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?

the halfway point!

{this girl is growing by the minute! and mama still doesn't make the bed}

Screw the format…I’m going rogue people! Now that I’ve reached the halfway point (!!), I thought I would share some of my takeaways of pregnancy so far.

1. I realized at 20 weeks that I will never, ever sleep through the night again. After several weeks of waking up every three hours times to pee or eat, and again every time my husband makes a weird noise, I realized I’m being conditioned for what lies ahead.  I say, “so long” to the days I wake up feeling rested and “hello” to the burning sensation of toothpicks propping my eyelids open.

2. It’s World Breastfeeding Month and breastfeeding has been loud and proud in the mom world, and beyond (see Olivia Wilde’s photo in Glamour here).  I was raised with an understanding that “breast is best” and plan to give baby girl her meals, snacks, and snuggles straight from the tap as long as she wants it. However, I have a confession. Lactating is not something I associate with being beautiful. Breathtaking, maybe, if you are talking about the immense pain in the beginning stages. I just don’t envision myself turning into a fountain of life/Earth goddess/granola mama. I appreciate the nutritional value of breast milk as well as the convenience and practicality of having a full tap house on my chest. Conversely, I appreciate the idea of pumping into a bottle so my husband can tend to our sweet girl as well. Is it weird that I really just want my baby to be fed, and don’t want to take to a soapbox to preach about it? 

3. I feel bigger at any given time than I did in the previous hour. The rate at which my belly (and backside) is growing is astounding…and I have 18-20 weeks to go! An awesome perk: the bigger we get, the stronger she kicks!

4. My husband is a rockstar. I’ve thought about the huge adjustment he will have to make when baby gets here because he’s not getting the crash course that I am. He’s sleeping comfortably, he’s free to eat and drink what he wants, he doesn’t have the constant flutter to remind him of the little addition joining us soon. However, he’s gained so much more than what he’s missing. He’s acquired patience as I morph from happy to snappy in a blink, or change my mind about dinner after it’s been prepared. He’s grown more nurturing as he sympathizes with all my aches and dries my tears. He's become more sensitive as he dreams about what it’s going to be like to get his nails painted, play dress up and have tea parties. He’s learned to support and love completely with no expectations, which actually makes him more prepared than I am for this life-changing little human. He is very special and I’m grateful he’s my partner in all of this. 

17-19 weeks!

{everybody swears it's a boy…what do you think?!}

How far along? 19 weeks

Weight? 149

Maternity clothes? Yes. And they are practically sacred in my wardrobe now, especially maternity underwear!

Stretch marks? No

Belly button in or out? In

Exercise? The last few weeks have been rather…lazy.

Symptoms? Aside from being visibly pregnant and fielding questions about that (which always catch me off guard because I forget people can freaking SEE it), not much has been going on. Heartburn here and there and random sneezing have been the only weird things that have shown up.

Sleep? I’ve been sleeping well, but have reverted back to super sleepiness throughout the day. My eyes are burning, they want to close so bad!

Movement? I woke up on Thursday the 17^th (17 weeks) to major movement that lasted like 30-45 minutes! I thought that was the start of being able to feel consistent kicks from the outside but I think I just got lucky. Baby has since moved farther from the front and I don’t feel it as forcefully. I can’t wait for Brian to be able to feel for himself! He touches my belly so lightly because he doesn’t want to “hurt the baby."  I’m excited for baby to show papa that it's stronger than he thinks!

Cravings? Ice water like crazy, always thirsty. Oh and weirdest thing so far: cold pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella mixed together with a spoon, like a pizza lunchable with no bread. 

Aversions? Just general pickiness, nothing out of the ordinary.

Mood? Maybe a little snappier and less patient than normal. Maybe.

Miss anything?  Not really

Best moment this week? Brian told me recently that he’s not sure if he wants to find out the sex of the baby after all, so we’ve been bouncing back and forth about finding out or not. It’s been the most baby-centered conversation we’ve had so far so it’s been really fun talking through the possibilities. We still haven’t decided. You’ll know by the next post what ends up happening!!

Looking forward to? Our anatomy scan is THIS THURSDAY! We haven’t had an ultrasound since 8 weeks so to say I’m anxious to see how babypants is doing is a major understatement. Hoping for nothing but good news…and good pictures!

baby Dub clothing haul

Alternate title: My Baby Has No Pants.

I've tried to control myself, I swear. I just. can't. help it!! I'm addicted to buying baby clothes and it's only going to get worse when we find out the sex in a few weeks. I learned from a great friend to never buy baby clothes unless they are on sale with an additional percent off, and I definitely took that to heart. Gap has been running an "additional 40% off sale price" promotion for basically all of July. Some of these onesies from were less than $3! Seriously, find me someone that would pass that up. It's really hard to find anything but onesies that are gender neutral, therefore our sweet winter baby has almost no pants at this point in time. We will hopefully find out the sex at our appointment on July 31st (!!!!!) After that, this baby will be fully decorated from head to toe!

