32 weeks- 8 months!

i am now 8 months pregnant! 

holy cow.

how did this even happen?? time is going by so fast. i feel like some days drag, but then i look at the countdown on my phone that says my little boy will be here in 47 days and my heart explodes a little. 

at 32 weeks...

my baby bump has gotten so big. it's nuts. just last night, tay and i were going through some of the pictures on my phone that had been taken of my belly. i haven't been as good as i've wanted to by taking a picture every week (which i'm sure i'll regret maybe) but i have got a few that show some pretty crazy progress. he told me to find the first picture that i had taken of the "bump". looking at it now, it blows my mind! there's hardly anything there. but to taylor and i, it seemed like such huge progress. i was so excited to watch my tummy grow and know that my body would be able to support and house our child for the next nine (ten) months. it's crazy how your perception of what "huge" is changes...ha. 

this was the first picture i took at 13 weeks. 

i have now started going into the OB office twice a week. yep, a week. it's a little insane. scheduling that around my current work schedule was a little tedious, but i got it all worked out nicely. so from now until baby J comes, i will be going in every tuesday afternoon and friday morning for non-stress tests and fluid level monitoring. the non-stress test is pretty boring (so i was told), but i actually kind of enjoy it. they put two monitors on my tummy- one up higher and one down lower. the top one measures contractions and the bottom keeps track of his heart rate. over the course of twenty minutes, they are looking for his heart rate to spike about 15 beats above his average rate and hold it there for about 15 seconds. usually, when a baby moves, their heart rate will spike. so we try to get him moving. apparently babies at the current week i am at aren't very cooperative with movement, but our little boy is quite the active one and has completed the tests pretty fast both times. the other monitor will show on a graph if i have a contraction. a couple times i had a "braxton hicks" contraction and i could see the little graph spike and go back down. it's kinda cool to watch what's happening inside my body.

i had an ultrasound in the office for them to check my amniotic fluid level because they were worried it might be too high. (a normal range is anywhere from about 8 cm- 20 cm) mine was measuring at about 15.5 cm which is great! it felt good to know i don't have to worry about that right now. about a week ago, i had another visit at the hospital and got a more extensive ultrasound to see the baby. right now, he is measuring a few weeks big. he is supposed to be around 3 and a half pounds right now...and our little man is about 4 pounds and 11 ounces! it had me a little worried, but i asked the doctor about it and he said that still only puts him in the 75th percentile, so as long as his growth is consistent, i won't be giving birth to a 10 pound baby. thank goodness. :) he will definitely be a big boy, but i somewhat expected that, with the circumstances and also just genes. a healthy baby is the most important thing. 

at this point, after a conversation with a couple of my doctors, we can pretty much guarantee that he will be here on July 16th or the day after. to be induced to deliver "naturally" (not a c-section) i have to be at least 39 weeks if i don't have any signs of labor already. so July 16th will be that day! if i happen to go in the week before and i'm already dilated to 3cm, then they will let me be induced then! i want him to be healthy, but i'm sorta praying that he'll decide to come to the world a little sooner than later :)

as for me, i am currently...

super uncomfortable almost 24/7. having stinky back pain. waddling like a penguin. sporting cute swollen ankles. waking up literally every hour each night to pee. having numerous braxton hicks contractions. feeling baby boy move around like crazy: rolls, jabs in the hips and ribs (simultaneously), and powerful kicks. 

i am so excited to meet our little boy. i think about him all day long and dream about what he will look like and be like. i think about how much our lives will change with the addition of him into our family. i worry if i'll be a good enough mother for him. i worry if he is healthy and happy in the little home i am providing him with. i miss it when he doesn't power punch me for a while. i think about how i am never alone and how my sweet baby has become my constant companion and little buddy. i stare in awe at my growing belly and wonder how something so incredibly important and magnificent is happening in there. i am amazed every day at what my body is capable of doing and how this awesome journey that has been the hardest thing i've ever done will end with a baby being placed in my arms. 

i can't wait.

the best is yet to come. 

it was mom.

today i have been able to reflect on the wonderful opportunity that is motherhood. my journey towards becoming a mother is inching ever closer and each day i am lost in thought at what this new life and adventure will be like when i have a child to call my own.

for as long as i can remember, i have wanted nothing more than to be a mother. it is something that i know that i was born to do and will be good at. i know that it will be the hardest thing that i will ever have to do, but it will also give me the most satisfaction and happiness. 

