Meet my baby! part 1

Sorry facebook friends, I don't have any new pictures to add up here since I pretty much post all of them to fb (except for the ones with boob in them which I won't be posting on the internet at all lol).

Jillian is 7 days old already! But obviously this story starts about a week ago (:

Let us go back to last Monday at 40w2d!

Keith and I went to my appointment with the doctor to do the ultrasound on Jill. She was looking good and her fluid was great all except behind her butt (which the dr didn't seem concerned over). He did another cervical check and stripped my membranes and said I was 1 cm and 50% effaced.. so almost no change since the previous week. He recommended having a gel applied on my cervix that afternoon and then again the next day in case we had to induce (inductions are more likely to fail or end in emergency c/s if the cervix isn't "favorable"). We headed to the hospital where they did another NST and then applied the gel. I had to sit there for an hour on the contraction and hb monitors to make sure Jill reacted well to the gel. We headed home, and, about 2 hours later, contractions started. They started at about 5-7min apart and lasted a minute. They slowly got to about 5min apart and lasted a minute. I was so excited! That went on until about 2 am when I finally fell asleep. I woke up to the contractions only coming about every 7min and not constantly. I was pretty bummed after thinking that the gel pushed me into labor (the nurse said it is pretty uncommon for that to happen with first time moms). I tried to stay positive and tell myself that at least the contractions probably helped my cervix progress.

So we went in at 11am the next morning for round 2 of this gel. When I was checked, I had only dilated to 1.5cm and was only 70% effaced.. I wanted to cry lol. The nurse told me that contractions after the gel were normal. I wish someone had told me the day before!! I wouldn't have gotten so excited and now I was dreading this round bc I knew I'd have another night of dealing with the annoying contractions (they were probably only a 4 on a scale of 10). After they placed the gel, the contractions picked up immediately this time (I was still having intermittent ones all morning). They were a bit more painful than the day before, but I didn't bother timing them bc I knew they weren't the real deal. About 4 hours later, I took a unisom and took a nap on the couch at about 3. At 7, I started being woken up by every contraction, but I didn't think much of it so I didn't start timing them or anything. I was just annoyed that I still had them (the nurse said they should only last 3-4 hours and it had been 7). I still laid there and kept falling in and out of sleep. At about 7:30, I felt this weird movement and heard (or at least thought I heard) a popping noise. Jill had never moved that fast so I thought maybe my water broke. I didn't get up and just waited to see if I started getting wet and nothing. Finally, I decided to head upstairs and as I was walking up stairs, I soaked my underwear. I ran to the toilet and it kept coming (not gushing, but probably a steady flow for a little bit). I wiped and noticed it was an orangey pink color and I was fairly certain it wasn't urine bc it didn't smell at all. I sat there for a while until I was convinced it wasn't me wetting my pants bc it kept coming (although not terribly heavy).

That's when the contractions started to hurt pretty badly. I would say they started to be about a 6. I called down to Keith and he was so excited that this was it. I knew even if the contractions didn't continue because they weren't "real" then I'd only have a certain amount of time before I'd have to deliver due to the risk of infections. I called the on-call number and the OB told me I could come in, but I didn't have to right away. I could labor at home for a while. I decided to get showered. Keith was timing my contractions when I was in the shower and they were every 3-4min and 1-1min15sec long. They started being pretty bad and I couldn't talk through them. I still wanted to wait and try to labor some more at home so I put a bunch of towels on the bed and labored on all fours while I sent Keith to DD to get a sandwich since I hadn't eaten since lunch time. Every time I had a contraction, I had to talk myself through it. They were probably a 7 to an 8 and they were hard to manage. I scarfed down my sandwich in between contractions and I decided I wanted to go to the hospital. I was scared bc I thought I was getting the urge to push through some of them (really it feels like you need to poop).

