Last Belly Pic

Here's a belly picture the night before I went into the hospital...

Almost There.. the end of the third trimester

Here's a short recap of what happened in the final months of Baby D's pregnancy. I can't believe she is almost here but very happy she is almost here too :-)

• Overall, I was very comfortable until the end (maybe last week or so) - during the last week it was a lot more contracting that made it more uncomfortable and I suppose lugging around all that extra weight :-)
• Sleep - not really my friend right now but I miss it :-) Again, feeling bad for Chad for waking him up with my back and forth movements and a few bathroom breaks
• Had round ligament pain around 35 weeks - never had that with Leah but it's a real thing and it hurts 
• Frequent cravings for ice which probably means I have an iron deficiency but I pretty much eat ice all day long at work
• Went to baby's 3rd concert on February 28 - Luke Bryan
• Last couple of weeks the baby not only kicks but moves my entire stomach - crazy how strong she is! And it's so weird to watch your stomach make so many different shapes. 
• On May 5, Paige and Parker finally got to see and feel the baby kick, that was pretty cool
• My feet swelled for a few days at 39 weeks and then went away again (but of course it was the same time I had a pedicure too
• She has lots of hiccups - Leah had this too - but it's still always a weird feeling to have
• I failed by 1 hour glucose test by 1 point - sigh - so I had to do the 3 hour test. And this will be the one funny story I tell about pregnancy. I wanted to get the 3 hour test done right away so I didn't have to worry about it so I scheduled it for Monday, March 10 at 6:30 a.m. Well the night before I didn't sleep the best and I woke up about midnight with a horrible headache. I knew I couldn't take anything (no food or drink before the test) so I tried to sleep it off. It was better as I headed to the clinic for the test so I thought I was fine. I went in for my first lab draw and for the drinking of the special juice (yes it is so sugar filled it is disgusting!). The lab tech told me feeling nauseous was very common but would get better after the first hour. I sat in the waiting room and felt nauseous but would just close my eyes and it would go away. My 1 hour mark came for my blood draw and right as I stood up I knew I didn't feel the best. I thought about asking for a barf bag but thought - "no, then I'll think throwing up is okay and I'll have to come back from this test again. I can make it through." Well the lab tech came over to my arm to draw my blood, got the blood drawn, I thought I was fine but my body just couldn't hold it and yes, I threw up on the lab tech, floor, chair and myself. He said "Oh my gosh" and stood in shock before we started getting some paper towels to clean it up. I obviously apologized a million times, he was so nice about it and I packed up my stuff and left knowing I would need to return again. I did come back on Friday - with cookies for the lab tech I threw up on (he was really excited and said where he works he never gets any treats). We had a good laugh about the whole thing and as he called me back he said "Well, we going to try this again." This time I never felt nauseous through the whole test and passed with what my doctor said was flying colors. So, advice for others - if you feel sick, don't go to do a test where you have to go drink a bunch of sugar :-) 
• After I delivered baby I actually had the same lab tech who drew blood and we were able to laugh about it again and he was still excited about the cookies. ha ha!
• Leah knows the baby's name and says it all the time. She also spoiled the name surprise for her aunts. They just asked her who would be going into the crib while in the new room and Leah told them. :-) 
• Thank God for Chad - he's been my lifesaver, cook, cleaner, watcher of Leah - He's been great
• But also - Thank God for Grandma Deb! She and Grandpa came back from AZ and watched Leah the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy. The last week Grandma stayed with us so we would have someone here when baby came. They not only helped with Leah but also cleaned, cooked, mowed the lawn, did the laundry, the list goes on and on. Can't express enough how wonderful that was to have them around and helping out so much! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
• Had contractions all day on Saturday, May 17 while shopping and hanging out with family. I would have put money on the baby coming that night but she had other plans I guess. 
• Went in for my 40 week appointment on May 21st and was dialated to 5.5 to 6 cm. The doctor asked how far away I lived (which is only like 5 min from the hospital) and said she wouldn't send me home if I was any further away. But back home I went.

And although this post seems like a lot of pain and complaining - the last trimester really went pretty smoothly as well. I can't complain much about either of my pregnancies and especially not since they have brought the best things into my life!