Pregnancy Week 25

Just a couple more weeks and we are in the third trimester! Time is really flying. I read today that Baby Girl is around 2 pounds and about 12 inches long. I can definitely feel that she is getting bigger...as am I. Her movements are stronger and feel different depending on what she's doing in there. It is really fun getting to feel her move even more! I'm still feeling great and am keeping busy with the new job. Sorry for the decrease in updates...I'm still trying to get caught up with life after the work day is over. Here are my weekly stats!

How far along?: 25 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: It's looking like +20...not so surprised after this weekend. :)

Maternity clothes?: The usual, a little of whatever fits.

Sleep: Sleeping like a rock, still waking up at least 2 or 3 times to pee.

Best moment of the week: Visiting with the girls! I am already looking forward to our next get together. :)

Movement: Yes, and even more frequent then before. I know she sleeps, but geez, even I don't think I move as much as she does!

Food Cravings: Nothing too crazy this week, I'm definitely trying to lighten up on the the "treats".

Gender: Girl

Belly Button: Sad looking. If you don't have your belly button pierced, don't do it. It just looks silly when stretched out...and I took mine out years ago.

Stretchmarks?: Just old ones...I've heard a lot of people get them right at the last minute, so maybe they are waiting.

What I miss: Nada. Another good week!

What I am looking forward to: Our next ultrasound in a week and a half and a long weekend coming up in just a few days...can't wait to sleep in already.

Weekly Wisdom: Hmm. I don't have much this week. You all can share your baby wisdom with me if you want, I'd love to hear!

Milestones: Baby's eyes are starting to open up in there, not that there is much of a view! I am so excited to find out whose eye color she gets. Mine are brown and D's are blue...either one works for me, but I will admit that his baby blues are kinda pretty. :)


Belly picssss....

Always in gross workout clothes, I know. Sorry this post is so short, I'll try to catch you all up on everything going on later this week!

xo,

H

Weekend!

Happy Friday! I have officially finished my first week at the new job and am so looking forward to the next couple of days off.

I already love my new job and am so excited to get more involved with the project I am on. My commute really isn't that bad now that I've gotten more used to it and as soon as I get my laptop issued I can start working from home and just going in to the office a couple of days every pay period. Not too shabby!

Tonight D and I are going to date it up at (where else) my favorite Mexican restaurant and tomorrow I'm off to Houston to meet up with 3 of my best friends for a relaxing girls weekend. I can't wait to catch up with them all and gossip and eat a ton of food...haha...so focused on food all the time these days. The next time we will all get together will be for one of their weddings a month after the baby is born. So crazy how many big life events are happening this year.

I know I mentioned us taking a trip home in one of my past posts. It is finally official! D and I will be back in VA the weekend of August 6th. We'll be in town Thursday-Monday and while we have a wedding Friday and possibly some family plans Saturday during the day we would love to see everyone we can while we are around. Maybe a Saturday night or Sunday get together can be put into the works. I know it's a quick little trip, but no worries...it will be a few short months until I am back in November and then hopefully both of us will be around for 2 weeks during the holidays! Yayyyy...I can already taste Panera and maybe some Coastal Flats or Sweetwater...again with the food, I know!

I'm off to feast because clearly I'm getting hungry. Be back with a Week 25 (holy cow!) update in a couple of days and maybe even some pictures from the weekend! Have a good one...

xo,
H

Life Updates

Hey all...

Once again I'm slacking on posts. This week has been a pretty long one already. My commute to the office is a solid hour one-way and until my boss gets back from vacay and we discuss my telecommuting options I'll be making the trip every day. I'm still getting set up and waiting on important things, like you know, a computer, so it's not like I could get around going in anyways. The drive really isn't that bad and work really isn't bad...it's just the whole process of getting used to it that is giving my body a beating.

I get up when D leaves for PT around 5:45 to start my day, get on the road before 7 am and then try to head out a little after 4 pm. The gym is on my way home- although its an hour down the road, so I am still trying to get that in which gets me back to the house before 7 pm. Just in time for dinner, a shower, and bed. I'm sure once I get a little more acclimated to this schedule I'll have a couple more hours between shower and bed to do things like laundry, acknowledge my dog, blog, and maybe even check a few emails. I hope this happens quickly because I miss blogging and chatting with you all through out the day. Gimme a week and I think things will be back to normal. :)

In the meantime, Baby M is doing fantastic and we can't believe she could be here in 15 short weeks...or even sooner! Time is flying. We are totally slacking on her room- but I did learn how to post things on bookoo.com so that we can get rid of the furniture existing in that room and make space for her things. Now that I know how to get rid of household goods I'm trying to find all of the unnecessary crap we have to sell to people who want it...mostly D's things...haha.

