Full Term.....

I am VERY brave posting this but here are my LOVELY new feet I get to lug around for the next few weeks!

This started last weekend but then it was not constant.
I have reached the point where my feet are ALWAYS like this and I just have to deal with it.
It is so unattractive but also only temporary!

It has gotten to the point where I have to put my tennis shoes on a while before I leave so that I have time for them to "settle" into the shoes and I can lace them up. I am trying to avoid flip flops right now since the band on them starts to get uncomfortable and I get a but embarrassed by these things.

I may be very swollen BUT my blood pressure is perfect and the doctor is not concerned at all.
With that I am not worried by the swelling and know it is all worth it in the end!

Now that the patio has had a chance to finish processing the stain Justin took a quick snapshot of it on his phone. I think the patio turned out great.

*Don't mind the dirt on the floor of the patio - we do have big dogs that have dirty paws* :)

Justin hung up the star quilt clips for Jace's room. Since you can't really use the blankets that come with the bedding as actual blankets yet, I figured I may as well use it to decorate! :)


Saturday we had our laminate floors put in. Since the TV was going to be unplugged and the furniture all moved I figured I would get out of the way completely. So, I went and visited my parents and spent most of the day with them.

The floors were actually installed very quickly. I think Justin texted me saying they were done around 1 pm and they had started at 9 am. In that time they installed and cleaned up after themselves.



I absolutely LOVE the new floors!!!

While I was visiting my parents, my mom and I went to Babies R Us so I could return some items and buy the swing we needed for Jace.
We also went to a few other stores and then ate some Chick-fil-a....YUM! I think I could eat that EVERYDAY! I love it!

After shopping we went back home and hung out with my dad for a bit. I ended up heading home after a while since I knew Justin and I needed to make a trip to Wal-Mart and Home Depot. I was already wore out and my feet were SUPER swollen but I really wanted to go pick up my glider we ordered and get groceries we needed.

Sunday was Father's Day and I got Justin a sweet card. I can't wait to see Justin's father side to come out! It already has with the way he has been trying to really help me out and get ready for Jace's arrival.

To all the fathers - especially mine -

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We went to church then took all 3 dogs to get their rabies shots and get a refill for their heartworm prevention. Now they are protected for rabies for 3 years and the heartworm meds are set for the next 6 months!

The glider we ordered from Wal-Mart was the wrong one! I had not paid attention and ordered a glider that did not come with an ottoman. That was not going to work so we brought it back to the store after we took the dogs to the vet.

I searched online for another glider that would be nice and I found a good deal at Sears AND the glider was in stock. We ordered it and they said we could pick it up Monday!

We went and picked up the glider on Monday and when we got home I put it together. It was a very easy glider to assemble. It doesn't take up as much room in the living room as expected and its decently comfortable.

I have been sitting in it every night to really break it in since I will be in the chair quite a bit when Jace gets here!

Had a doctor appointment on Tuesday. Jace's heartbeat was 148 and he was not as testy with the doppler this time like he was last week.

The doctor measured my belly and it is measuring right on track for 37 weeks but we know from the ultrasound Jace is bigger than that! She discussed inducing at least by my due date if not earlier. I want to avoid a c-section and if I go to my due date or past, we may have a 9 pounder on our hands. She also went over the ultrasound and he is still measuring big - in the 75th percentile.

With this information Justin and I decided to induce and we asked the doctor to schedule his delivery to be on July 8th. That would make Jace's birthday 07-08-09!

Unfortunately, the doctors office called today and said the hospital had no rooms available that day for inductions. I can't believe the hospital is already booked up....LOL

So it looks like we will be meeting Mr. Jace Wayne Bryan on

July 9th, 2009

unless he decides to come on his own before that.

37 weeks is the mark where you are considered full term and I have finally reached that! I still have not really dropped and Jace must really like it in there - no dilation or anything!I have started have a few contractions in the evenings that are pretty tough at times. I predict that if Jace was to come on his own that it would be at night!

Healthy Baby

Can you see Jace's face?

