Let's Fast Forward ;-

Here it is, 6 months since my last blog post. *Oops, I'm sorry!* Mom life has gotten the best of me! So let me fill you on all of the blessings God has given me in the past 6 months! Naturally I will do this with pictures. :P

Let's start with the day I went in to get induced!

- April 14, 2015. I went at 4 AM and got all ready to get the show on the road. Thank you medicine, because I did not feel a single thing until about 3:45 that afternoon. I slept off and on most of the time, until I woke up and felt it. Looking at John, I said, "Can you call the nurse, because I'm pretty sure we're about to pop out a baby" -- Thanks to Spongebob on the tv, a cup of ice I could eat, and John being by my side, I made it through the last bit of contractions (that I could feel), the pushing, and the not being able to breath while pushing. We had little Emi at 5:10 PM.

Here is our last picture together as a couple, before I gave birth!

Here is mine and Emi's first pictures together! She looked like an alien, but she was so stinking cute.

Now let's fast forward through all these months and get to the present. Emi is a 16 pound 5.5 month old sassy little girl. She wakes up in the middle of the night to play, she throws her toys when she gets mad, and she babbles on about everything under the sun that we just don't understand yet. I practice "Mama" and "Dada" with her daily, just to give both daddy and myself an equal chance at what word she will say first. { Dada is usually first since it's so much easier to say than Mama. } She is holding her bottle (til she gets lazy), sitting in high chairs (til she gets lazy), rolling around, watching Bob's Burgers (like mom/dad like daughter right?), and sleeping 11-13 hours at night. She's a bundle of joy and firecracker full of attitude all bunched into one. She's so much fun and honestly I can't wait to have a little sibling for her to play with! (Not now obviously, but not too far away either!)

Here is my little munchkin from newborn to five months! <3

Can We Have This Baby Yet;-

I will go ahead and be honest; I am so ready to get this baby out of me. Pregnancy is so beautiful and so overrated! It is so much fun until well, it isn't. When it gets to the point where you can't sleep, go potty a million times, and have a baby punching you in every inch of your abdomen, it just gets tiresome. I don't believe that I will ever be a girl that "loves" pregnancy! Not to mention I am so close to my due date that I'm just ready to meet mine and John's little girl. Even if that does mean hearing that little cry or spending my nights wide awake because I have a baby that wants to be fed. It's so crazy that the next few weeks is mine and John's last few weeks with just ourselves. It still blows my mind that we are having a baby! 

So here is my little questionnaire!

How far along are you? I am 36 weeks and 2 days today! 

Total weight gain/loss: As of today at my doctor's appointment I have only gained 4 pounds my entire pregnancy! I'm still prepregnancy weight! :p

Maternity Clothes? I still haven't bought anything new. As you can tell Nike shorts and frockets are my thing, but hey it was my thing before I got pregnant. I'm sure John wishes I would dress a lot nicer, but actually so does everyone. My family is always telling me how sloppy I look, but it's just so tiresome trying to find something to wear when you don't want anything on your belly.

Stretch Marks? I have ONE stretch mark. It is right next to my appendix scar. Anyone close to my knows what my appendix scar looks like. Well not I have a stretch mark that makes my scar look like an arrow. Little it looks like this (  -------->  ) with the stretch mark being the arrow head,lol.

Sleep? Well that's nonexistent. I've been taking Unisom a lot more than I have my entire pregnancy. If I take one before bed, I have a better chance of not waking up every hour to go potty.

Movement: Does she ever stop? Man I miss just the little jabs I used to get from her. Now that she doesn't have any space inside of my stomach, every little movement is pain. :(

Food Cravings? Mexican, mexican, mexican. &- Johnny's pizza. I don't think that these are cravings really because I mean I want this stuff even when I'm not pregnant. lol, but since I can't really eat these things because of my gall bladder, it just makes me want them more!

