More like 24.5 weeks....woops! But look at that belly!!
How far along?24 weeks!!
Total weight gain: ≈12 lbs
Maternity clothes? If I have to leave the house, otherwise I am living in my yoga pants!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: I think I must have jinxed myself with last week's post....sleep has been intermittent! Best moment this week: I gave my last presentation of my graduate career this past week, certainly not a "best moment," but it feels great to know I do not have to give anymore class presentations! On Tuesday I woke up sick so I have been pretty miserable since then. Sore throat, headache, congestion, and a cough....and of course worried sick about how baby is doing in there given that I picked up this bug! :(
Miss anything? Right now I just miss being healthy!
Movement: Yes and getting stronger & more frequent!
Food cravings:Hmm...I went to a friend's baby shower on Saturday and couldn't resist a couple few handfuls of lay's potato chips...it's been forever since I have eaten those. So bad... I also made some super yummy vegan, oil-free chocolate fudge brownies on Friday night. We shared with grandma Bev and Vera but kept a few for ourselves....very dangerous! I think this is becoming more of a "confession section"! Anything making you queasy or sick: Being sick :)
Showing?Yes!
Gender: Baby boy!!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: No new pregnancy related symptoms this week
Belly button in or out? Pokin' out!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Meh...not moody in the emotional sense but very much in whiny/sick mode!
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving & putting up our Christmas tree!!!
Baby’s size:Cantaloupe or as long as an ear of corn! (But I read that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball, which looks about right!)
Maternity clothes? Yup, and big stretchy versions of my "normal" clothes!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Good...I must wake up about 15 times every night to pee but, thankfully, I have been able to fall right back to sleep! Best moment this week: Meeting up with my bestie & her mama! She lives in Redlands so I don't get to see her very often but we met up and walked around the shops and went to Panera for lunch. They also brought me BAGS of hand-me-down baby boy clothes and a super cool play mat! Their family is so generous and we are so grateful! <3 Also, I had a lot of fun shopping with hubby this Friday. We went to Children's Orchard because they were having a 99 cent sale for "new" clothes that had not yet been on the floor for regular sale. Even though we had to fight rush hour traffic to get there, we had so much fun digging through the bins of little clothes and it was cute to see which outfits James picked out. At one point I showed him a cute little elephant onesie that was size 6 months and he said, "when he gets older I want him to wear cool stuff."Since when is 6 months older? LOL. He is trying to age my sweet little baby already! I of course want him in cutesy little baby clothes as long as possible. James and I totally scored and found 25 very cute items. All of them were only a buck each! We are pretty much set as far as baby clothes go now. We will probably end up buying a few more pieces along the way, but we have a good amountof baby clothes to start us out! Check out my inventory list (and pictures) below.
Miss anything? More clothing options! Getting sick of those darn maxi skirts ;)
Movement: Oh yeah, and still loving every minute of it!
Food cravings:No, although after Friday's shopping adventure we were too hungry to cook something at home so we stopped at a Chinese vegan restaurant and indulged in some takeout-style food. It wasn't really up my alley and I felt guilty and sick after eating fried food. I rarely ever eat anything fried so I had to make up for it by juicing when we got home (and then I promised baby I would eat healthy from now on!) P.S. Chocolate has antioxidants, so technically, it IS healthy. Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, feeling pretty good.
Showing?YES! Lately I like to sing James slightly remixed versions of "old classics"
including...."I like big bumps and I cannot lie" and Fergie's "My bump,
my bump, my bump, my bump...my lovely baby bump. Check it out!" all while doing a very silly sexy dance! ;)
Gender: Baby boy!!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Nothing new this week.
Belly button in or out? I'd say it's officially a true "button"
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving!
Baby’s size: Grapefruit! Again, isn't a spaghetti squash definitely bigger than a grapefruit?!?
Look at all of these clothes!!!
James and I decided to take an inventory of the clothes we had so we could make sure we didn't end up with too many in one size. I'm not sure how many clothing options babies need, but I think we are almost set for clothes and will just pick up a few more basic bits and pieces along the way.
