39 Weeks & Nursery

How far along:  39 Weeks with only 7 days left!

Total weight Gain: 36 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I haven't purchased anything new in hopes I will be back to be my old self soon.

Sleep: I am having a bit of trouble sleeping these days, just can't seem to get comfortable. So, I am napping as often as I can. 

Food cravings: Cereal (any kind)... I'll have a bowl for breakfast and a bowl when I get home from work  =)

Miss anything: I'm really missing my pre-baby body. =(

Gender: Still a BOY!

Movement: He is still kicking around like crazy! 

Labor signs: No labor signs yet.   

Mood: Happy knowing we don't have much longer until we meet out little man!  Dr. said he is still in the downward facing position and I am dilated to 1.5cm.  He also thinks we will have a 7.5-8 lb and I'm happy to hear we don't have a 10 pound-er in there! 

Belly Button in or out: It's poking out a little bit! 

Looking forward to: Ryder's debut and holding him for the first time.

The Bump:  Sorry for the exhausted look in this picture... 

To Do List:
Frozen meals...
Chili Verde Enchiladas
Blue Cheese Butternut Squash Pasta
Crock pot roast 
Teriyaki Chicken
Baked Potatoes 

The Nursery

38 Week Update

I have been neglecting the blog lately... sleeping and nesting have overtaken me these days. Here's what's been going on.... 

How far along: 38 weeks 1 day

Total Weight Gain:  33 lbs... I can't believe the scale these days.  I hope we have a little chunker =)

Maternity Clothes:  Using all maternity pants and can still mix in regular tops. 

Stretch Marks: Still good - fingers crossed!

Sleep:  Sleeping through the night with the occasional lower back pain. 

Best moment(s) of this week:  I finally am caught up on removing all tags, washing and organizing all baby clothes!   

My co-workers also threw me a baby shower and it was wonderful! 

Also, I wanted to say congratulations to my sister-in-law on her new baby girl! 

Brooklyn Isabella

Miss Anything:  I am really missing cuddles with the hubby lately. 

Movement:  He is still moving like crazy!  Distinguishing body parts now - I think we felt his heel the other night across my side.

Food Cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary but, I did recently buy Trader Joe's Cookie Butter and that was a big mistake.  I am pretty sure this will be gone by the weekend. 

Gender: Boy, Boy, Boy!

Labor Signs: No labor signs yet. 

Belly Button (in/out):  It is coming out slowly... still pretty flush.

Wedding ring (on/off): On!

Looking forward to:  Our maternity shoot this weekend!

Doctors Appointment:  Dr. said he is still head down and he thinks we will have a 7 1/2 lb baby! Woo! He also told us to call when we think labor has begun if we are in the 5-1-1 Labor Rule. 5-1-1 means having contractions 5 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute for one full hour. I would like to labor at home for as long as possible, so I hope the pain is tolerable and this is doable. 

My current To Do list: 

- Find a pediatrician

- Pick a middle name

- Decide on a bookshelf or shelving

- Install car seat

- Complete birth plan

- Test run to the hospital

- Pack hospital bag

- Pack Ryder's Bag

- Frozen Meal Prep 

Last shopping trip for essentials: 

My mom (3 days before delivering my sister) & I

I hope to keep you updated these last few weeks. =)

Baby Shower

Ladies, you have out done yourself again...

A special thanks to my mom, sister and aunt for putting together such a wonderful shower for me.  I couldn't have asked for anything more. I love you all!

Games

My sister created the games for the party, which included guessing Ryder's middle name, estimating my circumference with yarn and the chocolate diaper game that everyone loved.

My grandma playing the diaper game...

Food

My lovely aunt customized a menu for the party and there was a great selection for everyone.

Cupcakes by Megan

We had beautiful cupcakes made by my cousin Megan. She is quite the baker! She had custom labels made for the cupcakes and they were adorable.  The cupcakes were pumpkin with a creamy frosting - delish!  

 

Guests

There was such a great turn out for the party! We had around 30 guests.
Thank you all for celebrating with me and I hope you had a wonderful time. 

Gifts

I was literally showered with gifts, much more than I ever expected!  Thank you all so very much!

We are very anxious to meet our little man. These last few weeks have flown by - he will be here in no time.
We decided to name him

Four more weeks and counting!!

34 Week Update

I cannot believe it is November already and next month Ryder will be here =)  This pregnancy has really been smooth process for me. I love being pregnant and learning about what my body is doing in preparation for the baby.

           

Doc said:   Position: Head down
                 Size: 17- 18 inches long & around 4-5 lbs. The books say he is about the size of a cantalope.
               
How far along: 34 Weeks + 2 days. Only 6 more weeks (±40 days) until baby is here!

Gender: Boy

Total Weight Gain: 27 lbs. 

Stretch marks: None yet! *fingers crossed

Sleep: I am still sleeping pretty good these days except for the bladder calls in the middle of the night. Sleeping with three pillows is key to being comfortable. 

Movement: Getting lots of movement from our little man!  I try and catch him moving on camera but, he get's camera shy.  So far he has been very nice to me, lets me sleep at night and is very active after meals.  I switched my cereal from Special-K with Strawberries to plain Cheerios with bananas and now he is practically doing cart-wheels in there! 

Pets:  Will they be a good big brother & sister?

 

 

It seems like they have an idea about whats going on with me.  These two are very special to us and were our first children, we hope they adjust with the baby.  Nala (bottom two pictures) has always been my buddy and is always wanting to be next to me. She will be my sidekick when the baby comes - I can picture myself feeding the baby and her right beside me.  As for Marlack (top two pictures), I think he will be a little jealous of the baby at first.  He was our first nugget and we have spoiled him quite a bit - he is going to take a little longer to adjust.

