My September baby wants to be an August baby and a 35 week update

Warning: This will be long. I'll start with the weekly update...

I'm 35 weeks (and 4 days)! 4ish weeks left!! Well, hopefully. It could be much less...

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 35 Weeks
Size of baby: Lawson is the size of a honeydew!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 18 pounds
Maternity Clothes: I mostly wear dresses and skirts. Nothing else fits!
Gender: It's a BOY! Lawson Ryan Payne
Movement: All the time! He is folded up head down (thank goodness!), with his butt under the right side of my rib cage and his legs and hands on the left side of my belly. He also has the hiccups a LOT! :) I feel him in my ribs often! His hiccups wake me (and Chris) up every morning!
Sleep: Going back to work has helped me sleep so much better! Now that I am just so tired, I am sleeping 7-8 hours a night, which makes me feel much better during the days!
What I miss: Being able to bend over, ha! Being tan and being skinny too! Also, I miss not having something in my ribs. I can't remember the last time Lawson wasn't kicking me there, ha!
Cravings: Nothing really...I haven't been eating much. I guess fruit and sandwiches? Light stuff, because it's too HOT to eat heavy!
Symptoms: Back pain/being unable to lay on my back, growing belly, fatigue (sooooo tired all the time!), contractions, hard to breathe/rib pain, sciatic pain (again). Everything is an effort, and I have to decide if it's even worth it to get up or pick something up if I drop it, ha!

Best Moment this week: Hitting the 35/35 mark! That means I've been pregnant for 35 weeks, and I only have 35 DAYS to go! WOOHOO!!!!

Now for the update on Labor and Delivery....

Sunday night I was rear-ended in Chris' truck at a stop light. Ashley was with me, and we were hit pretty hard, but thankfully there was no damage to the truck. Chris has one of those big trucks and the other driver hit Chris' metal tow hitch. The other driver's car was pretty damaged. Anyway, the police came out, but they refused to write a report because the damage wasn't enough supposedly.

Monday I had an OB appointment (my regular weekly), and when I told her about the accident she checked and I was dilated 1 cm. She wanted me to go to the hospital to have an NST (non-stress test) to check on Lawson. For the NST they basically just monitor Lawson's heartrate and movement to make sure he is doing ok. The minimum test is 20 minutes, the maximum is 2 hours. Chris, my mom, and Julia (Chris' step mom) met me up there and we got started. When Lawson was first hooked up, the nurse seemed optimistic that we would be out of there in 20 minutes as he looked GREAT on the monitors. After about 15 minutes, a new nurse came in, and introduced herself as my nurse for the night (not a good sign...). She said Lawson looked awesome, but I was contracting every 2-3 minutes so I wasn't going anywhere! Boo. They called my OB and tried turbutaline (sp?) to stop the contractions. From what I understand, it is to relax the uterus to get false labor to stop. If the contractions don't stop, it's not false labor. I also had a bag of IV fluids. By the way, I've never had an IV before, and that was NOT fun! Ugh! At least I know what to expect for real labor day! The first shot slowed the contractions but didn't stop them, so my OB ordered another one and another bag of IV fluids. The second shot did not stop them either. They weren't as regular anymore, but the goal was still to stop them. My OB was determined to keep Lawson in for the night and to let me go home, so she gave me morphine to make me comfortable and relax me and after an hour I was discharged. I still contracted some through the night, but they weren't painful or regular, so hopefully that little ordeal is over and done with. I also never dilated any more, so my cervix was never laboring (a good sign!). We really need Lawson to stay in until September 2nd at the earliest, which is 37 weeks.

The good news is that the whole time this was all going on, Lawson was showing GREAT on the monitors. He was very active and his heart rate never dropped or spiked or anything. He is a little trooper!

My OB would have preferred to put me on bed rest, but I am a teacher and this is the first week of school, so pretty much that's not happening! She was agreeable to me going back to work as long as I rest and take it easy, drink lots of fluids, and follow pelvic rest orders.

So, that is my exciting week so far, and it's only Tuesday! I am home today and can return to work tomorrow on Wednesday. I am hoping little Lawson cooperates!

Now for some maternity pictures...these were all taken by my mom at 34 weeks, 2 days. I love how they turned out! :)

34 weeks!

I'm 34 weeks (and 2 days)! 5ish weeks left!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Size of baby: Lawson is the size of a honeydew!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 14 pounds (I lost one from last week because I haven't been eating a lot. There is no more room!)