Baby Gear Inventory:
Shoes: 4 sneakers, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of loafers
Newborn clothes:
Short sleeve onsies: 1
Long sleeve onsies: 2
Sleep gowns: 2
Cozy long pants: 1
0-3 Months:
Short sleeve onsies: 1
Long sleeve onsies:1
Long Sleeve onsie with pants: 1
Cozy long pants: 3
3 Months:
Short Sleeve onsies: 3
Long Sleeve onsies: 3
Long Sleeve onsie with pants: 3
Long Sleeve plaid shirt: 1
Cozy Long pants:6
Long plaid pants: 1
Cotton Zippy Jackets: 4
3-6 Months:
Short Sleeve onsies: 3
Long Sleeve onsies:2
Long Sleeve onsie with pants: 3
Plaid shorts: 1
Cozy Long pants:3
Cotton Zippy Jackets:3
Overalls:1
6 Months:
Short Sleeve onsies: 2
Long Sleeve onsies: 2
Long Sleeve onsie with pants: 3
Long Sleeve plaid shirt: 1
Cozy Long pants: 1
Long Khaki Pants: 1
6-9 Months:
Short Sleeve onsies: 1
Plaid Shorts: 1
9 Months:
Short sleeve onsies: 5
Long Sleeve onsie with pants: 1
Cozy Shorts: 1
12 mos-2T: This is where we decided to stop taking inventory, but we now have a good amount of clothes in these sizes too!!!
We are also making progress in terms of baby items we already have: crib, bouncer, exersaucer, ergo, and a rocking chair!
So our little man has been busy growing in mommy's tummy! Seems like just yesterday he was a grape, and now look at him!!
Quite the growth spurt he's been on. And man oh man has he been squirmy! Supposedly he's sleeping 12-14 hours a day, but if that's true, he's a tosser and a turner. He's getting stronger and stronger every day and it's awesome to feel him moving. Every night after dinner mommy and I sit on the couch and just wait to feel him move.
As it becomes more and more real for us, I'm blown away at how strong, patient, loving and self-sacrificial my mom is and was. I can't even imagine having to experience something so exciting and scary as this "alone"... I've long admired her strength, but being in the midst of this has given me a new lens with which to appreciate her. She'll also be happy to know that I have yet to remove the "It's a boy" / "DaddyO" graffiti she left on my car (good excuse to not wash my ride).
We had quite the exciting week, as Wednesday we headed back in to visit our midwife and check the results of our ultrasound. Everything looks great and baby is right on track.
Took a little longer than usual to find baby's heartbeat, but that's just because he's SO busy in there. Tumbling and tumbling, squirming and squirming! Here's the video:
The lady had a bit of a close call while driving back from the store this week. Some knuckle head not paying attention ran his light and came within inches of hitting Ashley. Slammed brakes and a raised heart rate got baby moving around a bit, but everyone and everything is JUST fine. Told her I would be chauffeuring her or driving for her from now on, but then Friday night on our way to a lovely date night the same thing almost happened AGAIN when some crazy lady thought it was her turn to turn into a drive way, RIGHT in front of us!! Get with the program people, we've got a baby on board!!!!
That reminds me. Friday night was a wonderful impromptu date night. My lady got all dolled up to come to the 3 year anniversary celebration for one of my clients. When she arrived, the event was already winding down. So, we decided after making a round and saying hello to everyone to head out to Fashion Island for a nice dinner. We walked around the mall for a bit... checked out some nostalgic baby books in Barnes & Nobles (Golden Books, Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, etc.), and after making our way to True Foods we realized that they really didn't have much for us vegan folk anymore. So off to Benihana in Newport we went. It ended up being a lovely, romantic meal. <3
We also scored again this week when Grandma Bev and Auntie Cori dropped off some cool socks for our little man when he gets a little bigger. Monster socks and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle socks to be exact.
Tis the season... almost. We picked up our first Christmas tree Sunday which will be raised the day after Thanksgiving!!! That's our new tradition from now on (I was informed by Ashley today).
Oh. Confession time. And I broke the middle mirror of our 3 panel mirror bathroom vanity cabinet. Another unexpected daddy project! We headed to Home Depot this weekend to check for a replacement mirror and came close to getting kicked out for dancing in the mirrors in the mirror aisle. That's it for dad!
Here is Ashley's 22 week bump photo & update:
How far along?22 weeks!!
Total weight gain: ≈ 10.6
lbs! Eek!
Maternity clothes? Yup, and big stretchy versions of my "normal" clothes!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Good Best moment this week: Hearing
that everything was good with baby at our pre-natal appointment. Our
midwife went over the anatomy scan with us and we got to hear little
guy's heartbeat (...eventually, he was moving so much that it was hard
for her to find it. All we could hear at first were the woosh woosh
sounds of him doing gymnastics in there!) After our appointment I headed over to Children's Orchard and used a coupon they had sent me to get 8 pairs of cute little pants for $3!! Hubby and I had a fun date
night on Friday! Dressing up while pregnant is very interesting...I had ONE dress that fit over my bump and my
tolerance for stilettos has significantly decreased!
