Baby Bump - Month 9

How far along?  38 weeks

Gender:  Boy - Noah Ryan

Feeling:   The last month of pregnancy is never my favorite, sleepless nights, lower back pain, and overall discomfort make it tough on my everyday life of keeping up with 2 very busy toddlers.  But, at this point I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of holding my sweet boy, which is enough to keep me going.  I've finally decided the classes at the gym are a little much if I don't want my water to break mid-squat, but I still try to make it 2-3 times a week for a walk and some light weights.  Most days I am able to keep my heartburn under control and I've had very little swelling this pregnancy, which is a nice change up compared to how I was with the girls.  We've been soaking up the sun around here when we can and I'm trying to enjoy all the little things with the girls.  The botanical gardens has been one of our favorite spots, along with evenings at the pool and even a few beach days.  My bump may still be ghostly white, but this momma has gotten a little bit of a tan :)

I've continued with my weekly NSTs and baby Noah always passes with flying colors.  I had an ultra sound at 36 weeks and he measured around 7 1/2 pounds already!  Big boy and high fluid have made for one big belly (hence the back pain!)  At 37 weeks I've started having some contractions here and there, but luckily when Dr. Pirkle checked me I wasn't dilated and baby boy is still sitting up pretty high.  Most moms would be less than thrilled with that news,  I was the opposite because I've made it this long, ideally I would like for little man to stay put until May 12th.  I go back for another NST and visit this week and I'm hoping for the same report :)  I also have my appointment with urology this week to check little man's kidneys.

Mommy and Addie showing off our baby bumps :)

My not so little baby anymore is excited to meet her baby brother!

All about Food:  I have been back on a fruit kick, especially strawberries since they are so yummy these days.  Eric requested strawberry shortcake the other day and it was absolutely delicious, now I can't get enough!  I also can't get enough apples and apple juice, lemonade, and sweets.  My mid-day NSTs give me the perfect excuse to enjoy a sweet treat to get him moving and I'm totally embracing that. 

Favorite moments:
-My family and friends spoiled Noah and I with the most perfect baby sprinkle - baseball theme, a waffle bar, and the most delicious homemade baseball cookies - what more could a momma want!  It was a great afternoon spent with great company celebrating our little boy's upcoming arrival!
-We enjoyed our first trip to Busch Gardens of the season over Eric's spring break and we can't wait to go back as a family of FIVE.
-Easter weekend we had a full house of visitors and we had a blast.  The weather was beautiful and we spent Easter Sunday hanging out on the beach.  It doesn't get much better than that :)
-Addie and Bella took their Big Siblings class at the hospital, they are ready to fill their roles now and can't wait to go to the hospital to meet their baby brother.
-I got to see our little man on the ultra sound at 36 weeks and got the sweetest little 3-D picture of him.  It's crazy how much he already resembles his big sisters.
-I love how eager Addie is to meet her brother, she asked almost daily if it's time to go get Noah.  It's so sweet.
-Bella is preparing in her own way too!  She is testing out all of Noah's baby gear with her baby dolls, just like Addie did almost 2 years ago.  It's so sweet to watch her take her dolls for walks, feed them their bottle, and "shhhh" as she pushes them in the swing.

Looking forward to:  
-Meeting our sweet boy and embracing everything about being a family of FIVE :)

Thoughts on THREE

The other night I came across an article from Scary Mommy called "5 Things I Stopped Doing When I Had My Third Baby" and had a minor heart attack.  I know Scary Mommy loves to have humor in all of their "inspiring" articles on motherhood, but still.  Then, I continued to search Pinterest for other articles about having your 3rd baby and I've learned searching for that is just like checking WebMD for medical advice.  Everything out there is terrifying and so negative!  They all say, you'll never sleep again, screaming and fighting with your older 2 will never end, forget leaving the house...ever, your house will always look like a tornado went through it at all times because you will never leave it, and I could go on and on.

Instead of believing all of these articles, I would like to be more optimistic about what life will be like as we welcome our 3rd baby very soon (2 weeks and counting to be exact.)  When I think back about the days before I had Addie, I was pretty nervous.  I was pretty familiar with babies because I grew up babysitting and being around babies, but I never had my own.  I had no clue what I was doing, but we survived.  Then, I think about the days before I had Bella, I was equally nervous.  How was I going to handle an 18 month old AND a newborn at the same time?  Would Addie feel neglected?  How would I give Bella the same attention Addie got when she was a newborn?  Almost 2 years in with 2 toddlers, we also survived.  So here I am, nervous all over again as we are about to welcome our THIRD baby, but with TWO very busy toddlers at home and I know it won't be all rainbows and unicorns at all times, but we will survive and I know I will just have to be patient as we find our new normal.

Eric and I have talked a lot about ways to make life easier once baby Noah comes along.  Luckily, we live in the time of grocery pick-up, awesome childcare at the stay and play at the Y, and Prime NOW.  We've learned over the years that we love early bed times for the kids and I feel very little guilt when I leave them with a sitter.  We like to have a night out once in a while where we can actually have a conversation during dinner and aren't against taking one for the team while the other enjoys some girls or guys time with their friends.  It's all about balance, right?!?

Over the next couple of weeks I know that I am going to have to learn to let go.  Let go of the mom guilt and let go of the fact that I can get everything done solo.  In the next couple of weeks, the girls may watch way too much TV, there may be days spent in our pajamas, and the days we order take out may outnumber the days we eat a healthy, home cooked meal.  But, so what!  At times the house will be a mess, I'm going to have to rely on others for help, and we may not always stick to our usual schedule.  Luckily, we have some awesome help lined up in the next month or so with my mom and sister both offering to come stay with us and several friends and neighbors also willing to help with the girls.  We all know that raising kids takes a village, right?!?

