Olivia - 6 Months!

She's getting huge!  I just can't believe she's already half a year old.  When did that happen in all the craziness that we've been having this year?  

I know I missed 5 months and I apologize, but things have just been crazy and I still am finding things.  Things are definitely becoming more organized with our life together that's for sure.  I feel like 6 months makes all the difference.

This month she's weighing in at 16 lbs 14 oz, and measuring 25.5 inches.

Milestones

Tons of fun milestones this past month.  She's started really eating foods.  Which she has liked for the most part.  I just started straight out with carrots.  I used baby cereal for the other two to begin with but they all hated it, so why would I do it.  Plus, I've read a lot of things saying that it doesn't really matter what you start them out on.  Carrots it is!  She loved it too.  She's also been eating some puffs and random soft things that I'm also eating.  I've always been more into just giving my kids the real thing verses pureeing everything.

Olivia is MOBILE!  She's started scooching around.  It's kind of an army crawl I guess you might call it.  I like to think of it as an inch worm.  She sure can do it though!  She's fastest when she's not supposed to have it too.  Like when the kids leave a bowl of cereal on the living room floor, or when a remote of cell phone is left unattended.  We're really going to have to get this house baby proofed.  I don't have a gate on the stairs currently.  Thankfully this house is so much bigger than our last and we don't hang out by the stairs at all, but it still needs to get done pronto!

She also had her first ride in the swather ever!  Big moments

Sleeping

We have made SO much progress this month with sleeping.  I couldn't be more happy.  We are finally establishing some sort of routine around nap times.  She's taking 2-3 naps a day, and typically one of those naps will be a really good 2-3 hour nap!  It's been pretty glorious from my stand point.  

As for night sleep, it's been getting better too.  She still has been having 1 wake up a night, but it's been short and to the point.  She's also managed a couple of night where she's actually slept through the whole thing.  So we're getting there.  I'm hopeful that by the end of August she will be sleeping through the night most nights.  

I've started using a music box to help her fall asleep or at least signal that it's bed/nap time for her.  I think that's really been helping her calm down and figure out how to soothe herself a bit.  So for naps she's been putting herself to sleep these days.  It's been magical.  She's taken to it pretty quickly though.  I think sleeping through the nights is just around the corner.

Eating

As I mentioned above, we've started with actual food.  It's been ok, nothing to write home about, but we're making it work.  She likes it a lot, and really wants to eat things.  She's definitely figuring out the swallowing verses sucking thing.  We're getting there.  She's going to be a pro at this soon too.   I just love this age!

Family

Still so many changes going on.  We celebrated her first 4th of July, which she probably could have cared less about but she was there looking cute.

She's also been working really hard at sitting up.

Besides all of those things, she's showing us every day her little personality.  She's been such a fun addition to our family.  Her siblings still smother her with more attention then one little kid should have, but it's all out of love.  What a lucky little girl.  Stay tuned because hopefully next month she'll finally have month than 1 tooth!

Olivia - 4 Months

AHHH!!! Olivia is already 4 months old!  May has just FLOWN by since we found out all the news about our jobs and moving and what not.  I've been so out of sorts.  I decided that I really needed to get this post done.  I still have a Stitch Fix post to get figured out as well, but hopefully we'll get that out soon now that we are connected once again.  Anyway, let's get on with my Olivia update :)

First up, as you can see, I don't have my little sign.  I don't remember where I packed it!  Olivia is 4 months old, we don't have any teeth yet, and she's weighing in at 13 lbs  6.5 oz and 24 inches long.  She's getting so big!  She's still wearing 0-3 month clothes, but not for much longer really.   She's in a size 2 diaper.  I think she's getting a bit pudgier too.  

Milestones

The big milestone that we reached actually this week so it might really go in this next months post, but I want to share it now because I'm excited about it.  She rolled over from her back to her stomach!  What a rock star!  

She's also getting so much stronger with her sitting up skills.  She's obviously not doing it on her own yet, but she LOVES doing it.  

She's also been playing a lot more with toys.  She grabs things now and smacks them around.  It's just so fun to watch her be more interactive overall.  

