valentines day: for her

with valentine’s day around the corner, it may be time to start hinting to your loved what you want. i would love to have any of these gifts sitting next to a plate of homemade chocolate chip waffles while i lay in bed…a girl can dream.

1. obsessssssing (imagine an opera voice signing this) over this bag from madewell right now
2. loving this kate spade watch…even i did get a watch for xmas, you can never have too many 🙂
3. spring is not quite in the air yet, but i am getting ready for some foot exposure with these ballet flats from modcloth
4. i have a lululemon obsession, and i am so happy they have some new astro crops back in action (the astro crop allow for this belly of mine to hang over)
5. being cozy and cute is sometimes hard, but with this fun “hello” sweatshirt you will always be stylin’
6. these adorable initial rings would be a sweet little gift for your valentine

the nursery: crib + rocker

 

this past weekend brian and i spent time putting together the baby crib and clearing out all the painting equipment in the nursery. the crib was relatively easy to put together, except for the screws that require those avery wrenches…most annoying things ever! i brought the rocker in the room and decided how i was going to arrange everything. the rocker was super on sale and it is the perfect color. now we just need the crib sheets and blankets for the crib! i am already so in love with the room and i haven’t even put up artwork yet.

today has not been a good one 😦 i woke up feeling a bit down and then i got phone call from the doctor’s office that i failed my 1 hour glucose test. now i have to go back in for the 3 hour test on monday. it’s upsetting to me because i have been pretty cautious about eating healthy, balanced meals and i work out at least 4 times a week. brian has told me to keep my head up and that it will all be ok. i just think i will freak out if i fail the 3 hour test and have gestational diabetes! and then i have to go to a nutritionist who will tell me about diet and exercise…arg. well i read that only one third of the women who test positive actually have gestational diabetes, so those are good odds. i know it’s not that big of a deal and worse things could happen, but it’s still frustrating.

so needless to say these photos of the nursery help cheer me up. maybe i will have to visit cuteoverload.com too. have any of you failed your glucose test?

week by week: 27 weeks

 

i am finally in the third trimester! yay! three more months until this little guy joins us. i am feeling pretty good, but i am starting to feel a little more restricted in the movements i can make. like bending down to pick something up, or tying my shoes. i kind of feel like a umpa-lumpa…i feel like my air supply gets cut off when i am trying to put on my tennis shoes. at the gym i try to act real calm and cool when putting on my shoes…even though i am wanting to gasp for air. haha. i am noticing after i eat a meal i get a little uncomfortable too. i think my organs are just adjusting to my bigger belly and uterus and i might just have to make myself eat smaller meals…darn.

we had a really relaxing, low-key weekend and it was so nice. we actually put up the baby crib and it’s so pretty! it looks great in the room and i can’t wait to share pictures! another exciting thing we did this weekend was hire a doula! we are soo excited to have a doula help in our birthing process. we feel really confident in our decision and now can’t wait to have baby come! our doula will be with us the entire birth. she will come to our house when i go into labor. i want to try and stay at home as long as i can, where we are comfortable. i think the doula will help both brian and i stay calm during this time which will be nice.

everything seems to be falling into place and i am starting to feel more and more confident and excited about this birth and bringing home our sweet little boy. but am i feeling confident about having 13 more weeks of a growing belly…not so much…but it’s all worth it right 🙂

guest post: how i chose my OB

 

i wrote a guest post over at parentsavvy today. CHEKC IT OUT!

cry fest

 

ok, so i promise i will stop all this birth talk soon. BUT before i do…i came across a videographer that specializes in natural births. she does an amazing job of capturing the joy and reality of these births. i spent about an hour watching all these videos and literally balled my eyes out. who doesn’t love babies? they are just so cute and irresistible! these are some strong mammas who should inspire any woman out there. hope you enjoy!

Click here to view her videos and here is her vimeo channel 

thoughts on birth

I wanted to elaborate on the birthing class brian and i went to this past sunday. it was taught by two omaha doulas. they run a massage/doula/hypnobabies business. i was most interested in their doula services. a doula is not a medical expert, but offers metal, physical and emotional support to mothers during labor. they showed us different poses and massage techniques to relieve pain in your back or abdomen. they talked about having mothers walking stairs, doing squats, walking the halls, sitting in certain positions all to help get the baby in the optimal birthing position. a doula can offer some support for the mothers as well as helping direct their partner in ways they can help make mom feel better. the doulas said that most of the time the partners want to be involved but aren’t sure what to do or what to say.

we watched a few videos, learned about things we can say no to, things we may want to ask for and mostly how labor isn’t something that should be thought as of negative. the way in which women (and men) look at child birth is ever changing over generations. the doula spoke of her great grandmother giving birth in their home with a later visit from the doctor, her grandmother being totally put to sleep and then the baby taken out, and her mother who had no pain meds and gave birth naturally. these days i feel like women look at you like you are a crazy person if you tell them you want to try things naturally. what happened to women supporting each other and being positive? we all know it can be done; to have your baby naturally, so why is it that women are making comments to each other like “good luck…” “oh just you wait..”

