it's a . . .

I won't announce what it is on here until we've shared with our family members. We were able to find out yesterday at our 20 week ultrasound.

Here is a sneak peak at a cute profile of our little baby.

growing belly website

This site has some neat photos of the growing baby. It also shows an example mom's belly that is growing month by month. For the growing baby, click on the photos on the right side of the screen.

This is the link to the "Month 1" part. Then, you can select any month.

http://www.parents.com/parents/multimedia.jsp?multimediaId=/templatedata/parents/multimedia/data/1182531854833.xml

baby pictures (of me)

I had Mom and Dad send me some photos of me as a baby. When my friend, Lori, told me that her baby looked a lot like her very own baby pictures, I wanted to look closer at some of mine and of Don's. ( I'll have to scan Don's at a later date.)

Here's me at 4 hours old:

9 months old:

10 months old:
Don saw this one after my crying incident when I put the crib together wrong. He got a laugh out of it and said it looked just like me. . . right down to the curled lip! :) :(

Waaaaaaaa!!!!

nursery set up

We are getting the nursery set up. The changing table and the crib are put together. We still need to pick out our mattress, but here is a sneak peak to give you an idea of what the bedding, etc. looks like with the crib and wall color...

Thanks for the little Pooh, Jason! :)

countdown continues...

I think this is updating on my former post, but I'll probably post the countdown from time to time so it appears on the front page. If you click on it you can see elapsed time and days/months to go...

crib notes

Thank you, Jason, for the crib! It has arrived!!! I was just going to peek into the box to check out the color of the wood and to see if it looked like it shipped safely. The next thing I knew, I had all of the pieces laid out while Don was working on the computer and I started assembling it. It was looking terrific when I broke down in tears realizing part of the directions hadn't been clear...AND I'd put two of the first two pieces together wrong/backward. And, I thought I'd ruined one of the pieces of wood by doing so. Tonight's mission? We'll be tearing it apart and re-building the back. Oops!!

:(

This is what it should look like when it is done:

(photo from the Target website)

Also, we got a call last night that we will have to reschedule our BIG 20 week ultrasound that we have been waiting to see! The ultrasound technician will not be in the office on the day they'd scheduled for us. So, we'll have to play the waiting game, I guess... Hopefully, there's a message later today.

(Target photo, too)

This is the part that I put together, which will later be able to be used for a headboard.

Interestingly enough, when looking for photos online of this crib, I came across a "Jason" crib that looks almost identical (also in espresso by Graco). I'll bet Uncle Jason didn't know there was a crib with his name out there. Also, found a Shannon crib. See below:

(Jason crib by Graco)

(Shannon crib by Graco)

19 weeks

Here is a little info. about the development during the 19th week:

"How your baby's growing:Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom . Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."

link: http://www.babycenter.com/303_19-weeks_1615704.bc

Above: That was the picture they had to go along with the write up. He/she looks like a pretzel in that view!

Bebe sounds

This neat little device is something I picked up at Babies 'R' Us when I was registering for baby items. (Registering - a whole other story from Target and Babies 'R' Us!!! Fun! Fun! Fun!!) It says that it's most effective in the 3rd trimester, but I've already started to try it out. It does not use any harmful waves or currents and is powered by a 9 volt battery. It just amplifies the sounds. So far, I've been able to hear some kicks. They sound like one of those balloons on an cord that are "punching" balloons...but a bit smaller scale sound. I've also heard what I believe are the hiccups. It's sometimes hard to decipher what is what, since it picks up any noise around you (The neighbor's dogs sound like they are coming right through the walls when they bark and I have this on!). Also, I've heard my stomach growl so loudly I had to take the earphones off - ha!

By request for those who haven't been able to see me pregnant. Another black and white shot of the growing tummy. this one actually shows that it's growing a bit clearer than the one below.

tummy

For those of you who have been wanting to see how my tummy is growing, here is the latest shot (from this morning - November 17th - 18.5 weeks). It's starting to pop out a bit. By the end of the day it seems to look a bit larger since gravity is pulling everything, including "Gummi" down. From here on out, I'll try to post a belly picture a week so you can see us grow. It's surreal to think I have a little baby growing in me!!

arrivals

Some of the items I've ordered have been arriving at our doorstep. The picture above shows part of the detail of the decorative quilt from Pottery Barn's Alphabet Soup line. So cute! The blocks below are going to get cleaned up and glued around a mirror for the baby's room. They came in the original Playskool wagon.

nesting

I've been doing a little bit of "nesting" around the house already. I've definitely felt the urge to get organized at school and home. We found these great organizational cubes at Michael's. Even better yet, Michael's always has those great coupons. Some of them we even got for 50% off. My craft and scrapbooking "stuff" is getting organized (and out of the guest room to make room for guests and baby). :)

a new birth

Our friends, Mike and Lori had their baby yesterday on Nov. 16th. Can't wait to meet little Henry!

baby counter

Also, I found this photo online of a 1965 LIFE magazine cover which shows a real photo of an 18 week old baby. This gives you an idea of the size/looks of "Gummi" at 18 weeks.

