awkward and awesome tuesday

            

Awkward: 

Overhearing younger twenty-something's call us bad parents for bringing Claire to the brew festival.  I can't wait till they have kids of their own and never leave the house again!  If I go, Claire goes (and she goes in the sling, where she's happy 99% of the time!)

Having to go out at 8:30 on Saturday night and needing coffee to do so.  I want to be cooler than that, but I am just not!  

Claire pooped allllll over herself last week on our way out of the house.  I changed her but there was no time for a bath.  A few hours later, I could still smell poop, but had no idea where it was coming from!! Never figured it out, but needless to say that was the point I just bathed and washed everything we had touched all day.  

I think I'm getting sick.  You can't really take anything when you're breastfeeding (it's practically worse than when you're pregnant) so I've moved deeper into my hippie-ness and bought a medicine cabinet worth of essential oils.  Here's hoping the hype is real?  Now tell me, do I need an amber teething necklace?  Do they really work?  

Awesome: 

Cloth diapering!  We are loving it so much, I'll definitely be doing a post about it in a few weeks when we've had a little more experience.  

Gilmore Girls on Netflix-all day everyday, Darrell is as into it as I am.  

Amy Poehler's new book!  Claire likes to nap while laying on top of me, so it's been great to have something to look forward to while she sleeps.  

My pants all fit again!  Legitimately one of the most awesome things ever.  

Claire is finally getting nice and chubby after months of people telling me how teeny tiny she was!  I'm thrilled (I mean, I built those thigh rolls!)  The only downside is, she was growing so slowly before the I really invested heavily in 3-6 month clothing and I'm just not sure we've got that much longer with those!  

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward: 

Installing our new Maxi Cosi car seat.  It's got about 40 straps and buckles attached to it that I wrestled with for about 10 minutes, all to figure out that if your middle seat has a normal seatbelt, you just slide it through, and done.  Ours does.  Carseat > my brain.  

I spilt breast milk on my iPhone Wednesday - it fritzed for about 5 minutes afterwards, and I pondered all the while "what the heck am I going to tell the Verizon people if this breaks it?"  

We went to brunch with friends on Sunday and Claire fell asleep in her sling, as she usually does when we went out.  Assuming I had the rest of the meal to just relax and sip my mimosa was oh-so premature.  About 5 minutes into her nap, I was suddenly soaked in warm wetness.  Claire had pooped, then peed in an already heavy diaper and it exploded all over me, the sling, her, and the floor.  While Darrell carried her at arm's length to the restroom to clean her up, I attempted to dab away the mess from my sweater and not focus on the fact that our food hadn't even shown up yet and I was totally covered in baby.....everything.  

Darrell declared last night that our living room lamp was broken.  I'm a person who hates clutter, so I went to grab it and put it in with the trash - that was, until Darrell saw me heading for the door and shouted "wait!  I'm going to try putting a new bulb in it."  That's right folks, my husband the genius decided a lamp was broken without attempting to replace the bulb.  

Awesome: 

Finding our local jazz station, and realizing how INCREDIBLY CALM it makes Claire.  I know that this has unfortunately stolen my ability to listen to anything else in the car but jazz, but I kind of like it (read; it's tolerable) and anything that makes that kid happy in her car seat works for me.  

Gilmore Girls on Netflix - in my head, I've moved to Stars Hollow.  It's on all.  the.  time.  How did I not watch this show as a teenager?  Also, every episode of Friends is coming to Netflix in January - it's like the universe knew I just had a baby and was thereby spending a LOT of time at home.  

Did you know that there is a gif keyboard app?  It is amazing, and it has made texting my true emotions so much easier.  

It was our two year wedding anniversary yesterday, and we went to the fanciest restaurant in town for a very fancy date.  It feels like we've been married forever, and yet like our wedding was yesterday.  I still haven't thought of anything to get him yet, *cotton* suggestions are welcome in the comments.  I know this will shock you, but Darrell bought me a pretty new sling.  #predictable

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward

Writing a post about how well your baby sleeps the week before your baby decides to not sleep well.  I'm not sure if that was karma or just bad timing, but fortunately we seem to be getting a handle on things again thanks to this article from the Pregnant Chicken.  

Tapping your neighbor's car first thing in the morning.  I'm beyond grateful that there wasn't even a scratch (I meant "tap" in its most literal sense) but WHOA sleep deprivation.  Not cool.  

Matching your baby every day, not on purpose but because you have a serious obsession with stripes that you apparently have no control over.  I get told on the daily "aw, you match"  and then my response is inevitably "oh yeah, we do I guess."  

The never ending bra size changes that come with getting pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding & beyond.  I have a drawer full of bras and legitimately have no idea which ones will fit me each morning.  I just start trying on and land on whichever one works.  

Awesome

This ridiculously adorable print my friend Joanna made of a song that our friend wrote for his niece.  He graciously allowed her to use it for a print for Claire and we love seeing it hanging in her nursery.  My favorite things in that room were all from friends; a sweet monogram C, a woven wall hanging in the nursery colors by my friend Jess, a small jewelry box that used to belong to her Godmother and this print are just a few things that make me smile each time I notice them.  

Runs getting longer - it is so satisfying to be able to pop out the door and run 3 miles again.  Such a quick (and mentally rejuvenating) workout.  

