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They’re here! I’ve had so much fun looking through them and though it’s hard to pick favorites, I narrowed it down to oh, 55 or so. Haha! I won’t swarm you with all of them, but I thought you might like to see some of the best of the best.
Michael was a really good sport (he doesn’t like having his picture taken), but I’m glad he was because we got some really nice ones of the two of us that I will always cherish. I’m a big fan of celebrating pregnancy and the pregnant body, and am proud to have these as a memory of a really wonderful nine months.
All photos by Anna Sawin Photography
Kodiak is excited to be a big brother:
Love him:
Belly in the field:
Guilty pregnancy craving? Sugar cereal:
Wardrobe change! (Yes, I changed in the field. If anyone saw, they got an eyeful for sure!)
Remember these little shoes?
I love them!
A few more to share tomorrow! A HUGE thank you to Anna for these!
Today I am 38 weeks pregnant and my doctor’s appointment this afternoon is going to go something like, “Get him out, get him out, GET HIM OUT!” (Yes, I’m anxious to meet him, but it’s really about getting him off my nerve and away from my hip so I don’t have to do the Old Lady Shuffle anymore.)
I was super excited, yet totally jealous to hear the woman in my yoga class with the same due date as me delivered her son yesterday. Of course, it was her fourth child so they tend to go a little faster, but STILL.
In an effort to make today a little more fun, I invite you to guess This Little Baby’s due date, as well as his birth weight. The person who comes closest to both will win…a major blog shout out! (Wow. The incentive is so great, I know.)
The “official” date is June 30/July 1. Those of you who guess anything past July 4th may suffer my wrath. I’m just saying.
Sorry for the lack of posting this week. Between still not having our laptop and a bout of excruciating sciatic pain that literally had me crawling on my hands and knees sobbing, I haven’t really made it to the computer. Today is day four of butt/leg pain, but between ice, heat, yoga and a massage I’m finally able to walk (sloooowly) around. So that’s a plus.
Little boy is 37 weeks cooked –considered full term — and is most definitely head down in my pelvis, most likely causing the pain by pressing on a nerve. As far as I’m concerned, he can come out any time now. I pick Wednesday (collective laugh from mommy readers) because it’s supposed to be a nice sunny day and um, I’m ready for him to come out. So yeah, Wednesday. Works for me. (He’s clearly not coming out Wednesday.)
The house is almost 100% baby ready and part of that is a half-packed hospital bag. I *think* I have all that I could need, but I don’t want to forget anything so I’m reaching out to you guys. What should I pack in the hospital bag?
So far I have…
– An easy-to-nurse-in nightgown and some comfy, stretchy clothes for after birth
– Outfits for little boy, plus diapers and wipes
– “After” essentials, like pads and throw-away undies and socks. (Yeah, it was fun shopping for THOSE. I texted my sister from the feminine product aisle in a panic because it’s been a long time since I bought pads and whoa, the options!) (For the record, because we’re honest over here at TLM…I bought the Always super long with wings. I have no idea if that was a good choice.)
– To be included are toiletries and snacks, plus the camera and phone charger, but those will be at the last minute, plus some clothes for Michael.
What am I missing? I don’t want to over pack, but I don’t want to forget something that I really wish I had.
I was also told to steal practically everything you can get your hands on at the hospital, especially the big mesh underwear. Guys, BIG MESH UNDERWEAR. You know there’s going to be a totally honest post after the birth, don’t you? Apparently the big mesh undies are fabulous for packing with ice to sooth the lady bits. Ah, the glory of life.
So I enlist you, dear readers. Pack my hospital bag for me.
No, really. Like, want to come over and help? I’m still pretty gimpy.
At my first job out of college I had the opportunity to work with some amazing people who years later, remain friends. One in particular is Anna, a fun and fabulous woman who also happens to be a ridiculously talented photographer. Had she not been a guest at my wedding, I would have asked her to be our photographer! Her candids from that day are some of my favorites. (They can be seen here and here, if you’re curious.)
So you can imagine that when she offered up a maternity photo shoot, I jumped all over it. We met on a foggy evening in Connecticut and for the next two hours we had fun hamming it up (and vamping it up a little too. Who said pregnancy can’t be sexy?) and she made me feel beautiful when I’ve been feeling more whale than vixen.
She sent me three preview shots that made me itch to see all of them! I’ll definitely be posting more as they come in. And if you’re looking for a wedding/boudoir/maternity/family portrait photographer — HIRE HER.
All images by Anna Sawin Photography
Eee I just love them!
Here’s a little secret…This Little Baby’s due date isn’t July 1st.
It’s June 30th.
