Blanket and Bedding

I had another doctor's apt this afternoon so here are some updates.

How Far Along: Today I am 31 weeks! WOW I only have about 63 days to go...

Size of Baby: The doctor said she's about 3.5 - 4 lbs. So she's growing to be a healthy baby ;)

Maternity Clothes: of course!

Gender: It's a GIRL ;)  

Name: Well...we think we finally decided on a name - but it's not our final answer. We are trying the name out for a few weeks to see how we like it.

Movement: She's moving all the time! I'm a lucky one to not have her moving all night. I hear some preggo ladies go through that, but my lil girl likes to sleep at nights (hopefully she will carry that on after birth!)

Sleep: It's hard to sleep for hours and hours. So I find I'm taking a few more cat naps during the day to help make up for those hours during the night I don't sleep. I am getting excited to sleep on my back and stomach again...my arms keep going to sleep at night which wakes me up and I'm super uncomfy but it's getting painful and too much work to move over to my other side - so I just lay there in with dead arms ;)

Cravings: Humm...I can't think of anything that I have been craving lately...

Symptoms: I'm swelling up on my legs and feet!!! But I'm starting to get used to that. I hate the needle sharp pains I get down...there :) so not fun!

Weird Things: Kenley and I have been have tons of dreams about our little one. We always dream that she has dark hair like I did when I was a babe but you never know cuz Ken was a toe head...so she could always be a blondie

Worries: I'm stressing about getting our house remodeling done before the lil one arrives. I get stressed which brings on the worries and the tears but Kenley keeps saying we will get there. It's just a process (a LONG process!)

Best Moments of the Week(s): This may sound silly but here it is...the other day I was talking to the little fetus about what name she liked. She moved after I said all three of our top favorites (which I took as she likes them all) but I decided to say the names again and she only moved on one of them...but maybe it's nothing.

Appointments This Week: Just had one today

What I'm looking forward to: Painting the nursery! I finally decided on her bedding and with the drywall done and primer on it...it's time to paint!!! Wahoo!

Something I've Learned/Realized: Well at the doctor today, she said that we were at 30 weeks 5 days which makes our due date July 8th...we started out with the due date July 6th....so I'm not quite sure if I should change all my lists for only 2 days later. Who knows...


 On other news...I finally chose the baby's bedding! It seriously took me until now to decide. I had a few favorites in mind but could never decide (but hey, that's nothing new). I LOVE it, it's all elephants! I love m elephants! I am so excited to paint the nursery and get all of her things set up.

About a month ago I mentioned that my mother in-law took me to a fabric store so I could have a little baby blanket made...here it is!!!!!

 

I was way happy with the material. I loved the pink and grey...but I was kinda bummed out cuz I chose to have "bubbles" as the back stitching. (to go with the circles on the material) but for some weird reason they did butterflies instead...I was so sad but if I wanted to make a new one they didn't have all the material to make the same blanket. I figured butterflies aren't bad, at least it wasn't like dragon's or something way outta the blues. I still like the blanket!

Preggo update at 27 weeks

(The last week of my 2nd Trimester)

We had another doctor's apt this afternoon so I thought I'd do another pregnancy update post - I will have to post some pictures soon!

How Far Along: Today I am 27 weeks and 3 days

Size of Baby: She is almost 2 lbs with a strong heart beat

Maternity Clothes: and dresses are all I can wear. I have a few non-maternity comfy pants that I can get away with. For the most part my belly is just too big for anything but maternity clothes and dresses.

Gender: It's a GIRL ;)  

Name: Oh gee! We can't decide. We have 3-4 in mind but we decided we probably wont finalize the name decision until the day she is actually born. So for right now we are trying to come up with the middle name. (This is just as tricky than coming up with the first name) We want meaning to the name. Not just 2 names we like combined. Another thought we have is no middle name. I don't have one - and so maybe she will be like her mommy that way...

Movement: Oh I love feeling her move. It's so fun. I have to say, I have noticed that she tends to favor my right side! I honestly cannot think of one time I have felt her entire body on my left side - yet she is constantly hanging out on my right side...weird but cute

Sleep: I have to say, as long as I'm cold - I can sleep quite well. I have to have all the window's open and a fan right on me and when I'm like this I can get some decent hours of sleep that night

Cravings: Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream! Oh it's all I have been craving these past few weeks. And not the cheap kind - I want the thick creamy deliciously good stuff like COLD STONE. (Oh, now I want to go get some right this very moment!!!)

