40 weeks Pregnant

Yup! Still pregnant. Out of all the things we have been through with this baby trying to come early, he seems as happy as a clam in there now. So we are going in after him, he may have gotten lost! Wednesday morning at 8am ( uhg gross ), we will be at the hospital gettting induced. I hope to God he comes quickly, but he probably won't because that's just our life. I have been dilated at 3cm and a smidge for over a week now so I am REALLY hoping I can bypass the Cytotec and go straight to the Pitocin. Now this Pitocin stuff...scary. I won't lie. I honestly shouldn't have even looked up what it was in the first place. All it has done is just give me anxiety, which I have plenty of without Googles help. I won't say anything else about it in case your like me :) But what I have to keep telling myself over and over again is that I'm not the doctor. I have never done this before and I shouldn't act like I know everything just because Google told me. I shouldn't be freaked out because Sammy Jo's sister's cousin's, sister in law from Georgia had a bad delivery with it 4 years ago. I trust my doctor 150% and I know I will be fine. I'm not the first women to be induced and certainly not the last. And I have ALREADY tried EVERY old wives tale there is to induce labor, nope. Stubborn little guy, gets that from his dad :)

OLD WIVES TALES TO INDUCE LABOR NATURALLY

• Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
• Pineapple
• Walking
• Rocking
• Sex
• Spicy Food
• Chocolate
• Acupressure
• Warm baths
• Coffee

And NONE of them worked. He is clearly not ready to come naturally. I guess it is nice having an exact date in mind though. Still scary and anxious but that should be normal.

Let's get to the 40 week questions!!

How far along? 40 weeks and 2 days today

Gender: boyyy

Total weight gain: 36 lbs..... omg :/

Maternity clothes: yup! I pretty much live in leggings and maternity/long tank tops. Lately it has been nice and I broke out the maxi skirt! And good ol yoga pants!

Stretch marks: None still!!!! Thank you lord! Hopefully stays that way. COCONUT OIL!!!

Sleep: None... Every hour I have to pee... it's clockwork really. He also likes to kick my ribs all the time and I can't get comfy .... and it's hot... so hot lol

Miss Anything:  Being able to cuddle my hubby and sit comfortably are definitely missed! You are just so awkward at this stage in pregnancy. Just feeling normal I miss. I know it sounds lame but I miss feeling skinny and being able to curl up and sleep on my stomach... But I also know I will miss having this belly once it's gone.


Cravings: Nothing really. I'm just not feeling food lately. Been eating rice and nutella on bread alot... not together though.

Symptoms: Contractions, Braxton Hicks, crampy, tired, overwhelmed, some gross things I will spare you....lol

Belly Button in or out: uhhh even? Corey says its out but I say it's not. Honestly it's just even, it doesn't stick out.. but it's not really an innie either.

Mood: This week has been a bit of a roller coaster. One day I'm super over being prego and so ready to meet my little guy then the next I'm nervous for the delivery and being completely responsible for a tiny little life! Im sure this is all normal at this point Its just a little nerve racking. And now I have an induction date for Wednesday my mind is going non stop.

Best Moment this week: Hanging out with Corey and the puppies and right now as the pups are going insane running around the apartment chasing each other and power sliding! HAHA So funny!

Looking forward to: On Monday we are gonna have our last date night as just "me and Corey". Tuesday is our day of getting all last minute stuff ready and then Wednesday is induction at 8am. I can't wait to feel his little feet that have been kicking me in the ribs for months!

Exercise: Just walking a few days a week now

MY WEEK IN PICTURES

 

Outfit of the day, which ended being wasted since by the time I was ready to run out I started feeling bad... So on went the yoga pants :(

 

Cuddling with my Marlee Noodles

One of my many walks to "induce labor"

 

Add swinging to the list

 

Got some sun while Corey hit golf balls

 

Thanks for reading!

Labor and Delivery post coming soon!

~Ashley~

 

 

Dressing your Baby Bump

* Quick tips at bottom of post *

Trying to find clothes that fit your ever changing body can be quite the task when your pregnant. In the 1st trimester I never fit into ANY maternity clothes but I was getting too pudgy for all my normal clothes. I couldn't go buy new pants so I just wore leggings and dresses, ALL the time! I think I have only bought 3 pairs of maternity bottoms and a few tops. Oh and that Belly Band is a life saver in the beginning, until you get too fat and it hurts to wear! :( Maternity clothes have come SUCH a long way but you will definetly pay top dollar for the cute ones and still they just don't fit "right".

So let me give you some tips on dressing your baby bump!

FIRST TRIMESTER

You don't look cute prego right now, you just look like a stuffed sausage. Anything flowy and loose fitting will be your best friend. Which is great since that's the style now!

 

 

Long flowy top and leggings. Staples!