Maternity Clothes: I am rebelling against maternity jeans and bought some larger size regular jeans to wear...I am SO glad I did...WAY more comfortable than that stupid maternity panel! Shirts are a mixture, I LIVE in yoga pants now that I'm home! :) I go back to work tomorrow, and I plan to live in maxi dresses, ha!

Gender: It's a BOY! Lawson Ryan Payne

Movement: All the time! He is folded up head down (thank goodness!), with his butt under the right side of my rib cage and his legs and hands on the left side of my belly. He also has the hiccups a LOT! :) I feel him in my ribs often! His hiccups wake me (and Chris) up every morning!

Sleep: Off and on depending on how tired I am. Some nights I wake up every two hours, but some nights I sleep pretty good!

What I miss: Being able to bend over, ha! Being tan and being skinny too! Also, I miss not having something in my ribs. I can't remember the last time Lawson wasn't kicking me there, ha!
Cravings: Nothing really...I haven't been eating much. I guess fruit and sandwiches? Light stuff, because it's too HOT to eat heavy!

Symptoms: Back pain/being unable to lay on my back, growing belly, fatigue (sooooo tired all the time!), contractions, hard to breathe/rib pain, sciatic pain (again). I feel beat ALL.THE.TIME. Like I can never catch up on sleep no matter how much I try. Everything is an effort, and I have to decide if it's even worth it to get up off the couch some days. I am not looking forward to going back to work, ha!

Best Moment this week: We had our second 3D sonogram on Saturday at 34 weeks, 1 day. Lawson's little face has filled out a lot, and in at least one of the pictures I think he looks like Chris' twin nephews Braxton and Braylen! His baby cheeks and lips are so sweet! Also, we took maternity photos this morning with my mom (round 1...we will take round 2 with a sweet friend Ashley in a couple of weeks). That was fun, and once I get the CD I will post those for the belly pics this week!

33 weeks!

I'm 33 weeks (and 2 days)! 6ish weeks left!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 Weeks

Size of baby: Lawson is the size of a honeydew!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 15 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am rebelling against maternity jeans and bought some larger size regular jeans to wear...I am SO glad I did...WAY more comfortable than that stupid maternity panel! Shirts are a mixture, I LIVE in yoga pants now that I'm home! :)

Gender: It's a BOY! Lawson Ryan Payne

Movement: All the time! He is folded up head down (thank goodness!), with his butt under the right side of my rib cage and his legs and hands on the left side of my belly. He also has the hiccups a LOT! :)

Sleep: Off and on depending on how tired I am. Some nights I wake up every two hours, but some nights I sleep pretty good!

What I miss: Being able to bend over, ha! Being tan and being skinny too! Also, I miss not having something in my ribs. I can't remember the last time Lawson wasn't kicking me there, ha!
Cravings: Dairy! Yogurt, frozen yogurt, milk, ice cream...

Symptoms: Back pain/being unable to lay on my back, growing belly, fatigue (sooooo tired all the time!), contractions, hard to breathe/rib pain, sciatic pain (again). I feel beat ALL.THE.TIME. Like I can never catch up on sleep no matter how much I try. Everything is an effort, and I have to decide if it's even worth it to get up off the couch some days. I am not looking forward to going back to work, ha!

Best Moment this week: Chris, Dakota, and I worked in Lawson's room on Friday and it is READY! Chris hung up everything, put together the car seat and stroller, put up the curtains, and everything is washed and put away! Sometimes I just go in his room and look around because it doesn't seem real yet that we will have a BABY in 6 weeks! The pack n play is all set up in our room, and it's just so weird to see it every day. I can't wait to meet this handsome little man and to be a mommy to an outside baby!

Belly pictures:

31 and a half weeks I think


32 weeks


I will try to take another one this week! :)

Baby Shower

My mom, sister, and friends Kelly, Ashley, Jessica, and Lea Ann threw me a baby shower for Lawson last weekend. Everything at the shower was beautiful and I loved getting to see all of our family and friends. I feel so blessed to know that Lawson is already so loved by so many wonderful people!

Enjoy the pictures! :)

Cupcakes

Super adorable fruit baby carriage made by Jessica!

Blue punch and mason jars

Some of the decor

This is going on the hospital door!

Lea Ann with sweet Ella and Beaux

Lawson got some wonderful handmade things that will be cherished forever! My grandma made this quilt. So sweet. I can't wait for him to meet his great-grandma and use quilt!

My other grandmother handmade Lawson some receiving/swaddle blankets. Can't wait to use them!

