29 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a butternut squash!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I am currently +27 lbs.  Not happy.

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity stuff now... my regular shirts are start to be a bit short over my belly.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Jogging, jumping jacks, dancing... not really sure what she's doing in there, but it's a lot!

What I miss: Sleep and comfort.... being able to bend over.

Sleep: Last night was no good... I just could NOT get into a position that felt good.  But over the weekend, when we were staying in a condo with a King sized bed, I slept like a baby! (no pun intended!).  I don't know what the deal is. 

Symptoms:  I feel fat. lol  That pretty much sums it up.

Cravings: Sweets.... but that's normal.  Right now I really want a blizzard.  I blame my to-be-sister-in-law for her delicious FB status update. =P

Best Moment this week: We took a little "babymoon" to the coast.  I hope to share more about ti later.  But I was SOO relaxed it was fantastic!

What I am looking forward to:  I have a maternity shoot this weekend.  Not mine, but I'm photographing one.  I'm pretty excited about this!  It will be my first time and I'm excited to try something new! =)

To Doula or Not to Doula?

I never thought that I'd be considering having a doula.  I don't have anything against the practice, it's just not something that I pictured for myself.  I always associated doula with "non-traditional" types of birth practices (in the water, at home, etc., etc.), and I'm very much a traditional, in a hospital with a doctor kind of girl.  But then I started talked to other pregnant ladies... one of which pointed me toward a doula certification school where the student doulas actually work pro bono.  Then I started to think about it.  Free is always good... especially if I'm not sure if I'm not sure about the whole thing.  So, I sent an e-mail to the school, and one of the students responded.  Jacob and I met with her today.

I was kind of surprised by her.. but in a good way.  =)  Again, my stereotypes and preconceived notions were thrown to the wayside when she showed up with wearing a classy ponytail, an argyle cardigan and a pencil skirt.  She kind of looked like I do when I go to work. lol  She was very nice, and seems like she may be a good fit, personality wise, but she did encourage us to interview other doulas so that we could be sure to pick the best match for us.

Jacob says that he likes the idea of having a doula there... to help and keep him calm when he starts to freak out. lol  But, I'm still not sure.  I really don't know what's holding me up.  Maybe it's the thought of having a "stranger" in the room with us... or just another body in general.  I always pictured it as just Jacob and myself in there (with doctor of course).  I don't know.  I am such a control freak like being in control of my situation and perhaps I'm concerned that having someone else there may impede upon my ability to advocate for myself.  But, at the same time, I may just NEED someone to advocate for me or tell me what to do to make things more comfortable/run smoothly.   I'm starting to realize that I have soo many questions/concerns that I don't feel like I have (an un-biased) someone who can answer (neither Jacob nor I have been through this before after all!)

I don't know.  Thoughts??  Comments??  Anyone out there use a doula??

28 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a napa cabbage!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I am currently +25 lbs.  I'm not ok with this.  Five pounds in 2 weeks does not make me feel good about things.  But, not much that I can do, so I just have to live with it.  My doctor says that I'm doing fine, so I'm trying not to worry too much.  But I KNOW that I'm going to go above the 30 "recommended" pounds in the end.

Maternity Clothes: Just ordered some more stuff from Old Navy (I LOVE Old Navy).  Just waiting for them to get here in the mail. =)

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Still movin'!  Sometimes I wish I could see what she was doing in there...

What I miss:  I had a really good answer for this one the other day... now I can't remember what it was! lol  I pretty much am just missing being mobile and being able to use my own body as I'd like to use it (without aches, pains and large "bumps" getting in the way of that mobility).

Sleep:Difficult.  It takes a long time to get comfortable, and then I just PRAY that I won't have to pee again before I fall asleep! lol

Symptoms:Aches.  Especially in my back and stomach. 

Cravings: Still not having any weird pregnancy cravings... just my usual sweet and salty desires.

