27 Weeks...3rd trimester!!

I have officially entered the third trimester! Yay! I am feeling more and more like a pregnant lady by the passing of each day. What do I mean you ask? Well.... I feel like I am starting to walk slower and slower wherever I go( I normally am pretty speedy when I walk anywhere ), I can't just pop up off the couch or hop out of bed( it's kind of like a slow roll or a lot of 

scooching ), and my stomach is growwwwwing quickly! I don't mind any of it. It's pretty humorous! :)      

Rowen is larger than an eggplant but not quite the size of a squash yet. Length of the baby's body is added this week. It has been crown to rump but now the baby is measured from head to toe. Total length of the baby this week is about 15 1/4 inches! He's long and I'm sure is cramped in there! Rowen's eyes are now open :0  Although there is nothing to see in there, he can open and close his eyes now that the eyelids are fully formed. 

July 29, 2011

It really does look like I swallowed a basketball!

Even though I have been feeling Rowen move around for quite a while now, the movements have become jerkier and a bit harder. They don't hurt but the kicks catch me off guard often! I have also noticed in the past couple days that he seems to ball up on my right side and it puts a lot of pressure right under my ribs on that side. It's not too comfortable but once again it doesn't hurt. I have a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen often. It's very tight in that area after I eat or after I do cardio. I use to get out and run every day but now it takes so much effort to workout! I'm still doing it though b/c I know how good it is for both of us! And let's be honest, I can't go more than a couple days without  doing some sort of physical activity or I just feel gross! That's how it's always been. 

I was looking through my pictures since I started taking them at week 1o of my pregnancy...I don't look too terribly different but a few parts of my body have definitely changed a bit ;)

My stomach has grown so much in the past 3 weeks...take a look at these 2 pictures!

Week 24

Week 27( today )

             

Some of my all time favorites!

In the past day I have used/eaten some of my most favorite things ever and I thought that I would share them :) Maybe one of these things will become a favorite of yours or already is. 

Rachel’s Favorites

Tan in a Can Airbrush Tanner

This is the best spray tan ever!! I have been using it for years. I even use it in the summer b/c I can't get to the pool as much as I would like. Especially now, it isn't comfy to lay on my stomach so even when I do go to the pool, I don't get much color on my backside! 

* I buy it @ Cosmetic Market b/c Sephora doesn't carry it anymore *

These next 2 go hand in hand :)

Kate Somerville Facial Cleanser

This is my absolute most favorite brand of cleanser!! I use to use the purifying cleanser in her line but once I got pregnant I had to stop using it :( It contained salicylic acid which is a no no to use during pregnancy. I was so sad b/c I didn't want to change cleansers...it's a big deal! But I happened to find a different one in her line gentler ingredients. It's called Gentle Daily Wash and it makes my face feel great!

* I buy this at Sephora *

My Clarisonic Pro

I have had this puppy for a while! I love her :) It works wonders on my skin. It helps unclog pores, reduce wrinkles, and cleanses and exfoliates at the same time. I just put my face wash on and then cleanse with my clarisonic instead of a washcloth. I don't use it every night b/c sometimes I am lazy but I do try to use it 4-5 nights a week. And you can use it in the shower too!

* I bought her at a spa but I do believe that the Clarisonic is sold at Sephora and Cosmetic Market. *

Headshot Reconstructive Intense Conditioner 

I have 2 favorite intense conditioners....Redken Butter Treat and this one! This one really makes my hair feel smooth and silky. I like the way it works quickly to untangle my hair! I sometimes even leave it on for 8-10 minutes for an intense treatment. 

* It can be found at various salons *

Chloe Perfume

This has been my favorite scent for the past year! I discovered it a few months before my wedding and fell in love with it. It was my wedding day scent :)  Its soft but not sweet. I don't love sweet perfumes. Next time you are at a place that sells fragrances, you should smell it! I know my friend Shannon likes it too! And Brent likes it on me...that always matters when finding a scent :)

* I bought this at Sephora *

I LOVE strawberries!

This is by far my favorite fruit right now. I go through a carton a week. The ones that Brent has been buying lately are very tasty. Some brand at Whole Foods. I like cutting them up, putting them in a container, and covering them in sugar! 

-Rachel-

A definite craving!

Sooooo.....people ask if I have had any weird or crazy cravings and the answer is always no! I really haven't had any true cravings this whole time until now! I say that you must have a definite craving for something if you have eaten the same food 4 times in the past week! haha. I seriously crave Subway veggie subs on italian herb & cheese bread! I had it today for lunch AND yesterday for lunch :) Brent and I even had it this past Friday night per my request. It's a healthy craving that's for sure!

My veggie sub is loaded with lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, pickles, olives, spinach, green peppers, and onions...with a sprinkle of salt & pepper. It's so tasty. I literally CRAVE it...there is my first real craving! 

