So happy for you!

{Patterned paper - Simple Stories, ink - Studio Calico Color Theory, stamps - Unity Stamp Co., label - Studio Calico, cardstock - Neenah (white) and IDK who made the yellow!}

Can you believe it's been ten months since I last shared a crafty project on this blog? I guess it's pretty clear how my energy level has been - and where my focus has been - since getting pregnant last summer! 

So of course, when I finally did sit down to make a new card, I guess it makes sense that it's a "congratulations on your pregnancy" card. A couple dear friends announced last week that they are expecting in November. We are completely overjoyed to hear this because we've known them a long time, and it's their first baby. We are so excited for Hudson to have another little friend! 

PS: Apologies for the dark/uncrisp photo. I used my iPhone and it looked so much better there!

This post was written on April 21, 2015 and scheduled for publication in advance. Baby Hudson may or may not have arrived by the time of its publication. When he does arrive, I will definitely let you know!

39 week update

I put off writing this update because I was in denial that I'm 39 weeks pregnant. I'm in denial that this child isn't here yet. I'm in denial that I will be giving birth in the next week and that I will have to take care of a little person very soon.

The news at my appointment this past Wednesday was very encouraging. I was pretty well dialated and advised that I could start my leave immediately as Hudson could arrive in the next 48 hours. More than three days later, I'm still sitting here, waiting for a baby to arrive. I've had contractions, but they've never gotten close enough together to call the triage nurse at our practice. I have been REALLY tired. I've been sleeping 10-12 hours a night and sometimes taking naps in the middle of the day, so while I am feeling guilty about leaving work a few days early, I know I couldn't have handled being there on Thursday and Friday this week.

Our bags are packed. The nursery is in spotless condition. Our room has a little corner set up for him to room-in with us for the first few months. All that is left is a baby.

Maternity Session with Bridges Photography

Our sweet friends, Jessica and Anthony Bridges of Bridges Photography, gave us a photo session as our baby gift! We did our photos on March 7 at Starr's Mill, known for its appearance in the film "Sweet Home Alabama" as Jake's glass shop. 

Fun fact: We bought these shoes just for the photo shoot, and returned them the next day. They were newborn-size, and we already had a feeling that Hudson wouldn't be able to use anything that tiny. We are actively hunting for the next size up, though!

When we took this picture, I happened to look down to see that Trevor and I were standing in a pile of "It's a Boy!" confetti. I'm guessing those were the remains of someone else's gender reveal photo shoot!

I just love this one. I had just finished telling Trevor to remember how much I loved him if I start screaming at him when we are at the hospital bringing Hudson into the world.

This one is so going up in our nursery at some point! I'm just not sure where yet.

38 week update

37 weeks, 4 days. I think I feel even bigger than I look.

I am miserable.

My allergies have finally set in. I'm sneezing and coughing non-stop. My throat feels raw. I'm having trouble sleeping because the allergy problems wake me up. I almost feel like I need an inhaler to open my passageways again. 

I'm also feeling really sore and uncomfortable from carrying around 30+ extra pounds. Walking up the stairs and getting off the sofa are becoming a struggle. A lot of my clothes have ceased to fit. Even things that were fine a week ago can't quite stretch any further. It's also super hot outside, and I want shorts so badly! However, I haven't seen them in stores yet, and ordering online is risky at this point. Will they fit? Will they even arrive before Hudson? Even if they do arrive, will the weather stay warm enough, or is this week a fluke?

The good news is that the MD I saw at this week's appointment didn't think Hudson was quite as big as the midwives and the ultrasound indicated at the two previous appointments. However, he is still projected to be pretty big. I didn't enjoy this appointment, though. The doctor seemed like she didn't know why the midwife wanted me to see her, and when I explained why, I felt like the concerns were completely brushed aside as though she thought I was the one requesting to see her instead of the midwife suggesting I see her. I'm really glad I'll be seeing the midwives again at my next two appointments!

Happy Easter!

Best wishes for a happy holiday! It's about so much more than chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, but it's also totally OK to be enjoying them today! Jesus came to give us freedom from sin, so your gluttony has already been forgiven! ;)

37 Week Update

Less than three weeks to go until our due date! I am definitely getting big, and tired. I'm not miserable yet, and really, I'm not even all that uncomfortable. My feet and calves are quite swollen all of a sudden. My slightly too big Bobs are leaving bright red marks on my feet! On the plus side, my calves are finally filling out the skinny jeans I bought in January!

