Nesting, Friends and Easter

Sorry it has been so long since I've blogged!! I planned on blogging last week, but you know how things go sometimes.

So last weekend we celebrated one of my best good friends and her soon to be here Abigail. I am SO excited to finally meet this little girl, and that Jackson will have a fast friend to grow up with (and so I have someone to call that is 9 weeks ahead of me when I'm freaking out!!)


Here are the mamas! I'm excited to get another photo like this at my shower, only much bigger bellies!!

Kevin and I inherited some bookshelves from his mom recently, and we decided to use them in Jackson's room. They were in need of refinishing, so we wanted to paint them with some fun colors to add some interest to his nursery, since we have decided not to paint. Since we finally got the rooms all cleared out, we figured it was time to do that. Kevin has been working on sanding them down (he got a new electric sander out of the deal)


Here daddy is, hard at work!!

While he was sanding away yesterday I was working on getting the garage cleared out so we had room to paint, and to move in our secondhand stuff my mom got for us so it can air out and we can clean it all. Finally got that all done today, and between yesterday and today we got the bookshelves painted, here they are in Jackson's room.


Thinking we might need an area rug to cover up the hated green carpet....any ideas?

We went to my mom's house today for Easter with the family. Kaitlyn wanted to go swimming, since it was finally a nice weekend. So even though it was freezing, she got in the pool.


"It's COLD!"

Papa heated up the spa for Kaitlyn since the pool was so cold.


Much happier Kaitlyn.


Mom and Shasta enjoying the sun


Kevin being...Kevin


Shasta saying hi to Jackson


Rush enjoying the weather too.

We had a good day today. Kaitlyn wished Jackson a happy Easter. She's getting less shy about talking to the belly, it's pretty cute. I'm starting to move like a pregnant lady, a little waddle going on, the belly is pretty out there. Here is last Friday...



I'm heading down south for a conference next week, that should be a good time. I have a feeling I'm going to be the designated driver for the weekend. At least Diana, my other preggie friend, will be there too. I plan on taking lots of photos, so we'll get those up to you next week. Till then!!

The uncomfortable side of pregnancy

So, everything so far has been pretty much rainbows and butterflies around here. I try and keep a positive attitude, because I know if you THINK you feel bad, guess what?!?! YOU FEEL BAD!!!

But time for some honesty. It isn't all kicks and somersaults and baby feet on ultrasounds. It is also heartburn, muscle soreness, fatigue, and pain. Today was one of those days. Oh, and worry. Can't forget the all encompassing worry.

At our last ultrasound Jackson was breech. This is totally normal at 21 weeks (I think 30% or something). It still causes worry. I want a completely natural child birth. This isn't possible with breech. Well, it is, but I'm not willing to risk it just to say I got my natural delivery. It means, for us, C-Section. Not at all what is in the plans (however much we CAN plan for delivery...). So I've been hoping and hoping he turns the last few weeks, and will continue to do so until our next ultrasound in about 3 weeks. Today, it certainly felt like SOMETHING was going on in there, and I hope it was a big ole flip. My lower abs are really sore, tons of pelvic pain (pubic symphysis dysfunction...something nobody tells you about until you have it...)...today was also the first day I felt like I had to sit down at work because I was uncomfortable standing. Now, I REALLY hope this is temporary, because I still have 17 weeks to go, too long for this business!!!

Also had a mild blood pressure hiccup at my last visit. Turned out to be nothing, but it was certainly a stressful 30 minutes for me. Let's hope that never happens again!!

Overall though, I am loving being pregnant. I get to bring my little buddy to work with me everyday, feel him moving around more and more (though he STILL goes quiet when I put a hand on my belly, so Kevin hasn't felt him yet!). I love having a belly, not having to worry about covering it up. I swear, being pregnant is one of the best things to happen to my body image in a long time. I'm finally PROUD of that bump!

Nursery is coming together...and by that I mean the room is now empty and clean and ready to be filled. We've decided not to paint or anything, and to just use wall art, etc to make the room what it is, and letting the kiddos choose what they want to decorate the room as when they're older and can pick paint colors, etc.

I have a baby shower for one of my best good friends this weekend, I'm SO excited. I'm so glad our babies will be close in age so they can play together as they grow up. I have a couple other pregnant friends too, so exciting! I think I'm the last one due of the group I know about, so I'll get to play with all their babies before it is my turn.

Despite my complaints this blog, I wouldn't trade this for the world. It is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life, also the scariest, but it will be the most rewarding. Only 4 more months until we all get to meet this little guy.

Halfway and Hand Me Downs

So today is the half way point. 20 weeks 0 days pregnant, 20 weeks 0 days to go!!! It has happened SO fast! The munchkin was moving around like crazy yesterday, I think baby enjoys car rides where mom isn't driving. So that was exciting to feel, because during the week I don't feel things nearly as often since I'm more active.



Here is the belly as of Friday (19w5d). Something is certain;y growing in there!!

Everything seems to be going great. I'm getting some pelvic aches and pains, which are totally normal, the trick is trying to figure out how to manage them. Nothing unbearable yet, and I hope it doesn't get that way.

As far as baby goes, the munchkin is weighing in at about 10.5 ounces, and 6.5 inches long...a cantaloupe! Tastebuds are developing so whatever I eat they can now taste through the amniotic fluid. Hearing is intact, so Kevin has been playing the Star Wars soundtrack for my belly and telling baby that Episodes 1-3 do not exist.

