The name game

After much debate and flipping through baby name books (the Craig method) and keeping of spreadsheets (obviously the Erin method), we finally decided on a name for our kid...

Holden Michael Pendarvis

There's his sweet little face from FOUR MONTHS AGO (dang, how did that happen?!?) when we first found out we're having a little boy.  He's certainly changed quite a bit in the last four months - I mean, he's gone from the size of a banana to a head of romaine lettuce.  Approximately.  Since it's kinda hard to see what's going on in there.

And actually, we decided all of this awhile ago...but I thought an official blog announcement was in order!

Can't wait to meet you, Holden!  Actually, I can wait a little while longer - keep on baking in there, ok? Watch, after all of this careful deliberation we'll totally change our minds when we meet him.*

* Ummm...probably won't change our minds, actually. That goes against my planning nature.

Bumpdate...entering the home stretch

Notice the glasses, clingy cat, and nighttime lighting effects - home stretch to 4/15 on this one, gang.

My God, it looks like Erin actually took a picture in the daylight!!  She must have survived the 4/15 deadline at work!  Way to hang in there through some long days, little buddy.

I actually look terrified (and fuzzy - sorry, wobbly phone pic) here, and it must be because this thing is getting very, very real.

Here's what's going on in baby world, y'all:

• I had a dr's appointment last Wednesday (freebie day off from work after surviving the craziness of spring busy season, yay!), where everything just went swimmingly well other than the epic soreness in my left arm for two days afterwards where I got my Tdap shot. However, I also booked ALL of my remaining dr's appointments up to my due date, which is mildly terrifying.  When you start going EVERY WEEK you know that things are getting extremely real.  Yeeps. 
• Those halcyon days of the second trimester are GONE, folks.  Welcome to the world of swollen ankles and feet and occasional heartburn.  
• Generally uncomfortable when attempting to accomplish simple tasks.  When I drop things I now just sigh and look at it, then decide if I REALLY need to pick it up.
• His movements, while reassuring and kinda freaky cool since YOU CAN SEE HIM JUST MOVING AROUND, are also a little painful.  And just weird.
• I miss being able to lay on my stomach.
• Want to know what I considered a night of sleep about a week ago?  I really took multiple naps instead of getting a full night's sleep.  9:45 (that's right, I was EXHAUSTED) to about 11, then from 11:30 to 4:00, awake from 4:00 to 6:00ish, then slept again until about 8 something when Zach went thunder-dogging through the house, then just refusal to get out of bed and minor moments of sleep until 9:30.  Not cool.  Although I really guess it's just training for the days to come.

Everything really has gone pretty smoothly with the pregnancy, so here's hoping it stays that way for the next month.  Ummm...he's going to be here before I know it.  Omg.

Oh, so THIS is what having a baby looks like?

Post-baby shower explosion of assorted baby awesomeness in the dining room as I attempt to organize...that's a lot of STUFF, y'all.

The Great Sorting of the Tiny Clothes!!  Why must alllllll of the tiny things be SO ADORABLE?!?  I think we're set for a while in the clothing department.

The epic "you get one shot to use the 10% registry completion coupon so let's go get all of the things" Buy Buy Baby shopping trip.  Phew.  That's also a lot of stuff, y'all.

Basically what I'm saying is that our home has exploded into a pile of baby stuff, and now that I actually have things like weekends and time to breathe I'm trying to organize it all and actually feel ready for the arrival of our tiny human child.  Going to Costco and buying 1,120 wipes will really make you feel like a mom.

Here we grow!

Given my affinity for the camera, you'd think I'd be that person documenting every single day of this pregnancy posed in a similar shot so I could compile an epic "watch me grow a human!" photo montage.  Well...not happening.  But maybe I can at least capture one poorly lit shot a week with my phone from here on out.  It's something!

In case you were wondering location...elevator at work, headed home after a looooong day. I think this lighting is even worse than the bathroom shots...

