The beginnings of our Nursery!

A pal of mine on babycenter started putting pictures up on her blog of her nursery as they start to change it from an office to the baby's room and I like the idea of it!

And well, Im stealing it! Thanks Mindy!

I will post updates to our nursery as it comes together! I really need to lay off exclamation points. Here it is the start of our nursery, we have a bit of an edge on Mindy given that we picked the nursery room from when we moved in so we have an empty canvas to start with instead of an office... Granted we do have a few boxes that our spill over from other rooms sitting in there that we will have to clean out but still you get what Im saying.

We have a couple items, a play pen that doubles as a bassinet that my mom got us, and some things we bought at a MOPS (Mother's of PreSchool) yard sale. Nothing beats second hand prices!!

16 Week Belly Shot

Here it is my 16W3D belly shot... I am actually bigger. When I lay down I can feel this bump in my lower abdomen that feels firmer if you will then just fat. I may have mentioned that I have spent most of the last month feeling fat a common side affect this early on in pregnancy. I like where I am getting I guess you could say, Im feeling more pregnant and less fat, I like it:) Plus I have been getting my energy back, my little working elves showed up yesterday and I got a LOT accomplished unpacking and organizing downstairs!!

Boy or Girl Place your BETS!

Thursday morning is the day we get to go see our little bean! And hopefully the bean won't be feeling modest.

So feel free to leave a comment with your guess on what you think it will be. Some of you have more insight than others as to what the old wives tales say so bring on the questions as well if you think my answers will sway you either way!

And Bean, my little love; We are both very excited to see how much you have grown! The last time we saw you, you were the size of a bean and the shape of one too! This time we will get to see all the progress you have made! Now the size of a really big avocado with arms, legs, even fingers and toes, not to mention your little head with facial features!! We can't hardly wait!

Stretch Marks Boo!

So it happened, last week, I was brushing my hair after getting out of the shower, and I saw it... Right on my left breast... 4 or 5 little stretch marks almost purple in color.... BAHHHH!

I thought it would hold off until later!! I was expecting them, I am genetically dispositioned to get them, I got them during puberty so getting them during pregnancy is a no brainer. I was just hoping it wouldn't be during my fourth month I was hoping it would be during the 7th month.

I had been good about moisturizing, but I hadn't upgraded to a specialty lotion, and thought maybe that would be good enough until later... So when hit with this harsh reality I did what every pregnant woman would... I bawled like a baby, heaving sobs, snot running out of my nose, and the inability to talk in a way that made sense or catch my breathe between my sobs.

My girl of course was very supportive, she held me and comforted me as I mourned the beginning of losing the way my body looked. I really had thought I was ready for a few body changes. She said all the right things like she always does, and not 20 minutes later I was back to my excited about this change self!

Naturally we ran out that day and bought a $40 miracle cream, which actually may be working, the stretch marks I just got already seem to be fading so phew! I will get many more stretch marks Im sure, but this cream can minimalize the damage!

Ladies, just remember this name: Mustela! Pricey but worth it. Oh and it doesn't smell too bad, however, it does remind me of the scent of self tanning lotion.

Aren't apples bigger than avocados??

I was on one of my favorite websites... babycenter.com as they had sent me my weekly email which tells me what week Im in and what the baby is up to.

Well I am starting week 16, and this week the baby is the size of an avocado.... hmmm that's it?? Last week the baby was the size of an apple... I feel gipped! Aren't apples bigger than Avocados??? Seriously.

Doing a quick search for images online and zilch, it turns out the majority of society doesn't take picture of apples with avocados.... So I have to do the dirty work myself huh...which of course is attached for your viewing pleasure... They look to be similar in "length" but the avocado is definitely smaller. Perhaps I just haven't experienced a full sized avocado in my life.

Either way, I still love our bean. And can't wait for next week when we get to see the lil' one again!! YAY!

Documentary Recommendation: The Business of Being Born

Last night we decided to watch a documentary about birth.

It left us questioning why we hadn't thought more about our birth plan. We hadn't put much thought into it, we just figured I would go into labor and see how it goes, maybe I would need pain medication maybe I wouldn't but would go on how Im feeling and what our doctor as the expert recommends.

Umm yeah, after seeing this documentary which was actually done by Ricki Lake surprisingly enough. We are seriously reconsidering what we have opted for. Our next visit to see our Dr. is going to be an interesting one because we want to see how flexible this hospital is to natural childbirth with the aide of a midwife and possibly a doula. I don't want a home birth, but I would consider possibly swapping the hospital for a birthing center so I can do a water birth.

