35 Weeks Pregnant!

Hooray! We are almost there! Only 5 weeks to go, or maybe less! We cannot wait for the arrival of our little Beckett Beason!

My friends and family threw me a wonderful shower a week ago and it was just amazing! I couldn't have asked for anything better! It was awesome. We were blessed with all kinds of things for Beckett. He will definitely be a well dressed baby.

We are down to the wire now and making lists left and right of things we still have to get done. Jeremiah starts the police academy on November 19th so we may get induced on Friday, November 20th so that we have the weekend to welcome our baby. It's all up in the air though, we still aren't sure what we want to do. Part of me wants to induce and the other part of me wants to make sure he arrives when Jeremiah is available to be there and doesn't have to be pulled out of the academy to go to the hospital.

Only God know!

I am feeling good, but definitely ready to meet Beckett and have a waistline again.
I am getting tired of stretchy waist pants. It's funny the things we take for granted such as...zippers, buttons, regular bras, tying your own shoes, putting socks on by yourself, painting your own toe nails, washing your feet without falling over in the shower, clear skin, high heels, not being out of breath going up the stairs, running, peeing more than a trickle, peeing every few hours instead of every few minutes, pooping regularly, etc... The list goes on.

I am still addicted to crushed ice...I get a 44 oz cup of it every night when Jeremiah gets off work. It's so funny! Who would have thought!

30 weeks and now starts the countdown,,,

I am officially 30 weeks as of this last week quickly approaching 31 weeks...I just can't even believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by!!! I took my maternity photos last weekend and I am dying to see them. I get to see them this Wednesday. I'm so excited. It was so much fun. My good friend Norina did a full blown photo shoot for Jeremiah and I. I promise to have some of those pictures up as soon as I get them.

We are quickly approaching one of the most busy times I think in our whole marriage. We have lots of things to do over the next two months and Jeremiah is most likely starting the police academy on November 19th...yes that's 6 days before my due date. We have 3 classes we are taking during October for preparation for our little boy and I have my last tax deadline for the year on October 15th. Lots of Dr. appointments coming up with the specialist and my OB as well as insurance paperwork for my short term disability and so on. I'm just thankful that we have the nursery pretty much finished.

I am doing well just trying not to get overwhelmed with everything. I have officially gained 25 pounds and I am now 155 pounds. Crazy! I am getting more tired these days. I definitely can't go out and run a bunch of errands anymore. My belly gets heavy. It sucks because I like being really active, but my body is like slow down! I currently have not found any stretch marks so I am very thankful for that. If you saw this basketball of a tummy you would probably think how could I not have stretch marks...two words...Good Jeans! Thanks Mommy! No swelling or heartburn yet either which I pray they stay far away. My mom describes having babies as piece of cake, so I hope I have the same outlook. So far so good...I have been very fortunate. Praise God because I have heard horrible stories from many different people. Why is it by the way when you are getting married or having a baby everyone tells you like the worst stories ever about their child birth or marriage woes. It's like really..."Thanks for throwing up on me!" Here I am looking forward to having a baby and people just rain on your parade. You say things like "I feel great!" and they say "Just you wait..." Ge'ez people...be a little more optimistic! Another one is when someone asks me what I'm having and I say boy and they are like "oh just get ready." Well, yes I plan on getting ready for whatever I'm having, just because your kid was horrible doesn't necessarily mean my kid will be the same. People are so funny!

Sorry for the rant...it's just irritating and rather comical. And you know it's true!

Beckett is moving like crazy all the time and especially when mommy is trying to sleep. He especially likes the right rib cage and practices soccer on it throughout the day. I think he purposely does it so I just don't forget all of sudden that he is there. I was interviewing UNLV students the other day and it was hilarious because I felt like my belly was bouncing around so much that the candidates were going to see it. It was very distracting for me, so I could only think they could see it too.

Well, I plan on being back in the next few days with lots of pictures and another update for week 31! We are also having an ultrasound on Tuesday Sept. 22nd so I will have more ultrasound pictures too. This time I won't leave them to melt in my truck. that's what happened to the last ones we had. Please pray they continue not to find any birth defects...this is a follow up ultrasound from the 21 week ultrasound we had. They are just going making sure that he still has nothing wrong with him.

28 Weeks...I can't believe how it is flying by!!!

So tomorrow I will be 28 weeks pregnant (or 7 months). It's just crazy how the time is flying by. I feel like I have a million things to do between now and Beckett's arrival. I've been really busy at work so finding the time to prepare for the baby has been a challenge.

