34 Weeks

I feel: exhausted!

Happy or Moody: Happy, anxious and on-edge (about the littlest things) would explain things these days.

Showing: I’m pretty sure my stomach is stretching as I write this.

Maternity Clothes: Rockin’ maxi dresses and skirts, my maternity capris and shorts, 1 pair of pre-pregnancy jeans (YAY! for low rise jeans), lots of tank tops with cardigans and v-neck t-shirts.

Exercise: Dog walks. It doesn’t seem like much, but I do attribute the 2-3/day that we go on a huge reason I haven’t gained more weight.

Miss Anything: Being able to order something with bleu cheese, gorgonzola cheese or feta cheese on it. Never thought I’d care, but some of the yummiest sounding salads at restaurants have these on them (part of what makes them taste so good!). Soft cheeses are a no-no for a few more weeks.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope

Movement: Tons. She is still jabbing me, but has been a pretty consistent roll-arounder the last week or so.

Excited for: the baby shower next weekend (among the other big events we have going on).

Favorite Moment of the Week: Spending the weekend with Mike, and the girls’ night in on Saturday!

The doctor’s appointment last week went very well. I’ve gained 22 lbs. since my first doctor’s appointment back in September and will probably gain at least another 4 (considering the baby will be gaining at least another 2-3) before the pregnancy is over. All of that being said, I am grateful to have no stretch marks (yet) and the majority of my belly button is still an inny (although it’s trying really hard not to be!). Baby M’s head has been down the past few weeks (woohoo!) and should stay down until she’s ready to arrive. Great, great news for me.

Last Saturday Mike and I went to AirFest 2014 at MacDill Air Force Base. We literally live 4.3 miles from Base, and with all of the traffic it took us an hour just to get there! It was worth walking around and enjoying the gorgeous sunshine and the weather though.

On Saturday night, about 10 of Mike’s closest guy friends came to the house, dropped some diapers off and took him out to SoHo for the night. This was sort of his “last hoorah” before fatherhood. Not that we won’t get nights off once Baby M is born, but obviously they will be much fewer and farther in between. While they were out, about 10 of my girlfriends hung with me at the house. We munched and gossiped and had a really great time.

Next weekend is finally the baby shower! The closer it gets, the more ready I am for it to be over. I didn’t realize how tired I would be by this point. Don’t get me wrong – I’m still very excited! Just ready for the planning to be over. That weekend we also will be celebrating Mike’s Mom’s birthday with lots of out-of-town/state family (my first time meeting most of them!), and our friends’ wedding is that weekend as well. Needless to say I am taking that following Monday off to use as a relaxation day.

That being said, the nursery is getting closer to being finished! Can’t wait to have the bedding from Grandma next weekend! She’s been sending me progress pictures, and it’s so stinking cute!

33 Weeks

I feel: A bit more rested than last week.

Happy or Moody: Happy. I wouldn’t use the word moody, but irritable might be better.

Showing: Yes

Maternity Clothes: Splurged a little this weekend at Old Navy. I bought a pair of denim shorts to wear on the weekends, ankle-length denim jeans for work, and the linen pants I’m wearing in the photo for casual/comfy days out (but can still be cute!). I also bought 2 spring/summer maternity-specific shirts so that I can stop stretching my normal shirts out.

Exercise: Dog walks. It doesn’t seem like much, but I do attribute the 2-3/day that we go on a huge reason I haven’t gained more weight.

Miss Anything: Medium rare steak (again), and I was thinking about ahi tuna this weekend.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope

Movement: Tons – all day long! She’s big enough now that I can tell the difference between her kicks, punches, stretches and rolls. Today I got to see some of her quick punches/kicks out of my side. It was pretty awesome.

Excited for: my doctor’s appointment on Friday. Starting with this one they will be every 2 weeks, and then every week after that. When I’m actually at the doctor I am tired of being there, but I always look forward to an appointment so that I can hear that Baby M is still doing well. I’m kind of interested to see how much weight I’ve gained, too!

Favorite Moment of the Week: Not doing anything baby-related. Sounds silly, but it was nice to take a weekend and not do anything for Baby M or the nursery. I think I needed it. My brain needed a break. Back to the grind though!

I was feeling pretty indifferent about having to buy maternity clothes yesterday. I only have 7 weeks to go and was hoping to be able to depend on  what few of my pants might still fit or the maxi skirts and maxi dresses I already had. Unfortunately, there’s only so many times you can wear jeans in a row before you start to feel like a grease ball (even if you wash them in between)  and the combos of maxi skirts and dresses were getting limited. So I went out and bought a few warmer weather pieces at Old Navy. Luckily the location at Westshore Mall has a decent selection and it’s relatively well-priced. To be honest, it’s a huge relief to have these items. My mom told me from the get-go to make time to pamper myself while I was pregnant – get my hair done, get manicures and pedicures if/when I could afford to, get dressed up, invest in some cute maternity clothes – and she couldn’t have been more spot on with that advice. It really does make you feel so much better. And, of course, once I have Baby M and no longer have use for the clothes, I’ll tuck them away if there’s ever a next time or someone who can borrow them.

Yesterday after I finished my small shopping spree (where I resisted shopping for Baby M), I attended a friend’s lingerie shower. Such a blast. It was nice to have a girl’s afternoon to snack and talk and laugh… A lot!

