its baby month!!

March first.

so many parts of me didn't think this little boy and I would make it this far.  I even had a handful of people (strangers) tell me that there was no way I was going to make it to my March due date.

but we beat the odds, my sweet Brady.
rocking chair // "sweet dreams" pillow // panda plush // leather pouf

there were talks of preterm labor because of polyhydramnios.

we took all the proper precautions in preparation for the chance that you might come earlier than planned. then there were discussions for early delivery due to the little kink in your kidney causing fluid to build up..
wooden "B" // pacifier clips

 "brady" blocks // iron shelf

but as of last week we are in the clear.  approaching 37 weeks together and you are as healthy as can be.  your kidney is "stable" and my amniotic fluid has trended down to "normal".
changing pad cover // monogrammed nightgown // "brady" blanket/hat/sleeper

we are in the week by week countdown at this point and I've packed my hospital bag (the most amazing treat from gentry california!!) and we are ready whenever you are little buddy.  I talked about my hospital bag essentials HERE when I was preparing for the arrival of Baker and my bag is filled with very similar items this time around. 

I did include a gorgeous delivery robe from pinkblush- I've never used a hospital robe before so I'm excited about it! I've mentioned how amazing the blanqi support legging are in my most recent 2nd trimester essentials post HERE- you guys- I wear these OUT.  I wish I had about 5 pairs to rotate through:)  well, they have highwaisted postpartum leggings that I've included in my hospital bag this time around, too!
of course there will be baby boy swaddles (eep!) and an initial newborn knot hat, just like all his sisters wore before him.  a monogrammed nightgown or two..because I cant get over the fact that we named him after his daddy.
just the sweetest and most special sentiment.

 bookshelf // crib // moses basket // blanket ladder

so now we wait.  we wait for your arrival and we couldn't be more excited to see your baby face.

kiss your chubby cheeks.

sing to you in your rocking chair all swaddled up with blankets just for you..

and lay you to sleep in your crib.

that is if I can bring myself to leave you and that sweet smelling head of yours.

March.  a birthday month that you will forever share with your daddy just like you share his name.
now that's something special.

35 weeks + embracing the end

I've got 6 whole pounds of baby in this belly. little boy Brady is going to outweigh his sisters by a long shot.  at 35 weeks I feel every single inch of his long legs moving and pushing and (painfully) stretching to make room in the space that just seems to be getting smaller by the day (literally).

 I am embracing these last couple weeks as best as I can.  

truth :: this hasn't been the easiest pregnancy.  

at.all.

I'm nauseous at least once or twice a day.

..and when I don't sleep well at night I am sick ALL DAY.

I'm exhausted to the point of tears about three times a week.

all I can think about is bedtime and it takes everything in me to keep my eyes open later than 8pm. 

food completely grosses me out about 65% of the time.

I'm living on coffee + multi-grain cheerios + protein shakes + sweet tarts.

.. even the breakfast I've been eating every day for almost 5 years (peanut butter + sliced banana toast) is so unappealing. 

whats wrong with me?! pregnancy twice before this has been relatively uneventful and remarkably pleasant- even on bedrest with the twins I hardly felt the discomfort I'm feeling now carrying this little boy.  nausea wasnt in my vocabulary and sub sandwiches, tequila, and peanut butter was all I could think about. 

not together, of course!

y'all.. I sat on the floor with my girlfriends playing with our kiddos over the weekend and my butt is so sore it feels like I've done 1800 squats. 

my belly is HUGE and I get lightheaded if I lay too far over to my back.

I cant sleep at night unless I'm laying/sitting up on 4 giant pillows AND the Snoogle.

Jordan is the best sport and never complains about the 11 inches of space he has in our king sized bed.

but, I'm determined to embrace it.

all of it.  

 we made our weekly trip to the OB for a sonogram to check in with our growing boy yesterday and it was the first appointment in weeks that I walked out of there feeling encouraged and excited about the final days to come before meeting Brady. 

my amniotic fluid has leveled itself off.

Brady's kidney is stable.