It is getting HOT here. The kind of hot that takes your car 20 minutes to really feel ice cold on your hour afternoon drive home. It's really fun. Even the dog will go outside, pee, and turn immediately back to the house with a "Yeah right, I'm not staying out here...are you crazy?!" kind of look.

Speaking of Molly, she's taken up a new habit called growling and barking at everything that makes noise. I'm talking the ice maker, jewelry that makes noise when hitting a keyboard, birds...I think she is trying to be protective of me, but is getting old. Behold this picture of us doing a song called "Stop Your Barking" sung to the tune of "R.E.S.P.E.C.T", with a dance number as well.

Doesn't she kind of look like E.T.? Anyways, I'm pretty sure this was an effective way of getting her to quiet down, but who knows.

xo,

H

Pregnancy Week 24

I've been a bad blogger this week...sorry everyone! I always find that the more time I have, the less I get done. Having Wednesday-Friday off, and then of course this weekend, should have given me plenty of opportunities to blog and get situated before starting the new job today, but instead I did a ton of procrastinating. I seriously work so much better when I have a jam packed schedule and am forced to get things done, so don't worry, things will be back to normal around here verryyy soon!

Here are my weekly stats:

How far along?: 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +18 I think...

Maternity clothes?: Same as last update, a little bit of both, however the number of pre-preggo things I am getting away with has definitely gone down. For instance the skirt that started ripping in the back when I bent over...

Sleep: The usual, up every couple of hours.

Best moment this week: Celebrating D's first Father's Day. :)

Movement: She is seriously such a wiggle worm and I love it.

Food Cravings: Tons of lemons in my water, cucumber and tomato slices in oil and vinegar (I've had this 4 times in the past 5 days...yummm!), and ice cream sandwiches....such a summer staple!

Gender: Girly girl

Belly Button: More shallow by the day. If you all are lucky I'll attempt to take a frontal belly shot so you can see, because it is that funny looking! I know, you are all super excited now... ;)

Stretchmarks?: Still no newbies, although I try to keep my body inspections to a minimum, so who knows where they could be hiding.

What I miss: Not much this week, I've felt great.

What I am looking forward to: Buying some plane tickets home to Virginia so some of you can see the baby bump in all of it's glory!

Weekly Wisdom: Bi-weekly pedicures should be a law for pregnant women (and free, no?)...indulge and enjoy it!

Milestones: Well, we made it through another Dr appointment last Friday and everything is looking fantastic. Baby M is measuring about a week ahead, although this will not change our due date unless she starts getting super cramped in there towards the end and they determine that inducing us early will give me a better chance of not needing a c-section to push her chubby butt out! This is fine with me, the weeks are flying and I'd like her to bake as long as she needs to. Coming up next we have a Glucose test in a couple of weeks, as well as another ultrasound because of the nuchal cord. My new doctor (the last one moved on to a new duty station) says that nuchal cords are so common that she wouldn't have even had me schedule another u/s if she had been my doctor at the time of the last one. Too late lady, we are set to see our girl again on July 9th!

Oh hey, 24 week belly...

No bare belly picture this week. It may have gotten kind of awkward given the whole dress situation. ;) Don't worry, nothing crazy looking to miss there!

I'll post again soon, I know I have lots to make up for in the last week such as Father's Day and all the super important things I've been doing to procrastinate from blogging and house organization!

xo,

H

Last Day of Work...(at the old job)

I realized I never did a weekend recap, so here's a quickie:

Not only did I get my Mexican night on Friday, but D and I had such a good time together getting the first of our girl's goodies on Saturday. :)

We hit up Starbucks bright and early and drove to Alexandria (no not VA, sadly), Louisiana to do a Target and Petsmart run. I remembered that there was an Old Navy nearby, so D and I decided to see if they had any infant stuff in store...anddd theyyyy didddd! Why are things so much cuter the littler they are? We just stocked up on some basics, but I will show you a picture of something we bought in size 6-12 mo. for next summer:

Ahhh...love the ruffles and I think it is cuter in person. I can't wait to find a two-piece too. Is that tacky? I just think nothing is more adorable than a chubby little belly sticking out of a baby bikini, haha. D kept picking up the little suit and saying, "I can't believe that we are going to have someone small enough to fit in this!". It's pretty crazy to think about.

