Coming Home

As the days pass by, the arrival of baby Weeks becomes more and more imminent. The moment has been made all the more real with the arrival of a good friend's little one. I got to meet him this past week and he is simply precious - I am just over the moon that my little guy already has a good friend himself :) We also got to take a CPR/Infant Care class this week thanks to a generous gift from another good friend. Both J and I feel more confident in preventing SIDS and and ensuring we could help our little one if he ever did get into medical trouble. Additionally, we had a quick check up where we got to meet another doctor in the practice - we liked her as much we like our regular doctor, and she liked everything about baby Weeks, even declaring him head down!

Most exciting for me was finally getting J to Carter's to pick out a couple outfits for baby's homecoming. I've been taking care of their coupons (20% off your total order) for months now stocking up, but with law school insanity J hasn't had time. He has a great eye for baby clothes, and once he shook off his nerves really dug right in. We chose a newborn outfit and a 3 month outfit in case he's really big. And for your viewing pleasure:

Bravery and the two piece

At 24+ weeks my body is bulging from all corners. As much as it was a blessing to have no morning sickness, it comes with the curse of more weight gain. For the most part I have embraced my baby body, although the heavy price tag that comes with replacing my entire wardrobe has not been easy.
This past weekend, J and I took a mini-vacation to Maine. In the interest of saving money, we used J's family's trailer instead of splurging on a 4-star hotel. The weather was simply wonderful and called out for a beach day like no other. The one thing I haven't yet replaced are my hoard of bathing suits as I've been hoping to squeeze into what I already have. No such luck. Even with my largest of suits, I was definitely a wardrobe malfunction ready to happen.
Somehow though, I rocked it. I strutted my stuff, 20+lbs heavier, all day long. Screw maternity bathing suits, this belly was made to be seen. I scored myself my first tan of the season and somehow managed not to give the beach-goers more of a show than anticipated.
Upon coming home, I caved and spent another $90 on bathing suits from Victoria's Secret in a size larger than I'm used to. I am now poised and ready to rock this belly all summer long!

Bargain Hunting

Most of you know I love a good bargain the way that I now love ice cream. It's hereditary (I mean both the bargain hunting and the love for ice cream). I swear my mom and I have more than one conversation a week where one of is absolutely gushing about how little we paid for something. It's sick. But it's how we roll. You can't stop it.
One of my best friends was in town from Chicago this past weekend and I took a personal day Monday to spend some QT with her. We had big plans on spending the day in Boston, walking around and seeing the Red Sox play, but with the 8 days of rain we're in the middle of right now, that was no longer an option. Instead we headed up to the outlets with little intention of spending any money. But spend (and save) we did.
My first big hit was at the Maidendform outlet where I stocked up on my ever expanding cups. Bras were $10 each and of a great quality. The cheap-o ones I scored at TJ Maxx were $12.99 and up so this was definitely a steal.
Next, we went to the Carter's outlet. I already had awesome deals with them online and that continued in store. I told Kim I was not allowed to spend more than $50 and for $46.98 I got baby Weeks his first zip up hoodie, 2 pairs of pants, a 5-pack of body suits, his first pair of khaki pants, and a couple more onesies I just couldn't pass up.
Finally, I tried my luck at the Motherhood Maternity outlet. The only thing outlet about this place was the shabby decor and worn carpet. The store was a disaster and sold the same things as the full price store at the same prices. Luckily, they had the pair of shorts in my size I was eyeing last week and a couple of 2/$15 tanks I can wear to my yoga class tonight!
Today, I'm proctoring the kids MCAS test - so you know what that means. Online shopping! :)

Just a quickie

I recently found a great website for more formal maternity clothes - Figure8maternity.com. I've been searching for a mid-range priced dressed to wear for my showers and for South's prom later this month. I think I found what I'm looking for: http://www.figure8maternity.com/viewItem.cfm?pid=1225100. Jesse said "It's very Megan", which is exactly what I want to hear. Now I wait for it to come in ;)

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

• We go back into the Dr. Thursday for a routine checkup. I'm nervous. Big surprise.
• Baby Weeks has been kicking me on a regular basis for the last couple of weeks, this makes me crazy happy.
• Sunday night, Jesse took a quick break from studying for finals to spend some QT with me. We decided to indulge in Magnum bars (thanks to rec's from my mom, my friend Amie, and a whole lot of advertising). I was initially annoyed at the $5/box of 3, but after seeing that one bar has 70% of your daily allotment of Saturated Fat, I was pumped there were only three. Anyway, I indulged, and then WHAM! Super baby kick of awesomeness. I called Jesse out of his office and he came running just in time to feel the baby for the first time. :)
• I had a great Mother's Day with my mom and became even more excited that next year, I'll be a mom, too!
• My boobs are officially out of control. I've been falling out of my new bras for a week so got re-measured and picked up some cheap-o ones at Marshalls. 36C. Holy crap.
  
• I've been on a maternity clothes shopping spree lately. I feel pretty good about everything I've bought to this point and I think after a couple tanks and shorts and one nice dress I'll be all set.
• Jesse and I have been good at saving money lately. We're determined to get as much time off as possible to be good parents once Baby Weeks is born. That means sacrifices. I'm totally fine with no vacations and cooking in more if that means another week or two with my little one :)
• I've survived year three of four of Jesse in law school. Next year will be even harder taking care of everything, and I mean everything and having a child. But I know I can do it ;)
  

Ripping off the Band-Aid

So it is official. My clothes don't fit. Well, dresses and shirts are ok, but undies, bras and pants no way.

I have been completely putting off buying anything new simply because I am terrified I am going to jinx this pregnancy. The thought of throwing away boxes of maternity clothes mid-way through this journey literally makes me want to throw up. But, enough is enough.

My mom had picked up one outfit for me from Gap.com, but unfortunately both pieces were still too big, so off to the mall Jesse and I went. Our first stop was Destination Maternity which is a hybrid of the high end Pea in the Pod and the middle of the road Motherhood Maternity. I am definitely investing in a sexy pair of $150 Seven Maternity Jeans once we find out the sex of the baby mid-April and I feel 100% confident, but for now, I went cheap. I found a great pair of work pants for $20 and a pack of maternity panties that are oh so comfy. We also stopped by VS for a bra fitting and a bra that actually doesn't dig into my back. Finally, we stopped by the Gap and grabbed a middle of the road pair of jeans that at $70 really did the trick. Since I had ripped the band-aid off, I also grabbed another pair of work pants and cheap jeans from OldNavy.com once I got home.

Maternity shopping is harder than it seems. The two Destination Maternity stores are both an hour away: Natick and South Windsor. Few Gap stores carry their maternity line in store, and so far no Old Navy's do. Target is another option and I'll definitely be hitting them up when it comes to summer dresses but I've never been impressed with the quality of their work pants or jeans. Other than that, it's the internet, which will be more helpful once I know what sizes I am (for anyone that is wondering the Small work pants worked great and I'm a 6 in Gap Maternity ;)).

At work today, I made the big reveal to the kids. I rocked my new maternity pants and a tighter than usual top and the secret was not a secret any longer. I had really been trying to hold off telling them until after MCAS so their focus wouldn't wain (any more than usual), but mother nature had other ideas. Speaking of pants - OMG they are SO comfortable. I mean why don't we all wear these things? Screw buttons and zippers, give me 5 inches of lycra any day!