Since I have blogged in 5 weeks (I know, I know), there has been a lot of things going on. First off, I had my glucose test and iron test of which both came back normal, so that's great news. I still crave crushed iced all the time and it's not because I'm anemic, I'm just freakin' hot. I have been walking around feeling like it's 140 outside. I'm freezing poor Jeremiah out of the house. I look over at night and he has ALL the covers on him and I have none and I'm still hot. I never thought I would see the day that I wasn't cold and night.

Well, let's see what else? Oh yeah, Beckett is constantly kicking or punching or head butting my right lower ribs and man is it sore. I feel like he's bruising them. He's a very active little boy, especially at night when I am ready to go to bed. We can now see my stomach move when he moves...so weird and it feels even weirder. I am constantly walking around holding my right side. He must really like it over there because the rest of me is just fine. I haven't had anymore lower back pain since I eased up on the lower back exercises at the gym. I get cramping here and there if I'm up walking around doing a lot of things for long periods of time. That doesn't feel so pleasant. I actually lasted about 4-5 hours at Sea World walking around in the heat, but by the time we walked to the car I was dying. It was so crowded and I felt like I had to walk with my hands on my belly with my elbows out like I was protecting a football. I can't complain, I have had a much easier pregnancy than many others I know. I just am having a hard time picturing my belly getting any bigger but I know it will!!! I currently have gained 23 pounds. Holy Crap! I can't believe I already gained that much, it just crept up on me. Fortunately, I feel like it's all belly. I've never been over weight in my life so gaining that much weight is so weird.

On another note, we met the kookiest pediatrician. I won't name names, but he was seriously weird and did not at all make me feel like I could trust him with my child. In fact, I wouldn't even want to see him myself. I asked various questions about circumcisions and he said he was 'pretty good' at them. PRETTY GOOD????? You better be damn good if you are going to go anywhere near my little boy's pee pee. That about gave me a heart attack. Also, the way he said the word penis was like the word was some kind of profanity and he wasn't supposed to say it so he said it very quietly. I was like, is this guy for real? I also asked him a few other questions and after that he walked out and Jeremiah and I looked at each other and were like NO WAY! There is no way this guy is going to be Beckett's pediatrician. Wish me luck at the next appointment on October 1st. Hopefully the next pediatrician is way better!

So update on the nursery....wallpaper is up thanks to my wonderful mother who put it all up for me. I even helped a little (my first hand at wallpapering). We also picked out the material to make the bedding and it's going to be adorable. Sorry no pictures yet, not until it's complete! We also found the cutest material for a baby blanket. I couldn't believe how well it went with the wallpaper.

I have a few Dr. appointments coming up so next time I blog, I'll fill you in on how they went. We will be seeing the specialist for an ultrasound again to look for any defects or problems that they may have not see at 22 weeks. We are praying for another good report.

23 weeks! I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a few weeks!

I can't believe I am already 23 weeks. This pregnancy is flying by. It's crazy I felt like I just found out I was pregnant last week or something. I am definitely looking pregnant. My belly is way out there already. I'm carrying the baby all out in front which is good, but it's putting pressure on my back which isn't so fun and may only get worse. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to sit at a computer all day. I find myself having to do a few laps around the office every few hours so I feel better.

Baby is moving like crazy...Jeremiah can now consistently feel him move...the baby enjoys somersaulting, head banging, and karate chopping from what we can tell. He is especially active when we are watching Heroes, well at least during the episode we were watching late last night. It's the weirdest, coolest feeling. Once you realize something is in there you then start to realize that "that something" is going to have to come out at some point which is a whole new topic.

We still have lots to do like write up our birth plan, take our classes, decorate the nursery, and mentally prepare ourselves for the bundle of joy on the way that comes with no user manual, and there are no returns or exchanges. We registered the other day which was very funny...talk about the blind leading the blind. We must have stared at different types of bottles for 30 minutes. There are way too many options. It basically went like this "What about this?" (Amber), "Sure" (Jeremiah). "What's this for?" (Amber) "Not sure, but we should probably add it to the registry" (Jeremiah). We really had no clue, it was AWESOME! I guess that's what it is all about.

I was reading about epidurals the other day and had this strange idea in my head that I could possibly attempt child birth without one. I was thinking who do I need to prove my guts to? No one. If anything it's the overly competitive part of myself that thinks everything is a contest even though I'm the only one competing an no one is watching. I honestly have been through enough physical pain and suffering in my earlier years and there is no reason I should attempt to have this baby the hard way. Now for those women who had their babies all natural...more power to you...that's awesome! You ladies are brave. If I so happen to have this baby without one, I can join your ranks...but at this point pass me the epidural.

