Maternity Pictures

I found this photographer back in the fall at a benefit for my friend's husband who was battling cancer.  I had been searching for people who do maternity and newborn pictures, and not finding exactly what I wanted.  I picked up her business card at the benefit and after looking at her work and contacting her directly, I knew I had found someone we would love working with.  We had scheduled a date for our pictures.  When I was hospitalized for my blood pressure, I was afraid we were going to have to cancel.  Luckily, I was able to go home on bedrest, and we decided to go ahead with the photo shoot.  I'm so glad we did, because the pictures came out better than I could have hoped for!  I'm so thrilled to have this documented for Kinley.  I hope it's something she will treasure as she gets older. 

The photos were taken by Kaci Woodrome of Sweet Southern Style Photography.

The following are some of my favorites from our shoot.

35 Weeks

35 Weeks and Feeling More Pregnant

Well, we hit a little roadblock this week.  I have been cruising along just fine, not really having any problems at all.  I had my appointment with Dr. Turner on Monday afternoon.  I was a little anxious going in, because my blood pressure had been a little high at last week's appointment.  When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was indeed high - too high.  I had been hooked up to the NST monitor for about 20 minutes when Dr. Turner came in.  She said the baby looked great, but she was worried about me.  Then came some words I didn't really want to hear . . . "I'm going to send you guys over to the hospital."  I understand it's what she needed to do, but I felt absolutely fine.  Plus, I have work and other things to do!  John and I both had a moment of panic, because nothing was packed (except Kinley's diaper bag).  Dr. Turner told us it wasn't what she advised, but we could go home and get what we needed.  She said it would take a little while to fax the orders over to the hospital, and for them to get me set up, anyway.  She wanted us back in a hour.  I held it together really well in the office, but once we were walking to the car, the tears started.  I felt like I was doing something wrong, and while she would be fine being born at 35 weeks, I know it's better for her to stay in longer.

So, we headed home to grab our stuff.  I hadn't packed anything, but I sure am glad I had at least made a list.  In the car, I talked to my mom, and called my brother Todd to see if he could come stay at our house with Kassie for the night.  Once at home, we made a mad dash to get everything packed.  It only took me about 15 minutes to get everything together.  I decided to just leave Kinley's things where they could be grabbed easily, hoping we wouldn't really need them.  We decided to go ahead and get something to eat.  Dr. Turner said she wasn't going to restrict food for me, she just wanted me under observation.  Good thing we got dinner, because we learned the next day that the hospital serves dinner somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00!

I got checked in pretty quickly, and they took me up to my room.  We got settled in.  The nurse came in to ask her standard million questions, and then they hooked me up to an NST monitor right after that.  Everything was looking great with the baby, and there was no contraction activity.  John and I just watched TV in the midst of all the questions, and checks for different things.  My blood pressure was already doing a lot better.  Around 8:45 they came to get me to do an ultrasound.  The ultrasound lady was VERY thorough, and we were in there for close to an hour.  She said she would get the report to my doctor, and I immediately wondered if something was wrong.  She had spent a lot of time really studying the baby's heart movement.

John slept in the room with me, and we had an uneventful night.  My doctor had ordered a 24 hour urine collection to check protein levels.  Tuesday was pretty boring as well.  Dr. Turner came in 1st thing in the morning to check on me.  She said the ultrasound report looked good and the baby was estimated at 5 pounds, 10 ounces.  She said she was a lot happier with my blood pressure readings, and it looked like I would be going home, on bedrest.  Not what I wanted to hear, but certainly the best of the options that were on the table.  Dr. Turner told us we would have to stay until the 24 hour urine collection was finished, which was 8:30 that night, and then she wanted to wait for the results, which would take about an hour.  We were scheduled to take a breastfeeding class at the same hospital that night, and she told us it would be ok to go ahead and do that.

John went home a couple of times that day, to shower and then later to see Kassie for a while.  I was going a little stir crazy, and I know he was, too, so it was good that he was able to get out for a little while.  While John was gone in the morning, they hooked me up to the NST monitor for almost an hour.  I snoozed a little bit, but couldn't really move from my position, so it started to get a little uncomfortable.  They said, again, that the baby looked great.  I was able to take a shower early in the afternoon, and feel somewhat human again!  We just hung out waiting for our class.  I had an early dinner, before John even got back, and he picked something up to bring up and eat.

