39 Weeks and counting down

With only 8 days left until Amelia's due date, I am beginning to see the end of this incredible ride that we have been on. As in the last post, my emotions are still mixed with excitement and sadness. I am sad that my time being pregnant is about to end, and the thought of not carrying this little girl inside of me makes me realize how blessed I have been. 40 weeks is such a short time to experience such an incredible event. I truly feel blessed to have played a small role in a miracle.

But, knowing that we are so close to meeting our baby girl is the most exciting thing I have ever felt. I simply cannot wait to see her, to hold her and to spend my days taking care of her.

And, as much as I have loved being pregnant, there are definitely several things I am looking forward to after this this pregnancy is over.

1. Having a waist. Maternity clothes were cute and fun for a while. Now, I'm over it. I want my old clothes back, the ones that have buttons and zippers. Plus, even my maternity shirts are getting too small. See example below.

38 Weeks, large and in charge
(Sullivan likes taking belly pictures)

2. Not having to pee every 20 minutes. It puts a serious cramp into my day, and nights for that matter.

3. Resuming my normal caffeine routine. Starbucks, I miss you. I will be back soon.

4. Being able to reach my own feet. I think David might appreciate when I can paint my own toes again.

5. A cold margarita. With extra salt.

6. My hands and feet not swelling up like sausages every time I have too much salt. Or stand or walk too much, or get too hot, etc, etc.

7. Being able to wear my wedding ring again. You know, after my hands stop swelling.

8. Sushi. A spicy tuna roll is calling my name.

9. Doing things by myself again. I hate not being able to move something, or carry something, or lift something. It takes too much time to either find someone or wait for someone to do things for me.

10. Not having random women try to touch my belly. Or tell me their personal and sometimes inappropriate pregnancy/childbirth stories. Too much info.

This is only a small list of things I am looking forward to after pregnancy. There are many more and I know they are not all possible all the time. Obviously, caring for a newborn and breastfeeding will continue to be the major influence on my actions. (I won't be indulging in a few margaritas before feeding, don't worry).



I'm also finishing up a last minute project for the nursery, so hopefully completed nursery pictures to come soon!

36 Weeks

Dear Amelia,

Your due date is exactly 4 weeks from today. The days have quickly sped by, leaving only a handful remaining. I'm torn between wanting the next month to fly by so I can meet your sweet face and wanting the next month to linger slowly so I can keep you to myself for just a bit longer.

I am continuously amazed at how much we have both grown in the past 36 weeks. I have watched week by week as you grew from a grain of rice, to a grape, to a peach, to a squash and now you are larger than a honeydew. I have read each week what you are doing and what new development you are making. I have watched my belly expand each week and felt your kicks and movements grow stronger and stronger. As much as my belly has grown, I know my heart has grown bigger as I learn a whole new kind of love.

We have 28 days left to go, and with every day that passes you are becoming more prepared for the crazy, outside world. I know that the next month will both fly by and creep along. I'm working hard to make sure that we are ready for your arrival. I can't wait to see your daddy hold you and I know the entire family is so excited to meet you. You are such a blessed little girl to have so many people who love and care for you.

But, for the next month I am going to enjoy having you all to myself, keeping you safe and warm.

Love,

Your mom

35 Weeks and Graduation

We graduated!

From childbirth class that is. For the past 4 weeks, David and I have been attending childbirth and newborn care class at the hospital where I will deliver. I was actually super excited about taking this class because I want to be as prepared as possible for this event that I know is impossible to be fully prepared for. Others have told me that their classes were pointless, but I was really pleased with our class and our instructor. She is a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital and gave us lots of great tips and instructions.

Last night was our last class and we have officially graduated. We got a certificate and everything, which must mean we are ready to have a baby, right?




I know I am an inconsistent blogger (3 people told me yesterday I needed to update my blog, so this if for you guys). But really we haven't been terribly exciting. We have been working hard on getting the nursery ready. As soon as it is done I will definitely post pictures. It's still not quite finished, so I hope Amelia doesn't decide to join us too early!

One especially fun thing I do have, is my diaper bag. I am in love with this bag and can't wait to stuff it full of little tiny diapers! It was a gift from my mom, and I am in love with it! I looked long and hard for a bag before finding this one at Wiggles and Giggle downtown. Having a little girl, it is easy to drown in a sea of pink, so I was happy to find this bag that is my personality and my style. Isn't it great? Thanks Mom!
And here is the latest belly shot. If my belly is any predictor, Amelia is definitely growing at a steady rate! I can't wait to see some chubby little cheeks!