So my granny is just crocheting away for baby Rowen :) Brent and I received a package today with a very precious sweater bodysuit. I was excited to see that it is was not blue!! My mom got a ton of blue stuff at the consignment sale last week so I am excited to see other colors! She said that's just really what they had the most of..blue, blue, and more blue. She did however get a variety of colors of outfits on Saturday. Anyways, here is the sweater we got today from my granny:

SO cute!!

Love the little wooden buttons :)

She also sent us a book to add to the bookshelf...a classic:

Love You Forever

I noticed earlier that Brent and I have a fun filled August coming up..one that is filled with TONS of weddings, parties,
 showers( wedding and baby )! 

See. Invitations galore! Can't wait! I especially love the whale

baby shower invitation at the bottom :)

               

26 weeks...14 more weeks!

I have found something that I hate about pregnancy! haha. As you know, I haven't had any problems and haven't had any sickness. The HEAT is literally melting me! I immediately start sweating when I step outside...it's gross! I can't even seem to get my car cool enough when I am riding in it. Oh well. That's summer. It is week 26. This past week it( I guess ) is more noticeable that I am actually pregnant. I say this b/c I have had a few people say things to me about my pregnancy...all nice/sweet things. Tops just aren't loose on me anymore. My shirts really stretch across my stomach. 

Rowen is still the size of an eggplant. Only 97 days to go! He now weighs 2 pounds and is really filling out and starting to put on weight. His length is around 9 1/4 inches. Baby has created a schedule for itself. It actually has distinct sleeping and waking cycles! I definitely know Rowen is awake in the evening...7pm-10pm or so I can really feel him moving around. All 5 of his senses are fully developed even though he is not using most of them yet. 

26 Weeks - July 22, 2011

Next week will be the start of the third trimester! Woo Hoo! Brent and I will be registering for pre-natal classes in the next week or two. They are given at Baptist( where we will be delivering )so that's nice and convenient. At the end of the class, they give you a tour of the area that you will be in when you come in to deliver. I am looking forward to the tour just so we will know where to go and what to do before hand! Another thing that I am looking forward to in 97 days...no more pre-natal vitamins! I didn't mind them for the first few months but the taste is just so old now and I dread taking them every night. I'm sure they could be worse! I can't wait for our next appointment with Dr. Kyzer. It's August 1. Even though I will have to have lab work done..ugh!!..I look forward to each appointment to just get reassured that baby is doing great and everything is ok with me too! 

On a side note, there is a HUGE consignment sale going on this weekend called Encores and my mom volunteered a few shifts prior to the sale so that she could get in to the pre-sale and buy stuff for Rowen. She was so thoughtful and got tons of items. She got a glider and  ottoman for Rowen's room. Brent loves the glider. He said it might be his new favorite place to read a book. Good! Rowen is going to love to have books read to him :)  That's not the kind of books Brent was talking about but I'm sure he will like reading Dr. Seuss and Winnie the Pooh books soon! My mom said she was going to get a few outfits too...She did NOT mention that a few would mean 26 articles of clothing!! I was shocked but super excited. She found some really really cute clothes. 

Some of the items...

this is one of my favorites...little overalls w/rocking horses on them

this one is really cute too

"Thank Heaven For Little Boys"

So from the generous gift of clothes that my Granny and Papa sent a few months ago to the generous gift of 26 items that my mom bought and the clothes that we have been given from other family members, Rowen is totally set until his first birthday it seems like!!

            

Love Love Love

I'm participating in Jaime's Wednesday Loves today...I pretty much do this every Wednesday! I like capturing random "loves" all in one post. Here they are:

I'm Loving...

this picture of me and my cousin Angie!

This was actually taken at her shower this past Sunday. I am 25 weeks and she is 30 weeks in this picture. It will be a wonderful memory! I can't wait to find out what she is having! I am leaning more towards boy but I have no clue obviously! She is finding out whether it's a boy or a girl on the baby's birthday.

I'm Loving...

this little pillow for Rowen's room!

I found it at a Hallmark down the street and a light bulb went off to have it engraved! I got the little pillow for $5 and the engraving was a little extra. I think it's so cute and the lady that engraved it did a fabulous job :) She actually does the engraving right there in the store. I plan to hang it on his crib. 

I'm Loving...

this print.

Spelled with an "e" and in colors to match Rowen's room. I don't know if we would want to put it over his changing table or on the dresser. But I do want to purchase it! It's on etsy and the girl that makes the print's name is actually Rachel too. She made the alphabet print that I ordered not too long ago...

She is really nice and I enjoyed working with her. I also like the thought of a large rectangular picture frame with the glass out and Rowen's name centered in the frame to go over his bed.

Something along the lines of this..

No fabric though...just colored letters on the wall inside of the frame. Not sure if this will happen but it's a possibility.

I'm Loving...

baby owls! For decoration that is...not live baby owls. Some brown or cream colored owls might make their way into Rowen's room if I can find some! Aren't these little guys cute??

They seem chill and sleepy...

