This one is just for Nessa.

My friend Nessa (if you've just tuned in to Teagan Tales, Eva her daughter is Teagan's penpal) over at Moments & Impressions is pregnant, yay! With that comes a hormonal roller coaster ride.  Playing to her sentimental-ness right now I thought I shoot a sweet baby picture her way! Love you, Nessa!!

*don't forget about our Ella's Kitchen giveaway! You have until January 2nd to enter!*

8 weeks to go...

We are in the single digits now when it comes to the countdown to Baby Bear!  It's really hard to believe how fast it's gone by.  In 5 weeks we will be FULL TERM. Really?!? 5 weeks? That means I could be cradling and nursing Baby Bear in 5 weeks.  It seems so surreal that we have almost reached that point.  The point where I need to pack the hospital bag. 

I am doing pretty well with the weight gain with this baby.  Usually I odn't brag on myself but I've tried to do really well this time and it's working.  I have gained right at 20 lbs and it all seems to be in the "proper" areas.  My hips are beginning to take on the "make room for baby" position and so somedays I feel like I look like I've gained more then I really have but the scale doesn't lie! Especially the one at the doctor's office!

I still have only bought 2 pair of maternity jeans.  I bought 2 tanks from Target that were longs and my MIL brought up the straps for me so I can wear them now and later so they count as half maternity even though they aren't.  I am still in the mindset that this will be my last time I need them so I refuse to spend a lot of money on clothes I will only be in for another few weeks.  It has definitely made me more creative when it comes to my wardrobe!

Thankfully I am still sleeping well.  My hips hurt like they did with Teagan but not nearly as bad.  I think that is in part to the weight gain difference.  I am sleeping with a pillow between my knees and that seems to help alleviate some of the pain.  I haven't even had to start the bathroom trips at night yet! I am sure they are coming though...

The only big craving I have had has been pancakes and cereal. I had a pancake craving that lasted about 2 weeks that we finally conquered last night thanks to Josh and IHOP! I have had cereal (usually Frosted Flakes or Honey Smacks) every night for the last few months! I can't go to bed at night without my cereal!

My mood has been on the up and up lately!  My anxiety is decreasing with every week.  It seems like it would be the opposite but once again the Lord's provision is shining through just when we need it.  We have been blessed with such an amazing church community and friends who have offered to throw us a shower for this baby.  We are having a before Baby Bear gets here and then after Baby Bear gets here shower.  We are truly blessed. 

Josh is still building furniture (yes, he is THAT amazing) and has one more coat of paint to put on the nursery walls until they are finished.  We are just worrying with the basics now and then we will tackle the actual decoration part as we learn Baby Bear's personality! I can't wait to dive into that project!!

I have always had an extremely vivid imagination.  It takes the smallest creek of the stairs for me to create a sleepless night for myself.  The pregnancy hormones have made this worse.  Here lately I've been having dreams/thoughts while driving about being stuck in a car filling up with water.  This is most unrealistic because Teagan and I drive over maybe 2 bridges every day.  I've never had a drowning incident or instance where I feel physically trapped. 
I try and think through the scenario before it could possibly happen.  What would I do now that I'm pregnant? Before I was pregnant I could have squeezed over from the front to the back seats even with Teagan's car seat.  Now I think I would unbuckle her over the seat and bring her to the front with me.  I would have to think about getting the car window down before the car shut off.  From what I have read I would have 3 minutes to do this before the car shuts down after being submerged into the water.  If I didn't happen to get the window down then I would have to find something hard to break the window with.  There are certain "breaking points" best to hit when doing this.  I looked those up too (see the links below).  They also have a tool that you can buy, called a center punch, that will easily break the window...stocking stuffer, perhaps? That would make life a lot easier if I couldn't get the window down.  Although, with as much stuff as I keep in my pocket book and the car itself I'm sure I've got something I could use.  Another thought is how will I make sure Teagan can still breath on the way up?  I've thought about putting a cup around her mouth (I almost always have a cup in the car) but that is about the extent of my solution for that.  I'll have to look that one up a little more. 
Yes, this is just me being paranoid but I'm sure somebody else has thought about this at one point or time.  So, I thought I would share my fear and share the information I've found with you guys as well.  I hope none of us ever have to use it! Oh, my!

How to escape from a sinking car.
When your car goes under water.