Six weeks to go, and mama is feeing good. Notice how we've downgraded from the former enthusiastic "great!" At this point, I'll just settle for "good." :)
At my appointment Tuesday, my doctor wanted another growth ultrasound as opposed to checking me like he'd mentioned at my previous appointment. He didn't even bring that up, although I was prepared for it, so I didn't say anything... Well okay, doc, I won't object to you not trying to scope my brain from my nether regions! We've noticed at my last couple of ultrasounds that lots of Vaught's body parts are measuring early--some of them nearly three weeks early! The same is still true of Tuesday's ultrasound, but supposedly the further along you are, the less accurate some of the measurements are. He is now head-down, and he is showing a weight of 5 pounds, 2 ounces. Then again, that's just kind of a guess too! Even still, I just don't think I'll make it all the way to the end of September. But I might! He'll come when he's ready!!
Movement: Vaught's still pretty active, especially when I lay on my side. I can reeeeeally feel him move from the outside, and my mom felt him for the first time Sunday. She's not one of those mothers that's super touchy with her pregnant daughters (or anyone really), but she was so excited to feel him move! I can usually tell you exactly where he's sitting by the poke and prod test, but I cannot tell you if that's a butt or a knee or an elbow poking back! Eric loves to feel him too.
Craving: Fruit, salad, and salty stuff. I swear I could eat an entire family size bag of Lay's potato chips if you let me! But I guess it's good that I'm craving healthy things at the same time.
Weight Gain: Doctor's scale says 22, a gain of 6 in three weeks, but I have eaten like a hungover sorority girl lately. More fruit and even more water for the next few weeks should take care of a little bit of it. But I'm quite proud to be 34 weeks and have only gained 22 pounds. I am giving birth to a future linebacker after all. If I have to set a goal for myself, then it's to not gain more than 5 pounds between now and his birthday. We'll see how that goes.
Stretch Marks: Super light ones that I can only see when I look really close, and those may have already been there from previous growth spurts as a teen. I'm slathering on cocoa butter lotion religiously though! Some women swear by coconut oil. I've also noticed that my belly and skin in general do not itch the way lots of pregnant women describe theirs... (I'm afraid to ever get pregnant again--I have been far too fortunate).
Swelling: VERY little. Sometimes my feet will look a little puffy. The most I have seen them swell was actually last Friday night; I was on my feet and walking around for work most of the day and never seemed to sit down for the rest of the afternoon. I met my cousin for supper (sat down for about 40 minutes for that) then grocery shopped with my husband then cleaned house. Finally, I settled down around 10, and here are the feet.
And keep drinking that water! I know, the bathroom trips are annoying, but it's so worth it!
Contractions: Small ones still (Braxton Hicks). I'll have maybe four or five daily and they last about fifteen seconds.
Exercise: I have worked out five times in the past two weeks, including tonight. All four squat racks were taken Tuesday afternoon, so I thought I'd give this other squat station a go (I can't even describe exactly what it was; it looked like something off a Saw movie). Anyway, I hurt my back after about 15 seconds on it. As I was getting off, moaning and groaning about my back, this lady next to me said, "I wasn't going to interfere, but I could have told you that machine probably wasn't a good idea for a pregnant woman." Ugh. I've stretched every day, and it's a bit better, but I probably need to avoid squats for another week. I get a lot of walking in at my job during the day, and last night Eric and I started our walking routine that we'll hopefully do every night until delivery day. We took one of the pitbulls, Chance, who loves long walks! After my workout tonight, I was thinking that maybe at week 36 I would suspend my gym membership for a couple of months. The main thing I enjoy doing in the gym is weight training, and I obviously won't be doing that for a little while once Vaught arrives. We shall see!
