23 Week Update

23 Weeks! Only 113 more days to go :)

How far along? 23 weeks

Total weight gain: +7 pounds

Maternity clothes? Wearing some jeans, but still in my regular clothes

Stretch marks? none yet

Sleep: yes yes yes!

Best moment this week: being able to feel baby girl kick

Miss Anything? deli meat, I'd love an italian sub or turkey club sandwichMovement: starting to get stronger and feel lots more of it

Food cravings: Citrus/oranges/fruit and sweets....still

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing (knock on wood!!)

Gender: Girl 

Labor Signs: None, still too early

Symptoms: still feeling really well, starting to feel some aches in my lower back

Belly Button in or out? in

Happy or Moody most of the time: For the most part happy, but I've been having my moments recently

Looking forward to: starting to get the nursery put together!

This week in the life of baby girl.....

Baby is the size of a grapefruit! She weighs just about 1 pound now, and will keep growing! She can hear my voice and heartbeat, and her hearing is becoming stronger, so she can even hear Brew barking!

Second Tri-mester Favorites

I know I did this post before, but I felt the need to update it.

 I still stand by my favorite products, I use Mama Mio every day, at least once a day. As I have gotten further along in my pregnancy, I realized some things should be added to the list.

Ben and Jerry's Frozen Greek Yogurt: HEAVEN. I kid you not, this is better than eating a whole pint of half baked...and its better for you. I have been craving sweets, and as much as I would like to sit down with a whole pint of half baked, I just won't do it. Throughout this pregnancy I've been trying to remain really healthy, and this is the perfect fix for my 'healthy' sweet tooth. My favorite flavor is Rasberry Fudge Chunk, its the only one I've tried but I'm very content with it so its a keeper.

Welch's Fruit Juice Bars: These are great for my sweet tooth and fruit tooth, plus who doesn't love frozen treats in the summer! I get the 0 sugar added ones. 

Nantucket Nectars: These satisfy my weird craving for fruit and citrus flavors. I've been stopping at the store to buy some on my way to work, but recently starting mixing my own. Normally I keep it simple with Orange juice and Pineapple juice in a to-go cup (see my 16 week favorites) This is cheaper and the homemade version has less sugar. 

Maxi Dresses: These are a pregnant lady's dream come true in the summer time. I throw one on to go to work, I throw one on to run errands, I throw one on to go out to dinner....it couldn't be more perfect. They are super comfortable (and stretchy!!) and I don't have to go through the struggle of putting an outfit together in the morning. I've found most of mine at TJ Maxx or Marshalls, with a few from Ann Taylor Loft, but Old Navy and Target have super cute and inexpensive ones too. 

Maternity Jeans: When Chris and I found out I was pregnant I swore up and down I would never wear maternity clothes. 'I'm 22 and they are for old frumpy moms' I think were my exact words. Whelp I take back everything I said about maternity clothes. I can still fit into all my normal clothes, and I have not invested in a maternity wardrobe. Lucky for me I am planning on wearing leggings and sweaters all winter, and most of what I have will fit my growing belly. However, these jeans are so comfortable I am going to wear them even when I'm not pregnant. These jeans on Thanksgiving, or any holiday for that matter, life couldn't be better. So many moms warned me against getting skinny jeans while I was pregnant because they make you look bigger, but I haven't noticed and I'm certainly not about to rock the flare jeans. I have two pairs from Destination Maternity, they are Pea in the Pod which are normally expensive but I got them on sale, at the outlet, with a coupon..so they were in my price range. None the less they are super comfortable, I just keep feeling like I forgot to zip my fly and am constantly checking. 

Body Pillow: Lately I have been having some pain in my lower back, so I've started sleeping with a pillow between my knees and its really helped. I've also heard that it helps with sleeping later on in pregnancy. 

Starbucks Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade: Shocking that 4 out of 7 of my new favorite things are related to food. These are yummy, sweet and fruity, which is everything I love right now....and they are decaf!! My doctor is pretty lenient about his caffeine policy, but I've been trying to cut back, so these are perfect!

A Family Day-cation

What a crazy summer it has been, and its basically over!! Chris and I only made it camping once, and up to the beach house once as well. We were talking yesterday about how bummed we were since we talked about how much we wanted to do this summer, somehow time got away from us!

