Dinner with Lauren

On Friday night, August 17th, I met up with my friend Lauren for dinner. She is my friend from LACHSA who now lives in Washington, D.C. so I don't get to see her very often. We had dinner at Wokano then I showed her our house. Lauren just got engaged a few days ago, so I got to check out her ring and hear the proposal story and she got to check out the baby bump. 

Scrapbook Room

As a shower gift, Rachelle bought me a half day of organizing services from her friend Cori. It was supposed to be for the nursery, but I had that pretty under control and organized so we decided to use it for the scrapbooking room instead. It started out organized, but as I bought more and more stuff, it sort of turned into a disaster. It ended up taking two days and I still have a bunch of memorabilia to sort through, but it is SO much better. Everything is very organized, labeled and looks incredible! I think we might be needing a lot more of Cori's help in the future to get the rest of our house just as clean and organized. 

Baby Campbell's Nursery Part 3

Hudson's room still isn't finished. The topper is supposed to arrive August 20th and the glider and shelves are arriving sometime in September. It is as close as it will most likely be before Hudson arrives though and is finally looking close to ready. :) I love how it turned out.

Construction Part 7

They still aren't finished, but they are getting closer! Hopefully by next week the wall will be down and we will at least be able to use some of the appliances. Again, even with Baby H staying in until his due date, it looks like he will be here before the kitchen is finished. Oh well, not much I can do about it. I am really starting to love our new kitchen though and I'm sure it will all be worth it in a few months when we are enjoying our new space. 

The Salad

On Wednesday, August 15th, Nic and I went to Ciaoti Pizza Cafe before my doctor appointment so I could have their famed salad that is rumored to induce labor. It was so fun! As soon as we walked in a man asked if we were there for the salad and told us we better be ready to meet our baby if I'm eating the salad because it worked for his wife! He also seemed very shocked that I was so close to my due date (a common reaction I get despite the fact that I am supposedly carrying a gigantic baby!). The waitress came over with menus. I ordered the salad and Nic ordered a sandwich. The waitress brought out garlic knots, which were delicious, along with our food. She gave me an extra serving of dressing on the side for good measure along with newspaper articles to read about the salad and a book to sign. They apparently have book upon book signed by pregnant women many of whom come back and update with their success stories. It was fun to read some of the entries from others and the articles were interesting as well. While we were there, 3 other pregnant women came in for the salad! It was pretty funny! We had a great time and even if the salad doesn't work, it was delicious and made for a really fun lunch. 

39 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Jackfruit (We could not find a jackfruit anywhere, except at Robert Was Here fruit stand in Florida ;) but we also couldn't find another fruit big enough to work this week....so I edited this jackfruit into my photo)

Baby’s Milestones: Baby's weight and height have probably only increased a little from last week (one can only hope!), but his brain is still developing rapidly. Baby's skin has now finally changed from pink to white and a thicker fat layer has deposited over the blood vessels making  baby's cheeks kissably round. 

My Weight: 173.8 (I lost some weight this week. Perhaps it is because of all the exercising I'm finally able to do)

Symptoms:  I have been having some contractions and lots of cramping. I still have heart burn because this stubborn little boy will not drop. I have groin pain. I had a few nights of back/nerve pain. I have hot flashes quite frequently and sweat a lot. I still don't have any swelling and am still able to wear my wedding rings. 

I had a doctor appointment at 39 weeks 1 day. My doctor did a cervix check again and said I'm only about a fingertip dilated (about 1 cm). She said it was more than last week's fingertip and she did a partial membrane sweep (that is all she could do given how little I am dilated). She also said Hudson didn't seem as low as last week!! How annoying!!

Cravings: Oreos, crown royals (my favorite Australian cookies), ice cream, chocolate milk...pretty much all desserts sound delicious at the moment.

TP: 11

Measurements: Waist:  40    Below Belly Button: 40 (down an inch~not sure if this is a good thing though~I think it is because he is up higher!) 

Emotions: I've still been a bit sensitive and I become on the verge of tears easily. The darn Olympics, especially those P&G mom commercials have really gotten me. I've also become a bit less patient and sometimes find myself getting a bit grumpy with my family.

