We're Still Here!

We are still here! Turns out that having a newborn is incredibly time consuming, yet it's one of the best things I've ever done! I've been working on writing Harbor's birth story, but I get emotional every time, coupled with the fact that it's a tad on the lengthy side and needless to say it is still a work in progress. In the meantime, here are some pictu
res of our Little Dove (due to the dove-like coo sounds she makes in her sleep)! We are over the moon in love with her!

brand new baby!

Sleepin' hard with my paci

First family photo

We have been working hard to get on a schedule, and things are really coming together. I attribute our success so far to On Becoming Babywise. I was hesitant to read this book at first, but it really has been a lifesaver. I would recommend it to all my new mommy friends. It has given me the confidence boost I needed to feel like I was doing the right thing! Harbor sleeps like a champ because of it and Josh and I actually have time to get things done around the house in between all the kisses and cuddles with Harbor.

I'm STILL pregnant...week 38

The title pretty much sums things up. So ready to meet our baby girl (and not be pregnant anymore!) Visiting the dr. every week now. I always go in hopeful that he'll give us news that says "Looks like you're very close! Go ahead and head over to the hospital tonight!", but no. I only get "She's happy where she is - see you next week". Harbor seems to have not inherited her mother's impatience, which I'm sure I'll be thankful for one day. Tomorrow is May 1st which means it's birthday month! We are so close!

How far along? 38 Weeks
Total weight gain: 22 lbs.

Baby is the size of: a small watermelon (about 19 1/2 inches long and 7 lbs)

Maternity clothes? even those are getting snug
Stretch marks? sigh...yes. I was so excited to not have any but I now have several on the very lower part of my belly. Bring on the cocoa butter.
Sleep: boo
Best moment this week: the weekend where I didn't have to do anything, ha!

Miss Anything?: walking normally, been craving iced coffee like crazy this week

Movement: stretching that sometimes makes me wonder if she can bust through my skin

Food cravings: juice, fruit, pink lemonade

Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: none........I think she's staying in there forever

Symptoms: swollen feet, itchy skin, aches and pains
Belly Button in or out? out...way out
Wedding rings on or off? off :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy but I have my moments. Josh has been very patient with me :)
Looking forward to: meeting our little angel! I can't wait to see her little face! I wonder if it will match the way I've imagined her or if I will feel like I've known her forever.

Baby Brain is Real

Everyone hears the stories of so-called "baby brain"...pregnant women forgetting things or making silly mistakes. I'll admit that I always thought that was an old wive's tale that barred no truth. I was wrong. Here are a couple of the most traumatic hilarious things I've done so far.

In general:

forgetting my keys/purse at work

putting things in the refrigerator that don't belong there (i.e. the remote, my cell phone)

misplacing everything that I touch

Here are the real gems...

The Car Incident:

One morning, when arriving at work I hop out of the car, grab my stuff, and head inside. Once I get to my classroom, I reach in my purse for my keys only to find that they are not there. So I stand there for a second, trying to figure out where I last had them, when it occurs to me that I may have dropped them in my car. I walk back out to my car (which turned into running towards my car) when I realized that I had never actually shut it off, but left it completely cranked sitting in the parking lot. Whoops. At least I found my keys!

The Pregnancy Miracle:

About a week or two ago, my alarm clock went off and I rolled over to turn it off. *crucial to the story is the fact that I have TERRIBLE eyesight. The last eye doctor I went to asked me how old I was because it is that bad* So normally, I have to squint really hard to read what time is on the clock so I know if I need to get up or if I can enjoy nine more minutes of snoozin'. This day, however, squinting made it much worse. Like I couldn't see at all when I squinted. So I just opened my eyes normally and realized that....wait for it....I COULD SEE! You have to understand, every morning of my life since about the 2nd grade I have not been able to see a thing until I had my glasses on, so this was a cause for celebration! I was giddy. Elated even. It was a pregnancy miracle! Somehow my hormones had completely cured my nearsightedness! I seriously considered waking up Josh to tell him about this amazing development, but I decided to take a look in the mirror first. Maybe my eyes would look different? Be a different color? I don't know what I expected. They were, in fact, a different color...just not a flattering one. They were red. Bright red. This is when my elation turned to crushing disappointment when I realized that someone had forgotten to take out their contacts the night before.

