Week 37

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb. Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz. It may be harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep well at night. If you can, take it easy through the day.

I'm ready....that's all I have to say! I'm nauseas, tired...extremely tired, and basically miserable....you know, pregnant! About 2 1/2 weeks left!

Doctor Appointment at 36 weeks

I had my doctor's appointment today and I go back in one week on September the 4th. He said the ultrasound results from 2 weeks ago look great....the baby scored an 8 out of 8 on it (whatever that means), so everything looks wonderful! That is good to hear since I am still getting chills and pretty much living nauseas! This baby also gets the hiccups more than Paul or Preston ever did!

As for the scheduled date of delivery, my doctor is definitely going to be out of town giving seminars on Wednesday, September 17, so we have two choices, of which neither is set in stone: 1) we can do it on another day or 2) we can schedule it for that day and let another doctor deliver the baby. There is a third possible option and that is scheduling the delivery for the 17th in the evening and he can come back and deliver the baby himself. We won't know if that is truly a choice until next week, so like I said, everything is still up in the air! And, he said, it may not matter much if I go into labor before that day anyway! I really don't know what I want to do.....it would be nice to have him on dad's bday, but it almost seems like too much trouble, which makes me just want to schedule another day. (It would be the week of the 15th through the 19th) I guess in the end it doesn't really matter much, as long as the baby comes out on time and healthy! I'm open to hearing people's opinions, so let me know what you think!!!

On another note, the boys were supposed to go to Charmaine's house today while I went to my appointment, but both boys started with runny noses last night and a lot of congestion. Preston seems to have it worse and has been running fever and even threw up at 4:30 am. this morning. Needless to say, they didn't go there because I don't want to get her kids sick. Luckily, Paul was able to meet me at the doctor's office to take the kids while I had my appointment. It was the first one where he checks to see if I am dilating and we thought that little Paul is a bit too old to be in there for that! (too many unnecessary questions!) Anyway, Paul took them to Home Depot and then to Wendy's, but while they were at Home Depot they each got an apron and a wooden bird house to make with daddy! Well, little Paul talked about it the entire ride home and he has not stopped yet! He wants daddy to come home now to put the bird house together!!! I thought it was cute!

Happy Birthday Preston!

I know we already celebrated Preston's birthday, but we had to do something on his actual birthday too! He got to go outside and ride his new bike and then we all had a piece of cake and ice cream. Preston blew out his candles and then ate all of his cake and ice cream this time! We saved one little gift to give him tonight, a little sponge paint set, so that he could open something on his birthday. Happy 2nd Birthday Preston! We love you!

Preston's 2nd Birthday Party!

We celebrated Preston's 2nd birthday yesterday with a tractor/dump truck/ construction theme! He had a lot of fun once he warmed up to everyone! He didn't eat as much cake and ice cream as he usually does, but once he kept saying over and over "it's mud" we realized that because of the dump truck and the chocolate cake/icing, he thought it really was mud! Mommy put some icing on his face and he really didn't like that too much; I was given quite a mean look! He enjoyed playing with the dump truck on top the cake though and we managed to get a few smiling pictures of him doing it! Thank you Mimi for giving him his own car sofa so that him and Paul won't fight over Paul's anymore and thank you Paw Paw and Maw Maw for his little bike so he can follow Paul on his own bike now....he loved them both! He also loved his little tractor that we gave him and all the toys that he got. Thank you for all his wonderful presents!!!!

Thank you Mimi and Nanny for cleaning up after the party for me. I really do appreciate it....it made things a lot easier for me!

After all this, we got to relax and we went to eat at Outback for Preston's Bday. We did skip the dessert and everything though since of course we had already eaten that! The boys both ate like they hadn't eaten in days! We did once again swear to never take Preston out to eat again, but we still had a great time....Happy Birthday Preston!!!

Week 36

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, which will form the contents of his first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term.

I am still feeling about the same, except that I feel larger by the hour! I guess it's just me getting bigger and bigger until Peyton decides to arrive! There is about 3 weeks left now, unless we wait until the Friday to take him out....we'll just have to wait and see. I'll know about 2 weeks before the due date! It's getting closer and I just try to keep focusing on that:) We can't wait to meet our little Peyton!

Paw Paw and Maw Maw visit

Thank you for bringing over dinner and dessert yesterday Paw Paw and Maw Maw! It was very yummy! As usual the boys loved seeing you both! I have heard all day about how Paw Paw left his hat and we have to give it back to him!!! I was also told quite a few times today that Paw Paw gave them money!!! I'm glad I got an updated picture of both of you with the boys....here it is!

When we put the sheets on Peyton's crib, little Paul asked me and Paul to take a picture of him! It was so adorable, but I waited to post it until I could get one of Preston too! I think he was sleeping at the time. Anyway, here are our sweet little boys with Peyton's crib!

Week 35

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.


35 weeks along and I am now getting anxious! I guess it's mostly because I am still not feeling well at all. I think today I am actually sick, not just pregnancy sick, but it's so hard to tell. All I know is that I did throw up already today and my hormones are all over the place. Despite all this, I am trying to savor the feeling of being pregnant since it's the last time! I guess I'm not doing so well at that though....I'm just not a good pregnant person!!! Ahhh, only about 4 weeks left!!!

