Weekly Update: 34 weeks

I know the view from the top does not look like much but it actually looks like it changed this week, even though you can tell from my measurements, I did not get any bigger. I compared my picture from the side from last week and the bump just changed shapes I think.

How far along: 34 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 38 lbs at my doctor’s appointment last week

Maternity clothes: I am kind of sad that because since I do not work a normal office job, I have not had the chance to wear a couple of really cute maternity things I have all that much.

Stretch marks: Still none and I love that

Sleep: Ben does have to roll me off my back sometimes when I accidentally fall that way, and rolling from side to side is a pretty strenuous task. For the most part, pretty good.

Best moment this week: We had our growth scan this week and got to look at Pumpkin and he is doing great (measuring 5lbs7oz). We also had our first shower in Atlanta and got so many great gifts from our friends here in Atlanta.

Movement: Some days more consistent than others but still a lot. He was breech at our growth scan but has some pretty big movements so I am hoping he has enough room to move himself in the right position.

Food cravings: I almost wish I had food cravings. Sometimes I have no idea what I want to eat and it drives me crazy. Plus I would love to take advantage of being pregnant and have my husband have to run some crazy errand for me.

Food aversions: No strict aversion

Gender: All boy

Labor Signs: None that I can tell

Belly Button in or out? Not budging

What I miss: Sometimes I wish I could pass the bump to Ben and remember what it feels like to be normal again. I honestly cannot recall how that feels.

What I am looking forward to: We go to Knoxville this weekend for the last time before Pumpkin comes and we have our shower with family. I am so looking forward to seeing people that I rarely get to see.

Weekly Wisdom: At my shower, there were leaves that people would write a message for Pumpkin or I on. My favorites were the ones that reminded me to savor him being so little. The housework can be done anytime but he is only that small for so little time. I teared up reading them and I am now as I think about it.

Milestones: According to my websites, his lungs are almost fully developed and if born now, would be considered a pre-term infant and not premature. I have heard of other girls having babies this early and them being fine to go home after a few days (not that I want that to happen, but it is just a comfort).

Measurements: Chest- same, Waist- same, Hips- same, Circumference- same

Bonus pic of me before my shower this weekend. I will do a post about the shower later this week after I have gathered some pictures from others.

Growth Scan update

We had our growth scan today to see how big Pumpkin is. From all the books and websites I check weekly, I was guessing and hoping for something around 4lbs10oz. Of course, my husband was almost 10lbs when he was born so I know what to expect. Pumpkin was 5lbs7oz. I am thinking that is huge but the doctor says that is just the 66th percentile. His head was almost in the 90th percentile, his abdomen in the 82nd percentile and his thigh was in the 70th percentile. Everything looks good except that he is still breech. Hopefully he flips over which I am know is a possibility. I have felt him doing some large flips in there recently so I know he still can wiggle around that much.

Just for fun. Here is me at our first ultrasound when I was 6w2d. Back then I was just praying we would see a little bean and a heartbeat.

Here is me today at 33w2d. Now I am just hoping he stops kicking me in the pelvis.

Profile of his little lips and nose

You can see his little face and arms. The rest is just squished up parts and movement.

I love this one!


"Okay I am done being poked and prodded. Mom, make the pictures stop".

Hopefully he will flip over but whatever happens happens.

Weekly Update: 33 weeks

I swear that this view from the top is not changing at all. My bump is just fluxing barely in a different area each week. There really was not much difference from last week.

How far along: 33 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Break

Maternity clothes: Duh! There is no way I could fit into anything else right now. I have a few old tops that I can manage to stretch over the bump but not many.

Stretch marks: No new ones

Sleep: Pretty good. I did notice that I have formed a dent in the foam on top of our mattress where my bump and chest are. I think it is because I constantly turn over from side to side but stay in the same place because I am wedged between pillows.

Best moment this week: We had our maternity pictures done this week. It was so fun and I think they will be so cute, we just have to wait a bit until we get them back.

Movement: I keep trying to see if I can tell how he is positioned by his movement. Of course, as soon as I think he is one way, he does a somersault and I think he is another. I did find his foot this other day and when I was showing Ben, apparently, it was tickling him and he would wiggle trying to get away. It was so cute!