Below I remember kind of having a bump but not really. Maxi skirts are great. This one is from H&M and so is the top actually.

 

 

SECOND TRIMESTER

 

The "cute preggo" stage. Tight or flowy you look cute as a button regardless. Score!

 



As the weather got a bit chillier and it was October I starter wearing sweaters. These are my maternity jeans, the only ones I bought. I got them at Macy's on sale and I bought XS. It took a while for them to fit my butt and thighs but they were super comfy! The sweater was one of the tops I bought. Liz Lange Maternity at Target. On sale for $24.99 and I had a coupon! Woot!

 

I think I was around 18 weeks in this picture. We drove up to Vail for a few days and I had strep throat. I was so sick we left a day early to come home :(

 

 

Oh one of the many Target fitting room pictures...

This was about 20 weeks preggo. So I had a cute little bump. He was so tiny in there! This was my favorite stage because you just looked cute! You felt good, your hair and skin is doing great things!

These were the maternity jeans. The top is just a long sleeved tshirt. Uggs were really the only shoes that did not kill my feet.

 

At 24 weeks I was put on bedrest for a little over a month. Little guy was trying to come out to play way too early! Below is my first time out in weeks. I was feeling like death but I had to go to the store for food.

Maternity jeans.

A normal top from Target and a long white tank under.

You can get by for a long time wearing normal tops you have just by putting a long tank under them!

 

 

 

 

THIRD TRIMESTER

 

I liked wearing tighter fitted things. Flowy, loose clothing made me feel like a whale. I only have this belly for a little bit long so I might as well show it off while I have an excuse. :)

 

32 weeks

Finding a dress to fit your bump at this stage proved to be a task! I looked everywhere for a flowy dress that did not make me look like a tent! Also everything now wants to fit at your natural waist, well preggos don't have one of those. So finding something to fit under the boobs was tricky.

 

I found this dress at Nordstroms Rack on clearance for $19.99 !! I can also wear it this summer during that awkward getting back into shape stage.

This is at 38 weeks

Hot, bloated and ready to have a baby.

Black leggings, white long tank and a very light button down top.

This was a before picture. See that cute little belt? Adorable...wore it for 5 minutes and then took it off because it was suffocating me. Atleast I tried!

 

That concludes us to 39 weeks, almost 40 weeks. Look at that! Still pregnant... Any day now...

Yoga pants and a tshirt.. no shame.

 

 

Hope this helps a little bit. Below are some other blogs that I think are great with fashion options.

 

http://andeelayne.blogspot.com/search/label/Fashion

 

http://www.pregnantfashionista.com/

 

 

There are PLENTY of blog links on pinterest too.

 

*** I have found great deals at

Target and H&M. They both have a Maternity section and are affordable. But I found things to fit in their "normal" section as well.

 

*** If you get a few bottom pieces and maybe 3-4 tops you can mix them into your wardrobe you have already.

 

*** Always go bigger with the tops!

 

*** Be prepared for your feet to swell up so much NONE of your shoes fit.

 

*** If your short like me, under 5'4, finding pants will make you go insane! Shop the junior department and use a belly band.

 

*** Use a hair tye and loop it through the button hole on your pants. This will get your through many months!

 

*** Don't "guess" how big you will be at a certain time.It will be too small by the time you wear it. Buy something when you need it. I promise you it will save your mind!

 

*** By thin socks. Even if it is 10- degrees outside and a blizard, your feet will get hot, which makes your whole body hot.

 

*** In the beginning a bra with no underwire and no padding is gold! GOLD I tell you!

 

*** You will have to sleep in your husbands tshirts since none of yours will fit. "Even my big comfy shirts"? Yup even those! Boy shirts are MUCH softer anyway.

 

********* Invest in a small fan to point directly on you at night!!!!******** I know, not fashion related but you'll need it :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Ashley~

 

Pink & Grey Elephant Baby Shower

This past Sunday we were able to have my Sister in laws baby shower! They went with a pink and grey elephant theme for the nursery so we just figured the shower should have the same theme! My mom and I offered to throw it and we had alot of fun coming up with ideas. Since I'm having a boy it was exciting to buy girl stuff and have the shower cutesy and all girly. Drew got pretty much everything on her registry too, so that is always helpful!! I'm so happy for her and my brother and I cant wait to see their little girl! She is due May 2nd.

The Decor

 



 This was the cake table. At first we had the cups there but then moved them since it would have been cramped, so it ended up being the cake and party favor table. I put the Frosted Icing Animal Crackers in the bags and just used pink twist ties. They were really cute, easy and cheap to make. everyone loved them too!

