He's Here!

Well if you haven't guessed already from my absence on the blog, baby Noah has arrived!

He came early at exactly 38 weeks on May 11, which was the 1 year anniversary of our engagement and also his grandpas birthday (who he's named after).

Weighing in at 6 pounds and 11 ounces and 20 inches long....

This is Noah Joseph Dukes!

I will try to find some time in the near future to write his birth story, but for now I'll be taking a break from the blog. Newborns are hard ya'll! 

Ok one more photo before I go....he was 6 days old here. 

Week 37

Sorry so grainy...it was getting dark and it was our last chance for a photo this week!

What's Going on in There?

You guys…this week little man is considered FULL TERM.  This is it!  He can come any time now.  I seriously can’t believe it. He is a bit over 20 inches and a bit over (or maybe more than a bit) 6 pounds.  This week he is the size of a winter melon….whatever that is. All of his organs are now developed and he is ready for the outside world. He is practicing sucking his thumb and blinking his eyes in preparation as well!

Maternity Clothes? 
Even some of those are getting tight.  I am so ready for a bigger variety of clothes!

Weight? 
Still 28 pounds. How is this number not changing?  Not that I’m complaining!

Stretch Marks? 

No more than usual.  I noticed at different times of the day the ones I do have seem to be darker…it’s quite odd.

Movement? 
He sticks his foot out the side of my belly probably 40 times a day. Maybe more.  It’s starting to get really uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure the area is starting to get bruised.    

Food Cravings? 
I’m loving soft serve ice cream lately.  Chich-fil-a and Burger King ice cream cones are where its at!

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? 

Not at all!

What I Miss? 
I miss sleeping regularly, with no pain, no major effort to switch sides, no potty breaks. Just glorious sleep.

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nope!

Symptoms? 
Just the general complaints as always.  Tired, sore, acid reflux. Yuck.  I can tell he has moved down too (Dr. said she felt his head when she checked me!) because there is more pain in walking, especially on the side he is laying.

Labor Signs? 
Well we had our first check this week and I am officially 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced.  Which I know doesn’t mean much, but I’m excited to see my body is starting the process and doing what it’s supposed to!

Gender? 
Little boy blue!

Belly Button In or Out?
Out.  C loves rubbing my belly but I have to remind him to go around the belly button these days, its uncomfortable to the touch.

Wedding Rings On or Off? 
Still sporting a fake rock that turns my finger green by the end of the day! I get lots of compliments on it though hahah, so people clearly can’t tell its fake!

Bare belly!

Sleep?
I think this is starting to get a bit worse.  I am waking up more to go to the bathroom and its getting harder and harder to fall asleep after I lay back down.  I am so thankfully I only have a little over a week left!

Snuck this pic of daddy putting together his swing while I laid in bed!

What I'm Looking Forward To?

I am ready to get my body back. I think I have definitely hit the “I’m over it” stage of pregnancy!  I also obviously can’t wait to meet Noah!  As long as he stays in this weekend since C is out of town for a game, we are good. Then bring it on little guy!  

Bon's Book Club - Unbroken

This month’s book for Bon’s Book Club was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I wasn’t totally game on reading this, but I had heard from others that it was really good so I decided to give it a try.  It’s a true story, so I do think that helped with the appeal for me. Also, it was recently made into a movie with Angelina Jolie as the Director. Here is a description from Amazon:

 

“In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.”

Ugh, I am not totally sure what to say about this book.  Yes, some parts of it were very interesting and it was really incredible to hear his story of survival, but man oh man did it seem like some of that dragged on.  I feel terrible saying that because this is a man’s real life we are talking about, but I felt the book maybe could have used a little less detail and gotten the same story across, especially in the beginning.

I thought the “voice” or “point of view” of the story was a little confusing too.  I never quite figured out who was supposed to be telling this story.  It seemed like it should be coming from Louis himself with all of the detail, but it was all third person as if someone were peering into his life the whole time and telling the story. To me that almost made it feel not as real.

One thing I did like about the book is that I learned a lot about that time period and the war.  I am not too into history, so it was interesting hearing stories from the point of view of the pilots during the bombing of Pearl Harbor or what POW camps were really like.

I guess if you have a lot of free time, this book may be worth the read, but it was a little tough for me to get through.  I can honestly say I am not even sure I will take the time to watch the movie.

Next up for Bon’s Book Club is Interpreters of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.  I have to decided not to read this book for two reasons.  One, it just doesn’t sound interesting to me at all and two, I am due to give birth any day now and I don’t want to strap myself down to a book! I have no clue what kind of free time I will have to read.  I have also already read the June book, Dark Places byGillian Flynn, so that really frees me up and I won’t have to think about making myself read if I can’t.

