Prepping For Baby Coraline

Preparing for this baby has not been easy by any means. They say you will never be fully prepared for a baby, and that is no joke. What makes it harder for us is we have been temporarily displaced from the tornado that hit our home back on May 15th!! The insurance is just being so incredibly difficult.  National Lloyd is great when they are taking your money, but when it comes time for them to do their job and help you out, GOOD LUCK!!

Needless to say, we are slowly chipping away at all the items we need to do and trying to complete the nursery bit by bit in a house that can't get below 80 degrees. 

We had two fabulous baby showers back to back weekends,  detailed blog posts about those to come, so our house looks like Babies r Us threw up in it at this point.  My aunt warned me that baby items would take over your house, but this is a bit ridiculous.  Haha
Once we get the nursery in better shape I know we can get things in there better organized, but right now our living room is one giant storage room. 

We were blessed to get almost all our big ticket items from very generous family members and friends, such as our car seat, extra car seat base, pack & play,  baby bath tub, stroller, bouncer & breast pump. The only things remaining are the crib bedding, baby monitor and swing. 

The crib bedding is going to be a dual sided dedign which I absolutely can't wait to share! A friend recommended a local lady to sew it all for us and she really came up with a great idea.

Our to-do list still entails:
Getting our A/C repaired!! D*** insurance!
Packing hospital bag
Washing all baby items/clothes
Touching up nursery fishscale wall
Hanging nursery decor
Getting the remaining big ticket items
Cleaning my car out to put the carseat in for the hospital
Finalizing our birth plan
Registering with the hospital
Catching up on chalkboard pregnancy posts!

I think that covers it?

Feeling pretty overwhelmed.  Haha

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 Weeks

Total weight gain? Looks like I am up 20 lbs. Yippee! I know it's normal and you are suppose to gain weight, but it doesn't make seeing the scale rise any less painful. LOL.

Maternity Clothes? ASOS in the UK is the only reliable pregnancy store I have found so far. I love all their stylish clothes for women in their 20s, plus free shipping on returns. Everything is GREATLY priced and not cheaply made. I have also recently bought a few items from Old Navy after a fellow blogger buddy stated how great their items were too. 

Stretch Marks?  The red mark has officially popped up on my hiney! First my boob, now my butt!! Come on! I mean luckily it is perfectly placed where any bikini will cover it, but I was horrified to see it. UGH!!! The positive side, at least it isn't my belly....yet. EEK!

Sleep:  Sleep has been tough this week. A lot of the places in the virgin islands do not have A/C. Coming from Texas, that is almost unheard of. Once we cool off from the day, the fans get going, breeze starts blowing, I sleep pretty fine. I am definitely up the moment the sun is up though. 

Best moment this week: Maternity photos at The Baths!

Miss Anything? Sushi and Rum. Going to the Caribbean on our babymoon has been slight torture. I don't know why I didn't think this through better. haha

Movement: She is moving quite a bit. People definitely say she moves more than when they were pregnant. Maybe that means she is getting it out of her system now? Maybe? 

Food cravings: Coconuts!!! The island coconuts here are phenomenal. The coconut water right out of the coconut is even better! Wish I could add a shot of rum to mine like everyone else did. Boo.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures are still making me sick, like couscous, as well as red meat. 

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along! I absolutely can't wait to meet her!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: 
The day I worked before we left I drove out to the office and went to get out of my car, only to realize I never put shoes on. I worked the entire day, shoeless. I guess that adds forgetfulness to the symptom list?
The day after we landed my feet were hella swollen. So swollen I couldn't feel the last two small toes on either of my feet and it felt like my skin was going to rip on my feet.
If I don't take my prenatal vitamin at night, my legs get extremely antsy! It feels like I need to go running they get so antsy. However, if I take my pre-natal within 30 minutes they chill out. I read that it has to do with the iron. Either way, it works.
Movements have changed from individual movements to feeling simultaneous movements in two different spots. Like I will feel something toward my right side up by my ribs, and at the same time another movement on the left side of my belly button. It's the weirdest, yet most wonderful feeling in the world.
Disappearing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased, which has lead to the dreaded red-mark, and frequent bathroom visits.
My highschool back breakouts have really cleared up! I am sure the sun and salt water have played a major part in that.
Heartburn has been nipped in the butt thanks to my prescription of Reglan for my paralyzed stomach, that just so happens to be a medication used with gastric reflux. Jackpot twice in a row! This pregnancy thing is a cinch. (so far)

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? My left hand randomly swells now with the fluctuating heat waves, so for safe measure I have moved my wedding ring to my pinkie. :-]

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, Happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing out the nursery and getting back into our house!

Baby Name? Coraline! I love the name!! See WEEK 21 for name details. <3

Thoughts: This week we chartered a boat for Father's Day to island hop and take maternity photos. Holy cow was this island PHENOMENAL. It was something straight out of a magazine. Which apparently they use this place to shoot Sports Illustrated. We kind of took it to another level with maternity photos. Take that hot skinny models! After maternity photos we hiked through the Baths to Devils Bay. The Baths are surrounded by humongous boulders. We got a lot of confused looks because we had to crawl through these ITTY BITTY grooves and crevices, then stand up and BAM! Preggo belly!! lol It was awesome.