..and he has a FULL head of hair:)

I filled out the paperwork for cord blood retrieval, final details of this pending delivery- we will be doing a scheduled c-section again as I did with the two deliveries before- and had a serious discussion (and signed all the consent forms) for making this our last baby/pregnancy/delivery.

ever.

after Baker was born I knew 100% that she wasn't our last.  we weren't finished with our family and we prayed and prayed for this final sweet being to bless us.. boy or girl, we didn't care one single bit.

 and here we are.  9 months worth of a tremendous whirlwind + rollercoaster ride and it wouldn't be normal without a handful of terrifying thoughts and panic moments about adding number four to the mix.

truth :: we are beside ourselves with excitement.

pregnancy is such a beautiful experience.

I've been incredibly blessed to carry four amazing + healthy babies.

not everyone gets to do what I've done, so while this time hasn't been 100% rainbows and unicorns, I am counting every single day as part of something that I wouldn't change for the world, will never forget, and I never ever want to take these moments for granted.

..even when I'm sobbing into my cereal because I'm so dang sleepy.

 my baby boy.

my final sweet tiny love.

its almost time to meet you.

the most amazing photography by: b faith photography
I'm so thankful for you, Britt!! 

33 weeks + big sister girls

photography by b faith photography 

 beanie c/o // v-neck tee // cardigan // leggings c/o // sneakers

I've got almost five and a half pounds of baby in this serious belly I'm carrying around. 

after my OB and sonogram appointment earlier this week, Brady has gained 8 ounces in like 5 days.

this boy is going to be a chunk and I can wait to smooch those cheekies.

 I wrote my big girls a letter on the eve I went into labor with Baker..  I had no idea after and posting it I would soon be on my way to becoming a mama to three girls just hours later.  it kind of gives me anxiety to write about it now because Brady is NOT allowed to come yet.  

NOT YET. 

although we are over the moon in love with him and are literally counting down the days!

6 more weeks!!

in writing that letter I wish for them to be able to look back and hopefully feel the emotions their mama had for them as they stepped into big sisterhood.  

reading our letters to Parker and Jolie over again as I prepared this post got me all teary eyed and emotional- they were SO little and so much change has happened since then!

(you can read a letter to the big sisters, HERE) 

they have done an AMAZING job and my/our pride for them is overwhelming to say the least.
so many sweet characteristics have come about between the two of them since their baby sister was born- part of that, of course, has come with their age (they were SO tiny!!) but I also think a large part has to do with their role as big sisters to their Baker Bree.  

Parks.

 this girl embodies more grace than any one I know.  I, as the adult I feel like I am, could learn a thing or two from her.  

she also has SO MUCH  love. first thing out of her mouth in the morning is "where's Baker" followed by "..get me my chocolate milk.."  the moment Baker wakes she wants to be near her, hold her, cuddle her, squeeze her face so tightly (maybe a little too tightly..?).  Parker finds such joy in the little things with Baker and includes her in everything she does.

if I'm being honest, to see her develop and grow with such a nurturing characteristic surprised me.  my tomboy that cares nothing for baby dolls and would rather be playing with sticks and bugs or following her daddy around with the water hose is the biggest mother hen in this house.

its carried over into her other interactions (with kiddos at school) and I definitely attribute this development to her baby sister at home.

JoJo.

even though she showed a big interest in her new baby sister, she continued life as usual pretty quickly after Baker was born. she didn’t seem to mind that Baker needed a lot of attention.. and just carried on with her laid back self as she's always been. but as Baker has gotten older and more interactive Jolie finds the fun. 

Jolie IS THE fun! 

the most carefree and life loving little girl, she is. and Baker knows it.

playing chase around and around the kitchen island.

pushing her in circles on the big trike because Baker cant reach the pedals..

singing, counting, yelling and dancing in the car.  their seats are right next to each other, so they tend to play a game of "pass the puppy" to which the backseat explodes with laughter and giggles.

like Parker, Jolie also has the sweetest grace with Baker.. not just anyone gets their hands on Jolie's Puppy and she hands it over to Baker (for the most part) pretty freely.

I know the future may hold sister girl fights over clothes and makeup and who's turn is it in the bathroom all three of them will share (Lord help us..), but they are both are so gracious with their time and space and definitely have more patience with their little sister than I have on most days for all three of them.  I know in the stage of life we are in right now they screech and scream over Baker taking their toys or demolishing their block towers, making those days the ones that they just aren’t very good friends. but they still love her so.

