CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Enough!

lol.... As soon as my TWO bellies merge into ONE belly, I will post a belly pic! ; ) So far I don't really have that cute "baby bump" goin' on! I have a lower pooch, an indentation where my pants go and where my belly button is, and another upper pooch. This is how it's been since I can remember....I have TWO bellies! The only difference is they're larger and aren't quite as defined as they once were but they still aren't one. I pinky promise that as soon as they merge, I will have the hubs take a photo so I can share it with all of you. If I posted it now, you'd just be disappointed! I don't want to let you down....so please be patient and stay tuned. =)

Monday, January 26, 2009

More Gear

The store called and said our crib was in so we went and picked it up over the weekend. I wanted to look at the bedding again to make sure we still liked it so we walked around and did that and also looked at travel systems (stroller/car seat combo). They had a Graco system that we really liked and had everything I wanted. The stroller (Quattro Tour Sport) can hold a child up to 50 pounds and the car seat (Safeseat, Step 1) can hold an infant up to 30 pounds and 32" tall. Most only hold up 22 pounds and 29" tall. Given that the hubs is 6'3" there's a chance we could have a tall baby. I didn't want him/her to be growing out of it in less than a year, so I wanted one of the 30 pound/32" ones. They say that they fit 97% of children up to 1 year of age.

The stroller drives really nice and turns corners on a dime! I didn't even run into anything! lol... Here are some pics...and yes, this is the color! It looks more peach here, but it's actually orange. Nectar, to be exact. Not too girly, not too boyish!

We've had some friends ask why we're buying stuff and "Are you not having a baby shower?" Yes, there will be a shower, but honestly, we don't feel comfortable putting "big ticket" items such as furniture and a travel system on a gift registry. We don't want to look greedy. Other than the bedding, dresser, and possibly a glider, we won't be purchasing anything else. We'll register for things like a pack-n-play, swing, bouncer, changing pad, baby monitor and miscellaneous stuff like bottles, extra sheets, washcloths, etc. I'm sure my office and my husband's lab mates will give us a gift card somewhere and we'll use that to buy whatever we don't get that we wanted. Or, it can always be used for diapers!

I'm now 17 weeks along and feeling pretty good during the day. Night-time isn't so good. I wake up at least 4 times to go to the bathroom and it hurts to get out of bed and walk because the ligaments and tendons in my abdomen are stretching to accommodate my growing uterus, which in turn causes a good deal of pain. It doesn't bother me during the day because I'm moving around enough to stay limber, I guess. My doctor said eventually I'll feel it at all hours.

I had a gift card to Motherhood Maternity so I went and bought a pair of tan corduroy pants and a pair of jeans over the weekend. Each have the "secret fit belly," aka full panel.....and are soooo very SEXY! lol.... They are super comfortable though and should fit well into pregnancy since the panel is super stretchy. I didn't think I'd like the full coverage but it's nice on cold days. I'll take an extra layer of warmth any day! =) I also went last weekend and bought 2 pairs of dress slacks and several shirts at Target and Shopko. I'm now set for clothes until spring/summer when it gets warmer and I'm much larger.

I've now gained 8.8 pounds. I have gained the average 'suggested' amount of 1 pound per week each of the past 2 weeks so I feel pretty good about that. I'm looking forward to my next appointment which is 2 weeks and 3 days away (not that I'm counting or anything).

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Monthly Checkup

I had my 15-week checkup this morning. The nurse was having problems finding the heartbeat so I was starting to worry even though she said not to be concerned. She said sometimes it's hard to detect it during weeks 14-20 because the baby is moving around a lot and they tend to "escape" from the dopplar. She finally found it after 5 minutes (which seemed much longer) and it was thumping at 150 bpm which is a good rate (normal is 110-170).

I've now gained 7 pounds...4 of which were just last week (yes, as in 7 days)! Eegads! lol... I told her I was a bottomless pit and was hungry to the point of lightheadedness every 1.5 hours and had to eat something. She said babies don't gain weight gradually, but in spurts so that's what was going on. It was completely normal and she's not concerned at all. This week I'm back to my regular 3 meals and 3 snacks vs 3 meals and about 6 or 7 snacks! It was BAD! lol... She said not to be alarmed if I don't gain much over the next couple of weeks until it hits another growth spurt.

My next appt is Thursday, February 12, and they'll do an ultrasound to determine gender! =) It's perfect timing because we're going back to McCook the next day for the weekend. It'll be nice to be able to tell my parents the news in person since they had to find out via flowers and a phone call that we were expecting. We'll also have pictures to show which will be fun. I will scan them in and post them here, too. And maybe by then I'll have a belly pic, too!

We had a group consultation with a pediatrician last night. He was very personable and down-to-earth. We were very impressed with him and his practice so we are defnitely choosing him. They have three offices in town and the north location is only a couple of minutes from our house. Their medical records are stored electronically so they can be accessed from each of the three offices, as well as at the three hospitals in town and from the doctors' homes. The east location is open on Saturdays and Sundays, too, which will be really nice since kids don't just get sick or hurt Monday - Friday.

