Pregnancy Progression: The Third Trimester

Happy Friday everyone!

Well - I am officially 39 weeks pregnant. We are in the final countdown (cue music) to finally meet and greet this little girl face to face. 

<One of our maternity photos courtesy of the great Caroline Jurgensen>

In a way it feels like I've been pregnant for eternity, and in the same respect I still don't think it has fully hit me. Since it's one of those things we have constantly talked about and prepared for over the past nine months, it feels like it's been such a long time coming. But from an emotional perspective? It still is so surreal to me. Probably because I have no idea what to expect, nor the magnitude at which this whole motherhood thing will rock my world :)

Jeff is beyond ready for baby snuggles. And while I'm ready for copious amounts of snuggles myself, I still have this big scary painful thing called labor in between now and then so I'm kind of just bee-bopping around and hangin' tight. Plus, like my sister reminded us, once she's out - you can't put her back in!

Since I'm a bit of a ticking time bomb at the moment, I figured now is as good of a time as any to recap my thoughts on the third trimester. 

See my first trimester recap here and my second trimester recap here.

I'll be honest: when we kicked off the third trimester, I thought it was going to be plum awful. I had HORRIBLE sciatica/SI joint pain in my back and it was getting worse by the day. Some days it was so bad I couldn't put weight down on my right leg, and I was basically bed-ridden until the inflammation went down.

PS I think this is when Jeff's prayer that I wouldn't have to go on bed rest began. If you know me at all, you know I don't sit well. So I'm basically the worst patient ever on bed rest. To all you mamas out there who had to go on actual bed rest with your nuggets - bless your sweet and precious soul. To any future mamas out there who have to get put on bed rest - call me, I'll come play monopoly with you.

Anywho - so I thought the third trimester was going to be horrible, but then I went to three physical therapy sessions (shout out to Airrosti!) and have had zero troubles since. In fact, the third trimester overall has been pretty pleasant. 

The good news: I've had minimal eye bleeding situations in the third trimester. So either it's from all your prayers or the fact that 'they' say most of your blood volume increase happens in the second trimester, so I've kind of chilled out in the third trimester. Or we can say both :)

At 31 weeks, my friends threw me the most amazing shower in honor of sweet Sadie girl. It was just one of the greatest days ever. I gushed on and on about it here in case you missed it. After the shower it was looooots of nursery organizing. I think I've organized and re-organized that nursery 4 times. And I probably will again once she's here and I figure out how the heck to care for a child!

I went on maternity leave at the beginning of November, but towards those last few weeks of work I was getting pretty uncomfortable. Once I stopped working I felt a lot better, so I think it was just the act of sitting all day that made me feel like I was 87 years old each time I stood up. Plus that whole getting ready each day thing got harder and harder. I would wake up with SO much energy, and by the time I got ready and made the commute to work I would be in dire need of a nap.

Speaking of sleep - I slept like a champion up until about 37-38 weeks. As in if preggo sleep was an Olympic sport, I would have for sure contributed to the US medal count. And I know that's a lot longer than most mamas get, so I'll take it! Now I'll have one 8-10 hour stretch every few days, but on the off days I'm up for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. Just chillin. And usually watching Hallmark.

I was pretty uncomfortable when week 37 rolled around. I remember I texted my friends and said 'okay, week 37 - this isn't fun anymore.' But honestly, that lasted for about a week and now I feel really good. Like oddly good. My lightning crotch finally eased up (to all you men out there - it's an actual thing. And it is basically what makes preggo women waddle) after two months, so I'm really just hanging out at this point. 

My wedding rings are a little tighter than usual, but other than that I've had minimal swelling. I'm telling y'all - I thought the third trimester was going to be brutal, but I've actually enjoyed it for the most part. Or maybe I just have an extremely positive outlook on things and have blocked out all the negative things now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

In the delivery department, my body has already started to make progress on its own, which I am super thankful and happy about! We still have a ways to go, and a plan in place in case I don't get there on my own, but for now we're just praying that I keep making progress. 

