30 Weeks

Rule #1-do not allow Husband to take pregnancy pictures (especially after he's had a few cocktails). Husband thought this was absolutely hilarious and this was seriously the best one out of 15.

In other news, I purchased a pair of Gap Skinny Jeans (full panel) and I must say they are AWESOME. I am normally a label ho and will only wear designer label jeans...but after suffering through 2 trimesters in the itchiest pair of J Brand Mama skinnys, I gave in and went to the Gap. Its so nice to be able to wear jeans without wanting to claw your skin off.

Nursery (so far)

I probably shouldn't be showing off a very unfinished nursery. I shouldn't, but I will. Considering this room was a "man den" a mere 3 months ago, the progress is phenomenal. uh-may-zing.

Let me first start by introducing you to my stroller, I call her Laura. Why, Laura, you ask? Because to me, she is much like our pratical, yet classy, former first lady, Laura Bush. She's no flashy bugaboo spending 50K at naughty stores (a first lady that shall remain nameless)



You really have no idea how excited I am about this stroller, and how awesome I am going to look pushing Baby H around Lenox Mall when we're doing our mommy-baby shopping.

Next up on our tour, the crib. This so happens to be the same crib J-Lo used in her nursery. My motto, if it's good enough for Max and Emme, its good enough for Baby H.

Yes, I know. Baby's crib is naked. Naked as the day she was born. I have ordered fabric and at some point, will get started on making those linens. until then, naked crib is what you get.


This was my $49 craigslist purchase. It's not 100% what I wanted and Daddy will be making a trip up to Atlanta shortly to put the final touches on it (ie, fix the drawers so that they will open and close like drawers are suppose to) but size wise, it fits. Style wise, its French Provincial-esque...or French Provincial enough.


In this corner, we have all of the items we need but do not have permanent homes for yet. It's also where we are going to put the glider...I know it looks junky, one day, maybe, it wont?


This is just a terrible picture. I am not quite sure how I am going to manage to photograph the future light of my life when I can't even photograph her nursery light fixture. I'm pretty sure Baby H will come out of the womb shinin' like a rap mogul's bling.


Here is her closet (so far). Since I discovered Smocked Auctions (and subsequently found out that Husband knows the owner, guess they went to college together) I've kind of been on a buying frenzy. Husband says no more online shopping. I mainly ignore him.

Pregnancy Joys

Lately, I've been experiencing some pregnancy-related self esteem issues. Actually, the entire month of January was fraught with pregnancy related bummers, including, but not limited to:

1.)Retiring my TBs until feet swelling goes down. This was particularly sad, because this occured while shopping in NYC and my SIL told me that I would forever stretch and ruin my fav TBs if I continued to wear them with fat feet syndrome. I had to make an emergency stop at Naturalizer (shoot me now, but at least it wasn't SAS, not that there is ANYTHING wrong with SAS shoes...) to pick up a more practical pair of flats...It was depressing.
Here I am with my much more stylish SILs and MIL, and yes, I am carrying a black purse with a brown sweater. I am a walking fashion train wreck.

2.) Came to the realization that I can't wear heels anymore. Most women can wear heels their entire pregnancy, but apparently, I am not most women. This, too, occured in NYC, when I faceplanted in the middle of a crosswalk. Baby is fine, Mommy's ego is bruised.

3.) Maternity shirts don't fit me anymore. Weirdly, I can still wear most of my pre-pregnancy shirts, but my maternity blouses just aren't fitting the belly anymore.

4.) Yes, I'm only 26 weeks, but I am tired ALL.THE.TIME. Lugging around this extra 20 L-Bs is really wearing me out!


One of my co-workers (who is a guy) sent me about the best email ever yesterday. To preface, I was feeling particularly large, waddling about the office, winded and grumpy. I had just busted a seam in my leggings (which, in my defense, is because Old Navy stuff is el-cheapo and poorly made. I won't make that mistake again) and BBN (baby bad news, for short) was diggin in my ribs. The email said,

"Stephanie, I can’t say I know how you feel, but I did witness my wife struggle through pregnancy 3 times. Here is one of the quotes she had hanging up during her pregnancy that helped her through the rough days:



“Feeling fat lasts nine months but the joy of becoming a mom lasts forever“ By Nikki Dalton"

Now how awesome is that! So there you have it, my new motto for the rough days.

Here is one of my obligatory self portraits. The bathrooms in my house are not exactly conducive for bathroom self portraits, so I'm probably going to have to figure something else out. Standing on the edge of the tub holding onto the shower curtain isn't going to cut it.



