bUmPdate::37 weeks

Can't believe we are already at the 37 week mark.  Eep.  D-day is fast approaching.  We were camping in South Haven this weekend.  According to all of South Haven I am having a boy.  Eric said to me, after he took this, that is one huge baby in there.  I said what have I been telling you...  I'm reminded every three seconds.  I am also to the point where people feel free to tell me I "look like I'm due any day."

Highlights:: 

How far along:: 37 weeks, measuring 37 weeks.  The doc checked me this week.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  For those of you concerned I am over-doing it, that is proof I am not.

Heartbeat::140's

Clothes:: The only thing maternity that I have really been wearing is jeans.  Now that it's hot I've been wearing dresses and shirts/skirts.  My selection of shirts is slowly dwindling ;)
Weight Gain:: 32lbs

Movement:: Oh yes.
Symptoms:: Cramping again.  In my feet this time.
What I miss: Clothes.  Bending over.
Cravings:: Fruit.

Best moments this week::  Early term.  Baby can come annnnny time ;)
 

What I am looking forward to:: 38 weeks.

Names:: 2 boy names, 1 girl name.

Funny Moments:: Adelyn wants to name the baby Vidia.  She was upset when we said no.  She keeps drawing pictures of our family.  She writes all our initials out and the baby is a "V."  Ha.

37 week comparison::

Adelyn at 37.  To be fair, I am not facing sideways.                  B and J at 37.  I look exhausted.

BF4 at 37 weeks.  I AM carrying SO high.

bUmPdate::36 weeks

Highlights:: 

How far along:: 36 weeks, measuring 35 weeks at a 35.5 week appt

Heartbeat::130!

Clothes:: The only thing maternity that I have really been wearing is jeans.  Now that it's hot I've been wearing dresses and shirts/skirts.  My selection of shirts is slowly dwindling ;)
Weight Gain:: 29lbs

Movement:: Oh yes.
Symptoms:: Things are becoming uncomfortable.  But I've been doing surprisingly well.
What I miss: My shorts. Clothes that relatively fit.
Cravings:: Fruit.

Best moments this week:: Turning 9 months.
 

What I am looking forward to:: Camping this weekend.

Names:: 2 boy names, 1 girl name.

Funny Moments:: Joelle thinks I have two belly buttons.  One being my "normal" belly button.  The other being the stretched and ripped portion of my belly button ring.  Brecken corrected her and said "Mommy, doesn't have ANY belly buttons.  But Daddy still does."  Which is more accurate.  Since my "belly button" is alllll flattened out.

 

It really hit me, while I was driving, that this is our last (planned) baby.  I *almost* cried.  When I told Eric, he informed me "That is not a reason to cry."  Why thank you.  Men.

J also thinks the baby should come any time.  She'll wake up and ask "Did the baby come yet?!"  "Is it coming NOW?" "When is the baby coming?"

 

Walmart lady::When is your baby due?  Today?

Me:: Nope.  4 weeks left.

WL:: Ohhh boy.  (Surveying my children) I bet you wish you are having a boy.

Me: Not really.  I'd take a boy or a girl.

WL:: No, I was asking your son.

Me: Oh.  Well, depending on the day, he would say boy or girl.

This is why I avoid Walmart like the plague.  Just had to return some diapers that turned out to be ghastly expensive.

Adelyn still thinks I'm going to die in the hospital.  She brought it up again the other night.  "Why do you have to die Mommy?"  Ugh.  Hoping she doesn't have these fears while I'm actually IN the hospital.  And hopefully it's not a premonition.  Joking.  Kind of.

Maternity Pics::June 2014

These pictures are so near and dear to my heart.  I LOVE them.  The kids were amazing.  Kasey was amazing-as always :)  We went to VanRaalte farm to do them.  The night we were supposed to go, it was 55 and super windy.  We decided to reschedule for the next night.

Flowers and flowers abound.  So everyone had fun picking them :)

Love all those little hands.  And those little hands love to touch my belly.

My sweet boy.  I had already signed up to pictures with the ponies with the girls so we got some of just B and I here.

He loves his Momma.

I love my husband dearly.  But this is such a man picture.  The first thing any woman would notice about this picture is that B's belly is hanging out.

Cutest kids ever.

Love these pictures with Eric and our last {planned} little one.

Pretty white blossoms.  And one of my favorite pictures of me.

My sister said that my pictures were awesome hippie pictures.  I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.  So I asked.  She said it was.  *I* don't mind being called a hippie.  But she would ;)

Another one of my favorites.

Look at all those little lovies.  They are SO excited to meet this baby.

One of my favorite family ones.

Father's Day was the next day.  Had to get some pictures with just Daddy too!

 Adelyn was being seriously goofy for this shot.  So I'm glad there was one good one!

First I was against the back of the fence.  Then Kasey said to move by the post.  Right by the barbed wire.  Anything for a cool shot...and this one is pretty cool.

The back story behind the birch trees::we were going to start heading back.  Eric and the kids lead the way.  Instead of turning off where we were supposed too, Eric (in reality, we found out later it was Adelyn) took off down a different trail.  She, apparently, wouldn't stop so he had to follow her.  We ended up going WAY out of our way to get back to the cars and by the time we got back it was 10:00.  So we found some birch trees along the way.

