Thursday, September 29, 2011

Judah Scott Perkins

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to sit down with the computer.. but I can honestly say I haven’t missed it one bit. 

My focus has been on something far more precious and important.

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Judah Scott Perkins arrived last Wednesday night at 11:42 pm.  He weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21” long.  I’m going to have to do a post really soon all about his birth.  It was quite an adventure and nothing like I imagined. 

I’m really loving being a mommy and spending all of my time focused on our little gift.  He is incredible and words cannot describe my feelings for him.

Our lives have been changed.. and definitely for the better.  I can’t imagine going back to life without him in it.

I thought this text message between Justin and myself perfectly captured how much our lives have changed…

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Hahaha!  The wonderful world of parenting Smile

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Justin is such a wonderful daddy.  He really surprised me and jumped right in to being very hands on and involved with Judah.. dirty diapers and all!  I’m so proud that he is my baby’s daddy.

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Well… I’ll be back with more soon.. but for now I’m off to do some more cuddling with little man on the couch!

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Monday, September 19, 2011

miss kindle’s dedication

One of my besties, Jenna, that used to live here, but now lives in Dallas, came in town to have her precious girly dedicated at our home church.

I just adore Kindle and wish I got to spend more time with her.  It stinks living so far from good friends sometimes.

But at least it’s close enough that we can visit pretty often.

Kindle and her parents:

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What a proud day!!!  And what a precious girly!

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what a difference!

I was just looking through all of my weekly “belly pics” and was truly amazed at how my body has grown and stretched and changed.

I cannot believe that I was ever this little… or that I thought I had a prominent “baby bump” at the time!  haha

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That was week 10.

This is week 38…

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I’ve already packed away most of my maternity clothes.  I’m really hoping that not having many larger item options will motivate me to lose weight quickly.  I know that it took 10 months to put this weight on, though.. so I don’t expect it all to fall off immediately.  At least it will be fall/winter so I won’t have to worry about being in a swimsuit!

39 weeks

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Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 39 weeks

Size of baby: supposed to be 20 inches and 7.25 pounds… but we are pretty sure Judah is bigger than average!

Maternity clothes: everything except for skirts and stretchy waist pants is maternity.  I’ve even outgrown many maternity clothes.  In the past week I have struggled to find tops that cover my belly and have been wearing more dresses.

Gender: baby boy. Judah Scott Perkins.  We cannot wait to see him!

Movement: Definitely less kicking.. but still lots of pressure and movement where he pokes his body out of my belly.  When he kicks, it HURTS. 

Sleep: Sleep is good… I just can’t go to sleep at a decent hour.  I have been finding myself wide awake until 2am and then sleeping really late in the mornings.

What I miss: I miss having normal size hands and feet.  I miss having ankles.  I miss being able to move without hurting.  I am definitely counting down the days until I can start on the weight loss journey and get some of this swelling down.  I know I will definitely miss pregnancy though.

Cravings: no big cravings this week… just very hungry!

Aversions: pot roast.  raw chicken.  leftovers.

Symptoms: You name it, I’ve probably been experiencing it.  The most prominent ones are probably indigestion and lots of aches and pains.  I’ve had more contractions this week.  And I am larger and heavier than I ever thought possible.  Each day it seems like I have somehow grown bigger in the belly.  And my nose is definitely wider.

Best moment this week:  All week long I have been constantly counting down the days and thinking, “at this time next week……”.  I’m just so excited to meet our little guy!  Only a couple more days now!!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

38 weeks

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Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 38 weeks

Size of baby: supposed to be 19.75 inches and 6.8 pounds, but about a pound heavier than this according to the latest ultrasound measurements.

Maternity clothes: everything except for skirts and stretchy waist pants is maternity.

Gender: baby boy. Judah Scott Perkins.  We cannot wait to see him!

Movement: Definitely less kicking.. but still lots of pressure and movement where he pokes his body out of my belly.

Sleep: Sleep is going well.. unless I drink too much water before bed.

What I miss: I miss being able to go, go, go!  I have really had to slow down and stay home more lately.  I have a bunch of pains and pressure when I get out and do too much in one day.

Cravings: breakfast cereal and macaroni and cheese.  not together!

Aversions: pot roast.  raw chicken.

Symptoms: You name it, I’ve probably been experiencing it.  The most prominent ones are probably indigestion and lots of aches and pains.  I’ve had a few contractions randomly and (TMI..) lost my mucus plug!  Oh yeah… and I’m HUGE! haha

Best moment this week: At our 37 week appointment we saw Judah on the ultrasound and set an induction date!  Having a date on the calendar has been a big deal!  Also, I really enjoyed putting the finishing touches on his nursery and spending time with lots of family this past week.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

we have a date!

Today we had our weekly baby doctor appointment and an ultrasound.  I had Justin go with me to this appointment so he could see Judah one last time on the big screen before meeting him in person.  I also wanted Justin to meet our doctor before she is actually delivering our son in the hospital!

Everything went well today.  I had gained a few more pounds (blah).. I had a great blood pressure.. Judah’s heart rate was 140 bpm.. He is still head down and has even dropped into position!