Today was our 3rd Trimester Scan and we have been assured that Jace is a boy FOR SURE!

This was done to check if Jace was in fact head down and to get an estimate of his size.

They looked at vital organs and said he looked PERFECT!
WE knew from the anatomy scan at 20 weeks that Jace was looking to be a big baby. He was in the 87th percentile then.
This time he looked to be already 6lbs 8 oz! We still have 4 more weeks to go!!
From here on out he can gain 1/2 to 1 pound a week. That could put him as an 8 1/2 to 10 pound baby at full term.
We go back to the doctor on Tuesday and we will see what she thinks about his size.

I don't think I should attempt to deliver a big baby then end up having to have a c-section. I really would like to avoid that any way I can.

If you can't see the face in the first picture - I have explained it in the picture below :)

We even got to see his tiny fist and foot!

It is so funny how squished in there he is.
The ultrasound can only show parts of him - MUCH different from the 20 week anatomy scan!

Jace Seems to Enjoy Where He Is....

I finally finished the newborn bear hat for Jace's newborn pictures. I can't wait to see that precious boy with it on!

Now if I can finish the blanket I started for him - I don't have much time to finish it, but then again I only have a little bit to go.

We ordered our glider on Thursday! It should be here by June 30th! We have a spot cleared for it and ready in the living room. I am sure I will spend much time in that spot.

Friday I went and had my highlights touched up - it needed it bad. It was great timing since now I won't need to go back until after Jace is about a month old. By then I may need that alone time and if not at least Jace will be old enough to go into public like that.

Some nesting seemed to kick in as well since I rearranged things that I already had set up :)

This weekend Justin stained our patio in the backyard. We stained it Redwood and it looks great. I will post pictures once the stain is set completely. Justin was not expecting the stain to be that difficult and was second guessing the idea about 3 hours into it. It took him about 16 hours to complete between the whole weekend and there is still stuff that needs to be done for clean up.

I felt so bad because I could not really help him out but I did keep him hydrated and had wet towels from the fridge rotating out to put around his neck. Poor guy - it was in the high 90's and had to feel like it was in the 100's! This Houston heat is rough already this summer!

After Justin finished the patio on Sunday morning Diana came over for a visit. It is always nice to see her. Wish we could see her more often than we do. Now that school is finished for a while for her we might be able to visit more often.

After visiting with Diana, Justin and I went to Babies R Us to finish shopping and getting items we needed for Jace. The shopping was not that fun since the registry there is not the easiest to shop off of. We only got discounts on items that were on the registry and were not bought.

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and it went well. This appointment the doctor checked for progress and tested for the Group B Strep. I should know the test results next week but as far as progress goes it looks like Jace enjoys it in here. He has not dropped enough to cause me to dilate yet. I think he has dropped just a bit as you can see in pictures but I can feel a tiny difference as well. This was the first time Jace moved around a lot for the nurse. She was trying to get his heart rate on the doppler and he kept kicking it and moving away from it. She finally got it and he was being hyper - 162 heart rate.

We scheduled an ultrasound for Thursday to check how big Jace is and to see that his positioning is actually head down. I am pretty sure it is - I get a booty across my belly and a foot in the side all the time :) If the ultrasound shows that Jace is getting to big then we will discuss induction. The earliest she will induce is July 6th - we will see what the ultrasound shows on Thursday.

My 36 week belly - its dropped just a bit. It will be neat to see how much farther this belly can drop since I already carry SO low!

I may post again after the ultrasound - if we get any news from it.

I may also post more pictures from the Spring shower and the patio after its been stained.

35 Weeks Down.......35 Days to Go!!!

We are set up and ready to go with CBR to bank Jace’s cord blood. They say this investment is either the biggest waste of money or the best decision you ever made for your child. I pray it is the biggest waste of money, but I like having this peace of mind that we have the ability to use this if ever needed.

