Ella's future husband and bestie!

SO Saturday, November 9th, was such an exciting day! We woke up to texts early Saturday morning from one of our close friends, Jolynn, saying that she was in labor! We then found out that she had her third boy!! (they didn't find out before... they have a little girl as well) Sweet Maddox Dupree, Ella's future husband, was born November 9th around 6:30am and he is just as precious as can be!! SO excited for them! I told Jolynn that I was so jealous... I want to be holding my baby right now! Soon enough! It was fun being pregnant with Jolynn since this is probably their last baby... glad we got our first in just in time! haha! We love the Duprees, I am glad they have 3 boys for Ella to choose from for her husband... one of the cuties is bound to be the one, right? :)

Well, then we went to our other close friend's gender reveal party! Lauren was about 17 weeks pregnant here... now, she is about 20 weeks along! She is so itty bitty... love her!

 

It's a.... GIRL!!! :)

Steve and I totally called girl for them. They were both just like we were before we found out - we just "KNEW" it was a BOY! haha... both of us were dead wrong. HA! Our girls are going to be besties... only makes sense! :) It's so crazy - I never thought we would be pregnant with our firsts together... none the less, both with girls! How fun! Avaleigh and Ellison are going to be such sweet friends - I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for both of them, as individuals and in their friendship! :) Thank you Jesus for these precious gifts!

I can't wait for more friends to jump on the baby bandwagon... little by little, more of our friends are having babies and it is such a fun time in our lives. I know Ellison is going to have so many precious friends - girls and boys... and that makes me so happy! :) I cherish all of my friendships so much and pray that the Lord will give Ella Godly friends like he has given me... I can't tell you how important all of my friends are to me - they help me grow in my relationship with Jesus and keep me accountable, which is something that everyone needs! So thankful! :)

It's official... I'm "full term"!

I never thought this day would come! I'm actually 37 weeks.. Which means Ella could come anytime!! Now I know that she will probably be here closer to my due date or after, but there is something cool about knowing she can come whenever! 

My sciatic nerve is acting up again and is as painful as ever so not only do I have a waddle, but also a limp when I walk. I look awesome! (Ha!) I also went to my doctors appt last week and Julie, my awesome midwife ended up letting me have an unexpected sonogram!! I asked her if she was head down and she said yes... But we could make sure with a sonogram! There wasn't anyone there and the sonogram tech wasn't in so she said we could play! This is so awesome and such a blessing because I haven't seen Ella since my 20 week appointment. Unfortunately, she is so big now that I couldn't see her face but it was still fun! I saw the top of her head, her ear, her back and ribs with her sweet heart beating away... Also her hands. She kept clasping them together and putting them near her face... Also playing with the umbilical cord. It was amazing!!! I guess she wants to keep her face a surprise for the big day! Haha! She is indeed head down and facing back so that is perfect!!!   Julie said she thinks she will stay that way until delivery so that's great news and an answer to prayer! 

In other not so great news from my doctor appointment this week... My blood pressure went back up after not being high last week... I just don't get it. So my doctor wants me to come back Friday and check it again. He was throwing words around like bed rest and not working anymore... Oh boy. So basically I haven't been doing anything from when I get home from work until I go to sleep but laying on the couch. I'm going crazy after just 2 days!! I'm trying to enjoy it, but I just like to go! Especially when Ella is due so soon... I need to get things done! Thankfully my hubby has been very helpful... But I think until his sermon is preached on Sunday, he can't really think about anything else! Haha! So Monday is when it really starts!!! Ella can't come until after thanksgiving anyways because mom and Mache will be in Virginia visiting everyone, especially my Gaga who is having surgery on Monday. I would HATE for them to miss her birth... I doubt I will be this early anyways! I did find out my cervix has started to thin which is great but doesn't really mean anything about when labor will start! Just exciting to see something is actually happening! Haha! 

On the up side, my boss was very nice about the fact that I might have to go on leave a little early and told me not to stress over it. Total answer to prayer! 

Also, my work had a shower for me today! I felt so blessed and loved by everyone! I literally got all I needed and even more! They got the rest of the cloth diapers to finish my collection, the Bumbo seat tray, the swing/bouncer, a pretty picture frame with Ellison's name on it with places to put monthly pictures in it, an adorable little outfit with mittens, and last but not least my boss got me a Nikon camera!!!! Along with an extra lens, memory cards, and camera case. I mean this is the mack daddy camera with the lens and all.. So professional! I cannot wait to take sweet pictures of Ella, especially in the hospital. This was something I really wanted but thought I would never get because it was so expensive and not a necessity! So thankful for my boss and all my co-workers. Once again I was reminded that The Lord totally brought me and blessed me with this job. I don't deserve it, He has been way too good to us! Thank you Jesus! 

