Countdown to Baby: 5 weeks to Due Date!

On Saturday we finished our Christmas shopping, and got everything wrapped except for a few gifts that haven't arrived yet... so that's an item off the to-do list!

Sunday we got our Christmas tree! Usually that's a weekend-after-Thanksgiving event, but we decided to go ahead and get it done before, since we could. Our Christmas tree farm was even open just for the weekend! But unfortunately, their hours on the website were wrong. When we got there, their last few customers of the day were just leaving, and they let us slip in and pick out our tree quickly. Thankfully, we found one with a lovely shape almost immediately. Probably the quickest Christmas tree shopping ever! We got the lights put on, but other than that it's not decorated yet, so that will be our after-Thanksgiving event most likely.

Monday I had appointments like crazy, but one was my pre-natal massage, and I felt great all day. Tuesday and Wednesday were primarily Thanksgiving prep and the usual household chores around the house, but we also finished ordering the last few items we need from Amazon before Baby's arrival. And I had an appointment with my midwife which confirmed that Baby is still growing just like he should be.

Baby's new thing is pushing his feet out and then moving them around, which is insanely ticklish to me! It's so weird to be tickled from the inside with no warning. He also gets the hiccups usually at least once a day, sometimes more like 3-4 times a day, which gets pretty distracting for me. 

Thanksgiving we had a very fun day with Matt's family, we got started in the morning, visiting and getting last-minute preparations, and then ate the Thanksgiving meal around lunch time, napped a bit in the afternoon, and then celebrated my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's birthdays, his birthday was actually Thanksgiving day, and hers 3 days later. It was so fun just relaxing, and getting to see our nephew on his first Thanksgiving!

Then Friday morning we got up early and drove up to VA for Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. While at my aunt's house, I got the opportunity to figure out some of my great-grandmother's crochet patterns for snowflakes and a cute little bell! My mom and I had already been making some new ones, but she hasn't found her collection in her Christmas stuff yet, so we weren't able to closely inspect any of Great-grandma's ornaments until now! I've been enjoying crocheting because it's something I can do when I just need to sit on the sofa, but I still get to feel productive. So after a second lovely Thanksgiving meal, we walked around the farm, and finished scattering my granddad's ashes. This was our first Thanksgiving without him, and it was pretty strange. 

Friday evening Matt and I headed over to Williamsburg. We spend one night in our favorite Williamsburg hotel, and spent some time at Williamsburg Saturday morning and afternoon. We went to a neat reenactment of Christmas Eve with Martha Custis, 2 weeks before her wedding to Colonel Washington. The weather was great, we walked around quite a bit, and I handled it pretty well which was nice since sometimes I have a hard time with walking due to Braxton Hicks. We went through the George Wythe house which we hadn't done before, and they had a scientist and Mr. Wythe doing reenacting inside, which was neat. Mr. Wythe at one point said to me, "Madam, you are behaving as if you are being kicked." Which, of course, I was! Later, upon observing more reactions to kicks, he commented, "You appear to be growing a gymnast." I was very amused. It was fun to go to Williamsburg again. Next time we go we'll have our little guy with us on the outside! 

To do's are:

Decorate Christmas tree

Buy crib mattress

Continue doubling meals

Research and prep all cloth diapers

Organize nursery

Sew curtains and crib skirt 

Countdown to Baby: 6 weeks to go!

We had a busy, but fun weekend with a visit to Gates County to spread my granddad's ashes (he passed away back in February) and visit with relatives, stopped at a friend's party on our way home, and then lunch and Murder on the Orient Express in theaters with my family after church on Sunday (read my sister's review here!) I was a little worried going into a long day of driving (we spent about 5 hours in the car on Saturday) that I would be uncomfortable, but it went great! I've been feeling somewhat like this pregnancy has made me an invalid lately, so it was nice to make it through like a normal, non-pregnant person. Besides a few extra bathroom stops, anyway!

On Monday, Sarah and Mom met us at a nearby park to take maternity photos! It was a little colder than I was expecting, it seems like we've skipped fall and went straight to winter! But there were still some nice fall leaves, and I think Sarah got a lot of great shots! Can't wait to share a few once they're edited and ready. Here's a few photos Mom took during the shoot:

Matt: "Our faces aren't in this one?? So I can make this face?"

The posing of the hands for this shot was much more difficult than it should have been.