We also figured out what brand we are going to use for our travel system- aka stroller and car seat. My mom suggested looking at Chicco after seeing quite a few at the hospital. She said that they seemed to fit new little babies snugly and were less difficult to operate than some of the others that she has seen, so we checked them out and think we are set!

Not sure how I feel about the pink, but it does come in plenty of other colors...including Lime Green! We will probably pick something that we can reuse on Miss M's future siblings. :)

In addition to a basic stroller, I'm totally in the market for a jogger, so I'll let you all know what I dig up in that category. I can't wait to get back to getting my run on. I tried to keep it up as long as I could, but at the gym this weekend I definitely felt some pressure in my lower belly from the bouncing and decided that it might be time to just stick to the elliptical and StairMaster for cardio.

D has been really sweet trying to help keep me motivated. He even went to the gym with me at 5pm on Sunday after already swimming and biking that afternoon because he could tell I was whiny and wanted a buddy. Haha...poor guy. He is really coming around to the whole blogging thing. Sometimes he will do something nice and then jokingly be like, "Make sure you add that to your blog, so everyone knows what a good husband I am!" He even says that he may make a guest appearance one of these days, so watch out! ;)

Alright, back to the grind for a few more hours and then its long weekend time so I can start getting my life in order before the new job begins. I'll post more this week...I have news about a little visit in early August that is in the works and of course my 24 week appointment Friday!

xo,
H

Comparison

Getting pretty crazy, huh?

Week 13

Week 23

Same shirt, different color, 10 weeks later! Aww, remember when I used to be skinny? Yeah, me either till I saw that first picture. I'm going to have a long way to go after this little lady arrives! Can't wait to see what the next comparison looks like in another 10 weeks...haha. :)

xo,

H

Survey says...

Is this your first pregnancy?: Yup
How did you find out you were pregnant?: I took a test after going to the gym and feeling like I needed a nap afterwards. Usually I leave feeling more energized, but exhaustion coupled with my late period made me finally decide to test. I really thought it would show me that I was being crazy and I'd relax, but surprise, surprise! The test says to wait 3 minutes for results...mine showed up in about 30 seconds.
What kinds of pregnancy test did you take?: One kind, Clear Blue Digital
How many?: It was a 2 pack
What were your first symptoms?: Sore boobs, exhaustion, some cramping...I was sure I was about to get my period.
Who did you tell first?: The husband. Although, he kind of guessed when I called him with a tearful, "Come home RIGHT now!"
Who was with you when you found out?: Our dog. She was a huge support...haha.
Was baby planned?: Nope, an unexpected surprise.
When was baby conceived?: Not exactly sure...early to mid-January.
How far were you when you found out?: 5 weeks or so
Due date: October 7, 2010
Do you know the sex?: Girl
Any names?: Yes, but we're keeping it a secret for now :)
Who do you think baby will look like?: I hope the baby looks like the best of both it's Mommy and Daddy.
Have you and dad felt baby move?: Yes, we both have.
When did you start to show?: Not until the past few weeks or so.
Do you have any mood swings?: Nothing too bad, but I definitely have my occasional ups and downs.
Any complications?: Spotting at week 12, nuchal cord now...these aren't really complications, just things that have not gone according to plan.
What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?: Having the baby move around like she's trying to get my attention and feeling so much love for someone I've never even met.
How many kids do you want?: 3-4...check back in October. :)
Do you talk to your baby?: Every evening when I lay down to relax after dinner and she kicks away, sometimes at other points during the day, but I always look around and wonder if people think I'm crazy!
How far along are you now?: 23 weeks, 2 days

Pregnancy Week 23

It's that time of the week again, so here are our updates! The baby can be compared to the size of a papaya this week and her little face is fully formed, minus all of that baby fat that she needs to put on in these last 17 weeks. I can't stop wondering what that little face is going to look like...D and I both can't wait to meet Miss M, who is now being referred to by first name around these parts! :)