Food cravings: Nothing new here

Food aversions: Nothing crazy

Gender: Little boy

Labor Signs: Still possibly Braxton Hicks but I am still not sure that is what those are.

Belly Button in or out? It will not pop.

What I miss: I miss not stressing with my mile long to do list but if I can get through the next two weeks, I have very few things to accomplish in September.

What I am looking forward to: We have our growth scan on Wednesday so we are excited to get another peak at Pumpkin and see how big he is. I also have my first shower here in Atlanta this week. I am super excited.

Weekly Wisdom: I am nervous about the beginning transitional phase of when he gets here but I am continually reminded that this is normal and we will survive, you have to take it one day at a time. I know this is obvious but still good to hear.

Milestones: Pretty much he could be here in 4 weeks or 8 weeks. Those numbers are shocking!

Measurements: Chest- 40.5”(same) Waist-34.5”(-.5”) Hips-42”(+.5”) Circumference- 43”(same)

BONUS PICTURES This was me after our maternity pictures. I had Ben take a picture of me in my outfit because it might be 6-8 weeks until we get to see the finished products.

One a sad note, I lost a dear friend this week. My friend Adam Mize lost his battle to cancer on Friday. We met on our first day of classes in college and became fast friends. I also met his future wife the same day and after months of being friends with both of them, I pushed Adam to ask out Elizabeth. Elizabeth was one of my bridesmaids and I had the honor of being in their wedding. It is such a shock to have such an amazing guy taken away so young. Please keep Elizabeth and their families in your prayers.

Weekly Update: 32 weeks

My bump has lost its cuteness. I think Pumpkin is moving up more than out, so that my belly and my chest are starting to meld into one. This is what I get for having a short torso and probably a big baby. I miss my waist!!

How far along: 32 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 35lbs (eh, could be worse)

Maternity clothes: I can breathe a sigh of relief because I finally found two dresses to wear to my showers and in my maternity pics. Now to accessorize them.

Stretch marks: Nothing new

Sleep: Last week was great but the past few nights have been rough. Having a hard time getting to sleep, staying asleep and then comfy is a challenge. It is hard to roll over and I can only lay on my sides, which is not fun.

Best moment this week: Had a doctor’s appointment and got to hear the little man’s heartbeat, at least between his kicks to the Doppler.

Movement: As noted above, he is still really active. I have noticed that his movements change from week to week and I think they are become more stretches rather than kicks and jabs because he is running out of room (poor squished baby). I am feeling him a lot more under the right side of my ribs.

Food cravings: Nothing in particular

Food aversions: Ben had some red onion that he caramelized the other day but for some odd reason it looked like purple worms to me. It makes me gag just to think about them.

Gender: Boy

Labor Signs: I am not sure if some things I have been feeling are Braxton Hicks contractions or not, but either way, no big deal.

Belly Button in or out? No change here but my belly button ring scar is just annoying me now that it is all stretched out.

What I miss: Again, I cannot wait to feel like a normal person again. We had to go shopping this week a few times and I have a limited amount of time that I can do this until I start to hurt. My back around the top of my right hip starts to ache and I get a burning feeling around my belly button and I just want to sit down and cry. Ben always asks if he needs to carry me but I tough it out.

What I am looking forward to: We have a growth scan in a week and a half so, not only do we get to peek in on him, we get to see how big munchkin is (please be average!!!). I really hope they do another 3D ultrasound of him. I want to see if he is still a mini-Ben.

Weekly Wisdom: My mom reminded me that we need to try to keep the house always straightened up because you never know what might happen and she knows a messy house stresses me out. That and we also took our breastfeeding class tonight and I learned quite a lot, and was surprised at how much I already knew. I have my family and friends to thank for that.

Milestones: Less than 2 months to go and that is kind of scary.

Measurements: Chest- +.5”, Waist- +1”, Hips- same, Circumference- same

Nursery Update

We finally got the pictures on his wall hung up and they look great. Now just awaiting stuff from our showers to make the room actually ready for him and we will be done. My friend Heather took some detail pictures a few weeks ago and is going to take more but I am still not sure how I am going to "reveal" the room on here.

