38 weeks and false alarm

Last night, Frank and I went to the hospital for what turned out to be a false alarm.  I had been having contractions all day, and around 8:30 last night I started timing them.  They were coming every 10 minutes or so at first, but they got closer together and were coming every 2-3 minutes by about 11:00 p.m.  However, they still were not very painful, so I was not sure what to do.  I finally decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and we went in.  The nurse checked my cervix and saw I was only dilated to a 1, which was the same as I was at my appointment last week.  So disappointing!  They monitored me for about an hour (during which I was still having contractions, but of course they were not coming as regularly as before), and then sent us home.  I had my 38-week check-up this morning, and I had progressed to 2 cm, so that is something.  My doctor told me that some people have these practice bouts of labor, and others don't, and that there is not much I can do other than try to listen to my body and know that the contractions have to be more painful for me to go back to the hospital.  I feel silly for going in when it was not "time," but it did give us a good practice run and forced us to get those last few little things done (car seat in car, frank's bag packed, etc).  I know Baby Lily will come when she is ready, but I feel like all of these contractions are really messing with my mind! 

Baby Liliana's nursery

Here is a sneak peek of Baby Liliana's nursery!  We still have a few more things to get, but you get the basic idea.  I am really happy with the way it turned out, although I think the painters could have done a better job with the stenciling, especially for how expensive it was!  I do love the furniture, including the dresser with the iron handles that Frank painted himself.  Frank fought me on most of the details, and he thinks this nursery is way too "grown-up" for a baby, but I think it is beautiful, and it is a room that she can grow into. 

crib with beautiful blanket purchased by sweet co-workers and probably my favorite piece in the entire room, the venetian mirror

dresser that her Daddy painted himself! 

crib fit for a princess

changing table and pictures of Paris I took when Frank and I went there in Summer 2006

love the little princess piggy banks

Big Brother had to be a part of the photo shoot!

same glider from Frankie's nursery

walls are a soft pale pink with champagne stenciling

another view

lamp from her GG

Happy Memorial Day!

 Happy Memorial Day!  We had a wonderful three-day weekend spending a lot of time together as a family.  On Saturday we went out to Ross Perot Jr.'s Circle T Ranch for a huge memorial day picnic to honor local veterans.  Although it was a bit hard for me to hobble around in the heat, Frankie had a blast playing on playgrounds, watching armadillo races, and sitting on a huge longhorn!  They had an enormous spread of delicious food, and it was a super nice and fun event.  There were a bunch of families with really young babies there--that will be us soon! 

On Sunday we headed over the Manktelows to swim, barbeque, and hang out.  Frankie and Maddy played together all day and had an absolute blast.  Maddy is four, and they are finally at a good place where they can play together well.  Maddy drew Frankie a picture that he took home, and he was absolutely devastated this morning when Katy stepped on it!  It will be a lot of fun to watch them grow up together. 

Today I have spent most of the day finishing my to-do list before baby Lily arrives.  I had a bunch of contractions on Friday night and thought for a few hours that it might be D-day.  Of course, right when I got myself all worked up, the contractions spaced out and then stopped.  But nonetheless, I wanted to finish getting the nursery together, pack my hospital bag, and do all of the other last-minute things just in case she decides to come this week.  I finished everything on my list!  Alright baby Lily, you are welcome to make your debut any time you would like...

Here are some pictures from the memorial day picnic:

 Frankie on the horse tire swing

 Big longhorn!

 posing with Daddy

 sitting with Mommy

 yummy snowcone

 armadillo races

 round bales!  He sees these and says "Those are for the cows and the horses to eat."

Soccer

This season, Frankie got to play soccer every Friday at school.  A group called Soccer Shots came to his school each week, and Frankie played with a few other kids from his class.  He loved it!  Last Friday, they had a special program where they invited parents to come watch and see all the new skills the kids learned.  Frank unfortunately had an interview, but I was able to go out and watch.  There were 4 other parents there, and the kids with parents were a bit distracted, but it was still fun to watch.  I LOVED playing sports growing up, and some of my most fond memories are of my Dad coaching and watching me play softball.  I absolutely cannot wait to watch Frank and Lily grow up and play sports.  Here are some pictures I took at Frank's soccer class:

 score!

 just dribbling

 Frank and his little girlfriend McKenzie

 ooh, a medal!

running!

37 weeks

I went to the doctor this morning for my 37-week appointment.  Unfortunately, despite all of my contractions, I am only 1 cm dilated.  I was not-so-secretly hoping that she would tell me I am 4 cm dilated and could have the baby any day now.  But, at least there is some progress!  I finally started wearing flats to work, because I am literally walking like a combination of a duck and a crazy old lady.  I have a lot of pressure in my pelvis because baby has dropped, and I also still have excrutiating pain on the left side of my lower back whenever I walk.  Even sitting has become extremely uncomfortable.  I am so ready to have this baby!!! In positive news, I did not gain any weight this week (yay!), and the nursery is very close to being finished.  I will try to get everything else done and post pictures this week!  I am so happy with the way it is looking.  I cannot wait to meet my princess baby girl.