Sleeping

I think we've reached the 4 month sleep regression.  She just has not been sleeping as well as she once was.  We were getting a 6-7 hour stretch and now we're down to 4-5.  It's still not awful, but it's not as good as it once was.  I know we'll get back there though.  The one thing that I've been really thankful of though, is that she's figuring out how to put herself back to sleep if she's not super angry when she gets up.  It's been good overall.

Eating

Olivia is eating pretty well.  She's definitely picked things up.  She eating probably 25-30 oz a day now which is great.  I'm trying to get most of those oz eaten during the day.  Since I'm at home now until I find work, I'm trying to get a bunch of "habits" figured out.  

Family

Also, the whole month was crazy, so there were a ton of things we did to mess up everyone's life.  Here is a picture of Olivia's new room.  It's a really great little nursery.  It's not as big as her old room, which is fine.  It's just right for a little baby though.  I'm still trying to get clothes and stuff put away but for now things are working.  

Now I'm just going to share some pictures of what Olivia has to put up with on a daily basis from the kids...really just her sister.

Maybe this month will be a little less crazy.  We're getting things figured out and Olivia is definitely settling down.  I love that we have most space to spread out all of her toys, so that we can actually use them all.  Baby toys are so big.  Things are great.  I'm really happy in our new home so far.  

Olivia - 3 months

I'm a few days late, but Olivia is now 3 months old!  She is getting to be so much fun too.  I feel like she knows that she's not a newborn anymore if that makes sense.  The outfit that she's in in her 3 month picture, all of my kiddos have worn.  I just love it and think it's adorable.  It has tiny giraffes on it.  Such a cute gender neutral outfit.  I might be keeping this one in my keepsake box.

Milestones

Olivia's neck strength is getting so much better.  She loves to be propped up to be able to look at everything around her.  All my kids have been like that.  It's so much easier to hold her now because she isn't as floppy.  That makes such a difference when I'm trying to put together a bottle in the middle of the night.  

I don't want to rush things, but I'm so excited for all the wonderful milestones that are going to be coming up in the next few months!  Things are starting to get fun I feel like.  The first 3 months are definitely the hardest.

Sleeping

Olivia has always been a great sleeper.  This month she has been pretty consistently sleeping a stretch of 6-7 hours.  This typically is her first stretch at night.  It's been great!  Typically she goes down for the evening at 8 and sleeps until 2-3 o'clock.  Since I also went back to work this month I have only been waking up with her every other night.  So I think over all I feel pretty good personally.  

She has been taking probably 3-4 naps during the day.  Typically 2 hour long naps and then one longer 2-2.5 hour nap.  If I wait too long to get her down for a nap though, she is a BEAR.  It's so hard to get her to sleep then.  At daycare, they have had a lot of trouble getting her to sleep.  I think she's just not transitioning as well as I would like her to.

The best thing that has happened all month though is that she slept in her crib!  I was super worried about transitioning her from her Rock n' Play to the crib.  She's just getting too big for the Rock n' Play, so last weekend I decided I was going to try it.  She slept just as long as she did in the Rock n' Play, so I couldn't be more happy!  Way to go Olivia!

Eating

Olivia goes in spurts where she eats really well and then she eats just ok.  This has not been either one of my other kids.  It makes me wonder if she's going to be my picky eater.  At the beginning of the month she was eating between 20-25 oz a day.  The second half of the month, it's been more like 16-20 oz.  She's just such a weird eater.  She's still gaining weight and she doesn't seem to be upset or fussy about it, so we just keep going on with life.  She's just going to be my smallest baby.

Play

It has been so much fun to watch Olivia "play" this month.  She's starting to actually try to grab or hit things that are hanging on her play mat.  She's also started to spin herself around to get a better view of things.  It's been funny to walk away for a second and when you come back she's turned herself sideways on her play mat.  She doesn't like it when she has a dangling toy sitting on her head lol.  

She also will play for a lot longer then she did last month.  She'll hang out on the play mat for probably a good 15 minute as long as she's not hungry or tired.  

