Baby Shelley: 30-31 Weeks

30-31 Weeks

Weight gain: 15 lbs. (This is a misleading number, because in the beginning I lost weight. This number is how much I'm up from my pre-pregnancy weight!)

Maternity clothes: Things are starting to get tight. I hit up a certain underclothing store's semi-annual sale if ya know what I mean.

Sleep: Random insomnia, heart burn, and aching back and ribs contribute to weird sleep. But I can't complain. I just hate that I wake Jordan up with my tossing and turning. :(

Medication: Still on one Zofran a day. Zantac for heartburn as needed (almost daily). Supplementing my prenatal vitamin with a magnesium pill daily now.

Gender: BOY!

Food cravings: Pizza, specifically Little Caesar's deep dish. Milk and cookies. Frostys. McDonald's sweet tea. You know, lots of healthy stuff. :)

Food aversions: Totally depends on the day. But it seems like I just don't want food in general like I used to. And it definitely doesn't fit in my stomach like it used to! I get full so easily and quickly. So basically my appetite in general is just weird.

Mood: Well, people keep asking me if I'm nervous or excited and honestly most of the time I'm kinda...nothing. Because it's just extremely surreal. For instance: I had my first baby shower (which was awesome) and while I was sitting there with my friends eating delicious snacks and talking/laughing like normal, my mom came over to take my plate & situate me where I needed to be to open gifts. I had this weird moment of surprise and felt startled because I had legitimately forgotten that this event was for me & MY baby. A baby that will be born to me. And my husband. A boy. Who currently resides in my tummy. But will somehow exit and (Lord willing) exist in my life. These amazing people were there to give us gifts. Because this baby will live with me & I will take care of it. WHAT. It seemed so, so crazy. I am so inadequate and feel not cut out for this at all, but at the same time I'm not normally dwelling on that or nervous about it. It's a mixture of having the Lord's peace that passes understanding & me being naive and not knowing what to expect. It's hard to put into words, obviously, because I know I'm doing a poor job of it. And it's not that I don't have feelings toward my baby, it's just all very strange. Separate post to come on this weirdness.

Movement: The movements keep getting bigger and bigger. My midwife was laughing at how much he was moving around when we were listening to the heartbeat. It makes me wonder if he's playing, if he's uncomfortable, if he's trying to escape, if he's going to be crazy active once he gets out, etc.

Milestones: PASSED my 3 hour glucose test after I failed the first screening. So that was a relief & answer to prayer. Especially because I'm a horribly queasy person prone to fainting and was dreading having my blood drawn 4 times in a few hours without having eaten anything. But I made it through! Had my first baby shower which was such a joy. Our family and friends are the best.

Best moments of the week: Definitely the baby shower with some of my best friends and their moms. It was so fun and we got some amazing stuff! We've also been spending lots of time with friends -- having them over, playing games, going out to eat. Really trying to soak up the fun and fancy free time we have before the baby comes. Not that we won't still do that stuff, it'll just be different. :) My brother stayed with me while Jordan was out of town and I loved getting to spend time with him, especially because he moved to Charlotte this past weekend! Love that kid. We ate ice cream and played video games like the good ol' days.

Quotes: One of my best friends Britney had her second baby boy recently. (Woooooo!) My mom and her mom are very close so my mom was getting text updates about the whole process. I wasn't there, but my mom and brother were sitting in my parents' living room when my mom looked at her phone and excitedly exclaimed, "The baby is coming!" referring to Britney. She scared the mess out of my brother and he was like "WHATTTTT!!!" thinking she was talking about me. I so wish I could've witnessed this scene.

Jordan quotes: We've been trying out names and I think we have it narrowed down but aren't going to officially commit until the birth. So Jordan has been practicing. We'll be riding in the car and he'll randomly act like he's talking to our son who's in an imaginary car seat in the back. Or we'll be sitting on the couch and he'll start rocking a make believe rock-n-play telling him to "shhhh". 

Verses I've been dwelling on: 1 Peter. Because that's the book I'm memorizing this year. So packed full of truth and conviction and goodness that it just NEEDS to be in my head. Read it!

