29 Weeks and Wedding Weekend #1!

**This is a pregnancy-related post, so please feel free to skip this post if you're not up for it. God bless.**

Hello all, and happy November! The year is just chugging right along, isn’t it? When I checked the 10-day weather forecast yesterday, I saw the first hints of some 30-something degree days headed our way…while I am ready for the holidays and everything fun that comes with it, I am not ready for the cold weather yet! But, TOUGH LUCK, as they say.

We are STILL recovering from an incredibly busy 4-day stretch in the Holi household. One of my dear friends got married in the city over the weekend, giving one of my other very dear friends an excuse to visit all the way from Rhode Island! As you know, this was the first of THREE weddings we have this month, and I am already taking bets on how long I will last at the third one! While I had an absolute BLAST at the wedding, I was definitely not my normal "wedding Emily" self!

That being said, it was AWESOME having my friend stay with us. Jess and I met while we were both studying abroad in Spain during our Junior year, and have kept in close contact ever since. In fact, she was even a bridesmaid in my wedding! It was so fun to spend some quality time with her and reminisce about the days when I was much cooler…you know, staying out late, coming home after dawn, throwin’ back Cruzcampos and Tintos de Verano like it was my job…okay, maybe I was never “COOL,” but it was still so much fun to talk about the good ole days! T was a great co-host, seeing as I was not exactly at my full-capacity-hostess-self…a three pound nugget living in your belly will do that to you, I suppose. Still, we had a blast and we already miss her so much!

Sharing a beverage with my good friend (alcoholic & n/a for me, of course)!

Two goof balls.

Jess even got to have lunch with my mom while I was at work!

Even snuck in a family brunch with the boys! Ignore T...

Pre-wedding festivities (ignore my squinting)!

Two dates!

Waiting for the ceremony to begin!

Enjoying cocktail hour in the library!

The venue was gorgeous, doesn't it look like Hogwarts?! Nerd alert, I know.

Of course, we also had Halloween mixed in there. I did not dress up this year (LAME, I KNOW) because we opted to stay home and pass out candy to trick-or-treaters instead. BUT! My family DID dress up. This is what you guys get for sharing your photos with me. Enjoy.

Yup, that's my mom as Uncle Phil from Duck Dynasty.

And this is my real life reaction. How does my mom know that song?!

My sister (far right) as part of a "nuclear family" Halloween costume. I told her that she is not only insulting our mom with this get-up, but now she's insulting me, too! Ha!

Let’s see, what else? I had to say good-bye to a part of my childhood this week! When I was in high school, my boyfriend Mike creatively opted to ask me to the prom by sticking glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling. It was all very romantic to 18-year old me. And then, not for any reason other than laziness, we never took them down. Because of this, those stars became a fixture of my childhood/adolescence! Every time I would come home from college, or visit from Minnesota, I would curl up in bed under my sheets and turn off my lights…to be greeted by these stars from my younger days. So silly, I know! And while I am certainly over the romance aspect of it (since I am married to the cutest kid in the world, hi T!), I felt very attached to the nostalgia of it all. So when my mom announced that she was totally redoing my childhood bedroom, including patching part of the ceiling, I asked her to please take some pictures of the stars for me. Ladies and gentlemen, a piece of Emily’s past! Just another sign that I am, in fact, an adult, who IS, in fact, about to have a child of her very own. Sigh. Dramatic much?

Now that you’re all done making fun of me, I present to you some MAJOR bumpage!

Trying on dresses for my baby showers! 

29 weeks!

How far along?  29 weeks, THIRD TRIMESTER, and baby is the size of a pineapple at around 16 inches long!

Clothing? Limited, but making due! Living in mostly leggings, even at work. Don’t judge! In fact, today I forgot my work shoes and will be forced to wear my bright pink sneakers with my work outfit all day…pregnancy body AND pregnancy brain, ladies and gentlemen!

Stretch marks? No, but my belly veins are getting super dark (gross I know)…so sometimes when I check, I think I’m sporting some stretch marks! Not so far, though.

Sleep? Still find myself sleeping on my back a lot—I know, I know, bad! I asked my doctor about it, and he said that I should be just fine…that if I am restricting blood flow to myself or baby, my body will wake itself up. And whenever I do wake up, I try to wedge myself back on my side. It’s a fun little game.

Best moment of this week? Hanging with dear friends, celebrating a lovely wedding, HALLOWEEN with a future little goblin in my stomach, spending some quality time with T, and crossing into the SINGLE DIGITS of weeks left at work!!!

Worst moment of this week? Aches and pains made it hard to enjoy myself to the fullest this weekend, but that’s okay as long as it means peanut is growing.

Miss anything? There is nothing that I can’t live without until January!

Movement? Yes, absolutely! More elbows and knees these days than hard kicks, but I love each and every little squirm. She might be running out of room already!

Symptoms? Staring to feel like I am just slowing down in general. Still having achy ribs when the baby kicks, some indigestion/heartburn, uncomfortable fullness after meals, sore back, Charlie horses, trouble with sinuses (especially at night), upper/lower linea nigra, weak legs, and major pregnancy brain.

Food cravings? Coconut water, goldfish, and a new one…PISTACHIO GELATO. I had some the other night and now it’s all I can think about.

Gender? Still thinking girl, but we have way more clothes for a boy! And of course, this mom will be OVER THE MOON no matter what!

Labor Signs? Nope.

Belly button in or out? Officially an outie, and a gross one at that. Thank you, laparoscopy scars. And yeah, the piercing scar is my own dang fault.

Mood? Weepy, whiny, and kinda crabby. Sorry T, and sorry world. IDK why, but this week has twisted me up and wrung me out! Hoping for smoother sailing next week. Even in the midst of the emotional roller coaster, I still feel incredibly happy and blessed. I just forget temporarily sometimes!

Rituals? Nighttime lullaby, holy water on the belly in the morning, holy oil on the belly at night. Routine bedtime chats. And a few playful poke fests to watch the baby squirm around in my belly!

Milestones? Baby is regulating her own body temperature, opening and shutting her eyes, reaching and grasping, and now she is SMILING, especially in her sleep! I can’t wait to see what kind of personality this little one has on the outside!

Looking forward to? My 30-week appointment on November 12…am I really almost into the 30’s?! Breastfeeding class this Thursday at the hospital, and our marathon-day of childbirth classes on Saturday! Also approaching my first baby shower on November 30^th, WOW!

This week's pregnancy-small-talk-gems (aka things other people say to pregnant ladies without thinking): Actually I got a VERY nice compliment from a stranger this week. A woman that I ride the train with every day, but have never actually met, came up to me at the station and said “I hope you don’t think this is strange, but I see you and your husband all the time and just noticed that you’re pregnant…you two are the cutest couple, and you look ADORABLE pregnant!” I replied “not only do I NOT think that is strange, but I want to hug you and possibly give you money!!!” Seriously, it does not have to be much, heck, it does not even have to be true, but compliments NEVER mean more to you than when you are pregnant, I promise! In the way of gems, a random gentleman was walking out of a deposition yesterday in our office, saw me, and remarked “Geez, everyone in this office is pregnant (two other attorneys are expecting as well), I’m gettin’ the hell out of here before I catch whatever is going around!” Um…haha?

Have a happy, warm, wonderful, cozy week, friends.