34 Weeks

How far along? 34 Weeks 

Total weight gain? Up 31 lbs. I go in again Week 36 for another soon! I really wanted to stay below 30 lbs, but as we can see I have gone up one pound over and Coraline still has big growth spurts ahead...my dream seems to be squashed. :-[ They say at this point she is growing 30 grams a day!

Maternity Clothes? ASOS is my top #1 choice! The tops/tunics run true to your pre-pregnancy size. (Given you didn't let yourself go and blow up like a balloon - boob growth is accommodated for). I found that the pants are true to your current pregnant size. So if you measure your hips properly, use their size chart to order the proper pregnancy size. Yes this means you may order a 10/12/14. Grieve for a bit, then get over it. My next choices are The Gap/Old Navy. I have really only ordered tank tops from there and again, true to pre-pregnancy size. However, for 3rd trimester I recommend going up one size, the belly region can get tight. :-)

Stretch Marks?  The red marks are still on my butt! Good news, the red marks on my boob have vanished! Gone! Not even a slight sign that they were once even there. WHOOP! What is amazing is no stretch marks on my belly, none what-so-ever! 

Sleep:  Sleeping is WAY off. By 4 pm I am exhausted! I want to take a nap, but always talk myself out of it. By nighttime I am exhausted and feel like I should be able to pass right out, but don't. Major insomnia. I should probably just start giving in to the 4 pm nap. :-/ Either way I am EXTREMELY tired.

Best moment this week: Found out what position Coraline is in and Henry learned massage techniques from our Doula!

Miss Anything? Alcohol. It is hot and I want to enjoy the fun fruity alcoholic beverages everyone else is getting to enjoy. Jealous. 

Movement: She LOVES to move!! What's new? ha! Oh and hiccups! Those movements count, right?

Food cravings: Watermelon. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures are still making me sick. 

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

Labor Signs: More and more contractions! 

Symptoms: 
Exhaustion! Absolutely exhausted.
Braxton Hicks! Yay.
Very small bladder...very. small.
Baby hiccups
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.
Occasional swelling of my feet and hands. Especially my right foot. 

Belly Button in or out? My belly button is officially FLAT. No innie, no outtie. 

Wedding rings on or off? Both rings have moved to my pinkie fingers. I had a scare with my Aggie ring and just decided to keep them both there. Juuuust in case. 

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

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

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

Thoughts: I have mentioned before that I am planning a natural child birth but in a hospital. I can not stress to you how grateful I am that we have hired a Doula for the process. I have read and been told on countless occasions to hire a doula for a natural birth, but ESPECIALLY if you plan to natural birth in a hospital. No matter which way we choose to birth, I am beyond happy that we hired Jenni. She actually came to our Birth Boot Camp class this week and taught all the Hubby's a few massage techniques for the aching Mommies. Boy are they FABULOUS! Henry really picked up on what she taught and has been doing wonderful at home. We, or I, particularly like a thing called "Rebozo" or "Sifting". It lifts the baby's weight off my back and accommodates Coraline to be in a better position. We learned right now she is in the LOT position. AKA - Her head is down, facing my right side, back side is on my left side, which is why I feel her little feet on the upper right side of my ribs/torso. LOA - where she is head down, facing my spine is the optimal position, but LOT is the 2nd best. Go little Coraline! 

About the Board:

We themed the board around her nautical name and nautical room. :-) Like my attempted seahorsies?
She is roughly 5 lbs and the size of a small pumpkin. I really need to take a step back, I didn't realize my usual spot is starting to interfere with the board. Oopsie!

Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 

Dress is from Motherhood Maternity.

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!