Have you read Unbroken? What are your thoughts?

Football Life - Giving Back

It’s football Monday!!

Today I thought I’d talk about one of the awesome parts of C’s job…which is all of the charity events he gets to take part of and the appearances he gets to do.

On the charity side, once or twice a week he gets to go hang out at the Boys and Girls Club, visit sick children at the Ronald McDonald House or the Phoenix Children’s Hospital or some other equally rewarding thing. I don’t usually get to go to these events because they are during the day, but it is so awesome to see the pictures of the smiles on these precious children when he is hanging out with them.

It really takes a special person to be able to go into these facilities.  I ‘m going to be honest, I don’t know if I would be able to visit children in hospice.  But C is so wonderful at it.  He was born to be strong for these kids and help put a smile on their face. *Gushy moment warning*…. it totally makes me fall more in love with him when I see him do these events.

Some of the charity events that I get to take part in with him are a lot of the fundraising races in the fall and spring.  Two years ago we went to the Hope Kids Race and got to stand at the finish line and pass out medals to everyone that completed the race (including the kids in their strollers, wagons or wheel chairs).  It was awesome to see how proud these children were once they crossed the finish line!

At the Hope Kids Race

Along with charity events, he also gets to do some other cool appearances!  He’s done events for all of the local sports teams (Arizona Cardinals - NFL, Arizona Diamondbacks – MLB, Phoenix Suns – NBA and Phoenix Mercury – WNBA). Luckily, I’ve gotten to join him at most of those!  He also has done things like the Waste Management Open (a big golf tourney here) and several radio shows.  It’s really a lot of fun!

Mascot for the Phoenix Mercury - big hugs!

Yeah this really happened (at the WM Open...lots of drunk people!)

A couple of months ago we got to even join one of C's favorite Hope Kids in an awesome adventure at the Bat Cave!  They had all sorts of Batman things set up and even a replica Bat Mobile that the kids got to ride in.   It was such a fun experience!

Noah, C and I sliding down the pole into the Batcave!

Not the best pics...it was pretty dark out

Overall though, it’s really great to have the opportunity to spend time doing the things you love and for C that is definitely working with children! He just loves it. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I am jealous of this part of his job! I wish I could spend more time doing the charitable work!

  

36 Weeks

What's Going on in There?

This week we have a honeydew…which I SWEAR we had a few weeks ago.  I am pretty sure I even picked one up in the grocery store and had C take a picture of me with it.  He is about 20 inches long (his birth length) and probably closing in on 6 pounds. I read that his digestive system won’t be fully developed until he starts drinking breast milk, how incredible is that? Also, his kidneys and liver are now in working order. The only other thing that needs to fully develop are his lungs!

Maternity Clothes? 
I’m definitely starting to really dislike my maternity clothes… I want to wear some new outfits!  The same thing over and over again is getting tough.

Weight? 
Still around 28 pounds, which makes me happy.    

Stretch Marks? 

Nothing new to report this week!  Yay!  Though…I have to say the ones on my bum have definitely gotten darker. Womp womp.

Movement? 
He’s a crazy little bugger.  I think the other day I think I got video of him literally flipping over in my stomach!  It was pretty crazy and made me feel quite sick for a few moments.    

Food Cravings? 
I’ve been kinda into burgers this week.  I’ve asked C to grill twice and got myself some In-N-Out last night!

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? 

Nope, feeling much better this week.

What I Miss? 
Hmmm I’m doing pretty good, but if anything I’d say I miss not being sore at the end of the day!

Nausea/Vomiting?  
Nothing!

Symptoms? 
General pregnancy complaints.   Definitely tired and sore!

Labor Signs? 
Braxton hicks, but it almost seems like they have slowed.  I have been also having really bad cramps in the middle of the night, which makes it hard to fall asleep after I wake up to pee.  

Gender? 
Baby boy!

Belly Button In or Out?
Out and proud. Starting to hurt if you touch it too.

Wedding Rings On or Off? 
Sporting a fake rock that turns my finger green by the end of the day!

Sleep?
Doing ok. Having a bit of trouble falling asleep and then falling asleep again after I wake to use the restroom, but not too terrible.  Sounds like it could be way worse!

Got a new mommy mobile this week!

 What I'm Looking Forward To?

Meeting my little boy!  I can’t believe we only have about 2 weeks (on Monday) until we meet him for sure. My mind hasn’t fully wrapped around that! I’m looking forward to sleeping on my stomach and without a pillow between my legs!