Family

This month we didn't go anywhere or see any family, which is alright with me.  It's nice to just be able to stay in sometimes too (this coming from an introvert).    Olivia still is in love with Alyssa.  They just have such a sweet little bond.  I hope they keep it forever.  Olivia puts up with a lot of random "love" that Alyssa gives her.

I LOVE this picture of the two of them.  It gets me all emotional every time I stare at it.  SO sweet!

It's just been so much more fun this month.  I know it's going to feel that way every month, but at the same time I'm going to miss never having a baby again.  I'm going to miss not hitting all of these milestones again.  I am so happy that our family is complete, but at the same time it's sad.  All I know is that I'm going to continue to love, enjoy and cherish every moment with all three of my kiddos.

Olivia - 2 months

Olivia is getting so big!  I can't believe she's 2 months old and at the same time it seems like she's been in our family forever.  She's definitely becoming more curious and talkative.  That's probably the most enjoyable time I have with her.  When we are staring at each other having a little conversation.  She's very good at it too!  Lots of coos and other fun baby noises.  

We went to her 2 month doctor's appointment this week and she is now 10 lbs 1 oz, 22 inches long and her head is 15 inches around.  Besides all those fun facts, she got her first round of shots :(  It was so sad as usual, but she was a trooper.  She got three shots total plus the rotavirus oral vaccine.  She was really tired after her shots, but once she woke up she was MAD!  I gave her some Tylenol and she eventually calmed down but it was definitely sad to hear her cry.  Besides that, the whole thing messed up her night time sleep, so I ended up only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep that night.  Not so exciting.  I hope she gets back on her regular schedule soon.  Here she is right after her shots. She was knocked out.

Speaking of being knocked out, here are some updates:

Sleeping: Olivia still sleeps very well overall.  She has usually one stretch of 4-6 hours at night and then another that's a bit shorter.  So only waking up once a night is pretty good.  Otherwise she naps anywhere from 30 min to 4 hours.  I typically like it best when it's somewhere in between though.  When we were up at the ranch for Easter weekend Olivia did end up sleeping for an 8 hour stretch.  That was pretty awesome.  We haven't had another though.  I think she was a bit under the weather too.  We'll get there someday.

She's currently sleeping in a Rock and Play, but over the next month I'd like to get her into her actual crib.  We'll work on that....

Eating: Olivia is on Similac Sensitive now.  We just switched her because she just seemed to be really fussy after eating.  She just doesn't get burps out very well.  I think she's doing better now, and getting a few more burps out then she was getting before.  It's amazing what a change in formula can do.

On average, she's eating 3 oz every 3-4 hours.  She's actually on a pretty regular schedule.  It's kind of great.  We do give her gas drops too to help with the gas.  

Play: We are really starting to do more things with her.  She loves her swing these days.  There is a little mirror and mobile above her head and she loves to stare at herself.  It can keep her occupied for quite some time actually.  More then any other non human thing.  We also have been using her play mat and boppy pillow to get her to start doing some more things.  She actually enjoys being on her stomach for tummy time too!  It's amazing.  I've never had a baby that actually enjoyed it.  So refreshing.  

By far her favorite thing to do is to stare at you and talk. As I mentioned before, it's really sweet and adorable, but I don't have the time to just sit and do that all day long.  I'm trying to teach Alyssa to have some patience and let Olivia talk back, but Alyssa just wants her to have a real conversation with her right now. 

She's also mastered the smile and the pout

Family: There were a lot of great family moments this month.  We got to see a lot of family actually.  My parents came in early March to meet Olivia, but I actually don't have any pictures because Olivia was SO crabby that weekend.  

Then my brother came to visit, and I think he really fell in love with little O.  

Then of course Easter was in there too.  We went up to the ranch to see Brett's family.  The kids just love it up there.  I didn't get any great pictures of Olivia in her Easter dress before she pooped on it...isn't that how it always works.  I promise she did look really cute though.  I'm probably going to have to put her back in it at some point to take some cute pictures.

Siblings: Alyssa spends as much time with Olivia as she can.  She just loves her so much.  Any time Olivia is awake, Alyssa wants to hold her.  Here is some evidence...

