I'm officially 9 months pregnant and the baby has already dropped.. I'm so tired of waiting! The Dr. said (don't read this is if you don't want to know anything about my cervix) my cervix is completely thinned out.. by the way I've had that thing checked about 3 or 4 times now - not fun. I've been feeling those fake contractions - a pretty painful one yesterday, maybe she'll come early? My mom suggested bribing her by informing the little one that if she does come soon, she can have her ears pierced. I told her I would try it, but also that I'd wait to drop that doozey on her after my mom gets back from the beach.
My doctor did a quick ultrasound just for fun and it showed her in the face down, rump up, rolled up little ball position (the technical term, obviously) which is exactly what I had predicted whenever I play "name that bump". She is in the birthing position and with that BIG head of hers, I don't foresee her changing it before the big day. (Her daddy holds the record for largest head ever.. well, he might!) His mom told me lovely stories about how it took her hours to labor his head through.. I wish I was joking.

COME OUT LITTLE GIRL! I can't take much more of your squirming and pushing. Although it is wonderful to feel your elbows jerk upwards and those little legs stretch out, I'd rather SEE YA DO IT! I love you so much already little girl, please don't be stubborn like I was. Come out and play!!

35 weeks and counting..

Only FOUR more weeks until I get induced.. I find out the baby's birthday at my appt on Thursday, I really can't wait. We all have baby fever. Gerard even made her a facebook, it's pretty amusing. I feel so large and uncomfortable, I hope these 4 weeks go by fast because I'm so ready for her to be here!! And to sleep on my stomach! My mom is SO amazing, she set me up a prenatal massage today and I got to lay on my chest for the first time in nearly 6 months!! It was so amazing, probably the best massage I've EVER had! THANK YOU MOMMA!!

My belly at 34 weeks



Now compare to my belly at 24 weeks..


BIG difference!!


I feel much larger than I look though - I can't even remember the last time I saw my feet.. Just four more weeks..

Dear Mom,
I wanted to write a letter to my unborn daughter for her to read one day. As I thought about what it would say, I realized I would be signing my name as "Mom" for the very first time. It made me think about all of the letters you would put in my lunchbox when I was little. That was always the best part of my day when I was younger; It would always make my day to see a piece of paper folded on top of my lunch and everyone would notice, it made me feel so special. I remember complaining when you started telling me I had to pack my own lunch, not because I was too lazy, but because I knew I wouldn't have anymore letters from you. You have always taken the time to let me know you love me just they way I was and even when I would get into trouble you would let me know that nothing changed about the way you felt about me. Everytime I'm around little children, I act as you would. I know that if I can be just half as good a mom as you were to me, then I would have succeeded in loving and caring for my daughter better than anyone else ever could. You were always there when I needed you, even times when I didn't know I needed you. When everything seemed to be falling apart, you tried to stay strong for all of us. But I want you to know that not only are you my mom, but my best friend. And I will be there to pick you up when you feel weak, I owe you 21 years (and counting) of support and friendship. I love you more than anything and I can't even begin to thank you for preparing me for what lies ahead. As a child, I wanted to be just like you, and that hasn't changed.

I love you with all of my heart and I'm so thankful I get to call you my mom.

Love,
Kristin

I'M BACK!!

Well, I have actually been back for about a week BUT we came home to find that our computer decided to give up on us while it was turned off for a month.. I was pretty upset. So my abosolutely wonderful and most amazing mom bought me a laptop this past weekend since we have online classes to keep up with. So I unfortunately cannot upload any pictures of our trip because I can't find the software that goes with the camera, it was all set up on the other computer of course. But considering everything that happened while I was gone, I really did have a great time. I will say that I will never travel that far this pregnant ever again, US airways is designed for little people I swear. Even their international flights are just overcramped with extra seats. My knees were against the chair in front of me and my tray table wouldn't go down past my belly.. for 9 hours I suffered. Little girl seemed to enjoy it however because she didn't see to stop moving the whole way. I was so happy to meet all his family, they are all wonderful and kind and took such good care of me. His mom and sister are nurses and his brother is a doctor so every little ailment was fixed by them. Unfortunately, I lost someone very close to me while I was gone to the flu.. I never in a million years the flu could take a college athlete who stayed healthy.. I'm still in shock.

Although I can't show you any of our pictures, I can upload a cell phone picture of my 32 week belly.. only 7 more weeks until she gets here!!! Getting a bit nervous...

Once we got back into charlotte I got to see all of the amazing things Hollie gave us for the baby. Thank you so much for everything!!! We appreciate it so much! And I love the sleeping baby sign that hangs on the door, I can see how that was so hard to part with, all the stuff is perfect and I can't tell you how grateful we are!!

Hopefully I can figure out how to get the pictures uploaded soon.. it's good to be back!

M.I.A.

..would be the best way to describe me these days..

Where do I start?? I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful! I took three Englishmen home with me, cooked for 2 days, ate for the rest, and spent a few hours in the ER. That pretty much sums up my holiday!

