A visual and little laugh for you all...

This is for everyone to have a little chuckle at my expense and for Justin to tease me later on in life (or appreciate me even more for it all). As we are gearing into the last few weeks of our pregnancy mobility is becoming more and more of an issue. Well, life doesn't stop for anyone when they are pregnant so the show must go on. We went grocery shopping the other day at Meijer and well, I wanted a wheel chair because I was super pooped that day. They didn't have any "regular wheelchairs", only the big obvious looking electric kind with the basket. Did I mention it beeps when you go in reverse and makes a loud obnoxious noice as it rolls on down the aisles? Well, Steven talked me into giving it a whirl so I did and I never will again. People were laughing at me :( AND so was Steven! Steven would keep saying beep, beep, beep beep and teasing me. Not very nice if you ask me! :) (Don't worry I will get the last laugh when Steven is changing Justin's diaper and Justin pees on him!)

Other things that may make you laugh....I was trying to put nylons on for work the other day and I have to sit when I put them on or pants or anything else on due to my balance. Well I was stubborn and tried standing up and fell right on my butt. I guess you had to be there to see it, but I was half dressed and crying on the floor :)

Oh, my personal favorite is having to have my plate sit on a phone book so my plate is closer to my face at the dinner table and I have to wear a towel "bib" to make sure I don't slober on myself when I eat. Classy eh?

As you can see I am very secure with myself and my pregnancy to share all of this with you. Feel free to laugh and enjoy this post. I've learned to laugh through it all; it's been quite the experience that is for sure!

This weekend is the 4th of July and we don't have plans at this point. I am sure we'll come up with something fun, we always do! Until next time.....

Justin's 3D/4D Video

So, I just figured out how to upload videos, yay me! Enjoy!

Our (not so) little bundle of joy & last class

Well, it's been a busy week for the Chronicles of Baby Hawes blog.

We had a doctor's appointment Monday and it seems Justin isn't so little! As of now he is already 7 pounds! He is supposed to gain 1/2 a pound per week so by the time my due date comes along he'll be close to 11 pounds! My doctor had me go in for an ultrasound yesterday to receive some fetal measurements. I was completely worried something was wrong with him, but it turns out he is just a big boy (hmmmm, hence why I look soooooooo huge maybe?!) By the pictures everything is looking good, but I have a feeling he may be a C-section baby and they might have to take him early. We don't know this for sure, but that is the impression I was getting from my doctor. We'll know more in the next 2 weeks and I will be sure to pass that information along. I am willing to try vaginal birth though (as painful as 11 pounds sounds) and see what happens. Time will tell of course!

Steven and I also graduated from Childbirth Education Class yesterday (applauses are welcomed!) We received a cute little certificate which we are going to proudly frame and hang by our diplomas and awards and such haha. Most of the class we talked about C-sections, life after bringing baby home, post-partum care and breastfeeding. All in all, we really enjoyed the class and got to meet some nice couples. We decided we are going to sign up for the infant care class and the Happiest Baby on the Block Class. As there is no instruction manual for raising kids we thought being prepared as much as we could couldn't hurt us!

Marquette & Wedding Photos

Marquette Wedding Weekend!

This past week has been very busy for us and Justin. This past weekend (Thursday-Sunday) we were up north in Marquette for our good friends Liz & Travis's wedding. I was standing as a bridesmaid in the wedding and the whole weekend was quite the adventure.

Thursday we were on our way up and Steven wasn't feeling so good. By the time we got half way there Steven had the full blown flu-fever, chills, nausea and all! He slept the entire time in the back seat and was completely miserable. :( Add to this we were both worried because I was locked in a car with him for 9+ hours getting there and we were crossing our fingers I didn't catch the crud! (So far so good that I'm feeling good!) As we got into Marquette was laid low for the evening. I got to eat BORDER GRILL, my favorite food in the world which left me in complete heaven! I checked in with the bride and visited her for awhile and finally Steven and I turned in pretty early for some sleep. We were a sad sight though. Between him being sick and me with the pregnancy back pain and ect we were pretty pathetic lol.

