Pregnancy, Round 3

I’m currently sitting in a hotel room across from the Treasury building and White House in Washington DC. Ben has a speaking engagement today and I was lucky enough to get to tag along with him to DC for a long weekend thanks to my mother in law and sister in law. They’re watching the kiddos, and Ben and I got to use his DC appearance as the perfect excuse to get away for a Baby moon this weekend. We have never left Archie, and aside from being in the hospital for 1 night when I had my C-section, the only other time we have left our kid(s), was when Emery was 15 months old. We spent one night in Charlotte NC for a Garth Brooks concert. It’s been so nice and relaxing to spend time together, just us, before we welcome our new baby in a few weeks. Time is flying, and I’m due in 5 short weeks. I had a pedicure here at the hotel a bit ago, and my feet are ready for labor. Because, you know, having good feet helps the stress level of a new mom 👌🏻

The end of pregnancy is always crunch time. Attend the chiropractor. Drink red raspberry leaf tea. Find an acupuncturist to help with natural induction. Attend acupuncture. Try to get exercise. Sit on the birth ball. Spend hours researching birth options. Purchase as much as we can for the new baby, and sort through anything gifted. Pick out a car seat. Wash all newborn and 0-3 month clothing. Gather everything needed for post partum, which holy moly, is a lot! This time around the to-do list includes readying the baby nursery, and I’ve had such a nice time organizing it and setting up all of the baby items we have been able to save from Archie and Emery 🥹 I’ve been cuddling Emery and Archie extra, as I know a new addition is a huge change for them too. My sweet precious boy won’t be the baby anymore. I honestly can’t even believe it!

Weekly appointments at the OB start soon (from 36 weeks on) & I’ve been casually looking at new vehicles online since my car can’t fit three car seats and I’m finally realizing that before we know it, baby will indeed actually be here. We aren’t in a position to upgrade our car right now, but hopefully soon enough. Ben’s truck SHOULD fit all of them 🤪 but also on the to do list is to actually put all the seats in and see how tight it is! There are so many things to think about when adding an extra kiddo, and it’s such a crazy time along with being a stay at home mama to the kids. Every day I feel my brain is mush by 7pm!

On another note, regarding things to do to baby prep— I’m soooo lucky to have found a Doula last minute. I interviewed her last week and she’ll be with me during labor and hopefully a successful vbac. Having a doula is priceless 🥹 and I’m so thankful we can swing it this time.

With all the to-dos, things can get a bit overwhelming, which is another reason this trip has been so wonderful. We’ve been looking forward to this for months!

Tomorrow is the MOST exciting part. We are going to the Inn at Little Washington for dinner. This is a 2 star Michelin restaurant set in the idyllic town of Little Washington, about 40 miles outside of DC. We have watched documentaries and videos about this place, and Ben has wanted to visit since he worked in DC many years ago. We are so excited to spend Valentines together at the Inn for dinner. Ben’s being paid to publish an article, hence his speaking engagement today, so he decided we’d use some of the funds for this special night. This trip absolutely makes up for the years we’ve gone without dates!

I’ll set this post to publish in a couple days when we’re headed back home. Happy Valentine’s Weekend ya’ll. Thanks for following along on our adventures💞 Stay tuned for alllllll the details and pictures of our amazing night out for Valentines!