26 weeks!

i see why josh was checking out the bump more yesterday - i look huge! 

what’s new with baby: well according to my pregnancy app, baby girl is now about 1 and 2/3 pounds and about 14 inches long! baby girl is better able to hear mine and josh's voices as we chat with each other and she is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid in preparation for breathing air! at the doctor's on wednesday baby girl had a nice and strong heartbeat at 148 bpm. 

what’s new with mom: well mom got pricked all over at the doctor's on wednesday - first a finger prick, then the Tdap vaccine, and then the blood draw at the end of the glucose test. i went by myself and fortunately i did not pass out! later in the week i was feeling quite awful and super achy so i was worried i was getting sick, but then my mom pointed out that it was probably from the vaccine since i didn't have any other cold or flu symptoms. what a terrible vaccine! but those whooping cough commercials are quite terrifying so i wouldn't have it any other way. i'm feeling better other than some headaches and i'm still not sleeping great, but that's not new. the doctor said i measured right on track on wednesday! i think i had gained about 3 pounds in 2 weeks - seems about right to me i guess! 

wardrobe: i think my t-shirts are even starting to get tight now! i did a little shopping the other day and i got a couple cute maternity sweaters. i'm still not exactly sure what i'm wearing for the various festivities next week, so i'll probably just end up taking my entire maternity wardrobe home. it's not that big. i also made an exciting purchase of some maternity underwear. why new underwear is needed i have no idea, but it just is! and i finally have some! yay! 

cravings: the milk and cookie craving has been a little less severe this week so that's good. i did want mexican food a lot for some reason - i think i ended up having tacos at home, a chipotle burrito, and a vegetable quesadilla at a mexican restaurant all within a matter of days! i've always loved tacos (as has my precious grandma!) so i think it's just a family trait! 

anything hard? well feeling achy and miserable for several days this week was certainly no fun. and i'm not nearly as good of a traveler as i once was. josh and i went to roanoke overnight on thursday for him to do some work and i felt like crap in the car. and that's also when i was feeling terrible and thought i was getting sick, so our fun time of spending time together turned out to just be so so. :( but it was still good to be together. 

best moment(s) of the week: hmm... holiday baking with valerie on saturday was definitely fun. we ended up making fudge, hello dollies, christmas crack, white chocolate thrills, and chocolate chip cookies for josh's managers, and peanut butter bars for her and michael. quite the productive 4 hours!

i also finally got to eat at one of my favorite restaurants when we were in roanoke, cheddar's! i had been wanting their onion rings since i got pregnant! unfortunately i did not feel good at all by the time we got to the restaurant and i didn't enjoy my meal too much, but the onion rings were still absolutely delightful! we went back for lunch the next day which was a more enjoyable experience!

i can't think of too much else, but an exciting week is definitely ahead! hello third trimester! we have our 3-D ultrasound on thursday, and friday we're celebrating our 6th anniversary, which is actually saturday when we'll be driving home! and of course i have to finish up all the final christmas preparations! i love christmas! 

25 weeks!

what’s new with baby: well olivia is now about 13 1/2 inches long and weighs about a pound and a half. wrinkled skin is gradually smoothing out as olivia puts on more fat! and she's growing more hair - to the point that we could see the color and texture if we peeked in there! 

what’s new with mom: well mom is in a bit of shock that 25 weeks has gone by so quickly! and the second trimester is already wrapping up! so crazy! other than that i've been feeling quite pregnant these days. (ya know... big, emotional, tired.) 

wardrobe: well the shirt i wore to church yesterday (pictured above) was not maternity so clearly some things still fit! actually a good portion of my regular tops still fit, as long as they have some stretch! :) 

cravings: three words: milk and cookies. (i must be channeling santa!) 

anything hard? um, sleeping! this week i've started wondering if i will ever have a good night's sleep again. every time i have to turn over i wake up, and then my back aches and i have to readjust the pillow between my legs. and my back is just so sore when i wake up. and then of course i have to pee more so there's that too. so i've just been really tired in general. and i've been feeling more emotional on and off. i think it's the lack of sleep combined with the pregnancy hormones - some days i just want to cry. and do nothing. poor josh. i also feel like i'm getting into that more clumsy/forgetful stage of pregnancy. fun fun. 

best moment(s) of the week: no matter how crappy i feel, feeling olivia kick always brightens my day!  this week i've started to really see my stomach jump! i grabbed my phone the other day to try to catch it on video, but of course the entire minute i videoed she did nothing and then started back up after i stopped. stubborn little thing. regardless it's so neat to SEE the kicks! 

