He is here!!!

Colin Bennett Robinson made his debut on Wednesday, May 29th and 6:11pm. He weighed 7lbs and six ounces and was 20 inches long. We are so in love!

Birth story to come soon. For now, I am soaking up my precious baby.

Love,

Mama Caitlin

38 week bumpdate

How far along? Today we are 38 and 6 days along. Tomorrow we are one week away from our due date!

Baby Size: Baby Colin is the size of a watermelon- and I sure feel that way!

Total weight gain: 26 pounds

Maternity clothes? Now that my belly has really dropped, I am surprisingly able to fit into more pre-preggo clothes. I've been living in yoga pants and long and lean tank tops from target. At work, I'm surviving in dresses. 

Stretch marks? Still have those red squiggly lines on my hip but I am confident they will fade

Sleep: Ha! Sleep is for the week. I am sleeping off an on. On Thursday we started getting contractions that have been making sleep interesting. 

Best moment this week: Getting the news that our baby could arrive any day!!! My parents came down on Thursday when we started contracting. It's been so nice having them here with us. My mother in law came down yesterday and as well. Even if our little guy doesn't come this weekend (which I hope he does!), it's been nice spending the weekend as a family and getting in some last minute quality time pre-baby Colin. :)

Miss Anything? I am not at the point where I miss NOT being pregnant. I LOVED this experience and I LOVE growing our little miracle but I am ready to be able to do things normally again. 

Movement: He loves kicking mommy's ribs this week.

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. The past few days I've been pretty sick to my stomach, which I hear is totally normal.

Anything making you queasy or sick: See above.

Gender: Sweet baby BOY!!

Labor Signs: I actually went into the doctors office Thursday morning to get checked as I wasn't sure if the contractions were "the real deal". We are 50% effaced and starting to dilate (1-2cm). I was having mild contractions every 5-10 minutes. That lasted through the day Saturday. Today, I am having more intense contractions, however, they are not 5-10 minutes apart. They are more like 12-20 minutes apart. Hoping desperately that we get to meet our sweet guy in the next few days! 

Symptoms:  I have all the symptoms in the book. Stiff back, sore hips, queasy, contractions.

Belly Button in or out? I'm an outie now! I miss my cute little belly button. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Overall I'm in a great mood and excited to meet our little man!  

Looking forward to: Meeting our son 

37 weeks- we have progress!

Due Date: June 03, 2013

Gender: Sweet baby BOY

Movement: Lots of movement from the little guy. He's been kicking a ton on my right side under my ribs. 

Feeling: If I'm being honest, I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. I'm SO crampy and having lots of mini contractions. The midwife says this is all normal and its all doing it's job because... we have progress! As of Friday's doctor appointment, we were 2 cm dilated and "very thin". :) I am hoping we will get to meet our little guy this week- fingers crossed!

Food Cravings: Not really hungry at all. My appetite is gone and eating is so uncomfortable with little room in the belly. I've been sticking to healthy foods as much as possible and ate a ton of greek yogurt with granola and berries this week. 

Food Aversions: Food in general?

Clothes: I'm all over the place with clothes- all maternity bottoms but this week I wore a ton of maxi dresses- all non maternity! 

Stretch Marks: ughhhh yes- well I think. I have bruise like red marks on my  hips but I'm confident they will fade. 

Sleep: Sleep has gotten better this week!  I wake up to use the bathroom two-three times throughout the night and I'm able to fall back asleep thanks to my mom's genius body pillow idea. :)

Symptoms: cramping, contractions, back aches, heartburn, swollen hands and feet and sappy-ness. I am crying at everything!

What I Miss: I miss being able to move around easily and snuggle with my husband without being uncomfortable. 

Best Moment: Hearing that we have made progress and our little guy is on his way here to meet us! I cried when the midwife told me the news. <3

Best week ever and a 36 week bump date

We officially had the best week ever! 

