19 Weeks and Wiggles

Today we have reached 19 weeks!  I can't believe my little nugget is almost half-cooked!  First the facts, then the fun stuff...

He or she (can't wait to find out so that I can stop having to take time to be gender inclusive about everything!) is supposedly the size of a mango!  That means 6 inches long (really?!) and 8.5 ounces.  That's both half a foot and half a pound of baby in my belly!  I still don't think I look quite big enough.  Andy has even mentioned it.  We will see what the dr. has to say soon enough.  Anyway, his or her brain is developing nerve cells and neurons to make the connections for sensory perception.  It's an exciting time in Wombville!  As baby is becoming more aware of his or her surroundings, it makes sense that he or she is moving around more.  And thanks to the weight he or she is putting on, I should be able to feel those movements any day now.

Speaking of which, I think I may be feeling some wiggles already!  A little over a week ago, I felt a strange sensation in that vicinity of my belly.  It felt like a muscle twitching, but way down deep.  I felt it regularly for a few days and was convinced that it was the baby moving.  Then it stopped.

Now, I don't know if it's hormones or just a mommy reflex kicking in early, but I panic about things a lot more easily than I used to.  For example, Andy was 10 minutes late getting home from work one day last week.  I had asked him to stop and pick up orange juice, but then forgot I had ever asked (stupid pregnancy brain!).  At 5 minutes after his anticipated arrival time, I heard sirens going through town.  Normally, I would have remembered the OJ and not had a second thought about it.  But oh no, not now.  Now, of course, there was a terrible car accident and he was laying in a ditch somewhere.  So I panicked and called him and frantically demanded to know where he was and if he was ok.  This is just one of many examples of my newly discovered penchant for panicking.  I'm awesome at it.  Not that that's a good thing.

So when I stopped feeling these little twitches, I was just certain that something was wrong with the baby.  Did I call the doctor?  Well, no, of course not.  Because then they would have me come in and I'd find out that it was actually true.  I know, not logical, but worrying was better than actually calling and finding out, especially when I know I will be there in less than two weeks anyway.  A few days passed and I had a rough day at work and Andy let me lay on the couch while he rubbed my feet.  (I got a winner, folks!)  And it was back!  More twitches!  The exact same feeling in the exact same place!  I just knew that it HAD to be the baby this time.  And then it stopped and I didn't feel it again for a few more days.  This morning, while sitting at my computer looking at recipes on pinterest, I felt it again.  Same thing, same place, gotta be the baby, right?  I hope so.

Whenever I do feel these wiggles, I have to be sitting or lying perfectly still.  When I'm standing or moving around at all, I get nothing.  And trust me, I've tried.  I've tried poking the area.  I've tried jiggling it.  I've tried asking nicely.  I've tried pulling out my mom voice (that I'm getting pretty good at) and demanding that he or she move right now or else.  Nothing.  So I figure that it just depends on how the baby is positioned at the time.  And hopefully the wiggles will get stronger and more defined soon so that I can say for sure that I can feel him or her moving consistently.  It would go a long way to easing my mind that he or she is ok in there.  It's tough not knowing.  But that's a post for another day.

So I wanted to ask for some advice.  Now that I'm feeling some wiggles, Andy is starting to feel a little left out.  He's bummed that he doesn't get to experience this yet like I do.  I've tried reminding him that he also didn't have to experience any of the other things that I've had to endure, but that didn't really help anything.  So, any advice for how I can cheer him up and help him feel included??

The Nursery, part 1

As I've mentioned, Andy is very, very motivated to make progress on the nursery in any way possible.  I figured that to help with the process, I would keep you all informed about said progress :-)

First, the plan.  I had decided long ago on a jungle/safari theme with a lot of greens and browns.  Gender neutral, but nowhere near pastel or yellow or anything like that.  Bright and fun, that's how I like it!  I found some adorable TY beanie babies (remember those??) at my store and bought them up last fall.  They're called Beanie Boos and they are stinking adorable.  Look it up.  Seriously.  Go Google it now, I'll wait for you to get back.

. . . 

See?  Aren't they cute?!  I got the Lion, Monkey, Giraffe, and Elephant.  I'm still contemplating whether or not I want the zebra.  Anyway, they'll probably sit on a shelf with some canvases that I will make with letters to spell Baby's name.  So that was the entire foundation of my idea for the nursery.  Pretty loose concept, right?  The next thing we did was buy a glider with matching gliding ottoman.  Yeah.  We were at a thrift store and Andy spotted it in their tiny little furniture section.  He had me sit in it and I nearly fell asleep.  It was just that comfortable.  So we bought it for a whopping $13.  Plus tax, of course.  When we got home, we did a little research and found out that it is a nearly $500 Dutalier glider and ottoman set!  The cushions need recovered, but mom is taking care of that for us.  Thanks, mom!!  The wood was also a very light shade, which really did not fit my taste.  See?

