32 Weeks: Showered with Love

What an exciting weekend it was!  My Mother In Law and Mom hosted the baby shower at my grandmothers house.  The two of them had lots of help from friends and family, making for one amazing celebration.  I've never felt more overwhelmed with love and gratitude.  My amazing friend Heather once again came through with capturing the wonderful memories of this time spent with my friends and family, and I can't wait to see how they all turn out.  Here are a few I took myself:

My BFF Erin set up this amazing DIY Mimosa Bar

What a loot!

Such a cute basket!

Jeremy's favorite gift

Update on baby: We are at the 8 month mark!  Baby is the size of a squash, according to The Bump, growing and growing.  Definitely feeling more cramped.  We had a doctor's appointment on Thursday that went great.  We were able to hear the heartbeat, which I absolutely love.  Nice and loud :)  As I lifted my shirt for the doctor to place the Doppler on my belly she commented how beautiful my skin was and asked, "are you happy with it?!"  I laughed out loud and replied that I was.  "What a strange thing for her to ask," I though.  

I asked if the baby was head down, and she explained that now through the next couple of weeks the amniotic fluid is at it's peak, so the baby is very freely swimming around in there.  So even if that day the baby was head down, it would probably change by that evening.

We scheduled our last 6 appointments, which felt very unreal.  Only 6 left?!  But then what?!  We will go every other week for the next month, and then our last month we will go in every week.  We also received some contact info to schedule our hospital tour and some classes.  

I'm definitely feeling slowed down.  Especially going up the stairs.  Every time I make the ascent, I think to myself, I really wish I had done the stair climber more at the gym while carrying 10 pound weights in each hand.  That would have prepared me!  With the baby/uterus pressing up on my diaphragm, I'm definitely feeling out of breath more often.  Not craving anything in particular, but salty and sweet together are always a good combo.  

Well that's a wrap up of Week 32, see you in a week!

UPDATE: Here are a few pictures from the baby shower:

31 Weeks, Valentine's day, and a very special surprise

First, I must say, this is the last time I'll be wearing this shirt!  Honestly didn't think you could grow out of maternity shirts, but I was wrong haha. 

We are at 31 weeks and baby Rials is the size of a pineapple.  All five of baby's senses are fully developed, and major brain and nerve development is happening.  Irises are also now reacting to light. Lots and lots of movement!  From kicking, to somersaults, and hiccups, there is a lot going on in there!

I'm continuing to feel pretty good.  Getting around is a bit more difficult, definitely feel like my lungs are crowded.  Pregnancy brain is in full force, which is not so good when I'm trying to get good grades in school, and have conversations with people!  Trying to limit my water intake at night (increasing during the day) to avoid waking up 5 times a night to use the bathroom.  Definitely eating healthier due to my 21 day challenge of no fast food (although I did have In-N-Out Burger once), but still having difficulty getting the energy and motivation to workout.

I've also started to notice that my feet are beginning to swell.  I'm getting lines from my flip flops and all I can think of is that image of Kim Kardashian's feet when she was pregnant:

Yikes right?!  Okay, mine don't look ANYTHING like this, I promise, but fingers crossed it doesn't get to this point!

And now for the special surprise...  my brother got engaged this weekend!!!  We are so incredibly happy him and Sam, we love her as though she's already a Bowden.  We had mimosas to celebrate the occasion, mine of course a mocktail made with sparkling cider.

We have a doctor's appointment coming up next week, 8 months!!

30 Weeks and Maternity Photos

30 Weeks!!  Can't believe we only have 10 more to go.  Looking back on the last 30 weeks, I have to say I feel really lucky about how uneventful this pregnancy has been.  It hasn't always been easy, or a walk in the park; but I'm very thankful that medically things have gone very smoothly.

I've been eating really well, avoiding my fast food fixes and instead trading milkshakes for healthy snacks, as well as working out at least 5 times a week.  My advice to anyone who has recently become pregnant:  EXERCISE!  Carrying around an extra 20-25 pounds is no joke, and I wish my back was a bit stronger to help support my ever growing belly.

I've also learned to increase my water intake during the day and to taper off closer to bedtime to help lessen my trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  I've found my perfect mix of pillows, which has significantly helped with my low back and hip pain while sleeping.

Baby update:  Baby is the length of a cucumber, weighing in at over 3 pounds!  He/She will continue to gain weight at a rate of half a pound a week.  The baby is now strong enough to grasp a finger and eyesight is continuing to improve, although baby keeps eyes closed most of the day.  The brain is also continuing to develop.  Lots and lots of movement, I've been trying to video the baby moving, but every time I do, the baby gets shy and stops.  I've felt the baby have hiccups a few more times as well, which I absolutely love.