The ride to the hospital and walk through emergency to l&d was absolutely terrible. I really don't know how I did it. The contractions were very very painful and I had to moan and almost yell through them. They got me in a room and I got into the hospital gown by 11pm. At this point, I had decided on the epidural. I assumed that I'd go into the hospital and they tell me I was dilated to about a 4 and I knew I couldn't do this well into the next day. They checked me and I was actually a 6. I was almost to transition (7-10cm) and I was scared shitless bc I'd heard transition is the absolute hardest part and my pain was already at an 8 or 9. They got me checked in and started the IV fluids bc you need them to get the epi to keep your blood pressure stabilized. The nurse checked me before the anesthesiologist got in and I was an 8 already. She assured me that I could get the epi up until I was a 9 and that once I was in transition, the epi wouldn't stall my labor. I really wanted to avoid pitocin if possible. I was too scared that pit contractions would be too hard on Jillian. So far, she was doing great through the labor as far as her HR was.

The anesthesiologist came in and it took him three tries to place the epi. He kept getting blood vessels. The hardest part was staying completely still during contractions that were coming every 3 minutes or so. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I'd have some sort of relief if I stayed still and the nurse was freaking amazing and super supportive. After the epi was placed, I was a different person lol. I was smiling and laughing. I had absolutely no pain at first. The doctor came in because I told the nurse I had the urge to push when I was having contractions during the epi. My contractions almost stopped and the doctor was waiting around for what seemed forever to check me during a contraction. When I finally had another, I was a 10 and ready to push. I am not sure what time I started pushing, but Jillian arrived at 1:23am after me getting to the hospital at a 6 at 10:30. I progressed extremely fast. My contractions were spaced about 4-5min apart so I didn't push too frequently which was nice. I got to feel her head when she crowned and have immediate skin to skin.

Jillian Rose was born 03-13-13 at 1:23am weighing 7lb8oz and 19in long. She had a little trouble clearing her lungs and they had to suction them, but she didn't need to be taken from the room or anything. I wasn't able to breastfeed in recovery because of this, but it has been going great since.

This is getting very long and baby girl wants the boob so I think I will talk about our hospital stay in a part 2 of this post!

40w1d

I guess technically I am 40w1d. It is 12:24am as I start this post lol. I am not surprised to be here I guess. Surprisingly, I am not totally over being pregnant. Yes, I definitely want to meet my little girl like last month, but I don't feel 40 weeks pregnant. I guess I just expected to be a lot bigger and a lot more uncomfortable. I am still having plenty of pain and it brings me to tears sometimes when I try to get out of bed. I am also short of breath and get tired pretty quickly, but it is all manageable for the most part. I obviously have never been this pregnant before, but I always imagined it way worse and thought I'd be gigantically huge and puffy.

I am having no early labor signs that I can tell. Before my first cervical check (at 38w6d), I was thinking every little twinge and cramp meant I was dilating and/or thinning out. I was "just starting to thin" and closed with a high cervix so I know I was just over analyzing everything. This past week, I have felt pretty normal. I have been having a few BHs here or there, but I still hadnt really progressed at my appt at 39w6d. The midwife had a really hard time reaching my cervix (but she could feel baby's head) and said I was about a 1 (I honestly got the feeling she was trying not to let me get discouraged). She didn't mention how effaced my cervix was. I go back Monday afternoon (40w2d) to have an ultrasound where they will check on Jillian and make sure she's healthy and has enough fluid and all of that good stuff. The midwife mentioned applying some gels to the cervix to help ripen it. I don't have much faith in that bc I read up on it and it sounds a lot like what I've been doing with Evening Primrose Oil that has obviously had no affect on my cervix.

My lovely Crammy keeps saying she thinks Jillian will be here on a Thursday and when Keith told me his grandma's birthday is this coming Thursday, I got a weird feeling that maybe that's our special day (Jill's middle name is after his grandma). Idk if it is a true "funny feeling" or "intuition" but I can't get it out of my head now. It might be just bc I think it'd be sweet though. I guess we will see come Thursday!