Not the prettiest thing ever, but definitely the comfiest!

It was then that we made the next big decision about the nursery design.  We wanted to buy the crib new, so that it would meet all of the current safety standards, and decided to go with white so that it would be easy to match other furniture to.  For the rest of the furniture, we're going with used.  We won't be getting a changing table because we decided to use a dresser and one of those changing pads on top.  We were shopping around on Craigslist and found a set of dressers that were in good shape and could easily be sanded and painted white and they were even a reasonable price!  However, they were way too big for in a nursery.  And they came with a queen bed frame, headboard, and footboard.  Not really something we needed for in there.  And then it hit me.  Upgrade our furniture and then use ours for in the nursery!  Since getting married over three years ago, we've been using a hodgepodge of furniture from our childhood bedrooms and the frame that our mattress came with.  It's about time for an upgrade.  So we bought the new furniture and moved it in and we love it.  Maybe we'll refinish it some day too, but for now it's perfectly functional they way it is.  

So we took the old dressers down to the basement with the chair and Andy got right to work.  

The dresser that was in my bedroom growing up.

He sanded down the chair and the low dresser that will be the changing table.  We decided not to use the tall dresser (that was his) because of some detail work that didn't look like it would sand very well.  Instead, we will be using the wardrobe that matches my old dresser.  It's a beautiful old waterfall set that we are all sure will look just lovely in white.  The wardrobe is currently still living at my parents' house, so it hasn't been started yet, but that's ok.  The rest is making wonderful progress!  

The 'painting room' makes the basement looks like the scene of an alien autopsy!

Painted chair parts

The ottoman is completely done and the chair is almost there.  After that, it's the dressers and after that, we're stuck.  You see, here's the nursery . . .

This will be the nursery.  Minus the horses, of course.

Unfortunately, that's not the house we currently live in.  So, aside from little decorative projects here and there, the rest will have to wait until we move.  The hope is that the timing will all line up perfectly, but the realist in me knows how unlikely that really is.  I'm trying not to think about it so it doesn't stress me out.

One last picture and I can take very little credit for it.  This is the quilt that my mom made for the nursery.

I can't wait to wrap my munchkin up in this beautiful, snuggly quilt!

Isn't it fabulous?!?!  You can see her entire post about it here.  I've been in love with the animal fabric for years and my mom, my sister, and I spent a few hours in Joann's one Sunday afternoon picking out the rest.  I haven't even seen it in person yet, but I absolutely adore it.  She'll be making more to go along with it, including a diaper bag, a cover for the car seat, and the rest of the bedding for the crib.  I can't wait!  Everyone is working so hard to make a beautiful home for this baby to be born into, I'm just so overwhelmed and grateful.

That's what we've got thus far.  I'll keep you updated as more exciting things happen!

17 Weeks and a Bump!

So we celebrated 17 weeks on Saturday!  Here come the stats . . . Baby is supposedly the size of an onion and is 5.1 inches long and weighs 5.9 ounces.  Getting closer to a whole half-pound!  They say that I have supposedly gained 5-10 pounds by now, but that's very not true.  Baby's biggest development is that his or her bones are starting to ossify, meaning that they're turning from cartilage to actual bone!  We're a little more than 3 weeks out from our 20 week appointment to find out if Baby is a boy or a girl.  I'm getting more and more antsy.  But I guess that's pretty normal.

Andy's working hard on getting the furniture all painted for the nursery, but more on that another day :-)

Saturday morning I woke up and, magically, there was my belly, all bumped out!  Sunday it felt even bigger. I was trying to describe it to Andy, but I'm not sure I did a very good job.  I now actually feel fat.  Not fat, really, but like I ate a huge meal and my belly is all full and stretched tight.  It's just an odd sensation.  Still not feeling any definite movements yet, but I'm hoping that will come soon with the increase in size.  Also, I've been a bit hungrier the past two days or so.  I've even been having dreams about the different foods I'd like to eat!  So I might start packing on the pounds here pretty soon after all.  Not that that's a bad thing.  Just so long as Baby keeps getting bigger and stronger and healthier, I'm good :-)

Left: The day the Dr. called and told us it was really true, roughly 6.5 wks.    Right: Saturday afternoon, 17 wks.

In other news, we were supposed to go on a mini-vacation this past weekend to North Carolina to visit Andy's aunt and uncle and also spend some time at the beach.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel because his car went in to get some bearings replaced on Monday and the mechanic happened to notice that his front breaks were worn completely down to the metal!  So that tripled our bill, making going to the beach just financially irresponsible with having a baby and buying a house coming up in the next 5 months or so.  Anyway, we stayed home this weekend, but still had fun.  

