Summer Tones

Some summer inspiration:

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36 Weeks… 9 months!

Last weekend we were out for lunch and the waitress asked me how far along I was – I replied I was almost 9 months.  But now I can officially say I am 9 months…where did the time go?!

Yesterday I had my appointment to get tested for Strep B – hopefully the results come back negative.  Basically from what I know is if they do come back positive, then if your water breaks, you need to get to the hospital ASAP to start on antibiotics.  Not sure what happens if you’re positive and your water never ends up breaking – maybe you still need to go to the hospital sooner than normal?  Since my goal is to labor at home as much as possible, that wouldn’t go well with the “plan”.  Anyways they will tell me the results next week so I’m trying not to think about it until then.

I also got checked to see if Baby C’s head is down and it is!!!!  Wooooo!  Unfortunately my cervix hasn’t changed and I haven’t made any progress, though.  I go back weekly from here on out.

How far along?: 36 weeks

Baby is the size of a:  Honeydew.  Should be about 6 pounds at this point.

Total weight gain/loss:  +25-27…ugh I’m just trying to stay under 30 now, so much for 25.  

The Bump:  Large and in charge.  

Symptoms: Back pain off and on.  I think I’m going to try to schedule a massage in the next week or so.  Luckily my swelling has gone down since last week. 

Food Cravings:  Still salads.  And this week I’ve been loving anything with fruit – I made a huge fruit salad on Sunday and I’ve been taking containers to work each day.  I guess this is my body’s way of telling me to stop eating crap and eat more fruits and veggies.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.

Sleep: Okay…usually waking up just once a night.  Thanking the Snoogle for no hip pain and very little back pain.

What I miss: The usual stuff. 

Weddings Rings On or Off: On…but they’re getting tight. 

Any Names Picked Out Yet:  I think we have picked THE one :)  It’s a secret until he’s born, though.

Movement: Haha check out my post yesterday for a couple videos I was able to get of him partying.  Or Hubby likes to say he’s “swimming”. 

Maternity Clothes: Just about all maternity. 

Labor Signs: Haven’t really felt any BH contractions this week – I’m assuming I’m still having them but they probably just don’t hurt at all. 

Best Moment of the Week: Knowing he’s head down!

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: need to finish stuff up this weekend – some nursery projects, hospital bags, etc.

36 Week Pic:

And what I wore today…maternity ribbed tank from Old Navy, shrug from Old Navy, and maternity jeans from Kohl’s (I actually wore black pants to work).  The tank top and shrug/cardigan has been my staple outfit almost every day now.  Luckily those tanks are pretty cheap!

Monday Musings

 

My little alien:

 

 

Definitely the best part of pregnancy is feeling the kicks and movements…even if some of them hurt a little once in awhile.  I was asked what they feel like the other day, and I couldn’t come up with a good description.  It’s really unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.  Even though I’m ready to meet Baby C, I am going to miss his dance parties in my belly at night when I’m relaxing.

Popular Names

Did you hear that the Social Security website finally put out their list of most popular names for 2011?  I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for this list to be published ever since New Year came and went.  I figured they needed some time to get the stats right, but still, halfway through the list and it’s finally here?  Anyway, here’s the link to the site.

Despite the wait, it made me very happy to know that Baby C’s chosen name is even less popular than it was in 2010.  I joked with Hubby at first and said it was in the top 10 for 2011 but he didn’t really believe me.  And he said if it was in the top 10 this year, that we’re not going through the process of picking a new name and I’d have to deal.  But lucky for me, it’s not even in the top 200.  The name still fits within all of my criteria  – not in the top 100 most popular, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, something that doesn’t come with silly nicknames, and also not too gender neutral.

I’m at the point where I’m okay sharing some of our other contenders before we made the final decision.  Who knows if we’ll still like these names in the future and there’s no guarantee we’ll have another boy.  Before we found out the gender, I started making lists of my favorite boy and girl names.  I would bring a few up every so often to Hubby but he usually would end up shooting them down.  We then decided to wait until after the 20 week ultrasound so we could work on just one list, as we were both sick of having discussions that ended up in disagreements…

Once we found out Baby C was a boy, we had two lists of boys’ names to start with – my list and Hubby’s list.  My list included names like “Nolan”, “Donovan”, “Brendan” and “Ryder”, but there were a few others I liked, as well.  Hubby’s list was much shorter with only “Noah” and “Landon”.  We then came up with a new list we both liked together because we didn’t agree on anything on our own lists.  We miraculously came up with 4 names we both really liked.  I mentioned before when I was doing my San Diego recaps that one day we heard a name we really liked after a dad was calling his son it.  That did end up being one of the 4 names on our list together – it was “Cooper”.  We ultimately decided it was a little too popular – I think it’s in the top 80.   The other two I won’t share just in case the chosen name doesn’t fit when Baby C actually arrives :)

Let’s just say boys’ names were HARD to agree on.  Some boy names sound too much like dog names…and then some sound very little boy-ish, so they won’t fit well for an adult male in the future.  We would always do the “resume test” – I would ask Hubby what he would think if he was interviewing someone that came in with that name.  That’s how we narrowed down a few names haha.  I think if Baby C was a girl, we would have spent only a couple weeks discussing names.  But I’m really happy with what we’ve come up with, which is all that matters. 

Birth Announcements

Something on The Bump’s checklist of things to do is to pick out birth announcements before baby arrives.  I realize this makes sense to have something picked out ahead of time, but it’s just weird looking at these before he’s here.  I think I’m going to go with something on Shutterfly since they’re fairly easy to use and really all you have to do is add in your photos to complete the project.  I would love to design my own, but I’m being realistic in knowing that I probably wouldn’t finish them until 9 months after Baby C is here and my goal is to get these out a month after he’s born :)

Here’s some of my favs on Shutterfly:

I love the “Hello” font on this above one.

 

Cute polkadots without being too feminine.

 

Love how the picture is more “floating” with the bubbles on top.

 

Bold design  and doesn’t use the typical baby blue colors all over.

 

They do have a couple nautical-themed ones, but this is really the only one I would consider going with.  Not sure if I want to keep doing water/beachy stuff, though.

 

I also checked out Snapfish and Vistaprint, but none of their designs really popped out at me.  I guess my other option would be to design something on my own now and leave it blank for the picture(s), but then I have to print them and possibly cut them depending on the type of paper I use, and like I said before, I need to be realistic in knowing how long that could possibly take me with a newborn needing my attention.  At least I still have a few more weeks to decide…it’s a month today until his due date!

Bump & Kitties

I’m trying to take more photos on my iPhone – I mean it’s a pretty decent camera so I might as well get some use out of it.  Here’s some pics from the past few weeks…mostly of the kitties and the bump :)

Sisters cuddlin’…

And distracted by a bird:

Bump hanging out in the nursery on the glider:

And speaking of the nursery, here’s some of Baby C’s friends (don’t worry, the basket will be removed from the crib once he’s actually here):

Ellie just lounging above our bed…she loves laying in the sun in the AM:

Maggie listening to her brother:

And the bump on Mother’s Day:

 

35 Weeks

Two more weeks and we’re full-term!  WOOOO!  After this week, I’m beyond excited to get to that point.  Let’s just say the rest of Week 34 was not so fun.  My feet started to swell on Friday and by the time I got home from work, my legs felt SO heavy.  I immediately laid in bed and propped a couple pillows up underneath my legs to elevate them.  Even though I knew it was coming eventually, I was secretly hoping I’d be one of those very lucky mommas that wouldn’t swell.  Yeah, not so much.  I’ve been trying to elevate my feet as much as possible and drink more water and I think it’s been helping a little.

My Old Navy flip-flops are not fitting that well (I think my feet also have gotten longer).  I basically am stuck with flats or one pair of sandals I found a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately they don’t have any other colors at Marshall’s or else I’d buy a couple more pairs.  My bras are tight but I refuse to buy new ones until a few weeks from now when I’ll start buying nursing stuff.  My rings are getting tight, but not to the point where I need to stop wearing them completely.  Still trying to be thankful that I haven’t felt uncomfortable until this late on, but I can’t always be grateful every single day – just being real.  You can bet that as soon as I hit 37 weeks I’ll be doing everything I can to convince Baby C it’s time to make his grand entrance.

This past weekend we went to Maine to celebrate our early second anniversary and also get maternity pics done.  Our wedding photographer met up with us and I loved working with her again.  Here’s a sneak pic she posted on Facebook on Sunday – I cannot wait to see the rest of them!

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A lot of people asked where I got that top – it’s a nursing friendly maternity top from Target and the shrug is from Old Navy.  Even though I was feeling pretty whale-like, I’m still glad I did the pictures – I know I will look back and appreciate them.  And it was a good excuse to get my hair blown out…I swear I would get my hair done at least once a month if it wasn’t so freaking expensive!

 

How far along?: 35 weeks

Baby is the size of a:  coconut

Total weight gain/loss:  +23-25

The Bump:  Large and in charge.  Stretch marks are getting longggg.

