Miss Madeline

A few weeks ago Maddie and her mama came to visit Portland. I got to spend lots of time with this smiley little thing!

She has lots of expressions and is one of my favorite cuddle partners!

There isn't much in life that makes me happier than having a baby and my puppy in close proximity! LOVE IT!

29 weeks!

Wow. 29 weeks is VERY close to 30 weeks which is VERY close to 40 weeks and this kid could come BEFORE 40 weeks! Its starting to feel a bit like crunch time. In a good way. I'm excited and getting more and more ready to meet this little person. We have a lot more preparing to do, but I definitely think it is possible to get it all done in time. I'm still feeling awesome and even commented to Grant that I've felt so good the past week or so that I forget I'm pregnant half the time. Depending on babe's position my ribs kind of hurt or just feel like I'd like to get that big belly out from under them, but most of the time the babe is low enough that I feel fine. 

I'm definitely starting to get more tired again and get winded on hills and stairs pretty easily. I guess I'm still big? I dunno...some lady at Salvation Army was astounded that I wasn't already in labor because of my enormity and then went on to ask if there were two in there. Umm, no thanks just one and I LIKE MY BELLY thankyouverymuch! It doesn't even seem big to me anymore. I'm getting so used to it...its going to be weird when its gone! 

Speaking of Salvation Army...Jenni introduced me to half off Mondays which is awesome... she scored on some serious stuff for her new place and I got a few baby things. I asked Lilly if she'd help me find some long tanks to cover my big belly...she was all pro scouring the racks and found me three! I got 4 shirts for me and 3 onesie outfits for baby all for under $9!

In other news, I booked a maternity and baby photographer! I'm so excited! Katie Anderson will be doing a whole series from maternity through baby's first birthday. I can't wait to see all the great pictures we'll get. I've been meaning to get professional pics of Grant and I taken in the years since our wedding, but never did so it makes me endlessly happy that we will have lots of our little family over the next year. This kid will be super well documented!

Baby is continuing to GROW like a little weed. Over 15 inches long (OMG!) and 2.5 lbs now...things are getting tighter! The goal these days is to mostly lay down some serious layers of fat and to grow his brain nice and big (not too big tho... it needs to get out of me! This week is also a big week for calcification of bone. Apparently I need to up my calcium intake so babe has enough available to make his bones big and strong. This kid is getting closer and closer to having a name. I think we are pretty set in our ways with our top faves for each sex, but I haven't come up with any girl middle names. Our top boy names are... August Eugene, Holden Miller, and Walter (not sure which middle name yet). Walter is my new fav... we could call him Walt or WALLY! OMG! Reed got knocked down a bit... for some reason it sounds too preppy to me. Our top girl names are Edrie, Aurora, Evelyn, and Maren. I'm pretty stuck on middle names for girls. I'd like there to be some meaning behind them so I'll have to do some research. I LOOOOOVE the name Evelyn and wish it weren't so popular. I have to decide if I care about popularity or not. We'll probably make a game time decision no matter what to see what the babe looks most like.

Downtown Living

Though we have officially moved into the 'burbs with my parents, we will miss lots about our little life downtown Portland. The most of which is all the walking that we did. We walked EVERYWHERE - grocery store, coffee shop, bank, dog park, MAX, etc. Our weekend routine was to get up and take a long walk through different parts of downtown and a few times up into Washington Park. There is no greater oasis of beauty in the middle of the city! It is so lush!

It stretches all the way from the nob hill area to the zoo...I'd love to walk all the way to the zoo someday! Olive LOVED it. There were so many new smells!

And she tried her hand at drinking from the water fountain. So freakin' cute!

Catch up: Memorial Day Weekend Beach Trip

We had made plans to attempt a camping trip Memorial Day weekend with our friends Ethan and Katie, but the weather wasn't cooperating. We instead settled on a few day trips so we could focus on where the weather was good and still sleep in our warm beds. Saturday of that weekend we hiked in Multnomah Falls and then had dinner at Edgefield McMenamins (I forgot my camera!) And Sunday we met for a trip to the coast. It was cloudy, but warm enough and we didn't get rained on!

We went to Pacific City - a beach I had never been to, but really liked! You can drive and park ON the beach. Very convenient if you forget things in the car! Ethan, Grant and Noah flew a kite right when we got there.

