8w0d

Holy moly I haven't updated this in forever ): I have been so so busy with Jillian and the move. This probably won't be too long of an update.

Basically, we freaking love our house in SC! It's huge and relatively new (5 years old) and we have so much space! I will post pictures as we decorate it, but right now it is covered in boxes and crap that we haven't found a place for! I do have some pics of Jillian's room so far.

The white is the door frame so this is to the left as soon as you walk in the door. The movers messed up my mobile so I need to fix that and I need to hang up the pictures in the crib.

I plan to make simple maroon curtains to match the bed skirt

Not sure why this one pic turned out so dark

Yes. This is real life... Top is 0-3mo, bottom is 3-6mo, and the left top is everything bigger plus some nightgowns, sleepsacks, snow suits (that she'll likely never wear.. they were given to us though don't worry!), and some nicer dresses

My child has been more than spoiled.. we are so so lucky to have been given almost every piece of clothing. This does not include any of her newborn clothes because she outgrew them (she has about as much NB as she does 3-6mo) or a good bunch that were in poor condition and I didn't have room for (like a whole box full...)


So Jillian is 8 weeks today! I don't have a scale that measures lbs and ounces, but today I weighed her (by me stepping on the scale alone and then with her and calculating the difference) and she weights 10.6lb! Breastfeeding is still going great. I have lost most of the feeling in my nipples lol. Sometimes I just let her stay on the boob even after she's done eating bc I love the cuddles and it doesn't hurt anymore!

Jill outgrew her newborn cloth diapers (well the Bumgenius ones she kept peeing out of so I'm assuming they didn't fit or weren't absorbent enough) right before we moved. She has been in sposies for the last week and a half as we went to VA to visit and then made the rest of the trip to SC. We just got a washer so I'm going to try some OS on her probably tomorrow, but we are leaving for Chicago next week so she will be back in sposies for that time bc I don't want to worry about washing her diapers there. I can't wait to try out some of my cute pockets! A lot of the fitteds seem pretty big and I only have one cover so we will probably wait a while before trying those out.

Jill is holding her head up pretty good for the majority of the time. She also smiles socially and I have gotten one or two laughs out of her. She started cooing a bit more over the past few days. She still doesn't have a complete hang of it, but she does it more and more every day and she seems so proud when she hears the sounds come from her mouth! She's very observant and loves to walk around and look at things. I'm hoping she will get a little better at holding her head up so I can buy her an umbrella stroller so she can sit upright in it and look around her. We live in a cute little suburban neighborhood so I'd love to take her on walks!

I think I want this stroller. So cute!

AFM, I lost all of the baby weight in about two weeks. I have gained about 5lb since that ): I am feeling pretty crummy about myself. Pregnancy definitely f'd up my body pretty nicely! I have a very saggy stomach and I'm just not feeling very sexy. I started the couch to 5k program and I'm thinking of also throwing in the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (but I will likely take a bit longer bc of the trip to Chicago). Ideally, I'd like to be super skinny again. Realistically, I'd like to lose some arm fat and maybe some of my thighs and this pooch I have going on. IDK how much I should expect to weigh. I guess 120-125 would sound nice to me, but I know I will likely gain some muscle from exercising so I'm not sure what to expect weight-wise. I am about 5lb less than when I got pregnant which was my highest non-pregnant weight (I got up to 150ish during the last week of my pregnancy), so as long as I don't hit that or higher, I am really okay with any number as long as I am happy with my body.

TTC.. I am so torn about this. Keith wants to wait so our kids will be 2-3 years apart. I can see the advantages of that. A lot of people say that the older kid can "help" with little tasks and will enjoy being a big sister/brother. Jill will have those years to be the only child. But (and this is a huge but for me), my heart is telling me we should try when she's 6-9 months and they'd be closer to a year and a half apart. I think I only want two kids and I want them to be close and I want to get the newborn stage out of the way sooner. Don't get me wrong, I love Jill this age, but I think it'd be easier having kids closer in age. Maybe not. Maybe my brain is just not wired to have sex for only fun lol. Anyways, I am on the mini pill for the time being. I know for sure that I want to at least breastfeed for 6 months before even attempting to get pregnant. I'd like to breastfeed for a year or longer, but I have read that being pregnant can change your milk and some babies don't like it. I think starting to try around 6 months at the earliest gives me a better chance of making it further breastfeeding her. I have really started to love it even more as it gets easier and easier and it just seems natural and part of our routine now. (I guess I should say that I am one of the oh so lucky people that EBFs and got their period back at 6 weeks.. ugh.. but at least I know when I can TTC)

So that turned into a lot longer of a post than I expected lol! I will end with some pics of Jillian!

