Hump Day Bump Day – 34 weeks

34 down, 6 to go!

This past week flew by SO QUICKLY… I hardly feel like it even happened!

Saturday we had our weekly birthing class and since Z had to work I was flying solo. It was a great class that focuses on “stage 2” of labor {aka the first urge to push through actually having the baby} and it really got me excited for DDay and getting to hold Keelin for the first time! After class I made a mad dash to Motherhood Maternity to pick up a few more cold-weather items INCLUDING a pair of skinny jeans… VICTORY!… and my first EVER pair of leggings. I know it might sound strange that I’ve never worn leggings before but I’ve a) not ever really been a fan of the “idea” of leggings and b) never had the courage to try to  pull them off. Let me tell you ladies and gents… maternity leggings are BY FAR, the most comfortable piece of clothing I’ve ever put on. My legs and toosh are HAPPY campers when the leggings come out to play!  I also snagged a few sweaters, a pair of patterned tights for the office and an ADORABLE grey, wool, knee-length pencil skirt. 🙂 Shopping success!
After shopping I DASHED back to the house and managed to get myself put together in literally 5 minutes before I was back out the door heading to my final baby shower! My boss and good friend Tracy {who introduced me to my boss} threw me the shower and it was a blast. We had a delicious spread, played a baby-bottle drinking game {don’t worry, mine was specially marked without booze!} and got oober competitive with the “Can’t say ‘baby'” game. It was so much fun. I didn’t take any pictures but plenty of people had cameras so I’ll be sure to do another shower post once I steal them off of their Facbook pages. 🙂

Monday we had our 34 week check up and unfortunately weren’t able to see my midwife because she was running behind in her appointments. We did see the practice’s doctor who said everything looked great. Keelin is head down {please stay that way baby girl!}, still measuring a week behind which is no big deal and we heard that beautiful heartbeat again… it was so loud even the doc’s eyes got really wide when he heard it! We did get some not-so-fun news that managed to bring a few quick tears of panic into my eyes before I reassured myself that it wasn’t THAT big of a deal. The doctor told us that they are no longer delivering at the hospital we had chosen for Keelin’s birth. MAJOR BUMMER!!!! I started to freak out a little bit because we’d already gone on the tour {remember that?}, it’s a BEAUTIFUL hospital, not very crowded, and it is a cool 10-15 minutes from our house. The other option is about 30 minutes from the house and somewhere we’ve never visited before. Puh. BUT, I have heard great things about the hospital and it’s staff and know that they are really open to a variety of birth plans so I was able to step out of freak out mode and into a super-cool state of calm. After all, now we get to go on another EXCITING hospital tour and *hopefully* meet more blog-post-worthy couples! Hooray!

Okay, onto the weekly mirror pic and stats!

p.s. My coworkers dressed me up as Juno yesterday when I walked in with this shirt on!! I'll try to get the picture to share!

*How far along? 34 weeks 2 days today!

*Total weight gain/loss: healthy healthy healthy!

*How big is baby? 19 to 22 inches, 5.5 lbs – a large cantaloupe!!

*Maternity clothes? Yes indeed… thinking of writing a thank you note to whoever invented maternity leggings!

*Stretch Marks? Nope! Still lathering, lathering, lathering!

*Best moment this week? My final baby shower and hearing Keelin’s SUPER LOUD heartbeat! OH, and learning that my mom booked her ticket to come down for the holidays and to help me with baby prep!

*Movement? All the time! She has a new habit of getting really active right as I lay down to go to sleep and while you’d think it would be annoying, it’s actually really sweet because Z snuggles up with me and we both get to feel her move and grove as we drift to sleep!

*Food Cravings? Ice Water! Never knew it would be something to CRAVE but my Starbucks cup is in constant re-fill mode!

*What I miss: I don’t know if it’s something I would say I “miss”  but I’m noticing that the feeling of being able to do anything has quickly disappeared. I’m definitely slowing down with most of my day-to-day tasks but I don’t mind at all! Just reminds me that we are that much closer to meeting Keelin! It was interesting to see how she reacted on Saturday when I was going non-stop all day. She’d get really still and was a great little helper reminding me that I needed to take a breather!

*What I am looking forward to: More birthing classes and getting the guest blogger posts in from so many generous friends!

*Nausea/Vomiting? nope! The random sick morning from last week was THANKFULLY a one-time event.

*Labor signs? Nope, just Braxton Hicks contractions!

*Gender? Sweet girl!

*Belly Button in or out? More-so in than out but DEFINITELY making itself known! If it doesn’t pop in the next 6 weeks I’ll be surprised!