At my last appointment (2 weeks ago) bbn was weighing in at a solid 1 pound, 10 ounces, and momma had packed on a respectable (and frightening) 23 pounds.

And here is me before bbn. I will have this body back, heck, itll be even better.

Christmas

Husband hooked me up with a brand new 50mm lens, so, needless to say, my Christmas post will be a little picture heavy (Plus, I have the most adorable nephews ever, so all I want to do is take their picture!!)



The Christmas Tree in all its glory!


Sometimes, in order to get to the presents, you have to go over the presents first...


Rockin' Out!





Pretending to be puppies (trying out Maggie the Bulldog's new dog bed)


Grampa!


Resting!


Greta Belle in her new hoodie and her bone...she's a happy pup!


Gus would really like to just have a taste of Greta Belle's bone...





My most dapper nephew in his sport coat and new tie!

How to Shop

Most of my blog posts recently have been a little, shall we say, all over the place. Being pregnant, adhd, and busy with work and life, its hard to keep my thoughts flowing in a concise manner. For that, I apologize. I have a lot of things I want to share with you in the coming days (the biggest being the nursery, which Husband just called to say that he really "loved the paint color I chose"....I haven't seen it, but I'm excited to get home and check out the progress)but until then, this is a post I have been wanting to write for a good long time (even though, no one really reads my blog, not even my step-mom, who should, because she still hasnt seen my fat belly, but i digress).

What's this bad boy all about? My favorite online shopping sites :)


So, its no surprise to those that know me that I LOVE to shop. But not shopping in stores, no, malls kind of stress me out (and I live in what could be considered a mall mecca, being a mile from THE Lenox Mall...aka the square and Phipps Plaza), besides, even when I go to malls, I refuse to try things on (grosses me out) so its kind of like, whats the point, yah know? I also REFUSE to pay retail, there is absolutely no sense in paying full price for ANYTHING...In fact, most people who know me will ask me "Hey Steph, can you find me the lowest price on _____" or "WIll you be on the look out for ______ for less than _____ dollars?", so I guess its time I share some of my online shopping go-to sites. Without further adeu, here are my FAV sites online!


1.) If you do not have an ebates account, you must be living under a rock. First of all, its free money...if you're going to shop online anyways, why not get a little cash back? Second, they list out the different stores coupon codes, so when you click on store, you get a list of all available coupon codes! Easiest way to save money, by far! After you've done a little shopping and accumulated some cash back, they mail you a check (It's mailed like once a quarter)


Sign up for an Ebates membership immediately. You will use it. Trust me.

2.)Amazon. Who doesn't love amazon.com? I've found amazon to be incredibly useful for comparing prices on baby gear (like carseats, swings, etc), because babies are expensive enough, why pay more than you have to? When you find something you love at a store, check amazon and get an idea of what that item is going for elsewhere. (Amazon may be the cheapest, sometimes its not, but its a good comparison tool, none the less). If you are a mom (or soon to be mom), sign up for an Amazon Mom membership. Its free and you get amazon prime benefits for up to 12 months (aka, free shipping!!)

3.) Speaking of babies...if you haven't heard about No Better Deal you should probably check it out. It's basically a company that sells returned and/or damaged boxed items. For example, they have a "Fisher Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing", lowest retail price $134.98 (Oh and they list a number of websites and what each website is selling the item for) for sale for $87.99. Shipping is very reasonable, too.

(oh, and if any of my friends or family are reading this, I really like this swing!!!)
They also have excellent deals on diapers, too, as well as computers, tvs, clothing and jewelry, you name it.

4.) Members Only Sites-I love Zulily (They have great deals on baby stuff), Rue La La (I buy ALL my lilly stuff from Rue La La, they have the BEST customer service, EVER!) and Gilt . I have tried other members only websites (Beyond the Rack) but have not had such good luck (Don't get me started on the Tory Burch debacle). I'm also a member of Joss and Main and One Kings Lane (which is all home goods) but I haven't ordered anything yet, so don't want to toot any horns just yet.

*Side Note, I just recently discovered that you can get cash back on zulily purchases through ebates, its good, too, like 7%.

5.) J Crew Factory Store (Online). J Crew Afficionadas will know about this, but for those that don't, J Crew has an online factory store that is only available on the weekends (Friday-Sunday). I still only buy stuff when I can score an additional 30% off, but you can get pretty good deals (especially this time of the year!)

