34 Weeks

So I guess I skipped 33 Weeks...I can't even find a pic from 33 weeks so...fail.

I thought I'd do a comparison pic since I'm wearing the same shirt...

Here's 24 Weeks along...

Here I am at 34 Weeks...don't mind the bad posture. I would say there's been quite a change with Baby Girl! Everyone says I look like I have a basketball under my shirt.

 

How far along: 34 Weeks with Baby Girl. Getting closer!!!

Size of Baby: Honeydew! Not the yummiest fruit to eat, but honeydew melon scented stuff sure smells good!

Weight Gain: Not positive...At the doc yesterday I had supposedly gained 6 pounds over the last two weeks but the last time that happened a lot of it ended up being water retention. Right before my appt we had just gotten home from a college retreat in North Georgia. All my extremities were swollen...I had no evidence of ankle bones and they're still not quite back yet. So...that being said, I had already lost 2 pounds by this morning...so I really don't know what my weight is at the moment.

Maternity Clothes: My new FAVORITE thing to wear around the house...Daniel's plain white t-shirts. So comfy and roomy!! Maybe it's sad that I was that excited when I put one on...I can't help it though, by the end of the day I just want something comfortable on...nothing hugging my belly.

Sleep: Not my best friend these days. So uncomfortable. 

Foods I'm loving: As with the entire pregnancy, dessert. I love anything with sugar. 

Foods I'm hating: Nothing really. 

Movement: Lots. The other night Daniel tapped one side of my belly and she sure didn't like that! It was like she shot to the other side as quick as she could...so funny!   

Best moment this week: Learning that she's head down!! I am desperate to not have a c-section and it has been a fear of mine that she won't be in the right position to even attempt a natural birth. So far she is behaving! 

Also, Daniel and I went to see Tim Hawkins live this week. It was so nice to just laugh all evening.  

What I miss: Being comfortable when I am sitting. If I'm not perfectly straight with the legs slightly spread, it's just uncomfortable...she is taking up more and more room!  

What I'm looking forward to: I will be spending a few days with my niece this week so that should be fun. I haven't seen her in about 5 years!

Side Note:  I'm feeling pretty good...getting more uncomfortable but nothing too bad. Everyone thinks I'm small for being 34 weeks along. I tell you what, I sure don't feel small! Well, I mean I don't feel like a walking blimp or anything, but I definitely feel like I have a huge belly that gets in the way! I get worn out and tired very quickly these days. I keep telling myself that I'm 8 months pregnant and I'm allowed to have very little energy!

Change...Yikes

So it's beginning to hit me that my due date is in 6.5 very short weeks. I mean seriously?! Where does the time go?! We are SO looking forward to the day Baby Girl will arrive, but yikes...what a change. This may come as a shock to some of you but I don't do change very well. That might be is definitely an understatement. I can think of several examples where change in my life didn't go quite as smoothly as those around me would have liked. You can ask my parents...or Daniel.

I'm not sleeping well at night partly because I just can't get comfortable, but also because my mind just will. not. stop. I think about what baby will look like, if she will sleep well, how we (mostly I) will feel those first few weeks, if all the visitors will be welcomed or overwhelming, if we have everything we need, that she will grow too fast and I just want her to stay a baby, if the labor and delivery will go smoothly, can I really go natural?, will I need a c-section, will my mom be out of town, do we need newborn size diapers, do we have enough clothes, what will her cry sound like, will she come early, will she be late, I don't have everything in her room organized, the house can't get clean enough, the list goes on and on and on and on. The greatest thing about this is that once I fall asleep I can look forward to thinking about everything all over again at least twice more during the night on my nightly potty trips. :) 

So there's that.

But there's also the thoughts of parenting. I pray daily for wisdom on how to raise Baby Girl. God created her for a purpose...to glorify Him. I've written about 3 paragraphs here and erased all of them because I can't seem to get my thoughts out in a way that speaks what I want...We want to raise her in such a way that she comes to adore her Savior...that she wants nothing else but Jesus. Everything else is meaningless.

So there's that.

