26 week update!

Hello dear friends and internet, the Lovelace fam has been busy! Not only have we been growing like a weed, but we got to see Baby Love and had maternity photos taken! It's been a busy photo-filled week(s) -- excited to share some pictures on the blog, for those who aren't already inundated by way of facebook (Hi Dad!)

We celebrated Valentine's day by having our photoshoot on Saturday with my charming and awesome friend and photographer, Travis (www.traviscurryphotography.com), had a romantical steak dinner on Sunday, and some flowers came to my office on Tuesday!

I loves me some multicolored roses!

I also can't live without instagram...another gift of the Iphone!

We spent the rest of the week getting our celebration on, in anticipation of getting another sneak peak at Baby Boy Lovelace! We did ye olde "Wednesday Night Special" at our local 3D joint ($70.00 for 20 minutes of fun, a ringing endorsement!) as a gift to ourselves. Or maybe I was obsessed and decided we should go. It's amazing to see how much he has grown! 

Check him out, in all his glory!

Get a load of this cutie!

I am very strong #Team Lovelace with this kiddo's profile...Glenn's family has a prominent brow-bone and HUGE beautiful eyes, and I think the forehead/eye area is all Glenn. 

Glenn says he looks like he has a mustache in this one

Always covering his little face, but look at those cute lips!

Our one and only "face on" shot

Even the directly "face on" shot I am seeing Lovelace in the forehead/eyes and bridge of nose area...he may have a bit of me in his nose and lips and chin shape. 

Cute little tootsie -- 2nd long toe = All Lovelace!

And one last side profile shot

I know ultrasounds (even the 3d versions) are creepy as all get-out, and I am the first to admit they all can look pretty damn similar...but it is fun to try to discern features from each side of the family. Having a hard time seeing much of "me" in these photos - but love that he's looking like his papa!

And because you all know (or do now) that I am crazy, I did some combos with our newborn photos. I unfortunately don't have good versions of mine due to an unfortunate accident with vomit on my face right after I was born with a resulting rash ...butttttt here's an idea:

my verdict : my lips/chin - everything else Glenn!

All in the eyes! Look how cute baby SGML was!

So yes, it was totally worth it to get these images and see Mr. Baby Man dancing around and showing off on screen. The ultrasound tech this go round was leaps and bounds better than the last and really took her time AND more photos than she really had to. No complaints here!

This week was really good for me workout-wise....I got to spend some time in the sun and get some Vitamin D and have stayed in the gym sweating on my best friend the elliptical. Glad to say I am feeling really quite wonderful health wise....of course we all have our Jesus H. Christ on a Dirtbike I'm Huge and the Scale says WHAT?! days but more often than not I crave working out and really do feel a sense of calm afterward. 

25 weeks  5 days? 

Could it be that the rampant huge amazonian growth is over and I am about par for the 26 week course by now? I don't feel "AS" out of control as I had been, but maybe people are just becoming kinder and not telling me I look as big post 4 & 5 months preggo? 

How far along? In the photos, 25 weeks 5 days...I am currently 26 weeks 5 days. Still Johnny-On-It with the upkeep around here. 

Total weight gain: I worked out 4-5 times this week and have been tracking like a mofo...oddly I was at 20 lbs of weight gain, but it can randomly jump to 23....the scale reads at 170-173 at different points of the day. Yes, I weigh as much as a male athlete these days. I OWN IT...ALLADIS bump and subsequent poundage. Even if my dad did tell me I look "pleasantly plump". Let's make better word choices, pops. 

Maternity clothes? Lil Erin was right. Eventually the long sized shirts just don't work and you have to switch to some maternity gear. I know this because my lengthier of sleepytime T's and workout clothes have the base of my bump popping out all over. It's really ridiculously attractive. Still holding strong and refusing to buy any tops though, and making do!

Stretch marks? Nope, and holding strong. My skin elsewhere is still that of a hormonal teenage boy (if I weigh as much as one, I may as well have awesome skin like one too, eh?) I broke down and bought some Mederma because I am fearing scarring with this crazy odd series of blemishes and it makes me want to itch my face off. 14 weeks to go. 

Sleep: Falling asleep on the couch sometimes..Glenn knows if I pass out to let me just sleep until I wake up (often times at 4-5am) and I transfer to bed. I get all the sleep I can when I can. Often times I am antsy and can't just "try" to go to bed like a normal person, so whatever works, works. 

