Dear Baby Cook | 30 weeks

Dear Baby Cook: I don't want to forget that your daddy and I were binge-watching "the wire" this week. We also car shopped til we dropped, and found the perfect family car for all of us. We haven't bought it yet because your mommy and daddy are always waiting for the best deal. We plan to paint your dresser this weekend, and start hanging up your clothes. Your grandma has saved some really good clothes from all your cousins!  I also passed my 3-hour glucose test, and was the most brutal dr. Appt yet! Can't wait to see you on the big screen on July 21! Love you baby girl! *bump pic coming soon* I had some difficulties this am. 

How far along: 30 weeks 

Baby size: about three lbs they say. Still measuring a week behind! 

Weight gain: 17 lbs per the Dr.

Stretch marks: some small ones on my left hip. Still the only ones I've found. 

Mood: anxious to get stuff done, and content with all that is happening! I squeal at baby shower gifts in the mail and stalk my registry websites like a crazy person!

Wedding ring: on

Belly button:  In, but less of a hole is there. Lol. That sounds weird. 

Sleep: sure, when I have time for it. Still waking up early some days. And having no trouble getting back to bed after bathroom breaks. 

Gender: a little girl. We have officially decided to name her at the hospital! This is driving some people crazy but I don't want to think about it right now. Picking the name at go time will be special for us. 

Movement: movements are getting so strong! they startle me at my desk. She must be doing full rollovers and position changes. My iPad was on my stomach the other night and she was moving it. 

Best moment this week: Giving Matthew his first Father's Day gifts, and almost deciding on my diaper bag. OH and getting a fan for my desk :) 

Looking forward to: baby shower time! And packing my hospital bag. I don't know why I am already obsessing over that, but I so am. I pretty much want us all to wear peach at the hospital too. I told my boss if I go into labor at work I am quietly walking into her office, we'll go get the bag in my car and I don't want to tell anyone what is happening!! 

Food cravings: nothing really. Still loving on some cinnamon rolls. I think it's time to hit the very small meal approach because too much food makes me mega uncomfortable! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Labor Signs: omg I got two weird back spasms and don't know if they were tinsy contractions. It was so weird! I got excited then anxious! I told Matt we are putting the to-do list in over drive. 

What I miss: my non chubby face. That's about it tho. Now that I look really pregnant I'm enjoying it more. I love talking to strangers about it, and I'm not a sensitive pregnant girl at all! 

Symptoms: back pain-a-liscious these days! Nothing new comes to mind, but of course I forget everything.

Workouts: none. Well, I have done some pelvic tilts to help with back pain. Getting through the day feels like work out enough.

And that's all she wrote! Later homies.

Furniture Friday | hutch and dresser

Two posts in a day?! Illegal right! This is what nesting does to you my friends.  Here is the hutch we bought off of Craig's list for $225, and then painted a frosty blue (paint is "ice rink" by Martha Stewart)

Ignore my vacuum cord and amateur photo taking skills.

 

I kind of hated the way the color worked in our dining room initially, but it's growing on me. I need some light blue accessories and to change my cornice boards. I know I know. I said that last week, so it should be done. But, good ol' pregnancy brain had me forget to grab my mom's staple gun last weekend. So we shall see when that happens, and then the dining room will be done! With the exception of adding her high chair ;) I can't wait for some home tour posts. 

And then next up: our new dresser that we got for 60% off at a consignment store. Isn't she gorgeous?! And no it does not look like that right now,  I just don't have another pic at the moment. The master is shaping up! 

Third trimester stuff | 29 weeks

Between protesting our property taxes, car shopping, nesting craziness and car breakdowns, the week has just flown by. I practically blinked and it was Friday. But I enjoy being busy for that exact reason, so no complaints here! I've just made a mental note to seriously take some days off, and schedule that prenatal massage my coworker Kimberly gifted me!

I've also made a vow to not let the third trimester get me down. It's easy to fall into the "third trimester sucks" mentality, which hey, if that's you I am totally not judging. I am just trying to keep myself in a good place and enjoy this time. If you ask my feet or my back they'd say, "this sucks!"  But again, I'm doing my best to not pay too much attention to those details. I'm pumped about my baby showers, getting a mom car, hostess gifts, more furniture / nursery projects and packing my hospital bag! I think I want to pack that sucker right now! 

maternity dress from asos.com

I'm skipping the questionnaire this week, but I will say my pregnancy brain was at all time high, I get super full after eating and I'm finally starting to get hot. At the same time, I'm praising the pregnancy gods for the invention of the support belt, chafing cream, and Liz Lange for Target casual prego tees! The fabric is just so comfy!  I also want to thank the man above for all these blessings. I don't want to take anything for granted! 

Oh and if you are pregnant, you MUST watch this parody!! It's made me chuckle all week long! 

Over and out!! 

My fave pregnancy blogs

Now that I am in the third trimester, the only thing I can think about is the baby. I’m binging on other pregnancy blogs, and suddenly reading old pregnancy posts from bloggers just had a baby within the last year. I probably wasn’t paying as close attention to those posts as I was trying to plot out trips to Coachella and Costa Rica, but now I am loving these posts more than ever!

I’ll just call myself the baby sponge for now! I know every mother and child is unique, but I find so much comfort in hearing others’ stories. So, here are some blog I’ve been reading lately!

http://lifeloveandpuppyprints.blogspot.com

www.thesouthermess.com  

www.pillowthought.com  

www.northcarolinacharm.com

http://brittandwill.blogspot.com

http://lifewiththehawleys.blogspot.com

http://stresscasey.blogspot.com

 

If you have any suggestions, send them my way! Or if you yourself are prego and blogging about drop me a line! I know there are so many amazing pregnancy and mom blogs out there!

