36 weeks.....

I didn't realize it had been several weeks since my last blog post. That just shows how quickly time goes by or just how busy we've been I guess. A lot has happened in the last few weeks!

An update on Lydia- she is getting so big! She weighs about 6 lbs and is about 18.5" long now. Larger than a honeydew melon :) At the check-up we had on Wednesday, her heartbeat was 158 and sounds so strong. She is still positioned head down and her back/butt is on my left side and her legs (although feel like they are running in there) are on my right side. Lately it feels like she is poking out her rear because I have a bulge on my left side. It is pretty funny! Her moves are so strong and it is funny to see my belly move when she moves. It is hard to avoid at this point I think since she is so big. My weight is now 157 lbs (more than Brent, haha) which is a 27 pound gain. My belly is measuring 41".

At the check-up our doctor also went ahead and did an exam to see if I had started to dilate at all or anything. She said not to be disappointed if we hadn't. Lydia is still comfortable and not ready to come out yet. I am happy about this! I'm ready for her to come but also have a few weddings coming up that I really need to get through before she makes her arrival :)

Below are some pictures from 34 weeks.

Here is a picture from 36 weeks after our doctor's appointment. We went downtown to eat dinner and took this picture then.

I haven't really had any cravings while being pregnant. I know everyone is probably really surprised that my mexican addiction has completely consumed me, but honestly I haven't "craved" it at all. I am really just open to anything most of the time. I have really enjoyed eating sweets, but I loved those before I was pregnant. This last month or two I have had cravings for seafood. Mostly just blackened fish. The restaurant downtown, Bearfoot Tavern, has a blackened tilapia wrap with a spicy sauce that is SOOOOO good. That is what I had for dinner and right now my mouth is watering thinking about it.. haha. I don't think Brent really cares for the place but is sweet to let us eat there so I can get this wrap! It is so delicious! (and really cheap)

We have been busy with getting the nursery ready and are now able to say we are pretty much ready for her to come. We have a few things that we want to add to the walls but haven't completely decided on those yet so are just holding off. Here are some pictures of her room:

My mom made her bedding for us with fabric we ordered. She did such a GREAT job! We love it!

I tried to be crafty and covered this canvas with fabric left over from her bedding. 

On this bookshelf are the bookends Catherine made for us. Some of these things may be shifted around later, we will see.

A cute chair a friend got us!

We had a few baby showers over the last few weeks also! It was so nice to be able to see everyone and how sweet everyone is being to us and all the great things we got. A few pictures are below from the showers.

 

 

 



 

 

One thing I have always heard about pregnant women is that they go through a "nesting" period getting ready for the baby. Well, I have for sure been going through that! I have cleaned and organized mostly everything in our house. I think Brent thinks I'm nuts because I will come home from work, tired but can't relax because my mind is going 100 mph with things to do... it's really funny... Luckily mostly everything is done now so I can relax for the last few weeks... which is great because I am starting to get more tired more often now. Reminds me of the first trimester when I was so tired all the time. Overall I feel pretty good still but am starting to feel a little uncomfortable at times during the day.

I will plan to post another update in the next week or so! I am going to the doctor once a week now so when I have more news I will share. We are also having maternity pictures this weekend so I may have a few of those to post soon!

~Vanessa & Brent



WOW- 30 weeks!!!!

I was thinking it had been a while since I've updated the blog... didn't realize it had been a month! Oh my goodness.... time is going by so quickly.. I am so ready for her to be here but also don't want the pregnancy to end... I really like it :)

We had our 30 week check up yesterday and everything went great. Baby is head down, which is good! (Except for the pain I get in my ribs... but I can deal with it for her) I am weighing 150 lbs, which is a 20 lb gain so far, which they say that is great and I should be gaining 1 lb per week now.... My waist is measuring 38.5", which is a total of 8.5" growth since the beginning. The baby weighs about 3 lbs up to this point and is about 16 or 17 inches long in total length... She is now at the point where she will start putting on baby fat- they say about .5 lbs per week until she delivers. It is so hard to believe that we are "close" to delivery.... I just think that at 36 weeks you can really go into labor at anytime and that is not far away at all!

My pictures from this week are below: ignore the silly grin on my face in the last one- Brent was making me laugh... but you can see how round my belly looks.

I am still participating in my workout class once a week and trying to walk a few other days with my Mom. I am the girl in the back of the class that is doing my best to keep up and do the low intensity option that the instructor is so sweet to do with me sometimes :) But it really feels good to be active still, while I can.

I am looking forward to next week, I have my first baby shower! It is going to be at work, hosted by one of the faculty members I work with. My friend Kim is having brunch for me next weekend also which I know is going to be fun!