*Wedding rings on or off? Still on!

*Sleep? Still shifting a lot. It’s still pretty easy to fall back to sleep once I get myself situated but I’m definitely more tired overall throughout the day.

*Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your body and to your baby. Sometimes they’ll be the ones to tell you to slow down when you don’t realize you’re working  on overdrive!

Until next time…

A HUGE thanks to everyone who has contacted me about being a guest blogger! I’m absolutely thrilled by the response I’ve gotten so far. I could still use some more help so keep em’ coming and if you’re not sure what I’m talking about but are interested in sharing a little of your own ‘this and that’ here on Life in these times… check out Monday’s post for more info!

Hump Day Bump Day – 33 Weeks – HOLY BHC’s BATMAN!

Happy Hump Day Bump Day everyone!
It’s been a very active week in the land most commonly known as my uterus. Keelin has been ON THE MOVE and I’ve been experiencing quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions each day. I wasn’t sure at first, because I was expecting more “pain” and “discomfort” but after confirming with my birthing coach that the odd sensation of my stomach getting ROCK SOLID is in fact a BH contraction, I decided there couldn’t be any other explanation.
For those of you who don’t know, Braxton Hicks contractions are basically ‘practice’ contractions that help to get your uterus prepped for labor.
[personal mini freak-out moment] HOLY CRAP MY UTERUS IS PRACTICING TO DELIVER A BABY! [/personal mini freak-out moment].

I’ve been fighting off the onset of a cold for about a week and it had me totally drained this weekend. I’ve got a bit of a cough now but am feeling fine… just generally more tired. Fingers crossed that this little cough is the extent of cold season for Keelin and I.

Things are really starting to become “real” for me and it’s INCREDIBLY exciting! It sounds so odd to say things are only just now getting “real” when I’ve been in preggo land for 33 weeks, but as my countdown gets smaller and smaller my excitement and anxiety get bigger and bigger!
First of all, I only have 7 weeks {47 days} left until my due date… that’s SO INSANELY NUTS!
Secondly, I’ve mentioned before that I have a ton of girlfriends who are currently expecting or brand new members of the mommy club. Since before we knew we’d be adding to our family I’ve been following the progression of a dozen or so beautiful women and I’ve loved watching their bellies grow, learning about their personal pregnancy adventures and seeing their newborn babes all wrapped up in cuteness. During this past weekend’s facebook stalking check up session, I realized something… I’m next. SQUEEEE! I can hardly believe it!

I’ve got another post in the works talking all about my fears and excitement with DDAY getting closer and closer, but I’ll stop while I’m ahead for today and get to the weekly stats!

Yes... I am wearing my husband's pajama pants and yes they are covered in beer bottles 🙂

*How far along? 33 weeks 2 days today!

*Total weight gain/loss: Doing just fine, she’s a growin!

*How big is baby? 19 to 22 inches, 4.9 lbs – a Pineapple!!

*Maternity clothes? Absolutely. Still getting some ware out of a handful of pre-preggo tops but bottoms are all maternity, all the time. Wishing I could wear my sweatpants everywhere I go.

*Stretch Marks? Nope! Still lathering, lathering, lathering!

*Best moment this week? Getting an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. 🙂

*Movement? Absolutely. She’s one groovy girl!

*Food Cravings? Nothing specific this week.

*What I miss: Sleeping soundly through the night.

*What I am looking forward to: Another birthing class as usual and Keelin’s last BABY SHOWER!

*Nausea/Vomiting? Strangely yes. Got sick out of nowhere on Saturday. I think I just waited too long before eating. Shame on me. Other than that, I’ve been more prone to getting car sick lately. No fun, but manageable!

*Labor signs? Nope, just Braxton Hicks contractions!

*Gender? Girly girl!

*Belly Button in or out? still in! Wondering if it will ever pop!

*Wedding rings on or off? Still on!

*Sleep? Shifting a lot more at night and usually up for a bathroom run at least once. This week was the first week that Keelin actually WOKE ME UP kicking. If it weren’t so incredibly touching and adorable I’d probably be frustrated but there’s still NOTHING like feeling her little body parts move and groove so I let it slide… even at 3:00 am.

*Weekly Wisdom: When things really seem like they are WHIZZING past you, be sure you take time for yourself and take CARE of yourself. Don’t overdo it and accept that sometimes napping is the best answer. 🙂

woah belly!

Until next time…

Not sure why my pictures didn’t show up originally, but hopefully they’ll stay put this time!

More Nursery Pictures!

