37 weeks & 2 days

I had my 37 week appointment this morning and I took my mom and Jackson with me! Jackson loves to hear the heart beat and my mom hasn't heard it since my 9 week appointment! Everything is looking good, still measuring small (around 35 weeks) but she said that's fine. She asked how big Jackson was (7lbs 11 oz) and said this little guy will either be just a bit smaller or right about that! I am still at a 3 cm, but pretty close to a 4. My m plug is coming out and she said that labor isn't too far from that! So basically any day now and he should be here! Not to much to report other then I am still having sporadic contraction and lots of shooting sharp pains down stairs! Some make me double over in pain. She said it's his little head getting further down in to position. My back hasn't been hurting as bad, but me feet are starting to swell. Other then that, everything is going good and no weight gain this week! Wooo hoooo!

37 weeks & 2 days

36 weeks & 2 days
A random picture of my pregnant body that I took at the Tucson Children's Museum today.

My mom came last week on Wednesday and my brother got here Thursday to help Jeff and I out. My brother left yesterday:( and my mom will be here till the 7th. It has been really nice visiting and seeing them. We can't wait to go home and be with them all the time. I will post on out outings either tonight or tomorrow!

36 weeks, 2 days

Soooo, today was a little hectic. I had my weekly OB appointment today and I told her about my eventful Sunday evening of consistent contractions and when she checked me today I had progressed to 3 cm and 100% thinned out. Last week I was at 1.5 cm and 70% thinned out. I haven't gone into labor yet, but it's close. I was also told today that I tested positive on my Strep B Test, so she sent me over to the hospital to be monitored (didn't have this with Jackson). Being that I tested positive they will need to give me an IV Antibiotic before I reach 5 cm. The earlier the better, but it can only be done while I am actually in labor. So I was told to take it easy and come back if my contractions get closer and more persistent like Sunday nights contractions.

So after today, I am thinking we will be having a baby soon, especially with the contractions I have been having ever since I left the hospital. I know I am having more do to being active and I feel like I need to get stuff done around the house. It doesn't help when I am up every 5 minutes to get something for Jackson.

Here is the newest picture, not much change in my opinion! Actually looks smaller to me. 36 week, 2 day.

35 week, 2 days

Now we are just trying to figure out when my mom is getting here. Sooner then her scheduled Tuesday visit! I have been ordered by my mom and brother Jeff to just lay on the couch and not do anything, but I don't see that happening when I have Jackson and things to finish up! I have no bag packed and there are some odds and ends to be done around the house! So if he comes early then I won't be doing another pregnancy update! There will just be a beautiful baby to post! Until then I will update as planned on June 1st after my next OB appointment!

Poopoo In The Potty!

OMG! After 3 days of no diapers for Jackson he finally decided to go poop in the potty. We keep telling him that we'll take him to Toys R Us and buy him whatever he wants. Well, to say the least that hasn't been enough to get him to go. But after seeing his fear of actually having to go on the potty, I'm not sure that would be enough bribery for me either!
It all started with him playing outside this afternoon and actually pooping in his pants. He was hysterical and definitely not done. I cleaned him up and sent him on his way when he comes back in the house freaking out telling me his poop is coming. We head back in to the bathroom and sat there forever. Nothing came of it so I sent him on his way again! I would say about 1 minute later he comes crying again and telling me it's coming, it's coming! So we head back and I put him on the toilet and I pull up a chair and we sit! FINALLY SUCCESS!!!!! He feels so much better after telling me about 10x that his tummy hurts. I just kept telling him if he goes poop his tummy will feel better! Hopefully we can keep it up! If he has been going pee in the potty for a year now, I think it's time to go poop! I had to put my foot down, especially with the new baby coming. I don't need double diaper duty!
Good Job Jackson, I am so proud of you and so will daddy when he hears the news! Toys R Us here we come after dinner!