I am sure most of you know this already, but we have decided that her name is going to be:

Lydia Averly Svensson

Brent and I have always liked the name Lydia and then we had a few options for the middle name and Brent came up with Averly... which we love! (combination of Avery and Everly)

Last weekend we participated in a childbirth class that is offered at the Medical Center, which is where we are going to be delivering. The class was very informative and although it was long (7 hours, but we got an hour for lunch) it was really great. I feel more comfortable now with the whole process.... we got a tour of the hospital so we know exactly where to go when the time comes. There is one room for having the baby and then another room for recovery. They both seem nice and spacious, which I am sure will seem way smaller once we are all in there... We did practice a few breathing techniques and a few things to do for comfort once the contractions start... We learned more about an epidural and pain medicines that are available during labor for patients and how all of that works. There was a video they showed us of a natural childbirth so that we could see from start the finish the ENTIRE thing.. which I thought was interesting and it scared me... but Brent kept his head down most of the time.. lol. :) I think mostly it just scares me because I have never done this before and don't know what to expect... it made it seem more real that day because we are getting very close and I know what I am going to have to do.... but I am sure it will all be fine!

I haven't had any real weird pregnancy cravings or anything- Brent says I had one when he ordered mexican and I didn't want anything- not even cheese dip or salsa.... which I guess that is kinda odd for me.. I do crave sweets a lot- like chocolate! Brent bought me a bag of dove chocolates for Valentine's Day... :) he is so sweet!

I will send more updates soon and hope to have pictures of the nursery soon too since we are close to getting it complete :) Until then... have a great weekend!

26 weeks & 4 days

We had our 26 week check-up appointment yesterday and I wanted to wait until after that to write this update. We are now starting our bi-weekly appointments! Time is just flying by... this is the last week of my 2nd trimester. The baby is doing great. She is very active! I mostly feel her in the evenings when we lay in bed. I can feel her getting bigger (not only by looking at me) but also by her movements. She kicks on all sides of my belly now- and sometimes all at the same time. I joke that she is going to have her Daddy's dancing skills because sometimes it feels like she is breaking it down in there.... :)

My weekly book says she is about 14 inches long from head to toe and weighs about 2 pounds now. After our appointment yesterday, she may be slightly bigger than that. The doctor said I'm measuring about 27 to 28 weeks so she may be here a little sooner than we expect! He said typically we wouldn't have another ultrasound but since she may be bigger than we think, just to remind them and we can fit another one in closer to the due date. That can be the reason we do one :) Her heartbeat was in the 150 range and of course we love to hear that each time we go!

My belly is still measuring 36", which is the same as my measurement at 24 weeks. I feel larger and  guess it is just moving outward more... I did gain a little weight since my last appointment. I'm up to 147 pounds which is a total of 17 pounds gained. I have noticed that it is harder to bend over to do things, like put on socks/shoes. Getting up off the couch is taking more effort than ever before too. Luckily, Brent usually just pulls me up! My next appointment is my glucose tolerance test. Hopefully that won't be as bad as some people make it out to be...

Below are the pictures we took at 26 weeks. It was after a workout class so I may look a little sweaty.....

I am so excited about tonight! Brent and I are going to put together the crib and dresser for the nursery. We had the carpet replaced on Monday and have been cleaning/organizing things to their new places. Her room is so clean and ready for furniture! Our guest bedroom is now that and our office, and Brent's music room. It may be a little more crowded than normal but we will make it work! 

We have also signed up for a childbirth class in February. It is offered either during the week or on a weekend. They have it one weekend a month so I'm glad we went ahead and signed up for this! We also made an appointment to go meet with a Pediatrician next week. After talking to a lot of people and researching providers online, I really want to use Primary Pediatrics and their Doctor Lance Slade. Not only does he have an impressive resume, but he and his family seem very involved in the community and helping children. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

24 weeks along...

I know it has been a few weeks since I have updated this blog. I hope everyone had a great New Year. Today is my first day back at work and I'm not feeling great. I have a sore throat and just feel "sick"... I am hoping to go home and go to bed once I get off. But, on to better news- we have a growing little girl on our hands. She is now up to 12" long (from head to toe) and a little over a pound in weight. The brain, taste buds and lungs are starting to grow quickly now. The lungs will continue to develop until the very end. They are starting to produce surfactant, which is a substance that helps the air sacs inflate once she is born. She is now the size of an ear of corn.

She is very active because I feel her move pretty often. Sometimes I feel her on both sides of my belly at the same time which is just showing how long she is :) My waist is now measuring 35" around and I'm weighing 145 lbs, which is a 15 lb gain so far. Below are the 24 week photos. I can really notice that my belly is getting round and can see it coming off of my ribs a lot when I look into the mirror. I do have a feeling that my belly button will be popping out at some point because it is pretty flat right now :)

We have started to get ready for the baby by getting the nursery together. Our office will now be sharing the room with our guest bedroom so the nursery will be our old office room, which is the smaller of the two. We ordered new carpet to get everything all clean before she arrives. Brent pulled up the old carpet and is going to paint the room this week. We are doing the room in grey and yellow with elephants and giraffes. The walls are mostly white with the top half a soft yellow. The furniture we ordered is black and we have the bed and dresser ready to be put together once the room is ready. We got some really cute nursery items for Christmas. Catherine made us book ends that are grey and yellow elephants. She is very creative! Our baby bed was a gift also from my parents for Christmas. I can't wait to put it together and get everything up :)

We will also have a baby name to share soon! :)