Eviction Notice (aka 41 weeks)

Oh my goodness!  Still here and still pregnant!  This little girl is just not done cooking yet, but this post serves as her eviction notice.  It's time to find new digs!

How far along? 41 weeks, holy cow!

Maternity clothes? bahaha, nothing fits

Stretch marks? a few, not happy about it, but it could be worse

Sleep: sleep is average, but still getting up a few times during the night

Best moment this week:
uhhh... I'm blanking
But I'm truly thankful to have been able to incubate a baby this long.  And while I'm not thrilled to be this overdue, I'm happy that she has been able to grow and develop as long as she has and she better be a smarty pants when she comes out!

Miss Anything? not being pregnant and ginormous, but soon I will miss that

Movement: always moving, this girl never stops!

Food cravings: junk.  Healthy just doesn't sound appealing, but I need to jump back on that bandwagon soon.

Exercise:
Still walking every day.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope, just ready to be done

Gender: Pretty little lady!  

Labor Signs: false labor, the braxton hicks are picking up, but nothing's happening

Symptoms: nerve pain under my ribs, waddling, braxton hicks

Belly Button in or out? not really in or out

Wedding ring on or off? ring is off.  I tried my wedding ring on today and it was very tight.  

Happy or Moody most of the time: impatient and anxious!  We just want to meet her but she's not ready to meet us

Looking forward to:
having an outside baby



Dear little miss,

This letter will be short and sweet.
This is your eviction notice.  It's time to vacate now.
I want to meet you.  Your daddy wants to meet you (he tells you daily how he wants you to come out now).  Your grandparents want to meet you.  All of our friends and family are waiting on pins and needles for the good news.
You have a lot of people waiting for you to make your big debut.  I guess you just want to make a grand entrance?  Well, it's time now.

Love,
mama

Still...

Still here...
Still waiting...
Still pregnant.

I really should not be surprised at all.  We totally jinxed ourselves and assumed she would be all Loeffler and come early.  BUT she's taken after her mama and is late.  4 days late to be exact.

As our due date approached last weekend, I became more and more anxious and cranky.  I just wanted this baby out!  (I have loved being pregnant and to be honest, I can't wait for baby #2 to do this all over again (not any time soon though!  I already know that this little miss is going to keep us on our toes).  But there comes a time when you are just done.  Done being big, done waddling, done not having anything to wear, done tossing and turning all night, done getting up to go to the bathroom 2, 3, 4 times a night, JUST DONE!)

When we passed our due date, I was a mess.  Cranky, crying, emotional, etc.  People text, call, and email wondering if there is a baby on the outside and I just stopped answering.  No news is just that, people, NO NEWS.  I started getting email newsletters this week from the hospital or the pregnancy websites telling me all about my first week with a newborn.  I wanted to chuck my computer across the room or drop it from our loft. 

And then I go into her room and look at her clothes and see the 8+ newborn outfits that people have given us and think "well, can't wear those anymore!" since this child will probably come out walking!  Seriously, don't buy people newborn clothes because now I have all these tiny outfits that we won't use (and who knows if we'll have any other girls).  Rule of thumb when buying baby gifts: 3 months+.

Can you tell I'm still cranky?  That's what being 4 days and counting past your due date will do to you.  I even ate Taco Bell last night hoping that would work.  It didn't and now I remember why I don't eat Taco Bell.

40 weeks, a due date, and no baby yet

Bet you didn't think you'd get one more post out of me and a big belly pic, did ya?  Yeah, me neither.  We should've known.  We expected her to be an early bird like her daddy, so of course she would take her sweet time and make everyone wait.

Baby Girl is size of a watermelon (still) or a jackfruit (I don't know what that is).  She is at her birth weight (which is big in my opinion) and taking her sweet time joining us on the outside!

How far along? 40 weeks and still large and in charge!

Maternity clothes? bahaha, nothing fits

Stretch marks? let's not talk about it.

Sleep: sleep is average, but still getting up a few times during the night

Best moment this week:
hmmm best moment?  well, I still have a baby on the inside, so not that.  I waddle, not that either.  But we've been very grateful for a boring, uneventful pregnancy and keeping her on the inside to develop as much as she needs to.

