3/4 of the way there

Wow. How did this happen?  How did I already pass the 30 week mark?

It seems like just yesterday that I was peeing on a digital test in my work bathroom in an attempt to confirm the very faint lines I got on the internet cheapie tests that morning.  And now here we are - less than 10 weeks to go.

There is a little part of me that wants the next 10 weeks to fly by so I can stop being uncomfortable and hold our little man in my arms.

There is a bigger part of me that is thinking "Holy shit - in less than 10 weeks I am going to be responsible for keeping this little person alive!".  That and "We still have soooo much to do to prepare for this little guy's arrival!".

We did make a little progress on the nursery this weekend.  On Saturday J was mudding the ceiling in the closet. Since we won't be doing crown molding in there he had to give a little TLC to the edges in there after scraping the hideous popcorn.  We also cut out and removed the old carpeting. I could not believe how much dust was under it. I don't think the builders vacuumed up all the drywall dust before laying the carpet 13 years ago. Nice.

So here is what it looks like at the moment:

We chucked the old carpet and padding out that window instead of dragging all the nastiness through the house.

Apparently J's parents are going to come down this weekend and they are going to work on the nursery while I am in Dallas.  He wants to get the crown molding up before they get here so they can paint the ceiling. And he wants me to pick out the wall color so they can hopefully get the walls done as well.  Before they leave he wants them to help move all the furniture and crap out of the guest room so he can scrape that ceiling and rip out the carpet as well.  That way we can get carpet installed in both rooms at once and be done with it.  Not quite sure where we are going to put all the stuff, though.

Yesterday we took a break from house stuff and went to the 28th Annual Lowcountry Oyster Festival at Boone Hall Plantation.  It's held every year on the Sunday before the Super Bowl. Sometimes the weather can be a little iffy, but this year it was gorgeous. Sunny and 70 degrees.  I of course did not partake in the oysters and beer (had to settle for two bottles of water and a burger), but it's still a fun event.  And hey - at least this year I'm not hungover for work on Monday!

J and I hanging out enjoying the sunshine

I was holding his beer while he packed up the chairs and J thought it would be funny to snap a picture to post on FB.  Needless to say I had to comment the disclaimer that it was NOT my beer!



All in all it was a busy weekend and as usual it went way too fast.  I need a vacation...

Expanding his wardrobe

Yesterday our network at work kept going in and out.  Kind of frustrating when pretty much everything we do requires online access and email.  After not being able to do anything more than play Spider Solitaire and sit around and chat for several hours we gave up and packed up our stuff and left for the day. 

I had plans for dinner with some friends at 6:00, so I had a couple hours to kill.  First stop - Babies R Us.  I wanted to test out some gliders/rockers to see what we actually want to get.  I found a couple that I like and they were all comfy, so I don't think we can go wrong.

I looked at their baby clothes that were on sale, but they were still a little pricey so I passed.

Next stop - Target.  I found one maternity shirt that I liked on sale, picked up a few new sports bras (that I'll need to return), and headed to the baby clothes section.  I found a 30% off rack and dove in.  I found one cute little outfit:

6 month size for $6.28

And these little jeans:

6 month size for $4



Then I headed over to Ross to peruse their baby clothes section.  They have a decent selection and if you browse you can find some pretty good deals.  I picked up the following for our little man:

A set with two onesies and the cute pants with the tiger on the butt for 3-6 months ($6.99)

This is on the light blue onesie from the set

bib, onesie and cute pants with a bear on the butt - 3 to 6 months ($3.99)

Cute little monkey onesie 3 pack - 6 month size ($4.99)

And my best purchase of the day was this one:

$0.49 for this 6-9 month onesie. Score!

I came home and showed J all of the clothes.  His reaction?  "How many outfits does he need?".  I told him that babies make messes and generally go through more than one item of clothing a day.  Granted at the beginning he will be living in onesies, but I want to make sure he has some stuff to wear for when we leave the house. I have no intention of just sitting around the house for the 3 months that I am on maternity leave. I need to make sure he is ready to hit the town with me  :)

Here we go - Steelers - here we go...

Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl.  And so are Baby W and I!

