Today is Baby T’s due date! Since I’m writing this, you’ve probably figured out that she has not yet arrived.
We are very patiently waiting for her to join us and are just so incredibly excited for her to finally be here! We will keep you posted on when that happens to be.
Today is officially my first day of maternity leave! I’m proud to say I’ve been quite productive so far. I’ve deep cleaned the entire house, vacuumed, dropped off dry cleaning, unloaded the dishwasher, did 5 loads of laundry, and so much more. Some might say it’s nesting but I honestly have always loved cleaning especially on my days off. I knew that when Baby T arrives, the last thing we will want to do is deep clean the house so this is my last chance before she arrives and I’m so happy to have the time to do it.
Another thing on my to-do list for this week – figure out some time to paint my toes… or I should say figure out if I’m still capable of painting my toes. Last time I painted them was when I was about 7 months pregnant and man was it quite the task. It was much harder to navigate around my baby bump than I thought. That belly has only grown larger so I may end up throwing in the towel and heading to a nail salon.
I also plan on going on daily walks and resting as much as possible.
Tomorrow will be exactly one week until the due date. It’s only a matter of time until we get to meet our little girl!
Taken before our delicious Easter brunch!
We’re getting closer! I kind of wish I organized my weekly updates like this from the beginning but oh well!
Bump Update: I’m constantly amazed at how large my belly is these days. Now, when I sit down, my belly rests on my legs which is the strangest feeling ever. The only comfortable sitting position for me lately is sitting on an exercise ball. And, I officially look like I’m smuggling a basketball under my shirt. It’s nuts! I’m told that from the back I don’t look pregnant at all but, let me tell you, I definitely do from the side!
Sleep: My sleeping isn’t horrible. I can’t really get comfortable but I do fall asleep right away and stay asleep the entire night except for the occasional bathroom breaks. It doesn’t really bother me though because I literally fall right back asleep. CJ says that I move around a lot at night and he wakes up a couple times in the middle of the night to rotate me back onto my side (since that’s better for circulation). Unfortunately, that means that my poor husband isn’t sleeping through the night anymore.
Food: I really really enjoy the taste of a nice cool milkshake or ice cream in general. But milkshakes are really where the party’s at. I’m not having them more than once or twice a week but, boy do I enjoy them when I have them. Other than the occasional milkshake, I’m generally eating really healthy.
Weight Gain: I’ve gained the perfect amount for my size! My doctor says it’s been steady throughout the pregnancy and has been a healthy amount. I don’t plan on revealing any actual numbers though. 🙂
Baby T: During our weekly appointments, we’re told she has a perfect heartbeat and is measuring large. I knew I had a big baby in there! She gets the hiccups allll the time and loves moving around all day. She’s quite an active little one and I love every minute of it.
Work: Tomorrow is my last day at work before maternity leave starts. I’ve been working from home the past couple of weeks which has helped avoid any stress from commuting. But it’s definitely bittersweet – I’m really going to miss everyone at work and miss my job because I truly love what I do, but at the same time I’m sooo excited to relax a bit before Baby T arrives and plan to soak up all the time I get with her over these next few months. I know it will be hard to return to work when the time comes.
Nursery: It is officially complete!
Other than that, we had a lovely Easter this last Sunday which wouldn’t have been complete without a delicious Easter brunch!
In approximately 3 weeks (depending on when Baby T decides to join us), we will be holding our little girl in our arms for the first time. It feels so surreal and is SO exciting!!
We’re definitely ready for her arrival – car seat is in the car, stroller is set up, glider is put together, nursery is done, overnight bag is packed, diaper bag is packed, all of her clothes that we’ve received as gifts have been washed and put away… You name it, I’m sure we’ve done it.
Over the New Years Eve weekend, I started to teach myself how to crochet and have officially finished my first blanket for Baby T this weekend! I’m pretty proud of myself for actually finishing it. I’ve tried so many times to teach myself to crochet/knit over the years but have never gotten close to actually finishing a project so this is a momentous occasion. I have my amazing husband CJ to thank for keeping me motivated.
We had two date nights last weekend since we won’t get many of those once she arrives and it was so nice. I will never ever take date nights for granted, that’s for sure. We also have a gift card to one of our favorite restaurants in Walnut Creek that we’re saving for our first date night after she arrives…whenever we’re ready to venture out on our own.
We still can’t believe that we’re going to be meeting our little girl so soon. I know that she’s been in my belly for the past 8.5 months and feel her moving around in there all the time (she has quite the dance moves!) but it’s still crazy to think that we’re going to officially be parents in a few weeks. The suspense is killing us! But, we’re happy to wait until the due date for her to come, we wouldn’t want to rush her out. 😉
As far as how I’ve been doing, not much has changed since my last update except my belly has grown quite a bit more. I’m still sleeping well and am not too uncomfortable. Although, if I’m walking or standing for an extended period of time, I definitely feel it in my back. And it’s really hard to get in a comfortable position when sitting down but I eventually figure it out. I’m trying to stay active so wearing my fitbit every day has kept me aware of how much walking I’ve been doing. I have a pregnancy workout DVD as well which I’ve been doing and really enjoy. It’s only 30 minutes for each workout but I definitely feel a difference after I’m done.
We took another hospital tour last weekend as a “refresher course” since we last took the tour in January and wanted to make sure we were fully prepped on all the details of how to arrive and check in. It was nice to do another walk through before the big day. I can’t even tell you how excited we are for her to be here.
We also can’t wait to tell everyone her name and show off her nursery – along with obviously showing off our adorable little girl! We’ve been calling her by her name when it’s just the two of us around so it will be nice for everyone else to finally know. I’ve had a few sneaky individuals try to trick me into saying her name but I didn’t fall for it! They will have to wait with the rest of the world to find out.
My last day at work before maternity leave is next Friday (April 25) and I have so much to do before I’m gone. My coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower which was the sweetest thing ever. It was definitely a perfect example of why I love my job and love the people I work with.
We are so ready for our little girl to join us! We can’t believe that we only have 7 weeks left and then she’ll be here (if she’s on time).
We had our checkup with the doctor last Friday and when I told the nurse that the pregnancy has gone by so quickly, she looked surprised and said, “You’re the first person who’s ever said that to me.” I can understand how my opinion would change if I had morning sickness throughout the entire pregnancy or one of the other less positive side effects of pregnancy but I really do think it’s flown by! Then again, at the same time, I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever. Not in a negative way, I just feel like it’s become the norm that I can’t eat my coveted over easy eggs or enjoy a cold deli sandwich. Yes, I think those two things are what I’ve missed the most during pregnancy. You better believe it when I say that those will be one of the first things I eat after Baby T joins us! I can’t wait!
The nursery is pretty much done at this point. We have some minor items we want to add to the room but, if she came tomorrow, we would be prepared for the early arrival.
As far as how I’m feeling, I’m definitely feeling much bigger now. I get out of breath easier, am feeling more tired, and have been getting some acid reflux which is no fun. Tums are my new BFF, if you were wondering. Those little things work wonders! Some days my feet seem to be a teeny bit swollen but not a ton. I notice it mostly after a full day of work and wearing flats. I have been drinking a TON of water which I think has been helping make things easier… not to mention, I’m thirsty all the time.
We’ve been attending some classes that our hospital puts on for expectant parents which have been really helpful. So far, we’ve taken Childbirth Prep, Breastfeeding, Infant/Child CPR, Shopping for a Car Seat, and a Newborn Care class. We figured the more classes, the merrier. We’ve been reading some books (What to Expect When You’re Expecting for Me, Baby 411 for CJ) which have been helping us throughout the pregnancy and for when she arrives. We might schedule another hospital tour just to make sure we’re all prepared for D-Day since we took the tour in January and our memory might be a little rusty.
P.S. A huge thank you to our photographer Kelly Boitano for taking such wonderful maternity photos! Check her out, she’s amazing and sooo sweet! www.kellyboitano.com
Wow, I can’t believe we’re already 30 weeks along!! I would be posting updates more often but not much has changed since the last time I posted. I just have a bigger baby bump and more people are noticing it now. The most common phrase I hear these days is either “Woah! You’re pregnant!” (from someone at work) or “Congratulations! When are you due?” (when we’re out and about). I think people now feel safe to make a comment because it’s clear that I’m growing a baby and I didn’t just eat a big burrito.