Yesterday we decided to take a "day-cation" to York Beach, Maine. 

We walked up around the light house, took Brew to the beach, and just relaxed by the ocean all day. Brew absolutely loves the beach, we walked up and down the entire length (a mile and a half) and back (total 3 miles) as he chased a tennis ball into the waves. 

My grandparents have a summer cottage and spend all their time during the summer there. I have been going there since before I can remember, and have the greatest memories of the summers there. I cannot wait to bring baby girl up next summer! Its crazy to think that this time next year we will be walking up and down the beach with her! 

The cottage is pretty small, but the "million dollar view" as Amah (my grandmother) calls it, cannot be beat. In front of the house there is a huge yard, which goes down onto some rocks, then the ocean...nothing gets better than that!! Amah told Chris and I stories of how she would stick us in play pens in the front yard and we could just spend the whole day out there. Looks like next summer we will be taking a lot more family vacations! 

22 Week Update

22 weeks....are we there yet?!

(I know, I know, waaaay too soon to be asking this question...but seriously?)

Only 122 more days to go

baby girl is now the size of a papaya!

She certainly is growing, everyday I feel like my belly is getting bigger and bigger!

The one positive thing about this stage in my pregnancy is that I actually look pregnant, not just fat. This may seem silly, but when you are a crazy pregnant lady this is one of the best things that can happen. You can tell there is a baby in there, not just a whole Chipolte burrito. 

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: not exactly sure, I plan on checking with the doctor today

Maternity clothes? I have some, but can still fit into my regular clothes, and summer dresses make this much easier!

Stretch marks? none yet

Sleep: love it, and need more of it!

Best moment this week: now that baby girls movements are much stronger, Chris can feel them too, its such an awesome experience.

Miss Anything? sushi, I would love a volcano roll and scorpian bowl from Shanghai

Movement: starting to get stronger and feel more of it

Food cravings: Citrus/oranges/fruit and sweets

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing (knock on wood!!)

Gender: Girl 

Labor Signs: None, still too early

Symptoms: still feeling really well, starting to feel some aches in my lower back

Belly Button in or out? in

Happy or Moody most of the time: For the most part happy, but I've been having my moments recently

Looking forward to: Meeting with the doctor today, I will get to hear the heartbeat again, which I love!

This week in the life of baby girl.....

Baby is the size of a papaya. She is starting to sleep in cycles of 12-14 hours. She is much more active at night time, right around 9:00 I can really start feeling her kicking around. 

Newest Addition to the Nursery

I know I have the best friends because they have the best taste. Another one of my best college girls, Jordan, sent me the link to this on Esty. Holy Owls. Obviously I ordered these because they are TOO CUTE, but there were so many other cute ones too! I'm glad I ordered these before I looked around because baby girl would end up with 28 owl pillows.

Since the bedding we have chosen is very plain, these are the perfect pop of color and patterns for the nursery! And, I don't even have to mention...owls!!!

These would be great with pale yellow walls (which I have been debating over) or the white, since they will bring in lots of color 

I think these would be so cute put up on a shelf as decorations in the nursery. Add some picture frames like these from Target over the changing table or dresser and this would be so cute!! Maybe even have wooden letters spelling out her name? Michael's has them, you would just need to add a coat of paint, or a solid fabric that would compliment the colors of the owls and the room. 

       

So many ideas, I cannot wait to get started putting her nursery together! 

Nursery Inspiration

I have been really excited to do this post. I have had so much fun looking at different nurseries and ideas on pinterest, I am so excited to get started on baby girls room!! We still have not decided if we are going to paint, the more I look at it the harsher the white seems, even if it is a simple off-white. We have a pale yellow and grayish-blue which we bought when we moved into the apartment, in hopes of painting the second bedroom and the kitchen, which are both still white. Those are also options for the bedroom as well. 

Pink! Who would have thought I liked this. I like the neutral colors with the pink decorations, its the perfect combination of girly and neutral. 

Again, I love the neutral with pink accents! I spy an owl in the corner.....

I love the white and brightness from this nursery. This is the bedding I envisioned for baby girl, which I have picked out and will be sharing soon! Some splashes of color would need to be added, maybe in paint or a blanket over the chair. 

I love the name above the crib and the simplicity of the nursery. I spy an owl in the crib....