Baby Stats: I had an ultrasound about 3-4 weeks ago and at that time she was measuring a week ahead so today would make her 37 weeks and 2 days. She was also in the 75th percentile which is good and she was weighing around 5 pounds 5 ounces. I'm sure she's close to 7 pounds now, but thankfully ultrasounds can be way off when it comes to the baby's weight!

Symptoms:

• Indigestion/Heartburn - this stuff is miserable! I try not to eat too close to bed time because I know that I will be in pain later if I do. It really all depends on what I eat though and I very rarely have to take Tums!

• Heat flashes - at night I can go from hot to cold in a matter of minutes! I would like my normal temperature back! lol

• Swelling - this is very rare, but it does happen. Even when my fingers/ankles do swell it isn't much! I drink so much water that I'm surprised I swell at all.

• Braxton Hicks - these practice contractions can be a pain in the butt. They hurt so bad sometimes, but luckily they aren't the real thing. Even though I wish they were the real thing so that I could go to the hospital and have Baby E! :P

Labor Signs? I am 2 cm dilated, but naturally I could stay this way until I am 40 weeks. :(

What I Miss: I miss being able to eat whatever I want, being able to fall asleep at a decent time, and being able to sleep throughout the night.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Hospital food! Haha, but seriously, I am so excited! Of course I can't wait to meet Baby E and bring her home and spend all of my time with her! I'm going to be so exhausted and so stressed, but I can't wait! 

And here is our newest and LAST 4D ultrasound! We got this done yesterday so she was 36 weeks and 1 day! Still praying she comes out with John's nose and dimples! 

xoxo

Sweet Little Pregnant Belly;-

Getting excited to welcome our baby girl into the world!
A HUGE thank you to Miss Katie Miller for these beautiful pictures!

What's A Baby Without A Baby Shower;-

I said in my last post which I know was forever ago that I would post pictures from my baby showers! I had three wonderful showers all with three super cute themes! All of the people who hosted the showers did an AMAZING job! I can definitely say that Baby E and myself had a great time celebrating her through the month of February and March!

Theme Number 1: MERMAIDS

This cake was absolutely to die for. One of my wonderful littles in Phi Mu made it just for the shower. It definitely turned out adorable, too bad I didn't eat any! Actually I didn't eat any of the cakes from any of my three showers. I know that is crazy, but the only sweets I have wanted to eat this entire pregnancy are ice cream and candy! The three beautiful women in the picture above would be my wonderful hostess for this baby shower! My two littles Chelsie and Kirstie, then one of my very best friends since the 2nd grade, Caitlin! I am so glad that these three came together and put on an amazing shower! I know Baby E will love having them in her life and she grows and gets older! I got a ton of presents at this shower! John had his hands full when I got home and he definitely enjoyed going through all of the presents! We also enjoyed reading all of the books that people bought us for us to read to Baby E after she is born! It was a great way to start her little library!

Theme Number 2: Vintage, Pink, Baby Girl

This baby shower was put on by my mom and the wonderful Miller family. We had this shower in Bossier which was awesome because I got to see so many people that I hadn't seen in a long time. I loved the mason jars and decorations that Kylie's mom used! They did such a wonderful job! (Especially since I haven't been too keen on pink here lately.) The games were a ton of fun during this shower, like guessing the baby food and baby bingo for when I opened up presents! I want to say that I definitely got most of E's clothes from this baby shower! I came home with so many clothes it was crazy! John and I went through every single one and singled out the 0-3 months just so we could go ahead and get everything washed before Baby E made her appearance! After the shower, Kylie's younger sister, Katie, took my maternity pictures which we had a blast doing! It definitely made me excited to bring E into the real world! Not to mention Katie did a wonderful job!! Below is a picture of the cake that my mom had made, which matched the theme perfectly!

