (can't wait to see what she actually weighs!)
Total weight gain:  harrrumph
Stretch marks? lots and more each day
Sleep: not so much great.  I think I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel, and it's definitely worse at night.  My fingers tingle and go to sleep, my hands are stiff and sore when I wake up, and it's waking me up at night b/c my hands are numb.  They really don't look swollen, but they're certainly feeling abnormal. Luckily this should go away as the fluid retention drains...   Then theres the having to pee every two hours of so, and the needing a crane to get out of bed, made worse only by the necessity to pee.  PLUS--- we went ahead and made up the bed the way it'll need to be for labor, (i.e. one set of sheets, the vinyl mattress cover, topped with another set of sheets) but the vinyl cover has made me SOOOOO HOT and sweaty.  I can't stand it.  Going to have to take that off before tonight.  Can't stand it!
Best moment this week:  So many great moments this week, but a very special one that comes to mind was at Luke's Spring Band Concert this past Tuesday, he premiered his very first piece of music he's ever written for Concert Band.  It's called "Spoken Softly with a Gentle Heart" and it is a fabulous piece of music.  Though it was commissioned in honor of someone else, he dedicated it to Tenley! So.  Sweet.  Brought tears to my eyes.  <3  Love my precious little family!

Have you told family and friends: Have I told them?  I've told them they better be getting here quick b/c this baby is coming sooooon! ;-)
Miss anything? Being skinny!  Exercising!  Heck, bending over!
Movement: Lots and lots!  Tons of hiccups, lots of stretching.  I'm going to miss seeing her move in my belly!  I'll never forget the way she feels.
Food cravings:  yes.  snow cones.  lol
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really right now!  Nice reprieve.    
Labor Signs: I'm having lots of Braxton Hicks.  They don't really hurt, except for a second or so around the bottom of my belly, and then I feel my whole tummy tighten up, and it stays that way for a minute and half or two minutes!  Pretty crazy, but it's giving me some good practice trying to relax and breath through it, even though they don't really hurt.  I mean, practicing relaxing when you feel fine is kind of a joke when you realize you're supposed to be envisioning flowers and relaxing all your muscles when you're body feels like it's self-destructing or something!  Not exactly an adequate preparation for that!
Belly Button in or out?  Still in!  Don't guess it's going to pop out!  I'm ok with that.
Wedding rings on or off? Definitely off.
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy and tired.
Weekly Wisdom:  I thought this quote was encouraging!  I have faith!!!




















Current Reads:  ummmm well I should be reading my huge stack of books, but actually i'm reading the 50 Shades of Grey series... On the 3rd one now.  Good books!  Not for the faint of heart!
Looking forward to:  My mom and dad arriving tomorrow night, and Becca arriving on Friday!!!
And THEN we can get this show on the road!!!  I can't wait to see Miss Tenley's face!!! <3
On the "Honey Do" list:
-- finish filling in the pregnancy journal
--watch our last Birth Bootcamp video
--watch this Breastfeeding video that came with our Bootcamp
--attend a Breastfeeding class tomorrow
--make a Pregnancy memory book
--make a chore chart for after she arrives

And then I think we're officially ready!!! ;-)

Here's some pics for you!

Our new couch arrived on Friday!!!  So happy to have nice clean places to sit with Tenley!

The chaise is sooo comfy for my little family!

Very happy to receive my carseat canopy (and headband)  from Etsy!!! LOVE!

Mama Sue and Caitlin put our swings/sleeper together for me!

They did an awesome job!

Saw this and thought it was quite appropriate!  Not looking forward to having body image issues again,
but I AM looking forward to getting my body back!  Fingers crossed it happens quickly! 