I am curious to see what all is discussed and suggested at my appt Monday. My midwife didn't say anything specific, but her overall attitude after my cervical check made me feel kind of defeated. I know you "hear" of these women being closed one day and then delivering within days of that, but I honestly don't know anyone where that was the case. She was just so negative even though I know she was likely just trying to prepare me for the possibility of an induction. I am trying to just let the thoughts get out of my head and be positive and hopeful that Jill will decide she finally wants to join the fun on the outside within the next few days without being straight up evicted. I would rather either schedule a c section or have a vaginal delivery. I am scared that an induction (especially with my cervix not being "favorable") will lead to a long and hard labor and an emergency section. I'd feel like that would be way more traumatic than just going into it knowing I will have surgery. I am hoping I will know more on Monday about what my doctor recommends as far as waiting out an induction. I am honesty terrified of cervidil and pitocin and I am hoping I can avoid those drugs at all costs. I guess that's why I am so set on not having the epidural. I am not trying to be the martyr and I certainly hate pain, but I don't want the epi to stall my labor so I need pit and that stresses out Jill so I need an emergency c section.

Anyways, I need to try and sleep. I will add the little survey thing and all that when I get to my laptop possibly tomorrow.

Enjoy this bump comparison of 10, 20, 30, and 40 weeks. I will likely play around with more of my bump pics, but I made this one quickly on my phone :P

39w3d

I have been SO lazy about updating my blog. If anyone cares, I'm sorry :P We are just trucking along. I have had maybe 3 contractions over the past week lol. I was closed, my cervix was hard to reach, and I was "just beginning to thin" at my appt last Friday despite all of the EPO I have been consuming since 36w.

Keith is home so we're just [not so] patiently waiting for Jill's arrival over the next few weeks. He's on leave and I am absolutely loving it! I've been missing him like crazy and it's awesome to have him home all day with me. We have been walking as much as possible and have plans to continue to get out and walk as much as we can until baby Jill decides she's ready to come.

I have another appt Friday and we will do the first NST. My doctor uses my LMP so they consider me 40w tomorrow so I think I will have several appts next week including a biophysical ultrasound. From what I understand, they will be doing a semi-in-depth u/s to check out position, fluid, practice breathing, the placenta, cord, etc and they score her out of 8 (8 being the best) to make sure she's okay and safe on the inside. Obviously, if anything looked to be going south then we'd discuss induction, but hopefully she's happy and healthy and comes on her own. I'm not wanting to induce at all. I just anticipate it being harder and longer labor.

I'm kind of calm about labor and delivery. I've been pretty scared for the past few weeks/months and now I'm just kind of ready (at least as ready as I can be). I don't think there's anything else I can do to prepare mentally bc I've never been through it before. I've kind of given up mental control I guess lol.

I am beyond excited about moving soon! We have started looking at some places online and I'm so ready to get out of this sea of red in this apartment lol! We bought a new couch yesterday and I can't wait for it to be delivered tomorrow! I have been pinteresting some different ideas for decor for our living room. I hope it all turns out!

How far along? 39w3d
Total weight gain/loss? I'm too lazy to go look. I think I'm in the upper 140s or 150ish
Stretch marks? Covered in them :P
Sleep? I don't have bad insomnia right now, but I still have super broken sleep bc my hips and crotch hurt and I pee a million times. I will take whatever I can get lol
Best moment last week? Keith is home!!!
Movement? Still have my little alien in there moving up a storm
Food cravings? My cravings have pretty much stopped the past few weeks
Belly button in/out? I doubt it'll pop. It is pretty much flat and I doubt it'll change much in the next few days/weeks
Braxton Hicks/contractions? I've had a few BHs/contractions, but nothing consistent
What I miss: Having my body to myself
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my sweet girl!
Milestones: my last milestone is her birth.. That is crazy!

38w4d

39w1d

 

DIY: Small Wetbags

This is an easy peasy craft, and, with coupons, is SUPER cheap compared to buying small wetbags for your diaper bag. You can use them for soiled diapers or clothes. You can even take them to the beach/pool and throw the wet bathing suit in it so you don't get your diaper bag wet (and it is a ton cuter than using grocery bags!). In total, I spent $20 for the material to make three wetbags and I bought myself a new rotary cutter (I already had thread so I didn't need to purchase that, but you can use any color bc no thread shows on the finished product anyways). The wetbags I was looking at were about $10 a piece and the prices can go up to about $20 depending on brands.

My wetbags are about 12x10-10.5in (width by height.. right? lol)

Supplies:
PUL fabric
Regular cotton fabric
Zipper
Thread, pins, scissors, the usual

I was lazy and bought the 3-pack of cute prints of PUL by babyville at Jo-ann's. I am fairly certain you can buy PUL cheaper by the yard or possibly online, but I was lazy and a few cents or dollars was worth the convenience of having pre-cut PUL. It is 21x24in.