Feeling the Baby:  I'm still feeling Hudson a ton. He pushed so hard one night, I felt like he was trying to escape out of my stomach.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

On Saturday, August 11th (10 days before my due date), Nic, my mom and I went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert! The concert was originally supposed to be in February, but the week before one of the guys hurt his ankle and they had to re-schedule. I was so bummed when I found out it would be in August because I knew there was a pretty good chance I would miss it.  I begged Hudson the entire pregnancy to stay in until after the concert and told him that if he wanted to hear some really great music (Aerosmith and RHCP) he needed to stay in until I told him he could come out. Of course, in my mind, I had always imagined something really dramatic happening like my water breaking during the encore (of course it wouldn't cause me to miss my concert~this is my dream scenario after all) and having to rush straight from Staples Center to the hospital. Of course that didn't happen, but Hudson did stay in and I was able to see an amazing concert. It was sooooo good!! The RHCP have so many great songs and they sounded amazing!! They did Around the World, Snow (Hey Oh), Otherside, Look Around, Can't Stop, Soul to Squeeze, The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie, Under the Bridge, Californication, By the Way, Suck My Kiss, and Give it Away. As you can see even with all those amazing songs there were tons of other favorites that they didn't even do. It was great song after great song and we could easily have listened for another hour and still not heard all of their best songs. Nic and I had the best time and absolutely loved the concert! I must say, I am pretty happy with Hudson that he stayed in long enough for me to see this concert. It is another band that has been at the top of my concert list for a long time and it lived up to all my expectations. 

The setlist:

1. Monarchy of Roses
2. Around the World
3. Snow (Hey Oh)
4. Otherside
5. Look Around
6. She's Only 18
7. Can't Stop
8. Soul to Squeeze
9. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
10. Universally Speaking
11. Right on Time
12. Under the Bridge
13. Goodbye Hooray
14. Californication
15. By the Way

Encore:

16. Chad & Mauro & Josh Jam
17. Suck My Kiss
18. Ethiopia
19. Give it Away

Operation: Evict Baby!

So after we heard how big Hudson most likely is at our Wednesday doctor appointment, I decided I needed him out ASAP. This whole time I haven't minded if he came late because I wanted to go to my concerts, I wanted Nic's parents to be here when he is born, and mostly I wanted our kitchen to be finished and our house to be put back together. All that went out the window when visions of a huge head followed by a gigantic baby (being vacuumed out in a stressful and complicated birth) tearing my body apart started flashing through my head. On Wednesday, I started doing some techniques I had read about to help get the baby to drop. I did pelvic tilts, squats, and the butterfly over and over again. On Thursday, I went into work for the last time before maternity leave. When I got home, Nic and I walked up to the pool and swam a bunch. Since I haven't exercised in months, we figured that was a good first step. Friday night, we decided to kick it up a notch and went for a walk followed by spicy thai food. (all the while I continued with the dropping techniques). Saturday night we went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. We did a few laps around Staples Center and I hoped all the dancing and music would make something happen, but no. Then I read that you have to speed walk, not just walk, so on Sunday night, Nic and I went speed walking. We did our pre-pregnancy route and hustled the entire way. This definitely got some results. We followed it up with swimming and I threw in some squat jumps and regular jumps in the pool for good measure. We both agreed that Hudson looked lower by the time we got home that night, but by the next morning he was right back in my ribs! On Sunday night, Nic, Justin and I went and went speed walking up and down the hill portion of the walk since uphill seems to get the best results. I also had balsamic dressing on a salad for dinner, but that didn't seem to do a darn thing. I'll also add that we have been doing the "most effective" induction technique with no luck either. (At least we are making up for months of bed rest/pelvic rest). As the days keep passing by, I am getting more and more nervous about labor. About all the new complications that could arise from Hudson being too big and I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of equipment needing to be used (which I am super freaked out about/want to avoid at all costs) and the very real possibility of ending up with a c-section. Today I am spending the day organizing my scrap booking room and tonight I will either be speed walking or maybe I will change it up and walk up and down my stairs. Tomorrow we have another doctor appointment, so I am praying that at the very least I have made some progress! Wish me luck!!

38 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Watermelon

Baby’s Milestones: Baby is about 21 inches tall and 7 pounds this week. Baby is busy getting ready for his arrival by shedding vernix and lanugo into the amniotic fluid which he is swallowing. His lungs continue to mature as more and more surfactant is secreted (this prevents the lungs from sticking together when the baby starts to breathe).

My Weight: 175.2 (I'm up 4 more pounds! Either Hudson has had a huge growth spurt or I am suddenly packing on the pounds! Either way after watching the scale crawl up so slowly my entire pregnancy, seeing these huge number increases is scary!!!)