Olive was on her best behavior. We kept her off leash ALL day long! She didn't bother anyone and came when we called her...awesome!

Judah and I hung out while everyone else climbed the GIANT sand dune...

Noah was up there in minutes! Fearless little thing!

Pretty cute fam, right?! After the sand dune climb we started a fire on the beach to roast marshmallows.

Olive wasn't very concerned about our need for a family picture.

and Noah livened this one up! Look at those red locks!

This was one tired puppy after a full day of sprinting all over the beach. She CAN NOT wait to go back! Have I mentioned how much I love this dog? Its really almost unfathomable! I should brag that a guy on the street told me that she is the prettiest mutt he has ever seen...I agree!

28 weeks = 7 months!

So... there were two separate people today who suggested I was probably about to deliver. Ha! They were a bit shocked when I said I had a few more months to go. I'm not that big, am I!? I hope this kid isn't a giant. 

What else can I tell you... I've started swelling a bit. I had to take my engagement and wedding rings off this week and I have the beginnings of cankles. I will admit that the cankles make me feel chubbier than the big 'ol belly! 

I spent the last few weeks compiling a summer prego wardrobe... I got several skirts and dresses, two pairs of capris and a few tank tops. I can make lots of my regular tanks work as long as I have a cami or maternity tank underneath. It kind of sucked spending money on all that, but it feels good to have clothes that will keep me cool. I've been SO HOT, even on the cooler days I've been pitting out!

I can't think of anything else new to share, but I thought it would be good to make a quick note of the foods I've been eating a lot this pregnancy. Its been funny... I actually feel like I've been going back to the comfort foods of my childhood. Even ramen noodles were a staple in my first trimester! I've also been digging 'dipper' eggs (over easy eggs), grapefruit, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In addition to what sounds good - I've been trying to eat lots of protein and in general eat more. I'm thinking the weight gain is going to be right on track this month.

Baby is about 2 1/4 lbs and over 14 inches long! I feel like its moving around less or at least the big movements are less pronounced. Baby has eyelashes and can open and close his eyes, as well as detect light differences outside the uterus. I'm starting to get SO excited to meet this little person! We continue to talk about what we might name the babe, especially pairing middle names with first names. OH! I bought hypnobabies....I know, I'm totally a hippie, but I'm excited to have something TO DO to prepare for the birth. I feel like working on relaxation everyday will be good for my overall health and will hopefully be beneficial during labor too! This story really sold me on it.

More Belly Cuddles...

I have so many pictures to post, but this is my new fav so it jumped to the front of the line. Last night, I was checking out my quilt squares and messing with the lay out from up on one of our dining room chairs. It was the perfect height for a good belly hug...

27 weeks!

Its been hard to get a decent picture with good light lately... so here are both my attempts this week!

27 weeks and rollin' into the third trimester! That is pretty amazing! Though I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER, I can't believe we are nearing the end. We are going to get to meet this little person who is constantly flipping and squirming around in my belly! I've been lucky to continue to feel great. I have my moments of heartburn and bladder failure (as I like to call it...), but overall am feeling great.

I had an appointment with my midwives last week. All is well with baby and despite everyone telling me I'm huge for how far along I am my belly measures right on schedule. I had my fasting glucose tested and it came back normal, which was reassuring. Remember last month I had a GIANT jump in my weight? I think I said on here it was 13lbs, but I guess it was actually 10lbs. Anyway, I lost a pound this month so I'm still at a total gain of 20lbs. They were displeased. They'd really like me to gain the full 40lbs, but more importantly don't want me to be losing any weight. Not sure what happened, but there has been no lack of stress in our life so maybe my appetite wasn't up to par? I've been trying to be better about eating bigger meals and more often. I'm not too worried about it though...baby is growing at a normal rate so I just need to be sure we're getting enough nutrients. 

We also talked about my depression...they have been monitoring me closely throughout the pregnancy which has been nice. I'm going to meet with a perinatal therapist and psychiatrist in the coming weeks to determine the best course of action to be sure I don't get too sad. My main concern is balancing how I feel with the effects on baby. It does neither of us any good if I'm down, but I also don't want to take anything that may have lasting effects. Tough decision. I'm fine though...just lots of ups and downs which I think are mostly associated with this prolonged upheaval of our life combined with re-acclimating to the dreary weather.

