Weekly Update

Well, no pictures to go along with this post, but I just wanted to document my 32nd week of pregnancy so far. The big news is...the babies are still inside of me:) A huge answered prayer. 32 weeks is a big milestone developmentally. We have most things checked off of our preparation list (at least the things that have to be done), I just need to finish packing "the bag."

Not too much to report. I just had a Dr's appt and everything looks great. No ultrasound (boo) but I have one scheduled in 2 weeks. Then I will start going every week after that. I'm measuring 38 weeks, which is normal, and the doctor said so far he forsees me making it to at least 36 weeks!! Babies' heartbeats were strong and they are still kicking and rolling all the time.

So, an uneventful visit, which is actually a good visit:) Now if I could only kick this sinus infection........

Hope you all have a good week!

Nursery Pictures and 31 weeks

Ok, the moment some of you have been waiting for:).....nursery pictures! Below is a series of pictures, going around the nursery counterclockwise. Josh is going to try and take a video later this week so you can get a better idea, but I'm not sure if it will fit on the blog. So here are the pics!

Closet (to the immediate right of the door):

Hamper, crates of blankets and sheets, basket of bibs and pacis, outfits/clothes from newborn to 6 months ( I had the WONDERFUL help of a great friend who helped me organize the closet in under 2 hours).

Rest of the clothes and our wonderful stash of newborn to size 1 diapers and wipes

Fabric bins labeled from 0-6 months with the gender, that include socks, shoes, hats, onesies, and sleepers

Baby Girl's corner, next to the closet:

You can't see super well in this picture but the sheets are polka dots. I made the crib skirt and tied ribbons on the bumper. My great-aunt made the blanket, which matches perfectly! To the left of the crib is a stack of very soft blocks made by one of my dear friends as a surprise. It says STEEDS.

I matted the picture frames with fabric left over from the bedskirts. The top one will have a picture of handprints, 2nd one of parents and baby and bottom one of footprints (which obviously we will have to wait on those:) In the middle of the shelf will be a gift given by Josh (undecided at this time). To the left of the shelf will be the first initial of Baby Girl, hung by a ribbon. The standing picture on the shelf will be changed to the first picture of Baby Girl, instead of me as a baby.

Baby Boy's corner:

Basically same as pink crib, only blue:)

Same idea as the other shelf and frames, only Baby Boy's shelf already has Josh's gift on it (itty bitty baseball glove). And the piggy banks are dark brown with blue and pink dots respectively.

Changing table area:

Top fabric bins contain burp cloths, diapers, extra wipes, lotion, etc. I made the inserts for the baskets and they contain newborn onesies and sleepers for each baby.

This shelf will have a picture of our family of 4 when that time comes. I am considering buying some little letters that spell STEED and hanging them from the pegs with ribbon.....still deciding about that.

Rocker and diaper champ, still deciding about a curtain or valence for the window

31 week picture:

At 31 weeks, I/we are :

- very blessed to have made it to 31 weeks!
- still getting very low on energy and can't stand for very long
- have developed a cold/congestion that I am hoping goes away VERY soon (that is contributing to the swollen face/nose look above).
- finishing things up around the house so we can hopefully relax for a few weeks
- hoping for 5 more weeks, but even that seems so soon!

The babies are still kicking and rolling all the time. I sure hope they have enough room to keep doing that for the next few weeks! All in all we are doing well and are still feeling very blessed and overwhelmed by all the kindness that continues to be shown to us.

Work Shower

Last week we were blessed with another shower, this time hosted by Josh's co-workers. It was actually a joint shower as another co-worker is due on April 7th, with her 2nd boy. It was a fun lunch hour, filled with lots of good Olive Garden food, laughter and present opening. We are so thankful to everyone who came! We also got a ton of diapers, which made the day much more fun for Josh too:)

The gang, minus the boss aka picture-taker

29- week and 37-week parents to be

How our packaging comes, pink and blue (also caught on film is me taking one of my gigantic breaths in an attempt to breathe and make more room:)

Here is the 30 week picture, actually taken in the nursery this time (that is your sneak peak for now:) I am a week late, but I think the nursery will be "tentatively final" by this weekend. ) As of my appointment yesterday, Baby Girl is estimating 3 lb 12 oz and Baby Boy 3 lb 6 oz! Both are still measuring big which we are SO thankful for. We are also blessed to have reached another milestone of 30 weeks. So far my blood pressure and everything is still looking good and no further restrictions have been put on me. I'm still able to be up and about, and am fairly comfortable a majority of the time. Please continue to pray for at least 6 more weeks!

MADNESS

For those of you who know Josh and I well, you know that today marks the beginning of one of our favorite seasons, March Madness. Josh is even taking off half a day of work today (a dream of his) to literally watch basketball all day. So if you happen to wonder what we are up to the next 4 days.......basketball is a good guess:) Below is a picture of our annual posterboard bracket:


In other news, today marks 29 1/2 weeks for me. Yeah! Please pray for 7 more weeks! That is our ultimate goal...longer would be even better. At 29 weeks I am:

- beginning to get a little uncomfortable, especially at night
- beginning to get indigestion/reflux, but mildly so far
- waddling
- definitely needing 2 naps a day
- working on having the nursery completed by the end of the week (pictures coming as soon as that is done)
- getting nervous about the actual delivery part of all of this, which I have somehow avoided thinking about thus far:)
- still working on a lot of thank you notes
- trying to get everything organized around the house and in "its place"
- being pummeled by the babies, but it is a wonderful feeling, one that has yet to get old or tiring
- reminded everyday of how blessed I am
- getting very excited to meet our little ones
- very thankful for a hard-working, helpful husband!!

