BUMPDATE: 32 Weeks!!!!

General Stats

Tawny says I've popped. What do y'all think?

     Hmmm, where to start. First of all, my apologies for not posting a 31 week update. Last week was really rough on my emotions and I wasn't really in a good head space to post any updates. Luckily I'm doing light years better this week and perfect timing because my shower is this Saturday!! I'm definitely excited, but also a little stressed because there's a lot I still need to take care of (i.e. homemade prizes and favors) but thank God for my wonderful friends who took on the responsibility of hosting, cooking, baking, decorating and so much more. You guys are awesome!!! Plus, I'm kind of bummed that Jeremiah won't be able to make it -- ya know duty calls. He should be back a couple days later though, so the fun and memories will still be nice and fresh. And of course he can still help unpack and organize the gifts and what not.
     Outside of baby shower duties, I also had my 32 week appointment the other day and it went fabulously if I may say so myself. I weighed in at 134lbs which puts me at just a little bit over 20lbs gained and I really think I can make it through at or under 145lbs (the minimum amount I'm "supposed" to gain). I feel great through so I'm not super concerned about weight gain anymore because I know that overall I'm still very healthy (outside of being slightly anemic). Liam's heartbeat is still very strong and he's still super active -- especially at night! And apparently right now LOL. I can't wait to meet my little prince. To this day, and I'm sure this feeling will remain, I still can't believe that the Lord chose us for such an important duty. When I look back on the last 3 or so years of my life I'm just amazed  the innumerable amount of blessings I have been gifted and the opportunities I've been given. I may complain sometimes, and I can definitely be a bit of whiner but I love my life, I love my husband, I love our son, I love my family (dogs included), my friends,  and I wouldn't dare ask for anything better because the Lord has already given me the best.

Baby Buys
     I bought a diaper...that's it LOL.
Shameless registry plug:
Amazon
Target

Don't Forget About Mama
     Still drowning in lists but getting anxious because the goal is in sight! I changed the calendar this morning (nothing is really happening these last two days of July) and freaked out because mid August marks the start of my last month of pregnancy!! Crazy pants and a half!

Operation Nursery
     Not much to report, sorry guys!! However I do want to make a silhouette portrait but can't decide on which picture to use. Cast your vote in the comments! (It will be apart of the gallery wall/shelf).

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Extras

     Feeling a little nostalgic and mushy, so here's some pics from our wedding (6.20.12)

Til next time loves.

<3 Tiffe

Thoughts of the Bath

     Like most people I take great solace in and understand the work of a quality bubblebath. Because my little love is still cooking I can't sink into scorching hot water but I can and do still indulge in the occassional (more than occasional) date with Mr. Bubble, flickering candles, and Spotify. Aside from clearing my mind, I surround myself with water in the hopes that one day Liam will too understand its power and serenity. Sometimes we dance together, feeling the rhythm of the music as we weightlessly sway side-to-side, my hands on my belly as if I was holding his hands teaching him his first steps. Other times I just talk to him and watch as he nestles himself deep within my womb feeling a similar type of relaxation as I nestle myself deeper and deeper into the cloud of bubbles around me. 

     On today's edition of Thoughts of the Bath, I find myself trying to shake a number of fears, worries and anxieties. As many of you know I live on the tiny little island of Okinawa, Japan and while it's a wonderful experience, one that I don't take for granted, island fever and an overall sense of disconnectedness is an inevitable side effect with very little opportunity for cure or relief. Granted, my recent case of the fever can easily be attributed to third trimester hormones, but nonetheless it is real and kicking my little brown butt. Now, before I get into the details, please no one read any further into this than necessary. Likewise, please do not take any of it personally as I understand that despite our age of social networking and our vastly advanced personal communication devices we all have lives and limitations -- nothing I can rightfully fault any of us for. 

     Since finding out I was expecting I looked forward to (but slightly dreaded) all of the family excitement. The check-in calls and texts, the unneccessary amounts of advice and of course the gifts (I know, kinda shallow) for our newest addition. But after our grand announcement at I believe 10 weeks I quickly realized that none of what I was looking forward to was coming and as the weeks and months went on I let go of any hope that it would magically come. About a week ago I told my mom that I felt like the family had forgotten about us, and that I totally understood because we do live way the hell out here and its not like we can just hope in the car and visit for the weekend. After that admission I figured I'd just get over it but I didn't and coupled with the fact that my husband is away on yet another TDY, I can't get the notion out of my head. This morning I actually started to worry because Liam's going to be born out here and I fear that just like the announcement of his conception, the news of his birth will rise and then fall into obsecurity. I know in reality that he (and us) are very much loved by our families but in this, case absence does not make the heart grow fonder, rather it makes one wonder if their absence is even noticed. 

