tips for helping new moms.

pregnancy is a weird thing,

people want to help or they don't, or they say they do but then they don't come through,

and i have been warned many times that this will only carry over into the early days of mommyhood.

with that,

if any of you know someone who is expecting,

or just had a baby,

and you want to help or are part of a group that wants to help their family.

i encourage you all to really just ask what they need.

some people might enjoy a scheduled two months of meals being brought to them,

while others might really be blessed by a small gift card to a grocery store to pick up things.

it's hard when a community wants to bless your family but yet wont really do what your family might benefit the most from.

summer days.

dreams for this summer:

~ spend wednesday afternoons at my local farmers market.

~ really spend time learning to cook and bake.

~ explore the outskirts of nashville with my little family {hiking and such}.

~ get back in shape!

~ eat as much frozen yogurt as possible.

~ take owen swimming.

~ get rocking chairs for our front porch and spend the evenings together rocking our baby to sleep with the fireflies.

~ somehow, make more money.

~ resist the urge to cut all my hair off.

~ learn to use my sewing machine.

~ sew a complete outfit.

~ make a toy for my baby.

~ bring my potted plants back to life.

~ plant some food.

~ take advantage of all the summer night events nashville has to offer.

~ take the baby to the pool, a lot.

~ develop film from last summer.

~ take more photos, with ALL of my cameras.

~ write a few songs.

~ introduce the baby to the ocean.

a little list of things i would love to do this summer,

what do you guys have planned??

or dream for this summer?

36 weeks.

dear baby,

well, you are well on your way to us!

you dropped this week, which has brought on a whole bunch of new physical feelings and sensations that i'm trying to get used to.

and i found out i'm 1cm dilated and 50% effaced,

which can't guarantee anything but at least i wont be starting from 0 come labor.

i'm now going to see the midwife once a week until you arrive and our doula says she thinks you'll show up in a week or two...

but we'll see.

the midwife said she doesn't think you will be late but then again,

most first babies are.

so we really are preparing for any situation here.

your daddy is done traveling until after you arrive and now it's just time for us to relax and wait.

it's funny, a lot of other people are getting impatient for your impending arrival...

if anything, i'm getting nervous about it.

xo

rotten, no good day.

today was a miserable excuse for a day.

i warn you now to stop reading because i am going to just complain about today,

since i'm about to go to sleep and want to leave it here.

i had high expectations for this day.

ryan was flying out for his last work trip before the baby comes early this morning so i planned to sleep in,

get up and eat something.

take a warm bath with vitamin e oil and listen to pregnancy affirmations and relax.

maybe go to the gym for a bit and then go visit the girls i used to nanny for and get an adjustment.

what ended up happening.

is i woke up when ryan's alarm went off at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep.

we started to hear loud thunder about 430 and by 440 our power was out from the winds and the worst storm blew in.

his cab was supposed to get him at 5 but by then it literally looked like a tornado outside.

i was actually scared,

the only thing keeping my sanity was there was no tornado warning and the sirens weren't going off.

ryan left and i sat on the couch with owen for another 30 minutes (he cried the whole time) until ryan texted me that he made it to the airport ok, also letting me know that trees were down everywhere and all of east nashville was pitch black.

i drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours, each time waking up to expect the power to be back on but it never came back and as the sun rose so did the temperature in my room.

i got up around 8 and quickly stole some milk from the fridge for some cereal and just sat on the couch.

fast forward two hours later,

power still out,

owen and i drive 5 miles away to the nearest starbucks.

funny cicada moment with owen and then we are back home.

my phone is almost dead and so is my computer and still no power.

so much for my relaxing morning.

let's also bring up that i hadn't washed my hair since sunday.

at this point i realize it's been a while with no power and we most likely will be losing most of the food in our fridge,

which stresses me out since this week was a tight money week for us and in general can't really afford to just throw out uneaten, good food and replace it.

i get ready and go visit the girls,

then i find out my chiropractor is out of town all week and i'm halfway there.

so i go back home.

it's almost 3 which means the power has been out for 10 1/2 hours.

nothing.

i go and get some dinner.

come home and the power gets turned on right at the 12 hour mark.

i check the milk and other food in the fridge...

all bad.

i hear that most of ryan's family is on an interstate in oklahoma outrunning an enormous tornado...

but don't worry,

our cable and internet isn't working and neither is the internet on my phone.

i decide i'll go out to the gym so i could use the tv on the tred mill and after 10 minutes of circling the parking lot and not finding a single spot i give up.