The things a good photographer will do to get the right angle!

Checking out pose ideas on my Pinterest board.

Tuesday I took it easy after all the busyness. But I did double the lasagna we had for dinner, so another frozen meal in the freezer! We're running low on freezer space now.

We got almost all our Christmas shopping done, and I'm really starting to think we might actually finish before Thanksgiving! They just won't all arrive before Thanksgiving, but we can finish wrapping the ones that are still on the way after Thanksgiving. 

We still need to buy the crib mattress and finish out the necessary purchases left on our registry, and I still need to wash my cloth diapers, organize the nursery, and if I have time, sew the curtains and crib skirt!

So, my to-do's now include:

Buy crib mattress

Order last items from registry

Continue doubling meals

Buy all Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving!

Research and prep all cloth diapers

Organize nursery

Sew curtains and crib skirt

Countdown to Baby: 7 weeks to go!

This week went by a little faster! Maybe I don't have time to get in the sewing projects before Baby's arrival.

We didn't get to see the actual crib mattress, but we did get to see the adult size mattresses, and check out the firmness of the foam (made from natural latex) and see what the cotton cover looked like, etc. Also, the price in store was much lower than the price displayed on the website, so I think we're going to go for it!

I had a lovely chiropractic/prenatal massage appointment this week, which has definitely helped me sleep better! It was a fun day, Matt went with me and we packed a picnic lunch that we ate after my appointment at a nearby park. The weather was the perfect fall weather (which we haven't gotten much of yet) and it was so nice to walk in the park after lunch... but we were rudely interrupted much sooner than I would have liked by more Braxton Hicks. I can't wait to be able to walk as much as I want without triggering BH. Soon we'll be taking walks with Baby! 

Along with continuing our Christmas shopping, Matt and I put together our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this week. Two years ago, that was our second date activity! It's been the start of a fun tradition I hope we'll be continuing with our kids. We're slowly continuing to collect and wrap family Christmas gifts, but with only two weeks to Thanksgiving, I think we're going to have to amp things up a bit to finish by then!

I doubled Shepherd's Pie this week, but didn't have enough mashed potatoes to top both, so the one for the freezer will need mashed potatoes added when we're ready to eat it in January. That isn't too big a deal, since the hardest part of Shepherd's Pie in my opinion is the chopping and cooking of the filling, which always takes longer and makes me more tired than I anticipate! I think I'll double it from now on, just because the extra work is hardly noticeable, and then we can have easy Shepherd's Pie!

Baby's kicking has been a little less uncomfortable this week (I had no idea before getting pregnant that having another human hanging out in your abdomen and using your internal organs as punching bags could be quite so painful!), I think because he's getting a little more cramped, and doesn't have as much space to "wind up." I'm definitely enjoying the gentler thumps and squirms. 

Only 49 days to his due date! Which means only 45 days until Christmas! Yikes! Maybe time isn't slowing down after all. 

Countdown to Baby: 8 weeks left!

Only my second post in the baby countdown, and it's late! I need to schedule blogging time apparently. 

This week, I doubled a new recipe that I had never made before, which could have turned out badly, but thankfully we both really liked the recipe, so one more meal in the freezer for January! Here's the recipe: Chicken Broccoli Casserole (I actually put real rice in it, we didn't have any cauliflower on hand. And we added the cheese, since we're not on Whole30 right now.)

Tomorrow we're going to a local store where we can take a look in person at one of the crib mattresses we're considering, so if we love it, we might come home with the mattress, which would be a big check mark!

This past week, my MIL and I found some material that is going to be great for curtains and a crib skirt for the nursery, so I'm adding sewing projects to my to-do list... which might not be the wisest idea, but it seems like I have plenty of time right now. Time seems to be slowing down! 

Matt and I are doing pretty well with our goal of getting all our Christmas presents purchased by Thanksgiving. We've also been wrapping as we purchase, so we've got a pretty good stash of wrapped presents ready for Christmas! It's been fun getting into the Christmas spirit, listening to Christmas music and wrapping gifts already. 

Thanks to a gift from a friend who couldn't make it to the shower, I think our diaper collection is now complete! So now I just need to figure out the best way to wash them so I don't negatively affect the absorbency.

So, my to-do's now include:

Decide on crib mattress

Continue doubling meals

Buy all Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving!

Research and prep all cloth diapers

Sew curtains and crib skirt

Order last items from registry