Best Moment this week: We got the crib put together!  And, thus, were able to "arrange" the nursery.  now I get the focus on the fun part... decorating. =)

What I am looking forward to: Jacob and I are taking another little "babymoon" this weekend.   We're headed up to Long Beach, Washington to hang out in a beach-side condo for the weekend.  I'm excited!

Oh!  We also start our Childbirth Prep classes this week.  I'm looking forward to these, too, as I hope it will help with some of the questions I have about the whole process (and questions that I don't even know that I have yet! lol)

The Name Game

Jacob and I have a name picked out... we've had one picked out from the very beginning.  In fact, I have had a list of baby names for YEARS that I couldn't wait to pick from. lol  Thankfully, Jacob is not overly picky/opinionated on the subject and liked my suggestions.  We had a name picked out for a boy, and one for a girl.  Now that we know we're having a girl, I'm happy to be able to think about her name in relation to her... rather than just a "future possibility".  (Jacob has a hard time remembering what it's going to be though.... lol... I told him that he better figure out a way to remember before we get to the hospital!)

Here's the thing though... we're not telling anyone the name.  Why?  No, I'm not worried that someone's going to "steal" it, but, rather, I don't want any feedback on it.  I don't want people telling me, "I know someone named ..., she was...".  I don't want to associate the name that I love with other people's preconceived notions on personality... I already get that enough with the due date.  (It's kind of amazing to me how many people around here actually know something about astronomy... I never even thought about it).  I also don't want to hear people's opinions on the name or get other "suggestions" as to what might sound better.  Once she is here, and the name is on the birth certificate, I believe that other people will be less likely to throw in their two cents (I kind of wish sometimes that I would have taken this approach to wedding planning, too, and just not told anyone anything about it until it was planned and done! lol)

Another reason that I'm a little leery about telling the name ahead of time is because I don't want one of these things to happen.  (P.S.  HUGE Friends fan.... I can relate a Friends scene/episode to pretty much ANY life situation. lol)

Before I was born my  mother was certain that my name was going to be Krista... and she told everyone.  Well, guess what?  I'm not a "Krista", and I don't want to run the risk of getting baby gear with our chosen name all over it only to decide at the last minute to go with something else! lol

So, the name is staying a secret.  But don't worry... there's only 12 more weeks to wait!

OMG!

Cribbage*

*Jacob came up with the name for this post. lol

Our nursery is coming along nicely.... today we put the crib together!  The crib was a hand-me-down from Jacob's brother, who has two kids of his own.  Once we got all of the pieces to our place (thanks to J's mom) we made a run to the hardware store and set to work!

Scout trying to be helpful

Taking a break for a little lovin' =)

Kitty in a cage

Jacob getting some "practice"

I was a little worried about the whole construction process.... since it didn't come with any instructions and I didn't know what we were doing.  But Jacob had it down... I really need to learn to trust his ability to do some stuff. ;)

Now that we have the crib, we were able to arrange the furniture (which we are pretty much done accumulating) and now I can focus on the fun stuff... decorating!

(P.S.  It's REALLY weird having a crib in our house... lol)

The B-Hive

I got an invitation to my baby shower today!!

(Soo excited!)

I'm thinking that maybe "Brittney" was a popular name roughly 20-30 years ago. ;)

(My dad has coined us the "B-Hive")

Brittney = me and my brother's girlfriend

Brittany = my other brother's wife

Poor Jennifer, my third brother's fiance, is left out in the cold. lol

What Can I Eat?

I have my gestational diabetes blood test on Tuesday and I need some advice.  My OB told me to steer clear of sugars and carbs the day of the test, and that lots of proteins were good.  I need some menu ideas for breakfast/snacks/lunch... her advice (particularly the lack of carbs) is really outside of my usual diet for those particular meals...  Suggestions?

27 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of an eggplant!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I'm not feeling particularly good about the weight that I've gained over the last week, so, since this IS my blog, I'm choosing to stay silent. ;)  (Just know that it is WELL above the "pound a week" that I'm supposed to be gaining).

