Our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

Car seat installed- CHECK, House cleaned- CHECK, Baby laundry done- CHECK, Costco trip- CHECK, Bags packed and by the door- CHECK, Baby classes- CHECK! 

Well here we are T-5 days until my due date and patiently waiting for something to happen. Everything seems like a little sign that LBP is getting ready to enter this world. Everything we do together is potentially our last as just B and I. Every trip to Target, the gym, date night, and Sunday morning breakfast! For me, every kick or hiccup, late night belly dance party and never ending bathroom trips, they could all be over very soon and I know I am going to miss this bump. It all seems so crazy that we are finally here. BUT WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET LBP! 

How far along: 39 weeks and 2 days!  

Size of the baby: Per the BUMP app. LBP is the size of aa Watermelon, measuring between 18.9-20.9 in and weighing between 6.2-9.2 lb. WOAH! let's hope we are right in the middle of that!  

Gender: This is for sure the thing I am most excited about! Oh and that sweet baby smell and kissing those cheeks. 

How do you feel? I feel pretty dang good for being 39 weeks! Staying busy has been great to pass the time. 

Eating/Cravings: Eating: Small meals seem to fill me up and are all I have room for.  Craving: I can't eat enough fruit popsicles, smoothies, or OJ still. Oh and ice cream! 

Miss anything? I miss shopping for ME! It's so hard to buy clothes right now, not knowing what I will be fitting into in a few weeks. But, buying adorable baby outfits has quenched my shopping thirst! 

General mood: Staying positive and still anxious for what's to come. Staying busy has been the best thing for my mood. 

Fears: Knowing exactly WHEN to go to the hospital and making sure we are timing the contractions right. Thank goodness there's an APP for that! I'm aiming for no false alarms. 

Sleep: Not so consistent this last week, I find my witching hour to be between 4-5am. I keep hearing this could be connected to when the baby is going to want to be up and feeding. Hooray! 

Workouts: Still going strong, some days feel different than others but I feel really good afterwards and it's helping me justify just one more piece of Easter candy! 

Things I am looking forward to: My parents arriving on Friday and a fun dinner we have planned to Scalini's where to date more than 300 of the pregnant customers who ordered the eggplant have given birth within 48 hours. Hopefully it works for LBP too! 

Shout out to my baby daddy:  B sure does keep me laughing. He can really make me forget about the aches and pains and laugh at his goofiness.  I appreciate all of his help over these past few weeks, with driving me to far away work meetings, cleaning the house from top to bottom and always making sure I'm fed! He is so excited to meet LBP and talks to the belly daily. 

So Much Nesting!

It started just a few weeks ago, very mild and just with some basic household chores. Now we are in full blown throw everything away, rearrange and redecorate mode! I can't help myself! Nesting is REAL! 

I even convinced Brian to let me reorganize his whole office. He's so good, he just says yes and plays along and let's me feel satisfied in my organizing and purging, EVEN when they are his things. We transformed his office area/man cave/junk collecting room into a space with a changing table, chair, couch and room to grow into a play area. It works out really well. Oh and did I mention, we also bought a couch, because why not add one more thing into the excitement in the house! 

My update on LBP this week is basic. We had our first weekly appointment last week and have another coming up on Wednesday. Baby is head down, great heart rate and getting ready for take off! No measurements or estimates have been made but I will be sure to update when they are. We are taking a breastfeeding class this week and our last childbirth class as well. The rest is in the hands of the baby! 

How far along: 37 weeks 3 days and cookin! 

Size of the baby: According to the BUMP app. LBP is as a big as a Winter Melon, weighing in between 6.2 - 9.2 lbs and 18.9 - 20.9 in. 

Gender: Still a surprise! But the BabyHunch is still open and ready for your predictions! They have been so fun to read. 

How do you feel? Still feeling great! Yes, Braxton Hicks have been coming and going and sleep is less and less but my energy is still up and I don't yet feel "ready to get this baby out."

Eating/Cravings: Eating: I'll pretty much eat anything but meat! It just does not sound good to me at all. But put some breakfast food or pastries in front of me and I'm a happy camper. Craving: Unfortunately, I have been really enjoying a diet Coke here and there, so not my usual but I've been good about only having one when I'm at a restaurant. 

Miss anything? It was 70* on Saturday and Sunday and all I could think about was enjoying an alcoholic beverage on a patio with B and the little babe. I can't WAIT for those soon-to-be days. 

