34 Weeks!!

How far along? 30 weeks!!!

Size of baby: ~4.2 to 5.8 pounds and is approximately 17-18 inches long!

Maternity clothes?: Yes! Only a few regular dresses. I am wearing my new scrubs now and they feel amazing, but I am not sure how long they are going to feel so roomy : ).
 
Gender?: Boy!!! Samuel Lucas

Movement: Yes! Bigger movements that I can feel from one side of my stomach to the other. It is amazing.

Sleep?: Has not been as easy as it previously was. Getting up all during the night and I am getting these bad leg cramps if I move too fast.

Cravings?: Still loving spicy foods more than anything.

Symptoms: Still mainly heartburn. I actually feel a lot better than I thought I would at the end of the pregnancy. I get tired, but nothing major and my feet are only swelling a little. Really cannot complain.

What I miss?: Getting my hair highlighted : ). It did not look to bad at first, but now it looks pretty bad. lol. But it is worth it.

Milestones: Completing the nursery! Yay!!

What I am most excited about?: Just the labor experience. I know it is going to be painful, but I cannot wait to hear his first cry and to just see his face.

Nursery!!

After LOTS of hard work from everyone (especially our parents and siblings), the nursery is finally done except for a few tweaks here and there. I am soooo excited about how it turned out though! It looks better than I could have ever imagined!

The rocking chair was a gift from my mother-in-law. My mama refurbished the side table and we got the cute accessories for the table at Hobby Lobby. Also, the amazing pillow was from the Pottery Barn outlet in Gaffney.

 My mama basically became an expert painter during this whole experience because I could not paint but I had lots of projects that I wanted to do in the nursery, so she took them over : ). This is a kids dresser that my grandpa had in his garage and my mama sanded and painted it (even the cute little baseball knobs!). It was perfect! The laundry basket fit perfectly underneath. I wanted a red minky dot changing pad and found a great cover from Etsy.

 One of my favorite pieces in the nursery is this picture. It is of a child holding a baseball with Samuel Lucas on the front of it. I wanted to do more of a vintage sports theme in the nursery and it turned out great! I found the old wooden frame at Hobby Lobby and wrapped a picture mat in burlap to give it a more vintage feel.

 The curtains are actually made from a bedskirt from one of our close friends, Amy. The initial letters were painted by my mom.

 And of course the crib! I loved the bedding that we found at Pottery Barn. I love plaid for a boy's room.

 Another project I delegated to my mom : ). I found these great crates from Jo Anne's and she painted them to match the colors of the nursery. Lee found a Lucas Oil Stadium sign that went great above the shelves. It is hard to see in this picture, but on the top shelf is a cute bank that has Lucas on the front from Ashely. In the middle is a plate that says "for this child I prayed," given to us by two church members (Shannon and Chris). I loved it because it is the verse that we named him after. On the bottom shelf is a small baseball glove. It is part of what I gave Lee for Father's Day for him and Lucas to use one day! Excuse the bag and wires...we need to get those things out of the way soon.

I loved the vintage signs I found at Hobby Lobby. It really completed the room. Now all we need is our beautiful baby boy! It is amazing how much we love him already...I am so excited to be a mom. The Lord has been so good to us!

NHC shower and Farewell Lunch at Laurens Hospital

NHC was gracious enough to throw me a baby shower before I left for my new job in Union. I have never changed jobs before, and I was really miss everyone!

 The cake from my "farewell" lunch at the hospital. It is amazing how close you grow to the people you work with and it is strange to think that I will not be seeing them everyday anymore. I am thankful for the new opportunities that the Lord has opened up for us though and I know that this will be the best move for our family and Lucas.

Some new 3D pics

Since Lucas was not cooperative during our first 3D appointment, the owner was really nice and let us come back for more pictures, hoping that he would show us his face and he did! I have not been drinking any caffeine since I have been pregnant, but I drank a diet coke before the appointment to see if that would help him move around and it worked! We got some great shots! Here a just a few!

