35 weeks pregnant and baby shower pictures!

Hey guys! Sorry this post is a bit later than normal... I had a very busy weekend! For starters, I quit my job of almost 7 years on Friday. I was supposed to work until the end of this week, but the foot swelling was getting out of hand, and my boss agreed that it would be better for me to go ahead and go. It was really emotional, and I'm really sad to leave, but I've felt (physically) much better since then! My feet are even back to normal-people-sized feet! I also had my 2 baby showers this weekend... one on Saturday with my family and friends, and one on Sunday at my boss's house with all of the work girls! Since then, I've been busy doing baby laundry and putting away all of the awesome gifts that Zoey got! She is totally set on clothes, diapers, wipes, and other necessities, and I feel a TON better and more prepared! We ordered her swing and carseat/stroller set yesterday, so those should be coming sometime toward the end of this week or beginning of next week. Then, we'll be totally ready!

Picture at my baby shower on Saturday

How far along? 35 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Honey dew melon in weight... 5 1/4 lbs and 18 inches long

Total weight gain: I don't remember what I was exactly at 35 weeks, but as of right now, I'm up 27 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Now that I'm not working, I'm mostly in either nightgowns, or yoga pants and tank tops. So much more comfy!

Stretch marks? Still none on the belly, just other places. 

Sleep: Better this week... I realized that I was kinda forgetting to eat, which was really interfering with my sleep. Once I started remembering to eat dinner, I started sleeping a lot better! I just don't get hungry anymore, which is really frustrating. I have to make an effort to remind myself to eat meals and snack regularly.

Best moment this week? As emotional as it was, leaving my job was a really great thing this week. It really feels like the start of a new chapter in my life... I'm glad I have this time to really get ready for our little girl! And, of course, my showers were amazing! Pictures in a sec!

Miss anything? Walking without being out of breath, being able to sit up on my own, or get up off of the floor without help... I can't wait to get my core strength back! lol

Movement: Lots and lots! She's either really happy, or really frustrated with the lack of space. 

Cravings? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Lots and lots of BH, and they're getting strong. I got a bit dehydrated earlier this week, and they got pretty intense. Yet another thing I have to make a conscious effort to remember... Drink water! 

Symptoms: Still waking up with numb hands... Kinda over that, and I hope it leaves when pregnancy does! The foot swelling has eased up a lot since I've started staying home, thank goodness!

Belly Button in or out? Out!

Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy this week, but emotional about everything. Mostly happy... I think it's had a lot to do with the cooler temps this week!

Looking forward to: Getting the last few necessities before Zoey gets here! I can't believe that I'll be full term in just a week and a half!!

Now for the shower pictures!

My best friend, mom and little sister threw me a shower with all of my friends and family on Saturday. We had a great turnout, with over 30 people!

The presents! This was taken early... There were lots more by the time it was time to open them! Everyone was SO generous!!!

The beautiful diaper cake that my sister made!

My sweet baby sister!

My friends and family made the day so special for me, Thomas, and Zoey!

My sweet best friend did a great job throwing the shower!

My good friend Desiree! :)

The next day, I had a baby shower/going away party at my boss's house! 

The sweet girls that I work with! I will truly miss these crazy ladies!

We had a pool party!

This man has put up with me since I was 19! Or did I put up with him? ;)

Once I got home, the organizing began! And it was nuts! Here's the aftermath of the shower on Saturday:

Notice the somewhat overwhelmed kitty in the mayhem.

My mom, Nannie, and Aunt Cindy all went in together and got Zoey a pack n play! This was essential for us, because she'll be sleeping in our room for the first few months. Thomas and I got it all set up that night, and it's adorable!

See you next week!

34 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 34 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Cantaloupe in weight... 4.5 lbs and almost 18 inches long!

Total weight gain: 22 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yep, and lots of dresses and skirts. 

Stretch marks? Same as always... Hips, and the inside of my thighs. Not getting any worse, and still none on my belly.

Sleep: Bad.

Best moment this week? Nothing fantastic this week... Just still getting everything ready for our little girl!

Miss anything? Decent sleep. Unswollen feet. Doing anything without being out of breath.

Movement: Still lots!

