Week 35

Week 35:  August 22-29

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 35 weeks

Total weight gain: 22 pounds--I start my weekly Dr. appointments tomorrow, so I'm pretty sure I'll find out that this number has gone up.  
Maternity clothes?  All Maternity---unless I'm at home by myself.  In which case, I'm usually wearing a stretchy tank top that doesn't quite cover the belly.  This dress was a hand-me-down from my BFF--so comfy!    
Stretch marks? nope--they're not happening!
Sleep:  This week it has become harder to sleep.  I'm spending lots of time laying in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about the things I have to do.  Then, when it's time to actually get up, I don't have much motivation to actually do them.  My intentions are good though!

Best moment this week:  We unpacked and put together some of the baby's things (stroller, carseat, pack N' play, bouncer) this week.  As JB was wheeling the stroller around the house, it hit us that we will have a REAL baby here in just about a month!  Craaaazy.  

Miss Anything?  Breathing regularly and feeling comfortable with normal temperatures.  I feel like I am ALWAYS hot.  Normally (and by normal, I mean pre-pregnant), I always carry a sweater with me just in case the A/C is on.  Sweaters aren't needed much these days.  We went into NYC this weekend, and I was huffing and puffing AND sweating after climbing one flight of subway stairs.  Glad I don't have to do that every day!

Movement: Yes.  They are starting to get a little uncomfortable.  I wouldn't say that they really "hurt", but they are so strong that they are taking me by surprise. Sometimes I have to catch my breath after the jabs to my ribs or bladder.   
Food cravings: blueberries, nectarines, string cheese

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Coffee smell...yuck.

Gender:  It's a BOY!

Labor Signs: No....thank goodness! 
Symptoms:  I've had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but they seem to settle down with rest and water.  (Knock on wood)--the heartburn has settled down a little bit.  Maybe this means that baby's hair all fell out??  Haha...we'll see if that old wive's tale is true. 
Belly Button in or out? Pretty flat today!  
Wedding rings on or off? on--The day we went into NYC I was pretty swollen (fingers and feet), and it was the first time I could feel my rings squeezing my fingers.  I could still take them off them though.  
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy :-) 
Looking forward to:  Taking some pictures of the nursery this week!  The furniture is all in, and now I can start figuring out where things are going and hanging pictures up.  The bedding that I ordered from Etsy should be shipped this week too.  Stay tuned! 

 

Show and Tell Monday

 

          Allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite Mama bloggers.  Becky is from the blog, From Mrs. to Mama.  She is mom to sweet little 21-month old Elliana, and now she is expecting her second baby...a little boy.  I enjoy reading her weekly pregnancy updates and hearing all about Elli's adventures. Becky is also having an awesome giveaway this week.  The winner gets: 

• 16x20 canvas voucher with free shipping {$120.00}
• 1 Month LARGE Ad space {$40.00 value}
• $10.00 Starbucks gift card
• Blog makeover 

It would be so great to win this giveaway!

Here is a link-up to her blog!

Show and Tell Monday

Wedding Bells Ringing

Are you married? If so when did you get married, and tell us about your special day. If not? How would you describe your dream wedding?   
I have been married to my best friend, JB for almost 3 years.  He makes me laugh, smile, and appreciate our life together everyday.  We got married on September 12, 2009 at the St. Clement's Castle in Portland, CT.  Neither of us are from Connecticut, so some called it a "destination wedding" of sorts---just the kind without the sunshine.  We chose the location, because it was halfway between New Jersey (where I grew up) and Boston (where the Mr. grew up).  Now, about our special day...Here is a picture of where we were supposed to get married in a beautiful sunken garden outside the castle. 

This picture was actually taken the day before our wedding.  Beautiful right?  Mother nature didn't agree with our plans that day.  When we arrived at the castle, it had just finished downpouring, but looked like it might actually clear up.  So, we made the "go-time" decision to stick with our original plan and have the wedding outside.  We had a backup plan in case it started to rain.  All of our guests started to arrive by bus from the hotel where everyone was staying.  The weather looked threatening, but the musical quartet kept playing and the show went on.  The guests were all seated on the chairs on the lawn, and JB and his guys made their way down the aisle.  Then, the grandparents made their entrance and my (now) mother-in-law made hers.  At this point, I was walking from the castle with my bridal party and parents toward the lawn.  All of a sudden the skies opened up, and it started to POUR.  