But there's also the thoughts of, "yikes...it will never be just Daniel and Me again." Ever. Never. Our routine is about to completely change. Our lives are about to completely change. Everything. Changing. Remember the first paragraph of this entry? Yeah...change is not so good for me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the thought of having our little girl. I CANNOT wait. I am beyond grateful that God is blessing us with this miracle. I can't even put into words how I feel about God creating this life and allowing me to carry her. However, life is about to CHANGE. Lots of unknowns. Lots of joys. Lots of hard days. Lots of glorious days. All of it different than what I know right now. That being said, you can imagine what I pray about daily. I need daily reminders that God is in control. Not me. Thank the Lord, not me.

One really great thing, is that despite these constant thoughts rolling around in my head, I'm not nervous even for a nano second about bringing Baby Girl home. I wonder how everything is going to go, yes. But nervous, no. I love every single thing about babies. I've heard moms say that their least favorite stage of their kids was the baby stage. WHAT?! I just can't even relate...I'm pretty sure I will want her to stay a baby forever. I can't wait to see Daniel with her. He is just going to be adorable...I could start crying just thinking about it. I am so excited to teach him how to hold her, dress her, definitely change her diaper, and everything else that comes along with her little life. He is going to be such a great daddy.

So, despite my mind not being able to stop, we are getting closer and closer to being ready for Baby Girl's arrival. I think I will still have a gazillion things on my list of things to do when she decides to make her debut, but...God is in control! I'll leave you with a picture from the shower my Sunday School class hosted for me last week. It was all such a blessing...the decorations, food, time spent to prepare, and gifts. The outpouring of love was very humbling.

So I said one picture, but you got four. Just so you know I cropped the pic of me behind the table but it didn't turn up that way on the ole blog...and it's after midnight so it's not getting fixed. Sorry about that. Don't give up on me!

-Megan

32 Weeks

 Here I am a the beginning of 32 Weeks.

 Here I am at the end of 32 Weeks. 

I realize I could have cropped these pictures a tad for you. As you can see, that didn't happen. I was going to use a pic from the shower I had this week but then at the last minute changed my mind...so you get self portraits...which for some odd reason always tend to chop off my head.

How far along: 32 Weeks with Baby Girl. 

Size of Baby: Still a squash...apparently the squash is getting bigger. I don't have an estimation on her weight or anything.

Weight Gain: 13 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing all maternity...I'm not sure what to keep putting on this line since nothing is going to change until after the baby's born! I did get a new maternity shirt in the mail from my amazing friend, Kimmy, this week!! I was so excited.

Sleep: Yuck. I am tired ALL THE TIME but I am not sleeping well. My doctor said I can take Tylenol PM if I want, but I don't feel like I'm desperate enough for that. I have definitely hit the stage where I just can't get comfortable. Daniel has about 6 inches of bed space. The rest is my pillows and me.

Foods I'm loving: Well...I may or may not have eaten a cupcake about an hour ago...and I may or may not have then proceeded to eat two cookies and drink a glass of milk. I guess you will never know for sure.

Foods I'm hating: This has nothing to do with pregnancy but I cooked collard greens this week and boy were they sick. The taste wasn't bad, but the texture was like eating straw. Apparently I bought a bum bag. Yay for me and the nutrition I was looking forward to. I did shove them down a few meals but I threw out the majority.

Movement: The doc said I'm supposed to start counting movements now. No problems there...she moves like crazy! ...and she has had the hiccups several times this week...mostly when I'm trying to go to sleep.   

Best moment this week: Well, I guess I would say my baby shower, which is for another post. However, Daniel and I spent the day together on Monday and I was in heaven. I love that man.  

What I miss: Hugging Daniel without a basketball between us.  

What I'm looking forward to: Date night on Friday!

Side Note:  I am feeling like I have a TON to do. A huge weight was lifted after our shower...I am feeling a little more prepared with things that we have...there are still a few things we need but nothing drastic. We have been so blessed. But yeah...I keep thinking about the little bit of time left and the possibility of her coming early...I am feeling desperate to get my lengthy to-do list finished.

Wonderful Wednesday

I thought I'd share something that stood out to me several weeks ago in studying God's Word. I went back and reviewed some yesterday and was reminded of it...

"Would you rather have the character of Jesus, or be comfortable?"