Most basic cotton fabric for quilting or whatever comes b/w 42-45in in width so I got 1/2 yd of one fabric and then a fat quarter that is 18x22in so I had enough cotton fabric to make three bags since I had three pieces of PUL.

The babyville packaging says to iron the PUL on the non-shiny side of the PUL on the cotton setting with steam evenly before using.

Step one: Cut the PUL and the cotton to be 21in by the length of the entire zipper fabric (so not the size of the metal zipper part (which mine is a 12in zipper), but from end to end of the whole piece (it adds about an inch and a half to the total width, but I didn't measure. I just marked the end of the zipper piece and cut)

The white fabric in this tutorial is the PUL fabric and the zebra is the cotton

Step two: Place the cotton fabric on top of the PUL so it is touching the non-shiny side of the PUL. You want the right side of the fabric up and the shiny side of the PUL on the opposite side (so when we fold it in half, the shiny side is the inside of the bag and the cotton fabric is showing the pretty side)
Step three: Once you get it lined up pretty well, pin the zipper right side down (take note of the picture so you can see what I mean)

Notice how the top of the zipper is facing the right side of the cotton fabric. This is so the rough edges of the fabric don't show

Step four: Sew this side of the zipper on after pinning

Step five: Next, you are going to pull the cotton and PUL straight and pin down each side (this is so the fabrics don't shift when we fold it over. You don't HAVE to do this step, but it should make your life easier.

Step six: Fold the fabrics up so that the cotton is on the inside and the PUL shiny side is facing out. Pin the zipper the same way you pinned it the first time.

Step seven: Sew what you just pinned. Make sure you are only sewing one side of the zipper, cotton and PUL and not accidentally sewing all 6 layers together.

Unzip the zipper a bit to make things easier when we go to turn the bag right side out.

Step eight: Line up the top fabrics where the zipper is sewn on and pin down the edges. Try to pin VERY close to the edge bc you don't want holes in your bag (we are going to sew on the inside of the pins so that the pin holes won't be in the bag)

Step nine: Sew

Step ten: Trim the excess seams (not too close to the seam bc you don't want to cut the thread or get rips/holes) and turn the bag right-side out. You now have a cute wetbag!

If you get patterned PUL and cheap solid cotton fabric, you can see the pattern through and I think it is pretty cute!

37w1d

I am writing this post from my phone, so I will have to add the fruit and probably fix formatting a bit another day.

Baby Jill is now considered full term. Basically, from what I understand, that means her organs should be able to fully function on the outside without any medical help. Obviously all babies don't come out completely healthy and perfect so I am assuming that a majority of babies are good to go at 37w with no NICU time. This is a huge relief to me bc I'd be a wreck if I had Jill now bc Keith is gone and I wouldn't know what to do if he was gone and Jillian had to be in the NICU. Keep baking baby girl! You aren't welcome in the real world for a few more weeks!!

I can finally say that Keith is gone. It was really tough saying goodbye this time. He got to come home from work before they left for a few hours so we went out and got lunch and did a couple errands and I was completely fine. I thought he'd leave and I might even get away without crying. Then, he got in the shower right before I had to take him to base and it hit me. I couldn't stop bawling. Telling myself that it was only a few weeks wasn't helping. All I could picture was me giving birth to Jill and him missing out on the end of my pregnancy and the magic of meeting her at the same time as me. On the way to base, he kept rubbing my belly and talking to Jill trying to get her to move for him. It was breaking my heart imagining that this could have been the last time he'd get to do that. I cried a lot on that car ride and on the way home by myself and on and off the rest of the night.

