Thursday, August 31, 2017

End of Pregnancy To Do's


Next week will mark six weeks (or more? or less?) to go and the time to get things done is now (or soon)! We are staying home from the lake/Penn State for the long weekend to do "all of the things" - house, baby, relax - I want to cross a lot of our many to do lists so we can spend the upcoming weeks enjoying fall, football, fun.

I've rounded up fifteen to do's that are saved for the end of pregnancy - some we've just accomplished, some we still have to check off.  I'm really hoping to have most big things done about a month before or definitely by the start of October.

Wash... Everything
Baby clothes, baby bottles, bedding - the washing/putting away process has started around here and the smells are so good! It's never to early to get this stuff out of the way and so accomplishing to be finished with it.

Hospital Tour/Baby Classes
It's always great to know where you're going ahead of time at the hospital - tours are usually quick and free.  Hospitals also offer a variety of classes from birthing to baby.  We're a little late with this and not doing our tour until the end of September and picked out one newborn class to do too.

Install the Car Seat
They won't let you leave the hospital without it so this one is key - I foresee this being a "Derek" task.  We'll tackle this in a week or two and we also need to pick up another base.

Put Together... Everything
There are so many things to be put together/set up - the bassinet, the swing, the baby chair, the bouncer, the monitor, the noise machine, etc.  It's better to just get it out of the way - plus I feel pretty unorganized with boxes just sitting around all over where the items will go.

Final Shopping
A lot of little items can be saved for the end after the baby shower is over.  We have just a few things left to grab and with the holiday sales this weekend I figure now is the time! The last thing you want to be doing is running around the last month rushed to gather what you need.

Birth Plan
It can be simple, it can be detailed, it can be literally gathering information of who to call/text and when.  My biggest item for our "hospital notes" is making sure Stella gets to my parents safely (we even have a backup for her!) along with her favorite toy/bed - Have to take care of our first baby :)

Pack the Hospital Bags
You never know when that little one will come so it's a safe bet to get these packed around 36 weeks - better safe than sorry.  We'll get to this in a few weeks and then I have a little list of items to throw in right at the end.

Stock Up
Groceries, household items, dog supplies, WINE (!!!), Extras (Halloween candy) - you don't want to be running out for little things when you could be home enjoying your new baby - or sleeping when they sleep! 

Freezer Meals
You know what your favorite dishes are so it's simple to either have them for dinner now and make extra to freeze or just have a freezer meal day - we have a list of a few things to freeze and will try to get that done later in September.
  
I'm also going to make a list of our favorite easy meals/take out spots so when we are too busy to think the ideas are right there and one of us just has to run out for a quick pickup.  I've also already started a running list of meals I'd love to have my mom make us so we can make outings to my parents for dinners :)

House Deep Clean
There's nothing better than a clean house to come home to - We'll have our cleaning people in the week before I'm due - or while we're at the hospital but we're doing little things right now to get ready like getting our closets ready for fall and things like that.

Nurses Gifts
The baby nurses are so helpful in the first few days and during the hospital stay - there's also so many cute ideas on Pinterest - it's nice to throw a little something together for them to say "thanks"!

Setup the Newborn Photographer
Many like to be booked a month or more in advance because of scheduling - plus it's one more thing not to worry about in the final days.  We just crossed this off the list this week AND ours will include your pup in a few of the photos too.

Get the Baby Book Ready
I almost forgot about this one! It's great to save photos on the computer and scrapbook like this on the internet but there isn't anything like doing it the old fashioned way.  I just started writing in ours to get ahead and we have a photo album to go with it for him.

Pick a Pediatrician
Recommendations from friends/your healthcare provider can be the best and also easy - we're also interested in ours being located close to us for convenience. 

Enjoy Yourselves!!!
Date nights, pampering, rest, pick shows to binge watch, etc.  

There's only a little bit of the pregnancy left and it's best to enjoy it and take it all in while you can.  I genuinely enjoyed being pregnant other than a little bit of unwanted stress so I'm ready to enjoy these final weeks before it's over.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

This & That

Photo is from last week at 32 weeks - still feeling good, yet getting sick of my clothes - only certain dresses fit well now and I'm looking forward to those fall clothes after baby!


We had a bunch of our closest friends from out of town stay with us the night before the shower and they were the perfect first house guests! We had a pizza party, hung out on the deck and it was such fun to host and have the house filled.


Speaking of the shower weekend - I always love things to look at after the excitement is over - these bucket lists were the perfect touch - Derek and I had the best time going through them a few nights later.  We also went back through all the gifts and felt so spoiled and loved.  The leftover flowers really brightened up our kitchen and a few of the arrangements are still going! 


So many of our date nights now are spur of the moment or surrounded by errands (one of my goals for the final weeks of pregnancy is to get in a good date night each week) so last week we set off on a day date before leaving for the lake.  The weather was wonderful - we had Mexican for lunch on a rooftop and then went to a new cookie dough place - my new favorite obsession! 