We got to go out on a date on Saturday night, which is a real treat for us.  We went mini-golfing and had ice cream and it was so much fun!  I pretty much giggled the entire time.  It's kind of hard to mini-golf around a baby bump though.  I'm pretty sure that's why I lost 52 to 59.  Oh well, it was still a  really fun night out with my Hunny.  

Mini-Golfing scenery - so pretty!!

Me + My Hunny
(sorry I cut your head off!)

Then yesterday, the youth group that we help with had a pool party at the home of one of the church members.  I know I'm clearly not a youth anymore, but I just love hanging out with them!  We swam and played games and I kicked some butt at Ladder Ball.  This youth group currently only meets once a month, which makes me kind of sad.  It's at a strange time too, so it's difficult for the kids to invite their friends.  I'm hoping that once we buy our house and get settled in a bit, we can have them over semi-regularly and that might help the group to flourish a bit.  Maybe that's a bit of a lofty goal - moving in, getting settled, having the baby, hanging out with youth - but Andy and I both really want to see this group thrive and grow and are so excited to finally have a home to open to them.  

Swimming - Ganache (the dog) just adored surfing on this raft with me!

Ok, enough rambling for one day.  Stay tuned for a post later this week about all the progress that's being made on the nursery!

16 Weeks and a Dr. Appointment

First things first ... woke up this morning with a cold.  Uuugggghhhh.  I'm allowed to take tylenol cold and sinus, but all we have in the house is the PM version, so I guess I'll just have to suffer through it until I head out to work this evening.  I was planning on getting you a belly picture today, but there's just something about a head cold that makes one completely un-photograph-able, so it will have to wait a few more days.  Stay tuned, it's coming, I promise!

In other news, we turned 16 weeks on Saturday!  Still not feeling any movements, but my belly is definitely getting bigger!  I have fully switched over to maternity pants.  They're a bit big still, meaning I am always pulling them up, but my regular jeans were just too tight.  It was way too difficult to crouch down or bend over to get anything off the floor or the bottom shelves at work.  So I had to make the switch.  The Bump.com tells me that baby is the size of an avocado!  That's about 4.6 inches long and 3.5 tiny ounces.  And, my favorite part, the bones in his or her ears are forming, so he or she will soon be able to hear my voice!

And that brings me up to my doctor's appointment yesterday.  I really liked this particular Dr. that I saw.  There's still three at the practice that I haven't met yet, but so far this one is my favorite.  First the nurse came in with the Doppler and listened for the heartbeat.  I guess where that particular exam room was located (right next to the waiting room) they frequently experience interference with the Doppler machine.  It's a good thing she warned me about that in advance because no sooner did she find the hearbeat, than the radio started playing.  Yep, there was a heartbeat AND music coming from my uterus.  I couldn't stop giggling.  Still beating out a healthy 160.  Not that I have any comparison, but he or she seems to be sitting awfully low down too.  At least they had to hunt awfully low to find the heart beat!  Anyway, I don't know what that means or if I buy into any of the wives tales that are out there, but I figured I should  keep you filled in.

The doctor said that I actually lost the pound I had gained for my last appointment, so I'm back down to my starting weight.  I thought that was a bad thing, but she measured my belly and said I was measuring right on for 16 weeks, so there's nothing to be concerned about!  Everything seems to be going great and we were able to schedule my 20 week ultrasound, which will be done by the same doctor that I saw.  Unfortunately we have to wait until September 6th to have it done.  Darn 20 weeks falling on Labor Day Weekend!  So we have 4 weeks and 2 days until we find out if we have a boy or a girl, unless baby decides to be stubborn, which, knowing his or her parents, is a distinct possibility!  It's going to be a long 4 weeks.

Speaking of the ultrasound, they gave me some very specific instructions for how I have to prepare for the procedure.  Starting an hour before the appointment, I have to drink 6 (8 oz.) glasses of water, finishing within a half hour.  So that's 48 fluid ounces down in 30 minutes or less.  Then I have to climb in the car and take the bumpy ride into town where I will, no doubt, sit in the waiting room for several minutes after my appointment time before they take me back and assault my belly with cold, slimy gel and then an HOUR'S worth of prodding with the ultrasound wand.  Oh, and I'm not allowed to use the bathroom AT ALL until after the whole thing is over.  Let me tell you, if I drink even 20 ounces of water, it leaves my body in less than 2 hours.  I cannot imagine what will happen with 48.  I wonder if they realize that I'm going to pee my pants?  I wonder if other people have?  I haven't heard of anyone else having to go to such great lengths to prepare for a simple ultrasound.  What did you have to do to get ready?