33 Weeks, Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm anxiously awaiting Brendan getting out of work so we can hop in the car and head to my parents house for Thanksgiving! I'm excited to not have to cook a turkey this year and to spend time with my parents and grandmother! This week has been pretty productive for me, over the weekend I hung all the photos in the nursery and washed all of Luke's clothes. I just need to pick up a few minor things and then the nursery will be finished!

Since everyone seems to be posting what they're thankful for for every day of November, I've been working on a post of all the things I'm thankful for too so I can have it all in one place! One thing I'm very thankful for is being able to travel to see my family over Thanksgiving since I will definitely be on lock-down awaiting Luke's arrival for Christmas and New Years. 

I hope everyone has a great holiday, and remembers to say a special prayer for our troops overseas who aren't able to be home for Thanksgiving, and for their families who are missing a place on the table.

feeling like a stuffed Turkey is an understatement.

How far along? 33 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 28  pounds when I went to the doctor
Maternity clothes? yup. trying not to buy any more though
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: not so much, I roll around a lot
Best moment this week: a doctors appointment where I didn't get into trouble for eating too much candy
Miss Anything? mostly my brain
Movement: yes, yes, yes.
Food cravings: bagels, cheesecake, and stuffing
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: I should just take this question off...
Labor Signs: Nothing really
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy, but Brendan would say I'm a little stressed out
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving in Florida!

Third Trimester Wardrobe Essentials

So, I'm not great about posting a ton of photos of myself other than the bump updates while I'm pregnant just because I'm self conscious, but I figured I would write about the clothes that I have been living in, especially through my last trimester. As you can imagine, things aren't fitting the way they used to and being comfortable is becoming a daunting task as waistbands get tighter and shirts become belly shirts, so I thought I would share some of my go-to items to slip on and not feel like a complete mess.

{ 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9}

1. Wrap and Tie Headbands: I have always been a huge fan of headbands, and recently have discovered that I love the 50's style that you can tie in knots or bows. It brightens up a messy bun kind of day and keeps the hair out of my face when I wear my hair down at work... I'm sure I will continue to love them after birth too so I can keep my hair from being pulled out by little fingers! My favorite shops to get them are Oh Sweet Joy! and Mint and Arrows.

2. I got a pair of Old Navy Ankle Boots a year or two ago and didn't wear them all that much... I basically wear them every day now. They have a zipper going up the side which make them super easy to slip on and the little wedge heel on the back gives me a little lift that makes me stand with the correct posture... and helps me see over people's shoulders! I'm considering getting a pair in another color since they still make them!

3. I'm loving open cardigans lately because I can purchase the size I normally wear and will be able to continue wearing them after birth! They're great for wearing over dresses, with leggings and a t-shirt or just with jeans. I especially love the long knit one in the photo that I just picked up from Target! 

4. I thought that maternity leggings were stupid until I went shopping with my mom while we were in Connecticut. I was just wearing my regular leggings and slouching them under my belly... When I tried the maternity ones on, I couldn't believe how comfortable they were and had to buy some. Now I feel like I wear them every single day and am always contemplating going to purchase a few more pairs!

5. When I was home for my shower, my grandmother handed me a vintage red trench coat. She had bought it probably over 15 years ago when her and my grandfather used to travel a lot so she could layer underneath it. It's pretty big on me, but will button over my belly and still looks stylish, and I love the color so much, I plan on buying one in my size once I'm done being pregnant!

6. I love pashmina scarves in every single color. They add something to outfits and somehow make me feel like my they're drawing people away from my belly and causing them to speak to me instead of my stomach.

7. When I'm not wearing my ankle boots, I'm usually wearing one of the 4 pairs of riding boots that I own or my Hunter rain boots. On chilly days I like to wear boot socks with leggings underneath them to keep my feet and calf a little extra warm! They're also great for wearing around the house with Brendan's shorts and t-shirts since I have ceased fitting in my own. Some people insist on buying super expensive boot socks, but I find that the $5 Target ones work just fine.

8. So, I worked at American Eagle for about 5 years through high school and college. While I was there, I obviously made several purchases. One of the best purchases I ever made was a pair of slippers that have some sort of faux sheepskin stuff on the inside. When we are at home, I wear them all.the.time. They're the only shoes that I will actually get down on my hands and knees to look for if I think they've fallen under the bed.