Best moment this week: Let's have a best and worst, shall we? This week lead to some major dramz by way of the facebook (where all ridiculous drama starts, no?) that opened up my eyes to how opinionated and hormonal we all are as women. Parts of it were laughable, some moments were frustrating, and feelings were unintentionally hurt. I guess it's nice to have an outlet to share opinions and watch what unfolds. The best part of week? For sure getting our maternity photos done! I will have a separate blog in reference to this soon, but holy cats am I impressed and SO happy we went ahead and captured this moment in our lives! I truly feel that every woman should get an opportunity to feel beautiful while jocking a womb monkey and have the photos to show for it! A sneak peak here:

look how fancy we are!

Miss Anything? A sense of calm....the closer we get the more antsy and restless I feel. TV is boring, the internet browsing and blog perusing make me yawn, and I am not interested in any books. I feel like I "should be" doing something, or that time should be moving faster. I miss alot of my friends in PA and NY and appreciate all the support they've provided...thankful for technology & social media to stay in touch. 

Movement: Feeling him more and more each day...my abdomen has been feeling "heavier" and per my ultrasound he is head down with his feet towards my ribs (mostly the right side). We had dinner with friends and he was active enough for the majority of our group to feel him kick...seeing their faces react to this was awesome! I love his little "love taps" throughout the day. This is why preggo women are rubbing our bellies all day long. 

Food cravings: Lately SMOOTHIES. Hello strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, nice to meet you...now get in my mouth. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...although baby boy's growth has been making my ribs hurt (especially after I eat)

Gender: #teampenis

Labor Signs: Nope, nope, nope

Symptoms: Feeling pretty fantastic other than gross acne, rib pain, and sometimes I think I look super tired in the morning. 

Belly Button in or out? So awkard and weird. It is still an innie but a flat innie and if I flex parts of it pop out. EWWWWWWWW

Wedding rings on or off? on. (Someone asked about this - the question is whether or not you have had to take rings off due to swelling yet)

Happy or Moody most of the time: I had one day earlier this week where I felt super tired and just not very "present" even though there was no need to feel moody. Hey, hormones are a bitch. 9 times out of 10 I feel as pleasant as a basket full of kittens so I can take a foul day here and there. 

Looking forward to: Our little "babymoon" in NYC. Glenn has somehow never been to NY, so we are taking a quick trip up next weekend to stay in Times Square like tourists and see a show at Madison Square Garden. This is part of a surprise Christmas gift from Glenn, and I am looking forward to having a special weekend just for us!

see you in the not so belated future!

23 week update!

And here we are! 23 weeks is almost to that all important milestone -- viability! If a baby is born at 24 weeks, they have a 40-70% chance of survival.  Of course we want him to hang out in there until he's fully "cooked" but it is comforting to know that each day he's in, he is 3% more likely to survive. Right now he is the size of a mango or papaya and weighs a full pound! Maybe that's why I'm gaining all this weight.....hrmmm maybe.


 I did read that between weeks 20-24 babies are having quite the growth spurt, making mama hungrier. I keep working out (4 times this week) and trying to eat a ton of veggies and fruits and good proteins daily. On cardio days I can burn 500 calories between the elliptical/treadmill/recumbent bike...and on the days I do weightlighting it's a good 250 calories. Hoping to build muscle to eat some of the fat and stay toned. It's all a huge effort that I hope pays off. It's hard not to get insecure stepping on the scale and seeing these huge numbers but so long is baby is growing healthily I should not fret. 


Those of you who are my friends on facebook know that I have been terribly heartbroken exercise TV on-demand is now gone. Yes, heartbroken. I loved it because I could have some variety to do whatever sort of workouts I wanted on any given day, instead of having to deal with inclimate weather or driving an hour round trip to the gym (no thanks). Well I did find out that Hulu offers some exercise on demand workouts (haven't tried yet), and flirtygirlfitnesslive (gag at their name), has 3 demo hour long videos on their site. If you pay $15 bucks a month you can stream any of their live workouts, which is a pretty neat concept. I did 2/out of  the 3. The photos below are from the 2nd attempt...a "strength" class that did 1. not make me sweat (so by my standards, not a workout) 2. concentrate on weird stretches/ab work I couldn't safely do pregnant, so 3. ultimately was a fail hence my miserable face. 