In case you missed my feature yesterday on Girl with Pearls… here’s another look:  Monday Mama’s-To-Be

Because I gave an updated peek into Keelin’s Nursery, I thought I’d keep going with more pictures today! There are still a few more things I need to add and a handful of projects I’m going to feature separately, but it’s ALMOST done and I thought it was about time for an update!

Some beautiful wooden letters spelling out Keelin’s name will go between the shelf and the crib…coming soon {mom helped me figure out a really unique way to hang them and I’m so excited to make it happen!}!  Oh, and don’t worry… that shelf is probably THE MOST secure thing in the room {we’ve tested it a lot!} and the letters will be too so there’s no risk of something bumping my sweet girl on the head… unless it’s one of the 50 stuffed elephants she has!

The view from the window side of the room. I’m going to add a plain curtain in front of the closet so it won’t make things look so busy! She’s got SO MUCH STUFF ALREADY!

My favorite view of the room… right when you walk in the door. Things will get rearranged a bit on the shelves {and we may add a few more individual shelving units on the opposite wall for frames and what not} but I absolutely LOVE the way things have turned ou!

So, what do you think? Too much? Not enough? Just right? I’d love to get your feedback!

Until next time…

Hump Day Bump Day – 32 Weeks!

Another week down and this last one was fantastic!

My mother-in-law threw me a baby shower on Saturday {pictures to come} and had a wonderful surprise for me! I was in the kitchen getting some final prep done when I heard MY MOTHER {who lives in VA and I wasn’t expecting to see until December} say “It looks great in here!” I whipped around and sure enough, Z and his mom had planned the whole thing out so she could fly down and surprise me. Obviously the tears started flowing and I was totally shocked. It was a fantastic surprise.

Z and I also had the opportunity to ask our dear friend Mary Ann to be Keelin’s Godmother. Mary Ann is currently battling breast cancer and is one of the most courageous and inspirational people we know. She gratefully accepted!

I’m getting choked up just writing this because it was such an impactful weekend!

Monday was quite eventful, beginning with my latest check up at the midwife’s office where everything looked perfect. Keelin is still measuring about a week behind but she said she wasn’t at all surprised due to my frame and progress thus far. Her heartbeat was, yet again, one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard and SO much louder than the last time we went. Diane, our midwife, said she’s also head down so let’s hope she stays that way!!!

Passing out Halloween candy was a lot of fun on Monday and we had a lot of eager little trick or treaters. We also had a lot of punk teenagers with nothing but sweats and pillow cases. Come on…. Rule of thumb: if you think you are too cool to wear a costume, you are too old to be out trick or treating.

AND my friend Bonnie from high school had her baby on Monday! A little Halloweenie! Camryn Lynette Prewitt is absolutely beautiful and seeing photos of her sweet face makes me THAT MUCH MORE EXCITED about Keelin’s arrival!

In other news… there are a slue of people who are sick at my work so I’ve been trying to lather up on hand sanitizer when I can and pumping up my vitamin C but I’m PRAYING that I don’t get sick as well. Having dealt with being sick already, at about 17 weeks, it’s not something I want to go through again at 32!

And now for the weekly stats!

32 weeks!!!

*How far along? 32 weeks 2 days today!

*Total weight gain/loss: Doing just fine!

*How big is baby? 19 inches, 4.5 lbs – a HONEYDEW!

*Maternity clothes? Still mixing and matching on tops but pants are DEFINITELY maternity all the way! And oh how I love my sweats!

*Stretch Marks? nope! Still lathering lathering lathering!

*Best moment this week? Basically everything I talked about above… PLUS winning “Most Creative” costume at the office Halloween Party!

*Movement? All the time and it’s always super strong. I LOVE IT!

*Food Cravings? I probably could have killed someone for a Boston Creme donut on Sunday. Luckily my husband saved an unfortunate soul by taking me to Dunkin Donuts 🙂

*What I miss: Being able to sit at work for more than an hour without getting uncomfortable.

*What I am looking forward to: Our next birthing class {I forgot to mention that we had our first class in a 6-week course on Saturday as well… more on that later!} and our friends Chris and Christina are getting married on Saturday!!!

*Nausea/Vomiting? nope/nope!

*Labor signs? NOPE!

*Gender? sweet little girl!

*Belly Button in or out? in and still getting flat!

*Wedding rings on or off? Still on!

*Sleep? Still shifting a lot but  easily falling back to sleep.

*Weekly Wisdom: Take a look at yesterday‘s post and that should be enough “wisdom” for you!

Until next time…

In case you missed it… here’s Keelin and my Halloween costume that won “most creative”!