Cravings? Lots of fruit this week... especially watermelon! 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Still lots of Braxton Hicks, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

Symptoms: Pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome... SUCKS. I can't do ANYTHING without my hands going numb, and in the morning my joints are so tight I can barely move my fingers. :(

Belly Button in or out? Out!

Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy this week... It was a good week! I got a nice, long break from work, and we finally got some rain! This week it's supposed to cool down a lot, so I'm sure that will help. 

Looking forward to: My baby showers are next weekend! I really can't wait! I hope I can finally feel prepared, and at least if I'm not, I'll be able to buy whatever else this little girl is going to need! I've put myself on a buying freeze because I know I shouldn't buy things this close to my shower (but I will admit, I  got a few things last week at Target on Clearance!)... I can't wait to have everything ready and in place for our baby girl!!

Also, I did get a bit crafty yesterday.... I made 2 burp cloths and a "taggie"! For pictures, check out my Instagram, over there to the right! :)

33 weeks pregnant!

It's official... We're having a baby NEXT MONTH! In only FOUR weeks, I'll be full term... which means Zoey will be making her grand entrance very soon!! It just got real. :)

How far along? 33 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Pineapple... 17 inches long and over 4 pounds!

Total weight gain: 20-ish

Maternity clothes? Yes, but to be honest, even those are starting to get uncomfortable! I'm wearing yoga pants to work from now on :(

Stretch marks? I've got a new one this week as well... on the part of my belly button that was pierced! Weird.

Sleep: Getting worse... I'm having a hard time getting comfortable now, and I wake up at least twice every night with numb arms and hands. Not to mention the bathroom trips....

Best moment this week? Well... I went into the guest bathroom (the one that will be Zoey's bathroom), and I found a loose corner in the wall paper that needs to come down so I can paint.

I think I won the battle. :)

Miss anything? Bending over, doing anything without getting exhausted, climbing the stairs without feeling like I ran a marathon, being on my feet for more than an hour without feeling like they'll bust from the fluid retention.... I can keep going if you'd like!

Movement: Lots! She squirms around a lot, I guess because she's running out of room.

Cravings? Nothing weird this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Having more and more braxton hicks contractions, but nothing painful.

Symptoms: Still the swollen hands and feet, and heartburn has been rearing it's ugly head. Tums are my friend! 

Belly Button in or out? Out!

Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(

Happy or moody most of the time? Starting to get kind of miserable... I think that's probably got a lot to do with the horrible heat we've had for the last week. The highs have been up toward the 110s, and it doesn't look like we're getting any rain any time soon. (20% chance 5 days next week, but that basically means "wishful thinking".) 

Looking forward to: I have 6 days off after the 4th of July, so I'm excited to take those days to rest, go swimming, and paint/decorate Zoey's bathroom. My shower is in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to that as well, along with my last day of work in 18 days! I'm ready to rest and finish getting everything together for Zoey! 

Zoey's nursery reveal!

Okay, okay... I can't wait any longer. I am SO ready to show off my work on our baby girl's room! Like I said in my last post, it's almost done... save for just 2 more projects. I decided today that it is done enough to finally show off! So, here it is!

The crib! We got her crib at Target for $300, and it converts into a toddler bed, day bed, and full sized bed. We also got the matching dresser! I still need to finish sewing her crib skirt, which will match the curtains.

Her mobile! I saw this idea on a few blogs, and just had to do it for Zoey's room. It's made with tissue paper and yarn. The tutorials I used are here and here! The "Shhh.... baby dreaming" wall decal came from Michael's.

These 3D flower canvases were my most recently completed project. I found 3 big flowers at Joann's that matched the colors of her nursery, and I popped the stems off. I painted 3 8"x8" gallery canvases in coordinating colors, and used the end of a paint brush to  paint white polkadots. Then, I poked a hole in the middle of each canvas, and hot glued the flowers onto each canvas! 

Her closet! We opted to take the doors off (because sliding doors are not very nice to tiny fingers!), and we painted her closet a pretty avocado green! 

