Baby H: Week 29

Our 28-week doctors appointment was this past Thursday and while it took forever (hello crowded afternoon office) the visit was a huge success. My belly is measuring right on track and she had nothing to say about my weight gain which I can only assume is good news. After the worry that came from my 20-week anatomy ultrasound related to little man measuring in the 96th percentile I'm happy to report that he is checking out much more on schedule now. Our extra growth ultrasound was perfect (all be it, very short) and our baby boy is now in the 69th percentile which is fantastic! My pelvis thanked him. He is definitely still a "he" and apparently likes to show off the goods, weighs about 3.0lbs which is so crazy to think about and is already head down like a good boy! And the best part, my glucose test came back normal again! Wahoo. I am so thankful to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far and every doctors visit that confirms our son is growing as he should just makes my heart swell. On a related note, how are we already to 2-week appointments?!

This week J and I attended our first baby class. It was so much fun and made me so excited for September. We took an all day childbirth class that was chock full of every aspect of prelabor, labor, delivery, postpartum, newborn decisions, pain management, etc etc etc and we both feel so much more knowledgable. It was great taking the class with J because I was able to see his reactions to things, we were able to chat over lunch about what we both need from each other during labor and we've been working as a team since then making decisions about how we want things to go. In the next few days I hope to get a rough draft started on a bullet-point version of a birth plan for me and an outline for the care we want for the babe while we're in the hospital. I'm also starting a list of hospital bag items (for me, J and baby) so if you have any suggestions you think I can't live without or there was something you wish you had but didn't, please fill this momma in!

I have been feeling great the majority of this week except for the day of/after my doctors appointment. I got my tdap shot and it was a doozy for sure. For the rest of the day and into the next I felt like I got hit by a truck, exhausted with absolutely no energy and just completely run down. And then there was the intense pain in my shoulder at the injection site. I anticipated a bit of soreness from the shot itself but literally couldn't move my arm 100% until two days later. Otherwise my energy has been good, I haven't been too achy recently and my dizziness is officially gone I hope. I think I experienced my first few Braxton Hicks contractions as my entire belly was solid as a rock and even though it wasn't painful it was definitely uncomfortable. I am still stretch mark free (thank heavens) and have yet to experience any significant swelling which is a miracle given that I'm pregnant in the heat of summer. I have noticed a few times that my rings are a little extra snug if I'm especially warm but not for longer than an hour and not to the point of them being stuck.

I did my first load of laundry with all things baby, mostly clothes and bedding, and it was so fun. I'm sure that's one of the few times I'll actually say the extra laundry is fun but I'm enjoying it now and can't wait to get all his clothes put away. I had a pregnancy hormone related cry yesterday when J showed me an article about a dog's last day on earth and I found myself crying big, fat tears in the car outside Barnes & Noble and J said "oh yeah, I forgot I can't show you these types of things anymore". Oops! My shower is in one week and I keep hearing little details about it from my mom that make me so excited. Build-you-own taco salads, favored lemonades, balloons, a candy buffet and cupcakes and lots of sweet ladies including my sweetest friend from San Diego who's flying out to attend!

The weeks are just flying by and while I do have my moments of anxiety and there's-too-much-to-do freak outs I just can't wait to meet our little boy. I can't wait to hold him on my chest the moment he's born. I can't wait to see J wrap him up for the first time. I can't wait for Ollie to cover him in kisses when they meet. I can't wait to share his name and introduce our son to the family and friends who love him already. I just can't wait to be his momma.

Around Here Lately

There's been a handful of happenings around here that aren't significant in themselves to deserve their own posts but that I want to share anyways. So here's a compilation of some fun we've been having lately....

J and I spent the 4th of July out at the lake in our usual tradition although this year was a bit different than years in the past. We got up there Friday morning and stayed only a single night because I'm not sure this prego-bod of mine could have done another night in the pop-up. It was supposed to be over 90 degrees all weekend and thankfully the heat wasn't as tough to deal with as we anticipated. Since I can't actually get in the lake (or rivers or streams, etc etc etc) I was a bit worried about not having a way to cool off easily but plenty of water and cold drinks, dipping my feet in and rides on the boat were lifesavers. It's crazy to look back at all the summers we've spent up at the lake and know that next summer it won't just be the two of us anymore!

