Breaking Even

So last week, I broke even on my pre-pregnancy weight. It’s a good thing there are a few wonderful things about nursing to make up for the tough stuff. Like that extra 500 calories a day that my body uses to produce that ‘heavy whipping cream’, as I like to call it, really helps combat baby fat. I continue to drop, which is totally awesome, but I’m still hanging on to the little muffin top (the baby fat above my belt).

Now I just need to get to my pre-wedding weight. I’m not even sure that’s possible…

Starting to pull it together…

Well, we got a few things ready in the last few weeks! Actually, I had the curtains sewed about a month ago. The glider/ottoman was up and ready a couple of weeks ago (thank you, thank you, thank you, Grandma Dannull!!!), and just this week, we were able to get our crib and set it up! If it weren’t for Kevin Fiet, we’d still be wondering how in the world we were going to get our crib from USA Baby to our house. (They wanted $125 to deliver it…Thank you, Kevin!) Thank goodness for friends!

Check it out:

34 weeks!

Well, it’ll be 34 weeks tomorrow, but I’m at home with nothing to do cause Blair is on a canooing trip with the Priests in the ward, so here ya have it. Took me a billion shots with the timer on the camera to get one I was happy with. I don’t know how many more of these I’ll be taking. There are 6 weeks left and I’ve been trying to take one every 4 weeks. If I’m still around at 38 weeks (you know what I mean…) then maybe I’ll snap one last one. I wouldn’t mind her being early, but I’m not sure I’ll be ready THAT soon…I guess I don’t have much say, though, do I?

As far as the pregnancy goes, I try to just take it a day at a time. I usually wake up at least once during the night, but I am able to fall right back to sleep, so it’s not a big deal. I definitely wouldn’t call myself miserable. I’ve been very very lucky as far as that goes. I do feel uncomfortable at times, and I find myself getting more and more headaches lately. I think that has more to do with my allergies acting up than anything, though. Speaking of allergies…I feel like my head is a balloon at the moment. Claritin is just not doing it for me anymore. I tried Zyrtec for a few days, and I felt worse, so I switched back. I think it’ll just have to be a matter of suffering through it. I am more allergic to grass than I am anything else, so with all the mowing of lawns, I’m not doing so well. Maybe it’s time for a Saturday afternoon cat-nap.

Until next time…

Alright, I feel more up to it today…

30 weeks!

Um…I gained 10 pounds in the last 4 weeks. That’s pretty much the only thing I can think about at the moment. I’m a little in shock, to tell you the truth. I know I’ve gotten bigger, but seriously, 10 POUNDS?! What in the world happened? I’m sure Blair would be able to tell you what happened. The truth is, I’ve been a little less cautious in the last 4 weeks as far as counting calories goes. Yah, I know you’re supposed to have every right to pig out when you’re pregnant, so I shouldn’t even worry about it, but I kinda had this idea in mind that I was going to still be careful to not eat more than I need and to eat good foods and stuff. I don’t know what happened to that idea this last 4 weeks. All I know is that we’ve been out to eat WAY too much in the last few weeks, and it doesn’t help that I am constantly craving goodies. If you know me at all, you know that this is a new thing. I didn’t use to get excited over things like cookies and cakes and chocolate and all of that stuff. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, don’t get me wrong, but it was for things like skittles and starburst. Not wendy’s frostys every other day and as much chocolate as I can get my hands on. Nope, that’s definitely a pregnancy thing. Still don’t crave cake though. Not surprised there…I’ve never really liked cake.

I’m not posting a bump picture today. I feel quite…what’s the word?…FAT today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next day. Maybe never. We’ll see…

I am happy to report that the baby’s heart is still beating, and quite strongly, too! I wasn’t worried this time, she never seems to stop moving around, so I was pretty sure she was still alive.

I have graduated from my appointments being every 4 weeks to every 2 weeks. That means it’s getting close, right?

I got to order my new glider rocker and ottoman last week and I got an email today saying that it’s shipped! I’m so dang excited! Check it out:

Well, anyway, that’s my pregnancy update for the month.

Until next time…

Our not so conservative crib purchase…

So we finally decided on a crib a few weeks ago. Our budget increased steadily over the course of a couple of months. What started as “I think we can find something that will do for under $200″ ended up being “$439 isn’t THAT much…” After much advice from many people, we decided we’d rather spend more on something that will withstand the tests of time (and babies) and splurged on this beauty. Check it out! It’s the Essex from Munire. We got it on sale (we get points for that, at least, right?) at USA Baby in Louisville, KY.

