Wednesday, December 29, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 34 Check-In

 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: This week your central nervous system is maturing and your lungs are continuing to mature as well. Also, you can recognize and react to simple songs. Well neither your daddy or I have been singing to you much, but we have been reading you lots of bedtime stories! When we crawl into bed your daddy grabs a book and says "earmuffs off!" to get me to lift my shirt so he can read to my bare belly.  It's so much fun watching you wiggle about while he is reading, especially if he says something really loud it kind of startles you!

SYMPTOMS: Peeing all the freaking time! And I still have a little over a month left of this!?! It's funny that I am going to the bathroom so much, this week you now urinate about one pint per day. I do not mind the having to go to the bathroom all the time, I just hate how little I pee when I go, it's kind of like "really? that's it?"

CURRENT MOOD: Yesterday I received a call to set up a meeting for a project that is for an event in March. MARCH! Seems so far away, but then it hit me that I will be on maternity leave in March. How crazy is that? Starting to work on projects that I wont be finishing up, nuts. But it also has me starting to look more at how to hopefully get things wrapped up, as much as I can, before my maternity leave starts. Several people asked when I was going to start maternity leave and I just had to tell them that unless my doctor tells me to stop working I plan on working up until I go into labor. It's kind of funny imagining that in a little over a month I could be sitting in this very spot where I am typing this having contractions!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Baby girl, it is possible that you received more gifts this past week than your daddy and I did, and you're not even here yet! I think that just shows how excited everyone is for you to get here. We got several items we have been waiting on getting, like a safety/grooming kit and the video monitor. We also received several generous monetary gifts that we are going to stick in savings to help pay bills etc when I am on maternity leave.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: I need to start pulling together a list of items for my hospital bag and get my birth plan/wishes typed up. Your momma and daddy also need to get your room a little more organized! Right now we just have boxes of gifts from Christmas and the shower stacked up on your changing table. I also need to run a load of laundry for you with all your sheets and mattress pads in it! Still so much to do!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 33 Check-In

 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Keep packing on that weight and length! Baby girl did you know that you could grown up to an inch more this week? ONE INCH! IN ONE WEEK! That's a lot. You are also, probably, weighing in at close to an impressive 5 pounds. Every day I get more and more excited to see and meet you but every day I say a little prayer for you to stay inside me until it's time for you to come out. As much as I would love to meet you, say today, it sure would be good of you to keep on baking until your due date!

SYMPTOMS: Hello swelling! Haha, it really is not that bad or at least not as bad as I was expecting it to be and it is only really bad when I am just standing on my feet. Although, I have noticed that my feet are a smidgen wider than normal, lots of my shoes are too tight across the width of my foot. But standing is the worse, they start to hurt and I start to look like I have cankles! My hands are not that bad, my rings still fit, although a smidgen tighter than normal, but no problems getting them off or anything like that.

CURRENT MOOD: Faaaareaking out. I think I have just hit that super paranoid pregnancy phase. I think a lot of women go through it sooner in their pregnancy when the baby is super vulnerable. But for some reason I am going through it now! I think a lot of it has to do with "I've made it this far how terrible would it be for something bad to happen now!" But I am trying to not really freak myself out or express any of this to your daddy, no need to freak him out too! I am headed to the doctor today where I will get to hear your strong little heart beat and hopefully that will calm me down for the next two weeks until I get to hear it again!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: I finished all of the thank you notes for gifts we have received, woo! I am so, so, so glad that is done. I have a feeling we will be receiving some more gifts for you baby girl this week with all of the Christmas happenings. So, I am so glad to have all of these done and wont have to carry any over to after Christmas. I also filled out our pre-admission forms for the hospital, I am going to drop them off on the way to my doctors appointment today.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Your momma and daddy need to practice this whole actually HAVING a baby process. Mostly what I mean by that is that we need to practice breathing with each other and make sure your daddy has a good list of things to try to help calm me down and relax me. I really want to have you without any drugs so we are both going to need to really be prepared to do whatever we can do to make things easier for me to bring you into this big world.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 32 Check-In

 
 
Ahhhh! That is my big 'ol bare belly for the whole world to see! I have had your daddy take weekly pictures of me since about week 11 and I figured it was time to post one on here. It's really funny how the top photo looks like just a ball stuck to my stomach with how round it is at the top!
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Grow some nails! You now have finger and toe nails, how crazy is that? I have read that it is a good idea to pack baby nail clippers in my bag to take to the hospital because you could come out with long nails and the hospital wont cut them. So, I need to remember those, I don't want you scratching your pretty face, me or daddy!

SYMPTOMS: I have sadly lost a sense of the size of my belly! I went to Jason's deli for lunch yesterday and I was trying to get to the cup lids and there was a person at the soda machine and another person back to back with them at the salad bar. I turned sideways to slide through the two of them and hit the guy at the salad bar with my belly! I was SOOOO embarrassed! It never even crossed my mind that I would not fit. Guess I will be more aware of the size of my belly from now on.