Baby Shelley: 24-29 Weeks

24-29 Weeks

Weight gain: 10 lbs. (This is a misleading number, because in the beginning I lost weight. This number is how much I'm up from my pre-pregnancy weight!)

Maternity clothes: I got some maternity tights from Target that are fabulous, and some amazing cardigans for Christmas. Lots of cozy layers these days!

Sleep: Oh, sleep. I never know what a night will hold. As you can see, I've grown a lot so the back pain is real. It's not too difficult to get comfy with my Bump Nest pillow, but then I wake up a lot in weird positions that hurt. Also, HEARTBURN. But when I get a great night's sleep it makes SUCH a difference in my day! Yoga has helped with the back pain, too.

Medication: One Zofran a day unless I'm having a bad one. Week 28 was pretty bad with nausea and vomiting. I took a Phenergan to supplement and the next day I could barely move my body. It was crazy. At first we thought I was coming down with the flu or something but I think it was the combo of throwing up again, lack of nutrients, and lots of meds. It was all I could do to get downstairs to the couch, and then there was a time where I spent 40 minutes laying there just thinking about reaching my phone laying on the coffee table but not actually doing it. I kid you not. I was in such a mental fog and my body parts wouldn't move! So thankful for my mom who came to help and for Jordan coming home early from work. :)

Gender: BOY!

Food cravings: Still steak and Frostys. And I destroyed the amazing egg nog my sister in law Danielle made during Christmas. I don't like the store versions of egg nog but hers is outstanding.

Food aversions: Depends on what kind of day I'm having of course, but chicken still gets to me sometimes. Mainly when I'm trying to prepare it, not if it's already cooked. I can eat apples and Goldfish again which is great!

Mood: Lots. Haha. So thankful, excited, happy, overwhelmed, scared, sad about things changing, pumped about things changing, weirded out about things changing. I've been really clingy and obsessed with Jordan lately. I mean I'm usually smitten with him, but recently it's been kind of overboard. Probably a combo of hormones, trying to cherish this time as just us, and the fact that he's been sooooo sweet. I sure do love that guy.

Movement: This kid is so active. I don't really understand when he sleeps because he moves sooo much. Now I can see body parts shifting around and sticking out which is awesome and weird. He gets the hiccups at least every other day!

Milestones: Set up the nursery furniture right after Thanksgiving, switched over to the Baby + Co. birthing center and midwives, could tell the baby had the hiccups for the first time in week 27, baby got his first Christmas presents, finished registering.

Best moments of the week: Wow, lots of moments to cover in these weeks! Had an AMAZING holiday season with lots of parties and family time. Jordan found out he passed his Professional Engineering exam which was a HUGE relief. So proud of him and thankful! Went to IKEA and got the crib, crib mattress, dresser/changing table, side table, lamp, hamper, toys, baskets, and shelves. Then set it all up and I can't stop admiring all of it! Jordan had the whole week of Christmas off and we had both sides of our family over. It could not have been better. We have been overflowing with love and happiness as we share this time together which sounds so cheesy but it's true. Even through the hard things, I just feel like we've grown so much closer.  

Quotes: I get mixed reviews from people. One weekend I had three different encounters where people scoffed at the fact that I'm not due until March and about how large I am. Then I have people who talk about how "small and cute" I am. So it's interesting to hear all of the opinions. :)  

We got to spend a lot of time with our nephew Harvey who is 3 1/2 and he provided some hilarious quotes. Our cousin was asking him about where they live in Memphis and he went on this long diatribe about how it's going to be cold there soon and snow and he's going to go sledding and his new boy cousin can come and go sledding with him. 

When Harvey came to our house he came upstairs to see the nursery with everyone. My mother in law had already put Harvey's 9 month old sister Verity in the crib (which was adorable) and when Harvey walked in he saw that there was a baby in the crib and that his room looks pretty complete and abruptly started running around and yelling, "THE BABY CAME OUT THE BABY CAME OUT!" and was quite confused. We had to explain and show him the baby still clearly in my tummy. 

Jordan quotes: I texted Jordan the first time I could tell the baby had the hiccups, and he replied, "That's so cool! He's a person!" Haha. 

