Cohen update!!

So... as I sit here, this Wednesday night, I am 37 weeks and 5 days along. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and we got to see our sweet boy on the sonogram. He has grown SO much!

Yesterday we were 37w4d and the sono measured Cohen at 37w2d. Based on a bunch of measurements the tech took, he is 7 pounds 5 ounces. Everything appeared to be perfect on him, but the tech did note that his kidneys looked a little dilated. Still within the normal range, but she said the doctor may want an ultrasound of him once he comes out. When I mentioned this to my doctor, she said it's really routine and not a huge deal. We'll see, keep that in your prayers please. My doctor checked my cervix, as is routine now, and we made NO progress from 2 weeks ago. :( I was extremely disappointed! Yes, we're still early, but it makes me feel good to know that I'm progressing!

However, I feel different now. My back is starting to hurt and I get occasional menstrual-like crampiness. I don't think I've had any contractions yet, but I have had a few other signs that I won't mention because they don't look very pretty on the pages of a public blog. ;)

And, apparently I've been nesting. Today, I needed to clean the apartment. Just had to. So we went from room to room dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets, sinks and tubs... It made me pretty tired, but I feel much better knowing it's done. All of Cohen's clothes have been washed, his diaper bag is packed and ready with all his fresh new goodies for the hospital, his sheets are crisp and clean... And my bag is almost complete... Except for the things I'll throw in right before we leave.

Alas, here are his sonogram pictures (at least the ones that don't look too blurry!):

His precious face (profile)

Further proof that we're having a boy :)

And, he's looking right at us here, not sure exactly what's what... :)

And here's me... I don't think I can get ANY bigger...

WOW.

We are so ready for this baby to get here, it's not even funny. I'm uncomfortable, Cohen's GOTTA be getting uncomfortable, and Hector doesn't like for me to be uncomfortable...so...Come on Cohen!

Guess what? Next Friday is my LAST day to work! I'm soooooo excited to be able to take off 12 weeks to bond with my little boy and be with Hector. It'll be such a sweet time, and I'm sure it will go by real, real fast. :) But, I'm still excited!

Well, I'll keep you all posted if you all will cross your fingers that something will happen soon.. :)

Busy times!

It's been a busy couple of weeks, since I last posted.

Christmas came and went.

Work has been keeping me busy.

Week 36 - gone.. now in the middle of Week 37.

At our 36 wk appointment, our doctor said that Little Cohen is still about 6 pounds she thinks. But, that is also just her feeling around my abdomen with her hands. :) She checked me for labor progress and I was dilated to 1cm, 50% effaced and Cohen was at -3 station. These are all good indications for labor, except that some women are dilated to a 1 for a month before baby comes. :-\ We go in on Tuesday to get our last sonogram and get re-checked. I really, really feel like he has moved down even further. I feel so much pressure all the time, especially when sitting or rising. I wouldn't be surprised if I've dilated a little more. I'm still pretty really uncomfortable. Sleep is next to impossible. I definitely wake up every 3 or so hours, when I finally do fall asleep. I hear this is God's way of preparing me for the night time feedings we'll soon be facing. :) And something in my abdomen near my ribs (gallbladder?) is so sensitive and tender.. He just won't give it a rest! I'm a little short of breath a lot of the time. Reflux is worse-not just when I lay down now. Ugh. BUT, we are getting so stinkin' excited to meet our little boy! I just can't wait to see his face, his hair (which I imagine he has a ton of!), his fingers and toes... :) I want to see who he looks like, what features he got and from who. I have a feeling he's going to look just like a baby Hector. And I love that. :) So, I'll let you know what our doctor says on Tuesday! Fingers crossed, everybody!

Christmas was wonderful. Well, fake Christmas was wonderful. We went to Paris the week of Christmas, on Monday. We had a great dinner with the Hubbard's on Monday night at my parent's house. Tuesday we just hung around the house and Hector and I made our tortilla soup for the family. Wednesday I had lunch with my friends Gina and Tara (my wedding photographer!) at TaMolly's. I finally got to meet Miss Briley, who I went to visit two days after her birth exactly one year ago! Wednesday night we had Christmas at my Grandmother Ivy's house. :) Thursday we went to the Shouse's to have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange, followed by a fun game of Uno Attack. And Charlie drove Hector, her boyfriend Walker and me through a nice neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. I can't believe she's driving!! Thursday was our Christmas Eve, and Friday morning we did Christmas morning presents with Mom and Dad. We got some great gifts and everyone loved what we gifted them. It was such a great morning. Hector and I came home around 11 am, since I had to work that night. I feel really bad because I didn't take any pictures the whole week. I just didn't feel up to it. So tired and uncomfortable. But I feel like I failed my blog. Who knows when I'll be pregnant again around Christmastime? Sigh.. woulda-coulda-shoulda...