Probably related to the running, my closet is slowwwwwwwly becoming accessible again.  

A slightly earlier bedtime for Claire means a little more hangout time for Darrell & I in the evenings. 

Going on a long walk just in the name of getting a chocolate chip cookie from my favorite bakery (which happens to be just around the corner from my house.)  Dangerous, but always so so so very worth it.  I'd also be lying if I didn't tell you that half the fun of going in there is everyone coo-ing over Claire.  

Blue Apron - there will be a more full review of this service very soon, but I am pretty well obsessed with their recipes and can't believe what we've been eating for dinner the past few nights.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

claire is wearing a headband from baby jules boutique, sweatshirt dress from old navy, leggings from carter's

Awkward

Oh, I have some good ones this week, but let's just kick things off with the best one.  While pumping at work last week, I accidentally dripped breastmilk alllllll over my dress.  I had to grab some armfuls of stuff (water bottle, purse) to cover it until I got back to my desk, where I didn’t move until it dried.  Ridiculous.   

Incredibly high people stopping to stare at Claire while we were at Loufest (she came with us Sunday night in the carrier.)  Literally, at one point someone asked if she was a baby (duh) and then just continued to stare from about 3 feet away.  I asked Darrell if he knew the guy but.....nope.  

Also at Loufest, I fell and twisted my ankle in a pothole in front of about 100 people, right by the port-o-potties.  Don't even want to think about what was on the ground where I fell.  And what was up with NOT ONE PERSON asking if I was okay??

Awesome

The word "autumn."  Don't you just love it?  So much better than boring old "fall."  

I am ONE SIZE away from pre-baby size.  Willpower is at an all time high.  

Want me to just run through all the cliche autumn things really quickly?  Hot chai tea lattes, boots, plaid, apples, Oktoberfest beers (yum!), jeans, soup, cardigans.  Okay, that's out of my system now.  

Autumn weather.  I cannot get enough of the temperatures around here lately.  It's the perfect cool 60 degrees for running in the morning, after dinner walks require a jacket and a hat on the baby, it's pretty fantastic.  (I mean, BABIES IN HATS COME ON.)  

A girl's night at Pinot's Palette!  It was so fun to have a few glasses of wine and get (sort of) creative with a little paint.  I'm so excited that St. Louis has one of these now.  Want to know a trick?  You get better at painting the more wine you drink.....okay maybe that was just in my head but it really seemed that way.  Still, my painting could have fallen into the category of "awkward" for sure.  Want to see it?  

Okay, yeah.  I probably could've stood to keep that to myself.  But seriously, they have a ton of locations across the US and it's a great (and unusual) spot for a girl's night or a date.  

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward 

On our drive home to Claire after being away all weekend, we not only got stopped by a train when we were 5 minutes out, but then Darrell got pulled over for speeding in literally the last mile of our drive.  My tears didn't sway the officer, Darrell got a ticket, but it may have been deserved.  We were driving pretty fast!  

While at our friends' wedding this weekend, I had to pump since I was away from the baby during her normal feeding times.  I thought we had parked in the most discreet location possible (far out by some dumpsters) but of course those dumpsters were where the wedding staff was taking all the trash intermittently.  There was an awkward nod to the employee whose facial expression could only be described as shocked & confused.  She was pretty young and I'm guessing she had absolutely no clue what I could be doing.  

I bought a dog clipper set to trim our dogs between appointments, since our regular groomer is ALWAYS overbooked.  It turned out to be quite the misguided idea.  I have no skills in that area & since Gatsby went first, he got the brunt of it.  He looks TERRIBLE and his regular grooming appointment is still and month and a half away.  Thankfully, I decided better than to tackle doing Fitz, so he still has his dignity. 

Awesome

This super cheesy mom & baby selfie is probably my favorite moment of the entire weekend, so it had to be documented.  Three days apart may have been just a bit too long, I was a little bit hysterical when we were reunited.  

My parents, for watching Claire all weekend, and the constant photo updates they sent us.  It made our day to get a video of her coo-ing away.  

Baby shopping in Chicago!  We don't have Zara or H&M kids yet in St Louis, so it was fun to pick up a few things in person that I''d had pinned for a while.  

Upgraded hotel rooms.  I pulled the "it's my birthday" card all day Friday and it actually worked!  

awkward & awesome tuesday + claire's second month

Awkward: 

My new standards for "how dirty is too dirty" to wear a dress.  Last week, Claire actually managed to poop on the dress I was wearing, and rather than change I just wiped it down and declared it fit for the office.  

Getting to a party with the baby only to realize the one of us forgot to pack breast milk, thus limiting my ability to actually enjoy any adult beverages.  In case you're wondering, yes, I did send Darrell home to get it.  9 months of playing DD gets you privileges like that.  

Said party happened to be on the day Claire got shots (which may have been the reason I so badly wanted a drink) and let me just say that it may have been ill-advised to attend with her.  She broke out into an all out screaming session in the middle of the party, but thankfully setting her up in the sling was enough to calm her down.  

While taking photos for an upcoming outfit post, my only instruction to Darrell was "can you try and make me look like I didn't just have a baby 10 weeks ago?"  

Awesome:  

Claire slept through the night for TEN HOURS one night this weekend.  I am sharing secrets soon, I promise.  Of course, everything we're doing could be a complete fluke and we are just very blessed, but I figure if I have a formula for newborn sleep I may as well spread the word.  