The big ultrasound is on Friday, so I'll have an exciting announcement after that!! Any guesses? I have a poll going at work, things are about even right now.

Other exciting news is that an OLD friend of mine that thanks to Facebook I've stayed in contact with recently offered up some of her baby stuff that she didn't need anymore, since her little girl is 3 and a half now. So yesterday Kevin and I drove down to Costa Mesa and picked up a TON of awesome stuff.


We got a glider, a bathtub, bath seat, high chair, two different activity tables, some pregnancy books, baby books, toys...just a ton of awesomely helpful things. I am so excited and thankful!!

That's it for today. More exciting stuff coming up soon!

Petunia Pickle Bottom?

So, I'm not a luxury items girls, really. I like my jewelry, and I like my Dooney, but other than that I don't need the high end shoes, etc. So I really didn't expect to be that way with anything baby.....then I discovered Petunia Pickle Bottom. An odd name, I know. I'm not sure what it means, but it is a brand of high end diaper bags. I looked them up online http://www.petunia.com/ and fell in love.

I sweetly asked my loving husband if I could have a $200 diaper bag....you can imagine his response...so ok, no NEW Petunia for me. But that doesn't mean I can't have one!! Off to ebay! Ok, ebay is still a little priced....off to craigslist! Ahh, perfect. I found TWO Petunia's I loved. Both for VERY reasonable prices. I emailed them both, fully expecting the to both be gone. Lo and behold, they were both still available. What to do now? Well, one was reasonable priced at $50. The other? A STEAL for $25! So what is any saavy shopper to do, but get both!! To be fair, the second one is much smaller, great for quick trips and the like, while the first one is much larger, with a changing pad, etc. Great for longer trips and overnight.

Now, photos of the goods:


Here is the first bag, my FAVORITE!! A discontinued pattern, but close to what they offer now, and regardless, black, white, red...helloooo!!!


And here is the smaller bag. Year of the Dragon! I'm not crazy about the pom poms, so I might cut those off....opinions?

So, there ya go. And so Kevin doesn't feel left out, I just bought him a Diaper Dude bag:


because he refuses to wear my AWESOME PPB. Silly boy.

Anyway, that's all for now!!

So far, the worst thing is...

So I've had a pretty easy go of things. Nothing I can really complain about. But on Tuesday, I encountered what could possibly be the worst thing ever about my pregnancy....


Thin Mints gave me heartburn.


Like, immediately.


Now, I've been chewing tums since about week 5 with this baby, so heartburn is nothing new, but this was devastating. I usually can't pinpoint exactly what caused the said heartburn, so I just go along with tums in every place possible (bedroom, bathroom, work...). But this was clear. A food I can directly avoid to reduce the uncomfortable burning....which is only going to get worse as baby grows. To make matters even more tragic, I have an order of Thin Mints coming to me!! Do I dare eat and suffer the consequences? Would you?

In other news, we had our 18 week checkup this week. My doc found the heartbeat immediately (I guess its good she's better at it than I am). She says everything looks good, baby is growing and is located right where baby is supposed to be in my belly. She also said "Well, by 24-26 weeks, you'll really start showing." Ummm...excuse me!!! Please reference the previous post where I linked to a photo of my ever expanding belly....if that isn't showing, what is 8 more weeks going to look like!!!

Anyway, enough about me. Kevin's birthday is this coming Monday, and we're celebrating Saturday with friends and family. If you would like to come and either didn't get my email, or changed your mind, just let me know! A big Happy Birthday to my hubby!!!

Baby Update - 17w3d

Ok, so now it's time to fill everyone in on Baby. Things are going along very smoothly, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about. First trimester I had some nausea and food aversions, but I know it could have been MUCH worse than it was, so I'm not complaining about that. Once I hit 11 and a half weeks, all of that went away. Since then, things have been so easy it is kinda scary.

At 12weeks and 5 days, I found the heartbeat for the first time. I have a home doppler that I got from another preggie friend so I could find baby's heartbeat at home.
Click here, and ignore the video, just listen.

So that was very cool, because I couldn't feel the baby, nor was I showing, so this whole "being pregnant" idea was kinda abstract at the time.

Around 14 weeks, I finally felt like I was showing. I didn't notice, but one of my co workers mentioned something, so I decided to compare photos. I have been taking weekly ones since about 12 weeks.


So this is up to last week. You can definitely see the difference.

Starting this week I'm finally feeling like I'm pregnant. Some things are getting uncomfortable, and normal things I do at work I have started to have t think about. No more laying on my stomach, or putting any pressure there. I was demonstrating an exercise yesterday and had to stop because it was putting direct pressure on my belly, and that isn't so comfortable.

I also THINK I'm feeling the baby. It is really infrequent, so sometimes I think I'm imagining it, but sometimes I swear I'm feeling things. I'm sure this will get more and more frequent as time goes on and baby continues to grow.

Doctor appointment next Tuesday, and anatomy scan March 9th where we will find out sex, and make sure everything else looks good. I'm excited for that appointment, it is going to be a big one. We're doing the 4d scan, so we should get a good shot of baby.

Well, that's it for now, I'll let everyone know how things are progressing!!