Just over 29 weeks

Ahhh the weeks keep getting away from me!

I have the best of intentions to post updates every Monday but it seems they never pan out.

Last week and this week I've been busy back at it in the kitchen baking up a storm. This baking thing is a constant roller coaster, I swear I won't have anything going on for a few weeks or month or two then all of a sudden I get one order and 4 more follow it! I love doing it but baking cakes/cupcakes and decorating them sure is becoming exhausting at 7 months pregnant. I will definitely be taking a few months break here soon...

Baseball season is in full swing right now, meaning husband is MIA until the middle-end of July. Today is our 4th Anniversary! However he has an away game out of town (unless rained out!) and I have more baking to do the rest of this week and weekend. 

How Far Along: 29 weeks and 3 days


How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an acorn squash! Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants and rotating between maternity and non-maternity shirts.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Daily and I love every single minute of it! He's been one active little man, definitely more active then not. He moves a lot throughout the day now but still have his quiet times, then is active again a lot in the evening and around 3am.   

Sleep: It's getting more uncomfortable as the night goes on, usually just toss and turn all night from one side to the other. My back gets pretty sore as the night goes on laying down but I'm still sleep fairly good. I usually pass out within a few minutes of laying down and have been able to easily fall back asleep when I have to get up in the middle of the night. So I really can't complain!

Belly button in or out? Having a harder time seeing it :), but it's still in just getting more and more shallow.

What I miss: Nothing!

Food Cravings: Nothing really this week...

Aversions: Not currently....

Symptoms: I still have sciatic nerve pain although it's just mainly at night getting in and out of bed and if I've been on my feet standing up for a long period of time, like standing up decorating cakes. About once or twice a week I still have upper back right under my shoulder blade that curls around right under the top rib cage and even travels down my arm if I sit too long. If I'm standing too long or sitting too long, just can't win! lol

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks! I usually feel a few everyday, mostly if I've been sitting for a little while then stand up and start walking I get one that can be a bit uncomfortable while walking but it usually doesn't last long. I've noticed if I'm up on my feet running around too for a longer period of time I will get them more frequently. The other day I got off work and went to the grocery store, put everything away at home, prepared dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, did dishes, did two loads of laundry and cut up a watermelon for the week and BH were pretty frequent. Just had to sit down to relax for a bit for them to stop.

Best Moment(s) this week: Having a three day weekend! Having some down time to read and finish a book....which I'll have to remember to do a book review on.
Milestones: Third Trimester.

What I'm looking forward to: Eventually getting a date night planned with the hubs for our anniversary.

I think he likes them...

The husband still is not 100% convinced about this whole cloth diapering thing.

I know it’s mainly because none of his friends are doing it (YES I’m being serious!) and he doesn’t know anyone who has used cloth to talk to it about. He things it’s going to be hard, messy, inconvenient, take longer to change the kid, stick with keeping the diapers around, gross with dealing with poop, increase the water bill, etc…..mainly, all the concerns a lot of people have at the first thought of using cloth.

No matter how much I read and rely back to him, he is still unconvinced.

This makes me even more determined to succeed!

In my attempt to get Dave more on board with using cloth diapers I decided to look for something that would be more appealing to him. Cloth diapers come in all different brands, colors and prints. I wanted to find something sports related, I mean how could he couldn’t say a baseball or football related cute little diaper?!

I searched Google to see if I could find anything. I did! I found a lady on Etsy who makes special orders!!! She has already made both a Chicago Cub and a Iowa Hawkeye diaper so I can just order a regular diaper and write my requests of what I want to order. I was looking for ideas on-line of what colors to order from her when I found another website called Fancy Pants Diapers. They have a black & gold striped diaper and a few others I thought were really cute, so I bought a few boyish diapers I though Dave would like…

Camouflage

Spiderman

Black & Gold Bumble Bee print

Mickey Mouse!! This was the deal maker, as soon as I saw it I knew I had to order it for Dave.

They came in the mail this week and I brought them out to show each one to Dave. He just smiled the entire time at each one....I think he likes them!! I think they might be his go to diapers once MJ fits into them.

Of course once I gave him the Mickey diaper he asked if that meant we could start making plans to go back to Disney World or even visit Disney Land next year...he's obsessed, and already trying to plan #2!

Hello Third Trimester!

Holy crap we're in the final stretch!

Three months left....count 'em one, two, three...until little MJ is here. WOW!

I may start to freak out very soon....I mean we are now down to doctor appointments every two weeks now instead of monthly AND have only twelve weeks until our due date.   