Oh, we just love it. We have this red dresser (and it’s not a good red…) that is in our closet for storage that we’re going to paint black to match. We’re also looking for a changing table that will work (for less than $150, and this time that’s non-negotiable) But someone tell me if a changing table is really all that necessary? In my mind, the floor works just fine, but will I wish I had it? This baby thing is sure costing a pretty penny. Maybe that $600 tax rebate coming our way won’t get to be used to buy something fun after all…

Just so you know, (and so I can validate the crib purchase in my mind) we did take advantage of an extra money-earning opportunity this last month. We “sat-n-saved” the first place in line at the Jefferson County Tax Sale for a local attorney so that their group could purchase delinquent tax bills. Together we took 9 shifts of 4 hours each making $13/hour. We made just over what our crib + tax cost. So there. Uber Expensive Crib Justified!

6 months down. 1 trimester to go.

Well, there are days when it seems that time is flying by, and days when I don’t think it could go any slower. Today, I feel like time is flying by. It’s mostly because of the crazy weird dream I had last night.

I won’t share all the details, but I basically dreamed that I gave birth to little Cami now…3 months early. While in real life she would be just about 2 pounds, she was like a 4-6 month old and weighed somewhere around 10 pounds. I didn’t have anything ready, not a single diaper or outfit. No crib. No nothing. Needless to say, I woke up with a huge sense of urgency and a fear that time is going by way too fast. Maybe I’ll go buy a pack of diapers after work…

Before last night and my crazy dream that knocked some sense of reality into me, you could definitely say that I have been getting antsy. I know there is still a while to go, but as I start getting bigger and my ribs tend to feel like they are crushing under pressure, I do get a bit anxious. You don’t have to say it: “Just wait.” I anticipate a rough trimester. Thank goodness babies are so cute…

Okay. It’s time for Mrs. Optimistic to take over. At my checkup last week, everything was great! Her heartbeat was super strong and she even kicked the doctor’s little microphone thingy a few times. I gained another 5 pounds since last visit, which is right on track. (I just broke even about a week and a half ago from all the weight I dropped in the first trimester) Here’s a new picture of the ever-growing baby bump:

Until Next time…

It’s a GIRL!!! (23 weeks)

That’s right! A girl! We are just so glad to finally be able to call her a ‘her’ and know that that’s what she really is! The little stinker definitely wasn’t going to give up her secret willingly, though. It took the ultrasound lady (how’s that for a technical title) 30 minutes to comfortably confirm that she’s a girl. It was so much fun though, not only to find out what we’re having, but to see her. It’s incredible to me that the last time we had an ultrasound, which was at just 6 weeks, she was just a little dot the size of a raisin, and now she actually resembles a little person! Here’s a 3D picture of her face:

I know she looks a little ‘alien-like’, but I just think it’s so amazing.

It’s no secret that Blair and I were hoping for a boy. At first, we didn’t really make the preference, but then we found ourselves wishing for a boy. We liked the idea of having the first child be a boy, and we also really liked all the cute baby boy ‘stuff’ out there. We saw this bedding at Babies ‘r Us one day that had little dinosaurs on it, and just loved it. Here’s a picture:

 

Too cute, right? But we’ll have to save the little dinosaurs for later. There are SO many cute girl things out there as well, so I’ll just have to suck it up and learn to love pink. I have to say that just about a week before we found out, I did think of the perfect name, and suddenly found myself secretly hoping for a girl, just so that I could use it. The name? Camille Ann. I’ll have to work on Blair, though. He has this past association with the name pronounced “Ca-Meal” that just drives him nuts, and says as long as we can make sure people call her either “Cami” or “Ca-Mill” then he’s alright with it. I’m hoping by the time she arrives, he’ll have changed the whole association so that when he hears the name, he thinks of his unborn little girl instead of some other girl from growing up. I still have 17 weeks!

And now, the bump: (mom hates it when I call it that…)

It’s a little bigger, right? It sure feels a lot bigger than it is. I’m starting to feel the stretching and the pressure on my back, although it’s not too bad. Just the fact that I can feel her moving all the time makes all the discomfort completely bearable. I just hope I still feel that way when the soft nudges to my uterus and bladder turn into violent kicks, and when she’s 5 times as big. (She weighed in at 1 lb 3 oz on March 10) I’m optimistic, but I’m not about to assume that this next 17 weeks is going to be peachy.

