37 & 38 weeks, early post

Since I have off today and have been busy on Tuesdays, I figured Id post today!

37 Weeks
I cant believe we are 37 weeks and finally considered full term! She should be around 6 1/3 lbs and a little over 19 inches. Full term also means the baby is basically fully developed and if she came anytime between now and 42 weeks, they wouldnt try to stop labor.

Of course with the excitement came a scare. I had told my doctor at my 36 week appt (that Thursday)that for some reason the only thing I have been concerned with this entire pregnancy is leaking fluid. I dont know why, Ive never known anyone to have this problem nor have I read about this problem...Ive just been worried. The midwife I normally see tested me a few weeks prior to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid and it came up negative but it still didnt wipe away my worries. So this appointment I expressed my concern again and they immediately made an appointment for me to go to the hospital that day. Im assuming because Im so far along and the baby is so big, no one really said much. Of course I immediately go into worry mode and of course the thought crossed my mind that if I was leaking a decent amount of fluid that they would induce me that day and little Baby Jersey would be here sooner that planned, with no one prepared. We arrived to the hospital and they did an ultrasound to see if there was enough fluid around the baby and then I met with the doctor. He pretty much told me he couldnt confirm or deny that I was leaking fluid but he could tell me the fluid around the baby looked good. At least one of my questions was answered, she was okay.

At my 37 week appointment (this past Thursday) I got the results from the Group B Strep test that was takin at the appointment the week before and I was happy to hear it was negative! The midwife also tried to feel my belly to see if the baby was in position but couldnt tell what was head and what was butt. Sooo she popped me on the ultrasound machine and confirmed that she is in position for delivery! Also I asked her if there was any way she could tell if Baby Jersey was definitely a girl since they werent 100% sure at the anatomy scan. She wasnt sure she would be able to since they are pretty big at this point and arent always in the right position. Lucky for us though, she was and she confirmed its definitely a girl! I was really excited after that. I would have been thrilled either way, even if she said "nope, its definitely a boy". I was just excited to know for sure and not worry about having all girls clothes when a little boy arrived!

38 Weeks
One week closer! She is about 6.8 lbs and 19.5 inches long now. Its so amazing how fast they grow in just a weeks time in this last month!

Photo taken from babycenter.com


The past few weeks and heat have brought on the swelling. This weekend seems to be the worst, I no longer fit in my flip flops and had to loosen my sneakers A TON! The baby is still really active though. Our friends got a kick out of watching her move around the other night. I think the guys were the most freaked out! Mr. Jersey and I are so use to how active she is, we just smiled- thats our little girl!


Lately, people keep asking if Im scared, and maybe I should be but Im surprisingly not. We are just getting anxious to meet her. Its hard to describe. I think because my entire life Ive dreamed of being a Mom more than anything. Its like knowing all your life you wanted a specific career that you would be perfect at, something that comes completely natural to you. Then finally finding that perfect job you've dreamed about and knowing your first day is right around the corner. Not being scared of what the future brings or how you are going to do, you just know that this is what you were meant to do. And although you know there will be good days and bad, you cant wait to start.

Sometimes I just sit and wonder what she looks like. What mixed features she has of ours and what features she has of her own. Its so crazy that Ive carried our little girl for 8.5 months, love her more that words could say, feel like I already know her but have never laid my eyes on her. Also, although we dont expect her to come before my due date, she could come any day now. Its exciting beyond words. The fact that Mr. Jersey will make an AMAZING Daddy, and is also just as excited as I am for that moment when we meet our baby girl for the first time, definitely makes the excitement even more intense.

Well, thats enough of my ramblings for this weeks pregancy update.

Hope everyone has a great week!

36 weeks!

Yowsa, 36 weeks! Shes about 6 lbs now and 18.5 inches. By now she should be in the birthing position (head down) but Im not sure she is following those rules. She was ALL over the place last night. Attempting an escape I think. She has also had the hiccups at least once a day (yesterday she had them FOUR times!). Its cute but I feel bad and helpless! Not that Id be able to do anything for hiccups if she were outside my belly anyway.

We reached a big milestone this weekend, our master bedroom is finally done so we are sleeping downstairs! No more going up and down the steps all night for bathroom breaks! Of course I had to set up all the baby stuff! And I feel MUCH better now that I did, I definitely feel more prepared for her arrival (since next Tuesday Ill be considered FULL TERM!) Check out some pics below...

