Lylah's Baby Shower

We celebrated our Lylah Jo this past weekend with a beautiful baby shower thrown by my dear friend Hilary (Thank you Hil!!) I absolutely loved how relaxed and intimate it was, not to mention girlie and feminine :) It was exceptionally hard not having Mom Jo at the shower, and I kept expecting her to walk through the door. I know she was celebrating with us, but we sure did miss her presence. We also had a fantastic time with Pop Pop, Gigi and Miri who graciously made the drive down from Atlanta to visit and celebrate with us. Next time we see them will be once L arrives in just a few weeks! Gisele graciously helped me make freezer meals, Miri played and played with her buddy Josh (he LOVED all the attention of course), and Bill helped Jon with numerous tasks around the house, specifically constructing and moving pieces of furniture. We are so grateful for their help! Here's some pictures from our fun and full weekend!

A beautiful setup at Infusion Tea

In love with this embroidery hoop for Lylah's room from Hilary!

Enjoying the tea and food

My helpers ready to open gifts!

All things pink and frilly!

My mommy gave me this picture of Mom Jo to put in Lylah's room...there were tears

4 generations in this picture

Love these ladies!

Girl clothes are so fun!

Memere and Gigi (thanks for making the trip!)

2 peas in a pod

Love you Mel!

Most of our pictures turn out like this :)

Thank you Hilary for such a special day! 

Lylah Update:

How far along: 37 weeks +  days
Total weight gain/loss: +25 pounds
Maternity clothes: Very few things fit right now! Mostly in workout clothes (even though I'm not working out...haha!)
Stretch marks: I have a few from Josh and I noticed maybe 2-3 more the other night. I'm earning my stripes!
Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well (much better than I did when pregnant with Josh). I'm waking up once to go to the bathroom and sometimes it takes me a while to go back to sleep because baby girl is usually VERY active during the night. Also heartburn will keep me up sometimes.
Best moment this week: Celebrating Lylah at her baby shower and spending time with family with friends
Miss anything: I miss energy! I was doing really well until last week...now I HAVE to take a nap in the afternoon to feel like I can make it through until Josh's bedtime
Movement: She's still very squirmy and I can tell she's really starting to run out of room in there! Jon and I watch my belly and laugh at all the bumping and wiggling she does
Food cravings: Still vanilla soft serve ice cream but other than that not really anything in particular
Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn sometimes makes me feel bad when I'm laying down, but otherwise I'm feeling good!
Have you started to show yet: Yep! About to pop status over here!
Gender: Girlie Girl!
Labor Signs: I'm getting Braxton Hicks and some cramps that are sometimes a little painful. I'm still not effacing or dilated at all though. It's pretty much what I expected since I never progressed with Josh.
Symptoms: Swollen ankles sometimes at the end of the day, heartburn/indigestion, cramps and pressure

Belly button in or out: Out

Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but READY for her to be out!
Looking forward to: The final countdown (2.5 weeks until our c-section date!) and enjoying these last couple weeks as a family of 3.

36 weeks & Maternity/Family Pictures

I am now 36 weeks and 6 days into this pregnancy! I can't believe we are so close to finally meeting our girl! We have set a date for a c-section at 40 weeks (April 4th) just in case she doesn't come on her own by then. I had a c-section with Josh (after 36 hours of labor) so I know what to expect if that ends up happening (which I'm completely fine with!) but our plan right now is to keep praying that Lylah decides to come on her own. My vitals have been really great this time around (much better than with Josh) so there's a good chance for a successful VBAC if she decides to come before the c-section date. Either way, she WILL be here in less than 4 weeks and we couldn't be more excited!

We are making progress on her room. This week Jon will be adding polka dots to her accent wall, setting up the rest of her furniture (and putting Josh's new big boy bed together too!) and I will be busy washing all her clothes, organizing and continuing to check off things on my to-do list. My nesting instincts have hit me pretty hard this time around so I'm cleaning out closets and drawers right and left. I'm grateful I still have energy to do that, although I'm usually pretty wiped out by the time Josh goes to bed. We also have Lylah's baby shower this weekend and Pop Pop, Gigi and Aunt Miri are making a trip down from Atlanta! Josh can't wait to see them!

We had some maternity/family pictures taken last week by a dear family friend and I am in LOVE with how they turned out! Josh did so well and I love that our photographer was able to capture candid moments of our 'real life.' Here's some of my favorites!

                                      

How far along: 36 weeks + 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: +24 pounds
Maternity clothes: I think I'm just going to stay in maternity jeans forever. Who needs buttons and zippers you know? Elastic waistbands forever!
Stretch marks: I have a few from Josh but I don't think I've gotten anymore yet!
Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well (much better than I did when pregnant with Josh). I'm waking up once to go to the bathroom and sometimes it takes me a while to go back to sleep because baby girl is usually VERY active during the night. Also heartburn will keep me up sometimes.
Best moment this week: Seeing our beautiful family pictures and setting the date for Lylah's delivery!
Miss anything: I'm starting to "waddle" so I miss walking normally, and poor Josh asks me to hold him all the time and it's just very hard on my hips so I have to tell him no a lot more which makes us both sad.
Movement: She's very squirmy and is pushing out all her little limbs. Sometimes it takes my breath away because I'm not expecting it. She still gets hiccups pretty much every day and moves the most when I'm trying to sleep :)
Food cravings: Vanilla soft serve ice cream, super cold ice water and I never turn down Chick Fil A!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn sometimes makes me feel bad when I'm laying down, but otherwise I'm feeling good!
Have you started to show yet: Um...yes. I feel WAY bigger than I did with Josh and much more "out." Everyone has been so encouraging though telling me I'm still small and compact (including my doctor!)
Gender: Girlie Girl!
Labor Signs: I'm getting Braxton Hicks and some cramps but nothing very painful. My doctor said I'm not progressing yet in effacement or dilation but it's still kinda early.
Symptoms: Swollen ankles sometimes at the end of the day, heartburn/indigestion, and overall pressure

Belly button in or out: Out

Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! 
Looking forward to: Finishing Lylah's nursery, her baby shower this weekend and the final countdown of tasks before she gets here!