39 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 39 weeks

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a watermelon. We had an ultrasound last week and they're estimating that Emery already weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces and that she'll be around 22 inches long!! Her legs already measured 40 weeks and 6 days! She's going to be tall like her daddy.

Total Weight Gain: About 35 pounds according to the last time I looked. Considering our nightly ice cream and milkshake outings, I'm sure it's more by now.

Gender: It's a girl!! Her name is Emery Faith.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I'm home this week so I've been loving my maternity leggings with big, comfy t-shirts.

Wedding Rings On/Off: Yep, they're still fine. I've had some swelling in my hands, but it goes away pretty quickly.

Stretch Marks: Same ones.

Sleep: It's been a little better the last couple of days. I think maybe it's because I know I'm done with work for a while. I still wake up around 3:00, but I've been able to go back to sleep for a few more hours. Lots of naps are also happening.

Cravings/Aversions: Yesterday, I woke up thinking about egg salad sandwiches. I know, super random. I have no idea where that craving came from...it's probably been a couple of years since I had egg salad. I remember craving deviled eggs when I was about 5-6 weeks pregnant and thinking it was so weird. I was home yesterday so I made egg salad for lunch...and it was amazing. That's right, I said it. Egg salad = amazing.

Symptoms: The biggest things are still the swelling and being incredibly tired. The heartburn is completely gone...I had a hunch it was work related and I really think it was. I didn't really get it on the weekends and haven't had it since last week. I'm very thankful for how good I actually feel! I know some women are absolutely miserable at the end and I don't feel that way at all!

Movement: I think she's moving even more lately...or maybe I'm just being more still and I notice it more often. Her little feet *love* to push up into my ribs on my right side...that's really the only spot I've been feeling her lately. I feel it all the time, though. I guess she needs to stretch out those long legs!

Mood: Happy, excited, and nervous! Getting a little more nervous and excited every day...

What I Miss: Nothing!!

Looking Forward To: Meeting this baby girl!! We're ready for her!!

Best Moment This Week: Seeing Emery's sweet face on our ultrasound just made us that more excited! We just can't wait to see her and hold her for the first time. Finishing up things at work and knowing I don't have to go back for nine weeks was pretty wonderful, too! :)

  

#richlyblesseddaily2014 {Week 9}

Week 9 of #richlyblesseddaily2014! It's been a wonderful week! I can't help but wonder if our sweet baby girl will be in next week's pictures. We are so excited!!! :)

You can follow along every day on Instagram @richlyblessedblog. :)

Click here to see previous weeks.

 Day 60: Date night at Carrabba's, then ice cream cones and Lifeway to buy Emery a storybook Bible.

 Day 61: Doing a little light reading in "The Art of Feeding". :) I love that he reads all the baby books and pamphlets we have around here. He's going to be the best daddy.

 Day 62: The letters for Emery's room came today. We also got to have a yummy dinner with my brother-in-law, sister, and Vanna.

 Day 63: Being spontaneous while we can! :)

 Day 64: 38 weeks pregnant! I'm wondering if I'll make it to 39!

 Day 65: We got to see this sweet face today! Looks like she's going to stay put for a little bit longer. We absolutely cannot wait to meet her!!

Day 66: Everything is ready for my maternity leave sub on Monday. Such a weird, wonderful feeling. Then we celebrated at Cheesecake Factory!

  

Five on Friday {March 7, 2014}

Happy Friday from the longest week ever! I pretty much want to throw confetti in the air and celebrate that it's finally here! I'm linking up with Darci again today for Five on Friday!

One.
*Today* is my last day of work before my maternity leave starts. It feels like the day before summer break!! Best feeling ever. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Working a full time job while pregnant is no joke, as I know lots of you know. It's been tough and I'm so glad I've reached the end...for now at least. :)

This was my classroom before school started. It definitely is not this neat and tidy anymore!

Two.
Being that it's been my last week of work, I've been getting myself a little something special these last couple of mornings before work. You know, just to help me make it through the day. It's necessary. After all, the days of guilt-free eating are quickly coming to an end. There is this new donut place that's on my way to work and I have found my perfect donut. I used to love the devil's food glazed donut at Krispy Kreme, but they just haven't been very good the last several years. They're just not chocolatey enough anymore...not to mention you never know if they'll have any. Big problems, I know. Anyway, this double chocolate donut is amazing. I want another one right this very minute.

Three.
A friend of my husband sent him this recently and we both laughed and laughed. Soon enough, this will be us. Gone are the days when we can decide we want to go somewhere and leave the house within minutes.

Four.
I really thought I was doing great to have already bought a few headbands and hair clips for Emery...until I saw this picture yesterday on one of the blogs I follow. The baby who these headbands are for hasn't even arrived yet! I'm actually just totally jealous of the organization...it's heavenly.

{via}

Five.
I cooked the other night for what will probably be the last time for a little while. I made this tortelllini soup recipe a few years ago and I remember loving it, but for some reason I never made it again. It's so easy...the hardest part is dicing the onions and mincing the garlic. It's also pretty healthy and is super yummy. It's perfect with a few slices of crusty bread on the side. Or nearly an entire loaf in my case. {See #2 above. Guilt-free eating days = almost over}

Whatever you end up doing this weekend, I hope it's wonderful!! :)

  

38 Weeks

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 38 weeks and 1 day. I can't help but wonder if this will be my last update!

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a pumpkin. She's 19.5 inches long now and weighs just under 7 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: About 35 pounds. Not going to worry about it! At least not today.

Gender: It's a girl!! Her name is Emery Faith.