Theme Number 3: Zebra

 This shower was hosted by my cousin Jessica! We held it at my grandparents church and it was very laid back. I enjoyed seeing family that I hadn't seen in many years and the food was yummy! It was kind of like a mini Thanksgiving! Ok that is only because I got my Mammaw Judy to make deviled eggs, lol. Really though I have to say that first place for food goes to this baby shower! I guess that is the best thing about family putting something together, is everyone makes home cooked foods. We received a ton of monogrammed items which was awesome because I loved anything (well almost anything) that is monogrammed. A lot of the gifts that we got at this baby shower were homemade, monogrammed, etc. We got her crib bedding and a ton of super cute blankets! After this baby shower we had almost everything we needed to get E's room set up for her arrival! The things that we didn't have, we had gift cards for so we were able to get everything together.

We're In The Home Stretch ;-

So much has gone on in the past sixteen days, so this blog post may be a little bit longer than usual. :)

I want to start this post off by giving major props to my "baby daddy", other half, best friend, or what ya'll may know him as John. I used to think and many girls these days will always think that a good boyfriend is a guy that gravels at your feet, brings you flowers unexpectedly, takes you on dates, and surprises you with little gifts whenever you least expect it. I'm here to tell you that those things are nice, but those things are not what makes someone a good boyfriend or should I say someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. I cherish mine and John's relationship more and more the longer we are together. He is such a sweetheart and he does little things to surprise me every few months, but those things are nothing compared to what I've witnessed the past few weeks. After my Mammaw Judy had her brain aneurysm and I saw how my Papa acted and stuck by her side taking care of her for months, I knew that I wanted a man like my Papa that would take care of me no matter what. "Through sickness and in health" is a serious vow that many people look over. When John and I first started dating my Mammaw asked him one night after dinner if he would take care of me if anything happened to me like what happened to her because it isn't an easy job. John's response was, "It's not easy taking care of her now and there isn't anything wrong with her." Yes we laughed and yes he was right. I'm stubborn and annoying at times and sometimes I know he wants to hit me up the side of the head. That night though, we never imagined that John being 24 and myself being 22, that he would be taking care of me more than a boyfriend should. Since my car wreck, John has slept on a hospital floor, helped me walk like it was my first time walking again, held my hand and wiped my tears while I cried in pain, taken care of the apartment and our dog, grocery shopped, and many other things that many people just don't think are a big deal, but they really are. I'm more than blessed to have someone like him to stand by my side. When I look back at the things I wanted in relationships, I will never understand why I thought that nice dates and a ton of gifts were everything. Those things don't take care of you when you are unable to get out of bed and walk. Those things can never compare to the unconditional selfless love that John has given me. 

So as many people know, I was in a car wreck on February 13. This is only my second wreck in my life and after this I never want to be rear ended ever again. John and I had just picked up a redbox movie and some chocolate covered strawberries that my mom had ordered us. I was so excited to just go home and have a great Friday night and enjoy my strawberries. Well while we we stopped waiting to turn left onto the street that runs into the street we live on, a girl rear ended us. She told police that she never saw us and she was driving anywhere between 45-55 miles per hour. I never saw it coming and blacked out when it happened. She hit us so hard that the driver and passenger seats broke and instead of going forward, John and I went backwards. We still aren't sure to this day if I hit my stomach on the steering wheel, but the two of us hit our heads on something. All I remember is sitting up and I was crying because my back was hurting so bad. John was freaking out asking if I was ok and then that is when it hit me that we had been in a wreck. The trunk was pushed so far forward that the back seats were poking forward. I was transported to the hospital by ambulance and then John showed up shortly after. I was in a neck brace and was unable to walk. They did an xray of my neck and then asked me to move to a wheelchair once they discharged me. I could not even get in the wheelchair. A nurse had to hold me up and walk me to the chair. After John was discharged from the ER, we decided to go up to Labor and Delivery just to check on the baby and make sure she was ok. Shortly after getting into a room, I began to have contractions. It was the most miserable thing I have ever experienced. By the end of the night, I had been given two shots of pain medication to help with contractions, a steroid shot in case the baby was born, taken two xrays, been poked with an IV twice, and spent 45 minutes getting an MRI. I was unable to move my left leg so every time they moved me to a stretcher or another bed, someone had to pick the left side of my body up to move me. The next day, I got another steroid shot and then was finally sent home. I ended back up in labor and delivery 4 days later with abdominal pains, but luckily it was nothing serious. The doctors did find that I have a cyst inside of my placenta, so they are monitoring that since it causes risk to the baby.

