35 weeks and a few of my favorite things

Today officially marks 35 weeks of being pregnant! Which means we have only five more to go until the little guy makes his grand entrance. And although I'm at the point where I feel really uncomfortable 90% of the time--mostly just rib pain and a muscle in my upper back that won't chill out--and just want my due date to get here already, I also can't help but still feel completely not ready for this. I feel like there's still a million and one things left to do/get before the end of next month. But time stops for no one and so I guess I'll just try to relax as much as I can for these next few weeks and enjoy the process of preparing for a new baby. I thought I'd do something a little different and share with you guys a few of the things that I've really loved and that have helped me feel as comfortable and sane as possible these last eight-ish months. I really liked looking through posts like this when I first found out I was pregnant, so I thought I maybe I could potentially help a girl out with some of my favorites and recommendations as well.

1.) Insulated tumbler- I'm constantly needing water. For a while I would just carry bottled water around with me, but I discovered that once the water wasn't cold anymore, I didn't drink the rest of it. I like to take one of these cups with me everywhere because I can fill it with ice and refill it with water as I need to and it stays super cold for much longer. This one was from Target I think but you can get them pretty much anywhere. I also have a Tervis tumbler that I love as well. You can get those at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or online.

2.) L'Occitane 100% Pure Shea Butter - This stuff is a little pricey, but I feel like it's worth it. It's organic shea butter without any parabens or unhealthy chemicals. It's super moisturizing and has helped my stomach not get itchy at all. And I know they say that getting stretch marks is purely genetic, but I also know that I'm prone to getting them and so far I have none, so I'm thanking this stuff for that. I just put it on at night after I shower and I stay moisturized until the next night. I'm on my second tub of this and it should last me until the end. 

3.) Snacks- Along with being thirsty all the time, I feel like I'm also hungry...all of the time. I try to always keep snacks in my purse so that I never get hungry to the point of feeling sick. Andy teases me sometimes because I'll be digging through my purse in the middle of church trying to find a snack and he's all "What are you, five?" But I just give him a squinty face and don't share. These LaraBars are pretty good (even though the "cookie dough" flavor tastes literally nothing like the actual stuff so don't be fooled) and also pretty good for you. I try to keep things that are not too junky on hand but let's be honest, sometimes it's a little bag of Cadbury mini eggs instead. Sometimes a big bag. 'TIS the season.

4.) Bringing Up Bebe- I really kind of just stayed away from parenting books, because there's just so many different "philosophies" and "methods" and I feel like it'd be really easy to overload on information. I think that it's going to be best to just rely on natural instincts, but this book was one that was highly recommended and it seemed interesting so I bought it and I've really loved it. It focuses on balancing all aspects of life even after baby and taking the whole parenting thing one step at a time without rushing stages. It's about being laid-back and encouraging independence but still teaching your children appropriate behavior and respect for those around them. 

5.) H&M maternity jeans- I only bought a few maternity shirts because most of my normal shirts have been able to still work for me, but if you are pregnant and want to still feel like a human being, get some maternity jeans. I avoided getting maternity jeans for the longest time, because I didn't want to spend money on jeans that I would only wear for a few months. But after a while of the hair-tie trick and a belly-band to try to make my normal jeans work, I caved and got a few pairs from H&M about a month ago. They're affordable and they are so much more comfortable. They fit really nicely and don't look frumpy, BUT if you get some from H&M, definitely go a size or two up. I don't know why, but they run really small. 

6.) Rice pack/heat pads- This is one that my mom actually made for me and it has been a complete lifesaver. I've had a fairly easy pregnancy luckily, but something I haven't been able to avoid is back pains. I've always had a crummy back, but ever since I hit about 27 weeks, I've had this muscle in my upper back that just tenses up and burns like crazy. I can pop this rice pack into the microwave for a few minutes and then lay with it under my back and it helps that muscle relax a bit. It also has lavender oil in it so it smells nice, too. Thanks Mom!

