May 13th, 2013 Where has the time gone? I feel like the weeks are flying by. And don’t mind my enthused face in this picture… the one with the best light was the one where I looked bored. I need to stop rushing these, but thus is the life of a couple with opposite schedules!
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18 Weeks (5/13/2013)
How far along? 18 weeks
Baby’s Size: Sweet Potato
Maternity clothes? Loving them every chance I can! I still fit into some pre-pregnancy clothes (I was right in my post yesterday- up about 3 1/2 pounds thus far) but I look less than awesome in most of them. Awkward would be the best word.
Best moment this week: Talking and thinking about Mother’s Day, spending Saturday with B and celebrating our first pre-Mother’s Day together. Besides that, this week was very hard due to work travel, so I was just glad to relax a bit. ALSO, we had our first registry item purchases, and 1/2 of them arrived! That was exciting and made everything more “real.” It seems to get “realer” every week!
Miss anything? Family. Not pregnancy related but I’m missing my family this week! Especially since my youngest sister leaves in a week for her Peace Corps assignment.
Movement: None that I can be 100% sure of. I’ve been obsessed with this lately. After seeing baby so active, and seeing ladies on October boards talk about the movement they’re feeling, I’ve been anxious to say the least. Finding out baby’s gender made us even more connected, I know when I can feel his/her kicks it will just be even more amazing. Damn placenta. I’m so pissed about that. Stupid backwards uterus!
Food cravings: Sweets!!!! I’ve been on a sweets kick this week. I won’t admit how much ice cream is in our fridge, or how much of B’s gummy candy I had to “taste.”
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still the same, and still no rhyme or reason!
Gender: Still know, still not telling!
Labor signs: Nope.
Symptoms: The same as always. Nauseous, peeing 24/7, emotional. The hip/sciatic nerve pain has amped up though. I can’t find a comfortable way to sleep for the life of me. Today I wondered about the costs of a hip replacement. That’s how delightful it’s been!
Belly button in or out? Innie. So deep I still look like I’m just a girl who chases her 5 lb burritos with Big Gulps three times a day. I welcome the opportunity for it to pop out!
Happy or moody most of the time: Still riding the crazy emotional roller coaster! Last week’s work travel was a bit insane and I was feeling frustrated and down due to being so hectic, but the weekend rejuvenated me. Also some dear friends of ours in Indiana shared their baby news with us today, which TOTALLY made my week!
Looking forward to: Feeling baby kick me! I’m sure I’ll regret that statement in a few months but boy would I love it right now! I’ve felt a few things that are questionable (was that a kick? Or just my pulse? Or my creaky knuckles? Or gas? Or digesting food?) and I would love to be experiencing it the way other October moms are. One even said her baby kicks more when she’s wearing pre-preg (aka tighter) pants! How adorable is that?! I feel like I’m currently torturing baby the hour I lay in bed, just pressing on my belly!
I feel like I said everything I really needed to (aka verbal diarrhea) in my Mother’s Day post yesterday. So I’m going to go relax my bum hips and watch Dancing With The Stars! Have a great week, everyone!
May 12th, 2013 Every Mother’s Day, I have been excited to remind my mom how much she means to me. I don’t remember much about when I was YOUNGER-younger (except once saying I couldn’t tell the Mother’s Day gift we got her, but “you wear them on your ears”) and she may have been “sOoOooOo meannnn” when I was in high school, but my appreciation for her was always there on Mother’s Day. My relationship with her really did change throughout those years, though.
You see, my mom was (and still kind of is) scary. She was always friendly with us, but not in the way some moms are “OMG total BFF” with their kids. She would not allow gossip and certainly never bad talked anyone. She had rules for us to follow and we had simple expectations to meet. We had to do school sports, or work. We couldn’t be “lumps” (one of my favorite pastimes!) and we always had to help out around the house. We weren’t allowed to watch MTV or VH1. We had to earn things, they weren’t handed to us. We were expected to earn A’s and B’s. And if we messed up, there were consequences. Period.