     And my poor husband, I think he's been here for so long that he's developed an acute immunity to the fever. Plus, I'll admit I'm a special case when my emotions and thoughts get the best of me, so I sympathize with the fact that he doesn't always know how to respond to or comfort me -- especially with so many other things on his mind. It's tough being the head of a household,but I'm sure its even harder when I'm in the Lieutenant seat. 

     I'm not quite sure what I'm expecting from this...I honestly don't think I'm expecting anything at all. I just really needed to get some things off of my chest and onto paper (well, you know what I mean). 

Til next time loves.

<3 Tiffe 

Oh Baby! It's Time to Party!

     Why hello there my darlings! I hope you are all enjoying your day, or night (depending on where you are in the world). If you haven't been watching the calendar and counting down the seconds like I have, I'm going to let you in a little secret -- MY BABY SHOWER IS NEXT WEEKEND!! Clearly, I'm super excited. I don't know, to me the baby shower signifies the last big hurrah before baby arrives, so the fact that my shower is in like 9 days really excites me about what comes next. (If you still want to take a peak at /order off of our registries click Here (Amazon) and Here (Target).)
   Now, I'm not going to get into too much prep talk -- that'll come next week but I do have one really, really, really important question to ask: WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?!?!?! I've narrowed down some choices but need YOUR help to decide. Cast a vote for your favorite down in the comments :D

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Bumpdate: 30 Weeks!!!

You saw the title...let's  get into it!

General Stats

Getting closer!!!!!!

     30 weeks -- can you believe it?!? I swear I say that every time but really, can you believe it? This past week has been pretty uneventful. We did make some major headway in the nursery but of course I'll talk more about that during Operation Nursery; and like the rest of my pregnancy I'm still relatively symptom free. I guess you could say I'm battling the typical third trimester discomfort but I take it with stride, drink lots of water and generally just listen to what my body, and obviously what my baby needs. I have given into my sweet tooth though...blame the typhoon lol.
     When should I start taking bets on Prince Liam's arrival? Any takers?




Baby Buys
   
      I totally cracked on my no buy, but I swear it was completely justified. And they were pretty small purchases so no biggie. I ordered a hanging wet bag for the changing station and finally found a map big enough for the main nursery wall. See, told you nothing major. Well, there were those 2 new outfits and the ridiculously adorable elephant bookends for his bookshelf but that's neither here nor there. I would show you a picture but we still need to find a bookshelf, which oddly enough has proven to be way more difficult than I assumed (mostly because of price...I'm not spending $20 on a USED bookshelf that costs $15 new in the regular world)...gotta love Oki. I'm not worried though, we'll find one sooner or later.
    (Shameless registry plug)
Amazon
Target

Don't Forget About Mama
     SO MANY LISTS!!!!! Nursery checklists. Packing lists. To-do lists. Lists, lists and more lists. It's a little overwhelming but I'd rather be overly organized than running around like a chicken without a head. When I'm not obsessing over lists, I've been dedicating some time to just relaxing and reading whatever catches my mind. Right now I'm really enjoying Half of Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It's kind of an oldie (written in 2006) but it is a wonderful story with great character development. In the world of non-fiction, I'm sampling a few different books about natural childbirth and so far they have all been really helpful and full of information. I just want to be prepared...or least informed. 

Operation Nursery

His diaper station wall! I just love the mirror.

     Lots going on in the nursery!! Well not a whole lot but it's coming together and I couldn't be happier. As you can see from the picture all of his diapers are prepped and ready to go! I just love the way they look displayed on the wall . On the left is his newborn stash which mainly consists of prefolds and covers, although we do have a couple newborn pockets and one all-in-one. On the right is his one-size stash and we still need about a dozen more before saying it is complete. We did register for one-size diapers but just incase none are gifted to us we're totally prepared to purchase whatever else we need. Isn't this wall just the best! I'm so glad I was able to find a circular mirror, I really don't think a rectangle or square would've had the same affect. 
     But on the same subject of walls, the map I ordered finally came in and although it was a bit of a challenge for me to hang it up, I absolutely love the color it brings into the room.

I kind of want to get an inspirational quote or scripture vinyled to go above it but I'm not entirely sure. I mean it looks great without it but I don't know, we still have some time so no rush. 

     I still plan on doing a full nursery tour (picture or video...I haven't decided yet) in August, but I want to wait until after the shower because I feel like then it'll be at its most complete. I'm really happy with how it has turned out so far and just can't wait to finish it. Moreover, I can't wait for Liam to see it. 