To quote a post my Dad made on Facebook:

"What a truly amazing week we have had. It began last Saturday with the marriage of my brother in law, Alex and his wonderful new bride, Malia. A beautiful day for a beautiful couple. We even got a great new niece, Cadence in the bargain. We also learned that my son in law, John's brother, Mike became engaged to the love of his life, Taadie. We couldn't be happier for the two of them. We then celebrated John's graduation from Stevenson University on Thursday (way to go John!), and our wonderful son, Andrew's graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University yesterday. What an accomplishment. We couldn't be more proud. However, the greatest part of all of this is the love that surrounded all of these events, and the happiness of everyone involved. 

Which brings me to this day, and the true love of my life, Mary Anne. What an amazing wife, partner, and mother she is. Happy Mother's Day to the best wife in the world. It has been a truly wonderful 40 years together, and it is only going to get better.

I have always known I have been blessed (Thank you Jesus!), but the blessings in my life this week are truly overwhelming with one more blessed event on its way. Our beautiful, daughter Caitlin is about to bless us with our first grandchild any day now, and I can't wait to meet the little guy."

You summed things up perfectly, Dad! Such an amazing week! Last weekend we celebrated my aunt and uncle's wedding and finished our baby moon. We also found out my brother in law and soon to be sister in law got engaged! My parents came into Town on Wednesday and we met Hub's family downtown for a celebratory graduation dinner at Flemmings Steakhouse- so yummy! 
Thursday was hub's graduation- SO SO SO proud of him! 
Friday Mom and Dad helped out with some things on our "honey do/nesting list" (THANK YOU!) and Mom and I got mani/pedis after work for Mother's day. 
Saturday was the little brother's graduation- SO SO SO proud of him! We went out to another family celebratory dinner afterwards.
Sunday was Mother's day and Hubs made a wonderful breakfast while we all relaxed.

We had been waiting for this special week to arrive for a while and were SO happy that we were able to make it to all the celebrations. I had this week in my mind as the "Colin can't come before this date" week. Now that we have celebrated our butts off, we can safely wait for baby Colin to make his debut! 

On Monday May 6th, we were 36 weeks pregnant! Holy cow- so close! Today, we are officially full term. :)
Total weight gain: At my doctors appointment on Friday I had gained about 25 pounds. I am SO swollen in my hands and feet and feel like I gained a whole bunch of water weight in the past few weeks. 
How big is the baby? : Baby Colin Bennett is the size of a watermelon- and it shows!
Maternity clothes: Same as the past few weeks...making work what I can, but needing all maternity bottoms and mostly maternity tops. Loving the spring weather and taking advantage of some sun/maxi dresses from last year. 
Stretch marks?: ughhhh yes- just the ones on my hips. They don't look like stretch marks though, they look like red bruises  Hoping they fade right after baby arrives- I've been massaging stretch mark cream on them like crazy! Positive outlook- even if they don't fade, they are a sign that I carried this miracle and cared for him for 9 months. <3
Sleep: My mom is officially a genius  She bought me a body pillow on Thursday and ever since- I've been sleeping MUCH better! I still have to wake up due to the frequent "calls of nature" but I am much more comfortable and able to fall back asleep. I also think I am generally just worn out from all this baby making which might make sleep a little easier. 
Best moment this week: See above- there were SO many!!! A week of celebrations. It was also nice to hear from the midwife that Colin can safely make his debut at any time!
Movement:  You know it! Baby C is movin' and grovin' all over the place. 
Food cravings: nothing too crazy. Ice cream/fro yo is still very appealing ;) I need to get my diet back on track as soon as baby comes- I am so antsy to get back to the gym!
Food aversions: Same as always- picky picky with meat
Labor signs: This is up in the air- having some Braxton hicks and cramping- all which the doc says is completely normal and to be expected. Just a few short weeks to go! 
Belly button in or out: outtie
What I miss:  My body to myself. LOL. I LOVE carrying this baby and LOVE being pregnant but I am ready to be able to run, walk, get up, get comfortable an un-swell!
Pregnancy Symptoms: Every one in the book- to be expected at 9 months pregnant. Sleepless nights, pain in pelvis/pressure, frequent bathroom breaks, serious hand and feet swelling, crying at the drop of a hat, anxiousness for baby to come(!!) and just general uncomfortableness. All of this is to be expected and SO worth it!
What I'm looking forward to: Meeting our little man and enjoying the next few weeks with my hubs.

