What a week, my sweets!  We are really starting to get this house ready for a baby— my due date is two months from today… eeek!  I’ve been cleaning and organizing and buying up a storm.  By this time next week, I think we’ll have everything we need to welcome baby girl and keep her happy and healthy for the first couple of months.

It’s amazing how different the nursery feels now that it’s stocked with baby goods.  Before this week, it felt a bit like it had been staged for an open house or something, but now I can picture her in there and it makes everything feel more real!  I think we’re finally ready to take some photos, so hopefully I can give you an official tour on the blog next week :)

How far along? 31 Weeks
Baby is the size of: A head of lettuce
Total weight gain: 13.5 pounds
Gender: It’s a girl!
Name: We have a name, but we’re not monogramming anything or making it totally official until we meet her.
Maternity Clothes: Still recycling the same looks over and over… it seems silly to buy much in the way of maternity clothes now since this pregnancy could be over in as little as six weeks.
Stretch marks? I’ve got some little white ones around my belly button, but they’re not bad and hard to see in most light.
Sleep: Generally, sleep is not easy.  But I’ve had a couple of “good” nights this past week, which has been MUCH needed and quite lovely (even if I still had to get up multiple times for the bathroom.)
Movement: She’s still moving like crazy… it’s pretty easy to feel all her limbs and even her little booty when she moves.  Trav loves it :)
Best moment this week: I had an AMAZING prenatal massage on Monday that made my body feel better than it had in months!  It was seriously heaven…
Miss Anything: I feel like some part of my body hurts all the time now.  I miss the days when that was not the case :)
Belly button in or out? It’s kinda half in, half out.  The top is popping out, but the bottom is still in a little bit.
Food cravings: Chocolate has been high on my list this week: thank God for chocolate mochi, pretzels & nutella, and Trader Joe’s truffle brownies— yummmm!
Anything making you queasy or sick: I’ve been getting tiny waves of random nausea if I’m too full or if baby girl moves the wrong way, but it’s not bad.
Labor Signs: A crazy number of Braxton Hicks… hoping this means my body will be extra ready for the real thing.
Symptoms: Achy back, heart burn… nothing new, really :)
Wedding ring on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: It’s hard to discern one from the other sometimes.  I’d say that in general I feel overwhelmed by the fact that we’re having a baby so soon.  I’m SO excited to meet her, but I’m also nervous.  Lots of emotions all at once.
Looking forward to: We’re headed up to Chico this weekend to celebrate my little brother’s college graduation!!  I am SO proud and so excited for him.  I’m also ridiculously excited to float around in the hotel pool :)

Hope you all are having a lovely week! xo

I think I’ve finally recovered from my baby shower this past Sunday… what a day!  LOTS of women, lots of beautiful details, and lots of love for our sweet babe.  The shower was held at my parent’s house (the same place we got married!) and my mom went all out with the girly cuteness.  She made all of the food and the majority of the decor herself.  Want to see some photos?

{the pom poms over the dessert bar were hand made by my mom!}

{guests left sweet advice and/or wishes for me and baby girl in this “bucket of blessings”}

{decorating the cupcakes was my biggest contribution… confession: this took FOREVER, haha}

{a girly shower wouldn’t be complete without nail polish party favors!}

{me and my sweet momma}

{in this photo, I’m wearing a special labor necklace created from beads brought by our guests… more on that in a future post!}

Now that the shower is over, it really feels like baby girl’s arrival is imminent!  I can’t believe I could give birth in as little as 6 weeks… yikes!!

(P.S. My maternity dress is from ASOS.)

Ooooh, man!  3/4 of the way there and I am getting SO ready to have this baby out of me!!!  (I had a particularly rough night last night— she was head down and super active from the hours of 3 a.m.-5:15, which was both painful and kept me from sleeping during that time— so that definitely has something to do with it.)

Last night, we took a tour of the hospital we’re using as our backup if I end up needing to get induced or if we need an OB/GYN during my labor (did I mention that we’re planning a home birth?) and I met two ladies who are due in the next few weeks.  Rather than being happy for them, I was insanely jealous that they get to meet their babies before me… we’ll chalk that up to pregnancy hormones ;)

Anyway, let’s hope time moves into overdrive for the next 2 months!