Even though I'm physically feeling well, I am so over my maternity clothes. My belly has outgrown several things, so I've got a limited wardrobe that mostly consists of winter apparel. With temperatures well above 70 in Georgia, I'm ready for summer clothes! I did order a couple lightweight dresses from Old Navy, so that helps, but I really don't want to invest in anything else this close to the due date.

The midwives have decided that Hudson is enormous. The ultrasound we did this past week estimated his size to be around 7 pounds 10 ounces with a head in the 97th percentile, and a stomach/chest area in the 87th percentile. Due to my petite stature, they have decided I should see one of the doctors at the practice this coming week for another opinion. They aren't talking about a c-section yet, but induction is a very real possibility. It's looking very unlikely I will carry this baby to 40 weeks!

I feel very excited to know there are really just days to go, but I'm also very nervous, too. My fears about caring for this little one are surfacing. My fears about the pain of birth (and a possible c-section) are growing. I've never been hospitalized before. I know these fears are mostly nothing. People have babies every day, but it's different when it's your body and your baby! I just have to remember that the providers I'm seeing delivery babies every day, and I have to put my faith in them and God to do what's best for me, too. 

35 Week Update

33 weeks, 3 days at our maternity shoot

About three weeks ago, Atlanta was projected to have a repeat of the SnowJam of 2014. School was canceled, and my women's health clinic was closed, forcing me to reschedule my 32 week appointment for the following Monday. The only openings that worked for my next appointment were on Wednesday, March 19, so we ended up having a 35 week check up instead of a 34 week check up.

Hudson and I are both doing well. The midwife believes he is over 6 pounds - so I could have a 9 pound baby! I am not dialated at all yet, but our midwife* made it sound like he could come at any time. She decided to put me on weekly appointments now because I've been having contractions already. I'm guessing he will be arriving before his April 22 due date! 

Since the last update, I've definitely been more tired. My sinuses are acting up, so I'm having a tough time falling asleep and staying asleep. I've definitely had to slow down quite a bit as my belly has grown a lot. It's hard to believe there are about five weeks left to go. It's becoming a struggle to find clothes that fit, so I've had to order a few things to make it through the next few weeks of work. 

Hudson is moving more and kicking less. That is, his motions are less violent and feel more like his whole body is shifting rather than the jerky motions of his hands and feet that I felt before. I'm sure he's getting crowded in there! Every once in awhile, I still feel a pretty strong kick, and in fact, about a week and a half ago, he got me hard enough that I must have had internal bruising because I was sore for nearly a week after!

We did maternity photos with our friends Jessica and Anthony of Bridges Photography. I'll be sharing more of those in a post soon. We had so much fun hanging out with them! We have known them almost since we moved to Georgia, as crazy as that is! We connected pretty quickly once we learned that both Anthony and Jessica had worked at ASA when Trevor did, although their overlap was brief.

We have three showers coming up in the next two weeks, so things are going to be really busy around here! Trevor is working every weekend, too, so our time as a family of two humans and two fur babies is quickly slipping away. Fortunately, the nursery just needs a couple more decor items, and it will be done.

*Our practice uses 7 certified nurse midwives who see patients in the office. Six of them deliver babies at the hospital, with the seventh being the clinical director for the practice. When I say "our midwife," I really am referring to the one we saw that week, not one in particular. However, we've seen one midwife in particular for nearly half of our appointments, so I'm really hoping she's on call for Hudson's birth.

32 week update

Can you believe there are just 8-ish weeks left to go?

I am still feeling really good. I'm tired, but I'm not really uncomfortable yet. Some of maternity clothes are a little snug, so I'm having to size up in my tops. I hate that I'm having to buy new clothes with such a small amount of time left in my pregnancy, but it sure beats being uncomfortable and trying to make too small clothing work for me as my belly continues to grow!

My feet seem to have grown a little bit during my pregnancy. They aren't swollen - they are longer! The hormone that allows the rib cage to expand will allow all your joints and muscles to be looser. When you add the extra weight on your feet, it's totally normal for your feet to grow a bit. Since I had tiny feet before, I'm kind of hoping this is a permanent change. It's been tough for me to find shoes that fit so this could be a very happy change!

Hudson is moving a lot, and I can now see his movements, too. He seems to be head down, laying along my left side, with his limbs stretched out towards my right. He can definitely hear my alarm clock in the morning, and he doesn't like it! I can feel him thumping against my mattress each morning at 6 a.m. He has also found my ribs, which he seems to enjoy rubbing or kicking with his feet! According to my pregnancy app, Hudson is now about 18 inches long and weighs about four pounds, making him roughly the size of a pomelo. The average newborn baby is between 18 and 20 inches long, so he's almost full size!

