Week 29

Disclaimer:  I kept meaning to take pictures this week, but with going out of town it really threw me off.  I thought I’d at least put the word part of the post up and take really, really good pictures for Week 30. 

How Far Along:  29 weeks

Size of Baby:  Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained around 26 pounds.  I’m tempted to start leaving this question out soon! 

Maternity Clothes:  Loving them.  In fact any time I wear non-maternity clothes now I feel uncomfortable.  Jeff and I are going to Florida in a week and I’m really hoping the shorts I bought when I was in my second trimester still fit!  Otherwise, I’ll be wearing yoga pants the whole time.

Gender:  It’s a boy!!

Movement:  Tons, tons, tons.  More every week.  He likes the sound of another baby and Jeff’s voice.

Food Cravings:  No specific cravings.  I really wonder where the whole pickles and ice cream thing came from…

What I Miss:  Waking up and my back NOT hurting!  Being able to bend down at work to pick something up off the floor or straighten the bottom shelf of an aisle and not feel uncomfortable and achy.  Coming home from work and being able to go to bed instead of having to “soothe” my muscles by laying on the couch for a while.  (For some reason, sitting on the couch helps.  I can’t immediately come home after a closing shift and go straight to bed.  My back would scream in agony first.)

Sleep:  Some nights, like last night, I sleep the majority of the night without waking.  Other nights, like Friday night, I pee 4 times a night!  I try to go to the bathroom before I go to sleep, but sometimes it doesn’t matter and I end up waking up a few hours later to use the facilities.

Symptoms:  As I stated above, I have been using the bathroom a lot more.  I can definitely see how these last months are going to go!  I am also having more of a “full” sensation in my general belly area.  He’s taking up a lot of room!

Best Moment This Week:  Getting the crib and glider put together finally!  They look so good in the room!  I can’t wait to finish decorating it!  I’m ready to get a mattress for the crib so I can put Peanut’s bedding on and see the final result.

What I Am Looking Forward To:  My baby shower in a few weeks.  I went to a baby shower this weekend and it got me really excited to get all the gifts for Peanut and set them up in his room!  I also decided on one thing I’m going to do to decorate his room and I’m ready to get started on it!

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  It wasn’t really from this week, but I ordered Peanut’s stocking a while back.  I really need to get started on it!  Sounds like a good thing to take with me on the airplane to Florida!

Like I said above, I was basically too lazy to take pictures this week, but I didn’t want to not write a blog post.  I plan to take several pictures a week from now when we go on vacation, but until then this pictureless post will have to do!  Have a great week, guys!

525,600 Minutes

How many things can change in a year?  I don’t know about you, but I often forget exactly how much time a year really is.  Sure, time seems to go faster and faster year after year, but when you think about it, a lot happens in 365 days.  Take a look back over some things Jeff and I have experienced in the past 12 months.

September
Jeff and I celebrated our third anniversary and found out we were expecting.

October
The patio project began, starting with pouring and stamping of the patio.

November
We lost our first little one around 9 weeks.  Sad, but meant to be.  We also received an outpouring of love and support from all our friends and family.

December, January, February
Hibernated apparently, because I have few blog posts and even fewer pictures from these months!

March
We decided to have a final hoorah in Maui before we started trying again.  Little did we know, Maui would be our good luck charm for getting pregnant again!

April
Found out we were pregnant but decided not to tell anyone save for a few close friends so as not to “jinx” the pregnancy.  Yes, I became superstitious.

May
Jeff and our friend Chrissy celebrated their birthdays this month.  For Chrissy’s we went to a Reds game.  This same month we had our pregnancy confirmed by a doctor and an ultrasound!

June
We decided to start telling people we were pregnant and I shared the ultrasound pictures on my blog.

July
We found out, after waiting for ages it seemed, we are having a boy!

August
I celebrated my 30th birthday!  What a big milestone!  My mom came to visit to help us celebrate the occasion.

We also finished our patio, complete with plants and furniture!

September
Celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary!  We take a picture every year to commemorate the occasion, but as it’s usually at night before, during, or after dinner, that hasn’t happened yet!  Instead I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pictures of us in 2010 (at my birthday dinner):

If you haven’t figured it out, today is our fourth wedding anniversary.  I have been lucky enough to be married to the same, wonderful man for the last four years and I honestly can’t believe I get to be married to him for the next forty!  He is my best friend, my love, and the father of my to-be child.  I am so blessed already and it’s only just begun.

I love you, Jeffrey!

10 Years in the Making

Ten years ago (yes, C, it’s been that long…I did the math) I hesitantly decided to be the fourth in an apartment cohabited by my friend Jenny and her two friends, Carolyn and Jennifer.  Little did I know that my decision that year in college would change my life forever.

Jenny, Jennifer, Carolyn, and I didn’t have a whole lot in common.  Jenny was very sporty and often gone from the apartment, hanging out with her boyfriend, her gaggle of friends, or just participating in the hundreds of sports she liked.  Jennifer and her boyfriend were involved in several Christian based activities that kept them both pretty occupied, so they, too, were gone a lot.  Carolyn was kind of shy (lord how times have changed) and spent a lot of time with her boyfriend both in and out of the apartment.  I, too, had a boyfriend that kept me pretty busy as well as a full time job.  Oh yeah…we all had classes too.

With all these things going on, the four of us were rarely, if ever, in the apartment at the same time.  Then, that Christmas, Carolyn and I found ourselves in the apartment alone for several days while the other girls visited their families in the neighboring town.  I can’t remember exactly, but I think C and I decided to come back early for some reason.  It was a long time ago.  Forgive me.

Neither one of us is very great at making small talk or starting conversations, so we awkwardly moved around each other, trying to be friendly, but also trying to stay out of each others’ way.  Then one of us turned on Food Network.  Without realizing it, we began to bond over our love of food and cooking, learning from Alton Brown, and drooling over all the gorgeous dishes created on that channel.

Eventually, we began talking about other things…boys, clothes, makeup, beauty, until no topic was off limits.  I had found my best friend I had been wanting my whole life!  Our boyfriends became friends and eventually started rooming together too.  Years passed and we continued to be roommates, even after the other girls chose to move on to different things.

Finally, the year came when Carolyn had to complete her dietetic internship in Nashville.  Driving down to help her move in to her new apartment was a hard day for me.  I felt like I was losing my best friend!  Sure, she was only a phone call, email, or drive away, but it wasn’t going to be the same, not watching Saturday morning cooking shows or walking to Kroger together to get the fixings for that night’s dinner.

The years passed and, though we continued to keep in contact every few weeks or so, our relationship had changed.  She was not the first person I went to to talk about my challenges and triumphs with, nor was I hers, I’m sure.

One day, however, she called me to share some personal news she was dealing with and I think everything changed.  I realized how much we needed each other in our lives.  Everyone needs a girlfriend to talk to, vent to, and bitch at knowing no matter what is said all will be understood.

From that day on, we started to rebuild our friendship (though it wasn’t really lost, just on sabbatical).  We started emailing each other more and, with the invention of texting, started texting more frequently.

We started trying to hang out more and more, though by this time I had moved from Lexington, KY to Dayton, OH.  It made the drive between our two cities that much longer.  Then, one day she informed me she was moving back to Louisville!  Yay!

After she moved back to her hometown, we got even closer.  Hardly a day goes by we don’t text each other at the very least!  Most days, we talk regularly throughout the day via text or email and get together as often as we can.  In fact, I am headed to Louisville this Friday to spend the weekend with her.  We are still hoping to one day live in the same city again, but until then we will continue to do what we do.

You may be wondering why I’m sharing our story here today.  Well, friends, today is the 1oth anniversary of Ms. Carolyn’s 2oth birthday!  I wanted to recap how much she has meant to me over the years and wish her a fabulous day.

C, you are my best friend, my sister, and the person I know I can come to when the rest of my world is in shambles.  I’m so lucky to have you in my life and cannot imagine not having your quick whit and sarcastic humor to get my through the hard times!  Love you!

Week 28

How Far Along:  28 weeks

Size of Baby:  My little guy is 2.25 pounds and about 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his sweet little feet.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  +21.6 pounds (though Jeff just informed me he read starting next week I could gain 1 pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy.  Great…)

Maternity Clothes:  Still wearing a mix, though I’m strictly in maternity pants aside from stretchy yoga pants (which I would live in if work allowed!)  I have several cute maternity tops I like, though, so wearing maternity clothes isn’t all bad.

Gender:  A little boy

Movement:  Oh my gosh!  Tons!  I love each and every time I feel him.  The other night I’m pretty sure he had hiccups.  I was sitting on the couch and I felt rhythmic pulses deep inside my tummy.  It was kinda cute!

Food Cravings:   I don’t really have cravings this week, but I will say something I’ve noticed during pregnancy is everything tastes much saltier than before.  Lean Cuisine pizzas and Chex Mix especially.  I was eating some Chex Mix last night and I felt like I needed a drink of water after every bit!  I’m sure this is just due to my heightened senses, but I find it fascinating.  I almost never have to add salt to anything anymore.  I will say I have been having trouble with drinking water lately.  It just has no flavor!  I’m loving lemonade lately though!

What I Miss:  Stomach sleeping and not waking up with a sore back!  I think they are related.  My pregnancy pillow props my head up a little higher than I normally sleep, so I think it stresses my upper back.  I try to lay on my stomach propped up on one side with a pillow when I lay on the couch.  Sometimes it provides some relief…other times not. 

Sleep:  Sleep, even with the pregnancy pillow, is honestly not bad.  I’m waking up about 1-2 times a night to go to the bathroom, but I immediately fall back asleep.  I’ve always been pretty good at that and I’m hoping this talent will continue after the baby comes.  Wake up, feed/change the baby, go back to sleep pretty quickly.  We’ll see what happens.

Symptoms:  Well, everyone told me I was crazy about my ear thing, but the past week I have been slacking on my water intake and my ear symptoms have started coming back!  I remedied that this weekend by really focusing on getting that water in. 

Best Moment This Week:  Getting the nursery painted and putting Peanut on the waiting list for daycare!  I have a whole mental list of things that need to get done and these two things were tops on that list.  The more things we complete, the better I feel.  We also finished childbirth classes this week, which I can tell you Jeff is not sad about!  He really does hate class!  I just have one more class to take at KMC, which is on breastfeeding.

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Getting the furniture and closet organization for the nursery so it will feel complete and put together. 

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  We got a call the other weekend that our glider was in, and after the nursery was painted, I wanted to put the chair together.  After about an hour trying to decipher the directions, I got most of the chair set up, only for Jeff to discover there was a crack in the seat!  Gah!  Now we have to wait for a second chair to be shipped to the store and exchange the one we have.  Boo!!  It will be worth it though.

I want to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to Katie at healthyheddleston.com!  She found out she was pregnant and shared the news this week on her blog.

I also want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Brittany at ahealthysliceoflife.com for giving birth to a gorgeous baby girl last week.

So excited for you ladies!!  Hope you are both feeling great and looking forward to the new chapters in your lives! 

Cooking Marathon Results

You may have remembered on Monday I posted a list of recipes I wanted to make and freeze this week.  It looked something like this:

Well, after four days of cooking, cleaning, painting, and doing laundry, my list looked like this:

Highlighted recipes are recipes I completed!  I’d say I was pretty productive, don’t you think?  (Recipes, pictures, and thoughts to follow.)

A New Wash of Color

Every new parent-to-be has to ask themselves that controversial question:  how do we decorate the baby’s room?  Luckily, my husband knows what’s good for him is very supportive of my opinions and let me take the reins on this project.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I immediately decided I wanted to decorate the room in neutral colors in case we got pregnant a second time with the opposite sex.  I love greens and yellows and browns and, after a few weeks of searching, found the most adorable bedding set to accommodate these colors.

(source)

I had decided I wanted a light brown room to compliment the bedding, but Jeff took one look at the bedding and suggested, OK demanded, blue.  I fought him at first, but ultimately decided he was right.  After all, one of the cheapest things to change in a bedroom is wall color.

We went to Lowes and got tons of paint samples, then hung them on the wall at home and compared them to the bedding.  Jeff looked at me and said, “what about green?”  So I trekked back to Lowes on my lunch break one day and got scads of green samples.  The minute I put them up against each other, I decided blue was the way to go.  Who would have thunk?  (This picture was taken after I had weeded out about 15 other blue paint samples.)

Monday started a long stretch of four days off for me, so I headed back to Lowes bright and early armed with my color choice.  I picked up two gallons of “River Mist” and one gallon of “Cream in my Coffee” for the closet.  It needed a face lift.  I also grabbed a few other necessities (tape, rollers, disposable trays) and headed back to the house to get started.  I don’t know about you, but I hate prep work.  Why can’t I just decide I want to paint and the room be prepped for me?

Jeff had moved all the furniture and other closet “treasures” (read: things I need to dispose of, but still hold on to just in case) out for me the night before,

so all I had to do was remove face plates, tape edges, and put down the plastic tarp.

Well, that and protect my phone with a Ziploc bag.  It works, people!

Finally, I began!  Ugh, edging first…

Side note: pre-pregnancy clothes + 27 week pregnant girl = psuedo redneck with a beer belly.  Just sayin’.

I slapped on the first coat and took a break to let it dry a bit.

Phew!  This painting thing is hard work on a preggo girl in 80º weather!

I ended up letting the paint dry overnight, then finishing it up Tuesday morning.  Then I got to work on the closet.  I had to remove the old shelving and spackle the holes.

Wednesday morning, I painted the closet, deciding two things:  that I had blindly picked out almost the exact same color the closet already was (no paint samples required) and painting small closets is kind of tricky!  You have to maneuver just right.

Finally, this morning, I was finished.  All I had to do was remove the tape, replace the outlet covers, and vacuum.  I have to say, I think it turned out great!

Stitch agrees.  She likes having a new space to lay.  She keeps wandering into the empty room and meowing.  Maybe she just likes to hear herself talk?

Finally, I grabbed the ottoman we picked up from Babies R Us this past weekend and placed it in the room.  It’s kind of a weird color, almost like a brownish sage.  Luckily, in the room it looks more brown than green!  I’m very pleased with the color, both of the room and the ottoman.

Now all we have to do is get the baby furniture purchased and placed in the room.  It’s coming together, slowly but surely!

Pasta E Fagioli Revisited

Pictures make a blog come alive, right?  Well, when I first started my blog, I didn’t add pictures.  I’ve learned my lesson.  During my marathon cooking session this week, one of the recipes I decided to make was Giada’s Pasta E Fagioli.  Like a good little blogger, I took lots of pictures throughout the cooking process but when I went to create a blog about them, I had this nagging feeling I’d already put it on the blog.  Turns out I was right!

GDL’s Pasta E Fagioli

Back in January of 2010, I wrote “I saw this recipe in Giada de Laurentiis’ Giada’s Family Dinners cookbook and thought it sounded like a yummy filling soup on a cold day.  I was right.  It was a-mazing.  I loved it.  I couldn’t get enough!”  It’s still as fabulous today as I originally thought!  I’m demanding you make this soup.  It’s seriously one of my favorite soups I’ve made!  I only wish I had made a double batch yesterday!

Tater Tot Casserole

Today, while I was getting my cooking list ready, I stumbled upon a recipe for tater tot casserole.  Having never had this before, I thought it might be interesting so I added it to the list.

After paint shopping, grocery shopping, and painting half the nursery, I wanted a quick and easy meal to throw together.  This one sounded delicious, so I set about making it.  Jeff and I both thought it was pretty good!  I was smart and divided the recipe into two meals.  One is currently freezing for a future date.  Love my upright freezer!

Tater Tot Casserole
(allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground sirloin
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1 can condensed cream of mushroom (I used the 98% fat free and it was great!)
1/2 cup milk
1.5 cups cheese
1 package frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large skillet, saute onion and ground sirloin in olive oil, breaking up the meat as you go.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook completely and drain.

In a small bowl, combine the cream of mushroom soup and milk thoroughly.  Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.  Put the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish and cover with soup mixture.  I tossed mine around to coat the meat.  Top with half the cheese, the tater tots, and the rest of the cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until casserole is heated through and tots are nice and crispy.

Jeff said it tasted like something you would get at Sonic!  I don’t know about that, but I do know I made my typical ketchup/mustard mix to eat with it and it hit the spot!  Not the healthiest meal on the planet, but definitely one to make again!

(These photos aren’t bad for my iPhone, are they?)

Cooking Marathon

Four days off in a row.  My cooking to do list looks something like this:

Wish me luck.

Week 27

How Far Along:  27 weeks (Does anyone else feel like this question is redundant since it says how far along I am in my title?  Just curious…)

Size of Baby:  Here’s what babycenter.com says:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don’t bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  From my original weight I am up 21.6 pounds.  Honestly…I don’t think that’s bad at all!  Yes, I still have 13 weeks to go (holy crap that’s not a long time!), but I feel like I have been leveling out lately with my weight gain.  Plus, after reading several other blogger’s posts, I think Peanut had a growth spurt in the last month or so, which is why I put on so much weight so fast.  Apparently, another one is coming around week 30, so I’m prepared for that.  As I said last week, I’m trying not to focus on the numbers, but on how I feel instead.

Maternity Clothes:  I bought a few maternity polos to wear to work from the website they have set up for us.  The odd thing?  They don’t have manager maternity shirts!  How crazy is that?  Not that I necessarily mind wearing polos instead of button downs, but it’s weird to me that they don’t at least offer the dress shirt we are supposed to wear…

I did start sleeping in Jeff’s t-shirts instead of mine.  Mine were just a little to snug for my comfort.  His were just right. 

Gender:  A little man!

Movement:  Holy movement this week!  I am definitely making up for my worrying a few weeks ago.  The other night in our childcare class, I swear Peanut was doing the cha cha or something!  He was so active!  I absolutely love it.  Last night, while watching a birthing video in our other baby class, he was kicking so hard I thought he was gonna throw me off the bean bag I was lounging on!  He definitely likes the breathing exercises we participate in.  I think it calms him.  (Good to know for labor!)

Food Cravings:  Last night I craved Lucky Charms, but honestly my food cravings are pretty nonexistent.  As I said last week, I’m loving the soups lately.  I am taking a mini vacation from work next week to paint and organize some things around the house.  I plan to make several batches of soup to stock our freezer up with.  Currently on my list are Taco, White Chicken Chili, Italian Wedding,  and some other broth-y soups I haven’t decided on yet.  Anybody got a good soup recipe they love and want to share?

What I Miss:  Being able to roll over easily in bed!  What a fun thing that’s developed lately, this rolling over phenomenon.  Jeff and I have decided Peanut is not necessarily getting bigger as much as he’s getting more dense.  I feel like a beached whale some nights when I get in bed!

Sleep:  Sleep is still the same, though as I stated above it is harder to get in and out of bed.  Makes those nighttime bathroom breaks a little more cumbersome.

Symptoms:  I can’t remember if I talked about this earlier in my pregnancy or not, but sometimes I get this little spot of pressure right above my left hip bone.  It almost feels like there’s a foot or something pushing down in that area.  It’s not painful or uncomfortable really, just noticeable.

I also am having a harder time breathing when doing laborious things like climbing small hills to get to my car at the Renaissance festival.  Jeff, with his long legs, likes to walk faster than I do.  When we were walking back to the car, he kept up his normal pace while I struggled to just plain make it back!  I finally told him to slow down in between gasps of air.  Lugging around an extra 20 pounds in addition to having decreased lung capacity does not make for a fun jaunt!

Best Moment This Week:  Watching my little man play in my belly!  He seems so happy in there!  I love the reassurance I get every time he wiggles.

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Meeting Peanut!  The one thing that I have taken away from these classes we’ve been going to is how precious this whole experience is.  I can’t wait to meet my little guy and experience the world through his eyes.  Any time I think of taking him to Disney World and seeing him touch Mickey’s nose for the first time, eyes bright and full of awe, or showing him the glorious beach and ocean and how beautiful our world is, or taking him swimming for the first time, I get all emotional.  Jeff feeds of other people’s emotions.  He loves seeing me excited.  For that reason, I cannot wait to see him with his son.  He comments all the time that seeing the world through his child’s eyes is definitely going to be something.  I think that more than anything gets me…  (See?  Here go the waterworks and I’m not even doing any of these things yet!)

Any Fun Gifts/Purchases Received/Made:  Nothing this week, but that’s no big deal.  However, my teacher did mention a few baby books in class last night that she thought were very helpful in raising children.  One I received for my birthday and one I purchased after Abby recommended it to me.  I am going to start reading both of these soon!

That’s all for this week.  Don’t forget to comment with any soups (or casseroles) you’d recommend for this mama-to-be!