9. Let me give you a bit of advice: as soon as you become pregnant, go to Target and get Liz Lange ruched maternity shirts in every color. I know you think you will be wearing medium instead of small regular shirts for your entire pregnancy... but you're wrong. Eventually they will just look funny. Get these shirts, they're inexpensive and will be the only t-shirt that doesn't either turn into a belly shirt or look like a tent after 30 weeks.

So there you have it. This is basically my uniform for the next 2 months! I've also had pretty good luck with sweater dresses and long sweaters as long as they're thin. I thought I would be able to wear chunky pull over sweaters, but was quickly proven wrong after looking at several photographs of me wearing those mistakes. I'd love to know what other things mommy-to-be's live in. :)

32 Weeks!

Hi! 32 weeks and 8 more  to go! Things are rolling along here as I work to finish up painting some things for the nursery and wait for a few things I ordered off Etsy to come in!. I'm feeling pretty good for the most part except being a little bit tired and very forgetful. I've started to spend some time on the birthing ball to get my hips ready to have a baby.

Meanwhile Luke has been rotating between doing Aqua Zumba in my belly and playing the xylophone on my rib cage. I'm excited to go to my doctors appointment on Friday, but also a little bit nervous because I might have had a pizza incident on Saturday at a friend's daughters birthday party... and by pizza incident, I mean I ate 4 pieces of it. In my defense, I went walking/jogging afterwards.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to going to Florida next week for Thanksgiving with my parents and grandmother (fondly referred to as Nanny), and hoping I can really knock out some baby room stuff this weekend because it is getting a little too close to my due date in my OCD world for comfort.

Brendan took this photo as he was asking why the dogs cant be in the photo.

How far along? 32 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 25 ish? pounds... I haven't weighed myself lately
Maternity clothes? yup. trying not to buy any more though
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: not so much, I roll around a lot
Best moment this week: Spending quality time with Brendan
Miss Anything? sushi and my brain
Movement: yes, yes, yes.
Food cravings: clementines, frozen yogurt, brownies...
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: I should just take this question off...
Labor Signs: Nothing really
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm pretty good, but I am getting anxious about labor
Looking forward to: my Friday doctor's appointment!

Sometimes, you just have to laugh.

So, this last trimester is just getting ridiculous for several reasons, but mostly because of my expanding tummy and pregnancy brain. Since there are tons of things that I am stressed about including childbirth (that's a big one), finishing the nursery, not breaking the baby when he comes home, and adjusting to the role of being mommy while not neglecting the role of wife, I've decided to stop getting upset (for the most part) about the little things and just start laughing my way through them and I'm hoping to give you the opportunity to laugh along with me and hopefully get a glimpse into why I'm acting slightly off if you see me.

First, there's this issue of the bowling ball size bump...

I'm constantly feeling like a turtle stuck on my back. If a couch is too soft, I can't get myself up. If I sit on the floor after working out, chances are I will ask you to help me get up. If I need to roll over in the middle of the night, chances are I will need to apologize to Brendan for grunting and groaning as I try to re-position myself.

As my stomach is expanding, I spend twice as much time trying to leave my house because I can't find clothes that fit anymore and am trying really hard to not buy things. Last Saturday, I put on a shirt that I thought would fit since it had been loose before I was pregnant. WRONG! I tried it on and looked in the mirror and saw that my boobs were spilling over the top and out the sides and it hardly covered my belly button. I.looked.ridiculous. ... and to add icing to the cake, the shirt had a big moose on it, which is what I felt like. I sat down on the floor in front of the mirror laughing so hard that tears were running down my cheeks... At first, Brendan thought the computer was making sounds, then he came upstairs to find me looking at myself thinking replaying  in my mind that part in Tommy Boy where Tommy is singing "Fat guy in a little coat..." Sometimes I get self-conscious about all of that, but for the most part now, I will just eat a second helping of ice-cream and laugh.

Second.. Earth to Kelly, This is your brain.

I really thought pregnancy brain was a myth... until I got towards my last trimester. I've always been a little less logical than my genius husband, but lately I can't even remember the simplest words or process very abstract ideas. It's pretty annoying, and I really have to think before I say things or do things. It's like my little synapses are constantly misfiring and my brain cells are having a bonfire! My clothes are usually on backwards, my keys are misplaced, and unless I put a reminder in my phone, don't expect me to keep plans because I will forget.

