Baby Shower #2

Last Tuesday, my amazing teammates threw me a shower at work. Unfortunately, I didn't get too many pictures of the event but it turned out great. Harper ended up with lots of adorable outfits, a few books, a couple of toys, some washcloths and a towel, another adorable piggy bank, and quite a few giftcards that we will definitely be putting to use!

My amazing teammates!
Taylor (& baby Hopper), me, & Ruth!
Love these ladies!

I'll do better and take more pictures at our next shower!

Dressing the Bump: OOTD

Cardigan: Old Navy

White Tank: Motherhood

Black Dress Pants: Target

Black Flats: Jessica Simpson (Belk)

Scarf: Big Lots

Gray/White Striped Button Down: Borrowed from a friend...not sure where it's from

Black Dress Pants: Target

Black Flats: Jessica Simpson (Belk)

Gray/ White/ Mint Stripe Tee: Old Navy

Jeans: Motherhood

Gray Toms: Aloha Island

Black Tie Neck Blouse: Rue 21

Black Tank: Motherhood

Red Pants: Burkes Outlet

Black Loafers: B.O.C. (Factory Brand Shoes)

34 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 34 weeks

Baby Size: According to my BabyBump app, Harper is about the size of a cantaloupe (yay for another fruit that I recognize!). She should be around 17.5 inches and weigh approximately 4.75 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: Last Wednesday, I found out that I hadn't gained any weight since my prior doctor's appointment that I'd had two weeks earlier. The doctor said from here on out I should be maintaining my weight for the most part and only gain about a pound a week. I informed her the only reason I hadn't gained any weight in those two weeks was because I'd lost about five pounds from food poisoning! haha But I'll trust what the doc says and if I am only going to be gaining about a pound a week, at this point, my total weight gain should be somewhere around 28-30 pounds which should put me right around 35 pounds when I deliver. I think I can live with that!

Maternity Clothes: I'm still mixing it up which makes me so happy and feel somewhat normal! For the most part I stick to maternity jeans and pants but I did successfully wear some non-maternity jeans last week and no one knew! Score! And thanks to the new summer fashions, I was able to purchase some cute non-maternity items over the weekend that are going to serve perfectly for the duration of my pregnancy as well as after. I didn't want to purchase anymore maternity clothes with Harper arriving so soon but I was in need of some more outfit choices. So over the past couple of weekends, I've picked up some cute maxi dresses, maxi skirts, and tunic style tops... most of which came from Old Navy! You can't tell they aren't maternity items thanks to how they are made and I'll be able to get lots of use out of them after Harper arrives. 

Stretch Marks? Still none! Though I'm getting nervous as my stomach seems to get larger and larger by the day! I'm wondering if applying cocoa butter three times a day is a little too much? 

Sleep: I'm back to being exhausted at 7pm each night. I lay down around 8:30ish and usually fall asleep around 9. Then I wake up around 12:30 or 1 and can't fall back asleep. But hey, I'm glad my body is getting me used to this crazy schedule because after a few weeks of it, I've been able to function off of it. So when Harper arrives, looks like those feedings may not wear me out afterall! 

Best Moment This Week: Meeting our precious future son-in-law. Some of our best friends welcomed their second child into the world last Wednesday and we went to see him before our doctor's appointment. It was so surreal to hold him knowing that that will be Harper in our arms in just a few short weeks!

Miss Anything? Normal legs, ankles, and feet! 

Movement: Harper is constantly moving these days. I'm pretty sure we're going to have a gymnast on our hands!

Food Cravings: Just drink! I can't get enough of it!

Gender: A Girl {Harper Londyn Holt}

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Well the acid reflux just won't get out of the picture. Over the last week it's gotten much worse! I wake up several times at night feeling like I'm going to spit out fire! The only other symptom I'm having these days is the continuous swelling of my legs, ankles, and feet. It's seriously gotten out of hand and I can no longer wear my maternity skinny jeans without fear of not being able to get them off at the end of the day. I try to stay off my feet as much as possible while at work (which I might add is next to impossible as a teacher) and I keep them propped up as soon as I get home. I've also been watching my salt intake but none of that is helping. They just get larger and larger with each passing day! 

