Maternity Photos

I'm a little over 36 weeks at this point. I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. Ryan Andrew looks good. His heart rate is still around 150, which goes against the old wives' tale for baby boys. He seems to be in position and ready to go, although it could still be a while before he makes his debut. I'm basically having Braxton-Hicks contractions most of the day, coupled with cramping and low-back pain. So I'm cool if he wants to come a little early. 

We had our maternity/family pictures taken a little over a week ago when I was about 35 weeks along. We used Lovas Photography (http://www.lovasphotos.com). Rachel was wonderful and she'll also be taking our newborn photos when Ryan Andrew gets here! 

Here are some of our favorites!

So that's it for now! I go back to the doctor next week to check on RA and see if we've made any progress. His clothes have been washed, just need to get his bassinet and Moses basket ready for his arrival. I plan on starting to make some freezer meals this weekend and then maybe I'll pack our hospital bags next week. Maybe...

Emily's 3rd birthday & 35 weeks

Ok, time for an update! Since I last wrote, we have made some major moves! First, we went back home to Richmond for the Monument Ave 10K and Emily's 3rd birthday party! The party was a rousing success; I'm so grateful for all of our family and friends who were able to make it out to help us celebrate.

We had an amazing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bouncy house. It was a big hit. I'm not sure Emily left it but to have her birthday cupcake. We also had an outdoor fire going to make s'mores, because, apparently, the weather decided to be somewhat cold in mid-April. But here are a bunch of pictures from the bouncy house...

Bouncing with her cousin, Wes.

Bouncing with her great grandmother, Nanny.

Running from Nanny.

Just a girl and her bouncy house.

I wasn't sure how she would like her bouncy house, but she loved it.

Riley and Wesley.

Wes is a pro at bouncy houses.

Emily got to see Miss Harper again, who turned 1 about a week later.

Emily orchestrated this whole ring-around-the-rosie type thing.

We were able to drag her out of the bouncy house just long enough to sing "Happy Birthday" and have cupcakes and ice cream. 

Blowing out her birthday candles.

Happy 3rd birthday, Emily Raylynn!

While perhaps not quite as exciting as a 3rd birthday, but still pretty big, I officially signed my offer letter for a faculty position at Coastal Carolina University. So, it looks like we're finally headed back south!

The weekend of Emily's (and my) birthday, we went down to SC to look for a place to live and explore the area a bit. A very little bit because our weekend was jam-packed. We looked at about a dozen houses and a few daycares. We should be all set for our move in July! *Fingers crossed!*

A couple of birthday girls sharing a virgin strawberry daiquiri!

Emily LOVES the beach. She falls in line with a long line of women who could spend all day at the beach and never grow tired of it. On her birthday morning, we headed out to Myrtle Beach so we could run around a bit. She kept saying she didn't want to leave. Good news, kid, we're moving here. Plenty of beach time in your future.

It was in the 50's that morning, so far from warm, but Emily insisted on putting her toes in the water, so of course, Daddy obliged.

Something tells me she's going to like living at the beach. :)

I am now a little over 35 weeks along, so if you're keeping track, I've got about a month left until my due date. That's not terrifying at all. I somewhat accidentally set a goal for this pregnancy to run a race every trimester. It started out when I ran in the Philadelphia Half Marathon at 12 weeks 5 days, so technically the very end of my first trimester. Then, I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon at 25 weeks 5 days, so again, the end of my second trimester. I finally ran the Monument Ave 10K (I know, I'm slacking, not running another half) at 32 weeks 4 days, so my third trimester. My pace was a bit slower than last year, but I guess that's to be expected.

The four (five?) of us before the race! Mom, Lindsay, Micah, and me (and RA).

3rd trimester, 3rd race!

I'm still running, but no plans to compete in any more races. I think I should probably just focus on getting ready for this little guy's arrival. Running is actually becoming really difficult; I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to do.

I continue to eat ice cream pretty much every night. (This is why I have to run multiple races.) But, lucky for me, my belly has become the perfect little table for my nightly indulgence.

I'm not even mad. This thing is handy.

I went back to the doctor today. I've gained somewhere around 35-38 pounds. Last we checked, little RA was sitting breech. At my last appointment, my doctor discussed the option of doing a version (external cephalic version), where they literally try to flip him around from the outside. They wouldn't do that until 39 weeks, so hopefully it's not necessary. The other day I felt a lot of movement, that was somewhat painful at times, so I was hoping he turned. Today, the doctor seemed to think he had, though he's not quite vertical, yet, he seems to be on his way! 

This was taken after Emily went to bed, so it's just me this time.

I'm getting to the point where I should probably start considering having a few things ready to go to the hospital if needed. I just haven't felt the urge to do so, yet. Maybe I'll start by getting all of his clothes washed this week. That could take a while...

We had some family/maternity pictures taken this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to share those with the next post! 

3D/4D Ultrasound Pictures

We've had a busy couple of weeks, and it's only going to get busier! 

The weekend before last, Emily attended another birthday party. This time, at a gymnastics facility! She had a great time and even tested her limits a bit, swinging from bars like a monkey!

Her third or so time through, she figured out how to lift her legs and swing!

We had a pretty nice, low-key Easter. We contemplated going out for a family brunch, but decided to head home after church, instead. The Easter bunny did hop on over (I'm hilarious) and brought Emily some nice gifts. She got a brand-new Easter dress for church, the movie Sleeping Beauty, a bathing suit (that Easter Bunny always seems to bring a bathing suit to welcome warmer weather), some water shoes, a book, and some other small treats.

