35 Weeks

This is an awful picture, but believe it or not, it's the best one we took. Jordan is one week away from being full term and a month away from our expected due date. She is head down now (or so the doctor says), which means she is pushing her little booty and knees and feet all up on my rib cage...every day. It's kinda fun to feel her bouncing around in there and moving like a little human moves to try to get comfortable in a really tight space.

Jordan had her second shower with my Anadarko Family. I have worked here for about 2 1/2 years and cannot say enough about the type of people that I am blessed to work with every day. They have supported and given to my little family when Chris and I got married and now to welcome Baby Jordan. I am so blessed to be working with a group of people who are generous and excited to help me welcome this new little life into my family. 

We are so close to being done with the nursery! We got the chair rail hung, the walls painted, a rug purchased, the dresser painted and starting to hang a few things on the walls. I will wait and post a picture once it's completed...mainly because I don't have one on my computer right now! :)

Showering Jordan

Chris and I are extremely overwhelmed already by the outpouring of love and support for our little girl. Gamma's friends threw Jordan and I our first shower this weekend in College Station where we were surrounded by lots of friends and family, most who came from out of town. Each of them brought a little something Jordan would need and we ended up with a car packed full of Jordan supplies. Some things I didn't even know we needed, like snot suckers and boogie wipes, but we also now have blankets, clothes, toys, car seats, high chair and room decorations for the nursery.




My hostesses!

   Aunt Alli and Gamma



Aunt Lissa

Gamma

At my wedding shower almost 2 years ago, all three of these girls were 7 or 8 months pregnant and we took this same picture. Now they're all itty bitty and I'm the large one! They thought it was hilarious!

Barrett helped me go through everything again once we got home!

 

As soon as we got home, we unpacked the car and tried to find a place for everything. Don't worry, I'm aware that I will need to make room for Jordan in the crib eventually, but for now it's a perfect holder for her blankets and stuffed animals.

 

We started painting the dresser from blue to pink. I'd say we were relatively successful! Something about a man and a pink dresser is kinda sweet! :)
 

 

 



32 Weeks Down...8 to go



Jordan weighs about 3 1/2 - 4 lbs and is about 18 inches long if she were all stretched out. My handy dandy preggo app tells me she's as big as a honeydew and that she still will double her weight before the big day. Who's job was it, anyway, to go around the grocery store and pick fruits and vegetables that resemble the size of growing babies? 

 

I used to think I felt her all the time, but now there is no denying that she is running out of room in there and is working on stretching my stomach out as far as she can as she pushes against my ribs, then the right side, then the left side, and settles back on my ribs. She likes it there...a lot!

 

 

We have started going to the doctor every 2 weeks and will start going every week in about a month. I asked my doctor if it was time to start talking about labor, and she said we could wait a few more weeks. I was relieved! I'm sure that is something most women like to be prepared for and probably do a lot of research and classes...not this one. As big of a planner as I am, my 'birth plan' is pretty darn simple, get Jordan here...safe. Period. That's all I know. I'll come in, you just tell me what to do...and don't forget the epidural.

Chris' first "daddy job" was painting his little girl's nursery. For his first painting job, I'd say he did pretty darn good. Next is trying to figure out how to hang a chair rail around the room to add a little extra pop.
 

 

After sitting in every glider/ottoman combination in the greater Woodlands area, we finally found one we liked and ordered it just in time for it to be here before Jordan makes her big debut (we hope anyway). Jordan's Gamma and I also bought a dresser at our favorite antique store that we will attempt to paint pink in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the 'after' picture will show that we were successful.

 

 

 

Jordan's first baby shower is this weekend in College Station with all of her mom's friends, Gamma's friends and lots of family. I am excited to celebrate with all of my favorite women and am so thankful for all of their love and support for Jordan. She is already one very loved little girl. :)

 

This one's just for fun! 

 

 

Embracing our last few months of semi-normalcy with an old fashioned date night!



29 Weeks

We have officially entered the third trimester. 11 more weeks to go if Jordan is here on time...I'm taking the first week of July, Chris thinks she'll be early. We will see who she takes after because Christopher would never be late, but I like to be right on time. Maybe 6/28 will be the day after all!

