39 Weeks Pregnant, Almost There!

Tomorrow is Braelyn's due date & the start of week 40!  We'll see if she arrives, but I'm not going to put all my eggs in that basket since Neal and I are never on time for anything...oops!

I do hope Braelyn wants to come by the end of this week so I can no longer be pregnant...I am getting pretty sore and tired. 

How far along: 39

Gender: She’s a girl

Weight gained: 29.6 lbs

Inches gained: 11.5 around largest part of belly

Working Out: Lots of walking!

Clothing Choices:  Anything that’s comfortable, be it my husband’s gym shorts and t-shirts or a long dress

Belly button: No denying it’s an outty.

Sleep: I’m always tired.

Best moment this week: Knowing that by Friday, whether she’s here or not, I’m done with work for a while.  I would like her to be here because I’m only taking 4-6 weeks off and don’t really want to ‘waste’ a week just being pregnant.

Hardest moment this week:  Stressing she won’t come until after my mom is out of town.  Mom gets here on Saturday (she’s due tomorrow so that’s 3 days after her due date) and then mom leaves the following Saturday, which would be 10 days post her due date.

What I’m missing: Sleep

Movement: She still moves a good bit.

Cravings:  Fruit and milk, mostly fruit!

Queasy or sick: Nope.

Looking forward to: Being able to see what our little girl looks like!  Will she have hair on her head, what characteristics from each of us will she have, will she be big or little, tall or shorter?

Strange Dreams: I had a real scary one about giving birth in our bed and Neal not believing that I was in labor so he wouldn’t come help, and she came out feet first and was about the size of my hands put together…really small…and wouldn’t cry much.  I mean I have felt her feet, I know she’s larger than that, but it was still scary!

Week 39 Workouts

• Wednesday - 1.5 mile dog walk
• Thursday - 2 mile dog walk
• Saturday - 2 mile walk on the treadmill at the gym + and arm band workout
• Sunday - 1 mile family walk
• Monday - just under a mile dog walk

38 Weeks Pregnant! Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are!

OH baby girl, I am SOOO ready to meet you!  Your 'due date' is officially 8 days away!  Tomorrow starts week 39, which is a week a LOT of babies apparently are born!  I know most babies don't come on their actual date, but I am just praying, praying, praying you come just a little before that date, on that date or very shortly thereafter!  I know our 'due date' is right on too since we do Natural Family Planning and I know the date of conception ;) soooo you can't fool me little girl...I know it's about time!

By the time I go to bed at night, I seriously feel my stomach weights 50 lbs.  I feel like it's just going to fall off the rest of my body when I roll over in bed.  All day long, I think about how much I want to go to sleep.  It's very difficult to focus on tasks sometimes when all I can think about is Sleep OR Food!

I know the longer she brews in there, the better, but man oh man do I want to hold her in my arms rather than in my belly!

How far along: 38

Gender: She’s a girl

Weight gained: 28.7 lbs

Inches gained: About 11

Working Out:  I did alright this past week.  I am not disappointed :)

Clothing Choices:  I splurged last minute on 3 more dresses, including the one I'm wearing in this photo.  They are all maxi dresses and were $15 - $20 at Marshalls.  None of them are maternity dresses, they are all just nice soft, stretchy, jersey fabric.  I'm excited to wear them post pregnancy as well!  I may return one I haven't worn yet, but so far...this decision was a happy one on my part!

Belly button: Outty!

Sleep: What is sleep?

Best moment this week:  Neal coming home today and asking "When's our baby going to get here?!"  It seems he's just as anxious as I am!

Hardest moment this week:  Working + Lively Happenings + finding time for myself, the dogs, Neal, cooking...I'm seriously just so tired, I'm not able to do it all.  I'm actually going ahead and putting Lively Happenings on vacation mode tomorrow morning through mid September.  I wish I could do LH, but I kinda have to choose my 'real' job over LH at the moment since it's the one that brings in the bacon.

What I’m missing: My body being able to move like it used to without being so sore!

