36 weeks

Happy (late) 36 weeks to Vivien!

Sorry, kind of hard to see my belly shape/size with the black shirt on, oops!

Well, it was a MUCH better week, I am finally over that stupid sickness! Sometimes I forget to be grateful for my health until I'm sick. But like I said, it was a good and busy week!

We are finally down to weekly doctor appointments! Remember how I was supposed to get my group B strep test done this past Thursday? Well, we went in and they decided to just wait until next week to do it since I had been on an antibiotic so recently. So, this week will be the my first cervix check AND group B strep test, doing it all at once! I'm kind of nervous to get checked...Dr. England is awesome and I feel comfortable with him, but I still get really nervous to be looked at down yonder, it's just kind of embarrassing I think. But I know he does it every day and he doesn't even think twice about it, so I'll be fine. 

Vivien's heartbeat sounded good at 133 beats. My belly measured right on at 36 cm. And, surprisingly, my blood pressure was actually normal at 118/82! What?! It's a miracle haha! It's probably because I have been trying to take it a little easier. She has been a little wiggle worm as usual, mostly she just squirms but sometimes still kicks, it's because there isn't much room in there anymore.

This week, I started my sewing career, and I think I did a pretty dang good job for my first time around!

Here is the material we bought. 

My dad said, "Hey! Some of this material matches Vivien's name!" (kind of granny, I love the old school stuff, obviously!) So, I made 6 burp cloths (one of each material) and then 2 receiving blankets. 

 

 

My mom taught me how to do all of it, she is a great teacher! I had a fun time making all of these, I didn't realize how much time it takes to sew! They turned out reallll great though. Chris said, "Good job! I hope they aren't too cute for you to want to use!" 

Even (future) Grandpa Park wanted in on the sewing action (we had to fix his edge of the blanket but it's fine, it's the thought that counts haha!)

I think my Ma took this picture, I had no idea until I was looking through my phone.

We also finished Vivien's coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit. From the time we got married, we have wanted to bring all our babies home in a Yankee's outfit since that is how we met (click HERE to read our story). We looked online and unfortunately couldn't find anything that  we loved. So, we decided to make our own outfit to match my jacket.

 

It's an exact replica of my hoodie that led us to meet! 

Pretty precious! We can't wait to bring her home! 

I also had my 2nd shower! Shawna, Beth, and Court did it all and it was fabulous! They did SUCH a good job, there was delicious food and the decorations were so dang cute, it was just like a big ol' Pinterest party! I have such great friends that do so much for me, I can't thank them enough!

Here is the cute invite

(The blurry part is the address)

Here's the cute decorations and yummy food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made bows for Vivien

Opening gifts (ignore my puffiness...ugh haha)

 

Here is the group minus a few 

 

THANK YOU BETH, SHAWNA, AND COURT FOR THE WONDERFUL SHOWER. ALSO, THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING!

Here are a couple pics from the last shower, we didn't take very many pictures (which is fine, I don't love pics these days haha)

SUCH a cute invite huh? Matches Vivien's room perfectly!!

Diaper bear from my grandma

Sweet Chris helping set everything up

 

 

Ohh our spoiled girl!

THANK YOU MOM and everyone else who helped with the shower! Also, a big thanks to everyone who came and supported me and our sweet baby girl!

We are so lucky to know so many kind and loving people. I am so grateful that Vivien is coming into a world where she will be so loved by everyone!

Our friends Allyssa Zemke and Whitney McFarlane (who were both due on April 30th) both had their babies! Allyssa had an 8 lb baby boy, Finn last Saturday. Whitney had a 6 lb 11 oz baby girl, Hadley on Friday. We are so happy for them both, it makes us SO excited for Vivien. It's so fun to be at the same point of life as so many of our friends. Whitney's husband John called Chris last night to tell us about the birth experience, I love hearing birth stories and I got a little teary-eyed just hearing him tell about the day.

I'm getting a little bit nervous to deliver. I think I'm going to be an emotional wreck from the moment I start feeling contractions...not because of the pain, I think just the fact that I know we'll be parents so soon will really make me emotional. I can't wait to see her little face, I'm just so anxious about meeting her after all this time. 

It'll be nice to not be pregnant. Here are some things I really miss:

Sleeping on my back

Sleeping on my stomach

Sleeping

Being able to workout normally

Not feeling so huge

Fitting into normal clothes

Eating less carbs/being less hungry

My wedding ring

I have been blessed with a very easy pregnancy, so I have no room to complain about anything, it'll just be nice to get her here with us! I know I'll miss feeling her wiggle around in there. I have really enjoyed being pregnant!

WOW! This has been a long post, told ya we've been busy! On Friday, Chris will be finished with his finals and I will be full-term, after that day we'll be happy for her to come anytime! I'm sure it won't be until later in May but I'm so glad to know that we will have made it to the point where we will almost surely have a healthy, fully developed baby! We love you, Viv, just wait 5 more days and then come whenever you're ready!