Pack and play (where she will be sleeping in our room)with the changing station attached and the boppy on top :o)


Our baby organizer for behind the door...



Of course the swing is set up in the living room (caution...living room spoiler pic since I havent done the blog post on the new furniture yet!)




And last but not least, the travel system is ready to go. (Dont mind all the other random baby things stacked around it)


Theres the happy news of 36 weeks!

Of course not everything about being 36 weeks brings smiles. The downside is I have had an extreme increase in stretch marks. Ahh! I never really had stretch marks anywhere and they only showed their ugly faces a few weeks ago if you recall I bought the awesome (or so I thought) Burts Bees Belly Balm. Sadly its not doing the trick to fight off those bad boys. They are coming in full force. I keep getting encouraging words like "they arent too bad, they will go away" and as the get worse, Im starting to worry they wont and Ill be stuck with ugly stretch marks and full piece bathing suits for the rest of my life. In the big picture though, its a small price to pay for the baby we have dreamed about our whole lives. And I really have been extremely lucky through the pregnancy so far. Id be crazy to think that it would be the "perfect" pregnancy right?

Hope everyone had a great Tuesday! Next week is full term and the wait offically begins (although I think she is gonna hang in there until after the due date). We shall see!

33 & 34 weeks!

Last week was a bit busy and I was unable to post the weekly baby update. So, Ill start with last weeks updates.

33 Weeks
The baby is just over 4 lbs and has passed the 17 inch mark, and Im feeling every bit of it. My beautiful baby bump now is exposing its ugly side with stretch marks! Ah! I swear, Wednesday night I went to bed with no marks at all then Thursday morning, 2 dark stretch marks. Grr! Since then I have had a few other lighter stretch marks show up. I immediately went out Friday morning and purchased a new tin of Burts Bees "Momma Bee" belly balm. Hopefully it starts helping with the stretch marks that have already started and helps avoid future ones!

On Tuesday of last week I woke up worried. I noticed for the last 2 days I hadnt felt the baby be her normal kick boxing self. As of 9:30 am on Tuesday I still hadnt felt her move. I knew she was alive but after reading many articles on counting your baby's movements and being worried if it wasnt normal...I panicked. I called the doctor and they set up an appt for that afternoon. Minutes after hanging up the phone, I lost it...completely. I cant remember the last time I cried that hard. Luckily my Mom works with me so she was there for support and offered to come to the appt with me. I actually text Mr. Jersey to tell him about the appt because I couldnt even speak. We went to the appt, they hooked me up to some fetal monitors and almost instantly after the nurse put that cold gel on the monitor, my little monster was back. She was NOT a fan of the cold gel and kick and pushed to get away, I loved having my feisty girl back. I was hooked up to the monitors for about 15 mins while they measured her heartbeat and I had to hit a button every time she moved. My Mom loved being able to hear her healthy heartbeat also. The doctor came in after and assured me that the results were of a perfectly healthy baby and I had nothing to worry about. *smiles*

Saturday was also my baby shower. We're so lucky to have such amazing family and friends, the shower was awesome and we got a TON of stuff! Luckily I didnt get too many doubles and only have a few other items to get before the baby is here.




34 weeks
Almost there! The baby is about 4 3/4 lbs and almost 18 inches this week! I have noticed that my fatigue has definitely come back. Not nearly as bad as the first trimester but Im definitely feeling more run down. Between the heat, staying up late over the weekend, tossing and turning and bathroom trips it definitely has me losing more sleep than usual. Yesterday I actually came into work late because I was so exhausted, I couldnt even get out of bed. Also my belly button has started to pop! Its about half way popped so it looks a little goofy. The swelling has come back also which is always fun. But aside from being a little tired and swollen, Im feeling pretty normal. Still not really feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions but thats not unusual.

Thats about it so far this week! Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Bourbon anyone?!

Hey all! Since our blog was based around my animals orginally and I havent posted too much about them I figured Id try to introduce one of my animals each Friday and explain their "story". Today Im kicing it off Critter of the Week with my beloved snake Bourbon!