Look at those lashes!

Leggings that her Aunt Chancie sent her (:

Helping me unpack

Baby Shit

My house is covered in it it seems. I still haven't uploaded shower pics, so this post will be the ridiculous amount of baby things we have :P

Lately, I have been torturing Optimus as a stand-in for Jill.

Pup and Sophie

Pup loving the Boba Wrap. He seriously loved being in it (but he loves being held) when I expected him to freak out when I let go of him and let him rest in there without my support

Pup and Jill's seahorse and the robot blanket that Keith picked out

A friend of Keith's gave us a bunch of baby clothes, a swing, and a bouncer. My friend who so graciously gave me most of Jillian's clothes I already had also sent me another bag. I washed it all and took it to Jill's room and immediately got overwhelmed.. Her closet was already stuffed to capacity, so I decided I'd take down the 6-9mo clothes and larger.. yeah that didn't work. I couldn't fit almost anything else in the closet. I finally figured out that 0-3 and 3 are the same size so I took out everything larger than 0-3/3 and I baaaarely got it to fit. Here are the before and after pics. She has another small load of clothes in the dryer right now, but I'm hoping the 0-3 will fit in the closet because there isn't much.

Yes, this is real life.. This is what I was trying to stuff into the closet pictured below. The box had non-clothing items that I needed to put away (which I did), the pile closest to the crib was the larger sizes (6-9,9-12) that Keith's work friend gave us, the taller unfolded pile was the clothes given by my friend (all 0-3), the hangers were the 0-3 and 3-6 that Keith's friend gave. I later took the 3-6 off of the hangers and folded them in a tub. The pile on the bottom right were clothes/blankets/towels that needed to be washed. It took forever to get all of this put away!

This is before taking out the bigger sizes

This is AFTER taking out the bigger sizes and adding the new (to us) clothes that were given to us in 0-3 and smaller. I also took out the swing and shoved it into another closet. The baskets up top have (from left to right) bath stuff (towels, wash cloths, shampoo), toys (mainly little teethers and stroller/car seat toys), hats/headbands/bows, and shoes in the last basket. Next is a bottle drying rack and the scentsy buddy boxes. Down at the bottom is the pack n play, a basket of unwashed diapers, another bouncer, a tub of random things like little books, her bottles, etc. The tub under the My Brest Friend and Boppy are her larger clothes.

Keith is super stoked over these comic book plushies. He picked out his favorites and I picked out the Hulk

This is set up in my living room (: Keith was so excited to have the swing down here. I know I bought that swing and bouncer before (and I was given a bouncer at my baby shower), but these were too adorable to turn away for free! I traded in blue bouncer at BRU's trade in event (and we bought a jumperoo that's still in the box bc Jill likely won't be able to use it in this house bc we will hopefully move before she is big enough). I am thinking we will set up the other swing and bouncer in our room if she likes them. If not, I will sell them or donate them.

Lastly, this is Jill's coming home outfit that my grandma picked out. The dress is crazy adorable in person. It is light pink if you can't tell in the picture and those are little booties and tights.

34w0d

Wowsa. 6 weeks to go.. that doesn't seem right lol. That's not long at all! Mentally, I've been telling myself 2 more weeks than the ticker because I am already starting to get burnt out with the lack of sleep and the being uncomfortable 24/7.

This will be a quick post because I am incredibly tired after a sleepless night and a long (but fun!) day! I will have to do a long shower post another day (plus, I need to find the cord for the camera to get my shower pics anyways). The bottom line is that I had so much fun and I'm so incredibly thankful for a wonderful day and all of the love and support for me and baby Jillian. We're a lucky bunch!

