Pregnancy: 31 Week Update

How far along? 31 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Coconut (3.5lb!!!)

Weight Gain: We all know the answer to that from last week....so let's not talk about it again until next week, shall we? 

Nursery: It is coming together!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited. 

This week I ordered the monitor as our item of the week. Only a few things left on the list! 

I did add a white noise machine to the list, however. After some research, I picked this one: 

The humidifier I picked that we've ended up using in LW's room bc his kicked the bucket isn't as noisy as our previous humidifier. I really like it (once I painted over the nightlight which was actually like EXTREMELY BRIGHT HEADLIGHT) because it has great output, is small and lasts all night long on one tank, but I specifically remember needing white noise for LW in his newborn days, and really until recently we had the really noisy humidifier in his room that buffered out sounds. This is the humidifier we have now: 

So since the new humidifier is so quiet, I decided a white noise machine is a good thing to have. For LW we used an old iPhone in a docking station with a free white noise app. Problem with that was the home button on that iPhone didn't work consistently, and if I forgot (in my sleep-deprived state) and hit "play" on the docking station, Carrie Underwood would start BLASTING through the speakers at the volume we had been playing soothing waves sounds previously. 

That made for plenty of panicked mommy moments, LW jumping awake, and a lot of frustration. So, I'm not doing that again. $42 will be well-spent on that little noise maker machine. It's gotten great reviews. 

Movement: This little dude is a WILD MAN. He's moving around so much lately! It's really fun. I feel like he's very long because I already always feel him very low in my pelvis while simultaneously feeling him up at my rib cage. I have a feeling my dreams of a baby under 8lb may just be that....dreams :)

Symptoms: Well, this is where it gets interesting. Thursday afternoon LW and I visited my dad in the hospital (he just had both knees replaced) and I got stuck in traffic on my way home. I had to use the bathroom REALLY BADLY by the time I finally arrived to my door and had been contracting from the need to use the bathroom (or so I thought). Turns out the contractions didn't stop once I "emptied my tank" and continued fairly aggressively for over an hour.

I contacted my midwife and made a plan on what to do if they continued but thankfully after a lot of water, sitting with my feet up and completely relaxing 100%, the contractions slowed and eventually stopped.

That said, we're considering Mo a bit of a flight risk so I'll be taking it easy more often than not the remaining 8 weeks....as much as I can possibly stand to do so.

Also, I have SO MANY BRAXTON HICKS lately! It's like my uterus doesn't realize it's done this before and thinks it needs to practice. Earth-to-uterus: YOU GOT THIS. CALM YO'SELF.

I've had a little heartburn this week, but nothing crazy (thankfully). My back hurts now and then. I'm tired. You know...third trimester woes.

Cravings: I think it's probably just residual from Easter, but CHOCOLATE THE MINUTE LW GOES TO BED. As much as possible, get it in my belly. Just thinking about it right now I think I need to bite the ears off of a bunny.

Looking forward to: Getting the final items done in the nursery. I have a craft list of things I want to do and between that, freelance work (blessed!), Jamberry, What I Feed My Kid, housework, LW, sewing ring slings, and oh, trying to "relax" I don't know how I'll do it all!!! One day at a time, I guess :)

Things I can't stop thinking about: Nothing, really. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and get all of my tasks done on my various lists as I go. 

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Pregnancy: 29 Week Update

How far along? 29 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Butternut squash. Is it just me, or is that like....THE SIZE OF A REAL BABY.  

Weight Gain: Haven't checked since 26 weeks. Another week and I'll find out the damage this month. 

Nursery: Well, one of the items on my Someday List was to clean out LW's closet, and I did that this week! All newborn-y items were moved over to Mo's closet. I haven't started the dresser yet so things are a little bit disorganized since I don't have anywhere to put his clothes other than on shelves in the closet. 

Over Christmas we purchased blinds for Mo and LW's rooms but unfortunately they won't work for Mo's room. One has broken from LW's room and one in Mo's room clicks...which will not do. So next weekend Hubs will be tasked with taking the two broken blinds down and installing the one good blind from Mo's room into LW's room. I'll return the two broken blinds and use the store credit to find an alternative for Mo's room. The blinds we bought were on clearance because the store was going to discontinue them. While I am there I may find some curtain rods with a few coupons as well so we can get all of the window treatments up and ready. 

