40 Weeks

Picture from 40w1d but I am now 40w3d as I write this!

How far along?: 40 weeks and 1 day in this picture

Maternity clothes: Still mostly regular clothes but most of my tank tops are a little too short to wear now!

Best moment this week: Going to the midwife and having her tell me she doesn't think I'll make it through the weekend without having this baby!

Symptoms: Still pretty tired but I officially had my last day of work on Tuesday. I'm afraid that the stress of work is not allowing me to relax enough which is why he isn't out yet! Last week at the midwife I was 2cm and 70% effaced and this week I was 3cm, 80% effaced, cervix is very soft and he's at -1 station so the progression in a week is awesome and its why they think I'm coming any day now. I also had my membranes stripped while I was there this week for an extra jump start which was a little more painful than I expected but she said it's because I have a high cervix to begin with and because he's so ready. So TMI (at least for those who haven't had babies or aren't pregnant since I've learned there's no such thing as TMI with someone who is with child or has given birth) I had bloody show on Saturday which is very good and then again yesterday after the procedure, a few times during the day and then in the middle of the night and this morning which is a good sign that I've had it more than just the once after the procedure. I haven't had any contractions yet but I've had much more pressure than normal!

Movement: He is still a very active boy! 

Food cravings: I wanted nachos last night but figured that would not be a good meal to eat if I were to go into labor so I didn't give in!

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! 

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: So impatient!!! I'm beyond ready for him to come out! My co-worker who was due two weeks after me went into labor yesterday and another old co-worker of mine who was due a week after me had her baby today. Granted this was the second for both of them, but I'm so jealous and want him to come NOW!

Looking forward to: Meeting our little man, sharing his name (I honestly think this is the longest I've ever kept a personal secret from any of my best friends and family) and becoming a family of 3!

I'm really hoping that not being at work and being able to relax will help labor start. I took a bath this morning (we have a miniature tub but it was better than nothing) and then went and got my hair cut since that's always my go to when I want to unwind and feel good about myself. I haven't gained any weight in two weeks and I've been measuring a week small (39cm this week instead of 40cm) for the past two weeks which is also a sign that my body is ready to labor so now its up to the little man to make his entrance, we're all waiting for him!!!

Baby Announcements and Shower Invitations!

I thought I would share a few more of my designs from my freelance design business, Shannon Reilly Creative Design. Since there are a lot of pregnant mamas out there I figured I'd share some birth announcement and baby shower invites I've worked on. And sorry in advance for the cruddy photography - the samples came in the mail and I wanted to take the pictures right away but at 8pm the natural light kind of sucked! Enjoy!

p.s. look for a coupon code at the bottom :)

Interested? email me at shannonreillycreativedesign@gmail.com for a quote. All work is custom design with unlimited edits as I believe you should absolutely love what you are getting and that every invitation or announcement should be exactly what you had envisioned!

For 10% off your first order use [ LIFEOFPOOLE10 ] as the subject line of your email!

38 Weeks

Sorry for all of the bathroom pictures, life is busy now and I'm too tired lazy to erase and draw every week on the chalkboard!

How far along?: 38 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Still mostly regular clothes but most of my tank tops are a little too short to wear now!

Best moment this week: Going to the reservoir to swim this weekend with the pup in the beautiful weather.  

Symptoms: Pretty much exhausted! I definitely have carpel tunnel which wakes me up at least 4 times during the night making my hand tingle and hurt wicked bad. And of course there is nothing I can do for it other than stretch it and try not to use my wrist that much - which is hard since I'm a graphic designer and its my right wrist which is on a mouse all day. It should go away once the baby is born and my hormones are back to normal - or at least I'm hoping it does!

Movement: He is still a very active boy! 

Food cravings: Nothing really, but I would love some good Mexican food but that's nothing out of the ordinary.

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! 

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Impatient! I just want him to come already!!!

Looking forward to: Our little man's arrival! I'm writing this at 38w6d so we have just about a week or so left and I'm now very impatient!

37 Weeks

How far along?: 37 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Still mostly non-maternity with stretchy skirts and dresses, but I'm kinda getting tired of wearing the same things. And some of my shirts/tanks are getting a little short and don't cover my bump - especially my workout clothes!