Quite the hall!

Definitely a girl after my own heart - she was most excited for the book and the shoes!

Showing off her new Easter dress on the way to church.

After church, we headed outside for an Easter egg hunt! The weather was perfect and all the kids enjoyed themselves immensely! Emily found a lot of eggs, and some of the older kids even shared some of their eggs with her.

On the hunt!

Last weekend we were home in Virginia for a wedding (congratulations Katty & Scott!). It was an exhausting weekend, but so great to see everyone!

With my handsome husband. Still managed to dance the night away at 7 1/2 months pregnant (and sober)! ;)

The weather was touchy during the day, a bit rainy, but cleared up beautifully for the ceremony. As my brother noted before my outdoor, beach wedding, "the degree of difficulty in planning an outdoor wedding is pretty high." You're really banking on some good luck. So happy it turned out perfectly for them!

About 32 weeks here!

We had the opportunity to go over to my grandparents for breakfast, which Emily thoroughly enjoyed. It was great to have some family time (and Nanny's chipped beef and gravy wasn't too bad, either!).

A good looking bunch!

Now for a pregnancy update! I am currently a little over 32 weeks along. Some days it feels as though Ryan Andrew is trying to escape. After dancing all night at the wedding, when I went to bed that night, he thought it was still party time. I was concerned he was going to "dance" right out! I'm still amazed whenever I see my stomach move and jump around. He's definitely more active than his sister was.

Pretty sure Emily is making fun of me here.

I think I am up about 30 or so pounds right now. I don't remember where I was at this point with Emily, but I think I ended up gaining about 45 pounds total, so we'll see how this goes!

Before church on Easter Sunday - where a man told me I look like I'm due any day now! Ehhh....

At 31 weeks, we had a 3D/4D ultrasound. It is so cool having these done. You really start seeing some of their features at this point. I remember with Emily, we really noticed her chubby cheeks. Here are a few of Ryan Andrew's pictures.

Yawning!

Sucking on his hand.

Looks like he's got that McAllister nose.

He trades off between sucking on his hand and his foot.

He is currently sitting frank breech - meaning he's head up, facing out, with his feet up near is head. Sometimes he moves his feet down and kicks me in the hips. This is also why I feel some really big movements right on the front of my belly. I don't think Emily was ever breech, so I'll have to really up my yoga game to get this kid head down! It's still pretty early and it's not unusual for him to flip around right up until delivery. He's coming in at about 4 1/2 pounds right now, which is a little big, but not excessively so. At 31 weeks, 2 days, he technically measured 32 weeks, 6 days. But that's all estimation. I do think he'll be a big boy, though!

We're headed back to Richmond this weekend to for the Monument Ave 10k (fingers crossed I don't go into labor!) and Emily's 3rd birthday party. We've rented a bouncy house, so I'm pretty pumped about that! I have my next doctor's appointment next week, so I should have some more updates then! 

Lately, we've had a few beautiful days, so Em and I have had a lot of time outside after daycare. We've gone to the playground a few times and played tee ball out in the yard. 

She's a natural! 

She used to hate swings. I never really understood it because swings are the greatest. But this past week, she has loved going on the swings! Although, when she was swinging here, I did have that Rachel Green moment where I was terrified her hair was going to get caught up in the chains.

She was working on kicking her legs (and kicking my shadow)!

This past weekend, we took Emily to go see Disney on Ice presents Frozen! Which was incredible. At the beginning, all sorts of friends come out, including Mickey and (Emily's favorite) Minnie! They come back out at the end, which is a big hit, as well. Also, if you're ever like, "Hey, I'd love to see thousands of kids dressed like Anna & Elsa," here's your chance!

Dressed in her beautiful (singing/light up) Elsa dress.

Good news! We got another light-up, magic wand. If you're keeping track at home, she now has 2.

On to pregnancy-related stuff. I am now about 29 weeks. Although at my last appointment (28 weeks),  I was measuring a week ahead. I'm not too concerned about that, I just think he's gonna be a big boy. 

Still getting to the gym to walk/run/waddle on the treadmill. Gotta get ready for the Monument Ave 10K in April!

Silly me. I tried to take a picture by myself. Emily quickly remedied that.

I think I'm up a total of about 25 pounds this pregnancy. I can't remember where I was with Emily. I definitely feel bigger. Breathing has become an Olympic event. If I sit on the floor with Emily, Paul has to help me up. It's almost embarrassing. 

Emily helped me go shopping the other night for her little brother. She was pretty excited about that "Little Brother" sleeper. It was the one thing she really wanted to get for him, so we did! I think she loves that he's her little brother and she's his big sister. 

I have a slight addiction to shopping. It's worse when it comes to baby clothes.

So, I had my gestational diabetes test this past week. Luckily, my doctor does this cool thing where at my appointment 4 weeks prior, they sent me home with the glucola. I was given instructions to drink it 45 minutes before my appointment, within 5 minutes. That kept me from having to wait around at the office for an extra hour! I had a much harder time with it this go around. I definitely crashed hard after drinking it. But, I haven't heard anything from them, so I'm hoping everything turned out alright!

This stuff is still terrible.

That's it for now. Paul is skipping town to go play hockey later this week, so my parents will be coming up for a visit and to help with Emily. Other than that, nothing big on the horizon. I'll go back to the doctors in 2 weeks (3 weeks from my last appointment) and then every 2 weeks from then until 36 weeks, at which point I'll go every week. I can't believe I'm getting closer to being done with this pregnancy!