Pregnancy back pain

Ahh. The weekend is over. I don’t think I ever appreciated the words TGIF like I do as a prego, but I digress. It seems I think I am crossing items off my to-do list, then poof! I discover new items. But, hey. I am also really neurotic and over-research everything, so this is probably my own fault.

Anywhoo!  Besides the new maid I plan to hire, I just have to give a shout out to what has been helping me get through our seemingly never ending list of stuff to do. Meet my new friend, the maternity support belt.

^This would be me in the a.m. with no makeup on. Your welcome! Haha. Kidding. #keepingitreal^

It may or may not resemble a WWE championship belt, and my husband lets out a small chuckle every time I adjust the thing.  It takes a while to get the hang of disguising it in your clothes and velcro’ing it properly to prevent it rubbing against your belly in not so great ways. But let me tell you, the hassle is worth it prego friends!  My back pain has been reduced significantly, and I don’t even notice pelvic bone pain when I have it on. OH and I can walk much faster! Seriously, being a slower walker is just plain weird, and I'm super grateful that this problem has been helped J

The brand I am sporting is the Mom-EZ in a medium, and I personally found mine at the nine maternity boutique at my Dr.’s Office (nothing beats convenience!), but you can also find it on amazon.com here.  And its 5 bucks cheaper!

this product has really helped me so much, and I just had to share. And I’m out. Off to tackle the gazillion things I invented for myself to accomplish!  It seems I am way behind in baby planning when I compare myself to other girls about as far along as me, so I need to get crackin’!

Furniture Friday

Furniture Friday, Furniture Friday. Ok, so really a lot has been going down in Casa de Cook, but it’s all a jumbled mess and not quite finished therefore my furniture Friday is in a bit of a holding pattern. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but with me being a couch potato with a bad back, getting things checked of the list is MUCH, MUCH harder.  I usually start projects, and then make my husband or mom help me finish them, but yea that isn't happening these days. BUT. Some progress has been made. 

We painted the master bedroom. It's a behr color called vintage linen. We bought a new dresser (not pictured) last weekend,  and the dresser you see has made it's way to the nursery. Our new dresser is a a whole post in itself; we searched high and low for a while, then had to trek out to Austin to get it! We still need to paint her dresser, but more on nursery in a few weeks! 

I love our windows. It's one perk of a three story house. All you see is trees when you look out the master windows :) this has a lot of influence on the direction I want to take for the room. I'm not going full on green like I said when I got home from Costa Rica last year. I pretty much wanted to move to the rain forest after that trip, but I very much want green accents in our master bedroom. And indoor plants. Stay tuned! Green isn't the easiest color scheme. 

The difference between my super light walls and the vintage linen below 

We have painted this hutch a light, frosty blue! Pictures coming soon, husband literally finished it last night. Two weeks ago, I painted 85% of it.. Then my back gave out and I said no more. Oh, I have a new neutral fabric for our cornice boards. Bye bye to that navy in the right corner.

And, I am so not ready to talk about the nursery, but we did paint it about 5-6 weeks ago.. Here's a peek:

The color is much more peach in person, and I can NOT wait to stop with my house projects and move into the nursery. There's is not too much left in the house, but I just know it will not get get done once she is here, and want to be in a good place! 

Here's to hoping this weekend is productive... and our first weekend in three weekends that doesn't include a road trip. Thank goodness! Love you blogworld. Peace. 

It's getting real

This picture was taken at the launch of Houston's new image campaign. Check out www.thecitywithnolimits.com to check out what is going on in Houston! And hashtag your Houston pictures #houstonnolimits. I'll post more about that later, but I have never been more proud or excited to be a Houstonian!~

Soooo, 28 weeks. My goodness. I haven't posted since my last bumpdate, which is shameful. I have so many posts in my brain, (pregnancy really causes some crazy thoughts) but so little time! My to-do list is staring me in the face, yet I am just such a slower mover these days I feel like I never get enough done. I keep telling myself she could come early in effort to get myself going, yet that only makes me a little anxious so I probably should cease that tactic.

How far along: 28 weeks

Baby size: about two lbs they say. I am still measuring a week behind per the Dr.

Weight gain: 16 lbs per the Dr.

Stretch marks: I think I found one.. and I am so not ready to talk about it.

Mood: countdown mode. I have got my eyes on the prize!   

Wedding ring: on

Belly button:  Very in.

Sleep: yea, I wake up a lot but I guess I am used to it. I think I have adjusted to less sleep overall.

Gender: a little girl. The name debate is still on!

Movement:  tonsss of movement. I think it’s funniest when I lay on my side and she just taps the side I’m laying on. She just gives me 5 little taps then stops.  

Best moment this week:  watching xmen and feeling her kick like crazy during the climax. Girly knew it was going down! Getting a maternity belt for my back. Fun stuff right???

Looking forward to: car shopping!! and our next big ultrasound. That won’t be scheduled for another 4-6 weeks, but I am already so excited about it. These appointments are also when Matthew comes, and I love that part the most!

Food cravings: does diet coke and wine count as food? lol. Other than that, I just have to make sure I eat a lot of protein.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Labor Signs: nope. Doc said I might start feeling Braxton Hicks as soon as 30 weeks.  

What I miss: social outings with drinks lol. I don’t get out much these days because I’d rather stay home, but maybe I should make more of an effort. Obviously not the drinks part!

Symptoms: back pain, pelvic bone pain, walking slow, and darkening skin. And growing feet. Ha.

Workouts: none. Well, I have done some pelvic tilts to help with back pain. Getting through the day feels like work out enough.