Miss anything? Not
gaining weight at the speed of lightning! It's fine....just alarming!
Gaining 2.6 lbs in a week is pretty bizarre, but I haven't done anything
differently so I'm not sure if it's just a growth spurt with baby or
what. Also, still missing the ease of non-pregnant movement. I feel so
silly when I am winded after climbing the stairs to our condo!
Movement: Yes!! So fun!
Food cravings:No really big (or weird) cravings, pretty much back to my normal eating style. I had been craving Benihana vegetable sushi rolls and we went there for a date night on Friday! So yum! Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Showing?Oh yeah! It's crazy how much this bump is growing every day, I feel like I am 30 weeks not 22!
Gender: Baby boy!!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Same as last week....abdominal/ligament pain, itchy skin, easily winded, full belly!
Belly button in or out? Kind of in a weird halfway stage....but pretty much out!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Meeting up with Gen for a girl's day this week & Thanksgiving at Native Foods (okay so I have a couple more weeks to wait for that one!)
(Daddy's chalk art was a bit faint so I had to add the weeks in post-production!)
How far along?21 weeks!!
Total weight gain: ≈ 8
lbs!
Maternity clothes? Yes! I bought a tank top and a sweater at Old Navy this week because they sent me a 20% off coupon! I was hoping to get one more pair of jeans but they had limited options...looks like one pair of skinnys and my maxi skirts will be my new Fall/Winter/Spring wardrobe!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Pretty good Best moment this week: Still loving feeling baby move! I actually saw my belly move from the outside today!! I was sitting on our balcony studying for my psychopharm midterm (blah) and I looked down at my belly and could SEE him kicking or punching me (lovingly, of course)! Also, on Tuesday I had a wonderful girls night with Grandma Lind and she offered to host our baby shower!! I am so excited! She has a GORGEOUS home and is a fabulous host!
Miss anything? The energy & stamina to do my workouts! Everything is so much harder!
Movement: YES!!
Food cravings:Chocolate!Can I really blame this on pregnancy? No...but I am definitely still on my homemade candy kick. I really need an intervention. We are going to juice tonight to try to off-set my indulgences! I feel extra guilty anytime I eat junk food because I read that baby is now swallowing and tasting amniotic fluid and whatever I eat he will develop a taste for! I hope he remembers the kale more than the peanut butter cups! Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really, sometimes my stomach feels VERY full and that makes me feel sick. I think it depends on baby's position.
Showing?YES, seriously this bump gets bigger by the day, and judging by my weight I'd say I have had a bit of a growth spurt!
Gender: Baby boy!!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Abdominal/ligament pain, ITCHY skin, easily winded, full belly!
Belly button in or out? It's an inny-outty
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy, perhaps a bit sensitive! School is getting a bit more stressful these days with lots of exams, papers, and presentations so I am going to go ahead and blame any moodiness or bad behavior on that! :)
Looking forward to: Our next prenatal visit on November 6th to go over the anatomy scan with our midwife. Also, my bestie Gen said that her brother and sister-in-law have some hand-me-down baby boy clothes for us (score!), so I can't wait to see them!
Baby’s size: Pomegranate!
Halloween was pretty low key. We celebrated with Anthony, Maggie & Anabelle by going to a downtown "kids block party" and checking out all of the cute little costumes and games. Thankfully, now that one of us actually has a child we don't seem so strange at these events. I really wanted to pass out candy, but alas, there was not a trick-or-treater in site around our condo. I've already traded in my Halloween decor for some holiday-neutral Fall decorations and am starting to get super excited for Christmas! I made our Native Foods Thanksgiving reservations just as soon as they would let me and am already drooling just thinking about it. I love this time of year!!!
Baby's crib will just be in our room so we don't have a nursery "theme" per say, but I have picked out my colors. Baby's "corner" will be neutral (tan/cream/mocha) and a vintage-y greenish-blue (like seafoam/sage but these colors never look the same on any website or fabric). I cannot wait to see the blanket my mama is making with these colors!!