Also, WE SOLD OUR HOUSE! Pending a few final details, we will be able to begin moving our furniture over in the next few weeks. That means LW will get the twin bed that has been staging the old house....and it means we will be setting the crib up for Mo :) 

Movement: Hubs thinks because I am so relaxed now being a SAHM that Mo is finally able to be his "true self" which is a WILD MAN! Here I hoped we would get one docile little nugget baby and it's proving not to be true lately based on his actions inside me! He's just bopping all over in there all the time lately. It's kind of fun...but kind of nauseating. 

Symptoms: HEARTBURN!?!?! First time in my life yesterday I had heartburn for hours. What. The. Heck! Of course, I'm cheap and bought the generic brand TUMS to have in the house and they are AWFUL. I ate them all night long when I got up to use the bathroom and my mouth still tastes like chalk. Note to self: Buy the real thing to have on hand. The really good smoothies kind. Because these Costco ones are the worst. (Sorry Costco. Still love you otherwise.) 

My belly band made me feel sick to my stomach yesterday and as soon as I took it off, I felt better. I concluded that I have outgrown it (already) so I just ordered a replacement using Amazon points today. It's not the same brand, but it's the same style - wide back brace/under belly support/over belly support. And it was less than half of the cost of the original. Should have bought this from day 1! 

I'm also swelling a lot lately. Today I made a conscious effort to spend the late afternoon/evening drinking A LOT of water, using the bathroom every time I got the slightest urge and snacking on fruit. My wedding rings have gone from, "I may need to take these off for the rest of the pregnancy" to, "I can't even tell I'm pregnant based on my hands". That's significant! I must drink more water and put my feet up more frequently. Must, must!!!

Cravings: Nothing really this week! Lemonade give me mild heartburn so I haven't really been drinking that and cinnamon rolls just aren't front-of-mind. Nothing is screaming "EAT THIS NOW!" to me this week, which is nice! If I eat too much, I get heartburn too so I am trying to just snack a lot on healthy stuff instead of have "meals". Meals make me feel gross. 

Looking forward to: Meeting our sweet little Mo. I can't wait to see what he looks like. 

Things I can't stop thinking about: The nursery! I am excited to be making strides. We have budgeted and couponed so well that we haven't spent more than a few dollars total on all of the items we need for him from the registry. Items like window treatments will be more expensive, but thankfully the savings from purchasing the other items with Amazon rewards points and Kohl's coupons/Kohl's cash or Jamberry earnings will allow us to buy those other necessary items with ease. It took some serious planning and patience, but was completely worth it!!!! 

By my calculations we have three more weeks of purchasing items from the registry and we're done (at $25/week). Should have just been two after today's purchase (a stroller lock!), but last night LW's humidifier died so he had to take Mo's. Thankfully we have 10ish more weeks before we NEED any of the remaining items. 

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Newborn Cloth Diaper Organizer

Mo's diapers are ready!!!!!! I'm so excited. Walking by them in the nursery every time I am upstairs gives me happy feelings all over.

I love cloth diapering and started with LW when he was 9 days old. That seemed like an eternity so this time around, we may come home from the hospital with Mo in cloth. Sposies stink (literally) and blowouts are probably my #1 for most disgusting thing on the planet. Especially with newborn poop. Ohh gag.

When I started talking to a friend about cloth diapering before LW was born, she said the best advice she'd received was to have a newborn stash...and I have to say that has been some of the best advice we received as well! Thank you, Lindsey!!! Not only can you use newborn prefolds all throughout your cloth diapering journey (and beyond! Hello, window rags) via pocket or Flip inserts...newborns poop like A HUNDRED TIMES A DAY. So buying disposables during that time can be nearly $100/month! Ain't nobody got time (or cash) fo' dat!

This is what's in my (robust) newborn stash:
18 Gerber prefolds – these are HUGE and take some creative folding from the beginning, but they don't hold much pee so they're really only useful for newborns.

24 OsoCozy size 1 prefolds – OsoCozy makes the best prefolds. Period. That's my opinion because that's what we use but they're the darn-tootin' BEST! And now after LW has been using them for almost two years Mo is getting the softest, fluffiest, most wonderful feeling prefolds ever. What a lucky duck!

