T minus 9 Weeks?!

Here we are in the home stretch and I'm just now doing my second post...pitiful (technically it's my third..I've started the post on the gender reveal party, but I haven't finished it!). However, I think I have some pretty good excuses for neglecting it. Not only has the past 7 months been full of all the changes that pregnancy brings, but we've had numerous other life changing events as well. Scott graduated with his Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Mount Olive back in May (so proud of you!), we sold our home June 5, bought our new home (see below) June 28, and Scott started his new job at the Cary Police Department on July 15 after 12.5 years with the Lee County Sheriff's Department. Whew! I think we subconsciously set some goal to cram in as many major life changes in one year as humanly possible. However - I can proudly say that we've taken it all in stride and minus a couple breakdowns on my behalf adjusted to all these changes quite nicely. 

June 28, 2013 - Closing day and 25 weeks pregnant!

30 weeks, 2 days!

We are 31 weeks today! 9 weeks from the big day (or maybe less? or maybe more?)! I cannot even believe how close we are to meeting this sweet girl. Over the past couple weeks she has become EXTREMELY active. If her movements are any indicator of her energy level/personality once she arrives..all I can think is that we are going to be some exhausted new parents. Lately our evenings consist of at least a few minutes of simply staring at my belly as she punches, kicks, and bounces all around. It is still the weirdest feeling to me and doesn't feel like anything I ever imagined it would be...but I love it!

A very short and quick update of cravings/symptoms/etc. that I have experienced over the course of the pregnancy thus far: First let me say that I have been VERY blessed with a pretty easy pregnancy. There were several weeks of some serious nausea at the beginning, but I only actually got sick on a couple of occasions. I contribute this to the fact that I have never gotten sick on my stomach very easily. Weeks 10-13 were probably my worst and after that it's been smooth sailing. As for cravings - I'm not sure if I'm actually craving ice cream (let's be real..I've ALWAYS craved ice cream) or just using pregnancy as an excuse to eat it all the time. I have managed to stick mostly to Weight Watchers brand ice cream bars which are actually very tasty and super low in calories/sugar. Other than that, I usually just want fruit or cucumbers. Cucumbers in vinegar with salt and pepper to be exact. That was my go-to evening snack for several weeks. Similar to the ice cream craving, I've always had a sweet tooth, but it has been out.of.control lately. I seriously feel incomplete if a meal doesn't end with chocolate. For my pre-pregnancy body's sake, let's hope this doesn't continue after delivery. At my doctor's appointment last week I had gained a total of around 14lbs. I've just now started steadily putting on weight, and my doctor says I'm right on track as I should be gaining 1lb per week now, and I had gained 2lbs between my 28 week and 30 week appointments. I did really good about exercising regularly until the last month or so. Our schedules/lives in general got so hectic around the move that I kind of got off track, but I've been doing my at home pregnancy DVDs and we thoroughly enjoy walking around our new neighborhood in the evenings. Another pregnancy blessing to be thankful for - thus far, I haven't noticed any swelling. I'm praying I can somehow magically escape that side effect, but I imagine I will have at least a little bit of it as we near the end.

My boss was kind enough to give us Fridays off throughout this month, so we are headed to the lake with friends! I will try to make these posts more regular for the remaining weeks of the pregnancy...but don't hold me to it. Until next time...

Scott's Mount Olive Graduation - May, 2013

Cary PD Oath of Office Ceremony - July 30, 2013