35 weeks & 2 days

Today was my 35 week appointment, yes 35 weeks! She wanted to see me a week early because of the contractions I have been having. Well, those contractions have gotten me to 1.5 cm and 70% thinned out. I have had a lot of sharp pains down in my you know what and that is him down there playing around. When she checked my today she could feel his head in my cervix, so it's just the waiting game from here! Let's just see how fast he wants to come out!

This picture was taken today @ 35 weeks and the one below this picture was taken last week at 34 weeks. I think my tummy looks a little different!

34 weeks
I go back next Tuesday and she will check me again! Hopefully he'll wait a couple more weeks, but if not I am so ready to meet him!

34 weeks & 2 days! 6 more weeks to go!

Today was my 34 week appointment and everything looked good. Heart beat was strong and I am still measuring a little small. She said that she wants to start checking my cervix next week instead of waiting another 2 weeks. This is due to my contractions that are a little more then braxton hicks. I have been getting braxton hick, but these other contractions put pressure on my chest and head. I actually have to do the whole breathing through the nose and out the mouth to get a release of any pressure. I have also gained 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks! She said 6 pounds is normal, so I am a little lower which is good in my books! Still need to watch it though. I need to start walking again, I've been a little lazy in that department.

So here it is! Can you believe my boobs actually look small! lol

Belly shot!
Jackson told me I had a fat butt today! Little @#$%!
So, I head back to the doc next Tuesday and I will post again! The count down is on!

I sCrEaM, yOu ScReAm, We AlL sCrEaM fOr IcE cReAm!

Who doesn't love ice cream? Well, we know Jackson does and it shows. He even drinks it out of the kids bowl, can't you see the ring!

I can't say I am the only guilty one in this house who wants Baskin Robins just about once a week, but it also seems to be good bribery for Jackson to eat ALL of his dinner!

So this is the result of a child eating his ice cream in his car seat with no supervision!

Jeff and I were enjoying ours while in the front seat and when we turned around to check on him this is what we saw, but at one point it was actually dripping off the tip of his nose!

I wish I could eat mine like that and get away with it!

Changed My Mind Part 2

When I say, "changed my mind!" This isn't really what I had in mind! I was more less talking about decorations, not a new couch, love seat and recliner. I wanted the recliner, but didn't ever think we would get new furniture until we were settled.

So the story goes, Jeff was at work on Monday and 2 new guys that are starting soon were talking about needing some furniture. Leave it up to Jeff to tell them about our super nice hand me downs from his mom. I have complained about our old couches for as long as I can remember and it was because they are so uncomfortable for a pregnant lady. Get it? So they come to look at them Monday night and I figured they wouldn't want them. So Jeff comes home yesterday and says, they are coming to pick them up tonight. What! What are we going to do for furniture? Well, we headed out and found some right away, did I mention we got a smokin deal!?

We ended up going straight to Levitz and these were the first ones we saw. They were all on sale and each piece was $277. dollars. We sold our old furniture for $300 hundred so we ended up paying $664.88 out of pocket. I would say that isn't to bad! Now we have more seating, but a smaller living room!

Here are some Pillows that I have picked up to bring in some color. I got these this weekend, but had no clue about them matching the couch perfectly! They are a little big, but I like them!
Close up!

Recliner! I am so excited about this purchase! I am going to be using this for my nursing chair.

This picture is of a lotus wall decoration that I picked up with the pillows. I got two of them, but not sure if I want to hang them yet. I don't see why I should when I am going to start packing up the house soon.

The pillows and wall decorations are from ZGALLERIE. I love this store and am so sad they closed the one in Fresno! They have such nice stuff and reasonable prices! So maybe I will do another post when we officially get settled and I have added some more colors to our life!

32 weeks, 8 more to go!

Today was my 32 week check up with my OB and everything is looking good! She said he is head down and I am measuring a little small, but the baby is normal size. She also said that I have a lot of room/space between my belly button and pelvis and that is why I am measuring small. It's all at the bottom of my belly. I have gained 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks, so that is good. I should only gain a pound each week.