Then I worked Christmas Eve, Christmas night and now tonight. I've been a little bitter about being here, but I'm trying to be positive for the babies. This is their first Christmas and I need to be sweet to them and take exceptional care of them while they're here. But I'm really looking forward to a couple days off before I work New Year's.

So, that's where we are. :) Hector's doing great, being very sweet to me-cooking, cleaning and rubbing my legs. I love him. :)

35 Weeks!

There isn't much much to update this week... If Cohen were born now, he wouldn't go to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for his age!! That's not to say he couldn't go for some other reason.. but not for dates. :) We're praying nothing will hold him up at all once he gets here. That we'll stay our 48 hours and GO HOME WITH HIM!

He's been moving his feet from the left side to the right side a lot lately. He'll kick and kick and kick my liver then move over to the other side and kick and stretch into my ribs. It's neat when I can feel his little feet actually protruding from my abdomen, around my ribs. He will stick them out (and that hurts!) so I will push them back in! :) I'm guessing he's going to be pretty long. At our appointment on Tuesday our doctor guessed he's about 6 pounds already. She said they usually gain around a 1/4 pound per week here at the end. So that puts him at just over 7 pounds for delivery. I'd love that! Hey.. if he's healthy, then let him be small! :) Watch him be 8 1/2 pounds, like I was.. :) I will love him no matter what!

We have another doctor's appointment this Tuesday. I go weekly now, but not the week of Christmas, since we'll be in Paris. This week she'll start "checking" me... :-/ You know, to see if I've started dilating or anything. I'm a little nervous about that. Hopefully everything will be A-OK.

We seem to have everything together that we need at home... The car seat is in the car (you never know!), the crib is made with fresh sheets, the diapers are set out by the changing pad, the clothes have been washed and arranged by size, the pack-n-play is set up in our room for his first weeks, the bouncy seat has batteries in it and the stroller is folded up down in the living room. I have my hospital bag partially packed, most of it can't be packed ahead of time. We still want some aromatherapy for the delivery/postpartum room... We are working on our playlist for the delivery room. And we still need to purchase my breast pump. We're thinking after Christmas. Maybe with some Christmas cash and coupons?? Those things aren't cheap! What are we missing? Mental preparedness? We think we've got that, too. But, advice is welcome!

Personalized baby gifts--Check these women out!

A few of the sweetest baby gifts we've received have been hand-made from some sweet women I'd like to tell you about.

First, a few weeks ago, my friend from nursing school (who will actually be joining me in the NNICU in January!!) Marla, asked me for my address, to send a little something for Cohen. Then a few days later, I saw a wonderful post on her blog. Marla, her sister and her mother had started a business! Anything Baby Boutique--fabulous, hand-crafted, personalized baby items! I thought, "I hope, I hope, I hope she's sending me something she made!"

Here is a link directly to their Etsy store. Check them out and order away!

This is what arrived in the mail for Mr. Cohen:

What a sweet trio! Bib, onesie and burp cloth!

It screams all business, but paired with a sweet baby boy--playful!!

Completely washable, since we all know what these are for!

Thank you so much, Marla! I can't wait to see how your new business thrives!

Then, a few weeks later, I was the happy recipient of yet another sweetly hand made baby gift.

It's a little harder to tell how I'm connected with this fabulous woman, but I'll try. :) As you all know, Hector and I go to Watermark Community Church. We are in a Foundation Group there, for newly married couples. One of the couples in our group is Patrick and Jackie Ray. Patrick has a sister, Chelsea, who is a stay-at-home mom on an air-force base. She's full-time Mommy to her sweet baby boy and somehow found time to start her own home-based business of personalized baby things, too! itty bitty crafts was born! So, my girls in my Foundation Group threw me a baby shower last week and sweet Jackie gave me a gift that included several items from itty bitty crafts. Feast your eyes:

A beautiful, personalized minky blanket, two pairs of shoes and two minky burp cloths!!

How cute are these?? He'll be too cute in these shoes.

So soft for him to rest his sweet face on! Love these burp cloths!

And last, but not least, a nursing cover! It even has the bendy part at the top so you can peek at your tiny one while they're feeding!

So, these are the amazing gifts from Chelsea at itty bitty crafts. She makes many more items (soft alphabet books, diaper bags, breast pads, cloth diaper covers and more!) so seriously, check out her facebook business page!

These women are amazing to me! Marla who has two sweet girls under the age of 4, and Chelsea who has a baby boy under age 1! And they have time to sew, not only for pleasure, but to complete customer orders! I'm thrilled to be the new owner of and to be able to showcase just a few of their precious custom items.

