37 weeks

I'm going to try to post every week since we are getting so close to his due date!  It's surprising to me that when I pregnant with Penelope "full term" was 37 weeks and it's been changed to 39 weeks now.  It doesn't really make a difference, but I feel like it does somehow.  Like, if he is born at 37 weeks now, does that mean he is a preemie?  I think he is just putting on weight now.  His lungs should be good to go.  Penelope was born at 39 weeks and 4 days so I'm hoping Oliver will be born in the next 2 weeks instead of 3 or 4.  He is still uncomfortably high in my belly.  I wish he would drop already and give me some more breathing room.

My SPD hip and back problems are worst than ever and I'm sure I'll say the same thing next week and the week after.  I actually started to use a cane around the house, especially in the mornings.  I have an appointment on Tuesday and I'm going to bring it up.  I want to make sure it doesn't affect childbirth and it goes away quickly.  I am really looking forward to a week or so after giving birth and hopefully being rid of the pregnancy pains. 

Sleeping is the worst.  It seems as though our mattress has gotten firmer since the move. Or it's just me.  I've mentioned it before, that I can't sleep on my stomach or back so all I can do it sleep on my hips and that hurts.  Rolling over isn't easy.  Or getting up for that matter.  I slept on the couch one night and that seemed to be more comfortable.  My sister offered me her bed last night because she's house sitting.  It was really comfortable but I only ended up sleeping in it for 2 hours.  Penelope is cutting her canine teeth.  She woke up at 1 am and we slept together in a twin bed in her room until I woke up at 2 with  horrible acid reflux.  As much as I tried, I could not get her back in her crib.  She tossed and turned all night so neither of us slept well.

We have started looking at houses. Kind of.  I don't know when we actually intend to buy one though.  Josh really wants a foreclosed house.  I just want a fixer-upper.  That's probably a lot to take on with a newborn and all.  I'll look at a house and say, "Yeah, but it only has one bathroom..." and Josh will say, "There is no reason you can't add another."  So I think he is definitely willing to put a lot of working into the house, if we get it for the right price.  We found a foreclosed house that is decent and cheap, but it will be a few more months until we get serious about buying a house.

I got Penelope an adorable big sister shirt that I'll give her when Oliver is born.  I also started packing my hospital bag.  There isn't much in there though.  A blanket, hat and coming home outfit for Oliver.  It's getting hard for me to believe that he will be here so soon!

How far along? 37 weeks
Maternity clothes? That's all I wear besides dresses 
Best moment this week: organizing our new room and getting everything set for Oliver
Miss Anything?  not having a bad back and hips.
Movement:  Yes, still kicking in there.
Food cravings: Wild Cherry Pepsi. Always.
Sleep: Awful. Can't get comfortable and can't get up.
Anything making you queasy or sick: not lately
Have you started to show yet: too much
Gender: boyyyyy
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks, especially if I stand or walk around too much.
Belly Button in or out? Far out! Seriously thinking I'll have a permanent outie after all this.  
Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing Josh's band, but getting tight. I may return it soon
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but getting tired of being in pain
Looking forward to: Meeting Oliver and no longer being pregnant.

36 weeks and 1 day

I've been MIA for a while, but can you blame me?  Moving 700 miles takes a lot of work, especially in your third trimester. I intended on putting up a post my last day in Missouri, but we were all so busy. 

Let's see if I can remember everything that's happened in the last two weeks....

So my mom flew out to Missouri on the Thursday before we left and she helped do some more packing and last minute running around.  My mom, Penelope, Reaver (our dog) and I left on Saturday afternoon, leaving Josh and our cat, Annie, behind. We drove about six hours before stopping for the night.  That Sunday was Mother's Day and we drove 5 more hours to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Ohio.  Of course it took much longer than 5 hours with all the stopping.  Penelope did surprisingly well.  Especially on Sunday.  She slept most of the way. 

 Right before leaving

 

It was a long trip

Mother's Day, about to leave the hotel

My left lower back has been very painful ever since the ride home.  Hoping that giving birth will correct everything. My hips have also been worst than ever.  I don't know if that's from the car trip or just that Oliver is getting bigger.  I hobble around all the time like a little old lady.  Getting out of bed in the morning is very, very, painful.  It really sucks when I wake up in the middle of the night with a full bladder and have to spend 5 minutes figuring out how to get out of bed.  My doctor said I can take OTC pain medicine.  I'm allowed to take 1000 mg of acetaminophen every 6 or 8 hours, but that honestly doesn't seem to make a difference.  Some days are worst than others.  I feel like I have basically put myself on bed rest.  I know that childbirth and recovery are painful, but I don't think it will be much worst than right now.  Hopefully about a week after he's here, I'll be back to normal.  With Penelope, I didn't have an epidural and was really proud of myself.  But I don't really see how I could do that this time.  Heck, I want an epidural right now!   Ok, enough complaining for now.

