The Belly

I see all these adorable pregnant women posting belly shots at 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40 weeks on their blogs and think, "I wish I did that."  Not necessarily for you all to see, but to capture this incredible transformation that happens over the course of 9 months.  So, here, for your viewing pleasure, are all the belly shots I've managed to capture or have captured during these past 40 weeks.

5 Weeks--No, I wasn't showing THAT much, but that shirt is definitely not flattering to a non-pregnant belly.  Even at 5 weeks, I still got asked by my dear friend if I was pregnant because of this picture.

13 1/2 weeks--My attempt to start capturing the growth in a formal way.



18 weeks--Doesn't look like much, especially compared to the month before.

19 weeks--Dude!  What happened! 

30 weeks--Photo Courtesy of Taryn

32 weeks--Photo Courtesy of Keara

34 weeks--Photo Courtesy of Keara

Oh wait, mom, I didn't quite get your belly in that one.  Better do panoramic!

36 weeks--Photo Courtesy of me...my camera can be a bit delayed... 

39 weeks--Photo Courtesy of Taryn--Loved this Halloween "Costume"

 39 1/2 weeks--Photo Courtesy of Avery

Today--39 weeks, 6 days--With no one around, I had to take my own picture using the mirror.

Seriously?  Who is in charge of cleaning that mirror?  I would if I could reach it but this belly keeps bonking into the sink...

And there you have it, folks.  It can't get much bigger than this before d-day.  Hopefully!



I think I need a new photographer. 

Taryn's "Bright" Idea

I keep forgetting to post this.

Several weeks ago, Taryn announced that she and Avery had decided on a name for the baby.

T:  Mom, we should name the baby "Bulb."
M: Bob?  Bub?  What did you say?
T: Bulb, mom.  Like LIGHT BULB.

This is why the girls are not consulted when it comes to naming the baby!

Things You Never Knew You Never Knew

You always hear people saying that in pregnancy, you're hotter (temperature-wise) than normal and than everyone else.  I've never found this phenomenon to be the case with me. 

With Keara, I was pregnant thru most of the winter and found that I was freezing cold in the mornings.  When we lived in Arizona, I was pregnant thru two summers with Taryn and Avery, with Avery being born at the end of August.  So I was REALLY pregnant during the worst of the summer.  But I never figured I was any more miserable than everyone else.  Arizona was hot and everyone was hot.  I didn't think pregnancy made it worse.

However,  this time around, I'm beginning to realize that I probably WAS a lot hotter than I otherwise would have been.  I have been so warm, compared to Braden, this fall that it is almost comical.  At night, when we would have the windows open and the box fan going, he would sleep under 4 layers, while I slept with a sheet.  Last night, he stayed up reading in bed and finally decided to go to sleep once his hands were so frozen that he couldn't really turn the pages anymore.  I lay sleeping, again, under the sheet and feeling a little too hot.  Then this morning, I went out to turn on the car to take Keara to school...in short sleeves, feeling quite comfortable, only to discover that the car was covered in frost and it was only 30 degrees. 

I'm suddenly feeling very concerned about how COLD I'm going to feel when I'm not pregnant anymore!!

Count Down

Has it hit you yet that Halloween is in just 5 days?  And that November, yes NOVEMBER, is in just 6 days?  Wasn't it just January?  And it is already November.  I remember thinking in March that November would never come as I hovered over the toilet, violently experiencing the joys of the first trimester, and yet here it is.  November.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas.  We're in the throes of autumn, which I absolutely ADORE, but very soon, we'll be wrapping up the year and putting away the decorations that bring so much joy and light to my life.  I love this time of year.  I just can't believe it's already here.