Luke on the other hand doesn't really care. He will pet her on the head and say "Hi baby sissy", but that's about it.  He just likes to smash and turn over all the baby stuff.

There you have it.  Olivia's first two months of life have been pretty good.  She's survived having two crazy siblings that hang all over her, so from here on out it should be pretty good, right?  She's getting stronger, so I hope once she can really hold her head up on her own she'll be golden.  

April should be a much quieter month, although I have to go back to work which I'm getting more sad about every day.  More on that next month.

Olivia - 1 month

Olivia is officially one month old!  Sorry for all the baby posts lately, but she's the newest thing in my life and I spend all day with her...so what else do I have to talk about!  So...once again...Olivia is one month old!  She is growing like a weed too.  I can see how much she has changed in only a month too.  

I decided with Olivia to do monthly pictures.  I didn't do it with either of the other kids, and I somewhat feel bad.  Olivia needs some things that the other kids didn't have though, being #3 and all.  A little about my picture.  The lamb was a present from big sister Alyssa.  We went to Hobby Lobby a couple of weekends ago and she knew Olivia needed this lamb.  How could I resist Alyssa when she was being such a great and caring big sister?!  I couldn't, so Olivia has this little lamb now.  A friend of mine owns a business called Simsbury Manor Designs and she created this cute little chalk board!  I saw it on her Facebook page and needed one for myself.  She also has some really cute things for Easter that I've been eyeing, but that's a whole different post.

Now I'm going to tell you a bit of the highlights of Olivia's first month of life.  Since babies don't do a whole lot at this stage we'll keep it short and sweet.  Here is a picture of her from each week of her life so far!

Sleep: Olivia is a decent sleeper.  At her longest stretch, she sleeps about 3-3.5 hours at a time.  She has hit 5 hours once!  I can't wait until she does that more often.  Thankfully she has her days and nights figured out.  She sleeps her best at night, and sleeps a lot choppier during the day.  I'm SO ok with that.  It's kind of tiring during the day, but it could be so much worse.  She's slowly starting to figure out how to get herself back to sleep.  After four weeks she's starting to get the hang of things, but we've still got a ways to go.  

Total sleep: 14-16 hours a day

Eating: She has a pretty good appetite.  She never really did lose any weight, a few ounces at most.  She's still a little peanut being only 8 pounds currently.  She typically wants a bottle every 3 hours, give or take a little.  She went from eating about 1 ounce at a time to approaching 4 ounces at one feeding.  She's a hungry girl!  She's been getting a bit more fussy and wanting to cluster feed a bit more often now that she's older and awake more often.  It's very trying, but we're trying to figure it out.  She's also showing good promise since she eats the bulk of her food during the day, and really cuts back during her feedings at night.  I think she's going to figure this out sooner then later.  

Total food: 18-22 ounces a day

Awake Time: Olivia doesn't have a ton of awake time at this point, but when she is awake we try to keep her engaged.  She LOVES to stare at anyone that's willing to talk to her.  She also gave me her first smile yesterday (Feb. 28th)!  I was so excited to see it!  She has had some tummy time and time under her play mat to watch lights and the mobile.  When she's awake, she likes to be held.  

Siblings: We have to keep here where we can see her because her sister and brother REALLY love her.  Sometimes it's very sweet to watch them all, and sometimes I feel like they are attacking her.  I think she feels the same way.  We have to teach the big kids how to treat their little sister.  Evidently it's hard not to get up in Olivia's face when you're near her.  Overall, they really do love their little sister and are very helpful.  

We have had a good first month.  A lot of firsts and lasts, since Olivia is our last baby.  It's kind of bittersweet, but I'm ready.  I know I'm going to have moments of sadness watching other people continue to grow their families, but I know that our family is complete.  It's time to enjoy and give all the love to my three beautiful children.

#3 is HERE!

I just wanted to put out a quick update about what's been going on for us.

Sunday morning I went into labor (I will get a birth story out when I have a little bit more time to think about it).  We finally got to meet and find out what Baby #3 is.....

