Maternity Photos

So I finally got my maternity pictures taken and I couldn't be more in love. Honestly, I was skeptical of getting any done because well... the hubs is gone and pictures alone didn't sound like a whole lot of fun. However, I am so glad I did it because I'm going to look back at them and remember what it was life to be 34 weeks pregnant with our little man. 

I got them done at Camera Shy in Gardener Village and seriously you can't beat the price, and the quality is fantastic. It was 102 degrees outside but my photographer was amazing and never once complained. They did our pre-deployment pictures and I also have SJ's newborns scheduled with them. Seriously, if you're in the Salt Lake/Utah County areas and need an affordable studio look them up. You won't be disappointed!

34 Weeks

How far along: 34 Weeks

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 17 Pounds

Maternity clothes:  Definitely 

Stretch marks: Nada... we only have 4  1/2 weeks left.. lets not have any surprises

Belly button in or out: Shallow but still in!

Sleep: I'm up still throughout the night, i'm actually awake more because I can't roll from side to side without getting winded

Best moment this week: MY DADDY'S HERE!

Worst moment this week:  Hormones are RAGING and my body hurts ALL THE TIME.

Miss anything: Not really this week... My husband 

Movement: It's becoming patterned which is super exciting

Cravings: Comfort foods, burritos, and peachy-o's

Queasy or sick: Nope... but the acid reflux is FIERCE

Looking forward to: Painting our house! 

32 Weeks

How far along: 32 Weeks

Gender: Little he!

Weight gain: Sixteen pounds (: 

Maternity clothes:  Definitely on the pants... and depending on the top (if it's stretchy or not) 

Stretch marks: Nope! 

Belly button in or out: Shallow and soo close to popping

Sleep: I'm up 2-3 times a night, but it's nice in the early hours because i'm up when cameron is getting off work. 

Best moment this week: Started my 3rd trimester child birth/child care classes yesterday!

Worst moment this week:  I tripped over a pair of my boots at about 3am and started yelling at Cameron... only to realize that he isn't here, and they weren't his boots... my hormones were overloaded it and I cried on my floor for half an hour.

Miss anything: Not really.. other than being able to walk and not waddle

Movement: It's even more obvious now.. I sent cameron a video of him moving the other night and it was the first time he was really able to fully see it was a baby, not just me breathing.

Cravings: Fruit still, CHOCOLATE and cupcakes.

Queasy or sick: Not this week, just insane amounts of heartburn.

Looking forward to: Baby shower is this week and I'm FREAKING out it's this close!

No comparison this week because I didn't take a 22 week picture... oops

31 Weeks

How far along: 31 Weeks

Gender:Boy (:

Weight gain: Sitting at 15 

Maternity clothes:  Mostly, This tank top is just a regular target tank in a size up from normal.

Stretch marks: Nope! 

Belly button in or out: Shallow.

Sleep: Getting better, once I get comfortable. Still waking every couple hours. 

Best moment this week: Watching baby P move even more now, he takes over my whole belly

Worst moment this week:  Braxton hicks contractions making my life MISERABLE 

Miss anything: Being able to breathe, mojitos

Movement: Everywhere, all the time I swear. They say he's sleeping more these days, but I highly doubt it.

Cravings: Fruit, mostly bananas and pineapple (which is ironic because he's the size of a pineapple this week)

Queasy or sick: Not too bad, I had food poisoning this week but no sickness because of little guy this week

Looking forward to: Going to see Tim McGraw tonight!

Prepping the "nest"

I have some friends who have been pregnant in the past, they would talk about nesting and I would laugh, literally laugh. I'm sorry guys, I understand where you are coming from now. Have you ever woken up at 3 a.m. and sat in bed wide awake needing to vacuum the cat? No? Well then I guess I'm on my own with that. 

However, I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that one way to make room for baby is to make room in your house, whether that be decluttering you closet, or organizing the nursery twice a week. Me? I'm guilty of both. If you've ever known me in the past, you know that I've never been the OCD clean freak who makes you take off your shoes when you walk in the door...yet for some reason now I find myself vacuuming every day and making sure the kitchen is spotless at ALL times. I know that chances of that remaining routine once baby P is here are slim to none but I'm going to soak up all the cleaning and organizing I can WHILE I can and maybe when he gets here I wont be so nervous to let him play on the floor. 

So Payge, how do you (a person who has NEVER enjoyed nor been very great at cleaning, scheduling, and organization) get a routine going where it's not completely overwhelming? LOOK NO FURTHER MY FRIENDS I've compiled a schedule that is tried and true to keep your house clean, AND have weekends free to play with your kids. Too good to be true? Nope! So without further ado, here's my take on a schedule to "Prep the nest."