What a beautiful baby if I do say so myself : ). We cannot wait to meet you Lucas!

Hawkins Family/Glory Baptist Shower!

We have been blessed with so many wonderful showers from family and friends. This shower was given by my mama, soon to be sister in law Ashley, cousins Kacie and Nikki, Aunt Tammy, and our church. It was beautiful and I loved all of the little details that they used to celebrate Lucas!

I loved the letters my mama made with his initials. We are putting them up over Lucas' crib.

The cute fruit baby my mama and Ashley made! How creative!!

The punch was REALLY good!

   
And of course we cannot forget the cake from my cousins!

My mom and I

                                                        
 Mama, Ashley, and me

                           
 Kacie, Nikki, and me

A whole family shot with my Aunt Tammy
                                            

 

The beautiful gift table! 

Not the greatest picture, but one of Lee and me.

 Nikki's beautiful little girl Natalie.

                                         
                                                               My grandma!

We had such a good time and it was such a great shower! It is amazing how I have gotten different things at all of the showers and everything that I need! I was not exactly sure what to register for, but I am thankful that everyone else just knew what we needed the most!

30 weeks and Attempted 3D/4D pictures

How far along? 30 weeks!!!

Size of baby: ~3-3.5 pounds and is approximately 16 inches long! Wow

Maternity clothes?: Yes! I can wear some regular dresses but anything else looks really funny. I am still squeezing into my regular scrubs but bought some bigger ones for my new job and cannot wait to start wearing them!

Gender?: Boy!!! Samuel Lucas

Movement: Yes! It is amazing at how much I can feel him now that he is getting bigger. It is no longer a few kicks here and there. Now, I can actually feel when he moves, rolls, etc and it is amazing! I love it! It is my favorite thing about pregnancy so far.

Sleep?:Ha! I go to sleep as soon as I hit the bed. Although I have crazy heartburn and have to get up to use the bathroom ~5 times a night, I cannot complain about sleep.

Cravings?: Despite my horrible heartburn, I love SPICY foods!

Symptoms: Heartburn. I also broke out in what they call a pregnancy rash. They say that some women who are having boys break out in this rash from a reaction of having the male hormone in your body. Aveeno body wash seems to help soothe it pretty well though.

What I miss?: Not being able to help my husband do a lot of things around the house. I know I should enjoy having him do everything, but he has SOO much to do being a pastor and working, I wish I could help out with a few things (even though he has not complained and tells me to rest!) He is amazing! I am blessed : ).

Milestones: Reaching 30 weeks! Wow! I cannot believe we are here!

What I am most excited about?:Meeting Lucas. Going to get the 3/4D pictures really made it feel real. However, Lucas decided to be camera shy and did not want to move his hands from his face! We tried everything to try to make him move that precious hands but he would not have it. We managed to get a few glimpses of him, but are going back next week to try and get some better ones!

This is one good looking baby!! I cannot wait to go back next Tuesday to get more pictures!

The Franklin Family/Welcome Shower

This is one blessed baby!! This past Sunday , Lee's family gave us a BEAUTIFUL shower. I was blown away when I walked in the door at all of the beautiful decorations!

                          
                                                    How cute were these cupcakes!!!

                                                         Me with Lee's mom and sisters

                                                Me and my mom and future sister in law!

We are so thankful for wonderful friends and family. What an exciting day!!

First Shower and New Beginnings!

