The picture is from Bean Sprout's 20 week 2 day photoshoot. He was a lot more expressive during this one. The picture above shows him yawning with his hands around his head and the one below shows him smiling. I saw the PA, instead of Dr. Brody, and she took measurements of his head, tummy, leg, and arm, and determined that he is right where he should be. I am feeling him move around often, especially when I get up from sitting. He feels like he is sitting pretty low and he is starting to get kind of heavy...hopefully he won't fall out. In a week's time the official baby bump has debuted. It is seen with clothes on and I can't hide it at all. At work Friday my coworkers were noticing that they could see Bean Sprout. I had an emergency "Oh my gosh, my pants are too tight all of a sudden, and I don't have anything else clean" moment. A little MacGyver action with a rubber band fixed that problem..woohoo!
Last night we grilled out with our neighbors. They are absolutely awesome, and I can't wait to spend more time with both of them. And the icing on the cake--their little daughter is unbelievably adorable. She just may be a good candidate for Bean Sprout's first girlfriend :)
We started to work on BS's room and have put more thought into what we want in there. I knew that I wanted to get a glider/rocker chair of some sort but wanted to want to use it elsewhere in the house after it moved out of his room. For a couple of years, I have been interested in an Ikea chair, then I saw that there was a matching kid chair...it was meant to be. Sunday we made a trip to Ikea to get both chairs and they are both perfect. Although Jack really thinks that the little chair is for him. On other blogs I have seen where monthly pictures are taken of the baby sitting or lying in the same place to see watch him grow. His chair will be perfect for this.
19 weeks 2 days
Actually I lied about the most exciting part of 19 weeks. The most exciting part happened Sunday night while I was lying in bed. For two weeks now I have been concentrating on the movements in my tummy. I haven't really felt anything out of the norm, just the occasional muscle twitch or tummy rumbling. Dave and I have both been poking at my belly (we're already awful parents) trying to get Bean Sprout to play with us, but with no such luck. However, Sunday night Dave had his arm across my tummy and when he moved it I thought I felt something. A few seconds later I felt a little "pop" against my tummy. This was unlike anything I have felt before and it instantly made me grin from ear to ear. Since Sunday I have felt the fluttering that I have been hearing about, but only felt the kick once I am anxious to feel him again. I didn't realize that getting kicked would ever make me so happy.
My emotional state is changing; as much as I didn't want it to, there have been little changes here and there that make me less predictable than before. For example, I RARELY (if ever) cry during movies and I RARELY want to watch "chick flicks," but Sunday night I just had to watch He's Just Not That Into You and I finished it today and ended up crying at the end. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?!?! I understand the necessity of the physical changes, but why my emotions too? Hormones...ugh... Sometimes for "fun" I fake cry for stupid reasons, pre-pregnancy it was too obvious that it was fake, but today I made tears fall from my eyes. It was very convincing. I suppose I could use that to my benefit; but then again, I am not that conniving. (Dave says that I should add that he didn't like this very much and also says that I am not allowed to do again ;)
Next Tuesday should be quite an exciting day. In the afternoon I have my 20 week doctor's appointment and like usual I am excited about seeing how much Bean Sprout has grown in the ultrasound. I am very grateful that we have ultrasounds with every visit. Before having an OB I didn't realize the fortuity of getting to see our baby every few weeks, but now it's the most exciting part. I can't get the image of his little fingers out of my head from the last visit, and can't wait to see what new developments he's made. Tuesday evening we are grilling out with some new potential friends. I say potential because they may decide that we're too sarcastic or not funny or terrible cooks or any other possibility. "They" happen to live two houses down from us and we met briefly for the first time on Saturday. "They" also happen to be a young (I'm assuming around our age) couple with a baby daughter who will be one in October. We have seen them out and have meant to go out and introduce ourselves before now, but we're terrible neighbors and didn't ever do it. Our neighborhood is mainly older folks who have lived here for the last 20-40 years, so having a younger couple and built-in playmate for Bean Sprout is quite a blessing. I do hope that they like us.
I apologize for never adding pictures to my 17 week post, my photographer is slacking. I prefer taking the belly shots pre-dinner, so I am not showing off what I had to eat and just showing Bean Sprout. But I always "blog" after dinner while Dave does homework, so we haven't worked out a schedule for this yet. This said, I will make sure to get the picture taken and added tomorrow. UPDATE: I kept my word.