The camaraderie shown by St. Louisans in the wake of the Michael Brown tragedy.  Yes, horrible things are happening in our city, but amazing things are happening too.  Like people I know heading to Ferguson to hand out water and ponchos to protestors & residents of Ferguson standing guard in front of stores that looters were attempting to wreck.  There's a palpable tension in the city, but there's a feeling of compassion as well, like we're all in this together and it's our job to start breaking these walls down.  

Claire's newfound love for the play gym we bought weeks ago.  She can stare and chat with her toy "friends" for almost an hour, making noises she never makes any other time.  The other day I think I discovered why they call it coo-ing; she literally made a noise that sounded akin to what a dove sings.  No one will probably care to watch this but my grandmother, but here's a little video of her conversation with Mr. Monkey: 

Jumping back into running - I may only be on week three of couch to 5K, but it feels SO good to just be out there again.  Also, our doctor cleared Claire to go with me in the jogging stroller which means that I can go in the morning again even when Darrell isn't around to watch her.  So much more freedom in my schedule!  

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward: 

I somehow managed to get asphalt on the bottom of our carseat this week without knowing about it.  For about two days I had black streaks on pretty much every part of myself from the waist down, and COULD NOT figure out how to get it out.  In fact, I ruined a pair of white jeans (that FIT me) by smearing tar all over them while carrying Claire in the seat.  Luckily, I finally figured out what it was and managed to get it off the seat with some coconut oil, but the clothes it came in contact with may not be salvageable.  

The dress in this photo was brand new & perfect, until Claire decided it was missing something.  And by something, I mean a nice streak of mustard colored baby poop.  

Certain parenting books....I read "Beyond the Sling" this week and, well, no.  You want me to hold my baby to pee over the potty?  Elimination communication what?  Just all the "NOs."  

(Seriously, Google that.  There are a whole group of totally insane parents out there doing this right now.)  

Awesome: 

Claire's little neck rolls, thigh rolls, and baby bicep rolls.  Yes, she's still a rather tiny baby, but she has rolls and I helped make them.  

Close friends living next door.  Darrell had a boys night (complete with baseball, grilling, & beer) and took Claire duty on Saturday, which meant that I got to watch Real Housewives, bogart the whole bed, and fall asleep early - and we were all within 50 feet of each other.  

Sonnet James summer shipment came out this week, and the three new dresses I got are as perfect as any I've ever bought before.  They are a forever favorite for this new mama, soft, stretchy, and nursing friendly.  Now if only the stripe Marni would come back in stock!  

Sundays of nothing.   Claire let us sleep in until almost 9, and then we made coffee & a frittata and ran through our Netflix options.  We all stayed in pajamas & white onesies, and were happier for it.  

I start working at a creative co-working space tomorrow, and I am SO excited.  I love working from home, but me + babysitter + Claire in 750 square feet?  Not a workable situation.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

Awkward: 

Um, getting pooped on.  Yeah, on Thursday morning I had just finished feeding Claire, and propped her up on my thighs to play a little bit.  All of a sudden, I feel something warm and…..wet.  Cue running to the nursery in a frenzy all while trying to not spread the poop on the way.  Somehow she managed to do the same thing that afternoon!  I think I might need to be more careful with my diaper application.  

You know what's worse than pregnancy brain?  Mom brain.  I cannot even tell you the number of times this week that I walked into a room and just had no clue what I was in there for.  

My spatial awareness is at an all time low after being at my smallest size ever 11 months ago, then getting pregnant and rather large, and now being somewhere in between.  This resulted in my walking INTO A DOOR HANDLE at my office Wednesday, which then caught on my shirt and put a rather large hole right through it.  Buh-bye, shirt that actually looked cute on my postpartum body.  

Awesome: 

This gummy smile - Claire really started smiling this week, and there's just nothing better.  

Going back to work.  I’d like to preface this by saying that I have what I believe to be the best childcare situation of all time (a combination of friends I’ve known since childhood/grandparents/aunts) but when my boss asked how my first day back had been at the end of the day, I had to be honest and tell her that it sort of felt like a break.  Being a mom is HARD you guys.  It’s the best hard thing in the world, but so is my job!  I LOVE my job. So it was really nice to jump back in this past week and see that I could do both.  I’m sure there will be days when that isn’t the case - days when I just think I can’t keep up and I wonder when our house will ever be clean again, but hey - maybe not!  Our house (apartment) is pretty dang small.

Working at home with Claire on Thursdays.  I know this will not last long (she wants to play a little more each day!) but right now her naps pretty much span the morning and afternoon each day, making it easy for me to get in work & feedings around when she sleeps.

Simple dinners.  Summer produce makes this so easy, right now our menu is basically just a fish + a vegetable (okay, plus some rosé) every single night! 

The smell of the top of Claire's head.  I swear, those baby fumes actually get me high.  

*on another note!  I'm interested in creating more engagement with my readers (I want to hear from you!) and I know that commenting on the posts isn't always the best place to have a conversation.  So!  

At the end of each post for the next few weeks I'll be leaving links to my Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter at the bottom of each post to encourage you to tell me what you think about my posts, ask questions, etc.  This will be especially great in regards to what I'm talking about tomorrow....parenting styles.....dun dun dun.  