 I will definitely have her name above the crib, but that may be one of the more girly aspects of her bedroom.  

A Present for Grammy Kiki

My cousin had found this for my mom..."Grandma's Sippy"

So cute and perfect for my mom, who loves her chardonnay! 

My next question is when does Mommy get her sippy?!

Baby Diva

Grammy Kiki (my mom) calls baby girl "baby diva" and what a diva she is. Chris and I have yet to buy a single item for baby, besides a book, and she is already getting spoiled rotten by our friends and family. I love it! Baby girl clothes are sooo adorable!! If her closet is starting to fill up with just our friends and family buying cute outfits, I can only imagine what will happen once I make my way into Baby Gap. 

Here is a onesie from Angie, one of my best friends from college. Not only will baby girl go to Angie's when she is mis-behaving to get her butt kicked (do not mess with Angie), but she will go to Angie's cheerleading boot camp to be a baby diva cheer star. I know, I' having way to much fun with this. She can play hockey if she wants, too. 

How adorable?! And, OWLS! Love Love Love!!! These are from BabyGap

God love Grammy Kiki. She buys a new pair of shoes every time she sees baby girl, aka, me. Grammy Kiki came to visit me at work and we went out to lunch last Wednesday, here is a picture of the newest pair. I will have to upload more pictures of all the other shoes. These really are baby diva shoes!

 I can already picture the outfit these will go with! Also from Grammy Kiki is a denim button up shirt. The leggings are from BabyGap as well, I don't own them, but I will shortly. How cute with the little bows?!! 

Below is one from J.Crew Crew Cuts, I couldn't find a picture of the one I have, but it is identical, just from the BabyGap:

          

A red onesie would also go great for a Valentines Day outfit. Ok, I am getting completely carried away, reel it in momma!

21 Week Update

21 Weeks! 

Another week down, and what feels like an eternity left to go! I am starting to experience more pregnancy symptoms. I thought I made it past the point of complete exhaustion, but it seems like lately my bed time is 7:30pm. I am also starting to feel a little bit more achy. Remedies??? I have starting sleeping with a pillow in between my knees and that has been helping. I think it must be a sign to start really getting into yoga, which means more than once a week, and doing a lot more stretches. The stretches help, but I think its time to be more proactive. 

Baby girl is doing back flips, she has clearly inherited her momma's cheerleading obsession early. Watch out Friars, you have another cheerleader coming your way! At first feeling the movement scared me, in an 'I didn't expect this' way, but its such a neat feeling to know shes moving around in there. Every time I feel her moving I call Chris over, most of the time he can't feel her, she is still pretty small, but he has been able to feel the good ones! 

Cravings! No offense to any pregnant women out there, but I always thought cravings were somewhat silly. Welp, not anymore. I have been craving citrus/oranges. I always love fruit but I have been craving it more lately. Oranges, orange juice, orange ice pops, orange sherbet. You name it I love it. 

I have also been craving sweets, most specifically chocolate ice cream or red velvet cupcakes. I try  really hard, but am always tempted to indulge in a pint of Ben and Jerry's (I haven't by the way, see my updated favorites post) I've realized that is a pretty common factor among many mommas, lots of chocolate!!! 

How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain: don't actually know, but it is something I plan on asking my doctor next week!

Maternity clothes? I have some, but can still fit into my regular clothes

Stretch marks? none yet

Sleep: love it, and need more of it!

Best moment this week: feeling more movement from baby girl! a nice reminder that she's in there growing

Miss Anything? When I think about it I could make a list, margaritas being at the top..but I'd say its a fair trade...No margaritas for a beautiful baby girl

Movement: starting to get stronger and feel more of it

Food cravings: Citrus/oranges/fruit and sweets

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing (knock on wood!!)

Gender: Girl 

Labor Signs: None, still too early

Symptoms: still feeling really well, starting to feel some aches in my lower back

Belly Button in or out? in

Happy or Moody most of the time: For the most part happy, but I've been having my moments recently

Looking forward to: Meeting with the doctor next week to schedule a prenatal class, hospital visit and parenting classes. The best part of the doctors appointments is hearing baby girl's heartbeat...never fails to put a huge smile on our faces. Also to start the nursery

This week in the life of baby girl....

baby girl is the size of a pomegranate! The average baby around this time is 10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces. Her digestive system is continuing to develop a lot at this point. Hair is also starting to grow, but chances are with this baby she won't have much (I had peach fuzz hair and was practically bald until the age of 2) but lets hope what she does have is curls!!! She is sleeping in cycles of 12-14 hours a day. 