Above is a pic of some of the spoils. I didn't bring in the diaper cake, humidifier, or high chair from the car bc it took quite a few trips to bring all this in (Keith is at work) and I'm exhausted! Jillian will never be naked.. I am pretty sure I will be bathing her in clothes and changing her outfits like 10x a day so she can wear everything she has lol! Thankfully, I don't need to bring a single thing back! I got more pacifiers than she'll probably need, but I think I will keep them all just in case (really, I only got 8 but they're all the same kind). I already went ahead and ordered stuff from Amazon that I didn't get so I could take advantage of the Amazon Mom 20% off event. I'll talk about my spoils and order in the shower post though.

Remember this list of "must-haves" and "really wants" (here's the update..)
Bottles
Diaper rash cream
Socks
Baby wash
Snappis
Pack n Play sheets (we would need this more towards the time when we move)
At least 1 more pail liner
Wet bag for diaper bag (x2)
Breast pump replacement parts
Breast milk storage bags
Nipple Cream
Nursing tanks and/or bras (I plan to get the bras after my milk comes in)
Pacifiers
Wrap/carrier and/or the infant insert for the Ergo
First aid kit and baby grooming kit
Humidifier
Baby monitor (probably not necessary right away and we might wait until we move to get this depending on when we move/how old Jill is/if we're ready to let her sleep away from us at night)

Yeah.. that just happened. I only need the small wet bags and baby grooming shiz.

How far along? 34w0d!
Total weight gain/loss? 140-142ish so up 20-22lb
Stretch marks? Nothing I've noticed since last week
Sleep? I have had a horrible time trying to sleep for the past few nights. I am miserable!
Best moment last week? Well, today.. the baby shower!
Movement? She has been slowing down this week. I'm assuming she's running out of room bc I don't feel hard kicks as much. More like what I assume is her adjusting and getting comfortable in there
Food cravings? Wings or chocolate milk
Belly button in/out? Nothing has changed. IDK if it will pop at this point
Braxton Hicks/contractions? Nothing that I've recognized
What I miss: Sleeping 8-10 hours in a row
What I am looking forward to: Full term!
Milestones: Next up is 35 weeks with 35 days to go!!

33w0d

That ticker over there (you can't see my side bar on mobile)--> says 49 days..
Commence freak out!

(Go ahead and skip the next few paragraphs bc this is going to get ramble-y and whiny) Let me clue you in on something that has been weighing heavily on my mind: We have heard nothing definite on whether Keith will be home or out to sea in March. I cannot discuss specifics of his boat schedule which makes it difficult to describe how stressed I am, but as of now, if he isn't able to fly home while the boat is in port a bit before Jill's due date (and I mean it is cutting it close), then he will be gone and unable to come home when Jill is born for at least weeks. Honestly, even if they do tell him he can come, if Jill doesn't wait until right around her due date to come, he will surely miss the birth. I am hoping that, if I go into labor a little early while they are still in port, he will be able to catch a flight almost immediately and catch the tail end of labor and her birth. If he goes out to sea after (on the longer trip I am referencing), Optimus and I are high-tailing it back to VA bc I am beyond scared to give birth alone up here with no family. I have two close girlfriends that I'd feel comfortable calling to take me to L&D and stay with me, and one is moving in a few weeks.. I know it isn't wise to worry about something that is completely out of my control and may end up all working out just perfectly with Keith being here, but that is not the kind of person I am lol. I worry and I expect the worst. In my mind, being prepared for the worst case scenario is better than expecting everything to fall into place and then your little fantasy world gets rocked. Unfortunately (at least in this scenario), Keith is the opposite of me. Usually it is fine because we balance each other, but, right now, his lack of concern and "everything will work out great" attitude is making me stress more. When I finally get to see him again, I plan on having a nice long chat about what he needs to do to get answers ASAP so I can be more prepared on what to expect or what plans I need to get in place if it doesn't look likely that he will be home.

