New Things Everywhere!

To start off I'm 35 weeks now, well almost 36 weeks! YIPPEE!!! So many people keep telling me I will probably have this baby soon because she's so, SO low, but we all know it's always up to the baby! Nothing too new with news concerning the baby...her room is ready, we even moved the crib into her room! Now we are finalizing our bag packing and trying to have everything ready for THE moment.



In Cooper news...he is now in a big boy bed and wearing underwear. That's right, no crib or diapers for our little guy. Nana come down from Fr. Worth last week and helped with both transitions. Cooper even pooped in the potty for me twice yesterday AT someone else's house; he's such a big boy now.



Even though we have rails up on his big boy bed, he managed to fall out of it the other night. It scared him and us, although he seemed fine afterwards. Well, apparently when he fell he must have injured his kidney because today he started having blood in his urine. We go tomorrow to get an abdominal ultrasound. Truthfully, this is almost an answer to prayers in that Cooper's urologist had scheduled another VCUG (yearly check) for the 26th of Aug (2 days before my due date). I was already going to have to reschedule it, but also just didn't want to do a VCUG since Cooper hasn't had another kidney infection. His hematologist had suggested getting an abdominal ultrasound instead of the VCUG. Of course we went straight to the hematologist today and he scheduled the ultrasound, so now I can cancel the VCUG and will only need to reschedule one IF anything comes back showing the need for it! Praise God!

That's about it for us for now...I'm tired most all of the time and I can't decide if it's due to the pregnancy, the heat, or both! I am ready for the fall weather!

Fire Station!

As most of you know, I help organize a GREAT Stay At Home Mom's Group on the NW side of San Antonio. We have so much fun keeping the kids active and keeping our sanity (if that is possible).

Anyhow, I was able to schedule a tour with a local fire station today for the kiddos. It was a lot of fun and educational for the adults. I didn't know there was so much to know about how it all works.

The kids were mainly interested in the Fire Truck though of course. Although once they had the chance to go into the truck and explore, most of the kiddos froze. But we still got some great photos. Cooper had a blast and LOVED the fire truck from afar. He is a brave 2 year old though and sat in the truck and shook the hand of a "Real Fire Man" that was dressed for a fire (mask and all).

It has begun!

Sleepless nights, multiple trips to the bathroom, grunting when standing up after sitting on the floor....it has all begun!

I don't remember feeling so many aches and pains at this point with Cooper's pregnancy. My only reasoning for this is that it's because BGS is SO low! My waddle has already begun as well; please BGS arrive sooner than Aug 28th!

I'm getting serious this weekend about getting BGS's nursery ready....I've been a HUGE procrastinator with that this time around. At this point in Cooper's pregnancy the nursery was complete, the baby shower had happened, and we were packing our bags. I feel a lot more scatter-brained these days when it comes to getting these things lined up!

32 weeks...the countdown begins!

I'm 32 weeks along, BGS is measuring 34 which tells me that she's still growing very healthy and at a steady pace! I've gained a total of 35 pounds so far....eek! I'm determined to make it to 50 pounds I guess! :)

I haven't swelled up like I thought I would be yet. As much as I think I will swell by the time 36 weeks comes around, I'm trying to also think positive and keep drinking a TON of water to hopefully keep all swelling down! My blood pressure is great as well; hopefully that is a great sign that I won't have similar complications with this birth.

I have had some very reassuring conversations with a few of my friends who used the same Midwife group that I am using. While there is one MW that we would LOVE to have, all three are obviously great. There is one MW though that scares me a little because she can sometimes think more like an OB when at an appointment. I have heard from my friends though that she is GREAT in the delivery room. I will be happy with any of the three MW's that is there with me through L&D.

We have now come across a stump in the road. The other day I was looking up the meaning of the name for BGS and came across another name that I like. The new name still begins with the same letter and has the same number of letters in the name. I've learned that Randell is not much help on this one either! While I want input from family and friends, I don't want anyone to know the name! UGH! Also, Cooper already knows the baby's name from what we have been calling her. Decisions, decisions....