Baby Registry...A SUCCESS

After a very traumatic experience at Baby's R Us, which ended in a bad mood not even a Chipolte burrito could fix, I never wanted to return. However, thanks to my fabulous cousin, neighbor and mama to be I successfully tackled baby girls registry. It is nice to have heard from a lot of other people what an overwhelming process this was, and I wasn't just being a crazy pregnant lady (well not 100% anyway). 

Last Saturday we set out to once again try to register for the baby. First stop, Starbucks. Second stop, manicures and pedicures. After that we were in the zone and ready to do work. Having another mom there who had gone through the process before was a wise decision (possible business idea anyone?? you could make a fortune, I would pay quite a lot for it) First we tackled the big stuff, car seat, stroller, travel system, etc. I love baby stuff, but when it came down to it, I did not want "baby gear" once again, Chris and I wanted neutral. We went with this Chicco travel set, which had great reviews from Lucie's List and was one of the top safety ranked systems. 

**Bonus: The Pack 'n Play has an owl mobile!! Even bigger bonus, and a shock, Chris and I instantly agreed on it. This is a sign that its the perfect set, because with our opposite taste that almost never happens!

After tackling the big stuff like this, it was fun to pick out smaller things, like a play mat and a swing, some of them are absolutely adorable!!!  We stopped by Babies R Us again this weekend to pick up some gifts for my cousins baby shower, adding a few more things to the registry and taking some things off (pink leopard print swaddle blankets which daddy hated). Picking all baby girls gear out has made me even more anxious for her arrival! I cannot wait to snuggle her all day long, but I know I have quite a ways to go! 

I have been doing some research and talking to other moms (new and old) and have discovered some "baby essentials" which make life so much easier. Here are some 'must haves' for the baby registry:

Boppy Pillow

Swing/Bouncy Seat

Baby K'Tan/Baby Bijorn 

Tummy Time Mat

Noise Machine

Nursery

I can almost guarantee there will be roughly 12 more updates about baby girls nursery before she joins us. It is something I am probably going to have the most fun with and look forward to doing more than anything (shopping for adorable baby girl dresses is a close second). 

Again, to make my point clear, I am staying as far away from a theme nursery as possible. Owl accents are perfect, but I do not want pink and purple owl bedding which is displayed in so many stores it makes my eyes hurt (no offense to anyone who has them, they are adorable, just not my taste for baby girl). Since Chris has Brew as his only male companion, we are keeping the girly-ness to a minimum. Light pinks and tans, maybe a soft yellow is the color scheme we are going with. 

Here is a picture of the furniture we picked out: 

The furniture is from a Babies R Us collection. What was great about the bed is that it turns into a 'toddler bed' and/or a full size bed as well. These are great pieces that baby girl will be able to grow into as she gets older. Looks like she won't have to share Brew's dog bed after all! Honestly, the bedding isn't that bad, but it is too girly for our taste, when we mean neutral, we mean very plain. 

Here are some owl accents we have gotten: 

The owl pillow on the left is from Susan Graver and was shown on QVC . My Grandma Annie (soon to be a great-grandma again!)  LOVES the QVC Network, and this was a great find! It will be perfect for the chair I am thinking of for baby girls nursery. We have a great nook with lots of light and I think it would just be the perfect place for a rocking chair. 

The owl mat on the right will be perfect for tummy time and hanging out in the living room while the Bruins are on, its like baby girl has her own dog bed! Its from Casa and was bought by one of my best girls from college, Diana. I am going to enlist her help in the near future for making some bows to go on head bands and hats for baby girl, she is the QUEEN of bows so she is the perfect one to help. 

We are going to use some nice framed photos to decorate baby girls nursery as well. Here is one photo I found from Etsy which I am absolutely ordering to hang up. How adorable?! I'm sure I could make something very similar on my own, but I just love this print so much, and you must give credit where credit is due, this girl did such a great job making it! 

20 Week Update (Halfway There!!)

20 weeks and I have finally hit the half way mark! 

Hoooooray!

