So in the next 4 weeks (give or take one), we're going to be leaving a hospital with a teeny tiny baby girl... and life as we've known it will never be the same.
This is all starting to feel very, very real.
As in a, wow-oh-my-gosh-am-I-ready-no-help-we're-not-ready-yet sort of way.
Since my last post, we've had our 4 baby showers, and baby things have now taken over our house. ...Mostly in the form of pink clothing, but thankfully not all of it!
I've done four loads of baby-specific laundry.... and pulling out one teeny-tiny outfit after another doesn't seem to lessen the shock of how very small this little one may be.
The baby's room is set up - furniture in place, bedding washed and on the bed, clothes and blankets and bibs and socks and sleepers either folded and in drawers or hung up, all just waiting to be used.
Only a few things left to purchase from our registries -- and thanks to an overabundance of newborn clothes and duplicate books/other items, we have a good bit of store credit to use towards fulfilling the 'basics' we still need. (DH is pretty darn excited about that!)
The baby showers were absolutely beautiful, each one. It was fun to see the different groups of people at each, and of course everyone was overwhelmingly generous and so thoughtful in how each one was planned, decorated, presented. But they were also hard, in a way. Even though it's an amazing feeling to finally be at a baby shower thrown for your own baby -- it doesn't lessen the strange feeling over being at a baby shower--even one you've looked forward to!--after having avoided them or suffered through so many for so long. That's a weird transition. I also don't relish being the center of attention -- so just having that many people eyeing me all at once was a tad disconcerting!
I almost made it through all four with no crying... almost.
But in the end, I am blessed with beautiful memories of each - and DH, Baby J, and I are most definitely blessed by the love and generosity of so many friends and family.
Last weekend we took our 'babymoon' trip down to Seagrove Beach, FL - so nice to get away for a few days! We both took off Thursday and Friday to make it a good long weekend trip and man, was it. We did a whole lotta nothing... which was absolutely fine in my book. Every day we'd walk on the beach for a few hours after breakfast, then go explore the area - either Seaside, which we could walk into, or another local beach town within a short drive of Seagrove. Then we'd have lunch wherever we were, head back to the beach cottage for a short rest (or more Sportscenter, as in the case of DH), and then hit the beach again around 4 or 5 to watch the sun go down and walk more. Every night we tried a different local restaurant - which is always fun in my book. Then we'd stop and get a dollar movie from Redbox and call it an evening. (Note to self - never subject yourself to "The Other Guys" again - it was awful! and move "Red" up in your queue)
We lucked into sunny weather while there, but sadly, it wasn't terribly warm... it was mostly in the low-to-mid 50's during the day, and 30's at night. But at least a) that gave me an additional excuse to avoid any sort of bathing suit experience at 35 weeks, and b) we never really got sweaty during all our beach walking! So there were definitely some good advantages to the cool weather. ..That, and I could cuddle up more to the hubby. Always a plus!
As of Saturday, I'll be 36 weeks and officially in the 'no travel' zone... craziness. This pregnancy has just been flying by for me. ...Which means I need to get a move on getting everything else set up or put away and organized! (yikes) Before I know it, she'll be here!
Body-wise, I am definitely feeling very pregnant these days. Big, uncomfortable, easily flushed and hot, and starting to notice slight swelling in my hands, legs & feet. Even a slight spreading of my feet, which I'd long been praying to avoid (please don't be permanent! I love my fun heels and all my boots!!) The pregnancy waddle is definitely unavoidable now, for which DH gets endless entertainment -- that, and the sound of my groaning as I try to roll from one side to the other during the night... not an easy task, at this point. Braxton-Hicks are becoming a companion to any form of activity - even just walking up the stairs, or from my desk to the restroom at work.
But despite it all, I am grateful for every single second of discomfort. I am just so grateful to be here - to be carrying Little Miss - and to be this close to meeting our little girl.
The next 30 days can't pass quickly enough!
Showing posts with label bellies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bellies. Show all posts
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Almost There....
Saturday, I will have made it to a new milestone... 12 weeks.
I still have trouble believing we're here. That we're pregnant--that there is, in fact, a tiny little person growing and developing in me.
...Maybe by the time I give birth I'll believe it.
My waist has slowly been disappearing over the last week or two, and many of my go-to work pants are getting increasingly tighter around the waistline. I've been able to 'mask' my growing belly with loose-fitting or empire-waisted tops thus far, but I'm starting to realize that this tactic may not succeed much longer.
Today was my first OB visit, post RE-graduation. (again, crazy!)
My OB scanned my belly, trying for a few minutes to find the HB, and had no luck. --You'd think I would have been freaking out, but for some reason, I didn't. She said that depending on where the uterus was situated, the pelvic bone can sometimes prohibit them from finding the HB easily.
Lucky for us (as my DH was there with me), this bought us the opportunity for another u/s, which they hadn't initially planned to do. So we were able to get a few more pictures of Baby J today, and see how much bigger our jumping bean had grown since our last one a few weeks ago, which was nice. The arms and legs were so much more distinctive & developed this time, and we could even see the slight shadows of a tiny little nose and eye sockets on the screen.
That made our day, to know that things are still going well, and Baby J is continuing to grow and develop on track.
We're still thanking God every single night for this blessing, and the opportunity to grow our family...and I wake up each morning, just so thankful that I'm pregnant for another day, that we've made it this far.
Another 'first' for us this weekend: my parents, whom we'll be visiting, have offered to take me maternity-wear shopping.
...I think I was in college the last time they bought me clothes... so let's just say it's been about a decade since such an occurence has happened. --Not that I haven't tried, mind you... it's just that somehow, my wish-list for clothes at birthdays & Christmas somehow translated into Lo.wes or Ho.me De.pot gift cards. (thanks, padre)
So that's kinda exciting - new clothes, paid for by the padres!