Welcome Olivia Kate!  She was born at 8:02 am January 31st weighing 6 lbs 5.7 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

She's a really great baby so far, and I will come back and update more later with more pictures of course :)

Baby Bump - 38 weeks

We are so in the home stretch now!  I know I just did one of these last week, but we're just getting too close now!  Only 2 weeks until my due date, and I've never actually made it to a due date before.  Who knows this could be my first!

I'm getting so big, and at this point in all my pregnancies I always get fat face.  I know it goes away, but there is definitely a bit of swelling going on all over.  Nothing that I'm alarmed about, but it happens every time.

38 weeks with #3

I had another doctor's appointment this week, and this time my doctor checked to see if we were making any progress (maybe TMI?).  We are sitting at 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and a -1 station.  I'm actually pretty much exactly where I was at this point with Luke.  That makes me believe that my thoughts about next week being the week that much more obtainable.  

Now on to the normal information :)

How I'm Feeling: I have good days and then I have bad ones.  Yesterday was a bad one.  I felt bad, but today at least starting off I'm feeling a lot better.  I think I just need to remember to get up and move around, and keep drinking TONS of water.  Yesterday I was kind of having time-able contractions too, about 20-30 minutes apart.  I really hardly can call them contractions and they obviously didn't continue through the night.  Now we keep pluggin' away until we feel actual crazy contractions!

Beyond that, I'm still just feeling pregnant and ready to meet our new little addition!  I'm starting to get a bit anxious about labor and delivery.  I just hope that it is a lot less stressful then it was with Luke, so I'm seriously praying that there is an anesthesiologist on hand and ready to go this time around.  I think it will help a lot that it isn't a major holiday too.

Sleep:  I've been getting sleep, the only bad part is the turning over to the other side part.  I feel like I almost have to wake up completely because I have to be sooo careful about re-situating.  I've been getting some crazy round ligament pains when I try to roll from side to side.  Besides, those pains sleeping has been going fairly well.  I'm getting some, so that's all that I care about right now.

Movement:  The movements that I'm feeling now are decreasing a little bit.  They are still there regularly and fairly often, but now they're bumps and jabs like #3 is just trying to find the space!  My bump isn't that big.  Come out and join us!

Food Cravings:  I still want to eat everything, but I'm trying to no be super crazy.  I feel like every pregnancy ends this way.  I do so well and then at the very end I'm like, "I'm hungry".  So then I eat everything in sight.  I'm still on track with my weight gain though, so I'm not super concerned about at all really.  Just more of an observation I suppose.  

Maternity Clothes: I've already started to buy clothes for my post pregnant body.  I'm probably being a little premature, but I'm SO excited!  I bought myself a pair of SPANX leggings today that I'm really excited about.  Such a great deal on Zulily today I couldn't pass it up.  I figure these babies are going to be perfect while I'm trying to get back in shape.  Help me suck it all in!

I'm also REALLY excited to get back into Stitch Fix.  After my last Fix, I decided to take a break for a couple of months.  I've got my next scheduled for mid-March.  Right before Easter actually, so I'm excited to ask about maybe some Easter clothes!  Can't wait to see what Tina puts in my box next time!

What are you looking forward to:  At this point, I'm just looking forward to meeting baby #3 for the first time.  I can't wait to see what he/she looks like and give it a name.  I'm just so excited to meet the final member of our family.  It's a very exciting feeling!  So whenever this little one decides to come I think we'll be ready for it.

Now for a comparison pictures of me with #3 versus me with Luke.  I don't have a picture at this stage with Alyssa because I didn't get this far.  She came at 37 weeks 6 days.  Besides that, this will be my last comparison picture at all because I didn't take any pictures after this week with Luke either.  Even though I made it to 39 weeks 2 days with him.  So, this will be it for this kind of picture.  I don't know if I really get much bigger then this though.  