Thursday I went and met Justin’s mom to pick up Casey, his little sister. She had planned to spend the weekend and following week with us. We enjoyed her stay with us but she ended up deciding to go home Monday. I can see how it is not THAT much fun to come hang out at our house for a week + when we work every day all day.

We had our Houston shower Saturday! Diana, Sara and my mom did a great job planning the shower. Even though the room was small it made it feel more intimate. They made me sit in front of everyone and was the center of attention but I had fun. I hate being the center like that but I sacrificed since they threw such a beautiful shower with yummy cake and food!

I don’t have all the pictures that were taken at the shower but here are the ones that I do have…..I may post more when I get them.
It was SO great to see all my family and friends….I even got to see Stephanie (I have not seen her since high school). I think it has been that long anyway! I love being able to get together with Ashlee and Diana again – it really brings you back to the high school days! My lovely ladies from work even came all the way to Spring to celebrate too!

The cake was DELICIOUS!!! It was from the bakery that my mom has been going to for years and they always are scrumptious!

We played a few games – one of which was “How Big is Mommy’s Belly?” Diana won that game! She was spot on!


Instead of having people buy cards to go with the gifts they got us books with notes written on the inside. This was just awesome! Jace now has a start on filling up that bookcase of his.
We were given so many great presents, gift cards and money that we are almost completely ready for his appearance.

We got two blankets that were handmade!! My Mimi and Lisa made the most beautiful blankets!!

Of course, Jace had to have his first Longhorn T-Shirt!!

My Nanny bought us our wedding topper back when we got married and for the baby shower she got us the statue that matched, but included the baby!

My mom loving up on Jace! Thanks to her, my dad and my Mawmaw we are getting a glider. They searched and searched for the one we registered for but it was out of stock – even at the warehouse!

Ashlee, Diana, Me and Stephanie – Reunion time! :)

Sara did an amazing job on the diaper cakes and decorations. She made two of them! They were both so clever and detailed! Her imagination is just incredible! The blue one even had Jace’s initials on it!

I got to make my last trip to Lake Somerville for the summer on Sunday. It was choppy and the boat was rough but it was so nice! I love to feel that water splashing up on me. I love to be out by the water, in the water, and around water these days! After the lake we went to a birthday party and celebrated there a bit. It was a dual birthday party for Brook’s and Justin’s dad. We only stayed a short time and we headed home. We actually went to bed early Sunday. It ‘s always great to be in bed early for the start of a new week.

We are starting to crate train our big dogs so that our backyard can recoup from them on the grass so much and also so they calm down a bit. I think being around us and inside more will really mellow them out. So far the first few days have been pretty smooth. Only one accident so far – but that is probably to be expected since they are not used to having to hold it all day like that. They seem to enjoy the cool indoors and don’t really hesitate getting into their crates.
In the very near future we will be putting laminate floors in the living room and that will also be great now that that dogs are inside more. The carpet can just really hold on to that fur! Can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finished!

We reached the 35 weeks mark – that means only 35 days left! SO far its flying by – I am waiting for the day where I hit the wall and start having to count every hour. Everyone says I will get to a point where it just slows down – hopefully that’s not too soon! Jace has started to run out of room for sure! A lot of his movements hurt me now – I don’t know if its organs he is hitting or what but it can get painful! I also can’t seem to get enough sleep – I am always tired. I try to take advantage of down time when I can while I still can :) It is very hard to do that since I am a go go go person. I think the main reason I am so tired is I am woken up by numb hands multiple times in a night. This pregnancy carpel tunnel is not fun – hopefully it goes away after Jace is here. I would go crazy if it continued for no reason! Plus, it has made it to where I cannot possibly wear my wedding ring anymore. I feel so naked without it…….only 35 days left! :)

No Doubt it ROCKED!

We started to make arrangements in the house to accommodate for a glider that will be added to our living room. Doing so has made me realize that our house is not that big – not that I ever thought it was, but I did think it was big enough until we started to add to it. Of course it will work out fine, we can work with what we have!