Behind the boa names
As you may have noticed all our (originally owned- non adopted) Boas are named after alcohol. It started with our very first snake and boa Corona, becaused we loved the name. Corona was an awesome snake. Bourbons "personality" reminds me a lot of him. But we got Corona when Mr. Jerseyjess and I first started dating. People who came over imediately fell in love with Corona and he also helped "heal" a few people of their snake fears. About 6 months after we had Corona we decided to get into morph boas and breeding. We picked up Whiskey and Tequila, a male and female pair of het albinos. Het albinos mean they carried the trait for albino and when bred together part of their clutch (baby snakes) would be albino. Anywho...we decided after realizing we wanted to breed snakes that it would be easy to stick with a theme and since Corona was already an alcohol and there were TON of alcohols, we chose that! After we got Whiskey and Tequila we had our first summer in the rental house. It was hot. We turned on the a/c for the first time and at this point all the reptiles were in one room (since we had 5 iguanas at that point). The room was warm as it should be, and with the a/c flowing we knew it wouldnt overheat the room. I checked the vents in the house before I left and air was flowing through the vents. We both left for work. We came home that night to realize the house wasnt cool at all. It was hot. Really hot. No a/c. I immediately went into the reptile room and checked everyone. They all had water, the iguanas were okay...our ball python Monty was okay, our corn snakes were okay...the boas werent moving. We lost 4 snakes that day due to the room over heating: Corona, Whiskey, Tequila and a baby ball python we were watching for a friend. I was devistated. Mr. Jerseyjess checked throughout the house to find out why the a/c hadnt come on. Apparently the fans came on which is what I felt coming out of the vents that morning but in order for the a/c to turn on we had to flip a switch that said "pool". Awesome. Thinking about those animals we lost still makes us sad. In honor of our late boas we decided to not give up and keep the alcohol name tradition going...which started up again with our Bourbon baby.

Bourbon (who is also the snake featured on the main pic of the blog) holds a special place in my heart. I definitely have a soft spot for the guy (dont tell the others!). He is a Colombian Boa and is about 5 years old. We got him when he was just a wee one from the pet store I was working at. I loved the pinkish hue he had and he was so clean looking (no speckles).



So cute! He was always a mellow snake, never got an attitude or tried to strike at anyone. He has always been EXTREMELY photogenic also. He always seems to want to know what we are up to and stop to pose for the camera. Such a handsome boy!






Where are all the books on Colombia?!


The above pic is with the (then) babies (who are also sisters) Alize and Tequila Rose.

32 weeks...and an addiction.

Hello 32 weeks! Only 7 more to go, squeeeee! Its flying by! She is about 3.75 lbs and 16.7 inches this week. At this point I should be gaining about a pound a week, and about half of that goes to the baby. "She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth." Babycenter.com



We had our breathing and relaxation class last night. All went well, I have absolutely no problem relaxing so that's good! haha I have to work on my breathing techniques a bit so I have them down come time for the real deal. Of course Mr. Jerseyjess was making jokes the whole time and I was laughing so it made it hard to "be serious" and focus. Then the lady said the dreaded words "supporters, if you can make your partner laugh during the labor...that's great, good for you!". He loved that one. And Im thinking oh lord lady, do you realize what you just did to me?! So I already plan on having extra objects around that I can launch at my clown of a husband! Makenna decided she wanted to be a goofball like her Dad and made my stomach an earthquake the entire class, she seriously did not sit still. I'm wondering if she thought all the "your contractions are peaking...switch breathing techniques" were the real deal and she was trying to escape. Luckily she hasn't found the escape route yet!

Aside from that there isn't too much to report this week. I figured Id post about some of my recent baby finds...


I wonder if they make a rehab for giraffe addictions?

Cause I haz one...

I have been trying not to buy TOO many baby clothes. Aside from my big sale hit at Sears, but all those clothes were for this winter. So I hit up my fave bargain store, Ross, looking for clothes I could wear being 7-9 monhts preggo and OF COURSE had to look at the baby section. At first there were no finds. Im not into the clothes that have the name brands written across them, Im not a walking billboard and our baby wont be either.

Then... I spotted it.





Giraffes.



Its neutral and still super cute, and has a giraffe. I win! As I searched through the racks and abundance of Puma, Roxy and Polo baby gear... I spotted another. Now this time it was a set and the bib got me.







So cute! And it even says daddy's little princess on the onsie. Awww! (or so I was thinking at the moment).

