bump check: 36 weeks

Before I take you to your regularly scheduled bump post, let me pause for a moment in recognition...

(photo from ku.edu)

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK BABY!
Big XII Season and Tournament Champions

And now back to the weekly post... :o)

I am one week away from being full term, and I am dipping my toes into my 9th month of pregnancy. I swear weeks 24-32 seemed to go by incredibly slow, and now I can't believe how fast this baby girl is coming. Hopefully four weeks or less until we meet miss Ryann Elizabeth!


I felt like my belly was looking lower this week, and a couple of girls at work commented on it, but seeing this picture makes me change my opinion. It looks pretty much the same as it did last week. However I have felt some more pressure way down low. Maybe this chickadee is thinking of making her exit sooner rather than later. Who knows :o)

This week Ryann should be hitting the six pound mark, and is most likely more than 18.5 inches long. She is shedding most of the down covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Unfortunately both of those substances end up in her digestive system, making her first few poos absolutely disgusting!!

I've really struggled through this week thanks to my lovely sinus infection. Seriously, the sinus headaches I've had this week have been the worst ones I think I've ever had. But thankfully my OB called in a z-pack prescription and I am starting to feel better. Being that congested however has not helped my sleeping. Combine that with the fact that Chris has to get up a little after 5 each morning (not his fault but hey) and I am one exhausted lady.

What has made this week wonderful, is the abundance of adorable little baby products that have been arriving at my house. Lets just say I have an etsy addiction. I'll do a separate post to show off some of the fun things I have gotten, but until then here is a little preview. Too cute, are they not?


How far along: 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +18 pounds
Maternity clothes: yep
Stretch marks?: I have a couple itty bitty ones on my hips :o(
Sleep: pretty much awful this week
Best moment this week: packages arriving at my house!
Movement: it can be rather painful
Food cravings: nothing in particular, just food :o)
Gender: girl
What I miss: some days, my ankle bones
Milestones: completing the 8th month!

being sick sucks

sinus infection. enough said.

if you haven't had one, be very thankful. sometimes they're not so bad, but right now I feel like my eyeballs just might pop out of my skull, and I feel like the top of my jaw on my right side is full of cavities. boo.

panic mode

So last night while laying in bed I realized that our baby girl could very realistically come into this world in just two weeks. (I would be 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant) Hello excuse me? 14 days? What if I was a mom in 14 days? CRAP!

I haven't packed a hospital bag, I haven't mailed my baby shower thank you's (I know minor detail that does not affect whether or not I can bring a child home), we don't have a car seat installed, I don't have any nursing supplies, we still don't have a bassinet or sleeper for by our bed (also minor, we do have a crib!)... I'm pretty sure my not done list could go on and on and on. How did this happen?!?!?!

In reality, it could be a good 35 or more days until I meet my child, but when you realize that whole 14 thing is a possibility, ummm... yeah.

Deep breaths. DEEP breaths. Whew!

On a side note, I apologize for the alarming number of baby related posts lately. But seriously? What else do I have to think about? Not a whole lot. :o)

whats in a bag?

So originally I said I just needed help with swings, bouncers and bassinets. But please add diaper bag to the list. I absolutely CANNOT decide which bag to get.

So here are my requirements: I needs to be modern looking, slightly feminine, but not so much so that Chris wouldn't mind hanging on to it for a bit if he had to. Also, it needs to hold all the baby crap that I need it to hold! Here are some of the contenders...

The first bag I fell in love with is this Petunia Pickle Bottom boxy backpack. I love the pattern (well patterns, there are a few more I like) and the changing pad that folds out of the front of the bag. What I don't like? We saw the bag in person, and the largest zippered pocket seems like it might be hard to get in and out of. The bag doesn't really 'open up'. Maybe after some use it would loosen up, but I'm not sure. And the price tag of $167 makes me a little nervous to buy something I may not end up loving.

Next up for consideration? The new Coach Alex bag. I was able to see this one in person as well, and it seems as though it could be really functional. However it comes with the biggest price tag at $400. I love me some Coach, but is it really worth $400 for a baby bag? My mom does have a 25% coupon right now, so it would only be $300, but still.

This is a bag I have no seen in person, but in the baby boards I keep hearing about the Skip Hop diaper bags. On the internet I am drawn to the studio bag. I think it is cute and neutral, and looks like it has plenty of pockets and space for all of the baby items I could possibly need. And with a price tag around $90, it sounds a lot less scary than the previous two choices.

