34 Weeks

How Far Along: 34 weeks!

Size of Baby: Tristan is almost 18 inches long and weighs about 4-3/4 pounds. Wow, he's growing like a weed in there!

Picture of Baby:  None. My next ultrasound is in a week, though.

34 Weeks: Tristan's fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. That news makes this Mama very happy! (Information taken from BabyCenter's website).

Weight Gain: I'm gaining alright.

Belly Pic: I'll post a pic later.

Sleep: Eh. So-so. My lower back is starting to hurt now. I always wake up in the same position and I think that's tweaking up my back even more.

Best Moment of the Week: Hmmm...lots of good moments. Ella loving on Tristan. Aaron talking "whale" to him (picture Dory from "Finding Nemo"). Feeling him roll. Feeling him respond to my pokes and pushes. Feeling him predictably move around when I'm reading to Ella, after I eat anything sweet and when I'm listening to the radio loud in the car. I love how I know him so well already, without even seeing him. I told Aaron I can tell when he's about to move. It's like a feeling I have. Like an instinct. And then, whatdoyaknow...he moves!

Movement: His movement is bigger now. Not so much kicking as there are rolls and stretches. I feel him everywhere. He's one big boy. :)

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions and tightness! Oh, Lordy. I feel like I could go into labor at any moment, especially in the evenings and at night.

Food Cravings: Not craving anything. So weird! With Ella, I remember very distinct cravings, like waffles, macaroni & cheese and cake. With Tristan, nothing really.

What I Miss: Good, solid comfortable sleep.

What I'm Looking Forward to: My ultrasound next week and meeting this little man!

Weekly Wisdom: Hormones are CRAZY during pregnancy, so it's okay to cry and laugh at the same time. And no, not the I'm-crying-because-I'm-laughing-so-hard cry. The sad cry combined with the happy laugh. Craziness, I know.

Milestones: I'm 34 weeks, baby! Writing these weekly updates makes me realize just how fast a week goes by. I feel like I just wrote my 33-week update.

The Only Thing Missing is the Baby

Tristan's nursery is as "boy" as it can get, filled with green and blue. Oh, and frogs!

I posted some pictures awhile ago of how the nursery was coming along, at which time you were exposed to our guacamole green walls.

We painted what was once our office this color, well, because we liked it. When we painted it, we hadn't really put much thought into it being a future nursery (as Ella was only 6 or 7 months old at the time), but now I'm glad we went with this very bold, very rich guacamole green color. :)

So, we worked with what we had. Green.

And, I'm very happy with the way Tristan's room turned out.

Drum roll please! Here are the pics...

The changing table, filled with diapers, books, toys and other essentials (like Desitin and gas drops!).

We got this changing table for a steal of a deal on Craigslist. Good ol' Craigslist!

Ella painted this for her baby brother. I gave her dark blue, light blue, and green paint and told her to cover all the white. I think she did a wonderful job. She says it's the earth. Then, Mommy had to go and break the glass! Oh well, it still looks good even in a glass-less frame. :)

This little frog is awesome! It lights up in blue...

...or red...

...or green stars. The stars then transfer onto the surrounding walls and ceilings. I'll take a picture when the room is dark. It looks pretty darn cool, and Ella has, in fact, stolen this frog for her room more than a few nights. :)

View of changing table from doorway.

Gotta have the diaper pail.

This picture of Tristan's dresser (also known as Aaron's childhood dresser) came out too dark. Sorry.

Gotta have the Scentsy because, if I remember correctly (and I know I do!), nurseries sometimes get a little stinky. :)

I can't wait to fill this frame with Ella and Tristan's first picture together. You can bet money that this Mommy will have tears rolling down her cheeks when they first meet. :)

Where I will be sitting many long hours feeding Tristan, loving Tristan, cuddling Tristan. Oh, I long for those moments!

And, of course, I gotta have the infamous spelling out of the baby's name! And, to add some "spice" to the corner, I brought in a plant. Aaron loves plants and he manages to keep all our house plants alive and flourishing. I feel like they add a sense of warmth and friendliness to a room.

To go along with the frog theme, we purchased this frog humidifier. It's so cute. (I put this shelf in the corner because it's heart-shaped and we simply can't have hearts in a boy's room. Haha!).

View of the crib from the doorway.

I still have to find something to hang on this wall.

Hamper. :)

View of the nursery from the doorway. Simple, almost rustic look. Definitely a warm and happy room.

Another view.

And, another view.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the nursery! Now all the room needs is Tristan!

40 Days and 40 Nights

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights as God flooded the earth.

Jesus fasted and was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness.

I am beginning the final 40 days of my miracle pregnancy.

40 is an important number in the Bible, and today, it serves to be an important number for me, too!

My little guy will be here in 40 days!

At the end of the 40 days and nights of flooding, God displayed a rainbow, symbolizing his promise. His promise to never flood the world again.

At the end of Jesus' 40-day fast, God proved his faithfulness. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, God will not allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist. Or, in other words, God will not give us more than we can handle.

And, at the end of the following 40 days, on December 3rd, my son will be wrapped in my arms. My son will be living proof that with prayer, patience and perseverance, God shows himself to be faithful.

Having gone through 2-1/2 years of secondary infertility and feeling the complete hopelessness and despair that went along with it, I can now see that God truly did not give me more than I can handle. I survived, didn't I? And, God knew I'd be better for it! He knew what He was doing with my life.