This is a look that Brendan has constantly been seeing lately

Here are just a few of the things I have done or said over the past few weeks that are embarrassingly stupid:

• Last week, we ran out of toner at work and were waiting for the new toner to come in. The pastor mentioned that if I really need to print something I can use the printer downstairs in the sanctuary, I responded by saying I would do that if I had a laptop instead of a desktop. He just looked at me a little funny... about 3 hours later, it dawned on me that there is a computer down there and I wouldn't need to carry my desktop downstairs.
• Yesterday morning, I called to make an appointment for yesterday afternoon at 3:15, somehow in the matter of 4 hours I convinced myself the appointment was for 3:30, so at 3:20 I got a call asking me where I was, luckily I was only 2 blocks away from said appointment.
• This morning, I was getting ready to head to work, Our door has a double deadbolt, so you need a key to unlock it from both sides. I put my keys in the deadbolt on the inside to open it, then turned the lock on the bottom inside to lock the bottom half of the door. As I heard the door click closed, I realized that I had left my keys in the inside deadbolt. Frustrated and running late, I panicked trying to figure out how I was going to get inside the house... about 20 mins later, I realized that I had put an extra house key in my purse and did not need to climb through any windows or break any glass.
• Every evening for the past two weeks, I have asked Brendan several times within a span of 20 minutes if he has fed the dogs. Apparently if he said yes at 6, the answer is still the same at 6:05
• Milk has been found in the pantry, cereal in the freezer, I look frantically for my cellphone only to realize I am talking on it, and I have lost several things that I am convinced house gnomes stole or my dogs have hid.

I'm at the point where I just have to laugh and ask for the people who are around me to have patience. I've never really taken myself too seriously and have always had a tendency of some "ditsy" behavior so I don't really feel discouraged by my forgetfulness, but I do worry that it's frustrating to other people if they don't realize that I'm not joking or playing dumb and that I really am temporarily (I hope) losing my marbles.

I'm hoping to have these dilemmas sorted out after Luke's arrival, but have decided that I will no longer judge moms who wear moo-moo's and their hair in rollers to the grocery store, or occasionally forget things... like their children (as long as they remember them quickly).

On a serious note though, if you haven't been pregnant, or even if you have been and somehow had this miraculous pregnancy where you felt great, loved being pregnant, never had symptoms, gained only 20 pounds, ran a marathon 6 months into your pregnancy, and/or were completely put together the entire time, I beg you, withhold your judgement of me or other women who had different experiences. 

Don't say that we've let ourselves go, because chances are... we haven't; I've had friends who are moms of two tell me that they ate great with one baby and terrible with another baby and gained the same amount of weight both times. Don't give back handed compliments like "at least you look pregnant, I don't even look pregnant" or "are you sure it's not twins?" or "you look uncomfortable" because even though we can laugh at our own jokes about ourselves, we don't need you to make them for us. 

I am excited to be a mom because I feel like that's what I was created for, but there are women who love being pregnant and I am not one of them. I struggle with body image issues, feelings of inadequacy, and stress over everything... and I have had a comparatively easy pregnancy! So, I ask you... if you see a woman struggling through her pregnancy, lower your eyebrows, stop thinking about how you would do things if you were her and pray for her. Be kind, compassionate, and encouraging and help her to remember that the life she is creating is completely worth whatever she is feeling at the moment!

Three Third Trimester Photos!

So, life happened, I got busy and neglected to post... for 4 weeks. I took the photos and everything except for week 30, but just couldn't find the time to sit down and write a post! Here is a recap of the past month: We had a fun trip to Washington DC with Brendan's parents where we went to Arlington and checked out the horse stables which house the caisson horses that pull the caskets during funerals. It seemed like Brendan and I both had a fairly busy week after we got home, but were able to spend some time hanging out together on Saturday. Sunday afternoon, my parents drove up from Florida via Myrtle Beach where they had spent the week celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary and they stayed with us until Wednesday morning. It was so nice having my parents around, especially because my mom made dinner when I was at work and I didn't have to cook! On Wednesday my parents and I hopped in the car and headed North to Connecticut for my baby shower, leaving Brendan to fend for himself with 4 frozen pizzas.

