33 Weeks

JUST realized I wrote "34 weeks" instead of 33---PREGNANCY BRAIN!

I feel like I was just 30 weeks last Thursday--NOT 3 Thursdays ago! Quite a bit has happened in the past 3 weeks. I had a doctor's appointment on June 12 (31 weeks). At that point, little man had turned to the transverse (his head on my right and his legs and bum on the left) so we were excited for a little progress! I go back next Thursday and we get to have another ultrasound (yay) to recheck his spine and heart and other organs and also to see if he has turned head down. If he hasn't, then we will start discussing the options with my doctor. Not to say that he couldn't turn between now and D-Day, but it will just prepare us for other scenarios that could happen. Please pray for the Lord's will to be done and for Daniel and I to have peace. If I had a choice, I would opt for him to be head down and have a natural delivery, but I have to trust that if that is not what is best for Holt then it doesn't need to happen that way.

On June 14th, Daniel and I went to our Childbirth Class. Wow we learned a lot! I was pleased to discover I knew the majority of the information they provided about labor and the delivery (thanks to my momma being an OB/GYN nurse) but I definitely feel more prepared for what to expect during our time at the hospital! Plus we got to take a tour of the labor and delivery wing and see the nursery with all the new little babies---so hard to believe that will be us in just a few short weeks!

The next week was utterly exhausting---really good, but boy was this momma tired. We celebrated Daniel's first Father's Day (not to brag, but best gift ever--we get to see Straight No Chaser in concert this October!) and we had VBS at our church Monday-Friday from 9 AM- 12 NOON. It was a fantastic VBS week--I helped with the 5th grade and taught the Bible Story to the girls. PLUS, Daniel celebrated his 27th birthday on the 18th and we had our 4-year wedding anniversary on the 19th. But we weren't done yet! We also had our last 2 baby showers--one on Saturday, the 21st, in Conway and the other on Sunday, the 22nd, here in Fort Smith. They were both incredible and so much fun--and it was immensely humbling to receive so many things for our sweet boy! We are so thankful for each and every one of you!

Like I said, wonderful and fun things going on, but 7 days in a row is a bit much! Daniel and I joke that our lives are actually going to slow down once we have a baby!

So, that brings us to 33 weeks---Holt could be here in as little as 4 weeks or as many as 7 weeks. Oh.My.Word. That just kind of blows your mind a little bit! There is still so much to be done! Time to start doing baby laundry and organizing the nursery--his bedding should be finished in the next week or two and we get our rocking chair next Tuesday! I cannot wait for y'all to see his nursery once it's finished. :)

How far along: 33 weeks
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Slowly starting to get more uncomfortable. My back gets really stiff. But when I am asleep, I sleep like a rock.
Best moment this week: Both of the baby showers!
Miss anything: My own T-shirts. I really didn't think I would miss fitting in my own clothes, but it happened.
Movement: Oh Yeah! And a lot of times it tickles, so I just start giggling uncontrollably. :)
Food cravings: Lays BBQ chips---I could seriously eat the entire bag in one sitting.
Food aversions: None
Labor signs: still sporadic Braxton-Hicks
Belly button in/out: In! It's just completely flattened out.
Rings on/off: On
Happy or Moody: Happy
Looking forward to: Assembling the nursery!
Baby development this week: Holt is the size of a pineapple--over 17 inches long and about 4 pounds or so. He is steadily gaining baby fat and his skeleton is hardening. He officially takes up more room than the amniotic fluid and his immune system is really starting to strengthen up.

30 Weeks

Happy 30 Weeks to me! How are we already this far along in this pregnancy? Little Man is seriously going to be here before I can blink. (Sorry for the picture being a little blurry) Can I just say, I think it's funny that I THOUGHT I had a bump at 22 weeks---let's flash back to that pic shall we?

Yeah. Case in point. And I have 10 MORE WEEKS to grow. Awesome. 