Yes, these are Christmas pajamas....my wardrobe is getting quite a bit smaller:).......wish I could say the same about my nose!

Riverchase Shower

On February 28th, we were blessed with a wonderful church shower for the babies. We were overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and kindness. The weekend started off great with a visit from my 3 college roommates/suitemates. They made the weekend even more special and I am so thankful to them for making the trip down to see us! (They also helped me pick out a shower dress, which is very difficult to do being 30 lbs heavier than the last time I shopped!)


The decorations and preparation for the shower were amazing. All the hostesses did such a fantastic job, especially with a double task at hand, boy AND girl decorations. Very creative gals!

Girl table, complete with a newborn picture of me in the frame, raspberry punch, diaper cake and a stroller fruit holder (very impressive)

Boy table with another very cute (and useful) diaper cake, blue punch, decorated plate and a newborn picture of Josh (who is screaming bloody-murder)

Hostesses' gifts of TWO carseats (thank you!!) and complete first year scrapbooks created by my very talented sister in law. I can't believe she was done with them already! And they are so cute.

Sign in table.....I really loved the brown polka dots.

Steed family gals

All the wonderful hostesses (not sure if you can see the cake very well, but it was a stroller, HOMEMADE by one of the hostesses. Very cute and very tasty)

Finally, here is a collage of pictures my sister-in-law took, who is a much better photographer than I . Thank you again for everyone who made this such a special day!

Ohio Shower/Visit

Mid-February, Josh and I decided to make one last trip to Ohio before the arrival of the babies, and this was going to be our last overnight trip. It was kind of impromptu but luckily I was feeling well enough to make the trek. I am so glad we did!

My mom pulled together a baby shower with friends, family, church family and co-workers from the school. It was a wonderful shower and we were overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and willingness to come celebrate with us despite all the snow:) This is what our Sunday afternoon looked like!

Mom and sisters

Stash of fantastic presents!

Yummy and cute food table

Diaper cake = 80+ diapers

Very cute!

Trash and gift-writing helpers

Thank you so much to my mom for all of her hard work and planning. And to the rest of the family for their help in bringing it all together. We are very blessed!

We were also able to enjoy quite a bit of snow while we were in Ohio. I didn't get to enjoy the actual feel of the snow, but luckily Josh had some fellow snowbirds to share in the fun.

This was taken after some snow wrestling I believe

One other fun surprise was a gift from my sister in law. I knew she was making quilts for the babies (her first big sewing project) but had NO idea she would have them done for the shower. They turned out so well and are such a special gift to have.

Perfect little blankets!

Excited parents to be

Third Trimester

Wow! Long time no blog post! Sorry about that. I have about 4 to post in the next few days so please bear with me:) Monday began the beginning of my 27th week and 3rd trimester, so we have kicked it into high gear around here. We have had 2 awesome showers in the last 3 weeks and I am still in the process of organizing, sorting, putting away etc. We are trying to have the majority of our work done by 30 weeks so we can relax and take it easy on the home stretch.

We had a doctor's appt last Monday, our first in 4.5 weeks! Seems like such a long time. This week I had my sugar test, ultrasound and then Dr appt. I was not too worried about this appt just anxious to see the babies. The sugary, orange substance was not too bad after all for the glucose test, however I failed the finger-prick test with a score of 171 (has to be under 140 to pass). So they immediately took me back for blood work, for a more accurate sugar read and also to test my iron levels. Two days later I found out that I barely passed the iron test, but did pass so I don't need to do any extra supplements. AND I passed the glucose test with a score of 129!! Which means no 3 hour test for me. Hurray!

The ultrasound appt went really well. Both babies were growing, moving and looked great according to the technician. Baby Girl is weighing 2 lb 3 oz and Baby Boy 2lb. This is actually a little bigger than singletons so we were pumped about that! They are also lying transversely in my stomach, which means their heads are together on my left side and all 4 pumping legs are on my right......that explains what I thought was a very aggressive baby:) So apparently they are having fun talking right now, side by side. Here is a picture of both of their heads put together:

The doctor said everything looked good. I was measuring at 32 weeks ( I was 26 exactly at the time), my blood pressure and weight were good. The only additional restriction I was put on was no more walking for exercise:( Just to be on the safe side according to the doc. Now I will start going in every 2 weeks and they will do ultrasounds to keep track of the babies growth. Here is hoping for 9 more plus weeks!!

Here is me at 25 weeks and 26 weeks, since I haven't posted in awhile....beginning to fill out a bit!

25 weeks, another "I just woke up shot"

26 weeks

Ok, here is a fairly gross shot of my bare belly, probably the last time I will do this, but it will just give you a little better picture......plus some people have asked for this (and Josh made me take it):) Warning.....it is a little scary......

What a mugshot or driver's license picture would look like late at night..

So far feel pretty good, just some hip pain and crampy legs. I am starting to get a little more tired but hopefully that will wait just a few more weeks!

More posts to come soon of our showers.