How Far Along: 28 weeks
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an eggplant! Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, he has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). His skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit. 
Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants and rotating between maternity and non-maternity shirts.
Gender: BOY!
Movement: Daily and I love every single minute of it! He's been one active little man lately, I find it hilarious and mesmorizing being able to watch my belly move or twitch and see parts roll from one side to the other.
Sleep: It's getting more uncomfortable as the night goes on, usually just toss and turn all night from one side to the other.
Belly button in or out? It's getting more shallow...
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: Nothing really this week...
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Still have some sciatic nerve pain although it's just mainly at night getting in and out of bed. About once or twice a week I'll have upper back right under my shoulder blade that curls around right under the top rib cage and even travels down my arm if I sit too long.
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks!
Best Moment(s) this week: Having a beautiful baby shower!!!!
Milestones: Third and final trimester :)
What I'm looking forward to: Memorial Day weekend and a long week, can't wait to have Monday off.

MJ's Shower

Had the most wonderful weekend!

My favorite sister in law threw baby MJ and I a absolutely beautiful baby shower!!

Steph called dibs on throwing us a baby shower the second we announced to them we were expecting this little guy back in December. She says she's been planning this day for a few years now :) so she's been on the ball getting this thing organized for many many months now.

You could tell she is one organized mama and everything about the shower was so thoughtful!!

Starting with right when you wanted up to the door...

She made this amazingly adorable wreath, adorned with the letters "MJ", pacifiers, onesies, baseball socks, burp clothes, etc.

Steph's mom was gracious enough to let us invade her beautiful home for the occasion. It could not have turned out more perfect.

The sign in table had a book to give advice, a photo mat with the invitation to sign, a bin for books, and a cute little baseball piggy bank to start his savings!

Cupcakes! Delicious cupcakes in green, navy and light blue frosting.

Onesies for every month!!!  Mollie found these on Etsy in our colors, little ties in every month to put on the onesies for pictures. These are so cute and I cannot wait to be able to take MJ's monthly picture in them....okay I'm only excited to get the first newborn pictures and the rest of the months can come very, very slowly :)

Holy Gifts!! We have some very generous family and friends!

What started it all, or at least helped, the Mamajuana from Punta Cana!!!
Me and MJ with the real MJ :)

Grandma Mary, Great Grandma Dorthy and the Mommy to Be

College Roommate Reunion!!
Lindsay is due in October with a boy also, we plan on our boys following in tradition and rooming together at UNI.....now Tiff just needs to jump on board to get knocked up with a boy too!

Steph due June, me due in August and my cousin Kristin due in October!

Cousins!

These were the cute centerpieces on all the tables outside under the tents when we ate. The pom poms were in mason jars with lime wedges in the bottom....so simple and creative!

MJ's friends waiting for him in his crib....away from the puppies wanting to play with them all.

An amazing gift basket of cloth diapers!!! Eleven diapers (prepped and ready to go!) along with two bottles of cloth diaper friendly detergent, a diaper pail liner, wipes, extra inserts, baby shampoo, baby lotion and a hoodie bath towel.

Right after we got home from the shower we hung out in MJ's room and Dave went through all the gifts to check them out. Then he immediately starting putting stuff together, first off was the stroller travel system.

Then the pack 'n play

He used the dogs as guinea pigs to test them both out before baby. Waveland thought the bassinet in the pack 'n play is pretty comfy, she laid like this for a few minutes.

His closet is starting to fill up!

Me and my beautiful Hostess!!

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day or shower. I feel so extremely blessed to have a sister so gracious to plan such a special day for us, as well as all the family and friends who were able to make the trip and time out of their days to come. A lot of people aside from Dave and I have waiting a long time for this little guy. He could not be more loved already and we are eagerly awaiting his arrive in August!!

Letters

I saw this adorable picture on another blog I came across who decorated wooden letters for the nursery. I fell in love with it so I just had to do it myself! 

 I like the idea more so than just spelling out the babies name, especially since we haven't 100% decided on a name yet. Plus, it will help him learn his ABC's right?!

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon project.

First, I laid out all my letters in order and did each phase in sections.

I purchased the entire alphabet at Michael's. I already had a bunch of scrapbook paper to to choose from but did purchase some extra sheets on sale to coordinate with the color combo in the nursery bedding and wall colors.

I used the left over paint from the wall stripes to paint the sides of each letter.

I used the medium blue for the majority of all the letters and added a few with green.

I used two coats of paint on each letter. They dried in no time!

Next, I laid out all the paper I wanted to use and randomly grabbed letters in no particular order.

Lay the paper face down and place the letter you want covered face down on top of the paper. Using a pencil, trace around the letter onto the paper. Cut the letter out of the paper just a bit inside of the traced lines so the paper doesn't hang over the edges. I used left over Mod Podge craft glue to cover the back of the paper with a thin layer using a foam brush, then applied the paper to the letter and smoothed out the paper.

Let that sit for a few minutes by completing a few other letters. Then go back to trim any edges if you need to. Add additional Mod Podge to your brush and cover the face of each paper covered letter to make the letters smooth and add sheen.

Allow to dry completely.    

Then your done!

I LOVE how they turned out and can't wait to hang them up!