 That is not an exact quote, but something along those lines was in both of the commentaries I have studied lately on the book of James in discussing trials. Would you rather just be comfortable with no harm, disappointments, struggles, discouragements, etc.? OR, would you rather be working towards having that of the character of Christ Jesus?

What are you allowing the Lord to do in your life? ...a question I am asking myself.

-Megan

http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?page_id=11942

This Blog update is, surprisingly, from Daniel:

I am really excited! Last August, we had the opportunity to meet Dan Cruver. Dan is the President of an organization called "Together for Adoption." I had heard of the Together for Adoption Conference, but it always seemed to be far away, too far for us to reasonably go, considering our one income family. However, he told me that the next conference would be in our own Atlanta, GA! I was so excited that I would finally be able to go. However, much to our surprise in January our adoption would be brought to a screeching halt, and we would find out that we were expecting! Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset, just still a bit surprised! However, when the dates started adding up, I realized that our due date was extremely close to the Together For Adoption, National conference. So I chalked it up to, yet another no go. However, in talking this past weekend, Megan shared with me that she really thinks I should go.

For those of you who don't know this, I feel that God has placed on my hear a calling to Adoption Ministry. You might be wondering what that is, and that is because up until a few years ago, it didn't really exist. However, as we have shared on our blog before, our lives were transformed a few years ago, when we attended a similar conference called Adopting for Life in Louisville, KY. It was at this conference that I first learned about the Doctrine of Adoption, and for me, it changed everything! When I realized that I myself, was spiritually orphaned, and God almighty paid the ultimate price for our Adoption in to his Family, it changed everything! When I found out that I could call Jesus my, elder brother, because we were Co-heirs with Christ, it changed everything. And when I found out I had grown up in the church for 26 years (at the time), and never heard about this life changing truth, it changed everything!

I believe that God has called me, as an Ordained Pastor, to Preach and Teach in local congregations of Churches, the Doctrine of Adoption and Orphan Care in order to help the church see their responsibility to the fatherless!

Therefore, I'm excited to once again be able to attend such a conference as to encourage Megan and I, along our personal adoption journey and to also encourage me in my calling to help awake the church to their responsibility in caring for the orphans, both spiritually and physically, in a lost and dying world!

Please take time to look at the conference, Maybe God is calling you to attend in September as well!

Daniel Peavy

Wonderful Wednesday

I realized I haven't done a Wonderful Wednesday post in quite a few Wednesdays. Shame.

I finished reading the book Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy a couple of weeks ago. I have always been a huge, massive fan of Leslie Ludy and this book had actually been sitting on my shelf for a while. In the past I really struggled with reading anything other than fiction...as I've studied the Word these past several months I realized how much I've been missing out. Obviously, the Bible is what needs to be read and studied the most, but there is so much wisdom out there based on scriptural truths that I've missed out on!

So yeah, Set-Apart Femininity. Words can't even express. This book is amazing. Her audience is mostly youth/college age but I got SO much out of this book. I want every woman I know, young or old, to read it. I have to say, though, that it's quite mind/heart stretching. She calls us out on our lives and what exactly about them represent Jesus Christ. As God has stretched me through the study of His Word, I related to so much of this book. I am pretty sure 78% of it is underlined or marked. Maybe more. There is so much in this book I couldn't possibly begin to scratch the surface with telling you the main points.

"The spectacular sparkle of set-apart femininity is found through absolute abandonment to the Author of all true beauty. It's found by exchanging a life consumed with self for a life consumed with Jesus Christ, by trading the desire to be attractive to this world for the longing to be attractive to Him alone. Find a woman who cares about nothing but loving, serving, honoring, and glorifying Jesus Christ, and you will see who truly is "the fairest of them all." (Set-Apart Femininity)

Rather than try to re-write the entire book on this entry, I'll attempt to sum it up simply. (I was never good at summarizing in college...don't tell me I didn't warn you...this is a smidge long.)