Now that I am in my 8th month I am super tired and always hot. It doesn't help that it's already in the high 80s almost 90s here. I am also very emotional right now. I can hear a song, think of something or just feel like crying. Never had this with Jackson!

Other then that, everything is good just super uncomfortable!

I return to the OB on May 11th for my 34 week check up. I will keep you all posted and until then I will just count down the days!

Gifts for baby Tanner

What a surprise! This morning Jeff went to work a little later then normal and as Jackson and I walked out the front door to say goodbye, there was a package sitting on my door mat. I was like, "who in the heck is this from?" OMG! It's from Jennifer A. who lives in Birmingham, AL.

"That crazy girl! What could she be sending!?"

Jackson and I come inside and rip it open to find all these goodies that she made for our little Tanner. Yes, she handmade them and did an awesome job! I love them and all and can't wait to use them!

This is one of the bibs she made for him, but this one has his name embroidered on it.

Isn't it just adorable!?

Here is what was in the box. A bag with a wipe/diaper case, 4 blocks with the alphabet (letters) on them and 3 bibs.

Here are the blocks she sewed.

(Yes Jen, that is a word. I looked it up in the great old dictionary!)

3 bibs that I absolutely love, especially the one with his name on it!


Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I love them all and am so excited to put them to use!

I do have to say, that this little guy and myself have some great friends to make us thing! I love the handmade gifts, they are just so special! Thank you Jen and like I always say, "you didn't have to do that!" I really appreciate it and to be honest, you almost made me cry!

Thank you! He is going to love them!

Tucson, Az Zoo

Yesterday we spent the day with Kim and Ashlyn who we have become really good friends with here! We all went to the zoo and had a great time! I really liked the Tucson Zoo, it was really clean and small enough to do in 2 hours. Pretty basic, but perfect for the kids! They didn't have a reptile room and I had heard that they had a tropical fish exhibit, but didn't see one. Overall, I would take him again and it was pretty cheap! The only thing we missed was the 10 o'clock feeding for the giraffes:( Jackson would have loved it. I remember my grandparents taking me to the Fresno Zoo when I was younger and my grandpa had put me on his shoulders and this huge giraffe came down and took the leaves out of my hand! I still remember that long blackish tongue! I will have to take Jackson back so he can do that, I think he would really enjoy it!

Jackson & Ashlyn

Jackson really wanted to see the tigers! So here he got to be up close and almost eaten! lol

Looks like the tiger would enjoy him!

Taking a photo break before we saw the elephant! What a cute elephant too!

Don't you just want to stick your hand out and pet this guy! Kim & I both thought he looked so sweet!
Have you ever touched a hedgehog? Well, we did! This little guy wasn't to thrilled about being petted! He would jump and do his hiding maneuver! It was really cute and he was pretty poky! I told Jeff I wanted one as a pet! lol
We walked through the bird exhibit and saw some pretty birds (to many to put on here) but this guy is worth it since we see their relatives all the time! I have never seen this bird before, but it's a Blue-crowned Pigeon! Who would have figured, it comes from New Guinea.

Just one of the Giraffes eating and checking things out.

Now what about this Albino Peacock, have you ever seen one of these? Not me! He was actually really pretty and angelic looking. He was just hanging out with the rhinos and doing his little dance for the lady walking around. She didn't seem to interested, maybe she didn't like his style or lack of!

Baby Zebra. I think the lady said he was just a couple months old and weighed 80 pounds when he was born and now weighs a little over 100 pounds

I did take a lot of pictures, but way to many to put on here. I more less took them for Jackson to look at when we wants. But, I thought I would share with you some of the stuff we saw and enjoyed yesterday.

30 weeks, 10 More To Go!

I had my 30 week doctors appointment this morning and nothing new to share. I will start seeing her every 2 weeks from now on. I did loose my mucus plug last week and she said that was from the placenta putting pressure on my cervix. She said it grows back and not to worry! This is all so new to me! I was induced with Jackson so I don't even know what to expect with all this getting close to the date stuff. I am letting it all happen it on it's own this time so we shall see.