Follow Me: 

Instagram   Twitter   Facebook

awkward and awesome tuesday

Awkward: 

Selfies.  Almost ALL the photos I have of my daughter & I are selfies.  My husband, for all his excellence in baby care, cooking, etc, is truly terrible at photographing the two of us.  I however can't seem to put my phone down, so I have a million pictures of the two of them.  When she's older, she'll either think her Dad liked her more or that I'm impossibly vain.  Potentially both.  

Stroller locks.  Yes I know how to work my own stroller thank you very much, you can stop staring at me trying to get it open now.  I mean, I absolutely had to look up a YouTube video on my phone to figure it out, but I GOT IT OPEN.  

Oh, yoga.  I lost track of how many times I nearly fell down.  Either way, my ego got kicked in the face.  

Our post baby grocery budget.  I didn't even know it was possible to have to spend as much as we did on one Trader Joe's & Target trip.  It's either terrifying or embarrassing, but between the super healthy organic food (it all goes into Claire's milk!) and the wine (seriously, I refuse to sacrifice the wine) I'm going to have to find some ways to improve.   

Awesome: 

Babywearing!  Somebody just really never wants to be put down, EVER.  Even when she's fallen asleep in your arms, don't even think about setting her down.......really, don't do it.  Then you have to start over!  She'll take maybe one nap for a couple hours each day in her crib, and she sleeps there at night, but other than that I'm most often wearing her.  

Sushi, oysters, lox, and wine.  Basically, I'm still making up for lost time and mostly eating only the things I couldn't while I was pregnant.  

Claire is finally fitting into some of her 0-3 month clothes, which is mostly what we have!  She had been wearing a few newborn clothes and white onesies on repeat, because somehow my husband & I have managed to make a child who is so tall she isn't even on the percentile growth charts, so she's like a stringbean.  Fingers crossed she actually got some of the height genes on either side of our families!  

I slept until 11 on Sunday, went to yoga, and then got a few baby-free hours while Darrell & Claire watched the world cup final together.  I think that's the most successful start to a week that ever was, and I'd like to start a petition to add a second Sunday to every week.  

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward

Claire's insane diaper blowout at Fair St. Louis.  Through the outfit, the blanket, ALL the way onto the carseat.  Also, this was the moment we discovered we only had 4 wipes, because I'm an idiot.  Those 4 wipes were put to goooooooood use.  We covered the carseat with our backup blanket on the drive home, but then had to figure out how to remove the carseat cover once we got there, which was like a whole frustrating mess.  This strap goes where!?

Oh, photos of me at the christening.  I should’ve worn the Spanx, yes, yes i should have.  I keep trying to remind myself "you had a baby four weeks ago, chilllllllll out."  But it's hard.  I miss pants that button.  

My time management skills.  I thought they would improve with experience, but noooooo.  I’ve been trying to give the dogs a bath for…..two hours?  

Awesome

Discovering co-sleeping.  Claire sleeps in her crib in the nursery from roughly 9pm - 5 am, but by then she is thoroughly tired of being alone.  Until this week we had been employing a pretty annoying rocking & bouncing routine to squeeze in another hour, but this weekend we just brought her into bed with us and bam!  She slept until 10!  So we’ve kept it up since then, and life has been a little more restful.  Also, i like to think we're giving her the benefits of independent sleep and the family bed all at once.   I included a little video of her cooing in her sleep.  

(All co-sleeping naysayers may be directed here.)

Claire’s baptism.  She slept the WHOLE TIME!  No crying even  during the water pouring on her head, and the christening gown was as white at the end of mass as it was at the beginning.  

A little shopping and grocery trip with Darrell sans baby on Sunday.  I know it sounds like a little thing, and it was only about 3 hours, but it almost felt like a date.  I even managed to refrain from checking in on her while we were gone, which felt like an accomplishment in and of itself.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

Awkward:

So I’m just gonna say it; your boobs leaking in public?   The definition of awkward.  And yet incredibly normal.  No one tells you when you’re packing the diaper bag that you need to pack backup outfits for baby AND mama, so here is me telling you: throw an extra black tank dress or something of the like in your diaper bag, and thank me later.  

We had a friend over the other night and I went inside for a moment to put on a wrap cardigan.  When I came out, Darrell asked if I had really just decided to wear a bathrobe!  I was a little offended at the idea that he thought things could be THAT bad.  

Starting the post-baby Weight Watchers regime.  Okay, honestly I love Weight Watchers as a program in general, but being pregnant and eating whatever I wanted to was WAY more fun.  

We are almost out of the huge stash of bagels my parents brought us.  This is more tragic than awkward, really.  I’m not sure how I’ll eat breakfast if I can’t do it with one hand.  

Awesome: 

Claire took a bottle of pumped milk for the first time Sunday!  I had wanted to hold off until three weeks (because of “nipple confusion?”  Someone tell me, is that real?) but she loved it and has still been breastfeeding really well.  I don’t like to be away from her much at all, but it’s obviously a lot more convenient for me to give Darrell the option to at least feed her while I run a few quick errands.  Last week I went to get a spray tan and pick up dinner, and let’s just say the look on both their faces when I returned (after only an hour and a half) was sheer panic.  