the past several years of my life have been scary and challenging health-wise. there was a point when i thought that i'd get to the point in my life where i wanted to have children but i wouldn't be able to. i have gotten very used to my body doing the exact opposite of what it was designed to do. when the impression came to me that this was something that needed to happen now, it seemed so far-fetched and unattainable.

from the moment i found out that i was pregnant, i knew that my life would never be the same. i worried so much with each passing day that this life that had started to grow within me could possibly be taken away at any moment. i did and continue to do everything within my power to make sure the little life that has been entrusted to Taylor and I would be as healthy as he could possibly be. 

the fact that this nine month journey is going to end with a child of my own being placed in my arms has hit me a little at a time. the full magnitude of the responsibility and blessing that is motherhood has not resonated with me yet, and i know it won't be until that moment when i am looking upon my son's face that i truly understand. 

with each passing day of carrying him close to my heart, i am continually amazed at how i can love someone who i've not even met yet so much. i know that motherhood can often be looked down upon and seen as something that is wasting freedom, time, and youth. but think- where would you be without your mother? this is a calling in my life that i know will take every ounce of my strength, patience and wit. and yet, i could not be more thrilled or excited to meet the little boy that will change my life forever. 

29 weeks!

long time, no update!
it's been pretty busy here around the Jeffery household.

both Taylor and I had our last week of classes and finals within the last few weeks. i finished a week earlier than him since i go to BYU and he goes to UVU. but now that we are both done i feel SO much relief. finals week is never fun. but add that onto a work schedule and being pregnant and it just takes on a new meaning. and stress is never good for you- and especially not for a growing baby! so i'm glad it's over. and i pulled out with pretty good grades, especially when i take into account how crappy i felt at the beginning of the semester. ...let's just say i missed a lot of class. but! i qualified for a half tuition academic scholarship that i will be able to use when i'm full time next winter. so we are super grateful for that! and Tay did well too and is super excited about being able to spend more time at work...sounds funny, huh? but he LOVES his job and is so so good at it. (i like to brag on him) and his bosses love him. there's exciting possibilities for him in the future! we have been really blessed.

ok, on to baby news.

29 weeks! helloooooo huge bump.

almost 27 weeks.

 I am now 29 weeks (and 1 day) pregnant!
that means we are officially in the third trimester as of last week. so it's a downhill race from here! and hopefully it's a quick race because i am starting to get antsy.

baby boy is now the size of a winter squash/butternut squash/small cabbage. he is about 17 inches and 3 pounds. but i am always a little suspicious of the weight/length on these apps. we know that he is measuring a little bigger so i wouldn't be surprised if he was longer and a heavier as well.

basically, he is smarter, chubbier, more independent and extremely energetic at this point. technically, if he was to be born tomorrow he has a 95% chance of survival. i definitely want him to stay in there a lot longer than that though.

he moves like a crazy baby! i can feel him rolling around in there a lot. because he is getting bigger, the movement aren't really as frequent or small. they are usually pretty deliberate and big punches, kicks or rolls. he is probably running out of room! he has been getting the hiccups quite often now! it feels like an annoying little twitch on the inside that i can't rub out. i love all the moving though. it is so reassuring and will for sure be the number one thing i miss the most about being pregnant.

i had my 28 week check up last week and they were a little worried that he is growing too fast. i am measuring a little bigger than normal, and boy do i feel like my belly has exploded within the last few weeks. they said that i am retaining a lot of water and that is why my belly is growing faster and bigger than normal. i have a tiny bit of swelling in my lower legs and ankles, but that is normally not until the end of the day when i've been on my feet a lot. i realized that i am on my feet a lot, so i have been trying to elevate my little piggies and relax as much as i can. i get bored after a while though, so i end up back on my feet after a while. but lots of breaks are a necessity. the doctor was just worried about me getting preeclampsia (you can google it) so he told me to take as many precautions as possible. i had to come back just a week later, which was yesterday, and i saw the nurse practitioner and she made me feel a lot better. so for now, i am just doing everything in my power to keep this little baby in me as long as possible!

i go back to my OB in two weeks to get an ultrasound to measure the fluid levels around the baby and get my first non-stress test done. i will be getting those done twice a week starting at 32 weeks until i deliver! so i will let everyone know how exciting they are as soon as i've had one done.



