Double Digits!

That's right the countdown to Sawyer is under 100 days!!  99 and counting til we see his sweet face.  Realizing how close us becoming a family of three is to being a reality is crazy.  Next Christmas we will have an almost 9 month old opening presents and crawling around and that is insane to think about.  Insane, but I can't wait!

Still been feeling good overall, but sleep is getting worse.  Sawyer is on my crazy work schedule which is great when I'm at work.  He will sleep most of the morning and then start his kicking and moving around at night.  Usually around 10:00.  Perfect when I am working nights.  This week though I took a couple of nights off for Christmas and Sawyer is still on the night work routine.  So Wednesday night, my first night off and just as I was getting asleep, he started up.  Kick, kick, flip, jab, etc.  Until about 2 something in the morning.  Then he relaxed for a bit and around 4:00 started back up.  It's hard to complain though when the reason you're not getting sleep is because there is a little miracle growing inside you.

Third trimester will be here before we know it!  We have picked out paint colors for the nursery and Drew bought an early Christmas gift for Sawyer (for me really!) to go in the nursery.  Once paint is on the walls, I'll have to take some pictures of the progress.  And yes, more pictures of the bump are coming!

She's Gotta Bump!!

24 1/2 weeks and feeling fine.  Belly bump is definitely here.  No question as to whether I'm pregnant or not.  I need to get some better bump pictures up, but I do have one from a couple of weeks ago:

Start of a bump.

My dad took some more in front of the Christmas tree over the weekend, but they are on his camera, so hopefully I can get those up soon.  My bump is a lot bigger in those pictures.  Basically it looks like I'm smuggling a soccer ball around.

Sawyer is kicking and moving around like no other.  He sometimes hits my schedule perfectly; moving around at work when I need to be awake and calming down when I'm asleep.  Every now and then though he get's confused and the kicking starts just as I'm good and asleep.  Oh well, it's still amazing that he is moving around and growing in there.  Pregnancy has really been good to me so far - something I know is a blessing!  I have started getting leg cramps, so I'm trying to up my fluid intake even more and adding bananas to the grocery list every time we go.  Other then that I've been just getting used to carrying around the belly - not being able to bend over as easily, using handrails when going up and down stairs, etc.

In other big news, I ordered some custom crib bedding on Etsy and the fabric swatches came in so I can start matching paint and other decor.  Here are the swatches:

To give you an idea of what the final piece will look like, the outside of the crib bumper will be the animal print, the inside of the bumper will be the bicycle print.  The crib skirt will be the little multicolored dot print, and the sheet is the large blue dots.  There will also be a personalized quilt with all these fabrics, and some other coordinating fabrics with Sawyer's name on it.  Can't wait till it's finished - which should be the end of the month/beginning of January.  So exciting!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Well Jack Frost brought December in with a cold blast. Maybe not cold to people living a little further north, but cold for this Florida girl! And December means we're that much closer to Sawyer time! Some friends have generously offered to paint the nursery while we are in San Antonio for a little "baby-moon" in January. So I have one month from now to move the guest bedroom furniture into the spare room. Which means I have to clear out the spare room since it has been a catch all for everything since we got married. A lot to do especially around Christmas!

Pregnancy has continued to be good to me. After a couple of weeks of questioning is that me or is that Sawyer moving around I have definitely identified his kicks. And these kicks are pretty strong now, it's like he said "ok Mom, you don't know who's moving? Feel this!". The last couple of days especially I've been really able to identify where he is and even feel his little kicks with my hand on my stomach. Drew felt one this morning! So yes, while not real hard, they are definitely noticeable. Which is amazing!

Other baby related things are coming together as well. I have picked out bedding, just need to get it ordered, and in so I can pick out some paint. We also registered for baby things. Babies R Us is slightly overwhelming and deciding what is actually needed for a baby is kind of crazy. But I think we might be set. We also registered for some cloth diapers at Sweet Bottoms Baby online. Yes, we have decided to cloth diaper. But that is another topic for another post. More bump shots next time!

Babies everywhere

My good friend Jennifer is expecting in February and on Saturday we threw her a shower. Her little girl will sure be loved and possibly a little spoiled. Can't wait to meet little Hailey in a couple of months!

It was also a good chance to take some baby bump shots.

Halfway there!

Psalm 127:3 says Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.

In this whole process of pregnancy, the excitement, the anticipation, it's easy to lose sight of what a blessing it is. A blessing to have a healthy pregnancy, to see Sawyer moving around, to hear the doctor say everything looks great. It's all blessings from God, and with Thanksgiving around the corner there is so much to be thankful for.

