Baby R: 34 Weeks

This weekend was the WDW Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World. I really enjoyed seeing friends run via social media (congrats Patty on running your first marathon!) and just the general excitement from the race weekend.

I completed the marathon last year and I have to say it was the hardest thing I've ever done- both mentally and physically. I went in undertrained and nervous as heck. There were times when I wanted to quit and times when I thought I was going to die, but I made it through- all thanks to my supportive husband. He had no interest in running the marathon (half are enough for him), but I asked him to run with me and be my support. He was there every step of the way, encouraging me when things got hard, never complaining that I dragged him out there for 7 hours. If not for him, I would not have finished.

So as I think about delivering this baby and what will most likely trump the marathon in terms of the hardest things I've ever done, I remember the marathon and I know that with my husband by my side, anything is possible. And while it may seem odd, I'm planning to bring my marathon medal (or mini medal pin) in my hospital bag as a reminder of what I can accomplish with the right support. :)

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain: 20 lbs! I've been really packing on the weight lately! 

Exercise: Prenatal yoga almost every day to help with back and hip pain. I'm really starting to feel the effects of the added weight. I've almost got that pregnancy waddle swag. ;)

Stretch marks: None that I can tell.

Maternity clothes: Yes! I've also started dipping into my husband's wardrobe. ;)

Belly button in or out? It's poking out now. Not a lot, but you can see it through my t-shirt. Haha. 

Wedding rings on or off? Still fit, but getting very snug.

Sleep: Sleep is still hit or miss. I've started making piles of pillows so I can sleep practically sitting up. 

Food cravings/Aversions: Soda? I didn't want all the sugar, so I've satisfied the craving with sparkling/fizzy water. In general, I've been very very thirsty. Eggs have suddenly started grossing me out. I can make them for my husband, but the thought of eating them... no.

Symptoms: Feeling large and in charge. Also getting some Braxton Hicks contractions.

Movement: Baby is still moving around a lot. He had an "Alien" moment where he pushed his foot like he was trying to escape through the front of my belly. It created a visible bump- both hubby and I were shocked he is so strong!

Best moment this week: This seems kind of ridiculous to say it's my favorite moment, but this week I was able to lay on my stomach! I used a whole bunch of pillows and left a gap for the belly. It was heavenly! :)

Did you participate in the WDW Marathon Weekend? I'd love to hear about your experience!

Baby R: 33 Weeks: Happy New Year!

Um, yes. You can never have enough chocolate croissants!

Sparkling cider for New Years Eve!

2015 best nine on Instagram- Disney, baby, and running- accurately describes my year!

How far along? 33 weeks!

Total weight gain: 18 lbs

Exercise: Keeping up with prenatal yoga and the elliptical. I credit the yoga for my lack of back pain!

Stretch marks: None.

Maternity clothes: Yup! Just bought a couple maternity long sleeve henley tops for our unusually cold weather. 

Belly button in or out? Still in, but trying to poke out.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Sleep: Sleep is not going well. I caught a cold, so between the stuffy nose, sore throat, heart burn, and being uncomfortable in general, sleep isn't fun anymore. I try to take naps during the day to catch up on my Zzzzs. 

Food cravings: Ice cream! Had some yummy Ben&Jerry's Hazed and Confused. So good!

Symptoms: More of the same- joint pain, moving much more slowly. As my hubby says- I'm "as big as a house". :)

Movement: Baby's movements are much stronger. He is definitely running out of space in there. When he stretches out his foot, you can see a small bump from the outside. He still enjoys putting his feet right up by my ribs.

Best moment this week: Made a huge Target run to get the last of the stuff we need off our registry! I also ordered a crib finally! 

Baby R: 32 Weeks: Merry Christmas

Christmas 2015 started off just like any other Christmas- coffee and breakfast with the husband in front of the tree. It's crazy to think that this is our last Christmas just the two of us and that next year we'll have an almost one year old! :O

Christmas gift from the baby

We spent a few days with the family and then headed to the snow for a few days with friends. I can count on two hands the number of times I've been to the snow (shocking, I know!), so even though there wasn't a lot of snow, it was still fun! Finding clothes to wear in the snow was pretty comical. I wasn't going to buy maternity snow gear that I'd only use for a couple days, so I just put on as many layers and I could and topped it off with one of my hubby's jackets. Movement was limited, but it worked! 

