Week 30 July 27, 2009

It keeps growing and growing! 18 lbs to be exact! Man, it's getting a little harder to do routine things. Painting my toes, getting out of my car, and bending over to plug things in under my desk have become a little more difficult. I'm not whining...just saying it takes a little more effort now. And a lot of my maternity clothes are getting pretty snug. Okay...I'll be honest. I've already packed some of them up because there's no way I'll be able to wear them any longer! I only have about 9 1/2 weeks left though so I'm going to try and tough it out.

Everything else has been really good. Some days I am super tired when I get home but for the most part I'm still feeling great. Last week, I got a little lecture along with an eye roll from my Doctor because I had gained 2 lbs in 5 days. YIKES! It was a busy week though and I had eaten out a several times and then there was the tub of Rocky Road ice cream I had at the house, and my appetitie has gotten crazy again. I swear some days I think I'm starving! :-)

So this week I'm trying to be a little better. Although I know I'm going to cram some pounds on over the remainder of this little project. My dr has told me I need to gain about a pound a week and I have visits with him every 2 weeks now. I've also noticed that at the begining of your pregnancy the nurses tell you your weight gain and how much you are up total from your pre-pregnancy weight. Yeah, well these days they still weigh you but now they write it on the chart and never mention numbers unless you ask them. Guess they try to avoid the drama unless you insist on bringing it up! LOL

Each visit I remind my dr that YES I do want an epidural. God placed me in this day and age for a reason so I'm all about taking advantage of modern medicine that is available to me. Thank you Jesus! That's the one thing I'm concerned with...everything else I'm not worried about.

However, daddy Jared had a discussion about my due date with the Doctor. Yeah, he is concerned that if I go past my due date, which is Sept 30th that this could possibly disrupt potential bow hunting season which begins Oct 1st. Yes...he seriously asked. Luckily my Doctor is super cool and barely batted an eye. He said that since everything has been great so far...my blood pressure is still right around 112/68 each time, the baby's heart rate is usually right around 140, and I haven't had any contractions that he probably would consider letting me go 1 week past my due date. He usually doesn't let patients go that long unless they have been problem free. Don't get me wrong...I'm super thankful everything has gone smooth but geez....7 more days! Anyway the conversation ended with the agreement that a week before my due date he and Jared could discuss this topic again. Are you kidding me?!

HAHA...Seriously though, I'm not worried at all. Jared is already saying "Daddy" to my stomach each night in hopes that she will be incredibly smart and come out calling his name or something. And I've seen how many times he stops to look at the ultrasound pictures. That guy is not going to want to go anywhere once his little princess gets here. I'll have threaten him to get him to not hold her 24/7!

We had a housewarming party Saturday so I'll take pics tonight and post of some of the awesome gifts we got and I'm going to buy some items for Baby Girl's room this week. So check back soon...I will have some new pictures. Hopefully....

Jared's Surprise

Week 29....Jared had been saying how much he really wanted to see the baby again before she was born but my Dr didn't think my insurance would pay for another one. So I did a little research and found a place called First Vu Imaging and booked a session and footed the bill myself. I decided to not tell Jared and instead used it to torture him. Haha! I told him about 2 weeks ago that I had a surprise planned that he was going to LOVE!

Our little girl kicks me and moves around 24/7 and seriously, I feel her ALL the time. Jared gets to feel her if we are in bed or somewhere being still. However she's a little stinker and a lot of the time as soon as I say "Come feel of her" she gets still. It's like as soon as he puts his hands on her she stops moving. So he's been feeling a little bummed that I have felt her way more than he has. I was hoping this would make up for it.

Finally the big Surprise Day got here. But yes, I broke on Friday night and told him what my plans were. Sure it would have been more fun to just drive him there and then tell him but I seriously thought he was going to have a stroke trying to guess what it was. And once I told him he was really anxious.

I had been really worried she would sleep though it all and that we wouldn't get a good peek at her. Boy was I way off....she was super busy and actually kept us from getting any really good shots because she wouldn't stop moving around. She really seems to like her hands and just like the last ultrasound we had she kept them up by her face the whole time.

We did get some pictures but most of them are blury but we still think she's gorgeous! We also asked Jared's parents to go with us...so Granny and Pops joined us for our session. And she kept her face turned to the outside of my uterus so that made it a little more difficult too. But maybe she will be a snuggler since she seems to be content being all bundled up in there. :-) This first one she was being a little shy in....

