weeks 33+34 | countdown is on!

I wish it was true that I feel like I’m 90 years old because I just did a kick-ass workout at the gym yesterday (a girl can pretend, right?). Nope, instead it’s due to falling on my arse (thanks, invisible ice) and a little preggo bowling over the weekend. The good news: I didn’t hit my head or baby bump whatsoever (kept the bambino safe!). Bad news: a hole in my beloved Lulu Studio Pants. So, so sad. As for bowling.. I figured it would be interesting to try to bowl with what seems like an actual bowling ball attached to my mid-section already. I was right. I took bowling form to a whole new level. To be on the safe side, I used the lightest ball I could find and I threw the ball so gently (really, it was all I could manage!) that sometimes it barely knocked down the pins! (I’m happy to report I did bowl a 105 despite my goofy pregnancy form!)

We took another step towards making this whole baby thing real life last week — a crib! I made Cory wait until I got home from work to put it together because I wanted to help watch.  With each new thing we do, I think Lucy knows something is seriously up. She made sure to be part of the process from beginning to end…

building the crib.

love it.

I had been waiting for this day for a long time, dreaming of putting Lucy inside the crib for a little photo shoot. Usually she’s not impressed with being forced to sit in random places for photos, but she seemed quite content with the crib. In fact, she ended up laying down and gazing out the window. It’s like a giant dog bed! If I’m not careful, we might find her snuggled next to her baby sis sometime in the future…!

just chillin’ in baby sister’s crib.

Doesn’t she look so freaking adorable in there!? Especially with the pink bow around her neck… 🙂

More sweet baby girl goodness:

Hat from Bekima Knits  |  Baby Sling from Zulily

I can just imagine a little chubby-cheeked, 6-month old in that hat! Hello, photo opps when that day comes… 🙂

More on Week 33+34:

Whacky Pregnancy Hormones: I blame it on pregnancy. It has to be. Lately, the smallest, dumbest things annoy the crap out of me! Even the fact that I get annoyed by things annoys me because I can’t control it.. Yikes! Cory gets the joy of hearing about what’s bugging me. So do my mom+sister, usually. [Thanks for hearing me out!]

Germaphobe: Something I totally am not. Usually. I’ve never been the type of person to get all worked up by a few germs. (Heck, I feed Lucy bites off my spoon (don’t judge!) and give her licks of my ice cream cone.) But this whole influenza nastiness going around has given me a change of heart. I am terrified of getting sick during these last six weeks of pregnancy, not to mention the weeks (+months) after bringing the babers home! The other day, for the first time ever, I grabbed one of those “cart wipes” at Target and wiped off my cart before shopping. And I won’t use stair railings in public and find myself getting really grossed out at the thought of who may have touched something before me. (The absolute worst might be going into a public restroom stall immediately after a stranger comes out… gross gross gross!!)

In addition to be especially germaphobic right now and simply using common sense as a pregnant woman, I finally got a flu shot! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten one, but this year it was imperative. I feel so much better knowing I got it, but will continue to cross my fingers I don’t get sick during the two week window it takes for the vaccine to take effect.

01.12.2013: Little did I know on this day exactly five years ago (2008), I would meet the man who would now be my baby daddy (I use this term as a joke, just FYI). I told him that was the luckiest day of his life (totally was). But really, it was mine too. I couldn’t be more grateful+blessed+happy to have him as my husband and don’t know what I’d do without him.

Baby Fever: Over the weekend I had two photo shoots that involved FOUR newborn babies! Talk about making me super duper excited to meet and hold my baby! Be sure to pop over to my facebook page to see photos of the sweet babies…

What’s next?: My last bi-weekly doctor appointment and then I move on to weekly appointments… How did this happen so quick!?

This weekend is my baby shower! I’m so excited. My sister and I are having so much fun planning all the details — decorations, food, etc. Photo recap of the event coming next week! In my next life I’m totally going to be an event planner…

As [super] excited as I am to meet this little girly, I also am a little freaked out just how quickly it’s approaching. I still feel like I have a million things to do before her arrival and am not sure I’ll have enough time to get it all done. Lets hope this so-called “nesting” business kicks in sooner than later! One thing that I always remember and keep in mind is that there is nothing that is going to make me feel “ready” to bring home an infant and know what to do with her. It will just happen, we’ll take it as it comes, and learn as we go. It’s going to be an amazing+crazy+emotional rollercoaster+gratifying+sleep deprived+heart warming+pure joy+unconditional love overload! Bring it on.

Check out my 34-week bowling ball…

34 Weeks | bowling!

WEEKS 26+27+28 [day 200]

I’ve officially been pregnant for 200 days!