We had a great time in Connecticut catching up with friends and neighbors, enjoying the fall weather and foliage... and I definitely don't think that I followed the diet plan the way I was supposed to. I even got a pre-natal massage on Friday which was awesome since my back has been killing me!

My baby shower was a ton of fun, we had it at our favorite Italian restaurant in Cheshire, and got cupcakes from the same place I got my wedding cupcakes (they're amazing!). I'm so glad I was able to see my family and friends, but I just wish I had more time to socialize with everyone... and that I took more photos! I got tons of great presents and cute outfits, including Brendan's first pair of running shoes that his parents saved for us along with a photo of Brendan wearing them! My parents also got me a really nice camera so that I can take tons of photos of Luke that are better quality than ones I would take on my iPhone.

I flew back to NC on Monday and wish that I had been wearing running shoes because between flight delays and short layovers, I barely made it home. I was glad to be home though and we started our child birth classes last week, which have definitely made me feel more comfortable about my birth plan.

This past Sunday, some sweet friends from church threw me another baby shower. I will make a complete baby shower post later, but all I can say is that I am truly blessed to have such an encouraging group of people to do life with here in North Carolina!

Brendan is also in jump master school for the next few weeks, so I am going to try really hard to be a good quizzer because he will have a ton of studying to do! I'm also hoping to do some baby room projects this weekend, like finish painting the shelves I want to use for the changing table, frame some photos, and organize the closet!

Here are some photos from the past few week's festivities!

Our Trip to DC

Quality time with my favorite man... and dog

the only photos I remembered to take at the shower

Walking through cross country trails in Connecticut

Some photos from my church shower!

Baby Update!

I am almost one month into my third trimester (31 weeks down, 9 to go!) and for the most part, I feel okay. I'm a little more exhausted than the second trimester and sometimes if I'm laying down wrong, I get the sensation of blood rushing to my head. I had my glucose test last week and didn't do so hot, so I had to do another longer one last Friday (which I passed!), I also found out I'm anemic so they gave me a prescription for iron. I'm now into the part of my pregnancy where I have doctors appointments every 2 weeks until the last month, then I go weekly. In some ways, I'm happy about that because I like listening to Luke's heartbeat, but depending on which doctor I see, it's tough when I feel like they are criticizing how I'm taking care of myself since I seem to be gaining more weight than they would like me to (although I didn't gain any more weight between doctors appointments this time!).

Lately, I've been trying to hit the gym around 5:30 or 5:45 in the morning since I can't seem to fall back asleep after Brendan leaves in the morning (although the past 2 days I have failed to get my butt out of bed!), and it's really de-stressed me because I don't have to worry about fitting exercise in after work and can focus on making dinner and spending time with Brendan... an added bonus has been that I'm actually sleepy when he is now so, I don't mind going to bed earlier! Last week, while I was up in Connecticut, I took advantage of the crisp weather and walked old cross country courses I used to run in my area while taking photos of the leaves and trees every morning. I wish there were better trails in Fayetteville!

Ok so here are my past 3 photos from oldest to newest!

28 weeks and 2/3 down

29 Weeks and growing!

31 weeks and ready for a nap.

How far along? 31 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 23 pounds
Maternity clothes? oh yes, and how did I just discover maternity leggings?
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: not so much.
Best moment this week: The baby shower and passing my glucose test!
Miss Anything? not feeling like everything I eat is turning straight to fat
Movement: yes, yes, yes.
Food cravings: I have had a terrible sweet tooth since passing my glucose test since I refrained from sweets for 2 weeks
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: I feel like due to my short stature I look like I'm ready to birth triplets
Labor Signs: No, but some Braxton Hicks are showing up
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: as long as I'm not tired or hungry I'm good... but I'm usually tired or hungry.
Looking forward to: finishing decorating Luke's room!

BONUS PHOTO: Still hopped up on sugar from my glucose test and trying to convince Brendan I need all of these candies to make up for not having any sugar for 2 weeks

27 Week Update!

So today is exactly three months from my due date! According to half these pregnancy apps, the third trimester starts this week, the other half say it's next week... so I will celebrate Luke's -3 month birthday this week and my third trimester next week!

Our house is really coming together, Brendan did a great job last weekend of hanging all of our curtains and photos and also toiled away in Luke's room putting up our wall decal! (I will post his room later!) We  had a pretty busy weekend with a visit from Brendan's aunt and uncle along with a baby celebration at our church where we were honored with 4 other families who have either just had or are having babies soon.

