The One with the Weekly Pregnancy Update

And onto week 38 (how the hell did we get this far so fast?!)

38 Weeks

Did you know it was possible to grow a baby in your ute and your ass at the same time?
Me either until I looked at this picture.

How far along? 38 weeks (pumpkin)

Total weight gain/loss: +23 pounds

From the doctor: I was at the doctor yesterday morning and there are some new things to report.  First off, I am now dilated 1-1.5 cm which is some progress since last week when I was closed up tight.  Baby is still head down and low which is good news.  I only gained 2 pounds this week but the doctor seems to think I've gotten bigger since last week and decided to do a growth ultrasound to check on how big the baby is.  I am going in on Wednesday afternoon to have this done.  Dr. B said if he's a big baby and if I make more progress between now and next week's appointment then he may start to talk about inducing me.  I have absolutely no desire to be induced, especially before my actual due date, but I figure we'll see how things look after Wednesday and go from there.  Dr. B seems to think this little one is arriving before my due date anyway.

Maternity clothes: Either those or Hubs' big t-shirts at home.

Sleep: Getting more difficult with each passing day.  I'm exhausted by bed time but staying asleep is nearly impossible.
Best moment this week: Nice to hear my body is doing what it is supposed to and starting to get ready for labor and delivery.

Miss anything? Not getting heartburn from water and everything else under the sun.

Going to miss anything about being pregnant? All the movement, even when it's uncomfortable.

Movement: Oh yes.  And I am becoming intimately acquainted with the term lightning crotch.
Food cravings: Took a trip back to Allie's Donuts again this weekend.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing specific at this point except the heartburn.
Gender: one bouncing baby boy (looking forward to confirming that again if possible at the u/s on Wednesday)
Labor Signs: The Braxton Hicks contractions (tightening but no pain) are absolutely increasing.  I have also had some spotting since the doctor's appointment yesterday, which the doctor said is normal once everything starts opening up.
Symptoms: Have I mentioned the heartburn?

Major purchases this week? Nothing really new for the baby this week.  I ordered a few nursing tanks from ON that should be coming today or tomorrow.

Nursery: Finished!

How mama is feeling: Tired and achy but unbelievably excited to meet our son.

Weekly wisdom: Walking, even small distances, is good for you.  Try to stay active even when you're exhausted.
Looking forward to: Last day of school on Friday.

Next appointment: Ultrasound on May 1st and doctor on May 6th

And just for fun, a little side-by-side comparison...

 What a difference a mere 30 weeks can make!

The One with the Cara Box

I owe you a week 38 post and I have some news from the OB (yay for some dilation!), which I promise to share tomorrow.

But in the meantime it's time to link up for my Cara Box reveal.

Cara Box was started by Kaitlyn at Wifessionals in an effort to get to know other bloggers and receive super fun mail!  This was my first month participating and I had so much fun with this project.  Each month has a theme and you can read more about how Cara Box works here.

I was paired up with Laurie Created by Laurie and Claire from Gypsy Slow Down.  It was great getting to know both ladies and I had a blast picking out things to send to Claire.  Head over to her blog to see what I sent her in the Cara Box.

I came home on Friday to my awesome box from Laurie.  This month's theme was "Go Green."

  

 Such pretty packaging!

Laurie sent me such great stuff!  I got an adorable reusable tote bag, yummy chocolate hazelnut granola bars, a beautiful gold leaf necklace, plus two gifts for the boys in my life.  The monkey is for the little man and Laurie even sent a great rope and tennis ball toy for Max.

 Max was pretty excited to dig into this.

Thanks so much Laurie for your thoughtfulness!

I am so looking forward to participating in this exchange again.  I think I am going to skip May because it will be a little busy with the little guy's arrival, but I will definitely be doing the Cara Box exchange again.

The One with the Nursery Tour

So I promised about 2 months ago that I would do a full nursery tour of the little man's room once it was done.  Other than one last picture frame to be hung, I think we have finally reached completion.