{why don't they have pregnant women parking spots???}

I go to the grocery store and stress out about rebuying all this food and have a money meltdown.

i come home and put everything away.

take a shower and try to relax but i'm just so stressed at this point.

cable and internet still not working and i'm so lonely.

so i call.

twice.

the second time i talk to some RUDE operator and decide we need to quit paying comcast to treat us like shit/

{scuse my french}

but all my was made a little better after spending some time on the phone with ryan and then tucking my dog into his newish bed {i laid his old blanket on him} and then coming out of the bathroom, peeking over the banister to see he had covered his entire head/face with it.

you had to be there.

good night bad day,

please don't follow me into tomorrow.

just waiting...

{kit and myself at our friend jenny's wedding}

let's be honest here,

i'm just in a perpetual state of waiting.

now that i'm not working and i'm at the end of the pregnancy it's just time to wait,

and if you know me .... you know i am really impatient.

a few weeks ago i was so convinced he was going to be early,

and there were obviously some concerns with it but selfishly i wanted him to be here.

but now that i have time to rest and relax and take care of myself those contractions and signs have since disappeared which means he more likely will show up closer to 40 weeks or later.

which is really hard for me to accept...i just can't imagine being pregnant for another 5-7 weeks.

it's the worst thought ever and anyone who has been pregnant probably knows exactly how i feel.

and even though we are so close to having him in our arms,

it doesn't feel real.

we still have so much to prepare to bring to the hospital,

to make sure things are charged and that we know where they are.

to practice hypnobabies {can i ever do it enough??}

to read up on breastfeeding, and watch the happiest baby on the block dvd we have been putting off.

to make sure all the hypno tracks are uploaded to both computers and ipods.

they seem like little tasks but for whatever reason we just keep putting them off.

ryan's last trip for work is this week and then he is here until this baby shows up,

which is comforting,

but i still had him install the carseat in the car incase something happens while he is gone.

here's to waiting.

35 weeks.

dear baby,

this week has been better.

you're not trying to push your way out too early anymore and are just chilling out.

so thanks.

we also still like a new name for you,

but i think we just need to see your sweet face in person to make a final decision.

we've picked up some final items for your arrival and have everything packed and ready.

we're so ready to meet you.

xo

owen.

this is how owen has been laying lately...

he's weird.

where are his legs?

change of plans.

we live in a triplex in an old house.

our upstairs neighbors have a sweet nine month old baby we love,

so of course, her mom and myself worked out a deal that we can - when we can - watch each other's babies for free and just trade back and forth.

{we both are at home for the days}

and she even offered when he first comes to watch him for an hour or two if i need to sleep or clean or run out, etc.

which is an awesome option for me to have.

so last night ryan and i watched her in our apartment and then brought her back upstairs to go to sleep.

her normal bedtime is around 6:30 but we pushed it back to 7...which turned into 730 because we had a hard time getting her to take her bottle and then she cried and cried.

we went back up and put the paci back in her mouth and she knocked out...for about 25 min and then screamed and screamed.

they said it was ok to let her cry for 20-30 minutes because she can fight sleep sometimes but this baby wasn't stopping.

long story short, she would fall asleep for 10 and wake up screaming for 20.

we went up and down those stairs what felt like a hundred times.

finally we both went up and i just turned on the light and sat her on the bed and she flirted with ryan.

about 25 minutes before her parents got home she fell asleep and stayed asleep.