I did gain another 5 pounds:( Oh well! I don't even care anymore!

Other then that I am starting to feel uncomfortable and having some new back pains, but the worst is that I can't touch my toes if I am in a sitting position! lol All of these great things that come along with pregnancy!

Belly shot!
I will keep you all posted on my next visit!

Comparison

A friend of mine who was our old neighbor in Mississippi made this collage of her daughter and husband and posted it on Facebook the other day. The two of them look like identical twins and it is amazing to see the two pictures side by side. So I had Anne make me 2 collages of Jackson and I so everyone could see just how much Jackson looks like me as a child.

I only had a few pictures to select from, but this is what I came up with and Anne did the rest. I think Jackson and I look a lot a like. I will have to have Jeff's mom search through her old photos and get some of Jeff so we can see the difference.

I'm not sure how old I am in this picture, but I am guessing around 1 maybe 1.5. Jackson is 1.5 in this picture.

This picture of me is on my 1st birthday and Jackson is a little more than a year old
Thanks Anne for doing this! I think they look awesome and can't thank you enough.

Getting Ready For Baby

I think the nesting is starting! I haven't had it that bad with this pregnancy, but in the last week I feel like it's coming on. I feel like the house is always dirty and I'm vacuuming. I am constantly wiping down counters and mopping the floors.

I have made a list of things that we will need which isn't much, thank god! Just the basic stuff from Babies R Us and all the little things you forget about like alcohol wipes for the belly button and vaseline for his circumcision.

I wanted to share a few things that we have received in the last month for Tanner. Grandma Blaufuss sent us this nice car seat that we have been wanting. Our old one is so heavy (15 pounds + the weight of the baby) and we had a hard time carrying Jackson around when Jackson hit 3 months. So, we found this one that is top rated and weighs 7 pounds. I like it because it will match my jogger as well.

Thank you Grandma Blaufuss, we love it!

These are just a couple things that I have bought for him. I thought I would maybe bring him home in one of these Jumpers, but my mom sent me a couple things for Easter and I think I have changed my mind. (See picture below)
These are the little outfits that my mom has sent and the one on the left with the teddy bears is the one I'm considering for Tanner to wear home from the hospital. I think
The one on the far right makes me think of Grandma Blaufuss as they sail around the Great Loop. She would like the sail boats!
Thank you, Grandma & Grandpa T!
This little t-shirt we got in the mail yesterday from our old friends who Tanner will call uncle James and aunt Leah. I know this one is more of Jame's doing then Leah's, but we love it and can't wait to put it on Tanner!
Thank you, Jame's & Leah!
I just wanted to share a few things/gifts that we have received and can't wait to put Tanner in all of them! I will post next week with an updated photo of belly and I go to the my last normal doctors appointment on Thursday. After this visit I will see her every 2 weeks! Crazy to think that I will be 30 weeks on Sunday and that we don't have that much longer!

Easter Without Family

Easter! It's Easter? Well, it's just another day for us this year. We took Jackson to an Easter Egg hunt on base yesterday, I wouldn't call it an Easter Egg hunt though. They passed out cards with a colored egg and a sticker, you had to find the colored egg (ours was blue) with the matching sticker. (ours was a duck with red feet) They had the eggs in a small erea and it was just our luck that where we were standing before starting the hunt was our little egg sitting right in front of us! Jeff and I agreed that we would pick it up and hide it for him to find. So we went in and followed Jackson as he kicked each egg and not picking them up to see if they matched his sticker! Mind you we explained to him how to do it. I just think he really isn't in to the kid/baby thing, it's like he would rather be looking at the airplanes or doing something with dad these days. It could be cause we're not really in to it either. So we followed him around telling him to find his blue egg and match it with the sticker on the card and so he eventually did it. We on the other hand said screw this and dropped the egg and told him to pick that particular one up and we were done! lol We collected our prize and went to breakfast! Oh yeah, the kids got goodie bags for finding their egg. So really, he got to find one egg this year!