Anywho, I was a slacker last week because my weekend was reminiscent of a chicken running around with it's head cut off. Extremely fun, but also extremely tiring for this preggo lady. Let's recap 29 weeks pregnant (and no, I don't have a chalkboard picture...again, slacker). We drove down to Conway for Hannah and Kirby's after-the-wedding reception on Friday, we had a Family Reunion with my dad's side on Saturday, drove back for church on Sunday AND my super-talented cousin took some maternity pictures for us, had a crazy week full of fun things including gearing up for VBS, transforming the dresser for Holt's room, and going up to Fayetteville with my sister looking for apartments for her and Kirby to move into! That's right, my sis and new bro-in-law will only live 45 minutes from us!

Here are a couple of the maternity shots my cousin took... IN. LOVE.

One of my good friends came over and helped me sand and paint his dresser. I decided to use chalk paint (SO much less work) and then got some new knobs to make it look like a completely new dresser! For some reason I can't load the before picture, but it was dark wood and the drawers were covered in stickers (my sweet little niece had a sticker field day with it a couple of years ago). Check out the before and after on my instagram page (link here).

The transformed dresser---not sure why I can't show you the before, but imagine dark wood and LOTS of stickers.

Then, I blink and here I am turning the big 3-0 weeks pregnant. A little surreal. I'm honestly jumping for joy, but at the same time starting to get a little apprehensive. I think it's just the unknown. The closer it gets, the more I realize how much I still have to do before he gets here and "will I get it done in time?", and "what in the heck are labor pains going to be like, because so far these Braxton-Hicks contractions are NOT that comfortable?", and "man, I love being pregnant, but I am starting to miss my flat stomach" and "OH MY GOSH I'm going to have a baby in anywhere from 7-10 weeks!" Don't get me wrong, I truly am getting really excited to meet this sweet boy and see his face and discover what he looks like and figure out his little personality and all those other joys we get to discover as parents. I'm also just being honest about the apprehensiveness of being a first-time mom and not knowing what to expect. 

I celebrated turning 30 weeks with Holt's first baby shower yesterday! (Pics to come) The sweet ladies at our church gave us the most beautiful shower--delicious food, great fellowship and baby advice, and of course lots of love and goodies for our little man. I'm so thankful my mom was able to come up and experience that "first" with me! We have a couple more showers later this month and we are going to Childbirth Class next Saturday and then July hits and I'l get to spend time nesting and preparing everything for when he gets here. Time truly is going to fly. 

On to business:

How far along: 30 weeks 3 days

Stretch marks: ZERO 

Sleep: Still going relatively well. When I am asleep, I sleep really hard--I don't even wake up when he's moving and rolling around in there. But then there are nights, like lately, where my right hip has been giving me problems again. It gets really stiff, which is probably exacerbated by having to sleep on my side, and wakes me up often. And randomly, last Thursday night, Daniel and I were both awake around 2:30 AM and Holt was moving everywhere--it was really special because it was the most that Daniel has felt him move in a short time span. 

Best moment this week: Holt's shower yesterday

Miss anything: My flat stomach. I absolutely LOVE being pregnant and this experience has been wonderful, but I am starting to see why women get tired of being pregnant towards the end. 

Movement: Lots and Lots! I can tell it's getting more crowded in there though--the kicks are dying down a bit and it's more just poking limbs and his head and his back out everywhere. I am soaking up every minute. 

Food cravings: Nothing lately that really stands out. I still love anything sour!

Food aversions: None

Labor signs: Braxton-Hicks contractions. They are very sporadic and irregular though.

Belly button In/Out: In! And I think it's going to stay that way. The past week or so, it has started to just get completely flat. 

Rings On/Off: On

Happy/Moody: Happy

Looking forward to: Upcoming showers and continuing work on the nursery! The crib is put together, the dresser is done, I have ordered the rocking chair, and the curtains and bedding are getting made as we speak! 

Baby development this week: Holt is the size of a butternut squash-- roughly 16 inches or so long and weighs about 3 pounds. This week his eyesight is developing more--he will have 20/400 vision when he is born (adults have 20/20 vision) so he will only be able to make out objects a few inches from his face. 