It was funny, the other day I was praying about all things delivery and since there are SO many different ways this delivery thing could go, I realized I had reached 'prayer scenario F ' before deciding to just let go and let God. 

The hardest part is not knowing. Not knowing when, not knowing how, not knowing what, if any, complications will arise, and not having been through this before to have ANY expectations in the slightest. But God knows. And fortunately for me, the One that knows is also the One that's in control. That's a win win in my book. 

So until then I'm just keeping my days busy, nesting this house like it's my day job, resting up, and feeding Sadie as much Blue Bell as I can before she's out and can't have it anymore. (How sad for her is that!? Breaks my heart.)

If you're wondering how to pray for us over the next week or so, just pray that my body continues to make progress on its own and that it's a textbook delivery with no complications. It's so fun to hear how 'low risk' I am in all these appointments. That's all attributable to my little army. And while I know there are a LOT of mom fails ahead of me, bringing Sadie into a world where she has an automatic prayer battalion like y'all is one of the biggest mom wins I could ever have. 

We love y'all to pieces and can't wait to report back when she's here!

Until next time,

Katy 

Falliday Decor 2018

Eeeeeeks! I love decorating for the holidays. I get it honestly, too. My mom would completely transform our house every fall and Christmas. And by completely, I mean every last knick knack was removed and replaced with a seasonal knick knack.

I'm not there yet. Give me time.

Now, we aren't big 'halloween' people. You will never find me putting a witch towel, ghost figurine, or anything else of that nature in my house. That's just not my jam. What you will find is a plethora of pumpkins, a lot of leaves, and ample amount of acorns and several scarecrows.

I usually decorate for fall around mid-September, but this year I was actually decorated by the last week in August. With our due date of early December, I'm shifting everything forward. So I was decorated for fall when it was still 90+ degrees in Texas, and I'll be decorating for Christmas (...brace yourself) today. 

I know I know I know - I'm decorating before Thanksgiving. And don't get me wrong, usually I am ALL about giving the pilgrims and turkeys their spotlight and not getting my ho ho ho on until the weekend after Thanksgiving. But alas, since we are getting a new addition this year and technically have no idea when she's coming, I have to front-load. 

Cause if I don't, my mom and sister will be forced to decorate my house while I'm doing that whole newborn thing, and we put up four Christmas trees in our tiny home. We DO Christmas. So it's a lot to ask of a person. Even your mama and sister. 

Okay - back to fall. So this year was actually my first year to decorate our married home with fall decorations. Last year we were getting married around this time, so we went straight from wedding into Christmas. So in a way it felt like all my decorations were new since I hadn't seen them in two whole years!

Which, speaking of, I always like documenting our decorations each year for a couple of reasons... 1) I like that it serves as an inventory of my decor - super helpful when I find something at a store that I 'need' but can't remember if I already have something similar, and 2) we're not in the house we'll be in forever (well, at least I hope not - we're already busting at the seams!). One day I will want to look back and reminisce at our first little house as a family, and these posts are perfect to do just that (like this post about the falliday decorations in my last apartment as a single woman, or this post about my fall decor in the house I shared with Kelsey). Me and posts about decorations go way back :)

But alas, let's get down to a little tour of this year!
Also, I'm not a professional photographer - so thou shalt not judge the photo quality.

Welcome to our little front stoop :)

I could have swept the leaves off the mat, but I just wanted to show a little authenticity. 

..not really, I was just lazy.

My sister gave us the door hanger at a wedding shower last year (she knows me well), and we all know the story behind my dad and I building the little welcome post. We actually also have/had a cute little flower bed to the left with a fall flag, but with the crazy month of storms we had here in Texas, the little flower bed is no more. Wamp wamp.

Here's our little entryway when you walk in. This piece of furniture is new this year, so it was a blank slate when it came to decorating. Luckily Kirklands was available to help a girl out!

This house basically has a larger living room that feeds into a breakfast 'nook' and an open concept kitchen. And as far as fall goes, that's where all of my decorations reside. Like I said, I don't have enough decor for all the rooms yet. I'm working on it :)

The mothership. 