This one she's showing us her hand and the Tech doing the ultrasound said she's going to have long fingrs. I assured her that my dr has already commented that she will have long toes too so I guess they will match. :-)

And this one looks like she's biting the cord! She had her left hand holding it and moving it around. I think it would irritate me being in my face all the time too.

And here she was yawning. Which was surprising because she was moving around like crazy!

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a bunch of super duper great shots but I am sooooo glad we went. And I was especially glad that Granny and Pops were with us. And I love the pictures we do have and can only imagine how attached I'll be once she gets here.

Week 28 and growing!

Wow! So it's been a few weeks since I've taken a belly picture. We've been busy and I guess after 28 weeks of being pregnant is life now so I've slacked a little on documenting every single change. But never fear....just when you start to let things slide your dear husband can remind you of them quickly. This week I was getting ready one morning in the bathroom in just a bra and panties. Sorry for those of you who are freaked out by that image but it's the only way I can bear to dry my hair these days. It's just too much dang heat for a pregnant girl to handle.


So there I am drying my hair and Jared comes in and says "Babe, turn sideways". I guess I thought he was showing me something was on me or something. I don't know. Anyway, I turned sideways and sat the dryer down. Before I could ask questions Jared said "Wow, you've gotten big this week!" It was at that point that I realized maybe I hadn't turned sideways in a while. And as much as I wanted to argue with him, I could clearly see...he was RIGHT! OMG...how did I miss that? And to make things even better I mumbled "Well, at least you didn't say my butt has gotten bigger" to which he laughed and replied "no way babe...it's always been that big". WHAT? I swung at him but of course he was already out of the room by then. The only thing that saved him was that I convinced myself he was just joking....surely he was right? haha


his prompted me to weigh myself which I also hadn't done in a while. Currently at plus 15 pounds. Yeppers...but my doctor and all of the books say I can be at 17-22 lbs at this point and still be good. Honestly though, I don't know how I'm not a freakin whale. I eat whatever I want. I just didn't want to become consumed with every single bite I take. I've never been into eating tree bark and I didn't think being pregnant was the time to try and find the willpower to do so. However, there are times I rethink this method after I've pigged out....like last night after we ate Mexican food and I was miserable. But dang it was good! So here is a picture of me...full of Mexican food, 28 weeks pregnant and carrying around 15 extra pounds:
As you can see I still need to finish the nursery. We've been working outside, building shutters and watering 24/7 to keep everything we've planted alive but I swear this weekend I will finish the painting. I just need to touch things up. And then I can start buying stuff to put on her walls! Only 11 more weeks....

July 4th

What a great weekend. I love July 4th! Summer is my favorite time of year and the 4th always means friends, family, and food! What more could a girl want? Especially a pregnant girl. Friday I ran errands because Jared had to work so Saturday and Sunday were our fun days. Saturday Mom, Sara and her kids, me and my sweet little Grandpa went to the Bennington, OK Homecoming parade. Yes it was 102 degrees but it was still fun! And it's tradition. My Grandpa used to take Sara and I and we even rode our horses in the parade for years. However, now that he's 90 years old we have resorted to just watching.


The kids loved the parade even though Amarah thought the "Po Po's noise was too loud!" The city police blew their sirens to start the parade and Amarah was not excited about that. Once that passed, and the floats started throwing candy....it was all okay. This picture is Gavin and Amarah waiting on the parade to start. As usual Gavin is smiling while Amarah was saying "I dont want my picture taken!".
To pass time I decided to let Gavin attempt taking a picture of me and Sara. Which was a new task to him. And to my amazement after only three tries he snapped this one. He was a quick study...our biggest obstacle was his fingers over the lens. I actually think this is a pretty good picture and I love that Gavin took it. Even though he's not as snuggly as he used to be he's still my little buddy!

Here's a picture of my 90 year old Grandpa and my mom while we were waiting on the BBQ to get served. Don't let the cane fool you. He was working his social skills. He knew practically everyone there and their kids and grandkids. I love to watch him in action!

I also insisted Sara pose for a full body sister pic with me. My mom has one in my baby book of her pregnant when she was pregnant with me standing beside my aunt. I look twice Sara's size in this pic but I know how cool I think the pic is of my mom and aunt in my babybook. So...baby Hicks this is for you to look at one day.

Saturday night Jared and I went to our friend's - The Trainor's - and had a super great time. There were hamburgers, volleyball games, slip and slide entertainment by the kids, fireworks, and a ton of fun all night long. They are great friends and we always enjoy getting to spend time with them. I don't have any pics from then probably because I had food in my hand the entire time! Amber you are a great host!