38 weeks with Luke; 38 weeks with #3

This concludes the current happenings of my bump.  This could be my last bump post, but for some reason I'm thinking I'll probably have another one next week.  Who knows though!  You'll just have to check back next week to see how it all goes down :)

Baby Bump - 37 Weeks

We are getting so close now!  I remember with Alyssa and Luke that it's the last few weeks of pregnancy that seems to move like molasses.  I don't know if i feel that way yet this time around.  Time is still cruising by, and I'm struggling to find the time to get done everything that I want to get done before my time is up.  

I'm definitely feeling more swollen over the past couple of weeks.  I can feel it most in my hands and my calves/ankles.  I don't even know who's legs they are!  They're certainly not mine, that's for sure.  

Baby #3 at 36 weeks and 37 weeks

I don't know if it's just me, but I can definitely see a difference between my 36 week picture and my 37 week picture this week.  My stomach is growing!  This baby is growing!  And I'm getting chubbier in the face.  Ah the joys of pregnancy :)

I had another doctor's appointment on Tuesday.  Now I get to see my awesome OB doctor every week.  I feel like we're besties now :)  He's so full of comedy too.  Yesterday, he was making sure that baby was still head down, or locked and loaded as he called it, and he assured me that baby wouldn't be more than 9-12 pounds.  We both laughed and he said, "No no.  It's still pretty little."  I really love my OB and I hope he's able to make it for the birth this time around.  He was able to deliver Alyssa, but not Luke, so we'll see.  No other real updates at the doctor this week.  Baby's heart rate is at 140, which it pretty much has been in the ballpark the whole time.

This week also marks a big week for work.  I've moved into the town office from out at the mine.  It makes me and Brett feel so much better knowing that I'm not an hour away from the hospital.  I've never actually gone into labor during the middle of the day, but anything is possible.

How I'm Feeling: Overall...I'm feeling pretty cruddy lol.  I wish I could lie about it, but i can't!  I'm definitely waddling now, which really just makes me laugh.  I'm trying to drink as much water and move around as much as possible just to make myself feel better.

A couple of highlights would be:

1. I did something to my upper back right around my right shoulder blade.  It just hurts like crazy when i sit certain ways, or do certain things.  Sometimes I just plain need to be standing because it hurts less.
2. My pelvis hurts.  I know baby is in the right position because my pelvis tells me so.  Sometimes when I get up from sitting it hurts so bad to start walking around, or in the middle of the night when I try to change positions...it's a nightmare.  

I'm really not complaining because I know that it's all almost over, but these are just fun things about being so close to being done.  I can tell you this, this time around has not been as hard on my body as carrying Luke was.  Man he's a little tank!

Sleep:  Sleep has been a challenge.  I've been sleeping with a pillow between my legs some nights because I think it seems to help (some what) with my pelvis hurting.  The only downfall is that it makes me really warm when I sleep and I don't like that either.  Ultimately, I've been back and forth about using the pillow or not using the pillow.  Besides that, I've been sleeping pretty well.  I just want more of it :)

Movement:  Lots and LOTS of movement.  Jabs and rolls seem to be #3's preferred method of movement these days.  Sometimes, when I think it's stretching, it puts so much pressure on my bladder and cervix that it really does hurt.  Too bad there isn't anything that I can do about it at this point.  3 more weeks!

I don't know if I should put this here or not, but I've been having tons of Braxton Hicks contractions too.  Like all.the.time.  I just hope it's doing something and not just there to be annoying.

Food Cravings:  I have been so ridiculously hungry this week.  It's like nothing can fulfill my apatite.  I have been craving citrus actually.  I want a HUGE glass of orange juice right now, but my heartburn has also flared back up.  I'm trying to stay away, but sometimes I just can't.

Maternity Clothes: Nothing fits over the bump.  I decided that I'm carrying too low for maternity shirts.  3 more weeks and then I won't need them anymore, or at least not to fit over a huge bump, possibly like a 4-5 month bump.  That's way more manageable.

I seriously can't wait to have my body back and to be able to fit back into some of my regular clothes. I always feels like Christmas when you go back to your regular wardrobe because half of the stuff in there I have forgotten exists.

What are you looking forward to:  We've been pretty busy over the past couple of weeks getting ready for baby.  It's been a lot of work, and maybe has contributed to my back pain, but I can honestly say that I think we're ready for baby whenever #3 decides to make it's appearance.