One of the staff members picked me up in a golf cart, and everyone else ran for the hills.  JB says that all he saw was me fleeing the scene in a white dress and veil. Sounds like every groom's worst nightmare, right?  Once inside, we all gathered in the ladies room to assess the situation. 

It was messy, but could have been a lot worse.  After drying ourselves under the hand blowers in the bathroom, we decided to go with plan B.  We would get married under the covered pavilion (a.k.a. the carport).  Our guests stood for the whole ceremony.  They parted in the center of the crowd as I made my way down the aisle, and everyone was a good sport about being soaking wet.  Although it was not what I had pictured after all of my wedding planning, I would not have changed a single thing about it.  We spent the day surrounded by our closest family and friends, and the love that surrounded us was more than I ever could have asked for.  It was in fact my dream wedding. 

Show us some wedding pictures. Either yours or of some that you love.

Our florist did a beautiful job---one of my favorite parts of our wedding day.

My gorgeous bridal party

One of our first pictures as Mr. and Mrs.

All of our wedding guests

My hubby the rock star joined the band for some Journey...I rocked out.

How about the engagement? Tell us your story. If not engaged, what's your dream proposal?  Our engagement was definitely totally unique and special.  The story was actually featured on the Blue Lagoon website here.  That's right---I was proposed to during a surprise trip to Iceland.  I am a lucky girl.   

Show us your wedding rings or an engagement photo! If not engaged/married ... show us your "dream" ring.   
We had been talking about marriage for a while, and even gone ring shopping together a few times.  JB tells people that he originally thought I wanted a simple solitaire.  However, when shopping I said, "but it looks so lonely by itself".  "How about a few extra diamonds on the side?"  Good thing he took me with him!  He had my ring custom made in Boston at Descenza Diamonds in Boston.  It is dainty, antique-looking, and ornate in design...and I love it.  This is a picture of my engagement ring taken in Iceland.  

Here is a picture of my engagement ring with wedding bands.  We had the one band made for the wedding ceremony, and the Hubs surprised me with another one for the other side as a wedding gift.  I didn't get the third one until after we returned from our honeymoon.  It looks finished now.    

Tell us why you think marriage doesn't work out for so many? What can we do to make things last?  
I think it is really sad that marriage doesn't work out for so many people.  We have several friends whose weddings we have attended over the past 5 years, and they are already divorced.  I know that the decision to divorce must have been so difficult and painful for them.  Marriage isn't easy.  Sometimes people get married for the wrong reasons.  Some people don't have the honest discussions about the future that they should be having before the wedding.  Some people think they can change their future spouse.  I think it's important to know that you should love and accept the person you are choosing to be with for the rest of your life before making that life commitment.  Sure there are going to be things that you wish you could change about a person.  But, if those things are deal-breakers (too big too look past), then you shouldn't be getting married.  How do you make things last?  Have fun together.  Be spontaneous.  Talk openly about things that bother you--preferably before they bottle up and you explode.  Make plans together for the future.  Having kids is something that puts a strain on a lot of relationships.  We've talked a lot about this as we are expecting our first little one in a month.  Before deciding to start our family, we talked a lot about how we need to make sure that we have a strong relationship (first and foremost).  This is why we waited almost three years before starting a family.  We wanted to spend time together--traveling, doing things for ourselves, splurging on things.  We've discussed the need to still have "us" time and "us" vacations to make sure that we don't forget about "us" after the baby is here.  Luckily, we have grandparents, siblings, and friends who will be more than willing to help us by watching little Dudley Farkle so we can do these things.  **Don't worry--that's not his real name.  Just trying it out!  I think marriage is a wonderful thing--we have so many excellent examples of positive marriages in our life, and I hope that will only make us stronger as a couple in the future. 

Shower Door Catastrophe=Solved!

This is going to sound ridiculous.  But, for some reason, I was feeling like I ABSOLUTELY could not have this baby until I figured out this domestic challenge---my dirty shower doors.  

As I mentioned in my earlier Pinterest post, I tried out a whole bunch of different products in order to destroy the soap scum and get gleaming, clear shower doors once again.  Since that post, I think I have tried something different almost EVERY SINGLE DAY to conquer this problem.  I used every cleaning product I owned, bought several more, and created my own concoctions out of household pantry items.  Nothing worked.  Until yesterday.  TA-DA!  It's a miracle!  

BEFORE...Don't judge! 

