Pregnancy Update: 37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks and 3 days (2 weeks and 4 days until my due date - CRAZY talk!!!)

Development: According to The Bump, baby is the size of a winter melon. He weighs somewhere between 6 and 9 pounds and is inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping, and blinking.

Symptoms: ugh, here goes - my pubic bone feels like it's on fire, my hips are sore, my back aches, my boobs hurt, my ankles/feet/hands are swollen, I can't sleep most nights so I feel exhausted a lot of the time, and I'm emotional.  I really don't like to complain and I feel so happy and lucky to be pregnant, but it is what it is.  Some days are okay and some days are not very pleasant.  

Maternity clothes: I am pretty much rotating through the same outfits at this point.  I try to switch things up with different cardigans/accessories when possible.

Stretch marks: Well those little purple lines have turned into big purple lines and there are quite a few more now.  I'm over it at this point.  Small price to pay.

Sleep: Not great.  My midwife gave me a couple of things that help (magnesium citrate is one of them).  I've been averaging a couple nights of pretty good sleep, a few nights of mediocre sleep, and a couple of nights of terrible sleep per week. The days when I don't sleep well and then have to work all day are rough.  

Best moment of this week: Finally feeling ready in terms of having everything we need, washing all of the clothes and putting them away, prepping the diapers, etc.  After our shower, Ben and I both realized we didn't have much time left and we had a couple of weekends of what felt like frantic prep time.  We made of list of things we still needed and one day I came home from work to find that Ben had spent the entire day tracking down items from craigslist and consignment shops.   He had everything washed, set up, and ready to go!  I think we are both nesting a bit at this point.  I love seeing how excited he is:)

Miss anything: sleep, being able to roll over in bed, and being able to wear fancy shoes.

Movement:  He moves quite a bit.  The movements have gotten less intense in the past week or two (I think he's running out of room!), but are still pretty frequent.  He gets the hiccups at least once a day.  He is still head down and likes to push up so that his butt pushes into my ribs.

Food cravings: Orange juice, hot chocolate, and cinnamon rolls.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really.

Have you started to show yet:  Um, YES:)

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs: Not yet.  My midwife had me start taking evening primrose oil about a week ago.  I can tell things are shifting a little bit because my hips are so sore.

Belly button in or out: Still in, but barely.  

Wedding rings on or off: On for now.

Happy or moody most of the time:  Mostly good, happy, and excited.  I am definitely more emotional some days though (especially when I don't get enough sleep).  I've had a few crying-for-no-reason episodes, which feels really strange.

Looking forward to: Experiencing labor and finally holding my baby boy!

I had to have another ultrasound at 32 weeks to check on my 'low-lying placenta'.  We discovered that my placenta was low-lying after I had some spotting in the first trimester.  I was told that 98% of the time the placenta moves up and out of the way as the uterus grows.  I was so hoping that this would be the case, but I guess I'm part of the lucky 2%.  My midwife is not too concerned at this point as it's just slightly low-lying (it's 1.5cm away from my cervix), but it is something we have to be aware of and monitor.

35 weeks

36 weeks
please excuse the work bathroom shot:)

gray and black

Happy Holidays!  I hope you all are having a wonderful week:)  I have to work part of the day tomorrow - after that,  I'm planning on doing some baking, watching Christmas movies, and relaxing at home with Ben and our pups.  Ben's brother is coming over on Christmas morning for brunch.  We are keeping things pretty low key this year as we prepare for baby to get here.

I wore this outfit last week.  I received 4 different comments from total strangers about how big I am.  One lady who works in the same area as me said, "every time I see you, I just can't believe you are still pregnant.  When is your due date?".  Ummmmm, I still have a month to go lady!  I told her my due date is 1/16 and she apologized.  Ha!  The other people were a little more tactful, but at the end of the day I was definitely wondering if I was looking especially huge in this outfit or maybe I just looked as exhausted as I felt.

On the bright side, I've noticed that most people are so much nicer to pregnant ladies.  People smile at me all of the time.  They open doors, hold elevators, and offer to carry stuff for me.  A random person in the elevator at work today told me I looked beautiful.  I think the good outweighs the bad most days.  

Dress:  Gap maternity

Tights:  Assets maternity tights

Shoes:  Born Raisa

Belt:  J. Crew

Necklace:  Anthropologie

stripes + maternity

I hope you all are having a wonderful December:)  I've been busy, busy, busy!  There is so much going on this month between the holidays, baby prep (baby is due 1 month from today!), and work, that it seems like I can't keep up some days.  All of that on top of growing a baby makes for one exhausted lady.  I'm trying very hard to prioritize and take good care of myself in the midst of the chaos. I just got home from a prenatal massage and a chiropractor visit.  Ahhhhhh, I'm feeling very relaxed and hoping that I will actually be able to sleep tonight.

Here are a couple of outfits I've been meaning to post. The first one is from 6 weeks ago, and the second one is from a week or two ago.  This striped skirt from Gap maternity has served me well.  I found it on sale for about $10 bucks.

Skirt:  Gap maternity
Top:  Gap maternity
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Jacket:  J. Crew
Necklace:  Anthropologie
Tights:  Assets maternity tights
Shoes:  Dansko

Skirt:  Gap maternity
Top:  Loft maternity
Tights:  Assets maternity tights
Necklace:  Anthropologie
Boots:  Born Raisa 

Baby Shower!

My friend Jessie threw me the loveliest baby shower this past weekend.  I was blown away by how much thought and effort she put into everything and by all of our friends showing up to support us and celebrate with us.  It was such a special day for Ben and I.  My heart is overflowing and I feel so lucky that our little guy will have such awesome people in his life.

I'm sure you could have guessed the theme!

Isn't this cake amazing?  I cannot even tell you how much I love it!  It made me so happy.  I didn't want to cut into it, but I guess people expect cake at a baby shower:)  It was vanilla with raspberry cream filling.  LOVE!

Hot apple cider and mulled wine.  

Ben and his brother compete in a diaper changing race.  I'm happy to report that Ben won all 4 rounds.  I think he's ready!

And of course I have to show off my outfit!

Dress:  Motherhood Maternity
Cardigan:  J.  Crew
Belt:  J. Crew
Shoes:  Anthropologie
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya
Brooch:  Bhldn

Beekeeping adventures: conclusion of year 1

I meant to do this final beekeeping update months ago, but I'm just now getting around to it.  The bees are in their hive for the winter at this point and have been for months.  We ended up not getting any honey this year.  In the classes I took, they said that sometimes you get honey the first  year and sometimes you don't.  So, I knew in the back of my mind not to expect it, but it was still a bit disappointing.  

Healthy pattern:  Brood in the center/bottom and capped-over honey around the top edges.

Here you can see honey in most of the cells.  The top left cells are capped over.

Things seemed to be going the 'textbook' way until July or so.  At that point, the hive became honey bound, meaning the bees filled up every available cell in the brood boxes with honey.  This seems like an awesome thing, but it's not.  If all of the cells are filled with honey, the queen has no where to lay eggs.  Without new eggs constantly being laid, the worker bee population will dwindle down very quickly and the hive will just die out.  I ended up putting some empty frames in the center of the brood boxes hoping that they would get the hint and build out new honeycomb for the queen to lay eggs in.  It worked!  Within a very short amount of time, they seemed to correct things and restore balance (a good mixture of honey and brood).  It seemed like things were back on track.

This little lady decided to sting Ben.  Luckily for him,  he was wearing thick gloves.  She was stuck like this for a minute or so before we helped her get free.  Although he got stung a few times this year, I'm happy to report that I didn't receive a single sting!

I guess I shouldn't say we didn't get any honey.  I did have to remove some honeycomb that the bees built in the wrong spots, so we did get to enjoy some of their delicious honey, which I am very thankful for.

After the honey bound situation resolved, things seemed to be moving in the right direction.  The bees were thriving and they filled both brood boxes with a nice pattern of brood and honey.  At that point, I added a honey super on top.  We were in the middle of summer at this point, leaving them plenty of time to fill it up (or so I thought).  However, they never did a single ounce of work in the honey super.  They never even got around to building the honeycomb in the cells.  Every week or so I would check in on them expecting big things, every week I would find the bees looking healthy, working, and seeming to be doing great, but only down in the brood boxes - never any action in the honey super.  They were hanging out on the honey super, but just not doing any work.   

Cleaning up a drop of honey on top of a frame

Even if we didn't get any honey,  I am so grateful for the bees.  They  filled my heart with joy, happiness, and love.

So, that's it for this year.  I never did quite figure out what happened.  Maybe I did something wrong, maybe my timing was off, maybe that's just the way things ended up this year.  It was strange to see them thriving and working away, but never doing anything outside of their brood boxes (if there are any beekeepers out there reading, please pass along any advice/suggestions).  

Now we wait.  Hopefully they will survive the winter.  I'm looking forward to giving this another go next year.  It has been one of the best experiences of my life.  2013 started off rough for me.  I was dealing with some very difficult things and the bees brought me so much joy and filled me with hope, exactly what I needed at the time.    

Jeans + Boots

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently won a Loft gift card over at Musings on the Mountain. I am so excited to be able to get a couple of new maternity pieces!  I decided that my main purchase would be a pair of jeans.  I don't own any regular jeans from Loft, so I wasn't sure about quality/fit, but I ended up deciding on these.  They fit great, I love the wash and style, and they are very comfy.  The belly band is a very nice, soft material.  Love these and highly recommend!

In other news, it's Friday!  Thank goodness.  What a week it has been.  One of our pups (Talus) was very ill for a few days earlier this week and required a trip to the vet and lots of TLC.  Poor guy is finally feeling much better.  The pregnancy insomnia is starting to get to me and I feel exhausted.  I'm going to have a nice warm cup of tea and cross my fingers that I sleep tonight:)

Jeans:  Loft Maternity Modern Skinny Jeans
Top:  Gap Maternity
Blazer:  LiaMolly
Boots:  Born Raisa Boots

Pregnancy update: 2 months to go

How far along: 31weeks and 3 days

Development: According to The Bump, baby is the size of a Pineapple. He weighs somewhere around 3 pounds and is going through major brain and nerve development.

Symptoms:  Still feeling tired, sore, and achy, although prenatal yoga and daily pelvic tilt exercises helped.  I've also noticed some minor 'restless leg' twinges when resting.  My ankles have started to get a little puffy in the past week.  

Maternity clothes: I have a feeling I'm going to get bored of my maternity clothes very soon.  I am intentionally keeping my maternity wardrobe small because I don't think it makes sense to spend a lot of money on clothes that I will only be able to wear for a short time.  I did recently win a Loft gift card over at Musings on the Mountain , which I used on a couple of new maternity pieces.  Can't wait to add them into the rotation!

Stretch marks: I just noticed my first stretch marks this morning.  It bothered me more than I thought it would.  After a struggle with infertility, I never thought that stuff like this would bother me.  Really, when I think about the big picture, who cares about stretch marks!  I will admit though that I did get a little bummed out when I saw those first few purple lines this morning.  I'm having a 'down' day in general and I started thinking that if I'm already getting stretch marks, how is my tummy going to look 2 months from now?

Sleep: Still not great.  I am able to go to sleep with no problem, but when I wake up for my first trip to the bathroom, it is sometimes very hard for me to get back to sleep.  There have been a few nights where I just lay in bed for hours before I'm able to doze back off.

Best moment of this week: Finishing our childbirth class last Monday.  We took a 10-week Bradley Method class and I loved it.  We both learned so much and feel more prepared.  Now that that is complete, it feels like we are 1 step closer.  Another great moment this week was hiring our labor doula.  Ben and I have been discussing this for a while, but we finally decided to go for it.  I feel  more at ease now and a little less anxious knowing that we will have that support when the time comes.

Miss anything: Nothing major I can think of.  Sleep, I suppose!

Movement: Lots of movement!  I love every moment of it.

Food cravings: Still drinking a lot of orange juice and eating a lot of oranges (though my craving seems a bit less intense since I started taking Vit C every day).  There was 1 night last week when I HAD to have biscuits and gravy for dinner.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Have you started to show yet: Big time.  I've gotten a lot of 'looks like you have a basketball under your shirt' comments this week.

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs: Not yet.

Belly button in or out: Still in.

Wedding rings on or off: On for now.

Happy or moody most of the time: Still mostly good, but definitely more irritable than normal, especially after not getting enough sleep.  When I'm sleepy, little things seem like big things and it's easier to get stressed out.

Looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery, my baby shower in a few weeks, and relaxing over the holidays (hopefully)!

New rug for the nursery!

Quick selfie/dirty mirror

31 weeks

Maternity Cords

One thing I love about fall/winter is corduroys, so I knew I wanted to add a pair to my maternity wardrobe.  I ended up getting these green ones from Motherhood Maternity when they were on sale (for less than $25).  I never want to take them off.  They are so comfy!  I do not want to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes, so I'm trying to get by with a few basics that I can dress up a little bit with my cardigans/accessories when needed.
  
I had a few nights last week of very little sleep and I ended up exhausted by the time Friday rolled around.  I am also on call this week and of course I was called into work at 4:30am on Saturday.  Luckily I had a prenatal massage and chiropractor appointment lined up for Saturday afternoon.  Both were amazing and put me back in relaxation mode, so I've been resting well and napping like crazy since.  Feeling much better!

