34 Weeks...Maternity Photos/Feeling Prego

On Saturday we had a chance to go out and dress up for our work Christmas Party.  It was our first Christmas party since starting at OSUMC.  It is hard to believe we have been at our new jobs for almost a year.  Of course we were too busy socializing and completely forget to take any pictures at the party!  I got lots of compliments on my growing baby belly (it's much more obvious in normal clothes than scrubs).  The best part was it was such a warm night I was able to wear a dress, cowboy boots, and no jacket!  We have been so spoiled with great weather this can only mean the blizzard is coming for Baby L's arrival, or we will be stuck in the house with a late cold/snowy winter after delivery.

We met Laura for dinner at Winking Lizard on Wednesday and dropped off some Christmas gifts for a family we had adopted for the holidays through her school.  We have been so blessed this year and we really wanted to give back.  I am hoping this will be a tradition we can continue with Baby L each year at Christmas.  We also sent out our Christmas cards this week!

The realtor that helped us buy our house in Columbus did a photo session with us this fall and gave us a print on canvas as a gift.  We got some great family pictures that included my baby bump and the fur babies (who play such a big part in our family).  Speaking of the dogs, Buddy and Izzy are getting increasingly needy and clingy each week.  They definitely know something is going on.  I caught Buddy sleeping outside of the nursery again the other night while I was reading in bed.  And they both constantly want to be sitting with me or laying on me and the baby bump (especially if Joe isn't around).  They are very interested in all of the new baby stuff in the house.  We also realized that Sophie the Giraffe squeaks, which makes me a lil nervous for Sophie! (Izzy LOVES squeaky toys). Big changes are coming but hopefully it's a good transition for all of us. 

Our family :)

Izzy and Buddy can't wait to meet their lil brother or sister.

We also had maternity photos taken a couple weeks ago with Brittany of Joyful Moments Photography (she donates all of her profits to help orphans at Tupelo Children's Mansion, how awesome is that?!).  We were so happy we took the time to do a maternity session.  She so perfectly captured such a special time in our lives, and a pregnancy we have really grown to love and cherish.  Can't wait for her to take our newborn pics after Baby L arrives! Here's a few of our favorites from the photo shoot.

Baby is the Size of a Butternut Squash or Cantaloupe

Post work pajamas are a must!

New for baby this week? About 4.75 lbs and 19 inches.  All about continuing to develop and mature.  99% of babies born now can survive outside the womb, yay! Fingernails have reached the end of the finger.

Stretch marks? Still none...so thankful!
Sleep? Getting much harder to get comfortable, flip over, and get out of bed (especially for middle of the night potty breaks).  Catching naps whenever I can!
Best moment this week? Getting our maternity photos back.  Flipping through bump pictures (Joe was amused at how tiny I was when we found out we were pregnant with Baby L...funny how quickly the growing bump becomes the new normal).
Miss Anything? Walking without waddling (my pregnancy swag) and getting winded just from walking
Movement? I haven't been very good at remembering to do my kick counting.  But it is probably because baby is so frequently moving around, so I am not too worried.  Some kicks/jabs are starting to feel a lil sharper, but I wouldn't call them painful.
Labor Signs? TMI...but I thought I peed my pants or my water broke at work today!  Turned out upon further investigation it was just normal pregnancy discharge.  Sure I will be having many more of these moments over the next 6 weeks.
Belly Button in or out? Oh my poor belly button piercing hole got really stretched out this week!  I have had it out for a couple years, and thought it was well healed.  But it actually got stretched to the point it re-opened and I had to clean it out. Gross!!  Thankfully looking better now.
Wedding rings on or off? On...but barely got them on the other morning!  This was a first.  Although my hands don't look it, they must be starting to swell a little bit.
How is mama feeling?  I would say week 34 is the week I really started to feel PREGNANT! Third trimester is no joke.  I am sure I will be ready to meet Baby L in 6 weeks (but seriously Baby L...stay in there cooking as long as you need to!)
Looking forward to? Christmas with family in Elyria.