November 13, 2012- 40.5 weeks

Well the due date has come and gone.... and no baby yet. I am not feeling any different than I have the past few weeks so it's a bit of a surreal feeling knowing that he could sneak up on me and come any time now. I feel like I SHOULD feel different before he arrives, so my feeling is still that he's a few days or a week away... but we will see! Here's some photos of me on Thursday...two days before DD.

Grandpa and Grandma Cloud are now in town and it's been fun to spend some time with them before the little guy arrives. We went to dinner with both parents on Friday at one of our favorite places, Woodberry Kitchen.

We are putting the finishing touches on the nursery and enjoying working on that together. Here are some photos of the nursery as of now.

Hope to share some news of his arrival soon!!

October 30,2012 -38.5 weeks

We are down to 11 days left til due date!! I am not really feeling much different except that my feet/ankles are looking a little more swollen, so my guess (though I have no experience) is that he won't be early... But we'll see! I am grateful that he held off during the hurricane...not only because we didn't want to be on the roads, but the Cloud grandparents arrive one week from tomorrow so we're hoping he can wait at least until they get here!

My current guess of his arrival is November 19. Brandon says tomorrow, but I don't think that will happen....

Here are some photos of me the past week. This is me with Wudan, who is due at the end of February.

Here are a couple from a Halloween party this past weekend. I went as an 8 Ball, some may call it a lazy pregnancy costume but I'm pretty proud of the creativity.

Here is a photo of me today! I don't see how there is possibly room for him to be there a few more weeks but I guess we will see.

October 19, 2012 - 37 weeks

We have had a busy past few days, so the week just snuck up on me! 37 weeks! He is so big now that I think he is just shifting around and I don't feel quite as much kicking as I have in the past. But I am much more uncomfortable these days. It's hard to be content just sitting on the couch very long.... or at my desk at work. Work has been busy for me so it's a good distraction to my day. I spent this week trying to get things done from now until mid January JUST IN CASE he comes, which is a wild thought. So now that I am so prepared, he will probably not come until Thanksgiving :-) Here are two photos of me at week 37.

Last week I had TWO showers and now have everything that we need for his arrival. My co-workers had a surprise shower for me last Thursday which was really fun and of course we had some delightful food/desserts. Here are a few photos from the shower.

Then, the next night, I had ANOTHER shower at our friends the Rawley's house. I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of people who love our son already and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in our life. Annalise took some photos but this is the only one I have now. I will add more later.

The following night we had a dinner party with some friends (because I am a CRAZY PERSON) It was really fun and didn't end up being terribly exhausting for me. Here's a photo of the table and the individual maple cheesecakes with sauteed pears that I made.









Sunday I was finally able to sleep in and get things organized in the baby's room. Brandon and I spent an hour or two making sure we had everything that we NEED if he were to come today... and I think we are pretty set now. Here's a couple pictures of his room.

This weekend should be a little more low key.... My goal for the weekend is to get the car seat installed and pack my bag for the hospital! Rebekah is away for a week, so we have Landon this weekend which will be good practice for us to learn to balance our life with a child... though he is a little more energy.....

October 9, 2012 - 35 week photos

My friend Jill Wishart (http://jillianleephotography.com/) took some photos of me last week so I wanted to share.....

October 5, 2012- 35 weeks

October! It's amazing that Baby Cloud could be here in five weeks! I just had my 35 week appointment and we are both doing well. The midwife said it feels like he is laying on his side with his head down (which explains why I have been feeling more kicking on my right side!) Next week we will have another sonogram to confirm if his head is down. I'm excited to see him - He is so big now! Apparently he is over 5 lbs and 18 inches long...There is definitely not a lot more room for him to grow.

I am doing pretty well. The past few weeks have been up and down as I've been feeling more uncomfortable with back pain and my skin feels really tight (because it is!) I am still sleeping well and grateful for that, but I feel tired and hungry most days. Last night I had a massage and got to use a special prego pillow that enabled me to lay on my stomach and back - it was such a nice change from lying on my side!

Brandon and I are getting more excited about his arrival and thinking about bundling him up for the cooler weather. Brandon is already planning out what he is going to wear for our Christmas photo! I am starting to think about everything I need to make sure I have before he gets here (It is amazing how much a tiny baby needs) and getting things organized at work.

I'll post some photos soon - Thanks for being excited with us!

September 23, 2012- 33 weeks

Baby Cloud has been super active this week - we enjoy watching him wiggle around - it feels like he is dancing and flipping around in my belly. My midwives asked me to lay on my side for two hours a day and make sure he is moving at least 10 times in that period, but we are not even remotely concerned about that! He seems very active around 8 pm every night... I'm guessing that is when he gets whatever I ate for dinner, and either sleeps or doesn't bother me at night- I am still sleeping through the night which seems pretty impressive to me!

Last Sunday some friends hosted a shower for me! It was really fun but overwhelming to see the amount of friends who love us and our son already. We got so many fun gifts, which of course I have organized already! Here are some photos from the day!

Measuring my belly

Pregnant friends

(In order of due date, Katie is due a few days before me!)

Other friends (non pregnant, except Katie E... as far as I know......)

This week we have also gotten A LOT done on the nursery. (By "we", I mean Brandon did a lot while I supervised....) Things are starting to really come together and we are happy with how everything looks! It is amazing to think of having our baby sleep in there. I am also a little confused why my baby has nicer furniture than I do.... but perhaps we can remedy that one of these days. Here are a few pictures  from the nursery so far. 

September 14, 2012 - 32 weeks

32 weeks already. I can't believe he could be here in 8 weeks! Or even less. Eek!

