Welcome, Baby Boy!

Introducing...

Sterling Alan

It is absolutely true that your heart can double in size in an instant. We experienced it when this lil' man made his debut into the world weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. Welcome to the world, Sterling Alan! You are loved far beyond measure!

Bumpdate 2.0: 38 Weeks

Due Date: December 1, 2017...but we've officially scheduled a c-section for Wednesday, November 29.

How far along?: 38 weeks

Gender: It's a BOY!

Name: Sterling Alan

Total weight gain:  No change in the "official" scale at the doctor's office this past week...still up ~35 lbs. It seems like it's an every-other-week thing with weight gain, so I guess we'll see if I've gained more at this week's OB appointment. I'm still holding out for that "you lose weight at the very end" promise...

Stretch marks?: None that I can see.

Symptoms: Nothing new to report...just a BIG 'OLE BELLY that is getting very heavy to carry around {and difficult to make comfortable when sleeping...or sitting...or standing}.

Maternity clothes?:  All maternity clothes, all the time...and I'm down to selecting only the stretchiest maternity clothes!

Sleep:  There's never enough...but maybe it's just time to start preparing for/remembering what it's like to have a newborn in the house!

Cravings:  Nothing new. Still want all the sweets, all the time...but I don't think that's necessarily a symptom of being pregnant!

Mood: I've been sick with this terrible cough/icky drainage in my head...so I know I've been super cranky and whiny. 

Movement: This little dude has been getting hiccups at least once or twice per day. It's so funny to feel {and see} my belly move with every tiny little hiccup.

Best Moment of the Week: We received a few of the personalized items for Baby Sterling in the mail this week {his name blanket from Rae Rae, the big sign for the wall in his room}...it's becoming more and more real {like actually setting in our minds!} that he's going to be here before we know it!

Worst Moment of the Week: Huston spiked a fever in the middle of the night on Tuesday, so we got him in to see Dr. Diana first thing on Monday morning. Turns out, the poor little guy has a double ear infection. Not only did he not feel well, but he also missed his Thanksgiving feast at school.  :(

Wedding Rings:  Off for the past couple of weeks...and it makes me so sad. This swelling stuff is for real though...I'm not about to force my rings on and risk having to cut them off.

Belly Button: In...but pretty much flat!

Looking Forward To: Getting our little family 100% healthy so we'll be in tip-top shape to meet our newest addition!

38 Week Bumpdate

Bumpdate 2.0: 37 Weeks

Due Date: December 1, 2017...BUT we've officially scheduled a c-section for Wednesday, November 29.

How far along?: 37 weeks

Gender: It's a BOY!

Name: Sterling Alan

Total weight gain:  ~35 lbs....I've reached the maximum recommended weight gain for a healthy pregnancy...and I still have three weeks to go! :(

Stretch marks?: None that I can see.

Symptoms: Swelling/water retention. My face, my hands, my feet, my ankles {that no longer look like ankles} are soooo puffy.

Maternity clothes?:  Maternity clothes...and I have very few fall/cool weather options, so they're on a tight rotation.

Sleep:  There's never enough of it! I realized that during my pregnancy with Huston I was seriously taking naps every single day over my lunch hour...and then I'd sleep the entire weekend! Ummm...that's not exactly an option with a two-year-old ruling your world. Needless to say, the dark circles under my eyes and the slowness in my step these days is a direct result of NOT.ENOUGH.SLEEP!

Cravings:  Candy! ALL.THE.LEFTOVER.HALLOWEEN.CANDY!

Best Moment of the Week:  Celebrating the upcoming arrival of this precious baby boy with a low-key, casual brunch with some of my fabulous girlfriends...

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rachael and Megan
for hosting Baby Boy's brunch!