How far along? 30 Weeks
Baby is the size of: A butternut squash (Trav’s favorite!)
Total weight gain: 12.5 pounds
Gender: It’s a girl!
Name: We have a name, but we’re not monogramming anything or making it totally official until we meet her.
Maternity Clothes: Basically, if it’s not maternity, it better be yoga pants.
Stretch marks? I’ve got some little white ones around my belly button, but they’re not bad and hard to see in most light.
Sleep: Uhhh, some night are better than others (see rant above.)
Movement: If it’s possible for her to have gotten MORE active this week, it happened.  Basically, at this point, 50% of her movements are not-so-comfortable.
Best moment this week: My sweet husband and family celebrated my first Mother’s Day!  It was pretty unexpected… I wasn’t sure if being pregnant “counts” as being a mom.  But they were all exceptionally sweet and it made me feel so loved.
Miss Anything: I feel like some part of my body hurts all the time now.  I miss the days when that was not the case :)
Belly button in or out? It’s kinda half in, half out.  The top is popping out, but the bottom is still in a little bit.
Food cravings: Strawberries are still a staple and I’ve been really into icey things lately— ice water, iced coffee, shave ice, etc…
Anything making you queasy or sick: I’ve been getting tiny waves of random nausea if I’m too full or if baby girl moves the wrong way, but it’s not bad.
Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton Hicks and other weird crampy feelings… they’re getting more and more uncomfortable, whereas before it was just a sensation.  Wishing I didn’t have to ride these symptoms out for another TEN weeks!
Symptoms: Achy back, heart burn, sore ribs (both from her kicking and from my rib cage itself expanding).
Wedding ring on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Every day is different, but overall I’m doing pretty well mood-wise.  I’m generally more sappy than ever, though… doesn’t take much to make me cry these days :)
Looking forward to: My baby shower this weekend!!  I’m a little nervous about all the attention (I cried before my bridal shower because I was so anxious!), but I’m really looking forward to visiting with a bunch of special women that I hardly ever get to see.

P.S. Check out what happened to my belly button this week :)

I thought I’d share a snapshot or two of the DIY manicure I gave myself earlier this week.  I’ve been sticking to pretty basic shades lately, but I had fun switching it up with this gold and coral combo.

To get the stripes, I painted my nail coral and let the polish dry overnight.  (You don’t have to wait that long, but you’ll want to wait at least an hour or two to make sure you don’t smudge your base color.)  Then, I cut tiny strips of washi tape at a diagonal and laid them across the nail.  Washi tape is great because it’s not too sticky and peels off the nail really easily.  I painted two coats of gold over the entire nail and made sure to carefully remove the tape before the gold was completely dry.

Pretty darn easy!

My coral shade is Sally Hansen’s Coral Reef.  The gold is Sally Hansen’s Golden-I.  And the top coat is Seche Vite (which is so much better than anything you’ll find at a drugstore… it keeps nails from chipping for days and creates the perfect shiny finish!)

Aw, man!  Last week’s belated belly post pushed this one back as well.  I’m 30 weeks tomorrow… I promise this will be the catch up week!

Until then, here’s last week’s update :)

How far along? 29 Weeks
Baby is the size of: A cabbage (although she feels more like a soccer ball!)
Total weight gain: 12.5 pounds
Gender: It’s a girl!
Name: We have a name, but we’re not monogramming anything or making it totally official until we meet her.
Maternity Clothes: My motto: stretchy clothes or no clothes at all.
Stretch marks? I’ve got some little white ones around my belly button, but they’re not bad and hard to see in most light.
Sleep: I’m able to fall asleep pretty easily, but I’m still up many times a night.  It’s honestly not that bad, I’m getting used to it for sure.
Movement: I’m getting more and more nervous to see what kind of baby she is once she makes her big appearance… I’m pretty sure she’s going to come out doing cartwheels!
Best moment this week: Would it be bad if I said my favorite moment was eating a strawberry & nutella belgian waffle at the Alameda Antiques Faire?  Ok, good :)
Miss Anything: I’m definitely starting to miss my pre-pregnancy body.  Not just how I looked, but mostly how spry I felt.  (Of course, I didn’t realize how spry I felt, but now that I’ve got this belly weighing me down… I’d love to just be able to jump on a trampoline!  haha)
Belly button in or out? In, but definitely getting flatter.
Food cravings: Strawberries are still a staple and I’ve been really into icey things lately— ice water, iced coffee, shave ice, etc…
Anything making you queasy or sick: I’ve been getting tiny waves of random nausea if I’m too full or if baby girl moves the wrong way, but it’s not bad.
Labor Signs: I get Braxton Hicks allll the time, but no real labor obviously
Symptoms: Still a lot of achiness and crazy heartburn.
Wedding ring on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Every day is different, but overall I’m doing pretty well mood-wise.
Looking forward to: Getting together with my whole family for a Giants game on Saturday!*

*This just happened this past Saturday, but as I said, I’m a week behind ;)

xo