Bonding with Bubs - Week 38

Size: approximately 3kg and around 53cm

What's Pecan Up To: packing on the pounds like his/her Mum; all Pecan's organs are developed; sticking out a knee constantly on my left side!

Symptoms: period like pain in my tummy (possibly Braxton Hicks I don't know); needing to rest up in the afternoons

Cravings: iced coffee, citrus and fish.

Keep that away from me: again the seafood section in the supermarket.

Weight: 83/84kg all that eating out and sweet treats from the Baby Shower...whoops.

 

Feelings: I'm getting excited and also nervous which I think is the norm. I'm really keen to just continue going with the flow and I haven't had any major freak outs. It's very suprising for super organised me that the nursery is 100% completed and I thought that would be nagging at me but it isn't. I still feel pretty under prepared but I think in reality I'm as on-top-of most things as I can be considering I have no idea what to expect when we bring Pecan home.

Random: We still haven't settled on any names, boys names we've got a little stockpile and girls names we've got 2 but we really need to decide once Bubs is born I think. I've made sure I've got my list of definite no names on my iPhone. It's silly but after having the most popular name the year I was born I don't want our child having a name in the top 20. I'm loving the fact that there's an actual government list of top WA baby names per year so this is where I've gotten my 'NO' list from. But then I could pick a name and it could wind up being the 'popular' name of 2011...oh well whatever will suit the baby is what he/she will be called. We've also happily resigned ourselves to the fact that Bubs will always be Pecan to us!

PS: Can anyone recommend any cool 'baby record/memory books'? I didn't receive one at the baby shower and I'm thinking I should probably wait until after gifts people bring to the new baby but, I love recording stuff!

Also a bra related question - I've only bought 3 maternity bras (all same size) and that was back in May/June. Did people go in for another refit around now or did you wait until after Bubs was born? I just don't want to waste money on buying bras now only to find out they're the wrong size afterwards - damn big boobs = big $$$$.

Goodbye Rings

c/o Anne Geddes

It was another Mother Daughter Nail Salon day :)

But before we headed in to get our Shellac redone (I'm now rosebud), I had to get Hubby's watch made smaller and our rings cleaned. Unfortunately because my rings are white gold it was finally time for them to get rhodium plated so now I'm the knocked up unwed mother haha. Hubby was so cute all of last night and this morning claiming that it felt so weird and not right without his ring on. I find it weird too (I hold my ring finger funny!) but it is nice to be able to normally wash my hands and not worry about it catching on clothing etc...

It was funny though because at every store we went into everyone kept calling me Mum's 'friend' - I think it's really sweet that she looks way too young to be a Grandma. She really needs to hear it as well especially because she's getting married and I'm trying to talk her into trying on dresses (she's sort of against it because it will be her third wedding). I want her to have a really wonderful wedding and for her to be spoilt because this will be it.

Whilst it was lots of fun it was also kind of scary because everyone kept asking when I was due and saying 2 & a bit weeks instead of months is INSANE! My To Do list is getting smaller (thankfully) and I've come to the realisation that the nursery may not be ready before Pecan is born but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. It would be great if either Hubby or I were handy around the house and could hang everything we need hung unfortunately we aren't and Mum's fiance (our go to handyman) is too busy at the moment so we're just going to wait until he has some spare time before I start hounding him again. And in all honesty Pecan really won't care if his/her room isn't all pretty as long as he/she has access to boobs, nappies and somewhere to sleep!

Baby Shower

Last Sunday it was my Baby Shower, after trying to sort out an appropriate date where all my important ladies could be there it was finally happening.

My wonderful uni girlfriends threw the Shower for me and Mum's fiance was kind enough to give us free run of the house. The food was amazing, we had mini scones (I think I probably ate the most of them), mini cheese scrolls that you can barely see in the bottom left hand corner, little sandwhiches, raspberry cheesecake brownies, Baby Pecan cupcakes, mini gingerbread man, mini coffee cupcakes...it was all sooooooo good. Two of the girls are excellent bakers but as one of the two is more crafty she did the decorations (including gorgeous pinwheels which I took for the Nursery and little colourful onesies that everyone wrote messages on) and the other was a non-stop baking goddess! The third girl organised all the games including a skulling water from a baby bottle, she learnt lots including that there are different sizes for bottle nipples and that next time she does that game she won't get the newborn size haha. I was very spoilt!

Pecan got lots of books and a few other goodies (including a much needed car shade!) and it was so sweet to read people's comments in the books they chose to give and the reasons why. Two of the more 'recent' Mums there, a family friend and my cousin (who is also newly pregnant for the second time) recommended the Save our Sleep book. I'm loving reading it but I'm really not sure that I want to be so restricted by baby (especially with the 7pm go to bed time) does anyone else have any advice or routine recommendations? I think I will wind up being more of a go with the flow kind of parent and if that doesn't work then maybe turn to the whole strict routine thing!

It's hard to believe how close to the finish line we are now! Any advice or recommendations for the weeks (or days) leading up to birth and those first couple of weeks with a new baby would be more than welcome.

Crazy Goodness Week

I want to be a supermodel (haha) 37 + 1

Yesterday was a fantastic anniversary (even though I had a monster headache damn this change in weather and Hubby's last exam went crappy)!