Trouble is, I don't know much about maternity wear... what you need, or where to go, etc. Any suggestions on where to shop?
Hope everyone has fun plans for Labor Day. Hooray for 3-day weekends!
I still have trouble believing we're here. That we're pregnant--that there is, in fact, a tiny little person growing and developing in me.
...Maybe by the time I give birth I'll believe it.
My waist has slowly been disappearing over the last week or two, and many of my go-to work pants are getting increasingly tighter around the waistline. I've been able to 'mask' my growing belly with loose-fitting or empire-waisted tops thus far, but I'm starting to realize that this tactic may not succeed much longer.
Today was my first OB visit, post RE-graduation. (again, crazy!)
My OB scanned my belly, trying for a few minutes to find the HB, and had no luck. --You'd think I would have been freaking out, but for some reason, I didn't. She said that depending on where the uterus was situated, the pelvic bone can sometimes prohibit them from finding the HB easily.
Lucky for us (as my DH was there with me), this bought us the opportunity for another u/s, which they hadn't initially planned to do. So we were able to get a few more pictures of Baby J today, and see how much bigger our jumping bean had grown since our last one a few weeks ago, which was nice. The arms and legs were so much more distinctive & developed this time, and we could even see the slight shadows of a tiny little nose and eye sockets on the screen.
That made our day, to know that things are still going well, and Baby J is continuing to grow and develop on track.
We're still thanking God every single night for this blessing, and the opportunity to grow our family...and I wake up each morning, just so thankful that I'm pregnant for another day, that we've made it this far.
Another 'first' for us this weekend: my parents, whom we'll be visiting, have offered to take me maternity-wear shopping.
...I think I was in college the last time they bought me clothes... so let's just say it's been about a decade since such an occurence has happened. --Not that I haven't tried, mind you... it's just that somehow, my wish-list for clothes at birthdays & Christmas somehow translated into Lo.wes or Ho.me De.pot gift cards. (thanks, padre)
So that's kinda exciting - new clothes, paid for by the padres!
Trouble is, I don't know much about maternity wear... what you need, or where to go, etc. Any suggestions on where to shop?
Hope everyone has fun plans for Labor Day. Hooray for 3-day weekends!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Big Bellies & Bridesmaids Dresses
Tonight I'm headed into town to get fitted and place my order for the bridesmaids dress I'll be wearing in December, for the wedding of my college best friend.
While I'm very excited for the upcoming nuptials of my friend, I am less than excited about the process (or let's just say guessing-game, or random shot in the dark) that will go down tonight.
How in the world do you estimate what your size will be in four months, at six mos. pregnant?
I know there are women out there who barely even show at that point (which is crazy, and let me go ahead and say now that I know I won't be one of 'em). Then there are the ones that definitely look six mos preggo---or even those who get teased for looking like they're full-term already.
Which will I be, I wonder? ---of the last two, that is.
Do dress shops have any means of helping expectant moms plan for this sort of thing? ...I briefly considered calling one of the Motherhood Maternity stores nearby and asking if they'd let me borrow their 6-mo. fake belly to take with me to the store tonight... but I figure that would be an odd request to make, so... I'm just going to risk it, and hope that these ladies have seen and dealt with far more difficult planning issues than this.
I finally got to share my news with the bride-to-be yesterday, thank goodness. She is the absolute WORST in communicating... If I hear from her more than twice a year, it's a shockingly good year. If she returns a call or emails within 2-4 months of my last stalking campaign (this girl requires comm-stalking by all available modes of communication: email, FB, text, and phone calls), then I practically fall out of my chair in surprise.
Needless to say, I was relieved to hear from her. It wasn't something I'd wanted to share via email...nor did I want to just show up with a big preggo belly at her wedding in December. So I felt much better after we'd had a chance to talk, and she'd reassured me that she still wanted me in her b-maid line up, even if my belly knocks over the girls next to me.
Wish me luck for tonight, ladies! Anyone want to place bets for how many dress sizes up they make me order? 1? 3? 5? ....this could be scary...!
While I'm very excited for the upcoming nuptials of my friend, I am less than excited about the process (or let's just say guessing-game, or random shot in the dark) that will go down tonight.
How in the world do you estimate what your size will be in four months, at six mos. pregnant?
I know there are women out there who barely even show at that point (which is crazy, and let me go ahead and say now that I know I won't be one of 'em). Then there are the ones that definitely look six mos preggo---or even those who get teased for looking like they're full-term already.
Which will I be, I wonder? ---of the last two, that is.
Do dress shops have any means of helping expectant moms plan for this sort of thing? ...I briefly considered calling one of the Motherhood Maternity stores nearby and asking if they'd let me borrow their 6-mo. fake belly to take with me to the store tonight... but I figure that would be an odd request to make, so... I'm just going to risk it, and hope that these ladies have seen and dealt with far more difficult planning issues than this.
I finally got to share my news with the bride-to-be yesterday, thank goodness. She is the absolute WORST in communicating... If I hear from her more than twice a year, it's a shockingly good year. If she returns a call or emails within 2-4 months of my last stalking campaign (this girl requires comm-stalking by all available modes of communication: email, FB, text, and phone calls), then I practically fall out of my chair in surprise.
Needless to say, I was relieved to hear from her. It wasn't something I'd wanted to share via email...nor did I want to just show up with a big preggo belly at her wedding in December. So I felt much better after we'd had a chance to talk, and she'd reassured me that she still wanted me in her b-maid line up, even if my belly knocks over the girls next to me.
Wish me luck for tonight, ladies! Anyone want to place bets for how many dress sizes up they make me order? 1? 3? 5? ....this could be scary...!
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