I got away with some stuff in high school, sure. But mostly I didn’t. Mostly I got caught doing stupid things and got punished. Harshly Fairly. My friend Hooch reminisced recently with me about my grounding junior or senior year that kept getting extended – for months! – due to my bad attitude. I didn’t like it, but I knew I deserved my punishments. I never snuck out (except one time when I walked home my sister’s friend and then stopped by at a party for 5 minutes and then left, earning myself the nickname “schwing.”) I avoided doing a lot of questionable things I might have otherwise done, because I had a good, healthy fear of my parents – mostly my mom.
There was no feeling in the world like coming home on January 26, 2002 (we still refer to this incident as 1/26, that’s how bad it was) drunk out of my mind and puking everywhere. I knew I was in for it. People were calling my friends to check on me and they said “we’re not worried so much about Kelly having drank too much as we are about her mom killing her.” I remember very little about that night, but I do recall her silhouette in the window, waiting for me. (The next few months I was either at home, school, or church.) I had a few more lapses of judgement throughout the rest of my “drinking years” (ha) but I certainly learned from this. I would often in college make smarter decisions when I’d think about my mom’s reaction.
My mom committed 100% to mothering us properly. No-nonsense. I thought it was “omg so annoying” at the time, but now I appreciate it. Her resolve never wavered She never showed signs of being unsure of her parenting. She committed to it every day. I rarely saw her break. And she has three pretty darn good kids (if I do say so myself) to show for it. She always put us first. Sometimes it meant not having as much “fun” with us, or having us be mad at her, but she had the end game in mind: smart, responsible adults.
Now, my mom is one of my very best friends.
I can talk to her about anything now. She’ll always be honest with me when I ask her opinion. She’ll listen to me when I’m upset and offer suggestions if I ask for them. She’ll out-dance me at ANY wedding. I couldn’t ask for more! She inspires me to be a great mom (just like her) but also to be as active and passionate as she is. I can’t wait for our baby to have her as a grandma, he or she will be just as lucky as we were growing up.
I thought a lot about my mom today, but also about my beebee! This is one of those weird Mother’s Days where I can kind of celebrate but not really? Baby got to spend the day with me (as if he/she has a choice) while I ran errands.
(Sidenote: I got wished a Happy Mother’s Day in Home Depot so that MAY be my first stranger acknowledgement?!)
I feel so excited to introduce baby to our family and all the amazing people in it. Finding out baby’s gender (still a secret!!!) was incredible and it’s really changed my pregnancy. It was the first time I actually cried because it just made it so REAL. I was really nervous about finding out the gender and I am so glad we decided to just rip it off like a Band-Aid and stop my wondering! I feel like I am bonding with baby so much differently than before. (Sidenote: I think this happens differently for everyone regardless of when/if they find out gender pre-birth, there’s no right/wrong way or time, it just made a huge difference for me!) It stinks to not share it publicly yet, but it’s been nice “getting to know” him/her and I can’t wait to see the look on my mom’s face when I get to tell her in person!
Pregnancy has been a funny thing. I didn’t expect my body to revolt so strongly. I didn’t expect to have to stop running due to debilitating nausea, exhaustion, and worst of all, excruciating hip pain. Maybe I expected it after I was carrying a few pounds of baby in the third trimester, but not this early. I didn’t expect to only be up 2-3 pounds. (It was less than two last time I checked pre-breakfast but that was a week or so ago.) When I was attempting to lose weight I’d gain that in a week if I went “off diet,” and now my only weight regret is said with a snap, “darn, I ALMOST made it to 50 lbs lost before getting knocked up!” I also thought I’d care more. Nope. Just happy baby is healthy! I hate and am confused by a lot of the above; I wish I was showing more, I wish my anterior placenta wasn’t keeping me from feeling baby’s super active kicks. But while I have these gripes and share them, deep down I don’t really care. (I just like to complain, my mom and B can vouch for that.) I am just so happy baby keeps passing their tests (all NT testing was negative!!) and growing on schedule. I hate the symptoms and issues but I am happy to sacrifice my body and sleep and waistline and uh boobs and whatever else I need to, just for the sake of him/her.