Symptoms: Swollen-ness that I already mentioned.

Food Cravings:  Garden salads.  Normally I get sick of salad so fast but I’ve loved it this past week. 

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.

Sleep: Off and on – some nights are good, some not so good.

What I miss: Is it too early to say everything at this point?  Seriously, I miss my old clothes (while maternity stuff is comfy, I’m getting sick of the same stuff every week).  Also alcohol.  Also working out.  Also sleeping without a Snoogle.  Sigh.

Weddings Rings On or Off: On…but they’re getting tight. 

Any Names Picked Out Yet:  I think we have picked THE one :)  It’s a secret until he’s born, though.

Movement: At least his movements are keeping me smiling…they are a reminder of how close I am to meeting him! 

Maternity Clothes: Just about all maternity. 

Labor Signs: Some more BH contractions, but they’re very random at this point, never last long, and don’t really hurt.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting maternity pics done!  Oh and Hubby installed the car seat base in his car and didn’t even tell me until we got ready to leave for Maine…so cute.

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: getting my hospital bag together this weekend.

35 Week Pic…and apparently I need to clean my mirror yuck:

And what I wore to work…non-maternity maxi from Target.  I LOVE this dress and I hope it’s still flattering after the bump is gone (it may be too tent-like, though, and I will definitely need to get it shortened a little).  I wore it as my second outfit in maternity pics – so comfy and it still showed off the bump pretty well.  And it was just $20 – it’s only available online, though.

 

Two.

Two years ago…

We exchanged vows in front of our favorite people:

Shared our “first” kiss:

Took some pics with our peeps:

Relaxed for a bit:

Danced to “My Wish”:

Listened to some fabulous speeches:

Got surprised by Wally:

Ate some amazing vanilla and blueberry cake:

Danced all night:

And shared one of the best days of our lives together:

“And while you’re out there getting’ where you’re getting’ to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things, too.  Yeah, this is my wish.”

Love you hubby – here’s to celebrating many, many more anniversaries :)

34 Weeks

Well technically 34 weeks + 1 day.  I know I’ll regret if I don’t keep doing these the next few weeks, but I am getting a little sick of the weekly pics and just had no interest to do it yesterday.

Monday was another check-up – my blood pressure is perfect, bump is measuring on track, and Baby C’s heartbeat is strong in the 160’s.  I go back in 2 weeks for the Strep B test and an internal exam to see if he’s head down.  If my doctor can’t tell by doing the internal, I get to have an ultrasound.  I kinda of hope he can’t tell so we have one last ultrasound :)  The last thing my doctor asked me was “so you know how to get a hold of us, right?” – meaning that I have the necessary phone numbers and all that just in case I go into labor.  I know he needs to cook for a few more weeks, but it’s hard to believe I’m finally at this point!

Then Monday night was our last childbirth class.  This one focused on taking care of baby once you bring him home, so we covered how to swaddle, sponge baths (supposed to do those until the umbilical cord falls off), burping, holding, how to pick up baby with supporting the neck, and a few other things.  We watched a video and used a baby doll for the fake sponge bath and swaddle practice.  Overall it was an okay class – I would say at least half I already knew or was just common sense.  Hubby felt the same.  I am glad we learned how to swaddle, though, since I had NO idea how to previously haha. 

I’m getting to the point where I’m really wanting for this to be over.  I have loved being pregnant and am thankful every day for an easy pregnancy – I do not take that for granted.  But I really feel like pregnancy is a month longer than what it needs to be; it gets you so excited to meet your babe that it helps you through the labor and delivery process.  Or at least that’s what I’m hoping is the case…  The nurse on Monday asked me if I was getting anxious to meet my little guy when she was checking his heartbeat.  My response?  “Oh my God, YES!”

How far along?: 34 weeks

Baby is the size of a:  butternut squash…mmm.  But this means he’s about 5 pounds!

Total weight gain/loss:  +21-23

The Bump:  Lots of strangers have commented lately, but luckily everything has been nice and positive :) 

Symptoms: Feet are hurting so I’m assuming they’re a little swollen even though they don’t look bigger.  Back pain if I sit or stand in one position for too long.  And I’m pretty sure he dropped a little because I’ve had a lot of pressure on my pelvic bone since yesterday.

Food Cravings:  I normally never eat from McDonald’s – only hot fudge sundaes once in a while.  But I’ve been there for Sweet Tea and Frozen Strawberry Lemonades a lot lately.   Oh, and cereal.  I have eaten 2 1/2 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats in the past week.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.

Sleep: Some nights are okay, some are not.  At least I’m only waking up once a night to pee still.