Worst/Hardest Moment of the Week: Last week I mentioned that sweet Tatum Schulte had passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. After getting special permission from Dr. Jacoby to travel just a few days after the "36 week travel ban" had set in, I boarded a plane to fly to Amarillo for her funeral. The flight was quick and easy...it's really amazing how nice people are to you in an airport when you appear to be a million months pregnant. The funeral was truly a celebration of her life...an absolutely incredible service. It was an incredibly emotional day though that really wore on me. One big positive of this trip was that I got to spend some quality one-on-one time with my mom. She had been planning to come to Dallas for the babe's sprinkle brunch, so rather than flying back, I just drove with her. We had a nice long drive to catch up...it went by fast though, and I truly cherish the time I get to spend with that incredible lady!

Mood: Based on my "Best/Worst Moments of the Week" sections, it's obviously been a week of highs and lows...and my emotions have definitely reflected that. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my incredibly patient and understanding husband and to my fabulous momma {who is forced to love me unconditionally} for putting up with my crazy mood swings.

Nursery: His bedding is washed and in his crib. Curtains are hung. Furniture is all in place {may or may not be because we haven't really moved anything from the way we had it arranged in H's nursery....hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!}. The biggest thing on our nursery "To Do" list is finding decor for the walls. I can't wait to get his name sign in, and then I'm planning to work around it as far as decorating.

Movement: His movements keep me on my toes...it seems like he's constantly wiggling around in there! Does that mean this babe isn't going to sleep?!!?

Wedding Rings:  I haven't been wearing my rings the past couple of days, mostly out of fear that they'll get stuck and have to be cut off. I can still get them on...but they're definitely not a comfortable fit. As I mentioned in the "Symptoms" section above...the swelling/puffiness has most definitely set in!

Belly Button: In.

Looking Forward To: Meeting this baby boy and experiencing life as a family of four...not going to lie, I'm slightly terrified by that thought, but I know we'll make it! :)

37 Week Bumpdate

Bumpdate 2.0: 36 Weeks

Due Date: December 1, 2017...BUT we've officially scheduled a c-section for Wednesday, November 29.

How far along?: 36 weeks

Gender: It's a BOY!

Name: Sterling Alan

Total weight gain:  ~34 lbs.

Stretch marks?: None that I can see. Ryan informed me I needed to get back to lathering on the BioOil and Vitamin E cream because the stretch marks typically appear AFTER the baby arrives when my skin is shrinking back down to normal size. 

Symptoms: No new symptoms...just a HEAVY belly! Huston has it all figured out! When you ask him, "What does Momma have?" He quickly responds with, "Big 'ole belly!" For right now, it's kind of the cutest thing ever. I am sure I will feel differently when he's still saying it AFTER the baby has arrived.

Maternity clothes?:  Most definitely. If I'm not in maternity clothes, you'll find me lounging in Ryan's clothes!

Sleep:  Sleep is a challenge these days. Either I'm ridiculously hot and have to move to a cooler room directly under a vent, or I just can't get comfortable no matter how many pillows I try to use to support the "big 'ole belly." 

Cravings:  BBQ! This babe LOVES sliced brisket sandwiches!

Best Moment of the Week: Celebrating Halloween and trick-or-treating with Huston! On Saturday afternoon we attended the Ehmans' annual Halloween party, and then on Sunday evening we visited a "trunk of treat" party with the Roye family. The "trunk or treat" party was Huston's introduction to the whole concept of Halloween {we went trick-or-treating last year, but he had ZERO interest in getting candy}. On the actual evening of Halloween we just stayed in our neighborhood to trick-or-treat.  Although he wasn't sure about it at first {he didn't want the candy IN his bucket, he wanted the pumpkin bucket to stay empty and clean}, he finally came around to saying "Trick-or-Treat" and taking a piece of candy from each house we visited. I'm not going to lie, I was extremely proud of him for saying "thank you" mostly without us having to remind him!

Here are a few pics of our little deer hunter:

Worst Moment of the Week: On Monday afternoon {October 30}, precious little Tatum Schulte passed away. She was nine years old. Although we can take comfort in knowing that she has won her battle with cancer {osteosarcoma} and is resting in the arms of Jesus, it's still so very hard to accept that she was taken from this earth so soon. 