CURRENT MOOD: Content. I feel really confident that if for some reason you came today we would be ready for you. Maybe not mentally ready for you yet! But house and home ready for you. Sure we are still missing a few important things, like a baby monitor, but we have your crib, we have clothes, I think we would be a-ok!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK:  We took our last childbirth class on Saturday and we got to tour the hospital. We were both a little disappointed with how old the rooms looked and that I would have to move rooms after delivery, but I guess that is one of those things when we live in a smallish town with one old hospital! I con over look everything else as long as I get a private recovery room! Some of them are semi-private, which would not be so terrible except that your daddy could not stay the night in the room with me. I am not sure if I could handle that!

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Just keep trucking along with everything and start picking up the last few things we need. I also really need to write thank you notes for my baby shower gifts!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 31 Check-In



BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Baby girl, you are getting so big! You are weighing in at over 3 pounds by now, but what's crazy is that weight will double plus some in the next two months, I hope my belly can take it! Also, your grip is getting stronger and stronger, you could probably grip my finger tightly if you were born now.

SYMPTOMS: Weird charlie horse/side stitch like pain under my belly. It's suuper weird feeling. I think it is just my uterus stretching and growing and stuff, but I am not 100% sure. I am going to the dr today and I plan on asking her about it then.

CURRENT MOOD: Worried about how everything is going to be once you are here. Not how much I am going to love you or anything like that. But just worried about how I am going to manage everything (you, the house, your daddy, work, cooking, laundry, etc) after you are here and especially once I go back to work. I read in one of my books that no will ever be able to do it all, do it all well and do it all now, that all I can do is decide which of those above things can suffer. What's sad is the one thing that I feel like can suffer really can not, I am talking about work. It would be a significant blow to our income if your mama stopped working. How many places do you read that these days? I feel like most pregnancy blogs/baby blogs say that daycare will cost as much as the mom brings home. For you daddy and me it will only cost about 1/4th of my monthly income, so see does not make sense for me to stop working. Plus, I am a huge believer in daycare! I really think in the end I will really enjoy having work as MY time but who knows, that might all change once I see your face. I am hoping that your daddy will start picking up some of the slack with cooking, cleaning and laundry but your momma is crazy and likes to have everything done NOW and you daddy is not like that. Ok, I need to stop going on about this or I will stress myself out. It will all be ok and we will get it all figured out!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK:  Ha, between last and now I found a rug for your room! The original rug I wanted for your room ended up being WAY too busy for the space. So last night I headed to my favorite place, Target, and found a nice neutral shag rug that I think looks perfect in there.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Go to our second and last Childbirth class this weekend. This is the one where we get to take a tour of the hospital, so we are super excited about that! Cleaning up the house from all the tissue paper and bags from the baby shower. Probably more getting ready for Christmas stuff than getting ready for baby stuff!

Monday, December 6, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 30 Check-In

 
(Just a note: I am going to move the day that I post my updates to the start day of that week, for example, tomorrow I will bet at 31 weeks 0 days so I plan on posting another update tomorrow. I imagine today's and tomorrow's update will be very similar!)
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: You're getting your smarts! Your brain is developing all those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue which prepares you for life out here and the street smarts you will need.

SYMPTOMS: The urge to pee all the freaking time! It's almost like a UTI, you feel like you have to pee so so so bad and you go and it is NOTHING. I get mad several times a day with this, as in "are you kidding me? That's all I had to pee?!?" And I know I am just going to be back in the bathroom in the next 45 minutes! Thankfully, I am able to go most nights all the way through without having to get up and go, I am so so thankful for that.

CURRENT MOOD: HOLY THIRD TRIMESTER! When did you get here? Can we slow things down just a little? I am so excited and ready for you to be here little girl but at the same time I need just a little more time to get things 100% ready for you! Will I ever really be ready for you? I doubt it, but still, how about we agree that you keep cooking until at least February 8th, a week or so longer would be ok with me too!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Baby shower = done! I had so much fun at my shower, I know I was kind of down on it all last week, but it ended up being a lot of fun. Plus, you came away with a ton of loot! We also got all you clothes hung/folded. I think you have PLENTY to last you for the first few months.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Figure out where to store all that loot you got for the next two months. We know that our living room is going to become babyfied after you get here so we are not ready to put stuff out there yet. We might just have a stack of stuff piled in your room or on the guest bed.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 29 Check-In

 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: What a big head! Your head is growing much bigger this week to make room for your developing brain. Your bones are also getting stronger every day, so that means I need to keep drinking my milk!

SYMPTOMS: Bigger feet! ...I think. With the cooler weather I have had to drag out more closed toe shoes and a lot of them are SNUG on my feet. It's not bad wearing them to work, cause I always take my shoes off pretty much as soon as I get to work, but anything on the weekends is tricky working with! Also, you are moving SO much baby girl. A few weeks ago I could only feel you suuuper low in my abdomen but now you are all over the place. Like right now, I just finished lunch (you are always super active after I eat!) and you are wiggling away at the top of my stomach and last night you were curled up on the right side of my belly. I could push in on the left side of my belly but my right side was sooo hard from you sitting there. It is a strange feeling! But I love it.