At this point I'm pretty happy with my cheap and o-so-cute buys (thanks Carters and Ross!). The next day I decided it would be good to stop at a different Ross, yanno, to see if they have clothes for me. Right. I bee line for the baby section...more Puma and Polo...ugh.

Then, OH MY GOSH. They must have made this outfit set specifically for MY baby. Carters should really get out of my head. And bingo, they have it in newborn. This time, it was the hat. Definitely. I couldn't resist.








So far this is going to be her coming home outfit. Im so excited, she will look so cute in that little giraffe hat! Neiko approved of the outfit and cant wait until he can cuddle with his little sister...





I have a few other giraffe obsessed outfits but dont have pics of them at the moment. BUT I did wanna share these adorable non- giraffe outfits!

This one I picked up at Target for $6. Couldnt resist! It has a little fish on the butt and says "Catch me Im cute" in the front of the shorts, again Carters got me.





This outfit was actually given to us by a good friend. I absolutely love the little shoes!



AND last but definitely not least, if you dont know already, I have a love for Dr Seuss! Im trying to collect a bunch of the books for her nursery because Dr Suess is just the man and no child should ever have to go Seuss-less. Then I saw this awesome Horton onesie at Ross! It says "I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful one hundred percent!". Gah!



Thats all for today! If you made it this far through this long post, I heart you!

Hope everyone has a good Tuesday!

31 Weeks- Baby Day!

Happy Tuesday! Today is 31 weeks, moving right along. She is about 16 inches and weighs around 3.3 lbs.


photo from baby center.com

I am pretty much over my cold which is fantastic! Im feeling a lot better and have much more energy than last week. The baby is kicking a ton, as always, and I think I felt my first Braxton Hicks contract on on Friday. I probably wouldn't have noticed but from the way a few people described how it would feel it was pretty close to what they described. Painless.

I also had my 3 hour glucose test done on Friday. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They actually had a separate room with a tv and comfy-as-hell recliner. I had a little timer and had to get blood taken 5 times throughout the 3 hours. Now I just walk around looking like a pregnant drug addict with all the bruises on my arm from the needles. Bah. Oh well. Im interested to see the results though.

Also, I had a doctors appt on Wednesday. She said I was right on target for my weight gain. I have gained about 20 lbs so far, and she said 30 is average for a full term pregnancy so with 2 months left, Im not doing so bad. Hooray! Of course when I look at the normal, non pregnancy end of it and realized I gained 20 lbs Im not so thrilled. BUT it (and more) will be hopefully flying off once the baby is born!

Monday, the 19th, is our Breathing and Relaxation class. Im pretty excited about that one. It was recommended by the hospital for woman who were more interested in Natural Birth and ways to control the pain. Thats us! As most of you know, I dont want any drugs during the labor process. Call me crazy but Im determined to do it since Im not a huge fan of medication. I figured why should I bring my baby into the world all drugged up if I dont like medication/ People have done natural births for thousands of years...if they can do it, so can I. Plus I saw when they put the epidural in my sister in laws back and there is no way in hell they are coming near my spine with that needle! So Im pretty set in my ways and interested to see how that goes.

In case you missed my post somewhere along the way, here are a few pics of me at 30 weeks.


Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

One Mans Trash is Another Womans Treasure...

I work for a moving company so there is always old storage lots around here that are full of old furniture. Majority of it is crap...old and useless crap. Well we sent a trailer over to the local auction and they sold what they could and claimed the rest for trash. The auction coordinator said that nothing else was good and we just need to buy a big dumpster and empty the rest. Dumpster eh? Seems like a fine place to find some furniture for our house! Haha...

My Mom (who is the manager here) ended up spotting this guy as they were cleaning off the trailer...



Its in really great condition, not broken anywhere, all the drawers and cabinets work. With a little sand paper, new handles and dark stain it will make the perfect buffet cabinet!

In other news, despite the fact that Mr. Jerseyjess has been working double shifts almost every day, our bedroom reno is progressing nicely! He told me yesterday that it looks like we should be able to paint this weekend...and put the floors in shortly after (depending on his work schedule). Sweet! Im excited to be staying on the main floor and not have to go up and down those steep steps in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Plus we will be able to put our clothes in the dressers finally and be just one more step closer to living a "normal" life.