Happy [early] Valentine's Day!!!

Today was a good day to take some pictures of Kylie for Valentine's Day! I wanted to get them done before Brayden got here because I know I probably won't be able to do them after that. So here they are!!!

Doctor appt: 37 weeks

I had my 37 week doctor appt. this morning. I gained 3 lbs. since my last appt. [I knew I had gained weight! HA!] and my blood pressure was normal. Brayden's heartbeat sounded good, in the 150's and my belly is still measuring on track! My Group B Strep Test came back negative- yay! The doctor checked me and said I'm a good 1cm! She said not quite a 2 yet so that must mean I'm probably 1 1/2cm!!! So that's good news, now let's just hope I made even more progress by my next appt.

My next doctor appointment at 38 weeks [actually I'll be one day shy of 38 weeks] is next Wednesday, February 2nd at 9:30am. That will be a major appointment so please pray everything works out and I can schedule my induction for the following Friday.... Feb. 11th!!!!

37 weeks- full term!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 weeks
Size of baby: 6 3/4-7 lbs & 19 inches
Total Weight Gain/Loss: gained 18lbs [but I have a feeling I've gained a couple!]
Maternity Clothes: pretty much everything [I'm gonna miss the clothes, actually, especially jeans]
Gender: BOY! Brayden Curtis Payne
Movement: starting to not be as frequent but can feel little body parts in my ribs at all times or something poking out the side of my belly!
Sleep: toss & turn all night, can't get comfortable, getting hard to turn over, many potty breaks
What I miss: sleep!, being able to bend over- even a little
Cravings: cereal, chocolate
Symptons: tiredness, heartburn, constant trips to the bathroom
Best Moment this week: getting more maternity pictures done by a friend hopefully this weekend and doctors appt tomorrow!

This was me [at Emily's baby shower] at 37 weeks with Kylie! HOLY MOLY!!!!

BABY UPDATE:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). 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.

I've started to get more things ready for the baby's arrival, such as: install the car seat into the car- yes, I did this myself! Since I'll continue to watch Haylee 2 weeks out of each month I needed to leave her car seat in the car as well. Hers would stay in the middle and Brayden's car seat would go behind the driver's seat and Kylie's car seat would stay where it is. Well I tried for about 45 minutes but could not get the base of the infant car seat to go right and when I would put the car seat in the base, it wouldn't click in with ease. So I figured I needed to get a new car seat for Haylee to use that was slimmer. I got a new one at Wal-mart that is kinda a booster seat but still has the harness so it can still be used for Haylee. I was really hoping this would work because I didn't know what else I could do [besides buy a van, which is not an option at the moment]. And thank goodness it worked!!! It's snug but I can get the baby's car seat in and out without hardly any trouble. So that's all set to go!

closer view of the middle car seat & baby's car seat

Today, I got out the bouncy seat & swing and checked the batteries. The bouncy seat already had batteries in it so that's good to go but the swing had none so I need to get those. Mom gave me her snap n' go stroller, where you just sit the baby's car seat into it and use it as a stroller- it's not one of those big strollers. It was in her attic so I need to clean it and then put it in the trunk of my car.

And then I need to move the pack n' play into our bedroom [which I'll probably do in another week or so] and put the top part in and changing table in and add sheets to it.

My hospital bag is pretty much packed. And I already have my "last minute" list [such as: make-up, pillow, etc.] ready to go! So we are pretty much ready when he is! I'm starting to get really uncomfortable, especially when sleeping and it's getting harder to walk- definitely starting to waddle!

poor big kid

Kylie is feeling a little under the weather, probably just a cold so she stayed home from school yesterday and took it easy. Yesterday, when she got up from her nap she had a fever of 101.1 so I gave her some Motrin and before she went to bed it had gone down some. But when she woke up this morning, it was back at 100.7 so I gave her some more Motrin and she seems to have more energy today but still has a stuffy/runny nose and she has been sneezing and coughing too. Last night, I was saying poor baby since she wasn't feeling well and of course she had to correct me and said "no, say poor big kid" HAHA!

Here are some pictures I took of her yesterday throughout the day....

so pitiful! :(



watching a movie



taking a break for an art project



she got a lollipop for taking her Motrin!

Brayden's room!!!!

So Brayden's room is pretty much finished- yay!!! Only 3 weeks shy of his grand entrance- HA! I'm so happy with the way it turned out and think it's perfect for a sweet little boy. It's still hard believing I'm having a little boy- I don't think I will truly believe it til I see him! Anyways, here are some more pictures of his entire room....

view from the door...









his baby book & piggy bank



his bedding












artwork









left side of closet



right side of closet

We are pretty much ready for Brayden to come! I still need to add a couple more things to my hospital bag [and there's also the last minute stuff I'll add when it's time] and we are going to get the car seat in the car maybe this weekend. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over with- when I think about when we found out I was pregnant last June- that seems so long ago but the months have definitely flown by! We are all excited to meet this little guy- I can't wait to see what he looks like and if he looks similar to Kylie!!!

36 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 weeks/ 9 months
Size of baby: almost 6lbs & 18 1/2 inches, size of a crenshaw melon
Total Weight Gain/Loss: gained 18lbs
Maternity Clothes: just about everything [& some of it is getting too small!]
Gender: BOY! Brayden Curtis Payne
Movement: he moves all the time, I can usually feel a little tushy or foot in my ribs and he likes to jab his head into my bladder!
Sleep: toss & turn ALL night!
What I miss: sleep!
Cravings: nothing really
Symptons: very frequent urination [HA!], tiredness, slight heartburn,sore ribs
Best Moment this week: finishing up his nursery and doctor appointment on Friday!

I think the striped shirt adds like 10lbs! HA!

Fun comparison of me at 16 weeks, 26 weeks and 36 weeks!



Kylie's turn...



Haylee's turn...

BABY UPDATE:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) 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, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

DOCTOR APPT. UPDATE:

I had my 36 week doctor appointment this morning. I didn't gained any weight, which I can't believe but I'll take it! I also had to get my Group B Strep test, which wasn't too bad and it's my last test for this pregnancy! From now on, I will have a weekly doctor appointment and next week they will start "checking" me to see how far I'm dialated! Please pray I start to dialate that way I can schedule my induction for Feb. 11th! Not that I'm looking forward to an induction but it seems like it's the easiest thing to do, especially with Kylie. Brayden's heartbeat was in the 140's and my belly is measuring on track.

My next doctor appointment is next Friday, January 28th at 9:30am.

my Mommy necklace!

I've been wanting a necklace with my baby's names on it for a couple months now. I searched online and found a bunch of different ones but really liked this website: thevintagepearl.com. They handstamp all their jewelry and the prices are very reasonable! Plus I got a 20% off coupon code for signing up for their newsletter! I ordered it a couple weeks ago and on their website it says it can take up to 2-3 weeks so I was expecting to get it a couple weeks before Brayden got here. But I got it today! And I love the way it came out.

Kylie...



Brayden...