 

The Thanksgiving holiday totally threw me off track of my weekly blogging. Something about going home-home puts me on the fast track of laziness+relaxation+no motivation. Four free days to do whatever I wanted, and I just could not get my fingers to type. Instead, they were busy feeding myself homemade chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting (thanks for the birthday cake, mom!), leftover Thanksgiving stuffing, and Schwann’s peppermint ice cream all weekend…

With that being said..

How I’m feeling: Awesome. I am surprised at how good I feel and can only hope that it continues (fingers crossed!). I haven’t had heartburn or acid reflux, no swollen feet or hands, no backaches, and have been sleeping pretty great (aside from waking up a couple times to pee!). The only thing that is different about how my not-pregnant-self would feel, is that my belly is bigger than normal. And my abdominal muscles clearly don’t work very well. Sitting up for a laying down position is now more of a challenge. 🙂

I have nightdaymares of reaching a miserable stage… Watch, I’ll have fat fingers and won’t be able to wear my wedding ring, swollen feet so won’t be able to wear half my shoes, and a swollen face! I really hope not.

Bad Mama Moment: After drinking a bottle of Kombucha, I read the label. Kinda backwards(?). There, in red letters, it stated that if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, to consult your physician before consuming their products. I had googled this before drinking one and couldn’t find any clear indication to not drink it so really didn’t think it would be a big deal. I guess I’ll steer clear of them from here on out. You know those mishaps that make you feel like such a bad mama (this happens to me with Lucy too)? This was one of them.

Surprise: This time at my doctor apppointment, I remembered to ask what I weighed last time so I could see my progress. Much to my surprise (you know, after all the chocolate cake, leftover stuffing, and ice cream!), I gained two pounds since my appointment a month ago. It’ll be interesting to see what I gain these last 11 weeks…!

A+: I passed my glucose test with flying colors! (Again, all that cakestuffingandicecream I consumed over the weekend had me concerned about passing this!) Whoever says it’s soooo awful to drink needs to stop spreading rumors. First of all, it’s a tiny cup of liquid and it tastes like [fruit punch]! It was much better than any shot of liquor I’ve consumed, that’s for sure. My “score” was 123. I guess anything under 139 is considered normal. Yay, me!

Overheard: When I was waiting to get into my appointment, I overheard a soon-to-be baby daddy ask his future baby mama, “Why do you get so emotional when you hear the heartbeat? It’s weird.” Ummmm, I don’t know about you, but that would be grounds for a sock to the head arm had Cory said something like that to me. Dude, be nice to your pregnant wife!

It’s a Girl: I know, you already knew that. I asked my PA how much it would cost to do another ultrasound because I was having some “mild anxiety that she would come out a he“. She just smiled and said they would just do one quick, no problem (so nice!). Before you judge me and think I’m a weirdo… I’ve had multiple people tell me how somebody they knew thought they were having a girl and she ended up being a boy — after forming a connection+bond with a daughter and preparing for a girl, I am not sure how easy it would be to adapt to a boy if it were to happen. So I had the ultrasound and it has been confirmed — it’s a girl! It was so fun to see her cute little face again, watch her mouth open and close, and see her little heart beating. I even got more photos [for the fridge]!

Dreamin’: I love when I have dreams of our baby girl. I just had one, but all I remember is Cory holding her when I got back [from somewhere] and feeling pure happiness and love when I saw her face and took her from his arms! And, the other part I remember — feeling like I was going to drop her. There always has to be an anxiety-driven part of the dream, I guess. In the past, the dreams were about forgetting to feed her, not having any food to give her, and not being prepared in general for a baby in the house. Yikes. 

As Seen on TV: Anybody watch “Up All Night”? [Super funny… watch it.] Anyway, “Chris+Reagan” have the high chair I’m planning to buy! It’s always weird to see something you own (or in my case, plan to own soon) on TV. Isn’t it? Check it out…

Up all Night.

Anyone have any opinions on which color I should get? I’m sure when the day comes that we have a baby boy (if that day comes), we probably won’t care if he sits in a pink highchair anyway, so I don’t want that to stop me from choosing the pink. 🙂

Holy Moly: I am now going to doctor appointments every two weeks and have scheduled the rest of them from here on out! And, it really puts things into perspective when I realize there is a chance I only have 9-10 weeks to go if I go into labor a little early!

Baby Purchases:

baby goods!

