5 Months!

Another month has flown by and this little nugget is now 5 months old.

 

Pass the tissues!

 {and in fact, Sweet P is actually 22 weeks at this point, but I haven't edited those photos just yet!}

In some ways it feels like time is flying but it also feels like she's been part of our lives for much, much longer (though I guess if you count womb time, she has!)

We had lots of things going on this month and lots of new milestones!

One of the biggest developments is that Sweet P can now roll from her tummy to her back!

We're still working on back to tummy, but I'm happy with tummy to back for now ;) I'm not sure if she really wants to roll or just dislikes being on her tummy so much. Either way, it is super fun to watch!

At her 5 month appointment, P weighed in at 15lbs and 25 3/4". 57 percentile for weight and 72 for height. Not off-the-charts considering how big everyone tells me she is...but I think she's just perfect. Naturally.

Another milestone came just the other day...Sweet P got her first tooth! And is in the midst of her second one. On the morning of July 4, she grabbed my finger to suck on (as per usual) and I felt a tiny tooth poking through on the bottom! The crankiness of teething started in full effect and we realized that she must be getting a second one on the other bottom side. I haven't been too forceful about trying to see them or sticking my finger on her gums since she seems to be quite uncomfortable. Instead we're doing more bottles than breastfeeding (nursing seems to really hurt), infant acetaminophen, and lots of extra snuggles (to which I happily obliged!). Here's hoping this phase will end soon for a while!

This past month has brought lots of new things. We took Penelope on her first camping trip! My aunt and uncle host a huge campout at their property in Pennsylvania every year. Though I use the phrase camping loosely...Shaun and I tented it while P rested easy inside the house with my parents. Still, we spent lots of time outdoors and Penny had a ball.

We also baptized Penelope last week. Ill have a full recap on that soon, but Penelope was a champ for the entire event. She loves baths so I had a feeling she would be a rock star at the baptismal.

P is still doing the nightly pacifier cry, but getting closer to grabbing it back by herself. She is still loving Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and continues to enjoy Motown sounds, along with Frankie Valli. Oh! And I finally invested in a baby carrier! Penelope is loving the Beco Baby Carrier Gemini (I chose the Stella Black to keep things gender neutral for any future kiddos! I really loved the Luca though.). She can face in or out and most importantly, can look around and see everything, which she loves. And it's pretty comfy and not too harsh on my back either.

So that's how things are shaking out at 5+ months! Everyday brings new things and more fun!

40 Weeks + the Final Nursery

Well it's officially official.

Today I'm 40 weeks pregnant.

And in case you didn't know...today is supposedly the day! At least according to my pregnancy app.

 

Though my doctor told me that only about 5% of women go into labor on their due date (can that be true?!), I am still holding out hope that I'll have a January baby. She's got about 36 hours to make it.

Mostly, I continue to feel really good. Shaun and I have been staying pretty local. We spent the last weekend putting the finishing touches on the nursery and eating brunch. Lots of pancakes happening for this lady. And somehow, I'm back on bananas.

I am seriously going to miss eating whatever I want.

I think the most exciting part is that we finally finished the nursery! I'm so excited to share our finished photos with you. This weekend, we hung up some artwork, attached the changing pad to the dresser top and put on all of the finishing touches. Of course, there is still a little more work to do once she arrives (like hanging a wall applique of her name), but I think for right now, we are pretty set. So here goes!

If you recall, months ago I had whipped up this little nursery moodboard to get some inspiration for how I wanted the room to come together:

I'm thrilled to report that most of this came to fruition!

So without further ado, here is the {almost} final nursery! And I'm going to let the photos do the talking...

So there you have it. Our final nursery! I seriously love it so much, I often just head on in there to admire it all. And of course, we've got a pretty awesome closet all set up for her too.

We've got everything all set and ready...we just need a baby! I'll be sure to keep you all posted in the coming days with any news :)

Thanks for all of your well wishes and kind words over the last 9+ months. It has meant the world to Shaun and me!

34 - 35

Well...today I'm officially 36 weeks pregnant.

Gulp.

I know that every one of my pregnancy posts starts out by saying how fast time is flying, and though this one is no different, I do feel as though I've been pregnant for a loooooong time and am entering into the 'let's do this already' phase.

As Shaun keeps saying, 'there's definitely a baby in there.'

How I'm Feeling

Overall, I'm still feeling pretty darn good. Huge, but good. I get tired quickly and continuously switch between needing to sit and needing to stand when I get restless. I have started some new symptoms over the last couple of weeks.

Swelling. Ugh. I've been so lucky thus far to not really have had any swelling...until now. My hands feel continuously swollen and I really hate that feeling. Almost like sausages stuffed into a too-tight casing :( I'm trying to down as much water as possible and am also trying to not get too warm as that also seems to aggrevate the situation.

Contact lenses. Somehow, I went from not being able to wear my contact lenses at all to being able to wear them a little bit. This is an exciting development! My eyes still do get dry, but I can comfortably wear them to go out for a little while or to a party or something.

Heartburn. Ack. I've never had heartburn in my life, and here it is, creeping up at me at random times. I haven't found a rhyme or reason to why or when it's going to happen but am looking forward to starting my post-holiday detox today in hopes that will help. Last night I woke up around 4 with raging heartburn. Here's hoping I can get that under control.

Serious stuffiness. Ok, I feel like I haven't been able to breathe in weeks, especially at night. My sinuses are constantly swollen, making it so tough to breathe at night. I've been sleeping next to the vaporizer which seems to help a bit...but it's still not great. I know that the wintertime makes this a situation in itself, but I'm blaming pregnancy for my overly-stuffed sinuses, which in turn causes some major sleeping issues.

Sleep is getting less and less by the day. I'm ok with it though...I sort of think it's like mother nature prepping me for many a sleepless night to come.

And with all of that in mind? I still overall feel ok and just excited to meet my baby girl! I know that all of these weird symptoms will feel like a distant memory very soon.

How I'm Getting Ready

The nursery is so close to being finished. We've got the crib, changing table and dresser all set up. Her closet is almost totally finished. We have some little things to do, like finish washing baby clothes, hang artwork and organize a few more things. 

I've also been working on picking out Baby H's going home from the hospital outfit! We received so many gorgeous outfits for her and I can't wait to dress her in them all. Right now, I'm thinking of this blue floral gown that my parents gave us for Christmas. Blue is my favorite color and I am so excited to see her little self in this pretty number:

Though I'm thinking we may need to go with a pink hat so that she looks like a girl :) 

Oh and with that in mind, I'm starting to work on my hospital bag, including things for the baby. I plan to bring some receiving and swaddling blankets, some hats and onesies, and stroller/car seat blankets for the chilly ride home. Moms out there - what do I need for the baby in the hospital? Some people say nothing, and others have told me to bring lots of stuff...I'd love some recommendations!

Lastly, we also decided on a little sleeper for our bedroom for the first few weeks. After a LOT of research, I purchased the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper:

I love that it's small (perfect for our limited space), on an incline, can fit right next to the bed and is easily folded and portable. And the fact that it looks like a soft little lamb is just the icing on the cake. Eeee, it makes my heart melt just looking at it!

I looked into pack 'n plays w/bassinets, actual bassinets, and more but was super excited to come across this great mix of all of the above. Thanks to my friend Carly for the recommendation! I'll be sure to let you all know how it works out for us.

Well, I think that's it for this week. The 4 week countdown has begun!