So we got home on a Sunday and Josh arrived on Thursday.  His friend flew out to help him finish up and ride with him on the way back.  Josh drove a 26 foot Uhaul that was pulling a trailer with my Jeep on it.  Our cat was "drugged" and out of it for the ride home.  She has basically been living in the basement ever since she got here. We open the door for her to come up when Penelope is sleeping. She just doesn't get along with my parents cat.  But their cat is mostly outside anyways.

I think the hardest part of the move so far is moving into another family's house.  It's my mom, dad and sister and they all have a place for their things so it's hard to tell them to move their stuff somewhere else to make room for ours.  It will be even worst when Oliver arrives.  We still have boxes to unpack and things to rearrange.  I'm not done setting up Oliver's "area" yet.  I really need to get on that though.  Penelope is sleeping on the second floor in the spare room and Josh and I are in the basement and that's where Oliver will be.  Probably until we move out. I'm very excited to buy a house! 

The best part about moving home is Penelope sleeping! Last time we were in Ohio, she was turning one and now she is 19 months.  She slept though the night for two weeks and when we went back to Missouri, she didn't sleep through the night anymore.  As soon as we got back to Ohio, she sleeps through the night.  I don't understand it. But love it.  She also went from 45-90 minute naps to 2-3 hour naps.  Finally! But I keep forgetting to give her lunch before her naps since she sleeps so long.  Now when she wakes up, it's like 2 or 3 pm and I'm rushing to get her lunch because I figure she's starving. But I guess she doesn't need lunch at 1130 when she has breakfast at 930 or so.

Other than that, I've been setting up new bank account, finding a new OB, taking a tour of the hospital... yada yada yada.  We got to meet Rylan who is six months old now.  He was born about ten days after we left Ohio the last time.  He is Josh's middle sister's baby.  And just three days ago, Josh's oldest sister had a baby boy named Maverick.  It was so weird to hold a newborn again.  I can't believe how little (and light) they are.  It makes me so excited for Oliver to be here.  Seems like he's been cooking forever.  Today Josh's little sister is graduating high school and shortly after, heading to BMT for the Air Force.  Lots of big changes going on in the family.

Meeting cousin Rylan for the first time.

At cousin Nolan's birthday party. Grandpa Parrish in the back.

Off to church!

 

Meeting cousin Maverick

How far along? 36 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? That's all I wear besides dresses 
Best moment this week: Getting to meet my new nephew Maverick
Miss Anything?  not having a bad back and hips.
Movement:  Yes, still kicking in there.
Food cravings: Wild Cherry Pepsi. Always.
Sleep: Awful. Can't get comfortable and can't get up.
Anything making you queasy or sick: not lately
Have you started to show yet: I would say so
Gender: boyyyyy
Labor Signs: Braxton hicks, especially if I stand or walk around too much.
Belly Button in or out? Far out! Seriously thinking I'll have a permanent outie after all this.  
Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing Josh's band, but getting tight. I may return it soon
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but stressed from moving and establishing ourselves in a new town
Looking forward to: Meeting Oliver and no longer being pregnant.

33 weeks and 5 years!

Today is our five year anniversary!  I decided to do a chalkboard this week since I have one on our 3rd anniversary. Each year, we take a picture together.  I don't have any printed out yet, but I plan to make some sort of a collage.  Eventually. After my computer crashed, I thought I lost the pictures from last year, but thankfully, they were on my old phone.  Even more motivation to print them off!

MAY 2, 2009

OUR WEDDING

 

Our honeymoon was a weekend trip up to Lake Erie.  We went to a drive-thru safari and The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. He had to fly back to Japan 13 days later. And I didn't see him again for two months.

 

FIRST ANNIVERSARY

 

The night before our anniversary, we went out to the bars all dressed up with our friends.  The day of our anniversary, we drove to a military beach resort.  It was actually some sort of spring festival, so we watched fireworks on the beach and watched a Japanese rock concert. The next day, we went to a butterfly sanctuary.

 

SECOND  ANNIVERSARY

We were in Missouri now and went out to dinner to celebrate two years together.

 

THIRD  ANNIVERSARY

Don't know what we did to celebrate, but I was 15 weeks pregnant with Penelope.

 

FORTH  ANNIVERSARY

I don't think we went out to dinner or anything.  All I remember is Penelope was sleeping and it was late, and I almost forgot to take pictures and Josh was being a good sport, even though he was tired and I had to take a million pictures.

 

 

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

 

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and Penelope and I leave for Ohio in just about a week.  Tonight, Penelope is going to our friend's house while we go out to dinner and watch a movie.  We are going to buy the second Hobbit movie and take it home to watch.  I don't think there is anything in the theater I'm very interested in and snuggling on the couch, kid free, is more fun.