Yep - that's right.  My sister (the one who is ridiculously irresponsible with money) is taking my parents, my other sister and I to Dallas for Super Bowl XLV.  She had bought 4 tickets prior to the AFC Championship game with an escape clause if the Jets happened to win.  I told her to take our other sister since I got to go to the Super Bowl in Tampa two years ago with her.

Well, she got another ticket so I could go, too. I told her not to spend the money, but she really wanted to do this.  There is no way in hell anyone else in my family could afford to buy a ticket (It was $21K for the original 4 tickets), but Nic is a doctor who has been doing the whole locum tenens thing and apparently has been raking in the dough.

So we will be flying to Dallas on Saturday afternoon - getting  there at 2:30 - and flying back Monday evening and getting home around 9:40.  Not sure if we have a hotel yet so we should probably get started on that.

I think J can't believe that I am going to get to go inside JerryWorld (Dallas stadium) before him. He is a HUGE Cowboys fan so he's a little bitter.  I told him he should root for my team, but I don't see that happening. Now I just have to hide my Steelers gnome so he doesn't try to jinx it.


Here is a picture from the last time Pittsburgh was in the Super Bowl.

Nic and I with Steely McBeam

Oh - and on a baby related note I bought our crib bedding this morning. Target is having a 20% sale on select bedding and furniture online so I went ahead and got it.  It's a higher priced item and I didn't know if anyone would buy it for us. Plus the shower isn't until March 12th and I want it before then. It will also help with decorating if we have it and know the colors.  I can't wait until it gets here!



Am I talking to a wall??

Seriously - this whole baby shower thing is about to put me over the edge.

Yesterday my friend called me and said they were making it a couples shower and they need the list of invitees ASAP. I told her no, I had already told my sister to please not change any of the plans and leave everything is it was.  I am fine with it being girls only. I really don't want to put anyone out and at this point just want to get the damn thing over with.

I emailed the three of them with my (somewhat puny) list yesterday.

This morning I have an email from my sister saying it's now a couples shower and they need the list of people to invite.  I again told her to please leave the plans as they were.

I send an instant message to J saying that still no one is listening to me when it comes to the shower.  His response?  "Well you can't have it both ways... you keep up and you are going to end up with nothing".  Gee - thanks for the support and understanding.

Now I'm starting to get pissed.

If someone had just talked to me and clued me in on what was going on then this wouldn't have all blown up.  I get that they were trying to make it a surprise, but once J saw me getting upset he should have said something.  I wanted a couples shower because I thought he wanted to be there and I thought he had people he wanted to invite. Now I find out that he is pretty much ambivalent about the whole thing. If that's the case then I don't even want him there.

Ugh - why didn't I just keep my mouth shut from the get go???

And now I feel like the world's biggest jerk

Yesterday was a mess. Tons of drama and emotions and hormones flying everywhere.  As mentioned, there was discussion of a baby shower and my concerns and unhappiness.

Well it all kind of blew up with me emailing my mom with a response to what I felt was her attacking/criticizing me.  It all went downhill from there.

Last night after I got home from the gym where I was able to work out a little frustration I checked my email.  There was one from my sister with the subject "What is going on?".

Turns out she is the one that is actually planning the shower, it was going to be a surprise on March 12th and they told me my friends are planning it for the 19th to throw me off.  My two friends that are helping have limited funds so they decided on a smaller shower and thought that girls only would be nice an intimate.

Yep - I pretty much burst into tears as I was reading it.  Then the phone rang and it was my mom. We had a big long discussion and everything is fine.  Thankfully she understands that my hormones are playing hell with my emotions and I am overly sensitive at the moment, so she won't hold it against me for being bratty.

So bottom line I feel like an ungrateful jerk and that I ruined the surprise.  But in my defense, I hate surprises and who decides to surprise a hormonal emotion bomb at 36 weeks pregnant anyway????

Oh, and to top it off - J knew all about the surprise and had been doing his best to divert my questions. He had been planning on calling my sister last night to let her know that I was freaking out and to try to figure things out.  Love him to death, but I wish he would've clued me in.  Instead he had to deal with a sobbing trainwreck last night.  Ugh - is it April yet????

And here is this week's check-in:

How far along? 29w2d - baby is a squash - 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lb over the next 4 weeks

Weight gain/loss: This morning I weighed myself and am at +23 lbs exactly.  Oy.