I finally got a chance to take a long hot bubble bath this week! It was MUCH needed after going on a bike ride with Justin. I thought my belly would have been in the way but I am still able to work around this basketball tummy! I was impressed that I was able to still ride even though the length of the ride was shorter than it used to be.

This weekend was the first weekend in a while that we stayed in Houston. We still had plans and planned to be busy but at least we were at home – I LOVE my bed! Saturday we had scheduled to meet with Joanne to do maternity pictures for her. These were pro bono and she will be using them in conjunction with our birthing and newborn session for advertisement. Since my doctors office has given me the permission to put her advertisement in their office she is going to try to use mainly our pictures. These pictures were only in the studio and much more skin baring than the pictures we did with Lauren. Hopefully they turn out nice and help Joanne get her business going. If and when we get a sneak peek of the pictures I will post some on here.

Since the studio was so close to Kemah, we had planned to stop by there since Justin had never been and it’s been ages for me. The session took longer than we expected and we were ready to get home to relax so we skipped Kemah. We may go there another time eventually.
When we got home I decided to start working on a newborn hat for Jace. Lauren sent me a great idea to make a brown bear hat for new born pictures. I hope it comes out nicely and fits his head. I have yet to make a hat that fits a baby well, maybe I will get lucky with this one!

Sunday was a day full of ups and downs! I was super emotional Sunday and it all started with the movie Marley & Me! That movie is not a pregnant woman friendly movie – and from what I understand almost everyone gets emotional over it. I ended up going a bit overboard with my crying but it’s nice to let it out too.

I did not cry as hard as I did when I watched Seven Pounds but I was close to it!
We watched the movie before church so once that was over we went to church. That was another emotional event as well. The pastor announced that his wife was just diagnosed with colon cancer. The timing of this was very significant to the message and series our pastor had been preaching on, so the message hit home for everyone there. I know all VERY well that God heals and with prayer Laura will make it through this battle.

That was all the downs of that day ... the up was going to the No Doubt Concert!!

No Doubt was the first concert I went to alone back in April 1997!! I was SO excited when Patti asked Lisa and I to go with her! She was given the tickets by another friend and I was privileged to be invited! The opening act was The Sounds – I have not heard of them but the music was not bad. The main opener for No Doubt was Paramore. They had a good show and the music, although I didn’t know all of it, was very good.
No Doubt finally hit the stage about 9:15 and the show started at 7:30. We were expecting a late night but not THAT late. I think I fared well for being an 8 month pregnant lady in the heat! The show was over at 11:15ish and we made it back to my house by about 12:20. Needless to say I was EXHAUSTED on Monday. I even came into work a little late to get some extra sleep but that really did not help. It was all worth it though – I had a blast with my girls and I was able to reminisce to when I was 13 going to my first concert!

Paramore on stage...

Myself, Patti and Lisa

No Doubt on stage ....... the smoke made the pictures hard to take!

I have started to slowly train the lady that will be covering my position when I am on maternity leave. I hope that I am able to hit everything that I do to show her before I leave. Things can be so random that I may not get to every details. I am confident she will do well, even if we don’t get to go over something.

I know my mind has been bad lately but wow I think Jace just plain ate my brain and left mush! I thought my next doctor appointment was scheduled for June 4th since all my previous ones were on Thursdays. I had forgotten we made it for today due to the doctor being out of town. So I got a call from the office telling me I missed my appointment. I would not have been so upset about it but now I can’t come in until June 16th since the doctor will be on vacation all next week starting tomorrow. I cannot believe I missed that appointment. This week was going to be the start of me coming in every week to see her so I was excited to know she would be checking to see for any progress but now that has been put on hold for another nearly two weeks. The good news is knowing that this pregnancy must be pretty easy since they are not concerned about me not coming until then. By the time I do get in, it will have been a month since I last saw her.

Here are my 34 week belly pictures….you can tell he has grown a little bit.
I am curious to see since I am carrying so low – what will it look like when he “drops”?
I don’t think he can get much lower than he already is.

My Houston baby shower is coming up this weekend - I am excited to see all my family and friends!