28 Week Pregnancy Update

My friends Stasia and Ryan have been doing these fun little pregnancy updates on their blogs and I have always thought I might like to do it but consistency has never been my strong suit. 

Today I decided there is no harm in throwing one in there even if it’s kinda late to start and I might not do another one. Who’s with me?

Also, the past three week’s pregnancy photos have looked ridiculous and I decided to just leave them out for fear they might land on Awkward Family Photos. Or this blog post. (Please click over to it, it is hilarious.)

So here is a little personal information that you might or might not find interesting to supplement.

Oh and here is a little comparison pic from 24-28 weeks. I thought it would be a good one since I have on the exact same outfit. Just to deal with the elephant in the room, I realize that the “bumps” in the rear and on either side of my mouth are the ones growing most rapidly. It’s ok, I accept myself as I am.

How far along? 28.5 Weeks 

Total weight gain? You wish…

Baby Related Purchases? We haven’t really bought anything ourselves yet, but we might be purchasing supplies for some furniture redo’s for the nursery soon. Does that count?

Movement? A whole flipping lot of movement and I love it. And it is strange. I told Andrew that it feels like when your eye gets a twitch and you can’t control it or you have a muscle spasm, except it’s your whole insides.

What I miss about not being pregnant? Getting excited for spring/summer clothes. Wearing normal clothes. Exercising hard. Not gaining weight. Being able to suck in.

Cravings? Cupcakes. Nipped that one yesterday.

Anything making you queasy or sick? I have been feeling sick in the morning again and I really don’t know why. I usually feel sick if I get too hungry.

Gender? BOY! Goodnight you moonlight ladies… rockabye Sweet Baby JAMES! (Name that tune and I’ll giveaway one free shout out.)

Labor? No, thank goodness. But I get some painful tightness in my tummy when I exercise which might be Braxton Hicks? Maybe?  Maybe not?

Symptoms? Other than occasional crazies I still feel pretty a’ight. I have random days of extreme fatigue that come out of nowhere but they are pretty manageable.

Worries? I worried a little about our 28 week appointment since I measured so big last time. I am still a little worried about the results of my glucose test. I hope those Krispy Kremes didn’t do me in.

Best moments of the week? The baby shower, duh. Also, having a great appointment and finding out that I am measuring right on track now.

Looking forward to? Really getting the nursery together. Mardi Gras parades. The New Orleans baby shower later this month.

Size of baby? By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. 

What’s the baby is up to? He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Disclaimer: I know I keep things kind of light on the blog but in all seriousness, I am so so thankful for almost 29 weeks of healthy pregnancy. I recently came across a forum for women who were due in April like me but are not going to be united with their sweet babies until Heaven one day. It was so humbling and I am so grateful. If you will, please join me in praying for these women. There is a Healer who intimately understands the pain of losing a child. Let's be fountains of His grace. 

The Best Shower Ever

I can already tell I feel tempted to use really dramatic and excessive adjectives throughout this post that may make me sound like I am exaggerating a lot, but bear with me folks... it was just so fantastically ideal! Ha! 

I just had one of the most enjoyable weekends of my life. Some of my sweetest friends threw me a big baby shower in my hometown in Georgia and every moment was like a dream.

I flew home Friday and remembered why I don't like to travel by plane. I wish so badly that I was the type to just hop on a plane like a jet-setter. I really try to fake it in the airport as if its my 23rd flight this year and rolling through security with my purse zipper hung on my sweater is no big deal. But I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

I digress...

I arrived safely with my family, enjoyed some delicious chicken thing at Applebees, and went home and got in the bed so I would be fresh for the shower in the morning.

When I arrived I was greeted by the amazing hostesses; my BFF Katie, her sweet mama, April, and Mandy. Celia couldn't come because she had an unavoidable work thing and we missed her.

Everything looked adorable and smelled amazing! And I'll just go ahead and say I ate 3-12 samplings of each and every food item because it was my shower and I didn't want to leave any room for doubt about how much I appreciated the efforts.

A few of my best friends from college sweetly surprised me and came down from various Georgia locations. It was WONDERFUL to be together as that rarely happens now that we are old and scattered about.

I didn't think our friend Faren would be able to make it because she had been visiting our friend Autumn in Chattanooga, who actually had a baby the day before. So when I looked up while opening presents and saw her standing there with her mama watching me as if she had been in Bainbridge all her life, I almost had a heart attack! They basically drove a billion miles all night/morning from Tennessee to South Georgia for little (big) ole me and I couldn't have been more grateful.

I got to visit with family (who also traveled a stretch to be there) and friends that I rarely see. I have said so many times over the past couple days that I have never felt so loved. 

The gifts were overwhelmingly generous but the company was truly the best. I don't know if it's age, living far from home, or hormones, but I felt more touched by the outpouring of love at the baby shower than I did through all of my wedding events.