Symptoms:  I still have rib pain, back pain, groin and hip pain. I think my hips are expanding and a couple of nights while sleeping my hips were popping every time I moved.  I have had some slight cramping since I stopped taking my medicine, but that is about it. I also discovered some stretch marks! :( I found my first stretch mark on my butt the day of my 1st shower. Now I have quite a few on my butt and hips. I cried a bit when I saw them, but I'm sure Hudson will be worth it. I had a Dr. appointment at 38w1d. My doctor did a cervix check and said I'm only about a fingertip dilated. She also said Hudson was lower, but still not super low so she doesn't expect me to have him in the next week. We also had an ultrasound where we discovered that our average sized 31 week old baby is now huge! She estimated that he weighs 8lbs. 7oz. already! She also guessed that he will be 23 inches at birth. His head circumference (HC) was measuring at 39 weeks. His side to side head measurement (BPD) was measuring at 40 weeks. His stomach circumference (AC) was measuring 38 weeks 3 days so she said he is skinny. His femur length (FL) was measuring 40 weeks 6 days!! Thus the long length estimate. His average measurements put him at 40 weeks 2 days!! Yikes!! When you look at how tall Nic and I are and how much more we weigh than short people because we are so tall, we obviously somewhat expected this, but he definitely sounds bigger than I imagined and it kind of freaked me out. I was hoping for a 71/2 pound (which in our world is tiny) little guy or at the max a low 8 pound baby. Nic was 8lbs. 3 oz. and I was 8lbs. 1 oz. so I figured since I have stayed so small this whole pregnancy and Hudson has always measured exactly on or average that at the biggest he would be 8lbs. 4 oz. I also saw that one of the measurements estimated his due date to be 07/27. When I asked the ultrasound technician which one it was she immediately started beating around the bush. I knew immediately it must be his head measurement!! The worst measurement to be big. I don't mind if he is really long and weighs more because of that, but a big head is very frightening to me! Then in an attempt to make me feel better she said well his head circumference isn't that big, just his head side to side! Really? That is supposed to make me feel better?!! The only thing I can hope for now is that my ultrasound is one of the ones that falls into the "could be 15% off" category and he is actually smaller than the ultrasound showed. Of course, it could also be 15% off in the other direction which means a c-section would for sure be in my future!! When my doctor felt me she confirmed that he does feel like an 8lb. baby already and thinks he will be at least 9 lbs. if I go to 40 weeks! Yikes! So not what I wanted to hear. 

Cravings: I've been really craving sweets. 

TP: 11

Measurements: Waist:  40    Below Belly Button: 41 

Emotions: I have had a few more grumpy moments. On Tuesday night we went to BRU to complete our registry and on the way I could already feel I was reaching my breaking point. I had been into work that day, which was quite stressful and I was feeling very overwhelmed and unprepared. The first two items on our list were out of stock so I did one of those exaggerated sighs and Nic made a comment about me being so grumpy and asked if I could try to just enjoy the experience. I immediately felt guilty for being cranky and complaining and burst into tears in the middle of the aisle. I am at that point where occasionally the negative emotions kind of just take over and it feels out of my control. I feel bad because I've been pretty pleasant and good-spirited most of the pregnancy and know that when the moodiness sneaks up on me it isn't fair to Nic and upsets me too because that isn't the person I want to be.

Feeling the Baby:  I'm still feeling Hudson a ton. He especially moved a bunch at the Aerosmith concert!

Aerosmith Concert

On Monday, August 6th, Nic and I went to the Aerosmith Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Aerosmith has been at the top of my concert bucket list forever!! When they played at the Forum my mom didn't get tickets because she said she forgot that I loved them. I remember being devastated!! So when they announced they were playing at Staples a few years later I was ecstatic. That was the concert that was cancelled when Steven Tyler fell off the stage the concert before and they never re-scheduled. Again, I was devastated. Then when we heard about this concert and I heard the date I was again crushed because I knew there was a good chance I wasn't going to make it. We took the risk, got tickets, and I've been asking ever since to stay in until after the concert. 

My mom, Val, Randy, Carly, Carly's roommate, Chuck and Sheri all went to dinner first (Judy met everyone there because she had a dentist apt.), but we couldn't make it because Nic had to work. We also hadn't decided our plan as far as parking for the night. We knew the parking at the Bowl was a nightmare (they stack park cars and there is no leaving early), but the other options weren't much better as far as leaving early. I knew I hadn't been having any contractions and decided we should take the risk and park near Universal Studios and take the shuttle bus in. When we got to the Bowl we had to walk up a few massive hills to get to our seats and even that didn't cause any contractions! Apparently Hudson has decided after all of this that he wants to stay in. 