CURRENT MOOD: Apathetic. It's that a terrible mood for me to be in? I know it is, but that's my mood. I think a lot of it revolves around the baby shower. See, your momma does not have a lot of girl-friends, which I am totally ok with, I have my small group and they mean a lot to me. But some of my family will not be able to come, for reasons I understand, but it still hurts me. So, I am just kind of ready for this next weekend to be over with. 

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Baby girl, we have done such much for you! Your room is almost 100% done. The main thing we have left to get is a rug and we have it picked out, just need to go pick it up! I love your room so much which is good since I will be spending lots of time in there!

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Well, we washed all the clothes we got from Anita, now I just have to get it all folded/hung up.

Monday, November 22, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 28 Check-In

 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Congrats baby, your lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, you has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology)! I can not tell you how excited I was to read that this week. Although I am still encouraging you to stay inside me as long as you want, I sure could use all the time you can give me to get ready!

SYMPTOMS: Nothing really big this week, other than my shrinking stomach.

CURRENT MOOD: Excited! My baby shower is a few weeks away, and your daddy and I can not wait for it! We have put a slight stall on  buying anything else for now until the shower so we don't have duplicates or anything. But I am pretty sure we are going to go on a spending spree after the shower to finish getting ready for you!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Not too much was done for you this week. I have been doing a lot to get the house ready for the holidays and the guests we are going to have for the shower. Daddy did cut out a big wood "S" we are going to hang in your room, we just need to finish sanding it and get it painted.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: The wall decal has arrived for your room, so we need to get that put up. I still need to go buy your curtain rod. This week is Thanksgiving and your daddy and I are going up to Arlington to go to the Cowboys game, but we are also going to pick a bunch of stuff up from my aunt Nita that she used with her little girl. I am hoping for TONS of clothes! So, I imagine I will be doing lots of laundry next week!

Monday, November 15, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 26/27 Check-In

 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Listen up! That's right, your hearing is getting better and better everyday. Daddy wants to go buy a book that he can read to you before we go to bed every night, and I think that is the sweetest thing ever. Also, you just need to keep plumping up and developing the same way you have been.

SYMPTOMS: Tiny stomach, I think I have officially hit that mark where I really can no longer eat as much as I used to in one sitting anymore. But then I am starving two hours later. It's kind of frustrating, but it's ok, I know it's not going to be that way for much longer!

CURRENT MOOD: A little freaked out! I realized last Monday marked 3 months until your estimated arrival date! And then the fact that I have entered the 3rd and last trimester gets me going too. Oh don't get me wrong, baby girl, I am so excited to meet you but at the same time promise me you will give me the full 3 months I have left, ok?

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: I have been cleaning/organizing the house like a mad woman the past month or so, I am not sure if it is a precursor to nesting or what, but it's starting to make me tired! Thankfully, I would say your room is pretty much done, sure I would love to put up crown molding, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, I still think your room will look amazing!

Your daddy and I also took one of two childbirth classes and a breastfeeding class to help us be the most prepared we can be for your arrival. I thought the childbirth class would freak me out about what all is going to happen, but it really helped to calm me down and make me prepared for what's going to happen. I am excited to go to the 2nd class in December, during that one we get to take a tour of the hospital and see where you will be born!

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Daddy and I picked out the curtain rod we like for your room, so I think I will go buy that this week and hope daddy can hang it up this weekend. Then we will just wait and see if anyone buys us the curtains we registered for for our baby shower. I should also have a lovey wall decal I orders for your room in this week, maybe we can convince daddy to stick that up this weekend too.

Monday, November 1, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 25 Check-In

 
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: You are starting to grow hair! I am so excited to see what color your hair will be. Will you be a little towhead like I was as a baby? Or will you have your daddy rich brown hair? Or will you end up a little ginger/strawberry blond? I CAN'T wait to find out!

SYMPTOMS: Sore, sore feet. One of the bad things about sitting at a desk all day is when I am up on feet on the weekends or at night they start to hurt pretty quick.

CURRENT MOOD: Happy. I had a doctors appointment last week to check my glucose and iron levels. Thankfully, both came back just fine. I was pretty worried for a while that my glucose might be out of whack, but everything is fine. The doctor shows that I had gained 5 pounds since my last visit, which she seemed to be very happy with. I think that puts my total weight gain at around 7 - 8 pounds.

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Painting! We did it baby girl. Your momma got over her anxiety about your room and just stuck with the plan. So, your daddy and I started painting last Sunday and I finished up during the week. Our glider also came in this week, I am so excited about it! It's suuuper comfy, which is good, since I imagine I will be spending a lot of time in it come February.

You're daddy went to the World Series this weekend and I stayed home to do some shopping and stuff around the house. Well that turned into me cleaning my closet out of all the clothes I needed to donate and all the clothes I needed to pack up because they do not fit me anymore! Who knew that gaining such a small amount of weight would put such a dent in my wardrobe?

