40 & 41 Weeks - There is an end in sight!

How far along? 41 weeks tomorrow, haven't taken a 41 week picture yet but above is 40 weeks and the one below it is from Christmas yesterday.  We are going to the hospital tonight! Feeling anxious, excited and nervous.

Going to forego the weekly questions and will just give an update as to where we stand!  At my doctor appointment last Friday (12/20 ON MY DUE DATE) we found that there has been no further progress, still 1 cen dilated and 60% effaced.  How could this be?!?!  I think Ben is just way too comfy in there.  We waited to see if Ben would arrive on his own this week.  My doctor doesn't like to go over 41 weeks and I'm grateful for that because we are SO ready for baby to arrive!  I'm getting anxious and more uncomfortable.  It's hard waiting for your due date and then watching it pass you by.  I feel like I'll always be pregnant but at least there is an end in sight!

We will definitely be posting pictures on Instagram for updates so stay tuned!  I can't believe we get to meet our son hopefully by tomorrow! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the rest of your holiday vacation!!! 

P.S. Here's my breakfast from Christmas yesterday.  Wouldn't mind eating the exact same thing everyday for breakfast!

39 Weeks - Countdown is on!

How far along? 39 Weeks and feeling like I'll always be pregnant, someone please tell me this ends

Maternity clothes? Yup!  Nothing new here, and I am pretty excited that I will soon be able to wear things in my closet that I haven't seen in months!

Sleep: I am so lucky that I am still getting good sleep, listening to other women who are this pregnant tell me that at the end it was really hard to get much sleep.  Just still so excited for my bladder to go back to its normal size so I don't have to get up as often during the night.

Best moment this week: Had a lovely evening with my best girlfriends, we had our annual gift exchange/dinner.  It was at my friend Kimmie's, her house is completely decked out and looks amazing.  Definitely makes me feel like I need to revamp our holiday decor!

Food cravings: Made pancakes this morning for breakfast.  Doused them in peanut butter and syrup, did not disappoint. 

Looking forward to: My due date! Which is this coming Friday, as in 5 days from today!  I can't believe the time is finally here.  At my last Dr. appointment I was only 1 cen dilated and 60% effaced so no real significant changes, but he did say he could come at any time, however with first babies they tend to be late.  I would LOVE to meet him sooner than later but am trying to be patient and plan for him being late so I'm not disappointed if Friday comes and goes.

Baby item of the week: I can't stop looking at baby boy clothes.  They are so tiny and cute!  Baby Zara has my heart this week, here are a few of my faves...

Baby Zara is killin me with these outfits

how cute are these suspenders and tiny shoes?!

I feel like my son may end up being real preppy until Dad gets his hands on him.

(link to this outfit here)

We went to Tim's cousin Deidre's 30th surprise party last night.  It was a 20's theme and I was struggling just a bit to try and find something to wear but I think we pulled it off.  Of course I had to take a pic in front of the board just for kicks.  

My love

Dee lookin' gorgeous!

I have another holiday get-together tonight with some girlfriends.  Going to use the rest of my time this week to relax and rest up before baby comes.  Also, I have a few friends giving me tips to self induce - lots of walking, bouncing on a medicine ball, drinking pineapple juice, chasing after my niece and nephew, among other things were just a few that were recommended.  Feeling anxious so definitely going to try out a few of these.

Have a great week! Everyone cross your fingers we'll meet Baby Ben this week!!!

38 Weeks & Feelin Ready

How far along? 38 Weeks, I officially had a stranger tell me it looked as if I was about to pop.  Thank you kind sir, it feels like it too.
Maternity clothes? Still sporting them and can't wait til I can wear my regular jeans again... although I know that still wont be for a little while.
Sleep: Nothing new, still getting up pretty frequently for bathroom breaks but sleeping pretty good.  It's funny that everyone's advice at this point is "sleep as much as you can now... because you wont be getting any sleep once he's here."  I'm taking this advice to heart and trying to rest up as much as possible.
Best moment this week: At my last Dr. appt (Fri, 12/6) I was 1 cen dilated and 50% effaced.  That was at 38 weeks exactly.  Woo hoo! I'm excited that at least we are making progress and I'm hoping for more good news this Friday.  If it were up to me Baby B can come at any time now.  We are all ready for you!
Food cravings: I know it's bad but I just crave sweets and desserts.  After dinner my body is just thinking about something sweet and I've definitely been indulging.  Coffee Haagen Daz has been my a staple in my freezer.
Baby item of the week: I got quite a few little hats and beanies for Baby B that are adorable.  I can't get enough of them.  I can't wait to dress him all up and take him out.  Here are a few that I'm loving right now.

Janie & Jack, Wool Blend Tweed Cap

or you can find a similar cap from Target here

Oh my goodness, so fluffy!