I helped Mum make 2 yummy curries for dinner tonight to celebrate her fiance's birthday. We then sat down and watched the Cup and I can't believe how close it was. Part of me wishes they hadn't been able to get that photo finish and instead declared it a dead heat. I didn't bet but as always picked the Number 6 horse 2 minutes before and was very happy to see it was one of the greys I'd had my eye on (and was ridden by Damien Oliver I believe). After that we had some really yummy chicken rolls, probably not recommended for pregnant ladies but OH SO YUMMY!

We also managed to get in a mini-photoshoot (photos to come) with my Mum's help and realised that even though we're not very photogenic we still managed to get some good snaps. Plus finally got some Daddy & Bump photos which I was getting nervous we might not get. Of course everyone loves snapping the pregnant lady but with all the study Hubby has been doing he hasn't really been included.

After that we came home (I tried to do my hair for both the shoot and dinner but wasn't very good at it) and got ready to go to Rockpool. We exchanged our anniversary letters which were very sweet and then headed out. It was AMAZING (we even sat across from Andrew Forrest, Australia's richest man and Mum's old playmate!) the food was fantastic but I definitely shouldn't have eaten everything it was just too much for my poor tummy a food baby and real baby do not go hand in hand! I also surprised Hubby with his Georg Jensen watch, unfortunately it needs some links taken out of it but he was shocked and so happy. He felt bad for not getting me anything but I told him to stop being silly as he's always spoiling me and I finally found something I knew he wanted that I could get him.

On top of all that the full-time start date for Hubby will now be January 3rd. This is fantastic because he can keep working casually and bringing in some extra money for us but also have lots of time to spend with Pecan and to help me out. And the extra 'goodness' for this week is not having to cook dinner for 3 nights in a row plus I've got cute little baby outfits hanging on the line (although I absolutely cannot stand that Lux stuff the stupid flakes wouldn't completely dissolve and I had bits of soap stuck to everything grrr!).

I hope everyone else is having a good week and if not just try and take some time out and focus on the pretty little things, even if it is just a flower.

7 Year Anniversary

Ok so today is 'the race that stops a nation' aka the Melbourne Cup but more importantly it is the 7 year anniversary of the first date with my Hubby. Also ironically enough it's Kim Kardashian divorce time - just goes to show money and fame can't get you everything!

Today is important because it's also the last exam Hubby ever has to take at uni! He still has a thesis presentation to give on the 8th but it'll really feel like he's finally moving forward.

Whilst he's doing the exam and then heading into work to sort out his start date, I'm going to be watching the Cup and helping Mum cook a birthday dinner for her fiance for tomorrow night. After that hopefully we can drag Mum out of the kitchen to do a mini pregnancy photoshoot with us. I don't have lots of couple shots with Hubby and that's something I want to change so why not start a new tradition today :)

I hope everyone else has a wonderful 1st of November and if you have a bet on that you pick a winner.

Bonding with Bubs - Week 37

Size: approximately 2.8kg and around 50cm

What's Pecan Up To: remaining head down and kicking/moving lots; growing that hair, it could be up to 2.5cm long!!!

Symptoms: tired in the early afternoon; kind of uncomfortable sitting up; pain in the morning not sure if it's Braxton Hicks (don't think so) just a sore tummy like it's that time of the month (oh how I haven't missed that whilst pregnant!)

Cravings: iced coffee and citrus

Keep that away from me: mince and onions.

Weight: remaining around the 82/83kg mark

 

Feelings: I feel a bit silly for not being so concerned with how many weeks I have left etc... But at the moment I'm just focusing on Hubby finishing his uni degree. We're celebrating our 7 year anniversary on Tuesday after his last ever exam but he still has one more presentation to go on the 8th!

Random: Today was my baby shower and it was amazing I was so spoiled. My uni girlfriends threw it for me and I couldn't have asked for anything better. Lots of yummy food, great decorations and fun games. Although we did play string around the belly and Mum's string could have fit 3 of me in! I've got so many leftovers that I think I might finally start eating for two haha.

PS: Hubby got a full-time job!!! It's the same place he's currently working casually at and they want him to start asap but we're going to try and weasel the latest start date possible. Preferably after the Christmas holidays (fingers crossed) but with all the projects they have going on we might not be able to, although they do have forced leave over the Christmas break so maybe...

DiY & Get Things Done Day

 Lookie what I made! They turned out smaller than what I thought but now I have to figure out how to add a little hanging tag to them and people can use them as 'candy' stockings. So far I've only done 3 (and need to do at least 7 more) one for Hubby (the cockatoo one because he loves them), one for Pecan (the reverse of Hubby's) and one for someone I'm not sure who yet. I've gotten the hang of it and I should be able to pound them all out now before Bubs arrives.

I might even make some more for my side of the family. They came in at roughly $3 each to make with my Spotlight discount and I just used fat quarters of Christmas fabric which was surprisingly on special. If anyone is interested in how to make these stockings visit: Diary of a Quilter.

Yesterday I also forced myself out of the house to lodge my Centrelink forms (so glad I don't work there anymore!), get the car washed (I'm never washing my own car again, I suck at it!) and do some Christmas shopping. It was easy although I am looking forward to having a pram to store stuff in and I really should have stolen a trolley from somewhere so I could have made so much needed bigger purchases! But still I actually had fun even though I was completely by myself and it wasn't too overwhelming. This is not a good sign for our future bank balance over the coming year...

Also I do have lots of bump photos which I've added to my Bun in the Oven page (just underneath the header) go and check them out.I still don't feel huge and definitely don't look it either but I'm measuring to date so that's all that matters!


Now off to Ikea so that I can get to organising our upstairs bathroom and maybe finally finish cleaning it...dum de dum.