34 Weeks!

As usual, I have gotten behind on my blog posting...sorry. I have now reverted back to being tired all the time again, and therefore, when I get home from work I just want to put up my swollen feet and veg out. Anyways, a lot has happened since my last blog post...

Jon has graduated with his Master's in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida (diploma still pending)! I'm excited for him and could not be more proud. It takes a lot to earn that Master's degree, let alone doing so while working full time and keeping up with household responsibilities. He is absolutely amazing, and I'm so blessed to have him as my husband. Secondly, busy season is over! I'm now back to regular hours at work, which is a good thing, as I'm now soon to graduate to once a week doctor's appointments.

We were blessed to have two baby showers since my last post: one was thrown by the accounting firm I work for on April 20th and the other was thrown by my friends and church family here in Orlando on April 28th. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of my co-workers and bosses, friends and family. Jackson has received all kinds of goodies in the past few weeks including an umbrella stroller, convertible car seat (for when he gets older), a bouncer, blankets, lots and lots of clothes, bath supplies, etc. He's going to be one pampered baby boy! Thank you so much to those special people who helped plan and put on the showers for us, it means so much to us.

Here are some pictures of the ridiculously cute vintage baseball themed baby shower in Orlando.

Here's a picture of all of the Weinman Family that surprised me at the shower! 32 Weeks

Excited to get the bouncer...hopefully it will calm Jackson down if he's fussy.

We've been busy preparing for Jackson's arrival the past few weeks and we're continuing to do all we can before meeting our son. In the past week Jon and I have taken our Preparation for Birth class (8 horus on a Saturday) and toured Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. We now know what to expect (or at least we have a little bit more of a clue as to what we've gotten ourselves into) for labor and how to handle certain situations that may arise. We are extremely pleased to be having Jackson at one of the premier baby hospitals in the country, and everyone we've met that works there has been extremely friendly and accomodating. We're now trying to get the nursery put together...as I am writing this my wonderful husband is painting. I've been picking up a few things to make the nursery come together such as picture frames, knick knacks, etc. so that hopefully by the end, Jackson will have a vintage baseball bedroom/nursery. I will soon be washing all of his clothes, blankets, sheets, etc. and packing my hospital bag, so that we're all ready to go in case he decides he wants to be early to the party :-)

I have also taken up a new project, which is a greater undertaking than I originally thought...reupholstering chairs and footstools. We inherited some gliding chairs and footstools when Jon got his first apartment; however, he used them too much (they are extremely comfortable) and started to wear out the fabric. I want to use the chairs to rock Jackson and use them for nursing; therefore, I took it upon myself to try to reupholster them myself as I've been known to be a do it yourselfer. It's taking me a long time, but I am hoping by the end of it the chairs will look good...we shall see, lol.

In regards to my pregnancy everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing...to answer these questions, here is my general response..."I'm doing well, though I'm getting more and more uncomfortable with each passing day." I'm starting to have problems sleeping at night, I'm having difficulty moving around (i.e. sitting up, laying down, getting up from the floor, etc.), my feet and ankles are now swollen at the end of every day, and Jackson's once cute kicks are now quite ridiculous and uncomfortable. Having said all this, we're both healthy and I'm still enjoying my pregnancy (most days) :-) As I said earlier, I graduate to weekly doctor's appointments starting this next week, though I've only had good reports up until now. At my last visit, I was 32.5 weeks along, though based on the measurement of my stomach they said I was approximately 34 weeks along: who knows, but Jackson may be a big kid, lol. He's been moving around like crazy and has quickly run out of room...Jon and I can feel where he's laying most of the time now.



33 Weeks

 

Here's some additional information about Jackson's development and relative size at 34 weeks per thebump.com:

34 Weeks Pregnant

Watch what you say! Your curious baby is listening in to your conversations at 34 weeks -- and might enjoy a lullaby or two -- so go ahead and sing to him. Some say that baby will recognize songs mom sings while he’s in the womb, and may even be more easily soothed by them if he’s used to them once he’s on the “outside.” At week 34, you might breathe a little easier, since baby may descend lower into your pelvis and give your lungs some space. (Ahh!) Of course, some babies don’t do this until the day they’re born, so we’re not making any guarantees. The pitfall of this descent, of course, is even more pressure on your bladder, so be prepared to make even more trips to the ladies room over the coming weeks.

 

Your baby's the size of a butternut squash!

At less than two months to go, he weighs in at about 4.2 pounds to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches.

 

Your baby at 34 weeks

• He's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're singing them. (If you're not, start! He may find them soothing after birth.)
• He's also urinating about a pint a day.

 
 

Happy Easter!