Is that chevron blanket not the cutest thing ever?? I have seen it at Target a couple times but it wasn’t at the Target in Woodbury. Instead of waiting in hopes of getting it as a gift off my registry (and for the fear that it would be gone by the time someone would potentially buy it), I scooped one up myself. I’m in love with it! Cory even commented on how he likes it and that is looks good with the new bassinet. 🙂

The Curse of the Curtains: Who would have thought picking out fabric for curtains would be so difficult? I thought I had a winner but my opinion changed the minute I saw it in person. It was too dark and earth-tonish, rather than soft, playful, and baby-ish. I then spent hours (yes, hours), on a Friday night, browsing fabric online in hopes of finding one that sparked my interested, without-a-doubt-in-my-mind. I found plenty that I love, but just cannot decide. This is where you come in. Please help. Here are my options, photoshopped into the room for the most the most accurate depiction. I think I know which is my favorite but would love to hear your thoughts too!

OR, my other thought is that I go with something completely opposite and keep it plain and neutral (white or white+grey pattern) for the curtains and use fun fabrics for accents around the room. This is me second guessing everything so the more insight I get from you guys, the better. Bring on the opinions!!

Is the neutral route too boyish with the orange zebra rug? I hope I’m not the only mama-to-be who has put a ridiculous amount of so much thought into this type of stuff! 🙂

Please vote!!

1. Highchair Color — Pink or Taupe?

2. Colored Curtains — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6?

3. Neutral Curtains — 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

4. Curtains — Colored or Neutral?

 

 

WEEK 24 [baby room+rockthevote!]

Deciding what direction to go for the baby room has been a long time coming. I’ve been daydreaming brainstorming ideas, making mood boards, and looking at countless inspirations on Pinterest for months. There are so many fabulous ideas out there [and floating around in my head], picking just one has been no easy task for me. Now that it’s November and the holidays are just around the corner, January+February will be here before I know it, so I figured I best be gettin’ my butt in gear, making some real progress!

Here are some of my favorite baby rooms I’ve been eyeing up on Pinterest, finding inspiration in each one.

You may notice I’m drawn to rooms that don’t scream “GIRL”. I love girly things but I also don’t want her room to be overly frilly and princess-y [with rainbows and unicorns and hearts]. Fairly neutral, but with enough girliness to know it’s definitely a girl’s room and not a boy’s when you see it.

Here is what I came up with and the direction I’ve decided to go for our little lady’s future room…

1. Chalkboard wall. I am already scheming photo ops for years to come using this…

2. Basket. (Crate+Barrel) I haven’t picked which one I’ll buy yet but I want a basket or two for toys/blankets etc.

3. Wall Color. (Martha Stewart Cavern) The room is all cleaned out and ready for a fresh coat of paint!

4. NAME. (Pottery Barn Kids) Lowercase letters that spell out her name. 🙂

5. Vizlsa Mobile. My plan is to DIY this.. just need to figure out with what and how exactly, but it should be fairly simple. Vizsla love!

6. Turquoise Map. More less just to show color. I do love the map itself but I am not for sure planning on purchasing it.

7. Colorful+Fun Fabrics. If I can get my hands on all these fabrics, I likely will use them for something. One will probably be the back side to the chevron quilt my mom is making for us.

8. Crib. (Target) Modern+Simple.

9. Chevron Quilt. Light purple+white chevron with orange trim and a turquoise+purple+white+grey+orange pattern fabric on the back.

10. Orange+Cream Zebra Rug. (overstock.com) I took the plunge and ordered this! I wasn’t 100% decided on this color direction, but I love it and decided to go for it!

11. Lulu+Max stuffed animal. (HomeGoods) A random impulse purchase because I thought it was cute. Lucy wants it SO bad!!

12. Side Table. (Target) The bongo-looking side table (as Cory thinks)!

13. Knit Foot Pouf. (Target)

14. Rocker. (overstock.com) I also purchased an authentic Bentwood Rocker off Craigslist and have big plans for it so it may end up in the baby room instead of this one!

15. Dresser. This is how I want to refinish a dresser for the room. Another DIY project!

16. Owl Piggy Bank. (Urban Outfitters) Haven’t purchased yet but I think it may happen.

17. Wire Baskets. (Crate+Barrel) For organizing baby goods, like diapers, lotions, etc.

18. Lamp. (HomeGoods)

19. Artwork/Print. Not for sure getting this but love the colors and the print in general.

20. Colors Swatches. Orange+light purple+turquoise+grey.

So, what do you think? Anybody have any other fun ideas for her room!?

I’m hoping I don’t change my mind or stress myself out wondering if this is for sure what I want to do. Just thinking about that happening brings back memories of wedding planning… ! It’s just a room though, right? The most important “thing” in there will be the baby who occupies it. 🙂

A blog post today wouldn’t be right without making note of the election! I waited until after work to hit my polling place which may have been a mistake on my part. The line seemed never-ending, but after exactly one hour and being the #2486 voter of the day in my territory, I walked out with the classic red “I Voted” sticker on my shirt! #rockthevote

i voted | 24 weeks!