It was so nice to be off the grid with no internet/cell reception and just relax in the quiet; something I know will be of short supply once the baby comes.

How far along? 32 Weeks

Total weight gain: 16 lbs

Exercise: Still keeping up with prenatal yoga and the elliptical, averaging 5 workouts/week

Stretch marks: None yet!

Maternity clothes: All the time. 

Belly button in or out? Still mostly in, but it's trying to poke out.

Wedding rings on or off? On, but getting snug.

Sleep: Sleep isn't the best. I still get up a few times a night to pee.

Food cravings: Ice cream, pie, and all the holiday cookies! I was also seriously craving a glass of wine to go with Christmas dinner. :( 

Symptoms: Just the usual- regular tasks are harder to do; scrubbing the shower is now considered a major workout. Space for my stomach is running out, which was terrible timing for the holidays! 

I've also had this not so awesome pain in my pelvis/hip joint. The pain used to be pretty minor in the morning when I woke up, but it's started to get increasingly worse. It's most likely symphysis pubis dysfunction, caused from the ligaments loosening and the joints becoming more lax. 

Movement: Baby was super wiggly throughout the holiday weekend, no doubt caused by all the sweets I was eating. :) 

Best moment this week: Spending time with family. 

Did you have a good time over the holidays?

Baby R: 31 Weeks

One of my pregnancy apps does a size comparison of baby with French pastries. This is by far my favorite! 

We've been in our new house for a few months now. I even have a big dedicated space for me to sew and do other crafty things, but it wasn't until this week that I finally busted out my sewing machine. I had big plans of making tons of burp cloths, bibs, blankets, and quilts for this baby, but I just never got around to starting. I finally had the urge to sew and busted out a couple burp cloths with this cute shark pattern. Maybe this nesting thing is kicking in! :)

How far along? 31 Weeks

Exercise: Prenatal yoga and the elliptical- Aiming for 5 workouts per week.

Stretch marks: none yet!

Maternity clothes: Most definitely! I can still fit in a couple pre-pregnancy tops, but maternity is much more comfortable. 

Belly button in or out? In, but it's trying to poke out.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

Sleep: Sleep has been better this past week. I don't know if it's because I'm more tired, or if I just know what's comfortable and what's not.

Food cravings: Yogurt and strawberry ice cream.

Symptoms: At my last doctors appointment, I found out that I'm slightly anemic. First steps are to try and increase my iron levels through diet (bring on all the red meat and leafy greens!). If that's not enough, I'll go on supplements.

Getting in some red meat with an In-n-Out burger. How cute are their festive wrappers?

Movement: Baby is moving a lot more. The other night I swear he was practicing bicycle kicks off my ribs! 

Best moment this week: We took our birthing class this week! It was very informative and my hubby and I definitely feel more prepared and ready. 

Do you have a favorite French pastry? Mmmm...

Baby R: Baby Shower

This past weekend my gracious aunties threw a baby shower for Baby R! The theme was an ocean/under the sea theme, inspired by our hopefully soon-to-be complete nursery.

We had chicken salad and turkey/cheese croissant sandwiches, pasta and green salad, and Hawaiian meatballs. I'm bummed I forgot to take a picture of the food because it was delicious! 

For dessert we had a layer pretzel dessert in two flavors- orange and strawberry. Have you ever had this before? The bottom layer is crushed pretzels, middle layer is a mix of cream cheese and cool whip, and the top layer is jello and fruit. So good! Just the right combination of flavors to satisfy this pregnant lady's cravings. :)

Favors were blue jelly beans (to mimic water) and gummy fish and sharks.