Waking up the next day was much much easier! I should have known that the first night would have been the hardest. I am doing much better now that it has been a few days. It isn't like I haven't done this many times before. I sleep alone a few nights a week when he works long duty shifts anyways. This is totally doable. My main thing now is just boredom. I am alone with the dog 24/7. So far, I have used the time alone to be very productive. I have been slacking on cleaning lately bc I knew I'd be bored when Keith left. The length of my "done" list is insane. I think a part of me is nesting bc I have been cleaning things I hadn't really thought of cleaning before (like scrubbing the wall behind the trash can or the legs of the table and the chairs). So far, I have scrubbed the microwave, the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen floor, the outside of the fridge (I did the inside not long ago), the entryway floors, the downstairs and upstairs bathrooms (including behind the toilets), I dusted the heaters (we have base board heaters), scrubbed the bathroom floors, cleaned our tv stand in our room, wiped down the base of the bed, took apart and cleaned the vacuum, cleaned out the laundry room completely (we always seem to have stray crap in there), put away probably 5 loads of laundry, and I am still not done! My to-do list is awfully short now though lol. I plan on picking up the random things around the house, vacuuming really well (like using the hose to clean under the heaters and in corners I don't usually get when just doing basic vacuuming) and then I will room by room shampoo the carpets. The carpets will probably take me a while to do since I'm sure it'll be taxing on my body to push around our huge carpet cleaner. I also think I will clear off the kitchen counters and clean out all of the nooks and crannies and I will wash a few of Jills bottles once I figure out where I can store them (we have the worlds smallest kitchen with no cabinet space at all.. We still have a decent amount of our dishes packed away).

So, that whole long post about moving to NY and strollers and shit was all a waste. True to Navy/military fashion, plans were changed again. Actually, Keith gave me the news only a few hours after I posted earlier this week.. Tonight, Keith told me in an email that we have actual orders (which is like the final word on something and means it is official and not just talk) to report to Charleston, SC in early June. Hopefully, that means we will be moving in early May. You are supposed to get 30 days of leave when you transfer, but who knows. I try not to count on too much until it happens lol. I guess I will be keeping that huge jogging stroller and getting Jillian a bathing suit! I wish I knew what size to expect her to be bc I saw the cutest bathing suits at the mall the other day!

So moving down South and moving a little less than 2 months later than I expected has me super excited! Hopefully we will have a good routine with Jill down feeding-wise by the time we have to make the 15hr drive with her (I am sure it'll be much longer). I am hoping that gives me plenty of time to build up a decent stash of breast milk to make traveling a bit easier. It should also give us time to take leave and go to IL so Keith's family can meet the baby.

Well, not much else is going on and it is getting pretty late so I need to try to sleep. I plan on writing my shower thank you notes finally tomorrow (I had been really slow at getting the list of gifts from my friend and I have been hoarding tasks to make the weeks when Keith is gone go by faster)


How far along? 37w1d
Total weight gain/loss? I weighed 146.5 this morning. I'm guessing that could be from all of the exercise I got in NYC?
Stretch marks? The itchiness under my bump is officially stretch marks. Thankfully, they aren't purple, but there are 4 or 5 of them
Sleep? I am still miserable. I am trying to sleep in on purpose to get as much sleep as possible before a baby prevents me from ever sleeping in again
Best moment last week? I found out I'm GBS negative! (Lol last week was clearly not terribly great)
Movement? She hasn't moved a whole bunch today and yesterday, but I have also been moving around a bunch so I might just not be noticing it. It isn't so little that I'm concerned or anything though
Food cravings? My cravings have pretty much stopped the past few days/week
Belly button in/out? The top third or half of my belly button is usually out, but if she changes positions then it pops back in.
Braxton Hicks/contractions? Nothing that I've recognized
What I miss: The bump not making things like washing dishes or getting laundry out of the washer super awkward
What I am looking forward to: Keith coming home and getting this human out (in that order)!
Milestones: my last milestone is her birth.. That is crazy!

 

36w3d

I officially suck. I think this is the longest I've gone all pregnancy without updating. OOPS! I seriously haven't had anything to really update so I just let it slide by.

