// Onyx - Maternity Style - 38 Weeks

Today is the day! Well... more like tonight is the night! Mike and I are headed into the hospital at 10pm to be admitted for an induction starting around midnight. I'll be 39 weeks and as nervous as we are about everything that's about to happen, we're anxious to meet our little man. I ended up being admitted to the hospital yet again yesterday after my 2 hour NST at the OB office, and I laid up in the labor beds for 4+ hours getting checked. Baby Flynn is doing okay, but he was awful quiet/still during the whole ordeal so they wanted to be safe by having me stick around for the remainder of the day. I know my whole family must be so ready for this ordeal to be over because it's exhausting and taxing on everyone. Carting me around to appointments, sitting around with me in hospital rooms, shuffling Toby between sets of parents, and just the overall anxiety of the past 5 weeks. I feel confident that my doctor knows what she's doing so here goes nothing!

Check out that BUMP! This kid managed to drop quite a bit the morning these photos were taken (Saturday). I woke up and everything looked normal and then by the time we strolled out of the house to run errands I was calling Mike into the room to say "Look at this thing!" He couldn't really tell what I was saying, but I spotted a huge shift in such a short amount of time. It was so cool to notice, ya know? This outfit is what I wore when Mike and I had our last little "date night" on Friday. By date night I mean we spent a ton of time in Target and I ate a boatload of pancakes at Cracker Barrel haha! Going out with a bang, y'all! (Real talk: I've been craving Cracker Barrel pancakes this entire pregnancy, and I finally ate them at the very end).

Anyway, this dress is another one from Belly Dance Maternity. I have never worn something so ridiculously comfortable in my life! I don't know what makes it so soft, but Mike said it was like wearing a sleeping bag with the feet cut out haha It doesn't feel like a sleeping bag, but it's just so cozy that I want to wrap up in it. It might look like an ordinary black maxi dress, but I love how classy it feels. It can easily be dressed up or down depending on the day/mood/accessories. The sleeves are something totally different for me, and I love that it's an actual maxi dress. Bonus points that the small little slit is in the very back rather than up the side of the leg like my Old Navy and Target ones!

I kept the accessories super minimal by only adding this tassel necklace from my most recent Stitch Fix shipment, and my favorite Urban Expressions clutch. This bag holds so much, but it's not obnoxiously big. The zipper compartments allow me to make it wider or thinner depending on what I want to stuff inside there haha. This outfit garnered me quite a few comments while we were out and about running errands. I guess it really did highlight the belly because everyone and their mother was letting me know that I am basically 85 months pregnant. (Thanks guys! I kind of knew that already...) Ha. 

After months and months and months of abstaining from all kinds of goodies, I'm looking forward to a nice, cold glass of pinot grigio soon! Brie also sounds really good right about now... haha And maybe sleeping on my stomach again! Oh boy! I've loved being pregnant but life after baby sounds like it's going to have it's perks. It's just so hard to believe that this is my very last outfit post with Baby Flynn on the inside. Guess we'll see y'all on the other side!

Heidi dress c/o Belly Dance Maternity
Stitch Fix necklace
Urban Expressions clutch via Stitch Fix
Urban Outfitters sunglasses
Ipanema sandals

PS; I have my Things I Love Thursday post set up to go live Thursday morning, and I think I might even have something set for tomorrow, too. I'm not sure when Baby Flynn will make his appearance but you can follow along with our little journey on Twitter and Instagram if you'd like! Otherwise I'm sure he'll be making his formal debut on here in a couple of days! (But first sleep! And cuddles!) xo

// Screensaver - Maternity Style - 38 Weeks

Okay, so the outfit title... Who remembers those wacky (dated!) screensavers from the Windows 98 era? The pipes that threaded together, or the brick maze? How about the 3-D "bubble" that sort of hovered around your screen like a mouse under a rug? Well, my belly in this dress is totally that screensaver! I cracked up when I saw the photos on the camera because my brain instantly went there. At this point this thing just bulges out like crazy! This is by far the most snug dress I've worn my entire pregnancy, but I love the navy and white stripes. I have to do a little shimmy to get my booty in it, but it's so comfortable. I opted to pair it with a totally inappropriate-for-the-season colored cardigan because rust and navy are just so nice together. I could say I'm looking forward to Autumn but I promise I won't be one of those bloggers just yet haha! Summer can stick around as long as she'd like because I'm digging the sunshine. 