We traveled to Minnesota from February 13 to 17 to see Trevor's family. We saw a dinner theatre performance with Trevor's parents and two sets of aunts and uncles for Valentines Day. The next day, we had our first baby shower with his family. Hudson will definitely be one well-dressed little guy thanks to his Van Nevel and Schwegel family members!

Our glider and ottoman set arrived the day after we returned from Minnesota, so Trevor and our friend Anthony picked it up and put it in place in the nursery. We finalized our decorating plans as well, so now we just need to finish up the DIY portions of the decorating. Our travel system arrived just before we went to Minnesota, so we installed the car seat base this past weekend. Ours was fairly simple to install, and it is definitely in there tight! We still need to pick up some little essentials like baby wipes and newborn diapers, but otherwise, the house is ready!

Right now, my focus is on getting our hospital bags packed and making a list of everything that needs to go with us. Our hospital is a 35 minute drive from our house, so once we are there, Trevor probably won't be running home for anything unless it's an absolute emergency (or I end up having a C-section and need to stay for several days). I also need to develop my Plan B in the event that Trevor isn't here when the time comes. It could take 7 hours or more for him to get back to Atlanta, depending on where he is. So, I need to find someone I can depend on to get me to the hospital and help me Facetime with Trevor in the event that he can't make it in time.

Our next appointment is in two weeks - and we will continue to go every two weeks until the end of March. Starting at 37 weeks/April 1, we will go weekly until Hudson arrives.

Weekend Links

This was originally meant to be a Friday Five post last Friday, but I never did find a fifth link I enjoyed enough to include, so I thought it would become a Friday Four instead. However, the post sat all weekend, and I never hit the publish button on my laptop. So instead, I'm calling it the "Weekend Links" and sharing for this weekend.

What babies learn before birth

Historically accurate versions of Disney princesses Pocahontas is pretty much topless, so this isn't safe for work!

Why Evangelicals Need to Observe Lent

Lent 101 

28 week update

27 weeks, 3 days at Starr's Mill on 1.24.15

As of January 28, I'm in the third trimester. We had our 28 week appointment the following day. I passed my glucose challenge test, so there's no gestational diabetes! I also had an ultrasound due to a low lying placenta detected on the 20 week anatomy scan. We were able to see that Hudson was in position for birth and that the placenta has indeed been pulled upward. We were very happy with all the good news we received!

I'm still feeling really well. I've had no real swelling, acne, or fatigue yet. My hands were a bit swollen yesterday at church, but it subsided quickly and hasn't come back yet. I've been having a little heartburn, but it's impossible to predict what will do it. A banana might set me off, but the jalapeño ranch dressing on my salad may not. 

I'm also starting to have some mood swings, too. Trevor washed our sheets and mattress pad one night this past week, but the mattress pad came out of the dryer at 10 pm still wet. I definitely burst into tears and said I just wanted to go to sleep. It's been a few little things like that lately. I just keep praying that I won't have a swing like that at work. My students would eat me alive if they thought they had made me cry!

If you turn your head and look closely, you can sort of see his cute little face!

Hudson is now kicking away regularly. Most of his kicks these days can be easily felt by a hand on my belly, and last night, we were able to see him moving around. My whole belly was shaking off and on for about five minutes as he got settled in for the evening. In the mornings, I usually feel Hudson on my left side, kick boxing with the mattress when my alarm clock rings. We got to see just a bit of his face on the ultrasound last week, and he is definitely starting to have some chubby little cheeks! He had a hand up by his face and his eyes were closed. On Saturday morning, I was up before Trevor, and I saw that Trevor had his left hand up over his eye, just like Hudson had done on his latest sonogram. Hudson is definitely going to be just like his dad!

The nursery is almost ready. We just need a rocking chair and some decorations on the walls. I think I'll be spending some quality time on Pinterest this week and in my craft room this weekend to get something done. We sort of cobbled together our nursery design from a few different stores, so there wasn't really any decor that we could buy to match our nursery. Once I get some decorations up on the walls, I'll be sharing some pictures here.

These next few weeks will be super busy for us. There are lots of gatherings and celebrations coming up, including our first baby shower! Hudson's first friend, Reagan, was born on Super Bowl Sunday, so we are excited to go meet her soon. Her parents are our sweet neighbors and community group friends, Jeremiah and Stacy. With all that is coming our way, I'm certainly praying that I can keep the third trimester fatigue and pains away as long as I can!