Jordan has grown to the size of a small cabbage and is pretty close to 3 lbs. The big development now is her brain is starting to form to prepare for all those smarts she's going to get from her parents when she gets here! I have still been feeling pretty good and relatively normal, although I know the next 11 weeks it won't be so easy. I hear people tell me how much they loved being pregnant, so I'm trying to enjoy every movement and every experience along the way. EXCEPT I had my first case of swollen feet the other day...not cool Jordan. Not cool.

 

We have had all sorts of movements over the past few weeks. The slight kicking and rolling I used to feel is now complete chaos inside me. Sometimes I sit at my desk and just stare at my stomach, I'm sure people in the cubes around me just think I'm napping. She will move on one side and ripple all the way across my stomach pressing her little head hard against my right side, sometimes up under my rib cage. Ok - little one, I get it..."let's go get some more ice cream". I'm convinced that's what she's trying to tell me...as long as Daddy's not around. Don't get me wrong, he let's me have my ice cream, as long as I haven't already had cake or cookies at work that day, I know he's just looking out for his girls! However, he did get me an ice cream cake from Jordan for my birthday this year...I'd say that's a pretty good first gift! :)

We are in the early stages of setting up Jordan's nursery, so here is the before shot with the crib and armoire that I just had to have. The rug swatch on the floor is the front runner, but we haven't purchased anything quite yet. Chris is supposed to start painting the walls grey this weekend and then we'll get ready to hang the chair rail if we can figure out how to be handy. There's only one way to learn handiness, and this little girl will need a handy dad for sure...I have no doubts Chris is up to the challenge (Maybe with some help).

I feel like Chris is getting more and more excited as the weeks progress and I'm starting to freak out a little more each day. No doubt that I'm over the moon excited, but I don't deal with the uncertainty and uknown anxiety quite as well as my husband. There are so many things that I know I will figure out when the time is here and I have faith in that, just need to keep reminding myself. I've started to have a few moments when she's really moving around at night that makes it so real and I do get so excited to hold her and start our life as our little family. We got a school/day care set up for Jordan and have her registered for when I go back to work around September. Add that to the list of scary things...dropping my baby girl off for the first time after being with her for 10 weeks. Ok - I've already been too mushy, moving on!

I like to throw in a regular picture of me and Chris every now and then just so we can come back and remember those last few months when it was just us. We have certainly loved our little married life that always seems to be on the go, but we are ready (well, ready as I'll ever be) to watch our little family grow this summer.
 

 

26 weeks





My writing seems to have gotten small again on my little sign. It just says that Jordan is 2.2 lbs and about the length of a cucumber. Weird! We are starting to talk about what we want to do in her nursery. We are thinking a pink and grey color scheme. People keep asking me if I have a theme. Yes, it's pink and grey...themes scare me, I get nervous it's going to be theme overload! We bought a crib that I'm sure we will take out of the box any day now (it's been about 2 weeks), and have started looking at some paint colors. I guess it's time to start moving on this considering she'll be here in only 3 months. Ay yi! I'm not ready!!

 

Jordan is still moving around quite a bit, unless I tell someone to feel her move and then she quits pretty quick and they think I'm crazy. I saw my stomach move the other day which was just another reminder that I'm growing an actual human inside of me...I keep saying it, because I still can't believe it. So crazy.

 

There is not a lot else to report. I go back to the doctor April 1 and then will start going every 2 weeks instead of 4. I keep hearing that,"you'll be fine" voice in my head, but I'm really starting to freak out a bit. *deeeppp breaths*

 

 



See...I am fully embracing my pink by wearing my pink toms in my bump pictures. Please ignore how uncomfortable and awkward I look in this picture! I purposefully made it smaller to try to minimize the awkward face and belly. :)

 

One of Jordan's first gifts was the lovey she was given by her Gamma when we told her were having a little girl. This is the same gift Barrett received before he was even born and now he never puts it down. This is a picture of Barrett holding both his and his new baby cousin's lovey around my parents' house! Love him!

 







Last weekend we went to College Station to celebrate both mine and Aunt Alli's March birthdays. I just thought I should have a couple of normal pictures documented in here to remember that I didn't wear the same black shirt every week of my pregnancy.