It just really isn't the same without family. The BBQ and the whole gathering together to let the kids play, color eggs and hunt. Hopefully next year will be more fun for him! He will have lots of cousins to do this with!

Here is Jackson right after we got to the park!

(Jeff dressed him and Jackson insisted on wearing his hat)

Waiting to find his egg!
We hope you all had a great Easter!

First Time Bowling

This week has been a bust as far as us doing anything. Jackson hasn't been feeling that well, so I kept him home from pretty much every activity that we do each week. Me on the other, I have been going stir crazy and eating everything in site out of boredom. I guess this would set me back on the weight gain wagon. OH WELL!

Yesterday was a better day for Jackson, but you could still tell that he wasn't feeling 100%. We decided to go out and get something to eat anyways. Jeff suggested going to the bowling ally on base and seeing if the food was any good. Well, looks like we decided to play as well. Jackson had fun, but was asking to go home after the 6th game! I guess it wasn't his favorite, but he said he liked it! We took these pictures with Jeff's camera phone, so sorry they aren't the best.

Here is Jackson's first roll without bumpers!

Jackson and I setting up his roll
Jeff trying to show Jackson how to roll it down without the dinosaurs help

Final scores! Did I mention that bowling while being 7 months pregnant is kinda hard? lol

After we finished and ate we came home and watched Toy Story 2! One of Jackson's Easter gifts! It ended up being a good family night!

An Interesting Accident

Can you imagine a rock of all places hitting a window and breaking it? Oh yeah, it happened today!

Jeff and I were laying in bed with Jackson and we were all asleep when we heard a big bang and Bella barking her head off. Jeff and I woke up and looked at each other with big eyes. So Jeff get ups to see what happened and sees Bella barking at the slidding glass door. He pulls the blinds back and sees this! The yard workers that come around were weed whacking and threw a rock up. Out of all the places it hit our window! Go figure! Can we really have anything more odd happen. A ceiling fan falls on us in the middle of the night in MS and now this! CRAZY!!!!

Jeff taping it so it won't fall

Just thought I would share our interesting accident with you!

Playing With The Cousins

We just had our SIL and our 2 nieces here for a visit from Fresno. They were her for 2.5 days and we had had a great time visiting and Jackson just loved the company. Jeff and I didn't really have to do anything with Jackson other then give him a bath at night and put him to bed. The girls did everything. Jackson wanted Ashley in the picture below to do everything, feed him, play with him, snuggle, etc. he was pretty bossy with her, but she didn't seem to mind! She and Courtney her older sister seemed to enjoy Jackson's orders and poopy diapers too! LOL I will be using them for babysitters when we move back!

Jackson his pretending to be the barber and cut Ashley's hair. He even used the blanket as the cape!

Ashley and Jackson!
Courtney pulling Jackson around on the blanket! I think he remembered this from Christmas and wanted them to do it!

I took the Fam to the Desert Museum yesterday for them to see something here in Tucson. The drive there was about 20 minutes from our house and beautiful. As I was driving there I couldn't help to think of Mississippi. All the lush greenery and the back roads. Here there's nothing but dirt, cactus, rocks and bushes of all kinds. It's like one extreme to the next for us, and it all stems from the heat! A whopping 85 degree in March! I just thank the lord above that there isn't humidity here.

So anyway, we went to the Desert Museum and we were a little disappointed, the animals were all hiding and it was basically trails taking you around to different exhibits showing how ants live in the ground, etc. We did see a wolf, black bear sleeping and the cave and mineral stuff was really interesting. Especially all the stones that come from the earth, so pretty! But besides that It was hot as hell and Jackson wasn't feeling very well. So those combinations just didn't go well together. But I am glad we got to see it and not just wondering whats over there.

We had a great time with Penny and the girls and we welcome our next visitors!