8 MONTHS

welp...the time has come! in a few days i'll be 4 short weeks away from my exorcism due date!

a little recap of things i've learned and realized along the way of my unexpected journey (i went to the hobbit the other week, ok?): 

1. i was completely wrong in thinking that i needed a baby bump. 

the first 6 months of pregnancy i really didn't show at all, and i was sincerely sad. i saw all these cute pictures of baby bumps in stylish maternity wear on pinterest and i envied each and every one of them. my bump was pathetic; it made indigestion from a two-for-one taquito night at 7eleven look ginormous. right when i thought i would never be able to fit into the roomier tops i had purchased just for the occasion, i popped. and you know what they say, once you pop...

the fun don't stop.

i appreciate friends and family commenting that still i look really small and not swollen (that's a polite word for fat) but i'm going to let you in on a little secret. at my last doctor's appointment i had gained a whopping 40 pounds.

40 POUNDS! (and counting...)

so, as much as i really wanted that coveted baby bump for the first 6 months...i'm sooo ready to poop this thing out. at the end of a long work day i can't remove my shoes from my feet. not because i have a hard time bending over (which i do now) but simply because my feet have literally fused to my shoes. i stare at them in disbelief; i'm looking at a pair of hobbit feet (sorry, another tolkien reference). 

moral of the story? be careful what you wish for. 

2. pregnancy helps you appreciate the little things you once had

these days, i wish i could go back in time and slap my skinny-b*tch self for ever thinking my body was less than amazing. 

i had clear skin. 

i didn't pee my pants every time i yawned. 

i could eat an orange without getting heart burn. 

...and i never had to blame my farts on the barking spiders (because i never farted...seriously, ask anyone)

ben pretends he's still attracted to me, and i love him for it, but the poor guy has had it rough the past few months. 

3. nesting has been FUN!

and better interpreted through photos...(all taken with my iphone because i'm too lazy to get the good camera out)

we got the bassinet all ready to go (and yes that's bruce's tail poking out of the bottom..)

we've packed the hospital bag and picked out the baby's first outfit...(compliments of american apparel and nature baby)

an almost 36-week bump (side note: i bought that maternity top at old navy the other night for...wait for it...three dollars! i don't think i'll ever shop in another section again!)

we got the nursery all ready to go (is it sad that every time i walk by this room i peer in and smile? pregnancy has made me real sappy...) the mini crib was an amazon find and i absolutely love how small and compact it is. the wheels on the bottom can come off and it can turn into a rocking crib, too.

i love this little book display (even though half of those books are ben's...and in french...and probably not too appropriate for children...our baby's going to be cultured, alright?!) that cute moose rocking-thing-a-ma-jig was an awesome ikea find from aunt katie, and the chevron quilt was made by aunt angie (thanks again, guys!)

this is where all the poopy magic will happen...(wish me luck in my cloth diaper venture!)

...and with all the gift cards and money i received from my baby shower we were able to get the car seat we were thinking of getting (thanks again to everyone who came!)

it's been an interesting adventure so far, and i can only imagine what's in store for us in the upcoming year...but we really are excited to be parents (even if i cried in horror for the first few months days after i found out i was pregnant). i know you can never be fully prepared for this sort of thing, but a part of me is grateful that i went into this blindly. i feel like sometimes we try to stick to a certain plan so meticulously that we miss a lot of the learning and excitement that comes with not knowing what's in store. 

so here's to rolling with the punches, flying by the seat of your pants, and bottom line...just figuring out how to keep a living thing alive (besides house plants). 

**aside: if any of you have tips or products that were lifesavers for you during the first year, please share them! i still don't know what exactly to do with a baby once it's born, and according to my 12 year old cousin, it's never a good sign when i put my nephew's diaper on backwards while changing him...oops.**