I am still amazed at how the Lord works. Lee and I were nervous about having a baby and both working so far out of town. Even though Lee pastors at Glory Baptist Church, he also works another job. Lee worked in Columbia and I worked in Laurens which were both pretty far away. But, Lee was talking to a good preacher friend of his a couple of months ago and the Lord opened up a job for him in Spartanburg which is ~15 minutes from where we live. He was not even looking for a job necessarily at that time, but the Lord saw it fit to move him closer and we were both so excited! However, I was still apprehensive about having to drive 45 minutes to work everyday after having the baby, but was not looking for another job at this time because Lee and I are on my insurance (and that is pretty important when you are pregnant : ). However, I got a call saying that there was a great job opportunity available in Union. Again, I was a little nervous about switching jobs at this time because I thought about things like my short term disability while I was out on maternity, insurance, etc. The first thing my husband and I did was pray about it and I really had a peace about switching jobs. With my personality, I am usually really nervous about change so it is undeniable that the Lord really helped me with that. Then, after we decided that it would be the best move for our family, the topics I was dreading begin to come up. They told me that I would not be able to get paid for the time that I was going to be off on maternity leave because I was already pregnant entering into the job; we would have to do Cobra and was not even sure if pregnancy would be considered a pre-existing condition with the new insurance on my job. Also, I had so many ETO and sick days save up that I was planning on taking 10-12 weeks with the baby and would only be able to take 6-8 with the new job. And even though the Lord has helped us through this entire journey of becoming parents, I doubted if we were making the right decision. I also found out that my job required a 1 month notice which would mean I would not be able to start the job until the very end of July/beginning of August and I was nervous about starting a job at 8 months pregnant. BUT, just like He ALWAYS does, the Lord answered every question and even took care of everything far better than I could have ever imagined. It is funny how the Lord sends new songs my way that help me with the circumstances that I am going through and I loved this line in "Didn't I Walk on the Water."
And every time you asked me, didn't I deliver you. So why would you be thinking that I wouldn't see you through.
Wow, that was exactly what I needed and the Lord did exactly that. It turns out that that 1 month notice was a blessing because since I am to start my new job in August, we would not have to pay Cobra and was able to pick up Lee's insurance which would start on September 1st. (It just so happened that his insurance started the day mine ended and we had no clue that we would even need his insurance a few months ago.....God's timing is perfect!) So, my insurance would extend through the rest of August. And, my pregnancy was not a pre-existing condition with his insurance and actually was very similar to what we had now! Also, all of those ETO days that I had saved up I found out that I would get paid for meaning that we could use that money towards the time that I was out for maternity leave. And as far as having 6-8 weeks maternity leave, the time that I am going to save driving will definitely make up for that. Praise the Lord! Everything that I was worried about, the Lord took care of that and more. I am thankful for God's perfect timing and the way He always takes care of us.
Well, since I was leaving, the sweet people that I work with at the hospital gave me a wonderful shower/going away party. I absolutely LOVE where I work at now and it is hard to leave them, however, having a baby changes things : ). This is the cake that they had for me

Thank you Lord for answering prayers and I am excited about what He has for us in the future as we welcome this beautiful miracle baby into our lives!!

26 weeks!

How far along? 26 weeks!!!

Size of baby: 14 inches long and ~2-2.5 pounds!

Maternity clothes?: Yes!

Gender?: Boy!!! Samuel Lucas

Movement: Yes! His kicks are getting a lot stronger! Lee actually felt Lucas kick at 22 weeks.

 Sleep?: Getting to be a little tough. Its hard to go back to sleep after I have been to the bathroom 5 times that night. : ).

Cravings?: Watermelon!! I ate a whole watermelon in 2 days!
This is not a craving, but we had a missionary come to our church last week and Lucas (and I) tasted our first crocodile jerky. We mad Lee taste the kangeroo jerky : ). The crocodile tasted like chicken...ha. Lee said the kangeroo was not so good.

Symptoms: Heartburn!

What I miss?: Sleeping through the night without having to go to the bathroom.

Milestones: Lee feeling you kick for the first time. Also, we had another ultrasound done at 22 weeks because they could not get all of them at the 20 week appointment because of Lucas's positioning. Here are a few updated pics. Everything looked great! Praise the Lord! You are growing to be a big, healthy boy!

What I am most excited about?: I cannot wait for Lucas to get here! We have all the bedding for the crib and the nursery is starting to come together.