B was off work yesterday so he spoiled me a little bit with an amazing dinner. Risotto with goat cheese, roasted garlic, chives, and some special basil; and parmesan crusted chicken topped with parsley walnut pesto! I can’t wait to spoil him on Father’s Day in return, of course. B has made me a mother (well, almost! October it’s “official”) and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else. (Except my Top Five list maybe – and please note that Vince and Andy have been replaced by Pitbull and John Cena – but they were unavailable and uninterested.) Seriously though, I’m the luckiest there is. Big Daddy was born to be a dad. I remember telling that to a friend after we’d been on a few dates- I could just see him as an adorable dad. Six years later we’re on this journey together!
And in all this, I can’t neglect to thank the pugs for how they’ve prepared me for motherhood as well. I know everyone drills into you to “get your sleep,” “things will change,” “there goes your personal time/space/whatever” and other unsolicited bitter advice… but the pugs have gotten us ready for some of these things already! When they wake us up in the night puking/pooping/peeing. When they’re sick and have to be rushed to the doctor. When we need to find sitters for them when we travel. When we have to leave early due to their schedule. When one pukes on the other and the third tries to eat it. I’m pretty sure they’ve done us a great service. I know that it’s not the same as parenting a child (my pugs won’t grow up to tell me they love me, or hate me, or make me buy them a horse, or pay for college, or whatever) but I think dog ownership certainly makes you more ready. You, pugs, were the first to teach me unconditional love. Even when I come home to one of you eating poop. For that, I thank you. I can’t wait to see them with their new brother or sister.
(I was asked by a friend where the pugs’ announcement of my pregnancy was. This was all Sophie could come up with. Truly, she’s excited. Just doesn’t want to have to share my lap.)
I’ve said it before but should say it again too… I am so thankful for my friends. Very few of my in-real-life friends are moms, so I’m lucky to have great internet mom friends too. All of my mom friends (and just baby-loving friends in general) have provided me with so much support, and SO much love this Mother’s Day. I wondered if being the only mom in my core group of friends would feel lonely, but my mom friends from all areas have welcomed me with open arms, and I feel so supported and loved. And my core group of non-mom friends have shared so much excitement and enthusiasm. Our families have been amazing too. My in-laws are so sweet and excited for us, my sisters have been planning my NJ shower even though they both (probably) can’t be there, B’s aunt even sent us some giraffe baby items she knew we’d think were adorable. Loved and supported are the only words I can think of to describe how I feel. I couldn’t have wished for more.
I feel like this somehow became an award acceptance speech, but I’m emotional and rambly. So I make no apologies. Just sharing so much love for everyone helping me out on this journey! Cannot wait until baby is here and I’m celebrating next Mother’s Day with him/her in my arms. (And a beer. Or five. THAT I miss.)
May 6th, 2013 Happy 17 weeks little fetus!!!! Baby had a busy week this week. (Sorry for the bad picture quality… we had to deal with a hectic day and the little light we had!) Baby is really popping out a bit more and more! I can hide it if I really want to but generally it’s more like you see below. In normal clothes I feel really… lumpy.
17 Weeks (5/6/2013)
How far along? 17 weeks
Baby’s Size: Onion
Maternity clothes? More comfy in them. Definitely can’t wear any pants without at least a button extender.
Best moment this week: Winner was probably Friday- seeing our baby and finding out baby’s gender!! (See last post… not telling!) Finding out the sex of the baby made it more real. I feel like we can bond more now. Then today I had a routine appointment with my OB and got to hear baby’s heartbeat on the doppler. I didn’t know the wooshy noises were kicks! Baby was kicking up a storm, my doctor even mentioned it! It was an amazing week to bond with baby. So many great moments.
