SHAMROCK

It’s week 24 and it’s St. Patrick’s Day! Our little shamrock is 12” long, weighs 1 pound, and only 16 weeks away from joining our family. I remember finding out we were pregnant and being told that we would have to wait 3 weeks until our first doctor’s appointment. Those initial 21 days of waiting dragged on-and-on, but time since then has been flying! So much so, that we forgot to take a chalkboard picture last week (whoops)! Week 24 is below:

Week 24 - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This past week we had our first Childbirth Prep Class. Overall, it was super informative and I am glad we are going, but the instructor and I had a moment where our horns locked a bit.  I asked her how we should know "when" to go to the hospital such that it won't be too late to receive the epidural. She replied "it's never too late to have an epidural." She was one of those childbirth-should-be-a-natural-thing-and-it's-so-easy kind of instructors --- the kind that no information-seeking first-time-parents appreciate having.  I gave her an eye-gesture that read "that’s not what I have heard" and shared that I have at least 5 girlfriends who arrived at the hospital and were told they were too far along into labor to receive one.  After saying this, the instructor repeated herself and said "it is never too late to have an epidural."   Insert Sarcasm: Thanks for the super helpful answer to my question. I'm pregnant ... not deaf!    Despite this hiccup, Jonny and I did laugh a lot --- especially through the breathing exercises. Never one to be shy or embarrassed in a crowd of strangers, Jonny put A LOT of enthusiasm into his exhales ("aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!").  

We celebrated Jonny’s birthday this weekend with an Indianapolis bar crawl. It was a St. Patrick’s Day celebration filled with green-tongues, leprechauns, kilts, and so many of our crazy-fun friends!  In some ways it felt like closing a chapter filled with responsibility-free birthdays, but in other ways it felt like a kick-off to all future birthdays that will include the best gift of all: our little shamrock. Our friends were all so gracious to ask lots of questions about the baby … and a few of them touched my belly and enjoyed imagining something the size of a spaghetti squash fidgeting around inside.

Jonny + Justin's Irish Jig - Top of the Mornin'

Indianapolis Bar Crawl - Happy St. "Pritchard" Day!

I have received 2 baby shower invitations and they are so totes adorbs that I had to post pictures.  Both of these were personally designed and created by the shower hosts themselves, so if you ever want a gorgeously unique invitation for an event, lemme know and I’ll connect you to my girls!

Indianapolis shower hosted by Lindsay and Pam

Cincinnati Shower hosted by Jenn, Mel, + Anne

We have a 24 week appointment with the doctor is this coming Tuesday --- time to hear our favorite heartbeat again!