Symptoms: We'll I've been ok for the most part but lately I've really started to swell up which can get extremely uncomfortable. The days I stay off my feet are my better days. But when do I have time to just stay in bed all day!?! So my feet are completely swollen almost always. In fact I only have one pair of shoes to wear. A bigger pair of flip flops I had. None of my other shoes fit anymore not even some of my other flip flops and open-toed shoes.

Weird Things: I personally think it's weird how swollen I can get. I can't wear my wedding right anymore - as I just mentioned, nor my shoes! I think it's super early for me to be this way so early. I don't know what counts as "normal" but I hate feeling so swollen. But I just keep drinking water and doing what my doctor tells me.

Worries: Friday (April 6th) I was freaking out! I woke up and started to have extremely bad pains and I knew something was just not right. I couldn't do much because of the pain, so I just sat there thinking to myself "this can't be normal" but didn't know what to do. I usually call Hayley, my amazingly helpful sister in-law, whenever I have random preggo questions. She's just been through this and she's always answered any of my weird preggo questions! I had my phone highlighted over her name, ready to call her and ask her what was going on and what to do - but then the pain go bad enough I figured I'd call my doc ASAP. I found out I was have contractions! Ya freaked me out - contractions at 27 weeks. I had so many horrible thoughts racing through my head. Wondering if this really was the time - is my little girl going to make it? That was the most scared I have ever been in my life! I called Kenley immediately after I got off the phone with the doctor and he came home to be with me. (Yay for him working so close to home)  I was told by my doctor to drink lots of water, stay off my feet, and if I had at least 6 major contractions in an hour I was to go straight to Labor and Delivery! (I was so scared) Well I was up to my 4th contraction within about 35 minutes but luckily after my 4th one - the pain started to go away. I was so happy that we weren't headed to the Labor and Delivery room and that my little girl could keep growing inside the womb - where she needs to stay for a few more months!
Now I'm worried about ever minor Braxton Hick contraction I get. NONE have been no where near as bad as Friday morning's - but I still panic inside.

Best Moments of the Week(s): I know I say this a lot - but feeling her move. When I was on the phone with my doctor Friday morning they asked if I had recently felt the baby move - being earlier in the morning I hadn't felt her move yet. And seeing how I had just woken up - who knows when the last time she moved was during the night. So once again I started to panic about her not moving. When I did feel her - I can't express the amount of worries that were lifted off my chest. I knew she was still alive and I knew she was ok. Every time I feel her move is a happy moment - it always brings a smile to my face!

Appointments This Week: Just had one today - ;) I had that diabetes test so hopefully I don't hear back from them. No news is good news, right!

What I'm looking forward to: This week on remodeling we are having the drywall put up which means next week(ish) I can start painting the nursery

Something I've Learned/Realized: The doctor today helped me feel a little better about my contractions. I've had them everyday since then and she helped comfort me to know that they can be quite normal. I know what to look for now in case I am actually in labor but hopefully I don't have to worry about that till the due date is oh so much closer ;)

Our Family is 25

hAPPY bIRTHDAY kENLEY
My dear sweet adorable husband turned 25 last week - Happy Birthday Ken! His Birthday was a little more relaxing than past Birthday's but he's been so busy with work and the remodeling, a lazy day was just what he wanted. We got to have dinner, cake, & ice cream with his family. My sister in-law took pictures, I haven't gotten those yet - hence the reason, no pictures this post. For Ken's Birthday I got him an Ice Fishing Tent this past winter, some Turtle Beach Headphones so he can play or watch movies when mama needs her nap time ;) he also got some movies, books, tools to help with the remodeling, a new tool belt, and some yummy treats. Happy Birthday Ken ;)

This is random - totally random but I thought I'd share it with you anyway.

Kenley turned 25, I am also 25 (until May) and this week our little fetus is 25 weeks old. Aww how special. (Our next doctor's apt is on April 9th...I can't wait to get to see her again.)

Preggo update at 24 Weeks (and 4 days)

How Far Along: 24 weeks and 4 days

Size of Baby: She is just over a pound and is the length of an ear of corn

Maternity Clothes:  Can tend to be uncomfortable at times. So right now I'm wearing alot of dresses to work then sweats around the house ;) Oh, and flip flops, wow my feet can get swollen throughout the day and close to no shoes really helps me feel much more comfortable.