Friday, Steven was still sick, but we managed to get out and have a little fun. We spent the day on the lakeshore and visiting Presque Isle. We took a lot of picture and just hung out and enjoyed the beauty around us. We had lunch at Upfront & Co, another personal favorite and also where we had our wedding reception. In the evening we had the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (again, I got to have more BORDER GRILL-thank you Liz!) We had a great time and at the end of the night Steven and I ordered some amazing dessert from room service, and watched the Tigers play until we both feel asleep.

Saturday was wedding day and I was completely exhausted by the end of the evening. I had a ton of fun hanging out with my girls, but I must say I was bummed I could not partake in the party bus festivities :( All in all it was a great day and I am so happy for Liz and Trav! Steven was a real trooper and when we left the wedding a little early we stopped at our friends Mike and Tracy's hotel were we had a drink (Tracy and I have virgin daiquiris since we're both preggers) and caught up for a little bit. Steven and I headed back to our hotel and packed and ect.

Sunday we had breakfast with friends and headed home. SO, it may not have been the ideal weekend we were hoping for, but we had a great time none the less. And anytime we get to spend time together is pretty precious. We have absolutely nothing planned for July which I am actually excited for. The summer has been crazy busy so now we can concentrate on getting the house prepped for Justin! Only 8 more weeks!

How the tables were turned!

First, I should let everyone know I received some blood work results the other day and it seems I'm anemic. This means more medication and monitoring me! Yay! (If you know me, you can sense the sarcasm.) This does explain why I've been so tired and sluggish. Here I thought it was because I was pregnant. Obviously that had a little to do with it also, but these new iron pills should help me out a lot.

Second of all, Steven and I had our 3rd childbirth education class last night and you know how I thought he was going to freak out during the class and birthing films? Well, he turned out to be just fine and I am the one who freaked out. It wasn't the blood or hospital scenes that scared me (you know I want to be a nurse and LOVE blood, guts and watching surgeries and stuff). It was the fact it was all so real my mind started spinning. Not that the whole birthing process isn't a little scary, sure it is, but it made me question my abilities....Can I do this? Can I handle the pain? Am I going to be a good mother? Holy crap, I'm responsible for this little new life, I sure don't want to screw it up! So, I was pretty quiet all through class and when we got in the car on the way home Steven asked if I was ok and well, I looked at him and started bawling! Being the good sport he always is, he just hugged me because he knew better than to question anything during my pregnant freak out state of mind. Since I couldn't sleep last night as usual I did a lot of thinking throughout the night and I gave myself a pep talk. I'm hoping it worked, and I believe it did. I'm feeling much better today, still a little scared, but hey, that has to be normal.

Anyway-we're heading to Marquette for 4 much needed days off and spending it at Liz's wedding and relaxing. Hopefully getting to spend some time with my hubby in my favorite place in the world will help me ease my mind and renew my soul! I hope you all have a good weekend and we'll see you next post.

Visit to Fremont & Baby Shower #2

Steven went through a collection of the wooden vehicles his Grandpa Hawes (Justin's great-grandpa) made way back in the day. We took a bunch home with us to display in Justin's room.

Getting ready to head to the baby shower!
Sitting in the "queen for the day chair" at the shower!
DELICIOUS CAKE!!!
Steven, Grandma Hawes & Great-Grandma Tokarski

This weekend we traveled to the west side of the state (Fremont, MI-which is near Grand Rapids) for "family camping" and a family baby shower thrown by Steven's family. On Friday, when we got there we took Steven's dad out for Father's Day to see the Incredible Hulk which we highly recommend seeing. Friday was fairly quiet and low key. We went to bed very early because Steven worked the night before and hadn't slept in 24 hours and well, I don't need a reason to go to bed early because I am ALWAYS tired! :)

Saturday, I slept in because I didn't sleep well during the night (big surprise!) Grandma Hawes made a big yummy breakfast and then we headed to the baby shower. We had a great time and received many wonderful gifts. 2 big ticket items we were very excited to receive were the travel system (car seat, stroller & car base) and the Baby Einstein play system! All of our gifts were wonderful of course! The food and company were great and after the shower everyone ended up at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a cookout and bonfire!

On the way home Sunday, we made a stop in Grand Rapids to visit Aunt Tracy& Uncle Mike and had lunch. As always it was great to see them!

We're finally home and unloaded all the gifts and are working on finishing up Justin's room. Only a few more things to get and he should be all set!