{this was about 10 pm - 3 hours later}

ryan and i had planned to work on some family budgeting and watch the happiest baby on the block dvd and do some new baby research.

but we ended up just staring at the monitor for 3 hours and then being so exhausted we passed right out.

guess we should get used to having our plans change due to a baby not cooperating.

blackberry.

today has been kind of an off day,

just haven't been feeling too good.

so now i'm eating vanilla ice cream with blackberries.

i love it,

i remember going to camp in middle school in northern california and one afternoon we walked along a railroad track and picked blackberries and then brought bucket loads to the ice cream shop and mixed them with vanilla ice cream. it only happened twice in my life but it's one of my favorite and most distinct childhood memories.

it's one of my hopes that we live somewhere that allows me to pick blackberries with my children in the heat of summer and fill bowls with them covered in melted vanilla ice cream.

with that, i've been obsessing over the oregon coast all day.

looking at all the different little towns and how beautiful it all is,

and now i'm ready to pack the car and move there as soon as possible.

xo

"yeah, yeah..."

ryan and i watched this like 4 times last night in bed,

and then quoted the whole thing to each other about 8 times before giggling ourselves to sleep.

34 weeks.

again, we are late posting a weekly photo.

but here is last week's maternity series post.

i wasn't feeling good or looking good and obviously we forgot to take the photo until late at night so the whole thing was kind of a bust...

but here is 34 weeks...

technically 34 weeks and 3 days.

dear baby,

please stay in there a little longer,

i know i say i want you out but just don't listen to me.

i know we're both anxious for your womb eviction but you need a little more cooking time.

so listen to mama and stay there for a few more weeks.

everything is so uncomfortable now,

and i'm getting little tastes of what labor will be like.

the other night i woke up to a series of contractions that were only a few minutes apart.

and they were not fun.

i'm super exhausted, i can't sit or stand or walk for long periods,

but i know it will all soon pass and i'll be holding the most perfect child in my arms.

owen has been wonderful,

he just naps with me all day and listens to me and loves on me.

it's really been a blessing.

he'll be a good first dog for you.

xo

doom and gloom.

today is a gloomy cold spring day,

i am tired and achy and just relaxing.

i'm anxious to have this baby and i'm anxious for what the future holds,

i'm stressed about finances and everything that comes with it.

it's hard not to get ahead of yourself when you're this close to having a child enter the world.

in 3 weeks i'll be full term.

three.weeks.

i feel kind of useless because i'm not working.

i'm definitely enjoying my rest though,

i know it's what my body needs - as it has been showing me that.

but it's still hard to know that i'm not contributing to anything for our family.

in the bag.

{some of the stuff in le hospital bag}

last week, out of boredom, i started putting together our hospital bag.

i was kind of overwhelmed with everything it said to bring in our hypnobabies workbook, advice from new moms and from the doulas that taught our hypno class.

so basically i packed way too much probably and we still need to get so much!

pictured above i think we have:

maternity pjs/nursing

robe

slippers

two warm socks {one has santa on them}

two bath towels, and one that stays in the car in case i'm leakinggg,

leggings

nursing bra

optional bandeau top, sports bra and shirts i might want during labor

going home outfit for me, baby and ryan

sleep wear and such for ryan

a baby towel, couple of blankets and one other outfit for him.

vitamin e oil for perineal massage {YUM}

toiletries.

running out the door we will need to grab a couple pillows, blanket, computer and charger, both cameras, ipods, ipod dock, cooler with drinks and food, all our hypnobabies materials, phone chargers...etc.

SO MUCH STUFF,

and i know we'll forget something.

oh well.

cicadawhat

this is my sideways view from my bed.

it's 90 degrees outside right now and my yard is infested with cicadas.

but seriously, i will take a photo {from inside} of my porch.

which is apparently where cicadas go to die.

because not only are their nasty skins EVERYWHERE,

there are actual dead ones all over.

what the what?

so really, the safest place for me to be is right here,

in bed.

with the ac on.

owen laying on the floor with a fan blowing on him.

and some ice cream.

i'll come back outside in october.

our anniversary date.

as you already know, ryan and i just celebrated our one year wedding anniversary.

and since i was just put on bed rest for the rest of the afternoon i had some time to upload these photos and tell ya what we did.

we decided to mostly celebrate it on saturday night since the real day was also mothers day and we wanted to spend our sunday just relaxing and not really have any plans.