Maternity Clothes: Starting to outgrow my pre-maternity tops... but I REALLY don't want to spend more money on clothes that I'm only going to wear for the next three months (even though I do love a good clothing shopping trip...)

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Moving a lot these days... I find myself putting a hand on my belly willing her to settle down from time to time. lol

What I miss:  Wearing a belt.  I'm tired of my pants constantly falling down.

Sleep:It's better than last week... I think I've figured out how to successfully use my body pillow. =)

Symptoms:My belly moves... it's SOO weird!  Oh, and TMI, the gas has started.  Who has some home remedies for easing this? 

Cravings: Still not having any weird pregnancy cravings... just my usual sweet and salty desires.

Best Moment this week: My three day weekend ROCKED. =)  We registered for baby stuff, I went grocery shopping, and then I just sat around the house and did next to nothing.  It was great.  (until I got bored. lol)

What I am looking forward to: Putting the crib together this weekend and starting with the "decorating" part of the nursery... now that we have all of the key furniture elements.

Baby's First Home Video

So, this at-home baby heart beat thing sucks for it's intended purpose, but it's pretty trippy to watch it move as the baby kicks it! lol

 

The Registry

A few weeks ago I started a Target baby registry online.  I added a few things here and there but I wanted to do the bulk of it in-store so that I could see/touch/compare things, and also so I knew that SOME of the stuff I wanted would be available in store for shopping purposes.

So, since my shower is about a month away, Jacob and I headed over to Target today to bulk up our list.  The first thing out of Jacob's mouth when we got into the store, "Is this going to take 4 hours?"  Apparently he was still having some PTSD from our wedding registry experience. ;)

We got our little scanner gun and set out in a systematic way through the baby section.  To be honest, I have NO IDEA what I'm looking for or what we're going to want/need.  So, if it looked good, we scanned it.  But there are SOOO many choices for things like bottles and play pens (apparently now called "Pack-n-Plays").  When it came to car seats, we had no idea... so we have three on our registry. lol  We figure we would be happen with any of them, so we'll give people different price point options.  If we get two, great!  One for each car!  If we get three, we can return one and buy some other stuff that we didn't get.  I think we'll be ok. =)

What did you all get for our babies that you are SOO grateful for?  Or what did you NOT get that you ended up really wanting/needing?  Help a girl out here. =)

Third Trimester?

I have heard/read multiple different opinions on when the third trimester starts... 27 weeks, 28 weeks, even 30 weeks!  I am choosing to believe that my third trimester starts at the end of this week.

Why?  Because today marks the end of the 6 month of my pregnancy.

AND

A "trimester" means one-third.  One third of 40 weeks is 13.33... so, about 13 weeks and 2 days.  So, at the end of my second/beginning of my third trimester I should be 26 weeks and 4 days in (with 13 weeks and roughly 2 days to go).  I currently have 13 weeks and 5 days to go meaning Sunday will mark that magical day of 13-2. =)

It's kind of weird to think of myself as being in my third trimester.  I don't feel THAT pregnant... and I don't feel like I've been pregnant for that long!  But, with the realization that the third trimester is pretty much HERE I am also faced with the fact that I have a lot of really tough/weird/challenging things that are going to be coming about in my life and decisions that I have to make. 

We have to find a pediatrician.  We are taking some child birth prep classes starting in a couple of weeks.  We have to register for baby gifts.  We have to get the crib from my brother-in-law's place.  My baby shower is happening.  Our maternity photos are happening.  I have to figure out my maternity leave.  I'm going to go into labor.  I'm going to have a frickin' BABY!  lol  And I'm going to have to bring it home and wake up several times a night and not know what the hell I'm doing and be freaked out at everything like thing that happens. 

I remember my mom telling me that my dad freaked when I got the hiccups for the first time.

That is SOO gonna be me. lol

Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

Weirdest thing I've ever seen JUST happened...

