My pram!

My Pram came!! After long evening of online price comparison, we finally found a good deal on the bugaboo bee and purchased along with the cocoon for newborns. 

It took a little while to get to us. Originally we had decided on Blue (as it is fairly gender neutral so can be used again with the next baby) but they ran out of blue so we went with red. I loved it in yellow, but Andrew brought up a good point - you would see dirt and stains more on the yellow. The cocoon, we had to go with black or wait a few more weeks for new stock to come in. As I am an instant gratification person, I went with black. 

It's super cute! Very maneuverable. Love it. There will be a baby in there soon! 

Spoiler alert: We may have decided on a name but it will be a secret until D-Day! 

 

The Nesting Begins!

It's official. I've hit nesting mode! I usually look forward to lounging around and watching trashy TV on my weekends, but this past weekend, Andrew and I did the complete opposite!


We spent several hours on Saturday completely purging and restructuring our closets. I would like to thank the maintanence guys that forced our hand a bit with this one (having removed and put back in an interesting way EVERYTHING in my closet). By the end, we had 6 trashbags full of giveaways that we took to Oxfams, which is a great organisation that helps combat poverty. I still need to go through my "summer bins" that are up in storage, but it's coming along!


As my reward, we went ahead and ordered our changing table/dresser unit to store baby girl's massive new wardrobe in! I really wanted white and something that was solid wood (not particle board) so we ended up ordering it here in the UK - which was super hard to find something nice for a decent price - thank you Homebase! Here she is:

I would've loved to have gotten the whole set, but we just don't have room right now.


And then Sunday, we went through the rest of the flat and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned! Left of my to-do list? Go through Summer bins, clear out and get rid of the dresser in our bedroom (to make room for baby crib), get rid of the desk in the backroom. I'm sure a million more things will come up, but baby steps right? I can't wait for the baby stuff to find a proper home! 

30 Weeks

It's the final countdown! 30 weeks down, 10 to go! 


Weeks 29 & half of 30 I spent at home in La Plata with the fam (thus no pictures/updates). I had my wonderful baby shower and finally bought some proper maternity clothes because my regular ones are looking super inappropriate mostly because they are really short! Old navy has really cute maxi dresses. My style has been maxi dress, cropped cardi and a long necklace (distracts the eye). I must say, I think it works! 


But week 30 has been amazing because I REALLY feel baby girl move all the time now. She's really gentle so if I'm moving around, I don't always feel her, but when I sit, I start getting little feet stretching out on my right side. Well, what I think are little feet. 


I got a really nice baby names book while we were home and in the BA Lounge while waiting to board, Andrew FINALLY started talking names with me :) We still have VERY different preferences, but we have a small list of names that neither of us flat out rejected! Progress. Do I think I will get my dream name? No. BUT I'm trying to see the benefit of others since I did not make Baby Girl on my own. The book suggests trying out the different names - calling her by a single name for the whole day to see how we like the sound of it. I think we may try that technique this week to see if we can start narrowing the list a bit more - maybe seeing if Andrew will come around to my top choices ;) 

How far along? 30 Weeks

Total weight gain: 19 lbs 

 Maternity clothes? I have given in to the dark side. I am sitting here in a lovely H&M MAMA sweater with little suede elbow patches as I type. I also have some cute maternity maxis from Old Navy. I am just far too big for regular clothes.

Stretch marks? Nope. WHEW!

Sleep: Sleeping Ok. My shoulders fall asleep when I lay on one side for too long, but I am SO tired these days that I don't think I could sleep any harder if I tried. I even take naps every now and then! I've never napped in my life.

Best moment this week:  The 4D scan! Her little face is SO cute and everything looks really good. I can't wait to meet her!

Miss Anything? Wine again. I would really like a tiny glass today... lol. But I won't!

Movement: Big girl moving now! There's no doubt about it when I feel her, I definitely feel her. She kicks/pokes/stretches mostly on my lower right side. Love it!

Food cravings: Cheese. Butter. All things fattening... 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Ground beef. I don't like strong smells of any kind really. Cleaning products are NOT my friend.

Gender: Baby girl
 

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Everything I eat gives me heartburn. Everything. My back hurts when I sit or stand for too long. My feet hurt after I'm done cooking dinner. My body is not liking this extra weight.

Belly Button in or out? In. Barely. It's really weird.

Wedding rings on or off? On.
 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very very happy :) 

Looking forward to:  Getting the last of my baby things! We ordered the changing table over the weekend and will be getting the pram in the next few weeks. I just want to be all organised and ready for my little nugget! She's going to be here in no time!  

State Side Baby Shower!

Andrew and I went home on Friday, March 30th for my final trip to the States before Baby Girl gets here. The very next day we had a wonderful baby shower hosted by Steph, Aunt Marianne, Molly Simpson and Carol Mullen! 


I have only been to a handful of baby showers in my life, but I can't imagine many are much nicer than mine was! I was so so touched by how many people came! Andrew's mom and sister flew in from Texas, Steph came in from Hoboken, Ashley and Emily from Baltimore, Eileen from Arlington, Aunt Cris and Aunt Conchita in from Virgina and West Virgina, Aunt Marianne from Florida - all just for me and Andrew! 


My Aunt and Carol made ALL the food for the shower which was just amazing! I tried to wear a pretty pink dress for the occasion (and going along with the theme) but an hour in, I had already dropped some cheesy deliciousness on the front and ruined all photo opps afterwards. Typical me...


I loved catching up with all my friends and family that came. I can't say it enough, I was so so touched by how many people were there. And then it was present time. All I can say is I will have the best dressed baby in London! We got so many clothes that I'm unsure whether she will even be able to wear all of them! Here are a few snipits of the day! 

Holy Presents!

Me and my beautiful Mom mom

Will always have a special place in my heart for these girls!

Andrew's mom and Celine stayed until Sunday afternoon and it was so great to be able to spend the extra time with them. My whole trip home was so amazing - family, friends, Target...America is a great place. It made me REALLY homesick, but at least I have a lot to look forward to back in London! I had a major reality check when everyone kept saying "the next time I see you, you will have a baby with you!" Absolute craziness. I feel like such an adult!  

Sneak Peak of Baby Girl

Andrew and I are just getting home from our 4D Baby Scan! I'm not sure how it works in the States, but here, with free health care these things are extras so it was a big deal for us! 


The scan was on Harley Street, which is quite swanky. There was soothing music playing in the background as the sonographer did the scan in a dimmed room with massive ceilings and a fireplace. 


It was confirmed that baby girl IS indeed a girl, which makes me happy because we got A LOT of pink at the baby shower two Saturdays ago. I just think it's funny that the sonographers always make comments that make me doubt the accuracy of their sex identification like "Well, I don't see any boy bits" or like today "her legs are closed, but..." But I am mostly convinced that yes, she will be a girl. And then after that, the fun stuff began! 


I really wanted to see her little face, but Baby Girl was REALLY camera shy! Between being breech and then sucking on her fingers, her face seemed to always be blocked! The best shot we got was: 

We weren't able to get any head on shots at all, but the DVD we got with the scan gave a better picture of everything we saw. She was opening her eyes (which apparently you don't see too often!) and yawning a lot. OOh I love her so much already! I can't wait to see that little face in person! I hit 30 weeks today... June is getting closer! Now, if we could only agree on a name...