Monday, January 30, 2017

35 Weeks



How far along? 35w2d
Gender: Girl
Weight Gain? 33 pounds (up to 149, original starting weight was about 116)
Maternity Clothes?  Oh the clothing!  It's certainly a challenge these days.  I'm getting pretty limited but that is ok, not much longer now!  I've been having to wear a pair of moccasins pretty much exclusively because nothing else fits my feet.  All of a sudden last week my ankles and feet started to swell a bit.  I'm not going to invest in any compression wear at this point, I'll just make due. 
Stretch Marks? None!
Belly button in or out?  Flat
Sleep:  A thing of the past maybe?  Really it's still hit or miss, some nights I fall asleep quick and get a good couple hours of sleep before waking up, other nights it takes a long time to fall asleep.  It's hard to get comfortable, my nose is still pretty congested even with the oils and the humidifier, my hands are so tingly (whether I wear the splints or not) that they end up painful to the point that I wake up.  Sleep is just not on my side right now but I guess it's just preparing me for what's to come.
Best moment this week:  This was a busy and kind of rough week.  I believe I just did too much starting with my shower, then Sunday putting all the stuff away, 2 classes (water birth & Infant CPR/newborn care), a doctors appointment, etc. that by Friday I ended up going home sick.  Work has also been pretty hectic trying to get a temp trained as my back up while I'm gone.  We actually went through 3 temps now so this last one that has actually stuck around has probably had the most thrown at her in a very short amount of time.  Definitely will not be coasting through my last few weeks of work like I was planning.  I've just been so exhausted.  I'm feeling a little better now that I got some rest, but this weekend was bit of a whirlwind as well.  The best part was one of my maternity photo sessions yesterday.  We did some really fun things including a milk bath & I cannot wait to see some previews, hopefully this week!
Symptoms:  Difficulty breathing, rib pain, back pain, swollen feet, carpel tunnel/tingling in hands, RLS at night, heartburn, exhaustion, congestion.  Luckily all things that are not serious!  Yes, I am starting to finally feel some of the negative effects of pregnancy, but I made it around 34 weeks before feeling any sort of misery for the most part & for that I am so thankful.  I am however, ready to feel like myself again.
Miss Anything?  A good nights sleep!
Movement?  She's still moving around quite a bit!  She was kind of quiet on Friday and I ended up tracking her movements because I didn't feel like she moved much at all, but she did put in 10 kicks in less than 2 hours.  I tracked her again the following morning & the same, 10 kicks in under an hour if I remember correctly.  Then Saturday night & Sunday she was like a gymnast.  I think she just really knows how to relax just like her mama.
Cravings?  Sweets as usual.  Other than that, nothing really crazy.
Queasy or sick?  Noting at all!
Looking forward to?  This week I have my group b strep test on Friday, so hopefully that all goes well and comes back negative.  If it comes back positive then I have to do 2 rounds of antibiotics when I am in labor but I can still do the water birth.  I'll have to have an IV site but that is fine.  I'm hoping for a quiet week.  Joe starts his few weeks at the nuke plant outage today, luckily they're on 8 hour shifts for now but that soon will increase to 12 hour shifts 7 days a week, more than likely for 2-3 weeks so he will be cutting it closes to Georgia's due date.  We're going to try to get our taxes done & go to dinner with my parents this week as well, lots of that last minute stuff that I know will be put on the back burner when baby comes.  I cannot believe how close we are to her arrival!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