Shannon's mom made a pillow to match his nursery and bedding! Love it!

Lawson also got LOTS and LOTS of clothes! He is going to be one well dressed handsome little man!! :)

Lawson can never have enough camo! :)

Clothes from Granny and Pawpaw

These three wonderful ladies are Lawson's great grandmothers that were able to make it to the shower. He is so so so blessed to have these amazing women in his life and I am so blessed to be able to call these women grandmothers! My mom's mom, Pat, my dad's mom, Sandra, and Chris' dad's mom, Louise.

Lawson and I with his great grandmothers!

The aftermath in his nursery. Kelly stayed for hours and helped me put things away. Since last weekend, I have washed everything and purchased the very few things that we didn't receive but are necessary for his arrival, and we are ready to go!!!!

I mean it when I say that we are so blessed. I was and am completely blown away by the generosity of the people who have shown us love and support for Lawson. We were generously gifted absolutely everything needed for Lawson's arrival with the exception of a few things. I am overwhelmed with love, joy, and anticipation for this little one to arrive! I can't wait for him to meet all the friends and family members who love him so much!!!

Blessings

This post is going to have a lot of possibly boring info in it, so feel free to skip it. I just wanted to share and also I want to remember this. :)

Our family has been struggling for the past few months financially. Bills are paid, but that's pretty much it. Chris and I are used to having disposable income at the end of the month, and pretty much being able to do what we want to do. That has not been the case lately. We have had to watch our finances much closer than normal. A few months ago, we paid off all credit card debt that I had accumulated from before I knew Chris, and we had planned on putting those cards away to be used for emergencies. We have had to use those again these past few months to get by, and although that's frustrating, I guess in the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world. I say all of this to "set the stage" for the next few paragraphs and so you can see how we have been blessed beyond words.

First, let me say that Chris and I choose to live a very comfortable life. We have a nice house (that we custom built), we have two new cars (with two car payments, ugh, ha!), we both have iPhones with data plans and messaging, we don't regulate our electricity usage for the sake of the bill, and we don't regulate our water usage for the sake of the bill, we have cable and we watch pay per view, we have great insurance. In general, we do not want for anything. I guess I say that to show you that had the following things not occurred, we would have been ok if we had cut back on some things (which is entirely possible and what we would have done if we needed).

Okay, here goes....

In 2008, Chris "lost" his job. He was working for his Dad's AC company, and that's when the economy went south and his Dad's company stopped receiving calls, so Chris stopped receiving work. I guess you could say he was laid off in a sense. He quickly found another job at Terminix, a pest control company. He liked the job, but the management left much to be desired. Let's just say that if I had to put up with the things that he did at that job, I would have left. My wonderful and hard working husband put up with so much more than anyone should have to. Due to the management situation, Chris began actively looking for another job. He got an offer in December of 2010 at Dish Network. He began working there on December 27, 2010. We found out I was pregnant on January 10, 2011. I honestly don't know if we would have made a different decision job-wise had we known just two weeks earlier that I was pregnant. I think it had to happen this way because the blessings we have received since then would never have fallen into place had Chris stayed at Terminix (God has a way of doing that, huh?). Anyway, back to the original story...

When he was hired at Dish, he was promised a set schedule and a certain amount of pay (after training). About a month into working at that job, we quickly began to realize that the things he had been promised were not going to happen. And, what do you know, the manager that promised him those things had been fired (go figure, that's how life usually works, huh?). In fact, the manager had straight up lied to him to get him to accept the job (probably one of the reasons he had been fired if this was his common practice). Chris was told that not only would he not be getting the income he was promised, but he wouldn't even be eligible for a raise until after a year of working there. The management there also began to change around what was supposed to be his "set" schedule to make it impossible to do things like spending time with Dakota and attending fire academy (something he had already started). He used all of his vacation time to attend fire academy. This meant that he would not have any paid vacation for when the baby comes. Although not ideal, we figured out how we could make it work because the maternity leave policy at my job was great. In May, we found out that due to the wonderful budget shortfall in the state of Texas, my district would be taking away that awesome maternity leave policy. No, they didn't care that I was already pregnant, and they won't be grandfathering anyone in. Great. In fact, now I would be losing a significant amount just to stay out with Lawson for six weeks, so that really messed up my original plan of 8-10 weeks of leave.