So I constantly have this twinging on the right side of my rib cage like pulling or stretching...it's so uncomfortable. I think it's from my belly stretching. My belly is seeming to amaze me everyday. My belly button is almost non-existent and I can see inside of it which is almost flush with the rest of my belly. Crazy! I have a lovely belly button piercing scar too! If I could take back getting that pierced I would done it in a heartbeat. Oh the things we do when we we thought there were no consequences.

Cravings/Aversions: I am craving ice from Sonic all the time. Relax EVERYONE! I'm not anemic, just craving ice. Everyone I tell that I'm craving ice just about freaks out. I cleared it with my OBGYN and I'm doing just fine. I appreciate all the concern but I'm doing good. I'm also craving fruit popsicles! Mmmmmmm! I think I'm just craving ice and popsicles because it's soooooooo hot and I'm carrying around an extra 15 pounds. Chicken is still an okay item but I can't be the one preparing it or I won't eat it. I want fish bad, but I'm not supposed to have any of the kinds I want because they are so high in mercury. Another item that sounds amazing is powdered sugar donuts...but they make me sick...so I guess that's a good thing I don't eat them otherwise I might be gaining a lot of weight. Oh one more thing, not like I normally eat a lot of pork, but now that I'm pregnant the thought of pork makes me want to throw up.

The next Dr. Appointment is on August 12th. Just a check up on the baby, nothing fancy. At the end of September we see the specialist again for another HD ultrasound to double check that the baby still doesn't have any physical markers for Down's Syndrome. So far so good. We are praying he will be perfectly healthy. We declined having an amniocentesis because of the risk of miscarriage. We figure we are having this baby either way so why jeopardize the pregnancy. According to the specialist our chances of having a baby with Down's Syndrome is 1 in 82. I know these people are professionals, but I don't believe it. I believe he will be just perfect.

20 week pictures...Here I am in all my glory!

20 weeks pregnant....Beckett is on the move!

So today I am 20 weeks pregnant and thankful that I am half way done...unfortunately I think it was the easy half. I can definitely tell I'm starting to grow more rapidly. I seriously need to find some more work maternity pants or I'm in trouble. You can't find decent maternity slacks anywhere, it's awful. Keyword is decent! I know that there are places with slacks, but they are made with the worst material for a pregnant woman in the summer.

Each day Beckett is moving more and more...it's feel so weird but it's also comforting knowing he is alive and well. If I'm growing and he's moving, these are good signs. Yesterday I received a phone call that a specific level of something in my blood was elevated so they are sending me to a perinatologist for more tests. I swear sometimes we know too too much. Back in the day, you didn't even have ultrasounds or blood tests and people just guessed they were pregnant by the growing belly and lack of a period. I'm convinced Beckett is fine and trying to remind myself that everything is going to be just perfect. Emotional roller coaster I tell you what!

Today Jeremiah and I are going to go look at possible nursery themes, this has proved to be a most difficult task. I really don't want to do the jungle theme nursery, which seems as though is the only one that exists. If you have looked at boys nursery bedding, you know what I mean ;) I know he will never know the difference, but whatever, I want it to be cute!

Belly pictures will arrive later this evening...I need Jeremiah to take the picture and he is busy at the moment mounting our television.

19 Weeks and people are actually noticing I'm Pregnant not just a little chubby!

Well, I'm nineteen weeks and doing great! It's that fun stage where I actually look pregnant and not just a little chunky. I've officially gained a total of 10 pound which is an adjustment. I was doing push ups the other day and many it's much harder with an extra 10 pounds.

Today Jeremiah and I toured Centennial Hills Hospital which is where we are planning to deliver. It's a pretty new hospital and we absolutely loved it. The nurses were great and the facility was amazing. Everyone was so helpful and it was a very comforting atmosphere. Not your typical hospital feel. While we were there we pre-registered and that took a good hour, filling out paperwork, signing, etc...It was nice to get that done so that I can check that off my list. We also got information about labor & delivery classes, breast feeding classes, and Lamaze class. After we left the hospital we went over to Pottery Barn Kids and Daagerman's and looked at boy nursery bedding. Man it's tough to find something unique and of good quality. What sucks is that most bedding has to be ordered online so you aren't exactly sure of the quality of the product.

I have some pictures below taken today and I even threw a front view picture in but it doesn't quite show the roundness yet. I'm feeling really good and feeling the baby move more often, he is quite a little active guy moving around. It's the strangest feeling like you have an alien in your belly or something or you had some sushi that went all wrong and maybe wasn't quite dead yet when you ate it.

Awwww, sushi...miss that big time! Don't worry, I'm staying away from anything raw as much as Ahi sounds amazing!

Enjoy the pics!