7.) Leggings- Most of the time, I'm in leggings. Gap has some really comfy ones that I wear all the time. They're a little too sheer to wear out, but when I'm at home they're perfect. Gap has really good maternity clothes in general. I love their pure body tees as well. They're a great length and fit through all stages of pregnancy. My favorite, favorite leggings are these from Lululemon. I have them in heathered black, but they have a lot of fun colors. They were a gift from my sister-in-law, and I've only had them for a short time now but I'm wondering how I lived without them. The reason why these are so great is because the waistband is really wide and has no elastic that's going to dig into your stomach. They are so dang comfortable and I want to wear them every single day. Their standard Wunder Under pant is nice also because they're a lot thicker and more durable than most other plain black leggings, so you can wear them out. Which I do...because leggings are pants. 

"these sweatpants are all that fits me right now."

Today I am grateful for leggings. Thirty weeks down, ten to go!

settling in

As of today we've been in California for about a week and a half and so far, so good! Number of times commenting on 'Oh my gosh can you believe this weather are we sure it's January?': at least a hundred. Number of times I've attempted driving on the freeway: a big fat zero. No thank you...not ready for that yet. Baby steps.

Aaaand speaking of babies, I'm now at 29 and a half weeks pregnant! Really I've had it so easy so far with the exception of the worst heartburn known to man and some rib and back pain that has made it pretty uncomfortable to sit through car rides, movies, church, you name it. Other than that it's really been smooth sailing and I'm so grateful for that. Switching doctors was a bit of a hassle though, and I was actually really sad to leave the ones I had in Idaho. We had an incident last week when we went in to have our first appointment with our new doctor, and long story short, our new insurance policy won't kick in until the first of February and that means that the few check-up appointments we have this month won't happen until then unless we want to shovel out a few thousand per appointment. Which, yeah right. Despite Andy's greatest efforts over the phone, our insurance agency informed us that nothing could be done. I felt so helpless. My eyes got all foggy and next thing I knew, heavy, hot tears were falling town my face faster than I could wipe them, rudely ignoring all of my throat-clearings and upwards-looking to try and keep them in. And I was hyper-aware of the line of people waiting behind me, which made it even worse. I'm sure they were thinking "oh you poor, overly-emotional, first-time-mom," and, (raises hand) yeah, that's me...but I just felt so nervous and inadequate and clueless and I couldn't help it. Because this is my first go at this, and while I knew I felt fine and everything seemed fine, I still wanted that reassurance from the doctor that it all really was fine. It's not like we were talking twisted ankles or broken fingers here, but a baby. My baby, who I already love so much. And I just needed to know that he was okay. Luckily, a call to my doctor back in Idaho reassured me that I would be just fine to wait until February as long as I was feeling okay and nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and I was able to calm down. The emotions...sheesh.

Also, we have our name choices narrowed down to three. Two, sometimes. Some people have names picked out by the time they find out the gender and some before they even get pregnant. And I really admire those people and their confidence in baby-name-picking, but I am not one of those people. Ahh! We'll get there. Again, babyyyy steps. As for now, I'm really enjoying finishing up my online baby registry and re-watching some of my fave shows on Netflix. Living the life!

big changes!

This new year is going to bring a lot of changes. A few very big changes. One being the new baby and the other being a move. Andy was given a great opportunity to take a job that requires us to move to Orange County, California. When he first brought it up I was all "no...nope...definitely not." Just because I really don't know much about the area except..traffic. But as time went on I realized the huge blessing this opportunity really was for us and our growing family. Initially, we planned on moving in April, but around Thanksgiving we decided that it would be best to go ahead and move in January before the baby comes. So it's been a quick transition. Something I've never been very good at is changing plans last second. I like to know what's ahead of me and have time to mentally prepare myself for what I'm about to face, and I didn't really get much prep time in this case. But I think that it's been good for me. I really need to learn to go with the flow a little bit better, and what better way to do that than to up and move your whole life to a place that you know little to nothing about with one month's notice?? I'm kinda sad to leave little old Rexburg if I'm being honest. I've truly grown to love this tiny town, and I'm grateful to have spent the last several years of my life here. It's such a unique and special place to me. I was able to attend an amazing University and meet some of the greatest people I know. I'm sad to not live just a short drive down the road from my friends and siblings. I'm also sad to leave a job that I love so much. One thing I'm not even a little bit sad to leave behind is the below zero temperatures (currently -9). So good riddance to that.
I'm excited to start new somewhere. It's always kind of a cliche but I really love the concept of new beginnings, and I'm excited to go explore this new place and make it a home for a little while. Here's to a new year and new adventures!