32 weeks - PA Showers bring May Flowers

Already time for another post? Time is flying by for sure! 31 weeks marked our first shower in Pennsylvania. We were really excited to take half a day off from work on Friday and venture the 4ish hours to the great state of P-A to see friends, family and some darling babies!

But before we made it all the way to the Keystone State, we had to drop our pal Jerome off with his Grandma! Thank goodness she lives so close and is always willing to take the little bugger in. 

Look how excited hims is! 

After that quick pitstop we were gung-ho to make it on time for dinner with my best girls and their significant others. Erin organized a dinner the night before the shower so we all could have a chance to stuff our faces with delicious Italian food and (they) could drink some wine and we could catch up like old times. 

We surprisingly enough made it there a bit early despite ridiculous PA traffic because it's "construction season" and took some time to snap a few pix. Note to self : buying dresses size large in F21 does not make them look like a cute tunic. I fell in love with the color of this dress but am realizing now in photos it may not be the most flattering. 

It was great to take some time before the shower to relax! 

Each of these fab ladies did such a great job organizing the food, decor, invites, favors and dessert -- we definitely are very blessed to have them in our life! Although we live hours apart and don't get to see each other often, we always pick up right where we left off. Between new houses, new babies, career ventures, and other exciting changes in their lives, I am so glad to stay in touch and still crack up about our Clarion days!

After a week of beautiful weather, Saturday started off with some rain...but what is a baby shower without rain? I do love me some Springtime weather! Our friends John and Lindsey graciously allowed us to crash at their place for about the 378th time, and Linds offered to drive to the shower so Glenn could come later to say his hellos, open gifts and carry the loot!

After much debating with myself over comfort, fashion, and "does this actually look decentism" I decided to rock this $20.00 Marshalls (non -maternity) number over another blue dress. Blue for boy, and Glenn said he liked it most. Badabing, badabump. 

Sweet baby Emilia rode along with us to the shower and enjoyed herself socializing (and catching some Z's). 

Lil E brought baby Claire who also stole the show! It hurts my heart to get to see these little loves but a few time a year, sometimes I wish we could pick up and move to PA (or NY for that matter) and have our babes grow up together! I am going to need to make more MD friends who are mommies of little babies come May! 

Maria made some delicious food, (2 soups, 2 salads, and a bonus pasta from Valerie) and Erin went all out with having a cake prepared. Seriously, how adorable. 

Glenn arrived just in time to cut the cake and open some awesome gifts! The girls got us a bassinet filled with goodies, and we also got our Boppy and Swing, and a number of great books and much-needed baby essentials!

Including some toys that make noise, yay!

I think Glenn has a new girlfriend

After a few hours of food, friends, family and fun (yay, alliteration) it was time to go back to the Simon abode to catch a quick catnap before I took Lindsey for a night on the town (her first in over 15 months!) She is a SAHM to Emi, and I give her all the props in the world. Sister needed a martini or 2! Doesn't she look great?

All in all it was a great, albeit tiring weekend. Really hoping to make a trip back out to PA once our little guy has arrived...hopefully this summer for Claire's 1st birthday! 

Now without further ado - some weekly updates! We finally busted out the DSLR and I thought it would be a prime time to take the new with the old, and take some throwback pix in the kitchen. (Okay the blue sports bra has been resurrected and that was half my impetus)

And because I love a good comp .... here we are 7 weeksish and 31 weeks 6 days (damn near 32 weeks. Apparently 25 weeks ago I was tanner and sweated more. Glenn says I look more "buff" in the latter pix but I think he is just being kind. (Bless his heart!)

How far along? THE BIG 3-2! For some reason it was this number that has stuck out in my head as having "made it" far into pregnancy. 32 weeks is a nice, sturdy, even number. This means 5-8 more weeks until we meet baby boy -- so crazy to feel like you've been pregnant for what seems like forever, and are finally hitting that finish line. 

Total weight gain: up to a grand 27-28 lbs...that's right folks, 178 and counting! Things have *knock on wood* seemed to slow a bit, and for that I am thankful. My coworker's best friend is pregnant and sent me pictures of her at 31 weeks. Homegirl looks like me at 14 weeks, shit you not. I was like, "where is she hiding the baby?" But we all carry different, I seem to carry front and prominent. Glenn's sister who is an ultrasound tech felt my belly at the shower and said I have alot of amniotic fluid so maybe that has something to do with my gargantuanness? 
Maternity clothes? Not for my shower! POW! I had vowed to not wear something hideous and matronly and managed to succeed in that. Death to all ugly frocks!
Stretch marks? Still holding strong, although each week I can feel my body changing...he still favors my right side all the time, and my ribs still seem to be stretching quite a bit...I am sure he's gonna keep on keepin on, so we may not be out of the woods yet. 