That's one big ole belly.  35 1/2 weeks.

 Definitely turning some of these into canvas's.  So glad I did a maternity shoot with all the kids.

We Are Beach People.

Plain and simple.  We are beach people.  We had plans to go yesterday with my mom, Nathan and Emily and, even though it wasn't very warm, we still went.  The water?  It was 50 degrees.  My kids didn't care.  They are crazy.

Look how deep B is!

"Watch out for the waves!"

Big splashes

He was going out as deep as her, so I was having her hold his hand :)

You know.  After I took a 2 mile walk this morning, hauled our Wonder Wheeler all over the beach, I took it upon myself to climb the stairs at Mt. Pisgah.  And go hiking up there.  And climb back down. So 478 steps.  Not that I counted or anything.  #almost36weeks #getthatbabyOUT 

Brecken cried when we got to the bottom of Mt. Pisgah.  He thought we were going back to the beach.  And didn't believe me when I said we would go back lots this summer.  #cruelmichiganwinters

 My dessert the other night.  Homemade ice cream, homemade (fresh!) rhubarb sauce, homemade chocolate sauce and (not local) strawberries and blueberries.  With a nasty rotten banana on the side.  It was delicious.  Except for the banana.

He or She….what will it be?!

He or She...what will it be?!  I was hanging all the clothes up this afternoon (and tucking all the tags in because I didn't want to see them).  While I was hanging all the boy stuff up I was all "Ohhh I want a little boy."  Then I hung all the girl stuff up and was all "Ohhh I want a little girl."  I, quite honestly, have zero preference.  Completely zero.  My gut "feeling" would lean more towards boy.  Just because the heart rate has been the lowest of all my pregnancies and this pregnancy has been com.plete.ly. different than my prior ones.  I also feel like this baby is going to be our longest and largest...  But I know plenty of people that have completely different pregnancies and end up having same sex kids.  It's also been 4 years since I've been pregnant last..  Keep in mind I also thought Adelyn was going to be a boy.  Only God knows :):)

This is also "crib in a closet."  My dad whipped this up in one day.  I just finished painting it the walls.  We are ordering a mattress off the internet tonight.  Ours is too rectangle to fit.  We bought one with square corners when we had Adelyn and it won't smoosh in.  Pretty sweet, eh?!  My dad was quite impressed with himself.  He thought I was completely off my rocker when I asked him to do this.  Eric did too...but my dad more-so.  Now they both don't think I'm so crazy.

bUmPdate::34 weeks

I had a minor freak-out moment yesterday.  My dad came to take some measurements for the crib (don't ask-I'll just show you all when it's done) and I realized I have loads to do before this baby comes.  Eric says I shouldn't stress myself out but if it doesn't get done now, it won't get done for a loooooong time.  And my list has narrowed considerably (with things that just aren't going to get done) so that's what I have to say about that.  I don't know if it's just because we didn't find out what we are having or if it's just 4th child syndrome.  You realize all the baby REALLY needs is a clean butt and a boob.  But I am officially, as of yesterday, next in FB world, friend world and church world.  And I still have 6 weeks to go.  Or less.  Hopefully less;)

Highlights:: 

How far along:: 34 weeks, measuring 34.5 weeks

Heartbeat::140

Clothes:: The only thing maternity that I have really been wearing is jeans.  Now that it's hot I've been wearing dresses and shirts/skirts.  My selection of shirts is slowly dwindling ;)
Weight Gain:: 29lbs

Movement:: Yes, yes and yes.  They are becoming painful.  They catch me off guard sometimes and I'll say "Oww!" and the kids all ask if the baby did that ;)
Symptoms:: Worlds awfulest (that's not a word but it is now) leg cramps.  Like I would wake up practically crying in the middle of the night.  This went on for 5 nights in a row and I started to eat a banana every night before bed.  Now they are mostly fine.  And I have definitely taken some late night drives for bananas, because they are that awful.
What I miss: My shorts.
Cravings:: Fruit.  Ice-cream.

Best moments this week::  Being able to deliver at Zeeland!
 

What I am looking forward to:: I would like the baby to come in precisely 21 days.  That's the day after our first camping trip and I will officially be 37 weeks.  No pressure, little one ;)

Names:: 2 boy names, 1 girl name.

Funny Moments:: We watched a friends newborn boy and now Adelyn is convinced boys are the cutest and we HAVE to have a boy.  She was so amazing with the baby.  Such a little momma.

Brecken was equally in love.  He came running downstairs the following morning and said "Where's the baby?!"  I said he had to go home.  "Well, when is our baby coming out?"  Aww.  So Eric and I asked him what he wanted now and he said "A boy.  With a new name though."  So we asked what the new name was.  "Captain Sundae.  And he will wear a Captain Sundae shirt."  We laughed out loud.  We said what if it's a girl?  "No.  It won't be.  It's a boy."  Oh boy.  Ha.

We already knew Joelle would fall head over heels.  She wouldn't go to bed until after he left (I tried-but she kept coming out).  And wouldn't get off the couch until she couldn't see their van anymore.