36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks

Weight gain? 42 lbs

Baby is the size of - a honeydew melon

Stretch marks? None! Yay!

Sleep? Sleep has been an absolute struggle once again this week.  I'm sure since Jaxon is head down and constantly putting pressure on my pelvic bones that it's not going to change until he's out.

Miss anything?  Moving with ease.

Cravings? Fruit.  I think I could eat my weight in honeydew this week, which is kind of disturbing considering that Jaxon's size is comparable to a honeydew.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Lately I've been looking past the delivery day and the actual recovery and how I'll feel during the process makes me a little queasy.  I have my supply for making "padcicles" and they will be made soon and waiting for me in the freezer.

Symptoms? Pelvic pain is back and in full force.

Belly button - In or out? It's quite the outie anymore

Wedding rings - on or off? This has been the first full week without them.  Have I mentioned how much I miss wearing them?!

Any movement? He's still making my stomach look all sorts of abstract this week.  Poor fella has ran out of room but boy he puts in a strong effort to stretch!  He's going to have some strong leg muscles!

Happy or moody? It's overall been a happy week.  Being this uncomfortable, it's hard to be a ray of sunshine all the time anymore.  Little things and comments sting a little more than usual, but I bite my tongue.

What emotions have you been experiencing this week? I've had to keep my emotions in check this week, as I'm sure I'll have to do for the rest of the pregnancy.  I'm quick to speak my mind with no filter but to add constant uncomfortableness into the mix, I've found that I just need to bite my tongue more than usual.

Looking forward to - Seeing his face and holding him for the first time!  We are so antsy to have him here!  I'm looking forward to this coming weekend as well, John is off from work for the whole weekend!  You have no idea how happy this makes me….seriously.

Week 36 Fun Fact - Jaxon's continuing to fatten up at this point.  His lungs are still developing but he could survive outside the womb at this point.

This week marked my first "unofficial" Mother's Day.  With all of Jaxon's stretching and movements he made sure that while I may not have him to share with everyone else yet that yes, I am in fact his mother.  He made sure to keep me extra comfortable at times just so I didn't forget that I reckon.  It was a good day overall, even if John did have to work the majority of the day he was able to spend spend the last part of it with me.  I even got a special pot of flowers from church for having the "youngest child."  Mother's Day was something I thought I'd never share personally as a mother.  Crazy how love and years can change a person's mind.

This week was also the start to my weekly OB appointments.  What a milestone moment that they like to commemorate with the Strep B test.  Sweet heavens I'm glad I googled that before I went in to the appointment!  After she'd completely violated me with a cotton swab, the OB asked if I wanted her to check to see if I had dilated any.  Of course if I'm going to put the effort into getting my clothes off and having to put them back on, on top of being violated, by all means make it completely worth the effort and pain I thought.  I'm a fingertip dilated, don't get excited y'all it was only a fingertip!  He's in position though.  Poor Jaxon may come out cross eyed from the OB shaking his head back and forth between my bones just to "make sure it was his head."

And for those wondering, our bags are 95% packed now.  I had to order Jaxon an extra diaper bag since the one I really wanted is still on backorder and has been for over 3 months now.  Seriously, how does one get their heart set on a diaper bag only to find it's been backordered?!  Only me, only me…. 

21 Weeks

How far along? 21 weeks

Weight gain? Haven't stepped on a scale in two weeks

Baby is the size of - a pomegranate in size and a large banana in length

Maternity clothes? two words = LOVE THEM.  I find it to be pretty amusing to put on my pre pregnancy t-shirts now, they definitely show off the bump!

Stretch marks? Still in the clear when it comes to stretch marks…now if only the noticeable cellulite would pump the breaks.  Not very appealing at all!

Sleep?  Sleep was harder this past week.  I've been waking up nightly between 4 & 5am to get up to go to the bathroom.  Rolling over is also quite the task, even more so when you are between a sleeping husband and dog!  I try not to disrupt John's sleep; but there's no hope with Okie, I'll just say he's not a fan of the restless nights and leave it at that!

Miss anything? Being able to move around a lot without getting light headed or winded!

Cravings? We were on our way to Asheville yesterday and on the way I had a huge craving for Chili's Spicy Shrimp Tacos.  Yummy!!!  And berries are high on the desired list as well.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Negative

Symptoms?  It's getting harder to breath daily.  I knew this would probably hit sooner than later with my past problems but shesh, I would love to walk upstairs without feeling like I've just finished a gym workout!

Belly button - in or out? It's flattening more and more out by the day!

Wedding rings - on or off? ON!

Any movement? Oh yes, this week Jaxon has decided he's going to start training to be a ninja fighter and he was nonstop working on his kicks!  (I'm seriously going to miss this feeling once he's here)

Happy or moody? Happy with a side of moodiness…. Hey, everyone is entitled to those moments, pregnant or not!

Looking forward to -  Our appointment next week.  We find out if my placenta has moved up to where it should be.  Praying that it has but not wasting time with worrying over it.  If it does, wonderful; if it doesn't, there's nothing that can be done to change the fact!