at the beginning of the week we got the crib, and last night we got around to actually working on the assembly! actually josh was really motivated to start working on it, and he got a pretty descent amount done while i did a little christmas shopping with briana. (i was quite impressed!) we continued to work on it when i got back, and would have finished it up if he hadn't gotten a call about a cashier he had to go fire immediately. boo. the nursery looks like a total disaster at this point - between the half assemebled crib, random baby stuff laying around, unwrapped christmas presents on top of and around the dresser, and open futon with the quilt laid out on it! sigh. i will definitely have to address this before we leave for christmas next weekend, so that when we get back we'll have a place to put all of the shower gifts! 

speaking of the quilt, progress has been made! here it is laid out - i'm in the process of sewing the squares together into diagonal strips! i hope olivia likes it! 

just for fun - here's another pic of milo using olivia as a pillow last night. he must be getting used to her kicks because she was going to town last night! 

milo adjusting to the belly

he starts out annoyed... 

and then generally just gives up and uses it as a pillow. :) 

24 weeks!

what’s new with baby: well olivia is growing away having gained about 4 ounces since last week. she will soon start to plump up and her brain and lungs are developing away! olivia has also been kicking up a storm, which this momma loves! at my 24 week appointment on wednesday her heart beat was 150 bpm and everything seemed to be right on track! 

what’s new with mom: well mom had gained about 7 pounds in 4 weeks at said appointment! the doctor didn't say anything, but having only gained a few pounds up to the 20 week appointment, seeing those numbers pop up on the scale was a little alarming! i'm a few pounds over what i weighed at the beginning of the year (pre-weight watchers) and i think right around what i weighed at the end of college! (and still about 15 pounds shy of where i was a year into our marriage!) craziness! so it is nice to know that i'm 24 weeks pregnant and seeing this weight and not just really overweight! the doctor used the fancy measuring tape for the first time on wednesday and said i was right on track! i can't believe i go back in two weeks for the glucose test and then i just start going every 2 weeks! this pregnancy is flying by! other than that i've just been super tired and my back has been killing me. (sad face.) i've been working on olivia's quilt which i'm hoping will turn out wonderful! 

wardrobe: well i'm still wearing my regular tees, but they are definitely stretching to fit! and when i need to leave the house and look descent i reach for something from my (very small) maternity wardrobe! 

cravings: well, the looming glucose test has me a little freaked out, so i'm trying to channel my cravings for sweets into clementines, which has been decently successful! and the box of zebra cakes i bought at the beginning of last week is still half full! i did want oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for two days before breaking down and making some saturday night, which i don't regret at all. 

i knew i could eat all of them so i did give a descent amount to zach and briana. :) they turned out pretty yummy and i just looked up a recipe on all recipes because i didn't have one. you can check it out here.

anything hard? well sleeping seems to be only moderately successful. i sleep but i'm just exhausted! and my back has been killing me on and off. ugh! and on a totally different note, i was disappointed this week to hear that the name olivia is supposed to be super popular. josh and i have had the name olivia on our "approved baby names" list on my iphone for years, and i've loved the name every since seeing this olivia when i was little! 

from the cosby show of course! 

so olivia it is, we still love it! and that's just the way it's going to be! 

best moment(s) of the week: well several fun things happened this week actually! we have been making some purchases for the babe, and now we're at the cutoff point financially until after showers and our tax refund! but we have ordered the crib and mattress, video monitor (which is really a home surveillance camera that connects to your iphone/ipad so it's much cheaper!), and the baby k'tan carrier i wanted! (we got a deal and you can't really register for it in stores!) i was so excited when i got it in the mail that i just had to try it out! enter frederick my teddy bear.

yay! i can't wait to actually use it with olivia! and the mattress is here but we're still waiting on the crib to come in. saturday josh and i went shopping and - joy of joys - we found the sweetest antique dresser for olivia's room! i'm in love! it needs a little love but i think it's great! especially the white porcelain knobs! 

the pic is pretty bad because it was sitting in the warehouse part of a consignment store, but you get the idea. there's also a mirror but we'll store it for now. i think it will be the perfect balance between the dark cherry crib, vintage quilt squares on the wall, and more modern blue rocking chair! yay! 

my sister also finally got a pic of my niece or nephew this week! here's olivia's little cousin - i can't wait for them to play together! and i can't wait to find out in a couple weeks if it's a boy or girl! all signs point to boy! 