I saw my stomach move.  From the INSIDE out! lol

Creepy!  Like something is trying to bust out of there!

26 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a head/crown/whatever of brocolli!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I'm still +20, so no change from last week... which is probably good since I gained two pounds the week before. =)

Maternity Clothes: Wearing a lot of dresses and leggings these days. =)  I think I've figured out one reason why pregnant women waddle... their maternity pants fall down. =P  For some reason they just have a hard time staying "up" on me.  I feel like a need a belt...

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: She is definitely do well in this area.  The other morning I was laying in bed and she was kicking up a storm.  I finally reached over and grabbed Jacob's hand and put it on my belly.  His response was, "What?  Do you need her to settle down?" lol  I told him that either way I'd be happy (her settling down or him finally feeling some good movement).  Well, Jacob felt the kicks... and a lot of them!  There was another instance later in the week where we were watching TV and Jacob was laying with his head on my lap/belly... well, his little girl kicked him in the face several times. lol

What I miss:  Being able to get comfortable in a stationary/relaxing situation.

Sleep:I'm having a hard time getting comfortable, which is working into having a hard time sleeping.  Once I fall asleep I'm ok (until I have to get up to pee), but it's the getting cozy part that's a problem.  Also, I'm not getting to bed early enough... I think I need to change my bedtime so that I'm getting more than 7-7.5 hours a night.  Did you other previously pregnant ladies have regular 8 hour + nights of "sleep"?

Symptoms:My back aches and I can definitely feel the extra weight that I'm lugging around out front.  It's weird.

Cravings: I have a craving for Chinese food tonight (after watching yesterday's episode of Castle), but it's not overly intense.

Best Moment this week: Had a prenatal massage this weekend.  It was good (MUCH better than my last one!) but I definitely miss being able to relax on my stomach while being massaged.  Also, a good moment this week was Jacob finally getting to feel some real movement.  OH!  And we got a TON of hand-me-down baby clothes from one of Jacob's coworkers (3 large totes!) that we have to sort through and figure out what we'd like to keep.

What I am looking forward to: My baby shower is in the planning stages... as are my maternity photos.  Both aren't happening for about a month, but I'm still excited and looking forward to them! =)

Blahs

I have not been feeling up to snuff the last couple of days.  I haven't felt "good" physically... I am always uncomfortable: in bed, sitting at work, on the train, even just watching TV.  My stomach is tight and feels like my muscles are getting pulled in all kinds of directions, and my back hurts.  It's been effecting my sleep and just my general mood.  Today I literally hit a wall at work.  I felt so physically drained that I left at lunch time to come home and try to relax and get some work done remotely (I'm thankful that this is something that I can do from time to time).

I know that it's really only going to get worse for the next few months until the baby is born, and that doesn't make me feel any better.  I'm already having a hard time bending over, and I'm starting to regret the open kitchen layout with all of our food product cupboards at ground level (it makes it really difficult to find the peanut butter when I'm trying to make my lunch! lol).  Jacob has been really good about giving me a hand when I need to get up off of the couch or if I need something picked up or moved, but I'm still just so uncomfortable. =(

I know I'm whining now, but I just needed to vent a little bit.

Anyone have any suggestions for elevating my mood and/or increasing my comfort level?

(I really just want a cocktail. lol)

25 Weeks

Size of baby: According to Babyzone she's about the size of a loaf of bread!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I was smart this week and weighed myself first thing in the morning! lol  I'm at about the 20 lbs mark, which is 2 lbs up from last week.  I should only be going about one a week, but I've chosen to forgive myself. =)

Maternity Clothes: Went to a recommended consignment store today and purchased several maternity tops/dresses.  I realized this weekend that my "hope" to not have to buy tops was short sighted as my current tops are starting to leave a gap of belly poking out at the bottom... leaving me kind of cold in this winter weather!

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Yup... she moves.  =)  Still being difficult whenever Jacob tries to feel her kick though... she tends to just stop.