**Update on blood pressure before I even had a chance to post this (wrote the rest on Wednesday but didn't have time or energy to take a pic until today): so Thursday, I woke up with a bad headache that didn't go away as the day progressed... It was freaking me out because this can be one of the signs of preeclampsia according to the doctors so I ended up leaving work early because I felt so bad and running by the CVS to take my blood pressure and call the doctor. My blood pressure was super high so I called the doctor and she told me to come in so they could check it there and we could make sure everything was okay. Well, it was still high when I got there but there was not any protein in my urine (sorry for the TMI) which is a really good sign. She said she still wanted to do bloodwork to check my liver and kidney levels. If these came back abnormal on Friday, I would have to go to the hospital to be monitored... Either way I could not go to work Friday and needed to be on bedrest. Ugh. Also, I have to go to working part time until my leave. Well, Praise The Lord my bloodwork came back normal, but I still have to take it easy, work only part time, and probably go to the doctor like 2 times a week just to make sure. Trying to have a good attitude on this but for sure having to trust The Lord big time and really ask for strength and peace from Him. I mean, I have so much to do and laying around all day just does not sound that great to me! Trying to enjoy these last weeks of chill time though before our little bundle of joy joins us and things get a bit more hectic! 

Well, that was a long update.. Now I leave you with a picture of my big 37 week belly... Enjoy ;)

How far along? 37 Weeks
Maternity clothes? For sure! Thankful for friends who have let me borrow clothes!
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Same, hips bother me and I have to pee like 2-3 times a night.. Also the heartburn is in full force!

Best moment this week: Baby shower at work... Being totally blessed with pretty much everything we need and could want!

Have you told family and friends: Oh yes! I think they would know by now with my belly if I didn't hahaha!
Miss Anything? Feeling normal ;)

Movement: It seems like she is moving all the time now! Thankful for this though because it eases all my crazy thoughts. Nice to know she is okay in there!

Food cravings: Last night I might have MADE hubby go and buy pillsbury simply break and bake cookies... ;)

Anything making you queasy or sick: not really, I did walk past the food court at the mall and feel so nauseous which was so weird!!!

Gender:  Girly girl!
Labor Signs: Not really beside it feeling like she might fall out at times ;)
Belly Button in or out? Out... So freaky!

Wedding rings on or off? I wear only the fake band (my real one is sautered together) because anything else makes my skin break out! :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy - ready to hold our baby girl!
Weekly Wisdom: I got nothing.
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving and holding our sweet girl... I just want to meet her already!!

35 weeks... Only 5 more to go?!

I can't believe I only have 5 weeks left of my pregnancy! I know these will be some tough weeks, but I am just so thankful that my pregnancy has gone so smooth and that we will be able to hold our baby girl in about 5 weeks! Overwhelming for me to even think about! Well, I went for my 34 week appointment this week and my blood pressure was high... urgh. They laid me on my left side and then took it again and it went down drastically which was good. They are still worried about it being my first pregnancy and possibly preeclampsia, so they want to me to come back this coming week instead of the following week just to make sure it isn't still high. PRAYING that it was just a case of "white coat syndrome" and it will be back to normal. This time I won't drink a large caffeinated tea before I go either... oops!

In other news, I am officially huge and uncomfortable. HA! Imagine that! I am trying to be positive and not complain too much to my hubby! :) I am struggling with that because I know how long I waited to be pregnant... to complain about it seems just wrong. So I am focusing on having a thankful heart and relying on the Lord to give me strength for the rest of my pregnancy. Also, just enjoying the time Steve and I have together before things get a little more crazy!! :) He has been super sweet with my pregnancy and has been really excited about all the goodies we have received from showers! He already put together the high chair! HA! I asked him if he realizes she won't even need that for the first several months... he was just too excited to build something for her, he couldn't resist! I think it's precious and I know he is going to be the best dad! Makes me happy! :)

I had two more showers the past couple weekends, my church shower and my family/family friends shower. Both were just incredible! I felt SO thankful and blessed by everyone! I will post pictures of those showers when I have a chance... my hosts did such a great job with everything - I was just blown away!

I will leave you with a picture of my 35 week belly... wooow!

How far along? 35 Weeks
Maternity clothes? For sure! Thankful for friends who have let me borrow clothes!
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: My poor hips... they pop and ache when I try and turn over during the night... it's actually pretty neat that the reason is because God made our bodies release a hormone that loosens the ligaments down there to prepare for labor... that's why there is so much popping and feeling like my hips will just pop out of place any minute at times.

Best moment this week: Probably my baby shower - I felt SO loved!

Have you told family and friends: Oh yes! I think they would know by now with my belly if I didn't hahaha!
Miss Anything? Not being so slow and "breakable"

Movement: Oh yea! She loves to move all the time - I don't mind it most of time, but sometimes when it's a leg or arm it kind of freaks me out because it is such a fast "skinny" movement... eek! She also just looooves my right rib - it's painful, but worth it!

Food cravings: Not really!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No - well, except my iron pills... haven't felt the best.
Have you started to show yet: I might need to remove this question at this point. haha!
Gender:  Girly girl!
Labor Signs: No even though I freak out at every ache and pain... thankful for friends who have been through this and tell me "Sarah, you will KNOW when you are in labor... don't worry!"
Belly Button in or out? Out... Even shows in pictures now! Ahh!

Wedding rings on or off? Today, even my fake ring is off because it made my skin break out in a rash too... so sad!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy - ready to hold our baby girl!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't drink a large caffeinated iced tea before a doctors appointment or you will be sure to have high blood pressure (hoping this was the reason)
Looking forward to: My work throwing a little shower for me at the office and finishing the nursery - it is taking me forever to figure out what finishing touches I want! Makes me crazy! And of course I am looking forward to holding Ella! :)