How far along?: 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +16.5, which means up a pound this week. I'm kind of thinking this is my bodies response to chips and queso, other Mexican goodies, and the pizza we had Saturday night. Oops...no biggie.
Maternity clothes?: Yes and no. Gym clothes are all not, bottoms all are, and dresses and tops are a mix.
Sleep: Lots of tossing a turning. Waking up about 4-5 times a night. Not super.
Best moment this week: Finding out Baby M is measuring a week ahead! I just knew she'd be a big, healthy girl.
Movement: Lots, especially early in the morning (4:30-5ish) when I'm pretty sure she's trying to kick me awake to eat. She kicks randomly throughout the day and again around 7-8 when I'm relaxing after dinner. :)
Food Cravings: Still cranberry juice, Greek Yogurt- honey flavored, and 60 calorie jello pudding packs for dessert. D craves the pudding treats too now.
Gender: Baby GIRL!
Belly Button: A funny looking innie...kind of shallow these days.
Stretchmarks?: No newbies.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night. I'm a little tired today...ughhh.
What I am looking forward to: Getting the heck out of this office tomorrow afternoon and my appointment on Friday, of course. :)
Weekly Wisdom: Naps are your friend and there is nothing wrong with going to bed at 9pm.
Milestones: Well the next big one we have coming up is our V-Day next week. Viability (which is considered to be at 24 weeks) means that Baby M would have a chance of surviving outside of the womb, with medical help of course, if she were to deliver early. I'm pretty sure she's as big as most 24 weekers right now, but we will encourage her to stay put for another 16 weeks or so. :)

Here are the weekly pics! D thinks the belly has grown in the past few days. What do you think?

There ya go! How bad is our camera? We definitely need to look into an upgrade before the baby gets here. Anyone have good suggestions?

xo,
H

Friday!

Lots of things going on in these parts...

First, my *good news* job from several weeks ago officially came through yesterday! It is an amazing offer and I'm really looking forward to being challenged at work again and I dunno, making more than minimum wage. Ha, jk, Louisiana isn't that bad...

To celebrate D is taking me out to Mexico Lindo tonight...he's well aware that Mexican is my favorite treat food ever. What a smart husband. I might even get crazy and have a virgin margarita (do they even make those?)! So excited. My last day of work at the current place of employment is next Tuesday and I'll have a few days off to regroup before beginning the new one on Monday June 21st. I'll have more details as to the job description later, but it sounds like I'll be on a management team for the same project I used to work with at my old job in VA. Only real difference is that I'll be working for the government rather than as a contractor. Read: job security. Like I said, more details on that after I get started and figure everything out.

In baby news, I got a call from my doctor yesterday with the results of our ultrasound, which I hadn't been expecting. I thought I'd hear about them at our appointment next Friday, but it was nice to get a call. The ultrasound showed normal anatomy and normal growth, as well as appropriate interval growth between April and now when we had the first one sonogram. Also, it showed a normal anatomic survey. One thing they did find, however, was evidence of a nuchal cord, meaning the cord is wrapped around the baby's head or neck area. Most of the time this resolves on it's own, aka- the baby wiggles around and it moves, but to monitor it we get to schedule another ultrasound that will take place in about 4 weeks. On the plus, we get to see Miss M again when she's a little chunkier and on the negative, I'm sure I'll worry about it for the next month.

I actually did some research about it last night and found out that nuchal cords are pretty common, about a third of pregnancies have them and those are just the ones that know about it because of an ultrasound. Right now it's just business as usual around here because her heart rate was normal. If it is still wrapped at the next ultrasound they will probably want to follow-up again to see how things progress as we get closer to birth. At birth, depending on the stress level of the baby, they will either leave it be or try to unwrap it or even cut it as she's being born. I'm sure I'll ask a million questions and find out more about that next Friday, so more to come.

Other than that semi-concerning news, things around here are great. It's been a long week, but it is finally oveerrr. Next week should be a breeze too now that I have a two day work week. :) I've been going to the gym literally every day for the past couple of weeks and I feel better than ever. I've been going to bed pretty early too- so apologies if it's taken me forever to answer an email or text sent later in the evening, but it has really helped with my energy during the day. I'm not even worried about the Week 23 weight update this week, because I know that anything I do see is going to just be baby or retaining fluid. I will definitely try to keep this up as long as I'm feeling up to it because I'm sure there will be third trimester days where the gym just won't happen. For now, everything is going well.

