Wednesday, August 28, 2013

August Purchases

August Purchases




Old Navy Tank tops: $3.50 x2
Old Navy Chambray Cap-sleeve Dress: $23.06
Banana Republic Leather Link Bracelet: $12.49
Naturalizer Engrid Shoes: $33.89

Total: $76.44

Not too much shopping going on for a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm really kind of freaked out about not having a pay cheque for the next year. I do get employment insurance benefits but it amounts to about half of my normal pay cheque so there will be some definite changes to spending habits. I'm also not sure what is going to happen to my body postpartum. I gained a lot of weight during pregnancy (50 pounds) and have no idea what's going to happen to that when baby comes.

I'm not sure if the dress will be a keeper. I'll give it a few weeks and see how it fits postpartum. It should be ok because a chunk of my pregnancy weight gain went to my thighs. I predict lots of comfy dresses in my wardrobe for this fall until I get back into work-out mode. Dresses are the best for hiding chunky thighs!

The shoes are my birthday shoes. Naturalizer always sends out a $15 off coupon for birthdays so I always get a pair of sandals on super sale.



Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Maternity Style Must Haves

Now that my pregnancy is winding to a close (three more days until my due date), I thought I'd share some of the things that worked and didn't work for me style-wise this pregnancy.

What I loved

Old Navy Rib-Knit Tanks

ON Tank
Lately, I have been wearing one of these tanks tops pretty much any day I am not wearing a dress. They are perfect combined with a stretchy skirt. There were also handy in the spring to layer underneath cardigans and blazers. I wish I hadn't bought any maternity shirts; having a collection of these tanks in different colors would have been sufficient. I did try the Motherhood Maternity tanks as well, which were not ribbed, and didn't like them as much. The ribbing really did a great job in hiding the ugliest bras ever, aka maternity bras. 

Dresses (from Motherhood Maternity and Old Navy)
dress collage

Pants stopped working for me early in my pregnancy as a result of some painful fibroids and passive weight gain to my thighs. That combined with the summer heat made dresses the best option for me. These three are my favorite and are on heavy rotation lately. Usually I am a polyester snob, but my favorite maternity dress (the polka dot dress) is polyester. It is so easy to wear and clean. I recommend  buying dresses in easy- to-wear-fabrics for maternity days.

Maxi dresses and skirts (from Old Navy)

Maxi collage
Wearing a maxi dress or skirt feels like pajamas to me. Since pregnancy is so damn uncomfortable in the first place, it's nice to be able to wear comfy clothes. The two dresses got a lot of wear in the spring and they are not even maternity (I just sized up).

My last maternity must-have is a swimsuit. I'm not going to post pictures of me in my Motherhood Maternity swimsuit because that image does not have to be on the internet. But I recommend to anyone who is pregnant in the summer and has water access, to definitely take advantage of it and invest in a good swimsuit.

 I was in the pool everyday the weather permitted it and it made me feel so good! I could forget about the random aches and pains of baby-growing for a bit. It also  made me feel good to be in a swimsuit that fit properly. I could have tried to squeeze into last year's suit or buy a new non-maternity suit in a larger size but for me it was really worth it to pay the extra money for a well-fitting suit.




Monday, August 19, 2013

38 Weeks - And Then Came the Stretch Marks

38 Weeks

38 Weeks

I've been feeling very unpretty lately. RDog and I are trying to do some "last things as a couple" activities. One of of those things was our last trip to the beach as a twosome. We went for a sunset walk Saturday night and RDog got in paparazzi mode. H got some great shots that made me feel a teenie bit pretty again.

How far along: 38 weeks

Development:  My baby app tells me our little monkey is the size of a bunch of celery but I feel that I am growing a much larger baby that that.

Movement: ALL THE TIME. This little guy never stops. On one hand I never really worry about kick counts because if I stop and think to myself, "when was the last time I felt him move?", he will immediately give me a big thump. It's bad because those big thumps hurt. 

Maternity Clothes:  I'm rotating five maternity dresses right now and a couple of skirts and tanks.

Stretch Marks:  The stretch marks have arrived. They started off last week with a few tiny purple marks and expand each day. My stomach is becoming a purple road map and it makes me sad.

Best moment of my week: I've had two great weekends. My parents came up for one last pre-baby visit two weeks ago. Last weekend was spent doing some last activities before parenthood; a movie date, beach walk, marshmallow cookout and pool day with friends.

Worst moment:  A TMI moment; my first cervical check. Ugggg, apparently, I have a sensitive cervix . . . not fun. 

Sleep:  Not so hot lately. The best way for me to sleep lately has been sitting up and that is not an easy feat. 

Miss Anything:  Sleeping

Food Cravings: Popsicles

Aversions:  None

Gender:  Baby Boy

Symptoms: Baby boy is pushing so hard on my stomach, some days I wonder if I am going to bruise.

Belly Button: It's out

Rings:  On - not swollen yet!

Moody or Happy:  Pretty moody. 

Looking Forward: To meeting my little guy. There's a full moon tomorrow night; hopefully that will get something going.

Friday, August 9, 2013

House Tour - Baby's Room

While I'm counting down the days until I have a baby in my arms and not in my belly, I thought I'd give you a tour of our little one's room.