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Get ready for our prepared childbirth class. Your daddy and I are taking the first of two classes this Saturday. I am excited and nervous about it! I also want to go get crown molding and blinds for your room! Oh, and pick out a curtain rod!

Friday, October 22, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 24 Check-In

 
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Keep on growing! I think you are in a huge growth period, as everything I read says the following are developing or continuing to develop:
brain is growing
taste buds continue to delelop
lungs are developing branches
fat!
small capillaries are developing that will help give your skin a pink glow!

SYMPTOMS: Less space in my belly! I think this is the first week where I have really started to feel like there is less space inside me. After eating my normal lunch I feel SUPER full and uncomfortable. I find myself taking more deep breaths. At night time when your daddy tries to curl up with me with his arm over me, I have to move it because I feel like I can not breath. This might all be in my head because I read that my uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball! You hear that, baby? You are living in a soccer ball right now.

Another symptom this week was more movement! But this time your daddy could feel you moving! We were laying in bed one night and daddy was waiting for me to roll over so he could curl up with me, but you were moving around A LOT so I was just laying there on my back taking it in and said "hold on, I'm feeling bun-dumpling move." Daddy put his hand on my belly and I moved it to where you were moving, the lower left of my belly. And he sat there for a few seconds with his hand there and I asked him if he could feel you and he just kind of nodded his head and said yeeeaaah. I think he was really excited and freaked out about it! He did not keep his hand there too long. I also read this week that if daddy puts his ear to my belly he might be able to hear your heartbeat! How cool is that? I will make him try this week and report back about it next week.
 
(Sidenote: Have I told you that we call you Bun-Dumpling? When we were trying to figure out what to call you at the beginning I sent you daddy a whole list of pet names and Bun was on there as was Dumpling, well he liked both and decided to combine them, do you have been Bun-Dumpling to us ever since!)

CURRENT MOOD: Worry. But nothing about you baby! More like worrying about how I want to decorate your room! You know daddy and I picked out your bedding a while ago, but for some reason this week I have been second guessing myself and keep thinking maybe you would like something with more and brighter colors! We are going to the store tomorrow that has the bedding we picked out for you so I am sure that will remind me why I love that bedding.

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: We've registered at Target and are going to hit up Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us tomorrow.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Go buy paint, ok really this time, GO BUY IT! I want to paint all next weekend

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 23 Check-In

Sorry that this post is a little late, baby. Your daddy and I were celebrating our 1st Anniversary!
 
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Keep on develop your sense of hearing.You can feel me moving now, so maybe when I am cleaning the house I should start dancing around while doing it... on second thought maybe I don't want you to pick up my sense of rhythm, it's terrible!

SYMPTOMS: Does steady weight gain count as a symptom? The past two weeks I have gained the EXACT same amount (1.3 pounds), according to WiiFit. I was hoping to keep my gaining below a pound a week, in fact closer to 1/2 a pound a week, but I would say having only gained 5 pounds so far is not that bad. Hopefully, I can keep it up, I am already dreading having to work off baby weight! I did read in one of my emails that your weight should be DOUBLED by the end of the month! That means you should weigh 2 whopping pounds!

CURRENT MOOD: I am starting to phase back into my tired all the time mood from the beginning of the pregnancy and it makes me sad. I feel like there is still so much to do to get ready for you! It also makes me nervous about how I am going to function once I have to go back to work and work 8 hours a day with no naps and still be up during the night with you. I know I will adjust and it will become the norm, but it is the one thing I am very worried about now.

Speaking of having so much still to do, have I mentioned that you daddy has been working out of town A LOT the past few months? I know it has been hard on him, it's like every week when he come home after being gone he has a whole new wife because I keep growing and changing with you! It's also been hard on me, I feel like there is SO MUCH we still need to do for you, all the painting and room decorating and registering for stuff, but after sitting behind a desk all week there is only so much running around your momma can handle before she is tuckered out! And for your daddy, after being gone all week he just wants to relax at home with us, so I feel bad handing him a list of things to do over the weekend that I just can not do during the week. But, as long as your daddy gets all his traveling done now so he can be home with us when you come, you and I will be fine for now while he is gone!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: I think we picked out a paint color! And I think I decided on the pack n play, highchair and swing I want for you.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Register for all of our baby stuff and go buy paint!

Friday, October 8, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 22 Check-In


BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Develop that sense of hearing. Your daddy and I both LOVE music, so I hope you develop a love of it too. I'm sure over the next few months you will be hearing a lot of music while you are still in my belly, and daddy occasionally "yelling" at you! He told me the other night, after he lifted the bed covers and yelled goodnight to you in my belly, that he feels like he has to yell for you to hear him!