There is nothing I love decorating more than a good mantle/hearth! 

I've said this before, but the little montage on the bottom left will always have a special place in my heart. The first year I decided I wanted to embrace fall decor (back in 2012 or so), I asked my mom to go to the Hob Lob with me one weekend I was home visiting my parents. At the time my mom was (rightfully) focused on taking care of my grandmama, so it didn't look like the trip to Hobby Lobby was going to happen...

But then my dad stepped in. And that sweet man took me to Hobby Lobby, looked through all the (extremely overwhelming) aisles with me, and got on the floor and started putting together a little 'setting' - all right there in the middle of the aisle. So that basket, bale of hay, scarecrow girl, and pumpkin/leaves I will forever remember as my first fall decor!

I think he did a pretty good job, too! It's like he's watched my mom decorate for two decades or something... :)

To the right of the fireplace we have my little pub corner:

Fun fact: that pub table is actually the sign in table my dad built for our wedding!

...I also am realizing I can't remember at all what 'everyday' decorations went here before I put out the pumpkins. See? This is why I need pictures in a post.

I am still as obsessed with my subway art today as I was when Lisa gave it to me 4 years ago. I drew out the above on a really janky piece of scrap paper, and she brought it to life. It's such a fall staple in my house!

Next we have some subtle fall decor on the TV console...

I am completely obsessed with these extra large acorns I found at Hob Lob this year. They just make me SO happy!

A close up on the little cubbies with two things to note: 

1) Those 2-lb purple weights I bought when I first found out I was pregnant so I could work out my arms for all the baby holding. I've lifted weights once since I got them. 

2) If you look closely, you can still see the tags on the basket. I am notorious for wanting a 'trial period' with things I buy to see how I like them. And then x months later you can see the tags still on them. If you take a stroll through my house, you'll likely find no less than 10 tags still attached to things. I get side-tracked. Sue me.

Our little coffee table - that usually has about 6-8 pumpkin themed cooking magazines on top, but I removed for the picture :) I also usually ensure the Baylor coasters are on top, but considering the OU colors worked better with my decor, Jeff won this round. :)

And THIS is probably my very favorite spot in the house - no matter what time of year!

I. Love. My. Coffee Bar.

And those pumpkin mugs from Pottery Barn are just the icing on the cake. (Pssst: they're actually on sale right now if you need some of your own!) I know we're decorating for Christmas today, but I most definitely left these pumpkin mugs out for the time being. I told Jeff this box could not go to the garage yet because it was necessary that I drink coffee out of this mug on Thanksgiving while watching the Macy's Day Parade!

My little pumpkin spice mason jar painting makes me happy. It also was five whole dollars at Michael's. That also makes me happy.

Now, since we don't have a formal dining room, this little breakfast table is all we have - which I love, but I really like to leave it 'set' for holidays. ...well, and every other time of year. I just think a set table makes you feel on top of your game. Plus it makes you look way fancier than you really are. 

 Like those are paper plates on top of chargers. Again - the fancy nancy is allll an illusion!

 A little neutral sign to give you a break from the orange/rust, as well as a plant my mom told me was impossible to kill yet I've had to work to bring it back to life about 6 times. Sigh.

And just because it's not a true holiday without some festive dish towels (that you aren't allowed to use). Jeff LOVES these... :)

And what might be the most important fall decor of all - that was a new addition this year - is this one of a kind original art piece made by my 6-year old niece. Just. For. Me.

It says FALL. Who needs to be subtle when you can just SPELL.IT.OUT.

And that concludes our little fall home tour this year! This took my mom and me about 1/2 day to decorate. Christmas will take us about 5 days. We have a healthy amount of fall decor, but it's going to look like Christmas puked in our living room. 

CAN'T WAIT.

And because it's a real feel of like 10 degrees outside, I will leave you with this:

May all your winter naps be in front of a roaring fire :) 

Until next time,

Katy