I wasn't overly into the Lilly Pulitzer sale this year so I logged on about 8:05, went out to walk Stella, came back and was up in line to shop.  I picked just a few accessories as I'm trying to focus on fall clothes/baby shopping but it's too good to skip out on completely.


Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Final Lake Scenes


It's hard to believe that there are only a few days of summer left - we finished up our last "summer" lake weekend even though we'll do an overnight in the fall - it's a wrap on the lazy dock days.  It was a great season with lots of work on the new house and I'm already looking forward to spending even more time up there next summer and with our little boy!

We got up Friday night in time to relax on the porch for happy hour... 


The weather all weekend was perfect - in the upper 70's, sunny and a nice breeze.  After a morning walk (and sleeping in!), Stella and I joined everyone on the dock for a full day in the sun - we even packed up lunch to bring down.  Boating, swimming, floating, laying in the sun - it was the best day - I don't think I went back up to the house until after 5 or so.


We kept it easy for the last weekend and did appetizers on the porch before going back down by the dock for a fire since it got so cool at night.  The boys all stayed up late for the big fight and the girls happily went to bed early.


Sunday was just the same as Saturday and much talking about our next season... football season! In a week or so we'll transition from lake weekends to Penn State weekends and we all couldn't be more excited.  


These two will definitely be the most sad that the season is over - they swim and play so hard up there and just love it... 


Until next summer... 

Monday, August 28, 2017

Pregnancy: Weeks 29-32

This one is a longer one - I feel like we had such a busy month, lots to do, lots got done and a lot of fun things too!

top (l-r): 29 weeks, 30 weeks
bottom (l-r) 31 weeks, 32 weeks

Baby's Size:
Banana Bread (29 weeks)
Rasberry Galette (30 weeks)
Chocolate Steamed Pudding (31 weeks)
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (32 weeks)

Gender:
It's a boy!

Best Moments/What We've Been Up To:
29 weeks: This week was busy! We didn't get back from the lake until Monday and we took off for our babymoon on Sunday with a few nights out with friends and such in between.  My mom was busy planning my shower and asked some of my wants and things - I can't believe that's just three weeks away!  I hosted some friends for a Stella & Dot party which was fun as I think in a few weeks our hosting will come to an end until closer to the holidays and after baby.

30 weeks: We went on our babymoon to Bermuda - it was a great time away relaxing and enjoying.  We also enjoyed our of our final weekends at the lake for the summer - one more to go.  Stella's been extra cuddly and loving this week - we make sure to pay more attention to her than ever so she doesn't feel left out in the coming months.

31 weeks: This was one of my favorite pregnancy weeks - my mom throw the best baby shower for us over the weekend and all the excitement leading up to it was such fun, gifts were arriving all week - Baby S is so spoiled and blessed already! The baby's closet also had some work done so I went through all the boxes and such from the move that have sat unpacked.

32 weeks - I had a dr. appointment this week (in the every two weeks phase) and all looked good! I just love hearing his little heartbeat - at 131 today and the Dr. also assured me I should be able to go to Penn State games through the end of September :) We talked little bit about pediatricians - can't believe how time is flying! I worked on getting all my thank you's done from the shower and we used our registry completion coupon at one of the stores.  We enjoyed a very fun day date complete with a stop at a new cookie dough place.

Movement:
Oh my - lots! The last week of the second trimester into the first week of the third brought much more movement.  I feel it throughout the day but just about always as I'm laying down for bed/waking up it's the most.  When in Bermuda it seemed like he was always moving and it hasn't stopped since.  

Nursery:
Wall hangings and other decor have slowly been being delivered - At 30 weeks our Pottery Barn Kids order of all the furniture was delivered which was so exciting.  During 31 weeks we were having some work done to the closet so I finally got around to opening all the boxes for the move and trying to organize other purchases to see what we have/still need.  We grabbed changing table covers and are just waiting to exchange our changing table/dresser as it was the wrong color - should be fixed up by Labor Day.

For the playroom we got some of the wall hangings up before the shower weekend so everyone could see.  Most recently we hung the curtains up.  We started to try to get everything sorted and put away and will continue that into next week.

Maternity Clothes:

The third trimester also brought the bump to be more noticeable.  We had some cool weather at the lake last week and I was borrowing a long sleeve shirt from Derek since I don't have any yet really (most of mine are packed away anyway).  Living in dresses as well as maternity shorts (so comfy!) and a couple maternity tops.  I have one pair of jean shorts and one black comfy shorts set that are my favorites.

Missing:
Not too much other than the usual! Wearing my normal clothes - getting the fall shopping bug and will spend August finding a few maternity pieces or size up in regular to get me through the start of fall/right after the baby is born - thinking lots of comfy things!