34 Weeks!

We made it to 34 weeks! Not that I didn't think we would, but wow.. so soon? :)

I'm beginning to feel a little...huge and uncomfortable. :-/

Some symptoms I experience now:
-Worsening reflux
-Increased need for sleep (and increased ability to get it--Thank goodness!)
-Increasing frequency in trips to the restroom
-Serious, sometimes debilitating pain in my hips...friends tell me this is more of the round ligament pain.. where my hips are widening and loosening to prepare for the passage of a pretty large baby.. Anyways, this pain stops me in my tracks sometimes or cramps up when I sit for too long.
-Occasional swelling of toes, feet and ankles (it's just pretty, let me tell ya)
-Actual pain when I bend over to get something (must remember to squat rather than bend!)
-Light-headedness when moving quickly, brushing teeth, or coughing/sneezing

So, these are all kind of negative symptoms... :-/

Cohen is getting pretty big. :) I mean, I think he is. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Our next sonogram is not until December 27th (we'll be 37.5 weeks) and they'll tell us approximately how big he is. I have transitioned into solid maternity shirts at work, as opposed to scrub tops. I just wear my same scrub bottoms, but with the drawstring completely un-cinched, and the waistline resting just below my protruding belly.

Cohen moves a lot, still. His feet are up underneath my right ribs, his bottom is below my left ribs and his head is where it needs to be. :) So, needless to say, my right ribs are constantly hurting. He must be long. My dad and brother are both very tall. Cohen also gets the hiccups more often now. Not sure why that is, but it is sometimes several times a day! His most active periods are at night.

We ordered his stroller and car seat a week ago... since realistically, he could be here at any time now! But we need him to stay inside until after January 4th! (it's my one year anniversary at work, and also the date I must surpass in order to take off 12, rather than 6, weeks to be with Cohen) So, yesterday, December 5th was a little crazy for me.. I just couldn't help thinking, in one month it won't just be me and Hector any more! It will be me, Hector and Cohen! How awesome is that?! One full month left!! Anyways, we got the stroller today and the car seat should be here tomorrow! We love the stroller! It's really cute and boyish, I think. But don't judge me if we use it for a girl, somewhere down the line. :) I guess it's really neutral--it's gray, tan and red. Anyways, I pushed it around the apartment, imagining him in it.. I can't wait!

Hector bought me my diaper bag a couple weeks ago--I absolutely love this bag. It's so chic and pretty. Doesn't look like a baby bag, but like a trendy, over sized tote. This is a picture from the website, not from me.

Ohhhh.... I love it! It also comes with a matching changing pad! I want to put diapers, wipes, onesies and bottles in it and set it by the door! I want to be ready! Thanks Hector, for finding it for me!

Here are my 34 week belly photos!

Bare belly! I'm still putting Bio-Oil on after every shower and cocoa butter lotion whenever it feels itchy.

Very obvious from the front now!

We love this sweet boy and can't wait to meet him in a month! <3

Showers of Love for Little Cohen :)

As I work in Cohen's nursery, putting away tiny socks and cute onesies, arranging diapers by size, and folding blankets... I can't help but get emotional. Almost all these things were given to us by our dear, sweet friends at one shower or another. We were blessed to be honored at 4 different baby showers. I am nearly brought to tears at how wonderfully thoughtful the people who threw them for me are. All the planning, delegating, preparing, cooking, shopping, decorating... countless hours of work that went into making each of my showers a roaring success. I am in the process of making a photo book with all of the showers, but for now, here is a short photo journey of each of them.

First Shower - By Natalie Buxton and Jaclyn Konich, November 13, 2010

Natalie's hand-crafted banner

Yummmy cupcakes!

Onesie decorating station!

All the pretty gifts!

Diaper cake!

The hostesses and me!

They made comfort foods, since that has been my only "craving"--baked potato bites, macaroni-and-cheese, bacon-wrapped sausages..mmmm! We decorated onesies for Cohen, played Baby Pictionary, signed a frame for my sweetheart and of course opened gifts! My awesome college friends were in attendance, as well as some of my Mom's sisters and my cousins. It was a fantastic shower, and we received so many wonderful gifts!

Second Shower - By Mallory Holladay and other ladies, November 14, 2010

The precious cake-modeled after his bedding!

We ate taco and tortilla soups!

Mallory, Deanna, me and Charlie-playing games!

Opening tons of presents from the Mt. Olive guests!

The hostesses and me!

This was a shower at my old church in Paris (Mt. Olive) put on by Mallory, Darlene, Sherry, Savannah, Piper and Jennifer. So many people turned out and even a lot of my extended family. The soups were amazing, the cake was adorable, the games were super cute and funny, and again, we received so many things for Cohen--clothes, bath necessities, toys, diapers.. It was so great seeing all my friends there that I don't see very often!