Well, no that's a lie.

I still have a couple of things on order from PBK, but those are just a few last minute storage bins and a place for dirty laundry so as far as I'm concerned this room is finished.

I am going to post a lot of pictures and also refer back to the other two posts I did about the nursery here and here because a lot of the sources are listed in those posts, including furniture, paint colors and some of the little details.  If there is something you see that I don't have a link or source for and you would like more information, feel free to comment below.

Without further ado...

View from the door with rug from PBT (link in posts above)
Blinds from Select Blinds in Dove Grey

 Crib, sheet, mattress, and sleep sheep from PBK (links in posts above)
Crib skirt from Etsy shop Lublini

Chair (love, love, love!) and Boppy cover from PBK (link in posts above)
TUVE floor lamp from IKEA (the shade actually looks gray with the light on)

Dresser and topper from PBK (link in posts above)

Ubbi diaper pail from BBB
 Storage container from PBK
aden + anais changing pad cover from BBB
Custom painted knobs from Etsy shop Sweet Mix Creations

 Shelf from PBK
Motorola Video Monitor from BBB

Little info on how on organized the dresser.  Not sure how it will work once the little guy arrives, but we are going to try it for now...

 

 Top drawers (L to R): extra supplies for changing, SwaddleMe blankets and receiving blankets, aden + anais swaddle blankets, socks and hats

SKUB boxes from IKEA

 

 Middle drawers (L to R): Onesies (0-3 months and a few 3-6 months), onesies and pants (newborn), pants and shorts (0-3 months)
 

 Bottom drawers (L to R): Pajamas and sleepers, burp cloths, extra bath supplies, and lovies

There is still room between the boxes for some more things to be stored in some of the drawers, so I may add in a few more things as I need them. 

 

 

Baby boy's closet is already filled with stuff as well!  The hanging clothes are the "complete" outfits that we have.

TROFAST frame and buckets from IKEA have shoes, bibs and hats, extra sheets and changing pad covers, and extra SwaddleMe blankets in them.

Stacking drawers  from The Container Store have bigger sized clothes and blankets in them.

I also have some breastfeeding supplies, our baby carriers, and some extra picture frames in there right now.

  

 There is no room for a full-sized bookshelf, so I used these BEKVAM spice racks from IKEA and painted them a grayish color.  They are behind the door in this weird little nook space we have.

We are so very excited to welcome our little guy soon and hope he loves his room!

Thanks for putting up with all the pictures and details!

The One with the Weekly Pregnancy Update

37 Weeks

And I look miserable in this picture.

How far along? 37 weeks (winter melon...WTF is that?!)

Total weight gain/loss: +21 pounds, according to the doctor yesterday morning

From the doctor: Yesterday morning's appointment went well.  Dr. B. did another internal exam and things are still closed for business right now, which is not surprising considering I haven't had any contractions yet.  He said he can feel baby boy's head and that he's pretty low which is definitely good news.  My GBS (Group B Strep) test came back positive.  About 25-30% of normal, healthy woman test positive for this.  All it means is that I will need antibiotics during delivery so that the bacteria doesn't get transferred to the little guy.

Maternity clothes: Nothing but.

Sleep: Hit or miss with this.  Some nights I can get comfy and stay that way for most of the night and other nights I am up a million times rearranging myself and my ginormous belly.
Best moment this week: Just about finished up the nursery (tour post is in draft form and coming later this week) and finally ordered some wedding pictures to frame and hang...we've only been married for almost 2 years!

Miss anything? Eating a normal sized meal.  While this baby may have dropped some, he still pushes on my stomach and makes eating difficult.

Going to miss anything about being pregnant? Not feeling guilty about eating cookies on a regular basis.

