She's A Cantaloupe...Week 34 Update!

Week 34 Update...Baby Girl weighs close to an average cantaloupe!

35 Weeks

35 Weeks

Fun Baby Facts:

Baby girl now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Her adrenal glands are continuing to grow and produce corticoid hormones. Her skull bones are still quite pliable and not completely fused together at the top of her head yet.

How Am I Doing?

This past weekend Ray and I got away to Williamsburg, VA for a few days. We had a really great time. We got to visit Jamestown and Yorktown and tour Colonial Williamsburg. Here's a few pictures from our weekend...

Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg

Me in a an front of the womens quarters in Yorktown.

Ray inside the captains quarters in Yorktown.

We got to see a small re-enactment...

...and a firing demonstration.

Between the heat and all the walking we did this weekend, it was a quick reminder that I am 35 weeks pregnant and I can no longer be as active as I am used to being. The swelling in my ankles and feet got so bad. I can still feel every move that baby girl makes. When I stand up it feels like she's headbutting me in the bladder. When I sit, I can feel her push against my back or against my ribs. And when I lay down, she twists and turns all over.

We are still waiting to set a closing date for the house we are buying and as baby girls arrival gets closer and closer, we decided to go ahead and set up a room at our current house for her. We were trying to wait to do this, hoping that we'd be in the new house before she comes. There's still a possibility that we will move before her arrival, but in the case that we don't...we're all set where we are. We aren't buying her bedroom furniture until we move, so we set up the awesome pack and play that my Aunt's bought for baby girl. The pack and play came with a bassinet and changing table accessory that go on the top.

Me in front of the pack and play (hubby tried to chop my head off!)

Organizing the gifts we got for baby girl...

My dad is coming to visit this weekend...I'm looking forward to seeing him. And next Sunday is our maternity photo shoot! It's going to be a full weekend, but I plan to still take it easy...

We keep getting closer and closer to baby girls arrival...I can't believe she'll be here so soon! Hope you all are getting as excited as we are!

Until next week...

Blessings,
Ray, Summer & Baby Girl

She's A Pineapple...Week 33 Update!

Today I am 34 Weeks, 1 Day. This is our week 33 update and baby girl weighs approximately the size of a pineapple...

34 Weeks

34 Weeks

Fun Baby Facts:

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

How Am I Doing?

I have experienced a drastic change this past week from having heartburn in the evenings (which I haven't had my entire pregnancy) to having lower back pain and swollen ankles/feet. The heartburn hasn't been too bad, but I really have to go easy on anything highly acidic. My lower back is aching more and more - thank goodness for my husband's great massages and my heating pad. These have helped a lot in the evenings! And I started having swelling in my ankles and feet last week. One evening my feet were so bad, they actually hurt. I haven't had much swelling in my hands...a little - enough so that I can no longer wear my wedding and engagement rings, but they haven't been too bad. I'm hitting that stage of constant discomfort. Sitting on the couch (or anything soft) is uncomfortable - all I can feel is baby girl pushing at EVERY thing inside me. So I've taken to the floor or wooden rocking chair or lying on my side on the couch. And forget being comfortable and trying to sleep at night!

This past Saturday some amazing friends of mine threw me a beautiful baby shower! It was such a blessing to be surrounded by so many friends to celebrate the upcoming birth of our daughter. We received a lot of stuff from the most adorable baby clothes and handmade blankets to books and diapers. At one point, I lifted up a tiny little skirt that had bloomers underneath and I almost lost it - I still can't believe baby girl will be here in approximately six weeks and that we will have a little girl who fits into the tiny little clothes we were given. WOW! I'll post pictures later...

Ray is done traveling until after baby girl comes. He had a wonderful time in Brussels, Belgium and Tallinn, Estonia...the pictures he took are amazing! I'll try to post some later this week. I'm glad to have him home for a while!

Thursday morning we will be leaving for Williamsburg, VA for four days. We're taking a mini-vacation and we are both looking forward to the much needed time away from home and work and being able to spend a few days with each other.

Well, the countdown is really on...baby girls arrival keeps getting closer and closer!

Until next week...blessings to all!

Love,
Ray, Summer & Baby Girl

She's A Large Jicama...Week 32 and An Anniversary!

Last week I hit the 32 week mark...the countdown is on to our daughters birth! I can't believe she'll be here in about 8 weeks!

Ray left last Wednesday to travel overseas again for work and won't be back until next Sunday. He took the camera with him, so I have no belly pictures for this week...sorry! I guess we should consider buying a second camera...

So, instead of belly pics this week, I've got some pictures of Ray and I from the last eight years, as this past Friday was our wedding anniversary - it's been four wonderful years!

This is us in 2002, we'd been dating for about 1 year at this point...Oh, to be young again!

This was on our wedding day, May 14, 2006.

This was on our Honeymoon in 2006...I think we were at Joyce Kilmer National Park.

Our one year anniversary at Sea World.

July 2007 - the night we left Daytona Beach to move to Washington, DC.

May 2008

May 2009 - Our 3 year anniversary

It's crazy to think about all the changes and things that have happened in the four years we've been married. We don't regret anything and we thank God for the opportunities we have been given. I am so blessed that I married my best friend! I can't wait for all that God has in store over the years to come...

Ok, on to the baby stuff...

Fun Baby Facts:

By now baby girl weighs around 3.75 pounds (about the size of a large jicama, which is a mexican potatoe) and is about 16.7 inches long. Basically that translates to - she's taking up a lot of space in my uterus! Baby girl should gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How Am I Doing?

