24 week belly!

Wow! I can't believe we're already at the 6 month mark! I'd like to think that I've been handling the preparations and changes pretty well so far but my luck seems to have run out :/ The past week has been a little bumpy as far as mental stability goes ;) I have officially had my first freak out about being ready for him to get here and not having enough time to do all of the things I feel we need to get done. I had a couple of nights in a row laying awake, mind racing, for hours on end and have literally felt my blood pressure rising on a few occasions when I let myself get overwhelmed. Luckily, I have an AMAZING husband who knows exactly what to say to help calm me down and understands me well enough to know, even though I don't always reach out in obvious ways when I'm working through something, just the right way to support me without overwhelming me. Really, even if he doesn't know it, he always does the right thing to make it better. (Nick, I. LOVE. YOU. !!)

I've finally started gaining weight on a semi-normal basis and am up to 150 lbs (a total of 8 pounds gained). My back has started to bother me when I sit or lay in the same position for too long or when I'm not as active as usual during the day but other than that, I am pretty much complaint-free :) 

Nick was able to feel the baby kick for the first time last week and it was pretty awesome. As the momma, you get to know the baby so well without even realizing it so it's really special when the daddy gets to experience some of the cool parts, too. 

STATS:

Foods I'm craving: Like usual, all the stuff I can't have. I've been really wanting Coke lately (but, of course, have been severely limiting my intake) and honestly would have committed a crime for some Fresh Market chicken salad when Nick tried a sample at the store. 

Foods I can't stand: I haven't been in the mood for spicy stuff or for some of our go-to ethnic dishes like curry, chicken tikka masala or enchiladas. 

Symptoms: getting winded when I walk up flights of stairs, backaches at the end of the day and my skin has been completely crazy!

Maternity clothes: yep! 

Weddings rings (on/off): on

Favorite thing this week: Definitely the moment when Nick was able to feel him kick for the first time. :)

much love, L&N 

a tiny amount of nursery progress

We're getting closer and closer to baby being here and we only have the walls primed...eek!

Even though we have plenty of time to finish painting and putting furniture together, I still feel anxious about how much is left to finish. Hopefully once we really get going, it'll all come together pretty fast.

You can see in these photos that we also updated the blinds in the room, which has made a HUGE difference! The old blinds were cheap, cream colored and falling apart. We chose to go the relatively inexpensive route and get the molded plastic plantation blinds (which we have in other places of the house) to replace them and I love the way they make the room look so much more put together.

Cheers (with my water, of course) to more nursery projects getting done soon!

much love, L&N

nursery mood board

I've put together a quick mood board of the nursery inspiration...it represents the main vibe we're going for and the colors are pretty definite, but I'm sure there will be plenty of changes over the next couple months in the details!

The room will have neutral, tone-on-tone horizontal stripes and the furniture is gray-washed wood. The fabric will be used in a couple different places in the room and will introduce some bold colors into the space. I want to make sure the room feels masculine enough for a little boy but not too precious. I don't want it to feel "baby" so that he can grow into it and so that we can easily incorporate new accents as he develops his own taste.

I want his room to be a serene and calming nursery but I also want the space to reflect our style as well. I think we're headed in the right direction! :)

much love, L&N

baby's first photo shoot

It's been a little while since I posted anything but I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! We've been pretty chill around here since losing Schnitzle, just adjusting at our own pace, but I have to say that all of the comments, texts, cards and messages we received from all of you really did make a huge difference. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. Each one of them was a tiny moment of sunshine in what would otherwise have been many dark days. 

Baby and I are doing well, getting bigger by the day! I haven't gained much weight (only about 1 1/2 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight- I actually lost weight during my 1st trimester so I'm just now catching up to what I lost in the beginning) but my belly is definitely getting bigger. When I'm hanging out at home I like to rock the too-tight T-shirt and drawstring sweatpants look, mainly because it's a fabulous fashion statement but also because all my T-shirts are too small and the only thing that's comfortable around my waist is elastic ;) 

Hopefully we'll have a couple new belly photos up soon, but until then we'll tide you over with some of Baby Boy's 20 week ultrasound photos!

all curled up :) 

little fist

slightly creepy (but very cute) skeleton face :) just in time for Halloween! 

leg bones

foot! I think his feet already look like Nick's :)

arm bones, upper and lower

who would have thought you could see lips?!

heartbeat. I wish I could listen to this every day...

Boy! 

more little fingers

 Coming soon: choosing a midwife, nursery inspiration mood board, and Baby Boy's name reveal!

much love, L&N