This dress is from Belly Dance Maternity and it's insanely well made. I received a little package of goodies from them last week and I wish I had known about them early on because I probably wouldn't have worn anything else. This was also the first time I dared to wear wedges while pregnant, too. Probably not the brightest idea I've ever had, but my trust MIA wedges are as solid as can be so I didn't have any trouble teetering around. Truth be told I wore them out to dinner and then was back in flip flops after... ha! (Sorry for the lack of consistency in the photo colors... They all look the same on Flickr, but leave it to Blogger to fudge things up!)

Today I'm headed to my doctor's office bright and early for what could likely be my very last non-stress test. After my NST on Friday my doctor ordered me to do a third 24 hour urine and then pop into the hospital on Sunday for blood work. She told me that if the baby didn't come on his own this past weekend then we'd be picking an induction day today... so hopefully I'll know the plan in just a matter of hours! It feels so crazy to know he's coming so soon. I got the dreaded preeclampsia diagnosis on Friday, but luckily my symptoms aren't crazy bad or anything. Obviously they're still serious enough to schedule an induction, but I know it could be much, much worse. I'm trying to play it cool and keep myself from getting too worked up about anything. Who knows... I could be induced today and have a baby tomorrow! What! Hope y'all don't mind the lingering outfit/pregnancy posts that have yet to make their way to the blog. By the time they're over it'll be hard not to post all-baby, all the time haha

This past weekend was majorly productive on the nursery front. Mike and I cleaned the entire house top to bottom and we finished up most of the baby's room. I still have a few art pieces I'm working on completing, but they'll get done eventually. The baby will be sleeping in a moses basket in our room for the first little while anyway, so I'm not too stressed on having everything completely and totally done. I am excited to share more of the room, though!

I didn't get all ~*professional blogger and schedule a bunch of guest posts or anything to make up for my inevitable absence over here. There's plenty of great content out there for y'all to read and hopefully I can pop in every so often to share some updates. I've taken a much more relaxed approach to my blog in the past 6 months and I like the way it feels. It feels... less forced. I've already received comments asking to please not "turn into a mommy blog" but the fact is: I plan on blogging about what feels natural and relevant at the time. And I bet this baby is going to be taking up most of our lives haha I'll try not to bore you with every single little detail or anything (that's what I have Instagram for, ha!) but if baby things drive you bonkers, come check on me in a few weeks/months when I've gotten it all out of my system! Heh.

Happy Monday, friends! Here's to hoping Baby Flynn makes a safe and smooth entrance into the world! xo

Stella dress c/o Belly Dance Maternity

Mak cardigan c/o ModCloth (last year)

Baggu tote via Stitch Fix

Omerica Organic plugs (save 20% with code KAELAH)

Sweet Clementine necklace c/o Noonday Collection (last year)

MIA Jukebox wedges via Ideeli

// Sun Shower - Maternity Style - 37 Weeks

Yesterday was Baby Flynn's final baby shower. My mom and her friend Amanada hosted such a lovely little event for me and the baby! We are seriously so lucky to have so many friends and family that love us and want to shower us with their time, attention and sweet gifts. It felt like such a wonderful way to end this journey and I'm over the moon with how everything turned out. I'll share more about the shower another day, don't worry! But this outfit is what I ended up wearing to the little shindig. I ended up tossing an oatmeal cardigan over it since the shower was indoors, but it felt really nice to wear a short, fit and flare dress again. Every time I'd look at myself in the mirror (from the front) I'd be like "Whoa! I don't even look pregnant!" ...And then I'd turn to the side and be like "WAHBAM!" haha! I'm in love with the oversized collar on this dress. I know Peter Pan collars are overwhelmingly twee, but it's such a change of pace from what I've been wearing recently. Don't get me wrong, maxi dresses are so comfortable! But this felt like a nice little pre-pregnancy throwback haha. I probably won't be able to nurse in something like this, so I might as well get a little bit of wear out of it while I can! To be honest this shouldn't even count as an outfit post because I'm wearing two articles of clothing... a dress and some sandals that you've seen a billion times. I guess fashion really isn't the focus of my blog anyway though, so whatever. (Let's get real: at this point my blog might as well be a "look at how I hold my bump" maternity blog haha! Bear with me!)