35 weeks

Happy 35 weeks to baby Vivien! Oh my heck, we are getting so close and it is getting so real!

Chris bought this shirt for me for Easter, what a sweet boy!

On Saturday, I had my first baby shower. It was so nice, we have so many kind and supportive friends, family members, and neighbors, I can't thank everyone enough. My mom, of course, is the most amazing, she put the whole shower together and is just the greatest mom in the world, she does SO much for us. Anyway, the shower was great, Vivien got spoiled rotten. She probably has more clothes than she'll even be able to wear before she outgrows them! We basically have everything that we need with the exception of: a diaper bag, a nursing bra, night light, thermometer, baby meds, maybe a few more bottles (just in case), and possibly a few more wash rags and towels. Eek I'm so excited for our baby girl!
[I'll post shower pics soon]

So, remember last week how I had that ridiculous cough? Well, the good news: the cough and chest crap were basically gone by Monday, thanks to Dr. England's nurse insisting that I take some cough medicine and cough drops. The bad news: things got reallll bad in the upper respiratory area. My nose got super stuffy/runny (I always think that's such a weird combo), I just thought it was part of this stupid cold. Then I started waking up with really bad headaches and my ears clogged up. On Tuesday, I called my doctor, they advised to take Sudafed and see if that would clear things up. I woke up yesterday and things felt worse than ever, my head was pounding, my nose was leaking out of control (sorry TMI), my jaw felt super weird, and my face hurt to touch. So, once again, I called the doctor and they prescribed me an antibiotic for a sinus infection. Great time to experience my very first sinus infection huh!? So, I started the Zpack yesterday, it's a 5 day treatment, I'm REALLY hoping to feel better soon, because I feel so miserable. I don't remember the last time I felt this sick...probably when I was 16 with mono. 

It is so crappy because I have been so insistent throughout my whole pregnancy to NOT take any medicine...that completely went out the window this week. Everything I have taken has been approved directly from my doctor, so I really hope our sweet girl is okay in there. Chris is SO good to put up with me for the past 2 weeks, that's way too long to be sick. Occasionally I'll just have a little break down and cry, he knows exactly how to handle it, he knows me so well. I am so lucky to have such a good husband. He does the kindest things, like the other day at 2:30am I couldn't sleep because I was so stuffed up, he got up and sat in our steam room for a while with me. Other times he'll just snuggle with me for as long as I want. Oh how I love that Chris, I got so lucky. Our little Vivien is so lucky to have SUCH an amazing dad. 

Chris giving baby Viv a belly kiss :)

So, anyway, enough about the sickness. Vivien is such a kicker, all my iPhone apps say that this is the time when movement will decrease a bit because there is so little room in there...not for our baby, she is a moving specialist! Sometimes she kicks so hard nowadays that it hurts, it's okay though, I love feeling her, even if it's a roundhouse kick to the ribs. I love how she kicks when she hears Chris' voice, it's so precious. I love seeing my belly get pushed out by her little legs and arms. She moves pretty constantly, much more than she used to, which is a very comforting feeling. 

We go in for our next checkup on Thursday, I will do my group B strep test, then we'll be to the point of an every week checkup! I'm just 2 weeks away from being FULL TERM, then we are going to do everything we can to get this little girl to come! Chris' last law school final is on May 4th, which is the day I'm officially full term, so we are fine with her coming any time after that! Well that's about it for this week. I really hope these antibiotics will kick this sickness, I still have some things I need to get done before she comes, so lets hope for the best! We love our Vivien and can't wait to meet her!

34 weeks

Happy 34 weeks to our sweetest Vivien!

 There's our big baby!

This week has been alright. I have had a KILLER cough. Once I start coughing, I seriously can't stop until my lungs are on the table in front of me. Ugh! Then, I have been having THEE hardest time sleeping. I wake up about once every 2 hours to use the bathroom or cough, then it takes me 30 mins + to fall back to sleep. I usually get up when Chris leaves (around 5am), then I try to sneak in a nap whenever I can. So, that's why this week hasn't been my favorite. 

BUT, enough negative talk, this week really hasn't been all bad, I really have been enjoying being pregnant, sometimes it's just nice to vent haha. We went to the doctor yesterday. We had lots of questions:

Q: Vivien gets the hiccups ALL the time, is this normal?

A: Yes, all movement from your baby is good! Nothing to worry about.

Q: What should I bring for my hospital stay?

A: You don't need too much, mostly just an overnight bag: makeup, toothbrush, shampoo, and sweats.

Q: How far past my due date will you let me go?

A: First time moms are more likely to go past their due dates, but I won't let you go past 41 weeks. 

Q: Sometimes I get pain under my belly, is this normal?

A: Yes, she is getting so big, which will add more and more aches and pains. 