The frame collage. This is one of the projects that needs to be completed. I'm going to paint a tree for the bottom right frame, and I'm working on a cross stitch birth announcement for the bottom left frame. As for the top 3 frames, they're still to be decided on. The big funky mirror in the middle was purchased at Target for $20, and painted white. The oval frame on the bottom has my hand print and Thomas's hand print, and will be finished off with Zoey's little tiny hand print after she's born. I would love to take credit for that wonderful idea, but I totally jacked it from Kate! I fell in love with her sweet African-themed nursery for her baby girl... Who just so happens to also be named Zoey!

Dresser/changing table. The blue flowers came from Michael's. The canvases were decorated by me.... The birds were pulled from her crib quilt fabric (which you'll see in a minute), and the letters were done with my Cricut Expression 2 and the "Straight from the Nest" cartridge. The letters came from Hobby Lobby. They were unfinished wood, and I painted them with the same paint used for the closet.

Curtains were made by me with 2 of the coordinating fabrics from the collection that I used as inspiration for her room. The collection is called "Baby Birds" from Joann.

Crib pillows! I used the nursery fabric, as well as some odds and ends that I had laying around the craft room. I found the tutorial on Pinterest... You can find it here!

Crib quilt, made by mommy! Also, the shaggy rug came from Target!

Bow board! My friend Krystal and I found the frame for $7 at Goodwill.. We de-constructed it, spray painted it, covered the cardboard backing with bating, fabric, and ribbon, and hot glued the crap out of it! I also made all of her flowers... I think she needs some more! :)

And her shelves. I bought them in a set of 3 at Target. The bird houses came from Joann for $1 a piece, and I painted them in the coordinating nursery colors. The green bird came from Michael's, as well as the block Z. The cute Ultrasound picture frame came from Hobby Lobby... It says "Love at First Sight". I still need to put one of her pictures in it!

A quick note about the paint colors, in case you're wondering how I got the perfectly-matched colors.... Paint samples at Lowes! They're $3... Krystal and I took the crib quilt to Lowes, matched up some paint chips, and got paint samples in the coral, baby pink, mint green, and sky blue! They have definitely come in handy! 

I hope you love her sweet, girly room as much as I do... I'm really proud of the way it turned out! As my mother in law says, "It's done... No room for anything else but Zoey!"

32 weeks pregnant!

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby is the size of a: A large jicama

Total weight gain: 19 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yep, and lots of dresses!

Stretch marks? I found a few new ones on the insides of my thighs, but like the ones on my hips, they're very light. 

Sleep: Pretty good, for now.

Best moment this week? Getting more done on Zoey's nursery... only 2 small projects left! It looks so precious... I can't wait to show you all! 

Miss anything? Bending over. Lol

Movement: Lots and lots!

Cravings? Strawberry cheesecake ice cream. :)

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Nada, though I'm having more braxton hicks recently.

Symptoms: My feet have been very swollen lately, so I invested in some compression socks to wear to work. Also, my hands are now tingly when I wake up, which I've heard/read is pretty normal. Still freaks me out though.

Belly Button in or out? Out for sure.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing Zoey's nursery, my last day of work in just 25 days, my baby showers in a few weeks, and our little girl's big debut! 

31 Weeks Pregnant

Holy crap! Can you believe there is only 9 weeks left??! (Well, hopefully just 9 weeks... I'm being hopeful. She'll probably come fashionably late. "It's an estimation, not an expiration.") I really can't wait to see her!

(Does this shirt look familiar? That's because I have it in 3 colors. ;)  )

How far along? 31 weeks! Single digit countdown!

Baby is the size of a: (the weight of) 4 naval oranges! Almost 3 and a half pounds and over 16 inches long.

Total weight gain: almost 19 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Stretch marks? Still just a few, but nothing on the belly.

Sleep: Actually sleeping really well... I doubt this will continue for much longer, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

Best moment this week? Lots of fun things this week... Thomas woke up in the middle of the night and got to feel one of Zoey's 2 am parties... It was the first time he got to REALLY feel  her jump all over the place! I woke up at 4 and both of his hands were on my belly. He was so excited!! I also have started making the thank you notes for my shower with my Cricut... They're SO cute! I will post pictures of them AFTER I send them out! And one more fun thing, we went to Build-a-Bear and made Zoey a buddy!

