36/37 Weeks!!!

We are in the home stretch!!! I'm now considered full term and if the baby were to arrive at any point now, it would more than likely be totally healthy (lungs etc. being fully functional). I'm due on the 24th but i try to tell people that "due dates" aren't real things. Any time 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after your supposed due date is actually when you should plan for. I'm hoping that this baby makes an arrival in the next week...

Unfortunately, with this late stage of pregnancy, comes higher levels of the relaxin hormone that started all my pelvic problems in the first place. My physical therapy and chiropractic appointments had been keeping my pain under control but in the past couple of weeks I've been experiencing a huge increase in my discomfort. I guess there isn't much more improvement that can be achieved through therapy but I'm going to continue to go in an effort to slow the progression of mis-alignment in my pelvis :(

We had a wonderful Christmas! I hope yours was great too :) We received a bouncy seat (the last baby item on our checklist) from my parents and Ryan's California family sent us a super cute baby care package! Thanks everyone! Ryan and i weren't supposed to exchange gifts this year but he surprised me with The Black Keys concert tickets and season 8 of my favorite One Tree Hill TV show....i just love him! We also made it out to our annual post family get together on xmas eve with friends at a local bar called the Galloway Tavern (many of you will remember the GT from after our rehearsal dinner). As always, the GT didn't disappoint. LOL, yes i was 9 months pregnant but no one made me feel too strange....and Ryan delighted us with a few of his karaoke greats. it was a really fun night.

The nursery is finished! the final shelves were hung last week. i cant believe we're so close to welcoming our little one! i keep going in the room, sitting in the glider, and imagining what it's going to be like when there's a baby in the house. crazy huh?! I'll try to add some pictures in my next post. we got a new camera and all the xmas/nursery photos are stored on that disk...i keep forgetting to add the software to the computer. my bad.

sorry for the short post....not too much new going on around here. just being big and pregnant....getting less sleep....and playing the waiting game. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year (we celebrated with my bestie Natalie, her husband Steven, and their cutie pie Adeline). oh and one more thing, we are now seeing the Midwife on a weekly basis. last week i measured 1cm dilated and 60% effaced. those numbers dont mean much except for that we are on the right path....the delivery path! I just keep repeating St. Ann's Hospital, here we come!!!

34 Weeks!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......and I'm beginning to look a lot like a big fat whale! LOL. Man do I feel super pregnant tonight. I'm soooo uncomfortable. My back is aching something fierce this evening. It comes and goes. Some days i have no pain and others, like tonight, I'm wishing this baby to show up a bit early (fully cooked of course).

I had a really good (thorough) physical therapy session yesterday. It's funny how some of the therapists i work with go easy on me and others really push me. I like being pushed. I feel like my SPD isnt as noticeable after those hard appointments. It's also strange when you're there....almost everyone receiving therapy is so old and here i am, young and pregnant. It's very sweet though to see the older couples. Ya know, the ones you can tell have been married for way longer than i've even been alive. It just got me thinking about the different stages we go through in life....and how I'm about to enter a whole new chapter in my book of existence. I'm getting more and more nervous about entering this new chapter. I know Ryan is too. I mean how do you know if you're going to be a good parent? This baby isnt going to come with any instructions! I'm so opinionated and firm in my beliefs about things but who knows how I'm going to react when faced with raising a child? A child that i want to become a good, honest, and productive adult in society. And holy hell, how do i keep it sheltered from things like sexting or facebook? I guess with a lot of prayer and patience....At least thats what I'm telling myself :)

We're almost finished with the nursery. We need to hang a mirror, 2 pictures, and a couple shelves and then i think it's done...for now anyway. Oh and my mom re-covered our hideous glider cushions and they look great! thanks Mom! We also have our tree up and the Xmas decorations set out. I really love this time of year. But for some reason, It doesn't feel real or like it's actually the holiday season this year. maybe it's because im preoccupied with being pregnant or maybe it's because i'm just getting older. I'm obsessed with traditions...and the older i get, the more people seem to want to veer away from them. Well i wont have it! ;)-

Current pregnancy symptoms: Im getting to be tired again, kind of like in the 1st trimester. The baby is still having really strong fetal movement but not quite as often. This is normal according to the books. It's because it's running out of room in there. I can attest to that! I can hardly breathe sometimes due to a rouge foot in the ribs. LOL
Below is our 34 week photo and one from the Columbus Zoo's Wildlights. Enjoy!