Cozy bear hat, Gap

Love this simple knot beanie

Organic printed knot hat, Gap

and this is just too much cuteness in one pic

Baby Boy Hat, Etsy

Okay Baby Boy, now I'm really ready for you!  Come out so I can dress you all up!

37 Weeks

How far along? 37 Weeks
Monthly Check In: +26 pounds and feeling it.  At my Dr. appt today they said baby was 6lb, 4 oz, and that I can expect baby to be right around 7 lbs... I'm wondering how accurate that will be?
Maternity clothes? Of course, I mean at this point I'm trying to make anything work.  And even though I've told myself no more clothes since we're so close... I've still managed to find some cute stuff online (that I haven't ordered :)

Sleep: I think I got up seven times to pee last night before I fell asleep.  But still, grateful that my body will let me get good rest, I know others who have had it much worse.  P.S. If baby's movement is any indication of when he will be awake, I have a feeling he will be a night owl, he loves to start dancing right when I lie down to go to sleep.
Best moment this week: Had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend with great food, shopping and the best company.  So grateful for my family.  On another note, I have officially started my Maternity leave! You should see my list of things to do... as much as I want baby to come now, I'd love for him to stay in another week or two and give me some time to make sure I'm ALL ready.   
Food cravings: My cravings were satisfied last week at Thanksgiving.  So so good. So good that I am going to attempt to make a turkey this week, never done it before so it should be interesting. 
Looking forward to: Crossing stuff off my list!  I'm almost there and think after this week I'll be totally ready for Baby B to arrive!  
Baby item of the week: I opened up my K-TAN baby carrier today to get it ready for baby and I must say I was a little confused at first as to how to wrap the baby in it but I think I'll be able to figure it out.  I also have a Baby Bjorn that I think Tim will love to use, truth is that was the one thing he requested.  His exact words when I asked him if he wanted anything for baby were "You know that thing that Zach Galifianakis wears in the hangover?  I want one of those."  Made his dream come true.  

The K-TAN carrier - can you see me in this?

Baby Bjorn - and Tim in this? LOL


Check out this family picture from Thanksgiving.  I mean really I should submit to an awkward family photo contest.  Dad was holding up the dog and mom didn't want anyone seeing the dog's pee pee so clearly she had to cover it, AND he's kissing her face.  I mean really, it doesn't get much better than this.

36 weeks

How far along? 36 Weeks, I love how it says Happy Thanksgiving and you can see the Christmas tree we just put up in the background.  Gotta get a head start on my Christmas decor!
Maternity clothes? I laughed when I saw this shirt, it feels very appropriate.  I can't wait for Thanksgiving this year.  I love getting together with family and eating my most favorite meal of the year.

Sleep: Ughh... I am lucky, don't get me wrong, but I cannot wait to not have to get up 6 times in the night to go pee.    
Best moment this week: My coworkers surprised me this last week and threw me a baby shower.  It was so nice, with the best food (Porto's) and sweets, balloons, flowers and gifts.  It was so nice and I'm so lucky to work with such great people.  :)  My last day at work before MAT leave is today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone.
Food cravings: I have been craving Thanksgiving food, not sure if it's just because I know it's coming and my palette is preparing for it, but I really can not wait. Mashed potatoes and turkey and gravy and yams and pies.... :)
Looking forward to: THANKSGIVING!!! Family time, shopping and food.
Baby item of the week: I ordered this mirror for the nursery. It arrives next week, I'll post a picture when we get it.  Hopefully it looks as good in person as I think it does online!

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 Weeks

Maternity clothes? I know I'm almost there but I couldn't resist this comfy dress from Motherhood Maternity.  

Sleep: I'm getting a lot of sleep but it's just interrupted with many bathroom trips, I guess it's good that I'll be getting used to waking up multiple times during the night!
Best moment this week: We got our chair for the nursery.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we got my Grandma Hazel's old chair reupholstered for the nursery.  She passed away just this last year and I'm so glad that we have something to remind us of her in the nursery.  Here is the before and after. I'm in love with it.  It turned out perfectly.

Food cravings: Thanksgiving food!!! 
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving next week!!! can't wait to get together with all my family and feast on one of my favorite meals.  I'm in charge of yams this year so I've been looking up recipes for that.  I'm thinking one candied and one that's not so sweet.  Anyone have a good recipe?
Baby item of the week: Not so much an item but I'm thinking of making one of these little banners for Baby B's room. They are so cute!

