32 Weeks

What do Coraline and a Jack in the Box have in common?

How far along? 32 Weeks 

Total weight gain? Up 30 lbs, will have another check up Week 34. Really trying to maintain a total weight gain no more than 30 lbs, but seeing how I am at 30 lbs already and Coraline still has big growth spurts ahead...my dream seems to be squashed. :-[

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!

Sleep:  Sleeping well again. :-]

Best moment this week: Nursery details have been added. You can see details of our Glam Nautical Nursery: HERE. 

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!

Food cravings: Watermelon. Henry picks the best ones too. Each time before he leaves town I make sure he picks a watermelon first so I can snack on it while he is gone. :-)

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 contractions this week! Happened at work while sitting at the desk - probably because I was stressed. I am on a roll. 

Symptoms: 
Braxton Hicks! Yay.
Learned I am allergic to cocoa butter.
Hips hurt. Especially my right hip.
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.
Frequent bathroom visits
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: First thought - gosh we look a shaggy mess in this weeks photo!!
Second - We are learning so much in our Birth Boot Camp class. I can't express to you how wonderful this class has been. We intend on doing a natural birth. I had wanted to do the Bradley method, however in a small town that was close to impossible without driving an hour to get to a class. When I found this class right down the street from us, designed by a lady who taught the Bradley Method for over 20 years I was ecstatic! I have been against epidurals since I was in high school. I have always had a pretty high pain tolerance, such as opting to have my teeth drilled without medication. Plus I have woken up in the middle of a few procedures, so not only do I have a high pain tolerance, my body has a high tolerance I guess to anesthesia. I would assume that given my history, an epidural wouldn't really work to the extent on my body that it does for most others. Each person has their own reasoning for either choosing an epidural or choosing natural and I don't knock those choose the epidural. This is just my personal preference. I want to be able to labor in my position of choice, walk around, use the restroom and better engage with my baby post-delivery. However, I know I can't beat myself up if for some unforeseeable reason I do end up getting an epidural. My birth plan though clearly states no epidural and to not offer drugs to me, I know they are there if I choose. :-]

About the Board:

Inspiration was from a dream. You hear of those crazy prego dreams? Well this one was pretty odd. I dreamt my stomach was a Jack in the Box. I would crank the Jack in the Box and the music would play until my belly would pop open. It would pop open like the vintage post office box drawers on the street. When it opened I could see Coraline in my tummy, head down, facing my spine. She was wearing this super cute footy onesie I had recently purchased. When she saw that I was looking down at her she looked up at me from between her legs and reached her hands up for me to pick her up. I almost went to pick her up until I realized she wasn't ready to come out yet and slammed the drawer shut!!! HA! Pretty odd, huh? 

Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 

Top and leggings are from Motherhood Maternity. I love this top, however I feel like it is the least flattering in photos now that I am getting bigger. It doesn't accommodate upper boob expansion very well.

Weeks 30 & 31

How far along? 31 Weeks 

Total weight gain? Still up 23 lbs, will have another check up Week 32. Really trying to maintain a total weight gain less than 30 lbs. We will see how that goes!

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!

Sleep:  Sleep has been pleasant this week. Except when she kicks my ribs. It is a weird sensation I am not use to and it wakes me up the moment it happens.

Best moment this week: Started Birth Boot Camp and almost finished painting all of the nursery! One stencil left!

Miss Anything? My cousin and alcohol. I could definitely dive into a large mojito.

Movement: She LOVES to move!! She has begun to kick under my ribs. The sensation of her tiny feet gliding under my ribs is SO. FREAKING. WEIRD. It almost takes my breath away. Plus I have heard crazy stories of ribs being dislocated and broken, so I am on pins and needles afraid she's going to give me one of those donkey kicks and there goes a rib. I have had 3 ribs fractured before and it is NOT pleasant. Since she is gliding UNDER the rib, I can't push on her foot to move it like when she hits my hip bone or pushes too hard on my side. The lack of control makes me more uneasy. 

Food cravings: Watermelon. Henry picks the best ones too. Each time before he leaves town I make sure he picks a watermelon first so I can snack on it while he is gone. :-)

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: Woke up to another set of contractions this week. I was sound asleep and woke up delirious from the pain. Couldn't wrap my mind around what was happening and when the fog finally cleared and I realized what was happening I was able to roll off the bed and get on all fours to ease and rock through them. 

Symptoms: 
Braxton Hicks! Yay.
Learned I am allergic to cocoa butter.
Hips hurt. Especially my right hip.
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.
Frequent bathroom visits
Occasional swelling of my feet and hands.

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 from the tornado!

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

Thoughts: None this week really. Most was in the Labor Signs part. Talk about fun! lol

About the Board:

Inspiration was from 4th of July this week!
Fonts were free handed. 

Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 

Top and skirt is from Old Navy maternity

There was no board for 30 weeks, but we did get a wonderful shot together at the wedding. <3

How far along? 30 Weeks

Total weight gain? Still up 23 lbs, will have another check up Week 32. Really trying to maintain a total weight gain less than 30 lbs. We will see how that goes!

