Christmas

Christmas this year was a bit bitter sweet. I had a great time opening presents in the morning with Pete and Danny, watching Elf, then heading out to our friends Bill and Becky's for dinner, but I so missed spending it with mine and Pete's family. This time of year is really hard to be away, and I think being pregnant makes it worse.

We did a small Christmas again this year, and we got some pretty great gifts. Mom got us a Flip Video, which is going to be so great to keep everyone updated on Baby Heikes. Momma Heikes painted us a beautiful Tuscan themed picture, which I love, and Pete got me Mario and Sonic Winter Olympics for the Wii. I love that game. We also got some great gift certificates and of course, the gift that everyone loves, cash! Baby Heikes got some cute outfits and bath stuff as well as a sheep skin from my Aunt Sally! I am so excited about it. It is going to be so great, especially for taking pictures on.

Pete's birthday was today and before we went to dinner I asked Danny to take our picture because besides the one with ugly Christmas sweaters, we don't really have any.

Aren't we just cute? Danny and Pete were messing around so we have those giant laugh smiles going on. Only a little while longer and that belly will no longer be that huge! There are definitely things I will miss about being pregnant, but I am so excited to see our baby girl!

36 Weeks

About a month to go and I can't even believe it. I had my doctor's appointment on Tuesday and everything is great. Baby is head down, which is so good to hear and my cervix is starting to soften. Baby is still really active, she even kicked Dr. Murphy while he was measuring my belly. He said her heartbeat is really strong and fast because she is so active.

My belly continues to grow and it is rather hard most of the time. I find that when I have been sitting for a while when I get up I walk kind of funny for a few steps until my belly stretches out. I have moments of uncomfortable these days either from eating too much and feeling too full, which happens quickly since my stomach doesn't have much room anymore, or my round ligament pain, or from just not being able to get comfortable if I'm sitting or laying. Pete and I were worried that I would have a lot of back pain because of my scholiosis, but I have been pretty lucky on that one. I only get back pain every once in a while, at least at this point. Overall, my baby girl has been really good to me, and I hope that continues through labor and delivery, and of course, beyond.

I went to Babies R Us yesterday and picked up a couple sleep sacks for her. Everyone says those are so great for babies during the winter months and I don't have very many. They were having a 50% off Carter's sleepwear sale, so I got a great deal. Unfortunately they don't have very many so I was limited.

Recently I decided I should attempt to put the carseat in my car now so I can make sure it is ready to go should we need it early. I decided to put it in the center, but I have a feeling I am going to want to have it on the side, cause it is kind of a pain to climb in and pull the seat up and out when it is empty, so I can only imagine when there is a baby in it. We will see I suppose. Everything fits; the front seats can't go back all the way, but there is still a decent amount of room. Eventually we will be getting me a new car anyway, but mine will work great for now.

35 Weeks

35 weeks along now and I can't believe how close it is getting. I'm starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable more often these days, especially if I get that awful ligament pain that lasts forever. But overall I'm still doing quite well. Pete and I went to our friends Ugly Christmas Sweater Party over the weekend, which was such a good time, as always. Baby got a lot of love from everyone.

My sweater was perfect because baby made the tree look somewhat three dimensional. I swear I can actually watch my belly getting bigger now. Just when you think it can't possibly get any larger you wake up, and it has.

She has been a little easier on my ribs these days, which is so nice, and she gets the hiccups all the time, which is so cute. I wish I knew how she was situated inside there so I knew what it was that was moving around. I think my doctor said at my last visit that she was head down, but I don't know if that means she will stay that way or if she is still moving all over.

My friend, Stacy took some pictures of my belly up in Santa Barbara over the weekend in the gorgeous weather we were having. I think she got some really cute ones so I will be posting those up as soon as they are ready. I can't wait! Thanks so so much Stacy!

34 Weeks

I have hit the 34 week mark and with it has come some pain in the form of round ligaments. Now let me tell you, these pains suck! I literally thought I had appendicitis because the pain was pretty intense and it was so concentrated on my lower right side. Fortunately, no appendicitis just painful round ligaments. Apparently this is the number one complaint of pregnant women, so I am not alone. It hurt for 12 hours straight last night, so between that and my worry that I was going to have to go the emergency room I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Now if the pain hadn't been concentrated on my right lower abdomen, I probably wouldn't have worried much, but since it was and I take after my father, who is quite the worrier, it freaked me out. Fortunately today was my usual checkup and Dr. Murphy put me at ease. He is so great.

Other than that everything is going quite well. I got Baby a Christmas present. A baby swing! It is too cute and I hope she will like it. I got a smokin' deal on it on cyber Monday on Amazon. Regular $160, I got it for $89 shipped and no tax either! Woohoo! How I do love Amazon.