This week was quite a week in the Kelley household. Work and school are keeping us extremely busy, but now we're on the two week doctor's appointment schedule. We had the 28.5 week checkup and everything is all good! I passed the glucose test without any problems, weight is good, and Jackson is adorable :-)

We had the 3D ultrasound done on Wednesday so we got to see our little boy's face for the first time. Here's some of the photos from the ultrasound.

Jackson and his little hand.

Jackson's big feet (according to the Ultrasound tech)

Jackson's adorable face

We're now at 29 weeks, and we had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with our church family at McCormick Road Baptist Church and Jon's mom and sister. It was a lovely message at church and then we had a great time of fellowship at the church potluck. Here's a few pictures from Easter! 

Family Picture

 29 Weeks Baby Bump

Here's what's going on according to thebump.com.

Your baby's the size of an acorn squash!

Baby already measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long. Right now, we weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds but he's still got a ways to go -- can you believe he'll triple in weight before birth?

 

your baby at 29 weeks

• He's getting a little cramped in there, since he's growing so fast. But you probably already realize that, since you're getting all those jabs and kicks.
• He's growing white fat deposits under his skin, and his energy is surging because of it.
• Feel a subtle twitch? It might be baby hiccupping.



March Madness

So the last three weeks have been absolutely hectic and CRAZY! Jon and I have probably been the busiest we've been in a long time. Busy season is at its peak, and we're a person down so I've been putting in as many hours that I can. Jon has been busy working and getting his papers, projects, and quizzes/tests done for his two graduate school classes. We've been trying to keep up with the house and keep our committments at Bren-Don Squares, barbershop, and spending time with family and friends, though it's definitely been a struggle.

In the past three weeks though, we've had some special events take place that we've really enjoyed. First, some of my college friends put on a wonderful baby shower for us in Birmingham, AL on March 17th. We ended up making the 10 hour drive on a Friday, had the fantastic shower on Saturday, and returned home on Sunday. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we wouldn't have traded it for anything as we got to spend some time with soem absolutely fabulous people, friends and family alike, that we haven't seen in quite some time. A special thanks to Susan and Mama Fant for putting on the shower at Jim N Nicks, Katie for the adorable invitations, and Leslie and Joey for their hospitality in letting us stay at their home (and the delicious homemade strawberry cupcakes). We are so very blessed to have such wonderfule family and friends; little Jackson has all sorts of new goodies such as books, clothes, diapers, etc. I'm particularly excited that we now have his crib bedding (thanks Granny & Grandaddy!) so that we can get the right paint colors for the nursery. We'll be trying to get the painting done as soon as busy season and school are done, which will likely be in May. Our weekend in Birmingham also allowed us to spend some quality time with some family that we hadn't seen in a number of months. We had a lovely time with Jon's grandparents Conrad and Barbara Theiss before the shower, and we were able to have dinner with my grandparents and aunt and uncle after the shower. Thanks to everyone who took the time to come to the shower, we are so appreciative!

Here are some pictures from the baby shower in Birmingham, AL. I was 26 weeks at the time.

Me, Granny, & Aunt Cindy

Jon excited about the Bazinga! onsie from my mom

Kari, me, Suzanne & Sarah

Zeta Group Picture (though some had unfortunately left already)

Me & Jon's Grandparents

Jon and I were also fortunate enough to attend Chuck and Sandy Myers' annual Pig Pickin' event on Saturday, March 24th. It was wonderful to spend time with members of our square dance club, Jon's co-workers, and some of our other friends. We also were able to go for our first airboat ride thanks to Jon's friend Jay. It was absolutely awesome and we can't wait to go on another ride. We were able to see some bald eagles, falcons, and other wildlife along the St. Johns River. Here's a picture of the airboat.

Since the last update, there have been plenty of updates related to Jackson. We had our 26 week checkup on March 20th and everything is peachy keen. At that appointment I had my glucose test done, and as I have not yet heard back from the doctor, it appears as though we've passed! He has been kicking up a storm in my tummy and not only can we feel him, we can also see his movements now. I can tell when he has hiccups too, it's rather amusing, lol. We are now officially in the third trimester, and have upgraded to doctor's appointments every two weeks. We'll be having a 3D ultrasound at our next appointment, which is this upcoming Wednesday. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I can :-)

Here's the latest baby bump picture. 28 weeks!

Baby's now the size of a rutabaga!Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, she has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit.    

From thebump.com

Springing forward!

Okay, so once again I have fallen behind on my blogging...I'm thinking that it's a once a month kind of thing now. Busy season is getting a little crazy and trying to keep up with everything else is becoming challenging. Jon is keeping himself busy with school, work, barbershop, and learning how to call square dances, as well as trying to pick up the chores that I can't do anymore.