My brother-in-law’s girlfriend is moving to St. Louis this week!  It feels like we have more friends and family flocking to the city all the time, and I’m so happy for my brother-in-law to finally have her living here. St. Louis is just the best, only made better by our amazing network of friends - something I have especially come to appreciate in the last few weeks.  There’s nothing like having a friend call and offer to bring you lunch when you realize you’ve fed your baby but not yourself at 1 pm, and your kitchen looks like a barren wasteland.  

On Saturday, we stayed up until midnight - yes, that’s late for us! - and I went to sleep thinking about how miserable it would be when morning came.  But miraculously, minus a few wake ups to eat, Claire let us sleep until 10 am!  Best Sunday morning ever.  

Just saying “screw it” when you’re invited to the pool two weeks after having a baby.  Yes, I could’ve felt better than I did in my one piece, but nothing was nicer than having my feet in that water.  So worth it.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

Awkward:

When you pick the baby up off the nursing pillow after a good long feed and some adorable grunting, see a light yellow stain and think “hmmm…..poop or breastmilk……”  Yeah, after that I picked up a second cover for the pillow.

Deciding whether or not to change the baby after a spit up episode.  If you change a baby after every time they spit up….you run out of clothes with a quickness.  If you leave them in clothes with spit up drying on, are you disgusting?  This is a real question.  So far I’ve basically used quantity as a deciding factor, but there was certainly a time or two when it happened in her sleep that I thought “is this worth waking her up?  Really?”

More MESSES!  Random clothing stains.  Darrell and I have gotten to the point where we’ll ask one another what we think a mark is, smell it without a second thought, and then judge whether or not anyone else will notice it.

Claire’s only tantrum so far has been at a meeting for her christening prep.  She literally WAILED the entire 30 minutes, until the family hosting offered to just excuse us early.  I feel as though this may not bode well for her ACTUAL christening…..although she seems to enjoy baths, so who knows!


Awesome:

The little noises Claire makes when we walk her around the neighborhood in the Sakura Bloom sling.  I included a little video just so you could hear the cuteness….

Getting Claire dressed.  I probably have way too much fun picking out her clothes.  If you’re interested in seeing her daily wardrobe (you know you want to!) follow me on Instagram via the link to the right, or just search #claireoliviahayes.

Breastfeeding.  For more reasons than one - I’m not planning on doing too much specific updating on post-pregnancy weight loss, but she was born two weeks ago and I have genuinely felt a little smaller every day.  It’s very encouraging - having a limited wardrobe is definitely one way to make the morning even less pleasant after a night of equally limited sleep.

Taking advantage of long newborn naps.  So far we’ve been able to go out to brunch twice, watch the World Cup game with friends, and hang out at a family friend’s pool all day with the baby.  As long as there’s a cool place to nurse her, I’ve decided that our motto will be “have baby, will travel,” until it isn’t - because sometimes babies just need to be at home, as Claire has proven on a few other outings!  

awkward and awesome tuesday

wearing: dress - isabella oliver, sandals - target

Awkward:

My left foot is more swollen than my right foot, and in a “width” way not a “length” way.  This means that none of my shoes that have a strap across the front part of my foot fit….but only on one side.  Thankfully, this feels more like swelling than actual stretching of my foot, so hopefully it will go away post-delivery!

I had a meltdown on Saturday morning, because I was convinced as of Friday night that I would go into labor.  It would’ve been so convenient!  The beginning of the weekend!  We had just finished the grocery shopping!  Darrell wouldn’t have had to use those two days of paid time off!  Because, you know, those are the sort of things babies waiting to be born prioritize - paid time off.  Oh, hormones.

Oh, getting dressed.  I’m hot in everything, so if I’m being totally honest my ideal state of dress at this point is underwear & a maternity t shirt with the A/C blasting.  But since they won’t let you into restaurants like that, I’ve started running through my supply of stretch jersey dresses.  I basically do the same load of laundry every five days.

Early labor contractions are wayyyyyyy boring.  I'll have two in a row that are just a few minutes apart, get really excited, and then nothing.  Even more annoying is when they do that "real contraction" thing where they move from my back to the front.  At this point I'm basically refusing to get out my contraction timer until I'm in tears.  Also, how weird is sitting around hoping/wishing to be in pain?


Awesome:

Have I mentioned how boring it can be to wait to go into labor?  Especially when you have no idea what it feels like to go into labor?  Well, it’s boring.  Thankfully, my mom has a flexible work schedule and has been coming over to St. Louis to entertain me on Fridays, when I feel like I’m at the end of my “I work at home alone” rope.

With nothing to do this weekend, we just decided to eat ALL the good food.  Our favorite Italian on Friday?  Check.  The best BBQ on Saturday night?  Check.  Movie theater popcorn?  Of course.  Sunday morning pancakes?  You bet, I even made the kind that has to be mixed up Saturday night and sit overnight.  With chocolate chips AND blueberries.

Our dogs got groomed yesterday!  I know that sounds like a stupid thing to be excited about, but the dirtier they get the less I want to play with them, and then I feel oh-so-guilty about the sad looks on their faces.  I’m not exactly in a position to give them a bath right now either, so they neeeeeeeded it.