We were setting out some of his little socks and shoes in the nursery and I was saying how cute he's gonna be. Jordan said, "Well....don't get your hopes up." Hahaha. I know we'll think he's cute because he's our baby but we both think newborns are initially pretty strange looking.

Jordan has been so so kind and complimentary, telling me lots how good he thinks I look, or telling me I'm beautiful, or saying I don't even look pregnant. Whether or not it's true, it makes me feel amazing. I can tell HE thinks it's true and is genuine but he's a little biased. :) I LOVE HIM. Have I mentioned that??

Verses I've been dwelling on: Romans 5-8. Go read those chapters today. Do it. Maybe even every day. They get me so pumped.

Baby Shelley: 22-23 Weeks

22-23 Weeks

Weight gain: 7 lbs

Maternity clothes: Leggings all the time please.

Sleep: Sleep has been pretty great due to the rashes healing and my new Bump Nest pillow!

Medication: 1-2 Zofran pills a day depending on how I'm feeling. I've had some not so good days but nothing compared to the beginning. The rashes are healed and we figured out it was an allergic reaction to a band-aid. So NO more band-aids for me at least during pregnancy! So strange.

Gender: BOY! (Gender reveal party post coming as soon as I get the video working on here.) We are praying about the name. I have no idea whether we'll share it before birth or not. I would hate to share and then change our minds or something.

Food cravings: Steak! And I had it when we went out to lunch the other day, yummm.

Food aversions: Totally depends on the day with eating, but I am super easily grossed out by stuff like doing the dishes or questionable items in the fridge. It's difficult for me to even think about that.

Mood: Just so, so grateful. Starting on the nursery and registering has made it all very real. And I'm PUMPED for the holidays. (Although slightly overwhelmed because things are gonna be pretty crazy. But we are trying to do everything possible as it won't be as easy next year! Gotta go all out!)

Movement: As of this past week, you can see him moving from the outside. Soooo cool/crazy. One of my best friends Maggie was officially the second person to feel him move. And then last night my brother Blake saw him move. (I try not to freak the little bro out by inviting him to place his hand upon my belly. Now I can tell him to watch.)

Milestones: Began registering, painted the nursery, saw him move for the first time!

Best moments of the week: Registering with Jordan (which involved him controlling the scanner and us laughing at our lack of knowledge of what to put on there), spending time with my friend Jenna who has two little ones and asking her a million questions, finishing up a fun basketball season with Jordan's team, painting the nursery and re-doing the closet (well I mainly watched), going to the Psalm 100 a cappella concert with some of the Shelleys & friends, celebrating my Grandaddy's 84th birthday, hitting up a big Kohl's sale with my mom and picking out some baby clothes. :) 

Quotes: When I was at my friend Jenna's house, I was playing with her 2 1/2 year old son Everette. As he was introducing me to his favorite show, he was pretty comfy and snuggly with me. At one point he started kinda climbing up me and Jenna told him not to and reminded him that there is a baby in my tummy. He looked rather surprised as he remembered this (they were at our gender reveal) and I let him know that it is indeed true there's a baby boy in there. His eyes widened, he got excited, and he immediately leaned close and grabbed my shirt to peer down into it exclaiming, "Let me see him! Where is he?" We erupted in laughter and explained that none of us can see the baby yet, we have to wait. He seemed to still want to inspect inside my shirt but Jenna prevented him from having that disappointing view again.  

Jordan quotes: Jordan and I don't call each other pet names much, but privately we do sometimes. He likes to refer to me as his "baby girl". So one night as we were being cuddly, he put his hand on my belly and told me, "This is my child, but you will always be my baby." :)

Now that I've noticed the baby responding to sounds, Jordan has started singing and playing the guitar to him. Sometimes it will be whatever song he happens to be singing, other times he'll make up some words for the little guy. I'll have to start writing them down or something!

Verses I've been dwelling on: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." -- Ezekiel 36:26-29

Baby Shelley: 21 Weeks

21 Weeks

Weight gain: 5 lbs

Maternity clothes: Finally filling out my Target maternity dresses so I'm excited to wear those. Now I just need to get some tights!