lastly, josh and i decorated for christmas last night, and it was so fun to talk about how we'd have a little girl crawling around by next christmas! 

and last night, just as my 24th week was drawing to a close, olivia cooperated and kicked hard multiple times in a row so josh could feel it. he was pushing on my stomach pretty hard so she was probably annoyed! it was so precious to see his face light up! he seemed so excited and proud! i know he's going to be a great dad! :) 

23 weeks!

no pic this week - if my mom sends me the one she took on thanksgiving i might add it.

here ya go! 

and i am slacking on this blog! not terribly, but still! i'm unemployed! what's my problem!? i think it's something about having so much free time that i've lost my need for structure. i like to recap the week before and "my week" starts on monday - so really i'm 24 weeks and a couple days but i'm recapping week 23. whatever. anyway...

what’s new with baby: well baby girl is getting big at 11 inches long and just over a pound! that's about half the length of a typical newborn right - she must but super skinny! baby girl has a well developed sense of movement and she can hear what i hear - it just sounds muffled to her! baby girl also has a name - which i love but for some reason i feel nervous announcing it. but seriously, no one really reads this! it's Olivia Kalyn! josh and i just fell in love with Olivia (i've always loved the name!) and Kalyn is a combination of our moms' middle names - Kay for my mom (and my sister too!) and Lynn for josh's mom! fun fun! 

what’s new with mom: well day 1 of week 23 i woke up and i could hardly walk because my lower back was hurting so bad! i bought a heating pad that day and pretty much stayed on it for hours, and i've been feeling better since. not great unfortunately - my belly is starting to "pop" and i think it's just my body figuring out how to adjust to the extra weight and gravitational pull. other than that i've been pretty good - just hungry and eating lots which was no problem since this week included thanksgiving! 

wardrobe: well i was able to get several maternity tops on black friday - i think i ended up with 4 long sleeve tops when all was said and done. unfortunately maternity clothes just don't go on sale much! i can still wear my regular tops but i think that will be changing soon. 

cravings: nothing new here, just lots of food and sweets! i'm thankful that i'm not repulsed by anything and that baby girl seems to be happy with just about anything i would already want - i probably just have treats more than i should! 

anything hard? well, i had a pretty great week with getting to go home and see family, but i was definitely tired! and riding in the car for 8 hours was not fun! my whole body got so achy! and, joy of joys, i had my first bout with swollen ankles after shopping on black friday with my mom! luckily they went down within a day or so, but it was definitely a little unsettling! 

best moment(s) of the week: well getting to see family was great! it was so great to relax and hang out with family that we hadn't seen in forever! and selfishly it was fun to hear everyone say that i looked cute with my little belly! here's a little four generation pic with my grandma, my mom, myself, and olivia! 

and of course shopping with my mom was great, exhausting but great! i was able to get some christmas shopping done, get some maternity tops, and get fabric for olivia's quilt!!! this was about an hour and a half process in joann's. armed with the pictures of the shirt i posted last week and the sections of the old quilt that i want to be hung in the nursery, and the black out curtains i bought for the nursery at target, we went to work! lots of picking and putting back and picking and putting back until we were both happy! days later, i still love the fabric! the bumper will be sage, the bed skirt plum (thanks mom!), the chair blue, the curtains purple, and the other fabrics in the quilt sections hung above the crib! i'm so excited! 

another great thing about this week was that fiona was FINALLY born! she came into the world tuesday night at 11:18 at an adorably plump 9 pounds and 7 ounces! i'm so excited for zach and bri and i'm so excited for fiona and olivia to be friends! me and fiona are already friends (she slept for hours when i held her when she was about 12 hours old and then again yesterday!) so i'm sure they'll hit it off great!

22 weeks!

what’s new with baby: our active little baby girl is now about 11 inches long and weighs almost a pound! and she is starting to look more like a baby with more distinct lips, eyelids, and eyebrows! baby girl may even have a name but we are not completely committed yet so i'm not going to share quite yet! 

what’s new with mom: well i have definitely continued with feeling hungry and tired. and i feel like i'm getting huge even though i know that's ridiculous. i'm getting to that point where i feel like my belly is kinda in the way when i bend over to get something. i can't imagine what it's going to be like to paint my toenails or shave my legs in a couple more months! 

i've continued the work on the baby registries, but i ended up ditching the target one because three was just too much! target has cute stuff but they also change their stock a lot and their return policy is pretty horrible, so walmart and babies r us it is! 