This book is getting back to the Gospel.
Our "Christian culture" has made Christianity something that fits in where it's convenient. The Gospel says Christianity is giving Jesus Christ your life. Your decisions, talents, money, thoughts, actions. EVERYTHING.
Our Christian culture encourages us to please OURSELVES. The Bible says to please the LORD. Our Christian culture says that God wants us to be happy and will never give us something we can't handle. The Bible says God wants us to be Holy and He does give us things we can't handle...that's why we need Him...to handle it for us.
Our Christian culture teaches us, as women to strive to be beautiful because we are of course, beautiful on the inside. The Bible teaches us that we have ugly, sinful, disgusting hearts that only want to please ourselves...there is nothing beautiful about us. The only thing beautiful is Jesus Christ living in us.
Our Christian culture teaches us to live as the world lives (same stuff as unsaved people like movies, tv shows, music, books, activities, friends, etc., ...although we might avoid maybe the "really bad" stuff...whatever you think that may be) and put Jesus where He fits (church, maybe a little Bible reading and prayer, Bible study, mission trip...wherever it's convenient). The Bible teaches us to wrap our lives around Christ..."whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, anything excellent or praiseworthy." Does the movie, Magic Mike fit in there? How about the book, 50 Shades of Gray? Two popular things I've seen going around Facebook. Maybe that's throwing too much of my opinion, but there you go.  

The Christian culture is seeping with books, songs, etc. that are all about SELF. I realized at one point that even so far back to the moment I was saved, my relationship with Christ was swallowed up with ME. After all, I was the one who made the great decision to be saved. I was the one who made that change in my life. What a great thing I had done. I chose to live for Christ. Oh, it made me sick when I realized how everything about my relationship with Christ was all about ME, when in reality, it's all about HIM. His glory. His fame. His honor. His will. His direction. His plans. I knew all this of course, but I didn't realize how much of myself was wrapped up in my knowledge of Christianity. My mindset in reading God's Word, used to be, "what can God show me today," "what can I get out of His Word today," "God, what do you want to teach me today," "God, how can I become more like you today."

Do you see what's in common in all those requests? Me. Self. I.

I learned through the Reading of God's Word, as well as Set-Apart Femininity that it has nothing to do with Me. Self. I, but everything to do with, "God, may you be glorified today in the reading of your Word." Instead of my focus being all about me and how I can grow from God's Word, it became all about Him and getting to know Him. I will go ahead and tell you, this is impossible if you're just reading a few verses here and there. You can not truly know someone unless you're studying, spending time, seeking.  

How does your life look? Like one placing Jesus where He fits, or like one centered around Jesus.


I tell you what...these past couple of months I have been hit upside the head too many times to count. I am certainly not above what this blog entry is all about. These are all things God has taught me...and is most definitely still teaching me. I have a long way to go. Know that my heart in sharing all of this comes from the fact that it's too great not to share! God has done so much in me that I'm truly a different person than I was a few months ago. My heart is that everyone reading this will let God do what He wants to do in your life. It will be amazing. I promise.

-Megan

31 Weeks

How far along: 31 Weeks with Baby Girl. 

Size of Baby: Squash. ...somewhere around 3 lbs and 18 inches...according to all the baby books anyway

Weight Gain: Staying steady at 10-12 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: My mom bought me a few new things this weekend. Bless her! The purple shirt in the pic above is one of the items...I LOVE it. If you know me at all, you know that I'm a tad modest and extremely picky about what I wear...well, try being pregnant in America today...the maternity clothing selection is slim (and expensive) to say the least...put being extremely modest in there as well and you might as well just wear a paper bag...it is very difficult to find anything I'll actually wear.

Sleep: I am sleeping even better this week thanks to my mom. A body pillow has been a LIFE SAVER throughout pregnancy. This weekend my mom noticed that the cover I had on it was made out of polyester and figured that was one reason I've been so hot at night. We bought a cotton cover this weekend and wow, what a difference! I don't get near as hot at night now! It is glorious!

Foods I'm loving: Still chocolate...and anything cold. I typically HATE cold water and I DETEST cold water with lemon in it. Well, Daniel brought home an ice water with lemon the other day and the poor guy didn't get any of it...I drank it all and ate the ice AND sucked the lemon. Whoa...where that came from I have no idea.

Foods I'm hating: Not much...we ordered a buffalo chicken pizza this weekend and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the spice so we made my side plain and Daniel's spicy. The waiter called me a wimp. Fine by me if it means I don't have to take Tums!

Movement: Just as consistent as ever. Baby Girl got the hiccups for the first time today!! That was fun.  

