grouchy baby mama

i'm well aware that i'm only 6 months pregnant and beginning my 3rd trimester but i am declaring right now that i'm OVER it. pregnancy has taken an annoying and uncomfortable turn in just this past week. 

i've keep saying "doing great!" when people ask, but now it's getting harder to fake.  how is feeling enormous, short of breath, getting tons more varicose veins, dealing with atlanta summer heat, traveling every weekend, having hubby gone during the week on business, and working an outdoor summer camp full time? it's overwhelming and uncomfortable, thanks.  it's just not fun anymore.  

this is unfortunate turn of opinion since my atlanta baby shower was last weekend and new jersey shower this upcoming weekend. luckily the atlanta shower this past weekend was adorable and low-key which was perfect for me.  i'm really uncomfortable having all attention on me so we distracted the guests by decorating onesies, writing messages on diapers, creating a page in his ABC book, and filling out the guest book questions all while i opened up presents.  this also worked out for the guests who were mostly friends and not the mommy crowd.  

 my lovely mama and sisters

 i'm so lucky to have amazing in-laws and a great sister-in-law who just had a baby last year who are hosting my shower this weekend. i need to snap out of the pregnant grouchies asap and appreciate all of the love for peanut and our little family about to come our way again this weekend.

my love affair with atlanta hartsfield-jackson airport

although i do love the atlanta airport (a huge, extremely efficient well-run machine in my opinion) i think i need a break from it.  i have two weekends home this entire summer, last weekend i fully enjoyed my only relaxing summer weekend at the pool with neighbors and had a cookout at our house.  this upcoming weekend is my atlanta baby shower, my mom, sisters, aunt, and high school friends are coming!

a look back on some travels though, while waiting for some professional quality photos from my philly trip (ahem, rach!) to see high school friends, i neglected to acknowledge the great weekend and cute gifts that happened that weekend.  pics from my droid will have to suffice for now :)

i'm so happy that i have some of the great classics to start peanut's book collection.  what was even sweeter was that my wonderful friends chose their personal favorites when they were little.  we had so much fun just talking and catching up, pedicures and touring rachel's historic town made it even more enjoyable.  

 it's so nice that after 8 years from graduating high school and going our separate ways that we can all reconnect!  we may not be the best at calling or updating each other, but what's important is that amazing "at ease" feeling we all still immediately feel when we finally get to hang out.

playing college... while pregnant

i knew that if i didn't go to my 5 year college reunion at dayton that i would regret not going versus just sucking it up being pregnant.  when i booked my flight this past winter  i tried to envision myself being 6 months pregnant being back to the place that did some serious damage on my liver.  i told myself it would be fine and all the other dayton ladies who were pregnant i had seen on facebook would be there and we could commiserate together.


except they didn't come.   i was the only pregnant woman at the class of 2007 party.  this caused a lot of attention i didn't anticipate, mostly people were so excited for jay and i.  that's the beauty of being back at the place where we started our relationship, everyone knew us as being together in college.  however, there were some real zingers i wasn't prepared for.  it doesn't matter if you don't know anyone close and personal who is pregnant, the following is NOT okay to say/ask:


1. "do you feel huge?"
(well, i thought i was looking okay in my one-size-up regular dress i'm trying to squeeze into one last time but thanks for making me feel weird now.)

2. "wow, this must be really hard for you not to drink around all these people at dayton"
(yes, yes it is thank you for that reminder.)


3.   rubbing my belly without asking
i hate it, i'm sorry.  i'm one of those preggo ladies that hates it that people think it's okay to rub my belly without asking.  would you like me to rub your belly back?  it is still my skin and it feels equally uncomfortable for me as it would for you if i did it back right now.  as my friend catie says, "if you didn't make it, don't touch it."  


i have to say that this did not happen at all with my best friends/roomies that weekend.  they were kind, supportive, and very accommodating without making me feel left out.  they even threw jay and i a surprise baby shower in our old dorm room and cleared out my pinterest/etsy account of all cute baby things.

 

i wound up leaving dayton exhausted, with very swollen feet, and a 9 hour drive home but it was SO worth it.  we played college with our best friends and peanut now has plenty of gear from mommy and daddy's alma mater!

 baby's first visit to our favorite college bar, tim's.  he was kicking like crazy at all the journey and whitney houston music.

ohhhhhh we're half-way there...

20 weeks!

jay thinks it's cheesy i keep singing "ohhhh we're half-way there, oh livin' on a prayer" because i'm so excited we're half-way through.  truthfully though, it made me a little scared as well.  things are going to start to pick up fast; baby showers, decorating the nursery, my lbs on the scale, and then baby!  our 20 week appointment with the amazing dr. hsaio last week for peanut was awesome.  they did an anatomy scan which meant he measured things like peanut's head, femur, elbows, etc.  it pretty much meant i got double the time to see him in 3D and 4D live ultrasound and we were happy about that.  jay wanted a triple confirmation that it was a boy again so i left with 8 ultrasound pictures... 3 of them being of his weenie :)  here are a few latest from baby lahara:

 i love this picture, he looks so cute all nestled in.

last time we did this shot he looked downright creepy alien-ish.  now he's got eyelids, nose, and lips.  jay and i think he's giving us the "what up" hand gesture.

