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.