Best moment this week: I would have to say the dream I had last night. I dreamed Baby Girl was here. When I woke up I tried SO HARD to go back to sleep...didn't work but boy did I not want that dream to end! In the dream we were on vacation and we forgot to call anyone to tell she'd been born until she was a day old. At that time I also realized I hadn't fed her at all yet. Daniel kept trying to feed her cranberry sauce. Baby had 6 toes on one foot. It was quite a dream but she was so precious! 

What I miss: Being able to bend over, as well as get off the couch without putting effort into it. 

What I'm looking forward to: Spending the week at home, getting baby projects done.

Side Note: My mom and I got a lot done this weekend. We put up curtains in the nursery...the room is so bright and cozy now. We discovered the liner on our bassinet was ruined by being kept in the attic...joy. We found a bassinet liner at a consignment shop that works PERFECTLY for a great price! We ran a ton of errands and just had a fun weekend. 

Daniel and I went to a birthing class tonight and have a breastfeeding class to go to on Thursday. The class tonight was great until we had to watch a video at the end. WHOA. I have no words. Someone just knock me out and wake me when it's over, please.

-Megan

Cloth Diapering

So call us weird, but yes, we will be a cloth diapering family!! I've mentioned this to a few people and let's just say there are mixed responses. Well...not really. Mostly negative. I think this is mainly due to the fact that most don't realize just how far cloth diapers have come. We have a few reasons for taking this route and because I got a few in the mail today (which excited me probably a wee too much...I may be obsessed) I thought I'd share.

I'm really not sure when the topic of cloth diapers came up. If you know me at all, you know that I'm all about being a mom and raising babies. I'm not sure Daniel knew the extent of this when he married me...
Anywho, I'm pretty sure we discussed cloth diapering way before a child was in our near future. I've always known I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and that being said, I've constantly thought about ways we can save money to make that work. Enter the cloth diapers. My aunt has two children, both of whom wear cloth diapers. Luckily, she got to do some research for me as she obviously had her children before me...She didn't know she was doing this for me. Now she does. :) So now, enter BumGenius cloth diapers. I ADORE these diapers and I've never even used them.

This little guy is an example of the very first cloth diaper I ever received...from my aunt, actually. ADORABLE...don't tell me I didn't warn you about my affinity for these cute things. As you can see, it's nothing like the rag, pins, and plastic covers that you might have been envisioning. It's all one piece, held on with snaps or velcro (I have several with both fasteners). It's also one size fits all. It's created with a series of snaps that you can adjust as baby grows. Yes, this means my little newborn will have quite the big bottom as there will be lots of diaper on her! ha!

When I actually start using them, I'll have to write an entry about how to use them and such. Since I'm not quite there yet, this post is just for the purpose of why we're going to use them.

1. Cost. Based on my research, by using cloth instead of disposable, we'll save anywhere from $1500 to $2000 over the course of Baby Girl's diaper wearing lifetime. Give or take a few hundred. Now, what about when baby #2 comes along and we need diapers all over again? Well, instead of spending another $2500 on disposables on said baby, we'll get to use the cloth diapers all over again, saving us that $2500!! You get the idea for any number of children beyond two. I get lots of funny looks when I mention this because apparently most people would rather spend the money on disposables than deal with cloth diapers. Well, good thing we're allowed to choose! We'd LOVE to save the money. ESPECIALLY because it's one way I'm able to stay home with my babies. I would give up quite a bit for that. Even the convenience of tossing a diaper out, rather than washing and reusing.

2. Lately I'm really into what exactly is in the food we're eating and the products we're using. (I'll have to blog more about it sometime.) I have really sensitive skin....so this naturally has made me think about my baby's skin. Just the thought of her being a baby (especially a newborn) and having that new, baby skin makes me not want to use any products that can irritate her skin. Have any of you heard about the whole Johnson&Johnson uproar with all their baby products?? Well, no thank you. I will NOT be using Johnson&Johnson products on my baby. Not happening. Anyway, disposable diapers have all sorts of dyes, chemicals, and irritants just waiting to jump on my baby's toosh. Now obviously I know that plenty of babies have worn disposables and have seemingly been just fine, but as I do my research I am finding that more and more of the ingredients in our food, products, clothing, etc. are linked to different diseases. I'm sure some of you think that's a bunch of hoopla, but what if it's not? It sure makes sense to me...have you read the list of ingredients on your shampoo lately? How about your box of crackers? Why is there so much in the things we use that we can't even pronounce?
So anyway, cloth diapers are free of all these ingredients. Safe for a sensitive baby's bum.