We get to go for our "20 week" ultrasound on the 25th. They'll be able to determine the gender and we're pretty sure we will find out. At first we were thinking of letting it be a surprise, but curiosity has gotten the best of us. :) We'll most likely hold out on telling family what it is until we are home for Christmas.

Can't wait! :)

growing tummy

Well, my tummy is starting to grow, or stretch at least. My skin has been itching on my stomach and sides, so I'm assuming it's from this growth spurt. I bought some Palmer's organic "Tummy Butter" which is supposed to help prevent/relieve stretch marks. I found that it was kind of grainy, cold and hard to rub on, so I've devised a little trick. I've been heating it up with my blow dryer's hot air for a few seconds and it melts it just enough to smooth it out for easy spreading...and it's not cold on my skin.

Also, some of my socks that I will use for the baby sock advent calendar (see previous post) have arrived.Update (11.23): Found more socks for this project from Old Navy:

Update (11.25): Added metal ring tags and stamped numbers on them. Can't wait to see what everybody's socks look like!

baby sock advent calendar

A group of us from work who have kids or are expecting are going to be making this cute baby sock advent calendar.

(Martha Stewart link: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baby-sock-advent-calendar)

We are going to do a sock exchange. Each of us will pick out a certain number of socks, label them with numbers, and exchange them to have the complete set.

17 weeks

Today we have reached 17 weeks! In the past week, I have started to feel some of our baby's movements. I feel them mostly at night, right before bed when I am lying still on my back. I can also feel it when I roll over on my side. My tummy is starting to "pop" out more and more. I have definitely moved on to the world of maternity clothes - much more comfortable than trying to squeeze into my old pants. The most comfortable pants I've found are khakis from Kohl's and jeans from Old Navy. I've also purchased some maternity shirts online through Gap and Old Navy and have borrowed a few from a friend at school.

Your baby is hard at work honing his sucking and swallowing reflexes—all the better for eating that 2 AM (and 5 AM, and 8 AM ...) meal in a few months! The finger- and toenails are beginning to grow from their nail beds, which would explain why he'll need them trimmed almost as soon as he's born! Your baby weighs nearly 5 ounces and is a little over 5 inches long—about the size of a baked potato (load on the butter and sour cream, please).

from : http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/17-weeks-pregnant.html

mommies-to-be

I received a call from Erica last night. We are due within weeks of each other. We'll be able to compare bellies when we home for Christmas. How exciting to be pregnant at the same time as a good friend!!!

a work in progress...

A work in progress...

I started crocheting this baby blanket a week or so ago. Neutral and SOFT white yarn, since white will go with everything! ;)

books and readings...

I have been really reading and writing lately. My two journals are The Belly Book (found at Pottery Barn Kids) and The What to Expect When You're Expecting companion journal (Thanks, Shannon!) . It's fun to follow along in the books and read up on what to expect through the pregnancy and to record what is actually happening along the way. Thanks to cousin, Angie, for a quick delivery of other books to read!

blueberry buckle

Sadly, Blueberry Buckle baby food by Gerber is no longer being produced. :( If you look hard enough, there still may be some on the shelves in a few areas. :)

I am an OFFICIAL Gerber baby - born in Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, MI, where Gerber products and headquarters are located.

found more items

It's like a scavenger hunt!

Above: Images from another mom's website using the Pottery Barn Alphabet Soup theme.

Below: I found two more items...a lightweight blanket with the cute little animals along with another cribskirt for an unbeatable price! I'm not going to use two crib skirts...the plan will be to use the material to make the animal valance or coordinating items for the nursery (pillows or lightweight quilt).

a-b-c

I definitely have baby-on-the-brain. :) I looked through an old issue of Martha Stewart Baby and found these alphabet inspirations. I definitely want to try to make an alphabet mirror or picture frame! Fun idea. The bottom one I found at a site online who had this unique vintage alphabet mirror.