27 weeks

How Far Along: 27 weeks 2 days
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an rutabaga! Baby's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means he's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in your womb means every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey -- it's progress.
Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants and rotating between maternity and non-maternity shirts.
Gender: BOY!
Movement: Daily and I love every single minute of it! He definitely has his active and quiet periods.
Sleep: I go through phases were I'm just not comfortable sleeping on any side so I just toss and turn all night. I'm back to getting up 2-3 times a night to pee.
Belly button in or out? In but it's getting more shallow.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: Nothing really this week...
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Sciatic nerve pain although it's just mainly at night getting in and out of bed. Nightly pee sessions. Still get that pain in my upper back right under my shoulder blade that curls around right under the top rib cage and even travels down my arm if I sit too long.
Labor Signs: Pretty positive have started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions. I think I've been feeling them for a little bit now but didn't realize they were actually BH. My entire belly will  get very very tight and hard then stop. Sometimes it feels like MJ is balled up pushing really hard up again my stomach which comes in waves at times, it doesn't hurt just can feel a bit uncomfortable.
Best Moment(s) this week: Ordered the glider and ottoman
Milestones: Last week in the 2nd trimester :)
What I'm looking forward to: MJ's baby shower THIS weekend! Third trimester. Next doctors appointment on Monday.

Ladies Week Away

This week is just getting away from me, I started this post 4 days ago and have yet to come back to finish it!

It was Girls Weekend this past weekend. Nine of us ladies made our way to Chicago for some retail therapy, food and a night out on the town. It was a lot of fun to get out of town for a bit with a group of such wonderful ladies!! We stopped at one of the outlet malls and the only things I purchased were for the little man, he got some new threads.....

I couldn't pass them up, plus we had a coupon to take an extra 15% off your entire purchase, score! It's hard to shop for this little guy considering we have yet to have our shower so I have no idea what he'll be getting for that, plus I just flat out don't have a clue what he needs. Guess I shouldn't really worry about that as long as he has the basics (clean diapers, my boob, a place to sleep and some onesies/blankets to keep warm) then we will be fine!

After an afternoon of shopping we headed downtown to check into our hotel, The Omni Hotel. We were so lucky to get two adjoining rooms, one with two double beds and a pull out couch and the other a king size bed with a pull out couch. It was perfect! Considering how busy Chicago was that weekend with the NATO conference, Cince de Mayo and the Derby festivities, it was a bit crazy.  We shopped around downtown until my feet hurt so bad they felt like I couldn't even stand, note to self start "wearing more comfortable shoes when you know you'll be on your feet ALL DAY!" I tried to put them up for a bit while everyone was getting ready for the night.

We had a great meal at Tavern on Rush then went out to the Public House and Social 25. I must admit it was a bit awkward going out to bars/clubs being 26 weeks pregnant. There's no hiding or disguising what I got going on here. I felt A LOT of stares!!! At least I wasn't the only pregnant lady in our group, however Kelsey is quite a bit smaller than me even for only being 3 weeks behind. But we made it out till midnight!! Yay us! Once the clock strict 12 o'clock we made a beeline to a taxi back to the hotel. My feet and ankles were swollen and we both were completely exhausted.

On our way home Sunday my car load stopped at Ikea in Schamburg for a little more shopping, a couple of the girls had never been and I have only been there once. I bought some photo frame shelves I'm going to use in MJ's room as little book shelves on the wall (I'll show those off later!).  

How Far Along: 26 weeks 3 days
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an lettuce! Baby's soaking up your antibodies, getting his immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and he'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.
Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants and rotating between maternity and non-maternity shirts.
Gender: BOY!
Movement: Daily and I love every single minute of it! He's moving so much, I find myself watching my belly move throughout the entire day, it just amazes me!! And he is still loving hanging out on the right side, that's where I feel/see the majority of all his activity however the bigger he's getting the more I feel his movements on the left now too.
Sleep:  I go through phases were I'm just not comfortable sleeping on any side so I just toss and turn all night. I'm back to getting up 2-3 times a night to pee.
Belly button in or out? In but it's getting more shallow.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: Nothing really this week... My stomach must be getting smaller as my appetite sure has finally decreased. I get full a lot faster now too, especially at dinner time. I need small meals otherwise I feel uncomfortably full.
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Sciatic nerve pain although it's just mainly at night getting in and out of bed. Nightly pee sessions. Still get that pain in my upper back right under my shoulder blade that curls around right under the top rib cage and even travels down my arm if I sit too long. The belly is definitely starting to get in the way and make it harder to do things like pick things up off the floor and putting shoes/socks on.
Best Moment(s) this week: Picked the mattress and found a bed skirt.
Milestones: We're in double digits!!  That's right, less than 100 days till August 13th :-)  Yes I'm fully aware I could be overdue I'm expecting it but will of course be overjoyed to go early or just on time! But I like to be prepared.
What I'm looking forward to: MJ's baby shower next weekend!!