Daddy:  Is daddy ready?  I think he is more ready than me at times.  He is always talking to Ryder like he is right here with us. He is so sweet and always helping me with anything and everything I need.  I'm sure it gets annoying having to ask him to do things I could normally do myself but, I think deep down he loves me asking him =)

Cravings: I'm not craving anything out of the ordinary... mostly chicken picatta and pb&j sandwiches. *Not together

Belly button in/out: In for now or shall I say flush. It hasn't quite poked out yet.

Mood:  Happy!  I do hand out the occasional sass to my husband (probably more than occasional in his eyes).  Other than that, I have been on a cleaning and organizing rampage or in pregnancy words "nesting".  

Looking forward to:  Baby shower next week! =) 

My current To Do list:
- Find a pediatrician
- Pick a middle name
- Decide on a bookshelf or shelving
- Install car seat
- Complete birth plan
- Test run to the hospital
- Start packing hospital bag

30 Week Update & Planning

I am 30 weeks today and only 10 more until we meet our little man.

We had a check up a few days ago and everything went great!  He is currently 3 pounds with his feet at his head. He is getting so strong - punching and kicking around like crazy! We decided to get a "just for fun" ultrasound to see if he has made any significant changes.  Here are a few shots...

I am currently weighing in at 140, which is 24lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. The doctor said I am a few pounds over the suggested weight and should lay off the sweets.  (How did he know!? - I ate an entire box of cookies my grandma gave me a day or two before... Ooops!)  I am keeping on track now and limiting my sugar intake.  He also said, I should plateau with my hunger cravings, thank god because I have been eating everything in the house lately. 

  I am still using some of my pre-prego wardrobe but, I had to give into buying maternity pants. They are so comfortable, I don't know why I waited so long to buy them.    

Hospital Bag Checklist

(How soon is too soon to pack?)

I have been researching hospital bag checklists and most of them are pretty similar. 

Here is what I came up with...

At 32-35 weeks I am going to start getting everything together. Knowing me, I will probably pack and re-pack this bag everyday until my due date but, that's just how I am. You can never be too prepared. ;)

Hope you ladies are doing well.

If you have any suggestions on what I should pack in my hospital bag, let me know!

Anniversary Getaway (picture overload)

The hubs and I celebrated our first year anniversary this weekend! Palm Springs was our destination and what a great choice it was. Usually, I am an over planner and make sure we visit all the attractions a place can have, with only sparing time to sleep. Ok, I'm not THAT bad but, I just don't want to skip something that is awesome and later have someone tell me, "you didn't visit the 200ft waterfall made out of chocolate!?" This time my hubby made the reservations and did no research on "things to do" in Palm Springs. Let me tell you, it was the best vacation EVER. I have never come back from traveling so relaxed, it was amazing!

We stayed at the Renaissance Palm Springs and we loved it.

Hanging poolside

Dinner the first night we went to MatchBox and it was delicious!

We sat outside on the patio where we could see the strip and people passing.

I had the roast chicken on wild rice with cauliflower mash. YUM!

For our anniversary dinner we decided to dine at Spencers.

We had lobster potsickers for our appetizer, A-mazing! 

Hubby had a steak with truffle fries and I had the duck on top of potatoes. I am sure we will eat here every time we visit Palm Springs.

How handsome is he!?

Aaaannd the cake. 

Being a year old cake - we were both pretty skeptical.  When you think about it, its been sitting in the back of our freezer since last year.  Yes, we wrapped it in saran wrap and tin foil about a thousand times but, a year old?! We let it defrost in the fridge for the day and honestly it was in the back of my mind, wondering what it would taste like. I was really worried we would both be sick. Our cake was marble flavor, not marbled in mold. After dinner we took a bite and it wasn't half bad. I wouldn't have eaten a whole slice to myself but, it was a fun tradition to share with the hubs.   

 

Marilyn is temporarily visiting Palm Springs. (Statue is 26 ft tall & 35,000 lbs)

After shopping on the strip, we stopped into Great Shakes.

Another awesome find in Palm Springs.

 On our last day we headed on over to LuLu for breakfast and it was pretty delish.

The first two days this restaurant was packed full of people and we will have to try this place for dinner next time.

 Heading out of town we detoured to Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

We reached an elevation of 8,516! The temperature dropped significantly at the top, almost 30 degrees cooler than the desert floor.  It was pretty cold at the top but, with a 360 view I couldn't complain.

Here we are at the top! We could see the Salton Sea from here.

Hope you all had a great weekend, we sure did!  

Time to Celebrate

Today is hubby and I's 1 year anniversary! 

Our wedding was a magical day and we couldn't be more happy to have spent it with family and friends. 

I first want to say thank you to my wonderful husband who is my rock and my best friend.  He is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me and I can't thank him enough for making my life a fairy tale.  I have truly found my prince charming.  He can read me like a book and I really am happy that he can. He does a great job of making any situation better and has me smiling in an instant. 

 Second, I want to thank our parents for their support and guidance in our relationship and marriage.  On top of that, I am most thankful to my in-laws for raising such a strong and kind man who is positive in every way possible.  You both are fantastic people and I couldn't ask for better in-laws.

 

    

    

It has been an adventurous first year and I wouldn't change anything about it. 

 

 

 

    

   

Cheers to many more years, babe! I love you!