John Albert Gilson

John Albert Gilson
Born May 17, 2011 at 5:18 a.m.
6 lbs 13 oz 19 inches

We love him more than words can express!

Changes

Here I am at 37 weeks and 5 days.

Marcus and I are ready for this baby to come! We are ready to meet him, see what he looks like, and just cuddle and hold him. Also, I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. As of my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced and his head was very low. So here's to hoping that means the baby will be here soon!

The biggest change in our lives right now is our decision on where to go for law school. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest decisions Marcus and I have ever had to make. To be honest, it still is a hard decision for me. I feel at peace with our decision but I'm still really sad about some of the things we're going to be missing out on. So without further ado- Marcus and I have decided to go to:

Like I said, we both feel that BYU Law School is the right choice for us and that we will be happy going there. I am just having a REALLY hard time with the fact that this means at least 3 more years in Utah and that I don't get to be close to my parents. I know we have a lot of family in the area that are great but it's just not the same as being close to parents. But I have faith that it's what we're suppose to do and everything will work out.

35 Weeks

I'm 35 weeks along which means I have 35 days left of pregnancy. I thought it was kind of fun that today is full of 35's.

I feel huge. And I look it. But I just keep reminding myself I'm at the end of my pregnancy so it's normal to be big. Here's what life is like at 35 weeks pregnant:

- I sleep with at least 3 pillows and I still can't get comfortable sometimes.

- I get really bad heartburn. But I can take Pepcid and that helps a lot.

- I get super sharp upper back pains! They are miserable. They've been attributed to my heartburn but I get them even when I don't have heartburn (thanks to Pepcid). They've also been attributed to weak lower back muscles and my doctor gave me some exercise to do to help strengthen my lower back and get rid of the upper back pain. He said it would take about a week for the exercises to take effect. It's been 2.5 weeks since I started doing them and I still get the sharp pains. I've decided delivery will be the cure...

- My blood type is O-. The negative means I'm Rh- and so I had to get a RhoGAM shot so I don't make antibodies against my baby's blood. This shot is given in the hip- not the most enjoyable thing I've experienced. But I'm sure labor will hurt worse so I'm not really complaining. Plus, I will take a shot any day to ensure that my body doesn't kill off any future babies.

- This baby has become quite the mover! Well, he's probably always moved a lot but he's so crowded in there now that I feel him so much more. It's crazy to watch him moving across my belly. Marcus gets excited every time he sees or feels the baby move- it's great! :)

All in all, everything is going really well. I am healthy and the baby is developing well so I couldn't be happier! We have set up the baby's bed and we have his carseat and stroller so now we're just waiting for him to get here! Marcus and I are so excited- this little baby is pretty much all we talk about and he's not even here yet.

34 weeks down...

6 (or less) to go!

In general, I feel pretty good. I have the normal back discomfort that accompanies the end of pregnancy. But I just sleep with three pillows and that seems to work well. I also get pretty bad heartburn but my doctor told me I could take Pepcid and that has helped a ton.

Other than (impatiently) waiting for this little boy to join our family, most of our time is focused on school and work. But we have some very exciting things coming up:
-Graduation in 3 weeks! Mom and Dad Gilson and Dad Smith will be here visiting! :)
-Mom Smith will be out in 4.5 weeks until the end of May to be here with us when we have the baby!!
-BABY BOY GILSON WILL BE BORN! (After 7.5 months of pregnancy, this day feels like it will never come).
-Lots of family from both sides will be coming at the end of May to see us and the baby. (Well really just the baby but we make ourselves feel better by saying they want to see us too).
-A couple family/really close friend weddings we might be able to attend depending on when the baby decides to come.

It's all so exciting- I can barely stand it! :)

NC Baby Shower

Last month when I was home visiting my family, my mom and sisters threw me a baby shower! And let me just tell you- this little boy is spoiled already!!

Here is the cake my mom and a friend from the ward made for the shower.
They did such a great job- it was so cute!

Here is Trish, the gracious hostess of the baby shower, and my little sister! :)

My sister-in-law took lots of pictures of the items we received but unfortunately, I look terrible in all of them. And since this is my blog, I'm not posting most of them. But I will list some of the things we received for our little bundle of joy.

-lots of clothes. I'm so grateful he already has so many outfits and I didn't have to buy them. :)
-boppy pillow. I heard these are wonderful so I'm excited that we have one.
-toys and bath products
-a diaper genie and diapers
-gift cards
-the big group gift was this:

We LOVE it! It's already sitting in our house and every time I look at it,
it reminds me of how much I want my little baby to be here!

-my super talented mom made the bedding for the crib

Ignore my weird face. I just want to show the cute bedding is!
I'm excited to get the crib to put this in :)

A friend that I met here in Provo moved to NC last year and she was able to come to my baby shower. It was so fun to see her and her little boy!

It was so great of her to travel 2.5 hours to come to the shower!

Needless to say, it was an AWESOME baby shower! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the planning and thank you to everyone who came. I had lots of fun! :)

February Catch Up

I'm so behind in my posts- as always. So here is a recap of February:

Marcus and I celebrated Valentine's Day by going to Macaroni Grill for dinner. We did a joint gift and got ourselves a blue-ray player. We also purchased a few movies on blue-ray to go with it. He did still get me flowers and chocolates- which I loved!

I was able to fly home to North Carolina for about 5 days and it was fantastic! My brother and sister-in-law had their second daughter 5 days before I flew out so I got to meet her and she is so precious!

And here is her sweet and adorable older sister!

(Ashlynn in Uncle Tristan's sweatshirt)

Of course- being home meant I got to see my whole family. The only people missing were Marcus and my brother Jordan who is on his mission (less than 4 weeks left!). They were both very missed! We hung out, played games, and did a lot of laughing. My Mom and sisters threw me a baby shower while I was there but that will get it's own post. It was so great to be home for a little while and I can't wait until I see my family again!

In other news- we reached week 29 of pregnancy the end of February! Only 11 more weeks until this little boy joins our family! :)

Countdowns!

14 days until Marcus' sister Diana comes to visit

31 days until Jordan comes home from his mission!

46 days until the last day of classes

55 days until Dad Smith and Mom and Dad Gilson come to Utah

56 days until Graduation

65 days until Mom Smith comes to Utah

79 days until Baby Boy Gilson is due!

91 days until LOTS of family are here to visit the new baby!

Can you handle all the excitement??