35 week bumpdate and a babymoon!

How far along? Today we are 36 weeks along- full term! On 4/29/13 we were 35 weeks

Baby Size: Baby Colin is the size of a cantaloupe

Total weight gain: Lets call it 24 pounds. It varies every day based on water retention- I'm all puffy in my hands and feet now

Maternity clothes? I'm all over the place still- loving non maternity maxi dresses, yoga pants and long and lean tank tops from target (see above!). I am wearing all maternity work bottoms (skirts and pants) and mostly maternity tops as well.  

Stretch marks? Prayers to the stretch mark gods daily. I still have those red marks on my hips but I am confident they will fade after Colin comes. 

Sleep: lets just say sleep is difficult now-a-days. The universe is prepping me for mommyhood, I'm sure.

Best moment this week: Our baby moon this past weekend was amazing. We had such an amazing time. I am seriously in love with my amazing husband. Below are a few pictures from our beach getaway.

Miss Anything? Same as the past few weeks...feeling like a normal person, lol. However, I am so thankful for such a smooth pregnancy and to be growing this beautiful baby boy. 

Movement: Still movin' and groovin' a ton!

Food cravings: Nothing in particular- typical diet

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Gender: BOY!!

Labor Signs: Nope- not yet. At last week's doctors appointment we weren't dilated or effaced at all. In fact, they want to start me on primrose oil to get the ball rolling. My belly majorly dropped this past weekend- I can tell a difference from Monday's picture to the pictures from the beach. :)  

Symptoms:  Back stiffness, swollen hands and feet, lack of sleep and belly pressure. 

Belly Button in or out? I'm an outie now! I miss my cute little belly button. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood: Overall I'm in a great mood and excited to meet our little man!  

Looking forward to: Meeting our son and my husband's graduation this Thursday!

Life according to my iPhone & the latest happenings

I haven't done a non "bumpdate" related post in a while. The main cause of my lack of posting can be summed up in two words: crazy busy. Work has been absolutely insane (trying to close things out before maternity leave and an over all ramp up). We've been nesting our pants off at home. We've also had a lot of social things going on as well!

According to my iPhone... this is what we've been doing lately...

From top left:
Pinterest craft project I did with my friend Gina- acrylic trays! I made one for our living room, one for our room and one for Colin's room.
Hubs's new lawn mower for our 4 square feet of grass. He was happy we got an electric one. If he's happy, I'm happy!
Yard work before and yard work after...we added plants, lined our walk way with stones and added lights to our walkway. Looks so nice!
Big pic- hubs's beer and wings to celebrate the completion of all the yard work!

From top left:
Completion of the baby shopping! The only thing left to get is a second car seat base. We picked up this cute bib for Colin to wear when he's hanging with his Uncle Andrew.
Dog lovin'- I'm soaking up all the fur child love I can. He seems upset with me lately, I seriously think he knows the baby is coming soon.
35 week bump picture before my work's all hands meeting. Big old belly!
More nesting! Hubs and our neighbor helped hang the new ceiling fan in our bedroom. I'm in love! I want one in every room.
Big picture: perfect Sunday breakfast... vanilla bean frap, raspberry scone and a baby bump <3

Left: another nursery sneak peak! Almost done! ((thanks Aunt Julie for helping with the fabric canvases and mobile!
Top right: healthy and SO yummy dinner... cilantro and lime grilled chicken with tomato and avocado salsa, corn and kale. YUM!
Bottom right: best top coat ever. Go invest in some... quick drying and long lasting.

We have a busy few weeks ahead! 

- mini baby moon this weekend that consists of some much needed hubs and wife away time, my uncles wedding and the beach!

- Hubs's celebratory graduation dinner next Wednesday!

-Hubs's graduation next Thursday- SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

-36 week baby appointment next Friday and a cookout with my parents

-Baby brother's graduation and celebratory dinner next Saturday- SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

After next week we have just a few little things to wrap up in the nursery and then we wait for baby! One month from today is our due date- can't wait!!

Happy weekend everyone!