One of the games was a "guess what's in the diaper" type of game. I've played this before with baby food, but we used melted chocolate bars. I'll spare you the photos, but I'm sure you can imagine what melted Milky Way, Crunch, Snickers, and Twix bars look like in a diaper. ;)

Another one of the games was to guess my baby bump circumference. I think it's pretty crazy how big I've gotten and it was so fun to see the guesses. Most people were over- some were way over like my dear husband. He's lucky I love him! My dad was actually the winner- he was spot on!

Some of my amazing friends and family. Baby R feels so loved and blessed already. 

Now that we've had the shower, it seems so much more real and that the baby will be here soon! Just 2 more months to go!

Have you been to a baby shower? Did you play any fun games?

Baby R: 27-30 Weeks: Entering 3rd Tri!

This year is just flying by! I can't believe we've passed Thanksgiving and Christmas is quickly approaching! I'm feeling oddly calm about the holidays this year. I've gotten 90% of our gift shopping down and our house was decorated earlier than usual. Maybe all my stress is being directed towards the upcoming arrival of the baby.

Thanksgiving!

Getting our Christmas tree. This is me "supervising." ;)

In honor of our new house, we wanted to get a big tree. One where when we put it in the car, we had a moment of "maybe it's TOO big..." Goal achieved! This is the tree with no stand. We had to trim a good chunk off the top to get it to fit. Haha.

How far along? 27-30 Weeks

Total weight gain: 14 lbs

Exercise: Mixing in prenatal yoga and the elliptical. I recently got a FitBit and it's been interesting to see my heart rate. Sometimes when I'm sitting down, my heart rate is 100- and the FitBit thinks I'm in the "fat burn" zone! Huge change from my pre-pregnancy heart rate of the low 60s! 

Stretch marks: None yet, but I expect them any day now.

Maternity clothes: All the time!

Belly button in or out? Still in. 

Wedding rings on or off? They still fit, but are getting more snug.

Sleep: It's going ok, but I still have a hard time getting comfortable. I'm also getting breathless when laying down.

Any baby purchases or preparations? We finally painted the nursery! Still only have a dresser, but at least it's progress!

Food cravings: Thanksgiving dinner! And I've gotten to eat a lot of it!

Symptoms: Starting to get more tired. I think the second trimester energy is fading. 

Movement: Baby must be running out of space. He's doing less kicks and starting to have bigger motions. I can also feel him stretching out in there. 

Best moment this week: We hosted our annual holiday dinner party! We didn't get to have one last year due to a tiny apartment, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity with the new house. 

Even if I couldn't enjoy the wine, at least I got a good laugh out of the napkins!

I spent the day cooking up a storm! We had ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, and brussels sprouts. I think I over did the work load because my toes started to swell right before dinner. After that, I put my feet up for the rest of the night!

Rocky road brownies. SO GOOD! Just a boxed brownie mix with added walnuts. Then after baking and the brownies are still hot, top with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and more walnuts.

And of course, the baby bump got lots of love and attention. :)

Baby R: 23-26 Weeks

How far along? For the sake of this post, I'll go up to 26 weeks. I'm still trying to catch up on my blogging. ;)

Total weight gain: 12 lbs

Exercise: Sadly I had to give up running. I was able to do a 2 mile walk/run for a few days a week, but I was starting to really feel the strain on my hips. I switched to the elliptical and it's much more comfortable.

Stretch marks: None yet!

Maternity clothes: Yup! Pretty much live in maternity leggings. They are seriously so comfortable!

Belly button in or out? Still in!

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

Sleep: Getting harder and harder. I still sleep with a ton of pillows.

Food cravings: Donuts and orange juice! I found a 24 hr donut shop near our house and the hubby even offered to go get one, but I resisted. Until the next morning. ;)

Symptoms: Just getting bigger! I came down with a cold as well, but nothing a little grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup (and rest) couldn't take care of. 

Movement: He's been kicking away a lot more.

Best moment this week: Halloween! We stayed home and passed out candy, but still got into the spirit. Thank goodness for Sparkle Athletic skirts! This is the skirt and ears I wore during the WDW Marathon earlier this year. Still fit! :)

I'll leave you with a little pregnancy humor... ;)