Gender:  Gee I'm Really Lucky to be having a GIRL

Name:  We still can't decide. We have thought of a few new names, but still love some of the other names we first thought of - so it's actually just made our list longer and more difficult to decide

Movement:  I'm still feeling her move around like crazy, and I have noticed they are more intense now. I can tell that she's growing stronger because she has quite a kick to her (maybe she'll be a soccer girl!?!)

Sleep: Well at night's I'm not sleeping straight through till morning so I'm on to taken on a few short naps during the day to help make up those missing hours of sleep. However with work and remodeling going on my nap times are starting to dwindle away to nothing. (The way I see it, my body is just trying to prepare me for little to no sleep for when the baby arrives)

Cravings: Nothing really. True my appetite has increased from the first trimester (and so has my weight!!!) but I haven't had any strange or unusual cravings this pregnancy

Symptoms: I'm tired ;) I feel fat and uncomfortable which is sad to say, seeing how I'm not even in my 3rd trimester yet. But my baby girl is totally worth just a few months of being uncomfortable. I'm also exhausted so much easier. I take the dog out for walks to get some fresh air and exercise but when I come home I'm pooped! I feel like I was out running instead of walking!

Weird Things: The baby can tell when I'm stressing. I'f I start to worry about work while being preggo, her health, the delivery...etc. She can totally tell her mommy is stressing. She starts moving around and kicking at me. I take it as her way of saying "chill out mom" ;)

Worries: Oh my gosh more like what DON'T I worry about. Lately I've really been worrying about everything and things I don't even need to bother myself with yet. I've even starting thinking about her first Birthday party, when do we know when to have baby #2...

Best Moments of the Week(s): I love it when Kenley feels her moving around. I brings joy to my heart ;) This week I got to go with my mother in-law to pick out material for her baby blanket. I'm so excited to see what it will look like when it's finished! I'm so happy with the colors and fabric I chose, and when the blanket is done (in 2-3 weeks) I will have to post a picture of it. Yay!
Another thing we did was buy the baby her blessing dress. I'm stressing about the dress fitting her :) I got a 3 month size so it should fit her just fine but now I'm wondering if I should have waited (but if I waited would I have been able to find that dress again???) It's adorable - all lace and looks almost old fashioned. So cute!

Appointments This Week: We actually had our appointment last Friday. Everything is going well as of now. Our next apt in April I have to drink that yucky drink to see if I'm diabetic. (again another worry on my mind)

What I'm looking forward to: Holding our baby girl ;) I can't wait to see what she looks like. I'm so excited to hold her, and be a mom. I'm lucky because Kenley has made it possible that I wont have to work after I have the baby, so I can focus all of my time on our baby girl. I'm looking forward to spending everyday with her. Teaching her and watching her learn and grow day by day.

Something I've Learned/Realized:  The baby can hear Kenley - I'm so not kidding! Sometimes when I see Kenley after a long day at work and he's talking to me, she starts kicking. I feel like she's saying "hey daddy ;) I missed you!" It's really neat.

Week 22

PREGNANCY UPDATE

How Far Along: Exactly 22 weeks today (about 126 days to go)

Size of Baby: Almost 1 pound and about the length of a spaghetti squash

Maternity Clothes:  Are my new best friend. I tried buying bigger size pants to accommodate my growing belly, and I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I got to the point where I started wearing my pants unbuttoned and even unzipped. Finally I had it, went and got me a few clothes and OMG I am so much more comfortable.

Gender:  It's a GIRL (boo-freakin-ya baby)

Name:  Undecided. We have a few favorites but Ken and I can't seem to come to an agreement. My favorite name, Kenley thinks is a BOY name. So that sucks, but as of now Kenley calls the little girl, Lucy. Will that be her name forever though...I don't know!?! It's a name he LOVES but we haven't really decided that Lucy will be her name. So this is still a major topic for our conversations.

Movement:  ALL THE TIME! Which I LOVE (for now). I have felt constant movement from our lil girl every day since week 18 and it comforts me to know she's in there, growing. I've noticed she has a ritual. Every night just after I lay in bed she moves around like she's a ninja! She continues this for, oh probably 5 minutes, Then it stops completely and she must fall asleep at this time because I feel nothing for a few hours. (oh it's so fun)

Sleep:  Oh how I miss you. I can't sleep because I'm incredibly uncomfortable. I miss sleeping on my stomach and back because sleeping on my sides is really getting old! And just when I FINALLY get in a comfortable spot then I HAVE TO PEE! Plus with the remodeling going on, we stored our king size mattress and are now sleeping on the queen size bed we already had set up upstairs. I LOVE my husband, but I miss my extra space. Going from a king to a queen while I'm preggo - has not been the best thing. But I have to admit that I'm starting to get used to the size of the bed - it just takes time.

