29 Weeks and Counting

I feel like the weeks are getting away from me too quickly. I can't believe (yes I say this often) that in 11 weeks, I'll be hitting my due date. I don't expect the bean to get here early (although 38 weeks is fine with me - which also happens to be Thanksgiving day). We are starting the nursey this weekend. We have to convert our man cave/office into this new space. I have no idea where everything will go, but I'm sure the hubs will find a place for it all. We have a lot of basics from friends and family and I'm hoping to pick up some nursey/modern things from Ikea soon to complete the look I have floating in my head. So for now, here's my weekly update and another letter to the bean.

How far along? 29 weeks

Total weight gain: about 18 total. I think it's all in my hips. :(

Symptoms: Heartburn has made a comeback and it isn't fun.

Stretch marks: Yes

Sleep: Once I get to sleep my side falls asleep so I have to roll over. I am thinking we need a bigger bed cause hubs, me, the bean and Bob the body pillow don't all fit anymore.

Food cravings: Cereal for every meal

Maternity clothes: Mix and match for the most part.

Best moment of the week: Actually it was last week - I passed my sugar test on the first try. So happy to have that over.

Movement: Yes, and lots of it at night. This kid loves to kick all.the.time.

Gender: December annoucement

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: in, but not sure for much longer

What I miss: Beer. always beer. Oh, and running. And let's add bending over with ease. And today let's add good sleep - including on my stomach.

What I am looking forward to: setting up the nursery this week.

Oh and here's a picture from yesterday at work:


And a letter to bean/Carlos:
Dearest little kicker,
Another week has come and gone and you are getting so big. I am so excited to think that you'll be here in such a short time to celebrate the holidays with all of our families from here on the east and from the west coast. You are the talk of the holidays this year. I was in bed last night trying to fall asleep thinking about October next year and what you might be for Halloween. Your daddy is so excited about getting your room/nursery ready for you. I should go ahead and tell you now - he's a huge planner and so much better at being organized than your mom. I'm trying to be better about it since nesting has kicked in and I can't help but clean everything. We are also very excited about the daycare tour we have tonight. It's a new center around the corner from where your dad works and it's brand spanking new. We really only want the best for you little one.

Love,
Your Mom (and Dad)

a little reflection

As I enter my 3rd trimester, I decided to really think back to how this all started. About a year ago in July at our Folly Beach vacation, my husband planted a seed. We were on the beach watching a family. A little baby was resting her head on her daddy's shoulder as he read a book and her other siblings ran around building sandcastles. The hubs turned to me and said it was time to think about our family. We had only been married a year and not in the best of places to even thing about starting. The hubs was looking for a full time gig and we hated our townhouse in the middle of rednecks - and not the nice kind. We are talking about the ones that sell meth and have their rugrats throw basketballs at your car out of spite.

Fast forward to 2010. The hubs found a great job right around Christmas time. We sold our townhouse in February and moved on Valentines Day - best gift ever was getting movers vs. flowers. We moved into a rental in the middle of the city next door to some wonderful neighbors. We reduced our debt and started saving. Everything was coming together. And so we knew that even though there isn't a perfect time to start a family, that we were as close as we would ever be.

Sometime in April, we got the best and scariest news ever. Baby M would be arriving in December. I have to say that I freaked out but both of us were over the moon. And that was when things got rough. My first trimester was horrible. The hubs thought I was dying. We had two trips to the ER and I has a tough time keeping food/beverages down. I even had an extended stay with the in-laws for about a week to get my feet back on the ground. I hated every minute of being sick. I felt bad for hating it knowing that some people don't ever get to this point and would kill to be sick everyday if it meant having a baby. So I felt guilty. I just wanted to be excited again like the day we found out we were expecting.

It took some time, but after finding the right medicine, I rolled into my second trimester without being so sick. And as I approached 20 weeks, things got really good. I had more energy. I started feeling the beginnings of little kicks or thumps. I learned that a body pillow is key for a good nights rest. And drinking too much water before bedtime isn't a great idea if you don't want to pee in the middle of the night. But most of all, that maternity pants are almost like wearing sweatpants and I puffy heart them.

Now I'm entered my third trimester and even if it isn't comfortable, it is horrible. The worry of being someones mom is starting to scare me, but I'm cooping. I'm looking forward to our child-prep classes and reading more about raising a healthy kid. I look forward to calling my sister-in-laws with questions they can answer from raising their kids. And I know I am happy to think about the future of our child once it arrives.

Dearest little bean,
Thank you for teaching me to be patient. Even if you are in there kicking your mama, I know you are the best little thing that could have happened to us. I love you making me crave cereal for every meal even if your daddy is tired of us always being out of milk. I also can't wait for you to get here so we can find out if you are a little boy or girl. Regardless of what you may be, your daddy and I hope you will be healthy and happy - - oh, and cheer for the Lakers. :) We love you very much little one and cant' wait to meet you in a few more months.
Love,
Your Mom

We have a winner!

This past weekend we took on the task of registering. I should start off by saying that I hated doing it for our wedding, so I'm not sure why I thought I would enjoy this process again but for the bean. I hated it. Every. Single. Moment. It just sucked and felt overwhelming. But the good news is that we found a stroller we both loved and it wasn't $700. We fell in love with the City Mini Stroller.

The main reason we both loved it - because it folds with one hand and it's pretty light. It's also great for our city lifestyle and we can't wait to see it in action. We haven't decided on a color yet nor a car seat, so that's next on the list.

