this is it!

Haven't updated this in awhile...

Last Thursday when I went for my 37 week appointment my blood pressure was higher than normal, the swelling in my feet was there all day/night, and I had gained 5 lbs in a week! That threw up some little red flags. Doctor suspected early signs of pre-eclampsia, so he had me stay home from work Friday & stay off my feet all weekend and we would see if things improved. Well went back in Monday and blood pressure was still up - so he sent me over to labor & delivery at the hospital to have further monitoring done. Thankfully my blood pressure went down so we were able to go home, but he went ahead & scheduled for me to be induced Friday morning. Since I've not dilated at all, they're having us coming in tonight @ 7 to give me cervidil which should soften/start opening my cervix. Then first thing in the morning I'll be checked and if I'm dilated they'll go ahead & break my water, and start pitocin. And then from then... we just wait for baby! Doctor said if he had to guess he thinks Kingston will be no more than 7 1/2 pounds. I hope he's right! I want him to fit into NB sizes!

Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers - God has seen us through this pregnancy with so many blessings, we know the delivery will be nothing different. Can't wait to introduce the world to Kingston tomorrow!

27 days!

As I really sat for a moment and thought about having this child in less than a month, I was completely hit with an emotional overload. I love this child so much and I've never even held him. I can not begin to imagine the love I will feel when I see Adam hold him for the first time. To see his little fingers grasp around Adam's... to see him look up at me... God is so good. I guess it's all setting in. Everything is ready for him - we're just waiting for our son. For our miracle. For our gift from God that I am so thankful. I thank God for this opportunity... to have cared for this child the last 9 months... and for the love and care that we will give him for the rest of his life.

34 weeks down...

At my 34 week appointment I hadn't gained any weight! So that keeps me at about 26 pounds of total weight gain in this pregnancy. The midwife checked me and said he was definitely in the head down position {which is such good news!} and I was a "finger tip" dilated. I wasn't sure how excited I should be about that, but she said it is good. It means things are starting and I'm not completely closed. I've been doing squats at night, I don't know if that's helping to drop him down any or not, but it can't hurt?! I'll go back again on the 6th for my 36 week appointment and hopefully be dilated some more! Then @ that point they will see me every week until Kingston arrives. We're really in the home stretch! I remember thinking about this point in my pregnancy when I was only in my first trimester, and now it's here!!! Praise the Lord!

I had an amazing weekend with my mom & was so sad it was over. We had my "big" baby shower Saturday and it was so awesome. We got everything we needed. Thanks to loving friends & family we got our car seat and stroller, high chair, monitor, tons of bottles, tons of pacis, more clothes, receiving blankets, burp cloths, a front carrier, first aid kits, photo albums, and more! I felt so blessed to have so many people show up! I couldn't have ask for anything better. We were given a swing, and since we already had one, we exchanged it for a gift card at Toys R Us and racked up! I picked up pads for the car seat straps, sun shades for the car windows, a double head rest for the car seat, an infant sleep wedge, green & blue hangers {to separate sizes in the closet}, a car seat net {to keep the bugs out when we go for walks in the stroller!}, and some other small things I'm forgetting. Adam & I picked up a few things Sunday that we just wanted, but knew we would live without if we had to. We went ahead and ordered a diaper genie {which was cheaper online than anywhere else, with free shipping} and a changing pad cover {which we could not find anywhere in town} and we bought a bumbo {i can't wait to use it!}. So, needless to say, we are all ready for our baby boy! Now we will anxiously await his arrival, but still enjoy this quiet time we're having alone.

Wednesday we celebrate our 3rd year of marriage. I can honestly say I fall more in love with my husband everyday. He's not only my best friend, but truly my lifelong companion. He has been so good with this pregnancy, especially lately. He is walking with me after a long, hard days work. He put together all of our baby gear for us without me having to even mention it! He does little things like fixes breakfast and helps with because "he wants to give me a break." I thank God for this man more and more each day. And he's going to be such an amazing father. I can't wait to see him hold his son for the very first time...

33 weeks!

So we're in the home stretch, and it's very surreal. I've been pregnant all of 2009, but to think we could have a baby here in about 6 weeks is just crazy. When I look back at our New Years Eve party when we first found out I was pregnant, time has flown! Here we are in the middle of July with a nursery done, one baby shower done, and a closet full of clothes. Now all we really need is baby! We are so blessed with friends and family who care for us, and for our upcoming addition. We've been given a lot of clothing from friends who have had little boys, and then we've purchased a lot of clothes. In my defense, everything we have bought new for him has been on sale! I'm loving the sale racks @ Baby Gap!

