31 - 39 weeks

Where do I begin...the last several weeks have been very busy for me in a good way. I enjoyed the Thanksgiving Holiday with my family and Keith's family and I was very happy that at my doctor's appointment after Thanksgiving I only gained 4lbs which was a pound per week since my last appointment. I should gain a pound per week at this point so that is very healthy.

My doctor's appointment went really well on December 1st. The baby's heartbeat was 145. My blood pressure was 135 over 76 and the doctor told me that Tucker's head is down and ready to come. I'm anxiously awaiting his arrival. Since he's moved his head into the downward position he has placed a lot of pressure on me which I'm still getting used to at night. The doctor also told me to take some iron because I'm a little low on iron. After this appointment I'll see him every two weeks and then I'll start to see him weekly towards the end.

I had my friend baby shower Saturday, December 5th, and I had the best time with all my friends, mom and sister. My friend Neva hosted the baby shower at her house with help from my long time friend Laura. They both did a great job on the food, punch, decorations, games and everything turned out great! I absolutely loved my cake from Costco. Vanilla with Cream Cheese filling and Buttercream icing. YUM! I'm so glad that several of my close friends were able to make it to the baby shower and I was able to enjoy some time with everyone. I ended up doing a little shopping with Lauren and Heather Sunday and was able to purchase a lot of Christmas presents for family. It was so great to see and visit Lauren. She came all the way up from Jacksonville, FL. Thanks Lauren. My friend Maryanne also flew in from LaGrange, GA and as always it was great having her in town and catching up with her. Thanks MEM.

The rest of December is a BLUR. I had my work shower at the Aquavina Wine Room located uptown Charlotte on Thursday, December 10th and Bonnie and Jan did a great job with the punch, food, vanilla and chocolate booties/rattle cupcakes and organizing the event. I've been so blessed to have a family, a friend, and a co-worker baby shower. Tucker has received so many great presents and gifts from everyone. Saturday, December 12th we celebrated my nephew Jacob's birthday at Sports Connection and he and his friends had a great time playing on all the blow up/jumpie toys and playing games. It's hard to believe that Jacob turned 5 years old this past December 19th. Time is really flying by these days. I had another Doctor's appointment on December 14 and Dr. Solomon told me that Tucker will more than likely weigh 7.5 to 8lbs if I go until my due date which will more than likely happen. Tucker's heartbeat was in the high 140's and everything on me was fine as well. Later in the week we celebrated my niece Ashton's birthday with Keith's family and then that weekend had Tucker Christmas at my Grandpa Tuckers house. It's always nice to get everyone together, enjoy each others company, and catch up with everyone. We had a really great time opening the gag gifts and some people were pretty creative with their gift selections this year.

As you see December was very busy and I was literally doing something every weeknight and weekend thus why I wasn't able to keep up with my blog. Keith and I had a really nice Christmas together and with our families. We decided since Tucker is on the way and we really need a car that we'd skip Christmas gifts for each other this year. We celebrated Christmas morning with big breakfast together and then we went to my parents house Christmas afternoon and enjoyed opening presents and watching Maleea and Jacob open their presents as well. My parents bought Keith and I a lot of great gifts and we especially love our new camcorder (can't wait to capture all the baby moments of Tucker) and e-pad laptop desk. Tucker received a lot of Christmas gifts from Nana and Papa too. In fact he may have received more than Keith and I. haha. That's what makes it fun though. I can't wait to watch Tucker open all his presents next year. So much to look forward too!!! Keith went to the UNC bowl game the Saturday after Christmas so I just relaxed and spent the day with my mom and went and had a pedicure. It's nice to just relax and unwind sometimes. Sunday we celebrated Christmas with the Wingard's at Rhonda's house and all the kids enjoyed playing Wii. I think those kids are addicted to the Wii. haha.

December 28th, I had another Dr. Appt. and Dr. Solomon did a culture to check for Strep B and my results were negative which was great news. Tucker and Mommy are both doing well and now Dr. Solomon thinks Tucker will weigh up to 8.5lbs should he come at his due date. He's going to be a big boy! I just pray that he'll sleep better with his extra lbs. December 30th, we celebrated my brother David's birthday. We enjoyed dinner together at Fish Bones and then went back to Dad and Mom's for dessert. We probably enjoyed one of the best cakes ever!!! Nice pick on the cake David!

For New Years Eve Keith and I decided to keep it low key and relax. We were going to enjoy a nice dinner at Firebirds and a movie but Firebirds was packed and the movie we were hoping to watch was sold out. So, we settled for dinner at Chili's and then we went home and watched some college football, watched a movie on tv, and went to sleep. Our neighbors started shooting off fireworks at Midnight so we woke up and kissed and went back to sleep. haha. So romantic right?! The following weekend we went out to dinner with friends in the university area and then walked around IKEA twice looking for a white bookshelf for Tucker's room. We didn't have any luck. However, the night before Keith placed up the white shelves in Tucker's room that used to hang in my bedroom growing up. I had a lot of fun painting the shelves white to match the furniture. I'm so glad that everything is almost in order and ready for Tucker's arrival.

The last couple of weeks Keith and I have been really cleaning the house. We took down all the Christmas decorations, completely cleaned the downstairs, and cleaned the master bathroom which was a major workout. Keith also placed the travel system (stroller and carrier) and the pack-n-play together. We're trying to have everything nice, clean, and ready when Tucker comes home. My Dr. Appt. January 4th went really well. I actually lost 2 lbs probably from all the cleaning Keith and I had been doing and Dr. Solomon said everything looked good and he informed my that at my next appointment he would check to see if my cervix was dilated or effaced any. Keith and I had childbirth classes Friday night, January 8th, from 6:30-9pm and Saturday, January 9th from 9am until 5pm. We learned a lot about labor and delivery, breathing, and how to care for the baby up to 6 weeks old. It was a great class and I'm so glad Keith and I participated in the experience and my friend Sherry Cook and her husband were also in our childbirth class which made it all the better.

My Dr. Appt. on January 12th was very interesting. I knew Dr. Solomon was going to check my cervix but I had no idea what I was in for. Tucker's heartbeat was 145 and I didn't gain any weight which was also good news. My blood pressure was a little higher than it's generally been but that could be because I was nervous/anxious about the Dr. checking my cervix. Dr. Solomon checked my cervix which felt like a lot of pressure and a little bit of a burning sensation but I made it through and he told me that I'm 1 centimeter dilated but my cervix is still very thick. My cervix needs to thin before the baby will come. I have 9 more centimeters to go - I pray they go by fast but generally not the case with your first pregnancy. I also told Dr. Solomon about my back pains which have been very intense almost to the point of not being able to walk or move. He told me that those are the beginings of labor pains which is fine with me because I'm ready for my little baby Tucker to arrive.

Today, I'm 39 weeks pregnant and I can't believe that Tucker will be here so soon now. I can actually count single digits until his arrival - 8 days until the due date. So exciting! If you're reading this please pray that Tucker will come soon because my tummy literally can not grow any bigger or give him any more room. I'll be in touch upon his arrival and my next Dr. Appt. is January 19th!!!


Today's mood - tired and anxiously waiting for Tucker to arrive