Doctor Appointment at 34 weeks

Peyton and mommy had our doctor appointment today. There is still no date set for his arrival because we are waiting until about 2 weeks before the due date (September 21) to make a decision. I did tell the doctor about what I have been feeling like and he pretty much responded with "it's your third one" to everything. Apparently having them close together does not help much either and my body is just simply tired! Well, I definitely feel that! I am so incredibly weak; it is so amazing how much more tired I am with this baby than I was with the other two! Anyway, the doctor told me to go straight down to ultrasound just to make sure that the baby is ok since I have been having stomach and back pains. The ultrasound tech said that everything looked good, but I'll have to wait and hear from the doctor. As for the throwing up a couple of weeks ago and the nauseas feeling that I have had for about two weeks now.....Yes, it is possible for "morning or all-day sickness" to return at the end. He thinks this is what is going on with me since it comes and goes. He wrote out a prescription for it, but I didn't get it, so they will call it in tomorrow for me. As for the weakness, it will only get worse until the baby comes out and I should "take it easy" and "relax." When my stomach cramps and I get extremely weak, I should "ask someone to help with the kids and get off my feet!" Again, yeah right!!!

At least I only have 5 weeks left and sooner if Peyton comes out earlier than the 17th! And, I have the greatest husband in the world! Paul has really been wonderful with helping me with whatever I need when he gets home from work!!! I do realize how lucky I am to have him! Thank you daddy...Peyton appreciates it too!!!

Here is a picture of little Peyton; it's looking down at his face. He's so scrunched up, it's hard to get a great picture, but here he is!!!

Peyton's bedding!

Since Peyton will be baby boy number 3 and he will undoubtedly receive plenty of hand-me-downs from his two big brothers, we thought we'd start him off in brand new bedding!!! Also, since this is our last child, I wanted to do something different and have fun with it!!! We do not have the baby room decorated yet, but with the help of my neighbor Charmaine, the decorations are ordered and on their way. We went with a jungle theme in shades of green and I am very pleased so far! Here is a picture of just the bedding!!! It is so cute! Thanks Charmaine for bringing Joshua and Nicholas over Monday and Tuesday and for helping me with everything!!! Paul and Preston enjoyed their visit and they really like their monster trucks, too!!! That was so nice of you to bring.... thank you!!!

Week 34

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Ok, so only about 5 weeks left now....depending on if we take the little guy out a whole week early, which I won't know until about 2 weeks before my due date! I am feeling just the same way that I have been feeling, which is very weak and physically exhausted! We ordered new bedding just for little Peyton and have been working on organizing his room, so hopefully within the next 2 weeks, I'll have a picture of the baby room.

We went to Gina and David's wedding last night and we are so tired!!! The wedding was beautiful and everything was wonderful! Gina looked great and though I felt and looked like a cow, it was nice to see some relatives that I haven't seen in 10 years! Unfortunately you can't tell those people no pictures, so I'll be remembered for the next 10 years as the "fat" one! Paul and I really did have a great time and it was nice to get a break from the boys, though I missed them almost as soon as we left! They went to Paw Paw and Maw Maw's house for the evening! We were told they were good and that there were no fights and no biting issues, so that's good! I know they had fun because they love spending time with Paw Paw and Maw Maw! Thank you so much for watching the boys for us.....We really appreciate it!!!

Oh, and I forgot to tell everyone that about 2 weeks ago, we noticed Preston counting out loud and he can count to 10 all by himself!!!! I tried to get it on video, but apparently, he's camera shy!!! Yayyyyyyyy Preston!!!

Boys' friends visit

Yesterday Charmaine and her boys came over to visit. All the boys played very well togther, both inside and outside!!! None of them napped because they were all having such a great time! We will definitely do this again! I think Charmaine and I enjoyed an adult conversation just as much as the boys all enjoyed playing with someone other than their own brother!!! It was a really great day!

Preston's first haircut!

Today mommy pulled herself together to take Paul and Preston to the Little Gym with Keely and Kate. Thanks again for inviting us, Keely! Both boys really enjoyed themselves. They liked jumping on the mats, hanging from the bars, and walking across the bar thing, with mommy's help, of course! It was a really cool place to take the boys!

After naptime we went to get little Paul's haircut and to get Preston's very first haircut!!! He did very well; although I can't say that he was really thrilled about it! Like I said, he did very well though and he didn't throw a fit or cry or anything:) Both boys got a sucker for their treat afterwards. My little baby got his first haircut! Awwwwwwww, mommy tried so hard not to cry on the way home! He looks very cute though....like a little man!!!

Look how happy he looks in this picture! I couldn't ever get a smile out of him for the camera!

Week 33

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.

This week was extremely rough on me. I have been feeling very nauseas and I thought that I was actually sick once I threw up Friday and Saturday. Now, I'm actually wondering if the "morning sickness" isn't returning for the last stretch in the pregnancy. I don't even know if that it possible, so if not, I guess I'm sick. I have absolutely no energy and even to stand and brush the boys' teeth in the morning is proving to be a chore. I can't wait until this passes and I can just be "pregnant" instead of pregnant and sick! What a week....6 weeks to go!!!