done with my checklist

rest of items bought off of registry? check
nursery finished? check
baby 101 class? check
find a pediatrician? check
baby and mommy's bag packed for hospital? check

now starts the waiting game.  i am so lucky that i had time to finish all of these things in the past month since i haven't been able to travel.  however, now i'm a little bored and just playing the "waiting game" til he comes.  i don't think i've had a "nesting" stage where i feel the urge to clean, but i have felt the strong need to get everything ready just in case.  maybe it's just wishful thinking that the baby will come early!  

at our 34 week appointment, we found out that baby lahara's head is measuring at 38.5 weeks and he is already 6lbs!  our new nickname for him is "bobby" from the cartoon "bobby's world" with his ginormous head and black spiky hair.  it definitely makes me nervous that he's now projected to be an 8.5lb baby.   

 

a few days ago i felt the baby "drop" and now instead of his feet kicking relentlessly under my bra, he's pedaling around my belly button.  now that he's "getting ready" to come down i can feel my pelvic bones separating and my thighs are so sore all day like i did an intense workout with the in/out thigh machine at the gym. arghh, i can breathe so much better now but "dropping down" is bringing on a whole new set of pains. 

one last look at baby lahara... 34 weeks

gettin' big here folks

things are getting big here folks.  i really really want to stop taking the belly pictures, i feel like from pic 28wks to 32wks my baby belly hasn't grown but i have!  it was 91* today, it's not a coincidence that i'm all covered up.  my belly definitely got a big higher since he's gotten to be so big.  at a whopping 4lbs and 15 inches long, peanut's head is down, his tushie is next to my belly button and his feet keep kicking awkwardly out right underneath my bra.  i'm totally blown away how hard babies can roll and push (we are way past kicking now, he has no room!)

 How far along? 32 weeks
Baby is the size of: a pineapple (bottom to top leaf!)
Total weight gain/loss: up to a point i don't want to share! and please don't ask a pregnant woman how much weight she's gained, never a good idea.
 Maternity clothes? yep, i've even grown out of the cute 1st and 2nd trimester low waisted pants :(
 Stretch marks? nope, thank goodness. lots of new spider veins though
Sleep:  finally feeling this side effect. little guy hates when i lay on my side and kicks like crazy which is my only sleep option now. i also now wake up several times a night with horrible charley horse cramps which are unfortunately very common.  i'm up to 3 fans blowing on me at night now.
 Best moment this week: cute baby feet kicking and when he gets the hiccups! also, having the nursery painted and furniture delivered finally.
 Miss anything? not waddling around and having a waist
 Movement: no more random kicks, little guy ran out of room.  now i constantly feel him pressing up against me (booty bouncing my belly button, hiccups down below, and feet under my bra.)
 Food cravings: frosted mini wheats
Ouch of the week: the searing pain of charlie horse cramps and the pressure of having swollen ankles and toes
 Anything making you queasy or sick : seafood smell
 Have you started to show yet: now they just ask when he is due!
Embarrassing cry of the week: when we tried the 3 paint shades of gray for the nursery wall it looked too blue
 Wedding rings on or off? on... but barely
Happy or Moody most of the time: super grouchy. i'm just so uncomfortable now!
 Looking forward to: getting this kid outta me!

jay and his dad painting the nursery!

 

time to catch up!

hello baby blog.  i've been avoiding you.

yep, it's true.  not that the other stages of being preggo have been much easier, but i've been avoiding writing because 3rd trimester is tough. i don't want to let this blog become a huge pregnant woman rant session.  luckily just looking for pictures to catch up with gave me initiative.

also, looking at this helps.

 eek! 

 

that's my baby boy and he finally really looks like an adorable baby with features and not a freaky little alien i have to pretend i think is cute in front of the nurses. i am in love with his perfect little nose that looks just like jay already and those cheeks i want to just kiss! 

 i spent some time comparing mine and jay's baby pictures to see who he looks like already.  i think he already looks like a mini-jay and i love it. if he has dark hair and light eyes like daddy, i'll be over the moon.

yep, definitely doesn't resemble mommy yet.
 




i got these amazing pictures from an unfortunate incident, i was in a car accident about 3 weeks ago.  someone rear-ended me during some bad atlanta traffic on the highway.  i wound up okay, but when i got hit the first part of me that impacted was my belly against the steering wheel.  after some pain in and under my ribs i had to see the baby doc asap.  my doctor is awesome, he knew that after such a scary incident that seeing baby boy in 3D would cheer me right up.  this was also the week after i thought i was going into pre-term labor.

then, a few days after the car accident my sister kelsey and i hosted 19 girls in a beach house for amy's bachelorette party in hilton head.  along with kelsey's 21st birthday the weekend before, these were the two hardest occasions not to drink and celebrate.  all the hard work put into the bach party was worth it to see how happy and relaxed amy was!

the only boy allowed at the bachelorette party

seriously, how gorgeous are my sisters?!

 all this catching up is making me tiiiiiired.  more summer reflecting soon....zzzzz

third trimester!

How far along? 28 weeks
Baby is the size of: an eggplant
Total weight gain/loss: up to a point i don't want to share! and please don't ask a pregnant woman how much weight she's gained, never a good idea.
 Maternity clothes? yep all the time.
 Stretch marks? nope, thank goodness. lots of new spider veins though :(
 Sleep:  meh, okay
 Best moment this week: knowing little guy is okay, he gave us a little scare this week. turns out mommy is just doing too much this summer with traveling every weekend and running a summer camp.
 Miss anything? turkey and provolone sub from hoagie hut. that was hard resisting that temptation in new jersey last weekend.
 Movement: all the time!  you can even see him moving outside looking at my shirt.
 Food cravings: peanut butter and chocolate combo, chocolate mini donuts, tortilla chips.
Ouch of the week: i used a travel palmers tummy butter last weekend and broke out into an allergic reaction all over my little preggo belly. so painful and itchy still!
 Anything making you queasy or sick : opening a leftovers container
 Have you started to show yet: oh yea, people i don't know in public ask when my little boy is due. i think it's obvious i'm carrying a boy, low and basketball-like
Embarrassing cry of the week: when the doctors office messed up my appointment day again, i would never get upset over that while not pregnant
 Wedding rings on or off? on but feeling tighter
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody, i feel like i can't catch myself and filter my snippy thoughts in time before it comes out of my mouth.
 Looking forward to: slowing my schedule down and getting the nursery all decorated and ready!

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.