38 Weeks!

How far along? 38 Weeks.  I can't believe we've already come this far!
Trimester: 3rd
Days to Go: 14ish!  Eeeek!
Baby size:  19.75 inches, the length of a Leek
Baby weight: 6.8 pounds (remembering this is just according to the app, she could definitely be bigger than that! lol)
Stretch marks? more and more!  I have some above my belly button now too, and more on my sides. 
But I'm choosing to look at it like this: (caution: language! sorry)

Sleep: Not bad, but my hips are getting more particular about how long I lay on them at night.  Getting up about 2 times in the middle of the night to pee, plus I always have to pee first thing in the morning, so now that I can sleep in, I'm going to count that as getting up THREE times each night!  And the physical act of actually getting up... harder and harder.  Sometimes i feel like I can't actually move my legs, even though my brain is sending the signal.  AND my hands have been sorta numb and tingly and unable to grip/close all the way lately, so moving the body pillow is proving to be difficult too! Overall, it's definitely one of my most difficult physical tasks!
Best moment this week:  I had so many great moments this week!   Maybe the BEST one was sleeping in on Monday morning and realizing I didn't have to get up and go to work!!!  :-D Here are the rest of my best moments, in pictures:

Our maternity pics turned out awesome!!!  You can see most of them on Facebook, and I'll add more soon.
They're all amazing!

Took my student's on our last field trip!  This is only half of them, but we had fun!

We had a little "Going Away Party" Friday afternoon.  I love this picture because of the silly faces
being made, and because of the two boys on the far left that are looking at me... I think it's really sweet! 

These are all the gifts I received on Friday for Baby, my last day, and Teacher Appreciation Week! So sweet!

Beautiful flowers from my students!

We had a blast at this year's Band Banquet!  It was a Harry Potter theme and I loved it!

My First Mother's Day!  It started out with a delicious breakfast in bed made by my gorgeous husband.  He made me eggs, bacon and Cracker Barrel pancakes from scratch!  Deeelicious!  Then, he gave me presents! ;-)))

The sweetest little book of baby animals with cute quotes about Motherhood!
AND the most gorgeous frame kit to put a picture of Tenley and her sweet little hand and foot prints!!! <3

 Then, Mother's Day just kept on getting better because we got to go pick up Caitlin and Mama Sue from the airport!!! ;-)  After they got home, they were pretty tired from getting up super early, so we decided it was time for a nap!

For Mother's Day, I got a nice little nap with all FOUR of my babies!  And Luke joined in too! <3

 Luke also hosted Mother's Day dinner here at our house for me, Mama Sue (and Caitlin), Kim (and Mark), Big Mama, and Mammaw!  Luke cooked a delicious dinner of lasagna, blue cheese chopped salad, garlic bread and iced tea! And finished it off with an apple pie and vanilla ice cream! He even cleaned it all up too!  What an amazing husband i have!

The inside of the sweetest card I got from Tenley's namesake! 

Mama Sue brought Tenley's quilt that she worked super hard on!  

I love it! <3

Miss anything?   Mobility!  Sleeping on my tummy!
Movement:  Oh she moves a lot and gets hiccups all the time! She's down so low right now, it seems like her movements are getting ouchier and ouchier.  Especially down low.  I still haven't had much trouble breathing, or felt her in my ribs or anything like that up high, she's just been really low the whole time.
Food cravings:  Just snowcones! ;-)
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not too bad lately! 
Labor Signs: None yet, but I'm sure checking really closely for the mucus plug to come out or anything like that!!!
Belly Button in or out?  In, but extremely shallow, almost completely flush I think!  I'm reallly curious to see what it looks like afterwards?  Will it just go back to normal or what??? lol
Wedding rings on or off?  ohhh off yes.  Even my size 8 big ring leaves marks on my fingers some days.  :(  None of my solid bracelets will fit over my wrist either! lovely!!!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy and tired. ;-)
Weekly Wisdom:  :)

Current Reads:  I finished reading 50 Shades of Grey and promised myself to read a baby book before I bought the sequel to 50 Shades... So I zoomed through "Your Amazing Newborn" which was pretty amazing!!!  And then I let myself buy "50 Shades Darker".  I haven't had any time to read it yet, but I'm eager to start! ;-)   It's much easier to find time to read when you're not working!
Looking forward to:  Becca, Mom and Dad arriving soooon!  Our new couch is supposed to arrive on FRIIIDAY!!!  SUPER excited about that!!! Going to see "What to Expect" with friends this weekend I hope! Getting my hair done by Toby on Saturday! My hair has missed him! lol  Since this is a little late, I was also really looking forward to the premiere of Bachelorette which was on Monday! And of course.... I'm looking forward to seeing Miss Tenley's precious face!!!
On the "Honey Do" list: I have two To-Do lists on my phone and I created one on a dry erase board to display in the house so hopefully we can get everything done soon, while interspersing each item with some feet-propped up time/and/or a nap!!! ;-)    

Oh and just an interesting note to leave you on....