Third Shower - By Leslie Pate, November 30, 2010

Leslie's hand-made banner!

The adorable cakes made by Leslie's friend!

Leslie knew exactly how round my tummy was!

Guests made scrapbook pages for Cohen's scrapbook!

The beautiful NICU girls! :)

Leslie and I were best friends in nursing school, then we both ended up in the NICU. :) It is a joy working with Leslie (and all these girls!). She wanted to throw me a little work shower--and boy did she! It was such a sweet/perfect shower. She made the Cohen banner, got a custom-made cake with giraffes, had a scrapbook page-making station, tons of delicious foods and so much more. Lots of sweet nurses from the NICU couldn't make it but contributed money to Leslie, and she was able to buy so many things from our registries that we really wanted/needed for the baby. Such a wonderful evening with sweet friends! 

Fourth Shower - By Foundation Group girlfriends, December 1, 2010

Diaper cake by Lisa Whann!! (and cookies with his name on them!)

My sweet Mom came in for this one!

They tried to guess how round my tummy was (Mom won!).

Sweet, personal gifts were given!

The most wonderful, supportive group of women I know. :)

This shower was made up of the wives of all of us couples in our Foundation Group from Watermark Community Church. They've become some of my dearest friends over this past year. We had the shower at Lisa Whann's home, she and her husband Tyler lead our group. The decor was precious, the sweets--to die for (cupcakes, cake bites and Cohen-cookies!), the prayer so meaningful, the advice was priceless and the company--the best part of all. These girls gave such sweet gifts and threw in boxes of diapers as well! I am so thankful to be a part of this phenomenal group of women.

See why I get emotional? I am so touched that all these people love this baby already. I can't imagine how it will be when he's actually here. Thank you, a million times, to every one who helped and contributed! We love you so much!

Thanksgiving and the week of...

Not sure how I went so long with a new post... Just got busy, I guess!

Thanksgiving came and went, and it was wonderful! Or should I say delicious? We started the week with ice skating in lieu of YL Club on Monday night.

I am in love with this face... :)

Maggie, Sallie, Callie and me :)

The next night, Tuesday, my Mom, Dad and brother came over to shop and take Hector out to eat for his birthday. We went to Cozymel's in Grapevine. We'd never been before and the food was quite good!

My wonderful Mom and Dad!

Josh, me and Hector

Happy [early] Birthday to my sweet husband!!

The next day, Wednesday, we had a great visit from my good friend Deanna and her fiance Chris! We ogled over the baby's room, ate at Chili's, meandered through Ikea and splurged on gelatto at Paciugo! It was such a nice day!

Then, Thursday came. We chose to stay here for Thanksgiving this year. A couple reasons... we've been real busy lately and wanted to stay home for a bit, I had to work the next day (an actual day shift, too!) and two of our friends also weren't going home for Thanksgiving. So we decided to cook and make it fabulous with David and Callie Brannen. And. It. Was. Here's a glimpse of our feast:

My husband's Barefoot Contessa recreation--Roasted Turkey Roulade... Delicious!!!

(Ina's.. I think ours looks better?) :)

Creamed corn

Mashed sweet potatoes with apples!

Crock pot mashed potatoes

Callie's broccoli casserole!

Ginger apple crisp, for dessert!

Our happy Thanksgiving! (Thank you camera timer!)

Then on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I worked a whirlwind of 3 day shifts. It was weird.. a totally different atmosphere than nights.

Sunday was Hector's real birthday, so Callie and David had our group over for soup and a little celebration of my sweetheart. :) I stopped and got a surprise cake for him on my way home from work.

Yes, I squeezed 24 colored-flame candles onto this 1/4 sheet cake, with 6 soccer players and two goals. :) I am crafty like that.

Happy [real] Birthday honey!!

It was a busy, wonderful week. And now we're smack in the middle of a 5 day stretch of off-days for me! We've been sleeping in, watching Christmas movies, finishing our Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, cleaning house, working on Cohen's room.. so many things we hadn't had time for. Last night I had a baby shower from work friends and tonight I have one with my sweet Foundation Group girls. And my Mom's coming in for tonight's!! After I get pictures from tonight, I plan on doing a big blog of just baby showers, so be ready for that. I have been so blessed! This sweet baby will have everything he could possibly ever need (at least for the first 9-12 months of his life!). 

Thanks for checking in on us, we ARE still here. ;) On Friday, when we turn 34 weeks, I'll do a baby update. We're getting quite large. But know that all is well in the baby department! And if you're interested in any of the recipes from the above photos, let me know. I took pictures of the making of all of it, but thought that would ridiculously, unnecessarily lengthen this already wordy post. :)