24 Weeks!

Okay, this pregnancy thing is a little weird. For one thing, it seems to be flying by. I'm already 24 weeks. That right there just blows my mind. It seems like maybe two months ago I got my positive. But at the same time, it feels like forever since I last had a glass of wine or a beer. So maybe the only part of it that is going slowly is the drinking part. Although truth be told, I don't miss it NEAR as much as I thought I would. It actually hasn't been too bad. Plus, my dear husband is more than making up for me. He's so thoughtful, isn't he???

With only 16 weeks left (yes, 4 months) we have had to start buckling down and making some decisions. As I stated in my last post, we sold our boat (yay!) so decision #1 down. Decision #2 involved selling our house and moving into something a little larger with a pool on a larger lot. After spending about 3 months looking (and watching our search criteria slowly climb from $250K to $300K to $350K to $400K...) we finally found "the house". Lucky for us, it's the one we're already in. Yes, we're staying put. After looking at a million and one houses, both in person and online, we finally realized that 1) our house is actually a lot better than most of the ones we've been looking at that cost $100K+ more than our current house, and 2) we are in an awesome financial position right now and don't want to mess it up. The only debt we have is our (little) mortgage! And the reason we are in this position at the ripe old age of 29 is because we've made really good decisions with our money thus far, so we figured why start being stupid now? Needless to say, I am relieved! As much as I would like a bigger, better house, the one we're in is perfect for us at this stage in our lives. And I am more than thrilled to hunker down (as they say in The South) and begin to work on the nursery. Now that I actually have one to work on that is. Of course that leaves me with the decision of what exactly to do with it. I have zero ideas for colors or themes. I have a feeling I'm going to end up mish-mashing this together and hoping for the best. If anyone has any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them so send 'em on my way. I need all the help I can get!

Another big step we are taking is day care shopping! We had originally thought of getting a nanny for the first year or so, but after we realized that our ideas of what a nanny should be were completely different, we tossed that idea. The main difference was that I was picturing my nanny as the cute little grandmotherly type, Kevin was imagining his as more of the 18 year old, blond, Scandanavian chick with big ta-tas type. So day care it is! The wait list around here is about 6 months, so we need to get moving on it. I have a really good recommendation from a friend that we're going to check into first. Hopefully that's the one that pans out.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 24!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Ugh, tack another couple of pounds on. I have no idea where it is all coming from. People keep telling me that there is no way I have an 18 pound baby inside me, although I beg to differ. And not helping the situation is that I wasn't thinking about my morning weigh-in last night when I agreed to go out for Mexican for dinner. Can you say salt overload? I went to bed last night with a full Liter of water on my night stand. When I woke up, it was pretty much gone. So I'm sure that had something to do with the extra couple of pounds, right?........right???
Next Appointment: August 5 - we decided to do the 4D ultrasound just for fun. That way we'll have some new pictures to take back home to Michigan for my shower that Saturday. Hopefully they turn out. They say the pictures should be taken between weeks 26-32, preferrably as close as possible to 32 weeks so that there's more fat and it looks like an actual baby. I'll be 26 weeks the day following the appointment. I have a feeling we'll be looking at an alien baby.

Maternity clothes?: I'm still in the same ones, although I may need to spring for an extra couple of work outfits. I'm getting tired of rotating the same 5 outfits. Some new shirts might be in my cards as well. Mine are starting to get a leeeetle short in the gut area.
Sleep: I seem to be sleeping decently, but I still have some days that I can hardly keep my eyes open. Yesterday was one of them. I ended up going to bed at 9 last night. It was heaven. I'm still waiting for this 2nd trimester energy that everyone talks about. Any day now would be lovely.
Best moment this week: Making the decision to stay in our house! I was so stressed about the thought of buying a house (and moreso of the moving and packing part) especially with the baby this close. By the time we found one, we'd be closing and moving in right around my due date. And of course I would have felt absolutely horrible sitting on the couch pointing to where each box goes instead of helping. Absolutely horrible......