3 Snappis – Mo has to share. LW is still in prefolds too (size 2) so he only gets 3. We'll just be extra careful to try not to lose any.

12 NB AIO – These I have a variety of brands. Mo got his very own brand new Thirsties NB AIOs (thank you, Hubs!) and will use LW's old Rumparooz Lil Joeys (DID YOU KNOW they sell these at Kohl's now!? HELLO 30% off + Kohl's Cash + coupons – MAMAS GET ON THAT NOW!), BumGenius, GroVia and some off-brands sprinkled in.

Lil Joeys were my favorite AIO with LW as a newborn, and I think Thirsties new NB AIO are VERY similar in style, so I have a feeling we'll love those too. The new Thirsties NB AIOs will definitely be in our hospital bag so Mo's newborn photos will be taken while he wears them <3 (OMG I'm melting just thinking about that).

BG NBs were my least favorite with LW because he was such a heavy wetter from the start - one little pee and he was leaking out of those puppies. BUT, Mo may be different entirely so I will be using them on him.

10 NB Covers – These are primarily Thirsties size 1, but a Real Nappies, gDiapers and a Bumkins snuck in somehow :)

I have the bottom shelf filled with OS things that Mo will have - He's gotten some of his own brand new BG pockets as gifts and LW's old hook & loop flips were passed down to him, since LW now thinks it's a party to rip them off vs. wear them. Burp cloths are down there too, as you can see. This will eventually be where I shift some things around so I can put his OsoCozy prefolds but until it is closer to his arrival date, LW will keep using them.

If you have any questions about my stash - please comment below or on Facebook!! I love to talk diapers!

***All links to Amazon on this blog are now affiliated. Thanks!!***

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Pregnancy: 28 Week Update

How far along? 28 Weeks

Size of Baby:  Large eggplant! LARGE! 

Weight Gain: Last checked at 26 weeks was 14lb. Hopefully not too much more than that :) 

Nursery: IT IS STARTING TO BECOME A ROOM! I brought the paint home from the old house to start the dresser (so I work in small steps, okay...) and put together the diaper cart. I organized it and prepped all of his tiny newborn cloth diapers...... It is BECOMING A BEDROOM!!!! This week I will share what I have in the diaper cart. 

Movement: This morning I made a green smoothie for Hubs and I that was pretty strong and Mo was BOUNCING ALL AROUND IN THERE! It was so fun to sit in church and feel all of his kicks and wiggles while I drank my smoothie. The recipe (albeit misspelled because I'm the best at paying attention when I write things...) is on @whatifeedmykid

Symptoms: Zzzzzzzz. Let me SLEEP! I've been alright during the day this week, but at night I hit the pillow like a ton of bricks and I sleep HARD. It's nice though because I wake up feeling rested in the morning! 

Other than that, wearing my belly support band makes a huge difference in how 'heavy' I feel. It really keeps my posture in check and supports the weight of sweet, sweet Mo. That was money very well spent. 

Cravings: This week has been a little weird. At one point I actually text my girlfriends that if Aldi didn't have Cheetohs puffs the next day when I shopped I may die. But then by the time I was shopping I saw the cheesy puffs and had no interest. However, I did elbow my way through a pile of cheese danishes to find the one remaining box of their cinnamon rolls. Totally worth the struggle. 

Lemonade is also still a favorite. I'm down to one (gigantic) glass a day mainly because I have a personal goal to drink more actual water. I try to save my lemonade for a "good" time, like when I am driving somewhere alone so I can really enjoy it or after bedtime. I'm mean, I don't share. 

Oh, and Cadbury mini eggs. The chocolate ones. No cream. Get that crap out of here. Straight chocolate. Yeahhhhh buddy. They jumped right into my cart while I ran errands two days in a row. Who am I to stop them!? 

Looking forward to: Everything. I'm so genuinely happy and I just want to tell everyone. I'm so dang happy and thankful for the women in my life who make every day better and better. I have the best friends on the planet. 

Things I can't stop thinking about: His bedroom. I placed the diaper cart right by the door, so every time I walk out of LW's room I get a little glance of it as I walk by and I want to squeal. TINY BABY THINGS!!!!!! So adorable. 

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