Thinking & worrying a little.......

Well...I've been in my 3rd trimester for almost 2 weeks now. I am very happy to be getting closer to finally meeting this sweet blessing I've been carrying around for the past 29 weeks! Things are starting to really set in and the end is in sight...I keep thinking ok only 3 and a half weeks til Thanksgiving...then 3 weeks til Christmas break starts. After Christmas break I will not be going back to work until the first of March. So basically I only have 6 and a half weeks left of work until my life is changed forever!! It is exciting and kinda scary at the same time!! I am starting to worry about my maternity leave and making sure I have everything done before it's time to be off. I also worry about my job in general and how this baby is going to affect it...I always pride myself in going above and beyond and putting my heart & soul into my school & kids. I really hope that Bentley & lack of sleep does not change my outlook on my job. I want to have my family priorities straight, but still be great at what I do...ya know??

The past few weeks have been a little bit tougher for me. I have started to feel some of the weight of my belly and my body has been achy in the evenings when I get home. I've noticed it is harder for me to get up and down...especially after sitting "criss cross applesauce" at the carpet with my kids & sleep....well I'm waking up every 2-3 hours tossing & turning and going to the bathroom a gazillion times! My friend Elizabeth that works with me let me borrow a pregnancy pillow that she used and it is AMAZING! Don't know who invented those things...but I would love to give them a hug! It is like the only thing i can lay with and feel completely comfortable. Only thing is, I feel like with Steve in the bed it takes up too much room. Speaking of Steve, he has been very good to me lately...just helping me and comforting me all the time. I know I've been an emotional basketcase too. Seems like I cry at least 3 times a week about something. It's crazy!!! I'm thankful he's been not only putting up with me, but also making me feel better emotionally and being so sweet about my changing body.

I have gained almost 20 lbs now...my goal is to stay under 35 total and I'm really scared I'm not gonna do that! At first I wasn't gaining anything at all so it was easy just to kinda eat what I wanted and not worry...well now I think it's time to start cutting back on some of my bad habits I created... too many tater tots at school & too many sweets for starters! :) I also want to start walking more. I am really scared that when it comes time to deliver I'm gonna be too out of shape and tired to push!! I haven't started getting freaked out about delivery yet...just not thinking about it really. I'm sure it will hit in the coming weeks.

I'm kinda frustrated at myself b/c I went to register us for some birthing classes and one of the 5 week classes has already started and the all day Saturday class is on the day of one of my baby showers. And they aren't offering any classes in December....my fault I guess I should have checked into this sooner. I'm thinking about checking into some classes at a couple of other hospitals...not sure if they will accept people that aren't delivering at their hospital????

We went Friday to our 4d ultrasound in Columbus. I thought I was doing good drinking a Mt. Dew trying to get him to move around a bunch. Well, it didn't work out exactly like we wanted. After about 5 minutes he put his little fists in front of his face & was trying to roll over. The sweet lady tried and tried to get him to move...I went outside and walked around for a while, but no luck! So we are going back next week for free so we can hopefully get some good shots. I really like that place and feel like we have gotten our money's worth for sure. I'll post some more pictures when we get them. So far, we think he looks like Steve with my nose. We'll see!

4D Ultrasound

Our little boy! Just before he decided to put his fists in his face & roll over!!
We think he has my nose...and Steve's lips :)

Getting ready to see our little man!

What would I do without this man?? I can't wait to add on to our family!

Me with my Mt. Dew trying to give Bentley some extra energy!!

28 Weeks!!!

My belly is GROWING!! I started my 3rd trimester last week and I am starting to feel the weight a little. I can definitely tell a difference in my day as far as dancing, getting up & down, and playing with my pre-k'ers!! Makes for a tiring day...and my lower back is starting to hurt a little in the evenings. Here is a picture of my belly at 28 weeks.

Baby shower invitation :)

I am IN LOVE with the adorable invitation for the baby shower that is going to be at my school. Thanks to my creative bff! Can't wait!!

Fun during Fall Break

Me Posing with our first pack of diapers. They are a size 2 given to us by Steve's friend Troy at work and his family. They also gave us our first wipes & baby lotion! And a very thoughtful gift, the book Goodnight Moon, that his kids love to read. :)

Three High School Friends all Preggers at the same time!!

Amanda: 29 Weeks, Ashley: 27 Weeks, Tamara: 24 Weeks

Me & Amanda Posing with our Baby bumps at her shower!!!

I got all of Bentley's clothes we have so far washed, sorted, folded, & put away this weekend!! I love doing things for him and getting his room ready. Never knew laundry could be so much fun!!! I'm glad to be ahead of the game...looking forward (well I guess) to starting my 3rd trimester tomorrow!!!!!

First Baby Shower

Yesterday Steve's department at work threw us a wonderful baby shower! I am off for fall break so we had it yesterday so I could be there and everyone else would already be there. The shower was at the corporate center in one of the conference rooms there....it was a small room so everyone was kind of in and out dropping by to eat and mostly the ladies stayed to watch me open all the gifts. It was decorated soooo cute with jungle themed napkins, plates, table cloths, etc... The cake was made by my friend Jessica who is married to Courtney that works with Steve. It had chocolate icing and it had orange, blue, & green stripes with a little lion on it and the words "Welcome Baby Bentley" It was delicious!!! All the food was great & we got lots of good stuff!

Steve's dept. got us the pack n' play that we had registered for at Babies R' Us...it is chocolate brown with swirls on the inside...it has a bassinet & changing table built in and makes nature sounds and plays music. I actually broke into the box while Steve was busy and put most of it together by myself! It was pretty easy...the changing table part is still not put together though because the directions didn't make sense to me so he's gonna have to work on that later. It is in the nursery right now but will go in our room later on and probably spend some time in the living room too once he's here!