(Omigod. Did you just like, die, from the shock? I know you totally did. I mean, ONE WHOLE DAY SHOCKING.)
Because due dates are so wishy-washy and they can never tell exactly from an ultrasound when the due date should really be, we were told June 30th, then July 1st, then June 30th and then they bumped me up a few days again…so eventually based on the advice of a nurse, we just started saying July 1st so people wouldn’t ask me all through June “you haven’t had that baby yet?”
But there it is. June 30th. And today is June 1st. Which means our baby could very well be arriving sometime this month.
Omigod.
(I just jinxed it, right? Now he’s’ coming July 5th or something.)
I’m 97% ready for him. This weekend I’ll be packing my hospital bag, washing and putting away all those little clothes and setting up things like the bouncy seat and the bassinett. I lie awake after my pee breaks in the middle of the night thinking about how in no time, we’re going to be parents. A mommy and a daddy. I’m still in awe that there’s a little person in my belly who will be in my arms before I know it.
I cry a lot, guys. I really do blame the new hormone shift that has brought on nesting, high emotions and some general pissed off-ness (mostly directed at really bad drivers). But I cry mostly because I’m just. so. happy.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all, because as the clock ticks down it’s fair warning that I’ll probably be talking about it a lot more.
Also, I’ll be signing off for the next few days as our laptop goes in for repairs. The old desktop computer is slow and I hate posting from it. So if you don’t hear from me for a few days, fear not, it does not mean TLB made a super early appearance!
I was making a Walmart run the other day for some essentials and when I threw on my t-shirt, I noticed something. It didn’t come all the way to the bottom of my stomach. It was a strange sensation. I mean, I was never one for belly shirts, so my lower abdomen has pretty much never gone out to meet the world unless I was in a bathing suit. I was going to change, but figured it was just Walmart and I’ve seen a lot worse at Walmart than a little belly skin.
A little slice of belly. (Oh heeeey, 80s workout headband? How YOU doin’?)
When I got home, I figured it was time for a little experiment. The experiment of the Black T-Shirt.
When I became pregnant, a friend loaned me a bag of maternity clothes. It was all cute and I was excited to try on every piece, even though a lot of it didn’t fit me yet. Especially, the Black T-Shirt. When I pulled out that shirt, I literally laughed out loud. It was huge. Square. Ridiculous. It was never going to fit. I called her up and demanded an explanation. There’s no way this fit you, I laughed at her.
WRONG. She said. Just you wait.
I psshaw’d her and returned to trying on the cute little tops.
So here we are months and months later, and I was faced with an issue. This is the maternity t-shirt I wore to Walmart:
Yes.
Here is the Black T-Shirt.
To give you an idea of its size, here it is with a non-maternity t-shirt I wore for at least half of my pregnancy.
As you can see, I had to give that up.
Back in February, Old Navy had a big maternity sale so I ordered a bunch of stuff. Most of it fit, or had a little room to grow, but there were two shirts that when tried on, I figured I’d just send back. They were tent-like and massive and nope, no need to keep these. But then my friend’s voice entered my head and I thought, ok, fine. I’ll just keep in them in the back of the closet, just in case.
I bet you can guess what I’m going to say next.
Yup, they fit. In all their tent-like glory.
And what about the Black T-Shirt? The shirt I avoided putting on for weeks and weeks?
Damn, I hate when my friends are right.
Saturday my wonderful friends held a baby shower here in Rhode Island. We had such a nice time and all the little details were really special. And, um, there was some super delicious grilled pizza that I may have eaten a lot of. Mmmm. Since it’s BEAUTIFUL here and I’d like to get a walk in before it gets super hot, I’m just going to photo-bomb you today. Enjoy!
Gift tags were all hand stamped and embossed by my friend Jess. She’s is crazy wonderful.
Diaper cake.
Don’t worry, they’re veggie!
The pizza. Mmmm.
With the fabulous hostessess:
More little shoes!
I’m pretty sure as long as he fits in it, we’ve found his going home outfit.
34 weeks and counting!
I feel very blessed to have so many people in my life who love us and are excited for this baby, that I was gifted with two showers. My family and friends are just the best!
We’ve hit some big milestones over here this week. Michael turned 30, and I’ve gained an even 30 pounds. We celebrated with birthday cake, and I’ll be making some double peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies today because, well, I want to.
Weight. Thirty pounds. In the beginning of the pregnancy the idea of gaining that much weight so quickly scared the crap out of me. I knew it was necessary, of course, for the health of the baby to put on weight, but 30 just seemed like a scary number. Now that I’ve reached it, it’s really not a big deal.
