33 and 34 weeks--Playing catchup!

33 weeks

34 weeks

Well!! The past two weeks have been CRAZY!! I finally moved to Hawaii. Let me tell you--it is GORGEOUS here!! The flight was long and boring and uncomfortable, but whatever. I made it. It has been so nice being able to settle and get baby stuff and everything. I'll tell you a more about that later on in the post though.

There's not a lot going on with Gabriel's development (as compared to earlier in the pregnancy) lately. I mean, there is--but it's mostly just brain development and gaining weight. His organs are almost fully matured except for his lungs, which will continue to develop almost until he's born. He's getting pretty big now! He's about 5 lbs now and around 20 inches! Because he's so big, I'm pretty maxed out on the amniotic fluid level. Since there's less water surrounding him, there's less cushion to his kicks and punches--which can SUCK. He moves in the most uncomfortable positions sometimes! Ugh! Anyway, Gabe is getting antibodies and all kinds of great stuff from me, which will help with the development of his immune system. Apparently his testicles are making their way down to his scrotum this week--they've been in his abdomen all this time!

So I had my first doctor appointment in Hawaii today! It took some time to get all of my medical coverage and stuff in order when I got here. I finally found a doctor YESTERDAY and they got me in to see him today. My doctor's name is Dr. Newcomb. He's really cool--super nice. My visits will be weekly from now until Gabriel is born. I have to get a Group B Strep test next week. Ick. It's a swab--like a PAP. Blah. But whatever.

On to the fun stuff!! I've finally been able to get baby stuff!! I have a high chair, a swing, a cute little vibrating baby papasan chair, a play mat, a stroller, and the CRIB!!! (and crib bedding) Here are some pictures of me and my mom putting it together:

 

Yay!! We did it!!

To My Little Angel

My dear, sweet little boy,


How do I even begin to express to you how much I love you? How do I explain that you are my entire world even though I have never seen you or held you? You have my entire heart. Nothing in this world means more to me than you do. You are my special little guy. 


It makes me sad that you will be born into such an imperfect world. I hate that, no matter what I do, I will not be able to protect you from every single hurt or harm there is. It breaks my heart to know that you are going to be born into a single-parent home and that your father has chosen not to be around. I am so sorry for that. I cry for hours wondering how you will handle the emotions that will come.


But please know this, Gabriel: No matter what, Mommy loves you. I always have. I always will. You deserve the very very best and I will do everything in my power to provide that for you--even if I have to do it by myself.

I love you so much,

Mommy

32 weeks down, 8 to go!

Wow. Eight months ago I was still dating Ray. I was in Texas. I wasn't pregnant (okay maybe BARELY pregnant). I can't believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time. It's weird almost. And in eight WEEKS, my life will be changed forever. I'll have a baby boy. What a year!

This week Gabriel is tipping the scales at around 4 lbs and is about 19 inches long. His skin isn't transparent anymore! He's got enough fat (kiddo's fillin' out!) to make it opaque like the rest of us! I'm just imagining how cute he's gonna be! I don't know what Ray looked like when he was a baby (hopefully I will soon though--Daisy is going to send me some pictures of him from when he was little so I can make an album for Gabriel), but I was a CHUNK! It will be fun to see who he takes after...

So the past week or so has been a little on the stressful side....ugh. I've been having issues with management at my apartment complex. Calling them "issues" is being nice, too. They are IMPOSSIBLE! But I finally got things worked out with them, so hopefully this will be the end of my frustrations with College Terrace...

I've also been trying to get things organized and cleaned and PACKED UP. I've been anticipating this move for about two months now and it's finally here! I'll be leaving Utah in two days....crazy! I have to ship a lot of stuff because I (obviously) won't be able to fit it all into suitcases... I am taking the boxes to the post office on Monday. Hopefully it won't cost me an arm and a leg to mail all of this crap. I can't wait to get to Hawaii though! I get to start buying baby stuff!! I've been so excited for this part! I would have been doing it already if it weren't for the fact that it would just cost me even more money to ship it all....blah.

