Let's make like a baby...

... and head out!

No, we aren't having our baby right now.  But the baby is definitely getting ready to head out, literally.  The past couple of weeks I have been feeling "lightening." Within the pregnancy/birthing community this basically means that the baby is descending into the pelvis; and as s/he does so, there are many sensations that are reminiscent of "lightening," like little shocks throughout your pelvis.  It's only been straight up uncomfortable once or twice, but the rest of the time it kind of feels like pressure, especially on my bladder!

So, anyway, I would like to clarify something about the photos below.  Last week (week 37), I discovered just how strong my stomach muscles are.  I knew I had been experiencing some lightening and I could feel my belly getting lower, but I couldn't actually see the difference in pictures.  So, I made the conscious decision today (week 38) to relax my stomach muscles- hence there's a very noticeable difference in the height of my belly from last week to this week.  In order to walk around and carry this baby without killing my back, I unconsciously flex my core muscles (even though they are crazy stretched out); as a result, I don't appear to be carrying as low as I am in reality.

Anyway, enjoy the photos!

Week 37

Week 38

St. Paddy's Day Boil

Some of our friends hosted a St. Patrick's Day crawfish boil on Saturday!

It was so much fun to see folks we hadn't seen in a while, plus the crawfish were delicious, as was the sausage, corn, and potatoes!

Here are a few photos of our delicious fare.

The boys stirring up the crawfish

Buster, Guardian of the Crawfish Boil

The spread

This was my first crawfish boil of the season!  And, unfortunately, it may be my last.  Every April, my church hosts a crawfish boil as a large fellowship event; but this year, I will be on maternity leave.  Plus, the boil is only about a week or two after our due date, so I don't think that I will be up for it, even though maternity leave does not mean that I can't show up.  I just know I won't feel like going.

Anyway, I am so glad that I got to have some.  And because there is so much sodium in crawfish boil (the actual boil, not the crawfish), I didn't have a whole lot.  But what I had was delicious!

Thanks, Michael & Laurie!

Bowling with the Hubs

This past Friday, we went bowling!  Although neither of us really wants to admit it, we are nearing the end of our time bowling, at least for a little while.  And any of these trips to the lanes could be our last one until after the baby comes.  So, we are trying to take full advantage.

We both did relatively well on Friday.  It was a day where we both got turkeys!!!  It was exciting!

Here are some photos to show how our potential last day of bowling went...

Game 1

Game 2

During Game 2, I got my turkey! Jared was able to capture the moments following!

Game 3

Game 3 was the game where Jared got his turkey! And he was very, very proud...

This was the strike that landed him the turkey.

Strutting his stuff

A little more stuff strutting

The final strutting of stuff

And the fun graphic of Jared's turkey

At some point during Game 3, this sweet little girl came over to us and smiled at me and pointed at my belly. After a fun little exchange that involved the words "baby," "big," and "belly," her dad came over and apologized for the distraction. She was super cute and sweet!  Based on the photo of our scores, I think it happened right after the 4th frame!

Game 4

Overall, it was a great day bowling!  We ended up spending the rest of the evening with our good friends Chris and Amy!  They came over to our new house for the first time and ended up staying and talking about all the fun of living in SE Louisiana!

Just for Comparison

I pulled these two photos up side by side on my computer this morning...



Pretty crazy...

Weeks 35 & 36

The past couple of weeks have been kind of rough.  First off, carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy is a real threat to some of us!  I have developed it in the last couple of weeks and it's pretty painful.  Mostly at night, my hands and forearms start to get tingly and numb.  I also swell regularly in my hands and have some muscle weakness and joint pain.

We started our weekly OB appointments last week.  At the first one (the 35 week appointment), the Dr. thought that I might have developed pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy).  Here's why: my bp was slightly higher than it normally is; I was complaining of swelling in my hands and feet; and I had gained about 5 pounds in a week.  So, I had to do a really fun lab test, as well as give a few blood samples!  I'll spare you the details (no pun intended).

Thankfully, the results for pre-eclampsia came back negative!  It turns out that I just had too much sodium all week (too much eating out at restaurants and I had a convention).

At our 36 week appointment (just yesterday), everything was looking very good!  We had another ultrasound, which was exciting and fun.  The ultrasound tech plugged in the three measurements needed to estimate Spare's current weight (length of thigh bone, circumference of skull, and circumference of abdomen) and out popped 6 lbs., 10-11 oz!!!  That's right folks, we're having a giant Williams baby, just as I suspected!

Other good news included that I have begun dilating, but not a whole lot.  This is good because we would LOVE to make it to Easter day around noon before going into labor.  Of course, that's not in our control, at all (and we know it), but it's a good sign for us.

As a side note, Jared's church threw us a wonderful shower last Friday night!  So much fun!  I didn't have my camera with me, but I am fairly certain that some of the wonderful ladies at the church will tag me in some FB photos soon!  They were so wonderful to us.  We got TONS of handmade gifts, which were amazing and beautiful and made me want to learn to sew, crochet, and knit!  And we also got a bunch of stuff off our registry.  The generosity of these ladies overwhelmed me!  Not to mention, if you even say the word "potluck," 50 dishes appear in the Fellowship Hall!  It really was a good time.

On the whole, I am feeling a lot more tired this week.  I have just enough energy to do what needs to be done at work, come home, and put on comfy clothes.  Before, I used to be able to do a few things around the house before getting so tired, but now I am feeling a lot more tired without being able to get a few things done.

I am sleeping okay, especially now that I've figured out how to manage the carpal tunnel at night.  I am still walking about 3 or 4 days a week, with the dogs.  I think this helps with the swelling, but definitely contributes to making me tired.

Lastly, my belly is getting bigger each week.  Here are the photos from the last two weeks!

Week 35

Week 36

Three Weeks of Bowling

In the last four weeks, we have bowled three times.  We would have bowled last week, but Jared had tweaked a muscle after helping move some nursery furniture for my in-laws.  Alas, no bowling.

But the three weeks before that we had some awesome games!  Take a look below!

This was on February 17th.

We ordered some new balls, and they had finally arrived!

Game 1

Love taking the new camera bowling!

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

These games were played on February 24th. Obviously, we forgot the new camera.

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

This was from March 2nd. Again, we forgot the new camera...

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

And the reaction to Game 4's 200.

Needless to say, we were very excited when Jared bowled a 200!  He's done it one other time, more than a year ago.  He bowled a 212.

A few things to note...

The new balls have taken some getting used to.  Initially, Jared's holes were a little rough around the edges (insert funny innuendos here, and for the following paragraph).  So, we took it back to the pro shop and the guy sanded them down.  And the next week was much better.  But the March 2nd date was very rough for me.  I had had too much sodium that week, and neither of my balls were fitting right.  The finer holes on the new one were way too tight; and my old ball was barely much better.  So, we kind of decided that we'd try to keep bowling until Spare arrives, but I would most likely have to use a couple of house balls with large to x-large finger holes.  We are assuming that the swelling in my hands will go down after Spare arrives!

So, there you have it!  Three out of four weeks ain't too bad.  I'll definitely post again, IF we go bowling!