It was so neat to see the ultrasound this time.  He has gotten so big in there that he is all crammed in, making it difficult to clearly see the different body parts.  We did get a good angle of his little profile and saw that he had some hair!  He kept putting his hand up by his face though, so we didn’t really see his face from the front.  We found out that he is still measuring a little bigger than average with a big head and weighing right around 7.5-8 pounds!  His little heart was flickering away on the screen, and we could clearly see all four chambers.  I’m so happy to know that he is a healthy boy :).

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After the ultrasound, we saw the doctor.  I am officially 1 cm dilated, and Judah is engaged but not super low.  Doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes today (which hurt like CRAZY! by the way), so we are hoping I’ll go into labor soon!  We did go ahead and set an induction date, though.. just in case I don’t go into labor.  The big day will be in 2 weeks… 9/21/11! 

It’s so hard to believe that I will have  a baby in my arms in two weeks or less.  It’s really crazy thinking that I may know his birth date already!  This is so exciting and unreal!

After the appointment, we called lots of friends and family with the news and then decided to nap.  Now I’m up and trying to think of all that is left for me to do in order to be totally ready for this little man’s arrival!

37 weeks

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Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 37 weeks

Size of baby: supposed to be 19.25 inches and 6.3 pounds

Maternity clothes: everything except for skirts and stretchy waist pants is maternity now.

Gender: baby boy. Judah Scott Perkins.

Movement: Still lots of movement.  He really seems to enjoy poking his hiney/back/feet and possibly other body parts out.  He has spent a bunch of time lately with his body on my left side with feet poking out the right side or in my right ribs.

Sleep: I have miraculously slept pretty well here lately.  Usually only waking a couple times.

What I miss: I miss the days when I didn’t have to literally roll out of bed and off the couch. 

Cravings: I’ve had lots of random cravings.  If I hear someone talking about something that sounds yummy, I start craving it.  Not good for the number on the scale.  But not too much longer!

Aversions: pot roast.  raw chicken.

Symptoms: You name it, I’ve probably been experiencing it.  The most prominent ones are probably indigestion and lots of aches and pains.

Best moment this week: We are FULL TERM!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

it’s officially baby month

So here I sit on a drizzly and lazy Saturday.  It’s the first Saturday in September.  And September is “baby month”!!!  I woke up a couple days ago thinking that, “wow… I’m having a baby this month!”  It’s really an overwhelming thought that brings all kinds of emotions.  Even though I feel like my pregnancy has absolutely flown by, I feel like I’ve waited forever for this month to arrive.

Everywhere I go these days, I have people asking how much longer and telling me that they know I must be so ready.  And they surely are right.  When asked about three weeks ago if I was ready.. my answer was no.  I still had too much to do.  I didn’t feel prepared.  What a difference a few weeks can make!  Now I really cannot wait to see my son and hold him and kiss him and talk about who he looks like and take a million pictures of him and share him with our families and friends.  I would be perfectly happy to have him tomorrow if I knew he would be healthy!

Besides hanging some artwork and picture frames, Judah’s room is completely ready for him.  All of his clothes are washed and folded.  His sheets have been washed and his crib put together.  I have his little bathtub and baby washes all ready to go.  Even his little diaper bag is packed with anything and everything I could think of to pack.  We are ready.

Justin has been talking about it more and more, too.  He looks at my huge belly and sees the rolling around that his son is doing under my skin and is amazed.  He has talked many times about how ready he is to meet Judah and to see his little face.  I’m so glad that he is excited.  I know he will be an awesome daddy.  :)  He has definitely been a great daddy-to-be.  So understanding and full of grace towards me.  These last couple weeks I have been very uncomfortable, kinda lazy, and a little grouchy even.  I haven’t done a wonderful job of keeping the house clean or cooking dinner.  I have done a whole bunch of sleeping and resting on the couch with my feet up.  But Justin hasn’t complained one time. 

He has been very thoughtful and even surprised me the other morning.  I have been super duper craving cereal lately.  Before I went to bed and he left for work one night, I was complaining that we were out of cereal but I didn’t want to go to the store.  I knew he didn’t have time to go to the store before work either.  But I woke up the next morning to not one, but four boxes of cereal and an almond joy waiting on the kitchen counter for me to choose from.  It made my little [big] pregnant day! haha.

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I packed my bag for the hospital last night.  I’ll be 37 weeks and full term on Monday!  So we could go anytime now.  I know that it’s not likely I would go into labor early with my first child… but at least we know I’m prepared and ready if need be!  I go weekly to the doctor now, and last week I had some bloodwork done and had a “check”.  My body had not progressed at all yet, even though I had been having a bunch of cramps and pressure.  I go back to the doctor this coming Wednesday, and this time we will have an ultrasound.  The U/S will be used to measure Judah and see if he is still measuring big.  If so, we may be inducing as early as the following week!!!! (That means in just over a week I could be meeting Judah!)  If he isn’t measuring too big and everything else looks good as well, I guess we may just let him do his thing and come when he’s ready.  I’m so anxious about this appointment.  I’m ready to have a plan.. not to mention, I’m just ready to see his little face on that screen again!

But for now we wait.

And while I wait.. I have a few things to keep me busy.  I need to write thank you cards, cook some meals to put in the freezer, and plan a newborn photo shoot for my little man!  I won’t be too upset, though, if I don’t have time to get it all done before he decides to join us.