6.) Ebay-there are a lot of potential problems with buying off ebay (knock offs, deadbeat shippers, etc) but for the most part, ebay can be a great way to get a great deal on everything from jeans to electronics. After doing A LOT of research, I actually bought my husbands wedding ring off ebay and ended up getting a fantastic deal (with free engraving), but you have to be smart when dealing with online auction sites and definitely do your research.

7.) FACEBOOK. Yep, no kidding. The key is "liking" your favorite retailers or designers...you can get insider knowledge on sample and warehouse sales, as well as unpublished coupons...easy and quick.

So, those are my favorite sites. I will try to blog a little later on this thrifty shopaholics steps to getting the best deal, but for now, go check out some of the sites I listed, you won't be disappointed!

Not a good thing to say to a pregnant woman.

Allow me to preface this by saying, yes, I have been incredibly hormonal lately (and incredibly gassy, which i discovered is thanks to kashi go lean, but that is beside the point) but I double checked with my other pregnant co-worker and we concurred that the following things are not good to say to pregnant women.

1.) "Wide load coming through!". Really, you should just be smarter than that. My pregnancy does not excuse your rudeness.

2.) (This exchange happened last night, and really got my goat):


Co-worker: Wow, Stephanie, you are so much bigger than Kelli! And she's like 6 weeks further along than you are!

Me: Guess I should lay off the ice cream, then? (joking)

Co-worker: That would probably be a good idea! (not joking)


w.t.f.

3.) "Well it must just be you"... (So, I was explaining my reasons why i would not eat buffet shrimp cocktail or feta cheese...mainly cross contamination, listeria, etc., when one of my co-workers said, "well, it must just be you, because my wife ate whatever she wanted"...I promtly replied, "well i guess your wife didnt care if she killed your baby"...mean, I know, but guess what, if I dont want to eat something because I'm not comfortable eating it, don't criticize me and make rude comments...I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR WIFE DID).

4.) "You should just be thankful you're pregnant"- So, when I was little, there was always an exchange at our dinner table that went along the lines of "you should eat your dinner and be thankful, there are starving babies in Africa". So I get it, as long as there are infertile women in America, I should be thankful I'm pregnant. But I am thankful, I am thankful for every little kick, every little bump...what I could do without is the gas, the constipation, the back pain, the swollen feet, the fat ass and the breathlessness i deal with on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it, but I am allowed to lament over my lack of bowel movements on facebook just as much as you are allowed to lament over your inability to conceive!

One of the blogs that I read sometimes said it best-
"Being pregnant doesn’t mean that they automatically revoke your “Sometimes I Need to Vent Card”. Of course, if all my blog posts were about how much pregnancy sucks, that I hated every minute of it, that I was disappointed in whatever the sex of my baby is (so you know, I would have been thrilled even if the baby were a hermaphrodite by the time I did my third IVF) or if I was endlessly bitching and moaning, I’d more than agree with people being for annoyed with me.

However, if I occasionally complain about being embarrassed about throwing up on a street corner in front of strangers, after almost three years of trying to get pregnant, I believe I've earned that right. Hell, if anything, I paid thousands of dollars to express the rare complaint if I want to!

Also, on the flip side, if I did nothing but marvel at how wonderful it is to have hemorrhoids, how getting an amnio was more fun than a trip to the Bahamas, told you how much I enjoyed my nipples changing colors so often that they were like mood rings and wrote non-stop about how pregnancy was an orgasmic cake walk of happiness, sunshine and lollipops, not only would you seek to have me committed, I’m pretty sure I’d get even MORE hate mail than I’m already getting now.

B) If and when I do occasionally have a complaint about being pregnant, that doesn’t mean I’m not grateful. That is one I’ve heard a lot. The fact that I’ve pointed out a few difficulties I’ve had while being pregnant doesn’t mean that I’m any less grateful. It’s like anyone who complains about their husband when they are happily married. You love him (hopefully) and you can’t imagine a life without him but when he uses all the toilet paper and doesn’t replace it, like it or not, it’s annoying."
The 2 Week Wait

She get it from her Momma!

Modesty that is...Apparently Baby H wanted to make sure the ultrasound technician got it right! Yes, Baby is a Girl!



I'm so happy I'm having a girl, but I would have been happy with a boy, too. Girls bring on a whole new lists of worries (will she have an awkward phase during a crucial-for popularity period? will she get into a good sorority? will she come home pregnant at 16? oh, god, please dont let her get pregnant at 16!) but I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be for those challenges!