34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks! Can't believe we've reached 8 1/2 months!

Weight gain? 32 pounds. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my life and I sure am feeling it!

How big is baby? Baby J is probably 19.5 inches from head to toe and weighs between 6 and 6.5 pounds if he's gaining half a pound a week. Hopefully we'll get another weight estimate at our ultrasound Thursday.

Maternity clothes? I hung up everything I got from Ryan's wonderful colleague and now I officially have a full maternity wardrobe! I have more maternity pants than non-maternity pants in my possession. I'm starting to have problems with shoes though! My feet and hands have been getting puffy when I sleep. Since I spend most of my time laying down, you can only imagine how much worse it gets when I actually leave the house and walk around or sit somewhere for a little while. Thank goodness it's comfy boot season!

Sleep? Even though our bed is a huge cal king, I wish it was bigger so I could have a body pillow on each side. Rolling over with the pillow is so awkward, I feel like I might fall off the bed any night now!

Best moment of the week? On Thursday, I had the privilege of leaving the house TWICE in one day! We had an OB appointment in the morning with all good news. Baby J is definitely head down and his heart beat is great. Thursday night, I was out of the house at night for the first time in two months for our breast feeding class. We loved the class! It was so informative. Classes like these can come in a variety of perspectives and I like our instructor's point of view. It's good to know she represents the lactation consulting team at the hospital where we will deliver. I feel like we'll be strongly supported and encouraged in our effort to breastfeed. My favorite bit of information of the class was that some anthropologists believe we were designed to carry babies for 18 months, but when we evolved from quadrupeds to bipeds, the shape of our pelvis changed, limiting gestation to nine months. So interesting!

Funny moment of the week? I was sitting on the couch yesterday, putting coupons away in my coupon binder on the coffee tale, when Ryan glanced over and noticed a new development: my belly now sits between my legs! I've been carrying pretty high the whole pregnancy, but this weekend, I'm pretty certain baby dropped. Not only is it clearly visible, I feel more pressure on my pelvis and discomfort in my hips

Symptoms? Since baby dropped, he has more room to kick. Saturday night, he spent a good half hour kicking my ribs HARD! I had to walk around a bit to calm him down otherwise I think I might have ended up with a cracked rib. Crazy kid! Since he dropped, I'm hoping for less heartburn to make up for the even more frequent trips I am now taking to the restroom.

What I miss? So many of our friends have been able to take beautiful maternity photos with their pregnancies and I'm sad we missed that opportunity. When we learned we were expecting, I looked forward to being able to take some beautiful photos out in the woods where the colors are just so beautiful and vibrant right now. I love our weekly belly pics, but I don't think they compare to what we could have done outdoors.

What I'm looking forward to? This week is going to be fantastic! I have so much to look forward to! I really have to take it easy for the first half of the week to prepare. Thursday morning will be the first of our weekly ultrasounds with the maternal fetal specialist. We get to see our little man every week until he arrives! Saturday will be our east coast baby shower! I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family, being able to spend an afternoon relaxing outside of our apartment, and spending extra time with my sister Stacy, and two of my besties: Jacque and her hubby, Jeff, and Carol, and her hubby-to-be, Mike.

Here's the 34 week bump...


And the belly! Can you see my belly button just beginning to poke out?

I Love My Diamond!

I love my Diamond Sister! In my sorority, we have Diamond Sisters. My Diamond Sister, Traci Ballantyne Chesley, is the biggest sweetheart in the world and one of the most creative people I know. Last week, I ordered some handmade zipper pouches from her Etsy shop (Lalabua Baby) to use as part of a gift for my girlfriends who are throwing a baby shower for me next weekend. When the box arrived yesterday, not only were the pouches just as fabulous as I had hoped, but it was filled with other wonderful goodies for Baby J and me!

All the goodies: a hooded towel, chunky necktie, burp cloths, a hooter hider, and Toms for baby and me!


I love the fish details! Perfect for baby's room!


Baby's going to be so handsome in this chunky tie!


These burp cloths are ridiculously soft and I love the details!


Tiny Toms!


And, just to remind you, Traci also made the gorgeous headband I wore in our wedding:


With the holidays just around the corner, be sure to take a moment to check out her shop on Etsy: Lalabua Baby

I love you Traci! Thanks for everything!!

This is how you know the lady of the house is pregnant

The beer bottle cap collection overtakes the wine cork collection.

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks!