Issue number 2: We are SUPPOSED to be leaving for shore duty in late March or April, but we have no official papers giving us any kind of dates. It is seriously a 1-2 month gap of when we could potentially be moving. This normally wouldn't worry me, because that is plenty far for us to prepare, but I will have a newborn come March and I would LIKE to have some idea of when we need to be in the new place even if it is tentative or down to a couple week period. I seriously need some help unclenching here lol.

I LOVE our life that the military has provided us. I love the idea of getting to experience new places and how close it makes our little family since we have to rely on each other when moving to a new and unfamiliar place. I know to expect things to be up in the air a lot with this life. I also know that it was our decision to get pregnant even though I knew he'd be out to sea around this time and that we were due to move around April-May of this year. I don't want to come across as ungrateful or bratty at all. I have put myself in this situation (and trust me, Jillian is MORE than worth the worry and stress), but, nonetheless, I AM stressed out about it and I do worry. I know once we move and I'm cuddling my little girl in our new town in our new house that I will wonder why I was so damned stressed over everything, but getting to that point is proving to be difficult for the planner in me.

(Okay, back to our regular broadcast) A huge wave of relief has come over me since I got Jill's nursery temporarily set up in our rental here in CT. I need some small things still, but I feel overall pretty damned prepared for her arrival in a physical way. I have a really short list of things that I consider must-haves that I will need before or shortly after she arrives:
Bottles
Diaper rash cream
Socks
Baby wash
Snappis
Pack n Play sheets (we would need this more towards the time when we move)
At least 1 more pail liner
Wet bag for diaper bag (x2)
Breast pump replacement parts
Breast milk storage bags
Nipple Cream
Nursing tanks and/or bras (I plan to get the bras after my milk comes in)
Pacifiers
Wrap/carrier and/or the infant insert for the Ergo
First aid kit and baby grooming kit
Humidifier
Baby monitor (probably not necessary right away and we might wait until we move to get this depending on when we move/how old Jill is/if we're ready to let her sleep away from us at night)

I feel great that the items on my list are small. The baby monitor and humidifier are the most expensive items (well, other than the nursing tanks and bras) and I still have my shower next weekend.

S/o of my shower.. OMG I am so freaking excited for it! I honestly think it's going to be perfect. Just a small party with good friends and I'm expecting great food (my hostess is a great cook and party planner!)! My boubeads necklace came in the mail the other day.. holy shit Chancie and her sister have such an eye for this stuff!

I will obviously be posting pictures of it with my shower dress next weekend! I have already seen a preview of a pacifier clip I am ordering for Jillibean and I am in love already! If it is anything like the necklace, I know I will love it even more in person! I plan on getting a few more necklaces too for Jill to play with and chew while I'm wearing her in my ergo or boba/moby wrap (I WANT the boba, but I have a moby on my BRU registry since they don't carry the boba) and nursing her. I have heard that babies get distracted when nursing sometimes and having the nursing necklace is perfect for keeping their attention to your breast area. I obviously haven't tested this, but even if I do have a baby with an awful attention span, I will look mega cute :P I was seriously sad bc I didn't think I'd be able to wear jewelry without it being tugged and chewed on when holding a baby that wants to grab everything in sight and now I can and I won't have to worry about her hurting herself or my gold jewelry! Okay.. I'm done. I OBVIOUSLY think Chancie and her sister are the most brilliant people ever lol.

Well, Optimus and I are headed upstairs to cuddle in Jillian's new recliner while reading! I love that chair so much already!

