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Oh my gosh, y'all. Getting close! Thirty weeks pregnant! Whaaa? I'm still feeling fabulous and love being pregnant! Except for heartburn. I've had heartburn a couple times and it SUCKED. I told Mike, "I am so sorry that you have to deal with this!" because he's had heartburn a lot. He's given me some tips and as long as I'm careful, it doesn't bother me. Pubic bone soreness is a constant these days. Can't complain, though, because it means my body is doing its thing and getting ready for Charlemagne. On the subject of sleep: Twice in the past two weeks, I've woken up seriously early (4am-ish) and not been able to go back to sleep. Other than that, sleep is still great. I use two pillows: one under my head and one between my knees. Those, coupled with my wonderful bed, keeps me perfectly comfortable. My bladder of steel helps me sleep through the night. Feeling him move is still one of the greatest pleasures in life. Watching my ...

A few days ago, I posted this on Facebook: and it got a lot of attention. Some women were empathizing or relating their own stories, others were expressing sympathy and encouragement. I've reached the third trimester. I'm tiny and my belly sticks OUT. People can't help but make comments. Here's the deal. (For the most part) I think pregnancy looks pretty good on me. And (for the most part) I don't take these words people say to heart. Because I know that they stem mostly from ignorance. That sweet old lady that asks if you're sure there's only one baby in your belly? She's not being mean. She, for whatever reason, thinks she's being funny. My husband and my father both thought, "Wow! You're getting big!" was a compliment. Seriously. Why? Because when you are growing a child in your body, your belly is SUPPOSED to be getting bigger and this, "You're getting big!" translates to "Look how healthy your baby is!...

29 weeks down! Somewhere between 8 and 13 weeks left to go! Still feeling fabulous! After too much time on my feet, I definitely develop a waddle swagger. But I'm pretty sure I walk normally most of the time! Shot my last wedding of the year this past Saturday. I was second shooting for a fabulous local photographer and it was a wonderfully casual backyard wedding with the yummiest selection of cakes! Bonus: did not feel like dying after the wedding was over. I was getting burger buns from the bakery at Publix when the sweetest woman (with the most adorable toddler) told me, "Oh my gosh! You're so cute! I couldn't even tell you were pregnant from behind!" Made. My. Day. Speaking of burger buns, this week has been the week of the cheeseburger! I ate a cheeseburger at FIVE different meals last week. Guess my body was trying to build up it's protein and iron! I'm sure it's the pregnancy helping me out here, but I really am embracing my natur...

Hello third trimester! I can't believe we're already here. I love the fact that my hormones are working and making my pelvis more loosey-goosey for delivery, but I am not so in love with the soreness that comes with it. My glucose test was this week and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was so nervous about the test but I passed. :) I did not do so well with my hemoglobin count. They sent me home with iron supplements. A friend had similar numbers to mine and almost had to get a blood transfusion, so I'm trying to eat more iron rich foods as well. Maternity jeans & leggings are basically all I wear, but I'm still mostly wearing non-maternity tops. As it gets colder, I will occasionally don a cardigan. Any tips on dressing the bump in the winter? I might get a few maternity sweaters, but most of the ones I've seen are shapeless and not my style. Bella and I go for a two-mile walk twice a week. My goal is Mondays, Wednesdays & ...

Mossimo dress \\ Cynthia Rowley scarf \\ Kate Spade necklace \\ Xhilaration earrings \\ Aersoles shoes So, I know, last Saturday came and went with no bumpdate. Then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday wooshed by. And suddenly, it's Thursday. With my 28 week photos due the day after tomorrow, I decided to just skip week 27. As far as I can remember there isn't a whole lot of interesting to report about last week. Since I got a lot of compliments on my outfit today, I decided to do a quick SMP post. :) I got this dress from Target pretty soon after I found out I was pregnant. It didn't look very good on me, but it was $6 and I was pretty sure it would be useful in the coming months. I tried it on maybe around 20 weeks, and it still looked frumpy. Well, last night, as I'm trying to decide what to wear to my OB appointment (their scale always says I'm a few lbs heavier than mine does, so I wanted to dress as lightweight as possible, lol), I decided to try it ...

They say the best camera is the one you have with you. And while I did take a DSLR with me on our trip, I didn't feel like carting it around most of the time. But I made sure to document the time with my phone. :) If you don't know, I "collect" XING signs ! Mike and I hung out with my parents on Friday. We had a late breakfast, drove around for a bit, and then collected Bella from the cabin to go explore Chimney Rock Village. My favorite part about that little town? The river walk just behind the shops of the main street. :)  Leo, Mary, and Kevin arrived Friday night. Saturday, we all had another lazy morning. Around lunchtime, we all headed out to the lake (right in our backyard!) for some fishing, boating, and lounging. It was such a gorgeous day! Later that day, everyone (except me and mom) went zip lining. I was super jealous and I cannot wait until the opportunity arises when I'...

Can you believe I'm six months pregnant? Still feeling great! If I slouch too much or spend too much time on my feet, some part of my back will be in pain, but it's generally nothing big (except for after a wedding!) Mike and I have been taking a Bradley childbirth class and I'm loving it. Chances of me getting him to read "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" are probably slim, so I'm really glad we can be attending this class together. My parents still don't like photos of me holding my belly. Bet they'd hate coming over to my house when I hang out with my shirt up so I can just watch my belly move. Speaking of which, watching Charlemagne move under my belly is the WEIRDEST THING. It's like something out of Aliens. I would guess. I've never seen that movie because aliens are super scary. Charlemagne is still kicking up a storm. Stargirl got to feel him kick over the weekend...much to her chagrin. (In case anyone reads that below a...

Holy moly! Twenty-five weeks already? This means we are 5/8ths of the way there. Mike and I have got somewhere between 12 and 17 weeks left until we get to meet Charlemagne. Isn't that crazy? Speaking of Charlemagne, I know those of you who come just for the photos and don't read any of the text. Because you ask me if Charlemagne is really what I'm going to name my baby . ;) I had a great prenatal appointment last week. I really liked my doctor and he even wrote "Charlemagne" down as the baby's name. He called him my "little leader" and said he could make no promises about the rest of the doctors pronouncing his name correctly. Haha! I feel the baby move all the time and it's still super cool. I also like watching for movement. Sometimes, if I feel a particularly prominent movement, I'll stop what I'm doing and just stare at my belly waiting to see it move again. One of my favorite things is when Mike and I are in bed and I m...

Happy 24 weeks! The big new this week is that we have reached viability . This is the point where the baby has a 50% chance of surviving outside my body. And it only gets better from here on out. Charlemagne is active as ever. And we are both loving it too. Sometimes, he can really be going to town in there. Maybe he'll be a spaz like his mommy. Charlemagne is the size of a cantaloupe. That seems so huge to me! He is 10.5-to-11.8-inch and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces. According to TheBump.com, my symptoms are supposed to be: swollen ankles and feet: nope leg cramps: nope back aches: only when I sit with bad posture for too long linea nigra: yep. from the top to the bottom. stretch marks: nope. We registered! We went to buybuy BABY to register together and then I also registered at Target. I've now got a lot of samples, several pacifiers, a bottle, and even a can of formula. Oh and coupons. Lots of coupons. We started our Bradley childbirth classes last M...