Miss anything? Cinco de Mayo really made me miss beer!
Movement: None really this week though I got to see/hear tons of it. I found out I have an anterior placenta (when it’s situated on the front of the uterus by your belly button instead of on the back by your spine.) This means kicks will take longer to notice. My doctor seemed surprised at how active baby was and said I will DEFINITELY be feeling them soon. Anterior placentas do mean it takes longer to feel though- more padding for baby to punch! So we’ll see when that happens.
Food cravings: None really. I’m starting to get a more normal appetite back (even with steady nausea) and want to try to revisit some old (healthier) favorites. I’m only up 2-3 pounds still, but haven’t been eating as healthily as I was pre-pregnancy. Hoping to do more Brussels sprouts, zucchini, and spaghetti squash again! Let’s see if I can get the energy to cook it.
Anything making you queasy or sick: STILL, 100% nauseous and can’t handle a day without meds. Nothing causing it though except for this little active baby!
Gender: We know! But we’re not telling for two months!
Labor signs: Nope.
Symptoms: Still the same. Zero improvement. And peeing 24/7 by the way, not sure if I’ve mentioned it. I haven’t gone a night without getting up to pee since February.
Belly button in or out? Innie.
Happy or moody most of the time: It’s been a happy week! But I’ve been moody worrying about my shower planning and other issues.
Looking forward to: Revealing the gender to our friends and families!
Through all the fun of seeing our baby, I did get some (somewhat) bad news today from the doctor. We had discussed my going to NJ to see my family with the baby this Thanksgiving. I talked to her more about it, and we discussed details more in depth. Unfortunately, my Thanksgiving pipe dream isn’t going to happen. While baby should be about 6 weeks at that time (depending on when baby’s born), the doctor was concerned about 1) if baby was late, they’d be younger 2) the means of travel- airplane aka germ bus 3) flu season and 4) going from FL weather to NJ weather DURING flu season. I knew this was a possibility so while I allowed myself a moment to be really upset, in the back of my mind I knew it might happen. I just have a huge amazing family in NJ that wants to meet baby, and I can’t wait for that to happen! Soon enough I guess.
I also learned that due to recent illnesses and even deaths, our OB practice STRONGLY advises visitors to have had their flu shot and whooping cough vaccine at least 6 weeks prior to seeing the baby. The way she said it was “if anyone is going to visit, they need to have them.” Granted she isn’t going to be at my house saying “you can’t come in,” and I know all doctors have different suggestions, but I am totally on board with it. So heads up if you plan to visit us at all this year post-baby! We will definitely require this of all visitors.
And since I’m a proud mama… a baby pic!
That’s baby’s bum and adorable little FOOT! I cannot wait to kiss those toes. And no other pictures because ultrasound pictures at this age are still exceedingly creepy.
And great idea guys about doing a gender poll for readers! I’ll definitely post a poll with some “clues” as far as our family history, baby’s heart rate, and results from old wives’ tales. Can’t wait to share!
May 3rd, 2013 …won’t be happening until July!
I totally gotcha, didn’t I?
Big Daddy and I made a “team” decision this week. We’re not sharing baby’s gender until our showers with our family and friends.
(Pretty much file this blog post under “rambly writing that most people do not give two craps about” startingggg now.)
There are many reasons for this. The first of which (but not necessarily most important) was that I didn’t have a fun gender reveal planned. (If I had a great idea I wouldn’t have wanted to stray from it!) I guess my pregnancy announcement manicure maxed out my creativity!
I had never considered doing any kind of gender reveal party. But then I had a conversation with some “team green” moms (who didn’t know gender prior to birth) and they said how it was nice that guests focused on more practical gifts and not cutesy, gender specific outfits. This sounded pretty awesome to me, because 1) I’m picky about clothes 2) will buy a ton second-hand and 3) they’re going to be puked and pooped on. So that intrigued me. Almost made me want to join team green! (Almost. HA.)