This weekend is going to be used for errand running...which involves us driving an hour to the nearest commercial area. We also need to get serious about baby furniture, because some brands take anywhere from 6-12 weeks to get in and that is starting to cut it close! I'll let you know what we find on Monday and I'll try to get real update pictures this week. Have a good weekend everyone!

xo,
H

Is it Friday yet?!

I edited yesterday's post to include a bump pic, so check that out if you want to!

Today I'm just chugging along here at work trying to get to lunch time so I can have an excuse to eat my leftovers from last night...because I made a dinner that I really thought turned out well! Let me share. :) Spaghetti Carbonara is both easy and yummy. I've tried it out before and had less than acceptable results, but I found a new recipe and it is great. Very few inexpensive ingredients are required and it takes basically just the time that you need to cook the pasta because once it's done, you just quickly mix and serve! Take a peek if you are looking for a simple, but delishous meal:

http://letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/06/spaghetti-carbonara.html

In other news, I've been looking further into baby bedding and I think I've changed my mind since the inspiration room post I did awhile back. What do you all think of this:



I think it is less girly floral, but still cute and has the colors that I was thinking about. Plus imagine all of the cute accessories that I could find with those adorable little birds! Feedback, please. :)

In other picture news, I'm trying to put together some things for D's first Father's Day. So far I am thinking about cute stuff for the baby that he will like...take a peek at a few of these below.

Not sure if she'll be allowed to wear this one out of the house...

This one is really cute. I'm addicted to Baby Gap!

What other things do you think I should do? I'll do breakfast and card, but any ideas out there besides a couple dinky onesies? Maybe I'll get some cute little pants, and booties to make complete outfits...who knows. I need to get planning for our dads and granddads as well. I hate having to mail things so far in advance, because our mail here is super slllowww and unreliable. I can't count on anything to get here or get other places on time, it really stinks.

On a totally unrelated note, we have agreed on the baby's name, but still don't know if we will be announcing it before her birth. Sorry to string everyone along there, but we would hate for everyone to think it is one thing and then decide to change it last second- especially if part of her name is after someone else, you know? We don't like hurt feelings around here. We'll see what we end up doing!

Hope everyone is having a good week...I'm off to stare at my lunch in the fridge and think about eating part of it now... :)

xo,

H

Pregnancy Week 22

I know Week 22 is almost halfway over, but we can't miss an update post can we?! I'm feeling great and Baby M is being her active self. Some times she gives me a couple of slow days, where I can feel her, but not as pronounced...well as of yesterday she is back to kickboxing or whatever it is she does in there. It was probably the most I've ever felt her and I love it. At one point I'm pretty sure she completely rotated herself- that is the weirdest thing I've ever felt!

Lately I've also felt very thankful for what an easy, fun pregnancy this has been so far. I mean, I don't have much to complain about. I have days where I feel more tired than usual, but that is to be expected. I never really had morning sickness, I'm not super bloaty to the point that I'm uncomfortable, and I can still move around with ease. I'm glad that this has been a good experience so far and I'm so excited to see how everything progresses. I could be holding a baby exactly 4 months from now. :)

How far along?: 22 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +15.5...only .5 this week! Wooo hooo! :)
Maternity clothes?: Most bottoms are maternity. I'm in love with leggings. Too bad it has been in the upper 90's here...
Best moment this week: Well, best moment since my last update was seeing our babe and finding out that we are going to have a daughter in 4 months!
Movement: Lots. :)
Food Cravings: Cranberry Juice. I go through about 3-4 bottles of 100% cran a week.
Gender: Baby GIRL!
Belly Button: A funny looking innie...kind of shallow these days.
Stretchmarks?: No newbies.
What I miss: Being able to get off the couch or out of bed with out much effort. If its like this now, imagine what it will be like in the next 10 weeks!
What I am looking forward to: Buying more girly things, my next appointment on June 18th...
Weekly Wisdom: Make time to slow down and relax at least once a day. When I take a few minutes to put my feet up I can usually count on Baby M to say hi with a swift kick to my bladder or other organs depending on how she is positioned, and I love it. :)
Milestones: Obviously find out gender was a pretty big one, but I think another pretty fun fact is that Baby M weighs over a pound now! She is still measured crown to rump, which is about 8 inches- so imagine how long she is with those legs!