Maternity Clothes: Half and half.  Today I am sporting maternity pants and a shirt, but some days I get away with regular tops in longer length. I wore maternity jeans for the first time on Saturday and they drove me crazy.

Symptoms:  The newest one is my Tour-de-France-bicycle-seat-crotch as I like to call it.  Kind of feels like getting kicked with some heavy boots right between the legs.  It's keeping my stubborn colon and itchy belly company.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Definitely getting more difficult.  My little internal alarm clock likes to start kicking away in the 4:00 hour.  Not cool little buddy - not cool at all.

Best moment this week? Not the least bit baby related, but the Steelers punching their ticket to their 8th Super Bowl. Here we go, Steelers, here we go!!!

Movement: All the time and he is definitely getting stronger. This weekend it felt like he was trying to dig his way out. I think he was excited about his team winning (while he is inside of me he is definitely a Steelers fan!)

Food cravings/aversions: Still all about sweets, but I'm trying to control that urge.

Belly button in or out? In but flattening out.

What I miss? Being able to paint my toenails, having more of a selection when it comes to wardrobe, and sleeping comfortably.

What I am looking forward to? Doing more work on the nursery. The ceiling is completely scraped and sanded - we just need to put up the crown molding and then we can paint.

Milestones: 75 days to go!

What I'm nervous about: My abilities as a mom. Some days I can't wait for him to be here. Other days I think "What did we get ourselves into?"

And this week's pic:

Hormones and emotions and family - oh my

This morning I made a giant mistake. I voiced my concerns about the baby shower that a few friends are throwing for me to my mom.

I do NOT want to sound ungrateful. I am very happy that they are taking it upon themselves to host a shower.  I know the shower is a gift and I shouldn't say anything, but a few things are weighing on my mind.

Concern number one is that it is planned for March 19th. I will be 37 weeks along. I will probably be huge and uncomfortable. And I will be due in 3 weeks - not leaving us much time to nest and to buy all of the items that we will not be getting from the shower.

Concern number two is that the shower excludes J and many of our friends.  My friends decided that this would be a girls only event. That was not what I would have wanted had anyone checked with me.  This is his baby, too, and when one of my other friends asked me if he was upset about being left out he didn't really answer. But it looked to me like he is bummed. 

Also, I hate being the center of attention and I am not the girly girl who wants the frou frou baby shower with stupid games and a bunch of girls sitting around.  All of the baby showers I have been to recently have been co-ed and have been more of a celebration than a shower.  Including the shower that I helped to host for one of the hostesses of my upcoming shower. So she knows better.

I emailed this to my mom - again saying that I am very grateful that they offered to throw me a shower.

She responded by basically saying I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, that large showers are a ploy for gifts, and that she prefers smaller showers.

Ok, but this isn't YOUR shower.  And I get that back in the day when you were having kids you would have a little hen party with your tea and cookies and sit around and play silly baby games and be girly. That is not me!  The thought of a shower like that makes me sick.

And no, I don't want a large shower just so we can get a lot of gifts.  I have had many of our guy friends ask if someone is throwing a shower for us and they obviously planned on being invited.  I was looking forward to a low-key get together, maybe a lowcountry boil, with friends and family to celebrate the impending arrival of our little guy.

Instead, my mom decides to make me feel like shit.  I emailed her back and said "Forget I said anything" and for the time being I am avoiding reading her follow-up emails.

And the icing on the hormonal emotion cake - my sister (who is ridiculously irresponsible with money) bought 4 Super Bowl tickets and posted on FB how she is taking my parents and needs to decide who else to take.  My mom's response:  "You are the BEST DAUGHTER EVER!!!!!"  Wow - way to play favorites right out there in public for everyone to read, mom.  Especially all the people that know that you have two other daughters.  I guess I have to waste the equivalent of a down payment on a house to buy your affection, huh?

So that is where my emotions stand right now. God I hate Mondays....

29 weeks!

So we are down to 11 weeks - 77 days.  Yikes!!  That doesn't seem like much time.

On the plus side we got the office rearranged yesterday to make room for the glider and pack n play since our little man will be sleeping up there for the first couple months of his life.  We got rid of lots of junk so it was nice to clean it out.

