36 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain: I've gained a total of probably 30-ish pounds. I'm amazed at that number! Other than the obvious weight gain in my stomach, my body has pretty much stayed the same...I'm sure I'll realize where all the extra weight is all "hiding" after the baby is born.

Maternity clothes? Holy cow yes! Now that I am am almost done and am the biggest I've even been I find that stretchy yoga pants and my biggest lounging t-shirts are the most comfortable, although even those are getting to be on the constricting side! Gah!

Stretch marks? Unfortunately yes. I had some on my sides and those have gone up in number and I did find a couple small ones next to my belly button the other day....sad! I broke down and bought some Bio-Oil the other day. I know I'll probably get more stretch marks, but I'm hoping the Bio-Oil will at least help a little!

Sleep: As with the rest of my pregnancy some nights are better than others. I wake up quite often to adjust sleep positions, which is either my right side or my left side, both are uncomfortable. I'm a tummy sleeper and I can't wait for this lil babe to be here so that I can get back to sleeping on my tummy, when I can get some sleep. More and more often though I am getting only a few hours of sleep during the night and then just rest or take naps during the day.

Best moment this week:  This week when I went to the doctor she was very pleased with the way he sounded, the amount of weight I've gained, and really enthusiastic about my last few weeks. It made me feel great to know everything is going well! I also have gotten a couple massages over the past few weeks and they have been a true God send!

Miss anything? I miss being able to bend over comfortably, for example: shaving, picking up the socks off the ground, tying my shoes, pulling up my pants, getting a good wipe (ladies you KNOW what I'm talking about), sitting at the computer, and the list could go on.

Movement: Very much so! There are days where he is a bump on a log and then there are other days where he is a little ninja. His favorite place to hang out is up in my ribs. I've realized when he starts getting kick crazy, all I need to do it rub my belly, or essentially him, and he will calm down and quit gettin up in my grill!

Food cravings: No dire cravings, but if I see something that looks good I can't NOT get it or else I will crave it!

Anything making you queasy or sick: This pregnancy I haven't had any trigger smells or anything and I'm far enough in that most of that queasy feelings have dissipated. I have, however, been having monster cases of heartburn! :(

Gender: It's a boy! Can't wait to meet my little prince!

Labor signs: Now, since this is the first time I've had to really pay attention to whether or not I've got labor signs I'm going to have to say no. I've been having cramping, but at random times and for no significant period of time. Braxton Hicks I'm sure, but nothing to really note.

Symptoms: This past week I think I reached a "special" point in my pregnancy. For the majority of my pregnancy I've been very level headed and haven't had too many emotional ups and down, but this last week ended that. Most of the time when I'm home I don't know what I want to do, to make, to eat, anything. On top of that there are times when all I want to do is just cry....for no reason at all, just cry. Weird! Still no bloating or swelling, thank heavens. I have raging heartburn, mostly at night. I have been very forgetful lately, coming up with simple words is a constant battle and it is only getting worse! It is getting harder and harder to reach something on the floor or get up off the couch! 

Belly button in or out? For now, the majority of my belly button is in, but there is a small part that is beginning to protrude a little bit...it sure is putting up a good fight!

Wedding rings on or off? AHHH!! I've been dreading this question! I had to take my wedding ring and my other ring off and replace them with bigger sized rings. That lasted all of a week and now my fingers are screaming at me to take off all rings all the time! Bummer!

Happy or moody most of the time: I am happy most of the time, but I did mention before that I'm always in a crying mood. I have noticed that I am a little snappier than usual. Sorry Jordan! :(

Looking forward to: In a week I will be having a second baby shower and I am SO excited for that! I'm excited to see what we get so that we can finally put the finishing touches on the nursery! My mom will be flying down in 2 weeks 6 days.....yes, I'm counting down!! She will be here for 10 days and I could not be happier, it will be the longest period of time I've spent with here in probably 2 years at least. And finally, I am so excited for this little baby boy to come. Very frequently I find myself turning to Jordan and saying "isn't it crazy we are going to have a little baby?!" I say it so often because I am still blown away at how very soon there will be the 3 of us, not 2, but 3!! It really is mind blowing!