Harbor, hurry up and get here before your mama hurts herself.

36 Weeks, i.e. How Much Longer Do I Have to Be Pregnant?

I'm really not trying to be a complainer...I'm not. But holy cow. I think God designed the last month of pregnancy to be the most miserable because then you're willing to do whatever is necessary to get the kid out. I have officially reached that point. Again, I know I've had it so easy with very little morning sickness and a healthy baby the whole way through, but I'm so uncomfortable. While waddling around the grocery store tonight trying not to tinkle on myself and wincing from back pain, it dawned on me that all pregnant women should be issued a Rascal scooter during the third trimester along with a pass that excuses you from any physical or emotional work until after the baby is born. Just a thought.

How far along? 36 Weeks
Total weight gain: 17 lbs.

Baby is the size of: a crenshaw melon, which apparently is about 6 lbs. ( about 18 1/2 inches long)

Maternity clothes? I've forgotten what it was like to wear pants with a button and a zipper
Stretch marks? one renegade stretch mark has appeared right above my belly button, or what used to be my belly button...
Sleep: not terrible, just constantly aware of the discomfort
Best moment this week: nursery is DONE! I'll post about that soon.

Miss Anything?: Feeling like a normal human being maybe?

Movement: tushy wiggling, but she's been more mellow lately. There's no room to move!

Food cravings: gallons and gallons of water, strawberry banana V8 Fusion juice

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope, bring on the food!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: it may be wishful thinking, but I feel like she's dropped some in the last week or so. I've also had some pretty killer Braxton Hicks which has been a new development

Symptoms: bathroom queen, swollen feet and hands, back pain, joint pain in my fingers (didn't know that was even a thing until the other day), pretty much feeling geriatric
Belly Button in or out? out
Wedding rings on or off? off - my finger is green from my fake
Happy or Moody most of the time: unfortunately moody most of this week but happy underneath it all
Looking forward to: touring the hospital and getting our preregistration done - one step closer to meeting Harbor girl!

Week 34

If this pregnancy were a football game, we'd be at the start of the 4th quarter *holding up four fingers* and thank goodness. I know that I have had a ridiculously easy pregnancy so far and have absolutely zero reason to complain about anything at all, but I've reached the point where I'm ready for this kid to vacate the premises. No only because I can't wait to meet her, but to say that I'm uncomfortable would be the understatement of the century. I want my body back. I love you, Harbor, but really. This is getting a bit ridiculous.

How far along? 34 Weeks
Total weight gain: 17 lbs.

Baby is the size of: a cantaloupe (a little over 4 pounds and about 18 inches long)

Maternity clothes? ugh...clothes. The bane of my existence. Nothing is cute or comfortable. I'm starting to doubt it ever will be again. Just put me in stretch pants and lock me in a closet until this is over (hence the lack of photo...that was intentional)
Stretch marks? nope, and hopefully it will stay that way
Sleep: better in the last couple of weeks. I'm just so tired all the time I think my body doesn't know what else to do but sleep and gestate.
Best moment this week: a wonderful baby shower at work - we are so lucky to have so many great friends!

Miss Anything? Hmm, where to begin...

1. skinny jeans

2. sleeping on my stomach

3. turkey sandwiches

4. regular sized feet, ankles, and fingers

5. being able to lean forwards

6. NOT having to eat every 30 minutes

7. Shirts without an empire waist or side ruching

8. Shopping at Forever 21 without everyone's judgy eyes

9. Tying my own shoes

10. Being able to stay awake for more than 4 hours without wanting/needing a nap
Movement: Since she's quickly running out of room there's a lot more stretching than kicking. She likes to stretch her little booty up against my ribs and stomach. Mama is not a fan of this particular move. It is pretty funny when she gets going at school and my class can see my belly bounce around. Their reactions are hilarious. One kid said she was probably ribbon dancing.