Dave trying out the baby carrier with Lucy, surprisingly she enjoyed it.
Dave and I aren't the only ones expecting right now. Dave's brother Joey and his wife Kim are due just days before us. We just found out that we're getting our first NEPHEW!!! It must be boy season. We are thrilled and can't wait to meet him. I grew up with a cousin close to my age that I was very close with, and I am glad that Bean Sprout will have a little buddy from birth. Side note: Bean Sprout is jealous that his cousin already has a name, and he is still without one .In other news, I was searching through flickr and I found another baby that I want. He's a baby marmoset and he is the cutest thing I have seen all day. 
There is a possibility that our child will look similar to this hairy creature, sans the tail and (hopefully) facial hair. I always joke that Dave and I are going to give birth to a baby caterpillar. We are both moderately hairy people. (This is possibly to much info to share) As a girl, I grew up embarrassed with my hairy arms and I also dealt with a tremendously thick head of hair. Dave is also pretty hairy, although I don't think he was ever shamed by his furry coat. On the bright side I haven't had much heartburn at all, which I hear is tied to the baby making his hair. So maybe will have a normal human looking baby, but that marmoset sure is adorable.
I am accustomed to being pregnant now, for the most part I have figured out how my body is going to act to certain things. I can't eat till it hurts anymore, because it hurts worse. I now eat little meals and then get hungry a couple of hours later. Sometimes I want to eat more than I should, but I know the feeling that follows and know I should avoid it. I rarely want sweets and recently I thought I wanted ice cream sandwiches, but now the idea of ice cream makes me feel slightly sick. Watermelon and apples are the exception to this sweet issue, I always want fruit. I have more energy than in my first trimester but I get tired more quickly than normal. Thankfully being 17 weeks pregnant isn't too out of the norm, there's not many surprises. I still don't really like being pregnant, and I still don't find it cute. I wish I could understand the women that love being pregnant but I just don't. I enjoyed my predictability pre-pregnancy, now it could change on a weekly basis.
My number one complaint about being pregnant is that I get hotter than normal. I knew this would happen, but I didn't know how bad it would be. It's only going to get hotter and I am only going to get bigger. Ugh. But when the weather gets tolerable and the sweaters come out, pregnancy will be over. Oh the irony makes me giggle.
Speaking of sweaters, we bought Bean Sprout his first cute little sweater. I never realized the effect that baby clothes would have on me. I had seen this sweater in Gap Kids prior to finding out the sex of BS, but there was no way I was going to pay the price on the tag for something only to fit for 3 months, but the cuteness of it almost brought tears to my eyes. This Sunday we ran into Gap Kids again, just for fun, and there it was, on the sale rack. The only 0-3 month one there, and to my delight had a much lower price tag. This was a sign that it would indeed be BS's first Thanksgiving sweater. Sunday ended up like Christmas for Bean Sprout, we had no intentions for this. We found our ideal stroller/infant seat set. I had to eat my words, because I said that I wouldn't buy anything from Babies R Us and I didn't want to own a travel system. I really should stop trying to predict my future. We went only to look and while we were looking at the strollers, Dave's eye was caught by a smaller lightweight one with a clearance tag. He pulled it down, we played around with it, and we were very impressed. It wasn't big at all and the seat leaned back further than the others in it's same class, had nice storage, and was easy to open and close. It also had flip up pieces on the side rails that we couldn't figure out a purpose for. I noticed a matching infant car seat on the clearance table and wondered if that had something to do with the unknown pieces. It did! The seat slide right on to those pieces and didn't add much bulk at all. This thing was great, exactly what we both wanted but didn't realize even existed. We hadn't planned on buying a stroller yet, and decided to go home to search the internet to compare prices. Turned out that this was a great deal on both, and the particular color was just being discontinued. It also has great safety ratings and got great user reviews. The deal was too good to let pass, so we now own a "travel system" from Babies R Us.
Our next doctor's visit is on June 23, and we'll be 20 weeks--the half way mark. Woohoo!!
*Pictures coming soon.
