In just 10 days, my belly has truly doubled in size!  I cannot believe how fast this baby is growing and how strong his little legs have gotten!  We had our 34 week OB appointment this week, and the midwife confirmed that our little boy is already head-down, ready to come out!  I have gained 18 pounds so far (apparently the norm is 24-29 lbs)- which she thought was great and told me to go ahead and eat the ice cream (did I mention, I LOVE her?!), and confirmed that Baby’s heartbeat and my blood pressure are perfect. She also said that at the end of week 35, the baby is technically considered full term!  Wow.  Our next appointment at 36 weeks will begin the weekly doctor visits until he is born.  We also got an appointment with our first choice pediatrician!!  Usually she has a six month wait list, so I am really not sure how Ian convinced them to schedule us- but I’m very excited to meet her on November 7!

I can’t believe we only have 36 days left until his due date.  Time is FLYING by!  As excited as I am to meet him, I am in no rush for the pregnancy to be over. I have loved every second of this incredible and miraculous time. I love my big huge belly and I am going to miss feeling him move inside of me when he’s not in there anymore.  I love the peace and comfort of knowing he is perfectly safe and I have the power to protect him from most everything. This will be the safest he ever is! As soon has he joins us in the world there will be a host of dangers, pitfalls, and heartbreaks I will want to save him from, but just won’t be able to.

It’s midnight and I have been up for days. I’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night lately. I read online this morning that 78% of pregnant ladies experience insomnia. I’m glad I’m not alone, but I’d be happier if all 78% of us could get some sleep. It’s a bunch of things keeping me up. Firstly, it’s nearly impossible for a former back sleeper like me to get comfortable, no matter how many pillows I employ. Then, even if I do finally get to sleep I can count on being awoken at least four or five times a night with the urge to pee, crazy dreams, contractions, heartburn, or INTENSE HUNGER. More likely than not, I am awoken by all of these things at once. *Sigh* At least it’s good practice for the nights to come.

(I am fully aware I am looking pretty rough in this picture, but ignore my hair- check out my GIANT baby bump! 😉 )

Here is my 0-40 update on baby:

Your baby kind of looks like she’s coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects her skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When she’s born you’ll probably see some vernix lingering in her “hard-to-reach” places like under her arms, behind her ears and around her va-jay-jay, if she’s a she.. Other news from the womb this week:

The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby’s body for much of her stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop her own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first.

This week, your baby measures about 17¾ inches, as almost as long as an American Girl Doll (!) and weighs almost 5 pounds, as heavy as a bag of sugar, minus the cup you put in your decaf this morning.

It has been far too long since I have had time to sit down and write, so I am playing catch up this week.  It has been so incredibly busy lately (Ian tells people that my nesting phase has officially started), and I have been absolutely exhausted and usually go to bed by 8 or 9, so there hasn’t been a lot of extra time for blogging. Finally things are settling down and it is my full intention to get at least a few posts a week out from now on.  🙂 Anyway- here are a couple pictures of my 33 week belly.  I can’t believe how HARD and ROUND this crazy thing has gotten this week!

33 weeks!

My best friend from high school married the love of her life on September 17.  We were so happy to be able to be there to watch them say “I DO.”  It was a beautiful ceremony, overlooking the golf course at the Janesville Country Club.  I have never seen my Zee look more beautiful.  She was just glowing.  It was the first time I have seen her in years… YEARS! How sad is that?  But, just like I knew it would, it seemed like we had talked everyday of our lives.  That’s one way you know you have a true friend- when you can pick up right where you left off, like you’ve never spent a day apart.  I wish we could spend more time together, and hopefully someday soon we can- but it meant the world to us that we could be there for such a special time in her life. 🙂  We love you, Lynzee and Jason- best of luck to you both- we know you will have an amazing life together.  ❤

Daddy Tim walking his baby down the aisle 🙂

The new couple! 🙂

Me and Ashley with the Bride and Groom 🙂

❤

Ian and I got to meet our Godson, LJ, for the first time on our trip back home– it was absolutely love at first sight.  He is such a loving, sweet, fun little boy and we couldn’t be more proud to call him our Godson.  Being able to hang out and play with him made us even more excited to be having a little boy of our very own.  Even though we couldn’t get Ian to change the little man’s diaper, he did really enjoy feeding the monkey a banana. 🙂

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We were so fortunate to be able to get our maternity photos taken by the super talented, super adorable, Jessica Gutzman, while we were back in Wisconsin.  I’m so thankful that she was willing to squeeze us in.  I have been drooling over her photography forever, but never thought I would get the opportunity to have my own photo shoot with her. 🙂  It was so much fun and we CANNOT WAIT to get our disc of pictures in the mail.

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During our visit to my hometown, we were given one of the best presents ever. My best friend and her family planned an amazing surprise baby shower. What was going to be a normal Thursday evening catching up with the many people I have come to consider my second family, turned out to be one of  my most wonderful memories from this special time in our lives. I suppose I should tell you how they used an elaborate web of deception to lure a pregnant lady into a bar :).  The stage was set earlier that day when my best friend, Lisa, casually asked if we would like to join her and her family for dinner.  We assumed that this was a perfectly innocent question, as we were planning to dine with them whether they liked it or not. Throughout the course of the day, as we traveled from one dairy vender to the next, we were told that my best friend’s sister and her husband would be spending time at a nearby football field watching their son (Ry Guy) play football. Ian, having spent much of his youth at events like this, jumped at the opportunity to go as well. This threw a small kink into the web of deception being spun around us. However, it was great for Ian to see a loving and devoted father in action on the sideline. He learned that boys are never to young to be told “not to run around like a sissy”, and “keep your elbows up when your blocking.”  Anyway, after the game, we were quickly and intentionally confused about where we were going and why. Eventually it became clear that Laura (My best friend’s other sister) was hungry for a wrap from a nearby bar and we should go there for dinner. Bare with me- we’re almost there. When we arrived we walked around a corner to the back of the bar, a little further from the loud, drunk people, and were greeted by the GIANT beautiful smiles of people I had been away from for what seemed like an eternity. There was an entire table full of gifts and another full of Jill’s delicious food. I almost cried (ok, i cried) as I hugged each of my old friends. I could not have imagined a better group of people to share this special time with. Many of them traveled for hours just to show me and my new little boy how much they care. I can’t tell you how much this meant to me and I hope to, one day soon, have the opportunity to show all of them just how much they mean to me. Thank you all sooooo much and I love each one of you!!!!!