Parents-to-be

Birthday Girls!

 



16 weeks til we meet...

The last 3 weeks have been full of planning, decision making and full on baby movement. Chris can definitely feel her kicking and moving around now, especially late at night when it's time for bed. I don't see this being a good sign 3 months from now.

The most exciting thing I have to announce this week about our baby girl is that we have decided on a name! For those that know me well, you know I am a terrible decision maker. I felt a lot of pressure naming someone for the rest of their life, what if she hates me forever because I named her something awful. Chris convinced me that we are happy with our decision and it is time to fully embrace her ... name and all! So it's official...

Jordan Elizabeth Mudge.

The middle name Elizabeth has family ties on both sides of our family, being my middle name, My grandmother's middle name (Jordan's great grandmother) and Jordan's Aunt Melissa's middle name on Chris' side of the family. Too easy to pass on, plus it's just a good solid middle name! :)

We also found it so fun to tell that same grandmother of mine that after 4 great grandsons she is finally getting a great granddaughter AND she will carry on Elizabeth as her name! I actually think she was pretty excited.

There are a lot of things that I am starting to enjoy about being pregnant. Besides the fact that I get oddly offended when people ask me when I'm due (you don't know that I'm not just fat), people are way nicer to me than usual. I don't tend to be the friendliest or have the most patience when I'm out running errands or shopping but that's starting to change a little bit because everyone is way too nice, makes it hard to snap back at them. Except for the time my mom and I got stuck outside the galleria and we had to convince Mr. Mall Cop man that I was pregnant and could not walk around the outside of the mall to get to our car on the other side. I believe I was radioed in as a "Pregnant 46" and was allowed to pass go. Oh, good times.

Another perk of pregnancy is my sensitive taste buds. Everything I eat tastes way more savory than I ever remember. I do not have any particular cravings, just enjoying every bite of what I do eat! I also appreciate that I have no guilt when I make myself a bowl of ice cream or make a box of brownies just because I want to, especially when Chris is out of town.

In the past couple of weeks we have officially started shopping for Jordan. Chris likes to say we're shopping for containers, because it is everything we will need to set her down; crib, car seat, stroller, swing, bouncer, play mat, pack and play. As you can tell, the future dad to be is pretty pumped about what he'll be pushing around the neighborhood this summer, we were just trying this one out for size.

I tried to upload the video of the stroller we REALLY must have, but it wouldn't load from my phone. This video is not nearly as cool ours, but you can get the picture. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12623897. Extravagant? Neh, what about charging a stroller while you walk is extravagant?

Jordan also took her first trip to the oil field this past week. I must admit when my boss told me I would need fire retardant clothing to go on the field trip, I laughed. I'm not sure me or my unborn child need to be anywhere where there is any possibility of needing to be resistant to fire. Of course it was just a precaution and we braved the oil tanks and avoided all fires! :) Here is a picture of in our handy dandy fire resistant shirt! Nothing like a pregnant lady in Carhartt and steel toed boots!

We go back to the doctor the first week of April and will do the wonderful glucose test (maybe I should knock down some sugar before I go next time) and also talk about hospital registration and pediatricians. Then we start going in every 2 weeks until she's here. Holy cow....insert freak out moment here.

21 weeks

I am already at 22 weeks by the time I am posting this, we are just really behind on getting the picture loaded. Our baby girl has been growing and moving around a lot the past couple of weeks. I have been feeling her roll around, but Chris was finally able to feel her kick from the outside! She really is starting to move around a lot.

 

I have been feeling really good, just a little overwhelmed at the amount of things I need to buy, to register for, to paint to plan, etc. My sister took me to Buy Buy Baby over the weekend and pointed out everything I need, everything I don't need, and what I can get if I want. Thanks Alli, helpful! It is very nice that she recently went through all of this and can help me know what is important and what she wish she would have known, just a bit overwhelming.

We've started our research on car seat safety, crib safety, what school/day care she'll go to and started thinking about nursery colors and furniture. I keep thinking it is way too early for all of this, but it is almost March, and I'm sure June will be here before we know it!