A few updates

I went to the doctor this morning.  Everything still looks good.  Avery has dropped, but no progress other than that.  I'll go back to the doctor again on Wednesday.

Luckily, Melissa blogged about Christmas and posted some pictures since I didn't think to take any.  Click here to check it out.

I tried sleeping in the recliner in Avery's nursery for a while last night - just trying to find somewhere comfortable.  Shelby doesn't like to leave my side at night, so she came in the nursery with me.  She kept trying to move the Cabbage Patch dolls from Avery's Pottery Barn chair so that she could get into it.  I can't say that I blame her - it's about the same size as a dog bed.  I kept telling her "no" and finally decided just to move the dolls so she didn't get them slobbery.  I woke up to this...

Since I have a feeling that she's not going to want to leave Avery's side, I guess we might need to get a dog bed for Avery's nursery so Shelby doesn't take over her chair.  I wonder if PBK makes dog beds to match their chairs? :)

36 Weeks...+2 days

I don't know how I let this week slip away from me without my update on Monday.  I have been so confused about the days of the week and we had the family over on Monday, so I just have't thought about blogging...oops!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along:  36 weeks and 2 days. 3 weeks and 5 days until my due date and 5 days until she's considered full term.  

Size of baby:  6 lbs and 22 inches long - about the size of a watermelon  

New developments:  She's fully developed and practicing breathing, sucking on her thumb and blinking.

Gender:  Girl!  Avery Anne Johnson

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity.  I pretty much live in leggings these days (when possible).  They are one of the few things that are still comfortable.

Movement: Lots of movement!  Her movements are sometimes so extreme that my whole belly jerks.  She also has hiccups at least once per day.

Sleep:  The lack of sleep has probably been one of the hardest parts.  I have always been a good sleeper, but my hips and back just hurt too much to get comfortable.  I move from the bed to the couch to the recliner almost every night just trying to find some relief.

Symptoms:  Tired, some Braxton Hicks contractions, and back pain when I've been doing too much.

Cravings: Not anything specific, but I've been putting a good size dent in the Christmas leftovers :)

What I Miss: Everything is such a big effort these days.  I'm ready to have my body back, but Avery can stay in as long as she needs to.  

Best Moment this Week:  

We had the whole crew over to our house for Christmas on Christmas Eve.  It was a lot of work and Adam and I were pretty exhausted afterwards, but we had a really nice time.  Adam did a great job cooking and it was great to spend some time with the family since we didn't get to see them on Thanksgiving.  We opened presents, ate until we were stuffed and visited.  Somehow, I didn't take a single picture.  Hopefully Melissa and Mom got some good pictures and I can link to their blogs.  

On Christmas morning we headed to the Pitts for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast - breakfast casserole and butterscotch rolls.  They were fabulous!  Adam and I spent Christmas Day relaxing and recovering.

I head to the doctor tomorrow for my first check to see if I'm dilated, effaced, etc.  I can't believe I'm already at the point in this pregnancy that I am starting weekly doctor's visits.  Wish me luck!!

Happy Birthday, Vixen!

The Big Bear turned 13 years old today!  We celebrated with a rib bone :). I still remember the first time I saw Big Bear.  We just happened to be at the Twyfords house for a Christmas party on the night she was born, so I got to see her when she was only a few minutes old.

I was so excited to wake up that Christmas morning to a dog crate and a note from Santa that I could pick out one of the Twyford's puppies. 

She has been a wonderful companion for these 13 years!  I look forward to having many more memories with her.

We love you, Big Bear!!

35 Weeks

Wow - I'm huge!!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along:  35 weeks.  5 weeks until my due date and 2 weeks until she's considered full term.  It is flying by!

Size of baby:  5.5 lbs and 20 inches long.  She's continuing to fatten up.  

New developments:  She's pretty much fully developed at this point, she's just gaining weight.

Gender:  Girl!  Avery Anne Johnson

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity. Some of my maternity stuff is getting too small, but I'm resisting buying anything new.

Movement: I get lots of pokes and prods throughout the day.

Sleep:  I guess I'll just look forward to getting a good nights sleep again here in a few years.

Symptoms:  The skin on my stomach is really starting to get sore.  I don't think it can stretch any more!

Cravings: Still craving the iced animal cookies in the pink bag.  In fact...I'm eating some as I type this post :)

What I Miss: Being able to sit like a lady.  My belly is so big that I have to sit with my legs spread out so it has room.  

Best Moment this Week:  Got some more things checked off my to do list this week.  Adam and I also had a lovely "date night" on Saturday.  We ate at Table Mesa on the Bentonville square, walked around through the Christmas lights and got some ice cream at the Spark Cafe.  