I have been scoring most of our baby gear second-hand, but I found a mobile that I am absolutely in love with that I am hoping to convince hubby to let me splurge on (hint, hint hubs!!). It is from restoration hardware and it is SO stinkin' cute (pic below)! Our crib is in our garage waiting to be assembled and it has been VERY hard for me to wait. I want to wash and hang all of baby's clothes and have his little area all set up for him, but my more rational half is insisting we wait! After endless research and hours spent online, I think I have my registry pretty much finished! It's pretty crazy how much stuff one little baby "needs." I am trying not to get sucked into the consumerism trap with the baby gear so I have done a lot of blog-reading to see what other mamas found to "absolutely essential!"Anyway, I guess we will wait until closer to the shower to set up the crib and clear out the front closet, but I definitely want to do it before baby stuff begins taking over our condo! I need to focus on finishing my thesis and remember that I have a couple months to nest AFTER I graduate...hard to get my priorities straight, baby is so much more fun!
For a banana, our SON sure is fidgety! (Sorry, still enjoying the fun gender-specific nouns!)
The little man has been a-movin' and a-shakin' quite a bit this last week! Really excited to know that he's only going to get busier and stronger. It's such an unreal experience to know that our child is growing in Ashley's belly. We talked earlier this week about how 'normal' it seemed when we found out others were pregnant... it is how babies are made after all. But once you're the one experiencing it, it is so surreal - awesome has begun to be the most accurate descriptor. I still find myself staring at her ever-growing tummy and giggling like a little kid on the playground. I'm so overwhelmed by the miraculous gift God has given us.
We're both making efforts to enjoy each day as it comes; we're both A-types, so our natural inclination is to plan and prepare. In our defense though, it is really difficult to not want him to be here already.
Highlight of the week for me was leaning over to kiss my lovely lady goodbye as I headed for work and laying my hand on our boy to say a little prayer, and wouldn't you know it, I got a big ol' kick! What an awe-inspiring and amazing way to start my day. Was tough to leave...
Had another fun surprise this week - my mom (though she still denies it was her) stopped by my work today and vandalized my car:
The driver's side window was also tagged in big blue letters "DADDY-O". I've had a bit of a leadfoot and a propensity to drive a little aggressive... this has dramatically reduced that urge; consequently, it has also led to a lot of funny looks from passersby.
We capitalized on our free Friday night by taking baby on a date night with us - Native Foods (yum) and Despicable Me 2 (for baby of course). Fun!
Chores on Saturday: recaulking the bathtub, cleaning our neglected patio and porch, sweeping and vacuuming - OH and we picked up the "Exersaucer" Ash had her eye on from someone who was selling it in Rancho Santa Margarita (future home location?).
Sunday: a lovely hike on our local hill and FOOTBALL (for baby of course). We also pulled out our garaged yoga ball so Ashley can start doing some exercises which are supposed to make labor easier. *Fingers crossed*
Here is Ashley's Pregnancy Photo & Update....
How far along?20 weeks!! Halfway there!!!!
Total weight gain: ≈ 6.8
lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes I wore my new
Jessica Simpson maternity jeans on Friday and they were super comfy! My
wardrobe is getting smaller by the day, wearing a lot of maxi skirts!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping well in between potty breaks! Best moment this week: Feeling
baby move! His moves are so distinctive now and I get lots of little
kicks! I love that James can feel him too! On Friday I was so worried
because he hadn't been moving throughout the day but around 1 am he
started dancing and I had one of those moments where your heart is just
so full that you can physically feel it in your chest...a feeling of
overwhelming happiness that is almost painful because you know that kind
of state can't last. Baby boy gives me lots of these moments lately,
it's so crazy how much I already love him! We have quite the baby gear collection now! In addition to our thrift store/craigslist finds, baby is already getting spoiled by family members! Midweek I got a surprise pottery barn diaper bag and plush elephant from my sister, and a couple days later Grandma Bev dropped off a sweet-sleep-sheep from our registry (see pic below!) My mama is making baby a blanket and I got to pick out the fabrics this week! I LOVE handmade items and cannot wait to see it!!
Miss anything? Mmm, I guess having more clothing options!
Movement: YES!!
Food cravings:Nothing too crazy this week Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really....Although
yesterday James and I did a deep clean of our house, and even though I
just used vinegar and other natural cleaning products, I think the fumes
and the movement got to me because I felt really nauseous and dizzy
afterward.
Showing?Oh yeah!
Gender: Baby boy!!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Same kind of abdominal/ligament pain, easily winded! Belly button in or out? My inny is hanging on by a thread...it'll be a full on outty any day now!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Our next prenatal visit on November 6th to go over the anatomy scan with our midwife.
Baby’s size: Banana!!
Diaper Bag & Plushie!
Sleep Sheep from Grandma Bev & Grandma Lind sent a picture of this adorable firetruck outfit she bought him!