I've got the house all decorated for the holidays now, which I love. There is something about the glow from the little white lights on a tree that is so cozy. The tree was quite difficult to decorate as it is so full, but I definitely got the important ones up. And Pete got the outside lights up too, which I love cause the half of our street that we live on doesn't really do lights, so I like that we break the mold and are the only happy house!

I'm excited because this weekend my friend Stacy is taking some belly shots of me! I wanted to make sure I got some before it was too late, so I will be posting some in the next week or two. Hopefully they will turn out cute.

33 Weeks

I hit 33 weeks, and according to the books, the baby is close to 17 inches long and almost 4 pounds now. So within the next seven weeks she will grow a few more inches and almost double in weight. Supposedly she is going to move less and less because she is running out of room, but I haven't noticed that yet. I feel like she is moving more, maybe it is because I notice her up under my ribs now. I have to tell you I would be okay with less moving if it meant that she would leave my rib cage alone. That is the most uncomfortable thing.

I had a prenatal massage on Monday, thanks to Shawnee, Nikki, Judy and Stan, and it was awesome. So relaxing, and I feel like since you have to lay on your side you get a bonus back rub because she rubbed my back when I was lying on both sides. The lady was quite informative and thorough. She seemed to know a lot about prenatal massages and what not to do. Wish I could have one of those every week!

Everything else seems to be going well. I am eating just fine now, probably too fine, with all the yummy pumpkin pie, chocolate, and holiday yumminess. My only issue now, besides the rib kicking, is that this weather is so freaking dry and so I keep getting nose bleeds. My doctor says that they are quite common for pregnant women, so that is a relief, but my nose is so dry that it burns sometimes. I need to get a humidifier, but the last one I had would soak the windows and sheets by the morning. I don't need all that, so I have no idea what to get.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for, mainly for the little blessing growing inside my belly. Pete and I did a quiet Thanksgiving this year with just the two of us. I am okay with cooking that meal for two cause that means more leftovers!!! I did miss my family though.

I am extremely traditional when it comes to my Thanksgiving dinner. We had the turkey, of course, which I do a yummy brine for and it comes out so amazing every year! Then we had the mashed potatoes, stuffing, with Stove Top, of course, cause frankly I have never had a home made stuffing that I like as well or at all really. Green bean casserole, a must, then some rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, and of course, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. My favorite. I forgot to heat up the corn this year, which seems to be the case every year that I forget something, but it will definitely be utilized in the leftovers when I make what I like to call slop. I am sure you can all guess what that entails. Since it was just Pete and I, we kept it pretty simple. It was so delicious.

It is nice that even with a big ol' belly you can still fit into an apron! And believe me, I needed it, it is amazing how many more food bits are attracted to a stomach that is sticking right out there.

For Pete's second helping he decided to make himself the ultimate pileup. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a crescent roll. One delicious sandwich. He was very proud of his creation.

And of course, we didn't forget about Audrey. She got her own bowl of Thanksgiving dinner. She was a good girl and stayed out of the kitchen while we ate, and she waited patiently as we loaded her bowl up with yummy goodness. She came back to lick the bowl three times after she finished it so I think she liked it.

32 Weeks

I had my doctors appointment and everything looks and sounds perfect! That is always good news. I love to hear that little heartbeat. She is getting the hiccups all the time now, mostly in the middle of the night. Doctor says that is a good thing. It is pretty cute, which is weird cause my hiccups annoy the crap out of me. Belly is, of course, getting bigger and bigger. I am trying to be diligent and lube it up with my belly potion at least once a day now. I know it probably won't prevent stretch marks, but it makes my skin feel better.

She is a little stinker these days because she likes to get up under my ribs on my right side. It is a very strange feeling and one that I am not all that happy about. It is like a tickle (the annoying kind) and a jab at the same time, and it isn't always instant, sometimes she just chills there for a while. I try to push her down, but it doesn't always work. I've noticed that overall she seems to prefer my right side, which makes for it getting sore a lot. Doctor says that is common because she is pushing on my floating ribs. Not so pleasant. I'm constantly stretching my torso to the left to take the pressure off. I'm sure it is only going to get worse as she gets bigger.

The nursery is coming together a little more all the time. Once I get some more done on the walls I will post some pictures. I've been doing the laundry for everything baby lately, which is the only kind of laundry I enjoy at this point. I am sure once she is born that feeling will fade fast. I got the stroller and the carseat out and washed the covers for them so they are all ready to go. In the process Jack found yet another spot to occupy.

Pete will take him on walks through the house when he gets in there. I don't think he likes that part too much, though. He is more about lying in the stationary areas of the house, but it is quite funny to watch. I think he much prefers using one of my body pillows instead. It looks way more comfortable to me anyway.