Sleep: Haven't been sleeping well due to a crazy rash situation. About a week ago I started having some little bumps on my left wrist that itched a lot. I have sensitive skin that randomly does stuff like that so I didn't think much of it. The next day it had grown and was worse. And then by the weekend it had turned into a full blown raised red area and spread to other places on my hands, my belly, and my face. The itchiness was INSANE. Even my lips have swollen up. The doctor said that whatever it is has been exaggerated by my pregnancy hormones, yay. 

Medication: Down to one Zofran pill a day! :) Have been taking Benadryl at night to help me sleep with this rash nonsense. I've used creams and done everything they told me to do when I called the doctor to tell them. I've also used coconut oil with a few drops of lavender to soothe and heal. It has helped and I think it's getting better but it's been ridiculous. So glad it's not summer because anything with heat makes it worse, especially hot water. 

Gender: IT'S A BOY! I WAS SO WRONG! More on this in tomorrow's post about the gender reveal. :)

Food cravings: I think I've had broccoli cheddar soup four or five times since my last post, so still stuck on that. 

Food aversions: I surprisingly prepared and ate ground beef the other day when we had tacos so that's good. I still have some issues with chicken sometimes. 

Mood: So, so happy about having a boy and how wonderfully the gender reveal party went!

Movement: Lots and getting stronger! Jordan felt him move last night (11/11/14) for the first time so that was a cool moment. 

Milestones: Had the gender reveal party and announced that it's a boy, picked paint colors for the nursery, Jordan felt the baby move, and we start registering tonight!

Best moments of the week: Being surrounded by our closest family and friends at our home and celebrating baby boy was amazing. Seriously one of the best days ever. The night before and that night we had some of Jordan's family staying with us, and we went out to eat after the party with them and my parents. It was a BLAST. We also got to Skype my BFF in Vermont to tell her the news. :) 

Quotes: When getting paint from Lowe's, a man probably in his 50's or 60's came up to us and said, "Do NOT pick pink or blue. The doctor told us we were having a boy and then guess what? GIRL. Also, I have bad news. (I was like oh no here comes a horror story...) My wife was due mid-August but she didn't have her until October." He then went on to tell the whole story. It was kind of hard to follow, but definitely an interesting encounter.

At the cash register a Lowe's worker asked us if we have a name picked out yet. (We don't.) She then said, "Just PLEASE don't name him Coco or Apple." We then vowed to not name our baby Coco Apple Shelley.

My sweet friend Carrie who is one of my greatest encouragers in life sent me this text the day before the gender reveal.

Not that we're going to FORCE our kid to play basketball or anything, but I love how she appreciates that it can be a baller regardless of gender. :) She's awesome.

Right after we announced boy at the party, my adorable grandparents hugged me as they were tearing up and my grandaddy said, "My Ashley Joy is having a boy!" It was so cute.

Jordan quotes: Well, if you haven't heard, Zoboomafoo the lemur passed away this week. This specific lemur and his tv show began Jordan's love for lemurs, his favorite animal. So he asked if we could get a stuffed lemur for the nursery in honor of Zoboomafoo. It's a very serious matter that I'm gonna try to make happen.

We were in our usual nonstop texting conversation talking about how great of a weekend we had and how fun it was, and Jordan said, "Love being with you! Gonna be hard to share you with the baby haha" :) This was both sweet and true. We'll have to figure out how to keep our dating relationship going strong once baby gets here! 

Last night when he felt the baby kick, Jordan said, "Wow. Maybe he'll be a punter."

Verses I've been dwelling on: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." -- Jeremiah 31:3

Baby Shelley: 19-20 Weeks

19-20 Weeks

Weight gain: 3.5 lbs

Maternity clothes: Got a new amazingly comfy waterfall cardigan from Loft that I'll be wearing pretty much every day because it's wonderful.

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well on my left side lately, which is the recommended sleep position so yay! Hardly slept at ALL the night before the ultrasound. That's the first event in my life when I've really had a hard time sleeping beforehand. Before other big life things like our wedding I slept like a rock, haha. 

Medication: Weaning off of the Zofran more, but I took it a little too far this week. I've been trying to do just one pill a day, but my body couldn't take it on Thursday and I almost didn't make it to pulling over when I was driving Jordan's car. But I made it thankfully! I always feel bad for the people who have to witness my side of the road vomiting. Sorry, people. I feel like fruit snacks are my second medication these days. If I start feeling bad I sit still and eat them very slowly and it helps, haha.