Movement: Definitely getting stronger still. And he seems to be going from sun up to sun down instead of just a few times a day. I'm hoping that this isn't a sign of things to come.
Food cravings: Still none. But I'm really hoping to get some good ones soon. I mean, what fun is pregnancy if I don't even get to send Kevin out at 1 in the morning to get me food???

Planning/Preparations: Nursery time! I think we're going to start on it this weekend. We've decided to disassemble the workout room and put it there so it's next to the master bedroom. Less walking for Kevin when he has to get up for all of those 3 am feedings. I think we're going to move the treadmill and the free weights to the office, which will become the pseudo-workout room/office/bar (the final one is if Kevin has anything to say about it) but we'll see how it goes. We may end up having to put a second story on our house instead. (I'm kidding!!!)
Belly Button in or out: I think we're getting ready to pop. Since my belly is no longer flat(ish) and has taken on a much more rounded appearance, I finally had to take my belly button ring out on Monday. After having it for over 10 years and only catching it on things maybe 3 times total, I was at the point where I was catching it 5 times a day. And every time it caught it felt like someone was trying to tear my insides out. So out it went. As for my belly button, it's on it's way out as well. It looks like there is a bubble in it. It's still an innie for now, but I don't know how much longer that will last.

Stretch Marks: None!
Showing?: Yes, mom. I'm showing a LOT.

What I miss: Being able to see my feet.
What I am looking forward to: My showers! (Now that we are finally registered.) We are so incredibly blessed to have friends and family that want to throw them for me. I can't wait to see everyone in Michigan in a few weeks, then my friends here are throwing one for the Texas group! I can't wait!
Milestones: Registering at the hospital. Next up - deciding if we're going to take any classes.

24 week pictures:

If you want to see them compared to the other pictures, you're on your own. I'm not even going there....

Registering Hell

I am back in Texas and my blogging hiatus has finally ended. As everyone knows Kevin and I spent last week in Michigan visiting family and friends for the 4th of July holiday. It wasn't the trip of my dreams, since Kevin started off the trip sick with some kind of infection and we landed in the hospital for a few hours, but overall we had a nice time and I got to spend lots of quality time with my other 3 pregnant friends, who were also not drinking along with me. (On the bright side, at least we'll be able to remember the party this year.) Here are a couple of pictures of us. Please remember that the camera adds 10-ish pounds.



And a picture of my brilliant dog:



I am 23 weeks today! Oddly enough the time seems to have flown by. It seems like only yesterday I was on the couch bawling because it would be 9 long months before I could enjoy another bottle glass of wine. Now here I am in my 6th month. Since we're nearing the end of the pregnancy, there are some things that need to be taken care of. One of the biggest things on our to-do list is...........the registry (cue scary music). Registering is something that we (okay, I) have been putting off for as long as possible. For one thing, I don't have a theme for the nursery nor do I want one. That makes it incredibly difficult to choose furniture, bedding, decor, etc. Second, I have NO idea what to register for because we have no idea what we are going to actually need. Yes there are lots of sample registry lists containing things you "need" all over the internet (and specifically at Babies 'R Us) however if you do a little more research, you find that half the mom's out there say that you definitely don't need all of that stuff. Then when you figure out what you do actually need, you find that there are at least 50 different brands, styles, and colors to choose from, all with different features, functions, and gadgets attached. Part of the problem is that I have been reading waaaaaaayyyyyy too much. In addition to my constant internet research, I bought a book called Baby Bargains which does reviews on all things baby related and then rates them based on quality and price. It has helped, but has also given me one more resource with which to doubt my decision making abilities.