Makeshift Weekly Update pic...bare with me this week.


My bump looks a little lumpy due to my skirt being unzipped a little and layered with a cami. Really attractive to wear unzipped clothing...haha. Sorry for the break from the usual pic posing, I was too sweaty after work/gym and too scary looking after a shower to even think about taking them. If I try again and update I'll let you all know!

xo,
H

Checking In

I'm still here, I promise! Blogger was down in certain areas of the country yesterday, including parts of Louisiana and Texas- go figure. It really cramped my work day style, but don't worry, I'll be back in full force today. I owe you a Week 22 post and I may or may not have a post dedicated to Baby Girl's things that I have either bought or plan to...it's been a busy few days!

Friday after our appointment we started calling our parents and telling people, which took up a good portion of the morning. I immediately got to work, checking out newborn girl things online- and ohmigoodness is it overwhelming! We decided to have a relaxing afternoon instead of running out to shop (especially because it's slim pickings around here) and wrapped up the day with a cookout and movie. Get Him to the Greek was pretty funny, I would definitely recommend it.

Saturday we did house stuff and geared up to babysit for some friends so they could go out for their anniversary. We figured it would be good practice, so both D and I went. We watched a 4 year old girl and 2 year old boy...thank God it was two against two! Kids have so much energy- and they are both really good kids, it was just nice to have both of us there. It was also neat to see how D interacts with children. While I am the bigger pushover ("Hey, I want a popsicle too, so just eat a couple bites of dinner and we'll call it a day!") and better comforter, D is like a big kid himself, so he is great at getting their energy out and also enforcing the rules. He talks to kids like they are little adults, which I think is weird, but it definitely gets their attention! No one choked or ended up with any broken bones so the night was considered a success...although, I don't know if we plan on volunteering to babysit any time again soon. :)

Sunday we did more house stuff, gym, and got ourselves all ready for the week. We have one of D's ROTC buddies from college staying with us until he gets a place so we had another cookout and called it a day. Not too much going on around here, but it seems like we always have obligations whether they be for baby stuff or D's job, so we will take a lazy weekend whenever one presents itself!

This week is off to a great start. First- I know this goes on my Week 22 post, but I only gained half a pound this week! This is a big deal. It basically tells me that if I get my butt to the gym and make healthy food choices I will still gain weight, but not at the rapid 1.5 lbs a week that I had going on for the past few updates. I have been doing really well making time to get in some exercise every day lately, so it's really nice to see that it does make a difference.

Also, this is the first week in for-ev-er that we haven't had a single thing going on other than our regular work schedules. No Army dinners, no random visitors, or meetings. That should really help to keep us both on track and will be a nice break from the norm.

Like I said earlier, I will post Week 22 shortly, but you might have to wait on pictures until this evening. Deal? Also, I have got to show you all some of Baby M's gear that we will be ordering or have ordered so far. I'll leave you with the first thing we purchased because I like picture posts more than just words...

Isn't that the most precious thing you've ever seen? I sent the picture to D, expecting him to make fun of me and even HE told me it was adorable and to buy it immediately. I think the whole little girl thing has sunk in just a bit. :) He even mentioned later on in the day that he will probably have her wear it all Fall and Winter so her head doesn't get cold. Silly boy, don't you realize that she will have hats and bows in every color to match all of her outfits?

I'll be back in a little!

xo,

H

Ultrasound Details :)

What a day! D and I woke up bright and early and he cheered me on as I downed my 30 ounces of water. We got to the hospital way before we needed to be there, but it was well worth it, because we got called in 15 minutes early for our appointment.

The first part of the appointment the tech took all of the measurements. She explained that she couldn't tell me anything other than the gender (if the baby cooperates) and the heart rate, which was 152 bpm. All of the measurements and pictures she takes go into a report that our doctor will review and go over with us at our next appointment, which is in two weeks. I really hope that everything looks great and icing on the cake would be if she were measuring ahead and our due date was moved up. As usual, I will report back on all of that as soon as we find anything more out!

Here are some more pictures from our sonogram on Friday. Miss Lady was moving around toward the end when she took pictures for us, so you will see that they aren't as clear as her 12 week pictures when she was a lot less active!