Baker just smiles from ear to ear when she sees her sisters, and always looks for them when she hears their voice.  play time is outrageous and loud and the joy that all three of them have when they are together is unreal.

even though I’m her mommy and Jordan is her daddy, I have a feeling that those big girls are Baker's favorite people.

..which brings me to this baby boy that is due for his arrival soon..

they talk about baby brother all the time.

they get so tickled when they get to feel him roll around in my belly.

they ask to sit/play in his room at least twice every day.

they just cannot wait to meet him.

after watching them transition so well when a new infant invaded their space, I know that they will have the same love, enjoyment, and grace towards Brady as they do with Baker. 

to think that I get to do this transition of new life with my big girls over again as we did with Baker makes me so excited. this time with a little brother.

so unreal. so unfathomable.

straight from my dreams.

the countdown is on.

a little bit of Brady | 31 weeks

31 weeks.

first things first- this belly is LEGIT.  I'm carrying him SO much different than I did the twins and Baker.  I carried Baker lower than I carried the twins because I wasn't really working out prior to that pregnancy and whatever abdominal muscles I did have weren't much use after a twin belly + bed rest to hold her up as high as I could have.  I thought for sure this pregnancy would be different since I had been doing bootcamp both before and after getting pregnant with Brady but those hopes were a complete waste of thought.  tops and tees I wore my entire pregnancy with Baker cannot even be forced over half of my belly now at 31 weeks.  

c'est la vie

that being said, I have discovered that I am most comfortable in midi dresses and sneakers.. the weather has been so random and hitting upwards of 70 degrees here in Dallas, so I've been able to get away with this kind of comfort wear in.. January.

and if I am at home its rare you'll catch me in anything else far from my pink blush pajama pants and a pure body tee from Gap.  

hoodie jacket c/o // terry dress c/o

we went for my 31 week check up with my OB yesterday.  Baker tagged along while the twins were at preschool and she was just the cutest little thing while we watched baby brother dance on the sonogram screen.  her little surprised face when Brady's heartbeat came loud of over monitor at 170bpm.  she has no idea the changes that are about to happen in the short weeks to come, but she sure was proud to tote around that sonogram picture of her little brother for the rest of the day.

Brady update 

our little man is growing perfectly- and for the first time he's literally right on track for gestational age.  he's been measuring at least a week or two ahead from the very get go, and yesterday I was 32 weeks and 2 days and he's measuring 32 weeks and 3 days.

four whole pounds of baby boy in this belly- with perfect little lips and button nose, and HOLY cheeks!!  he also wouldn't keep his hands out of his mouth.

I just cannot WAIT to meet him!!  

after swooning over his little face long enough (but its never long enough, am I right??) the sonographer got down to business in checking out all the important things.. good news is that the fluid around Brady's right kidney has completely resolved itself, but the not so great news is that the fluid around his left kidney has significantly increased since the last time we checked him out.  he's laying on his left side and she kept having trouble getting a good look at the kidney because of the shadows of his ribs kept showing up on the sono.. but from the measurements she got it jumped up in size a lot.  SO- that means we are going back to our perinatologist next week to hopefully get a better look and idea of how that kidney is actually doing and if the measurements were just off because of how he's positioned.  if that kidney truly is compromised, which we hope and pray it isn't, he might be making his debut a couple weeks early. 

again, with all the unknown about this, its all a little overwhelming to think about.  we have had our fair share of high risk "complications" and taken the proper precautions with pregnancies before and our girls have all been born perfectly fine and healthy, but the waiting game kills me on all this. 

 striped midi-dress (non maternity) similar // cardigan (similar)

mama update 

well.  apparently I'm really sick. I've been battling cough and congestion for about a week now and chalked it up to allergies and after being scolded by my OB and repeated "I told you so" from Jordan.. I was diagnosed with bronchitis.  Walsh could hear me two rooms down hacking up a lung while waiting my turn to be seen and the first thing she did when she walked in the room was listen to my chest and lungs and made me promise to stay in bed for the next two days.