**NEW** About the Board:
No board this week since we were on baby moon.

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 
Aqua Maxi Dress is from Victorias Secret
White Linen Pants from Victorias Secret
White Maternity Tank is from Old Navy
Champagne Hi-Low dress is from Express. (This was actually the dress I wore to our rehearsal dinner!)

28 Weeks

I know I am WAY behind on posting the pregnancy tracking chalkboards. BUT I have a great excuse! We went on our babymoon to St. Johns, USVI and were able to get some fabulous shots taken. Since we were gone for weeks 28/29 I wasn't able to get a personal photo with the board. We were fortunate enough to shoot for about 3 different days. Some were taken on week 28 and the others on week 29, so it worked out perfectly. I did take notes via my phone to help me remember all the symptoms and fun stuff going on. Now that the maternity photos are in, I can do some major posting and catch up. :-]

How far along? 28 Weeks

Total weight gain? Looks like I am up 20 lbs. Yippee! I know it's normal and you are suppose to gain weight, but it doesn't make seeing the scale rise any less painful. LOL.

Maternity Clothes? ASOS in the UK is the only reliable pregnancy store I have found so far. I love all their stylish clothes for women in their 20s, plus free shipping on returns. Everything is GREATLY priced and not cheaply made. I have also recently bought a few items from Old Navy after a fellow blogger buddy stated how great their items were too. 

Stretch Marks?  The red mark has officially popped up on my hiney! First my boob, now my butt!! Come on! I mean luckily it is perfectly placed where any bikini will cover it, but I was horrified to see it. UGH!!! The positive side, at least it isn't my belly....yet. EEK!

Sleep:  Sleep has been tough this week. A lot of the places in the virgin islands do not have A/C. Coming from Texas, that is almost unheard of. Once we cool off from the day, the fans get going, breeze starts blowing, I sleep pretty fine. I am definitely up the moment the sun is up though. 

Best moment this week: Maternity photos!

Miss Anything? Sushi and Rum. Going to the Caribbean on our babymoon has been slight torture. I don't know why I didn't think this through better. haha

Movement: She is moving quite a bit. People definitely say she moves more than when they were pregnant. Maybe that means she is getting it out of her system now? Maybe? 

Food cravings: Coconuts!!! The island coconuts here are phenomenal. The coconut water right out of the coconut is even better!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures are still making me sick, like couscous, as well as red meat. 

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along! I absolutely can't wait to meet her!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: 
The day I worked before we left I drove out to the office and went to get out of my car, only to realize I never put shoes on. I worked the entire day, shoeless. I guess that adds forgetfulness to the symptom list?
The day after we landed my feet were hella swollen. So swollen I couldn't feel the last two small toes on either of my feet and it felt like my skin was going to rip on my feet.
If I don't take my prenatal vitamin at night, my legs get extremely antsy! It feels like I need to go running they get so antsy. However, if I take my pre-natal within 30 minutes they chill out. I read that it has to do with the iron. Either way, it works.
Movements have changed from individual movements to feeling simultaneous movements in two different spots. Like I will feel something toward my right side up by my ribs, and at the same time another movement on the left side of my belly button. It's the weirdest, yet most wonderful feeling in the world.
Disappearing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased, which has lead to the dreaded red-mark, and frequent bathroom visits.
My highschool back breakouts have really cleared up! I am sure the sun and salt water have played a major part in that.
Heartburn has been nipped in the butt thanks to my prescription of Reglan for my paralyzed stomach, that just so happens to be a medication used with gastric reflux. Jackpot twice in a row! This pregnancy thing is a cinch. (so far)

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? My left hand randomly swells now with the fluctuating heat waves, so for safe measure I have moved my wedding ring to my pinkie. :-]

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, Happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing out the nursery and getting back into our house!

Baby Name? Coraline! I love the name!! See WEEK 21 for name details. <3

Thoughts: Just ready to meet Coraline. I love this sweet little lady so much! When I say I am ready to meet her, I am not joking. The anxiousness has grown so drastically. It is comparable to senioritis. Not in a way where, "I am ready to get this baby out of me!", it is more along the lines of, "I am ready to kiss all those tiny fingers and toes and hold her and snuggle her!".

**NEW** About the Board:
Board inspiration came from our Babymoon!
The board was done using fonts from WORD.
Chalkboard Fonts: Were free-handed.

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 
Orange skirt was from TJ Maxx
White Maternity Tank is from Old Navy

Glam Nautical Nursery Sneak Peaks

I was beyond ecstatic when Henry and I finally agreed on a nautical nursery theme, whether the baby was a boy or girl. Once we found out it was a girl and decided on the name Coraline, which means Coral of the sea, I couldn't have been happier! I not only was FINALLY getting my beach fix, I was getting to use the gorgeous teal and coral colors I love. I was finally getting to decorate a room 100% the way I wanted to.

Now that everything is finally coming together I can't wait to spend evenings in this room. Which is a good thing since I know I'll be doing that quite a bit with nightly feedings.

I wanted to share a few sneak peeks of our gorgeous Glam Nautical Nursery because I just cant wait until the entire project is done. Enjoy!