34 Weeks

It's hard to believe I'm into the single digits of how many weeks I have left...I recently read an article where it talked about how being pregnant is a privilege - I completely agree with that, it's a beautiful gift and an amazing thing, I feel really lucky - but I'm also really looking forward to her arrival and returning to my non-pregnant self. It has been ridiculously hot, and that is a wee bit uncomfortable, and quite frankly...I long to sleep on my stomach, roll over with ease, and put on jeans that have a button. I'm giving baby girl 3 or 4 more weeks, and then I'm starting in with the pep talks! :)

Latest Cravings - I love dark chocolate, but I try to limit myself to a small(ish) piece a day...I also have switched from raspberries to blueberries. Oh how I love blueberries....blueberry frozen yogurt, blueberries in my cereal...yum! Oh, and cereal...I eat it at least once a day...

Biggest Lifesaver - Tums and body pillows. Good Lord, the heartburn is still carrying on...food, drink, oxygen - it all brings on the heartburn. Tums usually does the trick but there have been a few times it doesn't quite take care of it. As for body pillows, I feel like I have old lady hips, they get so tired and it is more than a project to roll over.

Surprising Moment - Ryan was out of town this past weekend for a bachelor party and I thought...here is my chance to go to sleep early! I was so proud to be in my pajamas by 7pm and I was in bed by 9 but then I was having the most insane, what I presume is Braxton Hicks contractions. I slept like crap, and it hurt to lay down, I kept having to get up and walk around - they finally went away but it was the realization that I'm getting very close to the big day. Needless to say, Ryan's will no longer be traveling anywhere...at least without me!

Tomorrow we are meeting with our potential pediatrician, we get to tour the practice and meet the doctors. I'm happy to get this big item squared away, it will make me feel much better knowing that's all in order.

Friday is our next doctor's appointment...pretty soon I'll start going every week! We're really getting close! Latest bump picture coming soon....

Baby Showers

These past few weeks have been incredibly busy, but I can't complain one tiny bit because so many lovely things have been happening.

I've had baby showers, went to my best friend's wedding shower, went to my brother's college graduation party, got a beautiful new front yard (courtesy of Desperate Landscapes...more on that later!), worked on the nursery, and so much more. The insane schedule has been nice to keep busy and not just sit around and wait for baby girl, but of course I'm still anxious...and exhausted!

I was really awful and didn't take very many pictures at my showers, but I've been lucky enough to have two parties! My sisters put together a beautiful family shower and then my best friend had a shower for me with my close girlfriends - man do I feel lucky! I can't believe how generous people are to come and celebrate, and on top of that - bring a gift! I have to tell you...I don't think I could ever get tired of little baby things! The clothes make me give instant "awwww..." reactions and the trinkets and necessity items are just as fun. I love going home and putting the things away in her room, I know she'll be here before we know it!

We are making progress on the nursery and I hope to post pictures of the progress soon...I think after this weekend, we'll almost be ready in the room department.

We got so many wonderful things, but here is just a small snapshot of some of the items:

Happy 4th!!

We had a great long weekend! I feel really lucky to be surrounded by so much love and happiness! We don't typically go camping in July but we changed things up this year, and went camping with my whole family this past weekend. The weather worked out in our favor, even though it was hot during the day we had lots of shade and it cooled down at night which made sleeping much more comfy. July is going to be one crazy month, but it's all shaping up to be good things!

Hope everyone is having a good 4th of July!

The big 3-0

30 weeks! Only 10 more to go...I realize I could potentially go a little longer, but a girl can dream! Baby girl is getting bigger and bigger, and mama is feeling like there is not much room left in this inn, but I know somehow she will find more room and my belly will somehow keep expanding - that's ok though, I want her to be nice and strong. I do realize why people say the 3rd trimester is the worst - even though I was really sick during the 1st trimester it was all so new to me, but I'm getting to the point of extreme anticipation and a little longing for my old summer clothes. It's all worth it, but whew... 40 weeks is a long time! Here is your latest bump picture:

This past weekend was exactly what I needed...staying home and spending time with my loves - Ryan and Riley. We made some great meals at home, watched a movie, had the windows open all weekend, absorbed a little sun (not too much, we're pale people!) and managed to get some serious, much needed organizing/cleaning done. I somehow hit the jackpot with Ryan because not only is he my favorite person, but he is an amazing organizer...he could seriously be paid for this type of skill. We worked on my closet this weekend (amongst other things), and he took the initiative to do this:

I have to be honest, I did not realize I had this many shoes, nor did I realize how amazing it would be to have them so organized...but I am now in love with my closet. We did a pretty good job of knocking stuff off our to-do list this weekend, which felt SO good! Baby girl's room is underway, but still has a loooong way to go - at least we're making some progress.

How could you not have a great weekend when you are spending time with these two:

We are counting down the days until this holiday weekend, lots of good stuff planned AND a 3 day weekend!

29 weeks

These past few weeks have gone really fast...29 weeks already! I feel like the countdown will become more serious when I hit 30 weeks only because that sounds so much closer to delivery time than twenty-something. I have my next doctor's appointment on Friday and then I start going more frequently. I feel like there is so much to do between now and baby time!

Things have been incredibly busy lately, I almost feel like there have been moments when I don't have time to sit and really take things in. Ryan and I have decided we are not going ANYWHERE this weekend so we can just stay home and attempt to get some things in order. We have been enjoying our weekends, but we need to have one weekend where we can stay home and get some of our to-do's done.

We had our full day of childbirth class two weekends ago, and that was actually really informative and worthwhile. It was nice to get a tour of the maternity portion of the hospital, and mentally prepare ourselves and ask questions.

Next up on exciting things is....baby shower!! I am so excited! I am seriously in love with all things baby...it is all so cute. This past week I got the best mail surprise too...my lovely, lovely co-worker got baby girl the awesome Lou and Lee headband I had mentioned! THANK YOU! That really made my day!

I've been thinking more and more about getting newborn pictures taken, and I'm pretty sure I want to have them done...I love Staci Hedke Photography, she does great work, and I think having pictures done is probably worth every penny because they're only babies once!

I mean seriously...how cute are these pictures!?!

Third Trimester Delights

I'm officially in my third trimester...how exciting! Hello homestretch! We got some great non-baby related news... we are going to be on the DIY show, Desperate Landscapes! What is Desperate Landscapes you ask? It's only one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to us (EXCEPT obviously Baby O'Grady). Basically, the show will completely make over our front yard in a matter of 8 hours...the idea is that your neighbors leave for work and when they return your yard looks awesome. This is soooooo huge for us!

We bought our house two years ago and have been fixing it up ever since, the inside renovations are basically done, but the yard has (obviously) felt pretty defeating. Here is a picture of the house when we first bought it:

While we had to do some major repairs to the outside...new roof, new windows, cut down the ginormo tree - the overall landscaping is still pretty miserable. Here are some of the pictures we submitted for the show:

If you can imagine, the yard is looking more miserable now that the weeds are taking over! I've had this post waiting for over a week now, but I waited until today because we officially have a film date and are confirmed!! This might sound strange, but it feels so good knowing that we can bring our baby girl home to a beautiful, finished front yard! Ryan and I have been watching all of our Desperate Landscapes episodes from our DVR - we are soooo excited!

26 Weeks

I am happy to say I've returned from the land of the sick! I ended up and got bronchitis and had to see my family doctor, but he put me on a z-pack, which again I was reassured was safe to take, and it finally provided some relief. I still actually have a little congestion but I feel soooo much better!

On Friday, I had my OB doctor appointment and I got to drink that delicious orange glucose drink. I managed to chug it all down within the 5 minutes after a pep talk to myself! The doctor visit went well. I have now officially seen all the doctors in my practice and I am really happy with them. I already got my blood work back, and luckily everything is looking good! I can't believe I am nearly in my third trimester!

Bump Update! I had Ryan take some pictures with his ipod because our camera seems to be MIA - they're a little grainy, but you get the idea:

Here are some highlights so far:

Not so shining moment: Throwing up in front of my coworker, thank the lord it was a friend, but it all just happened so fast - so happy that stage is over!

Biggest Cravings: ice cream/frozen yogurt or raspberries. The funny thing though, I feel like I think about raspberries all the time, but I end up and don't eat that many.

Most surprising: I guess I should not be surprised at all by this, but I am amazed at how many people tell you, "you are so big!" -  I get it, I look pregnant, I wouldn't call myself a boat and guess what!? I'm just going to keep getting bigger, but I find myself wondering, am I abnormally large for 26 weeks? Oh well, it's not like I plan on losing weight any time soon.

Crazy Symptoms: Of course I wasn't prepared for the intensity of heartburn - I was told it would happen and I haven't had it too terribly often (at least yet) but there has been a night or two where I woke up and thought, if you could die from heartburn then it was going to happen, but I've lived to tell the tale! I would say I wasn't expecting my tailbone to feel so strange though...it's mostly with standing up and sitting down where it just feels a little strange.