So now that I am off of my chatter box, we can get onto what everyone has been wanting to read about; Baby E! 

Questionnaire Time!!

How far along are you? Today I am 32 weeks and 2 days! The picture above was taken yesterday during our wonderful snow shower! 

Total weight/gain loss: I was still weighing in at 166 every time I ended up at the doctors. Since I haven't been able to go to the gym or do physical activity, I may have gained a few more pounds!

Maternity clothes? I haven't bought anymore since my last update. I love my maternity ripped jeans. They are comfy and super cute! I'll have pictures for my next update! Which next update with include pictures from two baby showers and my maternity pictures! :D

Stretch Marks? I haven't gotten anymore in the past two weeks. Still praying it stays that way!

Sleep? Sleep the past two weeks has been hell. I slept in the recliner for 11 days due to not being able to get up, lay on my back, etc. I finally decided to try and sleep in the bed 2 nights ago. I knew when I woke up the next day I would be in pain and boy was I right. The recliner is comfy and I love it, but I love sleeping next to John more. So we try to use pillows and stuff to try and keep me comfortable in our bed!

Movement: She is killing me. She is head down and pushing on my bladder and groin area. It's painful and it sucks. Her feet are in my ribs and when she kicks it feels like someone is hammering nails into my rib bones. She is a very active baby though, so I am very happy about that! I'd rather have her moving than being still any day.

Food Cravings: I still need potato salad! Besides that, I've craved Buffalo Wild Wings here lately, but am too broke to afford it! I will get me some though eventually. Also, Orange Leaf. Luckily, I won a $20 gift card to OL, so I plan to go get myself some yogurt sometime soon!

Baby Stats: They didn't tell me how long she was at my last doctors visit. I know that she was weighing in at 4 pounds two weeks ago, so she may be a little over 4 pounds by now! Her heartbeat usually ranges from 140-155.

Symptoms:

• Nausea - we aren't sure if this is my pain medicine or not because it seems to hit me randomly, but it definitely sucks! I don't want to have third trimester nausea after dealing with it for the first 16 weeks!

• Braxton Hicks are still killing me. They have started to be more frequent now, so that is no fun at all! 

• I have a ton of pressure on my pelvic area thanks to her head being down. I'm ready to get this little heffer out!

Labor Signs? I haven't had any labor signs so far. March is a new month though, so I wouldn't doubt it if I started having them soon. She is head down and the pressure gets pretty crucial sometimes, so as long as we can stay away from contractions, I may be able to keep her in a little longer!

What I Miss: At this point, I just miss not being in pain. Between the car wreck and being this close to her due date, the pains move in together and it just isn't fun by no means! I miss being able to lie on my back comfortably and even my side. When I lay on my side, my back hurts and when I lay on my back, my backs hurts! lol, there is no winning! 

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting out little Baby E. That is really all I think about now. I know I need to enjoy the silence that I have and the little bit of sleep that I get at the moment, but I just want to meet her and see how precious she is. 

Here is our most recent 4D picture! It was taken when she was 30 weeks! We get one more next week and that'll be our last time we get to see her until she is born! 

xoxo

Where Did The Time Go;-

Today marks 30 weeks! Only 10 more weeks to go. 
Just kidding, I think it will be sooner than that.  We may have a baby girl here before we even know it!

Here is the most recent baby bump picture! This was 29 weeks and 5 days!

I have a 4D ultrasound tomorrow and then a doctor appointment on Thursday that will FINALLY include an ultrasound. We haven't gotten an ultrasound at the doctors office since I was 17 weeks. They will measure her and see how much she weighs. At 17 weeks she was measuring two days ahead, so I can't wait to see how much she has grown since then!