How far along? 33w0d!
Total weight gain/loss? 137.6lb a few minutes ago on my home scale. Pre-pregnancy weight -140. Lowest weight this pregnancy -120
Stretch marks? I have a new HUGE (like 3in at least) sideways one that is perpendicular to my butt crack lol. I am still surprised that I haven't got any on my stomach or through my tattoos yet
Sleep? I am hating my new sleeping habits right now.. Without fail, I am awake around 2-4am and cannot usually get back to sleep until 8am or so. If I don't nap during the day (which is preferable since it's nice to accomplish things like cleaning and sewing during daylight so I'm not being noisy when my neighbors are sleeping), then I am lucky to make it to 10 before passing out. Usually, I pass out around 6pm and sleep 3-4 hours. I seriously feel like a baby with these short spurts of sleep. I know people would likely tell me to "get used to it bc you'll be sleep deprived with a newborn," but, the point is, I KNOW that and I'd like to enjoy getting a full night's sleep while I still can.. Oh well
Best moment last week? For sure seeing the nursery come together! I LOVE seeing my vision come together
Movement? She's been a maniac this past week. It is incredibly cool bc now I can usually feel around my stomach and feel a protruding butt or knee or elbow (or something!) and if I poke it, she usually squirms. I wonder if it is because she is bigger now or because she is not transverse. I think she's either head down or kind of diagonal with her head near my hip and feet near my opposite ribs
Food cravings? I've been wanting (and consuming many) wings lately (still the same :P)
Belly button in/out? The top maybe 1/4 of it is out, the rest is just getting flatter, but is still in (so same)
Braxton Hicks/contractions? Nothing that I've recognized
What I miss: Sleeping 8-10 hours in a row
What I am looking forward to: my baby shower!!!
Milestones: Next up is 35 weeks with 35 days to go!!

Yesterday at 32w6d

I will admit that I have not seen/eaten quite a few of the fruits/veggies on these things.. but I honestly have no freaking clue what this one even is.. a "durian"???????

EDIT:

Nursery furniture is all here!

I have done a few crafts (changing pad cover and fitted crib sheet) that I took pictures for, but I'm not feeling like blogging much today. I just wanted to show off Jill's nursery furniture.

This was my original inspiration. I ended up changing my mind on the dresser and crib set and I'm really pleased with the new ones! The sheets I ordered custom on Etsy fell through, so the fabrics are slightly different (and I like them better bc they're more feminine) and I saved a bunch of money doing them myself. I actually spent less on the fabric for two sheets and two changing pad covers than I did on just the two sheets I originally ordered (almost $20!). I still haven't put up any prints and I'm going to re-do the mobile a bit (I will definitely post updated pics).

I am LOVING the sorting hat! These are the two changing pad covers I made (the dresser is not black, but the lighting in the nursery sucks). I think I will put Jill's name letters over the dresser with a framed print on both sides and then a vinyl HP quote over the crib. I plan to make maroon curtains when we move (I don't want to fit curtains to the windows here and them not work out at our new place and plus, I won't know how many windows she'll have).

I'm not crazy about how the pillow turned out. I wish I made the squares bigger and they didn't unravel as much as the quilt did in the wash

My first quilt! It's pretty small 36x36

 Here is Optimus trying out the crib after I put it together!

The rocker recliner is my favorite! It rocks and reclines really easily and it isn't one of the huge over-stuffed ones that would be difficult to get out of with a baby in my arms. Later, we can move it to another room easily (probably Keith's man-cave or our bedroom bc we have dark furniture in there too)

A better picture that shows the crib skirt. I hope it will stand out more once we move to a house without these tacky carpets.

 Also, unrelated to the nursery, here are my last 4 diapers that I have bought/plan to buy (until Jill gets here and we figure out what does and doesn't work for us). I really need some covers to go over the fitteds and, if we like prefolds, I will get some larger sizes in those later. I ordered 20 Charcoal and Microfiber Blend inserts and they are boiling now. I still need to strip my used diapers and I have two new BGs that I must have looked over when doing my huge prep a few weeks back. They just need to go through one wash bc they're new so I will throw them in with any clothes/blankets that Jill may get at my shower next weekend!

Little Fancy Pants fitted, Goodmama fitted, random WAHM pocket, LFP fitted

32w0d

We ordered Jill's dresser and crib this week! I also ordered fabric to make Jill's sheets. I ordered custom ones on Etsy and got screwed over. Thankfully, Paypal got my money back in a little over two weeks!