Gender prediction: We found out on Thursday! Will announce this weekend. :) SO PUMPED!

Food cravings: BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP all day erry day.

Food aversions: I tried some Goldfish for the first time since July the other day and they were alright, but I wasn't really into them. Maybe someday my love for them will return.

Mood: I was FULL of anticipation and some anxiousness for our anatomy ultrasound. So thankful that I could talk to the Lord about it, He definitely gave us peace and reminded me that He already knows everything that's going on in there! And since the ultrasound I've been getting more and more excited as the thought of the gender starts to sink in. AHHHH!

Movement: Moving so much! I was informed at the ultrasound that the baby is hanging out toward the surface with the placenta behind, so that's one reason why I've been able to feel so much movement fairly early on. Last night before I went to sleep my hand happened to be resting on my belly and I felt the baby externally for the first time! It was so cool. I could even feel it shifting and moving. I thought about waking Jordan up but he had just fallen asleep and will feel it in due time. :)

Milestones: Well we are HALFWAY and we FOUND OUT THE GENDER! And that the baby is super healthy and developing wonderfully so far. It was just so amazing to see the baby moving around, waving at us, grasping its leg, opening its mouth, and looking positively adorable in my opinion. It made it even more real and exciting. 

Best moments of the week: Well, it's been two weeks...so let's see. We had a fabulous time at Jordan's Granma's house for their annual weenie roast with almost all of the cousins! Jordan had his test that day so the weekend consisted of him winding down from that. We had a wonderful date night to celebrate -- Japanese food and (cooked) sushi at our favorite place provided by Jordan's parents, and then a cookie cake with ice cream from my parents. They are so, so good to us! Then this past week we had the ultrasound first thing in the morning on Thursday with a Bojangles breakfast date after. It was SUCH a great morning. Friday night we went to a little costume party with some of our favorite people. Saturday was our church fall festival (that felt like a WINTER festival) and we loved spending time with our chapel family singing praise songs around the bonfire. We started on some house projects and are going into full nesting mode! So far this involves purging and painting. 

Quotes: A bank teller congratulated me on the pregnancy and asked what the baby is the day after we found out, so I mayyy have told him, haha. I won't say where because my mom might track the guy down and corner him. 

Jordan quotes: I need to start writing these down because I forget them! The one I can think of was on Halloween when Jordan was dressed up in a ridiculous costume. He's the one on the right.

So when he was putting it on, it started inflating through the fan where that little circle is. He then said something about dressing up like me. As in my body is already inflated. As in comparing me to the giant blob you see above. Bahaha. It may sound mean but it was hilarious, and he has sweet comments too I just can't remember them right now besides gender related ones. :)

Verses I've been dwelling on: In my pregnancy devotional book, it had a devotion about the anatomy ultrasound. It REALLY helped with my nervousness about it so I'll put the excerpt with the Scripture here.

"His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'" -- John 9:2-3

"As the day drew near for our baby's twenty-week ultrasound, I was both giddy and fearful. I couldn't wait for the sneak peek at our little one, but I also couldn't help worrying that the ultrasound would reveal a genetic abnormality or problem. Try as I might, I couldn't block out this fear.

What if the ultrasound had revealed a serious medical issue? Thought it would have taken some time to adjust to this new reality, the truth is that God would still have been at work glorifying Himself through the situation. As in the story of the blind beggar whom Jesus healed, I could have rested in the fact that 'this happened so that the work of God might be displayed.' I could also have rested in the truth that God would give me enough grace for each day He had given me with this little one.

Is your God big enough to carry you through whatever comes your way? Will you praise Him in the hard times as well as in the times of rejoicing? These words aren't meant to cause undue worry, but to spur us to cling to the truth of God's goodness no matter what trials come. They also remind us that every child is a gift."

-- Catherine Claire Larson, Waiting in Wonder

I HIGHLY recommend this devotional book (thanks, Mom!) as it has been so encouraging with prompts for me to write out prayers for the baby and our family. It starts at 5 weeks so get it early in your pregnancy! :)