Shower #2 and maternity shoot

Last weekend, my good friend Lindi from work threw me an awesome baby shower with the help of Francesca, who used to work with us at The News-Press. It was such a great time, and Lindi thought of all the little details that made it special. We ate and talked and our only activity was making onesies, which turned out much better than I could have ever imagined. I have some creative and talented friends! Thank you to everyone! You all made it such a special day.

Here's a few of the fabulous onesies Bryson will be sporting.....

My "get things done" instinct has kicked into overdrive, so this weekend, I decided it was time to do the maternity photos. Luckily Jack moved back to town just in time to do these for us. And he did a great job! I wanted to get the photos done before I started really swelling up. Hopefully that won't happen, but better safe than sorry, right? We went out to Bowditch Point on Fort Myers beach because it has so many different backdrops for photos, and it's beautiful there.

Almost 33 weeks. 7 weeks to go.

We're in full-on baby preparation mode here at the Whittamore household. Over Christmas we built the baby's dresser and crib.

Then Scott painted the dining room to match the living room. I was very appreciative not to have to help with that chore. But it looks great. Now I just have to rehang all the art. When we get paid again, we'll get some new curtains and a new light fixture to jazz things up a bit. I'll post photos of both rooms when they're closer to being done.

There have been some big changes with my pregnancy going on too. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 29 weeks, and that has turned things upside down. I can no longer give birth in the water at Baby Love Birth Center like I'd planned because of the diagnosis. (Stupid Florida regulations). I now have to go to Cape Coral Hospital.

As if that wasn't traumatic enough (I'm getting over it now because I know it won't matter after he's born), my wonderful midwife Samantha can't be there for my delivery because she doesn't have a contract with my insurance company. Luckily her husband is a great OB who shares her same birth philosophy, so I have to switch to him in the next few weeks.

I've also had to change my diet to keep my blood sugar in check, since I have to test it four times a day. I've pretty much been on the Paleo diet. Low carbs, no grains, no sugar - just a little honey. It may have been a blessing in disguise because my rapid weight gain has slowed dramatically, and I'm still feeling pretty good.

Here's a new belly growth chart. Somehow I lost the pics from Christmas week when I was 31 weeks pregnant. :(

And here we are all dressed up for a New Year's party with our pretty Christmas tree.

 And at the party....

And here's a funny photo I took of myself reflected in an ornament at a Christmas event at the Ritz Carlton in Naples.....

 

 And one last photo. We've started harvesting the garden! Here's today's carrots.....yum! And we got a big handful of green beans that we ate for yesterday's dinner. The corn will be done soon too.

Merry Christmas

On Sunday, we ate lunch with Scott's family before his parents left for Kentucky, so today we just had breakfast with my mom and Billy after opening our presents at home. It was nice to have a fairly relaxing day.

For dinner, I cooked a London broil in the slow cooker with a few of the year's first carrots from the garden. I also made some acorn squash. And mom brought broccoli salad and green beans. I must say, it was pretty good.

 One of today's best gifts was one Scott picked out for the baby. A pair of tiny chucks. so cute. Yes I know my stomach is huge in this photo. It definitely grows every day! I'll have an update on that later this week.

My step-brother Scott, his wife Heather and his two beautiful and funny daughters came to visit last week, so Friday night we went over to eat with them at my mom and Billy's house. We had a good time seeing them. I think the gift-opening photos of the girls speak for themselves......

On another note, our garden is on the verge of giving us a feast. Here's the pics from December 5.....

And here's today....

Thanksgiving, baby shower and an update

We just returned on Saturday night from a trip to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and a baby shower with my NC friends and family.

But I'll start with the latest news first. Baby Whittamore weighs about 2.5 pounds and is 15 inches long, which is slightly above average. And while I only got one ultrasound photo this week, it was one of the cutest ones yet. He was sucking his thumb. so cute.

This week flew by, but we had a great time. We got the chance to visit Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique in Raleigh, which is one of the best little baby stores ever. The staff was so helpful and friendly. They also have an awesome website with free shipping!

I originally found them online and later realized they were in Raleigh, and our trip home was the perfect chance to visit. We decided to sign up for their newborn cloth diaper rental program.

I know some of you may think we're crazy for doing cloth diapers, but Scott and I were both cloth diaper babies, and we turned out just fine. haha. It will save us a ton of money. Sure, there will be times when we use disposables, like probably on vacations. I also like not throwing away up to 12 diapers a day and that the cloth diapers don't have the chemicals in them that most disposables do.
I'll just have to get used to dealing with poop on a daily basis.

Later Wednesday afternoon, we went over to my aunt Marjorie and uncle Tim's house to see my cousin Amber, who made the long drive with her husband John and two boys (Olin and Leif) from Kentucky so she could see me in all my pregnant glory. I'm so grateful that she made the trip because we got to spend some quality time together talking about babies and life, and we never get to do that.

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving. I usually make banana pudding and apple crisp to take to Scott's parents house, but this year, we were obviously at dad's house. So he made my Mema's banana pudding recipe, and I made the apple crisp. It was good to spend time with the family, especially my aunt Julie. In the evening Scott and I went back over to my aunt and uncle's house to see Amber and my other cousin Leslie who arrived late Wednesday night from Ohio with her husband Brent and 11-month-old Finn. We finally got to meet him and he did not disappoint. He has the cutest toothy grin.

On Friday, we avoided Black Friday shopping and went to downtown Raleigh to eat lunch at Beasley's Chicken + Honey. Can I just say yum. yum.? Scott had the chicken and waffles (they were to die for) and I had a 'veggie' plate with the Hook's Three-Year Cheddar Mac-n-Cheese Custard, roasted beets (for something healthy), and the biscuits and honey. And I had a Cheerwine to drink, of course.

After we got dad and Judy back home, we set out for an afternoon in Chapel Hill, where we shopped a little on Franklin Street and then had dinner at Top of the Hill.

On Saturday was my first baby shower for my family and friends in North Carolina.

(Please don't be offended that we didn't invite you, aunt Debra, aunt Judy and Gray. We knew you'd be busy over the Thanksgiving weekend with the boys and didn't want you to feel like you had to drive to Raleigh or buy us a gift. We'll see you soon after the baby is born, I hope.)

We had a good time visiting with everybody, and we got some great gifts. Thank you all for coming. And a special thanks to my step mom Judy for hosting and cooking an amazing pumpkin french toast casserole, to my aunt Marjorie for cooking the yummy sausage, egg and cheese casseroles, to Sara Dowd for the beautiful and tasty cupcakes and to Kylie and Amanda for driving in to see me.

Quick update

There's no real news to report this week, but I made a little belly growth chart so all my out-of-town friends could see my progress. Today I'm 26 weeks pregnant!

We're excited to spend Thanksgiving in Raleigh with my dad. My step mom Judy is throwing me a baby shower for my North Carolina friends and family while we're there, so that should be fun. We will miss Thanksgiving with the Whittamores, but I think they'll forgive us this time. I'm so excited to see my family and my best friends - Kylie, Amanda and Sara!

Everybody have a great Thanksgiving!