We also probably decided on a paint color for the walls of the nursery and we spent an hour or so sanding the ceiling in the nursery yesterday.  What a mess!  It wasn't super hard work, but we both looked like we had been dropped in a pile of flour by the time we were done. Even with the masks I think I inhaled a ton of that crap. And my eyes felt gritty for a couple hours afterwards.  But I think it looks good so far and there isn't much the needs to be patched.  J was in there this morning covering some screw holes that he'll go back and sand later.  Here is a picture of what it looks like at the moment:

He also decided he wants to put up crown molding so we don't have to worry about the rough edges. This means yet another trip to Lowes.  And yet another thing to paint. Ugh.  But I think it will look really nice when it's done so I shouldn't complain.

Oh, and another new development. I feel like he is now trying to dig his way out of my uterus.  I don't know if he just switched positions or what, but he is now giving me lots of pokes, prods, kicks, and punches on the left side of my belly. It kind of tickled and felt really odd last night. I guess I should get used to that, huh?

Well this is new.... and painful

After work last night I went to the gym as usual. I was feeling pretty good so I hopped on a treadmill. I wanted to get at least 2 miles in but I felt fine so I ended up doing 4.

Once I got done running and doing my cooldown walk I wiped down the machine and walked away. That's when I noticed it.  The achy pain between my legs.  What the hell?

I hobbled around the gym feeling like David Beckham had kicked me in the crotch with some steel toed boots.  Ow!

When J picked me up I got into the car with a groan and filled him in on the latest development.  He tried not to laugh and said it will probably get worse as he gets bigger.  Not what I wanted to hear.  When he saw the forlorn look on my face he asked if there was anything he could do?  I told him to fast forward to April. 

On the bright side, when we got home I had a package waiting from Old Navy.  Some more maternity clothes for me (my longer regular shirts are starting to get too short) and some new gear for the little man.

I think this is freaking adorable.  J is not amused and said it makes him think of the kid from 'A Christmas Story'.  I told him whatever - I'll put him in it when I take him out.  He'll be a baby - they don't care.

I  love the little ears  :)

Cute little striped onesie. Already have brown pants for it.

It says "Daddy's Big Guy"

These are little St Bernards - so cute

The onsesie's are all 3-6 month size and the fleece zip up is 6-12 months. Hopefully perfect for next winter. I can't wait to put him in it!

Looking at all the adorable baby clothes we have for him almost makes me forget the throbbing in my lady bits.  Almost.

Why do I do this to myself?

Every morning I do something stupid.  I get up, go to the bathroom, and then hop on the bathroom scale.  This was a good idea back before the end of July when I was trying to lose the weight I'd gained since our wedding.

Not so much anymore.  Now it's torture. 

Deep down I know I need to gain weight. I know it's for the baby. And I know he needs it to grow.

But then there is that little voice in my head that's saying "Oh my god you are getting fat!".  Especially when I am on the scale and am seeing a number that I have never seen in my entire life.  I am now almost a full 10 lbs heavier than I have ever been. That's a hard number to swallow.  This morning was particularly rough because I somehow gained 3 lbs in two days. How is that possible??  I know weight fluctuates day to day, but it was like a punch to my ever growing gut to see that.

It also doesn't help that last night I was trying to sit on the couch and work on my laptop to get some extra work (and OT) done and I could not get comfortable. My belly seemed to have expanded so much in just one day. After an hour or so I finally gave up, put away the computer, and lounged on my heating pad.

Today I am making sure that I drink enough water (I know I haven't been lately) and I will be in the gym after work.  I'm not going to overdo it with my workout, but I feel so much better when I work up a little sweat. Plus it gets rid of some of the extra water weight.  And I always have my little man kicking along in there to let me know he's ok.  Thanks little guy - I love you!

I hope that isn't what I think it is

Last night after the gym (4.04 miles - woo hoo!) I came home and hopped in the shower.  As usual, after I was done I started to rub some lotion onto my increasingly itchy belly and did my inspection for stretch marks and to see if those funky veins are still visible.  Yep - still there.  But then I noticed something else.  It appears to be the faint beginnings of that gross line that stretches up to the belly button (linea nigra I believe it's called).

Aaaahhh!  NOT what I wanted to see.  I know it's a normal part of pregnancy and that it will fade away several months after the baby is born, but still - it's gross.  And for someone who is already self conscious about all the weird happenings going on with my body this is not good.