Thank you all for a wonderful and relaxing weekend-we love you all very much!

Out of commission for a few days!

Well, much to my dismay and frustration I ended back up at the doctor today because my blood pressure was all over the place and I wasn't feeling right. My blood pressure is a pretty constant 120/80 which is the average. Well today it went from 136/90 to 148/102 in a matter of 20 minutes or so. Combined with a headache the doctor told me to come in right away. I've been told to take a few days off of work to balance out my blood pressure, stay cool and get some rest (I've only been getting 3-4 hours of sleep each night.)

It was quite the scare, but they evaluated Justin and he's perfectly fine. His heartbeat is perfect and his fetal movement is very active. Which of course he was my number one concern!

I'm a worrier so it's no wonder my blood pressure is out of wack. I'm worried about work, being a good wife, helping take care of my folks, getting things ready for when Justin comes, and ect ect! I just need to breathe and remember it'll all work out!

Like I mentioned before, we're heading out of town for the weekend and I am excited to pretty much do nothing but relax! And of course we have our trip to MQT, which just thinking of it eases my mind completely. I'll see you soon Lake Superior.

Ok, time to lay down and put my feet up! See you all in a few days!

Child Birth Education Class #2

Today we attended class #2 of our Child Birth Education classes. Today we first learned about nutrition and pregnancy weight (all pregnant women around the worlds favorite topic, right?!) We all has to write down what we ate in the last 24 hours. I actually was pretty proud of myself (besides the 2 DQ Dilly Bars I had!) But in my defense it's been really hot out! ;)

The next part of class was discussing the different stages of labor....in length....and detail... At one point I looked around the room and all the women had that same look of fear in their eyes. It was pretty overwhelming to think about but like the instructor said, it's better preparing us for the big day.

Finally, we practiced breathing exercises which I couldn't take seriously for the life of me since I have a comedian for a husband and birth partner. He just loved picking on me with the heee heee whoooo's and making jokes the entire time. Granted I will use the techniques we learned during the real deal of labor, I just couldn't do it with a big group of people in the class.

Next week we watch the live birth videos which I am super excited to see and well Steven isn't. I'm praying he makes it though it, but if he does pass out we are in the right place! (the hospital of course ;) )

This Friday we are heading to Fremont where Steven's side of the family is throwing us a baby shower. It will be nice to see everyone and get out of Ann Arbor for a few days. Hopefully Steven will get to get together with his high school and college buddies and brag about Justin and I can just relax and keep my feet up! Hope everyone is staying cool in this 80 and 90 degree weather! Until next time-take care!

Birth Education Class & 3/D-4/D Ultrasound

Last evening we had our first Birth Education class at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. We will be attending classes every Tuesday evening in June. Our first class was pretty basic information such as changes in your body during pregnancy, the stages of labor, medical definitions and some relaxation exercises. At one point in the class the instructor turned off the lights, made us lay with our coaches on the floor and listen to a 20 minute relaxation c/d. We thought it was a little hokey at first, but I ended up really enjoying it and I definately relaxed. I have my relaxation methods already picked out (if you are wondering they are a Thunderstorm Relaxing CD and a mix of classical music CD along with massage and breathing.) All in all it was a interesting class. Steven is really looking forward to week 3 of class when we watch the live birthing videos (note sarcasm, if you know Steven I will be lucky if he doesn't pass out in class :) )

Today we had our 3D/4D Ultrasound so we got to meet Justin a little early! I've uploaded some of the pictures above and a video below. (In the 1st picture above is his arm, leg and foot, the 2nd picture are him and his boy parts!)

3D/4D was pretty cool to see, but Justin was being pretty stubborn and wouldn't move his arm out from in front of this face for most of the session. At one point he did move his hand and waved. He also smiled! Unfortunately, the technician wasn't able to snap the photo in time before he put that arm back up! But we got to see it. As you can see from the video he does have Steve's nose. That's pretty much all we can make out at his point of our traits! We are pretty sure the umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck slightly, but the doctor assures us he is safe and healthy as can be and there is nothing to worry about. So basically, it's pretty normal.

Well, we had an eventful couple of days and I am sure there will be many posts for June as we have the Fremont baby shower, Liz's wedding in Marquette and other summer fun activities. Only 11 more weeks! :)