29 Weeks

Ok so I have been horrible updating each week or so but 29 weeks is such a OMG moment for me. I am one week away from 30 which means I am so close to having this sweet boy in my arms! The above picture is of me and my long time friend Laura. She is eighteen weeks pregnant but would have never thought we would be pregnant at the same time. She is due in September and she finds out April 17th what she is having!

29 weeks is such a long time from when this all started. Matt and I were talking in the car about the day we found out and all the things that have gone on since we found out. Tilly hopefully someday will know how much he is loved by his dad and I. I hope one day he can sit back and read some of the letters I have written and know way before he even got here he was loved by so many people. I am starting to get really excited about him getting here. The selfish part of me can't wait because even though he will love everyone that is around, I am the person he will need the most. I am the person that will be able to comfort him and give him what he needs when he needs it the most. I can't wait to see his face and find out who he looks more like.

We are going to have to wait awhile before the second one comes because of daycare, so I am trying to cherish every moment. I want to remember it all so that it will hold me till the second one. I am excited about having to wait a little because I couldn't imagine have two really close together. My mom said when she got pregnant with my brother she couldn't imagine loving another person as much as she loved me. When he was born she saw that she could but I think the same thing all the time. I don't want Tilly to be shorted any love because we decide to have a second one. It amazes me to see moms with more then one that are close in age because the love both their children the equally and are amazing moms. I hope I can handle one, and then we will think about a second one! :)

Baby Shower 1

So this past Saturday my sweet sweet friends Jodi and Courtney threw Tilly the best shower ever! We had so much fun, and it was great catching up with some old friends! Tilly got some many great things and it made it more real that he is coming in three months!

Our couches came in Saturday as well, and let me tell you they are GREAT!! My butt has never been happier! I really love to just sit and rock in them. I fell asleep in them last night which says a lot! I can't wait till the Tillyman gets here so I can rock him to sleep while sitting in them. Stella is not allowed on these couches so we are trying to train her to stay off. I feel bad since she doesn't understand why we used to let her and now we don't but I know it is the best for everyone. When he gets here I don't want her to think she can jump up and be around people while they are trying to hold him. So we will see how it goes!

Next Saturday is shower number 2. My SIL and MIL and her family are throwing Tilly a shower. I can't wait because I will get to see so many people that Ihaven't seen in years. Also it is at ten so we get to eat BREAKFAST food so I am really excited about that!! The best part though is after the shower we are getting in the car and driving the Myrtle Beach to spend a week on vacation. We are going with Matt's family so it will be a lot of fun. It won't be super hot, but I hope it will be sunny enough to lay out. I just want to relax and read a few books. We will probably go out to eat a lot and just relax! I really need this break!

Proud to Be NCAE

Well this year has been one for the books. I have learned a lot this school year but I have also had my days where I don't know what else to do. I have had to sit back and reflect on myself a ton this year! I really love teaching, this year had made me really think about how I do my job.

Well today I attened our annual NCAE convention. This organization is a passion of mine. As a teacher we fight each and every day to be treated as a professional. This organization is our voice as educators. Three years ago my AP at the time roped me into this amazing organization and I have been hooked since. What NCAE does is fight for teacher rights and gives teachers a voice. Of course you have to pay to be a member but it is worth every dime you pay. There are many teachers who aren't members and it stings to think about them. As our president says, "They ride on our hard working coat tails!!" It is true, because of our hard work and money we get some of the things we fight for, but the teachers who aren't members and who aren't there helping fight for these things get to reep the benifits as if they had.

Today was convention day which is always fun! You get to meet many cool people and you also get pumped about teaching. I really love my job but I have my days. This convention always gets my heart ready to enter the classroom and do all that I need to, to get these children ready! We get to go back tomorrow which is exciting! I love what I do and I am VERY PROUD TO BE NCAE!!!!

Nursery Finished!!

My dad and brother drew this mural on the wall based off of the bedding. I really wanted this done, so when it was finished I was so excited!! Enjoy the pictures. Make sure though when you come to the house you can't get to close. ;)