SYMPTOMS: Movement, movement, movement! It's so crazy, when you move it feels just like a muscle spasm in my stomach. Sometimes it takes me by surprise and I go "oh yeah, that's baby moving!" I also rolled my ankle really good last night, I was just standing in the kitchen and BAM flailing to catch myself on the counter. It hurt pretty good and my ankle is still a little tender. Your momma is a very clumsy person so I am surprised I have not had more incidents like this, since all of my ligaments and joints start loosening up to get ready for you.

FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: I really think I am going to remove this section. I keep waiting for some overwhelming urge for... something. But, nothing yet. That might not be such a bad thing since we live so far from town and a grocery store!

CURRENT MOOD: In one word "nesting". I am trying so hard to get the whole house ready for you. I want to get curtains,  up on all the windows (haha, after living there for a year and a half, now I feel the need to hang curtains?), I want to get the kitchen table area converted into an office space, I want to clean out and organize our bed room and then there is your room!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Not too much accomplished this week. Actually, I take that back! We picked out your bedding, it is super cute and sweet and I am so excited about it! We also purchased a glider, ottoman, car seat and stroller. Slowly but surely we are getting there.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Decide on paint for your room. Your daddy wants to paint next weekend!

Friday, October 1, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 21 Check-In

Well this has been quite the eventful week! I had two ultrasounds, found and registered with a daycare and lost a pound (actually 1.3 pounds, but I don't want to get too specific)! The reason I had two ultrasounds is because my first one got canceled and we ended up having to go to the hospital because that was the only day Robert could go this week. The tech at the hospital was not very nice, did not seem sure at all about the sex and would not give us any pictures. So, I went by myself later in the week to our normal ultrasound place and had a very nice exam and got pictures! The tech was still not really able to confirm the sex as baby was sitting on her knees/legs with her legs closed and the umbilical cord between her legs! But from what the tech could tell she did not see any evidence of boy parts. Plus, in her experience boys tend to be, um, proud that they are boys and have no problem showing off whereas girls tend to do what my little baby did. So, for now we are going with girl. Everyone has been saying it's a girl and I think I subconsciously knew it was a girl too.
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Keep on growing and moving! I can't wait to really feel you moving, I have had several "oh, what that baby moving?" moments but I want some big ones. I am sure by the end I will be begging you to stop kicking me, but for now I can not wait. You are growing great, baby, they measured you as weighing 15oz this week which is about 3oz more than the average!

SYMPTOMS: My first signs of feet swelling, maybe? I wore real shoes, instead of flip flops and sandals, for the first time in a long time this week and they were a little snug, but maybe they were always snug and I just don't remember.

FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: Peanut butter, your dad and I bought some fudge a few weeks ago and I got three peanut butter flavored ones and it has been a struggle this week to not scarf the whole things down. Hopefully that means you wont have any peanut allergies!

CURRENT MOOD: This week has been an emotional roller coaster for me! Finding out that you were a girl is not what I was expecting. Actually, I take that back, I think subconsciously I have known you were going to be a girl all along but I was hoping for a boy, I always wanted a boy first so that when I did have a girl she would have a big brother to look out for her. But now that I have had a few days for it to all sink in I am starting to get excited that you are going to be a sweet little girl, although I am sure if your daddy has his was you will be a tomboy to the max!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Found a daycare! Woo, so happy to have that crossed off of our list. I am really excited about the place we found. They are a center dedicated entirely to babies six weeks to 23 months. After looking at other centers and how there were six week old babies in the same room as one year olds made us realize there is a HUGE difference between those two ages. At this center the babies move to a new room every 3 - 4 months, so there is a never a huge age gap between the kids. I think it will be a great place.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Now that we know you're a girl your momma and daddy need to pick out paint, bedding and decorations for your room, the fun stuff!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 20 Check-In

 
 
Can we  talk about that four pound wait gain for a second? After searching my brain, I really think it has been about two weeks since I weighed last. Four pounds over two weeks is not as terrible as four pounds over one week, right? Still I am not thrilled about it. I knew that I was going to have to gain weight at some point. I was just so darn proud of myself for not binging the 1st trimester and gaining 20 pounds and I wanted to keep that going! If I am honest with myself those four pounds probably mostly come from slacking on the working out. The last few times I went to my workout class I found myself unable to keep up and having bladder problems during any jumping activities and dizziness during anything that involved getting up and down. I keep saying I'll go for walks or do workout DVDs but that has yet to happen. Sigh, on to the rest of the post!
 
BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Practice swallowing! And since you are starting to swallow lots more amniotic fluid I need to make sure I am eating things I want you to like since you taste buds are developing too! (Maybe this will kick my butt into gear with eating my veggies!)

SYMPTOMS: Still getting tingling/numb legs if I sit still long, but I think that is just how it's going to be from here on out. Tight clothes, does that count as a symptom? I have decided I am ready to go buy some maternity pants and some looser tops, who knows that might help my tingling/numb legs!

FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: Nothing new this week!