Nursery: No update on the nursery this week. We're just waiting on Grammy to get here this weekend to do all the work! ;)

Movement: He's still a mover and a shaker...although I think he's running out of room in there! It's very obvious to see him move a limb from the outside...you can clearly see the ripple in my skin as he shifts and arm or leg. I've just recently been able to tell which side of my stomach he's leaning toward...or where the biggest part of his body is. It's really odd to see my belly shift from being bigger on one side than the other, but that's what happens she he gets to wiggling.

Wedding Rings:  On.

Belly Button: In.

Looking Forward To: For as much as I told my friends I didn't want to have a party/sprinkle, I am so glad they convinced me to do it anyway. {Thank you Rachael and Megan!} I'm really looking forward to celebrating this baby boy's upcoming arrival with a little brunch this weekend!

36 Week Bumpdate

Bumpdate 2.0: 35 Weeks

Due Date: December 1, 2017

How far along?: 35 weeks

Gender: It's a BOY!

Name: Sterling Alan

Total weight gain:  ~33  lbs.

Stretch marks?: No visible stretch marks...but that line down the middle of my belly {linea nigra} is becoming a bit more prominent!

Symptoms: I think the extra weight I'm carrying around is starting to affect my joints...seems like there's a lot more popping and cracking when I get up in the mornings or after I've been sitting at my desk for awhile {or could this just be a sign of old age?}

Maternity clothes?:  ALL.THE.TIME! And I have a very limited selection of maternity clothes for the cooler weather {and I refuse to buy more for the last month}, so the few that I do have will likely be on a pretty tight rotation schedule for the next month!

Sleep:  It's getting harder and harder to sleep because I can't find a comfortable position. That snoogle pillow that I didn't have much use for during Huston's pregnancy has become a life saver this time around!

Cravings:  Still on the "breakfast food diet," which consists of a lot of cereal and toast!

Best/Worst Moment of the Week: This past Saturday we took family/maternity photos along with Huston's two-year-old pics. This is a combo best/worst moment of the week because the photo shoot actually went much smoother than I'd expected with a two-year-old who usually has no interest in {and actually tries to avoid} the camera {Best Moment!}...but after rain was predicted all week, it actually turned out to be unseasonably {ridiculously} HOTTT, and we nearly sweat to death in our fall clothes! A BIG thanks to Emily Ann Photography for working with us and squeezing all of our photo needs into one session. We can't wait to see the pics! Here are few preview rough-edit photos from our session...

Nursery: Huston is officially 100% moved out of the nursery and upstairs into his "big boy room," so we can fully focus on personalizing and making the nursery perfect for Baby Sterling! I did go through all of H's teeny tiny clothes and picked what I think will work for Sterling {opposite seasons :(}, so all of that is freshly washed and hanging in his closet. It's crazy how you forget just how tiny newborns are until you look at the little clothes.

Movement: This little guy is VERY.ACTIVE! He moves around more than Huston ever did, if memory serves me right! He's big enough now that when he moves, you can clearly see {and feel} it from the outside. I was holding Huston perched on top of the bump the other day when "Brudder" gave a hard kick/jab. H didn't know what to think....but kept saying, "What's that, Momma?"

Wedding Rings:  On...most of the time. They seemed to be cutting off the circulation in my fingers earlier this week, so I left them at home one morning when I went to work. I was able to get them on easily after work though so I'm thinking the swelling might have something to do with the crazy weather changes/humidity we've been having rather than solely due to pregnancy.

Belly Button: In.

Looking Forward To: Our sonogram OB appointment next week {always excited to see the little guy on the screen}! Because my amniotic fluid levels were a little high at 30-week sono, Dr. Jacoby wants to check on it again. Since he didn't seem to be too concerned about it, I'm excited to get another little look at this babe before he makes his debut into the world!

35 Week Bumpdate