Anxiously Awaiting the Post Pregnancy Phase

All I can think about lately is life after pregnancy. There are so many aspects to my regular daily routine that have been put on hold since I've been pregnant. For instance, I normally run every morning first thing in the morning. I'm normally a bouncy, perky morning person (which I miss dearly and this persistent morning sickness has completely robbed me of). I'm used to eating a low carb and low fat diet that I've had to modify significantly to make sure that Madeleine is getting the necessary nutrients that she needs. I normally love shopping for clothes for myself but I can't bring myself to buy anymore maternity clothes and I can't bring myself to buy regular clothes not knowing what my post-partum body will be like. And during this time of year in northern California, I'm normally a total sun worshiper and have a beautifully golden tan going on right about now (Im currently a pretty pasty shade of pale, even though we have a pool in our backyard and this is our first summer in our new home.) Yesterday I was driving to have lunch with my mom, singing along to the radio and couldn't help but think how much fun it will be to go dancing with friends once I'm no longer with child.

It would be wonderful if I could look like this right after having my baby too! LOL

I'm so excited to be a mother and everyday I become increasingly giddy about the moment that I'll finally hold this sweet baby girl in my arms and I can't wait to see Mike hold and admire our daughter. But there's another part of me that's just ready to be a regular woman again instead of being the recipient of stranger's comments about my size ("you look like you're going to explode!"), receiving dirty looks when buying beer or wine at the grocery store (my husband can still drink beer, and when other people have dinner at our house I encourage them to have wine or beer), or sad that my belly is growing so much that it's difficult for even my husband's t-shirts to cover this bump, and don't even get me started on the stretch marks that have taken over my belly and hips.

There is just so much to look forward to after the birth of my daughter. I just wish that moment would finally arrive so I could move forward out of this temporary pregnancy phase. This feeling reminds me of the way I felt when I had a semester or two left before I graduated college, when there was a week or two left before our wedding and when there were just a few days left before the close of escrow on our home. It always seems like time slows down significantly right before a major life change takes place.

Is there anything in your life that you're anxiously anticipating right now?

Its D Day

D as in Due Date! Today, September 15th, is my official due date to have my daughter, Madeleine. Only problem is that she's not even budging. There are no contractions, no leaking, no pain, basically there are absolutely no signs that she's going to be making her debut anytime soon.

Selma Blair recently delivered her baby almost 2 weeks past her due date

So last week when I scheduled an appointment to have my hair done on my due date, everyone balked at me telling me that there's no way that I'd make the appointment. I just looked at them dead pan and said "I highly doubt that she'll be here by then" and low and behold, she's not here and I'm betting I'll still be pregnant until I'm induced next Thursday morning.

In the meantime I'll be pampering myself today with a hair appointment and then a manicure. :) This past weekend I indulged in a prenatal massage and pedicure hoping that it would be the last time I'd pamper myself before I had a little baby to take care of, and this morning I find myself somewhat thankful that I'll be able to pamper myself again today. (I say somewhat because I long for the day when I can wear jeans that zip up and have a button closure instead of stretchy maternity jeans, shorts and skirts and I'm dying to see what this little girl looks like. Does she have my nose and Mike's ears? Mike's eyes and my smile? I can't wait to meet this sweet little girl and just admire her beauty, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Mike hold his daughter for the first time.)

Have you ever known anyone that had a baby on their actual due date? I have a feeling that it's pretty rare.

Well Read

I like to call myself a reader. I'm in a book club with a handful of other women from my office and I'm known to go through 20+ books in a year. I think that's pretty good considering some people never read at all. Last night (at 2:30 in the morning because of course this pregnant lady is wide awake at that hour) I finished 3 books that I was half way through:

Overbite by Meg Cabot

Oxford Girl by Plum Sykes

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

All three books are chic-lit and nice fluffy reads. But now that I'm done with them I'm not sure what to move onto. I'll be honest, the majority of Shopaholic and Baby had me on the verge of tears or crying (I blame the hormones) because the main character is very pregnant and thinks her husband is cheating on her. This book literally took me several months to finish because I kept crying while reading it...even though I KNEW it was going to have a happy ending and of course her husband was't really cheating on her. Sigh... So now that I'm looking for a new book to read. I'm trying to find something that isn't too fluffy and not so intense that it's going to have my crying at each new chapter.