This past Tuesday my favorite med-school ladies and I attended the wedding of one of the gals in our group. Her wedding was tucked up in the mountains at one of the ski resorts and after almost missing the ceremony thanks to some construction we spent the afternoon and evening celebrating even more love this summer. She was a stunning bride, the forecast for rain didn't produce, they shared in an Irish blessing much like the one J and I had at our own wedding and the evening went off fantastically. Complete with BBQ for dinner, cupcakes and a cookie bar, and plenty of dancing it was great to celebrate another marriage with close friends. Also, I'm thrilled this dress still fits although it's quite different than the last time I wore it when we were in Mexico for spring break!

Now here's to a few smaller happenings around here. The other night our neighbors puppy decided she didn't want to be in her yard anymore and instead dug under the fence to come play with Ollie. It was quite the surprise to see her wiggle her way under and they had quite the ball running laps in the yard. After a few minutes of play time (and enough time for J to fill in the hole she dug) we kindly returned her to her own yard laughing at her mischievous ways. 

Baby boy officially attended his first MLB game over the weekend. It was scorching hot, probably around 95 degrees and our original seats were directly in the sun. Thankfully after sneaking our way into some shaded seats we were able to enjoy the rest of the game and avoid heat stroke! I can't wait to bring him to games next summer as a 9 & 10 month old! 

We've been making some serious progress in little man's nursery over the last few weeks and I'm happy to say there's only one major thing that needs to be hung on the walls, one more sewing project I have to tackle and one more piece of "furniture" to buy and his room will basically be ready! We're waiting until after my baby shower to do a lot of the last minute smaller purchases we'll need (onesies, diapering supplies, etc etc) but his room is basically ready for him to arrive and is Ollie's new favorite hang out place. And mine too if we're being honest. Sometimes I sit in there imaging holding him on my chest instead of in my belly. Ollie walks around sniffing things and peaks through the bars into the crib. So crazy that he'll be here in around 80 days! 

Baby H: Week 28

Hello third trimester! It's nice to see you! And also insane that we're already here! The past week contained baby boys "first trip" to the lake to celebrate the fourth as well as his first Rockies game. It also brought with it lots more comments about my growing self from strangers/people I don't know that well and thankfully they were all very respectful. I don't mind questions like how far along I am or when I'm due as long as we avoid the judgmental comments for at least a few more weeks.

Baby boy is quite the mover and shaker this past week and I can tell he's packing on the weight in there as his movements get stronger by the day. I'd love if he laid off the rib jabs a little but I'll take what I can get for a strong growing boy regardless. According to all my apps he's somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs already (more likely to be on the high end of that) and he can really pack a punch that startles me sometimes. I'll find out more accurately how big this kid is at our appointment on Thursday but even knowing he's at least over two pounds just seems crazy to me. Sometimes he'll stick what I assume to be his booty out on one side of my belly and it just makes me heart flutter thinking about this little guy and his perfect self growing away in there. Not too long before I'm patting his rear-end in my arms instead of through my belly! 

It has been hot around here lately (mostly in the 90's) especially during our 4th of July weekend and it's the first time I've really noticed pregnancy changing my heat-tolerance. I wouldn't say that I'm running warmer that I used to as don't find myself hot on a daily basis but I do find that I get hotter quicker than I used to and when I do get hot it's a bigger deal than before to cool off asap. Unfortunately for me I'm officially retiring my one pair of maternity jean shorts (see above) because they are no longer comfortable. I'm not sure if it's because they're denim or if they're just smaller than my other shorts but the waist line is definitely miserable after a few hours. Fingers crossed I can get by with the other items I have and don't need to replace them for the rest of the summer but we'll see. 