Now I remember...

...why the end of pregnancy sucks.  I had been having a pretty easy and uneventful third trimester up until this week.  I am not sure if it is because I have been working too much, or if I am just getting to that part of pregnancy, but this week has been miserable.  I have been crampy, overheated, and exhausted all week.  Baby is also sitting on my sciatic nerve, which causes excrutiating pain in my left lower back/leg, and causes me to walk like I am a 90-year-old lady.  I had this with Frankie too, but it was earlier in my pregnancy, and it went away after a couple of weeks.  I am hoping this goes away before I have the baby, because it is miserable, and there is not much you can do for relief.  I am definitely not a woman who loves being pregnant.  I am ready to have more energy (ha, I know, not for the next several months!), get my body back, and meet my sweet little girl! 

Mother's Day 2013

 

As of yesterday, I am due in exactly one month!  I really do not think I will make it that far.  Yesterday, I started to have more painful contractions, as opposed to the typical braxton hicks contractions I have been having for weeks.  Of course, they eventually stopped, but I do not remember having this type of "practice labor" with Frankie.  I don't know why, but I just feel like this baby is coming sooner rather than later.

 

I had a very nice Mother's Day with my boys, although I did have to work a lot this weekend.  Frank and Frankie surprised me with some pretty flowers, a nice card, and donuts for breakfast, and then Frank cooked a wonderful lobster feast for dinner.  I was happy to get to spend some quality time together as a family, even if it was only for a few hours, as this will be my last Mother's Day before the baby arrives.  On Friday night, we got a baby sitter and Frank and I went to a nice dinner at Eddie V's and then to celebrate my friend Astyn's 30th birthday.  It was so nice to get out and have a night on the town. 

 

I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother and that God chose me to be Frankie's mom.  I hope all of the moms had a fantastic Mother's Day!  Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

 

me & Frankie & Katy



Frankie picked out my pretty orange tulips.

delicious lobster!

Frankie and his pal Bennett after a day of swimming at the club.

35 weeks/35 days

In 1.5 hours, I will be 35 weeks pregnant, which means I have 35 more days to go until my due date.  My insticts tell me that this baby is coming early.  I am incredibly busy at work right now, and I feel like the weeks are just flying by.  We are still waiting on our baby furniture.  I gave Frank a "to-do" list of stuff I need him to do around the house before the baby arrives, and so far, he has not done a single thing.  We have not washed any baby clothes, packed a hospital bag, or bought any of the items we need (thank goodness there are not too many).  I need to clean my office and organize my case files so that people can easily take over for me when I go into labor.  One of my (ex) co-workers had her baby 5 weeks early last summer (out of the blue!), so it really could happen at any time...which is crazy!

My big boy

Frank has reserves this weekend, and this may be my last weekend alone with Frankie before baby Lily arrives.  I want to soak up every second I can with him while he is still my only child.  It seems like he has grown up so much in the last week.  He seems more mature to me.  The last few times we have been out to eat at restaurants, he has been SO good.  We used to have to rush to order and eat as quickly as possible before he started to get restless and fussy.  Now, we usually have to convince HIM to leave, which is a nice change.  He has been using words more and crying less.  He has been listening better.  Last night he told me and Frank to "Come outside, y'all!"  It was hilarious. 

He is going through a "Daddy phase," where he prefers Frank to me at bedtime.  This is a huge change that makes me a little sad, but also a little grateful, because it is getting harder and harder for me to do things, and it is a huge help for Frank to handle bedtime a couple of nights a week.  Frank is still looking for a new job, so he has had extra time to spend with Frankie these last few months, and I think both of them are really enjoying their Daddy-son bonding time.

Just a few of Frankie's favorites right now:

Foods:  mac-n-cheese, broccoli, greek yogurt, candy, icing, juice, strawberries, cheese, pepperoni pizza
Toys:  chalk, his new steering wheel, cars, his broom.
Color:  Orange
Books:  Gerald the dancing giraffe, the very hungry caterpillar
Places to go:  Nana and Papa's house, playground, airplane museum

Yesterday, we were playing outside on the side of our house, and he randomly said "Mommy, I need to go pee-pee."  He pulled down his pants, took off his diaper, and peed in the grass.  It cracked me up, because I have no idea where he learned that (probably from his Daddy).  Last week, Frankie had another ear infection and Frank told him that he got to stay home and play hooky with Daddy.  Frankie got a huge smile on his face and said, "I get to play cookie with Daddy!!!"  So many cute moments lately. I sure do love my big boy to pieces!

34 weeks!

We went back to the doctor this morning for another ultrasound and doctor's appointment.  The baby must have had a growth spurt last week, because she is now measuring much closer to her due date (only 5 days ahead).  This is a relief!  She is head down, she is still a "she," and everything else looked great.  After our appointment, Frank and I headed over to the hospital where I will have this baby (it is a different hospital than the one I had Frankie), to check it out.  It is only about 5 minutes from our house, so that is really nice.  I feel like we are finally getting prepared and ready for this baby to come!  She will be here in (at most) six more weeks!!