Busy Little Bee

Over the past month or so I have gone baby crazy. I've been making all sorts of different things I'm going to need for when baby comes!

Project 1: A Diaper Bag

Front View

 Back View

Inside and Side View

I used a Simplicity pattern that I got on sale for .99 cents. I needed 1.5 yards of both the outer fabric and the liner fabric, and accent ribbon. I already had on hand elastic and thread. In total, this bag cost me about $12 and about 5 hours of time. 

Project 2 : A Nursing Cover

 Front View

Secret Pocket View

I had to share the pattern of the fabric because I am just so in love with it!

For this I also used a Simplicity pattern that I got for .99 cents! The great thing about Simplicity basic craft patterns is that there are 5 or 6 patterns in one envelope! This pattern was basically a square, but I used the pattern just to make sure I got everything cut straight. All I needed was 1 1/4 yard of fabric of the patterned fabric, 1 yard of the liner fabric, 1/4 boning, and 1 package of 1 in. D rings. This project cost me a total of $10 and about 1.5 hours of time. 

Project 3: Panel Book

Front View

Inside View

I swear, sometimes it is a bad thing I work at a craft store! This came up to the cutting counter and when I saw the price of $2.99 for a single panel, I just about died. I have been wanting to make one of these panel books for a long time, but I just couldn't justify $9.99 for a single panel/book, no thanks. Like I said, I picked up the panel for $2.99 (plus my employee discount), I already had interfacing, batting and thread. So, this project cost me $2.50 ish and about 1.5 hours to complete.

Project 4: Baby Bow Ties

I saw this tutorial on Pinterest and HAD to make some lil bow ties for my lil guy! The tutorial is very easy to follow, totally doable even if you don't have a sewing machine! I didn't buy any new fabric for this project, I used my scraps for each and every bow tie I made! Once I got the hang of making them it took me about 10 minutes to whip one together.

Project 5: Baby Blessing Outfit

To make this cute little vest I used this tutorial. The vest looks complicated and time consuming to make, but I promise you it ISN'T! For this project I already had the buttons and all the fabric I needed so again, this project was something I made purely from my scraps! The vest probably took me 30-45 minutes to whip together. This was such an easy project and I can't wait to make more for all occasions.

New Recipes

Since getting pregnant I have been TERRIBLE about cooking new recipes and for that I apologize! I have been very focused on work, getting things ready for the baby, and really just taking things nice and slow. Despite these distractions I have tried a couple new recipes...here are a couple we thought were delicious!

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake

Source: Step by Step Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) box Penne pasta noodles
• 2 (10 ounce) containers Alfredo sauce
• 1 cup sour cream (I substituted Greek yogurt!)
• 1 (15 ounce) container Ricotta cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions: 

Boil Penne pasta in a large pot of water, according to package directions. Drain water, and then return pasta to pot. Add all the remaining ingredients, except for the mozzarella cheese. Stir together to combine and then pour mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle the top evenly with the mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy

Breakfast Bake

I really like this recipe because it is so darn easy!

Ingredients:

• Meat (browned Italian sausage, cubed ham, bacon...you choose!)
• Veggies (red and green bell peppers, spinach, green onion, yellow onion, cilantro, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, etc.)
• potatoes (I used half a bag of frozen hashbrowns for one 9x12 pan, but you could also dice your own potatoes or make your own hashbrowns for the base of the dish, whatever you prefer.)
• a dozen eggs
• milk
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your 9x13 pan with an anti-stick spray.