Not that I am going to go over the edge because of this, but I was really really really hoping this is one part of pregnancy that I would bypass.  I mean, it's weird enough seeing my naked body in the mirror in this new and unusual shape without having a funky dark vertical line dissecting my belly.

At least as I am sitting here typing this our little guy is doing flips in my belly and letting me know he's there.  I love these times when it's just me and him - our quiet time.  I can sit and talk to him without someone thinking I'm nuts for talking to myself.  Now if only I could talk him into not giving me a gross belly line...

Goodbye popcorn!

Yesterday J was off and he made some good progress on scraping the ceiling.  When I got home from the gym he wasn't there, but I peeked in and saw this:

He had put plastic down (even though we are replacing that carpet) and used the pump sprayer to wet the ceiling.  Those are the remnants of the popcorn on the ground.

Here is the result:

Surprisingly the ceiling underneath isn't in too bad of shape. I figure builders normally do popcorn because that way they don't have to do a stellar job smoothing everything. Thankfully the joints aren't a complete mess.  There is a small section that still needs to be scraped and then he can sand and we can paint. Woo hoo!!

We still need to go and pick out carpet and decide what color we want to paint the walls. I see many trips to the home improvement store in our near future.

Also, I had a doctor's appt this morning. Everything looked great according to my doctor. The little guy's heartrate was nice and strong and in the 130's. Everything is measuring well and she said I look great.  Now we move on to the every two week appointments. Yikes!  Little dude will be here before we know it!

Ok - here is my check in for the week:

How far along? 28w2d - I believe he's around 2.2 lbs now.

Weight gain/loss: I've surpassed the 20 lb mark.  Ugh. Although for 28 weeks I guess that isn't too bad.  I did run 4 miles last night and have a nice healthy salad for lunch today.

Maternity Clothes: Sometimes.  Most of my work pants are, but I'm still getting away with regular jeans and longer tops.

Symptoms:  Cement bowel (as usual), achy upper back (damn you boobs!), a little more fatigue, itchy belly, and some possible BH contractions.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping ok. I like to lay on my side but turned slightly towards my stomach. He does not like that and begins kicking me if anything presses on his little home in there. I have a feeling sleep is about to get more difficult.

Best moment this week? FINALLY starting on the nursery. The room is pretty much empty, the dresser is refinished, and the ceiling is almost all scraped. Yay for progress.

Movement: Tons - the little man likes to wiggle.

Food cravings/aversions: I've been craving sweets lately. Not good.

Belly button in or out? Still in but possibly getting flatter. 

What I miss? Feeling cute, maneuvering around without groaning, and having more energy.

What I am looking forward to? Picking out the carpet and paint colors for the nursery.  Hopefully this weekend.

Milestones: We're up to the every two week appointments. That feels like a milestone.

What I'm nervous about: I was reading the breastfeeding section in WTEWYE and I am nervous that I won't be able to do it.  I know it'll take practice, but I'm scared I'll fail.

And here are some bump pics from this week:

Last night after the gym

And this morning before the doctor.  Just realized I wore matching outfits.

Finally some progress

This weekend we finally made a little bit of headway with our nursery. Almost everything is moved out of the room so J can start scraping the hideous popcorn ceiling on his day off today (I don't get MLK Day off or I would help).

Here are some shots of the (almost) empty room:

View from the hallway.  The mattress on the floor is only in there because the dogs were sleeping on it. They are being booted today.

You can see we already have a baby gate, but that has been used to keep the dogs out of things. I guess we should get a new one when the little guy starts walking.

And the reason that the ceiling needs to be scraped. We had a leak from the skylight upstairs and now there is water damage.  Plus popcorn ceilings suck and this is one of only two rooms left in the house with it. Time to upgrade.

Also this weekend we got the dresser that we are going to use sanded and stained.  Thankfully the weather was nice during the day and we were able to do this outside on the deck.  This is an antique dresser that we got from his grandmother. I hope she isn't pissed that we stained it, but the color before was awful and now it will match the crib better.

The stain is called Bombay Mahogany - a nice dark brown to better match our espresso crib. We'll be using this as the dresser and changing table.

Here are the drawers. We need to pick out some new knobs to put on them since the old ones were pretty ugly.

