28 weeks

We're 28 weeks and how time has flown :) our little peanut is becoming more and more active by the day (and bigger and bigger by the day, too!). The nursery's almost done, the house is almost put back together, school is going well and I'm just a few short weeks away from graduation, and Mike is loving his job. Life is good.

Looking back, it seems like just yesterday I came out of that bathroom with a pee-stick in my hand and a big dopey grin on my face, and Mike's eyes lit up all stupid-like. And now we have a little baby on the way, not just our little blob anymore. He has tiny little hands, little footprints, and is blinking his eyes and listening to us sing him lullabies every night (our favorite: "Godspeed" by the Dixie Chicks). Mike is a particularly good lullaby-singer, probably from all the practice he got when we first brought Cooper home :)

So what are we doing these days? Taking it one day at a time, really. This past weekend my mom threw us a beautiful fall-themed shower, with pumpkin cupcakes and hot apple cider and enough food to feed five thousand. We got a super cute bedding set, a rock n' play, baby clothes galore, Packer attire, toys and books and breastfeeding supplies, diapers and so much more. And, my amazing friends from nursing school were also kind enough to throw me another little baby shower where they gave us the most adorable whale bathtub ever, filled with a million things bathtime. SO cute. And we still have one more shower to go from Mike's side too! We're anxiously anticipating the holidays, as this year we have a few extra things to be thankful for, of course, and one of those things just happens to be scheduled to come and bless us shortly after the holidays. And what better gift could we possibly have ever hoped for this holiday season?

26 weeks

26 weeks

One week away from the third trimester, and I can NOT believe where the time went! I can't believe we're on our final stretch before getting to finally meet our little pumpkin! We are SO excited! Lately it's getting harder and harder to stay focused on school and work, and becoming easier to focus on what little crafty thing I can make, sew, or paint next for Baby or what meals to freeze for my crockpot/freezer meal endeavor. It's also becoming harder to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time... nothing to do with my tummy (yet), but rather, this little boy's kicks every night starting around 9pm and lasting until 2 or 3am. Really, honey? Really? We're going to start this already?

I suppose I can't complain though, this little boy reminds me every few minutes that he's there, alive and well. It's gotten to the point now that Mike can feel him when we're snuggling, and he'll talk to him and try to calm him down for me. And believe it or not, it works. Mike's going to be a very good Daddy, I can see it already. He's a professional baby-whisperer and our little one hasn't even arrived yet. Here's hoping his techniques continue long after our sweet little guy arrives, since that baby-whispering will come in handy those first few months. At least for me :)

Speaking of Mike's baby whispering skills... it looks like we are definitely going to need them. Our little boy is already very quickly developing an personality (attitude), as was stated by our doctor, sonographer, and very obviously, Mike and myself. Last week, Mike and I had to stop in at the hospital for one last ultrasound to get some pictures of the little guy's heart, as he tends not to cooperate well when in the spotlight. And, once again, he did not want to cooperate. He was sucking (and by sucking, I mean pretty much consuming) his thumb to the point at which I was 99% confident if he didn't already have his Daddy's thumb-nubs, he will by the time he's born. The sonographer had to push and jab on my tummy for a good 10-15 minutes again just to get him to move his arm to see his heart. And what does he do when he finally lets go of that thumb for the sonographer? Why, he simply resorts to his other thumb. Down comes one hand, and up goes the other, straight to his lips. All caught on camera. Yes, my 26 week-old already is quite aware of his own self. The sonographer was very impressed. I simply saw it as a warning. I can see where this is going already... he's going to be just like his Daddy. Boy am I going to have my hands full!

So what else is new? Bathroom's done! Well, not the walls... we still need to finish caulking and painting... but Mike amazingly, as usual, replaced the plumbing and fixed the shower valves, soldered the pipes, installed the new shower, surround, soaker tub, and flooring, installed all new insulation (including inside the tub so my baths will stay nice and warm!) and made it functional and wonderful, and I can finally shower again in my own bathroom! And the best part: we saved WAY more money than we spent, thanks to a bunch of sales and Mike's amazing DIY abilities. Not to mention, what material science engineer doesn't like knocking down walls, taking things apart, and soldering pipes together? :) So Mike got some fun out of it, too. Oh, and the soaker tub... a thousand times better than the old 14" baby blue steel tub that said on the bottom of it was installed May 27, 1953. Clearly it was time for an upgrade.

On our agenda for these next few weeks? 