 

 

if you've never seen a gender scan like me, this is what a little weenie shows up as.  they do a view of him from the tush up (his thighs are on either side)  yep, he's all boy :)

cuteness factor

now that we found out we're having a baby boy, items at baby gap, etsy, and projectnursery.com are getting hard to resist.

 okay i couldn't pass this up, nautical and bear ears?!

 i forgot to post this before we found out the gender.  around week 13 i made a chart with my kindergarten class.  they may not have been the best participants, they were pretty much biased and voted for whatever gender they were.  however, i thought it came out so cute!

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks
Baby is the size of: a mango
Total weight gain/loss: up 6lbs...ughhh. i knew this day would happen when i'd start to see the numbers move but it doesn't make it any easier!
 Maternity clothes? 80% maternity clothes. if i could get an i <3 gap maternity tattoo i would.
 Stretch marks? nope, hoping my mustella cream works since i rub it on the belly every night!
Sleep:  still sleeping well
 Best moment this week: feeling him kick! and seeing jay's reaction when he finally felt him kick.
 Have you told family and friends: yes, my little belly now makes it too hard to hide anyways
 Miss anything? sweet tea vodka and jimmy john's cold sandwiches
 Movement: yes!!!! i started feeling him kick around 16 weeks. 
 Food cravings: those obscenely orange toastee peanut butter crackers, tortilla chips and frozen yogurt
Ouch of the week: owwwww my tailbone! it feels like i'm sitting on a sharp rock every time i go to sit down. i hate that there is literally no medicine, adjustment, relief, etc for this!  i'm also super dizzy and clumsy this week.
 Anything making you queasy or sick : opening a leftovers container
 Have you started to show yet: oh yea
Embarrassing cry of the week: johnson & johnson baby commercial and jay's card to me from the baby for mother's day
 Gender prediction: it's a boy! i will feel better seeing "the weenie" at next week's appointment though to make sure all this boy stuff i'm registering for is the real deal.
 Wedding rings on or off? on but feeling tighter
Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy
 Looking forward to: seeing him again next week at our 20 week ultrasound

i wish i would have known that people celebrate you on mother's day when you're expecting your first little one!  i was blown away by all the texts, voicemails, and cards i received on sunday for this day i didn't think i'd be a part of until next may.  it was really weird, in some ways i don't think i deserve it yet since he isn't here yet, but on the other hand with all the yucky things i've been through during pregnancy it felt kinda nice.


i'm officially at the stage where i'm crying over things i wouldn't normally. i'm embarrassed and trying to fight it but know a preggo power stronger than me won't let me.  case-in-point on sunday while making jay breakfast, he hands me a mother's day card from the baby.  peanut "wrote:" 

"mommy, now that i have ears that work i can hear you yelling at your closet a lot.  daddy says to use this gift card to gap maternity to stop this.  i can't wait to see you look at me soon, mommy."


aaaaaand i totally lost it.  major points to hubby for doing this though.  we spent the rest of the day taking another crack at our baby registry at buybuybaby.  lucky for us since it was mother's day and it was empty so we registered for a lot and tackled some the harder items we were avoiding.  


later on the night jay re-dedicated himself to putting his hand on my belly to feel the kicks that i had been "feeling."  yes, it was getting to the point where the "alleged kicks" had him thinking i was crazy because peanut literally stopped kicking when jay would come to see or feel.  while wishing his mom a happy mother's day on the phone he felt a swift kick from our little mango and his eyes got sooo big and mouthed "i felt it!" what a hallmark moment haha.

it's a...!

boy!

ahhhh, right?!  against all odds we're having a boy.  i come from a family of 3 girls and we have 2 nieces on jay's side so literally everyone (including us) thought it was going to be a girl.

we didn't mean to find out at 16 weeks, but at our appointment we met with a new doctor in the practice.  barely through the door he said " i don't you guys well, but there is sonogram room that is free if you want to see your baby this week."  we did not hesitate.  jay was wondering why i was getting all nervous and i told him at this point we could probably find out the gender, especially if it was a boy.  i'm actually glad we didn't have days to over-think this and had 30 seconds to mentally prepare instead.

 i am so thankful that i get the ultrasound on the belly now, our little peanut was actually hanging upside down, looking like a little drunkard passed out... what a lush :)

the doctor wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell the gender from the baby's angle so i told him to twist, bend, fold me however he needed to be able to tell! once rolled onto my side he was able to get a "feet looking up view" and we saw this...

 he literally said "haha there's his weenie, it's a boy!"  the look on jay's face is one that will be imprinted in my brain the rest of my life, it was a mix of surprise, happiness, and utter joy.  we were both so surprised and tried to explain to the doctor our unlikely odds of "the weenie."  he then showed us some 3D images of our little guy

 

his cute little back and tushie

his hand is always by his face! my parents told me ever since i was a baby i always slept with my hands on or around my face and now i still do as a 27 year old.  so glad he is somehow taking after me already!

it was a little hard letting go of all the hours i spent daydreaming about what life would be like with a girl or with a boy. now that it is for sure, it feels like someone popped that pink balloon.   it was a good feeling though, to clear the uncertainty and start thinking blue!

my family in particular was especially excited to hear of a boy since we haven't had one of those yet!  jay's family was excited for their first grandson and someone to carry on the lahara last name. 

so there you have it, we're team blue!