What else? We decided to move in with my parents. People don't understand that decision, saying that since Grant has a good job we should be able to live on our own. And we can. The problem is that with rent being sky-high here and house prices still much higher than in Missouri, it'd be YEARS before we could buy a house if we rent anything decent. We are lucky enough to have lots of family offer to take us in and happy to take my parents up on it. It should be an adventure... 4 adults, 1 infant, and 2 dogs all under one roof! Luckily its a big space and we are all pretty laid back. We are really excited about the prospect of saving a grip of money and being able to get into a house we love in a year to 15 months. 

In baby news...he is just growin' growin' growin'. 2 lbs and over 14 inches long! It would look something like this baby in the unfortunate circumstance that it was born early. Happily, most babies do really great if they are born anytime from now until their due date. Thats not to say it would be an easy road, but likely it would be one with a happy ending. I miss working with those little babes in the NICU! 

I can tell things are getting tighter in there. Fighting for space and moving my internal organs all around. I can feel almost every little movement now and often get to see my belly wiggle along. I can also feel which position baby is laying in much of the time. I think its going to be a snuggler because it is often cuddled way down in my pelvis. Kind of nice since it makes it easier for me to breathe. We had a big week with people feeling baby move - Grant felt baby move last week, did I tell you that? It was pretty cool and made me really happy. I think that anterior placenta makes it harder to feel and see sometimes so I'm glad it finally happened. Friday night baby was doing all sorts of acrobatics that both Janelle and Lindsey got to feel and then last night my mom felt him move! I love it that I get to share that with so many of our favorite people! 

Belly Cuddles

The worst thing anyone has said to me since I've been pregnant was that I'd forget about her as soon as the baby got here. I teared up. She is one of my bestest friends.

26 weeks!

Nearing the end of the second trimester...OMG that makes it sound like this baby will be here before we know it! I'm definitely getting significantly bigger all the time and finding it harder to be on my feet for long periods. I've been doing lots of walking and trying to stay active though. In general I think I'm still in that honeymoon stage of pregnancy where I sleep well, feel great, and forget there's a baby coming sometimes! I have my moments of fun with bladder leakage and other unmentionable pregnancy symptoms, so its not all fun and games. 

If I'm completely honest the past week has been CONSUMED with stress, because our apartment sucks. I don't want to live here and we just moved in. So annoying. Unfortunately living above an industrial kitchen is just completely uncool and makes the apartment smell like nasty food almost 24/7, which, in turn, makes me feel gross and like our house is disgusting. Its not cool when you can't control the odors of your home! After weeks of painting and getting this place in order we made the tough decision last night that we have to move. Our baby can't be born in a home that smells like raw fish and curry and its mama can't survive her last trimester of pregnancy breathing that crap! I KNOW, RIGHT? Our life is insane. We just couldn't have known ahead of time how intense the smells could get and how constant they are, especially because the landlord downplayed it. In addition, we were told we share the ONE washer and dryer with just one other unit (2 guys). In reality there is only one washer and dryer for the whole building - which is 4 units plus the kitchen staff uses it! WTF! How are we to cloth diaper this babe when we won't have easy access to laundry facilities? and WHY would you lie about that? So anyway...we are crazy and STILL on the hunt for a place to live. We might just become nomads... 

In other news, this babe is GROWING like a weed. IT IS LIKE 2 LBS NOW! That is so amazing to me. The little one also has all five senses fully functional now. The kicks are getting much more often and strong, but we still haven't gotten the timing right for papa to feel 'em. Its my goal to make that happen ASAP. He was gone most of last week so this is THE week! There has been some talk of a baby shower which has me all excited and starting to get my registries in order. I also spent the afternoon with some fellow mamas going to baby consignment stores...SUPER FUN! I can't wait til babe is here so we know if we should get boy or girl themed stuff. I've mostly just been getting lots of onesies, sleep sacks, and hats. Speaking of hats...I'm mildly obsessed with the cuteness of little pilot hats on babes. I found one at the consignment shop and want about 10 more! I also found a bunting thing for over the carseat for only $5!