34 Weeks



How far along? 34w4d
Gender: Girl
Weight Gain? 28 pounds
Maternity Clothes?  Clothing has becoming a literal challenge now if it's not maternity.  I'm in a lot of Joe's comfy clothes like sweat shirts and t-shirts and my options are really starting to dwindle as far as non-maternity clothes of my own are concerned.  I refuse to buy anymore so I'll just have to do the best I can with what I have, might be a lot of rewearing & probably sporting yoga pants at some point at work.  I was lucky enough to win a $50 Pink Blush gift card through my girl Caroline this past week and the night I got the card they had a 20% off sale so I got a new shirt and a nursing robe for just over $5!  Thanks Caroline!
Stretch Marks? None!
Belly button in or out?  Flat
Sleep:  Still a hit or miss as usual.  I finally ordered a new Crane humidifier, ours was making a really loud noise and was 4 years old so I think it had seen it's better days.  It had been keeping me up at night and not helping me sleep at all so I'm hoping with a new quieter one I can get some relief from the congestion.  I've been using DoTerra Breathe in my oil diffuser too which does help.
Best moment this week:  My shower!  I posted a recap so check that out for all the details and tons of photos.  It was seriously the BEST!  We also had our water birth class on Tuesday night which I thought was really good.  Our doula came with us and the class was really small, only 4 couples total.  Our hospital has one room with a hard birthing tub so as long as no one is using it that will be what we will use, otherwise they have 2 really nice blow up pools.  Tonight we have infant CPR, Baby Talk which is newborn care, and car seat safety and then we will be done with  all of our prenatal classes!
Symptoms:  Back pain, sore feet if I'm up for too long, difficulty breathing and moving, peeing constantly.  Heart burn has officially started and has caused me to be up at night most of the night, I don't think I can take enough Tums.  My hands have also been swelling some fierce at night and becoming so numb I can't even feel them.  I think I do have some slight carpel tunnel which is normal.  I've been able to wear my wedding ring during the day but if I don't take it off at night it gets stuck.
Miss Anything?  I was pretty jealous of everyone at my shower who could indulge in a mimosa while I couldn't.  
Movement?  Still moving pretty regularly but I can tell she is running out of space now.
Cravings?  Sweets as usual.  Other than that, nothing really crazy.
Queasy or sick?  Noting at all!
Looking forward to?  I have a doctors appointment this afternoon which I'm looking forward to followed by our last classes.  It's been an exhausting week already and it's only Wednesday so I'm really actually looking forward to a pretty quiet weekend.  Joe will be starting 7 12's on Monday for about 3-4 weeks (I know, could the timing be any worse!) so I won't see much of him the last few weeks before baby girls arrival but I feel like we've gotten all the big pieces in place that he needs to be there for, minus her actual arrival.  He will make some really good money over the next month but it will be tough for both of us I'm sure. 

Monday, January 23, 2017

My Baby Shower


On Saturday we celebrated baby Georgia with a shower.  I never ever knew if I'd get the pleasure to enjoy a shower for my own child.  I've attended and even hosted probably a dozen or so baby showers over our 5 years of TTC and in the back of my mind always wondered if I'd ever get a turn of my own.  

I had a lot of years to think about a shower and what I envisioned it to be.  It's kind of like my registry, I think by about 14-15 weeks I had the majority of my registry done because we had been trying for so long I knew a lot about baby products and brands and what I wanted and what I didn't so it wasn't much different with my shower.  The girls allowed me to participate in the planning because they know I am extreme type-A and that I really do love throwing a good party.  I was thankful they let me sit down with them to help with the planning but I turned most of it over to them & only had to do a few things myself for the day of the shower.

My planning committee consisted of my mom, step mom, and MIL, along with my youngest SIL, and my 3 besties, Jodie, Jen, & Jessica (my tribe of J's) and they all did a seriously amazing job bringing my vision to life!



I shared a few photos and the first question I get asked is where is my dress from.  It's actually custom made from Sew Trendy Accessories and I would HIGHLY recommend them if you're looking for something super fabulous for maternity photos & shower attire.  I debated back and forth about the magenta or the peacock (like a turquoise) but ultimately decided on the magenta which I am so happy that I did.  I went with the Krysten Gown with the boat neck front and back in an XS which was, as you can see in the photos, very form fitting.  I'd highly recommend measuring yourself and emailing them if you're unsure of the size.  I probably could've gotten away with a small too, but the XS worked fine for me.



I knew I wanted a rustic, whimsical, southwestern theme.  I like to mesh things together, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but in this case I believe that it did.  Every detail was perfect and Georgia and I were showered with so many unbelievable gifts.  I am so thankful to everyone who was able to come and those who weren't, we definitely missed you.

Although I had a lot to do with the planning they did have some surprises for me and all of which I really loved.  Early on in my pregnancy I asked my mom to download Ina May's Guide to Childbirth on her Kindle for me to read.  When I gave it back she ended up reading it too.  In the book there are a  few things that are done by her support group when a woman is going into birth, the first is the Bead Blessing.  A box of loose beads was passed around and each person at the shower was to add a bead to a string, my moms was the first bead, when the bead is strung on it represents a blessing from the person who is adding the bead.  In the end I ended up with a beautiful string of beads to be taken with me to the hospital when I give birth and to eventually be hung in Georgia's nursery so that the blessings are always with us.  Such a beautiful idea!



The second was a tea light placed at each place setting.  Everyone was instructed to take their tea light home and when I am going into labor, everyone is to light their tea light around the same time while Georgia makes her way into the world.  This is done to symbolize support from all of the amazing women who are in my life and who have been so supportive of us on our journey.   The last part was sharing a birth or "bad mom" story (along with the bead blessing) on a piece of paper for me to read through to help prepare me for motherhood.  I got some really great "bad mom" stories and some really great advice from some of the most amazing moms I know so I can't wait to put them into a book to have with me when I'm feeling like I don't know what I'm doing which I'm sure will be most of the time!  