Summer is officially here. Normally I am not the biggest fan of Summer, this year is no exception. It has gotten hot already. The other day it was 91 degrees outside and 78 degrees inside my work. I really think my coworkers are secretly trying to kill me. I am trying to wear less and less to work, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. The only time I can really enjoy the heat is when I am near a cool body of water. Oh...I take that back. When I am at home there is a gorgeous pool staring right at me, but this pool belongs to my elderly neighbors and I have never ever seen anyone actually swimming in it. I have only seen Mr. Neighbor cleaning it, sometimes daily, but never swimming. This breaks my heart a little. Sometimes I think I hear the pool calling to me just to come over and feel the refreshment that it would provide, maybe that's just the voices in my head. Dave compares their pool to a formal parlor room in someone's house--the room that is always keep to the nines but that no one is allowed to actually sit or use. The jealousy from their pool makes me really really really want to go swimming. To add salt to my wound, I bought my first and only piece of maternity clothing so far--it was a maternity swim top.
This Sunday is our first wedding anniversary. We planned a last minute trip to leave town to just get away for the weekend. Dave was originally planning our anniversary festivities, but I busted his bubble when I found out that they were taking place at our house. My motivation to leave our house and to stay in a hotel is the pool. I need it to keep my sanity. His plan was really sweet and I felt guilty for ruining them, but we don't know when we'll be able to go out of town for fun next and thought we should take advantage of the opportunity. It will just be a little vacation but as long as there is a pool, Dave, our cake, and a bottle of sparkling grape juice, I think we'll have a great time.
Speaking of our anniversary, I CAN believe a year has gone by and I am surprised that so much has happened in the last 12 months. It has been a long year that has speed along at lightning fast speed. So much has happened this year; so much that I am very grateful for. Immediately following our wedding, we traveled outside of the country for the first time to the Dominican Republic. This was a fabulous trip and we had the best time, and it lit my fire for traveling. The August after our June wedding, we purchased our first home. At the time we had no idea that we were about to become homeowners, but we were both tired of our crappy little duplex with the series of bad neighbors, and I was tired of renting. We still have no regrets over our decision. The plan for our little house was to live here for 5-7 years and then move when we were ready to grow the family. Change of plans! Our first house will now be the home to our first child, and there are no regrets for that either. This year also involved Dave getting a nicer position at his long term job, which opened doors that we didn't realize would need opening. Dave also began working on his Masters degree. This means we don't have much free time together, but this will be such a benefit to carry to the future. The year has been full of blessings and I couldn't be more thankful. Over the past year my heart has been reconfirmed a million times that Dave was made for me, and for that, I am most grateful.
Today was the big day, the day which we were allowed to get excited, the day where we found out what we were "getting." Three weeks ago I didn't think that my heart was going to be able to make it three whole weeks without exploding. For three weeks I had to be open minded to the possibility of either a girl or a boy, and in the last couple of days of the last three weeks I lost my gut feeling telling me that there was a little boy in my tummy. But today...today God answered my prayers, today proved my gut right, and today I felt a joy like I didn't believe was possible. My Bean Sprout, my former "it," is a HE!!!
WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!!! Dave and I are both beyond excited, and can't wait to meet Mr. Bean Sprout.
The stars were aligned this weekend and it worked out perfectly that it was a holiday weekend. I was able to get some nice relaxation and rest in without having a ton of plans or obligations. I am not one to normally stress, but I need "down time" to be my normal stress-less self. I wasn't necessarily stressing over the gender of our baby, more just stressing over not knowing. Our weekend was full of good timing events. For instance, Saturday we napped until 8:30 and got up ready for dinner. I woke up thinking about going to Ghengis Grill which Dave doesn't really like, but agreed to. It was cold inside, so I wanted to sit outside and a little after our food came out fireworks went off and we had a perfect view from our table. That worked out great. We walked around downtown after we ate and then as soon as we got home, it rained like crazy. The nice weekend led to the niceness of today.
My appointment was at 2:30 and if I wouldn't have had to work today, I may have just showed up at the doctor's office as soon as they opened. As soon as Dr. Brody put the wand to my belly, Bean Sprout was in position to tell us that he is all boy. Today he wasn't nearly as squirmy as usual and (obviously) we saw more than we had seen in the other ultrasounds. We saw the chambers of the heart beating, individual fingers, the skull, and the boy parts. Dr. Brody said that he is 99% sure that he's a he, so I take that as enough to get super duper excited. I had a blood work taken to test for the risk of spina bifida and Downs Syndrome and we'll know if there is an increase risk of either in a week. More than I wanted a little boy, I want a healthy little baby. Hopefully he will be really healthy and really happy. 
