33 Weeks & the Baby Shower

33 weeks today! 49 days until our due date and only 28 until Eleanor is full term.

I had a prenatal appointment this morning. While I was back in Phoenix I was asked several times if there was any estimation on Eleanor's weight yet, so I made it a point to ask. My midwife said she seems to be right around 5 lbs. She is growing on schedule and is of average size.

I flew in from Phoenix yesterday evening. I was greeted with a jury summons in the mail for April 27th, when I will be 37 weeks along. Can you see a full term pregnant woman serving on a jury? Yeah, that's not going to happen.

I made it back to California with all of the presents from my shower, but I had to borrow an additional giant suitcase from my parents. Both of my bags were right at the 50 lb. mark! The shower was wonderful and I am so thankful for everyone who came and the generosity of our friends and family. I am especially grateful to my cousin Lindsay who did an absolutely amazing job planning, decorating, and hosting the shower. It was a beautiful night and will always stand out in my memory.

Here are a few of my favorite photos for the evening. More can be seen on my flickr page. A very big "Thank you!" is due to my sister Alexis who acted as my event photographer, and did a really great job.

32 Weeks

32 weeks today! 56 days left until our due date, and 35 until Eleanor is full term.

I had a very busy day yesterday. My friend Whitney and I went to San Francisco with many errands to run, which included picking up my electronic key for City CarShare (yay!), buying a few short sleeved maternity shirts, a rug for the nursery, and the cute little “e” from Anthropologie that I have had my eye on. Later Andrew and I took the City CarShare for a trip to Home Depot. I was totally exhausted. A day of shopping is much more difficult than it used to be. My joints hate me right now.

Some of you may have been wondering how Andrew and I plan on getting around town with a new baby and without a car. City CarShare is the solution. We really love not having a car and we don't mind walking, biking, and taking public transit, but there are some instances where having a car would be really useful. Big trips to Target or Costco, for example, or taking a newborn to a doctor's appointment. With the car share program we are able to reserve a car for a set amount of time, anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to an entire day. We pay by the hour, and the fee includes insurance coverage and gas. The cars are parked in "pods" with locations all over the Bay Area, the closest of which is only a few blocks from our house. It's a really neat system and perfect for people like us who don't want to own a car but would like access to one occasionally.

We are slowly but surely putting the nursery together. Late last week our glider arrived. We couldn't be happier with it. The rug is not the one I had originally picked out. I had wanted this one, which is the same idea but in a different color palette. I liked the more neutral tones, but when I saw it in person the colors were much more saturated, which made it look very harsh, particularly with the black stripes. Next to it on the rug rack was this much more cheerful looking rug that also happened to match the little “e” perfectly. With the fuchsia stripes it is definitely fitting for a little girl’s room. I’m trying to stay away from the pink, but I guess a few stripes here and there won’t hurt.


I realized that the Alice in Wonderland print would look great with the bright colors we are using for the nursery. Andrew and I bought it in Disneyland on our honeymoon. I hadn’t found a place for it in this apartment yet, and almost forgot it even existed until I found it in a closet last week. I think I’m going to hang it over the gray couch.

We also recently got a new coffee table. Our old one was rectangular with lots of sharp edges and the thought of my unborn baby falling and hitting her head on it was already making me nauseous. With this new one she could still give herself a nice clunk, but hopefully she won’t split her head open or gouge out an eye. Corners just seem so dangerous these days. Additionally, we felt that a round table would open up the space a bit more.

I'm getting ready this morning for my last pre-baby Phoenix trip. It's crazy to think that the next time I'm on an airplane I will have a baby in my arms. I'm looking forward to the baby shower on Friday and the chance to spend a little time with my family before life descends into the chaos of new motherhood.

31 Weeks

31 weeks today! 63 days, just slightly more than two full months, left until my due date, and 42 days until Eleanor is full term.

Time is moving very slowly, but I keep reminding myself that every day that passes brings us one day closer to meeting our baby.

I don't have much to say this week, so I'll just stick to the pictures. All is well, we're healthy, happy, and growing.


I've been really enjoying doing prenatal yoga workouts lately.

Namaste!

30 Weeks

30 weeks today! 70 more days until my due date and 49 until Eleanor is full term.

You might notice that in the picture above I'm wearing a different wedding ring. My fingers have started to swell, and while it might sound silly, having to abandon my wedding rings has been one of my biggest pregnancy related fears. The swelling has been getting worse and worse, and the only thing more depressing than the thought of abandoning my wedding rings was the thought of them being cut off of my puffy fingers if I left them on too long. So on Saturday I begrudgingly walked into a little jewelry store and picked out a plain silver band to replace my pretty little diamonds. I was really bummed at first, but this simple ring is starting to grow on me. If nothing else, it will always be a symbol of this unique time in our lives.

On Monday my baby shower invitation arrived in the mail. It is so cute and just perfect! I love it! I put it in the baby's scrapbook right away. I'm so grateful to my cousins and aunt for throwing this shower for me and I cannot wait until the 25th, which, since we're keeping track of the days, is only 16 away!

29 Weeks

29 weeks today! 77 days still to go.

March is here, which means Spring is upon us! I don’t know why, but March has taken me by surprise. I found out I was pregnant in early Fall and I knew I would have to get through the rest of that season, plus a long winter, until Spring when my baby would be born. I guess a part of me assumed that winter would last forever, and now here I am, right at the very end of it saying, “What? Winter is over? How could that be?” Just to give one example of how warped my thinking has been, I haven’t bothered to buy any short sleeved maternity items. I figured I would need the warmth of long sleeves to get me through the never-ending winter, but never thought once about what I would wear when March finally rolled around even though I still have two and a half months to go. I bet that March will fly by, and soon I’ll be confronted with April, which will be filled with intense preparations — childbirth classes, doula meetings, hospital tours, finishing the nursery…and then….MAY!

Two very exciting things have happened since my last post. First, my sister Bethany had her baby, Atlas Alexander, on Friday morning. He is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to see him when I head back to Phoenix for my last pre-baby trip in three weeks.

Second, Andrew got a promotion and a raise on Monday. It couldn't come at a better time. I'm so proud of him for all of his hard work and achievements. We are incredibly lucky that he has such a great job that allows us to live in this amazing but very expensive place and provides enough for me to be able to say home with Eleanor for as long as I want. He is going to be the greatest daddy and is already taking such amazing care of us.