Mike, Toby and I spent the day traipsing around Nashville on Saturday, running errands, seeing friends, and trying to tie up some last minute details before we settle in for newborn life. I'm kind of stoked on how much we managed to get done in just a few hours! I feel like it was probably our last weekend outing before this kiddo comes. Maybe we can squeeze one or two more errand trips in, but even if we don't, I think we'll be okay. We headed over to my friend Jenna's house in the evening and she was kind enough to snap a few family photos of us in her lush backyard. I was sweating buckets though, so who knows how they turned out! We're sending off the film today so I guess we'll know in about 2 weeks or so! If we just get one good family photo I will be so stoked! We don't really even have any family pictures from our wedding, so I really really wanted to try and get at least one moment captured.

Today I'm hoping to work on the last couple design installations that I have, and churn out some nice progress on a logo client. After that I'm going to work on the nursery's final touches and shipping sign orders. I'm crossing my fingers I might be able to unload one last load of clothes on Kaelah's Closet before D-Day. I went through my closet the other day and found so many pieces that need to get the heave-ho. There are also a few pieces from my Stitch Fix hauls that weren't perfect, but were cheaper to keep than send back (thanks to the 25% discount) so they'll be in there, too. Let me know if any of you might be game for a Kaelah's Closet update and I'll try to make it a priority. Maybe it'll be a good use of time while the weather is gloomy and rainy outside. Anyway, here's to a new week! xo

Bea & Dot dress c/o Modcloth (currently 50% off!)
Ipanema sandals (via WWDMAGIC)

// Maternity Photos - v.2 - Him and Honey

And here's the second installment of the maternity photos Mike shot of me a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know! I should have pared it down to a less embarrassing amount of photos, but I wasn't even planning on sharing these. Then I realized that the actual second batch of materntiy photos we shot (in Florida) won't be back for a couple of weeks and I remembered I had these of me and Toby. You even get the ones where I'm making derp faces and looking cross-eyed. And check out my weird feet in several of them, too! haha! The one where I'm sitting on the rock and then the last one... what was I even doing?!

The random snaps of me in the grey dress were when Mike and I were taken right after we got finished photographing Sara and her family. We were trying to test out the lighting for the situation and I figured I'd toss those in, too. The photos with the chambray top were from the next day at our small family baby shower in Lawrenceburg. I had planned on shooting a handful of different outfits but I just couldn't hang. I was totally convinced these photos would be a total wash and I'd be out of luck. The ones with Toby are some of my absolute favorites. I definitely plan on getting one of them framed or something. He's just so precious! We planned on snapping a few more in Florida, just to take advantage of the different scenery and the fact we'd have some extra eyes to capture a few of us as a family, but that just didn't happen. We did get some solo ones of me while we were walking around the camp area, but sadly our big family session got bumped due to some very last minute changes in plans. I'm still crossing my fingers there's a slight chance a friend can help us out this weekend if possible, but I might just have to deal with the fact we won't have any film photos of all 3 of us. (I know we could hire someone else to take the photos, but we really dig the look and feel of our film work, and unfortunately the other photographers here in Nashville that shoot a similar look/feel are crazy expensive! I'd rather spend that cash on hiring someone to get photos of all four of us instead. Maybe we'll resort to the timer again... haha) Thanks for letting me spam your interwebs with photos of my huge bump. And yes, this means there will likely be a "round three" from Florida in a few weeks because apparently I don't know any better. :P xo

You can see more of our film photography at Him + Honey. If you're interested in booking your own shoot, shoot us a message via our contact page! I'd *love* to be on the other side of some maternity sessions!