Miss Anything? walking without waddling, clothes that fit, not being HUGE

Movement: omg, this child will not stop moving!  She still kicks and stretches all the time.  I can feel her head moving a lot more since it's so low in my pelvis.

Food cravings: I just eat out of boredom now and not out of necessity or because I really want anything.

Exercise:
Still walking 2-3 miles a day hoping to get things moving, no such luck.  Even did a few 30-60 second jogs during our walks, jumping jacks, and lots of stair climbing.  Still nothing

Anything making you queasy or sick: I always have a stomach ache now

Gender: Pretty little lady!  

Labor Signs: more braxton hicks, but nothing consistent

Symptoms: back pain, rib pain, braxton hicks, the waddle

Belly Button in or out? not really in or out

Wedding ring on or off? ring is off.  I tried my wedding ring on today and it was very tight.  

Happy or Moody most of the time: moody this week.  Moody and bitter and uncomfortable.  My good friend had her baby on Monday (thrilled for her!), but she wasn't due until December and I'm still huge and pregnant!  So I hopped aboard the bitter train for a day or so because I'm still pregnant, but LLL will decide when she's ready to join us and there's nothing that anyone can do about it (unless we get to 41.5 weeks and then she gets her eviction notice from the doctor)

Looking forward to:
having a baby on the outside!  It's time to come out now!


Dear baby girl,

On my you are quite the stubborn lady, just like mama and daddy.  I'm going to keep this short because really, you need to join us now.  I know the beginning of the week was a little chilly and it was warmer on the inside, but the weather is pretty nice now and I think you'll be fine coming out.  Plus we have all of these cute little clothes for you to wear.

Your daddy is getting more and more anxious.  He wants you to come out so he can hold you.  He's jealous that I have gotten so much time with you already and he would like to be able to see you and cuddle you.

Everyone is very impatiently awaiting your arrival.  You should probably just come now so your Gma and Gpa stop texting me every day wondering if you're ready to make your debut.  We have our 40 week appointment on Monday and a big part of me thinks that you are going to wait to come until after that to prove all of the doctors and nurses wrong.  They kept telling me that they might not see us again, I laughed and said "See you on Monday!" when we left.

Well, I'm hoping that I'm not writing you another letter for 41 weeks.  I hope to be too busy keeping up with you on the outside and not waddling around with a big belly.

See you soon! (I hope)

love,
mama

Baby Showers!

Now this post is WAY overdue seeing as how our first family baby shower was in the beginning of September and our second was in the middle of October (our actual first baby shower was back in May/June which my amazing coworkers/teacher friends through for me, but I don't have any pictures).

On September 7th, we headed up to La Crosse, WI to celebrate the little lady with Andrew's extended family.  It was definitely a Pinterest-worthy party and Beth, Andrew's mom, did an amazing job with it.  I ate way too much and felt even more ginormous than I looked at 30 weeks pregnant.  There aren't a ton of pictures from the actual shower because everyone was way too busy eating the yummy food and opening gifts and not so worried about taking pictures.  We did, however, get pictures of the set-up :)

After the shower, we spent some time with Andrew's grandpa and then went out to dinner with his parents, my parents, and Grandpa Loeffler.  The girls stayed at the kennel for the night, so we enjoyed our time in La Crosse with family.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Fast forward 5 weeks and I was 35 weeks LARGE!  Thankfully I found a new dress at Target the week before that still fit (otherwise we would have been in trouble! It would have been yoga pants and a tank top!).  I was originally planning on wearing the blue dress that I wore to the La Crosse shower to the Geneva shower, but decided after trying it on at 30 weeks, there was NO WAY it was going to fit at 35 weeks.

Geneva was a "glamma" themed bash with our friends and family.  There was no mistaking that the "Glammas" (glamorous grandmas) and the great grandma were very excited to have a grandbaby.

Here are a few pictures from the Geneva shower.  I still have to get the rest someday from my grandpa.

39 Weeks

Baby Girl is size of a watermelon!  (we're a watermelon from here on out) She is between 19-21 inches and probably weighs 7-8 pounds!