MONDAY- KITCHEN:

Clean fridge out

Wipe down counters and appliances

Sweep and swiffer/mop floors

Take trash out to curb

LAUNDRY: WHITES

TUESDAY-BATHROOMS:

Clean toilets

Wipe down counters 

Clean mirrors

Sweep and swiffer/mop floors

LAUNDRY: TOWELS & WASH RAGS

WEDNESDAY-BEDROOMS:

Dust surface areas

Vacuum floors

Change sheets/bedding

LAUNDRY: SHEETS

THURSDAY-LIVING ROOM:

Dust surface areas

Vacuum floors

Straighten up any  clutter

LAUNDRY: DARKS

FRIDAY-MISC:

Clean windows

Wipe down doors and baseboards

LAUNDRY: COLORS

So that's my weekly schedule, I've been doing it for about 3 weeks now and it seems to really work! Obviously you'll probably want to tweak it to fit your lifestyle and your household (our trash man comes on Tuesdays so that's why I clean out my fridge on Monday) and there are those daily chores that you just do as they come like making the bed in the morning and doing the dishes. It keeps down the clutter and dust, and overall just makes me feel better to wake up with a plan but still have time to rest when I feel like my feet are starting to get a little sausage looking. It's really nice for my 3 a.m. urges and I can give into the "nesting" without feeling overwhelmed and break down in tears. I hope this is helpful as your prepare for a new life to enter your family, or just help keep your house clean for yourself!

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks

Gender:Boy (:

Weight gain: 15 Lbs total

Maternity clothes: EVERYTHING!

Stretch marks: Nope! 

Belly button in or out: in-ish

Sleep: Still pretty off and on, I'm up and down most of the night. I can go to bed at 8 but toss and turn until 1-2am. I'm pretty sure this is just my body preparing itself to be up with baby P

Best moment this week: Swimming on Tuesday was pretty dang fantastic, the weightlessness is AMAZING on my hips.

Worst moment this week: The HORRIBLE sunburn I got Tuesday... Hence the half-assed makeup and natural hair in this weeks picture

Miss anything: Sleep. Margaritas. My memory!

Movement: So much! At the doctor appointment she put the doppler on him to hear his sweet heartbeat he was all over the place and made it a little tricky to find.

Cravings: Banana ANYTHING. Which is funny because Cameron HATES banana flavoring, maybe baby p is taking after me in some aspects already?

Queasy or sick: A little nauseated this morning but not nearly as bad as when I didn't have my medication. 

Looking forward to: Maternity Pictures, hopefully coming soon. (: 

30 Week Dr. Visit, questions to ask before delivery

Oh my goodness gracious you guys... we are down to the single digit countdown! 9 more weeks.. which means only NINE more bump posts! I swear, these posts feel like they come so quickly it's starting to make me real anxious that our little babe will be here before we even know it. I keep thinking "oh, I have time to get this done" but in reality... I DON'T! I've officially become a nesting MONSTER! I swear all I do is clean, and even after I clean, it doesn't look good enough. Mostly because it doesn't look like my house came straight out of a pinterest post... shocking.  I had my 30 week appointment today and I FINALLY asked questions! I know I've been to so many appointments, how have I not asked questions? Well, I fully intend to but being the hugely anxious person that I am I don't want to make my OB run late to her other appointments or think I'm asking these questions too early so I have just kept my mouth shut... well not this time! I even compiled a list of what I needed to ask so that I didn't take up too much time trying to remember AND so I didn't miss anything.

• Breast feeding/breast pump: Most insurances will cover the cost of a breast pump, that's right guys you could get a FREE pump! Why spend $150+ on a pump when you could get one through your insurance? Call your insurance and check with them to make sure it is a part of the plan they offer, then have your doctor write you a prescription! Simple and cost effective!
• Anesthesia Options:  I wanted to know what the standard for anesthesia was. Epidural? Spinal? Combined Spinal Epidural? Since my car accident in 2011 left my hips and pelvis pretty messed up I am having a planned C-Section and it has been very important for me to do ALL my research. The OB I am working with chooses to do a Spinal making it easier on the baby and myself. But talk to your doctor about what is best for you!
• Who can be with you at birth? Once again, with having a C-Section the OR is a very sterile and secluded place therefore the amount of people allowed with you is limited. Only Cameron is allowed in the room with me, which makes me a little sad that my mom wont be in there but I know she will be right outside waiting. 
• Can you have skin to skin in the OR? This is VERY important to me. Skin to skin means so much to me, just because you are having a C-section don't think that this is not an option. I expected that once the little man is out, they will let me say hi and then take him on his merry way to the nursery, not the case. They will show me my sweet man, then get him all cleaned up and weighed, hand him to Cameron and they BOTH get to stay with me all the way through. It makes me so much more comfortable to know that he will be in my sight and with me the whole time.
• Can photos be taken? Another very important thing for me, I have documented so much of this pregnancy I was really hoping that we would be able to take pictures of the first time we meet our babe. She said photos are perfectly acceptable, however video is not. 
• What postpartum pain management is available? I wanted to make sure that A) I wasn't going to be in too much pain to enjoy our first few days as a family B) wasn't too messed up in the noggin to take care of my baby the way that needed to be done. 
• When can I start breastfeeding? I would strongly prefer that SJ doesn't get a bottle, like at all.. for the first few weeks and it is VERY important for me to breast feed, so I wanted to make sure that the spinal wasn't going to hinder my ability to do so, nor was the pain medication that is given to me. She said unless there is a problem at birth and he needs to be taken to the nursery, I can breastfeed as soon as we are done with surgery. 

So those are the few questions I asked THIS TIME around, I'm sure there will be more in the next two weeks. I'm just unbelievably excited for my sweet babe to be here. I can't believe in 3 weeks I start my childcare classes and those will go pretty much up until the week I deliver. Hopefully soon enough I will have things all done and fixed up for the little guys arrival!