Belly Button In or Out? It's definitely in. Over the last week, my belly button has practically disappeared. I'm pretty sure by next week, it'll have completely closed over!

Wedding Rings On or Off? On.. Though this past Wednesday, I had to take my rings off because my hands started swelling. But by the end of the day, they'd returned to normal so I was able to put my rings back on. Apparently it was just a fluke because I haven't had any trouble since.

Mood: I'm getting anxious. It's hard to believe Harper is going to be here within six weeks. I remember telling Kevin I was six weeks pregnant. It felt like her due date would never arrive and here we are just weeks away from it!

Looking Forward to: Our baby shower today! My generous coworkers are throwing me a shower after school. I can't wait to see what goodies Harper gets! I'm also super excited about mine and the hubby's babymoon! We'll be heading to the beach next week for one last vacation before Harper arrives!

Dressing the Bump: OOTD

Blue Tee: Target

Black Dress Pants: Target

Black Flats: Jessica Simpson (Belk)

Black Bubble Necklace: Wet Seal

Brown Tee: TJMaxx

Khakis: Target

Brown Tweed Toms: Aloha Island

Scarf: Birthday present

Purple Heather Sweater: Marshalls

Trouser Jeans: Marshalls

Tan Suede Flats: Bandolino (Marshalls)

Green Cardigan: Old Navy

Navy Tank: Forever 21

Khakis: Target

Brown Loafers: Naturalizer (Belk)

Necklace: Body Central

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 33 weeks

Baby Size: According to my BabyBump app, Harper is about the size of a pineapple (yay for a fruit I recognize!). She should be around 17 inches and weigh approximately 4.25 pounds.

Total Weight Gain: I go to the doctor tomorrow and I'll find out for sure. I had gained about 25 pounds at my last appointment but then I lost around five pounds when I had food poisoning. Though from the looks of my swollen lower half, I'd say it's safe to assume I've added all of that water weight back on. So since I'm averaging about a pound a week, I'd say I've probably gained around 27 pounds at this point. But I'll let you know next week!

Maternity Clothes: I'm still able to mix it up. For the most part, I wear maternity clothes to work because they're just more comfortable as I have to bend and squat down a lot to assist my students. However, when I'm at home, I lounge around in all of my t-shirts and pre-prego yoga pants and athetic shorts. Yay for elastic waist bands :P

Stretch Marks? Still none!

Sleep: I've been having trouble sleeping the last few days :( I go to sleep really early and sleep amazingly well until in the wee hours of the morning when I wake up and can't go back to sleep. I guess my body is learning to run on five hours of sleep! 

Best Moment This Week: Having our first baby shower this past weekend! Harper got some of the most adorable things! I can't wait for her to get here so she can use them (:

Miss Anything? Normal looking legs :(

Movement: Harper is still quite the wiggle worm. Though, she still keeps most of her movements to the evening and morning hours. I rarely feel her during the day. Let's hope that isn't an indication of what her sleeping habits are going to be like when she arrives!

Food Cravings: I can't think of anything particular that I had to have this past week! 

Gender: A Girl {Harper Londyn Holt}

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: My acid reflux is still there but thankfully, I can still stop it with Zantac 150. I've also had lots of trouble with my feet, ankles, and legs swelling. My legs look like tree trunks and by the end of the day, my shoes don't fit because my feet are so swollen :( But on the bright side, the doctor says that is the way to be because when Harper arrives, I'll drop half my weight in just a few days when my body sheds all the water. So I'll take the extra water if it'll help me lose the weight sooner :P

Belly Button In or Out? In

Wedding Rings On or Off? On

Mood: Excited

Looking Forward to: Meeting our future son-in-law (yes, Harper's husband has already been picked out for her!). Some of our best friends are having their little boy today at 11:30! We'll be going to see him tomorrow morning before my doctor's appointment. I can't wait to hold him! It's going to be weird holding him though knowing that that will be Harper we'll be holding in just six or seven weeks from now!