I started going to the gym at 5:30 in the morning since I am having trouble falling back asleep when Brendan leaves. He seems to especially appreciate this because it means I don't drag him out on walks at 7pm every night anymore!

This week has flown by! We had a little Halloween celebration at Brendan's work yesterday and brought Abigail dressed as a shark (she looked ferocious). Tomorrow we are leaving to spend the weekend in Washington DC with Brendan's parents, so I almost missed posting again, but thought that 3 months to go was pretty significant. I made the sign this week so it is unfortunately not as magical as when Brendan makes it, but it will do!

PREGNANT LUMBERJACK!

How far along? 27 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: gulp... 20 pounds
Maternity clothes? oh yes, although since I like larger sweaters anyways I can still wear a lot of the ones I have!
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: not so much.
Best moment this week: the baby celebration at our church!
Miss Anything? not feeling self conscious and running without peeing my pants
Movement: yes, yes, yes.
Food cravings: hot sauce and sour patch kids have made a comeback... I blame Halloween
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: .. I'm like a blimp
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: eh, I'm ok
Looking forward to: Washington DC!

26 Week Update... From a new house!

I'm 26 weeks pregnant and man, it's been a busy few weeks! I felt way too overwhelmed to make a board and update the blog last week but here is a summary of what happened! We moved into our new house over the weekend 2 weeks ago which was a ton of work, but we were lucky to have a group of friends who spent their Saturday morning helping us move our stuff, and by Saturday evening our old house was cleaned and ready for it's new occupants. There were a few things that I found really helpful for my move, so you can expect a post of moving tips coming soon... which will likely be added onto after future moves!

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of extra work our landlords did to get the house into shape! They put really pretty new floors into the kitchen and painted over the ugly wallpaper, and they even spruced up the paint on the outside!  The dogs are loving the new place, especially their new back yard! So far, we've unpacked the kitchen, put furniture where it's supposed to be, hung most of our curtains, gotten our room and the guest room together and somewhat organized the garage. Even though we aren't completely unpacked, the house already feels like home!

The back yard!

The kitchen and dining room area

I'm feeling more and more pregnant every day. Someone asked me last week if I could see my feet, and I looked down and was shocked to realize that no, in fact, I cannot see my feet anymore! I'm getting pretty forgetful too, I drove all the way to the grocery store without my wallet last Monday and will sometimes forget to close doors to keep the dogs in the kitchen or turn things off... like the outside lights which are probably on right now (sorry Brendan).

I had my monthly doctor's appointment last Friday morning and it was not fun. I somehow managed to gain another 7 pounds this month and my doctor gave me a pretty stern talking to, put me on a diet of 1800 calories a day, and told me I need to not gain any weight between now and my glucose test in 3 weeks. I'm not an unhealthy eater and I don't overeat even though I am pregnant so I was pretty upset when I found out how much weight I've gained, actually I have been counting my calories and haven't hit the 1800 calorie mark on any of the days yet, so I'm not sure how I keep gaining so much weight. I've basically been in a tailspin ever since Friday second guessing everything I put into my body and crying irrationally... a lot. The good news is, I don't feel fat and haven't noticed that I have gained weight anywhere other than my stomach and ummm above my stomach. Usually when I gain bad weight, my face gets chubby. I called my friend Hunter who is a personal trainer and knows a lot about nutrition and she gave me some good pointers and sent me a meal plan to try out, so hopefully if I just tweak what I've been eating I won't turn into a cookie monster in the next 14 weeks. (WOW LUKE WILL BE HERE IN 14 WEEKS!!)

Yup, Brendan made my board again

How far along? 26 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: gulp... 20 pounds
Maternity clothes? ordered a few things online from ASOS.com... check that store out pregnant or not, they have a lot of really great staple pieces at reasonable prices!
Stretch marks? Not yet!
Sleep: this week I have been so exhausted that I think I have been sleeping better!
Best moment this week: finishing moving out of our old house!
Miss Anything? wine sometimes, sushi, and fitting into clothes!
Movement: yes, yes, yes.
Food cravings: hot sauce and fresh juice... not together
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Have you started to show yet: a lady in Target came up to me to tell me she likes my baby bump...
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? OUT
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm a rollercoaster.
Looking forward to: a long weekend with my husband