24 Week Pregnancy Update

I have officially reached the exciting and dreadful 24 week mark in my pregnancy!!! I say exciting and dreadful because 24 weeks marks viability of the baby in the medical world. It is exciting to know that I have made it this far in the pregnancy but dreadful to me because even though we say that medically a baby can survive outside of the womb at 24 weeks, I know everything about what that baby looks like at this point and what kind of a journey a 24 weeker takes in the NNICU if delivered and it isn't a journey that I want for our family. I have been relatively calm throughout this pregnancy so far and have trusted God to be in control and known everything was in his hands. These next 6 weeks will be my nervous, panic weeks! (I want to deliver at 40 weeks but am comfortable delivering anytime after 30 weeks.) I still trust God in this pregnancy and know that everything is in his hands but also know that Gregg and I would be responsible for making some of the decisions right now if I was to go into labor. We have had several discussions about this and we are both on the same page about the decisions we would make. I have had a completely normal pregnancy to this point and have no reason to think about complications now but because of my work background, I know and have seen too much and am a nervous nelly right now!

Anyways, back to the pregnancy update...

I'm 24 weeks pregnant!!!

(I love these pictures that are cool looks inside at the devolopment of a baby during each stage)

I have taken a couple of the questions out this week that have answers that haven't changed from previous posts (gender prediction, maternity clothes, and have you told family and friends) and just left the ones that have answers that have changed.

Total Weight Gain/ Loss: I have hit the 10 pound mark for weight gain and managed to have gained a little over 5 pounds in the last month. (My appetite increase will be discussed later!)

Sleep: good sometimes and not so good others. I wake up 3-4 times each night to go to the restroom and sometimes have a hard time going back to sleep after I have woken up. I know that if I drank less in the evening I wouldn't have to wake up so many times but I am SOOO thirsty all of the time and have to have a glass of water with me at all times! Plus, I figure that I am getting good practice at waking up to go feed so I might as well just keep it up now.

Best Moment this Week: Getting all the furniture moved into Cade's room and set up last weekend! I love going into the room each day now and looking around and thinking about Cade. It seems so surreal that we will be bringing a baby home in just a few months to sleep in that bed!

Movement: Yes and Gregg was able to feel Cade kick and move for the first time the morning of July 8!

Food Cravings: Still mainly just fruit and water... my current fruit of choice for the last couple of weeks has been watermelon. I have had occasional cravings for onion rings but am picky and only want the onion straw type of ones instead of the big onion rings. My appetite has dramatically increased over the last couple of weeks and I feel like I am hungry most all of the time! Hopefully Mr. Cade is using up all the extra nutrients I have been consuming and is packing on the weight and growing, growing, growing!

Anything make you queasy or sick?: Not anything in particular anymore. I still get sick 1 or 2 times a week

Have you started to show yet?: See for yourself!

Leakage: No, No, and No!!! And as I said during my 20 week post, we are not having this issue till at least 34 weeks and preferably 39 weeks!

Labor Signs: No- see previous answer! (I have noticed that I have had a few braxton hicks contractions over the past week or so)

Belly button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings On or Off: On

Happy or Moody most of the time: I would still say happy most of the time! This last week has been a little more emotional for me because one of my closest friends from work moved to Taiwan with her husband for a year. I am very excited for the two of them but very sad for our office and saying goodbye at 23 1/2 weeks pregnant wasn't the easiest thing to do!

Milestones: On Friday night (July 16) we were laying in bed watching a movie and Cade was really moving and kicking. I lifted my shirt up over my belly so that Gregg could get a good feel and we were able to see him kicking from the outside!!! It was so amazing to see my belly popping up as he kicked all around in there! We were even able to take a quick video of the movement to send to our families.

Weekly Wisdom: In tribute to my friend Ginny and her new adventures in Taiwan, I leave you with this quote she posted on her facebook page before leaving: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails, explore, dream, discover." -Mark Twain

Working on the Nursery and our weekend with my family

We have started to work on the nursery!!! We have had to do some major furniture moving and re-arranging to get this done but everything is just about in place and the room is looking great! Our current guest room is becoming the nursery and we will eventually move the bed and decor from that room into the office so that our friends/ family will have a place to stay when they visit. (We had the bed set-up in the middle of our living room all weekend while my parents were here so they could have a place to sleep!)

The first thing that we had to do to the now nursery was add overhead lighting and a ceiling fan to that room. (Neither of the extra rooms upstairs have overhead lighting- only a wall plug for a lamp that is controlled by the switch.) We found a fan that we liked at Home Depot and then Gregg re-wired the electricity in the room and installed the fan! We bought a second fan that matches this one and will be putting it up in the office once we get the nursery all done.

Starting the project- the hole Gregg put in the ceiling for the fan

Our new fan in the nursery!

In addition to the WONDERFUL fan, Gregg also put in a remote control for the fan and the lights for me to have! I love this little thing and the fact that I can adjust the fan speeds and dim or brighten the lights from my recliner in the room!