 

Pink polka dot favor bags- Hobby Lobby

Pink and Grey Cups- Party City

Forks- Party City

Plates & Napkins- Party City

Glass Vases- Walmart

Gumballs- Party City

I thought it would be a cute idea if we used candy as a decor piece. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone kind of deal. Party city has this huge bin of colored candies 15/$1. we bought 15 of each light pink, hot pink and white gumballs, put them in a vase and tied and baby ribbon around it and TADA!!!

We ordered the cake from out local grocery store, King Soopers. It was chocolate on the inside and delicious! I had 2 big slices! What? I'm pregnant, I do what I want! Elephant decor is VERY VERY hard to find, unless you order off Etsy and pay $83,747,834 for a banner. We found the elephant candles at the very last minute and were so excited!

 

Pink Blocks- no clue, my mom got those

Other Blocks- already came on the cake

Elephant Candles- Party City ( They were on the party favor wall)

 My mom was going to make one of those "diaper cakes" but with washcloths but we decided not to so we just put the washcloths around the bottom and stuck the straws in the middle!

 Pink polka dot balloons- Hobby Lobby

Pink and White Paper Lanterns- Hobby Lobby

My wonderful brother hanging the lanterns. FYI: the lanterns do not coming with the string to hang them... So we used grey polka dot ribbon which was fine, but strong would have be nice.

 

The Food and Drinks

 

Ice Bucket- Dollar Tree

Punch Bowl- Dollar Tree

Drinks- Sweet Tea from Chick-fil-A

Pink Lemonade Sherbet Punch. Which was the most amazing thing ever! After the 5th cup though it definitely made your head hurt from all the sugar.

 

Elephant picture holders- Party City

 

The Games

 

The first game my little brother actually found. At first I thought it would be kind of dumb, but it was actually so funny!

 

Paper Plate Drawing Game-

Everyone gets a paper plate and you put it on top of your head and draw a baby. Sounds dumb right? We laughed so hard at everybody baby drawing, it was hilarious! We ended up playing this game 3 times! We even played one round of trying to draw a bunny. Mine came out like the Caribbean Islands :(

 

 

The last 2 games I don't have pictures of because my camera decided to break after this...

 

We put reeses pieces in a big baby bottle and had to guess how many were in there.

 

The 3rd game was pretty hard honestly. It was called The Candy Bar Matching Game. Here is a link for it. http://www.fun-babyshower-games.com/candy-bar-matching-game.html

 

Myself and the guest(s) of honor :) I am 38 weeks here and she is 32 weeks! So close!!!

 Myself, my momma and Drew

 Belly Power!

 

All in all I thought the shower turned out great! We had lots of laughs and Drew was shower with adorable gifts! I think she had almost 25 people show up in the end! Success!!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Ashley~

 

Hospital Bag Essentials - Labor

I have been researching "hospital bags for labor" for weeks now. It seems everyone has an opinion but mostly it is all the same items, give or take. I don't want to be that women who packs for a week long vacation but I also want to be cozy and have some things from home. I think my bag is perfect so hopefully this may help some of you :)

Disclaimer- This is my first baby but I looked at checklists from moms who had more than one baby :)

So this is my bag. Fancy, huh? It's just an average sized duffle.

 

This is what is in the duffle. With the exception of Corey's stuff. But his things will be easy and half of it are electronics and chargers.

  My bag of toiletries :) I got the bag on clearance from Target, I think it was $6.98. Now some of this stuff I may not even use and that's fine. I just want to have it lol I know there will be a gazillion pictures and honestly I don't want to look like an ogar. Don't get me wrong there will be NO smokey eyes or red lips but I would like to look somewhat put together.

 

Makeup

BB Cream - Urban Decay

Waterproof Mascara - Givenchy

Concealer - Tarte

Powder - Laura Mercier

Bronzer/Blush Duo - Nars

2 chap sticks - Fresh and YSL

Waterproof eyeliner - Urban Decay

Brow Pencil- Laura Mercier

 

Skin/Body/Hair

Makeup Wipes - Ponds

Face Wash - Fresh Soy Cleanser

Face Moisturizer- Fresh Lotus

Coconut Oil

Shampoo/Conditioner - Travel size Herbal Essences

Toothbrush/Toothpaste

Body Lotion- Travel size

Hand Sanitizer

Deodorant and Body Wash- Travel size

Bobby Pins and hair tyes

 

 

 BABY STUFF

Car Seat :) Duh

 This is a Graco Snug...a bug...rider... Something like that :) Also make sure your base is correctly put it! Babies R US will do it for you. Also fire stations!

Mittens, socks and a wubbanub thing... whatever they are called

 Newborn outfit from Target that I am so obsessed with!!!

 Another newborn outfit with penguins. This one seems a bit bigger so if he ends up being a bowling ball then this will fit him better.....ooooooo contraction :(

 All better...

I know they have blankets there but it will probably be cold outside so I thought a heavier blanket would be good and a receiving one.

