Penguin Baby Shower Invitations

When trying to find the perfect design for my baby shower invitations, I turned to my go-to site for all things cute - Etsy.com. Since I love penguins, I searched for "penguin invitations" until I found a design that I felt fit me and John perfectly.

If you're unfamiliar with this iconic penguin, it's actually a take on Penguin Group, a popular publishing company. John has a huge collection of classic Penguin-published books and well, I love penguins, so I thought this design was perfect for us.

In keeping with the book theme, we also placed labels on the back of each invitation asking our guests to bring their favorite book to start Lil Bit's very own collection.

We're really excited to see what books our guests will bring. Reading is so important to us, and we've actually already started reading Harry Potter to our Lil Bit. We hope that hearing our voices now will help him recognize us when he's born :) We love the idea of having a huge collection of books for our son so we can read to him every night before he goes to bed.

Orla Kiely Diaper Bag

Julie got me the most amazing baby gift - an Orla Kiely diaper bag.

In case you didn't know, Orla Kiely is one of my absolute favorite brands. I love her retro yet modern designs and patterns. I have everything from purses to kitchen accessories in her signature prints.

Stem print in Amber

The diaper bag even includes a changing pad that you can fold away and tuck neatly inside one of the many compartments.

I love all the different zippers and pockets, which provide great storage for everything from bottles to diapers. 

I'm SO excited to have this diaper bag. I'll feel so stylish toting it around with Lil Bit, and it'll make a great addition to my ever-growing collection of Orla Kiely.

Silas

I'm in love.

John and I met our nephew Silas for the first time last week. He's a little over a month old now and beyond adorable. I thought our visit was a great opportunity for me to learn how to change a diaper and hold a newborn. I was able to accomplish both, and now I feel like I can conquer the world. Motherhood? Bring it on!

While spending time with Silas, I learned a few things.

1. Holding a baby is not all that difficult.

I used to be terrified of holding a baby. I wasn't sure about the positioning, how to support their heads, if I was holding them too tightly, etc. And then if they start crying, it's all downhill from there. But I was able to hold baby Silas with ease. He was so cute and snuggly and I honestly never wanted to let go.

2. Babies poop. A lot.

So this is something I actually already knew on some level. But it wasn't until last week that I truly realized how much babies poop. For example, I was cradling Silas in my arms and when I lifted him up, I saw that his diaper had leaked and there was poop on my J. Crew jacket. I decided at that moment that I was not going to wear anything nice around Lil Bit once he's born. 

3. Changing diapers is easy.

I told Julie that the number one thing I wanted to do in Maryland was learn how to change a baby's diaper. At first, it seemed like such an overwhelming, complicated task. But she showed me how to wipe, powder, and put on a diaper and in the end, I felt it wasn't so bad. Sure, it's not exactly a fun or pleasant task, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

4. Babies are stronger than you think.

So remember when I said babies poop a lot? Well, with that comes multiple outfit changes. Before, I just imagined one onesie a day. Nope - you gotta change 'em when there's an accident, and there will be plenty of them. I was really nervous to pull Silas' arms through the holes, but Julie reassured me that babies are really strong and I won't hurt him. So I successfully changed Silas out of and into a new onesie. I was on a roll...

5. John will make a wonderful dad (and I won't be too shabby as a mom).

John was so good with Silas. He's just a natural when it comes to children. He's amazing with our other nephew Eli. And I'm getting better as well. I actually played with him and made him laugh, which is the first time I've ever made a child laugh. I was on a high.

Spending time with Silas and Eli this week makes me so excited for motherhood. At first, I wasn't sure how well I'd do raising a boy. But now I feel so confident and excited to meet our little guy.

Baby Bump: Week 28

28 Weeks

At 28 weeks pregnant, I've come to the point where my fingers have swelled so much that putting on and taking off my rings is quite difficult. I still wear my wedding band, but my engagement ring, for whatever reason, is so much more difficult to put on that I've decided to stop wearing it. Makes me a bit sad, but I know it's temporary.

I'm about 7 months pregnant now, and I often hear that even after you have the baby, you will still look about 7-8 months pregnant. With that in mind, I'm always looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, "Hmm, this is what I'll have to deal with after the baby's born." 

So this is what I'll look like after baby??? Ooph.

At this point in my pregnancy, I've gained about 27 pounds. I'm not sure how accurate this number is, so that's why I rarely post my weight in the "By The Numbers" section to the right. I always weigh myself at the grocery store, my gym, and then whenever I got to the doctor's office, and all three always tell me something different. So I only post the weight I find out from my doctor's appointments because I figure that's the most accurate one. 

If the 27 pounds is accurate, then I certainly have my work cut out for me once the baby's born! I already have a plan in mind to lose the baby weight, which includes breastfeeding (I hear you can lose about 500 calories a day on breastfeeding alone!), eating a clean diet (no fried foods or sweets), and exercising regularly (with lots of cardio!). I went shopping today and bought a dress in my pre-pregnancy size 0 and I hope that I'll be able to fit into it soon after Lil Bit's born. Wish me luck!

Have Baby, Will Travel

28 Weeks

John and I traveled to Maryland this week to visit John's brother and sister-in-law Ben and Julie, along with their adorable sons Elijah and Silas. Since I'm in my third trimester, I wasn't sure if flying would be a problem. Julie told me a story about one of her pregnant friends who had such a difficult time at the airport. I didn't want to end up in her shoes, so I decided to get my doctor to write me a letter that I could present to any employee at the airport that gave me a hard time. When I asked my doctor's office for this letter, they'd actually never heard of anyone needing a letter for flying before, but I insisted so they wrote me a note on their office letterhead. And in case you're curious, here's what the letter states:

To whom it may concern

Stephanie is an obstetric patient under my care at Generation to Generation. Her due date is 10/14/12 and she will be 28 weeks as of 7/22/12. Stephanie is not experiencing any complications at this time and I feel it would be safe for her to fly on an airplane. 

Please call the office at 633-0880 if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

So if you're in your third trimester and needing to fly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to obtain a letter like this from your doctor just in case. In the end, I didn't have to use it, but I would rather have had it and not needed it than needed it and not had it.

Baby Bump: Week 27

27 Weeks

Today, John and I went to our good friends Joey and Katherine's baby shower. We are so excited for them - they are going to be awesome parents! Their little boy is so lucky to have them.

It's been great having pregnant friends who can relate to exactly everything you're going through. We are both first time parents and it's been wonderful having their support. 

What I'm Wearing

Blue Bombus Dress by LeifNotes

Bracelet by Express

By the way, what do you guys think is the insect on my dress? Bumblebee or regular 'ol house fly? There seemed to be much debate about it today.

Hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start. Thanks for stopping by!

The Star Of My Blog

My wonderful friends Kelsey and Scott got me the cutest bib ever.

He certainly is the star of my blog :)

My brother asked me earlier this evening how long I would be writing this blog. Well, I'm going to make a promise right now to try to consistently write posts for you all. I would love to keep you updated on how John and I are doing and of course how our little star is doing. But I'm fully aware that life and my priorities will change dramatically once our baby is born, so maintaining this blog will be a huge task in and of itself. My writing may become less inspiring, but I'll do my best to post pictures of Lil Bit as he grows.

Happy Friday and I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!