34 Week Checkup

A lot has gone on since the last time I wrote! I am sorry it has been so long!Monday (12/6) and Tuesday (12/7) Leslie was here painting Tristyn's room. On Monday they put up the base coat and started the picket fence. By Tuesday they had totally finished everything, even her dresser! Everything looks great, better than I had imagined. I will try and post pictures today but my website is not allowing me much space so I might have to take down the baby shower pictures until I can purchase some web space.

On Thursday (12/9) Tasha came over to stay the night because she took a vacation day on Friday to spend the day with me. Mom & Glenn also came over to see Tristyn's room. They brought a bucket of chicken and some sides from KFC and we all sat around and had a good time. Friday (12/10) morning Tasha and I got up early and went and dropped off Sarge at Mom's office so she could babysit him. After that we headed to Petsmart to drop off Trooper for a grooming, then we headed to Burger King for breakfast. After a quick bite to eat we went to Lawrenceville to the Tag Office to get a tag for the Expedition...that took a little longer than expected because the lady did not know what she was doing!

My 34 week appointment was at 12:40pm at the Northside Office in Atlanta, so I had to drive on 2-85 which was a first for me! We got there 10 minutes early which was nice. When I went to check in they asked who I was seeing and I didn't quite remember...then they told me I was seeing a doctor which kind of upset me because I have been seeing midwifes all along. Once I checked in and went to sit down I complained to Tasha the entire time about how I didn't want to see a doctor...blah blah blah. They called us back (Tash went with) and weighed me...I have gained 36 pounds since the start which isn't too bad! Then went into the room to talk to the Doc. I began telling her that the day before (Thursday) I was having some lower abdominal pain when I moved around and I had felt like Tristyn switched positions because the top of my belly was extremely hard and sitting up straight was really uncomfortable. She felt around on my belly and could not tell which position Tris was in so she decided to do a cervical exam to check. When she did the exam she said that Tris was definitely still head down (which is great because usually by this time they are in the position they will be in for birth) and she also said that I was already dilated 1cm! I was freaked out! I'm glad Tasha was there because she had to remember all of the questions I wanted to ask and all of the doctor's responses because I was totally out in left field! The doc said it was nothing to worry about and to just watch my contractions from now on. But how exciting! It really makes things seem so much more real. The doc also said not to worry about the lower abdominal pain, that Tristyn was probably just sitting on a nerve, but next time it happens just take it easy. I went ahead and made my next 2 appointments, Thursday 12/16 at 10:40am is the next appointment.

After that extravaganza Tasha and I went to the bank, CVS, and then Olive Garden for lunch. By that time we were both so hungry that we couldn't even tell how starving we were! We had a great lunch and an even better dessert...black tie moosse cake! YUM! We tore that thing to pieces in like 4.5 seconds...LOL! We then headed over to pickup Trooper and then swung by Mom's to grab Sarge. We made our last stop at the Post Office to get holiday stamps and mail Dad's package and then headed home. We were both so exhausted for a full day of running...but I'm so glad she was with because I couldn't have done it all alone! That night Tasha started washing all of Tristyn's clothes and linens. Saturday morning we slept in and then worked on Tristyn's room. Tasha got EVERYTHING organized and put away. I can't believe how much she did! I wasn't feeling that great, my feet and ankles are swollen and I felt like I might have had a couple of contractions throughout the day. Needless to say, Tasha really came through and helped Josh and I out so much. That night we went and ate Chinese and then came home and lounged around.

Sunday morning we went to the early service at Crossroads church. It was Tasha's first time there and she loved it. She says that she will be going back with us every weekend! Yay! We came home and straightened up the house and then Melanie and Rick came over to see Tristyn's room. We all went to lunch at La Cazuela in Cumming and then came back to house to hang out. Tasha headed home and Rick & Mel stayed for a while to chit chat. After they left Josh and I loaded up some odds and ends to take to storage and then came home and crawled in bed to watch Extreme Home Makeover and Desperate Housewives. We had a great weekend!

I'm doing pretty well. My feet and ankles are giant...they look like big hot dogs! At times that seems to be the only way I can explain how I feel - like a big hot dog! Swollen and puffy! LOL! My lower backache has not been bothering me as much this past week but I still ache when I get up from sitting or lying down. I've had several minor contractions over the past week but nothing regular. My belly is still growing bigger and bigger everyday and my stretch marks are getting worse...but I guess it comes with the territory! 2 more weeks and we will be considered full term (37 weeks) and only 5 more weeks until our due date! It's sneaking up so fast...I am going to miss being pregnant but I can't wait to meet our little girl!

School is done! YAY! So that makes things a lot better for me. I had a statistics final on Thursday and my 35 week appointment on Thursday also. Friday is the Jackson family Christmas gathering which will be held here. I am making meatloaf, mashed potatoes, greenbean casserole, macaroni and cheese, and biscuits. We'll have dinner and exchange gifts and just spend a little time together. That's all I have planned for this week! Right now is "Taylor Time"...the last couple of days/weeks of my life without a child - so I am going to enjoy it while I can! LOL!

I didn't sleep a wink last night so I'm going to crawl in bed and watch Regis & Kelly and try to get some zzzz's. I'm trying to post the nursery pictures right now and I should have the 8 month pictures up today also.Happy Holidays!Love,Taylor