we left the class on sunday feeling excited and nervous about our baby’s birthday. a doula is something that brian and i are considering for our birth plan. i would love to have my baby naturally. this is a decision i have come to over the course of this pregnancy. it’s also the scariest decision that i have come to. am i saying that i will beat myself up if i need an epidural? or have to have a c-section? no. will i freak out if my “birth plan” doesn’t go as “planned”? no. do i want to try to make this experience as positive as i can? yes.

i am not naive in the since that i think it’s going to be daises and butterflies. i know that it’s going to be the hardest thing i will ever have to go through, and all i can do is try to prepare myself mentally and physically the best i can. to me, why not try? why not see what the female body is meant to do. there is an end, this WILL end, you will not die, the pain will go away. you will be blessed with the most fantastic gift you could ever imagine at the end of this struggling journey. in the end, that is your reward.

next time you see a pregnant women, why not go up to her and say something positive.

week by week: 26 weeks

so this week i have had more energy than normal. i had a busy weekend full of birthing classes, yoga, friends date, cleaning, birthday dinners and more birthing classes and somehow i wasn’t beaten-up at the end of it. it was a great way to spend the weekend. our class on friday was a couples yoga class, focusing on pain relief positions and how your partner can help massage you during labor. it was actually really beneficial because they had couples discuss what type of reassurance and vocalization you would like during difficult times in labor. i told brian i want not a lot of talking, calmness, and most of all to remind me that this does have an end. they had each partner do a wall sit for 2 minutes and we had to talk our partners through the pain. it was funny because afterwards brian told me he didn’t like me talking to him; that he was trying to block me out. so we actually both deal with pain in the same way.

in prenatal yoga we practice these techniques too. my yoga teacher always says, giving birth is like running a marathon. you can’t just show up the day of the race with no preparation and run the race. same thing with labor; you need to prepare yourself and your partner. i feel really blessed to have a supportive husband that will help me through this as well as a supportive team of women who help prepare me for our baby’s birthday.

going to these childbirth classes makes this that much more real. it’s going to be here before we know it and i just want to be prepared. i am really excited to talk about our class we had on sunday, but i want to elaborate on more things so i will create a post later this week. it’s pretty exciting to think this is happening and i want to stay as positive about childbirth as i can.

baby’s new digs

 

when you have a mom that loves shopping…you get a baby with a lot of clothes before they are even born. i am prepping his wardrobe for next fall/winter. why would i do this when i don’t even know how big he will really be you ask?…well because i just can’t help myself and when i come across clothes that i would wear if i were a boy i just have to buy them. the shorts and pants with suspenders are from baby zara, i think they are sold out now. the baby shoes are baby toms, which i bought at a local shoe shop i love called pattino. the little eskimo bear hat is from old navy and so is the oooooh sooo cool chambray shirt. don’t worry, i have planned on wearing my chambray shirt when baby does…duh! although i do love clothes and do love to shop, i am also a clearance queen. i look for a deal and don’t feel the need to pay full price for anything.

i want this little guy to dress well…and i know i know, you are all saying “oh you just wait, he will puke all over everything and he won’t ever wear real clothes” and i do understand this too. i don’t really plan on having him in cool digs everyday, or for the first few months in fact, but a mom can dream big.  i just don’t really want him in onesies that say “i love baseball” with a picture of a mit on the front, or “my dad rocks” haha. again…dream big mamma…until reality sets in.

 

nursery: little red fox

1. illustration art i created for baby’s room. 2. adorable fox pillow 3. mini fox pillow i already have 4. knitted fox toy 5. dress up for a foxy boy 6. small fox portrait

in the nursery i plan to have lots of red accents to contrast the creams.whites and blacks/greys.  i thought it would be fun to incorporate red foxes to make it a little more playful. i illustrated the first image for him, now i just have to put it in a frame. all these other fun fox toys and pillows i adore. the whole nursery is slowly coming together…but i will give updates as things happen. right now i am working on the curtains for the nursery, so that will be a post soon.

hopefully he won’t be sly like a fox…and trick his mom and dad all the time. can we say karma?

happy birthday cutie pants

this little cutie pants is all grown up and celebrating a big birthday today! how cute is that picture! he wanted to be like dad and play golf! those saggy undies and that little pot belly…so cute! this is the fifth birthday i have celebrated with you and oh how you have grown and changed over the years. this year’s birthday won’t be filled with drinks and late nights, but it will be filled with love from our family and friends and kicks from our little man. can’t wait to celebrate with you brian, i love you!