(Click on the picture to enlarge)
Now that we have obtained the exciting news I will no longer live doctor's visit to doctor's visit. This should help time slow down. I cannot believe that we are already 4 months into this. It seems like just yesterday I was peeing on a stick. I want be able to enjoy this last Summer of just Dave and I (and the dogs). Although I am looking forward to having little Bean Sprout in the house (instead of in my tummy), I know that we'll be losing a freedom that we now have. Can't wait to see what the Summer has in store for us.
Today after our appointment we went to Target to do a little registering for Bean Sprout. Mainly I wanted to register so I could take some (more) time to look at all the cute baby things, and more specifically, only look at the little boy stuff. I was in cuteness overload, so I bought him his first little onesie thing.
That's Bean Sprout's bassinet filled with all of his stuff so far. It's an exciting thought to think of him playing with his stuffed animals, or reading his books, or sleeping in that bassinet. This will soon be much more than just a thought...
The four month mark is soon approaching, and 4.5 months will mean that we're half way to meeting Bean Sprout (and no longer being pregnant!). The doctor's appointment that I have been not so patiently awaiting is in one week! We're almost there. Hopefully my blood pressure hasn't risen from stress that I have caused myself over this. I have never wanted to go the doctor so badly in my life, it's funny what pregnancy does to a person.
Bean Sprout is starting to make my belly poke out a little more every day. Thankfully I still fit in my regular clothes. In some ways I am excited about maternity clothes, in other ways I am not the least bit excited about them. However, even though I fit in my regular clothes, I now do not need a belt. This is great because recently I developed a nickel allergy, in other words, I have become allergic to my belt. I had a little red rash below my belly button, where my belt would touch me when I bent at the waist. The solutions were few for tackling this allergy. I could either buy a belt with a sterling silver, gold, or platinum buckle, or use a rope. Or I could get a bigger waist, it's crazy how that worked out.
I think I stayed hot for 3 weeks straight...ewww. And the temperature was only in the 70s or low 80s. Can I hibernate through July and August this year? God showed me that he is looking out for me by sending chilly mornings and evenings this week. Thank you, I needed that. Now I just need 5 more months of chilly. Have I mentioned that I am normally hot natured? Now hot natured is way too under stated.
I can't get enough chicken flavored ramen noodles. I want them all the time, and that is all I have been wanting for lunch. If I eat something else for lunch, I'm dissatisfied with whatever I have had and still want ramen noodles. I don't want any other flavor, just plain ol' chicken. Normally I get very tired of eating the same thing all the time, now I would be happy with only eating ramen noodles and sweet tea. Weird.
Dave and I still have not decided on any boy names. This is becoming painful. He doesn't seem to like anything. Something in me, I am guessing hormones, is forcing me to pick out something quick. I am tired of thinking of names, but it's still a priority. To Dave, it is not a priority in the least, in his words, "it is the absolute lowest possible priority." This makes my hormones make me sad. I know that we have plenty of time, and forcing it will only cause Mr. Bean Sprout to have a name that I don't actually end up liking. Ugh...Ironically I have come up with several dog names that I would love to use with our future dogs, this helps me with nothing.
All this writing has worked up my appetite (for ramen noodles, or course).
I hope everyone had a very happy Mothers' Day. Our weekend was filled with fun and family. Saturday we went up to Dave's grandparents' for his Grandpa's 80th birthday. Thankfully the rain avoided us all day, although it was a little on the chilly side. The food was beyond tasty (as always); we had a cajun boil with shrimp, sausage, mussels, potatoes, carrots.....I have to stop--I am getting hungry just typing that. Sometimes I joke that I married Dave for his family's cooking, and sometimes I wonder how much of a joke that actually is. The family is growing and growing, every time we go up there it seems like we meet a new cousin (normally babies). It's nice knowing that our bean sprout won't have a shortage of playmates. The girl cousins out number the boys so I really really hope we are able to help the ratio. While we were there I realized that I cannot remember the last time that I held an infant, let alone a newborn. I don't even recall holding my niece when she was really little. OH NO! I am more unexperienced than I realized. I expressed my fear to my sister-in-law, Jo Ann, of how I am terrified of dropping little bean sprout. She says that I'll be fine, but I am not sure I believe her. Maybe I should find a place where newborns hang out and practice. Where might a place like this be? Hopefully my instincts will kick in when I need them to.