CURRENT MOOD: SO FREAKING EXCITED! We find out if we are having a boy or a girl on Monday, and let me tell you it can not get here fast enough. I think Robert is trying to be the calm and reasonable one about this, every time I start getting excited about it he douses me with a "you know we might not find out on Monday". Which I know, the baby might not be in the right position and all that, but, like I have told him, I'll keep going back every day until they CAN tell me!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Not too much this week. I have decided to take a calmer approach to finding a daycare in that I just want to visit the ones on my list and see how I feel about the after that. Yes, I know looking up the info on the state website is good but at the same time I want to feel comfortable with wherever we choose.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Read some of the new books we got. Start planning how to paint and decorate the room, since we'll finally know if we are having a boy or a girl!

Friday, September 17, 2010

This Texas Baby: Week 19 Check-In


BABY'S TASK FOR THE WEEK: Grow some hair, baby! Will you have your momma's strawberry blond hair or your daddy's brown? Also, baby is developing his/her 5 senses this week.

SYMPTOMS: I am starting to get tingly legs if I sit still too long and I am still having lower belly pains from gas and constipation, fun! Other than that I am doing fantastic this week.

FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: French Fries (but I always crave french fries...)

CURRENT MOOD: I think I get freaked out more and more each week about what it happening. But at the same time I think I am getting calmer and more ready for what is happening. The thing that is currently freaking me out is finding a daycare. I am so worried that we have waited to too long to find one that we like and that will have an opening come next March. But, whatever happens will happen, there is no point in stressing myself out over it!

THIS WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY FINISHED HOMEWORK: Figured out which breast pump I want to get, haha.

NEXT WEEK'S GETTING READY FOR BABY HOMEWORK: Research more daycares in the area to get ready to visit them the next week.

(I have not actually weighed myself this week, so that 0 lbs weight gain could be wrong, in fact I would say I gained at least a pound. Maybe I will go weigh myself after work! Check next week for an update!)

Friday, September 10, 2010

This Texas Baby: The Journey So Far

Well here I am, approaching my 19th week of pregnancy (eeek! that's almost halfway people!) and have yet to write one thing about it. I am disappointed in myself. I really wanted to track this journey for myself and my child. I think it would be neat if I could go back now and read my mom's thoughts on being pregnant with me. But, there is no sense in dwelling on the past! So, for this entry I am going to start at the beginning and work my way to the present.

I went of the birth control at the beginning of February. This was not a "yay we're gonna make a baby now!" move, it was a "crap, I guess I better do this before Robert starts hiding my birth control" which he had threatened to do. Wanna know how I told him?


Ahh, yes, the ever personal IM, that the stinker didn't even respond to!  Now, let me state this, my husband did not force me off my birth control, he did not force me to get pregnant or anything terrible like that. I knew from early on that kids for Robert was a deal breaker and I decided that I wanted Robert more than I wanted to cling to my fear of having kids. Simply put, I hate change. Anyone who knows me can attest to that, it's actually kind of a joke around my office. Have kids is a big change. I know everyone says it's a great change and your life is so much better after it, but still, it's change.

The next question might be "well why so soon? you guys have not even been married a year." Very good question, imaginary person! I knew Robert was ready, heck Robert has been ready for probably over 3 years. I know myself, I knew I was never going to say "yes, I am ready for this" there was always going to be something else I wanted to do first, something else I wanted to get paid off first, some trip I wanted to take first. Well my prescription for BC was ending soon and I took that as my cue to stop stalling. Plus, Robert wants three (!!!) kids and if for some crazy reason I agree to that, we need to get a move on!

So, back to February and going off BC. We decided to not actively try but just to kind of see what happens, plus Robert was against having a holiday baby for fear of them getting the raw end of the deal later in life with b-days. Also, we were going on a cruise in April and neither one of us wanted me pregnant for that, especially during that 1st trimester time. So, I kind of figure out my "prime times" and shoo Robert away during those times. (Sorry baby if you are reading this in 16 years!) Then we get back from the cruise and bam less than a month later I am knocked up!

The few months that I had been off the BC, I had been SUPER regular, so I knew something was up when my estimated start date came and went. I kind of started freaking out, but decided to chalk it up to my body still working the BC out of my system. May 14 we were at the Americana Music Jam and during a break I started going over my calendar from February till then and decided that's it, I'm pregers. I tell Robert and he kind of blows me off, but when we leave that night he heads straight to a drug store to buy the most expensive pregnancy test they have. We get home and I take the test, leaving it lying face down on the rug around the toilet. Robert finally goes in and looks at and it says "Not Pregnant." Huh? But I'm late, I haven't started, what's going on? So, over the next week I take several more tests and they all say negative, the whole time Robert is saying "you're pregnant, you're pregnant." Around the 24th/25th I finally call my doctor and tell her what's going on and she tells me to come in for a test. So, I go in pee in a cup and again another negative. (Sidenote: for someone who was really unsure about being ready to get pregnant, I sure was tired of seeing those negatives and getting more and more sad each time!) My doctor tells me that she can do a blood test to measure something in my blood and that I am even a week pregnant it should show up. According to all the online calculators etc my prime time was the end of April beginning of May, so I should be at least three weeks pregnant by then, long enough for a HPT to pick it up! I ok the blood test. The next day I get a call from the doctor, again negative. By this point I am starting to freak out that there is something wrong with me. And that all of a sudden I have stopped having my period. And all the doctors office call tell me is that I have to miss three periods before anything can be done. Gah, three months is a long time to wait this out!