Tenley will be here before this milk expires........ ;-D

37 Weeks! That means she's technically Full Term!!!

How far along? 37 weeks... Oh my!
Trimester: Third! Oh my!
Days to Go: 21 days... OH MY!!!
Baby size: 19.25 inches! The length of a stalk of Swiss Chard! Oh my!
Baby weight: 6.3 pounds! (ya know, according to the app.  Could be more or less, in reality!)
Stretch marks? yup. But I'm trying to be proud of them.  I'm a Momma Tiger after all! ;-) Rawr!
Sleep: Not so much...  Waking up 2-3 times a night to pee, my hips are getting more sore when I lay on one side too long.  Scooting over to the side of the bed to get up is getting SO hard! Especially when I have to pee! lol  TMI, I know, sorry!  ;)
Best moment this week: 
Friday was an awesome day!  I took the day off work, and the Band Kids threw us a beautiful shower during 1st period!  Here are a few of the cute pics we got:

The girls who hostessed even gave us our own hashtag, b/c they know Luke loves Twitter!  ;-)

So pretty!  They did a great job!

Just one of our sweet sweet gifts, a handmade blanket from the Eichlers, complete with Tenley's initials!!!  I love it!

 After the shower was over, I went and got a manicure and a pedicure, which was FABULOUS!  I even got Tenley's monogram on my toes! ;-)   Then I went home and took a nap, had a visit with a sweet friend, and then I went to get my hair curled, and my makeup done, and after a rain-scare, we went off to have our Maternity Pics taken by the amazing Hannah Vickers! We had a blast, and I think the pics are going to turn out wonderfully!!! She sent me this as a sneak peek:   :-)  We should have the rest in a few weeks! Can't wait to see them!

Miss anything? being able to lay on my tummy!    Caring about what my house looks like??? lol
Movement: Lots of movement!  Last night, she had such a big stretch!  It didn't hurt, but it was amazing to see!  Ten-Ten is getting so crowded in there!
Food cravings: Really just snow cones and lots of water!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: only brushing my teeth.  Don't know what the deal is with that, but I'm ready for it to quit!!!
Labor Signs:  I do think I'm having some Braxton Hicks.  They hurt, kindof a lot, so that's making me a little anxious about actually going in to labor...  But I'm praying it'll be a relatively short labor (though long enough for everyone to GET here!)
Belly Button in or out?  Still in!  Dont think it's going to poke out!  I'm OK with that for sure!!!
Wedding rings on or off? off.  My extra big ring fits now with no bandaid-sizer too.  None of my bracelets will fit over my wrist and none of my shoes can go on my feet except the ones a whole size larger than normal.  I sure hope everything goes back to normal size soon after she comes!!!   I will CRY if my feet have permanently grown!!!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy?  Definitely more prone to random tears though! lol
Weekly Wisdom: Ummmmm I don't have any wisdom for y'all this week.
Current Reads: "50 Shades of Grey" ..... no, not a baby book, but a really good read!
Looking forward to:  My last week of work this week, my prenatal massage on Saturday and Mama Sue and Caitlin arriving on Sunday!!! Whoohooo!
On the "Honey Do" list:  Just need to hang some shelves in Tenley's closet!  No big deal.  We need to get a tarp to cover the floor in our room, and honestly.... I think we're ready.  wow!!!

36 Weeks! How can it already be soo close?!

Wooden blocks I ordered to have as a prop for our maternity pics!