General mood: So Excited and So Anxious! This "any day now" business is not for my type A personality. 

Fears: The obvious pain that is about to take over my body and the basic unknown. But I am mostly trying to stay positive and talk through it all with B. 

Sleep: Luckily I don't usually have a problem falling back to sleep after the 5-7 pee breaks I take a night! 

Workouts: I'm still working out at least 3-5 times a week. The ladies keep me motivated and I am hoping this extra effort will really pay off during the recovery phase! 

Things I am looking forward to: Meeting LBP so soon, my parents getting into town safely, hanging some special baby room items and our last few house projects! 

Shout out to my baby daddy: The car seat is installed and inspected and the bags are packed and by the door! Brian has been on top of it all and even insists on driving me to all of my work meetings, just to be safe! He's so excited and this week he's going to get some diaper practice, swaddle practice and feeding! I will be sure to take pictures for next weeks update.

Rounding the corner to the finish line...

Another crazy few weeks have passed and lots of fun things have been happening in our little world! 

We had a another doctors appointment on the 17th with everything still checking out on schedule. We will have a couple of tests at the next appointment and then begin our weekly visits until the due date! It's so crazy to already have those scheduled out and on the calendar. 

While we want LBP to stay put until closer to it's due date, the truth is anytime after 37 weeks (March 7th) we could be welcoming this baby into the world. Of course it's more than likely as a first time mother, that I will deliver late, but you best believe I will be trying every old wives tale to induce labor.

This past weekend I was so blessed to have some of my sweet friends from Georgia throw me another baby shower! I met these ladies through my workout classes at the YMCA and they have been invaluable with their love, support and baby knowledge. Not to mention they are so fun to hang out with and great motivators in the gym. Barbie is also a transplant from Michigan, who grew up in Royal Oak, and went to Dondero and Michigan State. CRAZY RIGHT? 

 

How far along: 35 weeks

Gender: Waiting for March, but why not get some guesses in! I set up this fun baby pool, Click Here to Enter!   

Maternity clothes: Getting dressed just takes more effort these days! I am so lucky to work from home where leggings and sweatshirts are ideal and Brian doesn't care if I even get dressed at all.  

Stretch marks: Still none but definitely a little more itchy than before.  

Belly button in or out: not In or Out, more like flat. 

Sleep: Brian and I have officially switched sides of the bed, this is making it a lot easier to sleep comfortably on my left side and get a better nights rest. Also, closer to the bathroom, where I really should just set up a bed in the tub.  

Best moment this week: Having serious amounts of baby activity, rolling and kicking. Also, the arrival of new baby cousin Liam Schultz and a friends baby Galal! So happy for the new mums. 

Worst moment this week: Having to cut back on spin classes has been a real bummer, up until last week I was still spinning 3 times a week and weight training 2 times. But the spinning has been giving me a little too much discomfort.

Miss anything: Jeans that button and shopping for a new summer wardrobe. So many cute things are coming out right now, but I have to hold back because I am refraining from new clothes until I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight! 

Movement: Lots of rolls and kicks and a foot has taken up new residence in my ribs! 

Cravings: We can't keep enough orange juice in the house, loving real fruit popsicles and smoothies. 

Queasy or sick: Neither and I hope they don't decide to come at the end of my pregnancy either! 

Looking forward to: A quick road trip to Charlotte this weekend to visit some friends and putting the finishing touches on the nursery. 

Michigan Baby Shower and Bumpdate!

Wow! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I was back in Michigan for my baby shower. I feel like it came and went WAY too quickly. Which pretty much sums up how I feel about this pregnancy in general. It's all moving at rapid speed. It was so great to see all of my family and friends and to share in such a special day with them. Of course, LBP was spoiled beyond belief and we are still feeling all of the love as we unpack and put everything away in the nursery. It's normal to have a gazillion blankets right? 

I can't thank my mother enough for all she does to make everything extra special. Of course, the decor and little details would never happen without the help of Megan and Alexis and their creative juices. It's always fun planning a party with these ladies, they drink lots of wine (jealous!) at my parents house and mom loves to make appetizers and dinner for them, sounds like a win for everyone! Everything was perfect and we can't wait to bring LBP back to Michigan next time to meet everyone. 

and the biggest surprise was from my Mother and Sister-in-law that flew in to surprise Brian and I! We couldn't be more grateful for all of their love and support. 

Now for a little baby update. We had another doctors appointment since my last post, and at this point we get to see other doctors in the practice. It's been nice to meet some of them and be able to put a face with a name since potentially any one of them could be delivering our baby. Everything is still right on track and for now we just continue these every 2 week appointments.

