fear of the unknown

When is Crew going to be born?

Will he come early or late?

What will he look like?

Where will I be when I go into labor?

How long will labor last?

Will I get an epidural in time?

Will the epidural wear off before I give birth?

Will it hurt?

Will Crew be healthy?

Is his nursery going to be ready in time?

Will we be ready?

Will I have all my responsibilities taken care of at work?

These are all questions and worries that are floating around in my head at any given time. Being just a few days away from being full term, I feel like questions like these are just multiplying. It's been a rough past few days both physically and emotionally around here. I think one of the hardest things about being pregnant, especially for the first time, is just not knowing. Not knowing what is normal. Not knowing what pains, if any, you should be feeling at any given time. Not knowing if/when you should call the doctor. And just not knowing when your baby's birth day will be.

Of course, you can get opinions from other women (especially by calling/texting your Mom a million questions each day) about what you're feeling or what to expect, but there's still that fear in your mind of what's to come. I can confide in Will to console me when I'm in pain or when I'm upset (which has been a daily thing lately), but my hope and my peace ultimately come from the Lord. The verse that has been on repeat in my mind lately is this:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

I recite that verse to myself and all of those fears are taken away. If I have full faith in Christ, then why should I worry or fear anything? Of course, I'm human so I have to remind myself of this promise from God so often. I pray for Crew every day. I pray for his health, for the delivery, for adjusting to our new lives with him and I pray for that peace from God that I need every single day to ease my fears. I've got an amazing support system, not only in Christ, but in my caring husband and our families. I have nothing to fear. Nothing to be anxious about. What I've been given in Crew is the most miraculous gift from the Lord and I'm going to be thankful for that each and every day.

"Behold, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children[a] of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"
Psalm 127:3-5

"It is well, it is well, with my soul"

35 weeks

Our due date is exactly one month from today. WOW.

Also, I think my belly is just getting pointier and pointier!

How far along are you?

35 weeks!

How big is Baby?

He's the size of a coconut - He's about as long as he'll get before being born, but he'll put on at least a pound of fat before birth - His kidneys are fully developed

Weight Gain?

27lbs

 Gender?

a sweet boy

Maternity Clothes?

Yes, and some of them are too little now!

Stretch Marks?

Well...I think I've noticed the beginning of a few on the right/underneath side of my belly. So sad!
My belly has been really itchy lately so I'm trying hard not to scratch it!

 Sleep?

Still struggling with being uncomfortable and restless legs every night. My hips always hurt from sleeping on my side. Almost every night I just lie in bed going through our to-do list before Crew comes or even my work to-do list before Crew comes. I don't mind being kept awake by Crew, but I get mad at myself for losing sleep over work.
For some reason, I slept SO GOOD in Nashville on the first night of our babymoon. The bed, cold room temp, and down comforter made the perfect combo. I wish I could sleep like that every night!

Symptoms?

Just a general feeling of being so tired and uncomfortable all the time!

Back/rib pain, acid reflux, pelvic/groin pain

Movement?

Yes, his movements are less of the "kicking" feeling and more stretching and jabbing

Food Cravings/Aversions?

Neither

Labor Signs?

not yet... I got nervous on the babymoon because I started having bad cramps when we were out shopping one day, but luckily it went away after going back to the hotel and lying down for a while.

Belly Button in or out?

half and half

What I miss?

Sleeping on my stomach

What I am looking forward to?

Our third and final baby shower is this weekend!

His nursery rug should be here next week

Finishing the nursery
Doctor appointment today...hopefully I'll find out if things have progressed since last time I was there

Best moment of the week?

Our babymoon was so great!

Daddy’s feeling?
"Almost time for Crew! I can't say how excited I am for little man to be here. It's going to be awesome!"

I'm feeling?

I'm tired of being pregnant and just want Crew to be here! I'm just so sore/achy all the time and move so slow. I've been crying a lot again too. Something totally random/unrelated to pregnancy can happen and I'll just start crying because of being uncomfortable/in pain/frustrated with being pregnant. (I know, makes zero sense.) Poor Will.

Check out weeks 12-34 bumpdates here!

babymoon part two: chattanooga

Read part one: nashville here!

We left Nashville on Saturday morning and headed to Chattanooga. We got there around lunchtime and ate downtown and, you guessed it, went antique shopping some more. (I think I'm obsessed. But hey, I was on a mission to find some deco for the nursery!)

It was so hot and we had already planned to go to Rock City. I wasn't going to let the heat stop me and we decided to stick to our plans! I had been once before with my family several years ago and had forgotten how strenuous it was for a 35 week preggo! It was definitely good exercise...that made my ankles swell like crazy!

Well, this was interesting. I am not claustrophobic at all, but something about your belly being so huge and that space being so small just freaks you out a little bit!

One of many breaks I had to take along the way...

A midway snack

"Fat Man Squeeze"

And now to what was probably Will's favorite part of the entire trip:

If you know Will, you know of his affection for Taco Bell. I mean, he had a TB groom's cake. FOR REAL. We were driving through Chattanooga Saturday when we passed a TB that had breakfast. I thought Will was going to have a heart attack (because Memphis doesn't have this yet). So on Sunday morning before leaving, he had to at least try it. Kind of makes me sick just looking at the picture! I just stuck with the hotel continental breakfast.

And now that you have a stomach ache too, have a wonderful Friday!

babymoon part one: nashville

Nashvegas will always be special to us because it's where Will proposed to me. We love that we can make a short 3 hour drive and get to such a fun place.

We left on Friday morning and drove straight to Franklin for a little antique shopping. It was SO hot and I was sore/achy from being in the car for 3 hours so we didn't last very long. We went to our hotel that afternoon so I could take a much-needed nap and recover for dinner!

If we ever get to a city that has a California Pizza Kitchen, we HAVE to eat there. It's a delicious tradition. I have always loved their pizza and wish there was one in Memphis! (Although, my pizza was a little disappointing this time...they changed the crust AND the pepperonis were huge--which meant they were way more salty than usual. I wasn't a fan of the change...maybe it's just this particular CPK??)

Saturday morning before leaving town we went to the Opryland Hotel to walk around and reminisce of Will proposing to me!

This is where Will proposed! So much has changed in 5 years!!

Standing in the same spot as the proposal

And just for fun... a few pics from 2008!

baby shower #2

We had our second baby shower two Sundays ago. It was held at our "home" church in Bartlett. We had 10 amazing hostesses that made everything so perfect. They took aspects from Crew's nursery and incorporated it into the shower decorations. We loved every bit of it and felt so incredibly loved by our church family who came to celebrate Crew's soon arrival.

Who wouldn't love a table full of desserts and delicious fruit?! And that punch! YUM!

Crew's personalized blanket used as decor.  So cute.

Our wonderful hostesses!!

My Mom and Mother-in-law

Let the shower begin!

Isn't this adorable?!

Checking out Crew's diaper bag!

Like I said, we felt so special and so loved after this shower. Crew received so many adorable things and we are ecstatic for him to arrive so he can enjoy it all!

Ginger had to check out everything once we got home...she is wondering why she can't have any of the new stuffed animals!