Weight gain? 30 pounds. I have officially reached my pre-pregnancy and pre-weight loss all-time high fat weight. I could feel really bad about this, it definitely does not feel good to be at my all-time heavy weight, but at least this time it's not because I am a lazy slob, but because there's a chunky little boy growing in my belly. I know in just a few weeks, I'll begin the ultimate weight loss plan: giving birth, breastfeeding, and finally being able to walk after spending my entire third trimester in bed! I've lost the weight before and I will definitely lose it again. I felt great before I became pregnant and I want to make sure I'm a good health and fitness role model for our son.

How big is baby? Baby J is probably 19 inches from head to toe and weighs between 5.5 and 6 pounds if he's gaining half a pound a week.

Maternity clothes? I'm so grateful to Ryan's colleague who brought over the three boxes of maternity clothes. After sifting through everything, I pulled out one box worth of awesome clothes to round out my maternity wardrobe for when I return to work and for future pregnancies. I think I more than doubled what I had in my closet. I'm looking forward to sharing the remaining two boxes with other pregos!

Sleep? I'm totally ready for 11pm, 2am, and 5am feedings! I sleep in naps.

Best moment of the week? This week, Ryan reorganized our living room! Yay!! We've decided to stay in our place for another year as long as they don't screw us over with a rent increase this winter. We realized we needed to make adjustments in all of our rooms to make room for baby boy and all of his stuff. Ryan moved all of our living room furniture around and we now feel like we have a lot more space to stretch out on the floor for tummy time and open up the pack and play when little man is on the move. We also feel like our sitting space is better situated for conversations which will be great for all of the company we are expecting in the coming months. Overall, our place is starting to look grown up too! I guess it's about time!

Funny moment of the week? I'm really feeling pregnant nowadays and Ryan thinks it's so hilarious every time he hears me grunt and gasp when I get up from sitting on the couch or attempt to roll over in bed. It's crazy, especially since I've been at this weight before, but it's so different when it's concentrated in a belly that moves rather than evenly distributed in a fat layer all over my body!

Symptoms? Last week I wrote that I was really beginning to feel anxious about having a c-section. Fortunately, my BFF, Jenn, is in school to become a labor and delivery nurse and helped calm my fears. She and one of her classmates had me on a conference call over the weekend and answered my million questions based on what they've experienced and learned about so far. I still have a few more questions for my OB team based on my specific situation and hospital policies, but I feel so much better overall thanks to Jenn and Kim. Other than that, the other symptoms bugging me this week are the return of the metallic taste in my mouth shortly after eating anything, mild swelling in my hands and feet while I sleep, and an upsurge in my pregnancy rash which is now on my shoulders, neck, chest, belly, and back, but there's nothing I can do about it-- it's just those dang hormones!

What I miss? Going to the movies. It's always been one of my favorite activities. Ryan hates going to the movies for the most part so it has always been one of those things I do when I need some me time and we have some great theaters around here that show awesome independent films. I feel like I've missed some good ones in the last few months and it may be years until I get to escape to the movies again!

What I'm looking forward to? My hair lady, Jen, is fabulous and found a nail lady for me! She's coming to my apartment this afternoon to give me a pedicure! Yay! Plus, it's Halloween! Ryan and I finished my costume last night and I can't wait for trick-or-treaters to come to our door today! This will be the most social interaction I've had in weeks!!

Here's the 33 week bump... In costume!

October Snow?

The DC area hasn't seen snow in October since 1979, but we got a light dusting today! The ground is still pretty warm so it melted away as soon as it stopped falling but it was still so beautiful!





It sure was weird to look at the beautiful orange leaves on the tree outside my window and see little drops of water freezing on the ends and tiny snow crystals collecting in the branches.







I'm looking forward to being able to snuggle with our baby boy this winter, but I'm hoping autumn will last a few more weeks because I feel like this winter's going to be a very cold one!

Jute Monogram

Sitting at home leaves me with a lot of time on my hands, so a couple of weeks ago, I spent the better part of a Friday afternoon wrapping some letters in jute (hemp) rope. It was my first time working on a project like this so it took about 5 hours just to complete the wrapping.



It took quite a bit if rope, some hot glue, and our three letters: RJR. After wrapping the letters, I decorated them with some scrapbook embellishments and some ribbon in our wedding colors.







Our wedding was at the beach and the beach is our favorite place to be. Even though we live in the city, we love beach decor and hopefully, one day, we'll have a home on the sand. Until then, we'll just keep dreaming about it and making our home feel be beachy from the inside.



I'm happy with how the letters turned out and plan on using the jute to wrap up a few picture frames I'm no longer fond of and some old vases that have seen better days. Stay tuned for more projects!

(The awesome sign above the frames in this picture was a gift from my BFF, Jenn. It's a subtle reminder to my hubby that we were married on the 28th!)