Movement: Pretty much all the time.
Food cravings: Bagels with strawberry cream cheese...I don't even like strawberry cream cheese.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Veggies (even the raw ones) still aren't doing much for me.
Gender: boy all the way (although I have read like 3 stories lately about women who were told one gender only to find out at delivery that it's the other...)
Labor Signs: Nada, although I have been having some different kinds of aches and pains lately.
Symptoms: Cankles, backache (especially after going back to work yesterday), heartburn even with meds, groin pain

Major purchases this week? I picked up a few last things for our hospital bags (snacks, nipple butter, chapstick), but I think we have pretty much bought every baby item known to man at this point.

Nursery: Loving how it looks!

How mama is feeling: Yesterday was a pretty good first day back at work, but I am definitely tired.  Moving is becoming slower and slower but I know it is all worth it in the end.

Weekly wisdom: Sleeping on an incline helps with the heartburn.  It's not the most comfortable thing, but it's better than waking up with stomach acid in your mouth.
Looking forward to: Meeting our son and being done with work.

Next appointment: April 29th

The One with the Maternity Pictures

This is going to be a very photo heavy post so be warned now.

On March 30th, Hubs, Max and I headed down and over to Portsmouth, RI to take our maternity pictures with the very talented Joe Laurin.  Joe was recommended to me by Julie Furtado who took our beloved Grizzly's pictures a few summers ago.  Joe was so much fun to work with and I am beyond thrilled with the pictures that he took.  We lucked out with great weather too!

I have already chosen several to print and frame (took me hours to narrow them down btw!)

 

 Don't let this picture fool you...took us about 100 tries to get one decent one!

I am so very happy that we decided to have these pictures taken.  After the long road to get pregnant and knowing that we may not get here again, I never want to forget this time in our lives.

The One with the Showers

Hubs, the little man, and I are so incredibly blessed.  We were lucky enough to be given two showers - one by the amazing people I work with and another by our families.  They happened to fall right near each other (the work one was a surprise) and it was baby gear overload in this house when we brought everything home.

We got a lot of the "big" items off our registries and there wasn't too much we still needed to go get.  My mom purchased our stroller and infant car seat back in February and we have been working on getting Max used to having baby things around the house since then.  I took a lot of advice from friends and family and tried to put a lot of different things on the registries for people to choose from.  I plan to do a review post or two once the little guy arrives on some of the things I chose and what I think about them.  Some of the things that we got included: Ubbi diaper pail, 4Moms Mamaroo bouncer, Motorola video monitor, Britax B-Ready stroller and infant car seat, Boppy pillow, Aden and Anais swaddle blankets, and Medela Pump in Style Advanced breast pump, just to name a few.  One of my co-workers got us a whale bathtub filled with such amazing bath products, toys, and supplies...looking forward to the little man's first bath at home!

Here are some pictures from my work shower...

One of my amazing co-workers made this awesome cake and cupcakes.

The generosity was overwhelming!

I didn't even know where to begin.

My mom made the trip up from CT for the shower and Hubs surprised me by showing up too.

My family shower was the following Saturday and was also so much fun.  One of my aunts generously volunteered to host everyone at her house.  We got a ton of stuff for our guy and it was so nice to celebrate with everyone.

 

These were popcorn favors with white chocolate and M&Ms mixed in.  So delicious!

My wonderful cousin did the centerpieces with beautiful bright yellow tulips and blueberries in the vases.

Such good food!

The presents were set up downstairs so everyone moved down there after we ate.

My grandfather was in the Navy and found these bibs for the little man.

LOTS of clothes came home with us that day!

This was a pretty cool present called The Red Plate.  It's a tradition you start in your family where someone gets to eat off the red plate when they have a special accomplishment or event.  You keep track of the event and date in a journal.  Looking forward to starting this.

I don't eat cake, but apparently this one was quite delicious.

Our living room after everything was unpacked from the car...and several things had already been put away at this point!

Such amazing experiences and we know how lucky we are to have such wonderful people in our lives.  Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!

As I write this, just about everything has been put away, although something tells me more things will appear and I'll need to find a home for them.  

Hope everyone is having a good week!