5 Current W's

Wanting…
My hair to grow faster. I decided last month to grow it out (from an inverted bob) and it just feels like it’s growing at a snail’s pace. I’m ready to be able to put it in a ponytail.

Wearing...
 Leggings! I’m trying to think of creative ways to wear them. I’d love to be able to wear them every day… Also, long maternity tank tops from Target are so wonderful. I have a feeling I’ll wear them even after baby because they’re so long and perfect for (you guessed it!) leggings :)

Watching...
 Grey’s Anatomy still. We’re smack dab in the middle of season 6. While doing my daily treadmill walking I’m watching Sister Wives though. I just can’t stop!

Wishing….
 That the weather would cool down. We’ve had a “cool streak” this week where the weather has been under 100 degrees (hovering around 95) but it’s not cool enough for me. We’re going to Carmel next weekend and I can’t wait for the cooler weather!

Wondering…
 What baby’s face looks like. Ever since seeing a 32 week old baby born on Grey’s last week (it’s an addiction…) I’ve been thinking more and more about how there’s a full on BABY inside of me who will be outside within the next 2 months and I just want to be able to picture his face.

What are some things that are on any of your "W's" lists??

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 37 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Yepp! I’ve rediscovered maternity leggings and they are my new favorite thing!

Stretch Marks: Still none on my tummy...no new ones.

Sleep: Eh. I just don’t look forward to going to bed anymore. I dread waking up and having to lug myself out of bed to go to the bathroom. And my heartburn is really bad at night. It’s just not pleasant anymore.

Best moment this week: Washing/putting away all of baby’s clothes! It feels so good to have that part done and it was so exciting to imagine him in all of the cute little outfits!

Miss anything: Not really right now! As the weather keeps getting cooler I’m sure that I’ll miss morning runs again but…not much longer.

Movement: More just bumps and nudges now. I don’t think he has enough room to get up the momentum for full on big kicks anymore.

Food Cravings: Sandwiches and sliced apple.

Labor Signs: None. I did have my first seriously noticeable Braxton hicks last night though while I was walking on the treadmill! I had to slow down to catch my breath.

Symptoms: Fatigue, rib soreness, round ligament pain, heartburn, insomnia, "the waddle."

Belly button in or out: Still staying in. Ugh! I want it to pop! I even had a dream last night that I woke up and it had popped out during the night LOL.Some days it seems like it's just ready to burst out but then I check it later and it'll seemingly regress.

Wedding rings on or off: Off :( Once the weather cools down a little bit more I think I’m going to give them another chance…

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: The long weekend coming up!

Getting Ready for Baby- Freezer Meals

We’re doing everything that we can to make the transition to life post-baby as simple as possible. We both know that it’ll probably be crazy for a little while and while undoubtedly be an adjustment so making little steps here and there to help put both of our minds at ease!

We’re also a family on a budget- a budget that will be even tighter after baby is here! So in order to both help prepare and to proactively avoid a lot of eating out right after baby is born I’ve started stocking our freezer with easy meals to keep us on track.

I’m also making some cookie dough to freeze so that once labor is under way or I can tell that we’re getting close we can make some to take with us to the hospital for the nurses.

This is my list of meals/freezer items that I’ll be stocking ours with. Do any of you have any tried and true freezer meals that you’d recommend??

Freezer Cookie Dough- http://householdways.blogspot.com/2011/12/refrigerator-icebox-cookies.html

Freezer Chicken Pot Pie- http://www.freezerdinner.com/recipes/freezer-chicken-pot-pie/

Italian Turkey Soup- http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/11/italian-turkey-soup/

Pizza Pasta Bake- http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/10/slow-cooker-pizza-bake-recipe-freezer.html

Baked Mac N’ Cheese- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chucks-favorite-mac-and-cheese/detail.aspx

PB Oat Breakfast Cookies- http://watching-what-i-eat.blogspot.com/2012/06/peanut-butter-banana-oat-breakfast.html

Sugar Free/GF Brownies

Quick Bullets Post!

-We got a TON done this weekend in the baby’s room. The tags have been removed from all of his stuff, the clothes are all washed, folded and put away, carriers and blankets are organized, toiletries are organized, books are all up on the shelves, sheet is on the bed, cover is on the mattress pad, the fan blades have been changed from dark and scratched to beautiful white, closet now has a “cube” and is organized. The only things that we’re waiting on now are his dresser (ANY DAY Burlington Coat Factory….), the décor for the walls (MIL is stenciling silhouettes this week) and his mobile (next weekend’s project!). Peeks at what we've gotten accomplished will be coming later this week!

-On Friday I went to a Just Between Friends consignment sale and scored a Medela breast pump for $75 (electric, double pump) and an adorable Christmas sweater (I’m thinking for sitting on Santa’s lap??) for Boy Boy.

-My sister in law found out on Friday that she’s expecting a little girl!! Boy Boy’s cousin will be here at the beginning of February (she already has 2 older brothers- our nephews are 3 and 6).

-Josh and I are going to a breastfeeding/infant care class at the hospital where we’ll be delivering tonight. I’m excited to get more information and also about seeing/meeting other expecting couples.

-I’m counting the days until maternity leave….

-Speaking of maternity leave, I discovered my new favorite outfit/weekend and maternity leave uniform. Maternity leggings (I’ll probably never go back to normal), long maternity tank top and overshirt/sweater. Jewelry can be added to cute it up. So comfy! I’d wear it all the time…and I will in just a few short weeks!