Ryan & Lindsey gave us a precious blanket that Lindsey made herself! It was adorable and had little animals all along the outside edges...so soft!! It was a very thoughtful gift.

We also got 2 of the bathtubs we registered for...whale tub...Sherri suggested I let my mom have one at her house so that is what I did. I gave it to her last night!

Another neat gift we got was a picture frame that had seven openings. In each of the openings there was something that was shaped like the letters to spell Bentley's name. We hung it in his room already and it looks great!!

We also got some towels & wash cloths, bottle drying rack, Melissa & Doug toys, portable changing pad, & LOTS of gift cards! Gift cards are great because we can put them together later to buy some of the big things we still need or use them for diapers,etc... later on down the road.

Here are a few pictures from the shower and gifts after we got home. I forgot to ask someone to take pictures while I was opening presents...oops! It was a great afternoon & I'm so thankful for Steve & his job and the wonderful people that he works with. Thank you to EVERYONE!!!!

26 Week Belly Picture...Almost 3rd Trimester!!

Bentley is kicking & growing!

I am up super early on this Saturday morning & Steve is still snoozing, so I thought this would be the perfect time to blog about some of the things that have been going on the past couple of weeks and some of the thoughts I've been having. So much has happened since the last time I wrote, so this could be a little long....sorry!

The biggest thing I guess is that I FINALLY have started feeling Bentley move! It started on September 25 at my cousin Jack's birthday party...while we were waiting on everyone to get there I felt something strange in my tummy. This is how I described it to my friend Jenna..."It feels like there is something inside me chewing bubble gum and blowing a big bubble and right when the bubble gets to the edge of the inside of my tummy it pops! And I felt the popping!" Weird description...but the best way to tell how it really felt. For the next week after the party I only felt him about one other time so I was a little disappointed. Then last week I started feeling him more frequently and consistently. It usually starts when I get home from school...I guess I'm so busy at school to notice it maybe??? I think I have felt him everyday this week...he is kicking more too...like 4 or 5 times back to back and it is so amazing! I can just picture his little self in there swimming around:) Steve says he's gonna be in there bench pressing...he's a nut! Everytime I am at home and we aren't busy we both lay on the bed and feel my tummy. Steve has felt him move about 5 times. SO SWEET!!

Now that my belly looks pregnant, we have realized that he will be here sooner than later! Before, it was like...ok we've got 6 months til he's here...now it's like we have 3 months! And I know it is going to go by very fast...with fall break, Thanksgiving, & Christmas break. Everytime there are holidays it seems like the months go by faster! But I feel like we've been ahead of the ball game so we will have everything ready when he gets here no doubt. His room is coming together so nicely. His furniture is all put together with the bedding & curtains & I ordered a wall decal from ETSY with his initials and me & my cousin Lauren put it above his crib. I also have a sign that my friend Bonnie made for me. It has his name with a special space to put his birthday, weight, etc.. when he is born to hang on the hospital door. She took home his diaper stacker so she could match the colors & it matches his room perfect....very thoughtful gift!!! Here are pictures of the wall decal & sign that Bonnie made:

I have started thinking some that I kinda wish we had painted his nursery...just so that it looks more "baby" ya know? But hopefully in the long run we will be happy we kept it neutral. Maybe once I get more stuff in there it will have a more "baby" feel to it. Definitely when he gets here it will feel that way!

I am looking forward to our first baby shower next Friday at Steve's work. I am out of school for Fall break so we are having it then so I can be there. Sherri is putting it together and it is going to be a drop in shower at 2:30. ..can't wait!!!! Someone from one of the branches above Atlanta sent us the Boppy pillow that we had registered for this week. There was a target package on the porch & we had no idea who it was from....very exciting! I just love all the baby stuff!!

A few other things:

-Steve's aunt Darlene came to visit last week and brought two big bags of Carter's onesies, sleepers, etc.. for Bentley! They are all so tiny & sweet:)

-I bought an adorable Kelly's Kids outfit at my friend Kimberly's party last week. Mama went with me & bought a precious baby blue giraffe print sleep sack with a matching hat...can't wait to see him all snuggled up in it after a bath!

-The "Pre-Spoiling" continues!

-I still love my Reese's puff cereal...have eaten a bowl every morning for the past 2 months and have yet to get tired of it!

-Gay, Ga craft show was fun...lots of cute baby stuff and I had a blast. Mama & Lauren weren't feeling well though so I felt bad for them.

-My cousin Lauren is pregnant again...hopefully a girl...but we've gotten really close the past year or so and I'm so glad and looking forward to our babies growing up together. Jack will be Bentley & unknown baby name's Mentor. :)

-I am pretty much in maternity clothes or belly bands all the time now...my belly is poking out too much for my regular pants. Some clothes make my belly look bigger than it really is and when I look in the mirror I'm like "Woah!!"

-I have gained about 15 pounds so I'm on track as far as weight gain. I would like to keep it between 25-35 pounds...the suggested weight gain for me. Probably closer to 35 I'm sure!

-These pains in my ribs can be uncomfortable at times. Last night at the movies I could not get comfy in my chair...I kept leaning from side to side trying to ease it up and I felt like I was getting on the guy's nerves sitting beside me.

-I am trying to savor these last few months with Steve & I by ourselves...lots of date nights & sleeping & cuddling....He'll be here before we know it!!!

Here is a picture from last night's date night...Thanks to my friend Jessica for the cute shirt! It really shows off my belly. :)