And now for some photos! We are 22 weeks 5 days here:

Oh, baby!

We have started putting up some of the many artworks on the wall, further updates to come!

wedding photo of mama & papa!

look how big and pointy we are!

an idea of some of the pictures to be put on the wal

How far along? In these pix, 22 weeks, 5 days...currently 23 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain: Groan. 18 pounds. I am officially 8 pounds over the heaviest I have ever been. Ever. 
Maternity clothes? I got a tote of maternity clothes from my friend Erin, (Thanks Erin!) and also a few jackets, so far have worn a few of the basic long shirts underneath my standard cardis, belts and scarves. 
Stretch marks? Not yet! Although last night when we went to bed, Glenn said "aww I think I see your first stretch mark" in an endearing voice like it was a great milestone I should be excited about. I forced him to turn on the light and did an in-depth exam of my belly to show him no marks. Being the hormonal beast I am, I was all....why would you think that? He says after I got out of the shower I must've scratched myself or something because he thought he saw a mark. Not cute, Lovelace. Not on my agenda right now. Still drinking tons of water and exercising and hope we can make it out of this pregnancy sans marks. Stay tuned. 
Sleep: I usually get a good 6-7.5ish. Was never a good sleeper before pregnancy so am not surprised to still be tossing and turning and getting up to pee alot.
Best moment this week: Sitting at work and having the baby kick in a new place (upper right abdomen versus low where I usually feel him). He was pretty active and my coworker got to feel him gurgling about in there. I pressed back in and he pressed back! I like to think he was giving me a hand dap and saying, "good job, ma". 
Miss Anything? Well I learned after last week's post that I can't have horseradish. So that's a major bummer. 
Movement: More action happening during the day, trying to identify his waking/sleeping patterns. Love his little kicks! It's hard to imagine how much free space he has in there if I can feel him all the way from my upper right to the lower left sometimes. AMAZON BABY!
Food cravings: Lots of V8 V fusion juice, I craved Pizza Hut lunch buffet for the salad (and went this week), lots of raw veggies and fruit, and finally...school tacos. Yes, the gross tacos from elementary school. Still haven't quelled this craving. Auntie Anne's frozen strawberry lemonades is an ongoing delight.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only when I first take my vitamins on an empty stomach
Gender: All boy, all day. 
Labor Signs: Nope, knock on wood for the next 17 weeks. 
Symptoms: Ribs starting to ache a bit, I think when I have a full meal instead of grazing the food has to go somewhere, so it is being pushed up and pushing my ribs out? Either that or amazon child is just getting bigger.
Belly Button in or out? It is an innie, but not as deep anymore. Really gross/uncomfortable to touch it.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty much a happy camper! Ordered some DVDs off Amazon to be able to work out, which makes me really happy. Excited this weekend to catch up with some friends we haven't seen in ages! Also wish we were able to be at Valerie's and Erin's 1st birthday parties for their kiddos Easton and Mackenzie. Can't believe a year has passed!
Looking forward to: Only having a few more months until we meet this little guy, we are almost 60% there!

SIWWP: the mid-trimester edition

So it occurred to me that I am basically 5.5 months along, which is almost 6 which means holy hell in a handbasket this baby will be coming soon! Hopefully not TOO soon, but soon enough!

Of course we are still growing and attempting to look put together....this week was all about laziness and scarves. Did I get too lazy for a belt? Is that possible?

Latest quest has been sleuthing the interwebs for dresses to wear to my shower(s). My attempts have been in vain, because nothing is really grabbing my interest/is cute/is affordable/will fit in a few months. I guess I will have to wait and see how much bigger I am going to get and buy something in both March and April. Yes, one for each shower! It's the little things I get excited about. 

Speaking of, both showers are in full-on planning mode, thank sweet 8 lb 3 oz baby Jesus because I was stressing! The P-A soiree is March 24th, and the Baltimore Bonanza is April 14th. So hype to see all of our friends and celebrate this baby!

Without further ado, Shit I Wore While Pregnant : edition 3

 When "borrowing" photos from this blog, please link back to this blog. Thanks!

sweet minty Tuesday...cardigan laziness

stripes and colors and scraves

this about as daring as I got all week, vintage button down and a belt. BAM

late, tired and blurry -- again more cardigans and scarves. Did I wear that twice in one week?

 Apparently so.

New scarf from Old Navy. Highlight of the week. And that's your ballgame folks!