After we took our sweet little bear home, it was only appropriate to dress her up in some of Zoey's clothes! :)

See more pics on Instagram... Elbylol

Miss anything? Not really, other than the usual (like sleeping on my belly!) I'm enjoying being pregnant!

Movement: She's all over the place! Thomas got to feel her hiccups last night!

Cravings? Nothing weird... 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Nope!
Symptoms: The swelling has worsened in the last week, especially in my feet! I officially can't wear my Toms anymore (wahhhhhh!) but my awesome MIL bought me some Mary Jane Crocs to wear to work for the next month. Ugly as hell, but they'll give me plenty of swelling room so hopefully my feet won't be SO miserable!

Belly Button in or out? Out, and getting more "out" day by day!

Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!

Looking forward to: Painting her closet today, my baby shower in about a month, and not working anymore in a month! And of course, I can't stop thinking about meeting our little Zoey!

29 and 30 week pregnant, and some maternity photos!

I'm really sorry that I missed last week's post... I had a picture taken and everything, but I didn't have my SD card in my camera, and I couldn't find my cable. Luckily, today I figured out how to copy them from the camera to the card, so I was able to get it! So, today's post is a double post... a 29 week picture, along with the 30 week picture and questions. Also, at the end of the post, you'll see a few of my beautiful maternity pictures taken by my lovely friend Anna! There will be a link to her blog below with all of the pictures that she took for us on Friday!

Our 29 week picture was taken on the day that we celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee... the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. My husband's family lives in England, and since my MIL is in town visiting with us right now, she missed the big celebration over there... so we had a party here instead! Complete with British-esque foods, tacky British decorations, and good fun with family and friends! It was really a blast!

Now, for 29 weeks. Here's one of our maternity pics... I'll include a few more at the end!

How far along? 30 Weeks... Only 10 weeks left! I can't believe it!

Baby is the size of a: head of Cabbage... 3 pounds, and almost 16 inches!

Total weight gain: 17 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes, and loving it! I don't think I'll ever wear regular pants again!

Stretch marks? Still just a few, but nothing on the belly.

Sleep: Sleeping well! For the last week or so, I haven't even woken up to go to the bathroom! Whoa!

Best moment this week? So many good ones this week! My MIL is in town, so we've had fun with her. I have also gotten a lot of work done on her nursery, with only a few small projects left until it's all done! Also our maternity pictures on Friday were a blast!

Miss anything? Wine, and sleeping on my belly.

Movement: After taking a few breaks, she's been SUPER active! A few people have gotten to feel her roll under their hands, and my cousin and step-sister-in-law got to feel her hiccups!

Cravings? Nothing out of the ordinary. (My husband swears that I've been craving Choco-Tacos, but I think that was more "power of suggestion" than anything, because he just wouldn't shut up about them until he found a box and brought them home. Maybe HE is the one having the cravings!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Labor signs: Nothing out of the ordinary... still a few Braxton Hicks here and there, but nothing super uncomfortable.
Symptoms: I've started swelling up if I stay outside or on my feet for too long... My hands and feet get very swollen very quickly, followed by my ankles, which have now learned a nifty disappearing trick.

Belly Button in or out? I think we can call it officially OUT! The bottom part is still flat-ish, but the top half is definitely out. I'm going to have an outtie by the end of this!

Wedding rings on or off? I retired my wedding rings to my jewelry box just a few days after my last post. It was just getting too hard to  get them on and off, and I didn't want to take the chance of them getting stuck. I did get them on for my maternity pictures, but they were SCARY tight by the end. I had been wearing my husband's "engagement ring"... a silver band that I got for him to wear while we were engaged, but even that got tight. My mom gave me a pretty fake one that she had to wear while her rings were in the shop recently, and they're very loose, so I'll be sticking with these hopefully until the end!

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing up her nursery, my shower in about 5 weeks, my career change in about 6 weeks, and of course, my sweet baby girl's arrival! Here's hoping the next 10 weeks go as fast as the last 30 have!

As promised, here are a few more maternity pictures!

You can see more of Anna's beautiful work, as well as the rest of the pictures from our maternity session, at www.annamichellejohnson.com. Also, I joined Instagram this week! Follow me, elbylol! 

See you next week!