we enjoyed a really nice dinner together down the street from our house at a place called Holland House and it was fantastic!

we stopped by our friends' joint birthday party, that had a wildly inappropriate theme for a few minutes and then came home,

put on comfortable clothes and started our main event.

last week ryan and i went to a vintage store nearby that was selling limited beautiful nashville posters to commemorate the year anniversary of the flood we went through,

and one of the owners painted these funny little pet portraits.

and since they were insanely expensive...

we decided to do them ourselves and put em up in the nursery.

ryan's first couple drafts were interesting so he copied mine and it worked out a little better for him.

there you have it.

accountant owen and sailor owen.

we want to paint more.

it was so fun and we laughed so hard all night.

xo

year in review.

In the past year,

we got married.

went on the best honeymoon to mexico.

our friend keith surprised us with a long visit.

we had a birthday party for ryan's mom at 1 am.

we ate a lot of frozen yogurt.

annabella was born.

we went to south florida for a wedding.

we fostered a dog named copper, and found her a perfect new home.

we went to a pumpkin patch and were the only people without kids.

after 3 negative pregnancy tests and one missed period. we found out we were expecting.

ryan made us the perfect halloween costumes.

i started to show.

we broke the news to ryan's family and had a big thanksgiving event.

we had a raging new years eve party.

we found out we were having a boy.

we moved to a new house and got the same cold.

ryan made us a valentine's day feast.

we took a mini road trip to atlanta.

we put a nursery together.

we went to portland and had some of the best food of our lives.

and we ate a lot of ice cream and go on a lot of dates.

may eighth.

happy one year anniversary to us.

a tale of a turtle.

the other morning after a run,

ryan nonchalantly told me there was a little turtle in our front yard.

i immediately jumped out of bed.

there is no water around us and i really have no idea how he got there,

but sure enough when i went outside he was just sitting by the road with his head sticking out.

duh, i had to save him.

so i convinced ryan and we went out there with my old bicycle basket and a towel.

ryan was terrified that he was going to pee on him,

i know...he's weird.

we took him inside and i gave him some watermelon and covered the basket with another towel.

we decided i should take him up to this big lake that is about 20 minutes from our house but since it was rush hour i decided to spend an hour at the gym first and leave him in the car.

when i came back to the car i saw that he had climbed up the side of the basket and was trying to escape.

i also realized there was a much smaller little lake in a park much closer to us and dropped him off there.

so, we saved the turtle and i hope he is ok.

i really liked him.

33 weeks.

dear baby,

we are really getting close now.

every night i have a dream about meeting you,

some scary and some perfect - and the best part is, is that i'm always doing my self-hypnosis in them!

guess that stuff really works.

i had a midwife appointment this week and you are perfect,

still head down and growing normally.

i'm having a lot more aches and pains in my belly but apparently those are all normal at how far along i am and i shouldn't really be too concerned unless they exceed 6 in an hour.

your daddy and i decided it is about time that i pull back from working and babysitting, as we see a lot of those pains and cramps come at the ends of those days and we want you to come when you will be perfectly healthy and no sooner than that.

your nursery is coming together and really getting character now,

and we have your carseat and stroller ready for you.

we both really can't believe how quickly you will be here.

and i think we're both getting a little nervous,

your daddy hides it well but i can get realllllly nervous when i think about the actual birth.

i'm still doing all of my hypnosis maintenance and i know that i will be calm and fully prepared when that time comes but it's still nerve racking to think that the most defining moment of my life is quickly approaching.

time has never gone by so fast,

every time i turn around it's friday again and i'm another week closer to holding you.

see you soon my dear.

xo

little things.

here is a little list of things i still need to get or would love to get for the babe before his arrival.

a few prints for his nursery (no that is not his name), some toys, clothes, shoes and whatnot. and of course a sweet little hat for his first photo shoot for the birth announcements.

i can't decide what color though since ryan and i were complete opposites in skin and hair color when we were born.

i looked like a mexican boy and he was just white haaa.

so i can't go too light or too dark.

hmmm...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9