Some of the fun activities that we've been up to include square dancing, date nights, dinners with friends, and a few days here and there to have some "me" time. We've been getting back into square dancing after a little hiatus when Jon was out of town on business. We've been to a few club dances in addition to a special square dance put on by Don and Brenda Whitaker at their home for a Baptist group from UCF. The club dances have been fun, though I think I'm now at a point where I'm going to have to sit out. The dance at Don and Brenda's was amazing as Jon and I assisted the students in trying to learn how to square dance for a few hours...it was an absolute blast! Jon and I attended our first movie in the theaters in about 9 months together after going to dinner. It was a lovely date night, particularly awesome because Jon agreed to watch a chick flick, the new movie "This Means War"...though it was a comedy and Jon liked 80% of the movie because it was just action and comedy, not so much romantic comedy, lol.

On to baby news...

We have had the 23 week checkup and all is well with me and Jackson. The doctors and nurses have said that he is doing great for being the number of weeks that he is. We have our 27/28 week checkup and glucose screening on March 20th. So I will keep everyone posted on that when the time comes. Jon and I are planning on scheduling a 3D ultrasound to see our baby boy between weeks 28 and 30 weeks, so I'll post those pictures when we get them :-)

One of the most important milestones that have happened in the last few weeks include Jackson moving around a lot in my tummy, and Jon finally getting to feel them for the first time two weeks ago. It was a really special moment for Jon, feeling him move/kick for the first time...his face just lit up with joy. We've also gotten the nursery furniture put together in Jackson's room and all the old furniture is out! We'll be continuing to put the nursery together once we get the crib bedding, as I want to wait to paint until I can match the colors. We have been so blessed by family and friends that we already have so many things for our little guy. We just can't get over how cute everything is!

Jon's co-workers were so sweet and threw a joint baby shower for us and for Jon's co-worker Crystal this past Friday. It was so nice to have a wonerful laid back lunch with some great people, and I can't believe that they were so kind as to buy Jackson's organic mattress! Thank you to everyone who made it so special! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.
Here are some recent pictures:

24 Weeks

Also just a note...it's really hard to take mirror pictures!

 

25 Weeks

From thebump.com:

Baby's now the size of an eggplant!That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down.

Let the good times roll!

Sorry the updates have not been consistent, busy season and trying to get things in order for Jackson's arrival have been taking a lot out of me these days. Well, now that Jon is home from his two and a half week work trip, I have a little bit of breathing room (and someone to tell me to take it easy every now and then).

So since the last update, Jon and I have had a lot going on. Busy season at my office is in full swing and Jon has been very busy on his current project at work. He is still trying to balance work and school as he is taking two graduate level classes this semester. I am trying to help coordinate/head up a clothing drive at the church for community members in need, so that has been keeping me busy trying to develop flyers for donations and figuring out logistics.

On to the important news...Jackson! We have had quite a few milestones in the past few weeks. First, we of course found out that it was Jackson growing inside of me...not a little girl. Jennifer was kind enough to go with me to the 20 week ultrasound and checkup as Jon was out of town. Everything is perfect with our little boy :-) Second, I felt Jackson move inside my tummy! He hasn't moved around too much, at least that I've felt/noticed, but it still feels awesome every time I feel it. It's like he's just saying hello :-) Jon is jealous because he can't feel it yet, but as soon as he can feel it I'm sure he will feel the same joy as I do.

My belly keeps growing and most people are starting to notice, lol. I finally gave in and went shopping for some maternity clothes. Thank you to Ashley for being my support system on my first shopping trip! On the positive side, I'm much more comfortable with elastic as it is oh so comfortable, hehehe. I am starting to have trouble getting comfortable when sleeping now, but thanks to the advice of a wonderful sorority sister from college, I have since purchased a body pillow which has helped immensely. Thanks Alix! I am also starting to get the occassional muscle cramps, the dull pain in my back, and the sporadic heart burn. But as I have an absolutely fantastic husband, I went and got a prenatal massage on a Friday evening while he was out of town which helped relax me and make my back feel better. I'm excited for my next one on the 24th of this month. I'm also a little more careful with the amount of peppers that I eat (as they were the cause of my first experience with heartburn last week).  Anyways, here's a picture of the ever growing Jackson from the outside.

Week 21

We are also now starting to accumulate more things for little Jackson. We now have a highchair, travel system (carrier, stroller, car seat base), clothes, and some toys...and so it begins! Thank you to all of your who are already starting to spoil our little baby boy, God has truly blessed us and we appreciate having such wonderful family and friends. We have also ordered the furniture for the nursery, so we will soon be tackling the project of converting the guest room into a vintage baseball themed nursery for our little guy.