Movement: She has a very solid foot or elbow or hand pressed against my right side a lot of the day...but it's kinda fun to massage it and feel her move :)

Cravings:  Milk!

Queasy or sick: Not feeling too bad, just sleepy!

Looking forward to: Braelyn’s arrival!!! Can you please come tomorrow!?

Strange Dreams: I had a wild one about a sea lion.  I STOLE him!  I wasn't supposed to have him, but I wanted him, so I took a baby sea lion!

Workouts Week 38

• Wednesday - Easy doggy walk
• Friday - Easy doggy walk
• Sunday - Gym time with the hubby! I walked 2 miles on the treadmill and did leg day
• Monday - Knocked Up Fitness Yoga Fit Workout (find it here!)

Braelyn's Mountain / Woodland Themed Nursery

There are locations all of us visit that hold special places in our hearts.  For some, it may be grandma's house, the little ocean town your family went to nearly every summer, perhaps it's a park you played at as a child or even with your own children.  For me, the mountains hold a special place in my heart.  My particular mountains are those found out in Wyoming, the Grand Tetons. 

When I think of these beautiful mountains, with their rough and pointy peaks which seem to pop out of the land with power and authority, I am humbled.  God was at work in these mountains.  He was at work in my heart when I lived near these mountains.  They are forever special.

When I thought about how I wanted to decorate our little one's room, I knew I wanted to bring some of what inspires me the most to our little bundle.  I hope she grows up with a curious spirit that allows her to explore the great outdoors.

For my inspiration on Braelyn's Mountain / Woodland Themed Nursery, check out this post.

And now for what I've been dying to share with you, Braelyn's nursery / our guest room!!!

Every single piece of art that's hanging on the wall is either in a stud, or anchor, some even both!  Neal took extra care in making sure things were sturdy.  

Want Digs Like Braelyn?  Here's Where to Go!

• The dresser and crib are from Ikea.  I changed the dresser by putting white wall vinyl on the drawers and getting knobs from Hobby Lobby that I spray painted gold!
• The pillows on the bed are from Hobby Lobby, except the front long pillow, I made that, see how in this post.
• The curtains, chevron blanket on the bed, both rugs (faux sheep skin and striped), are from Home Goods/TJ Maxx.
• Above her dresser, the wolf head is from Home Goods.  The two frames are from Hobby Lobby.  The art in them is from Etsy, you can still find the gold fox print (and other great prints) from Mint Peony Designs and the moose head is also from Etsy, White Faux Taxidermy.
• To the left of the dresser are black and gold antlers found at Hobby Lobby.  They are holding my Planet Wise Wet/Dry bag (for cloth diapering).  I also got a similar bag in "Oh My Deer", both from Amazon.
• On top of her dresser is the Summer Infant Contour Changing Pad from Target (yes, still waiting on the cover to arrive!), the Squirrel is a stuffed animal from a local children's store in downtown Newburgh, IN that Neal and I picked up after our first ultrasound, and the little fox moccisans are from Starry Knight Designs on Etsy, which we picked up during our vacation in Montana at a baby store in downtown Whitefish!
• The glider is the Babyletto Madison Glider in Ecru, you can find it on Amazon.  To me, it's the perfect size for our small space.  There wasn't a lot of room since we had a queen size bed to work around!
• The pillow sitting on the chair, "Oh Baby It's a Wild World", is from Cut4You on Etsy.
• The book, "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots" (a gift from my in-laws to Braelyn when we went to Montana this summer) sits on a custom made table, I took a $9 table from Michaels, spray painted it gold, and screwed a slab of wood across the top.
• To the right of the chair, peeking out behind the curtain is a cute little bear Neal and I picked up at a craft show in Whitefish, MT on vacation this summer.
• Above the chair is a bear head, another White Faux Taxidermy design that I mounted on a round wooden piece I purchased at Michael's and painted gold and black.  To the left of that is a very special note from my father and his girlfriend Kim along with a token she kept with her while serving in Iraq.
• Beside the guest bed is a custom art work I made "The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Go", which is my favorite saying.  I used an old cabinet door we salvaged from Neal's parent's house when they were remodeling.  Underneath the art work is a banner I made from tying ribbons together that I purchase for less than $8 at Hobby Lobby.
• Braelyn's crib skirt and crib sheets were made by me.  You can get the fabric for the foxes here and for the arrows, here.  If you don't want to make them, the arrows are normally available on a few different people's Etsy websites in crib skirt, fitted sheet, changing pad covers etc.
• Above Braelyn's crib is a photo of Neal and myself printed on wood.  Our photographer was Scott Wilson out of Kalispell, MT.  The print was done by PhotoBarn.
• The mobile was custom made by myself and my wonderful friend, Hope.  She is an artist and helped me by designing/cutting all of the animals out.  I sewed and stuffed them.  Her and my brother got the tree branch.  My dad's girlfriend, Kim and I strung all of the animals and the chain.  My father and husband found the stud in the ceiling (Neal even put all his weight on it) and hung it very securely in the same fashion he had hung a 100lb kickboxing bag in our garage.  This was a family affair piece!