After we got the lighting finished then we decided the walls needed a little color on them! I painted every wall in the house 3 years ago when I moved in and then haven't changed anything since. I choose a white color for the walls in this room and bathroom but got real bored with that color after the first coat and never went back for a second coat. (This was the only room in the house with white walls!) I, of course, wanted color on the walls and found a beautiful green color called "Corn Husk Green" that I wanted to paint but my practical husband wanted to put a neutral tan color on the walls in order for it to be easier to sell. We looked at paint colors several times and I begged Gregg to let me paint the room green. I finally convinced him by agreeing to re-paint our office (once the light and fan are installed) and the guest bath to the neutral tan color while I am on maternity leave. (The office is currently "Red Raider Red" and will be a total beast to repaint but something that must be done since most people looking to buy a house don't appreciate my love of Texas Tech!)

my awesome mask for painting!

first coat of paint on the walls

Gregg hard at work!

We finished painting Wednesday evening and also picked my niece Bailey up from her great-grandmother's house to stay with us for the rest of the week. Last year we did all sorts of fun things with Bailey while she was with us (6 flags, zoo, aquarium, etc...) but this year we had things we needed to do around house and I don't enjoy being outdoors in this crazy heat. We incorporated Bailey into everything we were working on and she loved getting to help us out with Cade's room!

I had a doctors appointment on Thursday and took Bailey with me to the doctor while Gregg went to pick up furniture (we wanted to get it all before the rain hit). My appointment this time was really short (Bailey's description was 45 minutes driving for a 5 minute appointment and then 45 minutes back home)- we heard the heart beat and I got my belly measured for the first time. I am measuring 23 weeks which puts me right on track and the heartbeat was a strong 146 beats per minute. Bailey LOVED hearing the heartbeat and thought it was so cool that she got to be at the appointment and hear Cade's little heart beating!

After the appointment we went home and Bailey helped Gregg put the crib together. She also loved getting to do this and wanted to be the one that tightened every screw in the crib. We enjoyed having her help us and I really liked that she could hold pieces for Gregg so that I could take pictures of it all!!!

Gregg getting started

proud of their hard work!
the mobile hanging on the crib

My parents came on Friday and helped us move the rest of the furniture upstairs. Gregg and I had measured the room before buying the furniture and had made sure that all the furniture would fit into the room but when we started moving things in that little room got even smaller real quickly!!! It does all fit and we absolutely LOVE everything and the way it is all coming together!

my new recliner (LOVE IT!!!)

the dresser and hutch

looking into the nursery (this picture has terrible color bc the walls are much more green than what this shows)

Gregg had to teach CPR Saturday morning and so Mom, Dad, Bailey and I all went to eat breakfast and then to Home Depot so we could get new wood blinds for the nursery. I despise the mini-blinds that we currently have in the room and have always had curtains hanging so that I didn't have to look at them. I don't want full length curtains in the nursery and want to be able to enjoy the sunlight so the mini-blinds had to go!

My Dad working on hanging the blinds

I love the way that the new blinds finish off the room and how much nicer they make everything look overall! This little room is quickly becoming my favorite in the house- I love sitting in the chair and reading every evening. I can't wait to get our bedding in, to hang a few things on the wall and see the room all finished!

we took the middle shelf out so that this could be a changing table also (now I gotta figure out if I want baskets up top or to leave the space open and just decorate it)

Sunday morning we went to meet my Great Aunt Cleacy and Uncle Rod for lunch at La Madeline's. Cleacy was my Grandmother's oldest and closest sister and helped raise my Dad and Uncle. She is 96 years old now and lives here in a nursing home. She has really aged over this last year and I don't think she recognizes me most times when I visit now. She does love my Daddy though and her face lit up when he walked in and she recognized him immediately!

My Dad, Cleacy, and Rod

Cleacy has always knitted and I have several afghans that she made for me growing up. When I was in college I could tell that the knitting was getting harder for her and so I asked her to make me a baby blanket to use someday. Before she finished the blanket, Cleacy fell and broke her wrist and hasn't knitted since then. My other great aunt, Evanel, finished the blanket and I have had it hanging in the back of my closet since then. We took the blanket to lunch with us to show Cleacy and promised her that we would bring the baby to see her in the blanket after he is born.

the blanket

We had an amazing weekend with Bailey and my parents and LOVED having their help around the house and with the nursery! Gregg and I are so blessed to have the incredible families that we do and we look forward to adding our sweet sweet addition to our families!!!

Carlee's First Birthday Party!

Last Saturday we went to Keller to celebrate the 1st Birthday of one of my closest friends precious little girl! Susan planned a fabulous and very fun birthday party for Miss Carlee and we were so glad that we got to share the day and celebrate with The Cheyne's!

Carlee entered this world on June 15, 2009 after her Mommy spent over 7 weeks in the hospital on bedrest. (I personally loved those weeks because the hospital was on my way home from work and I got to spend a lot of time visiting Susan while she was there!) She was a few weeks early but was feisty right from the start, had no problems and went home in just a few days. It has been so incredible watching Carlee grow into the adorable little girl that she is too today and watching Susan become such a wonderful Mother! I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with this angel!!!

The Birthday Girl

Stylin' in her new glasses!