i've also been planning the nursery more but i've yet to actually do anything. we went to get a dresser on saturday at a scratch and dent sale in highpoint that we saw on craigslist, but it turned out to be a scam or something because we did eventually find the warehouse but there was not a soul in site! bummer! we're still looking and we might also see if there's any extra dressers lying around the in-laws when we go home for thanksgiving this week. they seem to have furniture to spare somehow! (we have several pieces of theirs now!) and we're ordering the crib this weekend too - it might go on sale around black friday!? anyhow, i've been struggling to plan a nursery that's fun and feminine without being girly. i'm just not a huge pink and purple person. of course my daughter might LOVE pink and purple in the future and that will be fine, but when i'm the one planning the room (and we live in an apartment so by the time she starts to care about her room we'll be moving out) i'm going to do it the way i want. here's a bit of the inspiration - 

ignore the big shadow on the right

it's part of a quilt top that has been in my family forever - a neighbor made it for my grandma with old fabric and clothing that my family had and it was never finished - and then my mom had it and she never finished it either! well it's finally going to find some new life in the nursery! 

i also love love love this shirt that i saw on pinterest - so i'm going to draw a lot of the color inspiration from it! i think a chevron quilt is in the near future! i'm not a big print person but i'm loving the combo of solids in this! 

wardrobe: i continue to be able to wear many of the shirts i've had which is good because i only have a couple maternity tops right now. i did buy a really cute one at kohls the other day that i'm saving for thanksgiving! i'm hoping some maternity tops will be on sale this weekend on black friday! 

cravings: well i've continued to want sweets but i've also started wanting MILK! i'm not a milk person but i actually had to stop at the grocery the other day just to get milk because we had run out. i still don't want it plain but i am eating cheerios more and fixing myself chocolate milk occasionally! my sister will be so proud! 

anything hard? the job hunt has certainly continued to be my biggest stressor. i had another interview but i wasn't too excited about the job for several reasons and then they haven't called either so who knows!? at this point i'm just ready to go home for thanksgiving and visit with family! 

best moment(s) of the week: well baby girl has been kicking up a storm and i love it! i'm certain that milo felt her move the other day when he was resting his head on my belly. his eyes got really big and he looked pretty concerned but he didn't get up. it was so cute! poor josh has been quite jealous though! 

21 weeks!

what’s new with baby: well baby girl is growing and she is hungry! baby girl is also starting to stretch and kick much more, which this momma is loving! baby girl also weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is about 10 1/2 inches long! 

what’s new with mom: well i'm certainly hungry! i feel like i can't get full and i'm thirsty all the time! i've also been really tired lately and my lower back is hurting a lot, but it's all worth it for my baby girl! i've become a little obsessed with researching all things baby this week, and i've started three registries online - still needing to get to the stores and pick out stuff in person. i'm a big review reader so online works well, and i can look at and compare several blog suggestions and my Baby Bargains book without getting stressed out and overwhelmed in a store. i'll probably try to get into the stores this week though because i'd like to have this done before christmas shopping mania begins. 

wardrobe: nothing too new here. still working the maternity pants and regular tops (but they are certainly quite snug!). 

cravings: every time i get to this part i think, "why did i put 'cravings'? my cravings are embarrassing!" well, baby girl likes chocolate! and carbs! of course i do eat regular food and she's not that picky really, but when i really want something it's usually sweet! 

anything hard? well the job hunt is continuing and i'm feeling discouraged. i had an interview on friday that went well, but it's doing in-home therapy which i'm really not interested in doing. i'm concerned about the crazy hours with having a new baby, and i'm also concerned that there's not much else out there! 

this isn't really hard but it was humorous... the other day i felt like i could seriously feel my stomach stretching and i was SO cranky! josh was cracking up at me because i was just annoyed with him over the stupidest things, and i was trying to explain to him that i seriously felt like i was about to explode! it was crazy! i also almost passed out on the same day - i got super hot and dizzy while i was making dinner and i had to go lay down with the fan on me to stop myself from passing out. i don't know what was going on but friday was rough! 

best moment(s) of the week: this week hasn't been too exciting really. picking out things for our baby has been fun, and i LOVE feeling her move around more and more! i think she's become a night owl! my dear friend emily sent a little love from kentucky - she sent baby girl a couple little outfits! our daughter has some practical clothing! thanks emily! that package made me super happy! i'm so thankful for our friendship!