Which also means my due date is just around the corner.  8 days, but who's counting?  I'm hoping for a healthy baby and wonderful birth experience...and early or "on time" would be nice too.  My mom comes in town on the 5th, so I'm hoping this little one is here by then.  And yet, I stop to think about that and realize...that's in just a week and a half!  Seriously?  I just might be holding this little wonder in less than a week and a half?  Is that really possible?  I don't know why I'm having such a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept this time around.  It just seems like it's been off in the distant future for so long and I can't believe it's actually here.

I think one reason why the timing of this impending birth seems so odd is because I have had by far the least prenatal care of any of my pregnancies. With Keara, I did everything strictly by the book--every 4 weeks, 2 weeks, then 1 week until 41 weeks when she was born--that's like 14 appointments. With Taryn, I was a bit more flexible. With Avery, since I knew my doctor by that point, I worked it out to come every 6 weeks instead of 4, and then every 3 instead of 2 at the end. With this baby, I had an appointment in April, then May, then June. Then I had nothing until September with my new OB up here. I saw him again at the beginning of October and have my next tomorrow. So 6 appointments total so far. Enough for an ultrasound, glucose screening, and group B strep test, which was positive again. Still, it has made the whole experience seem a little less, um, timed? Maybe? I don't know how to say it.



I am concerned (and I'm trying to have positive thoughts so as to help the situation rather than compound it) that she isn't in the right position.  Sometimes she feels posterior, other times sideways, and tonight...breech.  I have my OB appointment tomorrow morning, so hopefully I'll learn a little more about her situation there.  A couple weeks ago, she was definitely head down and low, but she's not engaged anymore and is still floating.  I know that's common and normal for subsequent pregnancies, but I'd like to feel that she's settled and ready to come. 

But until she is, I still have 30 diapers to finish and an order for 12 yogurt tubes to send off.  Plus 20 other things that are still on my to-do list.  The girls halloween costumes are coming together and we have 3 parties to attend in the next 3 days. 

Hopefully, my next post will be filled with a happy announcement.  We'll see!

Sneak Peek!

Here's what I made last night...

Nesting?

We're counting down the weeks now...just 4 to go!  I can't believe we're really at the end of this pregnancy already, and yet I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be over!  I have so much to do...

They call it nesting.  I call it preparation.  And sure, do I really have to do ALL these things before the baby is born?  No.  But I know that life will be much easier afterwards if I do.

I started with making freezer meals.  In the end, I have enough meals put together or ready for 50 dinners.  FIFTY!?  Wow.  That was a lot.  This is the first time our freezer has been full.  Like really full.  Like don't buy anything that has to be frozen because it will not fit. 

I also had a bunch of orders (particularly yogurt tubes) that needed to get done.

And we're still trying to move in now that the basement is getting finished (though it should be officially finished this Saturday.  Hooray!!) so I've been organizing and unpacking.  I'd rather do it when the weather is perfect than in 6 weeks when it is snowing.  Last year's first snowfall was on November 13th.  That's a lot sooner than most of us realize...or want...

Oh, and I really wanted to get Christmas finished before the baby came so I could enjoy the season.  I've got half of it wrapped and the other half either planned, purchased, or started.  But I still need to get that done.

I needed to get things ready for when the baby does decide to come, like getting the hospital bag packed.  Not like I need it yet, but it is easy to do and check off the list so I don't have to think about it again.  So that got done.

And then, I am left with the little things I WANT to do to get ready for this baby.  Like making things.  I need to make her cloth diapers and covers, which I started weeks ago and still haven't gotten back to.  Tonight.  Must do tonight.  I also want a new mei tai carrier, so I need to make that too. 

But the most pressing thing for me was to recover my carseat...again.  With Avery, I made a cover that went on top of my existing carseat.  Like a glove, but one that I never absolutely loved.  Here's what it looked like:

This time, though, I wanted a more modern, more gender neutral, and more professional look.  Not so homemade.  So I followed the basic tutorial from Make It and Love It, made my own changes to make it easier, and ended up with this:

I love it!!  So, even if this baby has no diapers for her bum, she'll be riding in style!