she's here.

after six hours of active labor, two being just pushing.
we met our beautiful daughter emily mae.

the words escape me when it comes to how much i love her already.

august 22, 2015
7 pounds 5 ounces.

21 inches long. 

absolute perfection. 

being a mommy is better than i expected. 

her birth story will be written soon. 

but for now i'm off to stare at her adorable face and wonder how we got so lucky. 

pregnancy books: which to read

this summer i have read more books than i have since high school.
seriously.
most of them haven't been pregnancy books, but i did find some that i absolutely loved.

also, what is it about summer and just sticking your nose in some good old fashion fiction books, that just makes sense?

anyways.

here's a list of 4 pregnancy books i read that i loved.

belly laughs by jenny mccarthy
i should note first that i'm not a giant fan of hers (we differ on a lot of opinions) but this book was awesome. she wasn't afraid to admit that sometimes pregnancy can suck (hello constipation and bloating and morning sickness...and cramps...and how you can't see your toes...i'm geting off track). it was a really quick read that i laughed the whole way through.

the sh!t no one tells you by dawn dias
once again, so funny. this is mostly about when the baby actually gets here but she throws in some pregnancy things. it's totally worth reading before the baby gets here because she points out some things that hadn't ever crossed my mind. there's also a chapter on how this is your baby, and that it's your choice on how you raise them. amen, preach sister.

what to expect when you're expecting by heidi murkoff
because this book has to go on the list.

waiting in wonder by catherine larson
by far the best. i actually saw it on my friend ashley's blog and knew i needed it. it's a week by week devotional that takes you through pregnancy. it's got four days for each week and i can't tell you how amazing they are. the Lord showed me so much through this devotional, and He showed every week when i needed Him. get this.


i know it's not a giant list of books, but to be honest, sometimes more is less. i found that the more and more i read (nine times out of ten on the internet) i would freak myself out.
so my advice. read some good books but don't get crazy about needing to know everything. remember. women have been pregnant for thousands of years. and made it without webmd.

which by the way. webmd. don't ever.

happy thursday.

the baby moon and why you need to take one

a couple weeks ago sonny and i took off for the west coast of florida for a couple days for our baby moon. we stayed at the tradewinds resort and love every minute of it!

here's the thing.
anyone pregnant or about to get pregnant or whenever you do get pregnant, you need to take a baby moon.
make it mandatory.
save your pennies.
or heck, just go stay at a local hotel.
it's that important. i think.

here are 5 reasons why i think a baby moon needs to be on your list of things to do before baby.

#1. it's however many days you choose, when you don't think about anything baby related that has stressed you out for the past however many months. for us, it was four days to focus on nothing but each other...and lets be honest, food. ok maybe that was mostly me. but still. we didn't worry about the giant list of things we needed to get done when we got home, we just marveled at the little human constantly moving around in my belly. we talked about the really fun things to come about being parents.

#2. do pregnant women really need an excuse to leave the house to eat a bunch of food. be real. everyone loves vacations because you get to eat what you want when you want. we had a really great italian restaurant inside the resort we stayed at, which we ate at twice.

#3. location matters. get out of the house. this isn't a "staycation". it's a vacation. pick somewhere you love. and when i say you, i mean you...the one housing a human. i picked the west coast of florida on the beach because i love the beach. and my husband who loves me, even though doesn't love the beach, took me there. even if you can't travel far, pick a hotel or a b & b close by that you love.

#4. you need time with just the two of you. not speaking from any kind of experience when it comes how things go when the child actually arrives, but it's safe to say that for a while here time with just sonny is going to be at a minimum. we've also been surrounded by family and friends lately, which has been so wonderful, but it was great just having some time with just the two of us.

#5. i can't be the only pregnant woman who likes to cross things off a list of to dos. and this was a fun one.


make it a priority i promise you won't be disappointed!

(night one. and exactly one month till our due date)

week thirty five - thirty seven

mommy is feeling: say it with me, uncomfortable. u n comfortable. mostly at night, because my hips have been throbbing. i may start sleeping in a chair because that's when i'm most comfy. 

weight gain: weekly check ups now! i'm at 165 and climbing! 

food cravings: most everything. i get a taste in my mouth for something and just haaaaave to have it. like right now i'm thinking about shrimp. and that's now what we'll have for dinner. 

food aversions: still chipotle and bbq. sad day. 

maternity clothes: all day errday. but they're getting small on me. seriously. much longer and i'm just going to have to walk around naked. 

movement: all the time! it's amazing. honestly the most beautiful feeling. and it's actually more of the baby moving the whole body, not just little kicks any more. so crazy. 

emotions: baby, where you at? mamas ready to meet you. some how i'm not totally freaking out...yet. 

sleep: lots of naps.

favorite moment of the week: my baby shower! technically was during week 34, but it was so wonderful! 

things i'm praying about: to keep my cool these next couple of weeks. it's almost time!

looking forward to: baby's arrival!