Our class was over at 9:30, which is about the time the labs on my urine were expected back.  Right after we got back up to the room, the nurse came in and said she had talked to Dr. Turner, and I was being diagnosed with mild preeclampsia.  Not what I wanted to hear, for sure, but I also felt slight relief that I wasn't really causing my blood pressure to spike.  My orders at that point were strict bedrest, but at least I could go home still pregnant, and have a little more time for Kinley to prepare for her arrival.

Houston Baby Shower

This weekend, my best friend Kathy, and friend/co-worker Erin threw me another baby shower.  It was so sweet of them to want to do something to honor me and Kinley!  It was a busy Saturday, and quite a few of my friends had things going on with their own kids that afternoon.  It was an intimate little group, and I had a fantastic time!  I'm so blessed by all the friends who have shown their love for our little girl!

Me with Kinley's Gran and Granny Annie

Cake!  It was delicious, and oh so cute!

The ladies who came to celebrate
 

Super cute hair bows.  Can't wait to use these!

The quilt to Kinley's bedding.  Her Gran made all of her bedding.

Gran also made Kinley a "blankie."  It's super soft!

Adorable little booties

Cute outfit - it says "Little Sisters Rock"

Projection mobile for the crib

Me with the fabulous hostesses

34 Weeks

I don't have a picture for this week, so this is just a written update. I am 34 weeks now, and still feeling pretty good. My biggest complaint at this point, is the pressure I can feel from the baby's head pressing down. I especially notice it when I stand after I've been sitting for a while. Usually, it causes a quick trip to the bathroom, in addition to some discomfort. I know that so many people have much worse aches and pains, so I try not to complain about it too much. John laughs sometimes at the faces I make when I have a sudden twinge of something uncomfortable.

I went to the doctor on Monday, the 19th for a NST and check-up. My blood pressure was a little high when the nurse took me back. They got me hooked up to the monitor for the baby, and John and I just hung out listening to her little heartbeat. When my doctor came in, she noted she was a little concerned about my blood pressure, and had the nurse come take it again. Unfortunately, it was a little bit higher than it had been when I first came in, so she started talking about options. Everything with the NST looked good, so she just had me lay down and rest for a little bit, and decided we would do some blood work. She had me do a 24 hour urine collection to check for protein the week before, and everything was fine, but she also explained that in late pregnancy, things can change quickly.

After about 10 minutes, Dr. Turner came back in and took my blood pressure again. It had come down, and she felt ok with sending me home, but wanted me to call the office the next day and give them my readings from home. Dr. Chatman wasn't going to be in the office Thursday, so I was going back to Dr. Turner's office for another NST on Thursday. She told me to take it easy, and keep an eye on sudden symptoms that might creep up.

On Thursday, I was pretty nervous going in, just because I wasn't ready to leave school, and didn't want to hear "bedrest" or "early delivery." Dr. Turner doesn't work late Thursday afternoons, but I was just going in for the NST monitoring. My blood pressure was actually good when the nurse took it, so that was a relief. Everything with the baby looked good on the NST, so I was just told to keep my appointment for the next Monday.

Tomorrow is my last baby shower, and my mom is coming into town. I'm excited to have her come and for us to get some things done with the baby bedding. It will be her last visit before it's baby time!

Spring Break

Spring Break came at just the right time for me! I really wanted to get the house good and clean, and finish getting ready for Kinley's arrival. Many times during the week, I found myself really thankful that I had been able to paint the nursery over the Christmas vacation. I am having a harder and harder time moving around with the baby belly, and I just can't imagine trying to paint and climb up and down the ladder at this stage.

Kassie spent the first half of spring break in La Vernia, so when John was at work, I had the house to myself. It was nice to have the freedom to do things when I wanted to. I kind of felt like I was doing everything in slow motion, though. It's amazing how much carrying another little person inside you can slow you down! Slowly, but surely, though, I got everything done. I just moved room by room through the house, and worked on what needed to be done. I did a lot of "deep cleaning" things that don't get done on a regular basis. I also started getting baby things ready. Many friends have told me that you never feel completely ready, no matter how much you do. My goal was to have a place for the baby to sleep when we get home from the hospital. We bought a bassinet for our bedroom and a pack -n- play for downstairs back in the fall. So, I wanted to at least get those things set up. I pretty much met all of my goals. The house will still need dusting and vacuuming, just because we have dogs and they stir things up in the air, but for the most part, we are all clean and ready for baby. Many people have commented that my "nesting" has taken over, but that's just kind of how I normally am. I always use breaks from school to clean house. It's a sickness I inherited from my mother!!