Cravings:  Can I say YES. My appetite has increased so much. I swear I could snack on foods all day and be fine with it. I don't but I know I could ;) Some weeks I crave ice cream - other times it's a big juicy hamburger. Kenley has even taken me out for a late night craving for ice cream. I found that I crave what I see, even if I see it on TV. I suddenly want it. My big thing right now is bubble gum. I don't want the gum but the flavor of the bubble gum.

Symptoms:  My emotions are out of this world, insane! One minute I'm balling my eyes out for no stupid reason, and the next I'm laughing my head off.
Not to mention, I seemed to have lost my brain. I have no memory, I can't think straight, and I get confused all the time. If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say "pregnancy brain" to me, I would be a millionaire.

Weird Things:  My dreams! When I do manage to get some sleep I dream and dream. They are weird, and strange but I hear this is common among preggo ladies.
Another thing is that I get HOT throughout the day. I'm wearing open toed shoes because my feet swell up during the day.

Worries: Every freakin time I take prenatal vitamins, I puke! It's so irritating because I want my baby girl to be healthy! Kenley helped me figure out that if I take them right before bed on a super full tummy - I'm ok. But then eating so late brings on the heartburn - so it's a fun battle.
I worry if she's healthy, getting all the nutrients she needs. I worry about her coming out early, and if she does - can and will she survive such a traumatic experience. I worry about the labor and delivery, if everything will go ok. I worry about when she finally does arrive and how I'm going to do it all. When do I feed her? Will I have everything we need for her (diapers, clothes, blankets, toys, health and safety items...)

Best Moments of the Week(s): Our guessing game; Kenley and I like to guess what features and qualities our little girl will have. I love it when Kenley talks to her. I love feeling her move, and when Kenley can feel her - is even more amazing. I love thinking of how to decorate her nursery. I love preparing for this next HUGE step in our lives. I love, LOVE how much closer Kenley and I are because of her. I love seeing the excitement she brings to my family! She's already melting my heart ;)

Appointments This Week:  My next apt is in a week ;)

What I'm looking forward to:  Finally seeing my little girl. Being able to hold her and kiss her. Seeing Kenley hold her for the first time - or anytime really. Experiencing parenthood with Kenley. Going through these changes together.

Something I've Learned/Realized:  I can't know it all. I read, and read up on baby books trying to know what to do in all situations for when our little girl arrives. But I'm starting to realized that no matter how much I read up on books, I can't know everything. So I need to stop stressing myself out and know that I always have friends and family to call when I need advice or help ;)

Me at 22 weeks

Thanks Jessie for the pregnancy update list ;)

Our House...Not So Much A Home Right Now

I had the idea in my head to not post any pictures of remodeling our home until you could see the FINAL LOOK but I can't resist showing you how insane our house looks as of right now. As my lil sis Ashley said, "it's almost sad looking" 

This is our Front Room - we will keep this as our Front Room/Living Room 

This is the old Living Room looking into our Front Room. Soon this room will just be closed off and made into our Master Bedroom

Another view at our used to be Living Room - soon to be Bedroom

  

And ANOTHER view into our used to be Living Room soon to be Bedroom

 This was our Bedroom but will soon be our baby girl's Nursery

We used to have such TINY closest space but we are adding a whole new closet into the Nursery and keeping this old closet space open for a play area. It's seriously like 4 ft tall - perfect for kids.

And another view of our used to be Bedroom - soon to be Nursery.

I'm pumped for the remodel - Ken has already done so much work and THANKS, THANKS, THANKS to all of our Friends and Family who have come by to help us out! We wouldn't be as far along on the remodeling without you ;) This weekend Kenley's working on our old chimney's. We have 2 but no fireplaces - so we are going to fix the chimney in our Living Room and make it usable for a fireplace...Yay!!!


