My BIG Boy/ 30 Weeks

It's official, Braxton is a big boy. At least that's how I think of him. I don't know if its the realization of this baby coming soon or what, but as of lately, I can't help but think of him as a big boy. He just seems so grown up to me. Every day he amazes me with the different things he knows and comprehends. Things and words that I didn't even teach him. I love that he is growing up and becoming a big boy. I honestly thought I would be sad about this day, but he's so fun to watch as he learns and grows. Braxton LOVES to read books (well, have them read to him) but he will point to all the pictures he knows and say what they are. Which is mostly all of them. His vocabulary is growing by the minute and I LOVE IT! Some of his favorite words to say (and pictures he points out) are:
Moon
Stars
grapes
snacks
MINE (yes he learned that one. Grr..)
Ghost
Strawberry
Nana (Banana)
Good Bye
Mama
Dada
Bubba (Thats what we call him)
Bees
Puppies
Boogies
Babies
Diapee (for diaper)
dark
Boobies (i don't know where he learned that one!)
etc...
Besides talking so much more, Braxton has also been sleeping through the night in his own crib. For those of you who know what we have been through the past 21 months, know how big of a deal this is! It has only been for the past 2 weeks but still! And of course he started once we bought his big boy furniture. Go figure! I have no idea what we will do when his brother is born. Braxton LOVES his baby brother! He will always come up to my belly and say "baby" He lifts my shirt and gives him hugs and kisses. It is so cute! I know that he is going to be the best big brother! I can't wait to see him them together! Braxton has already been practicing with his baby cousin Isla! He loves to play with her and even says her name! Its so cute! I love my big boy Braxton. Maybe its the new baby coming, but I feel so attached to him right now and I think he is the same way. I love to just snuggle with him! I can't wait until I am off of bedrest and can actually be a mom to him 100%. PS- I think we are going to be able to potty train him earlier than expected! Yay! He is so smart! Here are some pics of his "Big Boy" room so far. It obviously still needs to be decorated!




On a side note, I am almost 30 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it? I can't! Even though everyone keeps telling me I don't even look pregnant, I feel very LARGE AND IN CHARGE! Seriously, I don't think I have ever been this big. I'm super uncomfortable all the time, especially at night. Its hard to sleep. Everything seems to take more effort these days! lol! Most of all, I have been eating like crazy! Its like I am never full! Luckily, I haven't gained too much weight! I have also been having less contractions. Lets hope it stays that way! 10 more weeks of bed rest! Here are some pics of my bump!
27 WEEKS


29 WEEKS

23-26 Weeks

26 Weeks

I just thought I would update about the pregnancy, since there has been a lot going on lately. So since my last post, my cervix had continued to shorten some but decided to stay around 2cm for the past 3 weeks. Which was such a relief. They had actually told me that I could be up doing a little more, as long as I felt ok. I was still having contractions on and off but actually felt pretty good over the past couple weeks for once. Which was good because we were able to spend time with Jesse's grandparents, take Braxton trick or treating for Halloween, attend Isla's baby blessing and do our family (my maternity) pictures.


Wednesday rolled around and I was having a lot of contractions that day, more than usual. I had kinda thought the same thing the couple days before too. It was almost 10:00 PM, so I decided to just go to the hospital instead of waiting around until the next day to get into my doctors office. Luckily, 1 of my doctors is at Banner Desert 24/7 as well as one of their neonatologists. I honestly thought this would be a quick trip. Check me, monitor me, ultrasound me and then send me home like they did 2 weeks ago when I went. But I should have known it would be something more. The ultrasound showed that my cervix had shortened from 2 cm to 1.3 cm. They also said it was already beginning to thin out. Luckily, I was not funneling(something your cervix does before it starts to dilate)and I hadn't started to dilate. They decided to admit me and keep me until Sunday to monitor me. They did an FFN swab, which came back negative. I guess if it comes back positive, it means you are most likely going to go into labor soon. Whew! What a relief. The gave me 2 doses of steroids for Baby Boy. It helps his lungs develop what they need quicker in order for him to breathe better if he was born early. I was hooked up to the TOCO machine 24/7, which monitors contractions. I was (and still am) having 4-7 contractions every hour, 24 hours a day. And when I am not contracting, my uterus is what they call "irritable" so if you were to look at my monitor it was all over the place! Its not fun! Basically I am in pain 24/7 on top of my regular pelvic/back pain I was already having. They monitored baby twice a day. The first day, his heart rate kept decelerating and wouldn't keep a baseline, so they did an ultrasound to make sure that my amniotic fluid was ok. Everything looked good. They said he was probably just being a stinker and moving around a lot. Every other time, his heart rate was perfect! They said he looked great on the ultrasound too. She estimated that he weighed around 2.3 lbs. (I should get a more accurate number over the next 2 weeks from my doctors office)So after 5 days of being in the hospital, being incredibly bored, and missing my boys, they checked my cervix again and decided to send me home. It had stayed at 1.3 cm. Yay! No more having to FaceTime with Jesse and Braxton! Even though it was super cute that Braxton would say "Mama Mama" when he wanted Jesse to FaceTime me and he would give the phone kisses.


SO I got to leave Sunday afternoon. I am now on STRICT bed rest for the next 6 weeks. I am only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom or shower and go to dr appointments. So basically, my mom watches Braxton at her house Monday-Wednesday during the days and then brings him home to our house to sleep at night. Then Thursday-Sunday, Jesse has to watch him 24/7. I love being home but it is so hard to not do anything and especially not be able to help with Braxton. I feel like such a bad mom and wife. But I really need to listen and stay down, because we DO NOT want to have this baby super early. My visiting teachers and neighbors have been so sweet to bring us meals and offer to babysitt! We are finally letting the ward help us out with meals and stuff too. Can you tell I HATE asking for help? But if its going to be like this the rest of my pregnancy (14 MORE WEEKS), I can't expect my mom to have to do everything for us on top of watching Braxton. I see my doctor every 1-2 weeks, I actually go tomorrow so hopefully everything will look ok again.


Pregnancy lately:

So I finally started showing around 22 weeks... and now I feel huge and like I can't get any bigger. Seriously, I don't think my skin can stretch anymore!

I hadn't gained any weight this pregnancy until the past 2 weeks and I've already put on 10 lbs! Gross!

Some cravings are: Sushi (Las Vegas Rolls) and Edammame, Soft serve vanilla ice cream cones, Ham & Cheese sandwiches w/ lots of Mayo (I hate Mayonnaise too!) Sonic ice and Sprite.

I am officially uncomfortable 24/7 especially at bed time. It is so annoying. Plus all the contractions make it hard to sleep.

Most of my clothes don't fit... Its like I'm too big for regular clothes but not big enough for maternity. I guess it doesn't matter since I will just be at home in bed in PJ's from now on too. ;-)

Luckily, my hands and feet haven't started to swell... but maybe thats because I am lying down most of the day.

Braxton knows there is a baby in my tummy. He will always come and lift my shirt up and say "Baby" He also gives baby hugs and kisses! Its so sweet! He is still a little confused because he will sometimes do it to Jesse too. LOL!

I can't sit in a car for longer than 10 min without getting contractions and putting Braxton in his crib has become the most difficult task. My belly would get caught on the side rail. Good thing I'm not allowed to put him to sleep anymore.

I have never watched so much TV or been on the internet so much in my life as I have the past 6 weeks. I am actually sick of it.
23 Weeks