The alien picture. A little less scary than the 12 week one. :)

My girl with her long leg propped up. You can kind of see an arm in the background and part of the umbilical cord. We had a hard time getting her to stay still for a profile pic!



Here is the best profile we could get. Still kind of hard to see, especially with the arms and cord around that area as well.

Another "full body" shot...it's getting kind of cramped in there!


Here's my little loves foot as she kicks me!

Unless we have any issues, those will be our last pictures from the hospital. We are looking into possibly doing a 3D ultrasound in the next couple of months if we feel the need to see her again...which I would already like to!

I was so surprised to hear that we are having a GIRL! I really did expect to hear that Baby M was a boy, but am SO happy with the news. Even D, as shocked as he was, is already planning what "bad ass girl sports" he will be encouraging her to try out. He also expects that she will look like him, but a girl, so that will be interesting... :) I just can't wait to meet her and and bring her home and start our little family. She is already so loved.

Hopefully we will start getting serious about finding a name for Baby Girl M soon! We have several top choices, but decided that we won't be announcing anything until we are 100% sure. More to look forward to!

Well, I'm off to enjoy the weekend...be back for my 22 week update soon!

xo,

H

It's a...

Both D and I are thrilled. :)

xo,
H

Today's the Day!

I know I said that the next post would be the reveal, but I'm so excited I have to take 2 minutes to do a pre-appointment post! Can you believe we are FINALLY finding out?! I feel we've had to wait so much longer than most people, but hopefully it pays off with some great pictures and an easy gender determination.

Our appointment is at 8:45 am our time, so 9:45 for all your east coasters. It might be a longer one, but expect me to have some news available by your lunch time!

I'm off to get ready and take my last potty break before I get to start downing 30 ounces of water and not peeing until after it's all over. That is going to be fabulous...

Oh, and rumor has it that if your bladder is too full you have to go relieve yourself "a little" and stop mid-flow. How terrible does that sound? Alright, no more pee talk- check back in a little! :)

xo,
H

This time tomorrow...

we'll be at the hospital for the big ultrasound!

Not only will we find out if Baby M is a boy or girl, we also get to see them do an anatomy scan where the tech will measure all of the baby's major bones and organs and make sure things are developing normally. I'm pretty excited for this portion of the u/s because we will hopefully hear that everything is going just fine in there. I feel like I don't know anything about how Baby M is doing. I mean, I'm getting bigger and I can feel him or her more, but that's about all I know at this point. Maybe we will even find out if the baby is measuring ahead...aka...my due date could move up! That would be fantastic. September sounds like a good birthday month, don't you think?

I've clearly got baby on the brain, because two out of four of my dreams last night were about finding out Baby M's gender and they were both different results! (Yes, I average 3 vivid dreams a night...weird right?) In my first dream they told us it was a boy and I totally didn't get excited...in fact, I think I was like, "Duuuhhhh, I knew it." I was a total beyotch in that one. In my second baby dream it was a girl, and even though I was excited, I felt kind of sad because I knew how much D was hoping for a boy. Either way it goes, I really hope that these dreams aren't any indicators of how I will react to the big news, because I was a downer in both of them! I'm sure I'll be a blubbering idiot, that's how these things have gone so far. :)

I can't wait for my next post and can't believe it's already here! Talk to you all tomorrow...

xo,
H

Boy Room Inspiration

It's about time, right?! I figured that since we only have two days until we find out whether Baby M is a she or he, I should probably get on this. Odds are if I did the girl room post and not boy, then you know I would totally find out it's a boy on Friday! (Which I'm still kind of convinced it is...)

Here is some sweet baby boy room inspiration. D and I both have a pretty healthy appreciation for the water and all things beach, so we liked this theme as opposed to animals, etc. Take a peek...

Love the boats and the red, white, and blue color scheme. We would paint the accent wall a light blue. P.S. Note the name... ;)

Love the rug.

Cute mobile.

Isn't this the most adorable rocker, ever?!

Am I getting too theme-y?

I think that whether we end up with a boy or girl, I'd like a neutral rocker/glider so that it can be re-used. I guess a light color like this would need to have durable fabric! Picture it without the green pillow...

...and maybe with something like these?

I love this bedding set a ton...and having an idea of what we are going to do, boy or girl, makes me excited no matter what we find out on Friday.

