33 Weeks...

How far along are you? 33 Weeks!

Total Weight gain/loss? Holding steady so far....under 30lbs:)

Stretch marks? Nope:)

Baby Movement? I had this odd feeling like he was doing spirit fingers right over my hip bones....odd...

Best moment this week? Getting the closet system in and organizing his room!

Food Cravings? Nothing really again - just hungry all the time and trying to find healthy snacks vs. junk

Belly button in or out? Yea, just needs to give it up already..it's half in and half out

Milestones?   Making progress on the name game.  We don't have anything picked out yet but we at least have whittled our long list down to a short one.  Sorry folks, we're not sharing until after he's born - you'll just have to be surprised!
 
Weekly Wisdom?  There's no shame in calling the doc when you're not sure if you're having braxton hicks or real contractions.  Being a first time mom, we have no idea what we're supposed to feel.

Oooo...pretty.....

How pretty is this?

I stumbled upon it while browsing etsy.com - It's a Gypsy Rose Handbag.  A camera bag that doesn't look like a camera bag!  Seeing my recent obsession with photography (more so than ever before if that's possible), I think I need one:)

It has nothing to do with the baby (other than I'll be taking lots and lots of pics of him once he's here) but it certainly is pretty...

Mobile Crazy...

So I was going back and forth with a fellow blogger over at Baby Booties  about nursery deco and she's looking for a good mobile that's not too girlie or cheap looking.  Knowing that I've seen a number of them in my travels on the internet I set out looking again for answers for her and just happened to find something I think I might do for little man's room (since the mobile that goes with his bedding is like $60!).

There are tons of cute ones out there for sure but finding one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg but that doesn't look cheap is harder so...I think I might DIY one!  Here's some inspiration:

The Butterfly Mobile at Indie Fixx:

But I'd do woodland creatures rather than butterflies....

The Bird Mobile over at Spool Sewing:

 

This one I love love love but I'm so not a sewer that's for sure and I dont know how I'd do woodland creatures on this (or maybe I'd just leave it as birds but again, so not a sewer!)

The Pinwheel Mobile over at Chickpea Sewing Studio

This is actually a pretty neat idea! It's kinda theme neutral and you can use scraps of fabric (or even heavy paper is you're really crafty).  You can make it to match any color scheme!

Anyways...now I'm inspired and am heading out to find good patterns for woodland creatures to go with my idea....i'll post progress/results as I make them!

365 Days of Photos...

I have a second blog that I run that has to do with all of our photography exploits:)  We've spent alot of time behind the camera as amateurs and have learned a lot on our own.  As part of this new year I've decided to start a 365 blog which means I'll take a picture a day every day of the year and post it to the blog (generally every few days).  The point of the project is to become more familiar with your camera and improve your photography skills.  I thought it was good preparation for our baby to be so that he'll be the most fantastically documented little man on the planet:)

Currently the pics are a bit mundane because it's been super cold here, there's no baby yet, and work has been a beast so I dont get out much to find interesting subjects. But, so far I've kept up!  I have a picture for every day of this year.

Check it out!  My Photography Blog

Organized....

Quite a productive weekend this time round.  I met up with the M54 girls for lunch (all of them are due right around when I am so we were trading pregnancy war stories:) ), I finally got the closet system up in Bigfoot's closet, DH got the window casing in in the kitchen and we got the tile backsplash ordered for the kitchen!  Not to mention I spent way too much time at Target again and added JoAnn Fabrics to the mix just for fun!

Here are pics of his closet:

Before:

After:

And his new toy cubby in the corner....soon to be relocated when we rearrange the room.

Braxton Hicks ahoy....

The last few days I have my first real taste of Braxton Hicks (at least that's what I think and hope it is:) ).  They're not completely painful but very very uncomfy.  They got so bad one day that I popped out my laptop from the dock and crawled into bed to finish my work day (with two very large glasses of water).  Seemed that the h2o and the laying down really helped (and the dog was in heaven sleeping soundly right next to me)

I think both bouts were brought on by dehydration because I've not been really good about getting all my fluids and the 2 glasses of water really helped so now I vow to drink an entire Brita pitcher of water a day...who cares if I'm up all night peeing:)

Artwork...

So, I can't help myself when I walk into Target. My list may only have 1 or 2 things on it and I inevitably walk out with a cart full of things. This time I did have intentions of finding art for the baby's room I just wasnt sure what I was looking for.