To give you an idea of what I was working with, here is the before picture.

Before

This was taken before the old owners moved out. The room had hot pink walls and closet doors and a green door. I think this illustrates why you should never let teenagers pick paint colors (we also have a black room courtesy of a teenage boy).

I always knew this would someday be a nursery so I painted it two years ago when we started talking seriously about baby making. I was inspired by a light gray color I saw in the magazine Style At Home. This room had purple and blue accents and I knew it would work perfectly for either a boy or a girl. When I saw one of my favorite home blogs, For The Love of a House, used the same color in her kitchen, I was sold.

Here is the room today.

Baby room

The color is Benjamin Moore's Gray Owl. I also had to repaint the trim because it was not my preferred semi-gloss finish. The doors also got a few coats of Benjamin Moore's Simply White.

We wanted a cozy rug for baby to play on. I know it's too small for the size of the room (baby is lucky to have a huge room and his own bathroom too!) but it's all we could afford right now. On the plus side, it's the softest rug I've ever felt.

Baby room

In this corner, I placed a student's abandoned shop class project that I scooped up on the last day of school. I painted it using Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. I collect milk glass and have found a few old milk glass lamps over the years that I have rewired to be a little less of a fire hazard. Beside the lamp, is a stack of swaddles that I hope baby likes and underneath the table is a basket of stuffed animals that have been gifted to him.

Baby room

We were very fortunate to have RDog's parents offer to buy us the crib and mattress. And they were very patient with me as I picked out the right mattress (no scratchy vinyl please!) It is topped with an organic mattress cover and an Aden and Anais crib sheet. Babies spend so much time sleeping, I wanted to get him the best stuff to sleep on!

In the corner is an old shelving unit that we've had for years. It's traveled from our kitchen, dining room, basement, office to here. I hope to upgrade to a nice locally made bookcase soon (something like this in white). The shelves display some of the gifts he has received.

Baby room

Hopefully, he'll be stylish and like hats.

Baby room

Originally, I wanted a glider that didn't look like a glider, something like this. But again it was out of the budget. We settled on this one from Walmart. It is remarkably comfortable. And because it was less than $200, I won't feel guilty about getting rid of it when baby gets big. It's too ugly to stay in my house forever!

Baby room


This little shelf is one my father built for me when I was a kid to store my cds. We don't actually own a cd player but after a coat of paint, it became the perfect little shelf for books and knickknacks. The basket is from HomeSense and filled with blankets that were received as gifts (the top blanket was crocheted by RDog's mother).

Baby room

On this wall, we have his dresser that my father built me years ago. I upgraded to a new, much larger dresser and gave this one to baby. It needs some artwork above it but I haven't found anything that is just right and baby won't notice for a long time anyways!

My mother was convinced I would not need a designated changing spot and pad, so I compromised and went cheap, picking up a cheap plastic changing pad at Babies R Us. If it turns out we don't use it, it's no big loss. The top drawer holds all the diaper changing essentials. Next to the dresser, we put my childhood table set.

Baby room

I love opening his drawers, looking at his teenie clothes and smelling them too (baby smell is the best!)

Baby room

On the last wall on the room, baby has lots of closet space (lucky kid!).

Baby room

There's lots of room for all the diapers we've been gifted and his bigger clothes.

Baby room

More room for future toy storage. Which is great; this Momma does not like messes!

On the bottom are my hospital bags. I'm ready to get this show on the road!

Monday, August 5, 2013

36 Weeks - Still Pregnant

36 Weeks

RDog's mother called this morning to see how "the mum"  is doing. RDog's response was, "Well, every morning when she gets out of bed she sighs and says 'I'm still pregnant.'" That pretty much sums up how I am feeling lately.

How far along: 36 weeks

Development:  My baby app tells me our little monkey is the size of a coconut but I feel that I am growing a much larger baby that that.

Movement: ALL THE TIME. This little guy never stops.

Maternity Clothes:  I'm rotating five maternity dresses right now and a couple of skirts and tanks.

Stretch Marks:  None yet. My belly is pretty much the only area of my body that still has nice skin so I'd like it to stay that way (please body, cooperate). My early pregnancy eczema attack really did a number on my arms and legs and those scars don't seem  to be fading.

Best moment of my week:  The shower my friend, K,  had for me. I'm a very, very shy person and as a result do not have a lot of friends. I'm very grateful that one day a few years ago, K (a former neighbor) walked across the street, introduced herself, and said, "You look cool why don't you come over for a BBQ." We've been friends ever since. I'm so appreciative of the small friends shower she threw for me. 

Worst moment:  Being hormonal and emotional and slightly crazy most of the time. Seriously, I cry ALL THE TIME.

Sleep:  Not so hot lately. The best way for me to sleep lately has been sitting up and that is not an easy feat. 

Miss Anything:  Ice cream (no dairy for me because of my food sensitivities that have popped up while being pregnant)

Food Cravings: Chocolate chip cookies, lemonade and Happy Meals

Aversions:  None

Gender:  Baby Boy

Symptoms: I'm having a hard time breathing.

Belly Button: Popping out slightly

Rings:  On - not swollen yet!

Moody or Happy:  Pretty moody. Thank goodness RDog has a lot of patience because my moods are CRAZY.

Looking Forward: To not being pregnant