"you look like death on a platter, girl. go to bed."

other things.. the polyhydramnios has remained stable!  my fluid levels haven't changed much, yet again, which is a relief.  I could tell by the way I've been feeling the last week or so that I was less tight and more comfortable while sitting, standing, laying..  a couple weeks ago I didn't even feel like I could bend over or eat much more than toast or cereal at meal times.. and when sitting or laying I felt like I was suffocating because of the weight.  BUT thankfully that has resolved, more or less.  I'm still measuring about a month ahead, but no where near like I was.  

since taking those steroids at 29 weeks to encourage Brady's lung development in case he does happen to come earlier than planned, the braxton hicks have been NONSTOP.  she did say that this would be a side effect of the steroids, and so she prescribed me procardia to take twice a day. I took procardia in my pregnancy with the twins when I went into preterm labor and was placed on bed rest, so I know the drill. 

no bed rest at this point because all looks well with that, but just to be safe and keep those contractions at bay for these remaining weeks this is the plan.

so.  this is basically my life right now.

ridiculous.  but feeling better and sleeping better AND keeping Brady put for at least 8 more weeks is on the immediate agenda.

for now, I'm soaking up these moments with my girls before this baby boy comes.  Baker has all the sudden become SO BIG and I can't hardly stand it. 

Parker and Jolie ask every single day when its time for baby brother to come out.  

thinking about Brady being my last baby is by far the most emotional part about all of this. I love being a mom.  I love carrying a baby.  I love the newborn stage, even when I'm running on coffee and 2 hours of sleep.  I love to watch my older kids grow and bond and accept the new addition.  thinking that this will be my last time to do all that over again is hard.  

hard.hard.hard.

but Brady boy, you are already SO loved and we are over the moon to add you into this mix of crazy.

pajama pants c/o (similar) // maternity basic tee 

maternity long sleeve henley // polka dot pajama pants c/o (similar)

a little bit of brady | maternity shoot

this past weekend Jordan and I met Brittany at the Clear Creek Heritage Park for some intimate photos to celebrate our baby boy!  maternity photos weren't something I was sure about this time around.. it being my third pregnancy and fourth baby. but that said, he's my last baby.  the perfect caboose to our girl train. 

I know I keep saying it, but I literally cannot contain how excited I am to meet this baby boy.

what color is his hair?

what does his nose and precious profile look like?

does he favor his daddy or does he favor his mama? 

..and basically kiss his little cheeks off.

I'm walking into 30 weeks and we are in the single digit countdown if this boy follows suit of his sisters before him.

I'm so glad to have these photos to cherish.  they turned out perfect.

and Jordan is wearing a cardigan, so.. theres that (heart eyes!)

it was 34 degrees and SO cold, but there was no wind at all and the sun was shining.. oh who am I kidding, it was so freaking cold.  we were drinking coffee in attempts to stay warm, but by mid-shoot the hot coffee was definitely iced:)  Brady was dancing in my belly and right as my belly touched Jordan's he kicked as hard as his little legs could kick- we busted out laughing so hard about it!

it "snowed" here in Dallas the day before and the flurries were still sprinkled throughout the woods.

goodness.  if Brady is half as cute as his daddy we are going to be in such big trouble.

also, lets all tell Jordan how good he looks in a cardigan, shall we?

after coming up with a variety of ideas for this photoshoot, we ultimately decided that the smoke effect we had seen on Pinterest and social media would be SO cool.  Britt researched what we needed to buy in hopes to get that amazing plume effect and we were all set!

okay, not quite the look we had ultimately hoped for.  

as the smoke surrounded me I was dying laughing and then choking and then laugh-choking.  all I could think about was "stop, drop, and roll", but you know, rolling isn't exactly what I am capable of doing right now.. I have a rather large mass protruding from my mid-section.  and there was no fire, folks just to make that clear!  just a lot of smoke.

Jordan tripped and fell at some point while trying to move the smoke around but.. yea I never saw that.

as the smoke began to clear it kind of hung in the cool air making it look like the most amazing fog in the break of the early morning.

a way cooler effect than plumes of smoke, right?

oh, and had to represent the slippers and thermal socks I wore under my skirt.  

hey!  my toes were the only thing NOT frozen, thats for sure.

for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

Psalm 139:13-14

photography by: b faith photography

hair // the dry bar

sweater // forever 21 

skirt  //  tara lynn's boutique

smoke  effect // amazon