I walked up and down the aisles trying to imagine the things on the shelves as wall art. After putting way too many things in my cart as always I found what I needed - in the scrapbook aisle! I found a pack of paper that had an outdoors/woodland creatures theme and had some great bright colors! Off I wandered to the frame aisle to find plain black frames to use to put my new "art" in.

Below is the outcome - I can't wait to hang them on the walls!

Reno update...

So we've made more progress and DH keeps calling me a slave driver:)  I may be a schedule hound but if I wasn't we wouldn't be making the progress we are.  Okay, "we" is a bit of a lie - it's more like DH all by himself.  The pregnant me is hesitant to work with the electrical and forget crawling around on the floor to help with anything else!  I'm just good at directing and keeping him on schedule:)  He works really hard and spends just about every evening after work doing something or another.  What a dedicated DH!

I've decided not to take any more pics until we get the backsplash in and get things painted.  That means that it may be a few more months before anyone sees the final product but safe to say, we're still working on it!  We do have the bottom trim and the under cabinet lights in on the large bank of cabinets.  Tonight DH is working on getting the electrical around the window to the one lonely bank of cabinets on the other side.  From there we have to put the window casing and sill up, backsplash, paint, etc...and then we should be done.  It's all detail work now so it will likely progress much much slower than before.

Stay tuned...

32 weeks...

So it's been smooth sailing this month! So much so that the doc said that I dont have to come back for 3 weeks (instead of the normal 2).  However, from that point out we'll be down to weekly's with internals - woohoo! Little man is really grooving in there but still likes to sit up high under my ribs which is not always the most comfy spot but he seems to like it.

We have a full month on tap for Jan - Mommy group lunches, Baby Shower, In-Laws visit, birthing class, CPR class you name it!  At some point my bro should be down too to do the baby's mural (and I'll finally get the closet system installed).  Things are starting to come together! I can't believe this little one will be here in approximately 8 weeks!


How far along are you? 32 Weeks!

Total Weight gain/loss? According to the scale at the doc I'm up .5 lbs to something like 28lbs total.  The doc i saw yesterday was happy with that.  He's more concerned with the overall weight gain that month to month.  So far I'm doing just fine he says - I like this doc!

Stretch marks? Nope:)

Baby Movement? He's head down according to the doc which explains the odd mass under my ribs - his bum! He's taken to jumping jacks the past few days where he'll punch my hip and then kick opposite rib at the same time

Best moment this week? Knowing for sure that I slowed the tide that was my weight and that the doc is actually okay with where I am!


Food Cravings? Well until today it was thankfully just water....super thirsty but today it was Pez - 7 sleeves of Pez!  Now that it's gone from my house I hope to not go thru that again - but it tasted sooo good!!

Belly button in or out? Yea, just needs to give it up already..it's half in and half out

Milestones? Odd one but progress/milestone just the same - got the closet cleaned out and painted, just need to get the shelves up.  As for big foot in there he's starting to put on white fat (?) and is working on developing his senses more fully. 
 
Weekly Wisdom?  The tingling in your hands is likely carpel tunnel induced by pregnancy...get used to it but don't spaz too much as it is supposed to go away after the baby is born.  I feel like my hands are always asleep now!

Looking a little rough:)

Carpel Tunnel

So, the past week or so I've noticed that my hands tend to fall asleep faster than ever and at the most unusual times. Time like when I was typing an email or when I was sleeping.  I was waking up four or five times a night to painfully numb finger tips and would have to shake them to wake them up - not fun! 

Then I noticed the swelling and stiffness - nothing drastic but enough that it is a pain to write with a pencil/pen and a much prefer typing because it's just plain easier.  Anyways, the combo of symptoms sent me to Dr. Google who diagnosed me with pregnancy induced carpel tunnel (don't worry, I talked to my real dr and he confirmed the diagnosis) and I get to wear these lovely braces to bed to help open up the carpel space until the swelling in my hands and wrists goes down.  They seemed to work last night - i only woke up once with numb fingers:)

I can't complain too much.  For as hard as it was for us to get pregnant, the actual pregnancy itself has been a breeze  (so far - knock on wood!).  Aside from the minor aliments like acid reflux, carpel tunnel and the general whale like feelings baby boy has been very kind to mamma (and i hope he keeps it that way!)