I’m feeling the same – she’s kicking regularly and I’m loving it! We are soo excited to meet her and cannot believe that there are only 10 weeks left of the pregnancy. We fall more and more in love with her every day and will never get tired of feeling her kick.
So far, the only person that has felt Baby T kicking is CJ. My favorite moments are when the two of us can feel her kicking together. It’s such a special feeling and I love sharing that between the two of us. It still would feel awkward to have someone hold their hand to my belly waiting for a kick with no guarantee that they’ll feel anything. Plus, it’s my belly… it’s still weird to me to think of other people touching it. My opinion might change but that’s how I feel right now.
My cravings haven’t changed – I still want to eat clementines all day every day! They are just so delicious.
I’m sleeping like a rock right now (knock on wood) and haven’t been having any back pain. Now that I’m in my third trimester, I’m guessing that will change but I’ve been savoring this luxury while I still have it.
The nursery is moving along nicely – it’s officially our favorite room in the house. We’re so excited for the big reveal once Baby T is born! We like keeping it under wraps so I’m not going to give you much more detail other than the fact that we love it.
Hello everyone! Today we are officially 6 months into the pregnancy – woohoo!
This was taken last week. Apologies for the iPhone photo, I promise I will post a better one next time although I do love this one.
The most common question I get is, “How are you feeling?” and I’ve been feeling great! I’m not especially exhausted, no headaches, no nausea anymore (knock on wood!) so all is good. I do tend to get out of breath easier when I’m climbing stairs or doing a lot of activity but I can’t complain. This has been such an amazing experience so far and it’s all worth it. I’ve been trying to join CJ at the gym once or twice a week to stay active and, the other days, I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to walk places to get some exercise in (shout out to my fitbit for keeping track of my step count!). I’ve been sleeping really well too but I have a feeling that will change once I’m further along, at least, that’s what I’ve heard from other moms.
In the first trimester, when people would tell me that they loved being pregnant, I would think to myself, “How could you love being nauseas 24/7??!” but now I understand. Everyone has a different experience, but for me, the nausea went away after the first trimester and I really have loved every minute of it since. My favorite part, above everything else, is feeling Baby T kick. It seriously is the coolest thing in the whole world especially when CJ can feel. Every week she gets a little bit stronger and we feel her on the outside more often. Now, once in a while, we can feel some body parts move past an area on my belly! I can’t even explain how cool it is and how happy it makes us. We already love her so much and can’t wait to meet her in a few short months. I definitely know I will miss feeling her kicks.
For my birthday, we went to a 3D/4D ultrasound place and finally got to see her cute little face. It was so fun and the best gift ever! We might be biased but we think she is just absolutely adorable! We also got a cute little teddy bear with a recording of her heartbeat which will be really fun to show her as well as a few other goodies. I highly recommend doing that to anyone who’s expecting a little one.
As far as how the nursery is coming along – we are slowly making progress. We got rid of all of the guest room furniture – we sold the bed and the nightstand to our friend and brought the dresser to my parent’s cabin in Arnold. We’re glad the furniture will be put to good use because they still have many years left in their lives. CJ painted a second coat of the wall color since we only did one coat when we first moved in and our uneven wall surface definitely needed a second coat to get all the spots we missed. Now, we’re working on getting the furniture and goodies to fill up the room. We’ve decided that we’re not going to reveal the room to anyone (other than ourselves obviously) until Baby T arrives. We thought it would be nice to keep that a surprise along with her name. So, no photo updates will be posted on the blog or shared with anyone until after her arrival. We are really excited for what we have planned for the nursery and are excited to share the final result once she’s here.
People are definitely noticing that I’m pregnant now when we’re out and about which is fun. I do get a little shy when people start asking questions because I’m not used to the attention but I still enjoy it. And luckily, no one has come up to rub my belly uninvited – success! I still think that’s the weirdest thing that people could do that without an invitation but, to each his/her own.
And lastly, I’ve been asked if I’ve had any strange pregnancy cravings – not yet! The only pregnancy craving I’ve had is for clementines. Oh dear those little cuties are so incredibly delicious, I could eat an entire box of them if I had no self-control. Actually, I have to give most of that credit to CJ because he’s been looking out for me and making sure I haven’t been binge eating clementines. Luckily, they are a healthy craving!