It's been so much fun sharing the good news of a baby boy with all of our family and friends this past week. Watching the DVD of the ultrasound is still so special. Drew's parents came in town for the weekend so we got to share that joy with them and look at more baby stuff. So fun now that we know what we're having! Even bought Sawyer his first onesie when we were browsing through Babies R Us. I can't pass up on moose, so I bought a couple sizes up so he can hopefully be wearing it this time next year. Yay!

Sawyer Knox Pilkenton

Yesterday was the big day! Could hardly wait to get to the doctor's office and get the ultrasound done! I mean this was big news that was about to be revealed, plus another chance to see my baby growing and getting big.

The big news is...IT'S A BOY!!! The ultrasound went great and everything looks healthy. We counted ten fingers and ten toes. Saw his heart beating, the umbilical cord, and his brain. The nurse then went in between the legs and asked what we thought we saw. Drew and I looked at each other and said "it's a boy, or something is really wrong if it's a girl!". The nurse laughed and confirmed that it was a boy. Now it's just a countdown until little Sawyer Knox makes his debut. Yay!!

It was amazing to be able to see him move around, move his little hands and feet, even turn around and stick his tiny little hiney in front of the camera. He is not camera shy, that's for sure! The nurse estimated he weighed about 9 ounces and was 10 inches long. Or about the weight of a good sized mango, and the length of banana.

We got to take home a strip of cute pictures and she burned us a DVD so we could watch it and take stills from the whole visit. She even made an arrow pointing to his little man parts.

Here are some pictures from the day:

He's all boy!

Sawyer's foot

Head down, sucking his thumb

Legs crossed

18 weeks baby!

18 weeks means exactly one week from right now we will know if baby peanut is a boy or girl.  I couldn't be more excited!  Seriously.  Hopefully within the week I will get some preggo pictures up, but right now I'll just give a little update.

I have broke down and purchased two maternity clothing items.  A Bella band to extend the life of some of my pants and some maternity jeans from Old Navy.  Not the full panel maternity jeans, but I am saying no to zippers, buttons, and belts.  Who needs those anyways?  And even though the Gators are causing undue stress in my life right now, I do have my eye on one of these:

Because let's face it, I love Drew, and love that he loves NC State, but baby Pilkenton will be a Gator!  :)

I've still been feeling pretty good.  Having a little indigestion here and there, but that's normal and I'm sure will only get worse over time.  Right now I'm just looking forward to finding out if it's a boy or girl and being able to feel some kicks!  And I'm sure those kicks I'm dying to feel now will be keeping me up at night (day), but for now I can't wait.  Each milestone around the corner is something to look forward to, and I'm trying to enjoy every moment of being pregnant.  

Avocado!

I love some avocado, probably my favorite "superfood".  Making guacamole one of my favorite dips.  So when I saw that this week little baby Pilkenton is about the size of a avocado this week, I must say I was excited.  And of course excited that baby was growing :).

Three weeks until we find out if little Pilkenton is a boy or girl, and I can't wait!  Over the weekend I went to Babies R Us for the first time since being pregnant to shop for my friend's baby shower.  I couldn't help but look around a little.  Granted Drew didn't especially enjoy being taken all over to "just look", but it was cool to get some ideas.  Can't wait till we are actually doing some shopping and registering for baby!

Everything pregnancy related is still going great.  Been feeling well, and slowly starting to get used to sleeping during the day after work.  Still haven't been able to find the most comfortable sleeping position, so buying some sort of pregnancy or body pillow is definitely in the immediate future.  Other then that though, getting more excited everyday.  Looked at the calender and Christmas Eve puts us at under 100 days!  Yay!

15 weeks!

Last week was absolutely crazy, so I wasn't able to do a 14 week post, but I am slowly getting used to 3rd shift, so hopefully I can get on a better routine.
Yesterday I had one of my regular 4 week appointments and everything is great.  It is so neat to hear the heartbeat and know that is your child you're listening to.  About a week ago we were able to have a special sonogram done my a friend.  Amazing!  Words cannot describe how special it is!

My gender sonogram is scheduled for November and I can't wait to find out if peanut is a boy or girl.  I am also looking forward to feeling him/her move and Drew being able to feel it too.  I think all the "wow" parts of pregnancy are just around the corner.  Which makes it even more real - and the need to get the house ready more imminent.