Her fingernails may extend past her fingertips now.  Her brain is still rapidly developing.  She can flex her limbs.

How far along? 39 weeks and still pregnant!  And to think that we were all worried that she would be early.  I think I'll still be writing these posts next week.

Maternity clothes? thank goodness we are almost done because even my maternity clothes barely fit!

Stretch marks? let's not talk about it.

Sleep: sleep is average, but still getting up a few times during the night

Best moment this week:
Nothing really super exciting this week.  I would say our 38 week appointment, but that was just to tell me that I'm still only 1-2 cm dilated and it hurt like a B to get checked.
I finished making all of our freezer meals, success!

Miss Anything? walking without waddling, clothes that fit

Movement:still moving all the time.  Lots of big kicks and punches. 

Food cravings: Still love donuts and really carbs of any kind.  Healthy eating is not appealing at all right now.

Exercise:
Still walking the girls about 2 miles a day (some days 2.5 or 3).
Went for a 2 hour walk this week and that was overdoing it.  I felt really good walking, but my leg really hurt later that night.  Lesson learned.
I did the Bar Method Pregnancy workout twice this week.  Pretty proud of myself that I can still manage to do that! And also did some strength training.

Anything making you queasy or sick: just having heartburn, makes me feel a little queasy and not want to eat

Gender: Pretty little lady!  

Labor Signs: more braxton hicks, but nothing consistent

Symptoms: back pain, rib pain, braxton hicks, the waddle

Belly Button in or out? not really in or out

Wedding ring on or off? ring is off.  I tried my wedding ring on today and it was very tight.  

Happy or Moody most of the time: eh just uncomfortable and ready for baby to be here.  I think we still have at least another week or week and a half. I don't see her coming before her due date.  I would not be surprised if I go past 41 weeks.  And if that's the case, my mood would be SUPER CRABBY!

Looking forward to:
39 week appointment on Tuesday, hoping for more progress


Dear little lady,

Your eviction notice is coming soon.  I hope you are getting ready to vacate.  We have a really great room all set up and ready for you and even a rock n play for you to sleep in mommy and daddy's room for the first week or two.

You still are moving all the time.  You love to kick and punch, much to my dismay.  I think you are going to have long skinny legs like your daddy.  I'm so curious who you will look like.  And if you'll have any hair!

I wanted to make it to 38 weeks with you to make sure that you would be big and healthy.  Well, we're past that point, so you can come at any time!  I have a feeling you are going to wait until past your due date.  Please don't wait too long though.  I don't really want you to always have a Thanksgiving birthday (although it is better than Christmas).

We're waiting for you!

Love,
Your mama

This is how Maddie feels about baby.  Worried much?

Nursery Reveal

I apologize for all the pregnancy/baby posts as of late.  I was so good about this whole blogging thing during the summer and posting recipes and crafting projects, but I'm just too exhausted most of the time to do much of anything.  But there will be many, many more baby posts to come as we are nearing the end of our first pregnancy journey (yes, I said "first" because we hope there will be more to come in the future).

We are FINALLY done with the nursery and I have been dying to share it with everyone!  We are still missing the baby to go in it, but she is very comfy and cozy where she is, so I don't think she will be joining us anytime soon.

In the age of Pinterest, creating a nursery proved to be more difficult than I thought.  I pinned tons of cute ideas and wanted it to look like a magazine, just like those pins!  It got to the point where I just had to stop going on Pinterest because I felt inferior and it was just too much pressure.  However, it was a good jumping off point. 

We knew that we wanted something very gender-neutral so we wouldn't have to change it for the next baby.  We decided on the color scheme immediately: gray, yellow, and navy.  Then came the very tough task of finding the perfect crib, perfect glider, perfect bedding, and curtains, etc.  We wanted very simple furniture, nothing big and fancy.  While it was a big headache planning it and finding everything to go in the nursery, we are so pleased with how it turned out.

 My mom and I made the chevron curtains (which ended up being quite the project.

She also made the pillows on the glider.