He's really growing in there!  And dancing or kickboxing (or, just, you know, stretching around) on a rather frequent basis.  Here's the latest and greatest in baby land:

• Starting to get a liiiiittle uncomfortable hauling this little guy around.  He's just taking up more space these days...ummm, and he's only going to take up more.  What, still eight-ish weeks to go?
• Still waking up randomly in the early morning hours - but at least I can go back to sleep and get a fake full night's sleep.  Last week I think I actually slept through the night twice!
• I miss...turkey sandwiches.  Cold ones.  Darn you, listerosis.  And I miss wine, too.  But I'm really, really enjoying my almost-every-night bowl of cereal.  Reminds me of my college days...
• I was almost ready to say I'd been doing pretty good on not randomly crying lately...but Craig picked up the new comfy chair for the nursery and got it all set up and I promptly sat in the chair and rocked and cried.  Hello, hormones.
• I've decided pretty much anything goes with my work wardrobe for the next couple months - comfort is the name of the game here.  Don't be surprised if flop flops show up for the month of May.
• Worrying a little bit less about pregnancy things since modern medicine and the time he's been cooking in there mean he'd probably be ok if he showed up early...but then worrying more about the actual giving birth to a human part AND the whole "raise a kid" thing that follows that.  Minor details.

Yeeps, a little less than two months to go!!  Give or take, since it's bothering the accountant in me that I don't know when he'll actually be here, which I assume is God's polite way of preparing me to let go of my need to plan all things.

Oh HELLO third trimester, where did you come from?!?

Hello at 28 weeks, baby!  Which was about two weeks ago...details, schmetails...

The beginning of this baby adventure was all anticipation and wondering and waiting...and now the days and weeks are just flying by and I feel like our little guy will be here before I know it.  How does that happen??  At any rate, here's what's up with us these days:

• Physically feeling pretty good, other than the fact that I keep waking up in the middle of the night - I think he likes to throw raging dance parties around 3 AM, which I'm sure is fun and all, but not for mom.
• Baby had the HICCUPS last night, which was both adorable and completely freaky.  It's been so incredible to feel his movements go from the tiniest little flutters to full on "yeah, I'm in here!" motions all the time.  And have you ever seen your midsection just MOVE because something INSIDE YOUR BODY IS MOVING?  O. M. G.
• I'm not exactly craving ice cream, but Craig keeps buying it for me, so I keep eating it.  I'm not too sad about the way this is working out.  Thanks, honey!
• Actual cravings?  I went through a clementine phase, which was great since I was feeding myself and baby healthy things, but now I've moved on to carbs carbs comforting carbs.  I'm not going too crazy with the food, though, and weight gain is right on track. Phew.
• Doctor appointments have gone from being every month to every two weeks...which just drives home the point that we're in the home stretch, making this both incredibly exciting and mildly terrifying.
• Right after we found out "it" is a "he," I may have gone on a bit of a clothes-buying bender. Which means Craig has banned me from buying any more baby clothes.* Yes, I know people love to buy tiny cute things for the baby, so I really don't need to...but I love buying tiny cute things, too!
• Did you know I'm a worrier?  Who, me??  Yeah, so basically I'm worried about everything ever.  Although I took my glucose screening test a week and a half ago and haven't heard anything back on the "no news is good news" kind of test results, so I'm actually NOT worried about potentially having gestational diabetes.  Woot woot!
• At this point I've worked my way through an entire little tub of Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter, mostly because I had this month or so in trimester #2 where my skin (we're talking arms, legs, WHOLE BODY) was crazy itchy.  I think that one was a combo of winter skin in general + pregnancy heightening sensitivity to basically all things that could cause problems.
• I've switched to flats for the remainder of this "carry a growing baby around" business - a little bit of pain/swelling going on in the leg/ankle area.  Highly recommend these Gap maternity pants for work - I actually bought two and hemmed one for heels and one for flats. I haven't worn pants that actually buttoned since early January...this could be hard to go back to...
• I'M HAVING A BABY, AND CRAIG AND I ARE GOING TO BE ACTUAL PARENTS OF A HUMAN BEING.  That's all.

*Theoretically. What he doesn't know won't hurt him on the baby clothes front...how do you resist this??