Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Liam Isaac: 38 Weeks!

We are at 38 weeks now, people (on Friday we'll be at 39)! Only 10 more days until our due date (Friday, July 6th)! Liam is getting closer and closer to being here. It could be any day now, really. That is crazy awesomeness. :)

I suspect that this may just be our last bi-weekly baby bump photo!!! It's been a really fun series to do, and I know I will appreciate getting to look back and see our little man's growth progress while he was still in the belly.



Things have been going well! I've been feeling pretty good for the most part. Still been having days where I have tons and tons of contractions, but it's all good and normal and progressing things along...so for that, I am thankful! It will make actual labor go smoother. Now we just wait patiently for the "real" thing!

We've been having weekly doctor's visits for a few weeks now. I look forward to our doctor's appointments...I love getting updates to see where we're at! A couple weeks ago we had an ultrasound to do a growth scan, and our little mister is measuring a little large! Two weeks ago he was measuring at (give or take a pound) 7lbs 10oz. :) We're having another ultrasound this Thursday to do another growth scan and to check the fluid and all that jazz. I was kind of suspecting that Liam was going to be a little bigger, since Jonathan and I were both big babies...so I'm not really that surprised. He's going to be so perfect, and I can't wait to see his face! Because of his size, they've been doing some extra monitoring at our appointments, and our doctor says that everything is looking "perfect". He's a healthy boy, and for that I am so thankful.

My mom is coming back in town later this week, and I couldn't be more excited! The rest of the family will be coming down the second week in July. I can't wait to have everyone here! I love it when the whole fam can be together.

The last couple of weeks, we have been busy nesting and getting things ready for Liam's arrival! I've been thankful for the bursts of energy that nesting has given me to get things done. It's kind of amazing! Of course, afterwards I usually need a long night's sleep or a nap...but it's been refreshing to not be exhausted constantly and to actually be able to be productive!



I've been posting little sneak peeks on Instagram (username: tiffanyzajas) which seem to have peeked everyone's interest. Liam's room is really coming together. I'd say it's pretty much finished, except for some final details. There's one wall that I'm still working on some artwork for (and it may take a little while)...and the rug for his nursery won't arrive until mid-July. But other than those finishing touches, I'd say we're ready! And yes, we will be posting a nursery tour when everything is done...but you'll have to be patient and wait until we finish those last few things. :) I'd say this room is now our favorite room in the house. In the mornings and at night, Jonathan and I will often just go and sit in there and look around. It's such a pleasant room to be in, and it's fun to imagine that our baby is going to be in there soon!

We're going to have a baby soon! We've been looking forward to this for 9 months now, and now that it's almost time...it's so hard to wrap my mind around the reality of it. We are so excited and can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives!

Thanks for joining us along the way. It's been fun getting to share this journey with you guys.

Love and blessings!

-Tiffany

P.S. If you want to be updated more quickly than my blog posts, be sure to follow us on Instagram - Usernames: tiffanyzajas (me) + zajas (Jonathan) And follow us on Twitter tiffanyzajas (me) + zajas (Jonathan). We'll be posting baby updates on there before we have a chance to post anything on here! :)







Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Liam Isaac: 36 Weeks!

Friends! We are now at 36 weeks!

It's so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that our little guy could come at any point now. We have transitioned from counting down the months to counting down the days. This is where we wait and trust that he'll come in God's perfect timing. :)



This past week Jonathan was away at Summer Camp with our Real Life students, and wow, God sure did move in their lives there! I could write a book with all the testimonies they came back with...God is so good! :) And this is just the beginning of what he's going to do! :) Sadly, due to the nature of camp, I was too far along in pregnancy to safely join them. So I stayed at home. Thankfully, I was not alone! :) My amazing mom flew down from Maine to join me for the week. 

Having my mom here was such an incredible blessing! I really don't know what I would have done without her. She helped me with things I've been having difficulty with...such as scrubbing the bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen floor, and buckling my sandals. Haha! And on top of all the help she was, it was really just a joy to get to spend so much quality time together. Since we live so far apart, we don't get that very often, so I always cherish those moments when we do.

This week I've continued to have contractions. Some days, it's only 3-5...but other days it will be closer to 20-30 contractions in an evening. Last Wednesday I was thinking it may actually happen. The contractions were more uncomfortable and even painful...they were getting closer together and longer. They eventually slowed down and stopped, but in the midst of it I was kinda freaking out that Liam might come while Jonathan was at camp (of course, he would have booked it to the hospital and probably made it in time). I was SO thankful that my mom was there with me. I couldn't imagine being all alone during that. God definitely knew what I needed. :)

At last week's appointment, it was encouraging to find out that my body is indeed progressing toward being ready for birth. All of these warm-up contractions haven't been for nothing! :) We're at the point of weekly exams now, which is fun and exciting! We go back again this Thursday for another exam and ultrasound. I'm excited to see our little man's face again (and to find out how much he weighs!) and to also discover if we've progressed more this past week. Exciting stuff!