35 Weeeks

35 Weeks along, and now less than 35 days to go...

Progress

David and I have been working hard on Amelia's nursery and I could not be happier with the way it is coming together. The walls are painted, the crib and dresser are assembled and I am working on some decor. Below are some shots of the furniture minus all the cute stuff that goes with it (bedding, accessories, etc.)



I also realized it has been a while since I posted any belly shots. Here are a couple from the last few weeks.

25 weeks

31 weeks
Yes, I am aware that this picture looks
like I am wearing a tent.

I am 31 weeks this week, and the countdown is officially in the single digits. Only 9 weeks to go until we meet our sweet baby.

I often find myself in the nursery, standing over the empty crib and imaging what our Amelia will look like, what she will be like, and what our future will be. It is so fun preparing the nursery that I know will be so full of love.

I'm in love with this face.

Dear Amelia,

I'm pretty sure you are the most perfect thing I have ever seen...










...and I can't wait to hold you in my arms.

Love,

Your mom

28 weeks and a Weekend of Fun

This weekend was the beginning of our 28th week and the 3rd Trimester! Time is going by so quickly and I cannot believe we are 2/3 of the way to meeting little Amelia. Only my growing belly reminds of how quickly her arrival is approaching.

At our doctor's appointment last week I measured right at 27 centimeters, so I am right on track, although my feet seem to be getting farther away by the day! I also had my glucose test which came back normal, and a shot in the hiney because I am an RH negative blood type. I have to say that a shot in the rear end is about as much fun as morning sickness.

We have had plenty to keep us busy lately, but this past weekend we had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends and start getting Amelia's nursery ready.

David turned 27 on Thursday and we celebrated with his parents and sister, pizza, ice cream and a giant cupcake!


We (and by "we", I mean mostly David) worked hard all day on Saturday, cleaning out and painting the nursery. We had to paint over an awful blue color that we painted when we moved in and have never liked. I have been meaning to paint over it for about 3 years now, and it only took having a baby to make us to finally get to it.

The new wall color is a soft, neutral gray. We will have black furniture with white and pink bedding. We are still in the process of picking out accessories, but I think it will all come together perfectly.

Suki and Sullivan watched from the hallway as we painted. What will be the nursery has been the puppies bedroom for 2 years now. I think they are a little upset to have to relocate. Don't those look like sad faces?

The room is still a disaster area with paint supplies and mismatched furniture scattered around, but we hope to get it cleared out and ready for new furniture soon. I am ordering the crib and dresser this week and cannot wait to begin putting the room together. I'll be sure to post new pictures as we make progress on the nursery.

On Sunday, Amelia had her first party, a baby shower in Ardmore thrown by wonderful friends of my mom. It was such a wonderful time, getting so see family and friends. Amelia got a ton of great gifts and cute clothes. Pictures and a posts on the shower, coming soon!

24 Weeks

I think I should just come to grips with the fact that I am not ever going to be one of those amazing bloggers who faithfully posts the adventures of their everyday life. I am just either not that dedicated, or not that exciting to post everyday. Maybe after baby arrives I will have more eventful things to fill the pages of my blog, although less time to spend at my computer. :)

However, having been several weeks since my last post, I have quite a bit to catch up on. The time is quickly passing by... I think a little more quickly than I would like. We still have so much to do before Baby Girl Hodson arrives, but we have actually been rather productive the past few weeks.

The most exciting development is that we no longer have to refer her as "Baby Girl Hodson". A couple of weeks ago, David and I finally decided on a name for our sweet baby. After much discussion and "trying on" several names, we decided on a name that had been on our short list since the beginning. Amelia.

Amelia Gayle Hodson will be the name of our little one. We have known since before conception that if we ever had a little girl, her middle name would be Gayle. Gayle is a family name, the middle name of my wonderful Granny, Shirley Gayle Campbell. Granny was taken away from us much, much too soon in December of 2008. She was one of my most favorite people in the world and the matriarch of our family. She was a loving, funny, strong, stubborn and amazing woman, and I am proud that my daughter will share her name. Sharing Granny's name will give Amelia a lot to live up to, but I hope that by passing down stories and memories of our time with Granny, that we will also pass down her characteristics and her love.

Whew! With the name picked out, David and I were feeling pretty good. Until we remembered that we had not done one single other thing to start preparing for Amelia's arrival! So, last weekend we got started with our preparations. We registered for some basics at Babies R Us and Target and had a little mini shopping spree with my mom (or Grams) as she is otherwise called. We picked out a travel system, and pack n' play, and baby swing and a seemingly endless list of other items. I know we aren't even close to picking out everything yet, and we still haven't actually purchased any of these things. But, at least we started the process. Amelia may not have a crib, but thanks to Grams she does have the beginnings of a cute little wardrobe!