I had my first baby shower @ work on Wednesday and it was so sweet! I requested it to be a "diaper & bath" shower so obviously most of what I got was diapers. We got 1 pack of NB, 3 packs of size 1, 3 packs of size 2, 2 packs of size 3 and 1 pack of size 4. And all the wipes I think we'll need for the first year... it was great! Hopefully at our next shower next weekend we'll get some more smaller size diapers, because I'm sure we'll go through those very quick! Speaking of my shower next weekend, MY MOM IS COMING!!!!!! I can't say how excited I am. I haven't seen her since after Christmas, when I was pretty sure I was pregnant, but not positive. She's seen my belly through pictures but I'm just so excited for her to see it up close. My step-dad is coming with her and I'm really excited about that too. He's never seen the house and it's been 3 years since he's been in SWGA. Friday I plan on taking everyone to the hospital to see an ultrasound. I'll be 34 weeks and Kingston should be nice & fat! He's moving around a lot these days - lots of punches and rolls. Sometimes they're painful, but I'm not complaining because it means I've got a healthy, active baby growing. Right now he should be around 4 pounds... so he still has some more growing to do! I go back Thursday for my 34 week appointment and they will start checking me to see if I have dilated any. Keep your fingers crossed!

29 weeks!

Looking back at New Years Eve when we first found out we were pregnant, time has flown! I'm trying to stay positive - knowing I could still have 11 weeks left seems forever, but it will be so worth it. Everything is going GREAT! At my last appointment [last Thursday] I was measuring right on schedule, Kingston's heart beat sounded very strong, and I had gained a total of 20 pounds. The midwife was very encouraging and said I'm having a great pregnancy, which I could agree to. My gestational diabetes test also came back negative, praise the Lord! 

Hard to imagine I've got a 3 pound baby growing inside of me, despite the knees and elbows I feel. We've gotten to feel him "roll" a lot lately and that is such a neat feeling. I'm having a bit trouble sleeping these days, and peeing is becoming a constant nightly thing. I've had a lot of discomfort lately as well - I think he is so low already, the weight is getting to me, and the heat does not help! We've had heat indexes of 100 lately and it gets hard to breath! I'm trying to walk on my father in law's treadmill, rather than outside. We also go swimming every afternoon that we can. I'm trying to stay fit and active so my labor will be easier. 

Thanks to Adam's mom and step-dad we should be getting our pack & play sometime next week, and we went ahead & ordered our swing so that should come too. And thanks to my lovely mother and step-father, we should be receiving our glider/ottoman and bedding set shortly!!! It's all coming together... now we just have to finish painting the nursery... which is supposed to happen next weekend. Let's hope we stay on schedule! My first baby shower is scheduled for Wednesday July 15th at work, and my big shower with family and friends is Saturday July 25th. My mom and step-dad are coming down for that and I'M SO EXCITED!!!! It will have been 7 months since I've seen them! Man.. time does fly! 

It's a boy, 110%!!!!

So my 24 week appointment went great {other than the fact that I've gained 5 lbs since my last appointment! what the heck!} Baby KINGSTON is a whoppin' 1 lb 11 ounce! It's crazy to think he has grown from a peanut to almost 2 pounds! This is such a miracle and I feel so privileged to be able to experience this! The ultrasound tech kept making comments about how everything on him looked "so perfect" from his abdomen to his fingers & toes. We got some good shots of his big feet and him stretching his toes out. His heart rate was 141, which is good. He's moving around a lot more now - maybe because we KNOW he's a boy he feels more confident! I'll go back for my 28 week appointment on Monday, June 15. They will do testing for gestational diabetes, and from that point forward I'll be going to the doctor every 2 weeks! I'm sure @ that point the pregnancy will fly by. I've decided to take a night class this summer to help everything speed up, and to keep me active & out of the house. It doesn't start until 6 every night so my plan is to walk around the indoor track @ school for 45 minutes or so each night I'm there. But everything's great.... we could not be more happy and more excited to meet our little boy!!! 

end of week 23!

So pregnant life is wonderful. The most exciting part of my day is feeling the baby move, and the trying to get Adam's hand on my belly in enough time for him to feel too. Over the past few days I've actually seen my stomach thump up when the baby has kicked - which is amazing. Overall I feel better now than I did before I was pregnant. My feet have not been swelling - I credit that to our new ONLY water beverage diet, and walking everyday that I can. Lately I've been feeling under the weather, and tonight the weather is not cooperating and I almost feel guilty that I'm not walking! I've come to love it! My next appointment is in a week & a half, on May 18th. This shall be the day we know once & for all if this is truly a baby boy or not. We're still 99% convinced it is a boy, I think the doctor was just rushing. If there is still any question, I won't hesitate to ask them to switch it to the 4D sonogram so we can know for sure before I leave that doctors visit. Four week after that appointment I'll have my 28 week visit, and then I'll start going every 2 weeks I believe. I hear that is when the pregnancy really starts flying. I can't wait to meet this baby so I'm ready for turbo speed. We put the first coat of primer on the nursery wall. I tried to help as much as I could but the fumes were too much, and Adam's being awesome about it. We've decided to paint the room khaki instead of chocolate brown. We realized with brown walls & dark wood furniture our baby would be living in a bear cave. Maybe he'd sleep a lot then?! But we think with the khaki walls, plus the AWESOME tree decal [8 ft x 8 ft = the whole wall!] we found, the nursery is going to be the coolest. I painted the used side table we got from a friend the chocolate brown so it will go along with the "espresso" wood furniture. If we end up getting the bedding we picked out, we will stick with the green and yellow accents in the curtains, lamp shade, and glider cushion. All of it's so exciting!!! Whether this baby turns out to be a boy or girl, we feel so blessed.