Your first layer will be the potatoes, so add those to the bottom of the pan. You can have as much or as few potatoes/hashbrowns as you want, personal preference people! Layer your meat on top of the hashbrowns, again..you choose the amount of meat you want. Next, you will want to chop your veggies. Again, you may use as many or as few veggies as you want. The list I put in the ingredients is just a list of suggestions...to be honest, I just used what was in my fridge! Once you have your veggies layered on, start cracking your eggs. For a 9x13 pan 12-14 eggs is perfect, if you are not cooking for a family of 4+ you can slim it down to a 9x9 pan and use 6-8 eggs. Your eggs will rise as they bake so you DO NOT want to fill your casserole pan to the brim!! Crack your eggs in a bowl and start scrambling. Add a little bit of milk to your eggs (1/4 or less), just to add a little liquid for your potatoes to soak up (don't want it dry!) and to make the eggs a little fluffier. Once your eggs are scrambled, dump your egg and milk mixture over top of the hashbrown-meat-veggie layers. Season with salt and pepper.

Slide in your oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese, bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melty. Enjoy!

**The next time I make this breakfast bake, I'm going to add a little bit of salsa into my egg mixture just to give it a little something extra!

I know it sounds crazy, but you could also try mixing in a little ranch with the eggs, that would be yummy too!

32 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along? 32 weeks

Total weight gain: I've gained a total of probably 25 pounds. I'm amazed at that number! Other than the obvious weight gain in my stomach, my body has pretty much stayed the same...I'm sure I'll realize where all the extra weight is all "hiding" after the baby is born.

Maternity clothes? Holy cow yes! I got quite a few tops, a couple pairs of pants, and a couple skirts and wow, they make a huge difference. With normal people clothes I felt restricted, but with the ultra stretchy maternity clothes I can actually be semi comfortable.

Stretch marks? No new ones! I had a couple on my side area and those have darkened, but thankfully no new stretch marks.

Sleep: As with the rest of my pregnancy some nights are better than others. I wake up quite often to adjust sleep positions, which is either my right side or my left side, both are uncomfortable. I'm a tummy sleeper and I can't wait for this lil babe to be here so that I can get back to sleeping on my tummy, when I can get some sleep.

Best moment this week: Now that my prince is getting big, Jordan can feel him on a more regular basis. It is also exciting to have others, mainly family, feel him move around and kick! 

Miss anything? I know how this sounds before I say it, but I miss being able to see my feet. I know I am getting bigger for a good reason and that I will get "back to normal" soon enough, but I miss just having a normal body. I miss sleeping through the night.

Movement: Very much so! There are days where he is a bump on a log and then there are other days where he is a little ninja. Some times I forget that I am pregnant and then he squirms around and I get excited to meet him all over again.

Food cravings: No dire cravings, but if I see something that looks good I can't NOT get it or else I will crave it!

Anything making you queasy or sick: This pregnancy I haven't had any trigger smells or anything and I'm far enough in that most of that queasy feelings have dissipated. I have, however, been having monster cases of heartburn! :(

Gender: It's a boy! Can't wait to meet my little prince!

Labor signs: Occasionally I'll have some Braxton Hicks contractions, but no real labor signs.

Symptoms: Still no bloating or swelling, thank heavens. I have been losing a lot of hair, and in general my hair is limp and lifeless...bummer! I have raging heartburn, mostly at night. I have been very forgetful lately, coming up with simple words is a constant battle and it is only getting worse! It is getting harder and harder to reach something on the floor or get up off the couch! 

Belly button in or out? For now my belly button is in...it sure is putting up a good fight!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy! I've been really motivated lately to work as hard as I can to do my part in the finance department so I'm trying to stay focused on the reasons why I'm working so hard and so I'm staying happy.

Looking forward to: We have passed a lot of our "mile markers" (aka 10 week appointment, listening to the heartbeat for the first time, finding out the gender, announcing to family and friends) and so I'm really just trying to enjoy the little things. Jordan and I have become much closer as a couple the last few months and together we are enjoying our last few months as "newlyweds" and finding the joy in the small things.

Jordan and I will be working on a couple big projects here soon, namely getting our headboard finished up and also getting the baby's nursery all put together. I'm so excited to have a room to put the baby's stuff instead of stuffed in a closet!

27 Week Pregnancy Update

Every day I am "filling out" more and more...oh the joys of pregnancy. My little guy is getting strong and expanding his kicking and punching range to include my lungs now! Although I don't enjoy the overall discomfort of being pregnant, I do enjoy knowing that he is in there and that good things are coming from the discomfort.

