9 Months Pregnant - 36 Weeks

Just for fun, I thought we would turn back the clock...

Above is my picture from 12 weeks, followed by today at 9 whole months pregnant!

I can't believe I am actually in the 9th month. It is amazing. I'm not sure I ever really thought I'd be saying that! I remember at 12 weeks thinking that my bump was so huge.

I move a little slower than I used to but all in all, everything has been great. No cankles (yet), no insane amount of weight gain (yet)...I am knocking on wood as I say all of this. Depending on how the birth goes, I may feel differently...but all in all, I would totally do this whole pregnancy thing again. Now it's a waiting game, waiting to see when Carson will decide to make his grand entrance...

I feel so much better now after getting some antibiotics from my doctor on Friday. I am back to normal! I have three more weeks of work - My last day is May 9th. The countdown is on!

35 Weeks!

This boy is getting so BIG!

Just another month or less until he is here....I am so excited that I am beside myself!!

This hasn't been the best week because I've been sick for the last couple of days. This isn't my most glamorous week. Bronchitis + Pregnancy = Bad times!

I will be off of work for the rest of the week, giving Carson and myself some much needed rest so that we can get on the road to recovery.

Blog Slacker!

I have received numerous complaints about my being a blog slacker this week. I am so guilty. My bump picture will be posted later tonight...I promise, it won't disappoint! I got sick this weekend with some nasty cold/cough combo which has put me down for the count. Work is so busy and so I haven't been able to take any time off to be sick. These Las Vegans with hearing loss are relentless! Since I have sleeping issues to begin with, this has not been good! But I am making it through. Luckily I have Jason to take such good care of me!
Two things that happened today:
1) A pharmaceutical rep at our office today said the following:
"When are you due? Tomorrow????" Ha ha ha. What a funny man. This dude was asking for it. I wanted to say something like "Your mom must have been due recently because it's clear you were BORN YESTERDAY!" Pointing out one's bigness in a professional setting is a major faux pas. Lucky for him, I am enjoying my newfound voluptuousness and didn't take offense.
2) I learned today that my much trusted OB doctor, Dr. Jason Pollock, who has been with us through thick and thin, is scheduled to be ON VACATION in ITALY from May 8th to the 20th. Not just ON VACATION.......but in ITALY nonetheless! Rub salt in the wound! Put a dagger in my heart! Chances are good that while I labor away in a hospital room down the street, my friend Dr. Pollock will be sipping vino on the shores of the Mediterranean....or eating gelato while relaxing near a famous piazza....or shopping in Milano with his wife. I'm not bitter because the man deserves a vacation as much as anyone. But during Carson's big moment??
He said that if we really want him to be present, we can discuss doing an induction prior to his leaving. We have to think about this one. The baby would be 38.5 weeks at that time. But we would need to do an amnio to check for lung development, and having an induction would increase my risk for a C-section and increase Carson's risk for things like poor feeding and jaundice.
I can easily see one of his partners if we decide not to do this. I am more likely to let things happen their natural way, although it would be nice to have my doctor who knows my history take care of us during the big moment.
Bump picture to come.

The best smile....

Here is a picture of our godson Isaiah from the other night. We love this little guy so much. He came over Monday night to watch the NCAA title game with his godpappa, Jason. Isaiah has somewhat "subbed in" for his daddy Dean as Jason's best friend in Las Vegas while Dean is playing overseas. Isaiah lights up our house whenever he comes over with his huge smile. Recent huge milestones for Isaiah are saying "Mama", pulling himself up to a stand(earning star student status at his daycare), and trying new chunkier foods!
Carson will be so lucky to have Isaiah as a "big brother"!

34 Weeks

Our (not so) little Carson is growing all the time.

The countdown is on until the day that we get to meet him. Every day is one day closer!
I go to fetal monitoring twice per week now. He's been doing great at his appointments and everything has been just fine.

6 more weeks or less to go!

33 Week Bump

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Carson, growing out of control this week!

33 Week update

This random picture of pentunias is for my Mom. She wanted to see the flowers that she planted for us when she was here. I think she wants to make sure that they are still alive. They are! I do not typically have the Bieganowski-green-thumb syndrome, where every plant touched by a member of my mom's family turns into a lush, green, massive and beautiful living thing that takes over whatever room it happens to be in. These flowers are doing pretty well under my care, however. It's good to work on plants now - before long I will be responsible for keeping a baby alive!

Jason and his best buddy Isaiah hung out today. Isaiah got tired while watching the Kansas/Davidson game with his godpappa. He fell asleep on Jason's chest, clutching his stuffed basketball all the while.

Pictured below is Carson's room in its finished form.

We love the way it turned out. The glider was delivered on Saturday. Jason added to his handy feats by hanging that valance last weekend. Now we are all set for our little guy's arrival!

We're already imagining parties in Carson's room at 2 AM!

Some other fun pictures to share...
We went to a very fun birthday party this weekend for our little baby friends Michael and Nicholas Kouchoukos. Good friends Sandy and Rob gave their little men a fabulous first birthday party. Here are some pics of Jason with the little guests of honor.

Above - Jason and Nicholas hang out on the patio.

Michael is contemplating his first year of life.

In other notes, we went to the doctor last Friday for another ultrasound. Carson's growth is right on track. He is in the 58th percentile for growth and weighs right about 5 lbs right now. It was so fun to see him again! We will see him one more time before his arrival at another ultrasound at 36 weeks. I also scheduled about 500 more doctors appointments. I am beginning to do twice weekly fetal monitoring for my blood clotting issue in addition to regular OB appointments. The monitoring measures Carson's heartbeat and looks for accelerations in the heartbeat over a 20 minute period. It also looks for whether or not I am having any contractions. I did this for the first time on Friday and found it to be a quite pleasant 20 minutes of sitting in a soft recliner, watching TV, and listening to his heartbeat, which sounds much like galloping horses.

Carson continues to be a huge stinker at night. I am going to the bathroom a record 6+ times per night because of him sitting on my bladder. He continues to kick me constantly starting at about 3 AM and usually going until my alarm goes off at 6:20 AM. This week I found that I am starving at 3 AM or so and have had to make one 3 AM snack run involving a banana and a glass of milk.

All of this is good prep for those 2 AM parties in Carson's room, which Jason and I will both be attending this summer! We can't wait!