The venue for the shower was at Marien Mae Events.  It's a recently renovated building owned by an amazingly talented woman in our area who also owns a bridal shop.  She is the sweetest and has done some really amazing things in our area since she opened up her shop back in 2011.  This space is relatively new and I think we were only the second event that was held there.  It's such a beautiful space.  It's open, it's got tons of windows with natural light coming in, and she has some really amazing pieces that she allowed us to use like the buffet table and the gift table.

As far as the food & other details we had donut holes, fruit skewers, breakfast pizza, a waffle bar, a hot chocolate bar, and more!  My SIL made me an amazing "naked" cake and the peach, dream catcher, and feathers frosted cookies (she's so talented in the baking department).  We also had a mimosa bar for those who wished to participate!  For the center pieces we used wood slices with these twig teepees that I guess were an absolute pain in the ass to assemble but turned out soo cute!  I had small felt succulents made for the tables & then gave them as a gift to the girls who helped with the shower.  Most of the other decor came from things that we have hanging in the nursery like the teepee shelves, the Georgia June wood slice, and all of the cute quotes in frames.  They hung up some of my favorite onesies too.  Every detail was so perfect.










As you can tell, every detail was well thought out and turned out absolutely perfect!  I am so so thankful to my tribe of girls and everyone who was able to come and help us celebrate our miracle!  

Monday, January 16, 2017

33 weeks


How far along? 33 weeks
Gender: Girl
Weight Gain? 28 pounds
Maternity Clothes?  Clothing becomes more interesting with each passing week, there isn't much that fits great anymore except for maternity and even some of my maternity jeans from early on have now been retired.  I'm not purchasing anymore clothes since we are so close so if I end up in yoga pants my last few weeks of work, so be it! 
Stretch Marks? None!
Belly button in or out?  Flat
Sleep:  Still a hit or miss, still feeling congested, but I know in roughly 7 weeks (give or take) sleep will be a thing of the past anyway.
Best moment this week:  More and more nursery progress!  We got our rocker which is soo comfy, we haven't gotten the ottoman yet but I'm registered for it.  We will either use that or a leather pouf depending on what we get at the shower this weekend.  Starting to slowly pack my hospital bag and get the diaper bag ready, reading tons of blogs and books and articles about natural child birth and I feel as though I am about as ready as I can be and now all of the information that I'm reading sound repetitive so I think I'm grasping the important parts, and also prepping our birth plan!  Last week I met the last of the 4 potential midwives (there are 4 in the office that I go to, any of which could be the one to deliver Georgia) and I just loved her.  She was very supportive of some of the things that we want for our birth plan like no Hepatitis B vaccine and no eye ointment, she is also a big fan of delayed bathing (up to 3 days) which is something I feel strongly about.  Once I have our entire birth plan written out and approved I'll be sure to share it with you guys!  (Please keep negative judgements & comments about our birth plan & choices to yourself, thank you)
Symptoms:  Just the usual, fatigue, discomfort, some back pain which I've been seeing the chiropractor for and now that the pain is pretty much gone I'm still continuing to see him 2x a week until the baby comes.  
Miss Anything?  Being able to move and breath freely without discomfort.  
Movement?  Still moving pretty regularly but I can tell she is running out of space now.
Cravings?  Sweets are all I've craved this entire pregnancy.  I did get my Chinese food fix this past weekend which I had my mind set on for a few weeks too.
Queasy or sick?  Noting at all!
Looking forward to?  We have our first class at the hospital this week which is breastfeeding on Wednesday.  I also have a prenatal massage on Thursday and then my shower is Saturday which I cannot wait for! 

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Mommylicious Maternity

Maternity clothes are inevitable when pregnant, whether you end up being all belly, or you end up gaining weight everywhere, you will need some form of maternity clothes unless you have some kind of life where you never leave your house and live in your sweats all day (sign me up!), but most of us at some point, have had to wear maternity.  I ended up in maternity pants (jeans and leggings) really early on, they were more comfortable and I just liked them over using the hair-tie trick.  Tops have kind of depended for me.  Some are still too big for me to fit in, and a lot of my regular tops also still fit pretty good.



For me I really have enjoyed buying maternity pieces that I can wear again when I'm not pregnant.  It just seems like the frugal thing to do, plus a lot of the stuff I've got is really cute and I can't imagine only wearing when I'm pregnant.  One of the funnest tops I've got this pregnancy is this super cute bell sleeve floral tunic from Mommylicious Maternity!  Although this particular top is no longer available, there are several other super cute, practical, and totally stylish tops, dresses, scarves and more on their site!  They even have some gorgeous nursing bras and maternity lingerie.  