That weekend was Labor Day and Robert had family coming into town, so that helped distract me some from freaking out, but not completely. That weekend something happened that Robert once again preaching "you're pregnant, you're pregnant." It's a slightly personal thing, soo, I think I will refrain from posting that here! Well on the 31st, after all his family left I decided to go use one of the last three HPT I had. It was one of the cheaper ones that just has the lines on it. I had gotten so used to them just popping up negative that I had quite turning them upside down on the toilet rug. So, I am sitting there staring at it and slowly a very faint line starts to appear. And that's it, I mean, I am talking the lightest line ever, at least it feels that way to me. Well, I decide to just put it in a drawer and go on about my day. That evening I go and use one more test, this time a strong pink line. I finally show them to Robert who gets mad at me for wasting the tests! I still never really got an explanation on that, maybe it was just because he had "known" for so long? The next morning I use the last test, a fancy digital one, boom, "pregnant." I call my doctor from the office and tell them and go in for another blood test which they call and confirm that I am indeed pregnant the next day. Crazy right? Normally it's about two weeks from the deed until you can get results on a HPT so that would mean I got pregnant around the time of my missed period. It still drives me nuts that I do not know when conception was. I have heard/read so many stories of girls who know the exact minute it happens, and I don't know that.

I went in for my first prenatal appointment a few weeks later and the doctor was just as baffled as I was on exactly how far along I was, it was either 6 or 8 weeks. That is a big difference people! So she decided to send me for an ultrasound. On June 25th, my birthday, I got to see my baby for the first time. Talk about mind blowing. The ultrasound tech decided that I was around 8 weeks, which put conception back at the end of April/beginning of May. Why it took until the end of May for me to get a positive HPT? I still have no idea.

Much to Robert's dismay I decided to wait until at least 14 weeks to tell most people. He was ready to shout it to everyone, but I wanted to play it a little safer. We did make a few exceptions, we told Roberts family the weekend of 4th of July and my extended family that next weekend and then finally my parents two weekends after that, around the 26th of July.

Now, on to my 1st trimester and all that. I have to say my 1st trimester was pretty boring, which I am not complaining about! No morning sickness, no heartburn, no weight gain, no bigger boobs, not even much bloating. I was super tired all the time and finding myself running to the restroom all the time, but I think that was from all the extra water I was trying to intake. Also, I was starving all the time, but unable to eat a lot at one time, it was the weirdest. I hated the being tired the most, but when you're growing a baby it seems to zap a lot of your energy! Other than that the 1st trimester was a breeze!

I am now well into my 2nd trimester and things are still cooking along nicely. I have a lot more energy back. I am still working out, in fact I have yet to even gain a pound! I can tell that my weight has shifted as some of my pants feel a little snugger in the belly. Speaking of belly, mine is getting more firm! It's weird, my upper abdomen is getting really firm, uhh, don't you carry  a baby lower in your belly area? Robert says it's because all my organs are being squished up to make room for baby that is the size of a sweet potato and my ureters that is apparently the size of a cantaloupe this week!

From now on my goal will be to update at least once a week, I'll shoot for Fridays. I'll tell you all about how we are going with nursery decorations and baby baking!

(Hopefully the rest of my posts wont be this long winded!)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Oh my . . .

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

This Texas Wedding: The End

Well folks, that's it. This is the end of the wedding posts and recaps. There are some exciting things coming up that will hopefully keep me full of post material. But until then I have one last thing to say...

This Texas Wedding: Misc

In my head I had two more wedding posts before the end of the wedding recaps. But after some thinking I have decided not to do those posts.

One was going to be all of the paper products I created for the wedding, but the problem is I don't really have any good photos of the items. I have some lame ones I took on my dinning room table. Maybe one day I will pull everything out and do a nice photoshoot of everything. However if there is anything anybody out there reading this would like to see, let me know and I will send you pictures.

The other post was going to be about budget. But after going through a very messy drawer filled with receipts and adding them all up I decided it would not be a very helpful post for anyone. I don't have mu receipts sorted out by category and a lot of them I am not even sure what they are for. I did however come to the conclusion that I went over my self appointed budget by about $3k, which makes me sad. But on the bright side we have paid everything off from the wedding, it took us less than 6 months to do that probably closer to 3, so I am ok with going over by so much.

I don't want to let the cost of my amazing wedding color my view of it, that could be another reason I don't care to do a budge breakdown post!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

This Texas Wedding: A Note About Photo Post-Processing

I am almost done with the wedding recaps (bet you never thought that would happen!) I think all I have left is a quick run through of all the paper products I made and an attempt at a cost post. But since I am done with most of the photos I wanted to get to that post-processing post I promised y'all.

