Flowers and mustard

There are so many exciting things coming up right now, it’s hard to know what to start with! I’m almost full-term with pregnancy, it’s almost Christmas, I’m almost done with Dressember, it’s almost time for vacation with my in-laws… I can’t believe all of the things happening.

We’ll start with Dressember: I forgot to do a roundup for last week AND the week before, and I missed one day completely (didn’t get dressed, I’ll admit!).

And yes, I wear that maroon dress and those boots a LOT. Hey, when you’re this pregnant, repetition is kind of the only option sometimes! That, and it’s almost always raining or otherwise mushy and wet outside now, so boots are kind of necessary in order for my feet to keep dry.

So far, I haven’t felt restricted by only wearing dresses, though! I’m used to not wearing pants all the time, and there have been days where I’ll put on pants in the evening after a day of wearing a dress out and about, but for the most part it’s just normal! Plus, it’s much easier and much more comfortable to wear a dress right now!

I am nearly 37 weeks pregnant, which feels insane. That’s full term, which means then the baby could come at any time. So far as I’m concerned, so long as he holds off until January 4th, we’re all good. I would prefer not to have a December baby, and especially  not a Christmas baby (there’s too much going on this month already!), and I really don’t want to miss the Suko family vacation at the beginning of next year. So, you know, if he can hold off for 12 days, we’ll be good!

I’ve been feeling Braxton Hicks very, very regularly now, and realized what I thought was the baby cutting off my circulation periodically was actually just the strength of the Braxton Hicks getting to my head. Whenever my stomach muscles tense up, I can feel the pressure up the middle of my chest and into my forehead. It’s really weird, and makes me wonder if that’s how labor will affect me as well (only with more pain involved; there is no pain with the Braxton Hicks).

Asa also moves a lot. My stomach is kind of a constant roll of movement when I’m not having a Braxton Hick. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have been seeing the videos! So I am expecting a busy baby when he’s born. The women who go to my midwife all asked if he moved a lot, or if he was quieter in the womb, and when I said he moved a lot they all clicked their tongues and said “Oh, you’re going to have one of THOSE.” Haha!

Considering my husband’s energy level, though, I’ve been expecting one of those kids. My husband is the type of person who likes to be doing lots of things all the time, and change up what he’s doing so he doesn’t get bored. He even eats his food that way– he needs several food groups on his plate or he’ll get tired of eating just because there’s not enough variety.

And me? Yeah, I’d rather do one big thing in a day, and I could totally just eat mashed potatoes and gravy for all three meals. We’re not very alike in the busyness aspect!

I finally had a stranger touch my stomach! It didn’t faze me in the least, but it wasn’t a very rude or long encounter. An older woman just reached out in passing, briefly touched my stomach like you might touch someone’s arm if you’re trying to get their attention, and said “You’re so cute pregnant!” and walked on. No rubbing or cooing or awkward pregnancy stories involved. Afterward, though, a younger woman who had caught sight of the encounter shook her head and said “I hated it when that happened to me!” as if she expected me to roll my eyes at the experience, and I just smiled and said “it doesn’t bother me, but that’s the first time it’s happened.”

I guess it just doesn’t phase me. The staring, the questions, the thought that someone might come up and randomly rub my belly… I don’t really have that personal bubble with most people. I would personally never touch someone’s pregnant stomach without asking just because I know other people aren’t like me, but I’m really okay with pretty much any woman I do or do not know touching the stomach. I think it might be that I tend to be very physically affectionate, so to have someone admire my belly via rubbing it is just a nice gesture. (Not to say that I don’t understand people who do prefer their space! It’s totally normal to prefer strangers to keep their hands to themselves. I’m just… not normal.)

I actually would much prefer people to touch my stomach than to tell me all of their pregnancy stories. We went to get Chinese food a week or so ago, and while sitting and waiting for our food, an older couple — who smelled like cigarettes which made it hard for me to sit near them (it’s a smell that’s REALLY difficult to take when you’re pregnant!) took it upon themselves to tell us about ALL of their separate experiences with their kids (they weren’t married, and had kids from previous relationships from the way they told the stories.) The woman’s stories were especially… informative?

I really don’t mind talking to strangers, but I do mind when strangers don’t know where the oversharing line is. Hah! They didn’t seem to realize that my turning to my  husband and talking to him meant I really didn’t want to know more intimate details about their birth stories. Oh, well! I can’t complain, I’ve only got 3-1/2 weeks left — if he doesn’t decide to come early — and the stories of a few strangers isn’t going to hurt me any. I’d rather have unpleasant stories about strangers’ pregnancy horrors than unpleasant symptoms in pregnancy itself.

It’s almost Christmas! Can you believe it? The day after tomorrow is Christmas, and I am really, really excited! I think I am more excited for the holiday this year than I was last year, but then last year we had just come back from our honeymoon so Christmas was a little lower on the list of exciting things.

I am very excited for my husband to open a few of the presents I got him, though; I know I’ve gotten him at least one thing he really wanted that he’s not expecting to get. (Thankfully, he doesn’t read my blog so he won’t have a clue. Then again, it’s wrapped and under the tree and he hasn’t noticed the package so… I’m not worried about it.)

Dress and belt, vintage/thrfited | Target tights and cardigan | JC Penney boots

I hope you are all having a great Christmas season so far! Any fun traditions you and your families do? Mr. Owl and I don’t quite have traditions yet, although I think making a gingerbread house every year will be one of them! I had never made gingerbread houses until I got married.

I have been thinking about traditions though, and I know I definitely want to start some of our very own. Especially since we’ll have a kid who will have fun with Christmas next year!

Have a happy Monday!

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