P.S; I'm 37 weeks today! Full term, baby! My mind is blown.

// Turquoise Sunset - Maternity Style - 34 Weeks

Greetings from the beach (and 35 weeks!) I wasn't planning on writing anything while we were away on vacation, but Mike snapped some quick outfit photos of me the other day at our camp and I figured I might as well share them before I run out of "maternity" time haha One of my favorite things about where we stay when we come to Florida is just how insanely gorgeous it is. Staying in a condo or rental house definitely has it's perks, sure, but after staying here a couple of times in the RV, I honestly wouldn't want to vacation any other way. We're currently half-way through our trip and we've had a blast so far. The weather has been wonderful (albeit humid!) and the adventures have been plentiful. We're making sure to take time to relax, too though. Mid-day naps and movies in the RV have been staples. I've undoubtedly been over-gramming our vacation (sorry!) but I promise to try and save some photos so my recaps aren't just Instagram rehashes! 

So far I've played it pretty safe on the pregnant-but-on-vacation front. I started feeling pretty yucky on our first full day at the beach but I think I just got a bit overheated. Luckily a quick cool down in the car did wonders. Here's to hoping the rest of the trip is just as successful. We're trying to take advantage of the gorgeous scenery at our camp to snap a few more maternity photos (with Mike and Toby in them, too - ha, wish us luck!) My parents really wanted some nice photos of them taken so we're hoping that when we snap theirs they'll be able to use our cameras and capture a few of us as a family of three. Mike took a few more of me on a walk through the park the other day but I'd love to have some of us as a group. (I'll try to be mindful of photo overload when they finally get developed and shared on the blog... but I can't make any promises! haha)

This specific outfit is one of my favorites to wear as of late. It's another Mossimo dress from Target (same as here, just a different pattern) and these things are amazing. Lightweight and breezy, but still comfortable and incredibly stretchy! I love that I don't have to resort to only maternity options, even at 35 weeks pregnant. Just for reference, mine are size large and they still have plenty of room for this house I'm carrying on my stomach haha If you're looking for super-stretchy, non-maternity options for maxi dresses, run to Target as fast as you can and snatch them up! (I type this as I wear the third version of this dress, too) I wore it out to dinner the other night and then again the next day when we played around at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. And then again yesterday when we went kayaking... haha They're the perfect all-around cotton dresses. And at under $30 a pop, they're not a bad buy! (Though they're currently buy one, get one 50% off, so that's even better!) I feel like I've worked the cost-per-wear down on these things already. Is that enough gushing about a silly dress? Yes? Okay.


Mossimo dress (via Target) - currently buy one, get one 50% off!
Mak cardigan (via Stitch Fix)
Baggu tote (via Stitch Fix)
Sanuk flip flops

// Maternity Photos - v.1 - Him and Honey

Mike snapped some film maternity photos of me a couple of weeks ago after we wrapped up a client shoot. They actually almost didn't happen at all because goodness gracious you would not believe the amount of heat and humidity we were battling that day! My friend Sara did my makeup before we photographed her family and seriously, not even 5 minutes into the shoot I was drenched in sweat. It was not a good look! haha Luckily she's quite the pro and she worked her magic with my makeup because it surprisingly didn't sweat off! Granted every bit of curl fell out of my hair and I was a walking frizz ball, but I'm so in love with the pictures regardless.

I know it's a bit self-indulgent to post so many photos of myself (I should edit tighter!), but every time I look at these photos I get butterflies. Even with the big ol' belly and the sweat that just won't stop, I am cherishing each and every moment of this pregnancy. I'm turning into one of those people... You know, the ones who wax poetic about everything. I can't help it. 

Someone on Instagram commented that I looked like "Mother Nature" in these photos, and ever since then I've just been so in love with that thought. A huge part of me is so sad that this experience is almost over, but I know what's waiting on the other side is even better... I'll be sharing the second round of photos soon! xo

You can see more of our film photography at Him + Honey. If you're interested in booking your own shoot, shoot us a message via our contact page! -- A huge thank you to my amazing husband for making me feel like a million bucks, even when dripping in sweat.