For those of you who have asked, we are registered at Babies R Us and Amazon.com. We did not double register for anything, so if you don't see what you're looking for on one of them, check out the other one.

It's a Boy!!!!

Okay, so the time has finally come...we know the gender of the baby! Jon and I will be welcoming our beautiful baby boy Jackson Clyde Kelley to our family in June :-) Here are the latest and greatest pictures from this morning's ultrasound:

Baby Jackson upside down.

Here's the evidence he's a boy!

Jackson with both legs crossed at the ankles.

He had his arms up near his head.

Chillin' on his back.

I have no idea what this is a picture of, but it's part of Jackson, lol.

Sorry this post is so short; however, as tax season is in full swing, this is as good as it gets during the week, lol. I will give a better update of things this upcoming weekend, including a new baby bump photo!

Oh the places you will go...

Okay...so I know that I haven't blogged in a while; therefore, I have tons to catch ya'll up on. First, baby Kelley has now travelled to two more states in utero (he/she is becoming a cross country traveler already!). Jon and I took a weekend trip up to Charleston, SC the weekend of January 6th to visit some of Jon's best friends and his second families from his college days at the Citadel including the Vitello's, Kursh's, Hemingway's and the Hayne's. We truly enjoyed spending some time with some fantastic people while in Charleston! Thank you to our friends for hosting us and taking the time to have a meal with us on our quick trip :-)

Here's a few pictures from our trip!

The very next weekend Jon and I went to south Florida for two very big occassions. First, on January 14th, Jon and I traveled to Coconut Creek, Florida in order to pick up some exquisite paintings done by my great aunt, Marion Bohannon. She so graciously allowed us to choose any of her paintings or chalk drawings that had been loaned to the Coconut Creek Community Center for the past 7 years. Consequently, we ended up falling in love with two of the paintings that were shown to us, in addition to two works of art done in the chalk medium. Our home now has amazing artwork hanging on the walls and we could not be happier. Thank you Aunt Marion!

The very next day, January 15th, Jon and I traveled with his siblings Jason and Jennifer to go celebrate their cousin's upcoming baby girl, Vera Raye, by attending her baby shower in Port St. Lucie, Florida. We all had a wonderful time of fellowship with Jessica and the rest of the Weinman clan that attended. It was so great to see everyone and spend some time with the beautiful expectant mother!

The fun still has not ceased, as my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Craig came to visit us in Orlando this past weekend to help me celebrate my 26th birthday. We all went to my favorite Mexican restaurant on Friday night for my birthday dinner...yum, then on Saturday we went to Disney World to introduce Cindy and re-introduce Craig to the magical world of the Disney theme parks. We ended up spending time at each of the four parks giving them a little taste of what each park had to offer; though I'm not sure I would recommend it, as by the end of the night we all had sore feet and were exhausted to the bone from the walking and standing all day. Despite the soreness, I had an absolutely wonderful time, and I'm sure baby Kelley enjoyed him/herself (even though we couldn't go on many rides) :-) Cindy and Craig also were so generous to us and gave our little one some adorable Alabama Crimson Tide onsies...ROLL TIDE ROLL! along with some other fabulous goodies. Thank you both for taking the time to come visit and for your thoughtfulness, we truly appreciate it.

Other than all of our activities lately, Jon and I have been able to continue to make our house a home by adding our own personal touches to it. We are still going strong at our current places of employment and are continuing to enjoy our work. Our church is continuing to grow and Jon and I are truly blessed with such a wonderful church family. I will soon be trying to head up a clothing drive and distribution for the local residents near our church in addition to helping assist with the preparations for the upcoming vacation bible school in June this summer.

Now onto the most important stuff...the baby! Jon and I went for our sixteen week checkup at Delaney OB/GYN on January 5th and found out that everything is going well for mother and baby. Dr. Fritz also told us that we would be able to find out the sex of our baby at the next ultrasound (if we wanted to know)! The ultrasound is scheduled for 8:00am on Monday, January 30th; therefore, we will soon know if we will have a son or daughter joining our family (as long as the baby cooperates of course) :-) We know everyone is curious, therefore we will try to let everyone know as soon as we can; however, please be patient with us as we will still have to work a long day that day and will likely be unable to call or text anyone until that evening. We are extremely excited that we are nearly halfway there and can't wait to meet our little one.

Here is a picture of the baby bump at week 18 in front of one the aforementioned paintings, in an awesome Alabama maternity shirt compliments of my aunt and uncle.

Your Pregnancy: Week 18

As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this might be your first week for a sneak peek.

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

*Information and clipart above is from thebump.com.