Mostly after seeing this film, I do not want pitocin I do not want an epidural, even if I end up begging for it during the labor. Most importantly I do not want a C-section.

Those of you expecting that read this, PLEASE, consider watching this film and researching your options.

Here is a link to a trailer:

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.php

If you have netflix and have wireless internet, it is an option under the instant download queue!

Friends don't let friends spend too much

Thank God for friends with babies. Last night we had dinner with two friends who live near by. They have two kids who are older now and they are done having babies. So they very generously offered us ALL their old stuff. Thank you Lord! I think they may save us like $1000 in new baby items.

Now I can't wait to go to their place and sort through all the stuff. We can start setting up the nursery. That will be a lot of fun. Then all we will have to do is start stocking up on diapers. Yay!

What is it made of ... gold!?!

So this weekend we looked through Babies R US. First things first ... HOLY CRAP! How much baby stuff is there?!? There are cribs, strollers, bottles, food, diapers, and creams .... fine I see the need for all that. But babies own a TV? So it can watch itself on a screen???? A Jeep Liberty stroller? Is Jeep trying to start consumer loyalty early? (Although I have to admit I was interested in it). There were swings: vibrating swings, swings with toys, swings without toys, wind up swings, swings that ran on batteries, swings with a foot peddle so you didn't have to bend down to turn it on. How am I every going to pick out anything!! I already get shopping paralysis when trying to buy things for myself.

Then there are all the warnings. "baby could choke, get strangled, hit head, land on head, eat item, poke eye, lose eye, etc" At least there wasn't a warning for "use item as weapon against you".

Then there was the sticker shock.... $25 for a onesie? There can't be that much fabric to constitute $25. What is it made of ... hand massaged sheep's wool? Hand brushed Angora? Rare baby seal hides? The baby is going to poop in it and throw up on it. I wouldn't spend $25 on myself if I knew I was planning on vomiting on it. $500 cribs, $200 strollers, $150 swings. There were $25 plush toys that Marley would happily take from the baby and shred along with the $5.99 rattles and cute fuzzy swing toys. Half this stuff I am sure the dogs will find and eat. Along with some dirty diapers most likely.

Thank God MJ is green. Not only because it is good to be aware of the environment but also because she believes in reuse. We found a nice local owned shop that resells gently used baby items and clothes. $10 for 7 onesies. Now we are talking. $50 cribs ... starting to feel much better.

Now if I could just stop dreaming about a fully coordinated baby room full of matching furniture ....

Take Aways
1. Baby stuff is expensive
2. Start shopping early and consider a used baby store
3. Consider having a bake sale to pay for all the baby items you are going to want to buy.

I want my own doppler.

Dear bean,

Today you are the size of a lemon (so I have been told by a website) and you have started "peeing" inside the womb. Although we will discourage you from peeing in your "womb"( i.e. bed) when you are outside the womb, right now you are not in trouble because really where else are you going to go?

I wanted to answer a few questions for you.
1. Yes I cried when I heard your tiny heartbeat on the doppler. The doppler looked like a horribly old Casio recorder with mike and speaker. I think the doctor may have bought it at toys R us. It looked fake. All that being said if I could get my hands on one, I would buy it just so I could hear your heart beat everyday. It is amazing you are even in there. Your mom looks pretty much the same (give or take a few pounds) and so it is easy to forget you are busy growing.

2. Yes I have already thought of names for you and in my head I call you by these names, but since I don't know your gender you may end up with a totally different name once we get to know you better. I can promise you this one thing, we will not name you weird things like "4 real" or "Unique". Just so you know those last two names are real names. Consider yourself lucky

So continue doing what you do and I will see you in a few weeks. Try not to be too modest for your next pictures... I will explain why when you are older. :)

What do you mean you don't take checks!!!

Been awhile since I have had time to write. So much has happened in the last few weeks. When the bean grows up and asks "Why did you move to Indiana". I hope to have an answer that does not include ... "Let's not bring that up." :0.

The move out here was less than smooth, but turned out perfect as things seem to do. First we had our moving help (hired workers) reschedule, then quit all together on the day of. Thank God MJ's parents were in town. Despite being sick, her mom packed the entire kitchen and not one item was broken in the move. She is a dynamo. Must be all that hiking she does.