Sleep: On days I work out (4 times week 31) I sleep pretty well...unfortunately I have been waking up at night as of late with leg cramps. Not like full on charley horses, but achey legs that feel like someone has beat them with a bat. The pain doesn't go away no matter how many times I flex and stretch in bed, I usually have to get up and walk around. A few times Glenn has had some nice, early wake ups (cough, cough 4:30AM) because they hurt so bad I need him to rub them. What a trooper that guy is. I also have unfortunately noticed alot more pelvic pressure similar to our pain escapade of weeks 20ish-22 when turning over. I wince each time and it is getting annoying, but the snoogle pillow has helped matters greatly. At my latest doctors appointment I told the nurse practitioner about the leg pain and she asked if I worked out. Pshhh do I work out? YES. She said I was probably "doing too much"  and should slow down. My thing is, I really don't want to until my body tells me to (much like my pelvic bone pain). A few leg cramps here and there aren't going to stop me from sweating. She said that blood flow to extremities changes when pregnant and it's harder on the legs. That and I'm carrying around damn near 30 POUNDS OF BABY, may have something to do with it. I got some calcium chews and eat bananas like its my job on top of the gallon plus jug of water I take in each day...so....we'll continue to do our best.
Best moment this week: Seeing so many people we love, and smooching the beautiful babes! That and we have done alot of work in getting everything squared away in the nursery. All newborn and 0-3 month clothes are washed and Glenn has put up a new (AWESOME) light fixture. Next up, cloth diaper wash! We also are going to build a cornice for the curtains Easter weekend, and then after that really need to get on taking some "finished" pictures of the nursery!

this kids room outcools the other 89% of our house

Miss Anything? The joy of long shirts...even my longest of long shirts are getting a little tough to make work, and at least one pair of my maternity pants seem to be screaming at the belly panel like ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 
Movement: Still loving feeling him! He still rocks my belly all night long but spends a good bit of time making his presence known during the day. He was jamming out on the way home in the car with the top down listening to some R&B 1990's classics, and still stays huddled on my right side. Still head down, and feet toward my (sore) ribs
Food cravings: Fruit, hummus, vegetables. Boring right? On the way to PA I made Glenn stop off at a grocery store so I could buy Naked juice, hummus and carrots because my body craved eating something clean after being stuck in the car for hours. Daily meals are usually made up of the following - fiber one bar for early breakfast (to take prenatals), 1/2 a fiber bran muffin at work (Moral Fiber), then either a banana, apple or greek yogurt for a snack. Lunch is an arugula and romaine mixed salad with fresh berries, onions, tomatoes and cranberry trail mix. Snack is either a string cheese or my beloved edamame hummus with sugar snap peas and carrots. I've been drinking alot of mama tea also. Dinner is usually a toss up depending on if I have dinner plans because I am TURBO POPULAR, but usually is a protein Glenn grills for me and some steamed veggies. Also chocolate happens EVERYDAY. Kid knows what he likes. 

I can't get over how much he is growing OUT

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not so much sick, but let's just say pregnancy gas is a riot. It comes out of nowhere and is uncontrollable and surprisingly usually doesn't emit an odor but does cause some loud noises. Glenn is just the luckiest guy ever.
Gender: Team Blue all the way!
Labor Signs: Nothing specific I can point to -- but I think I have started Braxton Hicks. When I work out I've felt my uterus get hard for months now, but I think per my Nurse Practitioner that Braxton Hicks are when your "FUNDUS" up high gets hard. It's like one big muscle clenching. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea is still being imbibed so I hope my pal of a uterus will hold us strong until the very end! 
Symptoms: I have noticed, this week especially that things are slowing down....well, I am slowing down. Mentally at work my capacity is about blown. It's hard for me to plan events in April and May when all I can think about is how in April I will be having a baby in a month...a baby in MAY! Makes webinars that much more dull. I also am slower walking around, more inclined to be out of breath, and can't stay up with my favorite lesbian gurus Jackie and Jillian as much as I used to. I' m still trying my darndest! I wore my heartrate monitor to work today for 9 hours just to see how many sedentary calories were burned, = 1646....then Glenn and I walked 2.5 miles and I did a Jackie workout= 546 calories. I wish I could better understand  how all this math equates in preggo ville but I guess I could say I am doing pretty damn good over here.
Belly Button in or out? Half in half out? It looks creepy as all getout in this pic below:

Wedding rings on or off? on! My NP seemed surprised (?) I was not swelling yet. Hrmmm. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy Happy Happy with a side of needing to cry every once in again -- so much to look forward to, so little time left remaining til we meet our babe!
Looking forward to: Shower number 2, aka co-ed party extravaganza! Grandma Niter has been crafting away and we are thrilled to see what Tanner's got up her sleeve!