But the fact of the matter remains that we DO have to register. And we have to do it soon, being as my lovely sister has taken it upon herself to send the shower invites with Babies 'R Us and Target registry information attached. (Hey, at least someone is able to make a decision - Kevin and I sure weren't doing it.) She sent them out at the beginning of the week. Hopefully no one receives one and rushes straight to their computer to look them up, because they won't find anything. Yet. We actually tried to register on Wednesday. We both got home from work at 5, then hauled our cookies down to the nearest Babies 'R Us (which is anything but near). After sitting through the registry associate's spiel, we hit the ground running, gun in hand. Well, I say hit the ground running. What I actually mean is wandered aimlessly around the store. I have never, ever been in a Babies 'R Us before. Not even to shop for a gift. It was a lot more organized than I thought it would be, but still overwhelming. It didn't help that everything we looked at involved me juggling our made-up list, the store's 90 page list of registry must-haves, and my Baby Bargains book. God forbid we just walk up and scan what we like. Nooooooo.........I had to attempt to find each item in my book to see if it was the "right" one. It was torture. We finally scanned some random stuff, just so that we didn't look like idiots when we returned our gun and headed out to the parking lot, beat down and defeated. And found our car dead. Seriously. Luckily we surround ourselves with amazing friends because one phone call later and our friend Kevin was there with jumper cables in hand. We ended up not getting home until almost 10 that night. And I had not eaten since 4. That does not make for a very pretty pregnant lady. Needless to say, we're going to make another go of it this weekend. Hopefully we'll be a lot more relaxed since we're not trying to cram it in after work and we'll be able to finish it up. The stupid book is staying home this time.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 23!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Deep breathes...........I am now up 16 pounds. Yes, 16. I am trying to blame it on water retention from being on vacation for the last 10 days, but it hasn't fallen off yet. If I continue to gain the recommended 1 pound per week for the rest of my pregnancy I'll end up at 33 pounds so within the 25-35 pound range, but on the high side and way higher where I'd like to end up. I'm going to try to stay here as long as possible though and give my growing belly a chance to catch up with my growing ass.
Next Appointment: July 21 - gestational diabetes testing.

Maternity clothes?: Still in the same that I bought before.
Sleep: No issues with sleeping. I even managed to stay up until 1 or 2 am almost every night during vacation. That is not happening anymore however.

Best moment this week: This has been the week from hell in terms of stress. The only good moments have occurred when I have finally been able to crawl into bed and sleep at the end of each day.

Movement: Lots of movement. Still not completely consistent, but definitely more often. And I'm starting to feel the actual movement instead of just the random jabs I was getting before. Although I do still get those and some are STRONG. If you're ever with me and I randomly jump like someone just kicked me, it's because someone did just kick me.
Food cravings: None at the moment.
Planning/Preparations: TRYING to get the registering done.
Belly Button in or out: Still in. I'm starting to think it's not going to pop. Fingers crossed!

Stretch Marks: None!
Showing?: Absolutely. According to my mom, I was a lot bigger when I left Michigan than I was when I first arrived. (She actually said a LOT bigger, but I'm sure she didn't mean it.)

What I miss: Relaxation. I am beyond ready for this weekend.
What I am looking forward to: Finishing (fine, starting) my registry
Milestones: Not really a pregnancy related milestone, but we sold our boat! I am still sad, but soooo relieved. It's so nice to be 100% debt free!!! (Okay, 99% - we still have a mortgage). Plus, I am a LOT more relaxed now than when we had the boat. It's so nice to be able to say "oh, I'll just do that this weekend". We didn't have that option when we had the boat. We were there pretty much every weekend from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. It made for very, very tight work weeks trying to get everything done. And house projects were pretty much non-existent. Maybe we'll actually be able to work on and complete some of the projects on our to-do list from last January.

And on to the 23 week pictures. I'm actually curious to compare them as well since I skipped my 21 and 22 week pictures since we were on the road.

20 weeks vs. 23 weeks:



Oy.

And for good measure, one of the fam. (Minus the husband. I'm having a hard time getting him to pose ever since I broadcast his 18 week picture....)