I do realize I skipped 19 weeks, last week was pretty busy, and earlier this week Chris was officially appointed at a town meeting by the Board of Selectman as a Fire Fighter. I was a little distracted, and so now I went right to 20 weeks, not much has changed anyway. 

Baby girl and I are still doing great, I feel so lucky to have had such an easy pregnancy up until this point (knock on wood!!!) I can still sleep on my stomach but I'm worried I will crush her if I do (I know this is silly). I still have my achy moments, but I have been trying to stretch more and keep up with my walks with Chris. I have fallen behind on my yoga regiment, but I am trying really hard to make it part of my routine. Sometimes at the end of the day, I want to sit on my couch and eat oreos, not do yoga. I'm pregnant, so I've been indulging myself a little bit. But, I made a commitment that I was going to do it, and I am determined to stay healthy and keep up with working out so I am really going to make more of an effort. I really do miss tumbling and cheerleading workouts, and cannot wait to get back into the gym. I have found a great "Mommy and Me" Tumbling class at a local all star cheerleading gym and I can't wait to go with baby girl! At the ultrasound it looked as though she was doing back flips, she could not stay still...so maybe I have a future PC Cheerleader :) or olympic gold medalist...I'll settle for either. 

 Other than my horrific shopping experience in Babies R Us (which I promise to never complain about again, last time I swear), things are going pretty well, and I have started a mental to-do list for what needs to be done for the baby. Now that we have hit the half way point, Chris and I are beginning to buckle down and try to get stuff done. We have set a deadline of Thanksgiving to have the nursery completely finished (honestly if it is painted and somewhat organized I will be thrilled) but we are aiming for the majority of the work to be done. I plan on doing a blog post of some nurseries that have me inspired, so watch for that! Like I said, I completely take back everything I said about owls, I want a neutral girly nursery with owl accents. I have already started collecting some, and I will post pictures soon! 

Baby Registry

Whoever said registering for the baby was the best part is sadly mistaken. After an overwhelming trip to Babies R Us Chris and I came to the conclusion that baby girl can share Brew's toys and his dog bed, since he rarely uses it anyways. Needless to say, starting our registry did not go so well, and we were clearly unprepared. 

One a positive note, we picked out a gorgeous nursery set and realized an owl themed nursery is not the way we want to go. I was so thrilled to have a baby girl because I am one of the girl-iest people I know. However, everything that was for "baby girl" was too much pink, too many butterflies and flowers, and just so far from what we both envisioned for a nursery. I take back everything I said about having an owl theme nursery. Chris and I are going to use light tans (maybe soft yellows) and pinks as a color scheme, and have owl accents in her room (maybe a wall decal, as long as we both don't hate it...wish me luck) As well as stuffed animals and some cute framed photographs. 

The trip was not a complete fail, as I said, we realized we want a very neutral but subtly girly nursery for baby girl, and picked out the nursery furniture we wanted which I am absolutely in love with and will look great with soft colors. 

If I wasn't so in love with baby girl already, I would offer her to the woman who created Lucieslist.com. I honestly do not know how any woman registers for a new baby without using it, and serious props go out to the ones who did it on their own...you are a better woman than I. Who knew there were 8 different types of car seat stroller combinations and each one was 'essential' to the life and safety of your baby?! That is how everything seemed!! Lucie's List is great breaking down what you need, why you need it and having different price point options for new mamas like me who need their hand held through this process.

With a disastrous trip out of the way, and realizing I do not need a different car seat for every month until she is old enough to drive (thanks to lucieslist) I am ready to brave Babies R Us once more, but this time I am going in with re-enforcement.  My cousin, who is a super mama-to-be is accompanying me this weekend, (after bribing her with a manicure and lunch before hand) and helping me navigate the baby registry. If we weren't both having girls around the same time, I would just copy everything off her registry, but I suppose its time to be a big girl and figure this out. Hopefully this trip goes better, if not, I'm not 100% kidding about baby girl having to share Brew's toys. 

For those of my friends that are reading this, I have really put my organizing to a whole new obsessive level for this trip...yup, I made a folder of what I wanted/needed (to include pictures and pink file dividers). 

I have my plan of attack and nothing will get in my way. I'm blaming this on crazy pregnancy hormones...thank goodness Chris is away at a Hockey Reffing Clinic all weekend or I may scare him away.