I know it doesn't seem like a ton of progress, but based on how little we had done before I am pretty happy with it. I'll be even happier if J gets the ceiling scraped today.  We still need to decide on a wall color and go pick out new carpet.  The rest of the house has hardwoods, but this room and the guest room still have carpet and we are leaving it that way.  Softer and warmer for the little man to play on.

Mostly I want to get things done so we can finally set up the crib. I am dying to see it in the room.  Maybe I should call J and make sure he is awake and getting started...

I looked like an extra from 'True Blood'

This morning I had my dentist appointment bright and early at 8:00 AM.  I of course flossed in preparation for it and due to my swollen pregnant gums had quite the mouthful of blood.  I haven't had any issues when I'm brushing my teeth, only when flossing.

Well, the hygienist went to work on my cleaning with her little scraper.  Pretty soon my mouth was filled with the metallic blood taste. Excellent. At least I'm not suffering from any sort of morning sickness or that probably would not have gone over too well.  As it was, I was in the reclined seat and the little guy didn't seem to be enjoying that position. Lots of kicks and squirming from him throughout the process.

She finished up her scraping and flossing (with many pauses to squirt out and suction my mouth) and moved on to the baking soda spray cleaning.  I'm still not sure if I like that stuff.  It doesn't seem to get my mouth as nice and clean as regular brushing.  Plus now my lips are all salty and sore.

Anyway, I was given my little goody bag of a new toothbrush (which I never use since I have a Sonic Care), some floss, some toothpaste, and an appt card for July and sent on my way.  Strange to think that the next time they see me I will officially be a mommy.  Eeek!

Now I need something to drink to get the blood taste out of my mouth.  Coffee should take care of that quite nicely...

"Haven't you ever seen a pregnant woman before?"

This is what I wanted to yell at a guy at the gym last night.  It's this older guy (I would guess late 60's) and I always see him kind of looking at me.  Last night he was on the stationary bike right next to me and he kept looking over at me.  And not just little glances out of the corner of his eye. He would pretty much turn his whole head and look at me.

Now I know that I look obviously pregnant and maybe to some people it's weird that I am still working out at the gym.  But it's not like I was running all out on the treadmill or over there pumping iron. I was on a stationary bike for crying out loud.

At the time I was feeling particularly bulky and kind of uncomfortable and with my whacked out hormones I was close to just snapping at the guy - "Why don't you just take a picture?!?"

I know it will only get worse as my belly expands even more so I should just get used to it.  Hopefully I make it through the next 12 weeks without going off on someone and getting myself kicked out of the gym!

On a funnier note, last night I set the tv remote on my belly to see if I could get a reaction out of the little guy. Sure enough he started trying to kick it off my belly. He definitely doesn't like anything intruding on his little home in there.  I was laughing as I watched it and fell even more in love with him than I was before.

I love the movement and all...

but could you kindly remove whatever body part is currently lodged up into my ribs?

I'm sitting at my desk and just keep feeling like something is being shoved upward under my right boob. Thankfully my previous rib issue has healed and I am no longer in pain. But now I have my little kickboxer apparently practicing his moves in that exact same location.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE feeling him moving and letting me know that he is ok in there. I'm just not sure how I feel about his recent choice of locale.  I guess it could be worse - he could still be doing a jig on my bladder and making me run to the bathroom every 20 minutes. 

Of course I keep thinking "Wow - and I still have 12+ weeks.".  I wonder how bad it's gonna get???

What is THIS?!?

Last night after rubbing some lotion on my itchy belly I did a little closer inspection.  No stretch marks to be seen, but I found something else that I thought was equally disturbing.  These blue veins all over my stomach.  Not super dark, but definitely visible.  What the hell?!?  Where did these come from?

I came running out of the bathroom and yelled to J "Look at this!" pointing at my veiny belly. He just busted out laughing and finally said "It's probably gonna get worse.". Umm - thanks dude. Just what I wanted to hear.

I guess on the bright side the veins are just under the skin and will hopefully disappear. Seems better than stretch marks for now...

And here is my weekly check in:

How far along? 27w2d - he should be somewhere around 2 lbs and 14.5 inches.

Weight gain/loss: holding steady at +19 lbs this morning. Trying SO hard not to eat any of the remaining junk food in the house. J said he wants it all out of the house by this weekend - I hope he plans on gorging himself, then. I know I don't need to eat it!