I'm already half through Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin, who I normally love but I started that book on our honeymoon and it feels like the husband is about to cheat on the wife so I haven't picked it back up in more than a year (not exactly something you want to read as a newlywed or when you're about to give birth.) I'm considering starting to read A Dog's Purpose by Bruce Cameron but I have a feeling it's going to be as much a tear jerker as Marley and Me was (such a good book but the last few chapters had me bawling my eyes out.)

I think Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell is my best bet. It's a sequel to The Carrie Diaries (which I read right before my wedding) and I loved it.

Do you read often...if so, do you have a book recommendation of a good book that isn't too emotional?

Do you Pin?

So as of late I've become a big fan on Pinterest. It basically allows you to collect images from all of the web into different categories that you can go back and visit again at any time. For the most part I've been looking at interior design and outdoor inspiration since I'm in the middle of buying furniture for our living room and entryway and we're meeting with a landscaper today to go over some designs for our backyard. And then yesterday I stumbled upon some of the cutest little girl clothes.

Link

Link

Then I noticed that most of my pins of adorable baby girl clothes were coming from Zara. I think I know where I'll be buying Maddie's clothes this winter. Soooo cute!!

How do you save inspirational photos that you find online?

Diamond in the Rough

Last weekend I bought this secretary desk at a nearby antique store:

The color isn't really that bad but the problem is that it doesn't really mesh with anything else in our home and the tourquoise paint job wasn't necessarily done well (note that the wood that's on the glass is still the original wood instead of painted over). My plan is to completely paint the desk white, like below:

Source

Here's another before and after of a similar secretary desk:

Before

After

This is definitely a project that I'll undertake after the baby arrives, but I'm so excited about how it's going to look. I love this piece of furniture for our home, the size is perfect and it has just the extra storage that we needed!

Have you ever found a diamond in the rough at an antique store?

UPDATE: She's Stubborn, Just Like Her Mama

So my appointment this morning left me feeling like I was going to cry. Not only am I more than 39 weeks pregnant and still not dilated AT ALL...the nurse that I normally see told me that my doctor is planning on leaving the practice at the end of September and she was shocked that my doctor hadn't already told me. Because I'm using my family doctor as my OB and as Madeleine's pediatrician I'm crushed that I'll have to find a new doctor by the end of the month. The upside is that she's moving to a practice that is still covered by my insurance and it's to an office that is only 15 - 20 minutes away, so I could still go see her but it won't be the 5 minute commute that I've grown accustomed to. Double whammy this morning.

So how did I lick my wounds...by having lunch with my mom and then some retail therapy. Picked up this beauty for my entryway...can't wait to have Mike hang it up. :)

Pier 1 Imports - Product Details - Antiqued Red Wall Clock

Dr. Appt This Morning...

I'm crossing my fingers and toes that when I go to my dr. appt this morning that I will be VERY dilated. Last week there was no activity...hopefully a week of eating jalepenos, doing squats and lots of walking will have made a difference. I'm hoping my doctor will check me and say "holy smokes, you're 6 centimeters dilated! You should head to the hospital now because this baby is coming today!!"

Hey a girl can dream, right?

Yes, I'm Still Pregnant

Tomorrow I'll be 39 weeks pregnant and already the flood of text messages, calls and emails has hit me posing questions along the lines of..."is the baby here yet?" or "are you still pregnant?" to which there is only one answer: "yes, I'm still very pregnant."

Source

The really funny thing is that I found out last night that Mike has been telling people different due dates. At some point in the beginning of the pregnancy he forgot which date in September I was due and just started spitting out a date that sounded right. He told some people late August, others were told early September. His brother emailed me yesterday to let me know that I was in their thoughts this week since I'm due on the 8th... LOL Mike's mom also called him yesterday to remind her what day I was due, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that the Joyce's just aren't great with remembering dates in general.

Maternity Pictures

About a month ago, Mike and I went down to Santa Barbara to meet with Jen Rodriguez (the amazing photographer who did our engagement and wedding pictures) to have some maternity pictures taken. In September 2009 Mike and I met Jen in Santa Barbara for our engagement pictures and almost 2 years later we met Jen again in Santa Barbara only we were happily married and expecting our first child together. :) Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot:

These were all taken when I was a little bit past the 34 week mark. Now that I'm 2 days shy of 39 weeks I feel like my belly has nearly doubled in size! Yesterday I was making pupusas and towards the end of cooking I had to sit down because it felt like my belly might fall off of my body it felt so heavy! Thankfully we have the pool in the backyard and when I'm swimming the weight of the belly just disappears....until I get out and then it REALLY feels like my belly might fall off.

P.S. The pupusa recipe was fabulous, they're definitely in the dinner rotation now.