Questionnaire Time!

How far along are you? I am 30 weeks today! If you would like it in term of months, I will be 8 months pregnant in just one week. Keep in mind her due date is 71 days from today! 

Total weight gain/loss: At my January doctors appointment I had lost 5 pounds since my December appointment. Then I went in two weeks later and had gain 2 pounds. But overall since being pregnant, I am around 10 pounds less than prepregnancy weight and my weight keeps fluctuating every time I go to a doctor appointment.

Maternity clothes? I have bought one actual maternity shirt, a pair of maternity pants from H&M, then two normal shirts and a maxi dress, all of which can be worn after pregnancy! I plan to wear my maternity pants after pregnancy as well considering they are ripped skinnies and absolutely adorable!

Stretch Marks? Only on my boobs. I haven't gotten any on my tummy yet and fingers crossed that I won't. If I do though, I pray they aren't horrible. So far I've been EXTREMELY lucky!!

Sleep? I have off and on nights. Last night I slept amazingly. The night before I went to bed at 6:30 and had to get up at 8:10. I think for the most part though I am averaging around 4-7 hours a sleep on different nights! I am waking up between 2:30-4:00 every morning to go potty though. Sometimes I fall back asleep fast and other nights it can take me around 10-20 minutes to go back to bed.

Movement: She is definitely a wiggle worm. She hates having things pressed against my belly, so if you push on it, she kicks or punches. She stays nestled in my right ribs later in the afternoon and when she makes big movements she makes my stomach look like something out of a horror film. 

Food cravings: Potato salad! I have been craving it for about three weeks now. Also I eat a lot of cheese potatoes and broccoli, but that is simply because I am always craving it. I crave chicken nuggets from McDonalds, but still haven't eaten any due to my gall bladder and have also been craving Orange Leaf. I could go for some fried rice with spicy mayo if I had any to eat! lol

Gender? After all my ultrasounds, she is still a girl. Nothing has grown between her legs.

Belly button in/out? My belly button is officially out 90% of the day! It seems to freak John out because it is so used to it being an innie!

Baby stats: According to all of my apps she is around 17 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds. I think she has long legs, so I'm going to go ahead and guess that she's closer to 18 inches and weighs a little more than 3 pounds. I guess I will know come Thursday!!

Symptoms: 

• I can feel my hips widening. It isn't a fun pain at all.
• Braxton Hicks contractions every so often. They hit randomly, but I don't get them as much as I've heard other women complain.
• Pains in my left leg which I believe to be associated with either: A) her sitting on a nerve or B) SPD - Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. The doctor isn't much help when I ask, so I am just working out at the gym and taking epsom salt baths to ease the pain. It totally helps until I go to sleep and have to move in the middle of the night! 

Labor signs? None yet! Hopefully I can keep her cooking for at least 5 more weeks! I know some people say keep them in for as long as they will stay, but 36 weeks makes 9 months and if she's growing ahead then she is developing great. As long as whenever she is born, she is healthy! 

What I miss: I really miss sleeping on my stomach. I am really glad that I adjusted to sleeping on my side during my first trimester though because if I wasn't used to it, I would probably NEVER sleep. I miss wine at times. I'm scared to drink any after pregnancy because I fear the headache since my alcohol tolerance is pretty much nonexistent now. I definitely miss not having a belly. I can not stand having a round thing in my way all the time. Not to mention I feel like people can't tell if I'm pregnant or fat when I'm at the gym, so I just get awkward looks. lol

What I'm looking forward to: The baby showers! I'm so ready to see people that I haven't seen in awhile and just celebrate this princess inside of me. Plus I'm ready to finish getting everything ready for her room once we receive gifts! It's so bland in there with just a crib and her name decorations above the bed! I'm also looking forward to getting my gallbladder out in the next three months. That way John will let me eat all the pizza I want or any greasy fattening food for that matter without him freaking out thinking we are going to go to the hospital in the middle of the night! 

xoxo

Sweet Ray of Sunshine;-

One thing I found myself wondering when I first found out that I was pregnant, was "why us," and "why now?" Having an unexpected pregnancy can catch you extremely off guard. The first few weeks were extremely rough, I can't even lie about that. Emotions were high and neither of us were sure how to handle the situation. Thankfully, we kept our faith in God and every day has just become more of a blessing. Not only are John and I closer as a couple, but we have become more of best friends than anything. I look back to August 2014 and I wonder why we ever let petty things get between us. We definitely aren't the same people or the same couple that we were 5 months ago.