Vaught's Room: I think I finally have everything where I want it. I have washed and folded/hung up all of his newborn and 0-3 month clothes and a few 6 month outfits and onesies. Some of them are small for 6 months while others shrunk (a LOT) in the washing/drying process. I now know to check the tags to see that most of them should be washed in cold water and dried on cool or hung to dry. I had assembled his playard in his room; however, his bassinet is super light and has wheels, so instead of lugging the playard through the house, I'm just going to use his bassinet while I can. I took the playard down and stored it in his closet for now. We'll probably bring it back out by the time he's a couple months old.
Highlights: Last Thursday, we welcomed a new, beautiful little Cooper girl into the family, Miss Kenton Shaw Cooper! She is the daughter of my cousins Josh and Shannon. Congratulations to them!!!
I rode with my mom to Kohl's earlier this week and discovered these leggings by Motherhood Maternity. Every pregnant woman needs these in her life. I'll say that I have only taken them off to wash them. Yes, I'm wearing them right now.
We had our maternity photoshoot Saturday afternoon with Angela Ammons on the Collierville Square; I can't wait to see them and show you all! She did some really neat things with us!
Monday was a rather slow day at the office, so Ms. Sandra, our bookkeeper, suggested I create a chart to track our friends' and family members' guesses for Vaught's birthdate and size. It was fun! I was surprised at how many people think he's going to be really early. Nobody seems to think he's going to pass the 25th! We shall wait and see!
Last week, I stopped by his childcare center and put his name down... officially! I'm really comfortable with the place we chose; they don't keep more than 20 children at a time, including infants, so they're not overrun with kids. It's super clean and new and the three women who run it are so so sweet. I got to see the infant room, and the whole environment just felt really safe and welcoming. I know it will be hard leaving him the first few times, but I know he'll be well taken care of :)
Up Next: Since my cervix wasn't checked at Tuesday's appointment, I know it will be at my next one on September 2nd when I'll be nearly 37 weeks. Can't wait.
My next baby shower is September 6th, hosted by my Aunt Wanda and Godmother, Sally. This is the big family shower that all the pregnant women in the family get, so I'm really excited!
Ole Miss football kicks off on August 28th against Boise State. TreadwellStillOpen posted this photo on Instagram recently, and it could not be more accurate for me and Mr. Pace. We spend January to August counting down to college football.
I still plan on attending the first home game on September 13th. I don't care how tired and hormonal I am, if I can go I am going! And according to my doctor, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to at this point, but everyone seems to think the baby will be here by then... If he is, then I'll be in attendance by October! Hotty Toddy, y'all!
Belly Shots
So, in the last couple of weeks, the belly has reeeeeeally come forward. I am poking way out on most days. I love it though; there is absolutely no doubt that I am pregnant. I'm no longer getting the "Is she or isn't she?" stare from strangers. No, it's quite obvious!
This was at work yesterday. I'm all about some Cherish tops (similar to Pikos) and of course my new leggings :)
But is there anything so slimming as black???
My husband took these last few this afternoon as I was modeling Vaught's diaper bag that arrived ("See, babe? See how pretty it is? See how big it is? This is just what I needed. This is exactly what I wanted! See, baby?!"). Gotta love the hubs. It is a Skip Hop bag that I have been pining for since February when I found it online. I used two Target gift cards to get it and am so thrilled! It's beautiful! It looks like a bag I'd carry even without a baby :)
A Room of His Own will post in the next week or so, detailing Vaught's nursery that I've worked so hard to put together, plus a blog about all that we're packing for the hospital as we start getting our things together for the big day (or night). It won't be long before we'll be on our way!
As I'm sitting here watching the launch of the SEC Network (yay!), I suddenly got an idea for a game-predictions blog for my team, the Ole Miss Rebels. I am a girl in love with football, but I look at it from a girl's point of view: I know most of the rules, but I still have to tug my husband's shirt at games and ask, "What just happened? Was that a good call? Who got the penalty?" So it would be an interesting blog about football from a girl's perspective... Not too many analytics, but more observations based upon how I've watched my team play for several years now... and what I do know about football. I'm definitely not a pro like my husband! I'll try to post that one soon. And feel free to argue with me about some of my predictions; I love to talk football :)
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