• Planning our "baby-moon"
• Mike's last hunting trip before the kiddo arrives
• Collecting foods to make our freezer meals (because our chest freezer we recently bought is a total dream!)
• Finishing up Christmas shopping

Notice how there isn't any house stuff on there? Notice how that's all FUN stuff? That's because we're DONE! Well, certainly not done done, but we are done with our "home improvement" projects that we set out to finish prior to our Baby's arrival. Kitchen, bath, laundry, and baby room: we did it! And it feels SO good to not have to think about that now. I'm not even mention our planned projects for next year, simply because they're just cosmetic and simple, and so not necessary to think about now :) The joys of accomplishment! Next week we hit the third trimester. And I can not wait!

Birthdays & Beehives

Yesterday, for my birthday, we had our ducts cleaned. As those of you who are married probably have already realized, general improvements to the quality of your life/living situation are often times some of he best presents you could possibly ask for. So when Mike asked me this year "Is there anything in particular you want for your birthday?" My response was, "Yes! LET'S GET THE DUCTS CLEANED!" Yes, folks, my life is that stimulating. Keep your pants on.

Now, that certainly didn't stop Mike from being the sweetheart that he is, and waking up early to buy me flowers and have the house decorated and balloons waiting in the kitchen for my birthday. It also didn't stop him from buying me the shoes I'd been dying for (don't get too excited- they were just a pair of b.o.c. clogs that are super comfy) and taking me out to dinner at The Melting Pot. But let's face it: the little perks of married life are those things that add quality and contentment, and just a general feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction, to the every day. So, that's what we did. We had our ducts cleaned. 

Let me start out by saying, our decision to have our ducts cleaned was the result of some very important factors:

• Our house is 60+ years old
• We have two dogs, one of whom refuses to keep his coat on.
• We have a baby coming.
• We started having a LOT of dust build-up.
• We've been doing a LOT of remodeling, and some of the ducts were getting noticeably dirtier.

That being said, we decided this had to get done. Notice how I didn't mention reasons concerning any beehives in there? Yes, I said beehives. That's because when making this decision, we weren't aware that there was a massive, 12" by 15" beehive hiding in the air supply duct of our master bedroom, about 3 feet below the vent. I was informed of this, and shown it, by the workers as they went through our home. Their response: "Yeah, seeing a hive that big in a supply vent... that's a first." Oh good! Glad I could add some uniqueness to your day! 

Granted, the bees were long gone and the hive was very obviously years old (alas, all the honey was gone), but the presence of said massive hive explains why our bedroom refused to warm up in the winters and cool down in the summers.Good to know, right? Even better to know AFTER it's been removed. Glad I never looked down that air vent before... I probably would've had a mild stroke. Thank goodness we had this done before our little boy arrives.

So now that that's over, what else is new? Well, for starters, I started gaining weight. My doctor is VERY happy about that. I've officially hit 12 pounds up- a far cry from the 50+ I was terrified of. So far, I'm doing alright, and our little one is doing an excellent job of staying on track too. As some of you might know, Mike was slightly chunky, and I'm not exactly keen on the idea of pushing out a 9+ pound baby, so I've been very much so attempting to prevent that from happening by eating healthy and staying active.

Otherwise, things are relatively decent around here. We are on the verge of finishing the master bathroom and my basement laundry & sewing/crafting area. What a beauty it will be to shower in my own bathroom again! It's a good thing I'm not pregnant or anything, or this would be even more inconvenient... oh wait.

24 weeks down, 16 to go!

bad picture... but, 24 week bump!

The semester's begun, Mike and I have become ridiculously busy, and of course, I missed the 22 week post and now am 24 weeks. But apparently not much has changed between 22 and 24 weeks, seeing as I lost weight again and have now managed to gain a total of 3 lbs for this entire pregnancy. Yes. I'm 6 months pregnant, and I've gained 3 lbs. No, it does not look like 3 lbs. I look like I've gained WAY more. But I haven't had to suffer any stretch marks yet, and that's definitely a major blessing. This little boy has been very kind to me thus far, I must say, other than the most absurd kicking attacks ever right when I'm going to bed.

Life is starting to settle into a routine for us again, which has helped take some of the stress away. Our friends and family have been completely wonderful, too, to say the least. A couple weeks ago, our amazing friends Rebecca & Paul came over, and Paul was sweet enough to bring me a big bouquet of "mommy-to-be" sunflowers! Seriously, could we ask for sweeter people in our lives? 