The crib is set to deliver next week, but I set up Jill's dresser all by myself tonight (it's Saturday morning at like 4am..). I have a blister on my hand from the screwdriver, but I got it done! I'm pretty damn proud of myself too! I've already got it stocked lol. Top drawer has all newborn diapers and some pockets. Middle drawer has the rest of her OS diapers and prefolds. Bottom drawer has all of her pants, plain white onesies, kimono-style shirts, diaper covers (ones that go under dresses- not CD covers), swaddlemes, and, when she gets some, I will likely put socks in there because there's still plenty of room. The cabinet part has her cloth wipes, inserts, burp clothes, blankets, bibs, sheets, mattress pads, etc.

The pink basket won't stay there. I just wanted something there lol. IDK what will live on that part. Probably a small basket that matches the laundry hamper with stuff like coconut oil and CD safe diaper rash creams or those kinds of things

Top drawer

Middle drawer

I have decided to make Jill two nice fitted sheets and two nice changing pad covers out of these fabrics:

Top two will be sheets and the bottom two will be changing pad covers

Last thing bc I really need to attempt to sleep some, I crocheted two headbands last night! They turned out really cute!

I need to run to Jo-ann's and pick up pearls to glue to the centers of these hearts

How far along? 32w0d!
Total weight gain/loss? 139.6 at my last appt, but 136 today. I think the doctor's office likes to make me out to be bigger :P
Stretch marks? No change this week
Sleep? Sleep comes at random times. IDK if it is nesting or all of the anxiety I have about my due date coming so soon on top of a move that I have no idea when will take place, but my mind runs a lot and makes it hard to fall asleep
Best moment last week? Finally ordering the fabric and furniture (other than the rocker) for Jill's nursery
Movement? Same activity level as usual, but I no longer think she's transverse bc I don't feel movement on the sides as much as in the middle now.
Food cravings? I've been wanting (and consuming many) wings lately
Belly button in/out? The top maybe 1/4 of it is out, the rest is just getting flatter, but is still in (so same)
Braxton Hicks/contractions? Nothing since last week
What I miss: Not feeling like I've been hit by a truck after doing a mild amount of physical work (like putting together a dresser..)
What I am looking forward to: my baby shower!!!
Milestones: Next up is 35 weeks with 35 days to go! Holy moly that is only 3 weeks away! Only 5 weeks until Jillian is considered full term!

31w4d. I haven't taken a bump pic today.. I might update with one later. To me, I think my bump has shrunk some which may mean Jill is head down vs. breech or transverse

DIY: Baby Bandana Bib

Okay! This is EASY PEASY and you can get quite a few of these done in a really short amount of time! I plan on making a bunch more (but I don't have big enough scraps of fabric at the moment)

Supplies:
Fabric - you can either use two coordinating colors/patterns so the bib is reversible, or just cut out two pieces of the same fabric. Size depends on how big you want these bibs.
Paper & Pen
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Thread
Velcro or Buttons or Snaps (however you want to attach the ends to secure around baby's neck)

Step one: Draw out a pattern similar in shape to a right angled triangle with one curved side like this pattern (this pattern makes a pretty small bandana so that is why I suggest making one yourself)
Step two: Iron your fabric in half (do yourself a favor and fold the pretty side of the fabric in- so NOT like my picture.. I didn't catch on to that until my second piece)

Step three: Place your pattern with the straight edge to the fold of your fabric and trace. I also traced a little bit out (maybe 1/4-1/2in out) from the pattern so I have a visual of what line I'm going to sew (the inside line that is the size of the pattern) and what line I'm going to cut (the outside line)

Step four: Cut out your fabric. You are going to want two layers of fabric for one bandana
Step five: Iron out that crease (not particularly important, but it makes it nice and pretty)
Step six: Pin two pieces of fabric inside out

Step seven: SEW! Make sure you leave yourself a decent sized hole so you can turn the fabric right side out later

Step eight: Trim the extra fabric around the stitch. Leave some length by the hole so your seams are hidden later on (like in the picture below)

Step nine: Turn right side out and iron flat. Tuck your long fabric where the hole is in side when ironing
Step ten: Sew a straight stitch (or zig zag if you like that look better) fairly close to the edge of the fabric

Step eleven: Attach velcro or buttons to the round corners of the bandana and pin on baby! (Or stuffed animals if you don't have a baby quite yet!)