in other news, it's SUMMER! this week has felt pretty cold and crummy but for the most part it has been beautiful here in happy little Provo/Orem.

i am just working full time right now until the end of Spring term (about June 20) and then it will be time to prepare for the baby's arrival! hopefully not sooner than that. the Spring time on campus is a lottttt slower, and the shifts are longer so i get bored a lot quicker. I've been trying to read a lot and plan out projects. i got a book from my sister in law Jamie called "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" and just had the chance to devote time to it since school is out. i finished it a few days ago- it was hilarious! and really enlightening on a few things. i've also continued my reading of the Harry Potter series and i really want to read the Divergent series and the Chronicles of Narnia sometime. good thing i have lots of time on my hands!


Tay and i have lots of projects planned for the summer and i can't wait to get started on them! just yesterday, i made a cute wreath for our door. i had been meaning to do it forever, and finally got around to getting it done. it was SO easy and i love how it turned out! we bought all the supplies to refurbish the dresser we found for so cheap at the DI. i am so excited to get started on it and make it look cute!



last weekend, i went to sunny St. George with a few of the girls i work with to go to our friend Whitney's wedding! we left early saturday morning and got breakfast at this cute place called the Bear Paw. i got french toast (that was stuffed) and it was incredible. i didn't quite finish it all but oh i would definitely get that again. so we had found a deal at a resort where we could pay as a "family" and get a day pass! so we laid by the pool and soaked up some rays and then got ready for the wedding in the facilities there. i put on 50 spf sunscreen no less than four times and still got burned! and i was the only one! ha. oh how i love being pale. but the wedding reception was to die for cute and Whitney looked so beautiful and happy! i'm so glad we got to go down.






the weekend before that, Tay and i went to another wedding! (it's wedding season here) and got to see my beautiful friend Kenzie, who was one of my suitemates my freshman year. her and Ryan met our freshman year and dated and then Ryan went to Cambodia on his mission and two years later he came home and really the rest is history. they are the perfect couple and i absolutely died seeing how beautiful and happy she was! two of us down, two to go! ;) (i'm obviously talking to you, Hill and Laura!)








we have gotten so many nice gifts for our little baby boy! we got a reallyyyyy awesome one that i will have to post about soon because i don't have a picture with it. BUT! it was my birthday a couple weeks ago and a little over a week ago i got the NICEST gift from one of my best girlfriends from highschool, Emily! it had all my favorite things in it and even some gifts for Baby J! he's gotta have a UT orange bib to represent his momma's roots! thank you Em!





yesterday was my sister Shayla's birthday. me, my mom and her went to this new little pizza place in Draper called Pizzeria Limone- it was SO good. we got a pizza that had basil, onions and blackberries and another one that was a caprese. SO yummy. she's the best sissy and i love her. so glad i could spend some time with her on her birthday. 






Taylor and I love grocery shopping. we have tried out a few places but Winco will always be our favorite. they have the BEST produce ever and they have everything that we buy cheaper than anywhere else. Tay absolutely loves going there. I like it because you can even buy things in bulk, like Costco. we don't really need things in bulk, but they do things like baking goods or rice or pasta, etc. and you just weigh it by the pound. it ends up being a lot cheaper. i love it.

we bought a smoothie maker after our little sister Jane convinced how awesome it was. i feel like homemade smoothies are either hit or miss, but i am learning how to make them better! i made one just today and it is SO good that i'm going to be one of those people and give you the recipe. ha!

mixed frozen fruit (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)- as much as you want. i probably did 1/2 cup ish. 
two spoonfuls (or however much you want) of soy protein powder- got this at Winco!
vanilla coconut milk- (so so good, and good for you! just hard to drink a ton by itself) prob 1/2-1 cup.
handful of FRESH strawberries
handful of spinach. 


and blend! i just kept adding a little milk as i went till it blended well and got to the consistency that i liked. and it was the first smoothie i ever made with spinach! i was nervous about it but you can't even taste it. so yummy, i can't wait to make another!







and Taylor made us German pancakes a couple weeks ago- they were SO good and easy. we like to cook.












we are still happy, in love and excited for our boy to get here! keep us in your prayers please. we could use all the extra help we can get and we need to make sure Baby J stays put until it is time to come out!

here is a "throwback thursday" to make you smile. love my people. 

the best is yet to come.