This last week, we finally got the chest freezer we've been meaning to get forever. We decided to take some of the stress off of the first few weeks after baby arrives, and make freezer dinner & crockpot meals ahead of time so there's one less thing for us to think about during the first 6 weeks of our little guy's life (seriously, who wants to cook right after baby's born?!). There's so many pinterest recipes out there I don't know how we're going to pick which ones to make! We're also excited to have the best freezer to make our own baby food next year. We'll just have to experiment once he's here and eating baby food and find out what this little guy likes before we make too much :)

It's a...

BOY!

We are so ridiculously happy, excited, overjoyed, and super surprised to announce... It's a BOY! 

Watch Us Find Out by Clicking Here!

Blue frosting!

We still are trying to convince ourselves now that it's real, but our little pumpkin is a boy! Most of you already knew we were hoping for a boy first (mainly because we love the idea of an oldest brother to the rest of our little ones) but of course we would have been so happy either way. For some reason, I was absolutely convinced it was a girl from the beginning, even though I'd hoped for a boy first, while everyone else (literally, everyone) was convinced it was a boy. So when I bit into the cupcake and saw that blue frosting, my eyes were pretty big (understatement of the year) and literally filled with tears of happiness and total shock. I couldn't (still can't!) believe we have a little boy on the way! I'm pretty sure someone caught the wide-eyed look I got on camera :) Mike of course jumped up and down with happiness and keep saying "It's a BOY!?!?" with crumbs and frosting spewing out his mouth over and over, and I managed to throw frosting at myself when I jumped with happiness, so it was quite a fun surprise. He is SO excited he's going to have a little guy to take sailing and hunting and camping and fishing and all the manly things men must do. I'll be honest, I'm excited I get to stay the only girl of this household for a little while longer too :) I'll probably eat my words once I get peed on a couple times, have to pull bugs out of his ear or come home to our little guy and the two dogs doused in mud. But for now, I am very VERY much so looking forward to this new adventure in being mommy to two crazy dogs and a little trouble-maker (and we all know that's exactly what he'll be). We both feel so incredibly blessed and surrounded by an incredible amount of love. 

Getting ready for cupcakes!

For anyone who does plan to find out the gender of a baby in their future prior to birth, now speaking from experience Mike and I both would say we HIGHLY recommend doing a Gender Reveal party! We knew the idea of a gender reveal party was a fairly new development (only in the last few years or so), so we decided to try it. And we had such a fun time and it was so wonderful to find out such an exciting part of our future while surrounded by our family and friends. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! Each one of you made us feel so special yesterday, we truly are grateful our little boy will be coming into a world of family and friends who so obviously care and love us dearly us. We could not ask for a more amazing group of family and friends. We know many of our family members couldn't make it and we missed every single one of you there, but just know you were in our hearts all day and we couldn't wait to tell you and send our hugs and thank you's for all your support from far away :)

Now for the exciting part- planning and decorating and getting to refer to him as a "he" and no longer "Baby" or "It"! Holy beans, this baby suddenly has turned from a little stranger who kicks me every 5 minutes throughout the night into a little boy we get to dream about and soon meet, and who we're now hypothesizing to become a national soccer star by the time he's 5 years old! Watch out Target and Babies R Us baby aisles! (Or more accurately... watch out Mandy's wallet!). Here's a photo from our 3D ultrasound at 19ish weeks that we got because he wasn't cooperating, hehe :) Look at his little nose and lips!

Halfway!

20 weeks along!

20 weeks, we're halfway there! This week we had our gender ultrasound, so now my Mom and Mike's mom know whether we are having a little boy or little girl! And it is absolutely KILLING us to not know... Only 6 more days, but seriously, it's painful to walk into our sweet little nursery and know Oma & Opa and Grandma know, but not us. Ugh, WHY did we do this to ourselves?! Oh well, the suspense will make it that much more fun and exciting when we do get to find out :)

I did manage to gain a pound this week, finally, right before losing it again. Granted, I'm certainly not going to complain about not gaining weight- I'm perfectly fine with expanding and staying right where I am as long as baby's ok (which he/she is- measuring a big ole 10oz on the ultrasound day! right on schedule). Though I definitely am WAY bigger. Maternity jeans are seriously my new best friend. I went to town sewing some stretch fabric into the sides of my uniform scrubs for when my tummy refuses to cooperate any longer, but for now I'm doing ok *fingers crossed.* I figured spending the $6 for nice stretch fabric versus paying $23 per top for new scrub tops I'm going to only wear one more semester was dopey. Once again, my sewing machine saved the day!