Tilly in 3D

Well Saturday we went out to a place in Cary that does 3D ultrasounds. I was so excited because at my doctors office the lady isn't really nice. This place we went to http://www.triangle4dbaby.com/facilities.html was amazing! They were so nice and made you feel very welcome! My dad, Jenny, James, and Kath came with Matt and I. It was so special. He was so funny on the screen. He would scowl his eyebrows. He would smile and take in breaths. He would not for the life of us move his arm down below his head. It was neat because the way he his laying is why I feel him so much. The lady also said that if I hadn't told her that I was 27 weeks 5 days she would have thought he was 30 weeks because of how chubby his face was. I then asked does that mean I will have a big baby or am I furhter along then I thought I was. She said most likely a big baby! :) I was tiny as a baby, but Matt was 10 pounds!! We might have to have a talk with the doctor ;). Well we were able to get the whole thing on a video for all the other family to get to see. He is head down which is good. The best part was when she was looking around at his head she said you see all that lumpiness on his head. Well it turns out our son is going to have a FULL head of hair. She said they don't really start growing hair until about 26 weeks and she said that our son has tons of hair already. She must have said it four times throughout the whole thing. I laughed so hard because I have been having this pain, not sure what it was...come to find out it was heartburn. So the old wives tale for us is true!! I am so excited to meet our little guy. She took over 60 pictures so I will only opload a few!

Shhh...

So I am like a little kid at Christmas! My dad and Jenny, my brother and his fiance are coming this weekend to visit. Matt and I stewed about what we could do with them. I was online two weeks ago and I found this 3D/4D place in Cary that does ultrasounds for recreational purposes. I ironically said to Matt, it would be so neat if dad and Jenny could go with us. Well...while I was looking at their site I found out they had SATURDAY hours!! My heart was so excited!! So we call for an appointment and they had one for this Saturday! I can't contain myself. So we decided to suprise them when they got here. We told them we had lunch reservations and they needed to be here by 12:00. I couldn't call them all week because I was worried I would spill the beans. I can't wait for them to get here. I am also so excited to finally see a good picture of the little man growing inside me. Our last ultrasound was great because we found out if it was a boy or girl but the woman was so mean and cold. She didn't even try and get any good shots of his face or body. She just wasn't nice at all. This will be the first time to really get a good look at our little boy! I also want to see what position he is in and how big he is! I will def. post pictures on Sunday! I PROMISE!!

Low Iron, Stretch Marks, Braxton Hicks, and Couches

Well I had my week 26 doctors appointment Friday. They did the glucose test which I will hear about Monday or Tuesday. They also checked my iron and I was low. She said that is why I have probably felt really tired lately. Which was so true!! I thought it was because of all the work we have been doing around the house. So I taking iron pills to try and get my iron up. She also said to eat more meat. It is hard when matt is gone all week I don't eat the best dinners. Weight gain was good. Heartbeat was at 150 which is what it has been the entire time. I go back in two weeks for my RH shot. Then I go back every two weeks till he gets here! THAT IS INSANE!! I go ever two weeks, as my friend Laura said....im not ready!! We have so much to do and the house is a mess!!

Well I found my first two stretch marks. They are right above my hip bone on each side. I had one on each side already from highschool and I grew to quickly. Those I could hide with a bathing suit. These I don't think I can. I have piled on the lotion this weekend. That is the one thing I really really don't want. I know it comes with being pregnant but I am going to do everything to help prevent them. I know there isn't really a cure but I am hoping I can minimize them.

Well the past three weeks I have started to feel braxton hicks contractions. They started soft but now that he is bigger they are getting harder and harder. Most of the time it is when I lay down on my back. Yesterday we were out most of the day and I felt them as I walked around. As much as it has made things uncomfortable, such going pee and having a BH contraction isn't fun, it is the neatest thing to think in a short few weeks our son will be here.

Matt is still waiting for a phone call on a job here in Raleigh. I pray each night that Gods plan for us is fullfilled. I know that he has a plan and we have to trust him. This past year and few months has shown me that I need to try harder to trust him. This job is another example of us trusting in him and knowing he knows best.

Well the past month we have been stewing on the idea of a glider in Tilly's nursery. WE were going to have to purchase one and they aren't cheap. The more I thought about it the more I thought that I wouldn't be in his room much by myself nursing him. I most likely would be in my room or downstairs. I know it might happen in his room but not enough to shell out that much money for a chair. Then after I was done nursing him, what would the chair be used for. Matt would never let it our living room so it would just sit in his room and eventually be sold. So we had the idea of getting a recliner for our living room that way we could use it after all the nursing but it would also serve the rocking purpose. The past few weeks we have sat in many recliners and haven't found anything we liked. Well in our outings we talked about the idea of getting a couch with a recliner. Now I know we have a couch already but anybody will tell you it isn't the most comfortable. I have to bring down my body pillow and another pillow to sit on it longer then five min. It has some stains on it that we have tried to get out. So while we were looking around we found a couch and love seat that had recliners built in and in the love seat you could rock while someone is reclined or just sitting. So yesterday we took the plung and bought the new couches. I am so excited!! My butt can't wait!! We are going to try and sell our couch on craigslist to make a little bit of money since we don't need it anymore. So enjoy the pictures!!We didn't get the individual recliner. Our room isn't big enough for that. We have four recliners so I think that will be enough.