A husband who has made it his sole mission in life to take good care of me.  I get nightly foot rubs AND back rubs, he volunteers to cook dinner & clean it up, and he walks at my pace on our nightly trips to the park.  When I have a meltdown (those are coming more frequently lately,) he just reminds me he’s on my side.  And I’m lucky to have him there.  

awkward & awesome tuesday

wearing: dress - c/o sonnet james, sandals - tory burch

Awkward:

Can I just get a pass and say EVERYTHING here?  Seriously, I have to pee every 20 minutes, I’m going stir crazy working at home even though leaving the house for a few hours exhausts me, and Claire has decided her foot needs to press against the same spot on my bump 24/7 which leaves me with the constant feeling that someone is pressing their thumb into a bruise on the top of my belly.  So yeah……..everything is awkward.

Awesome:

Darrell had completely forgotten that this past weekend was a holiday weekend, and when he remembered it was like PURE JOY on his face.  Also, it was completely wonderful to have him home for a whole three days.

Our diaper party - not only are we stocked up on a ridiculous number of diapers (where will be put them all!?) it was so wonderful to get to spend the day with our nearest and dearest all in one place, likely for the last time before our world is turned upside down.  I can’t wait for the next party, when we can bring the baby with us and introduce her to her “family.”  She already has more aunts & uncles than you can count on your fingers & toes together.

Chocolate covered strawberries.  I’ve craved them ever since Darrell bought me a huge (but $25) box of them from a confectionary for Valentine’s Day.  I have no idea why it took me so long to make some for myself!

Getting away with unlimited pedicures because how is Darrell going to tell me no?!  I may not be able to see my feet, but I know they look good in flat sandals, which are currently the only thing I can really stand to wear.  

Last but not least, just inching closer to her arrival.  I know it could still be 2 or 3 weeks away, but the time is shrinking away!  

awkward & awesome tuesday

Awkward:

My dogs were barking at the door, so I figured maybe the postman had come and left a package or something.  I opened our door to peek out once I heard the entryway door close in JUST a long tunic (longer than my underwear, thank god) and saw my landlady standing in the lobby!  Cue my awkward "oh hi!" And promptly shutting the door in her face.  

Breastfeeding classes.  I don't feel the need to elaborate on this.  

8:30 bedtime on a Saturday night.  And I don't even feel a little bit guilty-in fact, I take sleep when and where I can get it at this point.  

Missing hot yoga so much that I sometimes just look at the class schedule at my old studio and fantasize about when I’ll be able to go again.  

Waiting for labor when you have no idea what it’s like to go into labor.  It’s like a state of constant vigilance and extreme boredom all at once.  

Awesome:

While making a return at the mall, a sweet lady told me I looked pretty.  Always nice to hear when going into month 9 on a day you didn't wear any makeup.  I'll remember her unprovoked kind remark the next time I see another preg girl out and about.

Getting the "any day now!" from my doctor at my last appointment.  They don't change your due date, but I've been informed that I'm actually dating around 38 weeks as of today.  I think there's good and bad to this, because now I'm doing a lot of sitting around and waiting, but it was reassuring to hear that she probably won't be late.

Chinese food that shows up ten minutes after you order it.  Even though I STILL managed to eat a bowl of Lucky Charms between the time we made the order and its arrival. 

People are just really excited for you at this point - there's no hiding the bump anymore, and strangers kind of feel like it's public property.  In a good way, mostly!  I get a lot of "congratulations!" and "so cute!" from everyone from grocery checkers to waitresses, and that's a lot of cheerful every time I leave the house.  Baby bumps are apparently an equal opportunity happy-maker.

Spending the majority of my weekend sitting outside doing absolutely nothing.  Vitamin D is kind of my everything right now, as are Pinterest & Tumblr.  Strangely, I’m totally over pinning baby clothes, probably because I have too many for Claire already.  I’m really really really excited to start getting back to my pre-baby size, so I’ve mostly been pinning outfit ideas for post-baby.

And since it wouldn't be awkward & awesome without whatever food I'm currently obsessed with: popsicles.  It's getting difficult to keep them in the house, I want a popsicle pretty much every hour on the hour.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

wearing: pink blush maternity dress c/o

Awkward: 

I went to buy some air plants Saturday morning, and the man at the garden store began to educate me on their care.  I had had them before, so I stopped him and told him I just needed new ones because I had accidentally forgotten about them.  I'm assuming he didn't see the bump behind the tall checkout counter, because he asked me if I had kids and then just said "think about it."  Um, okay......and for the record, I do plan to pay more attention to Claire's well-being than that of a plant.  

The "Wolf of Wall Street" - holy ridiculous.  I'm not sure I picked up my jaw once through the entire movie.  

Any temperature above 65, currently.  I am like a living sauna - no covers when I sleep, and I can hardly enjoy the spring weather we're having because I must have the house shut up and A/C blasting at all times.  Also kind of sad is that I can't cuddle with Darrell when we sleep because I am just.  too.  freaking.  hot.  

Almost dying on an approximately 1 mile walk - and I mean I felt like I was not gonna make it back to the house and Darrell might have to go get the car to pick me up.  It was akin to the feeling of finishing a half marathon, minus the accomplished superwoman factor.  Also, I was sadly reminded that I once ran a half marathon, and now I can barely walk a mile.  

Awesome: 

This dress!  So comfy, I know I'll be getting a ton of wear out of it for the rest of this pregnancy and beyond.  Pink Blush maternity's clothes have a lifesaver since month 3 - they're the only brand that makes their tops truly long enough to wear with leggings.  This was the first time I had tried out one of their dresses, and while it looks polished it feels like pajamas, which is basically my ideal in any maternity wear.  