I got to spend the whole afternoon after the shower with my girlfriends, laughing and catching up. I really felt like I was in some kind of wonderful dream all day. It was magical.

The next day, as I kissed my family goodbye at the airport, I was moved to tears at just how filled up I felt. It is good to be loved. And I am so thankful that James is being born into a circle of people who love him, Andrew, and myself that is so far reaching. 

I can't believe the whole thing went by so fast. I have been reliving it in my head over and over. I know without a doubt that it will be one of the most special memories I have from pregnancy. What a blessing!

Thankful

I thought it would be nice to link up with my friend Ryan today for Thankful Thursday since I spent yesterday sharing my woes. Not that there is anything wrong with sharing woes. I think it is really important to be real, especially when it comes to pregnancy. We girls tend to do a lot of comparing, self-criticizing, and trying to measure up to false standards set for us on the internet. Hello Pinterest... are those people real? I don't want this blog to ever be a place where I pretend to have all my junk together. 

But I also find it a healthy exercise to frequently count my blessings as they tend to be more numerous than I often realize. So here is a little list of things I am thankful for lately. 

1. I am thankful and flipping excited about my baby shower this weekend at home in Georgia. I can't wait to see so many people I love. I've got some really amazing friends and family. 

2. Our church. We have become a part of a really great church here in NOLA called Edgewater. It can be hard to find a church and we feel extremely blessed to be a part of this one. I could go on and on about it. 

3. Andrew's new job. Andrew got a connection through some new friends at Edgewater and is now working at the New Orleans Country Club. Not what he saw himself doing but a great opportunity nonetheless. We are excited, relieved, and blessed by this unexpected work. 

4. Flying home this weekend. Andrew now works every other weekend and as it turns out his first one is this weekend so he can't come to the baby shower. While I am sad about that, I am thankful to be able to fly home and avoid the long car ride. Thanks Don and Mama!

5. Lastly, I am thankful for the things God is teaching me right now. He has been gently showing me how His love is unconditional and completely unmerited by me. I am finding that there is so much freedom when I stop approaching my faith with a works based mentality and embrace the fact that because of Christ there is nothing I can do to earn or lose God's favor. No amount of prayer, Bible study, or "right living" (although those things are not bad) can make me any more righteous in His sight. 

Grace and grace alone people. 

And isn't it a relief?

... because Ryan is the coolest!

My Favorite Things!

So I’m really thrilled that I am finally prepared for Carolyn’s new link party: My Favorite Things Thursdays! For some reason it was really hard for me to think of my favorite things off the top of my head so I just started noticing what things I use on a daily basis that I feel like I can’t live without (or really wouldn’t want to live without!)

For starters, I really love love LOVE my Camelbak 24oz water bottle. I definitely get a gold star when it comes to water consumption. I kid you not; I have refilled this thing 3-5x per day for the past 2 years. No lie. It has held up beautifully and saved me a bundle on bottled water… not to mention reduced my carbon footprint. Maybe I should get a green star instead.

I also love my Keurig. My in-laws gave it to me for Christmas last year. They totally read my mind because it was the one Christmas present I really wanted but didn’t ask for. Hooray! It is perfect for me because I am the only person in my home who drinks coffee and I only drink 1 cup per day (er… most days). I find that although K Cups are pricier than bags of coffee (and of course I insist on Starbucks which are probably the priciest K Cups around) it works for me because I am not wasting coffee like I did when I brewed in my traditional coffee maker.

And for me, no cup of coffee would be complete without my Stevia all natural sweetener by Kal. I am extremely fortunate that my stepdad owns a health food store so I can stock up on this stuff for free. It took me a while to adjust to the taste of Stevia after being a die-hard Splenda addict but now I can’t even tell the difference.  If you have any questions about Stevia and/or natural and artificial sweeteners just leave a comment. I have some really good resources to point you to!

Last but not least, the only non-food related item is my go-to summer scent, Fan di Fendi by Fendi. My very hip aunt is a VP with Macy’s and gets to do all sorts of cool fashion related things and try all kinds of new products. I am often the beneficiary of said products, namely perfumes, which happen to be one of my favorite things! She gave me this one (along with a Dior eye concealer, score) around April and it has quickly become one of my favorite fragrances. It is so summery and light. My all time favorite ever is Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel but Fendi has pulled in a close second and has definitely been a nice summer alternative. 

If you are still reading at this point, I owe you a debt of gratitude. I never thought I could write so much about 4 silly little luxuries that make daily living more enjoyable but alas… I’ve never really been at a loss for words. Maybe next time I’ll scale it down.

Don’t forget to click over to Silly Happy Sweet and see what other bloggers are linking up!

And because I am very THANKFUL for these tiny things that make life nice, I am linking up with Ryan for Thankful Thursday as well!