I think the worse part of registering was the lack of modern and fresh clothing out there. Mind you, we wanted to make it easy for our family and friends and only hit up Target - I got really tired of monkeys, frogs and ducks. That isn't either of our styles and I would just be happy putting the bean in plain colors. This is probably the same reason I can't seem to find bedding I love and have decided that I might try to just make a crib skirt myself, buy some curtains from Ikea and just having colored sheet sets. I'm sure the bean won't mind having an anti-theme baby room. Right?

I'm just happy we can cross this off our list and move along to the next thing - baby prep classes.

Busy Busy

So I thought I skipped like a week and now realize it was more like three - - oops. I guess this will be me catching up. Lately we have been gathering a list of what we need to get for the baby. I have been really lucky to have great family who love to give hand me downs. We'll be hitting up Target this weekend to register for some of the things we still need. I am actually dreading this part, but I never cared for registering for our wedding either. Hopefully it will be easy and fast.

How far along? 26 weeks (98 days left)

Total weight gain: Thinking my total so far is 10.

Symptoms: Nothing really. It's been a great couple of weeks.

Stretch marks: Yes - yuck.

Sleep: My body pillow is the best thing ever. I can actually get some good rest but only if I have it between my legs.

Food cravings: Cereal - I could eat it for every meal. Shredded Wheat is my favorite.

Maternity clothes: Mix and match for the most part.

Best moment of the week: Having the bean kick hubs hand and freaking him out. LOVE IT.
Movement: Yes

Gender: December we'll know - - we did start calling the bean, Carlos but only because we have watched The Hangover too many times.

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: in (but very shallow)

What I miss: Beer. always beer. Oh, and running. And let's add bending over with ease.

What I am looking forward to: Getting through my sugar test in a few weeks so I can cross it off the list.

Someone turn up the AC

Holy Moly is it hot out there. Yesterday was 98 degrees outside. The heat isn't the worst part; it's the humidity. I'm ready to move to Canada for the summer. :)

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain: 6 pounds (back from my puking days) + 3 more vacation pounds. woohoo!

Symptoms: Headaches

Stretch marks: Yep - and they stink too.

Sleep: Trying to stay on my left side but wake up on my back. Looking into body pillows. Get ready for me to take over the whole bed.

Food cravings: Nothing crazy this week except for bread. Love me some carbos.

Maternity clothes: Mix and match for the most part.

Best moment of the week: Eating a donut that made the baby dance around. It was like a dance party in there.

Movement: Yes

Gender: Waiting for December (still thinking boy)

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: in (but shallow)

What I miss: Beer. always beer. Oh, and running.

What I am looking forward to: More movement - just makes me feel better knowing the bean is moving around in there.

Time files when you are having fun

Vacation was amazing. I need to work on editing some pics and get them posted on my other blog and on here. The weather was awesome - 70 and cool on most days. We came back to muggy, humid weather. I keep imagining the cottage near the water in Canada when I was wearing jeans and a sweater - instead of just sweating and running for air conditioning now. Here's the weekly update.

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: 6 pounds (and maybe a few more but not claiming it due to vacation lbs.)

Symptoms: headaches from heat mostly

Stretch marks: yep - on my side :(

Sleep: Yes - including the 2 nights in separate queen sized beds at the Hilton in St. John where I slept in the middle of my own bed. Best. night. sleep. ever!

Food cravings: Apples - but they had to be Granny Smith. And I finally got my cotton candy as well. Ate almost the whole bag in 2.5 seconds and then got a tummy ache.

Maternity clothes: I wore some in Canada but can still mix and match for the most part.

Best moment of the week: Drinking a regular coffee and feeling what I like to think was movement from the bean.

Movement: Maybe

Gender: Waiting for December

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: in (but shallow)

What I miss: beer. still. And I think I always will. Yep - sticking with my answer.

What I am looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat tomorrow at my scheduled OB visit. Still makes my heart melt to hear that little thump.

Stick a fork in it

Lately I feel huge. I am not big nor do I really look pregnant, but man do I feel it. Today when it's hotter than Columbia, SC (a.k.a. hell), my stomach just feels like it could pop. Not the best feeling in the world. Oh, and if I offended you by referring to Columbia, SC as hell - - let me just say that most of us who were raised there call it the armpit of the south. It's hot there. And yes, it isn't my favorite place in the world so I boycott it. But I will add that you must drive through it to get to one of my favorite cities, Charleston. And Columbia is home to Cromers Peanuts - the Worst in the WORLD, according to their marketing department. If you think I am kidding - Google it. But I digress. Here's a bean update before our vacation starts tomorrow.

How far along? 19 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain: 6 pounds

Symptoms: headaches (they suck) and feeling like I might bust like a kid squeezing a birthday balloon.

Stretch marks: yep - on my side

Sleep: Mornings are my favorite - I always feel great and then being pregnant hits me like a ton of bricks.

Food cravings: Pizza and breakfast foods like turkey bacon.

Maternity clothes: I have some but still able to squeeze into my regular stuff for now. Give me a few more days. :)

Best moment of the week: Figuring out what maternity pants are really like and now I don't know if I will ever want to go back.

Movement: Maybe - but still waiting.

Gender: Waiting for December

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: in (but shallow)

What I miss: beer. still. And I think I always will. Yep - sticking with my answer.

What I am looking forward to: OUR VACATION. Mostly because of the weather forecast being 70 with no humidity. I can't wait considering it is going to be 100 here on Friday. You can keep it Carolinas!