Painted my nails in the car successfully on our way home for Mother's Day brunch, despite Darrell's insistence that I was going to get peach polish all over the entire car.  Take that, ya doubter.  

Chocolate malts from Potbelly sandwich shop.  It'll be a miracle if I don't go all the way to Clayton to get another one this week.  

Even though people have started asking about when the baby will be arriving, no one is yet to say "any day now, huh!?"  Which makes me ridiculously happy.  Thanks for not telling me I look 40 weeks pregnant yet, everyone.  Much appreciated.  

awkward and awesome

Awkward: 

Fitz’ incredible ability to puke wherever we don’t place the protective towel in the backseat of the car.  We can cover every surface possible, and he will make an effort to screw it up and puke right on my car seats. I pretty much just laugh every time someone warns me about baby spit-up like it’s the most awful thing ever.  

Baby girl keeps measuring large…..like 80th percentile.  I have this lovely birthing plan that involves hypnotherapy & all-natural birthing etc, but no judging me if I scrap all that to get induced early if my OB offers, I have no interest in birthing a 10 lb baby.    "Birth plan" is kind of an oxymoron anyways, right?  

Any potential answers to the questions “are you hating being so pregnant?  Aren’t you uncomfortable yet?”  I mean…..awkward.  I actually feel pretty great - pregnant, but great - and also, I prayed for this baby.  I am grateful to be pregnant.  I try to reserve any complaining solely for my husband.  

I am hot ALL the time.  This is easily remedied by blasting the air conditioning, but poor Darrell may eventually take to sleeping in a parka.  He let me win that fight though, good man that he is.  

Hitting the belly on every single thing possible!  Getting something out of the fridge?  I am probably hitting the baby with the fridge door.  Walking into a door?  If I don’t open it fast enough, the bump hits it before it opens.  Getting into a restaurant booth?  The condiments are lucky if they make it out intact.  My spatial awareness is at a solid zero.  I’m sure next week I’ll be telling you how my belly finally hit a small child in the head.  Yes, I say "my belly" and not "I" because I'm pretty sure this thing has a mind of its own.  

Awesome: 

Our weekend at the lake.  I cannot say how nice it was to have three days on the water.  Even though I worked on Friday, it was incredibly nice to have a change of scenery. The weather cooperated perfectly & we got to get out on the boat - no bikinis, but there were mocktails!  

In the waiting room for my doc appt last week there were two children: a well behaved little girl and a, well, rowdy little boy.  Both were adorable, but the little girl had this absolutely hilarious and judgmental expression of "you filthy hooligan" towards the boy for my entire wait.  

Gap Outlet sales - we got Darrell 6 pieces of clothing I believe for about $60, and a hat for the baby.  One pair of pants was $3!  Shopping for boys is just about the most fun thing ever, am I right?  

Iced tea & lemonade.  This is my favorite right now, in addition to alllll the fruit - all I need is watermelon & peaches to be in season and I may quit eating anything else. Actually who am I kidding, there will obviously still be chocolate & tacos.  

My belly button is still in!  I mean, it’s hanging on for dear life I’m sure, but it looks like we might just make it to the end without an outie.  

I took Fitz for a walk yesterday, and I DID bring a dog bag, but of course he managed to poop twice, the second time directly as the owner of the house in front of his chosen sidewalk space came walking out of the door.  I was about to be fully mortified at having to leave it there, but just then my hero came to save the day in the form of another dog walker with extra bags.  

All my Sonnet James dresses - holy comfortable, stretchy, and flattering.  I pretty much ordered all the ones I wanted when they first went up for pre-order, and now I wish I had just ordered them all.  They are probably some of the best pieces of clothing I have ever had - I’ll be looking forward to every collection from now on.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

So yes, we've reached the stretchy black dress portion of this pregnancy, officially.  

Not toooo many awkwards this week, because let me just tell you it has been a GOOD week.  I'll be kind of sad to see April go, as I am just about every month between April & September.

SO, Awkward: 

Heartburn…..oh my gosh heartburn.  I finally got a prescription for some medicine that works Thursday but before that I’m fairly sure that I puked/burped up (aren’t you glad I’m sharing this?) half of my dinner one night last week, and it was honestly a rather small dinner. Of course, after that I ate 1/2 a cup of ice cream and that made me feel better, so at this point am I to assume that I should just start eating ice cream for dinner?  I mean, there’s gotta be some validity to that theory, right?

I am to the point where I need someone to pull me up off the couch pretty much every time I need to stand up.  Any takers?  I can pay you in Netflix streaming and popsicles, two things we have a lot of around here.  

Awesome: 

My protein pancakes.  Again, at certain times of the day (mostly just breakfast) baby has gotten into eating ALL the health food again, so I’ve been making these like crazy.  And they are so dang good, particularly with banana slices and some walnuts thrown into the batter.

4D ultrasound pictures.  I won’t be posting them here (call me crazy, but I just don’t think the internet needs photos of the inside of my uterus) but she does definitely look like Darrell! Not that I’m surprised, have you read about this?

Sitting and listening to your husband learn a lullaby for your baby-to-be on the couch while it rains outside the window, and everything is right in the world.

