34 weeks

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate him body temperature once he's born — are filling her out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
How your life's changing:By this week,fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

Thanksgiving

David and I had a great Thanksgiving, we started the day by delivering food to those in need then went hunting for homeless to hand out food to. I'm not that good at hunting for homeless, I thought the guy pushing a cello down the street was homeless. Every time I handed out the food I just wanted to cry. We are so fortunate.
We then stuffed ourselves at the Conrad's Thanksgiving buffet. As you can see it looks like I ate everything they had.

I'm thankful for

• my husband. He is the best man in the world for me. God has blessed me with a wonderful partner.
• our animals. There are people out there that can't afford to take care of theirs and have to take them to the Humane Society. I wouldn't be able to deal with the heartbreak.
• our family. Even though we aren't together this holiday season, their emails and packages remind me that they are thinking of us.
• our little boy. He is very healthy. God has truly blessed us.
• our house and wonderful neighborhood. Where else would you see this?

Nursery

Still crafting

A stimulating black/white mobile. I used these images and these directions, sorta.


I started making Christmas cards, they take about 30 minutes per card. Directions can be found here.

Apparently the carrots are still good

Daisy decided to pull a carrot today and she thought she could bring it in to eat.

Comic Relief

I saw these on a fellow blogger's site and thought they were hilarious.I love pumpkin pie, in fact David made one for me last week. Unfortunately I only got one slice because Dorito decided it looked better on the floor.

"I love Thanksgiving turkey... it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts."~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

33 Weeks!

This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and weigh more than four and a half pounds. Your baby could grow a full inch more this week alone — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut.
The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus has reached its maximum, making it likely that you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why you're probably feeling lots of nudges and pushes — there's less liquid to cushion the blows. (Of course that means you're even closer to your baby now!)
If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).
And good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: The development of his or her own immune system that (along with antibodies from you) will be able to provide protection from mild infections.

Monty the Mini Sock Monkey

As you can see he is a bit smaller than the picture on the package. He was a lot harder to make than I anticipated and he didn't turn out quite right. I decided not to make the clothes because I'm pretty sure they won't help his situation. When I told David that I finished Monty, he asked if his head grew. Poor Monty.

I forgot what I used to look like

8 weeks

32 weeks

32 week Doctor Appointment

Good news/Bad news

Baby sounds great/my belly button will never be the same.

We will see the doctor again in 2 weeks and also have an ultrasound then. If I go into labor in the next 2 weeks they will try to stop it like before with the same medicine. After that she said they will just let it happen.

Heard at the Huang house or Madagascar 2?

a. You're the plumpiest girl around.
b. Don't sit on my legs, you'll break them.
c. You're huge.

Tip- only one is from the Huang house.

What have you done lately?

I finally finished another Ring Sling and successfully attached a pocket. I sent my original one to my sis Court. I hope she gets to use it soon.
I also made some flannel receiving blankets and they were sooo much easier to make than I expected.

Things I've learned about pregnancy

• Stretch marks hurt
• You can get heartburn from water
• Buying maternity clothes in your pre-pregnancy size is a lie
• It's impossible to "eat for two" due to the baby pushing on your stomach
• It feels like an Olympic event when you have to get out of bed or walk around a storeAnd here are some 32 week belly pictures

8 things tag

I was tagged by my friend Lindsey

8 TV shows I love to watch :
1. CSI
2. The Office
3. Jon and Kate + 8
4. 30 Rock
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Ellen
7. Scrubs
8. Rookies

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1.McCormick and Schmick's
2. Olive Garden
3. Yen Cheng
4. Noodles and Company
5. Morton's
6. BD's
7. King Wok
8. Sprouts (Oh, how I miss you)

8 Things that Happened today:
1. Checked out freebie blogs
2. Stuffed about 200 bags of candy for Operation Christmas Child
3. Cooked
4. Updated blog
5. Cleaned kitchen a little
6. Listened to music and danced for about 5 seconds before getting exhausted
7. Ate some candy as I packed it
8. Cleaned Daisy's feet after she went digging in the garden

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Meeting our little boy
2. Mom coming to visit
3. Pumpkin Pie
4. David taking vacation time
5. Looking at Christmas lights
6. Having family come to visit
7. Being surrounded by friends
8. Seeing David hold our boy

8 things on my wish list:
1. Finish nursery
2. Finish to do list that seems a mile long (Although my to do list has now become David's to do list)
3. Get Christmas shopping done
4. A smooth labor and delivery
5. A healthy, happy little boy after Christmas
6. My clothes to fit again
7. Time with family and friends
8. Snow!

8 people I tag:
1. Karla
2. Courtney
3. Zombie Mom
4. Sara
5. Vegas Mommy
6. Sarah
7. Jenn
8. Shari

Cord Blood Banking

This is something that I knew I wanted to look into but wasn't sure if it would be useful for us. After doing some research there are two options here in Indiana, public donation or private banking.
With public donation we would be donating it for research since we are not delivering at Clarian. If we were to deliver at Clarian then others could use it. I found this info here. The public bank can be found here.
Now for private banking, initially I found that cord blood could only be used to help a few diseases and most likely for a sibling not for the child the cord blood is coming from. But now I have come across some wonderful trials the medical community is doing, which I am very excited about. I also found that there is a cord blood bank here in Indianapolis which is half the price of Viacord, the national bank.
We decided to donate the cord blood for research. I called the bank and within 24 hours they sent us a collection package.
How awesome would it be to see a cure for breast cancer developed in my lifetime. I am amazed at how God made our bodies perform miracles.

31 weeks

Your baby now weighs as much as four navel oranges. (Length: over 16 inches, head to heel.)

Doctor appointment

For those of you keeping up with my doctor's appointments here's how yesterday's went.
Told to lay off the carbs because my glucose level is high.
Can stop taking Procardia unless I start having contractions again. No contractions last night that I know of.
Cough may get better by not taking Procardia, if not take Robitussin.
Baby sounds great and see the doctor again in two weeks.

X-Ray

The chest X-Ray came back negative. That means I don't have pneumonia. So what is it? The antibiotics didn't work and the cough hasn't changed in 3 weeks.

30 weeks

Baby sees the world through rose-colored glasses. Well, actually, through tomato-red colored glasses. Sunlight shines through your tummy into the womb, and your baby can feel the warmth and see the light.By now, your chubby little one looks like he will when he arrives--just a smidge

Trick or Treat

Halloween was great on Hickory Hill. The weather was warm and our book covers were a hit, you would have thought they won the lottery. Towards the end of the night we got one little girl that came up to David and just held out her bag. They stared at each other for a good few seconds before she said, "What are you going to give me." Notice I ended that with a period because she did not sound like she was asking a question, more like making a demand.
Then David said, "What are you supposed to say?" and her answer, "Halloween."
I'm still cracking up from their interaction.