This post will start a series of posts from our trip back to Wisconsin.  This is how it all started…

Which one of these is an actual terrorist?

You guessed it, the one on the left is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.  I can see how the nice lady at the airport may have been confused.  With the addition of a small mustache there is a striking resemblance.

AAAAAAAAAAAA! Wait, its my pregnant redheaded wife with a fake mustache.

I know my beautiful wife would like to thank me for leading her down the small hallway to the left of the normal security line (I thought it was a short cut nobody knew about- turns out it was the full body scan line- you know, the machine that acts like an X-ray and takes an image of your NAKED body?!)   Needless to say I was relieved of my position as airport tour guide. I would like to point out that the man behind us in line assured us that the radiation from the full body scanner would have little to no affect on our baby… Andrea was not amused.  When she refused the “harmless” dose of radiation, she unknowingly elected for the full body search, leaving no stone unturned.  Lets just say LaWonda was very thorough.

I have so many things I want to share about our trip back to my hometown in Wisconsin, it might take a few posts to write about everything that happened!  It was an amazingly, fantastic trip and I wouldn’t have changed one single thing.  I definitely left with a heavy heart- leaving some of the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for is never fun.  One thing that became glaringly obvious in the last few days, is that these great friends that I speak of  would be better described as family than friends.

I don’t have too much time right now, but here is a little overview of what is soon to come 🙂

• Did you know they performed full body searches on pregnant ladies?? Um, they most definitely do.
• Meeting our Godson for the first time (Love at first sight <3)
• The House That Built Me
• The most wonderful surprise… ever…
• 32 week Maternity photos with Jessica Gutzman (beyond talented)… AND… we just might reveal Baby Boy’s name
• Lynzee and Jason’s gorgeous wedding
•  Food, Food, and more FOOD… Even Ian couldn’t keep up with me and baby 🙂

and lots more!

Today was by far the most exciting and emotional day of this pregnancy for me in all 32 weeks.  We got to see our precious little boy’s facial features for the first time.  Seeing his little eyes, his lips, his daddy’s nose- just makes me feel like I know him even more.  It was such a magical moment- I think even more so than when we found out that he was a boy.  (And, yes, the ultrasound technician confirmed once again that he is very definitely a boy. :))  I just cannot wait to see his gorgeous face in real life.

I'm a BOY!

Big yawn 🙂 It's exhausting being a fetus. 😉

How does his entire fist fit into that little mouth??

I think he's going to be a thumb (or should I say fist) sucker ❤

As of Saturday, September 10, 2011, our baby boy has three uncles, not just two!! Welcome to the family, Jonathan! 🙂

Ian’s little sister, Jennifer, married the love of her life this weekend in Charleston, South Carolina.  We enjoyed spending the long weekend celebrating and spending time with our families.  We stayed with Ian’s whole family, as well as my parents, in the FUNKIEST beach house (more like MANSION) I have ever seen- Casa Margarita!  So much fun.

My mom and I went shopping for a dress that would cover my baby bump for the wedding on Monday (FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING).  I found the perfect, purple satin dress that zipped up nice and easy and I couldn’t WAIT to wear it Saturday.  As I put the dress on Saturday afternoon, I quickly realized we had passed the “nice and easy zip” stage, and moved right into the “OH MY GOD, I HOPE THIS DAMN THING WILL ZIP” stage.  Fortunately, with a lot of tugging, squeezing, and praying- Mom got me zipped up.  I can’t believe he grew so much, so fast– five days?!!  As the evening progressed- I heard a lot of comments like- “JEEZ- Every time I look at you, you look bigger!!”  I guess Baby had a growth spurt??  Or–it may have had something to do with the fact that within the first ten minutes of the pre-reception, I was on a first name basis with the waiter passing the Hors d’oeuvres.  We made a deal that I would be his first and last stop each way out of the kitchen.  🙂

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We also got to play with a one month old little boy at the wedding.  The last time we hung out with his mommy and daddy was at Jenn’s wedding shower, and he was still in his momma’s belly.  It blew my mind that our son would be that age in ONLY THREE MONTHS!! Wow.

Ian’s wonderful aunts already spoiled Baby rotten and he isn’t even born yet! 🙂 We had a wonderful surprise waiting on our bed after the rehearsal dinner- A gorgeous diaper bag stuffed FULL of the best baby goodies ever!  Diapers, wipes, burp clothes, onesies, toys, outfits, EVEN BABY SUNGLASSES!!  Thank you so much, Roxanne, Patti, Nancy, and Wanda!!  Then the next day, Ian’s cousin, Gina, gave us three more baby outfits that she got for him.  SOO DARN CUTE.  I cannot wait to put them on him.  I will soon be posting lots of pictures of Baby in all his new clothes.  🙂 Y’all are the best.  THANK YOU.  This is one lucky baby to have all these wonderful people in his life who already love him so much.

All in all– fantastic weekend with fabulous people.  And we couldn’t be happier for Aunt Jenn and Uncle Jon.