Best moment this week: Having Thursday off for July 4th and doing nothing! I took a three hour nap and I never nap but I'm just completely exhausted these days even after a good [ as good as it can be ] nights rest.  

Symptoms: Very tired and exhausted just climbing stairs takes a lot these days it seems. I've been having a lot of pressure and lightening pains the past week - good signs! 

Movement: He is still a very active boy - and Tom felt his hiccups the other night too which was really cool. 

Food cravings: Nothing really, but I have to have my mint chocolate chip ice cream every night!

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! 

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Impatient! I just want him to come already!!!

Looking forward to: Relaxing this weekend with nothing to do. Nesting is definitely a real thing so I'm going to continue my cleaning frenzy this weekend!

I thought I'd do a little comparison to see how big this little man has really gotten!

Same shirt looks a little different now - I'm really hoping I look that little again some day! I love my clothes and especially my jeans - I will be a size 2 again [ we can't afford a new wardrobe for me anyways haha ]!

Shannon Reilly Creative Design

Some of you may or may not know that I am a graphic designer and I also have my own freelance business on the side. I mainly focus on wedding invitations, shower invitations, birth announcements and some logo design. I don't take on too many projects since I work full-time but I have definitely grown in the last year. I love invitation design since it is so specific to each client and their wants and needs. Everyone should have wedding invitations that show who they are and give a sense of what the wedding day will feel like. 

My first design was my own wedding invitations and they are honestly what made me want to start a freelance invitation business. I thought I'd give you a glance at some of my first designs! I just printed out a ton more samples of some of my most recent work which I'll post sometime next week. Enjoy :) [ 

oh and if you'd like to contact me for design work my email is shannonreillycreativedesign.com and my website is shannonreillycreativedesign.com ] 

 

I also did a re-design for an awesome photographer as one of my first design jobs and it is still one of my favorite logo designs!

A screenshot of her website which also displays the logo design and the background pattern I created.

All designs are copyrighted by Shannon Reilly Creative Design

36 Weeks

How far along?: 36 weeks 

Maternity clothes: Still mostly non-maternity with stretchy skirts and dresses. Loving this new red skirt I got at J.Crew a few weeks ago!

Best moment this week: Going to one of my best friends, Carly's, wedding this past weekend! There are four of us from high school that are still best friends (Carly being one of the four) and the other three of us were in her wedding party so we had a ton of fun and it was sooo nice to catch up since we don't get to see each other nearly enough!   

Symptoms: Still tired but getting use to it. I've also been having some pelvic pains which is my pelvic bone stretching and getting ready! 

Movement: He is so active and he doesn't really kick much anymore its just constant moving and pushing. And I love that I can really tell the difference between kicks and hiccups now, hiccups are so cute!

Food cravings: Nothing really, but I have to have my mint chocolate chip ice cream every night!

Have you started to show yet?: Oh yes! 

Gender prediction: It's a boy!

Mood: Happy that these next few weeks will hopefully fly by with all we have going on so he'll be here before we know it!

Looking forward to: Not having anywhere to go anymore! As much as I love to travel and I'm happy we have seen so many of our friends this summer, it is exhausting and I'm tired and all I want to do is just stay home, relax and nest!

P.S. sorry for the lack of posts last week, I had a ton of freelance to finish up and it took first priority!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the greatest man I know!

And since I shared a few things my mother has taught me on Mother's Day, I'm going to share a few things my father has taught me.

I've learned:

...how to listen

...to love

...to be calm

...to like good music [and the names of almost any oldies rock n' roll song/artist]

...how to talk without yelling

...how to take a good photograph

...to love craft beer

...to never stay at a cheap hotel

...how to book a good vacation

...my love of ice cream

...to love listening to NPR

...how a watch is made [ just kidding! it's a running joke in our family that if you ask my dad what time it is, he'll tell you how the watch was made since he explains things in a very technical way no matter what question you ask, but especially when it comes to computers! ]

And of course happy father's day to my amazing husband, I know our children have so much to learn from you and I'm so excited for this baby to come :)