I spent last week in major reorganization and purging mode while Brandon was away at the DNC. I cleaned out the baby's closet - where I had been storing random things like sweaters, Christmas stuff, my dresses that didn't fit in my closet... which led to reorganizing my closet, the laundry room (the natural storage place for those items) and the office (room to the right of living room). I think I probably over did it a bit because I was exhausted every night but it was a great feeling. The baby's room is looking good with his items hanging in the closet from the Montana shower.

I am feeling pretty good overall. I feel fortunate that I sleep well and still don't wake up at all in the night, but am having a lot of back pain and heartburn which is no fun. Some days it is really difficult to focus on my work because my back hurts so much. But I'm sure it will be worth it!

Last weekend I went to visit some college roommates in Boston and had a really great time - we went to a Train concert, whale watching, Cape Cod and just enjoyed being together. Here are a few photos of our time/my belly.

August 30, 2012 - 30 weeks tomorrow!

30 weeks already! Time is flying by and we are starting to gear up for little Cloud. Last weekend we went to a birth class that lasted all day. It was a lot of information but we learned a lot about the stages of labor, when to go to the hospital, etc. Brandon learned some massage techniques that I am sure he will be happy to practice often.

This week we set up the crib (it is weird to have a crib in our house!) and I hope to get things a little more organized this weekend.

Here is dad setting up the crib

Baby Cloud is 3 lbs now, but I feel like he is much bigger with his powerful kicks and punches, and the amount of pain I have in my back! The heartburn is also getting worse, but I know I have a lot to be grateful for.

Things I am grateful for:
- Baby is healthy so far
- I don't wake up in the night at all (to  go to the bathroom or anything)
- My belly button hasn't popped out (I know that is weird but I don't know how I feel about an outie)
- I am not throwing up
- A sweet hubby

We also love spending time with our nephew, and he is loving on his cousin already. Here is a photo of him touching the baby, and then giving him a kiss. He will be such a good cousin!

August 22 - 28.5 weeks

We are officially in the third trimester! I have been feeling the little guy kick a lot more consistently - he even responds to a flashlight (he obviously has my genes in intelligence- just kidding!) I have been feeling pretty good overall. I am still tired and hungry all the time... something I can't imagine will get any better as he is growing at such a rapid rate now. And my heartburn is still lingering, along with back pain, but I know overall I am lucky.

I spent the weekend in Montana with Baby Cloud's grandparents and Aunt Amanda. We had a wonderful time together - enjoying some great meals, good laughs and baby Cloud is already getting spoiled by his grandparents.... They even surprised Amanda and I with a double shower! (Well I thought I was planning a surprise for Amanda and she thought she was planning one for me!) It was so much fun and makes everything feel more real. It was so special to share this with Amanda who is due only six weeks after me!

We are excited to get the nursery a little more situated this month as our crib and dresser should be arriving in the next week or so, and Grandma Cari is making some fun items for the room (I picked out some fabric this weekend!)

We feel so blessed and overwhelmed that people love our little son so much already, and can't wait for you to meet him! Thank you for loving us.

August 8, 26.5 weeks- Dad Special Guest Author

Hey everyone, Brandon here. Thanks to everyone for following along our joyous time on here. We are glad we can keep you all in the loop.

Things are going really well with us and the pregnancy. Rachel has been amazing. She is such a natural and takes everything in stride. There are some struggles though as she has started to get heartburn quite often and is staring at her closet for great lengths of time in the morning, seemingly waiting for her tummy to recede before dressing.

We are 93 days from our due date. The first 6 months have flown by (again don't forget this is Brandon writing) and have been some of the best days, weeks, and months of our marriage. We are enjoying our time with each other even more than ever it seems. We know the hard parts are ahead of us as the baby who is bouncing all around right now will soon run out of space and I will be working long hours away from my family, however our excitement and expectation is wonderful. We know we have been so blessed and we cannot wait to meet our little guy.

Baby (who has already been to Las Vegas, Hawaii, and North Carolina) will soon be traveling to Boston and Montana in the coming weeks, so pray for Rachel to be comfortable and enjoy her last adventures for a few months.

Thank you all for your love and support. We are blessed to have such a great family and wonderful friends to lean on. We love you all and cant wait for you to meet little Mr. Cloud in a few short months.

Brandon, Rachel, and Baby

July 23, 2012 - 24.5 weeks

Well the little guy is growing at a rapid rate these days.... He gained 4 oz in a week! He is currently about 12 inches and should be about 13.5 by the end of this week. I have been feeling tired and very hungry these days, and I suppose that makes sense with the rapid growth he is taking on. This weekend I also started getting cramps in my leg in the middle of the night which was no fun....combined with pain in my lower back, I feel like an old lady! I also got sick last night for the first time in a while, but other than that, I have been feeling pretty good and I feel fortunate.

It's hard to believe he could be here in 16 weeks. I am having a hard time picturing our life with a baby in it, and am sure I won't really be able to grasp it until he's actually here. Yesterday we started painting his room but it still doesn't feel that real yet. I'm hoping to start registering soon and maybe that will help.

Brandon and I recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Maui and enjoyed the time together to relax! (Though we are having a hard time getting back into our normal lives.....) Here are a few photos from our time.

Here's me lounging on a chair just looking pregnant

Watching the sunset after dinner at a yummy seafood restaurant

Morning snorkeling trip to Molokini crater (a submerged volcano in the background)

Pregnancy special breakfast. Biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and cheese. It's the real deal.

A trip over to Lan'ai for a night where we played the beautiful Challenge at Manele

A view from the Challenge. This is my practice swing - I did not miss the ball.

Playing golf at Kapalua Plantation. A challenging course (and perhaps my sunburned stomach didn't help...) but it was beautiful! 

The view from outside Brandon's grandparents house where we stayed - and every day beautiful weather!