With each passing month of not getting pregnant, I didn't think I could find the hope to continue trying...but I did.

I didn't think I could bounce back from our failed IVF cycle last December...but I did.

God does not break His promises. Just as he has not flooded this world again, so too has He kept His promise to never forsake us. Our own personal goals or distractions get in the way of His grand plan for each of our lives. But, if we allow for Him to take hold of the reigns and if we stop focusing on what is "wrong" in our lives, we may catch a glimpse of the beautiful truth that we serve a faithful God.

God has proved his faithfulness in my life time and time again.

And, in 40 days, I will once again see how faithful He truly is.

Crossing Things Off the Pre-Tristan To Do List

I love making lists.

I love crossing things off lists.

I love visually seeing that a task has been completed, however small or big it may have been.

So, naturally, I made a list of things to get done before Tristan gets here.

And, also naturally, because of my pregnant disposition, a lot of these tasks have been given to Aaron by default.

Poor guy, he's putting up with a lot of "Honey, can you [fill in the blank]?" requests. He's been as patient as he can be with me, and I know (or at least I hope I know) when to back off.

But, hey, we're on a deadline here, and it would be so amazing to have everything crossed off the list before Tristan gets here because God knows it'll be much harder to get anything done once he's finally here.

In all honesty, this list should be called "Bobbi's List of Nesting Needs" or the infamous "Honey Do List." :)

There are loads and loads of fun on this list, right? Deep clean fridge? I mean, come on! There's a party right there!

And, notice Aaron's not-so-discreet addition at the bottom of the list? That's pretty much his only desired task at hand before Tristan gets here. Sleep, sleep and more sleep.

As you can see, we've got a few things done so far. And by "we," I mean "Aaron with Bobbi's very minor, almost unnoticeable, assistance." :)

This toilet paper holder was loosey goosey on our wall, and one day, after Ella decided to lean on it, it came crumbling to the ground. So, for months, we kept the toilet paper roll on our window sill and stared at a gaping hole in our wall. Aaron took it upon himself to remount it to the wall, which also included installing framing. He then had to repaint the entire bathroom because just repainting that one spot left a noticeably un-matching spot.

"We" also fixed the electric outlet in our bedroom. For years (literally since we moved in) this outlet never worked. We never took the time to see what was going on because we had many other outlets in our room that served their purpose. But, because crazy, nesting pregnant lady demands all loose ends to be completed, Aaron conquered this job as well. And, it ended up being a quick and easy fix. To think we could've had this outlet working for the past four years. Go figure!

And, lastly, "we" tackled our laundry room cabinets. We installed these doors some time ago, but they never fully closed all the way. They had little cracks. The hinges were old and didn't really allow for the doors to close all the way. So, we bought new hinges, re-mounted the doors and installed magnets to keep those suckers closed all the way, and bam! Perfection!

We also installed doorknobs, which we didn't have before. The doors are much easier to open now.

So nice!

And, while the doors were off, we took advantage of cleaning the cupboards and organizing all our cleaning products and whatever other goods we have stored in there. So neat and tidy! Makes me so happy! :)

With only a few more weekends left before Tristan's big day, I really hope I'll be able to cross more off that list of fun! I'm not going to push it, though, because Tristan is clearly telling me that he needs me to relax and let him grow right now. After all, he's gaining weight the fastest yet now, and he needs a calm, friendly, relaxed environment to do that in. :)

New Layout...Again!

And yes, I have a new blog look again.

I'm a difficult person to please, for the simple fact that I'm cursed (or blessed, depending on how you see it!) with the 3 P's.

I'm picky.

I'm particular.

And, I'm a perfectionist.

(Aaron will fully vouch to that effect).

The last blog template (the one I had up for about a week) didn't fit those needs. It made my blog simple, which is what I wanted, and originally I loved it, but the more I looked at it, the more I wasn't too happy with it.

But, now I have this lovely blog template, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it in a very big way. I hope you all do, too!

No more changes.

I promise. :)

33 Weeks

How Far Along: 33 weeks!

Size of Baby: Tristan has passed the 17-inch mark and weighs a a little over 4 pounds.

Picture of Baby:  None. My next ultrasound is two weeks from today, though.

3e Weeks: Tristan is rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (Information taken from BabyCenter's website).

Weight Gain: Like I've said before, I don't weight myself at home. Last week I was up 17 pounds, though.

Belly Pic: I'll post a pic later.

Sleep: Good, bad and in-between. Tristan is just moving around so much that he wakes me up and even wakes Aaron up! Overall, though, my sleep has been good this pregnancy, so I'm very happy about that.

Best Moment of the Week: Being pregnant!

Movement: All the time, but especially in the afternoon and night. I wonder if this means he'll sleep in for me in the mornings? :)

Symptoms: Heartburn (but not nearly as bad as it was) and Braxton Hicks contractions. I think my ankles are pretty swollen and my wedding ring is getting tighter, but overall, I feel great!

Food Cravings: I don't crave healthy food, I'll tell you that. I force myself to eat my fruits and veggies. No absolutely-gotta-have cravings, though.

What I Miss: Bending down easily and comfortably. Getting in and out of Aaron's car, which is low to the ground, easily.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Finishing Tristan's nursery (hopefully this weekend) and completing all my little projects (with Aaron's help...love you, honey!).

Weekly Wisdom: Do what you know is best for you and your baby. Follow your doctor's advice. Relax as much as possible.

Milestones: Only 42 more days left! Holy cow!