What is your favorite part of her room?  I'm sure I'll move things and change it up, and it'll never be this clean again, but for the time being, It'll remain my favorite room in the house.  I can't wait to have Braelyn here so she can check it out herself!

37 Weeks Pregnant - Full Term Momma!

Hello FULL TERM!!! The Dr. I go to says 37 weeks is full term! Yay!  Tomorrow I'll be 38 weeks, which is where even more Dr's consider full term.  I'm ready when you are, Braelyn, just try not to arrive August 14th so your mommy & daddy can still celebrate their anniversary!

On Thursday, we'll have been married 4 years! That's pretty exciting to me!  I am really glad Neal and I were able to spend a few years just the two of us.  Though, it's going to be so awesome to have a little girl to bring on even more memories.

It really is amazing to me how much more love I already think I feel for Neal as we've gone through this pregnancy.  I can only imagine this will multiply exponentially as we go through parenting together.  Sure, not all of pregnancy has been easy on us, I'm positive parenting will be even harder, but these experiences have really brought a deeper bond.  It could be the dependency I have on Neal, the way he cares about Braelyn already, his thoughtfulness on my feelings, or simply just growing older.  No matter what, this love I have for this man is for sure only going to grow the first time I see him hold our daughter.

How far along: 37

Gender: She’s a girl

Weight gained: 27.4 lbs

Inches gained: About 11

Working Out:  Not great, not terrible. It’s harder to find the energy now. I want to work out before work, but I normally haven’t slept well enough to be able to last all day if I do both.

Clothing Choices:  I hate nearly all my clothes at this moment. I’m wearing pregnancy jeans and stretchy or flowy tops when I go out of the house because I only have about 2 skirts and fit and one pair of shorts that sort of fit.

Belly button: Outty!

Sleep: Yep, sleep sucks. My body’s getting ready for very little of it…survival of the fittest…

Best moment this week:  Neal bringing me home the book “So That’s What They’re For” about breastfeeding.  I can’t believe he checked it out from the library for me! Ha! I’m sure the librarian was amused.  Oh, and it was SUPER exciting to get our glider in and finish up her room! It’s all ready to go and so is her spot in our room.  We put up her pack n play as well as snug-a-monkey rocker next to the bed.  This moved Walden onto Neal’s side of the bed, which may be why Neal isn’t sleeping as well as Walden is a SUPER annoying sleeper. That dog snores and has puppy dreams all night. (and all day…he lays next to me in the office…he just loves me!)

Hardest moment this week:  Just feeling bad about being tired.  I don’t like waking Neal up, I try to be quiet and just leave the room, but he wakes up too.  I feel bad about it because he has to drive so much for his job, and then I get scared.

What I’m missing: The same thing I think I’ll be missing for many many months to come…a good night’s sleep.

Movement: She still moves a lot.

Cravings:  Milk, cereal, mozzarella sticks.