This particular top I chose because, one, I loved the pattern, two, I knew I could wear it again even while not pregnant, and three, it can be dressed up with black leggings and heels, or it can be dressed down with some jeans and a pair of fringe boots.  I like versatile pieces that I can get a couple different outfit options out of and I think this top is perfect for that.


Saturday, January 07, 2017

32 Weeks



How far along? 32 weeks
Gender: Girl
Weight Gain? 25ish pounds
Maternity Clothes?  Lots of maternity clothes mixed in with regular stuff still.  I'm especially loving my top in this pic above from Mommylicious Maternity.  
Stretch Marks? None!
Belly button in or out?  Flat
Sleep:  Sleep is getting somewhat better, it really is still just hit or miss.  I have more good nights of sleep than bad, but when I'm having a bad night I usually get almost no sleep.  I have been experiencing some RLS along with congestion which is a really shitty combination.
Best moment this week:  We got lots of fun baby stuff this week.  First thing we got was the Premier Series Halo Bassinet which came highly recommended by a few mamas.  I used $55 in Kohls cash and Kohls rewards so I got pretty decent deal on it.  We put it together and it is really nice.  It's big, it's very heavy so I know it's not going to be knocked over by our rambunctious cat in the middle of the night, it's got sounds, it vibrates, and it swivels 360 degrees.  The plan is to keep her in our room at least until she outgrows this bassinet so I definitely think it will be worth the investment.  We also got a really nice early shower gift from some friends who won't be able to make it on the day of the party.  Seriously, so many cute clothes, head bands, swaddles, etc. I am just dying over all the tiny, cute little pieces.  
Symptoms:  Fatigue, back pain, weight gain, some restlessness at night, other than that still pretty minimal as far as symptoms are concerned.
Miss Anything?  Being able to breath normally, especially at night when my nose gets all congested, and not having to pee every 5 seconds.
Movement?  Lots of movement still.  I'm hoping she is continuing to make her way into the head down position.  
Cravings?  #Sweets4Lyfe y'all
Queasy or sick?  Noting at all!
Looking forward to?  A doctors appointment and a hair appointment this week! Yay!  Also I got my dress for the shower and our maternity photos and I love it!  I purchased it from Sew Trendy Accessories I'm not going to link the exact one yet because I am not quite ready to reveal it yet but I am so happy with the beautiful color and quality of this dress.  It's seriously stunning!

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

31 Weeks



How far along? 31w3d
Gender: Girl
Weight Gain? 25ish pounds
Maternity Clothes?  Lots of maternity clothes mixed in with regular stuff still.
Stretch Marks? None!
Belly button in or out?  Flat
Sleep:  Still hit or miss, sometimes I sleep great other times I am up all night tossing and turning or having a tough time falling asleep.  I've been  having restless legs every once in awhile as well which is seriously horrible!  Worst feeling ever.  Congestion has me rolling over from side to side too, I need to change up my oils in my diffuser to something that might keep me clear.
Best moment this week:  A long holiday weekend is always a good thing!  We got the Christmas stuff taken down, Joe's made a ton of progress on the basement (we are partially finishing it now), I spent my day off yesterday boiling pump parts & pacifiers, catching up on some blog articles & books that I've been wanting to read about birth & parenting, & just trying to get myself prepared as much as humanly possible. We had a fun NYE with friends, our nieces turned one so we spent the afternoon at their birthday party and then had dinner with our friends, we didn't quite make it to midnight but we were close enough!
Symptoms:  Fatigue, back pain, weight gain, some restlessness at night, other than that still pretty minimal as far as symptoms are concerned.
Miss Anything?  Being comfortable & able to breath & move easily.  At my doctors appointment this past week the midwife said that she thinks baby might be somewhat transverse although head down so she's making her way into the right direction.  I talked to my doula about it who is certified in Spinning Babies and we are going to work on some techniques for positioning.  I've also been working on my breathing exercise & listening to hypnobirthing tracks on iTunes.
Movement?  Still tons of funny movements, I love watching her roll around.  I'm constantly pressing and poking at her, it's so strange to feel a tiny human body inside of your belly.
Cravings?  I seriously am still on this sweets kick.  The other day I had a craving for a chocolate donut that was so strong I had my coworker go to a bakery and grab one for me that instant.  It was DELISH.
Queasy or sick?  Noting at all!
Looking forward to?  Another short week which is great!  Also expecting my dress for my shower & maternity photos to come in this week which I am so pumped about!  I ordered the Halo bassinet from Kohl's this past weekend because I had $55 in Kohl's cash so I'm excited to get that all set up. My shower is about 3 weeks away so I'm getting really excited for that, I cannot wait to finish up the nursery. 

 
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