Finally, I am oddly very excited for the exhaustion, mess, and lack of organization.  Is that weird?  I know that I love the heck out of my girls and I can't wait to add Noah to our family, craziness and all.  I know that Eric and I make a great team and will survive the transition and before we know it life with our 3 littles will be our new normal.  I know that millions of other families have been in our situation before us and survived so we can too, no matter what Scary Mommy says.  I know that this stage of life is a phase and years from now when I come back and read this post I will probably simultaneously laugh and cry because I miss this phase so much.  Over the next couple of months, I am choosing to embrace this phase because despite the craziness I feel very, very lucky that I will have 3 little blessings to fill my heart with more love than I could ever imagine possible.  Addie, Bella, and Noah your Daddy and I love you very, very much...and please take it easy on us :)

 

Maternity Pictures

A photo dump of DIY maternity pictures we took at the park.  The bump is 8 months, one of the two girls was cooperative, and other bump is Noah's future BFF, Molly and my good friend/neighbor, Sarah.  It was so fun to capture this time together!

Easter 2017

We had a full house this year for Easter and that's exactly how we like it.  For the past 5 years or so, Easter has been the holiday where the family comes to us.  Grandma and Pap came from Pittsburgh and Brian, Carla, and Kristen came from D.C. to enjoy an extra long weekend with lots of fun in the sun.  We spent Friday at the Botanical Gardens.  The girls played in the sand pit while cousin Bryan and Eric played catch in the field.  Grandma and Bella enjoyed an extra long ride on the "choo-choo" and then all the kids had a blast in the splash pad.  Friday evening Grandma cooked us a yummy meal followed by Easter egg dying and family movie night complete with sleeping bags, Moana, and popcorn!

Saturday morning Pap and Addie made his famous pancakes for breakfast.  Brian and Carla arrived just in time for us to split up for the afternoon.  My family and friends planned the most perfect baby sprinkle for Noah and I and after that we treated ourselves to pedicures.  The guys and little ones went mini-golfing.  After naps we all went out to a nice dinner down at Rudee's Inlet.  

Everyone was up bright and early on Easter Sunday.  We ate breakfast and the kids had a blast hunting down their Easter baskets.  They were spoiled with lots of toys, bubbles, twirl dresses, and beach wear this year and they were beyond excited about each and every thing in their baskets.  Even though Addie thought the Easter bunny was "scary" when we went to see him this year, I think she started liking him after she opened her basket and agreed to sit with him next time :)  After a morning of excitement, we got dressed in our "Easter best" and went to church.  The girls were angels!  Eric and I were very pleasantly surprised at how well they behaved, especially since mass was a longer than usual.  After mass, we stopped home for a quick change and off to the beach we went.  The weather was absolutely perfect and everyone was excited to put their toes in the sand.  Many hours and little to no naps later, we were on our way home for a yummy Easter dinner and quiet evening at home.  The girls had quick baths and early bed times after a long, but very fun Easter Sunday and the rest of us were equally exhausted and played a few rounds of Apples to Apples followed by watching some shows on the couch. 

Hope your Easter was an enjoyable as ours :) 

Noah's Nursery Reveal

Before we had Addie, we knew we wanted to paint the nursery a "gender neutral" color, but two girls later and early on in pregnancy #3 I wasn't sure we would ever really get to see how our "gender neutral" color would look with boy accents in the room.  To our surprise, we found out Baby #3 was a BOY and very shortly after that we decided the theme for his nursery would be "Vintage Baseball."  Eric grew up playing baseball, from when he was little until even his post-college years.  Eric and I  also met playing on a co-ed softball team about 8 years ago, so the theme couldn't be more fitting.  I had so much fun planning Noah's nursery and Eric's eyes lit up every time I asked him for more of his stuff to incorporate into the room.  The personal touches in Noah's room are by far my favorite parts of it.  Noah has donations from his dad, Eric's dad - his pawpaw, both of my parents - his Grandma and Pap, Aunt Kristen, and even his big sister!

With that being said, here is our perfect "Vintage Baseball" themed nursery for our perfect little man...

A quick update to the dresser (the red and blue drawers used to be coral and aqua...see before pictures below) and some updated accessories and it has the perfect "vintage baseball" feel.

The baseball mitt and baseball in the bottom left are from Eric's dad, Noah's pawpaw and the baseball mitt in the top right was Eric's catcher's mitt.  Aunt Kristen made the birthday baseballs for my sprinkle.  The baseball bat is from when Eric and his dad used to go to the Atlanta Braves games.  The cute little baseball bear is from Grandma and the striped banner was decor from our baby sprinkle.  The picture frames are ready to be filled with new pictures of our family of FIVE soon after his arrival :)

The cozy corner that Noah and I will be spending a lot of time in :)

The catcher's mask was Eric's and the baseball mitt on the right was my dad's, Noah's Pap.  Another adorable personalized touch is the "Noah Ryan" wooden blocks, which were also decor from our baby sprinkle.

Addie made some art work for Noah and I found the perfect spot for it above his book corner.

Grandma always gives the best personalized gifts and it's the perfect little toy box for our perfect little man.

Noah will share Addie and Bella's crib, but I made a new piece of art work of PNC park that I absolutely love.

A close up of the art work, thank you Pinterest :)

I could not be happier with how Noah's nursery turned out.  The only thing missing is our little man.  I hope he grows to love it as much as I do and I can't wait for him to learn all the stories about all of the special items that are incorporated into his room.   A little more than 3 weeks and counting :)  We can't wait to meet you Noah Ryan!

A few "BEFORE" pictures...