Queasy or sick: More indigestion that what I’ve had lately.  She’s just taking up so much space I suppose.

Looking forward to: Braelyn’s arrival! It’s really nice to be able to think she’ll be here in days or weeks at most!

Strange Dreams: I cannot remember my dreams, probably because I don’t sleep long enough to have any!

Workouts Week 37

• Wednesday - Total Body and Flexibility from Knocked Up Fitness
• Thursday - Cardio and Pelvic Floor exercises from Knocked Up Fitness
• Sunday - 1.5 mil dog walk
• Tuesday - Yoga at home & a dog walk because they are just too cute!

36 Weeks Pregnant!

I can't believe that tomorrow, according to my doctor, I will be considered FULL TERM!  That's so exciting!!!  Now he doesn't expect me to have her yet, he still thinks my due date looks good, but still that's super exciting!  Some doctors consider full-term to be 37 weeks, 38 weeks or even 39 weeks.  I would like Braelyn to stay in for at least another week and a half...say come maybe not this weekend, but the next :) That would be awesome!  I know it's a little selfish of us, but we just pray she doesn't come on August 14th, that way we can still keep our anniversary to ourselves!

How far along: 36

Gender: Little baby girl :)

Weight gained: 24.8 lbs

Inches gained: About 11

Working Out:  Eh not as great this past week.  I’m mostly just trying to stay awake after work to help with dinner and house chores.  If I do workout, it needs to be in the morning.

Clothing Choices:  Stuff with stretch or that’s already loose and flowy. I have a ‘delicates’ hamper thing attached to my door and I hadn’t realized that for months, I mean months 3 of my flowy tops were just in the bottom, I had TOTALLY forgotten about them, and it’s like I just got new clothes!!! One of them is the top I’m wearing in today’s photo!

Belly button: Outty!

Sleep: Well, I am sure I’m getting more now than when she’ll be here, but golly I could use a better nights rest.  I will wake up to pee, and then my back hurts again. Really glad I’ve started to see Physical Therapists this week!

Best moment this week: The entire weekend was just so nice!  It’s SO great to be home for  a weekend without any commitments!  We were able to hang out with some friends and their family at the first horse races Neal and I have ever been to!  I was also SUPER crafty this weekend and made Braelyn a TON of cute skirts, hats and headbands as well as myself 2 nursing shawls out of the softest jersey fabric ever!

Hardest moment this week: Nothing really particular. I just have these moments of weakness where I get all pouty or grumpy and short tempered.  They don’t last long though.  It was pretty funny at one point…I was trying to find a place to put some paper towels and toilet paper I had stocked up on and was all ‘arghhh – pissy woman’ and Neal said, I’m not sure you can reach the top shelf to put those up with your tiny little T-Rex Arms (last week we brought the phrase Pregosaurus Rex into our house and now we both crack up when we say I’m being a real Pregosaurus Rex!

What I’m missing: At the horse races this weekend, I think a cold beer would have been nice.

Movement: I still feel her, which makes me happy!  I am still just SO thankful she’s heads down!

Cravings:  Milk and Mozzarella Sticks…and yes I would totally eat them together if the sticks ever made it back to the house…I’ve gotten Sonic Mozzarella Sticks TWO times this week – and I dip them in marinara AND honey mustard…and I’m totally obsessed!

Queasy or sick: Ehh the back pain is really annoying as the work day progresses.  I also had CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY BAD cramping one morning this week. It was terrible. I thought walking the dogs would help, but at one point when I was far away from the house I had considered just sitting on the sidewalk until someone drove by and could take me home.  This was triggered all by some umm..romantic times with Neal, sooo I think I’ll have to ask my Dr. if we need to lay off of that for a while…which would kinda suck since post pregnancy you don’t want to/can’t for a while as well…sigh…

Looking forward to: Braelyn’s arrival!  And the arrival of our glider…I’m STILL waiting on that thing!  My mom ordered it at least a month ago, she says it’s supposed to be here this week…I sure hope so!  I hope they don’t put it BACK on backorder.