Maternity Clothes: Some maternity clothes and some regular clothes.  Whatever is comfy and covers my belly.

Symptoms:  Not sure if this is a symptom, but I have this weird painful spot on the outside of my right knee. It feels like there should be a bruise, but there's nothing there.  And as usual, my uncooperative colon and achy back.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping well for the most part. It's starting to get harder to get comfortable - especially when he decides to do calisthenics at 4:00 AM.

Best moment this week? J finally feeling the little guy kick.  The smile on his face as he was feeling the movement was priceless.

Movement: Lots. And apparently he does not like when something is resting on my belly. If I have a book or something on my stomach he will kick/push out against it. It's kind of funny.

Food cravings/aversions: No real cravings, just always hungry.

Belly button in or out? Still in thankfully.

What I miss? Being able to balance on one foot to put on my shoes, painting my toenails, hard runs, and being able to walk around without the constant pressure on my bladder.

What I am looking forward to? Working on the nursery - if only I knew when that would happen...

Milestones: Less than 90 days to go!

What I'm nervous about: How I am going to feel when I get even bigger. I already feel like a house and can't imagine what it'll be like in another month or two.

And the obligatory bump pic:

Work bathroom pic

And just for fun, here is a picture from last night. I wanted to see if maybe the bump looked bigger in the evening, since it sure feels bigger!



3 more months!

Looked at the calendar this morning and I see that our little guy is due to make his appearance 3 months from today. Yikes! 

And I realize that I am now officially in the 3rd trimester. Double yikes!  Not sure when that exactly happened, but here I am.  I can't believe how fast time is flying now. It's both exciting and terrifying.

We made very slight progress in the nursery this weekend (moved two pieces of furniture out) and J finally felt the baby move yesterday morning.  We were laying in bed and he had his arm across my stomach. Apparently the little guy didn't like the pressure on his home and was pushing out against it.  J asked "Was that him?" and I laughed and said yes.  He got a bunch more kicks in and J was laying there smiling. It melted my heart  :)

And now I am sitting at work in a half empty office because there is some sleet and rain and people in SC can't drive for shit in any sort of precipitation so half of them are working from home.  Having grown up in PA where I got my drivers license at 16 in the dead of winter I just can't relate.  But at least it'll make for a quiet day...

Our sharp dressed little man

Or at least he will be. Between gifts, hand-me-downs, and my recent shopping excursions we are accumulating a nice little collection of clothing for this little guy.  I know it's not a lot compared to what we will need, but at least I feel like I am making progress in one aspect of preparing for his arrival.  Here are some of the outfits we've gotten so far:

Onesie, pants and bib for $5.99 in 3-6 month size

Cute little paw print on the butt  :)

Another set for $5.99 but in 6-9 month size

Pants and shirt - part of 3 piece set. The shirt says "Rookie of the Year"

Full 3 piece set for $3.99 in 6-9 month size

Grand Canyon t-shirt and adorable onesie from Aunt Nic

Close-up of the design on the onesie. This is from AZ.

Hand-me-down Halloween outfit from Aunt Jackie (9 month size)

Close-up of the cute pumpkin

And of course some sports bibs. Still need an NC State one, though.

So on top of all the other clothes I've already posted, plus some onesies that are still in packages, I think we have a decent start on his wardrobe. I know there is still a TON of stuff we need, but at least I feel like I'm making progress.

And J mentioned last night that he asked our friend Chris to help move furniture, so (fingers crossed) we might make some progress on the nursery this weekend. Yay!

After Christmas sales rock!

Yesterday I had a hair appt at 6:00 (see pics below) so I had some time to kill before I needed to go.  I decided to hit Target since I needed some essentials (saline, hairspray, and of course some Miralax).

While there I obviously wandered over to the baby section to see if they had any sales on baby clothes. Score!  Their Christmas stuff was 90% off.  I had trouble actually believing that, but figured I'd take my chances and see what they rung up as at the register.  So I got these outfits for the little man for next Christmas:

Only $0.79

It says 'My 1st Christmas'

Little santa suit with hat for only $1.50. Perfect for Christmas pics next year.

I also picked up some running capris with the foldover waist (helps support the growing belly) and one maternity shirt.  Still no luck with finding jeans, though.