Here is what I posted on facebook when we got there:

Livin' on the Edge! 38 weeks pregnant at the Aerosmith Concert!

The seats were not super comfortable, but other than that the concert was awesome! Hudson loved it! He moved more than he has the entire pregnancy. He obviously has excellent taste in music. ;) Steven Tyler sounded great and was his usual, crazy self. It was awesome! They played a lot of my favorites including Love in an Elevator, Same Old Song and Dance, Livin' on the Edge, Rag Doll, Come Together, Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way. Dream On during the encore was the best though!! I could have listened to that song 10 times. Then for the second encore, Johnny Depp joined the band on stage for Train Kept-A-Rollin'. It was pretty cool to see Johnny Depp and he was actually really good! It was a great concert and I am so happy I finally got to see one of my favorite bands live!!   

Maternity Pictures

Even though Nic told me he didn't want to be in any of the maternity photos, as soon as he saw them he told me he was glad he did it. We love the photos and we will definitely treasure them forever!! Photos were taken by Jade Brookbank of the Letter B Photography. 

Visiting Papa Fred

On Wednesday, August 1st, my mom took me to my doctor appointment. Then my mom, Tyler, Justin and I went down to visit Papa Fred. Papa has to have open heart surgery in a few weeks, so even though my mom was nervous taking me all the way down there I insisted on seeing him. He seemed to be doing really well health wise and he was in great spirits. We spent a few hours with him talking and showing him videos. He got to feel Hudson move and commented on how funny I am with him already (I guess because I kept talking to Hudson while we were there) and he said I seem really happy and to be enjoying my pregnancy. He said most people seem miserable and complain and I told him that I do get uncomfortable, but I feel so lucky to be having a baby and I want to enjoy it as much as possible. Papa is known to be somewhat negative so he said he should try to be more like that. 

We took photos with him and even took some playful ones on his ipad. We had so much fun with him and we were all glad to get to spend so much time with him. I'm really nervous about his surgery and praying that everything goes well. I really want Papa to be able to meet his first great grandchild. 

I don't have the serious photos from my mom yet, but here are the silly ones we took on the ipad. :)

37 Weeks

Baby’s Size: Crenshaw Melon (This week was supposed to be a Wintermelon, but we couldn't find one so we settled for this. Now that we are getting into bigger fruit, it is getting harder and harder to find the right one each week).

Baby’s Milestones: Baby is full term this week! Baby is about 20 inches tall and 6 1/2 pounds this week. Weight gain now is about half an ounce a day although boys tend to be heavier at birth than girls. Now that baby is prepared to enter the world, he spends most of his time inside practicing. He simulates breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking his thumb, blinking and pivoting from side to side. 

My Weight: 171.2 (This week was my biggest weight gain (approx. 3 pounds)! It kind of freaked me out!)

Symptoms:  I still have rib pain, back pain, groin and hip pain. I think my hips are expanding and a couple of nights while sleeping my hips were popping every time I moved.  I have had some slight cramping since I stopped taking my medicine, but that is about it. I also discovered some stretch marks! :( I found my first stretch mark on my butt the day of my shower. Now I have quite a few on my butt and hips. I cried a bit when I saw them, but I'm sure Hudson will be worth it. I had a Dr. appointment at 37w1d. My fundal height was 33 weeks, so my doctor thinks Hudson has dropped a little. :) 

Cravings: No cravings this week. 

TP: 10¾

Measurements: Waist:  39½    Below Belly Button: 40½  

Emotions: I had a few grumpy moments this week. Overall I feel really good, but every once and a while I get pretty uncomfortable and then I get moody. I also have moments of stress when I realize we are not quite ready for Hudson's arrival. I have been cramming to get clothes washed, shower gifts put away and get Hudson's room as ready as I can (I still don't have my dresser/changing table which is making the process way more difficult). Our construction is also way behind schedule so that adds quite a bit of stress too. 

Feeling the Baby:  Hudson has definitely grown a lot! His movements have gotten really strong and when he pushes out he sticks out really far. He is still hanging out on my left side. My whole belly looks lopsided because of it. :)

Construction Part 6

We have a long way to go (The workers are about 3-4 weeks behind schedule!), but it is starting to look like a kitchen again! I can't wait for it to be finished! 