That same evening Darrell offered to go to the store in the rain to get me a caffeine free Diet Coke, and even though I didn’t make him, I’ll be darned if I didn’t think about that stupid Diet Coke until the next morning when I went to the store myself.  

awkward & awesome

Awkward: 

Restaurant booths.  It's kind of amazing that I haven't yet flipped over an entire table with the bump - although I have come close.  

My no-caffeine sentencing.  Pregnant women are allowed to have up to 200mg (about 1.5 cups of coffee) per day, but apparently baby girl is sensitive to any amount at all.  At my last appointment I was instructed to cut it out completely after a few hours of panic-inducing heart testing, and she's totally fine.  It was all the tiny bit of caffeine in my morning iced coffee, so goodbye to that.  Cue my tears.  

Yelling at Darrell for no reason after said panic-inducing doctor's appointment, only to realize that I was just mad at myself for not calling him and asking him to come sit with me during all the scary testing.  Darrell has become quite the master at dealing with my meltdowns (which I realize are ridiculous approximately 30 minutes after they end).  Also, pregnancy is an exercise in learning how to ask for help and go easy on yourself - seriously a challenge for someone as generally type A as me.  

Getting dressed!  I'll admit it - at this point, it would literally just be easier to be naked all the time, but that doesn't really work well for, um, life.  

The amount of time I'm willing to put off washing the pillowcase to my pregnancy pillow.  I know that sounds just plain gross, but seriously look at this thing!  Getting the case back on involves 30 minutes of awkward fighting with it.  

My cravings for any and allllllll the summery food.  I would like corn on the cob, watermelon, and tomato-mayo sandwiches like RIGHT NOW please.  The problem is that when I try to eat it despite that fact that we are just not quittttttte there yet, seasonally and all, I feel a little guilty feeding Darrell the rather sad frozen corn & very "meh" tomato chopped salad I made for lunch.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  

Awesome: 

Easter Sunday!  We had such a great day, and the most perfect weather.  Darrell has a ton of younger cousins, so they have a pretty epic and adorable egg hunt.  Also funny?  How little they cared about the chocolate, and how much they all wanted to just find the eggs with dollar bills.  Somebody taught those kids that money = more & better chocolate.  

I'm getting a 4D ultrasound today - not something I was sure I would ever do, but it was set up for us by Darrell's mom and I have to admit I'm a little excited about it.  I'm skeptical of how much those images actually show what a baby will look like, but it'll be fun to see them nevertheless!  

Avocado toast + poached eggs.  I finally seem to have regained an interest in healthy food (yay for that, I was sure baby girl was mostly constructed of Lucky Charms up until now) and this is at the top of my list.  The bonus is that it makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  

It is warm enough for shorts!  Remember that thing I said about clothes just being awful in general?  Well shorts are tolerable, so it's probably all I'm going to wear for the next 8 weeks, pregnancy thighs be damned.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

wearing: dress - maurices, not maternity and realllllly old.  sandals - jack rogers.  necklace - jcrew.  

Awkward: 

Baby girl has figured out how to wedge herself up into my ribs.  I'm stopped in my tracks multiple times a day just to "readjust" myself in a way that doesn't cause serious pain somewhere in my midsection.  

I could wax poetic about how much I love having a step-and-open trash can (yes, these are the things that excite me now) but this morning my lack of coordination got the best of me with it.  I hit the foot opener, went to toss the leftover coffee grinds in the bin, and let go jusssssst early enough to have the lid catapult coffee grounds ALL over the kitchen floor.  Thankfully, there were no witnesses to the temper tantrum I threw.  

This week's adventures in "baby brain" led to me pouring my cereal directly into the cup of coffee I had just gotten to the perfect cream/stevia ratio.  

Pregnancy crying has officially begun.  Had a good (happy!) session while driving home from work last Wednesday just because a country song reminded me of Darrell....because that's normal.  

Awesome: 

Our FULLY FINISHED nursery!  Of course there are two or three things still to be done, but it's essentially complete and I'm so thrilled with it.  

A bookshelf absolutely stacked with what I'm sure is every children's book currently available for purchase.  At my shower last week, guests were asked to bring books with notes for the baby instead of cards (so sweet!) and people were so generous with the books.  Many brought 2 or 3 along with their gift, and I nearly filled a tall bookshelf with everything from "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to "The Giving Tree."  Reading is one of my few really young memories, and I'm so excited to read these books to Claire.  

We chose and assembled a stroller/carseat combo!  Doesn't that sound like just the most adult thing one could possibly do?  I kind of agonized over the purchase, but after finding the Britax B-Agile & B-Safe on Target for an amazing price, we bit the bullet.  For the record, we would have chosen this one if money was no object, but we are just not $700 stroller people.  Although honestly, if those people exist, they are ridiculous.  

Eating a little bit healthier....I'll admit that I went through a phase for a couple weeks where I was soooo tired, so the easiest things to eat were things that required no work (i.e. mac and cheese, cereal, etc.)  This, of course, contributed to my being even MORE tired.  So I decided to get it together and start making more smoothies, less bowls of Lucky Charms, and lo and behold I am actually able to stay awake all day again.  

Darrell heralded his arrival home last Friday with "Burning Down the House" blasting from his windows, and then once the car turned off he finished it off whistling a few more rounds of the chorus.  I love how his cheerfulness just radiates sometimes (but especially on Fridays.)