3. Babies who wear cloth diapers are known to experience less diaper rash than babies who wear disposables. There could be several reasons for this. Disposables allow for the possibility to be worn longer because of their absorption abilities. This means the baby can sit in a dirty disposable diaper longer than she can sit in a dirty cloth diaper, allowing for a diaper rash. Also, check out #2...the irritants in disposables can cause diaper rash. Cloth diapers are very breathable, making it easy for air to reach baby's bum. 

Now, all this being said, I'm not going to be a total freak about cloth diapers. We've already discussed that we will probably use disposables for the first couple weeks of Baby Girl's life as we're adjusting. Once the chaos is over, we'll start the cloth diapers. Also, I'm not going to expect others to cloth diaper my baby. When we go to the nursery at church or have a babysitter we'll probably leave disposables. It will be a learning process but I sure am excited to start!

...and now what you have all been waiting for...a picture of the diapers I got in the mail today!!

I'll let you know how it's going once Baby Girl tries them out!

-Megan

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks with Baby Girl. I CAN'T BELIEVE we're this far into the pregnancy already. It's going by too fast! Before we know it she'll be here and I won't be pregnant anymore...sad. But...on the other hand, we can't wait for her to arrive. ...although then our life changes...yikes.

Size of Baby: Squash. My mom and I made bread the other day and when I shaped the dough for the pan it looked just like the size of the babe so I held it up to my belly for my mom. She got a kick out of that!

Weight Gain: Somehow this escaped a few of the previous entries...not sure what happened there. I think I've gained between 10-12 lbs. Somewhere around there.

Maternity Clothes: Nothing new to write here. I wish I had some skirts...my mom is coming this week so maybe we will get crafty and try to make some. We'll see!

Sleep: Still sleeping wonderfully which I am loving after the previous few months! For the first time the other night baby girl kept me from being able to fall asleep for over an hour because she was busy as a bee in there...impossible to sleep when you have all that going on inside! I love it. ...although I might not have loved it if I had to get up early the next morning! :) We all know I adore my sleep.

Foods I'm loving: I've noticed I'm not as desperate for my bowl of cereal every day lately...I have definitely been into chocolate...I usually prefer a vanilla based ice cream but lately I want chocolate...that's pretty unusual.Oh, it also sounds really weird but I got really excited the other day talking about grilling hotdogs. Those are very yummy to me these days. Oh, and I've been thinking about eating a banana for the last 30 minutes...you can bet I'll be getting one as soon as I'm done with this!

Foods I'm hating: Still just whatever gives me heartburn which always seems to be something random.

Movement: All through the day but she seems to be busier in the evenings. Her size now makes her movements really obvious too. Daniel and I will be sitting on the couch and we'll see my belly move when we're not even watching for it...we'll see it out of the corner of our eye...it's that obvious! She moves quite a bit after I eat, too. ...and she can pack quite punch now. She's surprised me with how hard she jabs sometimes...it's actually hurt a couple times! 

Best moment this week: I spent the week with my mom and that was really fun. On Friday I COULD NOT wait to see my hubby. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I finally got to see him. ...and now he is sick with a fever poor baby. 

What I miss: Being cool. It's been BLAZING hot this week. I am not used to feeling hot. Like...hardly ever. I'm just very cold natured. Not now! 

What I'm looking forward to: My mom is coming to spend a few days with us this week and I am excited to get some things done in the nursery and around the house with her! She must not mind being put to work when she comes because I sure seem to do that to her! ..Especially since I've been pregnant.

Side Note: I'm wondering if baby will be born a little earlier than her due date because of my Braxton Hicks. My mom says she didn't start having them until the last month of pregnancy...I started a good month ago. I don't know how often really...maybe not every day but definitely several times a week. It's crazy...my belly morphs into this tight little ball and is hard as a rock. Getting prepared I guess!

...and now it's banana time!

-Megan