Maternity Clothes: Ummm. Yes. I'm ready for a little more variety in my wardrobe, but I'm having anxiety about parting with my maternity pants. :-\

Wedding Rings On/Off: I'm still able to wear them. They've been a little snug a few days this week and totally fine on other days. The swelling in my hands is pretty random.

Stretch Marks: Just the same ones. I am really, really hoping that they'll go away if I keep doing the tummy butter after Emery is born.

Sleep: My new wake up time is 3:30 a.m. I sleep great once I fall asleep, but every morning I wake up around 3:30 and *cannot* get back to sleep. And I'm so, so, so tired.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing super specific. We've been eating a lot of ice cream cones and milkshakes lately, but I've always loved those, so nothing really new there. We seem to go through ice cream phases. The last place we lived was about 2 minutes away from a McDonald's and we went through a phase where we would go get ice cream cones every single night...probably for a solid month.

Symptoms: Honestly, I'm feeling about the same as last week. I'm incredibly tired which is really the worst thing. I still have some major swelling in my feet and ankles, but it's a little better now that I'm wearing flip flops pretty much every day. I've had heartburn a few days, but it hasn't been too bad. Moving around is getting more and more difficult, but I still feel like I really can't complain at all.

Movement: She's been hanging out most of the time under my rib cage on the right side and is still moving quite a bit! I just can't wait to see her kick her little feet in person.

Mood: Happy, excited, and nervous!

What I Miss: Nothing other than sleep, really. But it's not like my lack of sleep will change much after she's born so there's not much sense in missing it! ;)

Looking Forward To: We have our 38 week doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. We're going to get an ultrasound to see how big Emery is and then figure out what we're going to do from there. It should be an exciting appointment! I'm also planning to get a prenatal massage {Daniel got me one for Christmas} and a pedicure in the next few days.

Best Moment This Week: Knowing that this is my last week at work before my maternity leave begins has been wonderful! I'm hoping to have at least a couple of days at home before Emery is born so I can kind of get my mind out of school mode. In nursery news, the letters I ordered came in this week. I'm loving them! Now if I can just decide where I want to hang them, we'll be good. True story: our big wedding picture canvas is still propped against the wall in our bedroom. We'll be married four years in June. Indecisive doesn't even begin to describe me.

  

Maternity Pictures

Several weeks ago, we had some maternity pictures taken with Lauren of Fresh Grace Photography. We went to this random field in Birmingham at sunset for the pictures and I really like the look we ended up with. Lauren made us feel super comfortable and we had so much fun! Another thing I love about her is that she chooses 30 photos, edits them, and gives them to you on a disc with print releases. For someone who is ridiculously indecisive, this is awesome! It took me for-ev-er to choose 300 pictures from the 1,200 our wedding photographer sent to us!!!

Anyway, here are a few of our favorites from the session.

  

#richlyblesseddaily2014 {Week 8}

Week 8 of #richlyblesseddaily2014! You can follow along every day on Instagram @richlyblessedblog. :)

Click here to see previous weeks.

Day 53: We saw Frozen with this sweet thing!

 Day 54: Watching a movie with my love...

 Day 55: The baby stuff is starting to take over!! We're one step closer! :)

Day 56: Chalkboard in progress! Full term today! Can't believe it!

 Day 57: It was another fun mail day - nursery wall art, headbands, and hair clips! Also, my 37 week update is on the blog.

 Day 58: Quick stop for ice cream cones at Hamburger Heaven after our doctor's appointment. Emery is staying put for now!

Day 59: My wonderful mom made and brought us an amazing dinner! And breakfast. And snacks. And two desserts. She knows me well. There is really nothing like my mom's cooking!

  

37 Weeks {Full Term!!}

Click here to see my other weekly pregnancy update posts.

Click here to see my step-by-step chalk art tutorial.

How Far Along: 37 weeks and 1 day

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, the baby is the size of a winter melon {I don't even know what that is!}. She's a little over 19 inches long now and weighs about 6.3 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: As of last week's appointment, I've gained 35ish pounds. I have no idea why I looked. I didn't want to, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away.

Gender: It's a girl!! Her name is Emery Faith.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes! And maternity leggings with big, cozy t-shirts are what I'm wearing as soon as I get home every day!

Wedding Rings On/Off: Still on, I haven't had much swelling at all in my hands.

Stretch Marks: Just the same ones.

Sleep: I've been sleeping a little better this week. I've had a couple of nights where it's been hard to get to sleep, mainly because my brain is racing. I know it's ridiculous, but the other night I couldn't go to sleep because I was worried that the shade of gray on Emery's nursery letters wasn't right. I know, so silly. Most nights, I've been able to sleep until about an hour before my alarm goes off. It's really not that bad at all!

Cravings/Aversions: Things that are really cold have been sounding good lately. I'm feeling a little weird about some meats, too.

Symptoms: I really cannot complain at all. I'm really tired, but the heartburn and back pain have pretty much disappeared this week. My feet are still swollen, but I've noticed that it's much better when I wear flip flops. One new thing that's started happening this week is that my belly has started to feel much heavier.

Movement: She's moving quite a bit, but she's still very unpredictable. The other night she hardly moved at all and I started counting kicks, and then the next night she wouldn't be still!

Mood: Happy, excited, and nervous!

What I Miss: Nothing! I'm just enjoying these last couple of weeks {days?} of being pregnant.

Looking Forward To: We have our 37 week doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait to see what she says! We'll be taking our hospital bag with us just in case!

Best Moment This Week: I finished my maternity leave binder at work!! I'm planning to work until next Friday, but who knows if that will happen or not. I was even able to get plans together for next week just in case I'm not there. I'm so relieved to finally have it finished!!