I feel bad sometimes when all I have to do is gripe and complain here lol. So here is my paragraph of bitching. Feel free to skip it. Let's face it.. 3rd tri sucks. I no longer feel like I have this cute little bump bc I'm freaking huge. I can't sit still for long bc I get insanely uncomfortable and have to keep switching positions. I can't sleep very long through the night. Jillian is currently beating the shit out of my ribs (okay, usually her movements are all cute because I can see and feel her little tush or feet and make me smile so I will take the few beatings I get every once in a while). I have KILLER crotch pain at this point. I can't do a lot of things (like roll over in bed) without grunting or crying out (for some reason this makes it easier.. maybe I will be a screamer in labor lol). Oh and a new thing that started yesterday.. my lower belly itches like mad! I think (but I can't get a good look) that I am developing stretch marks down there. It feels like it, but I can't see very well (even in a mirror bc it is the underside of my belly and I can't pull it up anymore).

So this past weekend, Keith and I took a babymoon/Valentine's Day trip to NYC. Yes, we have lived here an entire year and have not once gone to NYC together lol. Actually we haven't gone anywhere but Providence together even though we're pretty close to Boston too. It was pretty difficult and I found myself tired and out of breath quite a bit, but he was really patient with me and my breaks to sit down or get a drink. It was seriously the best weekend. We mainly just walked around and explored. We went to the huge Apple store on 5th Ave and FAO Schwarz and walked a lot around Time Square. We went to a Ninja-themed restaurant and saw Spiderman on Broadway. Our hotel was literally right outside of Grand Central which made things SO much easier for me bc we took a lot of subway rides instead of walking when we went from place to place (although we walked ALL day in Time Square which was rough). Our hotel was really nice and we just had loads of alone time. Seriously, my favorite parts were just laying in our hotel bed with Keith rubbing my belly and talking about our future. Annnnd now I'm getting all teared up.. I'll take this opportunity to blame it on the 3rd tri hormones lol.. yeah..

I don't feel like uploading all the pics we took. But here is a pic of me and The Biebs at the wax museum (we laughed and had SO much fun there!)

So, we still don't have written orders to our next location, but we have tentative word of mouth ones which makes me feel a lot a lot better. I was relatively bummed to find out that we are NOT moving to South Carolina anymore. We are going to upstate New York.. we know we have to report there around the 2nd or 3rd week of May, which means we will likely be moving about a month prior if Keith gets to take his 30 days of transfer leave. Once we get the orders and separation date on paper, we can start scheduling our move. While I am not thrilled about the Northern climate, I am trying to get stoked on the move. I am also bummed we won't be moving closer to family like we thought, but we won't be leaving all of our friends that live here in CT almost completely (because 3-4 hours back to Groton is WAY better than the 15 hours from SC to Groton to see friends). We will also be a few hours closer to Chicago. Everyone says how great/gorgeous it is up in Saratoga Springs (our new destination) so I'm hoping we enjoy it. Now, I'm thinking of selling my jogging stroller and getting a new and smaller one since we won't be taking trips on the beach like we thought before lol. I didn't buy myself anything nice with our re-enlistment, so I'm thinking of asking Keith for a nice stroller soon.

We also know exactly when Keith will be home for his paternity leave. Jill can still come at any time from now on, but it is nice to know at least one side of the equation. It is always weird/difficult to talk about huge things in my life that are also related to underway schedules lol. I obviously cannot give out dates for security reasons, but it is difficult to talk in broad terms all of the time when I know exactly what time periods it is going to affect me. I guess we will just say that we are cutting it close and I'm a little bummed that he will be missing the end of this pregnancy (especially when things are getting difficult for me to do on my own). At least this time I will be able to email him a bit. Last time he left it was unexpected and I had no way of communicating with him. Not an ideal situation for a first time mom in her 3rd tri that can't travel the 11 hours back home to be somewhere more familiar and to be around family!

Alright, no more updates on baby gear or diapers for a while bc I have told myself that I am DONE! Of course, I will still buy her little things here and there (like headbands), but I am officially done buying almost everything. My crafts will start back up when Keith leaves (I'm trying to save them to keep me busy while he's gone) and I know the first thing I'm going to attempt are wetbags for my diaper bag. They are one of the very few things that I must have before Jill gets here and I decided to try and make my own. If they don't turn out, then I will have to buy a few :P

Here are some shower pics:

Crammy got me this awesome book! Porn for new moms!