Strange Dreams: I don’t think I’m sleeping as well, so I don’t remember any dreams from this week.

Workouts Week 36

• Wednesday - 1.5 mile walk with the pups
• Friday - Knocked up Fitness Prenatal Fitcamp and Total Body Pilates
• Monday - 1 ish mile walk with the dogs
• Tuesday - just my stretches for Physical Therapy to help my back

Just Keep Nesting...

Just Keep Nesting. Just Keep Nesting. Nesting. Nesting. Nesting.

Well, I think this weekend, I may have nested some more!  I organized more of the little one's room, adding a few more small containers into her drawers to keep all those little things tidier.  Who knew it would be so hard to keep little bibs separated from little shorts?!

I've also been crafting a TON!  I've been a bit obsessed with little baby knotted top hats and little baby headbands for a while now.  I even bought Braelyn a hat back in November of last year, before we even were pregnant because I was already getting my friend one...yea that's not too unusual for me...I've had a hooded duck towel and a baby carrier from a second hand store for a few years longer than that...I'm pretty bad about that kind of stuff!

So, I wanted Braelyn to have a cute little hat to wear in the hospital, but when I looked on Etsy, there were just so many cute options, that my cart kept piling up with things until I was WELL over budget.  So, even thought I do indeed hate to sew, I decided I'd just make her some.  I saw cute fabric when I had been in JoAnns and thought, I'll look again and maybe just maybe make her a hat or two...

Well...about an hour later, I finally left JoAnns with EIGHT different jersey knit fabrics.  Yes, EIGHT! 

I planned to make the following:

• Baby Top Knotted Hats
• Baby Girl Headbands
• Nursing Cover Up

For my baby top knotted hats and the headbands, I bought 1/3 yard of soft, stretchy, fun, colorful, jersey knit fabrics.

For the nursing cover ups, I needed a yard.  I bought two different fabrics and added on an extra 1/3 yard so Braelyn could have coordinating hat and headband...yes...I'm crazy and I'm nesting.

With my 1/3 yards of colors, I set out to make hats and headbands.  After making Braelyn some, I realized I'd have enough to make some more to sell and/or give to friends.  If you cut carefully, you can make 2 hats and 2 -3 headbands in each cut of fabric!!!

TUTORIALS I USED

• Baby Top Knotted Hats
• Tutorial found HERE!
• Baby Girl Headbands
• Tutorial found HERE!
• And this one HERE :)
• Nursing Cover
• Tutorial found HERE
• on this one, where the neck opening is, I sewed 13 inches, but that made the opening still too large for me, so I sewed mind 17 inches so I didn't feel like the shawl would keep coming off.

Want even more things to do while nesting?!

In addition to the jersey fabric for the hats, headbands and nursing covers...I also was CRAZY enough to buy SIX different cotton fabrics and make these lovely little circle skirts.

The tutorial for the circle skirts can be found HERE!

These took very little time, and all I needed to buy was those fabric squares from JoAnns.  I already had the stretchy elastic at home since I use it in my Etsy shop, but if you don't have it, not to worry, JoAnns sells some of that as well :)

Don't want to make your own?! 

So maybe you don't like to sew, or you don't have the time or even the machine...or you just don't want all that extra fabric and to be a crazy sewing lady for a weekend...not to worry, I've got you covered!!!  I have already sold a few of these via Instagram/Facebook promotions, but there's three more collections up for grabs and they are seriously a STEAL when you consider most would cost $15+ for a hat on Etsy alone! 

Why am I selling them cheaper right now?  Well I'm not charging for "time spent" like I normally do when I make things.  I made the price much much cheaper than if I were to put it on Etsy to sell just because!  So if you want to snatch up one of these that's left, email me:  LivelyHappenings@gmail.com

Cost is listed + $3 for US Shipping, $7 for Canada, and $12 elsewhere (yes, I'll give you back $ if shipping is less!)

The ones available still are as follows:

Mommy And Me Dots

Owls for Baby

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