Then it was time to head to my hair appt.  I had her take a little more off this time than I normally do.  No, I'm not doing the stereotypical 'become a mom and hack off all your hair' thing, but I did get a little more length taken off. My hair is so freaking thick that I can stand to lose some.  It definitely feels a bit lighter and I'm happy as long as I can still pull it up in a ponytail when I need to.

Here are some before and after pics:

The 'before' was taken in the car in the parking lot and the 'after' is this morning at my desk - hence the costume change.  It might be hard to tell, but I do have a lot less hair. And if you saw the floor in the salon after she was done you would've thought that a small animal had exploded. Hair everywhere.

My next appt is in 11 weeks when I'll be about 38 weeks along. Gotta get in there and get pretty before this little guy gets here and all hell breaks loose!

Yay Snoopy :)

Yesterday when I got home after work and the gym there was a box sitting on the porch in front of the door.  The plush blanket and mobile I had ordered from Baby Metro (way back on Dec 9th) had finally arrived.  I ordered them because Target doesn't carry them so I couldn't put them on the registry.

The blanket is so nice and soft. I can't wait to wrap our little man up in it.

The baby Snoopy and baby Woodstocks on the mobile are adorable. I didn't take it out of the packaging yet, but it is so sweet.

Now, we aren't going to overdo it in the nursery with all Snoopy stuff. I just really like the bedding so that is what we are going with.  The only other Snoopy items I registered for are the coordinating lamp:



And the diaper stacker:

I may take the diaper stacker off since I'm not sure I want it any more. That might be too much Snoopy.  We aren't going to go crazy and do the wallpaper border, window valances, and wall hangings because as cute as he is, that is just too much Snoopy.

Now if we could only get started on actually working on the nursery...

I hate January

Every year I come to dread the beginning of January for once simple reason - all the new years resolution gym goers that clog my gym and make everything crowded. My friend and I refer to them as 'The JANs'.  Not that I begrudge anyone the opportunity to get in shape and convert to a more healthy lifestyle or anything.  It's just annoying to watch someone on a treadmill walking at a leisurely pace while reading a magazine. Especially when I want to get on said treadmill and do an actual cardio workout.

Normally the gym crowd thins out by mid-February when all those people break their new years resolutions to get in shape.  So I guess I just need to be patient and let them drop like flies.

It didn't help my mood last night that when I did get a treadmill I ran 1 mile and felt like absolute crap. I had to walk the remaining 21 minutes (at a 4.3 mph pace - not a leisurely stroll) and even that didn't feel great. I think the little guy is sucking all the moisture out of my body - my calves just felt like they were going to seize up at any moment.

Hopefully today's workout will go better. And maybe I'll get lucky and all the newbies will be so sore from hitting the gym yesterday that they will skip today. Once can dream, right?

And here is this week's check in:

How far along? 26w2d - I believe he has now graduated to eggplant status. He should be 13.6-14.8 inches, 1.5-2.2 lb during this time (25-28 weeks)

Weight gain/loss: +19 as of this morning. Too much traveling and eating too much crap. Back on the healthy diet kick for me.

Maternity Clothes: Wearing regular pants today that used to be big on me. Now I can wear them without a belt.  I wear a maternity shirt occasionally and some work pants.  Had to use the hairband trick on my jeans this past weekend since I haven't found any maternity jeans that I don't hate.

Symptoms:  The usual cement bowel and achy upper back at nighttime. I am also getting more gassy. Excellent.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep? Sleeping relatively well, but I've been waking up with charlie horses lately. Not a good way to be woken up in the middle of the night.

Best moment this week? Being one of 68,000+ fans to attend the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh - an unbelievable experience.

Movement: Yep, he kicks up a storm. And seems to be moving around since I am now feeling weird pressure and pushing up in my ribs.

Food cravings/aversions: Not really a craving, but I've been eating too many sweets. We need to get that crap out of the house.

Belly button in or out? Still in thankfully.

What I miss? Being able to put on my shoes without grunting. And sleeping comfortably.

What I am looking forward to? Some down time at home. We've been out of town the past 3 weekends and I am wiped out.

Milestones: Umm.... hitting 26 weeks I guess.

What I'm nervous about: When we will ever get all the stuff that needs to be done completed. And that no one is going to do a baby shower for us.

And here is a bump pic from last night after my stellar gym workout: