Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Christmas Coat & 39 Week Bumpdate








Shop the Look



Dress: Charlotte Russe ($20! Get it here) // Coat: J. Crew (get it here) // Purse: Rebecca Minkoff (get it here) // Necklace: Kendra Scott (get it here) // Shoes: Target (similar here and here)

As promised, here is the story of the Christmas Coat of 2015 that I referred to here! Enjoy.

Late last year, we got a J. Crew catalog in the mail. I was perusing through it and made an offhand comment to Chris that at some point, I should think about investing in a nice, pretty coat. I had a North Face one that was super warm and durable, but by no means fancy. J. Crew's coats are obviously super gorgeous and very high quality so I figured I'd buy one from there at some point, however I was in no real rush. Sometimes I make comments like these and figure Chris isn't really paying attention (and I wouldn't blame him, I'm often thinking out loud about random, trivial matters), but it turns out he was.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving of 2015 and Chris and I are at a J. Crew store in Arizona. They have a gray coat on display that apparently Chris asked me if I liked or not (I have a very mild recollection of this). Apparently my response did not exactly suggest that I was in LOVE with the coat. Although I'm pretty sure I just said something to the effect of "oh yeah that's nice", but I guess that wasn't as enthusiastic of a response as Chris was hoping for. We were in a hurry though so I was trying to move through the store quickly without getting distracted by every pretty thing I saw.

Fast forward again to about two weeks before Christmas. My mom, sister, and I are at a J. Crew in Indianapolis and I spy the same gray coat I had seen in Arizona (at the time I didn't even remember seeing it in AZ). We weren't in a hurry, so I decided to try it on just for fun since I didn't own anything like it. I fell in love with it and asked my mom to take a photo of me in it. I sent the pic to Chris and said that I was in love with this coat. I wasn't sending it to him to try and convince him to buy it though. I knew we had both completed our Christmas shopping for each other so I sent him the photo more to get his opinion on it then I could think about getting it during a post-Christmas sale or something. He then responded, "Are you serious?" and I told him "Yes?", slightly confused at the tone of his text.

AS IT TURNS OUT, Chris had bought me that very coat way back in early November for Christmas because he thought I would like it, but then he decided to return it once I saw it in Arizona and didn't seem to be crazy about it. And now here I was, texting him photos of me in this same coat telling him how much I loved it. He told me what had transpired and I felt HORRIBLE. Like I cried. He ended up re-ordering the coat for me and I opened it on Christmas Day, much to my delight. Now we can laugh about it and it's a fond Christmas memory for us both, but at the time it was a rather stressful/sad situation.

I give Chris MAJOR props for picking out a coat totally on his own that I ended up picking as well. He knows my taste in things so well and I think that is super impressive haha. So anyway, long story short I love this coat and the story associated with it. It's a good reminder that I have a husband who listens to my random comments and is so thoughtful. He truly is the best.

And now for the 39 week bumpdate! For those who care haha.

You may remember from my last bumpdate that I was starting to have some back/sciatic nerve pain. Shortly after I wrote that post, the pain got considerably worse. I was limping everywhere I went and couldn't put hardly any weight on my left leg. The only time it didn't hurt was if I was laying complete still in bed. It also seemed to be getting worse everyday, which concerned me. I thought there was no way I would be able to go another 3-4 weeks like this but when I told my OB, she said there wasn't really anything they could do for it. At my next appointment, I ended up seeing the Nurse Practitioner since my OB was out of town and when I told her I was still having a lot of sciatic nerve pain, she suggested I see a chiropractor.

When I got home, I started thinking about how I really wanted to be mobile during my labor (walking around, moving, etc.) and I realized that in my current state, there was no way I'd be able to do that. So I decided to call the chiropractor the NP suggested and see if I could see him before my due date. Thankfully, they were able to fit me in and after just two adjustments, I could see a HUUUUUUUUGE improvement in my pain levels! It's been about two weeks now and while my pain isn't completely gone, I'm not limping nearly as much as I used to be and I can overall move much easier. It's seriously amazing. I am a huge fan of chiropractors now!

Seeing the chiropractor and getting adjusted every other day has made going to the gym sooo much easier. I can walk fairly comfortably on the treadmill and do my usual elliptical routine. Working out has definitely helped me stay relaxed and not go too stir-crazy.

The baby is pushing up on my ribs some, which is new and uncomfortable/painful at times. But he tends to move down lower if I give him a little nudge (so accommodating).

Still some heartburn, but not as bad as it was.

Ankles and hands are definitely more swollen than they were. I've had to stop wearing one of my usual rings because it's too hard to get on and off :(

Belly is definitely in the way now haha it's measuring right on schedule. My OB says I look 6 months pregnant instead of 9 because of my long torso. But she also says a long torso can indicate a "good birthing pelvis" so we'll see!

At our last ultrasound around 36 and a half weeks, the baby was measuring 6 lbs 13 oz., which is bigger than me and all my siblings. The ultrasound tech said she'd be surprised if he is more than 8 lbs when he is born so let's hope she is right! I'm glad he has slowed down growth wise, but is still healthy. He was in the 90th percentile for size and now he's in the 60th.

The baby also still gets the hiccups, although not everyday like it used to be. He shimmies and moves around a decent amount, but he doesn't have room for his big karate kicks anymore (which I'm ok with).

I'm sleeping about the same as I was during my last bumpdate. I have to go to the bathroom three to five times in the two hours before bed so that's fun haha and I still get up once or twice in the middle of the night. Sometimes I have a hard time going back to bed, but for the most part I've been able to sleep fairly comfortably.

The nursery is finally pretty much done and we have the car seat installed! All that's really left is securing the changing pad to the dresser and organizing a few other little things. But I finally washed all his clothes and blankets and have his hospital bag (and mine) ready to go minus a few last minute things. My mom has been an enormous help with stuff like that and Chris has been a total champ setting up and installing car seats, bassinets, etc. I'm finally feeling like if he arrived tomorrow, it wouldn't be a complete disaster haha so that's good.

There are days when I have a fair number of contractions, lower back pain, and cramping and I think FOR SURE I am about to go into labor, but then of course nothing happens. The last two days though I've barely had any contractions or anything. Things have overall been pretty quiet. I'm actually ok with this though because I think in some ways I'd prefer the baby to arrive after Christmas when my OB is back in town and so I don't have to worry about Christmas logistics with a newborn. But don't get me wrong, I'd be way happy if he decided to come tonight! However, after Christmas would be nice too :) My next appointment is tomorrow morning so we will see if I have made any progress! Last week I was dilated to 2 cm and 75% effaced. We shall see!

Thank you all for your support, advice, and words of encouragement! I will keep you all posted when this little guy decides to make his debut :)

Just: Felt a pretty big kick haha guess he does still have some room in there!
Excited: That my sister flies in tonight!
Feeling: Hungry, but 4 pm is a wee bit early for dinner.
Wondering: If I have time for a quick power nap before I head to the airport.
Days Until Christmas/Baby: 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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