37 Weeks

This is what I look like:

This is how I feel!!:

At our appointment last Thursday, we found out that I have progressed to 1 full cm dilated, still 50% effaced. The baby is also still hanging out at -3 station, which is pretty high. I asked the dr. what she thought as far as when he would make his grand entrance. She said that of course anything could happen, but if she had to guess she would say that he will stay comfortable in there for the full 40 weeks and possibly longer which would mean a scheduled induction. Sooooo, I am hoping that her prediction is wrong and that he arrives sometime after 38 weeks but before 40! Justin and I are as ready as can be now. My bag is packed, baby clothes/bedding are washed, and Justin has finished setting up all of the fun baby stuff. We still have a few more decorations for the nursery, but that's really all that is left to do.

As for me, I am not sleeping well anymore due to the constant trips to the bathroom, heartburn/reflux, swelling, snoring, and conjestion. I am glad we are in the home stretch now because I am pretty uncomfortable these days. I am still managing to work out 3-4 times a week but I dont know how much longer I can keep that up. Still, the pounds are adding up and I am hoping that much of it is fluid and swelling. Other than that, I really can't complain much because we are getting so close to meeting our baby boy and that is truly such a blessing. Justin is getting really excited too and we are trying our best to stay patient during these last few weeks!

The nursery so far...

Well, here is our progress so far. We still have some things to put on the walls and some final finishing touches, but I am loving it. We didnt like the window treatments that came with the bedding, so we are going to wait on those for now. I included pictures of the swing and travel system. We also have the matching high chair and pack and play. Now all we need is a baby! :)

Baby Showers

Here are pictures from my baby shower a few weeks ago held at my house. My mom planned the whole she-bang and it was "monkey" themed. It was awesome and I had a wonderful time!! Thanks mom :)

Loved the monkey cake!! It was delicious!

The beautiful diaper cake

I loved the punch fountain with the floating duckies!

Some of the spread!

Most of the shower guests!! Thank you all for coming :)

This game was SO much fun!! We had to guess the melted chocolate bar....it looks so gross, but we got some good laughs over this!

Also here is a picture of the shower/lunch that my coworkers had for me and my coworker who had her baby several weeks ago. It was a blast and they are so thoughtful for planning this for us!

36 Weeks

And I can't help but wonder...will I ever get back here? What a difference 28 weeks makes!

This past Friday we had our 36 wk dr. appt and I had my first "oh so fun" internal exam to check for progress. We found out that I am almost 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Jackson is still hanging out pretty high up near the ribcage, and hasnt quite started his decent downward, but he is still head down which is wonderful news! His heartrate was in the 130s and was nice and strong. We go back Thursday for our next appt. Hopefully I will continue to progress! I want Jackson to be nice and strong when he is born, but I have no problem if he decides to come a little early!! :)

Lets see, my hands and feet are getting more swollen by the day. Now I can't even wear my watch any more! The newest pregnancy symptom that I am experiencing is snoring!! It wakes both Justin and I up at night, and it is so frustrating. Whichever side I am lying on becomes very congested at night, which is reason for the snoring. Justin has said that its gotten better over the last few nights, but still...I feel so bad for him!! He has been a trooper though, and thank goodness we are both good sleepers and can easily fall back asleep!

Jackson must be about 6 lbs by now and is still moving around a good bit. Lately, at any dr office that I visit for work, someone always seems to say these things: "Why are you carrying so high still?" and "You're gonna have a BIG baby"....although Im not quite sure how to take that! :) I am still measuring right on time at my dr. visits, though. I guess we'll see, but I am thinking Jackson will be almost 8 lbs when he is born.

This week we also got our maternity pictures back and I think we got several good shots. I have posted a few of my favorites:

Thats really all for this week. I will probably start updating the blog a little more now that things are starting to get rolling. I will also be posting pictures of my last baby shower and of the nursery this week. Less than 4 weeks to go!!

35 Weeks

Can you tell from this picture that I am really getting uncomfortable? :) The swelling seems to be getting worse by the day. My fingers, hands, and feet hurt pretty bad, and it is worse in the middle of the night. My wedding rings barely fit over my top knuckles! I am feeling like a big round BLOB and it is difficult to find a comfortable position these days....Ok, I am done with the pity party!

This past week was actually a great week. We are going to weekly dr. appointments and this Thurs, we got to hear Jackson's heartbeat again. I am measuring on time and at the next appt, the dr. exam should be able to tell if I am "progressing". I do hope there is some progress and that Jackson might just make his appearance a week or two early.

I had my last baby shower that my mom threw for me. It was monkey-themed and it was wonderful!! She really did a nice job planning it all and I am SO thankful to her for all of her hard work!! I will post pictures soon! Also, the nursery is really looking nice and is almost done. We still have a few more touches to put on before I post the pictures. But we are both really pleased with how it has turned out so far!

34 Weeks....

and time has officially sloooooowed down! This past week was great because it was a short work week due to the 4th of July holiday. We put the crib together this week and it looks great! Also, Justin put our travel system together and we started washing baby clothes. So far the nursery is looking so cute and after my baby shower this coming weekend, we are going to finish it up. I am waiting to post pictures until it is all set up! The bedding is too cute and looks great so far with the paint and furniture!