Another exciting thing that happened this past weekend was our second baby shower! Our amazing Pastor's wife, Kim, planned and put on an incredible shower for us with our Full Life family, and also friends in the Nashville area. I was completely blown away! We were so blessed by all the people who showed up and showered us with love (and gifts!). And it was such a joy that my mom got to be here for it too. It was a joy getting to introduce her to so many of the people we love here. Thank you so much to everyone who helped put together this shower and who came out to celebrate with us. You all are such great blessings in my life.

Now we continue to nest and prepare for our little guy...never knowing when he'll decide to show up, but feeling more and more ready for his arrival. 

I keep wondering which week will be our last weekly update. We'll keep you posted! :) If you want to keep up-to-date with more real-time updates, feel free to follow us on Twitter @tiffanyzajas (me) and @zajas (Jonathan) and Instagram tiffanyzajas (me) and zajas (husband).

Love and appreciate you all!

-Tiffany




Friday, June 1, 2012

Liam Isaac: 34(ish) Weeks!

Hello friends!

I am posting my 34 week update when I am actually now at 35 weeks...oops! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of awesomeness, so I've fallen a little behind. The 34 week baby bump photo was in fact taken during my 34th week...but it's just taken me this long to get around to posting it.

Here is the updated baby bump...



Liam is getting bigger and bigger, and we are getting more and more excited to meet him! We had our 35 week doctor's appointment yesterday, and our doctor said that everything is looking good for his arrival! He is developed enough that if he decided to come now, they wouldn't do anything to stop him. Of course the preference is for him to grow as much as possible before we meet him face to face, but we'll be thrilled no matter when he decides to make his appearance! This is where I learn to let go of control and just trust God. I know it'll all happen in His perfect timing. :)

Last night was a little eventful around here. While winding down at home for the evening, I started having a couple contractions. At first I didn't think much of it, because I've randomly been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple months now. But then I had another one...and another one...and then they started getting longer and closer together...and some of them were quite uncomfortable. This went on for about two hours. And to be honest, I was feeling a little frantic. I was not expecting to go into labor this soon, and I still had things that needed to be done! So in between contractions, I was rushing around the house like a mad woman doing some major "nesting". I quickly finished packing our hospital bag. I threw some laundry in to wash (because I realized I hadn't washed any of Liam's clothes yet!) And I even organized my makeup bag (I have no clue why...haha!) My sweet husband was right there with me the whole time, keeping me hydrated, massaging my back, helping me get things in order, and reassuring me that everything was going to be alright, 

When the contractions were beginning to get to the 5-1-1 stage (where they're 5 minutes apart, at least 1 minute in length, and going on for over an hour) and we were thinking we'd have to make a trip to the hospital soon...they stopped. And I was exhausted, so I fell right to sleep. At 2am I woke up with another contraction, and have continued having them off and on for the rest of the day. They haven't been near as crazy as last night though. They've been more mild in intensity and sporadic in timing. So I've been able to get some rest in the meantime.

While last night was just a warm-up for the big day, it definitely made all of this feel more real! It's hitting me that this could happen at any time. It could be in a few days...or in 6 weeks! So exciting! :)

Because it's been a little longer since my last update, I'll give you a little peek at what I've been up to the past few weeks...


1. I flew up to Maine to be with my family a few weeks ago!
2. While there, I got to celebrate my sister, Alycia, graduating from high school! I cannot believe she's a high school grad now...she's grown up SO fast!
3. We went to some of my favorite places while there. Including the beach!
4. My mom and sisters threw me an amazing baby shower while we were there. I was overwhelmed by all the thoughtfulness that was put into it. Everyone was so kind and generous, and we were blessed with some great gifts! It warmed my heart. :)
5. I missed this guy while I was away in Maine, but loved getting to hang out with him when I returned.
6. We went to 4 graduations and 6 graduation parties this past weekend. It was so much fun! We loved getting to celebrate all of our amazing graduates. To say we're going to miss them when they go off to college is quite the understatement.
7. We had a heat wave here in Tennessee (record highs!)...and our air conditioning decided to go out the same day. We got creative in ways to stay cool, such as hanging out in Panera for a few hours drinking smoothies while getting some work done. Our AC is now back on and I am so thankful!
8. We saw the most incredible (double) rainbow ever. It reminded me of all of God's promises, and how he is always with us. 

All in all, it's been an amazing few weeks...and I can't wait to see what the next few have in store! :)

Love you all!

-Tiffany