Sunday Jared and I took advantage of the cloudy drizzly morning we were blessed with and slept late. It was super nice. I can't remember the last morning we had like that. As a result we didn't get much done the rest of the day. I cleaned the house, we went and got groceries and then grilled and ended the night with a movie. So all in all it turned out to be a great weekend. I know Jared always has a project to do and hates to "waste a weekend" but I really enjoyed spendind the day with him. He doesn't know how much it helps a pregnant girl to have someone go grocery shopping with her!

Week 26

26 weeks...and I've been feeling super great. Yeah, I fall asleep every time I sit down on the couch but as long as I stay up and keep moving I'm good. I have noticed that I don't sleep quiet as good at night but it's not too bad. Really no explanation but I'll chalk part of it up to the baby that kicks me constantly! Other than that, a pretty routine week. I did take the glucose test last Wednesday and passed it, but only with a B+ according to my Dr. It was not pleasant and I felt like I was drinking a gallon of bitter cough syrup. But I survived and I passed…those were my two goals! I’m a little anemic but not severely so no iron pills for me. Thank you Jesus...I hear those are rough on the tummy.

And I'm at plus 12 lbs now! It’s so weird how you can get bigger in such a short amount of time. It blows my mind. Some days I look in the mirror and think yeah I’m bigger and then I look in the mirror again a few days later and I’m like “Woah! When did I get so big?” How can your own body can change so much and you don’t even realize it?

And then the funny thing is even though I look at myself and can see how much my body has changed, at my Dr appointment this week, the nurse asked me what symptoms I was having once she got to me back into the room. Not thinking about it I said….“No symptoms I’ve been feeling great”. She looked at me with a weird face and then said “Oh…are you pregnant?” Ummm….yes! I’ve been coming here every month since January. I laughed at her mistake and then listened to her tell me about how she gained 60 lbs with both of her babies. I haven’t obsessed about my weight but I do get on the scale every week. I’ve felt good and haven’t had any problems so I pretty much have continued to eat what I feel like….which sometimes is everything!

So far, I can still wear most of my pre-pregnancy shirts. But as you can see in this pic...they are getting a little snug! On the other hand, I've been in stretchy pants since week 14 and I love them. It's sad yes, but they are soooo comfy.

I really like this picture and am so glad we took it. We were headed to a family reunion Sat so we took a quick picture on our back porch. Jared has been super good about taking pictures since I’ve been pregnant. Before he hated a photo shoot but apparently he’s already wrapped around her little finger so all I have to do is say that I want a picture for her baby book. Dang, the things a little girl can get her Daddy to do! And check out my palm tree behind us. I’ve managed to keep it alive and kicking for about 2 months now. I love being outside and even though I sweat when I'm doing it I still love working in the yard. We've nearly gotten the yard whipped into shape. I'll post pictures of our progress soon!

Girl Time with Amarah

This post is random but I loved these pictures. Sunday my dad and stepmom, Sara and Jesse and their kids came over for a "Father's Day" cookout. We ate and played outside and when the boys decided to go fishing, Sara and I bribed Amarah to stay at the house and do "girl things". Well of course this meant some finger and toe nail painting!

I love this picture of me and Amarah. She has always been Ms Independent so any time she climbs up in my lap I soak it up. This picture is one of the few I have with her. She sat perfectly still and let me paint her nails and then said "do my toes too!". She also was cracking me up because she kept saying "I am sitting on baby cousin" the whole time because she was sitting in my lap. HA!

This is a picture of the drying process....I told her to sit still and not touch anything...which she did a great job of. And we had been outside all afternoon so pardon the sweaty, dirty little face here.

And here Amarah is checking to see if they are dry...and about 2 seconds after this picture she was off to play again.

I can't wait for "Baby Cousin" to get here so Amarah can do girlie things with her when she's big enough. Although I'm already nervous about what they will be like as teenagers!!

Family Pictures

We had family pictures done last week with Jared's parents and siblings. I am soooo glad we did it and they turned out great! I know these are only proofs that I copied from the website but I will replace them with the real ones once we place an order. I just couldn't wait to get them up to share. We did them at a friend's house who has an amazing yard....and he provided plenty of entertainment to make sure we were smiling during the shoot. Thanks Mark! Here are my favorites and there are many more but I'll post them in a week or so when I get my order in! I can't wait...