What I miss: It officially hurts to bend over now :(   

Weddings Rings On or Off: On

Any Names Picked Out Yet:  I think we have picked THE one :)  It’s a secret until he’s born, though.

Movement: Moving and groovin like usual. 

Maternity Clothes: Just about all maternity. 

Labor Signs: Pretty sure I’ve had some BH contractions – they don’t hurt at all, it’s more of a crampy feeling that goes away after 30 seconds or so. 

Best Moment of the Week: Is it bad I made a countdown calendar for work?  I have 17 days left!

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: off to Maine this weekend to celebrate our early second anniversary…and maternity pics!

34 Week Pic:

And what I wore to work…non-maternity tunic from Target (wooo for actually finding something non-maternity that still fits!) and maternity pants from Target:

Maternity Clothes

I have been asked a lot of times during my pregnancy where I tend to shop for maternity clothes – not sure if it’s a good thing because people think I still dress well for a preggo? ;)  Anyways I figured I would make a review of my maternity favs and the staples that have gotten me through just about eight months. 

I should preface this by saying that while I don’t consider myself a true bargain shopper, I still try to not spend a ton of money on my clothes.  I usually only buy things when they’re on sale or I have a coupon (even though I know most stores just mark stuff up to begin with, I just feel better shopping with coupons!).  My favorite stores pre-maternity were New York & Company, Target, Old Navy, Kohl’s, JCPenney’s, and The Loft.  For maternity shopping, I have had the most success at Old Navy, Target, Motherhood Maternity, JCPenney’s and Kohl’s, so many of my favorites stayed the same.

My local Old Navy has a maternity section in the store, though it’s very small.  However, their clearance section was pretty good and I often found dresses there for less than $15 (one I found was $8).  Old Navy’s online return policy for maternity items is that you have to return by mail only, however, I asked two separate times at my local store if they would accept maternity returns and both associates said yes, it would not be a problem.  I never had to return anything to the store, but this made me feel much better about ordering items online.  I would wait for 20% or 30% sales and then order a bunch of items at one time to get the free shipping (spend over $50).  I love just about all the clothes I have ordered from Old Navy, though their sizing tends to run big for most items.  A couple t-shirts I ordered months ago, I’m just fitting into now with a bigger bump.  So they may be best to shop for in the middle of your second trimester or try going down a size. 

Target has been another store I check every few weeks.  It’s rare when their maternity items go on sale/clearance, but I did find a few t-shirts awhile back for $5 and use those now for sleeping/working out.  My favorite work pants came from Target.  At $35 a pair, that’s more than what I usually want to spend on dressy pants, but they were the only ones that came with a big enough belly panel that covered my entire tummy and back (no weird muffin top in the back).  They have lasted all the way from 13 weeks until now (and they will still stretch), so I’m glad I sucked it up and bought a few pairs of them, as I definitely got my money’s worth.  They were basically all I wore in the winter unless I did a dress with leggings combo.  Target also has very cute dresses that are usually under $30, so I have picked up a couple of those.  All of their pieces have fit true to normal pre-maternity size. 

There is a Motherhood Maternity in the outlets about 35 minutes from our house, so I have visited there 3 or 4 times during my pregnancy.  I don’t think I have bought anything regularly priced there – usually I only let myself shop their sale racks.  I have found tops, dresses, leggings, and one pair of gray chinos there, usually ranging anywhere from $15 to $30 a piece.  One time I also had “bump bucks”, so if you spent $75, you would receive $30 off.  Some of the items I love, while others I’m not a fan of now after wearing them a couple times.  A couple of the dresses and one of the tops I bought back in my second trimester are now a little too short to wear.  And the tops that come with coordinating sashes never look right – I would rather wear one of my own belts instead of the sash/tie.  I would definitely recommend trying their items in the store, since they provide the fake pillow bump in the fitting rooms so you have an idea of how big you will get later on.  Their sizing really depends on the piece – some things were really big while others fit tight. 

JCPenney and Kohl’s are stores I would check every so often but didn’t buy a ton of things from.  I found my favorite tank tops, a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans at JCPenney and I bought 2 pairs of jeans at Kohl’s that are still my favorite pairs.  The maternity clothes are pricey at Kohl’s and even though I tried a lot of tops on there, I never bought any since they never seemed to fit right. 