Gender Reveal Party

Ok, talk about a case of pregnancy brain. It just occurred to me that I STILL have not given y'all a post on our gender reveal party...that happened 2 months ago. *major fail* SO....with that being said, let me recap that glorious day for y'all!

Thursday, March 20th: Daniel and I had "the big" doctor's appointment--the one halfway through your pregnancy where they do an hour-long ultrasound and you have the option of finding out the gender of the little bambino growing inside of you. Let me just say, that hour (or more like 40 minutes) of watching my child on-screen was one of the neatest experiences I have EVER had. And what a cool thing to experience with my better half! We told the ultrasound techs upfront that we didn't want to know--that we were having a gender reveal party the next day and that we were going to find out at that time. We also asked if they could call our bakery directly to tell them Boy or Girl (we had cupcakes made from PattiCakes in Conway and she was going to fill ours with either blue or pink icing). So, literally the ONLY people that knew what we were having was the two techs and Patti.

Fast-forward to Friday, March 21st: Waiting 36 hours to find out was REALLY hard! They even gave us the telling ultrasound picture in a sealed envelope to open after we found out. It took all my will-power and determination to not look before the party! But, I did it---and I am SO glad we did it this way! We had a Razorback Football themed party (naturally) since Baby L's due date is 2 weeks before the football season starts. We had yummy tailgate food and of course, cupcakes! Plus, I had made an Old Wives Tale chart and little clothespins with pompoms and footballs on them for people to wear their guess at the party. That was really fun to see what everyone thought Baby L was going to be!

Everyone arrived in their Razorback gear and we ate and chatted until 7:30pm---time for the big reveal! My heart was hammering! Daniel and I stood up in front of everyone, bit into our cupcakes, and....

IT'S A BOY!

I was completely shocked speechless! I really had no clue, but was leaning towards girl just because about 90% of people I encountered predicted girl. Daniel, of course, had called boy from the beginning. It was so fun to see everyone else's reactions too! My mom was probably the most surprised--she had said girl from the beginning. In her mind, there wasn't even the remotest possibility of it being a boy, probably because all the signs had pointed to girl! His heartrate was pretty high above 140, I had morning sickness, the ring test and the pencil test and the chinese gender calendar had ALL said girl--so therefore, she was convinced he was a girl! The look on her face was absolutely priceless and she is MORE than ecstatic about having a grandson--especially since we haven't had a boy on my side of the family since my 20 year old cousin, Will! Daniel's family was equally excited--out of the soon-to-be 9 grandchildren, the past 5 have been girls! They were ready for some more testosterone! It was such a wonderful evening and it was so fun for Daniel and I to wait to find out--definitely worth the 36 hour wait!

On a side note, not only is it fun to be pregnant, but it's really fun to be pregnant with some of the people you are closest too! A couple of my best friends from high school, Sarah and Leslyn were both pregnant at the time and we were able to get a picture of the 3 of us together! Sarah just had her baby girl, Charley, a few weeks ago (she's a Star Wars baby--May the 4th) and Leslyn is due with her little man on July 12th! It was so fun to see both of them! PLUS, both of my sister-in-laws are pregnant (although Rebekah didn't know at the time of the party)! Daniel's brother, Sean and his wife Kimberly are due with their 3rd little girl on June 5th, we are due with Holt on August 14th, and Daniel's other brother, Ben and his wife Rebekah just found out they are due with their 5th child in December! Lots of little Lowery babies born this year! It will be such fun to have all the cousins grown up together--I know some of my fondest memories in my childhood are from playing with my cousins!

And there you have it! If you are pregnant (or plan to be someday) I HIGHLY recommend doing a gender reveal party! It is such a special moment to share with your family and closest friends!

I'll leave you with some pictures :)

All the ladies on both sides of the family! 

Our lovely mothers, excited about having a grandson

Us and the soon-to-be grandparents

Hannah is excited about getting a nephew!

My beautiful pregnant friends, Sarah and Leslyn, reunited

Soon-to-be Uncle Kirby and Aunt Hannah