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 mark has officially popped up on my hiney! First my boob, now my butt!! Come on! Good news, the red marks on my boob have vanished! Gone! Not even a slight sign that they were once even there. WHOOP!

Sleep:  Sleep has been tough this week. Tough due to the fact that I have been dealing with the awful news of my cousin's murder. It's tough having pregnancy hormones. It's tough dealing with the loss of a loved one. But MURDER is on a whole different level without throwing the pregnancy hormones in the mix!

Best moment this week: I can't say this has been a good week at all. :-(

Miss Anything? My cousin. 

Movement: She LOVES to move!!

Food cravings: Coconuts and 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: Braxton Hicks! I had my first set of Braxton Hicks contractions. Talk about scary for me. I had to drive 5 hours to Houston to attend my cousin's viewing and funeral alone. Henry was in a wedding and although he could have made it back in plenty of time to still be in the wedding, he would have been an hour late to take the groomsmen photos. So off to Houston I went, alone. I cried so hard Friday night and Saturday that I triggered my first contractions! I was half-way back home when my stomach started oddly tightening. It felt like my muscles all around my stomach tightened and you could physically see my stomach raising toward my diaphragm and tightening up. There was no pain in my abdomen, but there was a shooting pain that started at the base of my ribs on either side and shot down my back. It felt like "back labor". I began talking to my sister-in-law since she had back labor to confirm it was what she felt and she confirmed it. She googled Braxton Hicks, ordered me to pull over drink water, take deep breaths and chill out. It took about 30 minutes, but they finally stopped and I drove the rest of the way home, changed quickly and headed over to the wedding in time for the reception to begin. Whew! 

Symptoms: 
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.
Frequent bathroom visits
Occasional swelling of my feet and hands.

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: None this week really. Most was in the Labor Signs part. Talk about fun! lol

About the Board:

No board this week. :-( With the funeral and murder of my cousin, I am just a wreck this week.

Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 

Dress is from ASOS and the nude belt is from a boutique around our town.

Lovely friend Kristi

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!

GENDER REVEAL PARTY & 20 WEEKS

A BIG thank you to all the friends and family who helped make this day so special! It means the world to us that you were able to join in such a wonderful celebration! <3
A BIG thank you to Marina and J.C. for hosting the shower and Danni for being such a wonderful helper to Marina.
We love you all!

How far along? 20 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have officially gained 10 lbs on the nose as of my appointment a week ago. 

Maternity Clothes? I am alternating between Motherhood Maternity tops and Target tanks. I did find this amazing website for maternity clothes in the UK! I ordered two dresses from there hoping they would arrive before the reveal party because all maternity clothing stores here SUCK. BIG. BALLS. I mean seriously, have you seen the things they are selling!?

Stretch Marks? None.

Sleep: Sleep was good, until halfway through the week. Our baby enjoys doing acrobats and tap dances all around my belly...particularly on my bladder. 

Best moment this week: Finding out the Baby's Gender!!!

Miss Anything? Missing alcohol, particularly rum, and sushi. However, we did stop at Naked Fish in College Station on the way home. I was able to order two rolls with cooked salmon, not the same as raw, but good enough!

Movement: YES!! Refer to Week 17 for my first experiences with movements. Then week 18 for Henry's. Also, our baby officially has a gender! Although, we don't find out until week 20 at the Gender Reveal Party! Whoop!

Food cravings: Fruit, Thai food and Kit-Kats! I have probably eaten 10 kit-kat bars this week. Don't judge. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures of things are making me queasy. If they are too gummy or taffy, I can't eat it. Also, Orange Juice. I have had multiple episodes where I have thrown up rather soon after drinking orange juice. Too sugary?

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Decreasing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased - oh and the lovely frequent bathroom breaks have begun!

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy! Especially because I know what to buy for now! 

Looking forward to: More baby movements and finally finishing out the nursery since we know it's a girl!

Baby Names? Well boy names are scratched. haha We are torn between Claire, Hayden and Coraline (Cora/Coral). Why do girl names have to be so cute and difficult?

Thoughts: I have to admit, I was upset when I saw those pink balloons peeking out of the reveal box. Now don't go judging and hating me - I am beyond excited to have a little girl - but I wanted so badly to give my Father-In-Law his first true grandson - since the other 3 are step-grandsons and the other 13-16 are girls. Not to mention, Henry insists we try until we have a son so he can have someone take over the family business like he did for his dad. However Henry really did want a little girl, and I am happy knowing that now I will have someone to take shopping and get pedicures with. I can buy all those adorable baby girl outfits and accessories, future ballet recitals or even barrel racing or track meets! I am terrified of meeting our little girl, yet overwhelmed with joy all at the same time. Wondering if she will have my nose or Henry's, hoping she gets Henry's lighter blue eyes and either way she will have rockin' hair because Henry has amazingly soft hair for a dude and my hair is perfect. HAHA

**NEW** About the Board: I wet the board down with a damp rag and then wrote with Walmart brand skinny chalk. 

I chose to alternate between blue and pink since it is Gender Reveal Week! I used our Gender Reveal Invitation as inspiration for the design. 

When editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.

The fonts this week is:  Harrington (my favorite)

I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: I am wearing a navy blue eyelet dress from Motherhood Maternity (there were absolutely no cute blue dresses ANYWHERE! The color of the season right now is Coral and I really wanted a blue dress). The wedges are Gianni Bini - Very comfy!

GENDER REVEAL PARTY PHOTOS

19 WEEKS

How far along? 19 Weeks

Total weight gain? I have officially gained 10 lbs on the nose. 

Maternity Clothes? Still rocking the Target tank tops I bought, with the belly belt or a big blingy belt to hide my unbuttoned/unzipped pants. haha!

Stretch Marks? None. Thank goodness! I asked my Great Grandma and Mom if they had any from pregnancy and both luckily are stretch mark free. Hope I got those genes!

Sleep: Sleep is GREAT! I have been sleeping like a rock. Usually when Henry get's up I at least acknowledge his movement, but not lately.

Best moment this week: These last two weeks have been AMAZING with me being able to feel movements, then Henry, but this week was pretty awesome too. We got to not only see the baby via our 19 Week Sono, but we also got to SEE movement OUTSIDE my belly! I was sitting at my desk at work and felt some pretty strong "kicks" in the middle of my stomach. I raised my tank top up to see if I could see it and sure enough! There were the little kicks! I yelled over to Henry, "Henry! I can see the kicks! Come look at this!" He thought I was joking and said, "Heather, the baby is only 10 oz, I don't think it would be strong enough to see." I told him to, "Look here!" as I pointed to the exact spot I kept seeing movement and within a second there was a movement. Henry laughed and said, "You did that." "No! No I didn't! Keep looking!" Then immediately there were two more! Then another and another. Henry rolled back in his chair with a huge smile on his face and said, "That is so crazy!! I can't believe we can see the movements!" Then he began searching around the office to find something around 10 oz - which was a 12 oz coke. We were in awe and so excited! We sat there watching my belly and the little flutters, being completely un-productive, until it was lunch time. I am sure our employees thought we were crazy. HAHA

Miss Anything? Take a wild guess.....ALCOHOL! I have also begun to miss Sushi! Salmon and Tuna in particular. 

Movement: YES!! Refer to Week 17 for my first experiences with movements. Then week 18 for Henry's. Also, our baby officially has a gender! Although, we don't find out until week 20 at the Gender Reveal Party! Whoop!

Food cravings: Fruit. Fruit. Oh, and Fruit. Anything lemon is still my addiction and Thai food is my go-to for almost every meal. The Thai sisters at the local restaurant joke that my baby will come out speaking Thai. I literally eat there at least 4 times a week. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: So I have noticed lately when I eat red meat, it makes me sick later. The sight or thought doesn't make me queasy or sick, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I eat it, I get nauseous later in the day. Also textures have started to get to me. I can not for the life of me remember what it was this week, but it was something I eat all the time and the moment it touched my tongue I had to spit it out. 

Gender Prediction: I am torn. I have had gut feelings of a baby girl the whole pregnancy, but lately been thinking baby boy. I don't know if those are true feelings or wishful thinking. I want so badly to give my Father-in-law his first true grandson, but Henry does want his little girl and it would be fun to always have someone to go shopping with or get pedicures with. Whichever the gender, I just really pray they aren't picky eaters. We will both be devastated!

Labor Signs: Too soon

Symptoms: Baby bump is the most obvious. The best symptom ever, baby movements! My nails and hair continue to grow like weeds, and my belly button has become extremely shallow, almost level with my belly. It freaks me out. I have always had a tiny, small belly button and now it's huge! Not the most attractive feature I can tell you that!

Belly Button in or out? Innie - barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Extremely on edge happy to find out the baby gender!

Looking forward to: Reveal Party and more baby movements!!!

Baby Names? Still have to be Henry the 3rd for a boy. Ok Adaleine, the one we thought we were settled on has officially been scratched off the list. No way, Jose. We are torn between Hayden and Coraline. Why do girl names have to be so difficult?

Thoughts: I really can't think of anything other than the reveal party!!! I can barely sleep at night because I am soooo excited! 

**NEW** About the Board: I always use Crayolas Sidewalk Chalk for big lettering, then Staples brand writing chalk for finer lettering or outlining. Plus, sidewalk chalk has SO MANY COLORS! I did go buy Walmarts brand of finer chalk since it had more color options for this weeks board.  I wet the board down with a damp rag, and then write away. It makes the colors go on bolder/thicker when it's a bit wet.

I chose to alternate between blue and pink since it is Gender Reveal Week!

Then when editing I increase the "saturation" to make the colors even more bold.

The fonts this week are: Academy Engraved LET and Harrington.

I pull up word, type what I want in the fonts chosen, then eyeball it onto the chalkboard. :-)

**NEW** Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: I am wearing colored Skinnies from Express with a belly belt (I would highly recommend investing in one of these), then an actual maternity tank from Motherhood Maternity.

Target tank top with the big blingy Ariat belt to hide the unzipped and unbottoned pants. Yea buddy!