And oh my goodness, we are so excited!! I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the day when we found out. Actually, I don’t think I really have stopped smiling. Knowing a little bit more about our little one who will be joining us in May makes it so much more real and exciting.
The ultrasound told us only good news – she has all her fingers and toes, perfect measurements, healthy heart, etc. Although, me being a huge fan of photos, I really wanted to see her little face but she just wasn’t in the mood to reveal herself just yet. She had her arms up on both sides of her face so we couldn’t see anything other than her tiny little hands, cute little fingers, and her ears. We were in and out of the appointment in what seemed like 10 minutes, it was so quick and efficient! They gave us a CD of some of the photos that they took but, unfortunately, we didn’t get a copy of her profile. No worries, we’re just happy we have a healthy baby girl!
The overwhelming majority of people guessed that we were having a girl but we were unsure the whole time. We didn’t really have a feeling either way and the only thing I was sure about was whether or not we were having a girl or boy, we would have been ecstatic.
We told most of our family and friends the same day we found out. At first, we thought maybe we should do some big reveal but, after we found out, we were just too excited to wait. It would have been cute though to wrap little gifts for everyone and have everyone open them together on Christmas to find out the gender. We weren’t patient enough for something like that. 🙂
Now that we know we’re having a girl, we can start registering and planning the nursery. We’re going to start working on the nursery in January after the holiday season. CJ has already started working on sanding the baby furniture that will be going in the room and then we will paint it a nice shade of white. We’re most likely going to stick with the gray, yellow, and white color scheme that we originally planned but we’ll see. We might end up doing gray, white, and a soft pink. Who knows! You’ll have to wait and see.
There are sooo many cute clothes out there and now that I know we’re having a girl, I’ve been obsessing over a few:
Carters 3-piece Elephant dot set
There are so many cute items! But I haven’t bought anything yet, I’m trying to control myself until after the holidays. 🙂
We’ve had a lot of people asking what her name will be or making comments like, “Now that you know it’s a girl, you can start picking names!” Well, we’ve already done a lot of research on baby names but have decided not to reveal her name until she’s born. We think it will be fun to keep it a surprise! I promise you, it will be beautiful. 🙂
So, as I mentioned in our previous post, we’ve known about Baby T being on the way for several months now. In these past few months, we’ve mostly been reading books to learn about what to expect during the pregnancy and how to prepare for when the baby comes. But, a couple weeks ago, CJ and I were talking about how we’d like to decorate the nursery (what is currently the guest room) and I decided to start looking for some ideas online. I found a few cute ideas that went with what we were envisioning on Pinterest and decided to “pin” them.
Once we made the big announcement, we had at least three ladies tell us that they suspected something when they saw me pinning nurseries. Maybe I’m just an amateur Pinterest user (I only went on when planning our wedding, to find ideas for a baby shower that my sister and I are planning for our lovely cousin, and occasionally to get cute outfit ideas) but I would never have suspected anything if I saw someone pinning nurseries. Maybe because I’ve pinned cute baby outfit ideas years ago and was pinning wedding ideas before being engaged, but I tend to think that pinning is for you to save an idea for later… whether or not that “later” is in the near future or way down the line. But anywho, I learned my lesson. No “pinning” unless you don’t care about people suspecting something before a big announcement. 🙂
So, what are our plans, you might ask? The room is currently painted a light gray which is a nice neutral color so we are thinking about painting large white stripes on one of the walls as an accent wall. We might have the color scheme stay gray, yellow, and white. But we’re not sure yet, we want to wait to see if we are having a little boy or girl.
Here are a few ideas we have:
Nursery Idea #1 – Love the branch idea
Nursery Idea #2 – Love the stripes. These are on all walls but still super cute.
Nursery Idea #3 – Here’s closer to what we were thinking for the wall color.
I like the overall theme of the first two photos better and how light and airy to room feels but I think we might just paint one wall like in the 3rd photo. We’ll see. 🙂
For all the moms out there, how did you decide how to decorate your nursery? We’re pretty excited to get started on the project but are planning on waiting until after the holidays.
So you see, we'll always have memories... A scrapbook for our mind.
Love & Then Some 