We also spent the weekend cleaning and reorganizing some of the rooms in our house. In order to accommodate Amelia, our other babies (Suki and Sullivan), are going to have to relocate. For the past two years, what will be the nursery has been the dogs bedroom. Yes, the dogs currently have their own bedroom. They will be moving into the office/craft room and part of the craft room will be moving to the garage. So, we had a fun weekend of cleaning the garage and moving things from one room to another. Again, we haven't actually finished this project, but at least it is started.

Now, we just need to pick a paint color, paint the nursery, pick out a crib, start gathering all the things on our wish list and actually put the nursery together. We have approximately 3 months and 20 days to accomplish this, unless Amelia decides to join us sooner! So, time to get our behinds in gear!

And just for fun, here are pictures at 23 weeks. Getting bigger everyday!

Between Us

Dear Baby...

I am sitting at work right now, working on sales leads, and feeling you kick and twist inside of me. You are moving around more and more lately. Sometimes early in the morning while I am getting ready for the day, sometimes while I am at my desk working, sometimes while I am in the middle of a conversation with a client, but mostly in the evening while I am relaxing on the couch or reading in bed.

Regardless of the time, whenever I feel you kick and move is the best part of my day. I have decided it is my favorite part of pregnancy. Feeling you move reminds me to focus on all the important and wonderful things in my life and forget the minor troubles each day may bring.

I love feeling your little movements. I like to think it is your way of talking to me, private little conversations throughout the day, just between us.

Love,
Your mom

Half Way There!

20 Weeks and Counting...

Now that we are 20 weeks along and I am starting to get a noticeable little belly bump, I thought I should start documenting my changing figure. Even though my pants are quite a bit tighter, my wardrobe selection is shrinking, and it is getting more difficult to get dressed in the morning, I have to say that I love my growing belly.

It is so fun to experience my body changing to make room for our little girl. (Somebody please remind me that I said that in about 4 months.)

Sugar and Spice...

and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of. At least that's what we're hoping! :)

Despite my best efforts, I am not great at keeping up with my blogging. It was a week ago yesterday that we found out Baby Hodson is in fact, Baby Girl Hodson. We had our ultrasound and got to watch our baby girl on screen for almost an hour. We were glued to the screen as she moved and wiggled as the tech measured every bit of her tiny little body. Our last ultrasound was at 11 weeks, so we were in awe of how much she has grown and changed in a few short weeks. I have to say, she might just be the most wonderful thing I have ever seen.

After measuring and checking everything, the tech gave us a little preview of the 4D ultrasound in case we want to come back and do that later in the pregnancy. It was simply amazing how detailed the images were and how developed she is at this early stage. I couldn't help but tear up as we saw her tiny fingers curl and stretch. I can't wait until the day when those little finger can curl around mine.




David and I didn't have a strong preference on gender either way. We would both like a boy and a girl, so we didn't really have our hopes up for one or the other. However, we were both completely thrilled to find our that "it" is now "she". It's so fun to talk about HER, and what SHE is doing. I love thinking about her and imagining what she will be like as she grows. And, it is definitely easy to get caught up in the world of little girl things. I know we will have a wonderful time together and with our families and friends as we prepare for out little girl.

Don't be jealous of my stretchy pants...

It's been a while since my last post, but really nothing too exciting has been going on around here. David was gone for a week on business, so the puppies and I had some nice quality time together. I don't think they are looking forward to sharing my lap with a new baby.

Baby H is doing great, and if my waistline is any indication of things, seems to be hitting a growth spurt! The past couple of weeks I have definitely put on a few pounds and began to notice my clothes getting a bit snug. Most of my "normal" clothes still fit, but were getting just a tad tight. I decided it was time bite the bullet and go maternity shopping.

Mom and I made a girls day of it and met in OKC to see what we could find. My main objective for the day was to find a "belly band". I had heard of these terrific things on several websites and blogs and thought I just had to have one for myself. For anyone who is not familiar, a belly band (also known as a tummy sleeve or bella band) is a stretchy band of fabric that you can wear during and after pregnancy to make your clothes fit. When your pants aren't too little yet, but they just don't quite button, you wear the belly band over the unbuttoned pants to cover up the buttons and help keep the pants up. Well, I found a belly band and I wore it for the first time yesterday. It was fantastic! Some of my work slacks were definitely too little, but with the belly band...perfect! And so comfortable! I didn't realize before how uncomfortable and restrictive my pants had become.


Belly band unfolded and folded.