Next, while in Kansas we found out the check we had on us was no good because Indiana law is different than Colorado law. So all I had to do was redeposit the check I had on me and wire the funds instead ... easy right??? Well not when there isn't a Wells Fargo in Kansas or Illinois. Did I mention I caught a cold while in Kansas? Well it just makes the story more fun doesn't it.

Let's just put it this way. MJ and I drove three days to get to closing, had to drive 2 hours out of our way to find a bank, at one point stopped at a truck stop to use a fax machine, and got to closing with 5 minutes to spare. It is like an Olympic event!! 1000 miles of driving came down to 5 minutes. LOL. The great news is we love, love, love the house. It is perfect for us and I couldn't have picked it better. God does some pretty awesome stuff.

Take Aways
1. Check with local laws before buying a house out of state.
2. Pick a mortgage company that has a bank branch within 10 miles of your new home.
3. Have a back up plan for your moving help just in case they cancel the morning of because they saw a guy outside their ex wife's house and are too distraught to do the job you hired them to do.

Dr. Right Check!!

Well we had our meet and greet appointment if you will; this was with the doctor I chose from the recommendation list. She seems great. She works with 3 other doctors and they rotate being on call so my homework is to meet with all of them so I am familiar with whomever shows up for delivery. So we can now check "finding a doctor" off the list!!

Their office is in Clarian North Medical Center which is rightfully nicknamed "Hotel" Clarian, we have the option to pick a hospital that is closer, but the extra ten minute drive is worth it this place is beautiful!! And I have heard around town that it is the best of the three we are close to! We have to register with the hospital to deliver there so I will definitely be submitting that form!

While there I had to pee in a cup always a bit of a challenge for me... I seem to get stage fright when it comes to peeing on demand even though this time I actually felt the need to pee. Luckily I was able to complete the task, and everything came back normal.

We also discussed our next visit and genetic testing. My girl and I both agree that perfect or imperfect we want our child so we didnt see the point in the testing, I think we decided to opt for the quad test which tests for deformities that impede on sustaining life... how sad is this. I have chosen to not put much thought into this, I dont want to waste nights worrying about something I have no control over.

Moving on, our next visit... We are both ecstatic about!! We will be finding out the sex, which means another ultrasound YAY!!! This will be on April 1st.

13 Week Belly Shot

I took this photo on March 8th, which was last Monday this would be precisely 13W2D.

I had wanted to start doing the belly shots during week 12 but with the move, it was impossible. Oh well, what's one week right??!!

As you can see my jeans are getting a bit snug.

For those of you wondering how our new house looks, well Im in it... and with this photo you are sure to be just as mystified as before since it's of a wall and window... This is in our loft, it is the most organized at the moment, the rest of the place has unpacking clutter scattered about!

Our First Ultrasound

So here it is, this was taken on January 28th, and they determined we were 7 weeks and 5 days a long, one day less than we had calculated!

During this visit we also learned the official due date which is September 12th!

Pretty exciting! How we love our baby bean!

Feel free to click on the image for a larger image.

We've Moved and Finally have internet!!!!

We are now in Noblesville, Indiana! The unpacking is going slow but steady and my girl has hit the ground running with both work and school. My unemployment has yet to set in as the boxes surrounding me are a constant "to do" item I want to procrastinate, and as long as I have something to procrastinate my days seem full of everything else to do but unpack! Perhaps some examples will help paint a better picture of my day.

First off the dogs have met a new kind of mud in our back yard, Marley's feet are like sponges according to our new neighbor he just soaks it up... so daily baths are practically required. I try to delay the bath as long as possible since I know they will just want to go back out in less than half an hour; so I devised this paw cleaning station... a bucket and a towel... every time they want to come in they have to sit and have their paws examined... if they encountered mud during the current romp around the yard... their paws get a little dunk action, and then a wipe down to dry them as much as possible.

Second, I have to maintain the carpet, there are those moments when Marley and Odie escape my grasp at the door and run right on to the carpet with muddy paws... BAAAHHH! Of course they also jump right on to the bean bags or couch so those also need a cleaning.

Well this activity has the following affect on me... I either have to sit down to catch my breathe or I have worked up an appetite. I can't just sit in silence and with no television I am left to pick out a movie, and there goes two hours of productivity right out the window! I do make it a point to get some unpacking done but with all these muddy distractions.... some days are better than others!

Enough about my busy days, Im sure you all want updates on the baby. Well I will do these in a few separate posts... these will include but are not limited to our ultrasound pictures and my first belly shot!