Put a bow on it

I'm still here and still pregnant:)  How was your weekend?  Mine was nice - busy and restful at the same time.  We stocked up on groceries, I finally got a new phone (I needed an update in a major way and I'm excited about the new camera on the Iphone 5s), I went out for 1 last pre-baby pedicure with a friend, went to accupuncture, and Ben and I went to the movies to see Her (an excellent movie!).  In between all of that, we cleaned the house and I tried to rest/nap.

I actually slept fairly well the past couple of nights so I'm feeling pretty good today, even though I had a long day at work.  This is definitely going to be my last week at work, even if baby doesn't decide to make his appearance this week.  It's getting harder and harder to be at work all day and my midwife does not want me working past my due date (which is Thursday, 1/16).  I'm going to transition out over the week and will take a few afternoons off to make sure I stay as rested as possible.  I initially wanted to work until I went into labor (and that may still happen if he comes this week), but I'm really feeling relieved to have a definite stop date confirmed.

These are just a couple of random outfits from the past few weeks.  I think the first one was actually from the holidays and the second was from last week.

Jeans:  Loft maternity

Top:  Gap maternity

Cardigan:  Anthropologie

Socks:  Sock it to me 

Jeans:  Loft maternity (LOVE these jeans!)

Top:  Gap maternity

Cardigan:  Anthropologie

Socks:  b.ella

Shoes:  Dansko

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

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.

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!

Up and Over

Here is a quick OOTD from last weekend.  I thought I could wear this skirt with the waist band down below my bump, but that turned out to be very uncomfortable.  I ended up pulling it up and over, hence the strange lines on my belly!  Oh well,  with my limited wardrobe at the moment, it will have to do.

It has been so cold, windy and rainy all weekend.  It makes for good napping weather and has me feeling very excited for fall/winter!  We took care of errands earlier today and picked up a free crib from craigslist. It is like new and came from a sweet grandmother who only used it when her grandson visited.  Score!  Now, I'm ready for a cozy evening.  Chicken pot pie is in the works and we are counting down the hours until we can watch the series finale of Breaking Bad.  Hope your weekend has been great:)  

Skirt:  Anthropologie Seamingly Maxi Skirt
Tank:  Gap maternity
Scarf:  Cabbages and Roses via Uniqlo
Shoes:  Chaco

Day trip OOTD

Last weekend Ben and I took a day trip to Gorge, WA.  We started the day off with a huge breakfast, then hit the road.  We enjoyed the long car ride, stopped for blizzards, made it to The Gorge Amphitheater to hear some music, then made our way back home.  We ended up not making it home until 4:00am.  Yikes!  It was fun until that last couple of hours when we were both so tired.  We considered getting a hotel room, but opted to just keep going.  I was so happy to get home!

This was the first time I've been to The Gorge Amphitheater.  I've heard it's one of the best outdoor music venues in the US.  We had a blast and you can't beat the beautiful surroundings!

This is what I wore.  I've had this anthropologie top for a couple of years.  It has not gotten much love until now, I think because I never knew how to wear it.  It was a little big/boxy.  However, it's the perfect early maternity top.  One of my favorites right now!

Jeans:  Gap maternity
Cami:  Anthropologie
Top:  Anthropologie
Shoes:  Chacos
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya