Independence Day & Our Jelly Bean

It was a rainy 4th of July here in MA, but the 5th was beautiful.  Craig, Baby, & I spent it with his family (who consequently entered about 5 hunches in the baby hunch pool!  If you haven't checked it out, it's at www.babyhunch.com and the password is "babylatour") to celebrate several birthdays in the month of July.  I asked Craig to take a picture before we left the house, but it would have taken many more shots to get the exact view of my bump looking large-&-in-charge from the perfect angle and the photographer only had so much patience!

July 5th - unsuccessfully attempting to show the bump

Then on the 6th was the first time I felt the baby kicking on the outside of my belly (finally!).  Of course, it was during Mass - s/he seems to really like the peacefulness of church on Sunday mornings (like Mommy, like baby!).  I have been waiting all day for big kicks again so that Craig can feel them.  It seems like every time I put my hand on my belly to feel them, s/he stops cold.  Ah, well, this only means good things to come since s/he's getting bigger in there!

25 Weeks Pregnant

We snagged a great deal on a like-new glider and ottoman set today, thanks to Craig's savvy internet searching.  It's not the wood color I was longing for, but you can't beat the great price!  I'm sure it will be my new happy place in the house.  (The two things I was hoping for when I eventually got pregnant was a glider and big boobs.  At least one goal has been successfully accomplished!)  Doesn't the glider look great in front of the window in baby's room?

Loving my glider!

Speaking of Craig, I actually got him into Babies 'R' Us today!  That's how we figured out the above glider solution - we were sitting side by side on two of the floor models in the store.  He seems to have approved of my infant car seat & stroller choices, but we ended up changing the toddler car seat on the registry to something a little different (perhaps it was just for the cup holder Craig says a toddler has to have?).  It was actually pretty fun, considering Craig is not a shopper!

It seems like our household is constantly in a yippee-baby-is-coming-soon mood now (well, until Craig states his regular reminder that our freedom is ending in just over 15 weeks!).  Things are rolling off the registries and being delivered, I'm still working on embroidering some of the baby onesies, and we have been lucky enough to receive some hand-me-downs from our friends.  I also finally cleared a cabinet shelf for baby bottles, etc.  I can't believe a few short days will mark week 25 of my pregnancy and less than 15 weeks to wait for baby!  I hope you all are as excited as we are!  We are also so thankful for everyone that has been helping us in various ways, from planning baby showers to purchasing gifts for the baby.  It's always amazing to see your generosity!  I will absolutely make sure that baby starts penning his/her own set of thank you notes as soon as s/he arrives in October!

Happy 6 Months!

Wow, we can't believe that time has flown by and we're already rounding out 24 weeks of pregnancy!  That puts baby into the 6th month (months don't line up every 4 weeks in pregnancy, which is a bit strange - see the image below).

The unusual pairing of weeks and months of pregnancy.

This week, baby is the length of an ear of corn and already over 1 1/2 pounds!  S/he is using her respiratory system to "breathe" amniotic fluid, in preparation for breathing air after s/he's born.  Baby can hear a lot of sounds outside the womb (and apparently the sounds my body is making, like breathing, blood movement, and digestion); the other day I made Craig turn down the base volume for a movie we were watching because it was way too loud for me, though I used the excuse of baby's fragile ears, haha!  I also read somewhere that a tune that baby hears commonly when in the womb can be a source of soothing when s/he comes out as a newborn.  (Craig is getting "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen ready to go!)

Baby is the length of an ear of corn this week.

I am still feeling really good, though I can feel my center of balance shifting (leading to minor lower back soreness) as my belly gets bigger.  It's getting hard to cover up the fact that there's a belly there now!  Baby kicks fairly often, and I think it's getting closer to being felt from the outside - exciting for Craig!

24 Weeks Pregnant

I am still working on the baby onesies.  They all have iron-on shapes or words applied already, but I'm doing some embroidery to secure the patches on so they make it through washings better.  I love baby clothes!  It's slow going though, because I keep poking my left hand ring finger (where's a thimble when you need one?) when I push the needle through the fabric.  (And sewing/embroidery to the small list of crafts I am not great at...)  Here's a preview of a couple of the finished ones:

Palm tree & seahorse onesies

Roy G. Biv

Does that title line bring back memories from art class for anyone else?  I had a blast this weekend dying a batch of onesies of various sizes.  It was so much fun to mix the colors, and doing the dying in ziploc bags was a super-clean method.  (Consequently, I highly recommend Tulip One-Step Tie-Dying Kits.  A 5-color kit allowed me to make these 15+ different colors, and there are so many more color combinations that one could make.)  The only hard part was waiting overnight for the colors to set before I could see the final result!  So I felt I had to make the process at least somewhat suspenseful on a blog post!  Here's the picture of the onesies wrapped in plastic after dying:

Now, to wait overnight for color setting!

They came out such pretty candy-colors after rinsing and washing!  Some will get iron-on shapes applied, some will get funny sayings, and some will just stay the beautiful solid color they became after dying.  Don't they look beautiful on the clothesline?  I am very proud of my first attempt at these!

The beautiful onesies, hanging on our clothesline to dry!

Because I couldn't refuse a "backside" view!

And yes, if you're concerned like baby's grandfather & father were, these dyes are safe for the baby once the onesies are washed one more time.

Best Maternity Shirts

I can't stop laughing; I keep coming across these funny maternity shirts, so I just had to share!

Did You Enter Your Hunches?

The Baby Hunch page is in full swing!  If you haven't entered your hunches yet, there is still plenty of time!  Click on the link below, and don't forget to use the password:  babylatour

Click Here to Enter Your Hunches

Here's how the votes stand thus far:

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

I wish sleep were easy at this stage!  "Everyone" (my doctor, all the resources online, etc) recommends side sleeping starting in the 2nd trimester.  Sleeping on one's belly is like sleeping on a melon and back sleeping allows the growing uterus to put pressure on major blood vessels in the body.  However, every time I try to sleep on my side, my lower arm falls asleep!  Talk about annoying!  Then I usually wake up (& have to pee) and change positions.  It's not a very restful sleep at all, I'll say.  At least I don't have bags under my eyes just yet, so it must be that I'm getting enough sleep for now.  And the best (and most frustrating) part is the doctor's response (he uses this one to answer many of my pregnancy symptom concerns):  "Oh, that's too bad.  Unfortunately, it will only get worse and there's nothing that can be done about it.  This is the 3rd discussion I've had about this topic with patients today."  Don't get me wrong, I like my doc; there's just not much one can do about symptoms caused by pregnancy hormones.  I'm just not ready to pack our bed with lots and lots of pillows - there might not be much room for Craig left!

Other than the sleep issues, I feel fantastic this week.  Baby moves around occasionally, but nothing you can feel on the outside of my belly yet (unfortunately for Craig).  I'm happy that I'm a happy & healthy-looking pregnant woman instead of my fear of looking blotchy and exhausted.  I hope I have that "glow" that everyone talks about!

23 Weeks Pregnant

I was a little envious at the doctor's office this week when I kept seeing women with beautiful baby bumps, but I figure mine will come in time.  The baby is supposed to double his/her weight over the next 4 weeks, and eventually that's just going to have to show up on the outside.  And the good part about the bump waiting in the wings is that I can still wear the majority of my regular clothes.

Then I realized that I actually have a picture from 15 weeks in the same shirt, and you can tell that there's more of a bump there now (even though today's picture is slightly more zoomed in)!  Take a look:

15 Weeks

23 Weeks

 I do also think I have a little more on top too - yippee!

All Clear!

We got the all-clear today from the doctor with regards to the brain & heart on the scan from last week.  So it looks as though baby's anatomy is just fine from what they can see via ultrasound.  Great news!

Everything was fine today at our doctor's appointment also.  We got to listen to the baby's heart beat via Doppler again, and the height of my uterus was a few inches above my belly button.  (So where's my baby bump?  Maybe I'll wake up one day with a basketball under my nightgown...)

 Our next visit is late July, and I'll get the "sugar test" (where I have to drink a sugary orange drink) to check for the possibility of gestational diabetes and a whooping cough vaccine (recommended for anyone that will be around the baby before s/he is vaccinated at 6 months of age).  So, if you plan to come visit the new baby, the doctor recommends having your whooping cough vaccine updated too, if you haven't had it within the last year.  We are considering requiring a note from your doctor stating you were vaccinated before letting you enter our humble abode.     

Just kidding!  But, it would be great to know that everyone is immunized (especially since the prevalence of whooping cough has been increasing over the last few years) and that baby won't be getting exposed from friends & family, so I hope you'll consider talking with your doctor about it.

I found a great deal on baby/toddler hangers at Target today ($1.02 for a 10-pack!), so I picked up 2 sets to begin to hang up some of the cute baby clothes we've been getting (including the I-Love-My-Daddy onesie I got Craig for Father's Day and a very cute 6mo-size Wells t-shirt I picked up from campus earlier this month).

The cutest little 6-month size Wells t-shirt!

I also finished 3 crocheted baby toys.  These were my first attempts at making something like that, and I think they came out pretty good!  They are so soft now that they've gotten their first wash & dry.

Homemade baby toys, courtesy of  Mommy-to-be