Then I talked to a few people who shared the gender later, or had a gender reveal shower. Pre-pregnancy, I thought gender reveal showers would be inconvenient for the parents. I believed they wanted/needed all the gender specific items/clothes. (Sidenote: not that I always understood showers. The first shower I attended, I spent an hour at Babies-R-Us, panicked, and bought outlet covers, a first aid kit, diaper rash cream, and hangers. All practical things on the registry. But I felt kind of silly when the gifts were opened and I was the only one who didn’t buy a bigger item or a cutesy item. It was an a-ha moment. People like to buy outfits, or at least something cute.)
True life? Yes babies need cute clothes and hats and socks. But new parents also need lots of big, practical things. It’s easier for them to go pick up some hangers and outlet covers when needed, than to have to go pick up a large item. And trust me, I’m never going off-registry now (except for perhaps a few meaningful “extras” for very close friends.) And regarding the gender specifics? Unless you aren’t planning to have more kids, gender neutral is totally acceptable and preferred. For example: no reason to buy a pink and purple butterfly glitter stroller when those puppies cost hundreds and baby #2 could be a boy. So with these new realizations about registering and gender specific items, I thought- this could work! I could do a gender reveal shower! It also helps that because they’re out of state and require flights, my showers are earlier than is typical.
Gift practicality aside, the important reason this was so appealing to me is probably easy to guess. We live in Florida. Our families live in New Jersey and Indiana. We’ve told them all our baby news over the phone. How amazing will it be to share some baby-related news with them in person!?!? That sealed the deal for us, 100%. I can’t wait! It would be fun to have family and friends guess boy or girl, and then reveal to them our good news.
 
source & source
The logistics still need to be worked out (my NJ shower date hasn’t even been set- just “4th of July weekend… somewhere”) and they’re going to be pretty informal. Our showers (the Indiana one is the next weekend) are going to be co-ed and very casual/family friendly. Gifts will not be opened there. It’s more so a chance to see family and friends, and celebrate together. I think I’d do the reveal with cake or cupcakes filled with a little blue or pink icing. Especially since in Indiana I can have Holy Cow Cupcakes (the place I used to work!)
 
source, source & source
I think we’ll end up asking my family in NJ to keep the gender quiet for 5 or 6 days til our next shower, then we could share the surprise with Indiana guests in person, and then “go public” when the showers were over.
I just can’t wait to be able to reveal to our families. I can’t wait to see my mom’s face when she finds out if it’s a boy or a girl!!!!
The point of this rambly post?
Baby showers are hard/stressful/confusing. For everyone. Or maybe that’s just me and how I get anxiety about everything. Maybe there’s not quite a point to this entry except to say, you all will find out the gender in July!
Any gender reveal tips or stories?
April 29th, 2013 Is it just me or is time FLYING now? I guess being “out of the closet” does that to pregnant ladies. Plus, there is so much more going on now every week! Like the Anchorman quote I said on instagram… “that escalated quickly!”
16 Weeks (4/29/2013)
How far along? 16 weeks
Baby’s Size: Avocado
Maternity clothes? Yep, I’m probably more like 60/40 non-maternity/maternity now. Thanks to Jess I can use a belly band now to hold up my unzipped pants- that’s been really helpful! But full panel items are a dream. As are maternity dresses.
Best moment this week: Getting to spend Saturday at the beach with B (can you tell? Sunburn city!) Also, registering at Buy Buy Baby after. Our Buy Buy Baby and Amazon registries are almost finished! I’m going back to Buy Buy Baby to spend some in-depth time with one of their awesome salespeople to learn about bottles. I have a bunch of recommendations from you guys but I want to see/feel them before registering. If you have a Buy Buy Baby near you- REGISTER THERE. They were SO AMAZINGLY HELPFUL and knowledgable!