I gave in and got a pedicure this weekend...the art of bending over and reaching my toes has gotten really difficult! I can tell that baby girl is growing. I feel EVERY movement she makes. When she gets into a position that causes me pain, I often push on her, to try to get her to move...which only causes her to kick or jab even harder. She certainly has a strong personality - we call her our little fighter.

We are really getting to the countdown of our daughter's arrival...CRAZY!!! We have some buys weeks ahead as we get closer and closer to her birth...We have our last Childbirth Prep class tomorrow night, next weekend is my baby shower, the following weekend Ray and I are getting away from four days to relax and celebrate our anniversary and the following weekend I have a photo shoot for maternity pictures.

That's all for this week...I'll have belly pics next week...promise!

Blessings,
Ray, Summer & Baby Girl

She's the Weight of Four Navel Oranges...Week 31!

Today I am 31 weeks & 6 days...Baby girl is about the weight of four navel oranges...

31 weeks, 6 days

31 weeks, 6 days

Fun Baby Facts:

This week, baby girl measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (like 4 navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin.

Her irises react to light and all five are her senses are functioning.

How Am I Doing?

I am still feeling really good. My body has started aching - mainly my hops and lower back, but it hasn't been anything unbearable. Ray is amazing and has been giving me back rubs just about every night. We've been walking almost everyday too, which has really helped! Getting a good night sleep is just a memory to me now...I've forgotten what it's like and how it feels to have a good night sleep. I've taken to napping daily just to help have enough energy to function.

The last week I've had an odd craving for lemons...mainly lemons in my water, but I there's been a few days that I've just want to suck the juice straight from the lemons. Ray tells me I'm weird every time. My other carving has been for Ice Cream Sandwiches.

We had a pretty low-key week this past week...not too much going on. We did have our child birth prep class on Tuesday night and we got to tour the labor and delivery wing at the hospital I'll be delivering at. It was really nice to be able to know where to go when we get to the hospital, see the rooms and just know the overall process for our time there. We also got to see the postpartum wing and the nursery. There were four newborn baby girls in the nursery while we were there...it made me cry knowing that our little one will be here soon. We also decided on baby girls' name this week too! Ray and I were having dinner a few nights ago, talking about some of the names that we have on our list and just randomly we came up with something else that wasn't on our list. And just in case you are wondering...NO, we aren't going to tell anyone what her name is until she's born!

Friday night Ray and I drove down to VA Beach to attend Regent University's C/O 2010 Graduation on Saturday morning. Our good friend Andy Lloyd and Kristina Jowers both graduated on Saturday. Congrats Kristina & Andy!

Here we are with Julie, Jeremy & Kristina

Ray and Andy

Kristina & I

Andy with his parents

Ray & I with Andy, Julie, Kim

Until next week...blessings to all!

Love,
Summer, Ray & Baby Girl

She's A Head of Cabbage...Week 30!

I am a few days behind on posting last weeks update....

Last week I was 30 weeks and baby girl was the size of a head of cabbage....

30 Weeks, 6 Days

30 Weeks, 6 Days

Fun Baby Facts:

Baby girl is about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) Her skin is continuing to smooth out and her brain is getting more wrinkled as she continues to develop brain tissue. She's also strong enough now to grasp a finger.

How Am I Doing?

Last week was a really busy week for me. Ray was still out of the country for work, but I was surrounded by friends all week...I either had someone over or was invited to go over to someone's house every night last week. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with some of the most wonderful women I know all week!

Last Monday I had an ultrasound. Because Ray was out of town, my great friend Andrea went to my appointment with me. I missed Ray tremendously and really wished he was there, but it was such a joy to share such a special moment with Andrea. (Thanks Andrea for going with me!) At our last ultrasound (around 18 weeks), our doctor discovered that baby girl had two cysts on her brain. These cysts are known as choroid plexus cysts. Choroid plexus cysts occur within the choroid plexus of the brain, which is in the middle of the fetal brain. The choroid plexus produces a fluid called cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid produced by the cells of the choroid plexus fills the ventricles and then flows around the brain and the spinal cord to provide a cushion of fluid around these structures. Basically, baby girl had one of these on each side of her brain - they looked like a pocket or bubble of water. My doctor was not concerned, as this was the only "abnormal" sign they'd seen up to this point. We were told that these cysts will normally disappear by birth, but if they didn't, they would not impact her development or health. I am very happy to announce that at our ultrasound last week, there were no signs at all of these cysts - they had in fact already disappeared! Praise God! While we weren't worried because we were totally trusting God, it was a huge relief to hear the doctors say that the cysts were 100% gone! Andrea and I got to see baby girls heart beating, her little hands and feet, her cute little nose! It was so precious and amazing to get to see my daughter! I still can't believe she's going to be here before we know it! AH!

Ray was scheduled to come home from Japan on Sunday. Friday evening, I was laying on the couch watching TV (falling asleep), when there was a knock on my front door. I got up and waddled to the door to find my wonderful husband on the other side! I couldn't help but cry because I was so overwhelmed (in a good way) that he came home two days early and surprised me! We spent the rest of the weekend at home, hanging out with each other. It was really great! Ray leaves again next Wednesday for Brussels, Belgium for four days, then he goes straight to Estonia in Northern Europe for a week. (I am secretly VERY jealous of this trip...these are totally places that I'd love to go with him to!) This will be his last trip until after the baby comes.

Well, we are starting to get down to the last stretch before baby girl comes! We can't believe it!