Catching Up … Hello and Goodbye, August.

I can remember, quite vividly, writing about how excited we were about the month of August and the clearer calendar. Well, we’re down to 6 days left in the month and I have to admit – it FLEW by! My last post was 20 days  ago (sad news), so let’s catch up!

Week 28 – This was the first full week of the month that included our first weekend with no travel. We anticipated traveling to the MS Coast to celebrate a Gender Reveal Party for one of the Cotten cousin couples, but we had two big, final assignments due for Clifton’s Specialist degree program. I took advantage of being around town that weekend and knocked out our baby registries. It was a mildly overwhelming, tiring, but fun experience. We chose the trusted Babies R Us as one of our registries and I would highly recommend the store to every expecting parent. They make the registry process a lot more enjoyable than other popular stores like Target, for instance. The other two are Amazon and Target. Amazon has a couple items that I consistently read good reviews about from new (and seasoned) mamas. Since Amazon is strictly an online registry, I did not include a ton of items. Target tends to have cute clothes for babies and they also provide different colors/patterns for some of the popular/big items.

We rounded the weekend out with a 28 week maternity shoot with April and my first pre-natal yoga class! The last session with April was at least a month ago, so it was great to be able to capture our progression and changes right as we were exiting the second trimester. We had some fun things planned for outside but had to postpone them since it poured and stormed that weekend. I’m looking forward to the next session already! Not only are the exercises fun, but the conversations we have right before class are always uplifting. I’ve been following a lot of baby/mama blogs, but to have the talks in person with mamas who are within weeks of us is grounding and reassuring. I’ve had four classes as of Sunday and am enjoying them fully. I don’t do a great job with incorporating a lot of the moves during the week, so I’ve made it a goal to take the time to engage in at least one move a day, or no less than 3 days a week.

Week 29 – After pinning and googling and pinning and googling, I’ve come up with ideas to incorporate into the girls’ room. In order to start making these ideas and visions come to life, we are having to do a LOT of rearranging and sorting. I got this random burst of energy Monday of this week (which unfortunately exhausted pretty much all my energy for the rest of the week .. haha)  and made a large dent in the sorting and rearranging task list. I have had a moment or two of anxiousness, wanting to just have everything d-o-n-e done. After a few minutes in my moment,  I get reminded that Ava will not know or care about a single bit of detail that we set for her arrival. She’s only going to be concerned about comfort, nourishment, and dryness. If she were to come right now, we’d be able to provide all those things for her, with a bonus dose of overwhelming love, so, whatever we have in place when she arrives will be what we have in place when she arrives.

Week 30 – We made it  ten weeks from our due date!! Annnnd the thoughts flooded in: Where will I be when I start having contractions? Who will be with me when I start contracting? How they will feel? What day will it be? How many pounds will she weigh? … I could go on and on. I am a sucker for surprises, so the pregnancy and anticipations of labor + delivery are keeping me going – it’s like opening up an unexpected gift each week with Ava’s birth day being an early Christmas present! 🙂

I made it through the first football game of the season. 🙂 As many of you know, Clifton is back on the football field, doing what he loves to do. His team played at home Friday night so my in-laws and I packed up and traveled to Tchula, MS. My first feat was locating a restroom .. Needless to say, I will not be drinking much when we have home games.  The second feat was praying not to have an allergic reaction to the grass that had been cut the day before. THANKFULLY I had an allergy pill and the Lord’s favor on hand. Although they didn’t come away with a win, the fact that I managed to escape with zero mosquito bites is achievement enough. 😉

This weekend, my sister- and brother-in-law came over to put the crib together. Eeeek! We have one or two more decisions to make on the girls’ room before it’ll be complete. And, I’m planning a BFF/Boog pow-wow next weekend to knock out decorations and such. Aside from these loose ends, the fact that the crib is all one structure now is so, so exciting!

We’re now at Week 31‘s door. We get to end the week in Water Valley with our first shower taking place!! I can’t wait to see my Mama, who is likely going to flip when she sees how much I’ve grown, Kara, who’s coming home for the first time in over a month, my sisters, and other family and friends that will be around. This is my last planned trip home before Ava arrives, so I do not have much on my schedule … just relaxation with my loved ones. Clifton has football practice first thing Monday morning; because I did not want to have to leave Sunday or early Monday, he won’t be making the trip. Ava and I will bring him plenty of love back, though!!

Catching Up .. Officially UNDER 100 Days!

Yes – July has flown completely by! I knew at the start of the month that it was going to be a whirlwind. Now that we’re 24 days in … yeah, a whirlwind. The days have been filled with so much that once I get the chance to sit on the couch, I close my eyes and it’s night-night for me and Baby Cotten.

August will be welcomed with a clearer calendar, thankfully. I’m highly anticipating next month because we will get started on reorganizing and decorating the baby’s space. Since we don’t have a lot of travel planned, I’m hoping that by the end of the month, I can comment on progression!

We’re at 97 days from our due date, give or take a few depending on when our little one decides to arrive. Double-digits … Less than 100 … Already!! I’ve grown a nice chunk. At our most recent doctor’s visit, I clocked in another 10 pounds, so I was given a more detailed talk on controlling weight gain. In my defense, I typically only eat when I’m hungry. And, I eat pretty healthy – aside from a quick chicken sandwich when I’m in a bind on the go. At 6 months pregnant with a 1.5 pound growing baby, hunger comes more frequently and with a stronger vengeance, sometimes. I’ve made even more adjustments to try to slow down the poundage, like keeping better track of my calories each day, drinking tons more water, and walking more often. Our next appointment is in about 2 weeks where we get to have an ultrasound and the gestational diabetes test along with a vaccination for pertussis will be administered. The ultrasound will allow us to check the baby’s weight, making sure my weight gain is on track with her growth. I’m just grateful that the extra pounds have been tolerated well by my body so far – we’re rocking zero stretch marks, still able to wear some “regular” dresses, and the marriage hardware is still fitting (*fist pumps)!

Another big to-do this month has been attending child-birthing and newborn classes. Each Thursday, we have had or will have a class. The best word to describe reaching the reality of soon having to birth and care for a baby in our world is “Wow”. Our classes are mildly graphic and candid, which I actually appreciate. It’s a heap to take in, but I’m happy that we’re getting the exposure. We’re also able to meet the nurses who may be with us during L&D, as well as other couples who we may see again if our children decide to arrive around the same time.

In the midst of the month of July, we celebrated four birthdays! My Daddy kicked the month off, followed by Clifton who entered the last year of his 20s, my Mother-In-Law and finally Grandma Cotten. On my Mother-In-Law’s birthday, we shared with her what we will be naming her new granddaughter. Details on our baby girl’s name and how it came to be in the next post!