I’ve received some really nice body compliments during the pregnancy, which always makes you feel better, and for the most part, I am carrying mostly everything in my belly. (And, well, yeah. My face. And my arms. But mostly belly!) It’s just sort of a fact of the matter now, you know? Every week I get on the scale there WILL be an increase of a pound or so. It’s just the way things work. Yes, some days I do feel like a whale, especially when yet another maternity shirt no longer covers my stomach all the way to the bottom. But then This Little Baby shoves his butt in the air and I can cup it, literally!, with my hand and all is well.
Emotions. I’ve reached the point where I’m almost ready for this pregnancy to be over. I have truly enjoyed being pregnant, but I just want to meet him already. The doctors have told me that at 38 weeks, they’re basically cooked and their lungs are functioning properly, so if he were to come two weeks early, hurrah!
Except, what if he’s like his mama and wants to evacuate THREE weeks early? As in, THREE WEEKS FROM NOW. It’s true that most first pregnancies tend to go full term, if not a little late, but that didn’t stop me from breaking my mom’s water many, many days before my expected arrival.
There’s something about seeing the words “three weeks” in front of me that kind of puts me on edge. Of course, six weeks isn’t really that much longer, but it is longer than three weeks. Double, even! (Your math lesson for the day. Don’t you feel smarter? I know I do.)
If he were to come early, it would be fine. We would be over the moon. But at the same time, I’m hoping he’s more like his father — 10 minutes late for everything — so that we can enjoy this last chunk of time just the two of us, preparing his nursery, washing his tiny clothes and looking forward to his birth.
Nursery progress. Michael started painting, but he’s been doing it around work so it’s little by little. The plan is to have everything said and done by the first weekend in June, when my mom will be arriving with baby’s dresser and I can finally put all those tiny onesies away. The beginning of June will also include the installation of the car seat, and the packing of my hospital bag. Early, yes, but after countless tales from friends warning me they weren’t ready, I figure it can’t hurt to pack the essentials.
When the room is done I’ll post pictures!
Symptoms. Things have been overall pretty normal as far as pregnancy goes, but one weird new one popped up early this week. The body makes a hormone called Relaxin which allows your joints and ligaments to loosen and stretch, opening your hip bones and making room for your growing baby.
Relaxin also causes you to stand up from sitting on the couch, only to find your leg is not in your socket, and therefore making you crumple to the floor in front of your perplexed husband. It didn’t hurt and I didn’t have the sensation of needed to pop the leg back in the socket, but it was WEIRD. My friend told me that happened during her pregnancy too, so I knew what it was, but still. SUCH an odd feeling. I make sure everything is where it should be now when I stand up!
Yesterday I woke up with some cramping that just felt…off. I waited a little bit to see if it would go away, but it was persistent and enough that I thought it would be wise to call my doctor, just to be sure.
I spoke to a nurse who didn’t appear overly concerned, but thought I should come in for peace of mind. I liked that. When I hung up I called Michael, but got his voicemail, where I left an emotional message that I knew would probably scare the crap out of him. I didn’t mean to cry…I was just scared.
I had some time to kill before the appointment, so of course, I Googled. And for once, it was actually reassuring. Many women on the cusp of 33 weeks seemed to experience similar pain with no problem, and I didn’t really come across any cases where they experienced pre-term labor.
I stayed on the couch and drank a lot of water, and by the time I had to leave for my appointment, the pain was gone.
Of course.
My doctor is wonderful, and she made me feel better the minute she walked in the room and took my hand. I explained what had happened and how I was feeling at the moment (better), and she listened with concern and compassion. It really pays to surround yourself with professionals that you trust and make you feel comfortable during this time.
I had an external and internal exam, and all is well. Blood pressure and baby’s heartbeat are beautiful (he kicked the doppler wand again. I don’t think he likes the cold gel!), my cervix is closed and I’m not experiencing any contractions.
As it turns out, I was dehydrated.
Dehydrated?! I was shocked. With all the water I drink during the day, how was that possible?
Well, it’s possible. The uterus is the biggest muscle in the body and it’s working overtime right now, so even the slightest drop in water intake can cause discomfort. Which I do NOT want to experience again! I’ve already had twice as much water this morning as I usually do, and I’ll be toting around an extra large bottle with me all day.
Those few hours of unknown really scared me. I wanted nothing more to protect this little boy — this little life inside of me — and I would do anything to make that happen. I’m so lucky that all it will take is some H2O (well, a LOT of H2O) and a few more pee breaks.
I feel great today and This Little Baby is currently moving around so I’m no longer worried.
Now…off to drink more water!
These Little Moments 
