34 weeks, 157 lbs

34 weeks brings exhaustion. Swollen feet. the waddle. I'm so happy to be in this place, even with all the "conditions" that accompany it. I feel very blessed to have this sweet girl and that I'm not having to be on bedrest or anything!! Well, it's offical, this last week she DROPPED. That doesn't mean much except that things are WAY more uncomfortable now...remember the whole story of how I was already carrying extremely low?? Well, now I feel as if there is a watermelon between my legs at all times (TMI?) which accounts for the new waddle I've picked up and the ever-present groan I let out every time I go from sitting to standing. Dr. Mehta said I am not dialating yet so, Charleigh's debut will not be this week :( Sleep is not very possible as muscles are aching in the front, bones are aching in the back, my hips hurting because they are so loose, and the bladder, well...Charleigh has let her know that there ain't enough room in this town for the both of them.

Again, I assure you that I am rejoicing on the inside :)

Funny story, I went to see my regular OB this week. I had been running errands all day and was wearing jeans...it was SO hot. I put my legs up in the stirrups and literally, at the same time, Justin and I said, "Holy Lord!". My feet looked like water balloons, and each little toe an individually tightly packed sausage. I've always told my mom she gave me her cankles but I had NO idea what cankles were until now. haha, I am trying to drink more water and kick my feet up (but there is SOOO much to do and I feel like I am running out of time!)

Justin is on belly button watch. He is constantly checking to see if it has turned inside out. It still has a way to go. I don't think it will. It's pretty close to flattening out, but, I'm not counting on seeing an outtie :)

More fun topic....CRAFTS! Here is a lamp I made to match Charleigh's room. I painted the ceramic base black and cut out some of the damask fabric that matches her bumper pad. Embroidered it with her initials and then added some hot pink binding to finish the edges. I'm looking to make her a night light too...we'll see when I get around to that...
Speaking of her nursery, a lot has changed since I last posted pictures. I finally got some supplies for her changing table...i.e. her changing pad and cover, and a cute polka dot basket that I painted and added a ribbon to. I added her hot pink little hamper in the "hamper hole" that Trey left in her furniture for me (who in their right mind requests a hamper hole?) and to the left you'll see an organizer in he damask print. It's where I will pick out her outfits for the days of the week...this is my plan anyway. I still want to embroider the actual days of the week onto this, look out for that update :)

And the long awaited crib skirt! Woo Hoo! It really ties the left side of the room to the right side. I LOVE it! Big Mama and I made this fabric! We had to sew strips of black and white together and it turned out perfect...no, they do not sell black and white striped fabric in the wide stripes ANYWHERE!

You may have noticed in the picture above that we now have our GLIDER! Here is a close up. It's black with white little polka dots and oh-so-comfortable.
Okay, here is my latest dilema. To curtain, or not to curtain? We took the door off the closet because, as you can see, there is just NOT enough room for all Charleigh's furniture AND the closet door to swing open. Mom and I painted the inside so that it would be mildly attractive and I searched high and low to find matching baskets that would not be offensive to look at. So, here is what this side of the room looks like now:

Do I need to make a curtain to cover the closet? The only reason I ask is that everyone that comes into the nursery says, "What are you going to do over the closet?" To which I reply, "I hadn't planned to do anything..." I was afraid to add ANOTHER fabric (even if it matched the others) would be extremely busy but...maybe it needs it. Anybody out there have an opinion? Not saying I will take it, I'd just like to gather some thoughts :)

So, I started talking about crafts and got off on the nursery, back to crafts. Here is the dress I made for Charleigh to wear home from the hospital! I didn't have a pattern so I made one up myself. What do you think? It's pink seer sucker, the little ribbon is a brown polka dotted type thing which is what I appliqued the big "C" on with as well. The sleeves have velcro closures and it's lined with a thin flannel (just in case it is a bit cold when she comes).

Now, some of you might laugh at this next craft. My husband did. But, I figure it might be hard for Prissy to go from our numbero uno to "just a dog". So, I want her to love Charleigh and be ready for her arrival home. So, I took a burp cloth and made it a Puppy Cloth! I just embroidered Prissy's name on it and added some ribbon that says "Furry Friend". When we are at the hospital I plan to wrap this tightly in Charleigh's blanket and let her smell get on it. Then Justin can bring it home and give it to Prissy the day before we bring Charleigh home. Maybe just getting used to her smell, and it being something that is HERS...she will think positive thoughts about her little sister! Hey, it can't hurt.

So, we went to our very last birthing class. It was kind of sad because we have become friends with some of the couples. Our reunion is October 5th, where we get to bring our babies back and show and tell about our labor stories. FUN!

Today, I got to have lunch with Audrey and my friend Claudia, whom I haven't seen all summer. We had to bid Audrey farewell as she heads off to Southwestern in Fort Worth (I'm secretly hoping she meets my cousin who is also in seminary there and they fall in love and she becomes my cousin-in-law) but, whatev....haha

We go to see Dr. Maher on Monday. He will do some measurements of the placenta and we will pretty much know for sure if we will be having a c-section or not. I'll keep the blogger world updated!

Well, tomorrow starts a busy weekend. It's the weekend of our Mother/Daughter retreat for our Girls' Ministry. We rented to world's biggest beach house (no seriously, it sleeps like 50 people) and have an amazing speaker, musician, and workshops for the moms and daughters to enjoy. I'm praying it goes off without a hitch! But, there is no doubt I am going to be SOOO tired running around crazy trying to make sure everything is in order. Pray for us!

This week I am also getting some maternity shots done! I'm not sure how much I will like "fat" pictures of myself, but, it's such a special time, and who knows if I'll ever get to experience it again. I want to remember it, for me and for Charleigh. I'll post some of those when I get them.

It's late, I'm tired.