We had an interesting experience this weekend. We were asked to house sit/babysit three young kids for a few days. Ages: 5, 3, and 16 months. Needless to say, it was definitely a new experience. There were moments that were hard, for sure, but there were also moments when we could just feel how right it was that we were about to enter into this very new and very different phase of life. Being Parents. It was so funny, because we would worry so much about making sure each child ate their meal and drank their juice and got in bed on time, that there were times when we would realize “Wait a second, I’m hungry too!” and we had actually forgotten to take care of our own needs. I never thought something like that would just happen so easily. And to think that these weren’t even our kids. Someone said to Blair “Don’t worry, it’s easier when you actually love them.” Going into it, I imagined that I’d come out with this ‘slap in the face’ feeling, a little less anxious for our little one to arrive, and a little less anxious to start this chapter in our lives, but surprisingly to us both, we came away even more excited to have our own little family unit that our whole lives will revolve around. I do have to say, Blair will need a little diaper-changing practice. He still has yet to change one. At least I can say that there’s finally one thing that I definitely have the upper hand on.

Until next time…

 

 

 

 

18 weeks down, 22 to go! Almost halfway!

 

Well, it’s about that time again! We’re 4 weeks further down the road, and time is starting to fly by a little quicker. The nausea is becoming a thing of the past, and I’m really starting to enjoy being pregnant!

A week ago today, I felt the baby move for the first first time! Now I feel it pretty regularly, and it’s like feeling flutters or ‘butterflies’ in my stomach. I keep trying to get Blair’s hand on my belly in time to feel it, but it seems as though it’s a little too early for that. It sure makes the whole thing become more real now that I can actually feel someone moving around inside me. It also helped me when I went to the doctor to not feel as anxious as he was looking for the heartbeat. That’s a relief!

I’m posting a picture of my little bump. It may be small, but it’s there! Speaking of size, I weighed in 5 lbs heavier than I did at my last visit, so I’m definitely on the right track!

I bought my first pair of maternity pants a week or so ago. I was getting tired of having to cover up my unbuttoned pants at work, so I went in search or something that would expand throughout the pregnancy. I found just what Iwas looking for at Target, as far as pants go, but I’m having a little trouble finding affordable tops that actually look…decent. Anyone have suggestions? I can find several things online, but I hate buying clothes online…

At this last visit, we scheduled the ultrasound to find out whether we’re having a boy or a girl. For the record, I’m officially guessing that we will have a boy. I’ll probably by wrong, but it’ll be fun either way! We’ll be getting that done on March 10th, so expect another update around then!

Until Next Time…

Laura

14 weeks down, 26 to go!

Well, things are looking up as far as my pregnancy goes. I’m starting to have less nausea and have been able to eat more. I still probably don’t get more than 2,000 calories a day-the goal being about 2,500, but I’ve gained my first pound since being pregnant, and I count that as a success!

From what I’ve read, the little tike is between the size of a jumbo shrimp, and a tomato. (a bad comparison in my opinion since there are SO many kinds of tomatoes out there…) It’s incredible to think that that jumbo shrimp/tomato is a real live human being. Growing. Inside of me. It’s amazing, really!

I think that every time I go to the Obstetrician for a checkup I’ll be nervous when they start looking for the heartbeat. It’s such an agonizing feeling when they are moving that little microphone around on your belly and at first they can’t find it. You start hearing something and they say “No, that’s you!…No, that’s you, again!” When you finally hear that faint “thump-thump” that’s beating almost twice as fast as your own heart beat, you can’t help but let out a deep sigh. Turns out he (or she) is still alive and well!

Speaking of the sex, if I knew of a way to do it, I’d start a poll so everyone could guess whether it’s going to be a boy or a girl. So far I’ve had 2 people tell me they think it’s a boy. Blair thinks it’s a girl. I have no idea at all! Am I supposed to have some kind of ‘feeling’ about this sort of thing and just know?–I hope not!

“Am I showing?” you ask. Not really. If you didn’t know I was pregnant, you MIGHT see a little bump on my belly and wonder if I was, but you’d be too unsure to ask, worried that I would be offended if I was just letting myself go a little. In some ways, I probably looked more pregnant before I got pregnant, what with all the weight I’ve lost. Maybe next time I post, if I’m showing, I’ll add a picture for kicks! I’ll try to keep up with this every 4 weeks or so. Time’s going to fly!

Until next time…

Laura