Along with the belly band, we found several shirts that can transition into maternity shirts as well as two pairs of work pants and a skirt with the full on tummy panel built in. Previously, I may have made fun of the huge tummy panel, but they are so comfortable I may just keep them after baby. :) Plus, look at this cute stuff, dressy maternity Bermuda shorts...who knew such a thing existed?!


The pictures aren't that great, but they are really cute! Although, I've never had a pair of pants that required instructions.


We definitely had a successful shopping trip (thanks mom for all the great clothes!) and had a great afternoon just hanging out looking at baby stuff. A trip to Babies R Us made me realize there is still much to do before Baby H arrives! Considering we haven't bought a thing yet, our list of needs is still pretty long. We find out the gender next week, so we will be in full planning/preparing mode after we know if Baby H is a boy or girl!

The Beat of My Heart...

Today was another important mile marker on our journey towards parenthood. Today was our 15 week appointment and we got to hear Baby Hodson's heartbeat for the first time. It was simply amazing and perfectly wonderful. Even though we only listened for a short minute, I was completely in awe and will remember that beautiful sound forever.

Baby H's heart rate was 150 beats per minute and strong. Take that for what you will...some say that means girl, some say that means boy. But, we don't have too much longer to wait until we find out the gender. We have our 18 week appointment set for Monday, February 22 to find out if Baby H is a boy or girl!!! I don't have a preference either way, but I am so excited to find out. Any guesses?

Hello 2nd Trimester! I love you already...

Everyone says the 2nd trimester is the best trimester, the time when nausea and fatigue fade and you begin to regain your appetite and energy. Let's just say, I have definitely been looking forward to the 2nd trimester!

Let me start by saying, I had a pretty rough 1st trimester. I definitely learned the full meaning of the words "morning" sickness and felt a kind of tired that I have never felt before. The day before we found out that I was pregnant, I started feeling sick. Very sick, and continued to feel very sick for approximately the next 7-8 weeks. I couldn't hold much down, had an extremely overly-sensitive sense of smell and horrible food aversions. The worst part of being extremely sick during early pregnancy is...no one can tell you're pregnant! They just think you're crazy when you suddenly leave your cart in the middle of the isle at Wal-Mart to take off in a sprint to the bathroom. Or, they stare at you in disgust when you have to suddenly pull over the car to gag into a plastic sack (yes, I was in the habit of always having a plastic sack within reach...just in case). There were so many times I wanted to shout, "I'm not crazy or contagious! I'm just pregnant!"

David has been such a trooper the last several weeks! He went grocery shopping each week so I wouldn't have to experience the unbearable stench of chicken that permeated every inch of Wal-Mart, he humored me and ate fast food for dinner several nights in a row when all I could keep down was Sonic french fries, and he kept our house (for the most part) presentable when I couldn't drag myself off the couch to clean it.

The first weeks were definitely rough, but at the same time they were also wonderful. I have never been so happy to throw up. Every time I was sick I knew it meant that Baby H was growing and changing, and that was all I needed to make it through the day.

Now that I am feeling good and have more energy, I am looking forward to the upcoming changes that the 2nd trimester brings. I am looking forward to gaining weight, hearing the heartbeat and finding out the gender. I am looking forward to planning for Baby H's arrival, decorating the nursery and seeing my body change as our baby grows. I can't believe we are already one-third of the way through this pregnancy. Even though the first months were sometimes difficult, they still seemed to go by so quickly. I know that July will be here before we know it. There is much to be done and much to be figured out in the next few months. Keep your fingers crossed for us as we prepare!

P.S. We get to hear the heartbeat at our appointment next week. Yay!

Hungry = Happy!

Only recently have I begun to have any appetite whatsoever. My first couple of months were rather difficult (more to come later on the joys of the 1^st trimester) and I didn’t eat much. There were days when nothing, and I mean nothing, sounded appetizing. The only thing that made me eat anything on some days was the knowledge that it was now my responsibility to nourish my body, to in turn nourish my child. So you can imagine how excited I was to discover recently that I was hungry!

And yes, I have been so hungry the past week! Yesterday all I could think of at work was BBQ sauce, in particular, Rib Crib BBQ sauce. Maybe this doesn’t sound strange to you, but for any of you who know my eating habits, you know I don’t eat a lot of meat, BBQ or otherwise. So, it was a bit strange for me.

Every Friday night is Friday night date night for me and David. Usually we have this conversation…”What do you want for dinner?” “I don’t know, what do you want for dinner?” Not last night. Last night for Friday night date night, David and I went to Rib Crib and I had wonderful, delicious, heavenly BBQ. And I loved every bit of it. I guess you could call this a “craving”. I don’t know, all I know is that I was hungry, I wanted some BBQ, we ate some BBQ and it made me happy. J Thank you Rib Crib.