33 Weeks

I am now 33 weeks, and plugging right along. Last weekend was the baby shower my family held for me, and this past Tuesday, I had a shower at school. I had a bunch of gift cards, and a few things I needed to exchange. So, this afternoon, John and I hit up Babies 'R Us and Target. I still have another shower coming up at the end of this month, but with Kinley's arrival getting closer and closer, I wanted to go ahead and get some things that I knew I would need right away. It was a pretty tiring afternoon, but we got a lot accomplished. Now, the baby room is a disaster zone! I have just been dropping everything in there, and then started sorting through all of it. There is baby stuff everywhere! I think I know what part of my Spring Break will be spend doing.

Kinley is still doing great, and growing just like she should. This last week was really long and tiring, so I am definitely ready for my Spring Break. Monday was the only day I didn't have something extra going on. Tuesday, I had to take the morning off to go to Dr. Turner for my NST and check-up. Then I went to work, and my baby shower was after school. Wednesday, we had a mandatory training about the new standardized test after school. Thursday, I had to leave school a little early to go to my appointment with Dr. Chatman. Then, I had to go back to school for Open House. I didn't get out of school until just after 7:30, and met John for a quick bite to eat. My hands and feet were really swollen that night - the first real swelling I have noticed. I was so exhausted! Thankfully the next day was Friday. I dropped John and the Park & Ride so he could take the bus into downtown for work. The plan was for him to take the bus out to a Park & Ride close to my school and I would pick him up there so we could go get some things at Costco. Well, they got really busy at the restaurant, and he wasn't able to catch the bus he was planning on. So, I had to wait at the Park & Ride for about an hour. Then, we went to Costco and headed home, just in time to pick Kassie up and go over to my friend Kathy's for dinner.

I felt like I deserved a week off after that. After Spring Break, I only have 4 weeks left of work, until my planned maternity leave. Who knows if Kinley has different plans or not. Right now, everything is going well, and I'm still feeling good. We will see what happens next.

School Shower

I work with a wonderful team of ladies at school, who put together a great shower for me! They put together a really nice spread of food, and some great sweets! I've had such a sweet tooth since I've been pregnant, so I was especially attracted to those yummy treats!

Cute cake

Yummy homemade cupcakes and cute party favors

The tag on the favors. So cute!

Opening cards - I got a lot of gift cards to buy goodies with!

More gift cards

Bibs - these will get lots of use!

A baby carrier from my team

First Baby Shower

Yesterday, I had my very first baby shower. My mom, Rachel (sister-in-law) and Katie (sister-in-law to be) put everything together for me. Everything was so beautiful! They really worked hard. From the invitations to the decorations, food and games - everything was fantastic. I know everyone had a great time!

We had a really good turnout, and Kinley got so many great things that we will need very soon. I am so humbled by everyone who took time out of their weekend to come and honor our baby girl. It was a lot of fun. The only pictures I have right now are from my camera, and I didn't have time to take many.

Cute balloon decoration

Adorable cake, that was also very yummy!

Cake is one of my new pregnancy cravings.

The gift table

One of the games we played
You had to give your baby a name, and then
melt the ice cube to get the baby out


Me trying to get "Kinley" out of the ice

Reese melted her baby first, but didn't look too happy about winning

Me with the delicious cake

2 of my good college friends - Kathy and Adrienne

Me and my mom

32 Weeks

Wow! Things are really moving along quickly these days!! I am 32 weeks today. The picture above was taken after I got home from my first shower. More about that later. I am definitely feeling pregnant, but still feeling really well, overall. I haven't really had any swelling or pain at all. I feel a little more sluggish every day, and I notice I just don't get around as quickly. I think I'm definitely developing the pregnant waddle. A lot of times when I stand up, I notice the pressure on my bladder, and I think this is what adds to the waddle. Sometimes she is just in an awkward position, and pushing down, which can be a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt.

This last week, I saw Dr. Chatman (high risk). All of Kinley's measurements were great, and she's growing just like she should. This coming week, I start going to both of my doctors once each week. It seems like kind of a pain, especially since everything is going well, but I know it's for the good of the baby. I will see Dr. Turner on Tuesday for a check-up and non-stress test (NST) on the baby. They will monitor her movement and heartrate, along with any contraction activity. At Dr. Chatman, they will start using the ultrasound to measure the bloodflow through each of the veins in the umbilical cord, along with her heartrate and respiration movement. The baby doesn't actually breathe inside the womb, but they have breathing movement.

So far, everything is great, so we are happy about that. Both of my doctors are pleased with how things are going. Right now, we are just trying to prepare things at home a little bit at a time. I am getting really excited to meet our sweet baby girl!