38 Weeks!

Talk about making someone feel good.......below is a conversation with a worker in the grocery store this morning.

Worker: Good Morning, how are you doing?

Me: I'm doing well, how are you?

Worker: I guess I should've said, how are y'all doing?

Me: Oh, we're good!

Worker: Looks like you might be carrying twins in there.

Me (thinking to self): What did he just say?

Me (actually talking): No, there's just one.

I'd say it's time he makes his arrival if he is being mistaken for multiples, whoa! I certainly don't feel like I am that huge but maybe I am just turning a blind eye. I know he will come when he is ready but I don't think I want to get much bigger, aahhh!

On a more fun note, as of today, I am 38 weeks pregnant, woohoo!!! So exciting! We had our 38 week appointment this past Thursday and I opted out of getting checked by the nurse practioner. I am honestly trying to avoid any kind of news that would make me think that I am closer than I really am to going into labor. For example, I wouldn't want to find out that I am dialated and effaced only to go two more weeks with no movement. I think I am just better off not knowing. The nurse did say that she thought he was of average size and would probably weigh around 7 lbs. But honestly, what do they know? They could be off by a pound either way, at least that's what I've heard. We do have another appointment with our doctor on Friday, which I am sure will be a lot more in depth and we will potentially find out where we stand right now. We are getting so very close!!!

At 38 weeks, Baby J now weighs approximately 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long. He is really starting to plump up. He has a firm grasp, which we will get to test when we hold his little hand for the first time. His organs have matured. If you're wondering why we didn't include eye color in the request for Baby J's stats, it's because we may not know for quite some time. If he's born with brown eyes, then they are likely to stay brown. But, if he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel or brown by the time he's 9 months old. The Eye Color Calculator says that Baby J has a 50% chance of having blue eyes and a 50% chance of having green eyes. It will be interesting to see if it is anywhere close to right.

The little guy is continuing to beat me up from the inside, so I know that he is going to be one feisty baby. I can't wait to see how he acts on the outside!

Check out pics of the bump below.

Showered with Love

As I mentioned in the 37 week blog, Baby J and I were lucky enough to spend last Saturday and Sunday afternoons being showered with lots of fun gifts by family and friends.

Our first shower was on Saturday and it was hosted by my cousins, Beth Parker, Kelly Luxemburger, and Amanda Coggins. They did a great job hosting the shower and I sincerely appreciate all the hard work that they put in to making it so great! The food was exceptionally yummy and the cake had to have been the cutest baby shower cake I have ever seen. It was just perfect! Baby J received lots of great gifts, including too cute clothes, an infant rocker, jumperoo, diapers, and much, much more.

The hostesses and me

Just being silly!

The cute cake!

A fun basket of goodies!

Me with my little helpers

Baby J's first gift from Marc, too cute!

My mom, grandmother, and me

My grandmother, Jo, and me

Grandmother and Me

On Sunday afternoon, Baby J and I headed over to Chris' parents house to attend a duck-themed shower hosted by his family. It was so much fun to see some of Chris' family that I hadn't seen in person since we told that we were pregnant. Everyone noticed my largeness as I entered the house, lol! The food, of course, was extremely yummy and the best part of the food was that I got to eat a turkey sandwich. I know that not everyone abides by the no deli meat rule when pregnant, but I have. That means I haven't had my favorite lunch, a turkey sandwich, for almost nine months. Chris' mom knew of my craving and baked a turkey just so I could have a turkey sandwich. YUM-MY! Chris' family was generous enough to get us a glider for the baby's nursery as well as a swing. We are going to get so much use out of them! We also got a lot of cute clothes as well as other items that will be useful once Baby J arrives. And, we are fully equipped with many rubber duckies to use during Baby J's first bath in the big tub.

Another cute and yummy cake!

Karlie and Emme

Baby J's onesie from Cheers. It says "I don't even know my name". How true?!?! We don't even know his name.

We received lots of books for Baby J, which I honestly hadn't even thought of (bad mommy!). Good thing Chris' family was on top of it for me. The most exciting was receiving The Story of Ferninand which was Chris' favorite book as a child.

Sandi made us a frame with poem called Baby's First Picture, the Ultrasound. It was the tear jerker of the party. Oh so sweet and thoughtful!

We have received so many generous gifts over the past month from friends and family. We feel extremely blessed to have so many people in our life who love us and already love our little boy. We can't thank each and every one of you enough for your generosity. We can't wait for you all to meet Baby J!

Don't forget to submit your guesses regarding Baby J's stats!!! You can click on "Baby J's Stats" below to submit your guesses. We have only received two sets of guesses so far.

Baby J's Stats

Baby J Stats....do you think you know?

Here goes....your chance to tell us about Baby J. These are things that Chris and I talk about on a daily basis. We, of course, have our own opinions, but we would love to hear what you all think. Maybe the person closest to the right answers will be given the privilege of babysitting Baby J first, lol!!!

Please either leave your guesses for the items below in the comments section or send me an email at mb_hardeman@yahoo.com. I will compile everyone's responses and post at a later date. We look forward to seeing what everyone thinks!!!!

• Arrival Date and Time
• Weight
• Length
• Color of Hair at Birth
• Actual Name Given to Baby J
• Who will Baby J look like? Brooke or Chris

37 Weeks!

As of today, I am 37 weeks pregnant! It is so exciting and yet so scary that we are nearing the point in which Baby J will arrive. I literally think that everytime I go to bend over there is a chance that I will go into labor when I stand up. I haven't had any signs of labor yet, not one noticeable Braxton Hicks contraction to comment on, so who knows what I will think when I finally do go into labor. Let's just pray that I am able to stay cool, calm, and collected when it does finally happen.

As of 37 weeks, Baby J now weighs approximately 6 1/3 pounds and measures just a little bit over 19 inches from head to heel. Baby J is also considered full term now, so whenever I do go into labor his lungs will be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb.

Chris and I went in for our 37 week appointment this past Thursday. This was the first time that Chris was able to meet Dr. Graham and he really liked him. Hopefully, we will get lucky and go into labor when he is on call. And, Dr. Graham is definitely thinking ahead because on Thursday he told us that if we wanted to go eat some spicy eggplant parmigiana on Tuesday night to induce labor, he would be on call on Wednesday. Chris and I both looked at each other and said "no, we're not ready yet". His response was "get ready". LOL! This made it so much more real that Baby J is going to be here before we know it! Our niece also said this weekend "THIS month, he's going to be here THIS month". AAAAHHHHH!

Baby J, Chris and I had an extremely busy weekend! We had two baby showers, our nephew's birthday party and my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary in Summerville. It was a fun but exhausting weekend. I plan to post on these events throughout the week.

Also, on the blog agenda for the week is to poll all of you to see what you think Baby J's actual arrival date and time will be, how much he will weigh, how long he will be, what color hair he will have when he arrives, what we will actually name him, etc, so be thinking about what your predictions are for Baby J!

I am really getting out there now!

Whoa! That's all I have to say about that.