Dr visit update

Well Tom & I were both wrong, I'm only dilated to 1 1/2 cm. At least its progress though, better than nothing at all! Baby's heartbeat sounds strong and steady, doc says to just hang in there & that he'll be here in no time at all. My next appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday so in the meantime I'm just going to stay as active as I can to get this baby moving on its own. Elvy & I just went for a 3 mile walk, now its naptime...Elvy's already beat me to it & is totally passed out!

Love.

Due date week!

So maybe this is my last week of being pregnant...maybe not!? I'm due this Friday, only 4 days away but who knows when our little guy is going to come. My guess is that he'll be about a week late but we'll see.

We finally finished all of the BIG projects that needed to get finished in the baby's room. Here's the stencil that Tom made for the teal wall in Baby B's room. He did such a phenomenal job, crafty hubb!

Here's the wall that I stenciled. Came out amazing, its even better in person!



And the grand finale....(drum roll!) is the dresser!!!! This thing was waaaaaaaaaay more work than I bargained for but was definitely worth every second of it. Tom sanded it & I spent about a week painting it. The black piping was the hardest part - that combined with my enormous belly getting in my way! 



The only things left now that we have to do in the baby's room is hang the wall decor and find a little shelf. Almost there! Tomorrow I have another check up and will find out if I've dilated anymore. I think I'm at a 2 and Tom's guessing I'm dilated to 3 cm. I'll update tomorrow! The baby has the green light to come out after Wednesday when Jake gets home from Disneyland. I promised him I'd either have the baby before he left or would wait until he got back on Wednesday. Glad the baby is keeping up his end of the bargain & staying put until big brother comes home :)

Love.

38 weeks

Exactly 2 weeks left now! Crazy, I didn't think I'd still be updating at this point. A couple of weeks ago I thought for sure this baby was coming early, there was so much activity & stuff going on with my body - all the contractions and dilating, hospital visits, etc. But I'm actually really happy to still be pregnant and that my little poppy is still cookin' in there. I've really enjoyed being pregnant & sometimes feel like I could go another month no problem! Well okay, minus the night time back aches, those I don't love so much. No wonder Jake didn't want to come out though & was 15 days late, I think my body is made for pregnancy - these babies just get all cozy inside and it seems like the longer I go the more energetic I become. I've also been off work now for two weeks, pretty amazing. I've honestly wondered a few times how I worked and fit in everything I do! I've been so busy since I've been on maternity leave, its been non-stop but I've loved every second of it. Trying to stay on top of homework, finish up all these little projects around the house...well I shouldn't say "little"! Painting the baby's dresser and stenciling his wall in his room have proved to both be bigger challenges than we anticipated but I'm almost done and have to say that it was worth every stressful moment doing it. I'll definitely post before & after pics later.

Here are some fun facts of what's going on in the Bowman world:
*At 38 weeks I've now gained 25 lbs
*Jake is kicking butt in baseball, just hit a triple Wed night & a double on Sunday!
*Tom gets to take off an entire month after the baby is born WOOHOOOO Can't WAIT!!!
*I'm feeling super sad to have to leave Elvis when we have the baby. I know that sounds goofy but we've never left him over night before, this will be the 1st time. He'll be w/ my sis & bro bro having the time of his life though playing with Mersey - he won't even know we're gone!
*Jake is going to Disneyland with his dad April 16th - 20th, that's the week we're due. Everyone please pray that we have the baby either before he leaves or after he gets back!!!!! I don't want him to miss this!

Updates on the room later...almost there!

Love.

Crafts and Crib!

More progress on the baby's room...Tom putting together the crib & I'm crafting

My big baby! 



My little baby...



Painted baby's room!

Here's a before shot of the baby's room. 3 walls were white and one wall was a bright purple!

Now here's an after...3 walls are now a cream color (kind of hard to tell in this pic) and one wall is Teal Zeal! Not quite finished though...still have to do some stenciling this weekend. Just a fun sneak peek of our work in progress. 

L&D

Let me be the first to say that if you do NOT want to go to Labor & Delivery, do NOT call your Dr and tell them you've been spotting because that's exactly where they will send you! And not once this week did it happen but twice! humph! All I wanted to know yesterday morning when I called is why - why is it happening...that's it. But they said back to Valley Care, so off I went...which really isn't that bad to be honest. The staff is great, the check in process super simple & easy but there's lots of little unnecessary fluff that I could do without...like being wheeled up to L&D in a wheelchair. I mean really, I'm not dying! Oh well, you just have to go with it. After yesterday morning's visit I learned that I've started to dilate, I'm at a 1cm. The baby is doing great, everything looks good & nothing to really be concerned over unless I start bleeding more. Alot of times I guess as the cervix begins to open & dilate, blood vessels rupture which can cause some spotting. TMI? sorry. I could get more graphic but I'll spare you the rest haha!

With everything that's been happening though in this last week - baby dropping, dilating, constant contractions - we definitely think the baby will be early. (Tara's predicted April 13th) Tom's feeling a little anxious over working so far away & is afraid something's going to happen while he's at work but I keep reassuring him that he'll have plenty of time to make it home. Labor is a loooooooooong process! I'm 35 weeks today so the baby can safely come at any time, we're officially in the clear so we'll just have to sit back and wait and see.

Oh! and here's a little sneak peek from our super fun & awesome maternity shoot with Sisterwait!

Love.

Over-due & homecomings!

I can't believe it...8.5 months preggers today! Now of course in the homestretch I feel like, "Where did the time go!" but if you would've asked me that at 3 months, I would've told you we were moving at a snail's pace. I had another check up on Wednesday & everything looks awesome. I didn't gain any weight this time which I thought was weird but the Dr said was fine. We talked about being overdue & what the game plan was, last time he let me go 15 days late with Jake. He said that this time he wouldn't let me go that long & that he'd induce me after a week, 10 days max but most likely not past a week. WOOHOO! So IF I'm late again, they would probably induce me as early as the 28th but no later than May 1st - which also happens to be our 1 year anniversary! LOL My prediction (or hope!) is that I won't need to be induced this time. Not that my induction was horrible last time but I really feel like my body will kick into gear on its own. I would love to go into labor naturally and I'm hoping that all these Toni Braxton's are prepping my body to do something of its own accord.

 

Most exciting news of all is that Tom comes home tonight!!!! He's only been gone a week but I feel like its been an eternity, like he's missed so much! I haven't had anyone to stare at my belly with all week long! I tried to make Jake do it but he said, "Come on mom, I can't stare at it forever. I'm not Tom!" hahaha!! Can't wait to see my babe tonight & kiss his face!

 

Love.