An Update on "The Before Harper Arrives" to do list

A few weeks ago, I posted my to do list of things I wanted to accomplish before Harper arrives. I struggled with whether to share it but I hoped that by doing so, I'd be more likely to work on it. Thankfully, I was right and I've done a great job at staying on top of my to do list and I've been able to get quite a few things marked off. Here is currently where we stand!

Harper's Nursery

- Decide on and purchase Harper's furniture (bed, dresser, and chest) (Purchased the Adele Caffe Collection from Babies R Us)

- Decide on and purchase Harper's bedding (Decided on the Cocalo Couture "Delilah" collection and purchased it)
- Decide on and purchase a rocker and glider for Harper's nursery (Hubby's request) (Purchased from a lady on craigslist! Score for a great deal on an unused rocker and glider!)
- Decide on and purchase a wall decal for above Harper's bed (Found an adorable decal on ETSY, purchased it, and hung it!)
- Purchase curtains for Harper's room (decided on red, floor length curtains; purchased them; & hung them)
- Determine what to place above Harper's dresser (Thanks to my friend Lauren, we created a mirror and picture gallery; painted the frames; and it's now hung!)
- Clean out the closet in Harper's nursery

- Install a bottom shelf rack in Harper's closet for two rows of clothing (Thanks to my Daddy for installing a new closet shelf for Harper's closet!)
- Order closet clothing dividers to match Harper's bedding (Purchased from ETSY and placed in Harper's closet)

- Organize and group Harper's clothing by size in her closet and drawers (We've organized and put away all of the clothes that Harper has currently received)

- Decide on what to do with Harper's growing book collection... bookshelf or baskets? (I brought home the cube shelf from my classroom after another teacher so graciously donated a bigger cube shelf for me to use in my classroom)

- Decide on what to keep Harper's toys in... basket or bins on a bookshelf? (Purchased some adorable chalkboard baskets to hold her toys in!)

House 

- Clean out all of our closets and get rid of unused clothes, shoes, and other items (We have officially cleaned out all of our clothes closets and drawers and the items have all been donated!)
- Take a trip to Goodwill or Salvation Army and make a donation of everything unused or unwanted 

- Clean out and organize storage shelves in the garage

- Organize and clean out our two storage buildings

- Deep clean the entire house over Spring Break (scrub and polish floors, wipe down baseboards/window seals/blinds, dust all furniture, vacuum, clean carpets, etc)
- Remove everything from the refrigerator and freezer and wipe down the inside (Our refrigerator and freezer look brand new after I took every.single.item out and wiped down and sanitized the drawers and shelves)
- Clean out freezer, refrigerator, and pantry and throw out old items (After throwing out all of the outdated items, items that have been opened for a while, and items that we just weren't going to eat...we definitely need to make a large trip to the grocery store!)
- Tear down wallpaper in the kitchen and have the kitchen painted
- Have fence and deck stained
- Have yard landscaped

Cars

- Lexus: Have mine washed, waxed, and detailed (closer to Harper's arrival)
- Isuzu: Clean out and have washed, waxed, and detailed (closer to Harper's arrival)
- Mustang: Clean out and have it thoroughly washed
- Corvette: Have it washed (though we won't be driving it for a while! haha)
- Decide whether to trade in the Mustang and Isuzu for Kevin to get a new SUV or keep what we have After much debate, we decided to tune up the Isuzu and drive it until it quits. Then we'll look at trading it and Kevin's mustang in for a new 4Runner or Explorer for Kevin to drive.

Randoms

- Research products to register for (After talking to many of our friends and family who are new mamas, we had a great idea of what essentials to register for, things that were nice to have, and things that just weren't necessary! It made registering so much less overwhelming!)

- Complete Harper's baby registry (I went and registered for Harper with my best friend in January. Since then I've probably added and deleted items twenty five times online but I think I can say that I'm officially done with the registry list!)