Lunch visit from Vivian, Leah and Rachelle

Vivian, Leah and Rachelle came over on Monday July 30th and brought delicious Thai food for lunch. Justin and my mom stopped by too. It was fun to see Leah and catch up with everyone. Leah was so cute. She kept touching my belly and we kept trying to tell her that her new friend Hudson was in there. :) After lunch we all had cake and desserts left over from the shower. Yum! It was really fun!

Baby Shower #3

On Sunday, July 29th, I had my third and final baby shower. We were all nervous that I wasn't going to make it so everyone was pretty excited (especially me) that I was there. It was an amazing shower! My mom, Sabrina and Lindsay hosted the beach themed shower at Dukes in Malibu and they did a fabulous job! 

At the entrance they had a surfboard welcome sign with beach balls and lanterns to set the scene. At the bar they had another surfboard sign that said Our Beach Boy, adorable orange and blue drink straws, and an adorable diaper cake! Everyone enjoyed delicious tropical mimosas (I just had some passion orange guava juice) bloody marys and anything else they desired. 

Melinda from CakeGoodness (the one who did my amazing dessert bar at the Gender Reveal Party) created the most amazing dessert bar with Lindsay's help. Lindsay made the most adorable Hudson sign, the cutest buckets for everyone to fill with candy, and they surrounded the area with blow up surfboards, beach balls, and lanterns.They had tons of themed candy including sour patch starfish, gummy turtles, gumballs, m&ms, beach ball hard candy, taffy and whirly pops. Melinda made adorable cupcakes, cake pops in sand buckets with pails, cake shooters, cookies, and the most amazing cake!! I thought she had made the sand castle cake in a pail, but it was all cake! It was truly a work of art and it tasted delicious too!!  I had made a scrapbook page for everyone to write messages to Hudson on too that we placed near the dessert table.

The tables had gorgeous sand buckets filled with colorful flowers, netting, lanterns and pinwheels for the centerpieces. Plus we had the gorgeous ocean as the backdrop! Everyone admired all the little details then we all ate a delicious brunch spread that included french toast, eggs, potatoes, eggs benedict, waffles, salmon, shrimp cocktail, poke, chicken, carved ham and salads. I didn't eat much because I was running around talking to everyone (it was so much easier to see everyone since I was no longer on bed rest), but everyone said the food was really good. 

After we ate, we played a game to see how much we all new about babies. Even if I got the answer right and the person I went up against got it wrong, they won a prize, so I think the point of the game was to embarrass me and prove that I don't know anything about babies. I did pretty well though and only got one or two questions wrong (I got more right than the competitors from each table). 

After that everyone played Bingo while I opened presents. I could not believe how many gifts Hudson got! He is one loved and spoiled little boy. 

Halfway through the presents we took a break so people could get some desserts and we played another game. Six people had to drink apple juice out of bottles and whoever finished first won. The funny thing was that my mom bought slow flow newborn nipples so it took forever and was apparently a lot of work! It was pretty entertaining to watch and everyone got a good laugh.

After the game I finished opening all the incredible gifts. Then we all enjoyed some more desserts before the shower wound down. It was such a fun day and the hosts really did the most amazing job! Thank you so much to everyone who came and showered Hudson and I with gifts and made us feel so loved! Thanks to Nic who drove me down there and packed up all the gifts after the shower. Thanks to Melinda for creating the impressive dessert bar. Thanks especially to the hosts who threw such a memorable event!

Laker Girl Photo Shoot

After our maternity photo shoot we came home and I decided to do another photo shoot while I had my hair and make-up done. I decided it would be really fun to take some pregnant Laker Girl photos. It was a bit of a challenge to get the tights and tennis shoes on, but I was surprised how well the actual outfit fit. As soon as I saw myself in the mirror I started laughing hysterically. It was pretty funny seeing my huge belly in that tiny outfit. We had a lot of fun taking the photos and I'm sure we will enjoy looking back at them someday. 

Maternity Photos

On Saturday, July 28th, Nic and I had photos taken at Rachelle's house. I know Nic wasn't overly thrilled about the whole thing, but he knew it was really important to me so he did it anyways. I had so much fun! It was great just spending some time cuddling with Nic and focusing on Hudson. I am so glad we were able to capture some memories of this special time before Hudson arrives. Here is a sneak peak photo the photographer sent me. Once I get the rest, I will post more. I can't wait to see how they all turn out!!! Just in case anyone is interested our photographer Jade's website is www.theletterbphotography.com.