What I miss: Not much more than the things that I've mentioned in previous updates...

Sleep: I didn't sleep well at all last night... I think I'm lucky if I got more than about 2 hours in a row.  I had a hard time getting comfortable in bed with my pillows, and then I was too hot (had to open a window and turn on a fan), and then I had to pee several times, and then I had some really weird dreams (this happened the night before last, too... is that pregnancy related??).  My dream last night was the first that actually concerned my pregnancy... and it wasn't a good one. =(  I'm kind of surprised that I've gone this long without having a pregnancy/baby dream!

Symptoms: Lots of stretching and pulling that I don't like.  I was lying in bed last night watch a sitcom and every time I laughed it hurt my tummy.  No more laughing while lying down. =P

Cravings:Nothing really... at least, nothing out of the ordinary.

Best Moment this week: Got the nursery painted and curtains made/up and found ourselves a glider on Craigslist!  Those two things kind of made my week. =)

What I am looking forward to: Wearing some of my cute new clothes! lol

Craigslist + Christmas $$ = Happy Me!

Now that we have the nursery painted, I can start decorating and adding furniture... Here's the first addition!  Thanks to Christmas money, after scouring Craigslist for the last week I finally found a glider that I liked that wasn't super spendy AND that I was the first one to (it's amazing how quickly people respond to CL posts up here!).

I'm VERY happy with it.  It's comfy and matches our colors nicely.  Plus, it gives Jacob a little more of his favorite color combination. lol

Go Ducks!

Ringing in 2012

I have never had much of a "party-er" type of personality, but this year our low-key New Year's Eve celebration hit an all time low... as far as social activity/celebration goes.  We rang in the new year with a game of Scrabble... which I lost. lol  We couldn't even watch the ball drop in Time Square because our TV was being cranky and refused to let us get any channel in that televised the events (we are one of the few households in the country, I think, that still don't have cable).

(Dec. 31st also marked our one year anniversary of actually moving into our new home! We've done SOO much in the last year, it's kind of hard to believe!)

While the evening was pretty mellow, our day was productive... we started work on the nursery!

Jacob and I have had the paint color picked out for awhile now, and I purchased the fabric for the curtains several weeks ago.  Jacob also go some help moving all of the office furniture out of the room and into our guest room (so now we have a combo office/guest room), but we were waiting for a "free" weekend to start the painting.  Friday night I asked Jacob if he thought this weekend would be a good one to paint.  Surprisingly, he said sure and even called in his "helpers"  (parents and aunt) who had mentioned that they wanted to help out with the project.  So, yesterday morning we went to Home Depot, used some of your Christmas gift card balance and bought some paint.  Jacob, his parents and his aunt painted the nursery (here's what it looked like before) while I worked on sewing the curtains.  By the end of the day, we had our "finished"* product!

Prepping

And there goes some color!

And the paint is up!

And now for my curtain creations!

Curtain pattern close up

Finishing touches (c/o xmas gift exchange!)

I'm really happy with the way the color turned out.  It's a little more "sea foam-y" than the green that we were going for, but it looks nice and it goes will with our curtain fabric, so I'm happy.  Now I'm just antsy to start getting some baby furniture in there so I can start decorating!



*I say "final" product because the curtains weren't really done until this morning.  After doing all of the sewing and ironing last night, we hung the curtains and I saw that there was a big spot on the center panel.  I looked like a wet spot, but wasn't wet... maybe a grease/oil spot of some sort?  So, I threw the panel in the laundry to try to get the spot out... and it shrunk!  I know that I should have washed the fabric before I sewed the curtains, but I gave myself extra length/width as a "just in case" measure... but I didn't know that the muslin would shrink almost 6 inches in length!!  I was NOT happy.  And, to top it all off, the spot didn't even come out!  =P  So, this morning I took some pre-washed fabric left over from my Christmas table cloth sewing project and made a replacement panel.  It is now hang up over the window and looking fabulous. =)