8 Month Bump & My Favorite Things for Pregnancy

We are officially at the 'any day now' mark. Of course this means the wait could still be for several more weeks, but hopefully not! The most recent photos I took from a few weeks ago are below. I think my monthly count has been slighty off since technically a woman is pregnant for 10 months, but oh well! It was pretty convenient for me to just take a photo at the start of each month and count that way since Baby Boy is due in October (the 10th month!) and I found out I was one month pregnant on Feb 1st! So regardless here I am at 8 months, even though I should probably refer to it as nine months!

As I wrap up this whole pregnancy gig, I've been thinking about the things I really latched onto. Let me just say one thing: Pregnancy is hard work! I mean I knew it would be taxing on my body, but WOW. From the moment you are pregnant, you are placed on the back burner and that baby is all your body focuses on. Which considering that growing a human inside a human thing is pretty extreme, I shouldn't be surprised. But nothing I read or heard could have prepared me for the ride. Well, maybe just hearing the advice that if you're feeling sick, uncomfortable and just overall strange--that's a sign all is right in the growing of your baby! It's supposed to completely take over your life! (Obviously there are dangerous symptoms your doctor will go over with you to watch out for!!) But all in all, I'm viewing it as training for when that baby is born, because I will remain on the back burner for that little love bug his entire life!

So my favorite pregnancy things are...

Mint Tea

Mint gum

Tums (I knew I was really pregnant when I was seriouly ecstatic that the all cherry flavored bottles were on sale....!)

Ginger Gum/Ginger Candies

Seabands (you can also apply two fingers of pressure just below where you would find your wrist pulse and slightly inward, works wonders for nausea!)

A large refillable water bottle (dehydration is not an option!)

Insole shoe cushions 

Wet wipes (Especially towards the end of pregnancy, because its un-realistic to take 40 showers per day)

Palmer's Coco Butter lotion (THE BEST EVER. I think I will continue using it after pregnancy too!)

Epsom salt (for foot soaks & warmish baths)

Gel ice-packs (mold to your back, ribs or wherever else!)

There are lots and lots of pregnancy must have lists out there, but these are the things I really couldn't have survived without. And there are a whole lot of other items recommended for childbirth too, but I haven't had that experience yet!

Feel free to leave a comment with anything you loved to this during pregnancy list!

View the rest of my growing tummy here: Months 1-4, Months 5 & 6, Month 7

Little Red Wagon Baby Shower

Last weekend my parents hosted our baby shower for Luke. My mom, friends & aunties all echoed my favoritism to big bold boy colors and threw a Little Red Wagon themed party! It was totally perfect and I have to share everything they worked so hard on--so get ready for a picture overload today!

The shower was held in the afternoon, perfect timing for light snacks, lemonade & dessert. My sweet cousin Haley made 'cake pops' using donut holes, we had 'dirt' pudding in a table-top red wagon (complete with worms and shovel to serve!). Lot's of blue candy was scattered on each table & the favors were chocolate chip cookies (tied with ribbon left over from our wedding favors!) and cardboard box 'wagons' with chocolates inside. My mom also spruced up the fireplace mantle with a clothesline of all-american boy clothes: plaid button ups, blue jeans & a cowboy hat! A pocket sized Curious George wooden car and a large red "L" was the cherry on top! For games, Ashley gathered up victims for a pregnant version of twister (tape a pillow to your midsection and see how well you do!) and guests filled out the sweetest wishes for Luke to read when he's older. 

 

 

The invites were purchased through DressUpMyParty on Etsy and they turned out just as I had imagined!

(Above is the shop image for chosen invite style, click here for more!)

And now for all those thank you notes I need to write....!

Seventh Month Bump & How Dogs Have Prepped Me for Motherhood

All caught up now on pregnancy bump (all though it's quite a bit larger than a 'just a bump' now!) photos! 

Here is month seven!

Even though this photo was taken just a couple of weeks ago, I feel like I look so much smaller here! I am convinced my little mister is growing by the hour. This weekend is my much anticipated weekend of baby centered craziness...baby shower on Saturday and maternity photos with Cody on Sunday! 

A few weeks ago Cody and I were talking about the seemingly very common train of events to familyhood: get married, get a dog(s) and then graduate to kids. It sounds kind of silly, because raising dogs is obviously very different than raising a human (Cody was quick to point out that our infant can't be left in the backyard so we can have our Friday night date at Chili's!). But we came up with a list and I thought I would share it!

 How dogs have prepared us for kids:

• They need to be fed on a regular basis.
• They need to be potty trained.
• They put everything in their mouths out of plain curiosity. 
• They make messes & need to be cleaned up after. (Nose prints on the windows, muddy paws..)
• Give them their own toys so your things don't become chewables. 
• Socialization helps them learn how to interact with their peers.
• They whine and whimper when they are sad or want attention. (Our dogs in particular have some serious vocal range!)
• They just want to play. Like all the time.
• They have trouble transitioning from play time to quiet time.
• They need a balance of love & discipline.
• They need treats & cuddles to reinforce good behavior.
• They have natural fears and individual personalities which may require different training methods.