I'll explain.. We took 2 friends home with us for Turkey Day, both on the soccer team and great guys to be around - one from Liverpool and one from Norwich - we all had a really good time spending most of it in front of my moms TV which is massive and extremely adored by the boys.. Mark was just complaining the other day about how watching TV just isn't the same on their 30-something inch perfectly fine television. I spent most of my time cooking with mom while they stayed downstairs glued to the big screen playing video games on Playstation or Wii. And they, as a whole, drank more than I ever have in my life.. what? it could be true..

I ate so much on thanksgiving that i actually got to see it all over again.. in the toilet (valuable information, I know. You're welcome.). The next day we went shopping and found some really great winter maternity clothes that I could wear while in England (LEAVING IN EXACTLY ONE WEEK!!) but I was feeling terrible the entire day having weird episodes of stomach cramps and lower back pain.. yes I eventually freaked out. By the way, did anyone else hear about the Wal-Mart employee in NY who actually got trampled to death when he opened the doors to the Black Friday customers??? What is wrong with people? His family is suing Wal-Mart for their lack of security and for causing pandemonium with their advertisements.. they're also suing the NYPD and other stores that share the strip mall with Wal-Mart.. Why don't they look at the security cameras.. Wouldn't you realize you're WALKING on someone?? Please keep that family in your prayers..

By the time we got home at 6, my pains were coming even closer together. Once I hit the 15 min mark I called the on call doctor who told me to go straight to the hospital. Turns out, I WAS really dehydrated which can release a hormone that causes pains like contractions (notice the "WAS".. I drank my weight in liquid and made best friends with the toilet seat). On top of these wonderful stomach cramps that felt like the amazing monthly cramps x10, I had this severe lower back pain that kept me up all night and eventually in my moms bed in tears.. I know for sure I have kidney stones. I had an ultra sound at the hospital yesterday on both kidneys and my bladder (with a little glimpse of baby!) and they ruled it wasn't an obstruction.. thank God!.. The pains have gotten better and all that's left is a dull back ache which restricts me from laying in any other position other than my left side.. BLAH!

Okay I'm done complaining/venting/reliving.. this post was anything but upbeat.. hope I didn't bring anyone down!

On a more pleasant note.. Saturday marks week #27, just one week shy of the 7th month.. can't wait for her to get here. Gerard broke the news to me yesterday that his cousin has a daughter named Lily.. they don't have a close relationship and he hasn't seen him in 9 years but they're friends on facebook (I said who cares!) and I actually cried over the fact that he was hinting Lily wasn't a possibility anymore and I realized how much I wanted it.. I say oh well, I'm keepin that name!!

Since we're leaving next thursday right after (FIVE!) final exams, I probably won't get a chance to get on here again so I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!

6 months already?!

I must be dreaming.. 6 months pregnant? You have to see this to believe it..






I swear it looks like I'm smuggling a basketball around.. The baby is the size of a large melon now and weighs over a pound (which is nice to blame one of those 20 extra pounds on her). And I'd say out of all the amazing new developments this month, my favorite by far is seeing my belly move up and down when she kicks and turns.. She is kicking so hard I get nauseated at times but I never want it to end.. I will admit to changing positions while lying down just to throw her off balance so I can feel her squirm, I can't help it. Gerard is away at their conference championship at Myrtle Beach and I miss him terribly BUT my mom and I get a chance to shop around for a crib which I'm really excited about. Only 4 more weeks until this semester is finally over and we head off to England.. but for now, I'm off to bed to lay around and poke my uterus in hopes of retaliation!

Another week gone by...

It's halfway through week 21 and I'm finally feeling that period where exhaustion is (mostly) over and I feel the energy to work out! I've been doing some preggo yoga, which is really hard.. Here are some new and exciting things I learned about little girl!

• White blood cells are forming, creating her immune system to protect her from diseases and viruses.
  
• No more see-through baby! The skin is beginning to change from transparent to an opaque color.
• Her little tongue is fully formed! All 5 senses have developed and she can taste what I'm eating. (Sorry little girl for all the sour lemonade and chocolate.. yummy combo)
• HER womb has formed.
• She is swallowing more to give her digestive system some practice and to start forming meconium in the bowels for that lovely first diaper.
• Her awake and sleep patterns are becoming more consistent. She is actually paying attention the changes in light and dark and when I'm asleep or awake!
• Her length is now measured from head to toe since she does a lot of stretching out now. She measures around 11 inches and weighs around 13 ounces, the size of a large banana or carrot!

Not only is she still kicking up a storm, baby girl is also doing a number on my skin.. I didn't even break out this much in high school. And using acne medications is a no no, so whats a girl to do? I also feel like I'm missing out on this wonderful occurrence during pregnancy where your hair never looks better.. Mine is dry and seems to be getting thinner..

I'll post a belly picture in my 22nd week, I'm already getting large.. my 5th month is almost over! Today is just one day closer to getting to touch her and hold her.. we can't wait.