I'm loving... 

where we live in Nashville! Well, I'm loving that we live in Nashville. It's a wonderful city! But I love our neighborhood in West Meade. It's very peaceful and friendly and we are so close to everything we need :) I can't imagine living more than 5-10 minutes from grocery stores, shops, STARBUCKS, etc...I think this a a great place to raise a baby! 

             

Second Time Around!

So about 2 months ago, I got picked to do a study at 20/20 Research. I absolutely lucked out and happened to be an extra person at the study and they ended up not needing me. Which meant that right before the study started they let me know that they only needed 7 people so I could go home but I still got paid my $115!! Nice! I got picked to do another study and it's tomorrow morning. I'm sure I won't get so lucky and I will have to actually participate in the study this time. I'll do it of course b/c I get $100 for this study.  Woo Hoo!! 

The study starts at 9am so I have to be there @ 8:45am....bright and early. They told me not to eat or drink coffee an hour before coming??!! Ummm...hello! I need some breakfast if I have to sit through a 2 hour study! I forgot to mention that the study is on canned beans! haha. There will be taste tests throughout the study. So they want my breakfast to be canned beans? I don't think so! I will be eating cereal before I go! I'll still be able to taste the canned beans...I'm sure of it. 

You have to fill out a survey online to see if you qualify for the study. Most of the questions were about baked beans...esp Busch's baked beans.

Their Grillin' Beans are really yummy. If you haven't tried them you should! A lady called me a day after I filled the survey out to tell me that I qualified and then had some other questions to ask me. Half of them were about Busch's baked beans...thank goodness I eat those. I'm really excited about the study! Well, I'm excited to get paid $100 for 2 hours of my time :) It will be fun though. I'll let you know how it goes!! Brent did one of these studies not too long ago. What stinks is that you can only do one every six months! So we will have to wait a while before doing another one unless they change the rules sometime soon. 

                

Week 25...15 weeks to go!

Rowen is now the size of an eggplant @ 25 weeks. As for me, I'm definitely growing but I am feeling great. Things are getting a little uncomfortable. Situations like getting off of the couch are a little more difficult. I use to just jump right off and I tried that not too long ago and felt like I pulled something! So, now I just scooch/slide off. haha. Or bending down to tie my shoes..not the most comfortable situation either! I have never had extra weight on me so I'm not use to all this extra weight on my bones. Back to baby...he now weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and is about 8 3/4 inches long. My stomach is suppose to be growing about 1/2 inch each week! No wonder I seem to feel bigger every morning when I get out of bed. The rest of the "25 week" chapter in the book that I am reading doesn't really pertain to me...I'm not randomly itchy, I don't have high levels of stress in my life, and I don't see myself falling and breaking any bones...I have gone 29 years without breaking a bone so I think I will be ok!

I went through a short period of about a month or two( a while ago )where I was eating a lot of  junk! A lot of junk for me was chips and chocolate for snacks or lots of pasta and cheeses for lunch. But I'm back to being my normal very healthy self :) Cereals, sandwiches, soups fruits, and lots of veggies are my daily eats!

 Well, I only have 15 weeks left and I can't wait. I went to Katy's Hallmark in Belle Meade( it's a fabulous Hallmark store with LOTS of gifts ) yesterday to get a card and found a little pillow( on sale! )to hang on Rowen's door or maybe on his crib. It's a light green paisley print with a solid cream colored front. I am getting "rowen's room" embroidered on it!! I can't wait to pick it up on Monday :)

25 Weeks( 1 day ) 

        

Loves

It's time for Wednesday Loves...

I'm Loving...

these blankets that my granny made for baby Rowen! Like I have mentioned before, she is really good at sewing and crocheting!! She can make anything! Look at these:

The blue and white blanket she crocheted! And the other 2 are quilts that she made. The top one is Noah's Ark and the bottom one has safari animals on it. 

She also crocheted a sweater with a matching hat!

How much do you love these?! I love the little tassels :)

I'm Loving...

this blanket that our friends Lindsay and Charlie gave us/Rowen over the weekend!

It's really fuzzy and I love it. This is the first item that Rowen has with his name on it!! I love monogrammed items. Thanks Lindsay and Charlie. This was a very sweet gift :)


I'm Loving....( more bedding! haha. )
Rowen's bedding!!! It arrived today and I love it!!! I love the colors and the way it feels. All we need now is a crib. It's even cuter than I had imagined. Brent loves it too.

This is a picture of the blanket, bed skirt and the polka dot sheet that came with the set.

A close up of the blanket. We love the colors and the print. It's not the plain blue or brown that a lot of people choose. We wanted something different and not solid blue! Love it! 

Close up of the bed skirt( top )and the sheet. I am really liking the lime green on the bed skirt.


I'm Loving...
my new job! Even though I have only been part of the company for a few days, I know that I am going to like it. I HATED my last job b/c it was so boring. I am now an account manager for a local magazine. Who's Who magazine features local business owners. The schedule is flexible and I basically work from home or from my car!! 

I'm Loving...
my very sweet husband!! He has to be out of town for a week for work and I'm going to really miss him!