That's all for now!

P.S. Please pray that the baby cooperates next month and has its legs open or something so the tech can get a good look at its parts! lol... This is NOT the time for modesty! hahaha... If she can't tell, we won't find out till July when he or she is born!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Let the Shopping Begin!

I drive by a kids furniture store every day on my way to work called Kids Stuff Super Store, so we finally went there yesterday to take a look. We were very surprised....it was A LOT bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. They had lots and lots of cribs, dressers, bedding sets, strollers, car seats, gliders...you name, they have it! I will definitely be registering there in a few months!

One particular crib was on sale for $70 off. We went back today to see when the sale ends, and it ends at the end of January. We both really liked it and the price was right, so we went ahead and ordered it. They didn't have it in stock here in town, but there's one up in Omaha so it'll be shipped down in 1-2 weeks. It's a 3-in-1 convertible crib, meaning that it converts to a toddler bed, and then again into an adult full-size bed. We ordered it in "cinnamon" which is a shade between oak and cherry. (Shown is honey.)

It's made of solid wood and the frame is steel so it should hold up very well. The mattress adjusts from 9" - 26" which will be nice. I found some reviews online and they were all very positive.

There's a dresser that matches it that we will buy on down the road when we have the nursery cleared out and ready for furniture. (The dresser comes fully assembled where the crib is just in a box and has to be put together.) The only picture I could find showed it in black, but here it is anyway. What I like about it is that I can sit a lamp and baskets of stuff on the higher part and put a changing pad on the lower part of the dresser. The drawers slide out nice and it's also made of solid wood. The other thing that we like about it is it's bigger than most of the other ones we saw. They didn't have as many drawers and weren't as tall....since the hubs is 6'3" and WILL be changing diapers, this dresser will be better for him.

We also have bedding picked out. It's funny because I'd been searching online looking at bedding sets over and over and finally had it down to a couple of choices for each sex. Then we go into this store and I found two sets I like even better! And the best part is I don't have to guess what the fabric feels like or what the color will look like in person. Plus, the price of each is about what I was willing to spend on a set, too.

The room we're turning into a nursery is a light shade of green now, called 'ryegrass.' If it's a girl we shouldn't need to paint because I think the shade of green in the bedding will match. I'll just buy the border stuff and put that around the room to jazz it up a bit. If the green doesn't match, well, Amy will be painting. =) And if it's a boy, she'll definitely be painting because green walls with a blue & brown set wouldn't look the best. ; ) So here's pics of each of the ones we have it narrowed down to. As soon as we find out what we're having we'll go and purchase it.









Monday, January 5, 2009

It's My Birthday!

That's right my friends. I turned 35 at 3:47 this morning, meaning I'm halfway to 70! lol... I don't feel any older though and I think I look better now than ever before (except for the perpetual pimple that refuses to go away). As my friend reminded me, this will be the last 'quiet' birthday I'll have for quite a number of years! Instead of a celebratory drink tonight, I'll be having a celebratory dessert instead! Not a bad tradeoff, really! =)

I brought cupcakes to the office today as my "I'm having a baby" announcement. I'm due 6 months from today! It's hard to see, but I used white gel frosting and made the male/female symbols on top of each. I should've made the pink frosting a bit brighter because the white didn't show up very well...but they're still cute (and most importantly, YUMMY) and they got the message across! It's been a pretty fun day and they're all really happy and excited for us.

I have no news to report....other than I'm SO thankful to have the first trimester behind me. I feel really good that the amount I gained was within the "recommended" amount of 3-5 pounds. I got on the scale Saturday morning and I'm at 153.2 for a net gain of 3.2 pounds. It doesn't sound like much but let me tell you, the tummy's bigger than an "I ate too much and gained 3 pounds" type of thing. I only have two pairs of khaki pants that I can still button (comfortably). I'm using elastic ponytail holders for all of my other pants. I just have to make sure I wear longer shirts so people don't see that my pants are unzipped! lol...

My next doctor's appointment is on the 14th. We'll listen for the heartbeat again and I'll have bloodwork done, too. Otherwise, nothing too exciting. I'm already looking forward to February's appointment because we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! It's hard to believe that we'll know in 5 or 6 weeks! Eeek! =)

I hope all of you had a great New Year's. We actually stayed up a little past midnight and watched the ball drop. The next day we certainly paid for it as we napped off and on most of the day. My husband only has 5 more days of at-home I.V. antibiotics so hopefully he'll regain his energy once he's done with those. He's back to work today after being off for 3 weeks due to his knee surgeries and recovery. He started physical therapy last Monday and he's getting his range of motion back a little. It's not going to be easy or quick, but he'll get there.

Have a great week and I'll check in next week after my appointment.