-We’ve been watching too much Grey’s Anatomy. Yesterday BB got the hiccups for the second time that day (in the early afternoon) and I started thinking about whether or not it’s dangerous to get the hiccups too often and then I thought of Grey’s and how Lexie’s mom died of the hiccups (not really but that’s how it started). Luckily I’m able to recognize when I’m overthinking/being ridiculous and I talk myself down.

Before Baby Checklist- Update!

When I entered the third trimester I posted this list! We’ve definitely made some progress but there’s still more to be done! There are so many things that seem to be constantly ongoing/take a ton of time.

-Take an infant CPR class (Status: Scheduled. Will be taking it mid-September.)
-Take a breastfeeding class (Status: Scheduled)
-Take a childbirth class (Status: Scheduled)
-Choose a pediatrician (Status: DONE!)
-Pre-Register at hospital (Status: Done.)
-Turn in maternity leave paperwork (Status: Have filled out all of the information that is my responsibility. I will be taking the rest to my next OB appt so they can finish/fax.)
-Set a last day of work (Status: I’ve been dragging my feet on this…I just can’t make up my mind. I’d love to hold out until 38w2d which would put as at October 5^th but I’m so uncomfortable/distracted now that I’m thinking the Friday before that, 37w2d, sounds so much nicer…)
-Make circumcision plans (Status: Still not positive about this. I’m starting to think that maybe we’ll find out about this at our first ped appt or in the hospital. Does anyone know?)
-Install carseat (Status: Will do this at 36 weeks)
-Finish nursery (Status: Has been painted. Crib is up with crib mattress. Rocker is up and new cushions have been made. Bookshelves have been installed/filled. We’re still waiting on the dresser, need to hang the prints and organize the closet- I will be starting the closet organization on Friday!)
-Read more on labor (Status: In progress. Reading Ina May’s book now!)
-Make freezer meals (Status: In progress. I’ve made 2 meals so far and 2 loaves of banana bread.)
-Pack hospital bag (Status: Will be doing this closer to 36 weeks)
-Tour hospital (Status: Scheduled. My godsister is an L&D nurse and will be giving Josh and I a private tour!)
-Make a baby watch contact list/plan (Status: Done! We decided this doesn’t need to be a huge production lol. All of our family is in town and we have their contact information in our phones so we’ll just play it by ear depending on how things go.)
-Stretch more (Status: Ongoing)
-Keep walking daily (Status: Ongoing)
-Get a pedicure (Status: Planning on one more before my due date…hopefully early October.)

How are you doing with your “before baby” checklists??

The items that I’m most excited about trying out with our little guy

When we made our registry there were a few items that I was EXTRA excited about trying out with our little boy once he arrives…and I still am! Some of them we’ve received at baby showers and some of them we’ll be purchasing before he gets here.

The BOB- This is probably the baby item that I’m most excited about. I was an avid runner pre-pregnancy and I’m itching to put those running shoes on again (for something other than a painfully slow walk on the treadmill). I can’t wait to share that experience with the little one!

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Bumbo- How could you not love a cute baby object with a name like this? You just can’t help it. I know people who have loved theirs and others who have hated it so time will tell where we fall. Right now I’m loving just having it sitting in the dining room :) ***I'm aware that the Bumbo was recalled due to skull fractures while sitting on raised surfaces. We're still planning on using it (along with some common sense ;)).

Baby Carriers- We’ve assembled quite the collection for babywearing. We own (thanks to baby showers!) the Moby and Ergo (Petunia Pickle Bottom print…woohoo!!!). We’ll be borrowing the Baby Bjorn from my godsister to try that one out too. Again, it’ll be interesting to see what works for us.

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Cloth Diapers- We registered for BumGenius all in ones. This is another one of those things that work really well for some people and don’t end up working for others so time will  tell.

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What are/were some of those things that you were most excited to “try out” with baby? If your baby is already here, did you find that you ended up finding the exciting things actually useful or over-hyped?

32 Weeks- 8 Months!!

How far along? 32 weeks!!!

Total Weight Gain: 36 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I wear Josh's t-shirts at night but other than that it's maternity around here.

Stretch Marks: Still none on my tummy...no new ones.

Sleep: Not great. My bathroom trips have become an average of 4 per night and for some reason I'm wide awake when I get back into bed. I used to be able to fall right back asleep. Not anymore. I'm also having trouble getting comfortable. I have a feeling this isn't going to get better any time soon.

Best moment this week: Hearing at my OB appointment today that baby is head down! Until now he'd been breech transverse so my fingers were crossed that he'd make the flip. Now just hoping that he stays that way.

Miss anything: My old body but I'm feeling more and more confident that it'll bounce back!

Movement: All the time. I love watching my skin roll around :)

Food Cravings: Corn on the cob!!!

Labor Signs: None.

 
Symptoms: Fatigue, rib soreness, round ligament pain, heartburn, insomnia, "the waddle."
 
Belly button in or out: Still staying in. I keep thinking that it's about to pop but still no.
 
Wedding rings on or off: Off as of last Saturday. I may have had an emotional breakdown over this.... I'm wearing a cheap stand-in right now so that my hand doesn't feel naked.
 
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
 
Looking forward to: Baby consignment sale this Friday, being in September and able to say that we'll have a baby "next month." Eeeeeeeeeee!