I saw the doctor yesterday. Well, that's a lie. I went to the doctor's office and they sat me in a room where I waited to see the doctor....FOR ALMOST AN HOUR!! Finally the nurse came back and was like "I'm so sorry. Dr. Parker has already left for the day. I guess he didn't know he had one more patient to see...would you be willing to see another doctor?" Fine--whatever. Just get me in to see SOMEONE so I can get on with my day! So she told me she would send in Dr. Young. Ten minutes pass by. She comes back in and informs me that Dr. Young is busy with both his and Dr. Saunders' patients because Dr. Saunders is at the hospital delivering a baby. She asked me if I was willing to see a Nurse-Midwife. FINE! JUST GET ME IN TO SEE WHOEVER SO I CAN GO!! So she takes me over to the CNM side of the practice and I wait for another ten minutes and finally get seen. Ugh. Everything looks good though. My weight gain is right where it should be. So is Gabe's heart rate. My blood pressure is awesome. Blah blah blah. I was just so annoyed that I spend so much time WAITING.....whatever.

Anyway--eight weeks to motherhood! I'm so nervous!

31 weeks--On The Go!!

So! Here I am. 31 weeks. Holy crap. I feel like the time is just passing by so quickly!! I'm kinda glad about that though. Not that I hate being pregnant or anything--I love it (most of the time...lol)! I love feeling him move and kick. There's just a different feeling you get in general when you're pregnant. Life is different--and not just physically. I can't explain it. Anyway--only nine more days until I move to Hawaii!! Gah!!

Gabriel is weighing in at 3+ pounds this week! He's around 18 inches long (give or take), which means he's almost at his birth length! His brain is doing a LOT of work making sure everything is in order and all of the trillions (yes, TRILLIONS) of connections are good to go before he's born. He's actually using them--processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five of his senses. In fact, he'll actually be able to start recognizing my voice or music that I play, etc. That's because, up until now, Gabe interpreted sounds as vibrations, but now he can hear ACTUAL SOUNDS! How cool! He's sleeping more now too--I think maybe he just likes the REM sleep (dreaming is cool). LOL  It's nice that he sleeps more now--at least for longer periods of time. He is developing a much more predictable pattern. I usually have a pretty good idea when he's going to be awake and kicking and rolling around.

This week has been so up and down! I've been really busy trying to get things ready for the move. Grr. I hate moving. I love it too. But I tend to be a procrastinator when it comes to packing... Anyway, I broke down and bought a few things for Gabriel--I couldn't help it!! But it was just little stuff. I got a onesie for his blessing day (SO cute!!) and an adorable little pair of shoes. I had to. But they're small and won't take up much space when packing. I got together with Aubrey and did "belly pictures"!! I guess it sounds better to call it a "maternity shoot", but whatever. We got some really cute shots. I should post them sometime. Maybe soon. I talked to Racheal on the phone for the first time this past week! She's such a sweetheart. Daisy called me too! We only spoke very briefly because she was traveling at the time, but it was good to talk to her--haven't done that since.....geeze I don't even remember the last time we actually TALKED. I saw Dr. Parker Wednesday. He says everything's looking great! My glucose test results came back. As long as my "score" was under 140, I was good. My score was 80. I was WAY good. Dr. Parker says Gabriel is head-down, which is good I guess! He had a hard time finding his head at first--says I have abs of steel! LOL The good/relieving news: I should be totally fine to fly (in NINE DAYS--holy crap)! Yay!!

New baby stuff!

My monthly visit with Grandpa and Janet was great! (as usual!) Dinner was really good--we had Janet's breaded sweet and sour chicken and my grandpa made some sliced up potatoes and squash with mushrooms (yuuuuummmmmm!). They sliced up some fresh tomatoes from their garden and we had those with salt and pepper. Man, there's NO COMPARISON when it comes to store bought tomatoes and home grown tomatoes.

After dinner, we played games and talked--the usual. And Janet made root beer floats for dessert. She had a  cute little wrapped up package for me too! She had made another one of her awesome blankets and she got Gabe some cute little outfits!

I made sure to flip down one of the corners so you can see the other side. All of the blankets she has made me are reversible. How cute! And they're so soft...

A package of onesies she got me. I love the colors--the green is really cute! And the little pictures are adorable.

This one is super cute. She made sure to get me clothes for different stages, so this should fit him around springtime. Look at the cute little tail on the back!!

This is one that Libby (Janet's daughter) picked out! I don't know if you can tell, but it says "Do the Robot"! Hahahaha! I don't know why, but it's cute/funny to me...

Anyway, it's fun to get baby stuff!! Kinda bums me out that I probably won't have a baby shower... :-(   But I'll get to start buying stuff once I get to Hawaii!! Only a week and a half left!!