We have maternity pictures this weekend so next Monday, I might have a sneak peek at those.

Vacation from H***: Part 3

13 years ago my moms family, the Millers, decided to gather everyone up and go on vacation together. We nicknamed it Vacation from Hell (VFH). 5 years later we did it again in 2003. After that, there were a lot of us that were in college and getting married and had so much dragging us in different directions, we never thought we could all get together again. Then last May at my cousin Megan's wedding, everyone kept saying how much they wished we could do another VFH. So the planning began, and of course I jumped in to be in charge. It took a while to get that many people organized but in the end we got 34 out of 39 family members in a 12 bedroom beach house for a whole week.

Bear with me here. There is a lot that happened in that week and it is really hard to condense it down to one blog post.

Our amazing house. Not only did it fit all 34 of us but it was the perfect vacation where you get to stay somewhere that you could never afford in real life.

Our lovely setup at the beach.

My cousin Callie's baby, Knox. The funny thing is that Callie is 6 months older than me, she got married married 4 months before me and now our little guys will be about 7 months apart. We love him so much!!

Lounging in the tent. You can see pastey Ben over on the left and me in a chair (look for the beached whale).

Mom and Margie chatting while watching everyone frolicking.


Girl talk in the ocean with Katie and Kelsey. Veronica was there too, just not in the shot.


Knox and Dane on fajita night.


Larry and Ben (he did not need a fake mustache).


Nolan got a wee bit drunk and we found him upstairs passed out like this. He woke up when I came in to take this picture.


It was Trevor's birthday so some of us went out to celebrate. There are 4 of the children-in-laws, 8 of us grandkids and 4 grandkids-in-law but none of the original Millers. Losers!


Nolan had this shirt made for his mom a while back but she decided to wear it for his birthday.

This was quite the popular game with this family. I am not sure if you can follow the rules but you hit a beach ball back and forth to each other and if you are responsible for hitting the ball out of the fence, you get yelled at ("SEE YA!!!") and made to go get it.

We tie dyed 62 things. Quite the undertaking!

I have a shot of the 3 of us from the first VFH and I figured after 13 years, it was time to update it. Of course, I look humongous next to these two gorgeous ladies.

Night time edition of "See ya". This turned into a crazy night but I am glad I was there to witness (and videotape) it.

On our last night, we had a talent show and everyone wore their tie dye. It was awesome!

The restaurant we ate dinner at our last night. Some people wore their tie dye to dinner and it was people I never expected to ever see in something like that.

The sunrise on the morning we left. So pretty but so sad.

Quite appropriately the road you turn on to get to our house.

I did get a pretty nasty cold on our 2nd day that lasted through the trip, and a sunburn that made me incredibly uncomfortable. This, and being out of routine, concluded with Ben and I coming home with swollen legs and feet. I never realized how awful that could be. Thanks goodness is went away after a couple of days at home.

All in all, it was an amazing trip and we can not wait to repeat it in a few years. I love my huge, crazy family and they are definitely part of what completes me.

(I might be uploading some of our formal pictures we had taken while there, and maybe an incriminating video if the internet cooperates with me. Check back later for those.)

Weekly Update: 31 weeks

Back from vacation, and hopefully back to my normal self. Ben and I had a bought of pretty bad leg puffiness that we are sure is sunburn related. I know that I am pregnant and that is normal but it came about the same time that a few other people got it. I am hoping that it does not affect my weight too much at my doctors appointment this week. Thankfully it is almost gone.

How far along: 31 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: On a break, plus I was pretty puffy after vacation from sunburn

Maternity clothes: Why did I wait so long to get into maternity bottoms. I LOVE them!!! This is my advice to any newly pregnant women. Don’t be stubborn and think you are giving in when you have to wear them, just go for it when you get uncomfortable.

Stretch marks: Still good there

Sleep: I definitely did not get enough at the beach. I was up early and in bed late and because it was a queen bed, there was not a lot of room for Ben, me and the belly.

Best moment this week: I had the best time at the beach with my family. I loved how everyone referred to the baby like he was already there and part of it all.

Movement: He is pretty stubborn when it comes to other people feeling him move. I had a lot of family members who were looking forward to feeling that and only a couple did. He really liked when I was floating in the pool and once when we were getting sloshed around when everyone was playing a game around me, he was all over the place.