How far along: 33 weeks

Gender: We can't wait for the surprise! I have been having more girl dreams than boy, but no real feeling.  

Maternity clothes: Still rockin' all of my maternity jeans and leggings. It seems like I will be just fine getting through with these for the rest of the pregnancy. The best part is wearing Brian's t-shirts to bed though, since at this point none of mine are "big and baggy" anymore. 

Stretch marks: Hooray for stretchy skin, still none! 

Belly button in or out: In!  

Sleep: It's been a battle to get comfortable with the body pillow and finding a side that works in between all of the bathroom breaks, but, I still feel rested in the morning which is good.  

Best moment this week: Doing my first loads of baby laundry, ohhh what a sweet sweet smell! Also, the major pieces for the baby's room are assembled and now it's all about making it cozy! 

Worst moment this week: When I couldn't enjoy my favorite beer Hop-Slam at happy hour. It was real sad to not enjoy it's tasty goodness and it's extra alcohol percentage. Brian promises we are going to get a case and save it for after the baby comes though. 

Miss anything: I miss liking the taste of vegetables, it's been really hard to eat them in any which way, and I really love veggies usually. 

Movement: It's a new kind of movement than just the kicking, the baby is head down already and the rolling and turning feels a lot different than before. 

Cravings: I may have purchased some Valentines Day candy, Sweet Tart hearts will only last on our counter for a few more days! 

Queasy or sick: Feeling great, just not always hungry or room for too much food! 

Looking forward to: Our maternity floor tour and our birthing class. We already did an hour class last week on what to expect at the hospital and it was so great to get some of the questions we had answered. 

Our non-blogish, blog

Well...I promised my mother 20 weeks ago that I would start this, a space to update, keep track of and share with all of my loved ones on the happenings of my pregnancy. But, well, I guess to start the theme of motherhood...I got BUSY. So here we are, only 8 weeks to go and I'm just getting started. I hope you enjoy the updates and sharing in these next few weeks while we await the arrival of our sweetest LBP. 

Let's begin with the basics:

• I will often refer to this growing human inside of me as: LBP- Little Baby Preyers and sometimes nugget
• I am due March 28, 2015- this would put me right at 31 weeks and 4 days
• We did not find out what the sex of the baby is, we're having a baby, that's all we know! 

I'm going to try and keep things pretty simple. I'll try to include a picture, some updates and a little humor for you. If you have questions, or comments feel free to leave them in the convenient comment section below or email me. 

How far along: 31 weeks

Gender: Waiting on the best surprise of our lives!  

Maternity clothes: I've been wearing mostly maternity jeans since 22 weeks and a few tops. I mostly am in workout or lounge clothes at home and thank you sweet Jesus for leggings. 

Stretch marks: None! 

Belly button in or out: In, and I don't think it will pop 

Sleep: Sleeping well minus this last week and the cold I brought home from Michigan. I think I kept Brian and the neighbors up with my nose blowing, bathroom trips and tossing and turning! oops. 

Best moment this week: Making some progress on nursery decisions. All of our boxes have arrived from our shower in Michigan (which I will share more about later) and we can't wait to organize and put everything away

Worst moment this week: Realizing once again, I need bigger sports bras! To those I've ever said I wanted bigger boobs to, I lied, TAKE THEM! 

Miss anything: I miss fitting into all of my clothes, especially my workout tops. It's also no surprise, but I REALLY miss a tall bottle of WINE! 

Movement: Yes! Tons of movement, lots of rolling around and I think LBP finally understands when it's sleep time. 

Cravings: I wouldn't call them cravings, but more things I enjoy that I never used to eat like Popsicles, Pop-Tarts, Cereal, and Candy. Obviously, not the healthiest things, but everything in moderation. 

Queasy or sick: I've been VERY lucky to feel no sickness this whole pregnancy, but food aversions are a real thing. Red meat and sometimes fish are a total turn off. 

Looking forward to: The big 3-0 this Friday! I always knew I'd be pregnant on my 30th birthday. Something deep down told me that this is when I'd be pregnant. 

This is from Christmas and I've grown even since then! 

Here are a few more from my amazing San Diego photo shoot with my friend Sarah. She does amazing work and you can visit her site here.

I hope you enjoyed these few updates, I plan to update this weekly so come back often to check things out. Stay warm wherever you are and thank you for all of your love and support!