The glider is from buybuyBaby (sold in stores not online)

 Dresser from Target

Ubbi diaper pail from buybuyBaby

 Bookshelf and lamp from Target

 I found some artwork on Etsy that was very similar to this and LOVED it, but knew that I could easily do it myself.  So I made these canvases (blog post here)

 I also made some subway art with the lyrics to "Your Song" by Elton John.  It was our first dance at our wedding and has been our song since high school.

 Fisher Price Rock n Play (with broccoli from IKEA)

 LLL's closet

 Summer Infant Baby Touch 2.0 Video Monitor on the wall

My mom and I made the crib skirt as well and I am in love with it!

Crib from Walmart.com (of all places)

38 Weeks

 you can totally tell that this is a non-maternity sweater that should never be worn with a big pumpkin belly.  This sweater may never be the same (I hope I didn't stretch it out too much!)

Baby Girl is size of a pumpkin!  She is between 19-21 inches and probably weighs about 7 pounds!

Baby is most likely at her final birth length and almost at her birth weight.  The doctor has said that she's all legs. 

How far along? 38 weeks and impatiently awaiting her arrival

Maternity clothes? bahaha, this question is a joke now!  I worry more about what I will wear after she's born, eek!

Stretch marks? let's not talk about it.

Sleep: still very tired all the time.  But I started reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth this week and I usually stay up late reading that.  And I have to get up by 7am because my hips and shoulders hurt too much and my arms go numb.

Best moment this week:
37 week appointment went well and we are right on track.
And mama also promoted to District Manager with Arbonne this week :)

Miss Anything? walking without waddling

Movement:still moving all the time.  Lots of big kicks

Food cravings: donuts! 

Exercise:
Still walking the girls about 2 miles a day (some days 2.5 or 3).
I did the Bar Method Pregnancy workout this week.  Pretty proud of myself that I can still manage to do that! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: just having heartburn, makes me feel a little queasy and not want to eat

Gender: Pretty little lady!  

Labor Signs: ugh, no.  I'm ready to be done though.  I'm just plain uncomfortable, but she is quite content in there still so I think we still have a few weeks.

Symptoms: congestion, braxton hicks, hip pain, rib pain, nerve pain on my stomach, back pain (it's a long list, but it isn't too bad)

Belly Button in or out? not really in or out

Wedding ring on or off? ring is off. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: ready for baby!  The anticipation is killing us.  For two planners, this uncertainty is driving us nuts!

Looking forward to:
38 week appointment on Tuesday


Dear baby,

We are still about two weeks away from your "due date," but your eviction notice is coming very soon, if not overdue.  We are ready for you to be here and mainly just because I am so darn uncomfortable at the moment.  I have loved being pregnant with you and I know once you are on the outside I will miss it, but I'm just ready to be done now.  Daddy and I are planners, so not knowing when exactly you will come is killing us as well.

You are still constantly moving and kicking.  I really think you are all legs and will probably have your daddy's long skinny legs  (let's hope you don't have mama's thighs!  But if you do, I apologize profusely.  We'll go running together when you are older and put them to good use).  The doctors are pretty confident that you will be in there for a bit longer.  I was only dilated 1-2cm last week.

Your car seat is back in the car and your bag is packed, sitting in your room, just waiting.  I am almost done packing my bag, which will give your daddy peace of mind.

We still have lots of cleaning to do in the house to be ready for your arrival.  Your big sister Maddie has all of her toys strewn about the living room right now that need to be picked up.  She will probably be a bigger mess than you ever will be.

It's been a pretty uneventful week.  We are just very impatiently waiting for you.

Hope to see you soon!
Love,
your mama

Maternity Photos

A few weeks ago, our wonderfully talented future sister-in-law took some maternity photos for us.

She is ridiculously talented, Andrew and I are just horrible subjects to take pictures of.  I'm talking awkward-central, people.  Same with our wedding pictures.  We're just not good with poses.  So don't judge her photography skills based on what we look like in these pictures, we're just that awkward!
Go check out more of her AMAZING work at K Schulz Photography.

I hope our poor child and future children don't inherit this awkward photo gene we've got going on here.  Unfortunately, I can't help her with the big frizzy hair, she's inevitably going to inherit that.  And even though I was indeed wearing makeup (mascara, blush, the whole 9 yards) you'd never know.  Oh well!