Nursery Update

36 weeks

The Home Stretch

  I can't believe that I have been pregnant for 36 weeks. There have been days/weeks that I thought would never pass and there have been times that have flown by. I have reached that stage where I am uncomfortable but it's not unbearable. Work is getting more difficult. Those knee high tables/chairs/children really take a toll on you at this stage. I have trouble getting comfortable on the couch after dinner but as soon as I get upstairs, I am able to fall asleep right away (most of the time). I pray that I will continue to get such a good night's sleep... There are two things I really like these days- food and sleep. :-)

I went to the doctor today for my first weekly check up. He said everything looked good. I am measuring good, my weight gain is on track, and Chrisily has moved into the head down position. Although we are getting closer and the doctor said that she is now welcome to come anything she would like, he doesn't think it will be in the next week. This is good news since I would really like to finish out the school year with my kids (their last day is next Thursday).

Over the last few weeks we have had several baby showers. My friends gave us a shower, my sister and aunts gave us one, and both mine and Jacob's work had showers for us. Needless to say, we have been very blessed and have everything we need for when Chrisily arrives. We spent the weekend picking up the remaining things we needed and some organization items. After all of that, the nursery is pretty much finished (pictures soon to follow).

Jacob and I are getting so excited for Chrisily's arrival. I will miss feeling her sweet kicks and hiccups but I cannot wait to meet our precious little girl. It won't be long now!

Below are some pictures from my friends and family showers and a belly picture from 34 weeks.

Some of my Favorite people.. and wonderful hostesses

My "Walking Buddy"- Brooke.. She is also expecting a little girl.

The wonderful PSRES ladies

Briana, myself, and mom

The delicious cake

Measuring my belly

A hand sewn quilt that my grandma made for Chrisily



Mississippi or bust!

We spent the week after Easter in Mississippi with Jacob's family. We left NC on Monday after taking maternity pictures with Melissa and drove to the other side of Atlanta to spend the night. We stopped every couple of hours so I could walk around in order to avoid swollen feet. It also made the trip seem a little shorter since riding 10+ hours in a car when you are 7 months pregnant is not a lot of fun nor is it comfortable... at all. We made it into MS early Tuesday afternoon. Our first stop was BOPS to get me a strawberry patch and then we headed to the house. We enjoyed spending time with everyone throughout the week. We had family dinners, several trips to BOPS, and even had some friends over for crawfish one night. Everyone enjoyed feeling Chrisily kick/move around (well, almost everyone) :-) .  Before we knew it the week was over and it was Saturday. Saturday morning was our first baby shower. Eight wonderful ladies hosted a beautiful shower for us at the church. We got so many nice things and it was great to see everyone. We planned to leave Saturday afternoon to drive half way home so Sunday's drive wouldn't be too bad. After the shower we went back to the house and proceeded to pack every inch of our Highlander with baby stuff. It was sad to say goodbye but we will see everyone again soon... and next time we see them we will either be holding our sweet little girl or will be very soon!

Below are some pictures from our maternity session with Melissa (Melissa Lynn Hunt Photography) and some shots from our baby shower.

 When we got back from MS we didn't get to ease back into the real world. Jacob and I both had very busy weeks at work. He had projects to complete and I had a field trip and field day just a day apart. I went to the doctor on Thursday for my 32 week check up. Chrisily and I both got a good report. :-)

Needless to say by the weekend we were ready for a break. We spent most of Saturday just laying around being lazy. Sunday was Mother's day and we went to lunch with my family, Grandma, Aunt Cathy, and Mommie Ellie. Even though I am not officially a mommy yet, I got a couple of cards and a pretty corsage to wear. It was a nice day. I hope all of the moms out there had a wonderful day!

I'm down to 5 weeks of school left and around 7 until we meet our sweet girl. Time is flying and our excitement is mounting!

Welcome Third Trimester (and Spring)!

It's been about a month since my last post...and there hasn't been too much excitement in the Townsend household. In fact, there has been a lot of long hours at work for Jacob and trips back and forth to the doctor for me. The appointments were mainly to get my sinuses under control. When all of these beautiful trees, grasses, and flowers bloom my sinuses go crazy! I have been fighting sinus infections on and off for the last month and and half. This is usually one of the worst times of the year for me, so it's not surpirsing that I am having all of these issues. I did have to vist my OB for some blood work last week. I was exposed to Fifths Disease at school and it can be dangerous if you get it during pregnancy. They drew some blood on Monday and when I went in on Thursday for my monthly check up, they had the results for me. I'm immune (thankfully)! Obiviously I have been exposed to it in the past or I have actually had it... either way there is nothing to worry about for me or Chrisily during this pregnancy or any future pregnancies. My 30 week appointment went very well and now I get to go every two weeks (this milestone seemed like it was so far away at the beginning of this pregnancy journey... I can't believe we only have two months before we get to meet our sweet Chrisily)!

(27 weeks)

I have officially entered my third and final trimester. It's still hard to believe that time is passing so quickly. I still feel pretty good overall. Chrisily's kicks have gotten harder and more frequent... I just love laying there feeling her move around. Jacob has also been able to feel more movement. It makes my heart smile. I have been a bit more tired these last two weeks but I think that is to be expected... I've been sick, I haven't had a break from work since January, and well I'm 30 weeks pregnant! Luckily it is my spring break and I will have plenty of time to get caught up on my rest.