Cravings/Aversions:
Nothing out of the ordinary - I fill up so quickly and some days it's just breakfast and a lunch/dinner combo.  Loving desserts - any kind, any time!  We haven't done much cooking lately but I got the urge recently to get back to that.  Other cravings include a certain kind of pasta salad one week, a breakfast casserole another week and a soft pretzel.

Feeling... Symptoms/Sleep:
For 29 weeks I definitely started feeling a little bit more pregnant - it was like right as the 3rd trimester started last week things shifted a little.  The babe must have had a growth spurt because I'm for sure noticing the bump more as well as lots more kicks - always when I'm going to bed too! A few nights of waking up for bathroom breaks in the middle of the night and finding it hard to get back to sleep.  A few days with lots of acid reflex but we were at the lake and I wasn't doing my best eating :-/ A massage was my favorite part of the week - and a pedicure.  At 30 weeks I was feeling pretty good as we were relaxing on our babymoon - I woke up a couple times each night while there though and definitely could feel soreness from walking around and traveling.  A massage at the hotel spa was heavenly! 31 weeks brought noticing shortness of breath on occasion and barely swollen feet once or twice at night, only after lots of walking.  A little pit of pelvic pain some days and I was completely exhausted the night/day after my shower.  Even if busy, I've been making it a priority to relax each night and love when it's time for bed! For 32 weeks I was definitely feeling pregnant - one day it was 100 degrees with the heat index and as we were out running errands I was just so uncomfortable!  It took me a few days to recover from the shower, I finally had some swelling in my feet a few nights, waking up for a bathroom break around 4am is starting to become a regular thing also.

Exercise:
Still keeping up with the walks! As we move into August some mornings/nights are starting to cool down a little bit more and it feels so nice out.  I got a little lazy late July and traveling early August and just set out in the morning but recently we've tried to get back to an evening walk too.  The most recent week I completely slacked and we probably only got in about three walks total - time to get back to it next week especially with the cooler temperatures in the forecast. 

Dad to Be:
Derek's been helping with all sorts of house projects and we have a pile of baby things to put together that he'll be tackling shortly.  He loves reaching to feel the baby kick and was blown away the first time he could see the kicks too.  I'm not one for too much attention so I requested him to help me open gifts at the shower and we had a great time doing it together - then looking back through them after!

Purchases:
Not too much this much but as we're getting closer to the end and I want to get things finished up. Later August we'll do the most shopping once the shower is over but I've tried to pick up things here and there.  Decorative pieces for the nursery/playroom, changing pads and covers, a hamper, some diaper bag organization items including a tote savy and some other little things here/there.  I had a good Babies R Us coupon so we picked up our baby monitor with that.  We had a shopping day at Babies R Us as well as Target and did a big stock up on things that we needed - also took advantage of Babies R Us' buy two mega diaper packs and get a $25 gift card!

We were completely spoiled with gifts at our baby shower!

Excited For:
Babymoon! We're headed on a quick getaway next week and the relaxing will be very welcomed.  I also have another doctor's appointment later this week, 3 weeks since my last and then I head into the every other week appointment category (29 weeks).

Setting up the nursery - the furniture comes in a few days and it will be surreal to have it set up - still waiting on the bedding though.  We're down to single digit weeks left and I love checking my app and seeing the days pass by (30 weeks).

My Baby shower - gifts have started to arrive from friends/family that can't come and it's so much fun seeing all the little things.  We have some out of town friends staying with us so I'm looking forward to the day before too.  Lots of house work going on this week - our plantation shutters and curtains are finally going in and we're having some organization done to the baby's closet (31weeks).

Our last lake weekend is this weekend and the weather looks perfect for it.  I'm also looking forward to finishing up using our registry completion certificates and getting the rest of what we need (32 weeks).

Friday, August 25, 2017

House Tour: Sneak Peek


After many requests, I have a little peek into our new house today! Come the end of summer on September 1st we'll have been here for three month already, I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  With the baby on the way, it sped up our timeline to get things done - the weeks were busy but we didn't overdo it.  With friends coming into town this past weekend it gave us even more motivation to lift the wall hangings up from the floors and get them on the walls, finish up little projects and things like that.  Our window treatments were installed last week as well as some work being done to the baby's closet was finished too. 

In the coming weeks I'll definitely share posts by rooms with the details for items linked but for today, I quickly snapped a few photos of a little peek inside to a few of our rooms...



The mudroom is a work in progress but we did at least get this little drop table set up with a few decor pieces that made the move with us.


The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms - we spend a lot of time in there and are more fans of eating at the counter as opposed to the table.  While I spent most of my time on the couch during the first trimester I had plenty of time to pick out all my visions so once we were in it wasn't too hard to set up.



Our family room is cozy and I'm looking forward to getting more use out of it come fall/winter - right now we spend as much time as we can outside! 



