First, I have been to the doctor and starting next week will begin weekly visits :) That means it is getting REALLY close! I am hoping at this next visit that I will get to see Nolan in an ultrasound, it has been awhile. And we haven't had measurements done since I was 30 weeks and he was 3 lbs 7 oz approximately but now we are 36 weeks, so I am very curious how big he has gotten. At my last doctor's appointment I had gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks! That's almost as much weight as I gained my first trimester as a whole...haha!
That night after the doctors appointment I started having pains about 6pm. They started at the top of my stomach and moved down towards my belly button. I started to worry when the pain started in my back. I called the doctor and she called back and said it sounded like stretching rather than contractions, braxton or real. The doctor told me to take a warm bath and if that didn't hurt then to call back but it did help, so nice to relax. These pains had me in tears at one point. So I told Greg if this was only belly stretching then I am DEFINITELY getting the epidural during the delivery :)
Then, I got to look forward to last weekend, as it was my first shower! I had a blast making the thank you gifts for Emily, Erin & Heidi from pinterest! I was getting ready on Sunday and carrying the boxes to the car to take to the shower. I misjudged the step down from the curb and took a hard fall. Thankfully I was holding the boxes because that stopped me from falling directly onto my belly. But my knees definitely got the brunt of the fall. They are still all scabbed almost a week later.
So at the shower I was all dressed up with band-aids covering my knees and I had cried my make up off. So I didn't have that pretty pregnancy glow in those pics :/ But other than that it was such an enjoyable day! The shower had a baseball theme. Greg was wondering if the baseball theme was because his name is Nolan like Nolan Ryan. I said yes, and because Greg played baseball all the way through high school and I played baseball too, granted it was only until machine pitch. He laughed!
The shower was beautiful! You could tell every last detail was thought through! It was so nice to have friends and family there to show support for our first little one. But we did miss those who could not make it in, but your support was felt.
It was fun seeing all the creative gifts everyone bought for Nolan, but some of them definitely stood out. Greg's aunt Diane got him a monogrammed blanket with a bulldog on it. She use to breed bulldogs so she gets our obsession :)
My great aunt Hilda got us a necessity that we will use a few years down the road, a training potty. It is called the Cheer for me Potty! And the best part is that is talks to you in English AND Spanish.
But the most sentimental of all is the blanket knitted by my aunt Martha. It is not only beautiful but holds a lot of meaning as well. The yarn give 20% of the proceeds to families who have lost a child. Nolan has an older brother or sister watching over him, along side with his cousin Lane. We will always miss those babies but are thankful for them to be there for Nolan when he needs guidance. He is one lucky boy.
Then two days later I got to see many of my work friends at my work shower. We kept having to change the date for different reasons so we had a happy hour at Escalante's. It was perfect to just hang out and be with them. I was so happy to see all who were able to come since I was so use to seeing them everyday these past 4 years but now I rarely get to hang out with them. Amber made the cutest gift of all, she knit him a bulldog cap! It is adorable and we can't wait to put him in it!
Other than all that I have just been trying to stay rested and calm here at home. But it has definitely been fun finding a place for all of Nolan's things in our humble abode. I especially love looking at all his clothes. I have separated his clothes by size and then realized I have to wash all of them before putting him in them, so I'll get to organize it all over again, hehe. But I have also done, maybe my last, DIY project for his room. I made curtains. I don't have a sewing machine so I looked up what to do on pinterest...glue gun! But I think they turned out great! I even added a lining to make them black out curtains. The next time I make them I will definitely use a sewing machine (martha might need some guidance). And I am such a perfectionist that I will definitely want to use a more exact dewing measurement tool to make sure we have perfectly straight lines. Erin says I can try and make them curtains for their new house :) She must have a lot of trust in my ability ;)
I am definitely getting to the point that all my friends who have had babies said would happen, ready for him to GET OUT and be here! I know he needs to stay in for a few more weeks but I am to the point of not really sleeping in our bed. I have the egg crate cushion on the bed but my hips still hurt when I wake up because I need to lay on my side. So I have moved to sleeping on the couch because my legs and body are supported but my hips can fall between the cushions and not have any pressure on them. And I don't wake Greg with my constant flipping sides. I am getting some swelling but its not too bad. My back hurts quicker when I am up and about than usual. All this extra front side weight is making it hard to get through spaces and I am definitely waddling :)
But the main thing getting me to this point of just wanting my little man here, is all of my friends who have had their babies recently. From Sarah's darling Ellie, to Michelle's sweet Chris, Lindsay's cute Grey, Allison's precious Grayson and Julie's adorable Walker. Nolan has so many friends waiting for him to arrive, just as we are.
Now we are in the home stretch. We have most everything we need, thanks to all our family and friends, the house is clean, car seat is installed, all we are waiting on is Nolan to arrive. I am so thankful for everyone's support through this time in our lives and we know our lives are about to change dramatically.
I do need to include that Greg has been WONDERFUL through this. I am not going to lie that I was kinda worried because he has such a demanding job that he would be so tired when he came home that he would do just what was asked of him. But Greg has already proved me wrong. He switched sides of the bed with me to see if that would help my hips. I never thought this would happen because he LOVES the right side of the bed. But he is ok with switching and likes the other side, which is great because I can now be on the right side, closer to the best spot in our room for the bassinet. He has gone on walks with me and Lacey to help relieve any pain I may have. And when I had the scare of pain a week ago, he immediately got online and pre-registered us at he hospital while doing anything he could to bring me comfort. I knew I married the best man, but he is just making me even more excited for our future together. I know he will be a wonderful father on top of the wonderful husband he already is. I can't wait to see him interact with his son.