In other random news I'm hovering at right around 20-22lbs gained so far which is still a bit scary for me. I know it's all worth it but sometimes knowing that doesn't trump seeing numbers on the scale you've never seen before. As long as my doctor doesn't think it's a problem then I'll try to not worry about it so fingers crossed it's all okay on Thursday. I'm proudly still stretch mark free which is fantastic and also don't have linea nigra either even though my belly button is officially an outie now. Baby boy told me he wants watermelon like crazy this week which is so strange since I previously hated it. I've always loved the flavor but couldn't get over the gritty texture before and now I can't seem to get enough. It might be from the heat too but the thought of eating very much dairy lately hasn't seemed appealing unless its in ice-cream form and I still can't even think of drinking hot coffee without wanting to gag. 

As each week seems to fly by and the summer is quickly passing I get more and more excited about this little boy entering our family. I'm sure I'm not the first momma-to-be to say this but I feel like I already love him so much and know that once we meet face to face the love I feel now will explode to a thousand times more. Little boy, thank you for growing strong in there, thank you for keeping me company every day and thank you for making me a momma. Know that we love you so much already and are awaiting your arrival on pins & needles and with more excitement than I ever thought possible.

The Cry Room: Little Man's Quilt

I'm sure I'll explain more when I do a complete nursery reveal later but it was quickly decided that little man's nursery was going to stray away from the "I'm an infant" themes and towards something more modern, focused on colors and patterns rather than jungle animals/trains/etc etc etc. Overall this has been a great decision and I am loving the progress we're making on his room but one of the hardest parts about skipping the baby theme has been bedding. I wandered through Babies R Us one day looking at all their bedding sets and there wasn't a single one, not one, I could have pictured myself buying. I had to come up with something else besides the bed-in-a-bag purchase. 

Then I came across this quilt tutorial and was officially hooked, boy colored however. Now that school is out for the summer I have plenty of time on my hands and have been itching to make my first quilt for some time now. And what better quilt to make given its smaller size and it's special recipient. The fabrics are all 100% quilting cotton and I used traditional weight batting in between the layers. The front is made from 3 neutrals and 3 blues and I quilted along the borders of all the navy triangles. The gray/white dot fabric from the front corresponds with the fitted crib sheet (that I also made) and also with the navy/white dot fabric that covers the entire back. The binding fabric is a different blue shade from the rest and all the supplies we're purchased from either Hobby Lobby or JoAnn Fabrics. 

In a matter of about three days of work our little boy now has a quilt for his bed that his momma made just for him and I couldn't be more thrilled with the results.

Are there mistakes in my first quilt? Heck yes! There are wrinkled seams and not a single triangle lines up between rows. Is it perfect? No way! The binding is a bit wonky and I didn't even iron it before taking pictures. But did I make it 100% myself, dreaming of wrapping our little boy in it as he kicked and squirmed to the sound of the sewing machine? Of course.

And I think that's what really matters now isn't it.

Wedding Weekend

Summer time undoubtedly brings with it wedding season and this past Saturday J and I attended our first wedding of the summer together. One of my favorite med school gals tied the knot at a gorgeous golf course tucked in the hills on a perfectly sunny afternoon. It was a perfect day filled with the celebration of love with close friends. She was a beautiful bride, their ceremony brought tears to many, their silly yellow lab (who also happens to be Ollie's girlfriend) even took part and we had a blast celebrating with them. Not to mention it was a fantastic opportunity for our big group to get together and have some fun!

I love going to weddings, especially with my husband as my date. Watching the groom get tears in his eyes as he read his vows to his bride reminds me of the love J expressed to me so perfectly on our big day. Watching smiles erupt from the newlyweds faces as their announced for the first time as Mr & Mrs while the same exit song plays that we picked for that moment brings back the butterflies I felt. Slow dancing to our first dance song for the first time since our own reception made the rest of the room fall away where it felt like it was just J and I on that dance floor again. 

Marriage has been both the toughest and the most rewarding thing I've ever been a part of and I am so thankful I get to go through life with my husband by my side. I was reminded how special a love like this, a marriage like this, a life like this truly is. I can't say enough congratulations to the new bride and groom as they start on this new journey together and I am thankful to have been included in their big day.