The dining room was suppose to be one of the last rooms done but with most of the items in it coming from the old house it just took a few new touched to finish it up.



This is another room that wasn't suppose to be done for a while but it's quickly become one of my favorites.  I can definitely see myself enjoying wine and reading in here post baby.   Our conservatory (the room adjoining to it) has a navy theme so I tried to tie that into this room with the pillows and a few other touches which then leads in to our other more neutral rooms.



My office is on the first floor which is a change up from the old house - I just ordered a print to go over that leopard chair and can't wait to get it hung up.  On our to do list for the new year is to put in some built in bookshelves for directly across from the desk.


A work in progress but the conservatory is our "fun room" - it's filled with navy and we have a wall with Penn State hangings and figure it will be our football spot.  



A place we've enjoyed as much as we can this summer - the deck! It stays pretty hot out there until dinner time though because of how the sun hits so we're looking forward to getting more time out there this fall.


And of course - Stella's little space.  We have a gate that we can just prop on the outside if we want to keep her in there or if not she can just come and go - her bed/toy box are in the family room so she does prefer to spend more time out there where we are.



Recently we've been focused on working in the nursery and playroom of course, we've picked out everything for each and are hoping to finish up a lot of them by Labor Day.  Last night we were in our "navy" guest room getting some wall hangings up from Etsy so once September starts things should be dying down around here.


More to come shortly including room by room reveals...

Have a good weekend! xx

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Baby Shower: The Details


Yesterday I shared about the wonderful baby shower that my mom threw over the weekend and I had plenty of questions on the details so I'm happy to share today where a lot of thing are from (many from Etsy!) and more on the specifics.

The dessert table is always on of my favorite aspects to any event and I was so pleased with this one! As obsessed with Stella as I am, I wanted to tie her in so a little "Stella" dog a girlfriend gave me and this mini-golden doodle onsie my mom got me served as decorations.

The cupcakes and cake balls were from a local bakery and the rattle cookies from this etsy shop.  Other details: cupcake toppers (here), table cloth - which is actually a curtain (here), cocktail napkins (here) and cupcake stands (here).


One request was minimum games - I love bingo and it was actually so much fun watching everyone get into it while opening the gifts.  Everyone also filled out a little "baby bucket list" of things we should do during the fist year - lots of fun to read afterwards! Baby bingo (here), baby bucket list (here).


Decorations were kept simple so it was baby shower like but not overly baby like.  My mom picked out the cutest flower arrangements from a local florist featuring navy blue not baby blue and the garland can be found here, the oh boy balloons are here (one of my favorite touches!).


For drinks we had a wide variety so other preggos and myself had some things to choose from.  Water, of course, wines/champagne, lemonade with blueberries and lemons and a baby boy punch - we kept saying the ducks were drunk because they wouldn't stand up.  Water bottle labels (here), oh baby cups (here) and cocktail napkins (here). 


The food was catered from one of our local places with plenty of mini sandwiches, salads, shrimp, appetizers and such to pick from.  These lamb floral arrangements were such a fun surprise - they are currently still going strong in our kitchen but the lamb is a pull toy that the baby can play with! 

Donuts have been one of my favorite things throughout this pregnancy so Krispy Kreme was a no brainer for the favors! Thank you labels (here), babies are sweet, please take a treat sign (here).

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Baby Shower


This past Sunday was my baby shower - I can't believe we're already to this point and have less than two months to go! My mom threw the event and my girlfriends helped out a ton - it was perfect.  Derek, Baby S and I were completely spoiled - we spent last night organizing everything and trying to get it somewhat put away - time to wash, fold, etc.

I'd asked for just an intimate shower so twenty five of my closest friends and family gathered to celebrate and it was such a fun day.  Nothing too "baby" like - a little baby shower bingo while we opened gifts and each lady filled out a "baby bucket list" for us to read after the shower. 


My mom let me help by picking out some of the things and running errands with her and then all us girls headed over early for a little time together having fun setting up and such. I'll share more of the specifics - where things are from, menu, desserts, etc. tomorrow! 


Three days later the "oh boy" balloons are going strong in our family room - They were such a fun touch and I convinced Derek to stop before things started for a few photo opps.


Derek, his brother, my dad and brother and a few guy friends headed out for a nice guys lunch during the shower before coming back to spend a little time celebrating at the end of it.  I'm not one for attention and requested that we do the gifts together which was a lot of fun so we could both see/open everything.  We went back through everything later that night when it was quiet and we could spend a little more time looking.


I'll let the rest of the pictures do the talking - it was such a fun day with so many people showering us with so much love - Baby S. is so loved already! We had friends from out of town staying with us and the whole weekend was a blast - but we've been recovering ever since, ha! I think today I'll finally feel back to myself and caught up on sleep.


Details and some more of the setup tomorrow...