36 weeks

   By the end of this week, I will be considered full term. This means that in no more than five weeks at the most, I will be someone's mommy. Talk about hard to believe. I am so excited to meet my little boy. 

   

   I am so happy that it is October, because this is supposed to be Ryder's birthday month (although I think he will wait till November to make his appearance). Ryder is now just putting on some weight in my tummy now. He should be as long as he will be when he is born at this point. One of my favorite apps is ovia pregnancy because it shows how big baby's hand is, and Ryder's hand has grown so much. I remember when it showed that his hand wasn't any bigger than my fingertip!(: 

   This past week I had my baby shower, and I'm so thankful for everything that Ryder was given. People were so thoughtful and sweet, I'm so thankful for everyone who showed up. I really don't have much more I need before Ryder is born. I'm gonna need some more diapers, wipes, and I will need to get bottles eventually, but other than that, I'm not left wanting. 

   My room/nursery (same place) just needs curtains, blinds, and wall decorations, then it will be complete. All that I will need will be my sweet baby!(: I have a few more things to put in my hospital bag and diaper bag, but I will be putting up a blog post about both later this week (at least I'm gonna try!). 

How far along: 36 weeks

Gender: A sweet boy

Weight gain: 22 lbs.

Maternity clothes: I haven't bought any clothes in weeks, I'm making do with what I have right now

Stretch marks: None, and I really hope it stays that way, if I get stretch marks at this point, I will cry. It would just be cruel to get stretch marks with four weeks to go !!

Belly button in or out: flat, but I think it's starting to be a bit of an outtie, not quite, but almost...

Sleep: Hasn't been too bad this week, I've been tired, weariness has hit me like a train, I want to just rest all the time.

Best moment this week: My baby shower was great, I love having everything almost together. I cleaned Ryder's clothes and sheets, I've made two more afghans, I almost have my room all put together. I just have my hospital bags and a few other little things left to finish. I finally got to cross out a few things off my list this week (I love lists, and I love crossing things off lists!). 

Miss anything: My hands and feet keep swelling. I can't wear my rings anymore, and some of my shoes are kind of tight :( I miss shoes and rings, I also miss the days of no heartburn. Heartburn has come with a vengeance this past week, it is ridiculous. I have started waddling slightly.. Not a lot, but I want to not waddle, I'm not a duck! I'm starting to feel big as well, it is going to be weird to be normal sized again.. 

Movement: Ryder still moves so much, even though he is running out of space to move!

Cravings: I haven't really had any cravings this week.

Looking forward to: I'm looking forward to putting up my next few blog posts, and I'm excited for my next dr appointment. Hopefully It won't be too uncomfortable being checked, and hopefully Ryder will be in the right position for labor to happen soon! Time is truly flying! 

   So sorry for being so late on this weeks post, I've been tired and busy. My sister didn't feel good, and I helped take care of her the past few days. Hopefully I can make up with extra blog posts this week! 

xx

34 weeks!

   Ryder can dream! I'm not sure what he would dream about, but babies start REM sleeping after 30 weeks or so. He is most likely dreaming about me and probably people I'm around a lot. Ryder recognizes voices and knows the difference between voices as well. He also recognizes songs that I sing or hum a lot. He will probably recognize a few books that I read out loud too (Like Moo, Baa, LaLaLa being that it's Cherith's favorite book, so Ryder will definitely recognize that book!).

   With about 6 weeks to go, Ryder weighs almost 5 pounds and is 16-18 inches in length. He is almost the size he will be when he is born. It is crazy to think that he will be born in such a short period of time! 

   I am so excited to put up a post of maternity pictures sometime this week. I had a friend of mine take my pictures, and she did amazing. I am so pleased with the end results. I will be getting a disk of my pictures, so I will put them all up later. My sister, Rebecca, came with me to help out, and we took pictures on a dock and in actual water.

How far along: 34 weeks

Gender: Little boy(:

Weight gain: 18 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: I wish I had a nice pair of maternity jeans, but at this point, I'd only be in them for 6 more weeks..

Stretch marks: None

Belly button in or out: Still flat, maybe it won't ever pop out.

Sleep: I have no real complaints about sleep this week, except if people keep calling the house phone in the morning time, I am going to take the phone off the hook before I go to bed at night. I have an old fifties phone in my room, and it rings very loudly (I'm gonna have to somehow turn off the ringer before Ryder is born for sure!!). 

Best moment this week: Taking maternity pictures and getting mail. I absolutely adore snail mail. Getting packages in the mail is one of those simple things in life that means so much.(: 

   I won these two beanies for Ryder, they are seriously the cutest! I adore the colors, and they are so soft too! Look up @twolittlekings on Instagram if you want to get adorable beanies for your baby.(:

   I won these two headbands from @violetboutique on Instagram. These are so cute. I got one for Cherith (my baby sister) and my other sister/mom/me. We will be able to match on gameday (Roll Tide!!!).

   I won these two bracelets from @mikayloveinc. I cannot wait to wear them, and this lighting does not do them justice. The colors are storm and oxblood. The lady who makes them is so nice too; I love it when shop owners are personable and sweet.

   This is my new favorite bracelet! I bought it and a matching one that says "Mimi" for my mom. I wanna buy one that says Ryder or has his initials eventually. This bracelet was made by @brinandbell.(:

Miss anything: I don't miss too much this much. Ryder is starting to press on my bladder more and more, thus more bathroom trips than usual. It's like first trimester all over again, except my stomach is slightly bigger..(:

Movement: Still a lot of movement, the other day it looked like he was pressing against the middle of my stomach, my belly looked pointed where he was pushing. He has been kicking my ribs quite a bit this past week as well.

Cravings: This week I've craved toaster streudals (which I've eaten too many of them this week!), Mediterranean food, and Waffle House.. 

Looking forward to: My baby shower, I'm so excited for it. I'm also just ready for it to pass, because it's my next goal moment I guess. I know that after my baby shower, Ryder will be here very soon. My room is almost all put together too. I just need curtains and a rocking chair, and the rest of what I need for my room are just small knick knacks. I also need to put some things up on the wall so that the walls don't look so drear. I'll put the crib together after the baby shower. 

   I feel like I've written a lot this post, hopefully y'all don't mind! I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about as the day of Ryder's arrival nears. I know I've left out some things, but I'm sure I'll cover them in the next post or so!(:

xx