Post processing can be a great thing! Let me show you some of the ones I think turned out good after being professionally post-processed.

Before Professional Post-Processing
After Professional Post Processing
Not too much was done on this one, but what was helped it out so much. They removed the half done horseshoe pits we have, greened up the grass and blued up the sky. The dark edges just help to focus your eye.

Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Processing
 I love this picture of my dad and I. One of the main reasons I love the after is because all of our sweat and shine was removed! I get my sweatyness from my dad, it will be 30ยบ outside and he will still be sweating, and while I am not that bad I am close to it! Hudson decided to sit in on this photo, and he got the boot in post processing along with some winkles on my dad's suit. Something else that I love that they tried to do in all the post processed image of me is smooth out my arms. I have a skin condition called keratosis pilaris that makes my arms a splotchy red. So you'll noticed they smoothed that out some, but not to much to make it look weird!

Pre Professional Post Processing
Post Professional Post Processing
Post Professional Post Processing
 Holy cow! Saturated colors helped so much with this photo! I am forever happy that the truck got removed from the left side and the fence extended. Also, the telephone pole was removed from the left side. It's almost like after all the work was done to the left side there was no time for the right. I would love for that right side telephone pole to be removed, and maybe one day I will attempt to do it myself, I don't think it would be too hard, just take a little time. And who knows, maybe that pole adds a good balance with the white fence on the other side, I don't know. I'll just have to try it and see! I would love the last one about a million times more if it had been about 2 seconds later and we were actually kissing, not just about to.

Now on to some of the funnier, but still turned out fantastic professional post processing shots.

Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Processing
Hehe, this one makes me laugh, and I think after I point out why you will be laughing too! Again, greened up the grass, blued up the sky and darkened the edges. Also, remove those pesky half done horseshoe pits. Removed some weird shadow, matted my face (I am a shinny, sweaty person!). Haha, but if you look closely, Hudson was a little, umm, excited? And they removed that! Ahh, when I first noticed it I laughed so hard and then felt so bad that they had to do that! But it made an amazing photo in the end!

Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Precessing
Another one of my dad and I! I love, love, love this picture too. Especially after the post processing and my dad's facial expression changing! Didn't notice that at first did ya? Me either! It was something I just noticed not to long ago. The whole time walking down the aisle my dad was talking to me, could I tell you a word of what he said? Nope, not a word. So, where did that face come from?
Post Professional Processing face came from here!
That's right, the face came from a whole 'nother picture! But can anyone tell? I could not, and if I can not tell that's all that matters.
Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Processing
Lurv my smooth arms. And another case of "woah, where'd that come from!?" As in, where did that unity candle come from?
Came from here!
They also removed the lighters and some bark that fell off the holder. It's a great picture, but looks a little off in my opinion.

Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Processing
Hehe, I think this one might be my favorite. There was a table coming out of my booty, and then magically it was gone!

Before Professional Post Processing
After Professional Post Processing
I love how the colors were edited to be so nice and golden warm. I also love how my dress was lowered to hide my something blue socks! Along with the styrofoam cup and car being removed.

Now, I want to show you some of the professional post processed pictures that I took a little further and edited myself. I'll show you the before any processing if they are pictures we have not looked at before.

Professional Post Processing
Meredith Post Processing
Remember this picture from above, with the transplant face? Well they also gave it to me in this pretty sepia tone. In both versions I found the people on the left side to be a bit of a distraction, perhaps if there had been people on both sides it would of been better. But I kept finding my eye drawn to the left side, not where it should be drawn. So, I edited those suckers out! I used the sepia one for this because I figured it would be a lot easier than the color one, I have still yet to tackle the color one.

Pre Professional Post Processing
Post Professional Post Processing
 I think this picture is one of my favorites, I believe I mentioned that this photo was Robert's idea, when I showed it in one of my picture posts. Someone told me this photo made them sad! I don't know why, I totally take it as us walking off into the sunset to live happily ever after! I love how blue the professional post processing made the sky. However, that road dot was driving me insane, I hated it, hated it with a passion. I believe this was the first photo I post processed, because I hated that dot so much! Below is what I came up with:

Meredith Post Processing

 Like a million times better, right? I think so. I think this a fantastic case of editing the littlest thing yourself makes a huge difference and make a great photo fantastic.

Pre Any Post Processing
Meredith Post Processing
Our photographer did not post process this one at all. I really liked how Robert and I looked in this one but hated the people and truck in the background on the left and that dang telephone pole on the right. So! I photoshopped out the truck and people on the left and the telephone lines on the right (thank you clone stamp!) and then with a little careful cropping, cropped out the telephone pole. Nope, I did photoshop it out, for some reason that pole scares me!

My goal is to get one of our wedding pictures printed on a gallery wrap canvas for our anniversary. I am not sure if I want to hang it above our fireplace or in our bedroom or where yet. Plus I need to decide which one I want! I think I will pick one of the following:

What's your vote?