Interesting week 21 fact -  Jaxon now swallows several ounces of amniotic fluid each day (sounds delightful doesn't it?) -not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practicing swallowing and digesting.  His taste buds are well developed by now and he's actually able to get a taste of the foods I've been eating.  I hope he enjoyed those spicy shrimp tacos and chocolate lava cake!  


This week has been pretty laid back, thank goodness.  The headaches have eased off drastically, although I have pains from time to time but nothing like the ones in the past.  On Saturday we took a little road trip to Knoxville.  I was admittedly a nervous wreck leaving out of here because the snow was coming down but I'm glad we went.  We saw some absolutely breathtaking walls of icicles on the way.  We ate at my favorite, Calhoun's, and then we went to the mall.  All I can say is Lord help us, our boy is going to be S-P-O-I-L-E-D!  I don't think I've ever spent as much on myself in one mall trip as I did on him.  Can't wait to dress him up in all his adorable duds!  

Just a few of the things we couldn't resist buying 

We started filling the holes and sanding and repairing the walls in Jaxon's room in preparation for new paint on Sunday.  We made a trip to Babies R Us as well to make a final decision on the crib bedding.  There's so many choices, but since we had a theme it was pretty much narrowed down to a slim few.  I'm so excited to see how his room will look once we have it complete!  

The date for the baby shower has been set for April 19th.  It's so much fun to see how excited my family and lifelong bestfriend are getting over the planning!  They have so many great ideas and it's going to be an absolute blast!  

What a snowing week we had!  It really did look like a winter wonderland around here!

Okie liked the snow until the ground was completely covered

19 Weeks

IT'S A BOY!!!!

We had an appointment on Wednesday, January 8th and found out that we are having a little mister!  We are absolutely thrilled.  John must've prayed harder than anyone else in the family (most were praying for pink), he was over the moon to know that he has a son on the way.  As for me, I wasn't leaning towards either gender as long as our baby was growing and healthy.  Everything looked great on the ultrasound for the baby and the heartbeat was steady at 153bpm.  The only time I ever dreamed about our baby, it was a boy so I should've took that as a sign! 

Weeks ago, we had names already picked out for a boy or a girl.  We chose Jaxon because John has always wanted a son named Jaxon, but he never thought of the spelling other than Jackson.  I'm not a huge fan of "Jack" so we compromised and he will be called Jaxon, "Jax" for short.  Many outside of the family has asked if Miles is a family name and the answer to that is no.  We chose Miles because the word itself has so much meaning for John and I.  We had always known of each other growing up, he moved to NC and right down the road from me when he was in the eighth grade.  If there were anymore opposite of people, it was the two of us! A few years after high school, he found me online and we would occasionally catch up with each other's lives.  He made several attempts to take me out, but I declined them all.  I had a change of heart though, to make a very long story somewhat short, he was on the other side of the earth literally when I had my change of heart.  There were several miles that separated us for years while he was in Afghanistan, but it drew us to one another.  We learned who each other was in ways that most spouses never get to.  We are thankful in that sense for the miles.  They drew us so close to each other and we proved that distance means nothing when someone means so much.  One day, we hope that our Jaxon Miles will keep in mind just what the Miles means and know that there was a lot of love behind the meaning of his name, it wasn't just a name we saw and liked.

How far along? 19 weeks

Weight gain? 15 lbs

Baby is the size of - a mango

Maternity clothes? I'm beginning to wonder why so many women are opposed to maternity clothes, they are so comfy. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy wearing them!

Stretch marks? Still in the clear when it come to stretch marks!

Sleep?  This week I was able to get a lot more sleep.  My stress level is starting to decrease now that we've closed on the house and have most everything organized.  I'm definitely not keeping myself up at night anymore making "Things to Do" lists in my mind like I was before.

Miss anything? Only the previous mentioned misses

Cravings? No new cravings this week

Anything make you queasy or sick? Negative

Symptoms?  My belly has surpassed my chest now...hehe.  During our last visit at the doctor I mentioned the headaches once again.  This time, she said it sounded like migraines that I've been having.  I left the office with a prescription for phenergran and a referral to a headache specialist.  From what I've read, Tylenol and phenergran are the only things I can take so I'm not so sure how I feel about paying extra money to tell me that yes, the headaches I'm having are really bad.

Belly button - in or out? In and wonky

Wedding rings - on or off? ON!

Any movement? Yes!!!  Finally I can feel Jaxon kicking!  Some days he's VERY active!

Happy or moody? Happy :)   How could I not be though?!  I have a healthy growing baby boy in me, I have a wonderful and supportive husband and we have a new house that we are looking forward to starting our family in.

Looking forward to -  Decorating the nursery!!! 

Interesting week 19 fact -  Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells, now coats the baby's skin, shielding him from the amniotic fluid.  Nerve cells for his sense of taste, hearing, sight and smell are developing in the brain.