37 weeks with Luke; 37 weeks with #3

I'm actually wearing the same shirt in my comparison picture for 37 weeks.  I don't know about these two.  I think it's hard to tell the difference this time!  Maybe I'm ever so slightly bigger with #3.  I just hope this baby doesn't break the 8 lb barrier.  I'd like to stay in the 7 lb range.  I guess we'll find out soon!

Do you have a guess as to what #3 might be?  Go!  Put your guesses in on my baby pool!

Getting ready for #3 - Stage 1

This project is a multiple stage project.  Our current house is starting to get a little bit on the small side.  It's just a little over 1800 square feet total with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  It has been a great house, but now that there are going to be 5 people living in it we have to change things around.

I've decided that I'm breaking down this huge project into a few parts because it's just easier for me to grasp and handle getting a little bit done at a time.  We waited until after the holidays to get things ready for baby #3, and there's a part of me that's very glad that we did and a part that isn't so pleased about my decision.   I really got to enjoy the holidays with my family which was amazing!  And we got to do some fun projects and baking.  But at this stage in the game (36 weeks), I'm not as ambitious as I once was.  I'm getting tired a lot more quickly and my body just aches.

Anyway, no more whining.  These are things we need to get done!  So here are my stages:

1. Move Luke into Alyssa's Room 
2. Find Baby Things
3. Clean Baby Things
4. Set Up Baby's Room
5. Wait for Baby 

This past weekend we tackled the crazy task of moving Luke into Alyssa's room in the basement.  

We started out with Luke upstairs in what I'd like to call the nursery still, and Alyssa downstairs in our 3rd bedroom.  

Disclaimer: There is a lot of mess and clutter while we are moving things around so I apologize in advance.

Alyssa's bedroom in the basement just kind of became that out of the blue, so we've VERY slowly added a few things here and there to her room to make it feel more like hers.  We also had a lot of our stuff in there too.  Check out the left corner of the room for example.  It is a stack of pillows, blankets, and computer towers.  Talk about an awesome storage spot lol.  

First we had to find a new home for all the "stuff" in Alyssa's room before we could even think about moving Luke's bed downstairs.  So we got to packing.  The awesome thing about having another house is that we can store things in it :)

In February, the in-laws are going to be heading to to see the new baby and to bring their annual shipment of beef.  It's become a big deal around here, so they bring down a trailer.  Let me tell you, that trailer is NOT going to be empty heading back up to the ranch.  I've got big plans to get rid of things around our house that we don't currently use or is just taking up space in this house.  We need as much room as we can possibly make!

So we moved out all the toys, pillows, and other things.  We were able to keep the printer in the room by just simple rearranging.   Now they share a room together!  

It's actually a perfect size room to fit their beds and books.  Luke was so excited when he saw his bed downstairs in sissy's room.  He climbed right up on it and snuggled it.  It was very adorable.  

Here is Luke in his bed in sissy's room the first night!

Let's just say they did ok.  There was a lot of coming out at the beginning, but once they fell asleep it was smooth sailing.  Now that it's been a few nights, Alyssa completely ignores Luke and just goes to bed.  She's such a sound sleeper anyway that it doesn't really matter what he does.  Thank the Lord!

As for the nursery, now that Luke's bed isn't in there I can start organizing what is in there.  I previously have spent some time doing a bit of restructuring in the closet.  I took out all of Alyssa's clothes and brought them downstairs, so now I have room for baby's clothes.  But this is where I started.  So much random stuff.

So I took most of it out and put a lot of it in storage, or threw things away.  I know it's not an amazing transformation at this point, but we're making progress.  That's what I'm happy about.  

When we were cleaning things out to move Luke's bed I also ran across a few baby things that I was excited to find, like my Boppy pillow.  I definitely will be needing that.  