Cooper is still doing great with everything. We have had a lot more play and Cooper time lately. Today he played ALL day (minus nap) at an indoor play room. It is GREAT! We made it almost the entire day without any injury. Then he was going down the slide on one of the bouncers and decided it would be fun to ride down on the edge of the slide. Needless to say he met the floor face first! He has a swollen lip that is slowly bruising. It was a pretty nasty fall. My daredevil child though went right back after eating a popsicle to prove that he could slide down the slide with no injuries. Boys will be boys!

30 Weeks.....eek!

Today I had my 30 week appointment with the midwife. It was a great appointment as usual. I'm doing fine and so is the baby, which is always a great thing to hear.

I am 3 pounds shy of my ending weight with Cooper...Lord help us all! ALTHOUGH...Baby Girl is also measuring at 32 (equivalent to 32 weeks), not just 30! The midwife's prediction is that she will be bigger than Cooper was. That makes since though, this labor and delivery I want no medications, so it just fits that I have a bigger baby! :)

She is already head down....way way down. The midwife doesn't see much possibility of her turning into a breech position which is great news. Who knows, maybe since she's so low she will come at about 38 weeks and not 42 weeks!

We went and visited my family in Ft. Worth this past week. There are some great pictures posted (click on The Smiths under that Photo section). I realized on our way home that I should not be in a car anymore for long periods of time....my back hurt, I was have BH contractions and was worn out! So, from now until the baby gets here we are not going to be traveling.

Cooper's doing great. He had lots of fun with his cousins and is still talking about them. Today is actually the first day of him sleeping in his Big Boy Bed for nap time! He did very well with going down easily and such.

27 Weeks

WOW! I am so amazed at how fast this pregnancy has gone. I know once I get to the last 4 weeks it will seem as if it is dragging, but it's amazing that I'm already 27 weeks along.

We have decided to go with a Doula for this birth. We had thought of taking a Bradley Method Course and then being on our own with our midwife during the L&D. After talking with the midwife, she recommended that the course wouldn't be as beneficial to us as a doula would be. We interviewed a few of the doulas in the area and found a GREAT doula. She is a wonderful Godly woman who believes in allowing the female body to do what it needs to do to birth a baby. She is also not going to yell at me if I end up insisting on an epidural, ALTHOUGH she knows how strongly we feel against any meds during L&D and is prepared to get me through it. We meet with her again next week.

We're also going to take a few cool courses from a Maternity store in town that are offered for free. Those should be fun and interesting. Other than that, the baby continues to be low, she lays, sits, kicks on my bladder 24/7. I really feel that effect of going to the bathroom and then not even 10 minutes later questioning if I went to the bathroom recently because I just HAVE to go again.

Cooper's doing great as usual. He's talking up a storm. We went for his two yr appointment yesterday and the doctor was HIGHLY impressed at his communication and behavior (of course he didn't have a tantrum there!) Although she was impressed with how well he handled her poking and checking him all over. He didn't cry and was actually more curious about the instruments she was using.

Little things that he is doing that amazes me:

*when we drive by his MDO, he says "School Mommy, School" as if to tell me that we need to go to school b/c we haven't been in a while!
*he said "I Love You" today to me without any prompting...it was so sweet
*he gets on to the dogs for me all the time, especially when they are barking!
*this last weekend we had some friends over and their family. They have a 5 month old baby and Cooper did amazing with him. He would put a blanket on him and even insisted the he take his paci, even when the baby spit it right back out.

We go to see the midwife tomorrow. I think this month I have gained the MOST weight! EEK!

25 Weeks

We're at week 25! Well...I guess to date we're at 26 weeks, but who's counting. :) I saw the midwife last week and everything looks great. The belly is measuring just fine, I think I gained a pound or two, and I'm already swelling! YIPPEE!!! It's going to be a long summer with sausage toes.

Other than keeping up my hydration and attempting to loose my craving for chocolate and chips (my two BIGGEST cravings), everything is going great.