Have anything to add??

Bumpalicious...!

Terribly behind on posting these baby bump photos, but oh my goodness all I want to do is sleep these days!  This little guy is definitely growing and taking everything from me! But I guess with Daddy being 6'4" in height, should I expect any less?

Month 5

(And a nod to the little man!)

Month 6

(I've been told I have officially "popped"!)

And now I am coming up on needing the seventh month update! I am currently 29 weeks, although I was measuring 28 weeks along at my last appointment (3 weeks ago!). So at my next appointment we will measure again and see if the little guy is likely to make his entrance in September instead!

Cody has finished closing up the walls in the baby's room too. The new double pane window and insulated walls has made an immediate impact! Now its texturing the new sheetock and I need to re-visit my paint color choice. Now that the walls are closed up its much easier for me to envision the room as a finished product and I'm worried my original beige choice will be a bit dark in there.

So there you have it! And now its time for a nap...

Ins & Outs

This is more of an in...I finally used two of my remaning stashed giftcards over the past weekend and landed some really great home upgrades! I have been dragging my feet on selecting new towls for the bathroom, and I finally had the stars align for me when the perfect shade of buttery yellow towls showed up at Marshall's on the same day I remembered to bring my giftcard!

I don't believe I ever mentioned that we (meaning Cody!) repainted the bathroom to another shade of gray. This one is called 'Cement Gray' by Martha Stewart. It's really the perfect shade in here, the original one had a blue tint to it and was slowly driving me insane! Cody still wants to touch up all the white paint in here too  (ceiling, trim & shelves), plus we want to frame out the mirror, add some sort of window curtain and maybe a few more shelves next to the mirror as well.

And next up--a new area rug! This find was really the shocker, it was a set of three: 6x9 area rug, runner & doormat all in one! The set was originally $150 and marked down to $75 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. And then I had managed to bring a handy dandy 20% coupon AND THEN I also had a $30 giftcard! So for $35, here we have it!

I got immediate approval from Brandi, I could barely even get the area rug unrolled and she was rolling herself all over it, smelling it, completely overjoyed with her new 'bed'. And Tanner is quite pleased that he is no longer sharing his bed with her too!

One thing I am not sure if I can get behind is the rug just outside the bathroom door. The print on the rug + the striped shower curtain might be a little too much for me to handle. However, I do really like having a runner in the hallway!

The last little upgrade I made was purchasing this turquoise 8x10 frame at Marshall's for $5! This little score is actually months old, and just a few days ago I filled it with this free printable and hung it behind our front door. That space really needs something, crossing my fingers for some sort of coat rack/chalkboard organization center in the future.

So all-in-all $40 stretched really far in our little home! I love the thrill of 'hunting' deals and many, many times you come up empty handed. But then there are those days when it all falls into place and makes it all so very worth it!

Easiest Ever DIY Baby Blanket

Finished Luke's blanket last night and I am so excited about it! This triple crochet idea is the easiest thing ever. Well, to be honest my creation still didn't have perfect edges but I was able to crochet a border for camoflauge :)

I went a bit larger than the tutorial, I believe I stopped at 70 stitches for the first row and I used an "S" size crochet hook. The border is just two chain stitches looping back into the blanket every other row. And I went around the blanket in that fashion twice. The project took a little less than two skeins of three colors to complete. I am super excited about how soft and squishy it is though! It will certainly double as a tummy time mat for our little dude.

Nursery, Names & DIY!

We are in full swing planning and demo-ing for our little man's nursery! First and foremost, we've officially decided he will be named Luke! It's made such a huge difference to have a name for him now! Cody's family has a tradition of using the fathers name as the first son's middle name, Cody is Cody Stephen and Luke will be Luke Cody! I love naming traditions, but I also think its important for a child to have their 'own' name. The middle name is the perfect blend of both for us!

I've also started making a blanket, I figure I have plenty of time to unravel and re-stitch as needed so this one has even edges. I found the idea here and I love how thick the three strand crochet technique is!

We have also begun the nursery! It needs some messy work before all the fun stuff. Currently it looks like this:

Cody and my dad are working on replacing the window, the new window will be (double paned!) standard height of either 48" or 36" (not sure yet) instead of its current 52". Luke is also getting insulated walls. Lucky boy. We also have new trimwork for the door, closet, window & baseboard on the list. And maybe a new ceiling fan. Once the walls are done, I am almost certain we will be going with the below Behr paint color.

I couldn't really connect with any of the nursery 'themes' I looked at. And I looked at A LOT. So I decided to go more color based instead! I love a bold boys room. So we are keeping the walls neutral so things like a rug, bedding & wall art and be the attention getters in the room. Besides our son of course! A few of the items I have my sights on...

 

This handmade teddy bear.

This baby quilt.

This plush rug.

For a splash of green, I found these adorable prints too! I think I would swap the yellow snail for a gray background, luckily this Etsy shop allows any color swap you could ask for!

(Visit the shop)

And lastly, if I can find an affordable wagon, I would love to create in this shelving unit!

(found here)

I am a sucker for little red wagons right now. They're like cuter than puppies--don't tell my dogs I said that!