 For Mama

I know I will need more than one nursing bra but this is what I have for now. Also I will be on leave for almost 3 months so I feel a "sleeping" nursing bra will be fine. This is from target and it 's super comfy!

2 tops- one is loose and flowy. The other is a bit tighter but longer. Both are easy to pull down or off when I need to nurse.

Lightweight zip-up hoodie - I had to buy this one at Target since all of my hoodies are pullover ones and I thought it would be a pain.

2 comfy pants - one pair of yoga pants and one legging. I didn't buy new pants, I'm just using old faded ones. I have heard from numerous moms that your pants get...dirty and stained. So what's the point?

 



 

Some ladies also recommended

Robe- I don't feel I need this. I'll have a hoodie

Slippers - ehhh not sure. I have cabin socks which are super thick.

Nursing Pads- Need to get

Nipple Cream- Coconut Oil should be fine

 

 

For Daddy

Camera/Charger

Video Camera/Charger

Cells/Charger

Nook/Charger

Sleep Clothes

Normal Day Clothes

Slippers/Socks

Snacks/Drinks - A daddy boot camp class he went to told him to bring a small cooler to keep everything in which I thought was a good idea.

Tylenol/Excedrin

Toiletries

Blanket/Small Pillow

 

So Corey needs to get on this...sometime this week...

 

After Hospital Care

Here are what the ladies say you should get

Jumbo thick extra long pads - oooh sexy

Aloe Gel/witch hazel - To put on the pads, then put them in the fridge/freezer for some...who-hah relief

Tucks Pads- whatever that is

Dermoplast - The blue cap bottle not the red

Granny Panties- I got some boyshorts today. Nothing fancy, you will throw them away.

Nursing Pads

Heating Pad

A Belly Band

 

Did I forget anything?

~Ashley~

 

 

 

Dining Room Turned Nursery- One Bedroom Apartment Living

So I will admit it, living in a one bedroom small apartment sure isn't what I had in mind when I envisioned bringing home my little bundle of joy. Just look at my Pinterest and I'm sure you will see what I was hoping to have.

Fact is, for Corey and I, life never happens how we "think" or "plan" it will go. It has actually a funny joke now to us and we really don't get upset when things go differently, anymore. Colorado homes have gone up in price... by a lot. So everything we could afford needs a renovation and with a husband that works 50 hours a week and a pregnant wife, reno isn't a great idea. We also don't know how much I will be able to work with the baby coming. It's all very "play by ear" right now. So the final decision was to stay in our one bedroom to save money and honestly we ran out of time. Lease is up this month, so we just renewed it for 6 months. One a happy note... I have the pool for one more summer!!! YES!!!

So where are we going to put Baby B you ask? The dining room of course! Thankfully my mother in law lets her basement become our storage unit. Honestly the dining room makes a perfect nursery, except that it is right beside the living room and kitchen. Oh and that is has no closet. So we found some ways to be more organized. Kitchen and bath is also going through a storage crisis but we will figure it out...soon.

So this is when you walk in the front door. Living room in front then nursery behind.

 We went with a woodland inspired theme, with deer and owls mainly. Orange and aqua ended up being the main colors too.

Furniture- Target

Rug- Ikea

Curtains- Ikea

Deer Picture- Target

Mobile- Target

I have no idea why a giraffe is chillin with an owl, elephant and snail with a bumble bee...but he is. We didnt feel like spending a fortune on a mobile so this is what we got.

 The shelves we got at Ikea and we are still going to add a bar/rod under the bottom one to hang up clothes.

Deer head- Target

Owl statue- Goodwill

Baby Book- Made by my Mother in law

Deer photo album- No idea

Animal Ornaments- My mom found these at Von Maur Department store

"Gone Fishing" Sign- Corey has had this since he was a baby

 For now this is where we are stock piling diapers and wipes. That tan basket will be a laundry basket though and behind that is the Diaper Genie.

 Found this gem at Hobby Lobby! They have a bunch of foresty stuff that I still want to go look at. Its always 50% off too!

acess. This puppy is super heavy too so I put a placemat under it to keep it from stratching the dresser.

 The dresser

Changing Pad and Cover- Babies R Us

 The first drawer we put receiving blankets a swaddle things.

 The drawer beside that is going to be diapers, wipes, etc. we have some Genie refills and the monitor in there now but who knows if it will stay.

I tried to flip this picture for a good 13 minutes. It's just not my day. But each drawer is divided by sizes to make life easy.

Bookcase Cubby- Ikea

Canvas Baskets- Ikea

 This bad boy will be great for extra storage! Since it is behind the couch it sort of acts like a divider, sorta.

 

So that is the nursery in a nutshell. It may not be exactly what I thought it would be but we think it will work just fine for 6 months :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Ashley~