I really have no idea how much I spent total on my maternity wardrobe – probably a lot more than I would have liked to spend, but I do know that I have gotten pretty good use out of just about everything I purchased.  I know some women try not to purchase maternity items until they really don’t fit into their regular clothes anymore, but that didn’t work for me.  My regular tops started to become very unflattering as I started to have the “bloat” bump towards the beginning of my second trimester.  They didn’t show off my stomach in a good way and I found that maternity tops just looked better.  Same with dresses – a lot of blog moms-to-be that I follow still fit in their regular dresses well into their third trimester, but I have found my normal dresses are too short in the front.  Maternity dresses have extra material in the front and the ones I have purchased aren’t “tent” like.  I think a common misconception is that maternity clothes are frumpy and expensive – yes, there are definitely more pricey stores out there, but I think most stores have come a long way and it’s much easier to find cute “normal” clothes that are decently priced. 

33 Weeks

Last Saturday was our childbirth and labor class.  We decided to do an all-day class instead of 5 shorter classes that were split up over several weeks.  We were at the hospital from 8:30 until about 4, and the day went by really fast so I’m glad we opted for this instead.  There were 2 nurses that ran the class, so they took turns covering various information, like the different medications you can take for pain relief,  some of the common tools the doctors and nurses may end up using, and how the laboring process starts.  One nurse kept calling the babies “cuties”, which made me giggle.  There were a few different videos we watched, which included two different moms who were shown laboring at home all the way until they delivered at the hospital.  Both moms delivered with no epidural, so it gave me a better idea of what I’ll be in for.  Definitely need to bring my exercise ball with me, as well as buy a heating pad in the next couple weeks.   

Before lunch we took a tour of the maternity ward and checked out one of the laboring rooms.  We also saw the triage and nursery area (no babies, though, since they want Baby to stay with you during the day and also during the night if possible).  The laboring rooms are private, but on the small side, so I can see why they only allow 2 support people in the room besides Mom.  There is a bathroom that includes a shower – no tub, unfortunately.  I still think I may try taking a shower to help when I’m in labor since I love taking long, hot showers now anyway.  They then showed us the wing you are switched to about 2 hours after birth – same size room, just in a different area of the hospital.  Everything is very secure in the entire wing – you can only enter if you have an ID that scans or you press a button to have a nurse let you check in.  Baby wears a bracelet that has the same numbers as Mom and Dad’s bracelets, and there’s also a chip in Baby’s bracelet that will cause an alarm to go off in case he/she is taken out of the specified areas they are supposed to stay in. 

In the afternoon, we watched a couple more videos, including one on a c-section (they showed an animated version of the surgery and what happens), and then we went over some laboring positions and breathing techniques at the end.  I guess the only negative to the class was that it was big – 21 other couples were there, but the room was large enough for everyone without being cramped.  It was fun seeing so many bumps in one room.  Some moms were 35 and 36 weeks along while others were 29 weeks, so I was in the middle.  Overall, a good day – it made me feel much better to get the tour and see some of the videos. 

How far along?: 33 weeks

Baby is the size of a:  honeydew melon 

Total weight gain/loss:  +21-23

The Bump:  Bellybutton is like halfway out and won’t go back in…wah! 

Symptoms: Mood swings – I’m sure Hubby could fill you in more on that.  Heartburn hasn’t been bad this week.  I’ve also noticed I’m not as hungry as I have been…guess my stomach is being squished. 

Food Cravings:  Cake. Omg I’ve had so much cake in the past week.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope.

Sleep: Actually has been better this week – I’m still waking up in the early AM to pee but I’ve been able to fall back asleep almost right away.

What I miss: A good workout.  I made myself walk on the treadmill Sunday and yesterday for just a mile and I felt like I walked 5 miles when I got off each time.  Considering I used to HATE working out, I’m really dying to get back to my pre-preggo weight.  I just want to be able to run again!

Weddings Rings On or Off: On

Any Names Picked Out Yet:  I think we have picked THE one :)  It’s a secret until he’s born, though.

Movement: Moving and groovin like usual.  Have felt more hiccups this past week :)

Maternity Clothes: Just about all maternity. 

Labor Signs: Nothing.

Best Moment of the Week: Finding a maxi dress for maternity pics…non-maternity from Target for only $25!  And it’s in my normal size, so I’m hoping it still looks good and no too tent-like without the bump so I can wear it more this summer.

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Getting more things crossed off the list – bought the changing pad and a trash can today (we’re not doing the diaper genie thing).  Also getting ready to send in our pre-registration forms tomorrow, since the hospital said you should send them in at least 6 weeks prior to your delivery date.

33 Week Pic:

And what I wore to work…top from Motherhood Maternity Outlet, maternity pants from Target.  It’s getting harder and harder to take these pics…I felt like I looked HUGE when I was editing these :(