- Purchase a professional grade camera  (Hubby purchased me a new NIKON D5100 for Christmas! )

- Pre-register at the hospital (Harper is officially registered at the hospital. We just have to send in her birth certificate information)

- Decide on which baby classes to take and register for them (We are officially registered for a birth and baby class and two breastfeeding classes that we'll be taking in April)
- Take one last vacation before Harper arrives


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Baby Shower #1

Yesterday, Kevin's family hosted our first baby shower at our home. We had such a great turn out and had a great time swapping stories and laughs with some of our closest friends and family. If our shower was any indication, Miss Harper Londyn is going to be spoiled rotten when she arrives. She received lots of adorable outfits that I can't wait for her to wear.. many were complete with adorable accessories like headbands, bows, and hats! She also got quite a few items from her baby registry. We were lucky enough to get our baby monitor, pack and play, high chair, bouncer, activity mat, diaper genie, diaper bag, quite a few packs of diapers and wipes, some cute toys, and some adorable receiving/security/ swaddle blankets! This makes for some happy soon-to-be parents!

Here are some of the pictures from the event!

The yummy snacks and the adorable diaper cake that Kevin's cousin made!
It's a headband and tutu!

Some of our baby gifts!

Me & the Hubs

Harper & Griffin in our bellies! We had to have a bump picture in
case they get married one day! (:

Loved the outfit Auntie Aly bought Harper!

Auntie Aly recording all of the gifts!

Have you ever seen a cuter bag?!

Harper's daddy sure did love this gift!

Daddy, Mommy, & Baby Harper

All in all we feel truly blessed and can't wait for our next shower that will take place in a few weeks! 

Dressing the Bump: OOTD

Coral Tee: Target

Cream Tank: Forever 21

Jeans: Motherhood

Tennis Shoes: New Balance

Fuchsia Cardigan: Motherhood

White Tank: Motherhood

Black/ White Striped Maxi Skirt: Ross

Black Sandals: Mossimo (Target)

Lavender Button Down: Motherhood

Skinny Jeans: Motherhood

Flats: Rue 21

Brown with coral polka dot blouse: Belk

Coral Pants: American Eagle

Brown Mocassins: So Call (Shoe Show)

32 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby Size: According to my BabyBump App, Harper should be the size of large jimaca...whatever the heck that is. It says in everyday terms, she is around 16.7 inches and weighs about 3.75 pounds. From what we found out from our doctor's appointment last week, she's right on schedule with our baby app. She weighed in at 3 pounds and 12 ounces and she's currently in the 76th percentile for her weight. 

Total Weight Gain: Well I'd gained 25 pounds at my appointment last week because I'd retained more water. However, Wednesday night, I came down with food poisoning and spent three days in bed sick as a dog and not eating at all and barely getting a whole glass of drink down a day. With that said, I dropped about 5 pounds, so now I'm back down to about 20-22 pounds after shedding most of that water weight!! 

Maternity Clothes: Well after my bout with food poisoning last week, my maternity clothes are a bit big again so I'm able to go a bit longer with my pre-maternity wardrobe. Even luckier for me is we've had quite a lot of warm weather here in NC over the last week so I've been fortunate enough to be able to break out my maxi dresses and maxi skirts. FYI, they fit wonderfully over pregnant bellies! But despite being able to stretch out my pre-maternity wardrobe for a bit longer, I did break down and spend some birthday money over the weekend on some more maternity tops. I'm sure in the next few weeks my weight is going to be picking back up and I figure I might as well look cute in some of the cute spring fashions. Plus it helped that Motherhood was having a huge buy one get one 50% off sale. I'm a sucker for a good bargain (;

Stretch Marks? I still haven't spotted any! Fingers crossed ladies...fingers crossed!

Sleep: With the exception of having spent three days holed up in bed from being sick, I've actually slept pretty good over the last week. I just hope it continues!

Best Moment This Week: Seeing our little Harper doodle's face! Last Wednesday we had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound scheduled to see Harper. It just so happened to be my birthday and Harper made sure to give me the most amazing birthday present ever. For the first time, Harper kept her hand away from her face and let us get a good glimpse of her precious chubby little cheeks. She even shot us a giant smile! Ahhh! My heart melts just thinking about it! 

Miss Anything? Nothing at this moment! 