Food cravings: No real cravings except for sweets and milk

Food aversions: I am still not good with bell peppers and was reminded that this week at the beach.

Gender: Little boy

Labor Signs: Nope, and we still need to wait at least 6 weeks for them

Belly Button in or out? It is still way back there, but my belly has stretched enough that the bottom hole of my old belly button ring scar is no longer in my belly button.

What I miss: I miss not being able to feel normal. I am always feeling unattractive and chubby. I groan whenever I sit down or up. I waddle and cannot help it. Ben is so sweet and constantly reminding me that I am still me with the Pumpkin attached. It will all go back to normal soon enough.

What I am looking forward to: I have an OB appointment this week and we are supposed to talk about scheduling our growth scan in the next couple of weeks. Just look forward to making sure Pumpkin is still doing great.

Weekly Wisdom: Lots of parenting advice from the young moms in my family. It just gives me confidence that we will know what we are doing when the time comes.

Milestones: We start doing our OB appointments every two weeks now. Also, the websites say that his lungs are now really developed and he could breathe on his own if God forbid he had to.

Measurements: Chest- 40.25”(-.5”) Waist-34”(+1”) Hips-41.5”(+5”) Circumference- 43”(same)

Here is a comparison shot of me in the same dress on our two different beach trips. I wish that I had held the bottom of my stomach in the latest picture so you can see the definition but I might throw it back on and retry for this comparison. These are 9 weeks apart.

Nursery Update

Since we were out of town there is no real update here. I received the last thing for his wall so hopefully we can complete that this week.

I will update with pictures from vacation this week at some point.

Weekly Update: 30 weeks

Okay so I am being super brave and posting me in a bathing suit as my bump picture. I will take my normal one tonight but I am afraid I will forget until too late and not get to it until tomorrow late. Funny story, that bathing suit is my moms and she is super jealous that it looks that cute on me.

How far along: 30 weeks (3/4 of the way through)

Total weight gain/loss: Still on break and on vacation

Maternity clothes: I got the clothes from my cousin this week. I had not bought any maternity pants but after wearing some of her hand me downs all day yesterday, I have no idea why I waited so long. They are so comfy!

Stretch marks: Still none

Sleep: I was really stressed last week trying to get ready for our trip so I barely slept but when I do, I am fine. I just have to get up and use the bathroom at least once.

Best moment this week: Getting the nursery almost done. Something less to worry about.

Movement: He is still pretty good. He got really excited while I was in the pool playing with my cousins. I really want some people to feel him move but it is never consistent enough for me to tell someone to try.

Food cravings: No cravings really but I have been super good and been eating lots of fruits.

Food aversions: Nothing really

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: He has 7 more week at least until these are acceptable

Belly Button in or out? Nothing new here

What I miss: Well being at the beach, I kind of miss being able to be in normal clothes and not feeling like a whale next to all the other women. A couple sarcastic cracks have been made about how I need to watch my weight. Haha, so funny, pick on the pregnant girl.

What I am looking forward to: After this trip (which will be devastating when it is over), I am excited for our maternity pictures in a couple of weeks and showers after that.

Weekly Wisdom: This question is always hard for me. I think for this week, being around so many family members, it reminds me of all the different traits that he can have. I also love talking about other family members experiences. Sometimes they think they are scaring me with stories but it never does. I love hearing everyone’s funny stories.

Milestones: Being at 30 weeks is pretty amazing. It seems like yesterday I was 20 weeks and if I measure how fast those 10 weeks went, after the next 10, he should be here. ¾ down!

Measurements: We forgot a measuring tape, so I guess we are taking a break this week.

Nursery Update

-crib skirt is completely done and on
-crib mattress is in place
- I made a cover for the lamp cord from the lanterns overhead
-Mom brought the last bird, 2 pillows and quilt for his room. They are gorgeous!

I am still just waiting for the item for his wall to be able to hang the pictures and officially say it is done. This is nice having this off my list so I can focus on some of the other things on my to-do list.

I will be posting a vacation update at some point but I am not sure if it will be this week or I will start them next week when we get back.