9 Things in 99 Days!

Today I reached the "99 days to go" milestone! True procrastinator that I am, I have a list of things that I really want to accomplish before our little miss joins us and haven't yet. Here are 9 things I'm committing to as we count down the 99 days until my due date:

1. Practice yoga 3 times a week. The aches and pains associated with growing a human have really set in and I am often uncomfortable. Yoga will help me stretch and open up tight muscles and joints as we continue to grow. I also know a regular yoga practice will be crucial in getting my body and mind prepared for labor and delivery. I'm gonna Om the hell out of some contractions.

2. Complete home projects. There are some things that I really want to get done, not only to finish her nursery but also to get our home ready for the changes that are coming. I have a stack of "simple" tasks that I have procrastinated up until now…
 *hang wedding photos (two years later)
 *reorganize the kitchen storage to make room for baby things that we'll be using often
 *clean out our closets of clothes we never wear
 *refinish a couple pieces of furniture that will go in her room
 *create a solution for storing medical records, insurance information, and other important documents

3. Buy new shoes. Such a hardship right? I work on my feet and plan to keep doing so through December, but I'm already feeling the effects of not so supportive shoes (TOMS, Rainbow flip-flops, etc.) I need to make the switch to high-support alternatives if I'm going to get through the third trimester on my feet. I'm really trying to avoid the Dansko/Clarks/Crocs/Keen look, but I fear I'll end up unsuccessful. Suggestions?

4. No more soda. I am embarrassed to admit that I allowed myself to slip back into the bad habit I had kicked years ago. In my pregnancy stupor, I craved the combination of sweetness and carbonation. Well, we have a lot of holidays coming up in the next 99 days and I would rather eat my calories instead of drinking them.

5. Dive deeper into the blogosphere. I want to use this blog to chronicle my adventures in parenting, sharing the good, bad and crazy. I don't want to stress about the quality of my photos or gaining more followers. However, I do want to learn as much as I can about how to improve as a blogger and ultimately, be proud of the content I create.

6. Embrace parental responsibility. Tasks in this category include: find a pediatrician, evaluate our life insurance/create wills, verify insurance coverage, plan for maternity leave. I would love to hire an administrative assistant but that's unfortunately not in the budget. (See #7).

7. Spend money wisely. We have been working on creating and implementing a budget that works for us and we've found that it is not an overnight process. My husband's well-intended solution, "stop spending money", didn't work so we're on to plan B. What's plan B? Being more intentional with our money and looking at our finances as they apply to the whole month. Proactivity versus reactivity, a tough change to make mentally but will make all the difference over time.

8. Love my husband. Treasure our last 99 days as a twosome. Go on dates (the hospital tour doesn't count).  Dream about the future. Tell him how much I appreciate him. Fill our love tanks before baby bug crashes the party.

9. Soak up the amazing people in my life and honor what they mean to me. The words of wisdom from other mamas, amazing compliments from acquaintances from the past, laughter and love shared with good friends...I want to bottle it all up so I can swig from it when things get tough. I am so touched by all the people that have made me feel supported and empowered over the last few months. You know the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child"? Well, I could not be luckier to bring my sweet girl into my incredible village. She is loved so much already, my heart is bursting with gratitude.

22-24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks

Weight? 156

Maternity clothes? Yes, and I went ahead and purchased a nursing bra and tank to replace old bras and tanks that don’t fit anymore. Almost immediately after making the switch, I started having breastfeeding dreams. So strange.

Stretch marks? No

Belly button in or out? In

Exercise? Yoga, although standard poses are getting a little more difficult as belly gets in the way. I’m planning to switch to prenatal classes in my third trimester.

Symptoms? Heartburn, hunger, headaches, oh my! I’ve also noticed more upper back pain as my posture changes. I’ve been taking a lot of warm baths to relieve the discomfort. Oh, and my boobs are leaking, that’s a weird one.

Sleep? I wish I had gotten a body pillow that was more substantial. The $10 polyester-fill one from Target isn’t really cutting it as far as support. I still wake up every few hours to adjust and get comfortable again. I am surprised that I can still sleep on my stomach though!

Movement? So much!! She’s only quiet and still when I’m loud and moving (like at work).  If I have a lazy, relaxing day at home, she kicks like crazy the whole time. She’s kicking my laptop as I sit typing this. Sometimes kicks are right on the surface of my belly and you can see them from the outside. Other times, it feels like she is in my butt….seriously. I have a feeling she’ll sleep through anything except silence when she gets here which means we’ll have a lot of rocking and singing and bouncing to do to get her to sleep J 

Cravings? Peanut butter on a spoon as dessert (every day)

Aversions? Just general pickiness, nothing out of the ordinary

Mood? Pretty good. No epic meltdowns to speak of.

Miss anything? The taste of a super spicy, full bodied red wine or an amazingly bubbly glass of champagne. I’ve been known to tongue my friend’s glasses recently, just for a taste.

Best moment this week? Feeling lots of movement and learning her patterns over the last few weeks has been awesome. We had an in-depth ultrasound of her heart to rule out any congenital heart defects (everything looked good…yay!), so we had the opportunity to see her little face again! She’s growing well and gaining weight, already up to 1 lb 6 oz! Oh, I also got salted caramel ice cream from an amazing ice cream shop in downtown Annapolis TWICE in one week. In a homemade waffle cone. The. Bomb. 

Looking forward to? We’re taking a week off work at the end of September to get things more organized and ready for little miss baby bug’s arrival. We have a lot of rearranging and cleaning to do!! We will also be celebrating my twin nephews’ 4^th birthdays and Brian’s 29^th! And even more exciting, I'm looking forward to writing consistent blog posts! Currently, I'm setting a goal of twice a week. How does that sound?