Movement: Harper has moved a ton over the last week; though most of her movement occurred while I was sick. Apparently, when you're sick, your baby is expected to move a whole lot more due to all of the noises going on in your belly. I'd vouch that there is complete and total truth to that because Harper didn't sit still for more than five minutes the first day I was sick as a dog! Now that I'm feeling better, she's calmed down quite a bit but she still gives me one of her soccer kicks whenever she thinks I've forgotten about her!

Food Cravings: After being sick, Gatorade was the only thing that made the list this week!

Gender: A precious baby girl

Labor Signs: None since last week!

Symptoms: My acid reflux has made a complete comeback. The Zantac 150 is still working, I'm just finding that I'm having to take it a lot more frequently than I was. I'm also having to keep some TUMS on me again at all times.

Belly Button In or Out? In

Wedding Rings On or Off? On

Mood: Excited

Looking Forward to: Our baby shower this weekend! Kevin's family is hosting our first baby shower at our house this Saturday. I can't wait to see all of the cute things little Miss Harper doodle is going to be showered with!

Dressing the Bump: OOTD

Turquoise Tee: Walmart

Khakis: Target

Brown Loafers: Naturalizer (Belk)

Necklace: Body Central

Charcoal Cardigan: Target

White Tee: Ross or Marshalls

Jeans: Motherhood

Pewter Flats: Sbicca (Ross)

Scarf: Gift

Gray Heather Tee: Target

Black Pants: Target

Black Flats: Jessica Simpson (Belk)

Ruffle Front Cardigan & Tee: Madison Studio (Belk)

Black Dress Pants: Target

Black Boots: Soft Spots (Belk)

Necklace: A boutique in Kernersville (can't remember the name)

31 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 31 weeks

Baby Size: She's about the size of four navel oranges. In everyday terms, she's right around 16 1/4 inches and weighs about 3 pounds and 3 ounces. 

Total Weight Gain: I go to the doctor tomorrow and they'll tell me for sure but I'm guessing close to 20 pounds.  

Maternity Clothes: I'm still just wearing maternity jeans and pants. However, I think I'm going to go do a little shopping tomorrow and pick up a few maternity tops. For the most part, I can still wear most of the shirts in my closet but I know in the coming weeks my belly is going to get huge and I'll feel more comfortable in a maternity top than my pre-pregnancy shirts. 

Stretch Marks? Not a one! I've made it this far without any so I'm hoping I can keep it up!

Sleep: I've been waking up more and more throughout the nights. For the most part, it's due to just being uncomfortable sleeping on my back. A quick turn to my side and I fall right back to sleep. 

Best Moment This Week: We had quite a few great moments this week. The first being that we finished up Harper's nursery! It turned out perfect and I can't wait to do a reveal post as soon as we have our baby showers and get everything stored and put away. Another great moment we had this week was finally getting around to cleaning out the closets and making some trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army. You have no idea what a relief it was for this OCD girl to get her closets organized again! And last but not least, I am happy to finally report that Harper officially has a pediatrician! 

Miss Anything? My feet looking and feeling normal. Over the last couple of weeks, I've had a lot of issues with my feet swelling. Of course it's due to the fact that I teach and am on them all day. I'll be looking forward to the day Harper comes and I no longer have cankles haha

Movement: Harper is quite the wiggle worm. Her movements occur more often now and they are much stronger. I love laying in bed and watching her move all across my belly! It truly is such an amazing sight to see!

Food Cravings: This week it was banana nut muffins and toast with grape jelly. 

Gender: A girl

Labor Signs: This week I started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. They started out mildly at first and then became pretty uncomfortable for an hour or so. But after a few hours, they stopped and I haven't really noticed them since. 

Symptoms: At this point, I'm really only having trouble with swelling in my feet and face. I've tried drinking more water and staying off of my feet and it seems to help. As for the acid reflux and indigestion that I was having all of the time, it's diminished greatly due to taking Zantac 150.

Belly Button In or Out? In

Wedding Rings On or Off? On

Mood: Excited

Looking Forward to: finishing up our cleaning and organizing. We've pretty much accomplished all of the cleaning, organizing, and throwing out unused and unwanted items within the house. Now we just have to tackle the shelves and closet in the garage and our two outbuildings!