30 Weeks!!!

Greetings from the Nugget and I :) It's been a while since my last post but we've been in getting ready for baby mode big time!

The most exciting event since my last post was my wonderful baby shower. It was beyond beautiful and so many people showed up. We received an array of lovely gifts that i cant thank you all enough for! We really feel like we're getting so close. And now we have all these cute baby items to stare at and really wish that the baby would hurry up and get here :) I especially want to thank all the people who came from out of town to celebrate with me. It means a lot that you would take the time and travel here to share in my special day!

Our check ups are now every 2 weeks (not sure if i already mentioned that) and they are going great. Everything looks to be right on track. We also took our Labor and Delivery class/hospital tour this weekend...Talk about a reality check! I have to say that the class was very informative and the tour really made us feel more prepared for what to do on the day i go into labor. we now know what to look for, where to park, and what floor we need to go to....pretty important stuff! LOL

Physical therapy and the chiropractor are also going well. My SPD symptoms are a little more under control but they haven't really gone anywhere. They wont leave me until i have the baby is what i'm told. But thanks to all my weekly appointments, i no longer feel like i wont be able to last. I walk ok for short distances with the help of my special belt and i don't feel like i'm as helpless as i used to :)

That's all for now. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be making our annual trip to Louisville to see family....super excited to show off the belly :) Below is my 30 week photo. Enjoy.

27 Weeks!!!

It's time for another update! According to some "pregnancy experts" I've started my 3rd trimester....others say that it doesn't begin until your 28th week of gestation...so take your pick, either way, I'm in the home stretch :)

As most of you know through my facebook update, I've developed a condition called SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction). It is an extremely painful condition to have. Basically, the pregnancy hormone relaxin has relaxed the ligaments in my pelvic region too much, causing the bones in my pelvis to become unstable. This equals groin, lower back, and leg pain. As you can imagine, this makes walking....and well....any activity where i need to move my legs, not very fun. I had been experiencing worsening groin area pain for quite some time but when it started to make me cry, I decided to stop blowing it off. I'm now in physical therapy twice a week and seeing a chiropractor once a week. I also have a special belt to wear while I'm up and about. It helps to hold my pelvis more stable, hopefully, eventually cutting out some of my pain. So far, these therapies have been wonderful. I'm already seeing some improvement. SPD is normally cured with the delivery of the baby, so it's just one more reason to look forward to meeting our Nugget :)

The baby is moving all the time now. I havent quite figured out it's schedule yet but I'm working on it. You can pretty much count on middle of the night somersaults though. LOL

Halloween is right around the corner. I had planned on dressing up like Katherine Heigel from Knocked Up and attending a few parties but I'm re-thinking that since it's so hard to get around :( It is going to be the first Halloween in a LONG time that my girlfriends and I dont paint the town with awesome, usually revealing, outfits ;) There's always next year....who wants to babysit? haha

I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful colors of fall! Hopefully I'll see you soon....My baby shower is in a couple of weeks!!! I'm sooo excited :) See below: There's a baby in there! hehe

25 Weeks!!!

I cant believe another 2 weeks has gone by and that it's time for another update... As always I feel like there isn't much to say but I'm sure we can find something.