SO, it seems like everything is going well! I only gained 1 pound over the past 3 weeks (they say that you should be gaining a pound each week at this point, but Dr. England wasn't worried.  I measured right on at 34 cm which is perfect for 34 weeks! Like I have said before, I have been having pretty high blood pressure. When we got there, it was 138/90, Dr. England was a little concerned, so he had me lay down and tested it again, it dropped a TON, down to 110/68 (or something like that), so Dr. E's nurse advised that I need to take it easy for now on (no bed-rest or anything), I just can't be up and about all day, I need to lay down often and not shop all day. Next visit (in 2 weeks) I will have my strep-B test, not too excited to have to have to start the no-pants-checks, I have always had girl doctors, but our doctor is very experienced and Chris will be with me, it'll be fine. After that appointment, we will start going in for WEEKLY check ups, WOW the time flies!

My hands are pretty dang swollen, I feel like my fingers look like hot dogs...lovely. My wedding ring doesn't fit anymore :( so I had to go spend $3,000 on a new wedding ring....KIDDING, I spent $7.50 at Claires for a looovely cheap ring haha! I just hate being out and about without a ring. Surprisingly, my feet haven't really swelled at all, just my hands. My feet have been hurting though, I pretty much just have to wear shoes with good arch support (I only have 1 pair of [ugly] shoes that fall in that category though, oh well.)

We have our first baby shower tomorrow! I'm really excited! Then, I'll have another in 2 weeks, then I'll basically be "FULL TERM!" I can't believe we are already this far, I sure hope we are ready! Ready or not, here she comes! We can't wait to be parents, we always talk about what kinds of things we'll do. There is one thing that we are very adamant about...no TV for Vivien until she is 2-years. Everyone has their own opinions on these types of things, but I did a big report about TV and babies back at UVU, and ever since then it's something that I feel strongly about. I don't judge people for putting their kids in front of the TV, it's just not for me :)

That's about it for this week. I hope I can start feeling better and have a more enjoyable week (trying to stay positive through the uncomfortable-ness!) I love being pregnant, I love feeling our little girl squirm around constantly. She is so cute, when Chris gets home from school, Vivien will hear his voice and start kicking like crazy, SO PRECIOUS! We can't wait to see her. I'm kind of nervous to be a mom, there is so much that I don't know, we'll just have to learn as we go. I can't wait for the adventure, we love her so much!

33 weeks!

WHOA VIV!

Everyday I get surprised how big this belly is!

Happy 33 weeks to Vivien! We can not believe how close we are to getting to meet our sweet little girl! 37 weeks is considered "full term" and that's in 4 weeks! OH MY GOSH! I hope she comes before 40 weeks but not a day sooner than 37 weeks, but of course, she will come when she is ready!

This week was good! I've been feeling pretty great except for my feet are starting to really feel the extra weight on them. Mostly I just have to wear running shoes (which has always been a big fashion no-no for me, but whatever!) 

This week, Chris and I went and had our last getaway before Vivien comes! We stayed at a cute little bed-and-breakfast, went to City Creek, bought some prego dresses for my big old belly, and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Then the next day, we went to lunch and saw The Hunger Games again, it was so nice to have so much time alone with Chris before our little one comes and takes all of our time (which we stoked for, of course!)

Chris also got me a 90-minute prenatal massage, I went on Wednesday after (my last day of) work! It was nice to get another massage! Viv loves it and was kicking the whole time, probably just because I was laying down though, when I lay down is when she decides to wake up! The massage was just at this little family owned business in Riverton, it was a nice massage but the atmosphere was kind of ghetto haha! Definitely a step down from Massage Envy, but who cares, it was a nice relaxing massage!

Our doctor took a little "Spring Break" this week, so we didn't go in for an appointment. We go again on Thursday, then I think it will be every other week and then to every single week shortly after that! I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by. I think back to the beginning and I do feel like it was forever ago, but I have really loved every minute of being pregnant. I love that my body just KNOWS how to make a baby, how CRAZY is that?!

Like I said earlier, Wednesday was my last day of work! It was a bitter sweet day, I'll miss everyone but it's nice to be finished, it was killing my back and I was just getting so unbelievably uncomfortable! A few of my work friends bought us baby gifts, which was SO dang nice, I really know some kind and thoughtful people. My mom is doing a shower for me in 1 week from today, the invites are SO dang cute, they match Vivien's room, I'll have to get a picture! Then, Shawna, Beth, and Court are doing a friend shower at the end of the month, those invites are super cute too, once again, I'll put on a picture asap!

I have been reading a lot of newborn baby books, it's getting me really excited and also kind of nervous! Mostly I'm nervous for the "after the birth" things that my body will have to go through. I guess it's pretty painful for a few days/weeks following the birth, and also kind of gross. Why did nobody warn me about these things before now!?! Haha!

Well, that's about it for this week. We sure love our baby Vivien, we can't WAIT to meet her and see her perfection!