AND AFTER...

(Please disregard the overflowing trash can.  I could tell you that I emptied it immediately after taking this picture, but the truth is....It is still overflowing.  Maybe tomorrow)

For those of you who may be suffering from the same obsession, I thought I'd share the secret with you.

How to Remove Soap Scum from Glass Shower Doors:


1.  Spray this all over your shower doors (metal trim and glass parts).  Let it sit for 5 minutes.  WARNING--This stuff is extremely potent.  I probably should not have been using it while pregnant.  I pretty much held my breath while I sprayed and then fled the bathroom.

 

2.  After 5 minutes (or longer if it's really bad), wet a Mr. Clean Dry Eraser Bath Scrubber with some water.  Gently scrub off the Kaboom with the Magic Eraser.  It will get pretty sudsy.  

3.  Now, clean with regular Windex and a paper towel.  

Voila---Sparkly Clean Shower Doors.  You are welcome.  :-)

P.S.  Now, I feel that I can prepare the other 1,292,399 things I need to do before baby arrives.  

Disclaimer:  I did not receive monetary compensation for this post, nor do I have a professional relationship with any of the product companies shown above.  The above opinions are honest, unbiased and 100% my own.

Week 34

Week 34:  August 15-21

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 34 weeks (for a few more hours anyway!)

Total weight gain: 22 pounds--I had gained 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks.  
Maternity clothes?  Yes--mostly shorts and tank tops.  The shirt in this picture is not maternity.  It just happens to be big and stretchy enough to cover the bump.  The shorts are Motherhood Maternity gray cargo shorts.    
Stretch marks? nope--they're not happening!
Sleep:  Sleep is about the same--interrupted, but not terrible.  I've only been able to sleep on my left side during the past few nights.  It's definitely a challenge to roll out of bed during the many trips to the bathroom.  

Best moment this week: On Sunday, my mom and sister threw me a beautiful baby shower.  I loved all of the decorations (blue and animal print)--too cute!  Of course, there were lots of Pinterest inspired baby shower foods, and everything was delish.  It was fun to see friends and family I don't see all of the time, and everyone was so excited to celebrate Baby Dustin.  We came home with two carloads of super cute gifts for Baby Boy, and I've been digging through it all taking closer looks at everything.  It's like Christmas!  Hopefully I'll have some pictures from the shower later this week.  Thank you for making it  so special for me.  XOXO

Miss Anything?  No--I'm just enjoying my last weeks feeling all of the baby kicks and bumps. 

Movement: Yes.  He is a mover and a shaker!  You would think that he would be running out of room, but it doesn't seem like it.  I was excited that my sister could feel him having the hiccups this weekend too.  He wouldn't move around much, but she definitely felt the hiccup jumps. 
Food cravings: apples with peanut butter, yogurt, ice water (If I drink any more, I will float away.)  On the positive side, I think this is why I haven't had too much swelling though!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No--there isn't much room for big meals though.  If I eat too much at once, I start to feel nauseous.  So I feel like I'm constantly grazing all day long. 

Gender:  It's a BOY!

Labor Signs: No....thank goodness!  Although after our Lamaze class, I felt like I was having all of the signs of pre-term labor.  That's what happens when you get all of that information!   At our Dr.'s appointment on Friday we had another ultrasound to check for growth.  The ultrasound tech kept saying what a big, healthy boy he is.  He measured at 6.1 pounds on the ultrasound, and was in the 69th percentile for this point in pregnancy.  Based on that number, the doctor would like to see him continuing to gain 1/2 pound each week from here on out.  She estimated that if he is on time, he would be 8.6 pounds at birth. WHOA--big baby!
Symptoms:  I've had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but they seem to settle down with rest and water.  The breathing while sitting is still a challenge too. 
Belly Button in or out? It's an innie today.  
Wedding rings on or off? on--no problems with finger swelling (yet)
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy :-) 
Looking forward to:  A relaxing week with some time to get things organized, do laundry, and rest!  The weather has been cooler and less humid, so I'm going to try to squeeze in a pool afternoon (or two) and a few evening walks.  Maybe I'll even cook dinner one night.  :-)  This weekend will be another busy one with a breastfeeding class, a trip to NYC to see a show, visiting with friends, and attending a baby shower for a friend.  I love that we're living back in NJ, and I'm getting to spend time with some of my favorite peeps!  Have a super week everyone!