This morning, Mike and I took Rigby to brunch in Hyde Park Village and strolled around the Walk the Chalk chalk art event. The artistic talent some people have is absolutely unbelievable. We then let Rigby run some more energy off at Picnic Island. He even took a small dip in the water. We all came back to the house, and Mike and I spent about an hour or so at the pool and got the baby belly a little sun : ) Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. We finished the day with a delicious dinner and are now relaxing on the couch together. A weekend like this will make going back to work this week very difficult.

So we didn’t do anything for Baby M. My mom is currently working very hard on the nursery bedding, and I am waiting on that until and the installment of our new windows (March 28!) to put the final touches on the nursery. Then the nursery will be photographed for all to see, and Baby M’s name will be revealed for those who don’t already know it (which I’m pretty sure is everyone at this point, so I don’t know why I bother).

32 Weeks!

I feel: Zombie-like.

Happy or Moody: Both. Moodiness is getting quicker to trigger, some of which can be attributed to my tiredness.

Showing: Obviously.

Maternity Clothes: My wardrobe consists of Old Navy tanks, cardigans, slub v-necks I found at Target, maxi skirts and maxi dresses, as well as a few maternity-specific shirts. I am down to one pair of regular jeans that still button, and they are starting to get uncomfortable. The hair tie trick does not work, and I just find myself pulling my pants up all day. So I will be on the hunt for maternity bottoms/shorts this weekend. Such a bummer with only 2 months left!

Exercise: Dog walks.

Miss Anything: Not particularly.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope

Movement: Tons – all day long! She’s big enough now that I can tell the difference between her kicks, punches, stretches and rolls.

Excited for: the weekend 🙂 Not a ton of craziness planned, but hopefully some time with Mike. And, of course, it’s always nice to use one day during the weekend to do absolutely nothing… Haven’t had one of those in awhile.

Favorite Moment of the Week: Our 4-D ultrasound was last Wednesday and was very successful! Baby M kept her hands away from her face and we even got to see her open and close her sweet little mouth. We also got to see some of her pretty  hair… Hopefully it’s still there when she’s born! I haven’t decided if I want to share any of the photos yet, but she is the cutest little peanut (of course I’m biased) and has the sweetest baby lips. Can’t wait to meet her!

 

For those of you who caught my mistake of revealing the baby name last week before I was able to change it (Thanks Dad for texting me to tell me … It’s just too bad I had fallen asleep on the couch and didn’t get the text ’til an hour later), thank you for humoring me and acting like you don’t know. Although I wanted to hold out for a little longer, it will most likely be revealed with the completion of the nursery in a few weeks 🙂 So that’s something to look forward to!

31 Weeks

I feel: BUSY!

Happy or Moody: Irritable somedays

Showing: Obviously.

Maternity Clothes: The jeans in this week’s picture are a pair that I have been trying to rock the rubber band (or in this case, belly band) trick with, but I have officially given up. I am writing this blog post in my underwear from the kitchen table because that’s how frustrated I got with these pair of jeans. I have vowed to invest in a pair of maternity jeans and shorts for the remainder of my pregnancy. Jeans – 1, Natalie – 0

Exercise: Dog walks.

Miss Anything: You know, I’ve been craving an amusement park ever since I got pregnant. Of course, I can’t ride rollercoasters.

Anything make you sick/queasy: Nope

Movement: Tons – all day long! She’s big enough now that I can tell the difference between her kicks, punches, stretches and rolls.

Excited for: Another attempt at the 4-D sonogram TOMORROW. Hopefully all of her recent activity is a good sign, and she’ll be more active for us tomorrow.

Favorite Moment of the Week: What could also be counted as my least favorite moment of the week was my friend Laura (aka Chicken’s) goodbye party on Saturday night before she moved on to her next big adventure in Alabama. Luckily, she will be back for the shower in April and will hopefully visit lots afterwards as well. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture with Chicken (I’m terrible), but I did score a picture with the other mama-to-be at the party, Sarah Hanson. Sarah and I became friends working together for a few years at Apple. She is also expecting a little princess Ellie Jane, due 3 weeks after Baby M. So exciting!

Mike and I have been discussing selling my car for a few months now. Back in October, he traded in his Volt for a 2013 Chevy Equinox – the new family car. Actually, I was told it was was my “gift for carrying his child” (silly, but so cute). He’s been driving it since then, but last week we took a closer look at selling my car for something else. We knew Baby M’s arrival would be here before we knew it, and with everything coming up – family visits, the shower, friends’ wedding, etc. – this past weekend seemed like a great time to get started. Little did we know that after posting my car on Craigslist on Saturday, it would be sold in less than 5 hours. This put us in a frenzy to find a car on Sunday, before the work week started. Luckily, after a day of hunting, Mike found a Chrysler 300 with his name on it, and I am now comfortable in my mommy-mobile. Sometimes, looking back at all these big decisions we’re making financially and otherwise, it’s absolutely crazy and wild that life is moving so quickly. But it all feels so natural and comfortable.

I can tell you right now, 1 year ago today I would’ve never thought I’d be here. I didn’t think I’d be seriously dating someone I’m head over heels in love with, let alone engaged, living together and having a child together. But I am, I do and we are. And it’s the best thing ever.