PREGNANCY UPDATE - All is going well. I'm feeling a million times better from the First Trimester. I hardly ever get sick anymore. I can feel our baby girl move constantly and I love that feeling. Feeling her move, helps me to know that she's still in there - growing and doing good. I'm ever more excited to have the remodel done on the Nursery so I can start painting and decorating. Although I have to admit - completely nervous. I get scared wondering how I'm ever going to know what to do - so I keep up on my reading on baby books and hopefully that will help me be a little bit more knowledgeable for when she does arrive. So all in all SUPER EXCITED and SUPER NERVOUS ;)

A little remodeling before the BIG REMODEL

So these past few weeks Kenley and I have been going through the process of planning some remodeling for our home. We currently have 3 bedrooms in a 2-Story house. The master bedroom is on the main floor, after we found out we were preggo, we started thinking about the Nursery...and Kenley and I both decided we wanted to add another bedroom to the main floor. This way our little baby in the nursery can be closer to us in the master bedroom ;) (ya, I like that idea)
Anywho - as we were waiting for things to finalize with the bank and such we decided we would use our excitement energy of remodeling and get our pantry done - that we've been wanting to do...oh since we bought the house 4 years ago, haha!
Here is the pantry with the closet taken out (the closet was on the right back corner of the room. It was so awkward to get into this small pantry as it was so we took the closet out and made it nice and roomy!)

New floor base before tile, YAY 

The cupboards are painted the same color as my kitchen cabinets! Then we textured the walls and painted them ;)

Here's the floor tile we chose

I love my new coat rack - Bought the hooks from IKEA and the boards from the "as is" department there for only $.99 each!!! Then Kenley put them together and here they are ;) LOVE IT!

The pantry ALMOST complete - one more trip to IKEA for a shoe rack and a new light fixture, and it's done! Oh I love this room now ;)

This weekend Kenley is working on remodeling 3 major rooms in our house. The master bedroom and the 2 living rooms. I am going to go stay at my parents for the weekend while he and some of our friends work on ripping down the walls. I can't be in the house or come back for a few days till the dust and such clears out, gotta be safe for our little girl ;) I'm so excited to get this remodel started and hopefully soon, finished. We are redoing the electrical, taking down the laugh and plaster and putting up insulation and drywall with new carpet, new windows, new doors. WOW I will keep you posted on our updates we make. Yay, I'm so excited for the remodeling ;)

It's a GIRL

Kenley and I had our 20 week apt yesterday and we were both super excited to find out the sex of our lil baby, luckily everything worked out so we were able to tell the sex ;) Our little girl is growing right on track, her size puts our due date only 3 days ahead of schedule (July 3rd from July 6) nothing major so the doctor didn't change my due date. Our little girl is healthy and has all 10 fingers, 10 toes, and most importantly her heart, and kidney's are working perfectly.

Before the nurse started the ultrasound she gave us a rundown on what she was going to be checking for on the baby, but before she could finish I had to ask her if she could please tell us the gender - I was dying to know! So first thing she did was look to see what our baby was, I know this picture makes the lil one a little...exposed but it clearly shows GIRL ;) (This is looking up at her butt, showing the bottom of her thighs - and there is NOTHING between the legs - GIRL!!!)

 Here is a picture of the side of her face...so adorable ;) We were lucky to finally get one, majority of the time she had her little arms in front of her face.

 Here is her her right leg - you can see her foot and little toes - I LOVE IT ;)

Ok, I felt that

Last night as I was lathering up with lotion on my preggo belly, I thought to myself "hum I wonder if I can feel our little baby yet?" So I decided to try moving my belly to see if I could notice any movement from within. Only a few seconds after trying, I FELT THE BABY MOVE! The baby and I kept this on for about 15 minutes until I think the baby got tired of our game and quit moving for me ;)
I have to say it was such a neat experience and I wished so bad that I could have known what our baby was - but our next apt is only a 15 days away! (Gotta learn to be patient, right!?!)

Me at 17 weeks ;)

Hey baby, are you a BOY or GIRL?????

Well, we had a doctor's apt 2 weeks ago, and we were at the point where we could have found out what the sex of our baby was (YAY) but our stubborn little baby was laying there with it's legs crossed. We tried to get the baby to move into another position so we could see "the goods" or not. But that was no such luck.
Our next apt is actually on Valentine's Day and it's our big 20 week apt with the 3D ultrasound and such. So we are sure to find out that day. I am so anxious to find out what the baby is. I want to start shopping for baby clothes and crib bedding and start looking through paint samples for the nursery. But I guess I will just have to wait until Valentine's Day ;) So as soon as I know, I will be sure to let you know as well!!!
P.S. Sorry I forgot the ultrasound pictures from our last apt. to scan and post them on the blog, but I'll remember to do it for our next apt. ;) I have to say, it was pretty neat to see a baby, the past ultrasounds it has always been a blob. But you could see legs, arms, a face, the spin, everything but the private parts ;)