{This haul also includes some awesome gifts from friends and family}

14, 15 & 16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks...yay 2^nd trimester!

Weight? 145

Maternity clothes? Not necessary yet

Stretch marks? No

Belly button in or out? In

Exercise? Still working on staying consistent with a yoga practice. I also revisited the CrossFit world earlier this week for a baseline workout (no weights, just body weight exercises). I was proud of myself for getting back in the gym and completing it, and also surprised at how much my cardiovascular shape has diminished over the last few months. I need to incorporate some lap swimming into my life to build endurance for the marathon I have coming up in 25 short weeks ;)

Symptoms?  I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel and I finally saw it at about 15 weeks. Nausea lifted, headaches ceased, and I was back to bouncing off the walls. So far, the second trimester is all about growing pains. Round ligament pain, pressure, pulling and itchiness are all reminders that baby is doing its job in there! Oh yeah, and my boobs are big. Like biiiig. They feel heavy and bruised. Again, it’s growing season!

Sleep? Good! The only caveat has been random middle-of-the-night starvation. Seriously, last week I woke up at 3:30am with an empty stomach, got up and had 2 bowls of cereal, came back to bed for 5 minutes, got back up and had a bagel. Fortunately, I have no trouble falling back to sleep!

Movement? Goodness gracious, this baby is swimming! I noticed the first swishes around the 14 week mark. They have continued to be subtle and inconsistent, but the more I feel them, the more I can picture little beeb stretching out, flipping over, and doing backstroke. 

Cravings? I just eat a lot of sweets. Period.  And I love ice water. {Can you crave ice water? Is that possible?}

Aversions? Not really. Now that morning sickness awfulness is gone, food tastes amazing again.

Mood? A total 180 from the bluesy, sensitive, dull feelings I had in the first trimester. My personality is back, I can think rationally again and I’m no longer a walking brick wall. It’s pretty remarkable.

Miss anything?  Not really

Best moment this week? Brian and I enjoyed an awesome long weekend with family at the beach, celebrating July 4^th and my dad’s birthday!! I also should mention that being in the 2^nd trimester is so exciting on many levels: My anxiety has curbed a bit, my belly is growing and I feel like I’m making progress on this whole grow-a-human project. Oh, and half-caff iced coffee has been a great addition to the last few weeks. Guilty pleasure.

Looking forward to? My 16 week appointment is this week…excited to hear how our tiny thing is doing!

12 & 13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks

Weight? 140

Maternity clothes? No

Stretch marks? No… but I had a dream about them!

Belly button in or out? In, but wide enough to get sunburned INSIDE it this week. So weird.

Exercise? YOGA = core strength! I love that I’m back in a consistent(ish) practice that fulfills me.

Symptoms? Remember those college nights where you’d pregame with boxed wine, then drank the mystery punch out of a huge trash can, chug cheap beer during flip cup and end the night with a Taco Bell run and a bucket next to the bed? I feel THAT hungover, every day. I’m ridiculously nauseous in the morning, unable to get ready without laying back down to stop the spins. (Fortunately, like in college, a bagel or two will usually help me feel better). I also usually get a wicked headache in the evening, possibly from dehydration. I’ve already noticed back pain, itchy belly  and round ligament pain so I’m terrified excited about how I’ll feel when baby really starts getting cozy.

Sleep? Still tired enough in the afternoon to really want a nap.

Movement? Nothing I can feel yet

Cravings? Apple juice, unsweetened iced tea, bagels with cream cheese and raspberry jelly

Aversions? I’m still struggling with the fact that nothing really sounds good except carbs…loads and loads of carbs. It’s likely that I’ll give birth to a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles named Jimmie. 

Mood? Complicated schedules have prevented Brian and I from spending much, or really any time together lately so that led to an emotional overflow. Also, the first wave of “holy shit, I’m going to be responsible for someone other than myself” is sinking in. Those of you that know me know that I can barely keep up with my own basic needs, so this is a scary concept.

Miss anything?  Not really

Best moment this week? Hearing baby’s heartbeat on Thursday was a great moment that I wish could have lasted longer. Also, baby’s Facebook debut on Father’s Day! This baby is loved by so many and mama and daddy are so grateful to have a village supporting us in this adventure.

Looking forward to? Getting bigger! I know it sounds crazy but now that I have a donut pooch, I’m so ready for it to blossom into a full-blown baby belly.

I donut think I said bagel enough in this post so I leave you with this joke:

         Why do seagulls live by the sea?

         Because if they lived by the bay, they’d be called baygulls!

You laughed.  Don't lie.