Will have to stop posting pics of hubby's skinny belly soon as it is giving me a complex ;)
How far along?19 weeks
Total weight gain: I forgot to weigh myself this morning but based on a couple days ago I think it's probably ≈ 5
lbs
Maternity clothes? Sometimes! I can still do the hair tie trick with a couple pairs of jeans but I have a feeling those days are numbered!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Pretty good, still easily tired & wanting to sneak in naps (so much for that sudden "burst of energy" everyone promises you in the 2nd trimester!) Best moment this week: This week was AMAZING!!! Seriously, one of the best days of my life. Seeing baby BOY on the ultrasound was incredible and I feel so connected to him now! Love carrying my little guy around with me everywhere I go!
Miss anything? Not really missing anything this week
Movement: YES!! Now baby's movements are pretty obvious and even James got to feel him once! I don't feel him constantly but at least a couple times a day now!! So frickin' cool!
Food cravings: Um....I probably need to lay off the homemade peanut butter cups (as I lick the chocolate of my fingers...) Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, comes once in a blue moon but mostly feeling good!
Showing?Yes!!!!!!!! I have officially "popped." James and I were walking in downtown Orange today and as I passed the store windows I had to do a double take to find out who that very pregnant woman was! James was also taken aback as he took my picture today; he started laughing and said "you're so pregnant!!"
Gender: Our little baby boy!!!! We couldn't be more thrilled!
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Growing pains!! Lots of round ligament pain and obnoxiously itchy skin. Belly button in or out? Oh my, barely in! I can't believe how fast I am losing this thing! I had to take out my belly button ring yesterday...goodbye youth! ;)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time: Very happy this week, the ultrasound experience put an extra pep in my step!
Looking forward to: Continuing to feel baby move more and more and our next prenatal appointment where we will review the anatomy ultrasound with our midwife.
Baby’s size: Mango!!
Today we had our 4th annual pumpkin carving extravaganza with Maggie & Anthony....
Hard at work!
I think hubs is excited!
Our Hillbilly pumpkin fest complete with a fort!
Sneaking in some snuggle time!
Finished products! From left to right: Anthony, Ashley, James, & Maggie
WOW!! What a day! I am so overwhelmingly happy & feel so incredibly blessed! I don't know if I have stopped smiling since we left the ultrasound! Now that we know baby is a HE, things are beginning to feel much more real, and knowing baby is happy and healthy is such a good feeling!! I was so nervous for our appointment that I barely got any sleep last night, but our tech said everything looked great! He is right on track for size and is just movin' and groovin' like you wouldn't believe. He didn't sit still for one moment during the entire hour!!
When we first went in to the appointment the ultrasound tech asked us how many weeks we were and when we told her 18.5 she said she didn't know if she would be able to tell us the gender because we weren't 20 weeks. I was so disappointed because our midwife said we could go anywhere from 18-21 weeks and that they should be able to give us all the info. Well, we needn't have worried because baby boy was listening to mommy's pleas to "show us his goodies," and when she found him on the screen he was spread eagle! She immediately pointed to something and said "do you know what that is?" We, of course, did not -- but she told us it was his little boy part and that he was "100%, definitely a boy!" Phew! I'm not sure I could have waited until his birth to find out! James and I were so unbelievably ecstatic!
She did a VERY detailed ultrasound of all his little body parts and said that everything looked perfect. We also found out that our baby is very well-behaved....he cooperated and showed the tech everything she needed to measure! We got to see him attempt to suck his little thumb and move his arms and legs all over. We saw a good shot of his sweet little face and, although it was hard for me to make out his features, our tech said he was "very good looking" and I believe her!
My measurements came back almost perfectly in line with my LP due date -- just three days earlier. So, baby's official due date is March 13th. We got a whole CD full of the ultrasound pictures & we commissioned some strangers in the parking lot to take our picture.....
Not bad for a parking lot photo shoot! :)
Unfortunately, the CD is full of crazy, weird files that I cannot even open so I have to call tomorrow and ask them what the deal is. Stay tuned for those baby shots...(*Update* smart hubby figured it out...pics at bottom of post!)
After our appointment I immediately went shopping at Children's Orchard! I eventually had to force myself to leave so that I didn't spend our mortgage $, but not without scoring some super-cute gear!
How cute is this bouncer! Half off of the original price!
I could not resist these sweet little outfits... baby and daddy have matching flannels!!
To top off an already wonderful day I came home to find this gift on our doorstep from Auntie Cori!! Baby's first socks and an adorable pumpkin for mommy (all in a super cute bag with a very sweet card!) She is so thoughtful!! <3
Ultrasound photos!
They said no pictures but James managed to sneak one in!