Fast forward to June (ish). Chris is getting increasingly fed up with his job. He left a job he enjoyed with terrible management but decent pay for a job he hated with terrible management and terrible pay. Not such a great trade off. He even attempted at one point to go back to Terminix. They were on a hiring freeze...lovely economic recession. Meanwhile, Chris and I are beginning to struggle more and more as we need to buy and do more things to get ready for Lawson and we are still stagnant at Chris' less than great income.

Here's where it gets good, I promise... Chris worked with someone at Terminix (I'll call him J) who left for another pest control company, Home Team Pest Control. J called him out of the blue one day in June and asked if he wanted a job. Ummmm...yes please! The manager had specifically asked if anyone knew of someone with experience in the industry, so J thought of Chris. Chris quickly did what he needed to do to apply and set up an interview. His first interview was the last week in June. It went very well, and the manager began to move the process along to get him hired. From the initial interview and from talking with J, we gathered that Chris would be making about what he was currently making at Dish for the first 90 days of training, and then would move to a production pay plan (it's like commission...for every job you do, you get a percentage of what the company makes). If you are a hard worker, there is potential for great money there (he was on this pay plan at Terminix). While the first 90 days were going to be rough, we figured that knowing there were greener pastures was better than him staying at Dish with that stagnant income, so he began to actively pursue getting the job. Below is what began to unfold in front of us....

• Chris went in for his drug test and physical the first week of July. We really wanted him to receive an offer by July 15th so that he could put in his two weeks notice at Dish and begin the new job on August 1st.
  
• Chris went in for a second interview the second week of July, and the manager couldn't find his drug test results. We begin to get frustrated.
• We play the waiting game for the third week in July, waiting for a call back from the manager at Home Team.
• Home Team finally calls and Chris has to go in to sign an offer letter.
• The offer letter is for a brand new position at the company that has been created just for him (the real reason for the delay, not the drug test results). For the first 90 days, Chris will be making $4 more per hour than we originally thought the training period would pay (so $4 more per hour than he's making now at Dish), and after that he has a choice of either making $2 more or going to the production plan I wrote about above!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were ecstatic! This new position that has been created for him includes animal removal (hello, right up Chris' alley!) and home repair.
• The offer also includes a company truck and gas card (no unnecessary mileage on his truck, and gas to and from work is PAID).
• The offer also includes (in writing, that's the kicker, and where we went wrong with Dish, nothing was in writing) ONE WEEK OF PAID VACATION for when the baby comes in September, even though Chris is technically not eligible for vacation until January 2012. This was probably the single most important thing that screamed at me that this was the perfect place for Chris to be. He had told them about the baby at the initial interview so that they would know he would be taking a week of unpaid leave in September. The fact that this company was willing to pay him for that shows that they value family and that they value Chris as an employee.
• Chris puts in his two week notice at Dish at the end of the third week in July, and his start date at Home Team will be August 8th.
  
• It ends up working out that he didn't get to start August 1st because the very last doctor appointment that Chris really has to be at (sonogram) is August 5th, and he doesn't have to take off work to go!
• Chris calls the Texas Department of Agriculture to check on his license status. His license should have expired in January 2011, but if you work for a pest control company, the renewal is automatic. Terminix didn't show him as an inactive employee until June of 2011 (I have NO idea why!!!), so now his license is valid and he doesn't even have to go through all of that training and testing with the state again!!! The new company can just call the state and transfer his license over to under their name. This is HUGE.
  

If all of the above isn't enough to make you think God had a hand in all of this, here is some more...

We struggled for quite a while with trying to understand why all of this happened and being angry with ourselves for Chris ever leaving Terminix. When we really started thinking about it, there were even more blessings.

• When Chris left Terminix, he was able to withdraw his retirement. This amount single handedly paid for his fire academy tuition in full. He never would have been able to enroll in fire academy without this (or he would have had to take out a loan, which probably wouldn't have happened due to the financial situation we were in. We wouldn't have wanted to take on the extra debt).
• At Dish, Chris worked four 10 hour days and was off three days each week. Although this was annoying at times, it allowed him to get some much needed extra time in with Dakota while she was here for the month of July and me while I was home for the summer.

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. If I didn't believe that before, I sure do now more than ever. I cannot even fathom all of the little things that had to fall into place for the above to happen.

Chris starts his new job at Home Team on Monday, and with this new job, we will have a disposable income again, and that is even after paying for daycare!!!

I am so proud of my husband and the fact that he is willing to work so hard and do whatever it takes to provide for our family. He truly deserves this great thing that happened to him, and he truly deserves to be given this "break."

I can't imagine being more blessed than we are right now in this moment.