In other news, my grandma and I had a little date this weekend.  Every year for Christmas I get her a "making memories" gift.  She has everything she could possibly ever need, so I decided a few years ago that I would take her out to dinner and a show for Christmas instead of a materialistic gift.

This year I brought her over to the house to see the updates and the nursery; it had been almost 3 years since she had last been over!  Then we headed over to Liberty Market for an early dinner.  We saw The Wizard of Oz at Gammage Theater, which was amazing!  It brought me right back to my childhood.  Every time my family came up to visit my grandparents, they would put on The Wizard of Oz for us to watch while they chatted with my parents.  I sang along to nearly every song, and loved spending the time alone with her.

And now, what you've all been waiting for....my maternity photos.  My very talented friend Heather Ratliff took these pictures at The Groves church on Gilbert and Queen Creek in Gilbert, AZ.  It was an overcast day, and I was afraid that the lighting would ruin the shoot.  It was quite the opposite, as Heather reassured me they would turn out beautiful.  Enjoy!

29 Weeks: Project Nursery

This past week was a great week!  Jeremy really wanted to get a smoker for Christmas, but somehow the back splash won out (this was not my decision btw!).  So Jeremy decided he wanted to try smoking a brisket on the grill. 
     We invited our friends Mike and Tanya over.  We test out all kinds of recipes on them.  Jeremy learned the hard way that he's allergic to pecan wood, so he won't be using pecan chips to smoke again any time soon. 
     We all thought it turned out great, although Jeremy was a bit more critical of it.  He thought the smoke ring could have been better (whatever that means).  So, his friend Bruce is on the look out for a good sale on one of those egg shaped smokers.

We also worked on the nursery this weekend.  We finished painting last weekend, and although our samples looked a bit blue, we went with a medium grey tone.  We will be keeping the rest of the furniture white, and add an accent color once the little one arrives. 

Here is Jeremy putting the crib together.  We picked it up at Ikea, and love the simplicity of it.  It will also transition into a toddler bed.  I'll take additional, more detailed pictures once we finish everything up.  Originally I thought I wanted a white dresser from Ikea as well, but  liked the thought of adding in a bit of character.  I had been searching on Craigslist for weeks, and finally found this little gem.  We both fell in love with the shape and details.  I think we'll also use this as our changing table.  I can't wait to start looking for some rustic accessories to fill the space.  I know it's going to be challenging to keep it gender neutral, but I'm always up for a challenge.

 

The cat's loved exploring our new additions.  Their new favorite place is hiding under the crib.

Last but not least, pregnancy update.  Now that I'm in my third trimester, I'm definitely starting to feel some new things.  Earlier in the week I was in quite a bit of pain in my low back and hips, making sleep very difficult.  I tried hot baths, but came to the conclusion that I needed to do a bit of strengthening and stretching to resolve the problem.

I started a 21 day challenge with a handful of girlfriends.  Not that I think I need to lose weight (obviously), but it takes 21 days to make a habit, and my muscles need some assistance carrying around this additional weight.  So I've been attempting to get in 30 minutes of some sort of physical activity every day.  I have a workout video by Tracy Anderson for strengthening, prenatal yoga videos from YouTube to stretch, and am walking around the neighborhood. 

This has definitely helped with my pain level.  I'm continuing to take baths as well, up to 4 a week.  It helps me relax as well as soak my sore muscles.  I put spa radio on Pandora, and light a few candles, and am in Heaven.

We also went hiking with our friends Bruce and Casey, and I think that's probably the last time we'll go.  I'm having to go to the bathroom so much more often these days, that I had to turn back early from the group and race back to the parking lot!  No fun :(  I've also experienced a bit of pelvic pain, pressure from this growing baby.  Hopefully that remains minimal through the next 10 weeks.

Baby update: Baby Rials is the size of an acorn squash, measuring in at 15-17 inches, and 2.5-3.5 pounds.  The baby will triple in body weight by the time he/she is born!  Baby is continuing to move a lot; kicks, jabs, and somersaults.  I didn't think I was feeling any hiccups, but now that I look back on the past week, I've been feeling these movements that I thought was just my heartbeat in my belly, because it was rhythmic that way, but just now I'm putting it together that it was more of a subtle movement and probably hiccups!  I'll have to pay more attention next time. 

That's it for this week!