Food cravings: sweets, fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: not so much anymore, just strong smells of anything
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope (not that I'm entirely sure I'll know when they do come)

Symptoms: swollen ankles and fingers, fatigue
Belly Button in or out? Mostly flat but parts of it pop out depending on the time of day and how she's positioned
Wedding rings on or off? off - I've resorted to my huge fake ring that I can get on and off
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Starting our "What the Heck to Do With This Kid When I Bring Her Home" class on Wednesday. I'm reeeeeally hoping it will make me feel more capable of being responsible for this tiny person!

Week 31

I swear I'm not partial to the oddly numbered weeks...it's just that I've been so super busy lately! I'm working on my National Board Certification, which has been a huge time suck until I get everything finished, which is (thankfully) in the very near future!

Had our most recent check up a week ago, and everything looks good. Baby girl is still head down, so hopefully she'll stay that way for the last 2 months here. She's pretty much been that way since December, so I'm thinking she's comfy and happy like that. Her heartbeat was nice and strong and the doctor said she probably weighs about 3ish pounds. We have officially reached the point of going to for checkups every 2 weeks, so back to the doctor we go next Wednesday!

This picture pretty much sums up my tiredness levels. Check out those eye bags - yeesh.

How far along? 31 Weeks
Total weight gain: 12 lbs. (uh, yeah that would be 6 pounds in a month. ouch)

Baby is the size of: 4 navel oranges (16 inches from head to heel)

Maternity clothes? still fitting into some of my looser fitting pre-pregnancy tops and I can wear a lot of regular clothes just a size up from normal
Stretch marks? none - hooray!
Sleep: no bueno. I still have the weirdest dreams and I have pretty much since day 1.
Best moment this week: finishing the changing table (which is just an Ikea dresser) which was a serious accomplishment on mine and Josh's part. We worked a little each night and managed not to totally screw anything up!

Miss Anything? so many things...
Movement: I'm getting a sense of her sleeping and waking patterns, but I think she's just a really chill baby overall. Hopefully this is a reflection of her personality! I feel more stretches than kicks, although last week I'm pretty sure she was having some kind of dance party right before bed.

Food cravings: sweets, oranges
Anything making you queasy or sick: pickles
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: minus the giant beach ball attached to my midsection, a little swelling in my feet and legs, but nothing too miserable
Belly Button in or out? flat as a pancake. And kind of numb? Not sure how normal that is. Oh well.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy with occasional periods where I find everything incredibly irritating. Like the fact that our DVR hasn't worked for a week.
Looking forward to: finishing up the nursery - getting there little by little!

29 Weeks (a week late)

Better late than never, I say. Today officially marks day 1 of week 30. Only 10 weeks to go!! I can't believe that in 2.5 months we will be a family of 3. Here's how things are progressing.

How far along? 29 Weeks
Total weight gain: 6 lbs.

Baby is the size of a: butternut squash (we are going by weight from here to the end) (15ish inches from head to heel)

Maternity clothes? same. In this week's pic I'm squished like a sausage into one of Josh's UK shirts because mine were all too short.
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: still very restless. I enjoy my afternoon naps better than overnight sleeping.
Best moment this week: setting up the crib! My parents (the future Birdie and Papaw--not sure that name's staying...) came to visit last weekend and helped us assemble it. Nursery is really coming along!

Miss Anything? sleeping. I used to be such a champ.
Movement: lots! Now I can tell not just when she kicks, but when she pushes up against something. We can feel something (either a knee, foot, or elbow) that jabs me pretty often.

Food cravings: girl scout cookies, ha!
Anything making you queasy or sick: pickles
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: off and on back pain and a little swelling in my ankles and feet if I've been standing or walking a lot that day
Belly Button in or out? half flat frowny face
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: getting on some of the DIY projects I have planned for the nursery

Last night we went to the UK v. Georgia basketball game, which was the first time Josh and I had gone to see the Cats play. The only thing I can compare it to is Auburn football. Totally crazy and fun! Harbor has never been to something that loud before and she wasn't really sure what to do. If it was calm, she was moving around like normal, but when a huge cheer would go up, she'd jerk really fast and freeze in place. I can't imagine what her little face looked like!

Here's me in Rupp - and no I didn't steal a basketball under my shirt! :)