Another Skip Hop bag that interests me is the City Chic tote. I just like that it looks like a cute bag. I figure if it is going to be like my purse for the next few years, I should like it right? Price tag for this one is around $100.

My last options come from the JJ Cole collections. The first bag is the Mod Tote. I have seen this one in person, and it definitely seems incredibly functional. Plus, it comes with the cheapest price tag of around $60. So if I didn't end up loving it, I wouldn't be out quite as much as I would with all of the other bags. However I feel like resale on these bags wouldn't be too hard. They are all pretty cute and decent brands.

And here we have the JJ Cole swag bag. I think the pattern and style are really fun... it looks like a bag I would enjoy carrying. Plus I love the thick strap that looks like it can be worn as a cross body strap. Price tag for this fun little guy is $90.

So what do you think of all of these choices? Any opinions on diaper bags? Which one do you like the best just based on look? If you have personal experience with any of these bags let me know. I would love all the help I can get!

bump check: 35 weeks

Today as they say on the bump, is my 35/35. That is, 35 weeks pregnant, 35 days until my due date. Can that be real? Assuming Ryann doesn't come before the due date, I have 24 days left of work before maternity leave. I'm so excited, and so scared at the same time...

Here are some comparison pics... 15 weeks, 25 weeks, and today at 35 weeks. Yep that belly just keeps growing and growing!

Ryann doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she is most likely over 18 inches long and around 5.25 pounds. Because quarters are so tight, she shouldn't be doing as many somersaults, but kicks and rolls are still incredibly strong. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete -- she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

This week I went in for my third doctors appointment in basically two weeks (one was an extra for the whole blood pressure thing). My blood pressure has gone back down to 130/80, which is basically my baseline for this pregnancy. I think it had gone up to as high as 138/92, so nothing too scary, but is nice to know it is back down. She asked if I had been having any contractions... as far as I know I haven't had any. Sometimes my belly will get really hard, but I honestly can't tell if it is a braxton hicks contraction, or if it is just Ryann taking up a whole lot of space. But they did mention that I should pay attention for contractions, and if they become regular to call. However from this point on they won't make any attempts to stop labor. Craziness.

I'm still working on getting the nursery organized the way I want it. Her room is tiny, so it does make figuring out where to store things a little complicated, but my indecisiveness isn't helping. I'm just not sure how I want things, and where I want things. I'm sure that after she is here and I'm using the changing pad and what not, I'll rearrange like five times.

As far as my swing debate... I'm leaning more towards either the Graco Lovin' Hug, or the Graco Newborn Sweetpeace Soother. Eventually I'll pick one... :o).

How far along: 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +18 pounds
Maternity clothes: yep
Stretch marks?: of all places, a couple showed up on my non growing chest
Sleep: SUCKS
Best moment this week: watching KU kick some KSU butt!
Movement: knees and elbows are often visible
Food cravings: smoothies
Gender: girl
What I miss: see sleep...
Milestones: 35/35!

i need a bigger house...

I do not need a bigger house because we have outgrown our current one. No that has definitely not happened yet. I need a bigger house so that I can decorate more rooms, because I opened my Crate and Barrel catalog and fell in love with this beauty:


If only our nursery was huge, I think I could incorporate it! (Oh and I had an extra $800 laying around or so) HA just kidding. But I really am falling in love with the gray and yellow color scheme lately, and other bright fun colors.

I think that these plates fit the bill of bright fun colors. Seriously though, I don't actually need any more dishes. Its hard to use a ton of dishes when the most people you can ever serve at a table is 4. Boo.


And here again with the yellow and gray thing going are some fun prints:


I wonder if I could incorporate some yellow into another room in my house besides the nursery. I feel like I have too much green going on (even though I LOVE my green), and I think these bright yellow vases are too fun.


If you haven't seen the new Crate and Barrel catalog you should go check it out. No its not always the cheapest stuff, but sometimes you get lucky, and I think almost everything in there is great.

some blog (and nursery) love

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Joi at Nuestra Vida Dulce letting me know that she had featured a picture of my nursery on her blog. I'm so glad that my nursery decor choices have gone over well! And thank you so much Joi for showing me some love.


If you get a chance you should definitely head over and check out her blog. I really enjoyed browsing through her posts that showed some fun items available on craigslist.com in various cities. I swear I never find anything good on my craigslist!