Nursery part 1

So this past weekend Matt and I spen the entire weekend painting. We were so excited about getting this project done! We didn't think when we set out to paint stripes we would have to be all mathematical! I really wanted the stripes so we didn't give up but it didn't help our house isn't level. All in all things turned out great! I love the room!! I can't wait to get everything put together. Enojoy the pictures below.





Well I go tomorrow for my glucose test. I am hoping I pass but I haven't done a good job about not eating sweets this week. I can't stop eating fruit and the sugar in fruit isn't going to help much. I also have had way to much candy and soda this past week. If I pass I will be suprised. Jennifer says that those things don't really effect it...I hope not!!

Well I got in the mail today my shower invitation for my shower on the 4th. It amazes me how time flies and how much Tilly is growing. I can't wait till he gets here. I have a shower on the 28th and I can't wait to see all my girlfriends.

The picture below is me at 26 weeks. I feel like a blimp but I know it is all Tilly and his warm cozy home!

Holey Cow...6 Months

So as I was sitting at Nancy's table today it dawned on me...I am two weeks away from being 7 months pregnant. I am amazed at how time has flown by. Even though it seems so fast, I feel like I have been pregnant for a really long time. Tilly is growing so much in the past few days. Matt is amazed each weekend when he comes home how much my belly has enlarged. :) Tilly has also started to move around more consistently and it has been so fun to watch my belly move in waves. I can really feel him rolling and tumbling in there.

Being pregnant is one of those thoughts you think about your whole life. I would always wonder how it would feel? How would my body change? How does it know how to do all this? What is it like having a living thing move around on your insides? I am amazed each day with this little guy. I was always worried about not being maternal, but this past month it has really hit me. I can't wait to hold this little guy!

Life overall is going good. Matt and I are starting to prepare for the obvious and that is he will most likely be working in VA when Tilly gets here. We have started to talk with family about being able to stay up here and be with me for the first few months while Matt is gone. We have talked about setting up times where I will have someone with me so that I don't freak out. I am starting to worry about him being gone but I know that I can't prepare as much as I would like. Having him be gone is going to be hard but I know that right now for our family it is what we need.

Stella is going to start having a rude awaking. We are going to start to try and keep her off the couch because she doesn't know how to handle herself when she is on the couch. I am so worried when people come to visit us and Tilly she will be all over them. I don't want to have to worry about taking her out while someone is here trying to hold Tilly. Matt and I have talked a lot about a fence so hopefully come April we can get one installed. This will help out so much because we won't have to worry about her being in her pen and freaking out.

Well we have three showers planned for the next two months. I am really excited about them because I get to see all my dear friends who I haven't seen in forever! March 28th is the first one and that is will all my highschool/college friends. I can't wait to catch up and see everyone!! April 4th is my husbands side of the families shower. His aunts are throwing a shower for everyone on mine and his side of the family. The last one is the one at work that is on the 24th of April. I am excited about this one because Matt gets to come and meet some school friends he has only heard about. I can't wait to share the Tillyman with everyone!! Time is going by so fast.

The first week of April we are going to Mrytle Beach for spring break! I am excited because that means this is the last vacation before he gets here. I am worried about the four hour drive but other than that I am excited. It is with Matt's family so that is exciting! Hopefully we will go out on a date just Matt and I so we can have one last night out before he gets here!

This weekend I am hoping Matt will feel up to painting the nursery. We borrowed a peice of the bedding from a friend so we can get the exact colors. We are still unsure of what to do but hopefully we will figure it out before Saturday. I really really want my brother to draw a mural on the wall which I would paint it. There is a really cute monkey on the bedding and I would love for James to draw the mural right above the changing table. Something small so when he is older if he doesn't want it anymore, it would be a hassel to paint over.

Two weekends from now my parents are coming to visit. I am so excited because they will get to see the nursery. We are going to suprise them with a visit to a place that does 3D/4D ultrasounds. We are going to say we are going to lunch but show up at this place http://www.triangle4dbaby.com/facilities.html. I can't wait, my dad is going to be so excited!! I hope they are just as excited as we are about seeing Tilly on the ultrasound. They say by then he will have some baby fat so he will look the most like he will when he is born.

Holey cow that was a lot of writing. I will post pictures of the nursery this weekend if we end up painting!!