Overall it was a nice and relaxing week, and I am trying to get all of the good sleep and rest that I can now before Jackson arrives. As I am typing this, he looks and feels like he is about to jump right out of my belly and is moving and kicking like crazy. It's funny, he will move so much in the evenings right before I fall asleep. Then in the mornings, he is as still and quiet as can be until I (or Justin) starts talking. Then he perks right up and wakes up. So I think he will definitely be a morning sleeper. I have a dr. appt this week on Thursday and then I think I will be going on a weekly basis. Its crazy to think that I could go into labor at any time now, and the drs would most likely not try to stop it since I am past 34 weeks. So we could really have a baby any day now....although, I think he is going to take his sweet time in there. I was 2 weeks late and Justin was 2 weeks early, so we may just have one of those due date babies. My official guess is that he will be born on Aug 12 (surprise surprise, since 12 is my favorite #), and Justin is holding firm to his guess of Aug 05 (the full moon)...so we'll see! All of my baby updates say that he should be measuring at or over 5 lbs now!

The newest pregnancy symptom that has been irritating me is pain in my fingers and toes. It almost feels like arthritis, and I know it is just inflammation from the swelling. It is really bad in the middle of the night. My wedding rings are waaaay to small these days! Also, poor baby Jackson has been getting the hiccups more frequently these days. I always feel so bad for him when I feel them starting because they last a long time. Other than that, I feel GREAT and am still keeping up my workout regimen...not that it is keeping me from gaining weight. I am starting to feel like a cow (MOOOO), but I am staying confident that I will lose it all once he is born! Saturday is my last baby shower and the guests are mostly family and some family friends/neighbors. I can't wait to see everyone and I know it is going to be wonderful!

Tonight was our infant CPR class at the hospital and I am so glad that we did this. We learned both infant CPR and what to do if the baby starts choking. All of it was so informative and learning the skills are invaluable for both of us. We got to practice on a little plastic baby, which really helped us learn how hard to breathe out/palpate. Now the only class that we have left is newborn class, which will be in a couple of weeks!

One last thing, Justin got his grade back a few days ago and he made a 4.0 in his first class...YAY! He worked hard for that, and from what I saw, the curriculum was pretty tough so it was well-deserved. What a wonderful way to start off grad school!!

33 Weeks

This past week was a ton of fun. I had another dr. appt and we got to hear Jackson's heartbeat (140 bpm) again, which is always wonderful. The dr. estimates that he probably weighs approx. 4 to 4 1/2 lbs by now. I can definitely tell that he is growing, and some of his movements can be so powerful that it makes my toes curl. It almost feels like he's pushing outward for more space! Time seems to have slowed down as the due date is getting closer and closer, and I know that is pretty normal. We have less than seven weeks to go now, and things are starting to really come together. Justin has painted the nursery, which turned out wonderfully. Tonight we just got finished putting together the crib and it looks great! We now have our bedding which is the next thing we will set up and will really bring the nursery together. Other than that, Justin still has to put together the travel system, pack n play, etc. But at least we are making some serious progress! I will post pictures soon.

Friday night we went to see Jerry Seinfeld, and he was hilarious! His opening act was a guy named Tom Papa and he was just as funny. I really was so impressed with how quick-witted and sarcastic Jerry Seinfeld is. He doesn't miss a beat. Usually it takes something really funny to make me laugh out loud, and we were honestly laughing for 2 hours straight. It was Justin's graduation gift to me and we had a blast!

Saturday, Justin and I woke up early and drove to Durham, NC for our nieces' 1st birthday. I can't believe that the girls are a year old already...time flies! They were as cute as can be, and I could just watch them all day. They certainly have their own personalities now, and that is so neat to see. I loved watching them eat cake for the first time. Emma dug in (in true Atchley form), whereas Olivia wasnt too sure what to think about it. Olivia wasnt too fond of all of the sticky cake all over her hands either. Too cute!! Here are a few pictures of our beautiful neices!! I can't wait for Jackson to meet them!

After the party, Justin and I headed back to Charleston so that we could get all of our errands done on Sunday. So that was our week in a nutshell.

This past week was also sad, as Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson passed away. MJ's death is the most shocking for me. Justin and I were talking about how weird it will be when Jackson sees MJ on tv one day and we have to say "he died before you were born". I guess it is so odd to think that he is gone, since he was such an icon in the 80's. At any rate, on our way to Durham, we were listening to satellite radio and found a channel playing all MJ songs as a tribute. We got to hear all of the hits, including my personal faves, "Smooth Criminal" and "Scream".

I was looking back over my blog and found the internet prediction that I got early in the pregnancy. I thought I'd post it again, since so far it has been acccurate. It will be fun to see if the rest comes true (although I think the blue eyes will turn to green eventually)!

The day you deliver, outside will be cloudy. Your baby will arrive in the afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 17 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and will be 19 inches long. This child will have light blue eyes and a lot of hair.