From Project Nursery

From Spearmint Baby

From Handmade Charlottle

From decoracion facilisimo

Hope everyone is having a great week! I'm going to see Hunger Games: Catching Fire tonight, I'll let you all know how it is! :)

34 Weeks, Happy Veterans Day!!!

How far along? 34 Weeks - oh em gee, it's feeling real close

Maternity clothes? Can we talk about how adorable this sweater is?! I mean it's kind of perfect for the holidays...

Sleep: I'm falling asleep real easily at night and then wake up a few times to go to the bathroom.  But here's the kicker, I've been waking up at 6 and been AWAKE, like I can't fall back asleep awake. I'm hoping it's a phase because I want to soak up all the sleep I can get in these next few weeks!
Best moment this week: I was given another baby shower by my wonderful aunts and grandma last Saturday.  They went above and beyond and it was SO adorable.  Also we played the cutest baby shower games.  My favorite was an Alphabet book game - my aunt passed out pieces of paper with a capital-letter and lower-case letter for each letter of the alphabet.  She gave everyone markers and each person decorated a letter of the alphabet.  She is going to take all the pages that were decorated and make the baby his very own personalized Alphabet book!  I thought it was the cutest idea ever.  Oh and of course there was a winner, I chose the letter I thought was decorated the best, if you know my family you know there's always a tense competition. :)
Food cravings: I am trying to tell my body to crave healthy foods but it just doesn't always listen to me.  I still get excited to eat cereal every morning.
Looking forward to: Thursday night - it's our date night (Tim's days off are weird).  This week we actually have our hospital tour on Thursday night so we'll be checking that out and then I'm looking forward to a good dinner in Santa Monica! 
Baby item of the week: I've made some major progress this week in the nursery and I owe it to Tim for hanging and putting together the crib and moving furniture all around and my SIL who helped me decide what goes where. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!  On that note, I've been looking at more decor and I love all the sweet signs that have cute sayings on them.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Love You To The Moon and Back

or there's this one

Can you tell I like the moon signs?

This is so cute, I think it'd be adorable in the bathroom.

Here's a few pictures from the Baby Shower on Saturday, I'll post more once I get all the pictures from my Grandma, she's the best photographer! :)

My dad has 3 sisters, I'm so lucky to have these wonderful women.

 
My sweet cousins

 And my favorite momma who had a baby 3 weeks ago - BEAUTIFUL!

This might be the cutest cake I've ever seen, I'm sorry I don't have a picture that is bigger, but I LOVE all the animals on it!

My grandma is one of seven girls, they were all at the shower. I adore them!

And because it's Veterans Day I have to give a shout out to my amazing Veteran husband who served in the Marines for 4 years.  I'm so grateful to him and all the other men and women who sacrifice so much for our country.  

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 Weeks

Monthly Check in: 21 lbs gained, Baby & I are a-growin!
Maternity clothes? Trying to hold off on buying anything else since I only have 6.5 weeks left!  But I will be getting a pair of comfy black yoga style pants.  Ruined mine last weekend when we attempted to give our dogs a haircut.  Let's just say we now know why we take them to get groomed instead of doing it ourselves. 
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty good.  It's definitely been harder to get up in the mornings but I wake up SOOO hungry so that pretty much is my motivation to get out of bed.
Best moment this week: I have the best friends and family.  They threw me a shower last Saturday and it was gorgeous and perfect.  The baby and I were incredibly spoiled and now I feel like we're ready for him to arrive!  We have the crib set up and the nursery is becoming my favorite room in the house.
Food cravings: Pomegranates... I love love love them.  I just bought the small package from Trader Joe's (the ones that are ready to eat) the other day and sat with a spoon and ate it. So delicious and juicy.  
Looking forward to: I get to see a bunch of family from my Dad's side this weekend for another family shower.  I am so excited to see everyone and to celebrate this squirmy babe inside of me.
Baby item of the week: I still have a small list of things to get done before baby gets here.  On the list is a sound machine.  Does this really matter, did any of you mamas get one for your kids?

Okay now I want to share a bunch of great pictures from the shower, SO cute!

This is one of my best friends, Miss Kimmie, she is incredible and I often refer to her as Martha since she is so stinkin crafty and everything she touches turns out perfect.  She, along with my mom and MIL planned and did the shower and I am so grateful to them! Thank you! :)

Some of the decor from the tables

The cake and dessert table were to die for - all my favorite sweets in one place!

They had set up an area for people to leave Baby B and I a note.  I loved looking through these after the shower.  We will definitely treasure this book.

One of my oldest and best friends completely surprised me and flew in from Utah.  It was one of the highlights of the day.  Her and B are sharing a moment below. And another pic of more friends.  

These are just a few of the pictures that some friends had forwarded.  I wasn't able to get pictures yet of all the wonderful food that was prepared or of everyone who attended so if anyone has more pictures feel free to send my way!  Thank you everyone for coming and for making Baby B & I feel so special!