CORRECTION: I have been corrected. Jo Ann sent me a picture of me holding my niece, Katie, at 1 month old. And she didn't remind me that I dropped her or anything. Maybe I can do this!!!
Sunday was lots of fun too. My mom and my little brother came over and spent the afternoon. I like cooking for my mom since she doesn't cook (sorry I'm telling on you), so I think it's nice to provide a nice home cooked meal for her (and myself). Normally Dave helps me cook but I ended up doing this whole meal on my own. I baked salmon in lime and butter, made couscous with tomatoes, zucchini, feta cheese, and green onions, and made some tasty cole slaw with lime. I found a recipe online but made my own alterations too. Culinary comfort is something that I am slowly acquiring, but it's a skill I can't wait to master. I was a little proud of myself for creating such a tasty and attractive meal. Before and after we ate we all played Pictionary Man, which I really enjoy. I consider myself semi-creative but I think I stole any artistic genes that my brother may have had any chance at. He's a lot of fun to watch.
Even though we didn't have much time to slow down this weekend, I had the most fabulous time. With Bean Sprout on the way, family is taking on a whole new and bigger meaning for me. I am so thankful that we have loving and super supportive families. It's making this process much more comfortable and super exciting.
Speaking of Bean Sprout, I am dying to know what he or she really is. I am really trying my best to not get excited about it, but how in the world am I not supposed to?!? Maybe if Dr. Brody would have said that our odds of a boy were 50% (instead of 80%) then I wouldn't have been inclined to freak out on the inside. Boy clothes are looking cuter and cuter and I am doing everything I can to not get just one outfit or toy or socks. I have to tell myself that I only have 2 weeks--only 14 days until we really know, but it seems like so far away. tick tock, tick tock. I am still not having much luck in the name department. I am pretty sure that I have a first name in mind, but can't find a middle name that sticks. (And I am getting a little exhausted of names) For some reason I feel like I need to have a name picked out by my next appointment. It's the only thing I feel rushed for, but I don't know why.
Bloggy stuff:
I have been playing around with the settings on my little blog and I made a change where ANYONE can comment. You don't have to have a blog or google account, you'll just show up anonymous if you don't. So feel free to tell me ANYTHING, this is my source for getting advice and whatnot, so I want to know what you have to say.
I also made a widget of my favorite etsy stuff. If you're not familiar with etsy, it's awesome. It's a site of handmade items that are sold by the artist/crafter. You can find everything on there, and I like knowing that I am supporting the art or craft. A lot of the sellers on there are stay-at-home moms (and inspirations to me). Maybe soon I'll get some of my creations back on there.
That is me and Bean Sprout at 13 weeks and 2 days. Jack was properly posing for the picture too. I plan on making these a series to make my growing belly less painful and more memorable. On other sites I have enjoyed the belly pictures so I decided to do them for myself and I will add a little of what I have been experiencing.
At 13 weeks:
- I have had one craving: Bojangles sweet tea, this is something that I should be avoiding but instead I feel as though I can't live without it.
- I am doing ridiculous things: I have ran into several door frames. The other day when meaning to turn my windshield wipers off, I turned the whole car off. I forgot an entire 5 minute conversation at work about balancing my drawer and after balancing my drawer, I asked the lady how I was going to get this done. She got a good laugh out of my amnesia.
- I have the energy that I have been wishing for the last however many weeks. I still like naps but my survival doesn't depend on them.
- I have stopped taking those hormones which felt like they were sucking the life out of me and I now know that the baby is fine and developing normally.
- My point of view is becoming more motherly and lounge pants and baggy tee shirts have never felt so comfortable.
The picture is from Bean Sprout's 20 week 2 day photoshoot. He was a lot more expressive during this one. The picture above shows him yawning with his hands around his head and the one below shows him smiling. I saw the PA, instead of Dr. Brody, and she took measurements of his head, tummy, leg, and arm, and determined that he is right where he should be. I am feeling him move around often, especially when I get up from sitting. He feels like he is sitting pretty low and he is starting to get kind of heavy...hopefully he won't fall out. In a week's time the official baby bump has debuted. It is seen with clothes on and I can't hide it at all. At work Friday my coworkers were noticing that they could see Bean Sprout. I had an emergency "Oh my gosh, my pants are too tight all of a sudden, and I don't have anything else clean" moment. A little MacGyver action with a rubber band fixed that problem..woohoo!