Speaking of work... Jacob and I have decided that it would be best for me to take next year off to be home with Chrisily. I am sure there will be some adjustments that will need to be made but I know that this is the best decision for our family. I must say that I am really excited about it.. I mean look at this sweet little darling and tell me you wouldn't want to spend every second of every day with her?? (Also notice that she is making the 'I Love You' sign in sign language.)

 Last week I met up with one of my good friends, Melissa Hunt. She started a photography business a year or so ago and I asked her to take some maternity pictures for me. We met up for a mini-session last week and we are meeting up tomorrow at the park to take some pictures with me and Jacob since he was busy with tax season before. Below are a couple of sneak peaks from our session last week, I was 29 weeks.

 As I mentioned before, I am off on spring break this week. I look forward to spending some time with Jacob and his family, resting, and having my first baby shower next weekend! I couldn't ask for things to be going much better. God is good. Thank you for your continued support, love, and prayers!

A Sneak Peak

Today was an exciting day. We had our 4D ultrasound appointment this afternoon. Our doctor only does two ultrasounds (one around 10 weeks and one around 18 weeks), so we opted to do the 4D ultrasound to see Chrisily one more time before June (plus it's really cool). We were able to get a couple of shots of her profile and little face but for the most part she was not cooperating. At the beginning she had her foot (and at one time, both feet) up by her face and then once she moved her feet she put her hand up there. Here is a sneak peak of our precious little girl at 26 weeks.

This was at the beginning.. she was smiling for us.

We were finally able to get her to stop moving long enough to get a picture of her foot.

This was towards the middle to end... the ultrasound lady was pushing on my belly trying to get Chrisily to move her foot... which she didn't do but made a pouty/frowny face at us.

We really enjoyed getting to see her... even if she tried to cover her face the whole time. I have been feeling really good lately. I am trying to enjoy these last couple of weeks of the 2nd trimester because I know the exhaustion is coming... among other things. :-) Jacob has been crazy busy with tax season and it has made him pretty tired. We managed to sneak out the last couple of weekends for a date night and we hung curtains in Chrisily's room.

24 1/2 weeks... and feelin' fabulous!

Date Night!

Chrisily finally has some curtains!



Until next time...

A Work in Progress

Last weekend Jacob and I spent most of the day on Sunday working in Chrisily's nursery. Her furniture was delivered the weekend before and we had a guy come and paint that Monday. I could barely wait for the paint to dry on the walls before putting furniture in place and assembling the crib. My brother, Jared, was nice enough to come over and help us move the pieces into place and help us assemble the crib. I am very pleased with the furniture and I love the color on the walls (it is hard to tell but it's a sage green). This will not be the final placement of the furniture because we are still waiting on our glider and ottoman to come in at the end of the month and we will have to play around with everything. We still have a lot to do, but here is a sneak peak of our progress.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Lovin' Life

It has been a while since a I wrote last. I am now 23 weeks pregnant and it is March... Yes, March! I can't believe how quickly time is passing. I must say that I am feeling great (pregnancy symptom-wise) and have more energy than ever (I can stay up past 7pm!!). I have been dealing with allergies (I mean, what's new?!) but that comes with the time of year. Everything has been going really well. At my last doctor's appointment everything measured well and I loved hearing the sweet thud of Chrisily's heart beat. I made appointments to go back at 26 weeks for a 4D ultrasound, my next check up, and the one-hour glucose test. I am beyond excited about the 4D ultrasound but can't say I feel the same way about the glucose test. My baby belly has made more of an appearance in the past few weeks (it seemed like at week 21 it just showed up)!

(21 weeks)

I know our sweet little girl is growing because her kicks grow stronger everyday. Last night I was laying on the couch resting and she was moving a lot. I noticed that I could see my belly moving sometimes when she kicked so I called Jacob over to check it out. You hear stories of dads trying to feel the baby and whenever he puts his hand on mom's belly the baby stops kicking... well, not Chrisily. She must be a daddy's girl already because she continued to kick right where his hand was..at first he wasn't sure if it was me moving or her but she gave one big kick (actually it was like a double kick) and his eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across his face. I got a little teary and it warmed my heart to know that was the first time he felt his baby girl. It made us both so happy.

(23 weeks)

This past week has been a big one for us. Chrisily's furniture came in early and they delivered it on Saturday. It is beautiful! We picked out paint on Sunday and had a guy come and paint for us on Monday. We thought about attempting it ourselves but we decided against it since Jacob is so busy with tax season, and well, I shouldn't be doing it. Jacob is doing a few touch ups tonight and I hope to arrange her furniture on Saturday. We also bought a new washer and dryer last weekend. We bought a used set when me moved into this house and knew we would need to replace it before starting a family. Who knew I would be so excited about a washer/dryer?! I can't wait for it to get here on Saturday so I can start doing laundry (by the way- I never thought those words would come out of my mouth...).
It seems as if everything is falling into place for our little family. I am thrilled beyond words for all of the blessings God has given us.
Until next time...