How far along? 36 Weeks!  Only 4 to go!!!  We can officially say we're due THIS month!
Trimester: 3rd!!  Almost through!
Days to Go: 28 (as of Monday)
Baby size: 18.75 inches, the size of a crenshaw melon, whatever that is!!!
Baby weight: 5.75 pounds!!! Holy Moly!!!!
Stretch marks? more and more... :( 
Sleep: hot, sweaty, up every 3 hours or so to pee.  Getting harder and harder to move around and roll over!  Scooting to the edge of the bed, while having to pee super bad is virtually impossible now!  It's like my brain is telling my muscles what to do, but my muscles are physically incapable now!
Best moment this week:  Getting the Carseat, Stroller and all our Home Birth Supplies!  I think we're officially "READY"!!!

Miss anything?  Laying on my tummy and drinking diet cokes!!!  I've really been wanting one lately! But I'm avoiding them successfully!!!
Movement: still LOTS!  Some more painful than others!!!  Her head is really far down, already "engaged" Carol said yesterday!  She's putting a lot of pressure on my bladder and sometimes it's really painful, especially when I cough!  But I haven't had any rib pain to my knowledge.
Food cravings:  Snow Cones!  That's really just about it!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  not too much at this point!  Just brushing my teeth still sometimes.
Labor Signs:  I think I've been having some Braxton Hicks and I've definitely been feeling more pressure and pains.  My movement is becoming impaired, some days more than others.  I can tell we're getting there! Feel like I'm walking around like an old lady sometimes!!!
Belly Button in or out? Still in!!  
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  Even my size 8 fake big ring is getting snug, but mostly b/c my hands have started swelling the past few days!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Depends on who you ask, I'm sure!  I say Happy, but my students would probly say "moody!"  Hahahah I don't know if it's solely my fault--- they're losing their minds these last 6 weeks of school!!!   I had one pee her pants yesterday, one get sent to the office during naptime, and today those same two kids got caught doing something that seemed awfully sexual in nature inside one of the little houses on the playground!   Losing.  Their.  Minds.   and I'm losing my patience!!!
Weekly Wisdom:  Research research research!  Many people do more research before buying a big appliance than for having a baby!  Whatever choice you make is great, as long as you know WHY you're making it, and you have an educated opinion on the subject.   Birth choices, feeding options, vaccinations, pediatricians...  We interviewed 4 before finding the right one, but I am so glad we were patient and didn't settle!!!   Lots of people just pick one out of the theoretical "phonebook"... But you should DEFINITELY interview!  I highly recommend it!
Current Reads: toooo many books to even list and growing by the minute!  I still haven't gotten around to the stack I posted last week, plus now I ALSO have these:

And let me tell you, those bottom two are GINORMIC!  Thick and large.

OH PLUS I bought "50 Shades of Grey" on iBooks...  can't wait to have time to dive in to that!

Looking forward to:  Our last shower on Friday, given by the band kids during 1st period at the HS, getting a pedicure, my makeup and hair done, and our maternity pics done later on Friday night, a pool party with my fabulous coworkers on Saturday, my last week of teaching next week, my prenatal massage on the 12th followed by Band Banquet, (hope I can find something to wear!) and my 1st Mother's day, complete with the arrival of my best lil sis and my awesome grandma!  After that, the arrival of my mom, dad and BFF... And of course, the baby coming!!!!
On the "Honey Do" list:  Hmmm not too much for the Honey.  Biggest thing on his list is "Take total care of me so I can try to rest and keep my feet up!"  That's hard for both of us b/c I'm such a control freak....  I feel guilty asking him to do things while I sit on the couch, and he just isn't bothered by mess the way I am....  And there are just NOT enough hours in the day!!!  So much to do!

On my list is:
"rest and put my feet up" haha yeah right!
Read a bajillion books
Find outfits for our maternity pics
Buy a new couch
Shampoo carpets
Hang cute little shelves in Tenley's closet
Cut tags off all her clothes and blankets
Wash all her clothes and blankets
Pack a "just in case" hospital bag
Make a shutterfly book for Tenley of her in-belly pics
Cross stitch cute little bibs

So much to do and not all that much time to do it!  eeeeee!  Getting so excited!