It actually was a pretty sad week here at Big Bear and the Betis Ranch.  On Friday night, when I went to go gather the eggs and tuck in my chickens, I discovered that something had gotten into their coop.  At first I thought they had just gotten out because the gate to their run was open, then I saw one of my beautiful girls dead in the yard.  I was pretty hysterical and I'm sure Adam didn't know what to think as I was walking back to the house sobbing.  As soon as I could get out that it was my chickens, he went to go look for the others.  He looked that night and then again the next morning and still didn't find the other girls.  We discovered that it was a dog that got into the run.  We aren't sure if it killed the other girls or if they just ran away because they were scared.  I'm keeping the gate open and checking to coop every night just in case they come back.  They have been so much fun to have.  It's relaxing to walk out there every day to check on them and gather the eggs.  I'm sure we will get more if they don't come back, but I'm still holding out hope!

34 Weeks...+1 day

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along:  34 weeks and 1 day.  I completely forgot about my post yesterday until after I had already put on my pjs - oops!  6 weeks until my due date and 3 weeks until she's considered full term.

Size of baby:  5 lbs and 18 inches long.  She is really starting to fatten up and her skin is smoothing out.

New developments:  She can recognize and react to simple songs.

Gender:  Girl!  Avery Anne Johnson

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity. Some of my maternity stuff is getting too small, but I'm resisting buying anything new.

Movement: She's a mover and a shaker!

Sleep:  I guess I'll just look forward to getting a good nights sleep again here in a few years.

Symptoms:  Having some Braxton Hicks contractions.  Ravenously hungry!  Also have lovely red-rimmed eyes from my lack of sleep.  Luckily the cankles have not made another appearance.

Cravings: Iced animal cookies - the kind in the pink bag.

What I Miss: Just being able to get comfy

Best Moment this Week:  We had another great doctor's visit on Monday.  Blood pressure was great, weight gain was perfect, Avery's heartrate was right where it needed to be, and I am measuring 34 1/2 weeks.  My next appointment is on 12/27 and I will start going every week.

We also got a lot accomplished this weekend.  Still lots to do, but I feel better that we at least got several things done.  Hopefully I can post final pics of the nursery next week.

What I'm looking forward to: Marking more things off my "To Do" list.  This nesting stuff is stressful!

Baby Avery was Showered

Our teams at work gave us a baby shower yesterday.  They did a very nice job and we had a great time!  We are now well stocked for Avery's arrival.  The cake was done by a lady on Adam's team - so cute!  As you can tell by the pic of all the goodies in the nursery, we've got some organizing to do this weekend:)

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along:  33 weeks.  7 weeks until my due date and 4 weeks until she's considered full term.

Size of baby:  4.2 to 5.8 lbs and 17.2 to 18.7 inches long.  She could grow up to 1 inch this week.

New developments:  She's coordinating breathing with sucking and swallowing.  Her bones are also hardening.

Gender:  Girl!  Avery Anne Johnson

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity.  I was dressed really casually today because I had an all day strategy meeting with my direct reports.  We decided to all dress comfy since we weren't going to be in the office.  Leggings are my favorite pants these days.

Movement:  She moves all over the place and they are very obvious!  You can see my belly move and it even gets bigger on whichever side she is hanging out on.

Sleep:  I guess I'll just look forward to getting a good nights sleep again here in a few years.

Symptoms:  I had my first experience with cankles...ahh!!!!  We had the Jr. League Tour of Homes yesterday and after being on my feet from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., my feet and ankles were definitely swollen.  I guess I'm lucky that I haven't had that problem until now.

Cravings: Cuties.  Even though they give me heartburn, Adam brings me one every morning and it is so yum!

What I Miss: When I could sit down without my belly touching my legs.  It kinda grosses me out.

Best Moment this Week:  I was really glad that I was able to be done with the Tour of Homes. It was a great experience and was a good committee to be on, but I'm glad that I'm finished with committee meetings and all the prep work. 

We also got our tree decorated this weekend and I got to spend some good quality time with the Pitts crew on Saturday afternoon.  The boys crack me up with their reaction to my belly and Avery.

I included a couple of pictures of our Christmas tree.  Shelby is fascinated!  We had to move the lower ornaments because she kept bumping them with her nose and it was making us nervous.  I also had big plans to add netting or burlap to the tree this year, but we decided that we were just lucky to get it decorated since I was 33 weeks pregnant. :)

What I'm looking forward to: My work shower on Thursday afternoon.

Maternity Photos

My maternity photos arrived!  Meredith Curtis did a great job - I highly recommend her.  Here's a few of my favorites.