Right now though, clothes are starting to feel a little snug.  Maternity shopping is definitely on the horizon.  I also need to figure out sleeping.  Up until now, sleeping on my stomach was still comfortable, but now it's starting to feel like I'm lying on a baseball.  Sleeping on my side is not the most comfortable.  I fee like I'm in a flamingo position with one leg curled up trying to get my hips and back to be as comfortable as possible.  Buying a pregnancy pillow is probably in the near future.

For the most part though; so far so good.  No weird cravings or aversions.  Just enjoying being pregnant.

Savannah

We were able to spend last weekend in Savannah taking some time to relax and have a mini-vacation before I started the craziness of third shift.  While in Savannah we also had the realization that it won't be long until we are taking vacations as a family of three!  I have still been feeling good, I go back to the doctor in about a week and a half for a four-week checkup.  Each week that passes makes it a little more real and more exciting.  I can hardly wait the six weeks till we find out what we're having!

While in Savannah I did take a sideways picture to show off the little bump.  Ok, it looks more like I had too much steak or brownies or something, but it's getting there.

13 1/2 weeks along, and little peanut is about the size of a peach.  Or according to Drew's Caveman Pregnancy book about the size of a gulf club head or baseball.  Even though I really haven't begun to show at all, I think I will need to start updating the wardrobe, work clothes are starting to feel a little tight.  Can't wait until it's clear that I'm pregnant and not just putting on weight!

12/13 Weeks

Sunday is my reference day to how far along I am in my pregnancy.  So I am right at 12 1/2 weeks along.  My plan is to update this about once a week, more so for me to be able to look back on then necessarily creating a great following of me being preggers.

So far I have been very blessed/fortunate.  I have been feeling pretty great, no morning sickness, just exhaustion and frequent trips to the bathroom.  I know many of my friends haven't been so lucky, so I definitely count my blessings.  Of course, everyone you talk to, no morning sickness means something...I've had just about equal ladies come up and tell me it's sign I'm having a boy as it is I'm having a girl.  Definitely having a baby, so we'll just wait until November when the doc gives the official word before we start painting the nursery blue or pink!  No real food aversions or cravings.  I did crave chocolate milk a couple of weeks ago, and for someone who probably hasn't had a glass of milk in 16+ years, that is definitely the baby!!

Other pregnancy news...it's been really great to be able to tell friends and people at the church the exciting news.  It's also been especially great to converse with my pregnant friends-swap stories and glean advise.  And the excitement of one of my best friends growing up, Ansley, having her little girl Monday made everything that much more real.  Like, oh my goodness, in 6 months, that's going to be me!!  Just the thought when I was holding little Emily made my heart swell.  The youth knowing has also made it special, the older girls I think are the most excited.  Most of them I have been working with in youth for 5 or 6 years!

Not much else pregnancy related.  Just getting adjusted to the  new job and slowly starting to clean the house and prepare for the baby.

Preggers - Finding out

It's facebook official so it must be true!  Drew and I are expecting our first baby April 1, give or take a couple of weeks.  Since I've had to be tight lipped for about a month and half, I figured I would write down the details of us finding out about the pregnancy, then I will try to keep regular updates about pregnancy and pregnancy related topics until I can turn this into a baby update blog.  I'll probably throw unrelated happenings in as well just to mix it up.

We officially found out via the good ole home pregnancy test on Wednesday July 27th.  The Sunday before I had a strong gut feeling that I was pregnant, but Drew refused to let me take the test.  Everyone is a day late every now and then he said.  By Monday morning I would say I was 95% positive I was pregnant, and by Tuesday I had raised that up to 99%.  So early (4 am) Wednesday morning I took the test and almost instantaneously it read pregnant.  I withheld from waking Drew up - wanted to tell wide-awake Drew not him half-asleep.  So I made it through eight hours at work, stopped by the bookstore on the way home and picked up a copy of Caveman's Guide to Pregnancy.

When I got home Drew was in the yard with the dogs.  I hid the book and test behind my back, made my way outside and gave him the best surprise.  He was excited.  I was excited.  We were excited.  Still excited. Then we kept our mouths shut until the weekend when we told our parents.  Who were excited.  Seems to be a theme...

Then we waited the longest month and a half of my life to spread the news to everyone else.  We heard the heart beat for the first time on Monday September 12th, then called a select group of friends, we still wanted it to be a surprise on Wednesday night when we announced it to the youth, and then finally made it facebook official.

It has been amazing to finally be able to talk about my pregnancy with family and friends in the open...especially since several of my friends are expecting as well.  By next April there will be a lot of little ones crawling around the church - which is awesome!

This pregnancy adventure has been amazing thus far, and I can't wait until the baby adventure begins!