Now with this little heffer that is inside of me being the biggest blessing in our life, there has also come a lot of pain. At 7 weeks I was in the emergency room due to not being able to hold down anything. Actually during my first trimester I couldn't eat anything at all except peanut butter crackers. This resulted in me losing around 10-15 pounds. Thankfully the second trimester came fast and I got my appetite back, but not without still getting sick of course. During the beginning of my second trimester, every two and half weeks I would randomly get sick while eating. Now that my third trimester is only ONE WEEK and three days away, I get sick probably about every three and a half weeks or once a month. It's a horrible feeling, but they all say that it is worth it in the end. Now this week was an entirely different story!! Tuesday morning (1/6) I woke up John around 4:30 and we rushed to the emergency room. I was having horrible sharp pains, couldn't walk without hurting, and was sick to my stomach. They immediately sent me to labor & delivery! Finally..... three hours later, they gave me pain medication and got me put up in a room. Next thing I knew they were keeping me there overnight. I honestly wasn't complaining because I love being in the hospital. Come to find out I had a gallbladder attack. This was due to my horrible eating habits and a wonderful baby that was pushing on my gallbladder. The worst thing about this was I was only allowed to eat jello. The doctor wouldn't let me eat normal food until my pain stopped. Thursday morning, they sent me home with pain medication and all was well. This little rascal inside of me has been an active gymnast ever since I got home. So now that I'm done rambling, let's just pray that the next few weeks go by smoothly because hospitals make John uneasy when I'm laying up in a bed in horrible pain! I think he might have had a worse night at the hospital than I did. :(

So here is a 4D picture of our little angel at exactly 25 weeks. She kept her arms in her face the entire time, but those lips are too cute. I definitely can't wait to meet her. Huge shout out to First Glimpse Ultrasound for all the amazing help they have been during my pregnancy. They have always gotten the best pictures of her. So check out their facebook: First Glimpse Facebook

How far along are you? 25 weeks and 4 days! Only 1 week & 3 days until I hit third trimester! :)

Total weight gain/loss: My next appointment is Wednesday, so we will have to see then! My tummy has grown, so I'm thinking at least a good 4-6 pounds!

Maternity clothes? Nuh uh! I actually wore my Dear John jeggings for date night tonight! They are actually even loose in my thighs! *snaps for that*

Sleep? It's gotten better. If I can't sleep it is because my muscles are hurting. It's hard to be comfortable when your pregnant. I miss sleeping on my stomach!

Movement? All the dang time. She is crazy. Seriously, she jumps around like she never runs out of energy. 

Anything making you queasy/sick? Not anymore! Everything that makes me sick when I eat it, well I still eat it. haha

Belly button in or out? It's still not fully out, but I'm starting to actually look a little bit more pregnant now that you can kinda see it poking.

Happy or moody most of the time? Definitely happy. I rarely get moody. I get aggravated with people when I'm driving or in public, but that's because people are just stupid.

Weekly wisdom: If you have someone that is doing everything for you or taking care of you, be sure to thank them. I couldn't imagine how rough the past few weeks or just this past week in general would have been if John wasn't there with me. He has been the biggest blessing and has definitely been my rock this whole journey.

Milestones: I found out that she isn't fond of having things against my stomach. When John places his arm on my stomach, she kicks and when the doctors strapped dopplers to my stomach, she kicked constantly. Also, she can see light now. Which is weird because she's inside of me, lol.