Miss anything? Beer again. After a day at the beach and then registering I was wanting a cold beer to sip and hold on my skin.
Movement: Some people may say I’m crazy (I feel ya now, Twinner!) but I think I am, just barely! I felt a weird tapping sensation a few times in bed, but didn’t think much of it, until one of my baby apps said that I would start feeling baby movements now if I hadn’t already, and it would feel like “popcorn popping, a goldfish swimming around, butterflies fluttering, a tapping sensation, or bubbles.” I had no idea the tapping could be that! So I think just maybe that’s what’s going on. Either way- it’s inevitable!
Food cravings: Now that we have a fryer I am on a mozzarella stick kick.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still having the same issues. I think I might try to be brave and wean off my nausea meds- I wonder how many of my issues are really just side effects, honestly. We’ll see how that works because a week or so ago by 10am without the nausea meds I was incapable of doing anything but breathe.
Gender: No idea. I’m so worked up about it that I could not tell you my “intuitions” since it’s so biased by this point.
Labor signs: Nope.
Symptoms: Same as last week, which was the same as the last week… sciatic nerve pain, IBS style pain, and insane nausea. No change, and nothing has gotten better. Second trimester miracles my ass.
Belly button in or out? Innie.
Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy but I do ride a roller coaster nowadays!
Looking forward to: Since I talked to my Indy BFF Lydia about it so much this past week, and because we just registered, I am starting to get excited for our showers! I can’t wait to see our family/friends, celebrate the beebee, and start stocking up on his or her gear! I think I will have a happiness FLIP OUT when we get the first item purchased off of our registries! It’s becoming so real!
I want to seriously thank so many of you for your help in two ways. First, thank you to all the moms out there who have been so sweet and generous. I feel like I am just on the edge of this amazing world of motherhood, which makes you wonderful women even more amazing. You’ve all shown me so much kindness and generosity, sharing your CLOTHING – for both me and beebee, as well as advice, excitement, and well-wishes. It’s a million times more than I expected, especially from (in many cases) people I’ve never met. Most of my friends in real life don’t have children and I wondered if it would feel scary or lonely- but it has been the opposite. I’ve been surrounded by pregnant and mom friends and welcomed with open arms. It’s more and better than I imagined.
Onto the 2nd way you guys have helped… aka the specific way… registering! I went a little OCD spreadsheet crazy (is anyone surprised?) and it helped me to be so much more prepared having your suggestions on hand at the store. Those of you who took time to put together your advice, likes, and dislikes, it means so much! You’re ten times busier than me with your kiddos and still went out of your way. Seriously amazing. I am so blessed and lucky!
For other registering moms, besides amazing friends, here are two resources that I found invaluable:
The first: Lucie’s List. It’s basically a baby gear site that helps moms with registry basics. I love how she puts it all in her own voice and breaks it up into manageable parts. I used the registry cheat sheet I got once I subscribed to her emails to base my registry spreadsheet off of. Very helpful!
The second: Baby Bargains. It is a fairly inexpensive (less than $10 on amazon right now!) book that became my registering Bible. It details tips and tricks for shopping, what to look for in must-have items, how to save money, and where not to skimp. I ran all your suggestions through it (and I believe they all passed! Smart and safe mamas!) and it was super helpful to have with me while registering. When B and I would see something cute (say, a high chair) that we might have just registered for on the spot, I would first check the book. And with the high chair example- it was a D- rating! Glad we didn’t just register blindly. It’s nice to see ratings for things so closely related to your baby’s safety every single day- having a higher rating is important. Safety should be first with every item you register for that touches your baby in any way. I loved learning about the pros/cons for popular items as well. I had at least 15 people recommend this book to me so if you are a new mom, just do yourself a favor and get it. You won’t be sorry!
I hope that you all have as much support as I do! If not, you need to be friends with my friends! It’s been a crazy week… can’t wait to see what the next one holds!
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