Extras

(Acquired from Tumblr)

     Isn't this picture simply amazing? I found it on mamaamoon's tumblr (check her out y'all. She's super chill) and just had to download it for myself. It just really speaks to me and I love it. It's amazing to think that in 9 weeks, give or take 2 weeks, I'll be holding one of God's most precious creations -- gosh, our lives are going to change so much. Jeremiah and I give all thanks and glory to God because we know none of this would be possible without him. Furthermore, we are very appreciative of the wonderful support system we have found in our Okinawa family, you guys are so amazing and loving. And of course we are beyond greatful for our stateside family as well. We love all of you so much and thank you from bottom of our hearts for already showering Liam with so much love. Uh, I'm going to start crying.

Bumpdate: 28 & 29 Weeks

(Sorry this is so late!! Blame Typhoon Neoguri)

Hey y'all! And a big HELLO to my 3rd trimester! It's time for another bumpdate, and I know you've all been waiting oh' so patiently, so let's not waste another minute.

Quick Stats (28 weeks)

Love this dress!

     We are on the 12-week countdown!!! Can you believe it?!?! At 28 weeks, I weigh 131.4lbs -- does it look like it? After my first few appointments where the doctor "expressed concern" about my lack of weight gain, I knew most of the weight was going to come during the later half of my pregnancy. I'm not trippin, but hopefully I can keep it under control because I have a ton of runs (5ks and 10ks) planned for after baby. This past week I had my first check-up at the Naval Hospital (so fancy) and I think it went pretty well. I really liked the doctor I saw but she's actually due to have her own baby on Monday so I decided to see LCDR Glanton (I've heard tons of great things about her) for my 32 week appt. 

     As customary for most 28 weekers, I had to take the dreaded glucose test for gestational diabetes. Thankfully I passed, (not surprised), but they did find that my blood count was a little low (anemic) so now I'm on iron pills...fun times! In Liam news, his heartbeat sounded great (at the appt) and of course, still living up to his nickname, he is so active! I'll literally sit and stare at my belly trying to figure out what he is doing. Jeremiah thinks he is doing my signature 'hands in the air' dance! Sometimes his squirms and jabs can get a little annoying (especially when I'm trying to sleep) but I love them regardless. I think I even felt a couple hiccups one time!

      I haven't had an ultrasound since 20 weeks and we don't really know if we want to get 3d/4ds done.

(29 weeks & 3 days)

     Not a whole lot has changed since last week, unfortunately I don't have a picture for you because Okinawa just got slammed by Typhoon Neoguri. Long story short, there was a ton of rain, lots of wind, thunder, lightening, flash floods, property damage (not our property) and we lost power for 16 hours -- yea it sucked. Being 7.5 months pregnant alone during a typhoon, with no electricity (no lights, n AC, no fridge and no stupid electric range stove) isn't the most ideal of situations but per my husband's duties it's something I just had to handle. Personally, I think I did pretty damn well but obviously I'm not signing up to be on permanent solo typhoon duty lol. However it's always a possibility and I know I'm strong enough to make it. If there are any other military spouses who are reading this I'm sure you can all relate on some degree, because whether or not you want to admit it - we did kind of sign up for this (or at least the possibility) when we said "I do". Anywho that's pretty much all of I got for 29 weeks :D

Baby Buys

    Still going strong on my no buy! Well, I did buy some Green Mountain newborn prefolds from a lady on base (she opted to use AIOs for the newborn stage) -- and I ordered some detergent off of Amazon (Nellie's NLS Natural Laundry Soda). I don't really count that as a buy though because I literally had no choice. Unfortunately, the BX and Commissary don't stock cloth diaper friendly detergents and of course, we want everything to be nice, prepped and ready before his arrival, so my hands were tied. I also bought some new decor for the nursery but we'll chat more about that in the Operation Nursery. 

   We have recently started receiving a few gifts from our registry (I haven't opened them) and I really just want to take this time to say Thank You to everyone who is helping us bless Liam. It really warms my heart to know that so many people - family and friends, are excited about and looking forward to his arrival. We tell him all the time that he has no idea how much love his coming into and it's just a really nice feeling; so again a huge Thank You to everyone. If you still need our registry information I'll post it below :D

Amazon Registry

Target Registry (if you want to shop on the ground, just search for our registry under our name: Tiffany  or Jeremiah Dobson and location: APO, AP)

Don't Forget About Mama

     Eh, I'm good lol. Just your average stress, anxiety and bouts of fear. Actually, the stress, anxiety and bouts of fear have been getting the best of me and I really wish I could get a grip. I guess being a FTM it's natural to have a lot of emotions about being pregnant, labor, childbirth and ultimately being a mother but for someone who is already pretty high strung...UGH!!!

Operation Nursery

    I'll just leave these here <3

Obvi there's more to come but you've got to stick around to see the rest. 

Extras

    Thank God we survived the typhoon!!!!!