Our Thanksgiving

This year was a really enjoyable Thanksgiving for me! Most years I have gotten together with a bazillion people and had a gigantic meal and then slept, but this year was a little different for me.

First off Jordan and I were able to sleep in and really get up at our leisure, and recently that has been rare. After we woke up and ate a little breakfast we bummed around the house, showered, and headed out to his aunt's house where the main festivities were taking place. Once we got to Aunt E's house we ate linner (lunch/dinner) and then just chatted with everyone. It was a smaller group of people including J's parents, two sets of cousins, and of course Aunt E and her immediate family. It was sad that some of the family couldn't be there, but it was a nice size group. J's family is gigantic and whenever there are family get togethers I have some anxiety about meeting them all and remembering names and everything, so I really liked that I already knew everyone and was able to easily "make my rounds" of chatting with everyone and the fact that the meal was DELICIOUS was also a bonus!

After dinner and digestion, J and I left Aunt E's house and headed for my grandparents house about a half hour away. When we got there they had just cleaned up dinner and were relaxing and chatting, so we joined in that for a little bit before we dug into pie. My dad and his little family flew into town, my aunt's family, and my grandparents were all there and so it was nice to catch up and hear all the new things going on in each of their lives. Once pie and tea were cleaned up some family pictures had to be taken...here are a couple of my favorite.

This is the cute pumpkin pie my sweet Omo made. I love the cutout on top!

From L to R: Aunt Heidi, Glen (cousin), Jordan (my handsome husband), me, my Dad

From L to R: Opa (grandpa), Omo (grandma), Jordan, Me and Baby Lott, Dad, Brittany (my dad's step-daughter), Michaelle (my dad's wife), Uncle Greg, Aunt Heidi

Overall it was a wonderful celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, the only thing that could have made it better would have been to be able to see my mom and siblings. I did get to chat with them on the phone, so I was with them in a way. :)

During the month of November I was given many opportunities to review the past year and really reflect on and recognize the blessings in my life. I am grateful for the Lord and His hand in my life. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that continually gives and pushes me to be a better Christian and person in general. I am grateful for my husband, in all his glory. He and I have become a much stronger couple over the past year and each and every day I am grateful for his tenacity and ambition to be better, for his every glowing positive attitude, and his dedication to living life to its fullest. Although I have not met this little baby inside me, I am grateful for him and his movement and kicks. I am grateful for a loving family that supports me and allows me to be me. I am grateful for a warm home and hot food on the table. I am grateful for my job. I am grateful for my talents, meager as they may be. My list could go on and on, but these are the things I am continually and exponentially grateful for.

DIY Cloth Wipes

For quite awhile now I have been thinking about and researching cloth diapers. I've been excited about how much money they save and the numerous pros they have for the child ( fewer diaper rashes, help with potty training earlier, etc.). It has been so interesting looking at different diaper brands and all the different versions of diapers, I have learned so much, but I won't go into that now.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a video laying out the top 5 best accessory type things to have to help make the cloth diapering lifestyle easier/better. One thing the video talked about were cloth wipes and I thought that that was a genius idea! I waited until the flannel at JoAnn's was on sale and then I took the leap and bought some to make my own cloth wipes. Here is a quick overview of what I did and how they turned out.

I bought a quarter yard (9 inches) of about 12-13 printed flannels and 3 solid flannels which ended up being about $12 in total. I figure if I don't like the whole cloth wipe thing there wasn't a huge investment in them, no harm, no foul. Once I got home with the fabric I pre-washed it to get any of the shrink out.

After everything was all washed and dried, I measured and cut my fabric. I did 8x8 squares, with a couple smaller and larger pieces to use up my fabric. I was able to get about 5 squares with each quarter yard. I tried to use two of the same printed flannel for one wipe, but there were a few odd pieces that I backed with a solid color flannel.

Once all my squares were cleaned up and cut I sewed two squares right side together.

Once all THAT was done, I turned them all right side out, pressed them, and sewed a little edging on to give them that polished look.