Pants:  Motherhood Maternity
Top:  Gap Maternity
Cardigan:  Anthropologie
Shoes:  Gee WaWa
Bracelet:  Anthropologie

OOTD and anniversary celebration

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend!  This is a recent OOTD featuring a maternity dress I got from Shabby Apple.  I won a Shabby Apple gift card many months ago and couldn't decide what to spend it on.  Once I found out I was pregnant, I decided that this would be a great, versatile dress to have.  So far, so good!  It is comfy, light weight (which is great because I'm always hot), and has plenty of room for my belly.  I love the sleeve length because it covers my tattoo, so I don't have to wear a cardigan over it to the office.  The neck tie ads a little something, so it's not just a boring black dress.  

Dress:  Shabby Apple maternity line
Tights:  Assests maternity tights
Belt:  J.  Crew
Shoes:  Anthropologie Olivia Cutout Oxfords

Ben and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary earlier this month.  We kept things low key and ended up having a wonderful day together.  We spent the morning at the pumpkin patch (my favorite!), then we took a little day trip to Mount St. Helens to explore a bit and have a picnic.  Here are a few pictures from our day.

Pregnancy update: end of second trimester

How far along: 27 weeks

Development: According to The Bump, baby is the size of a Rutabaga. He can open and close his eyelids and now weighs around 2 pounds.

Symptoms: Tired, sore, achy. It's becoming hard to get comfortable at night and I wake up pretty much every day with sore hips and overall stiffness.

Maternity clothes: I am pretty much exclusively in maternity clothes at this point. As you saw in my last OOTD, a couple of my regular maxi dresses still fit, and I have 1 or 2 other regular dresses that are still working. Other than that, it's all maternity.

Stretch marks: Not yet.

Sleep: Overall, not the best, but it varies. Some nights I sleep like a rock and other nights it feels like I'm constantly tossing and turning.

Best moment of this week: I woke up in the middle of the night last night because baby had the hiccups! Middle of the night timing was a little annoying, but I don't care because it was so cool!

Miss anything: Not really. Maybe caesar dressing a little (the real kind, which contains raw eggs!).

Movement: Yes, lots of it!  He moves quite a bit throughout the day, but he is typically very active after dinner and before bed.  I also feel him quite a bit during the night when I get up for a bathroom run.  At my last midwife appointment, she was able to feel his positioning (head down at this point), so I like to try to guess if movements/jabs are feet or  hands or butt, etc. but I really can't tell.

Food cravings: Orange juice!  I can't get enough.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes.  There is no hiding my bump at this point.

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs: No, too early. I did have 36 hours of very consistent braxton hicks contractions a couple of weeks ago.  I tried everything my midwife suggested (rest/hydrate/bath/etc.) but they continued.  I had to go get checked out (everything was fine) and was given an herb to take to help things relax.  It worked and the contractions stopped.  I wasn't too concerned as my midwife kept me calm and told me that the contractions weren't "doing anything" at that point.  It was a bit stressful and exhausting though.  I guess the actual diagnosis is "irritable uterus" which kind of makes me laugh.  All is well now.

Belly button in or out: Still in, but barely.

Wedding rings on or off: On

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly good, but I definitely have more emotional and/or frustrated moments.

Looking forward to: Every single thing!  The nursery is slowly coming together, my friend is throwing me a little shower/celebration in early December, our childbirth class is well underway, and it feels like things are moving really fast.  Only 3 more months!

Double up

I love my Empire Day Dress in black (see here and here), and it still fits well at 6 1/2 months pregnant, so I picked up the blue version a few weeks ago (and I see that it is now marked down to $29.99!).  To make it a little more fall appropriate, I added a scarf and cardigan.

Now I'm headed back to work for a quick appointment.  Of course the patient I need to meet with today is scheduled at 7:00pm, when 99% of the time, appointments are between 8:00 and 4:00.  Ugh.  I don't like this coming home, getting settled, then having to head back out business.  At least it will be quick and I'm pretty sure I can justify leaving early tomorrow now:)

Dress:  Anthropologie Striped Empire Day Dress
Cardigan:  Anthropologie
Shoes:  Gee WaWa
Scarf:  Orla Kiely via Uniqlo
Necklace:  Etsy

My Sunday

After being down for a couple of days with another cold (the second one I've had in the past month), I woke up today feeling a bit better.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful fall day!  Ben and I went out for a late brunch, stopped by a fabric store and a craft store, then came home and worked on a little nursery decor project.  We also took the dogs for long walks, checked in on the bees (I will do a proper update on them soon), and enjoyed some apple crisp I made last night.  All in all, a lovely fall day.  

Jeans:  Gap maternity
Top:  Orla Keily via Uniqlo (I think this was originally a dress which ended up being way too short for me, but is now a perfect maternity "tunic")!
Shoes:  Born
Bracelet:  Gift
Hair clip:  Anthropologie Critter Gem Bobbies

Staple guns are awesome!