We had the most amazing Sunday this past weekend. We started off the day with breakfast at our favorite early morning eatery, First Watch. It was yummy as always. Then we headed up to Alexandria/Granville to spend time with our great friends Steven, Natalie, and their baby girl Adeline. We drove through the country looking at the leaves (which was strange since it was like 80 degrees out),got lunch at Brew's and custard at Whit's. I must say that watching them take care of their little girl is a real wake up call as to the journey we are about to embark on! Then it was back to Columbus for some baby shopping. Let me just say that almost every associate of Babies R Us on Sawmill road is clueless. LOL, luckily we were mainly looking and even more luckily, we're registered at Buy Buy Baby so hopefully no one will go through what we had to if you choose to buy our baby a gift :) Finally it was home for some Skyline (courtesy of Chef Ryan) and Dexter. Why cant every day be so great?

Yesterday the Nugget's dresser arrived and Ryan put it together.....It's ok....just a lot shorter than i expected it to be. I was going off of a picture and what i thought a measurement looked like. Stupid me. It still will do the job though...and there's a perfect little nook in the nursery for it to sit in :) Now I just have to get creative (with the help of Etsy.com of course) and finish the decorating. I know it probably seems like I'm jumping the gun a little and that we have plenty of time for all this but I'm a planner and I want to be able to relax knowing that everything is prepared. Plus holiday season is approaching so I'll have plenty more on my plate.

Well, that's all for now. Parenthood is on and it's the highlight of our Tuesday. Here's hoping you have a wonderful week! Love the Cox's

23 Weeks!!!

Hello everyone! It's update time again....

We had another appointment last week and everything still sounds and looks healthy. The heartbeats were between the mid 130s and 140s which the midwife said is what they like to hear. And I'm right on track with weight gain and keeping up my activity level :) Our next appointment should be a lot of the same except I'll have my glucose screening done (to see if I'm at a high risk for developing gestational diabetes).
We are all signed up for our Labor and Delivery class as well as an infant CPR and airway clearing class. They'll take place at the end of November and December. It's so hard to believe that a year ago, I couldn't get pregnant and now I'm already 6 months along! The baby is very active on a daily basis and 2 nights ago I woke up feeling the strangest sensation....I quickly figured out that the baby had it's first set of hiccups. LOL. Too cute!
We are still in love with our new house. Although I will say that the bigger I get, the harder and harder it's becoming to keep it clean. As of now I'm carrying around an extra 15lbs and it's crazy how much more difficult it has become to do things.
The weather has taken a turn for the chilly but today is gorgeous! Ryan, Luke, and I are joining our good friends Carrie, Caleb, and Samson in Worthington today for a dog festival! I'm super excited! I keep saying that this will be the only winter in history that I'm actually hoping will come sooner. I cant wait to meet our little one. The nursery will soon look even better because we ordered our dresser this morning :) Now we still need shelving, curtains, and decorations....It's all coming together though :)
Well that's all for now. Have a wonderful week everyone. We love you!

21 Weeks!!!

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger....I've had good some good excuses though! Not only have we packed and moved but we didnt have internet for a while after our move...After that, I'm just forgetful :)-

Since my last entry we've had a 19 week ultrasound that indicated that everything looked normal and healthy with our little Nugget. That made us feel great. We were relieved to know that I'm doing something right. LOL. We elected not to get any of the pre-screen blood work though. I dont trust the results of those most of the time and if something were to be wrong, It wouldn't change our minds about continuing the pregnancy. Some say that it would be nice to know so that you could "prepare" but knowing me, I would just stress big time until January.

Our new house is great! Lot's of room for us, our animal family, and soon, our little one. The nursery is painted and we've had some of the furniture delivered (thanks MOM and DAD!). Now I just have to get Ryan to put the stuff together! Oh and Luke loves his new back yard :) We've been playing fetch multiple times everyday. That coupled with the set of stairs he has to walk to get upstairs and we're hoping he might start to look a little slimmer.

I'm feeling the baby move more and more. At first it started with once every couple of days (back @ 18weeks) and now it's multiple times each day, mainly at night. Ryan actually got to feel a few kicks about a week ago. He was needless to say, very thrilled :) My belly is getting bigger and bigger with each day and my back is getting more and more sore, but it's still so exciting to know that our Nugget is just growing and growing.

That's all for now. I wont go so long next time before I give another update...Missing you all :) Lot's of love from the Cox's!