2 dayssss!

xo,

H

Boring Married Couple, alternately titled: Our Weekend

I seriously love long weekends. Can you believe this week is just about halfway over? I can, because I'm sure every hour between now and Friday will drag for me as I anticipate our big appointment. It is SO close!

We had a really nice few days off.

Friday night I practiced "sharing", which I guess I'll have to get used to if I'm going to teach a child how to share one day. Instead of whining until I got a Mexican dinner, we invited some friends over to our place for drinks and a cookout. It was long overdue as we've totally put off having people over since there seems to always be something else going on at other houses. I'm really glad we finally returned the favor AND I even stayed up till after midnight...which hasn't happened in...well, probably since January to be honest. I was proud.

Saturday we slept in, woke up for a big homemade breakfast, and then got back in bed and slept in some more. It was fantastic. After lounging for the better part of the morning we decided that we needed Starbucks to get our day rolling, so I got my new favorite: a Green Tea Frappacino, with skim milk. Green Tea doesn't have that much caffeine and the cold drink is so necessary with the heat we've been having. I highly recommend trying one. Next it was off to a mani/pedi date with myself and home for another lounge session, because I finally have a valid excuse to lay around as much as I want. ;) Later that evening we went over to a friends house for "the fight" that was apparently a big deal to watch and called it an early night at about 10. (P.S. The fight started at 10:30...so sad we missed it...haha)

Sunday we finally dragged our over-fed butts to the gym and then rented a bunch of movies since it was supposed to rain. Not much to report here.

Monday we ventured out to the gym again and then I got ready for SATC2! While the movie wasn't fantastic, I definitely had a few good laughs and was happy to go out with some of the girls I've become friends with down here. We wrapped up the weekend with a yummy grilled dinner, thanks to D, some outdoor playtime with Molly and started watching Sherlock Holmes, which is actually really good so far.

I just re-read this and titled my post. Wow, are we boring or what?! Haha...a couple of years ago I would not have categorized this as a "good" weekend. Booorrrinnggg! Now I'm in love with anything that involves sleep in large quantities, coupled with food or other relaxing activities, ie movie watching or getting my nails done.

Not too much on the calendar this week other than Friday, of course. I'm starting to finalize how I will reveal the gender to everyone. We will obviously be calling our parents, but when it comes to friends, I will probably post on here so that I save myself from making a ton of calls and texts and having to figure out who to call first, etc. That always becomes a big mess. Sorry it isn't as personal as getting a call from D and I, but it will save time- which is important, because we will be busy SHOPPING! :) Our immediate plans involve checking out some gender appropriate baby clothes, getting paint for our baby room accent wall, and having a celebratory dinner out. I will try to finalize bedding choices this week, so you guys can see what we choose and that way we will know what color paint to get. I feel like the fun part is finally getting here!

I'll be checking back in this week for sure!

xo,
H

After thought- How weird is it that we will be in the 3rd Trimester in 5.5 weeks? That doesn't seem far away AT ALL! Yikes!

Pregnancy Week 21

21 + weeks down, 18 and some change to go! This past week went by fast and as you can see the long weekend made for a late post...so yet another day closer to our next weekly update. I am still feeling really good, just getting tired again, mostly after I work out. We got a lot of sleep this weekend- maybe too much, so that might be attributing to the tiredness lately. I'm so excited for what a quick little week this will be. 3 working days and it will be baby appointment time! Get in your last minute poll predictions and place your bets... ;)

How far along?: 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Uh, about 15 lbs. I think we've been gaining 1.5 a week for the last few...

Maternity clothes?: Yes and no.
Sleep: Eh, hasn't been as great this week. I wake up a lot and have been getting tired super early in the evenings.

Best moment this week: Just having the baby moving all the time. D getting to feel it again.

Movement: Crazy, all the time. Pretty sure my kid is part ninja.

Food Cravings: Nothing this week.
Gender: Finding out FRIDAY!!! This week I'm leaning towards boy.

Belly Button: Innie

Stretchmarks?: No newbies

What I miss: I miss not needing to nap after workouts. So drained.

What I am looking forward to: Friday, Friday, Friday :)

Weekly Wisdom: Always have a water on hand...it is getting HOT!

Milestones: Baby's now the size of a banana! Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).

Another beautiful set of pics...haha...I dress like a hobo pretty much any time I'm not at work:

There you have it. I'll be back later today for a weekend recap post! Have a great day. :)

xo,

H