So there is a little story behind this tuxedo onesie for Jill. Keith and his best man bought Tuxedo tshirts to wear under their tuxes for our wedding. I just realized when trying to find a pic that we don't have a good pic of them wearing them at my wedding where you can tell how goofy they are lol so I will post the one from our wedding and then one from a friend's wedding where they were both groomsmen :P

Our wedding in Dec '11

Friends' wedding in June '12

How far along? 36w3d!
Total weight gain/loss? I had a big weight gain the past few weeks.. 148 (started 140 and was 120 at my lowest this pregnancy)
Stretch marks? I already talked about the few I think I'm getting under my bump
Sleep? I am still miserable. I am trying to sleep in on purpose to get as much sleep as possible before a baby prevents me from ever sleeping in again
Best moment last week? NYC!
Movement? Lots of movement and belly jumping. She's getting big so I see and feel outside movement with almost every movement (including her hiccups which make my whole belly jump)
Food cravings? Honestly nothing in particular lately. Maybe soft-baked cookies
Belly button in/out? The top third or half of my belly button is usually out, but if she changes positions then it pops back in.
Braxton Hicks/contractions? Nothing that I've recognized
What I miss: Sleeping 8-10 hours in a row
What I am looking forward to: Full term!
Milestones: Full term on Saturday! I can't believe how close it is to meeting her! It doesn't seem real.

35w0d

36w0d

Baby Shit

My house is covered in it it seems. I still haven't uploaded shower pics, so this post will be the ridiculous amount of baby things we have :P

Lately, I have been torturing Optimus as a stand-in for Jill.

Pup and Sophie

Pup loving the Boba Wrap. He seriously loved being in it (but he loves being held) when I expected him to freak out when I let go of him and let him rest in there without my support

Pup and Jill's seahorse and the robot blanket that Keith picked out

A friend of Keith's gave us a bunch of baby clothes, a swing, and a bouncer. My friend who so graciously gave me most of Jillian's clothes I already had also sent me another bag. I washed it all and took it to Jill's room and immediately got overwhelmed.. Her closet was already stuffed to capacity, so I decided I'd take down the 6-9mo clothes and larger.. yeah that didn't work. I couldn't fit almost anything else in the closet. I finally figured out that 0-3 and 3 are the same size so I took out everything larger than 0-3/3 and I baaaarely got it to fit. Here are the before and after pics. She has another small load of clothes in the dryer right now, but I'm hoping the 0-3 will fit in the closet because there isn't much.

Yes, this is real life.. This is what I was trying to stuff into the closet pictured below. The box had non-clothing items that I needed to put away (which I did), the pile closest to the crib was the larger sizes (6-9,9-12) that Keith's work friend gave us, the taller unfolded pile was the clothes given by my friend (all 0-3), the hangers were the 0-3 and 3-6 that Keith's friend gave. I later took the 3-6 off of the hangers and folded them in a tub. The pile on the bottom right were clothes/blankets/towels that needed to be washed. It took forever to get all of this put away!

This is before taking out the bigger sizes

This is AFTER taking out the bigger sizes and adding the new (to us) clothes that were given to us in 0-3 and smaller. I also took out the swing and shoved it into another closet. The baskets up top have (from left to right) bath stuff (towels, wash cloths, shampoo), toys (mainly little teethers and stroller/car seat toys), hats/headbands/bows, and shoes in the last basket. Next is a bottle drying rack and the scentsy buddy boxes. Down at the bottom is the pack n play, a basket of unwashed diapers, another bouncer, a tub of random things like little books, her bottles, etc. The tub under the My Brest Friend and Boppy are her larger clothes.

Keith is super stoked over these comic book plushies. He picked out his favorites and I picked out the Hulk

This is set up in my living room (: Keith was so excited to have the swing down here. I know I bought that swing and bouncer before (and I was given a bouncer at my baby shower), but these were too adorable to turn away for free! I traded in blue bouncer at BRU's trade in event (and we bought a jumperoo that's still in the box bc Jill likely won't be able to use it in this house bc we will hopefully move before she is big enough). I am thinking we will set up the other swing and bouncer in our room if she likes them. If not, I will sell them or donate them.

Lastly, this is Jill's coming home outfit that my grandma picked out. The dress is crazy adorable in person. It is light pink if you can't tell in the picture and those are little booties and tights.