Ladybug cake in Carlee (and her Mom's) favorite colors!

She LOVED the cupcake!

all worn out after her big party

20 Week Pregnancy Update

Today officially marks the half way point for this pregnancy!!! These first 20 weeks have been amazing and I have loved every moment so far but I am really looking forward to the next 20 weeks and everything else that is still in store for us!

I'm 20 weeks pregnant!!!

2D and 4D sono views (not of my baby)

Total weight gain/ loss: I have gained about 5 pounds so far.

Maternity Clothes?: I can still fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes but much prefer the couple of pairs of maternity pants that I have to my regular ones. I can still fit into all of my scrub pants and love that I can wear those to work most days!

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty good overall! I do wake up 2-3 times each night to reposition myself, use the restroom and get something to drink (probably why I wake up so much!)

Best Moment this Week: Meeting my new nephew, Landry Lane, on Saturday!!! We had a great time in Lubbock this weekend and loved every moment that we got to spend loving on Landry and hanging out with all of Gregg's family!

I just LOVE this picture of him with puckered lips!

(I kept kissing him while holding him and he would pucker his little lips)

Have you told family and friends?: Of course!

Movement: YES!!! I felt movement for the first time at about 17 and a half weeks but it wasn't consistent. I started noticing the movement everyday on June 10 (18 weeks 3 days)! I feel the most movement during the evenings and at night while laying in bed. Gregg hasn't been able to feel him move yet even though I am always putting his hand on my belly and trying to get him to feel. Hopefully the little kicks will get stronger over the next few days to week and Gregg will finally be able to feel the movement!!!

Food Cravings: I am still craving ice and ice cold water as well as cold fruit and popcicles! I have noticed an increase in my appetite over the last week or so and am interested to see if new food cravings start appearing!

Anything make you queasy or sick?: The kitchen!!! Gregg thinks that my random bouts of nausea are all in my head and a ploy to keep from doing the dishes :) but honest to goodness if I try to clean up after we have had dinner then I get sick!

Have you started to show yet?: Yes!!! (See "Randomness" post for a picture from last Friday!)

Leakage: Nope! Not going here for at least 14 more weeks but preferably 19 more weeks!

Gender Prediction: No longer a prediction- It's a BOY!!! We are over the moon to be having a little boy and cannot wait to meet our little one!

Labor Signs: No, and again not going here for at least 14 more weeks!

Belly button In or Out?: In!

Wedding rings On or Off?: On!

Happy or Moody most of the time?: Happy! I am very emotional at times and cry even more easily than normal!

Weekly Wisdom: "If you keep reaching outside your comfort zone, you'll make it!" (I saw this saying on a little plaque that sits on my Mom's vanity while at her house this weekend and really liked it!)

Milestones: The biggest milestones that have occurred since my 16 week update were finding out that this little peanut is a boy on June 8, naming our sweet boy (Cade Allison Groves), and starting to feel Cade's precious movement!!!

Hope you have enjoyed reading this 20 week update as much as I enjoyed writing it! Stay tuned for my next update at 24 weeks!

Weekend in Lubbock and meeting Landry

We flew to Lubbock Saturday morning to meet our new nephew, Landry! The weekend was VERY quick but so much much fun! Landry is the first grandchild on Gregg's side of the family so everyone has been over joyed with his arrival. (We especially enjoyed the chance at getting a little test run in before the arrival of Cade!)

Meeting the new little one!

Gregg getting a little practice!

me getting to hold Landry for the first time

Sweet boy!

Aunt Wendi and Landry

Cody and Misti got to bring Landry home on Sunday right after lunch. (Pretty incredible first Father's Day present for Cody!) We wanted to make their arrival home really special so we bought some fun decorations for their yard on Saturday.

Sign for the front yard
balloons by the front door

Landry all tucked into his new play yard

I gave him a little mohawk!

(which I think is absolutely ADORABLE and I cannot wait to do this to Cade's hair!!!)

Picture frame that I had my Mom make as a gift for the new double Grandmother (Gregg's mother)

Randomness

So, we didn't get any other pictures of Landry yesterday but did get a couple of cute new ones this morning! I can't wait to get to the hospital tomorrow and love on this little one and take plenty more pictures of him to post on here!

The newest Red Raider!

And because my friend Ginny complained about the absolutely terrible quality of the bump photo that I posted on FB earlier this week, I decided that I should take a new one this morning as I was getting ready!

My almost 20 week bump!

I am going to see Wicked tonight with my Uncle Rod and 2 of his friends! They have all seen it several times already but this will be my first and I am so excited. I have been listening to the soundtrack this morning to get in the mood and can't wait to get out of the office and head to the show!

Cade has a new cousin (and we have our first nephew!)

Misti, Gregg's younger sister, and her husband Cody, welcomed their first son into the world this morning! Landry Lane Smith was born at 7:46am, weighing 7 lbs 5.5 ounces and is 20 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing wonderful (Dad is too!) We are flying to Lubbock Saturday morning to meet this new little one and see the proud parents!

(More pictures to come later in the day as we receive them!)