Currently, I've been throwing things into the crib that I need to keep out for baby, and still need to clean.  Next stage is a TON of laundry.  I am looking forward to finding everything, but I for see a lot of cleaning in my future. Plus we are just going to be making a bigger mess before we can get things organized for good.  Good thing we have 4 weeks left!...hopefully :)

Baby Bump - 35 weeks

Another 2 weeks have gone by.  Now I'm really starting to feel it.  If i remember correctly this is when things got real when I was pregnant with Luke too.  

There are 5ish weeks left and I think I'm ready?  Maybe?  I don't know if anyone is ever really ready.  There are definitely things that I still need to get done, like finding everything in storage and getting it washed.  We have also decided that we're going to be moving Luke into Alyssa's room probably this weekend.  I'm SUPER nervous about that one.  I guess we'll see how that all works out.

34 weeks with #3; 35 weeks with #3

I had a doctor's appointment this week, and now we're moving to one appointment every week.  I'm going to see my doctor a lot now.  This time I had to get my Tdap vaccine, my Group B strep test, and my doctor checked to see what baby's position is.  I am very happy to announce that baby is head down!  I have had sooooo much anxiety about the position of this little being, and it's good to hear that #3 is locked and loaded!

I also had my prehospitalization registration.  I hear that not everywhere does this and I'm so very thankful that my hospital does because there is no way that I'd want to fill out paperwork in labor.  There are some really great questions that you get asked.  My favorite was probably: Is your husband the father of your baby?  Love it.  The lady that was doing my registration said they've had some pretty good stories.  Boy would I love to be a fly on the wall there!

So overall this week has been very busy, but productive.  I'm basically ready to go whenever #3 decides to make its appearance.

Now for the nitty gritty.

How I'm Feeling: As I said before, I'm starting to really feel things happening.  I've been having pelvic pains, and it's just plain hard to move around.  One of the worst things about having a winter baby is that you have to wear shoes, and they're not always slip on.  I can tell this baby is getting ready to go because it is sitting LOW.  Just like its big brother.

I've also started to swell a bit.  Nothing alarming, but I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring this week.   I can tell that my ankles and calves have swollen a bit as well.

Sleep:  I have not been sleeping well at all.  With the combination of Luke waking up at random times, and me tossing and turning, it makes for little actual good sleep.  It's so hard to turn over in bed these days too.  My stomach is just so stinkin' heavy!  I've probably grained about 20-25 lbs so far, and I'm definitely feeling that.  I guess we're just getting ready for baby to come.

Movement:  There is still a lot of movement only now it's intentional and angry sometimes.  #3 is loosing space fast and taking it out on my bladder and my ribs.  When we make the hour drive to and from work #3 is ALL OVER THE PLACE.  It's gotten to be super uncomfortable.  At first it was cute because I knew that I would be feeling my baby moving around, but now it just makes me have to go to the bathroom.

Food Cravings:  I haven't had too many lately actually.  I just want to eat food.  Sometimes I feel like I'm so hungry I could eat everything.  Then other days nothing at all sounds good to me.  It's very strange for me.  I'm just going with the flow though and trying to get in as many good calories as I can.

Maternity Clothes: I'm still wearing a few shirts that fit me properly.  I just rotate, so I'm pretty sure at this point I'm wearing the same few shirts every week.  I'm definitely ok with that.  I try to change it up with what I'm wearing over it or with accessories.  It's been enough of a variety to keep me from going crazy.

What are you looking forward to:  I am looking forward to getting some things prepared for #3.  Now that things are finally settling down from the holidays it's time.  I think this weekend we are going into storage to find clothes!  I'm excited to bring them all out again because it's been 2 years since I've seen all the newborn clothes.  Every time I look at them I can't believe how tiny a newborn is especially compared to my two big kids!  We will see how much we can get done this weekend and I'll update you on our progress.

I finally have my belly shots from all 3 pregnancies!  Bumps at 35 weeks.  I think #3 looks "fuller" from top to bottom.  Alyssa was for sure the highest baby, and #3 looks like it's working on being the lowest.  Gravity speaks.  What do you think?

Do you have a guess as to what #3 might be?  Go!  Put your guesses in on my baby pool!

35 weeks with Alyssa; 35 weeks with Luke, 35 weeks with #3