At the ultrasound this week we saw Baby was lying transverse- as he/she was at 12 weeks. And Baby has also made it blatantly obvious that he/she has no intent on moving anytime soon. The sonographer basically had me do a mixture of the macarena mixed with the hokey-pokey to try to get this little one to flip for the camera, but alas, this Baby is determined to remain a side sleeper for the time being. Transverse position is not a problem, and actually is very common, prior to 30 weeks. Chances are baby will be bouncing around in there until then; however at 30 weeks, if baby remains transverse, chances are I'm going to have to get down with the macarena/hokey-pokey again. Or mostly just some specialized yoga.

This week we put up the window drapes in the nursery and Mike put the crib together (it's so cute!) just because we couldn't wait any longer. I mean, it was just sitting in there taunting us... we couldn't help it! And 

This week I found a little questionnaire in my mommy-to-be inbox that I figured would be fun to record some of the stuff that we're feeling right now.

What I really miss: Strongbow. Honestly, now that fall is coming hard cider is ALL I can think about. And everyone is drinking it whenever we go out. Ugh. Looks like it's going to be lots of sparkling cider this fall for this girl!

What I don't miss: Well, in short, trying to not get pregnant. 

What I really enjoy: Having two men follow me around Petco with our dog food bags since I can't carry them :) it's fun to experience chivalry from strangers in an era during which it has pretty much become non-existent.

What I really don't enjoy: The fear of waking up one day with pool noodles for ankles. So far so good.

What I'm most excited for: Our gender reveal party this weekend! We're going to find out if baby's going to be a boy or a girl!

What I'm not excited for:  Bundling up... I wonder if there will be any job postings for a Michelin Man impersonator...

Food I'm craving these days: Water. Is that a craving? I feel like  I could drink a gallon and still feel dehydrated.

Food  I can't handle these days: Nothing, I eat anything. I'm the most boring pregnant girl ever.

Any problems: Headaches. Bad, baaaad headaches. My only complaint (other than losing half my wardrobe).

Something that has surprised me: How nice it is to always feel like I have a little comrade tagging along wherever I go. That, and how freaking strong this little one's legs are. My poor left side :(

Something that has exceeded my expectations: My amazing husband. Mike is without a doubt going to be the most wonderful Daddy ever :) and he never ceases to totally spoil me rotten and shower me with hugs and kisses and foot rubs and flowers and chips and milk.

18 weeks and BIG

18 weeks, we're ALMOST to gender ultrasound time. Mike and I are getting so so excited :) not so excited to keep a blindfold on the whole time, but excited to find out at our gender reveal party on Sept 7th if Baby will be a boy or a girl! Our moms will be coming with us to the ultrasound to find out for us what Baby will be, but have been sworn into secrecy until the party. It should be really fun, and we've had a fun time getting things together and not so much fun cleaning the house little by little. Hopefully it will be beautiful weather that day for us to hang out in the backyard and grill out and play yard games and just relax as the summer comes to an end. 

Probably the weirdest thing going on right now, is that I still weigh less than I did before I got pregnant. Some of you know, I lost over 10lbs at the beginning (for no reason, seriously, I never even got sick), and have been slowly gaining it back, but haven't reached my pre-pregnancy weight yet, which is bizarre with how much I eat. And still no cravings, no aversions, no pickles and ice cream like Mike was expecting :) just eating more often and more wholeful foods. For those that have been in our garden, you know we had an overload of kale, broccoli, and green leaf lettuce this year, and lets not even get started on the five million zucchinis (we had to get real creative with zucchini recipes this year), so luckily I've had a lot of easy access to fresh greens and veggies. And monster tomato plants. Which has been wonderful :) here's hoping next year is as awesome so we can make lots of home-made baby food! (We registered for a baby-food processor, which we're both super excited for)

On Monday, August 12th at 8:45ish in the morning, I felt baby for the first time! It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me jump as I was standing there doing the dishes in the kitchen, and Cooper jumped too (since he has this constant need to be right behind me at all times). I had no idea what it was at first, it felt like a poke from the inside out right by my belly button, and I haven't felt it like that since- its mostly been flutters and zings since that first one. But lo and behold, there really is a little one in there! :) I called Mike right away at work and of course the first thing he did when he came home was grab my belly and stand there waiting, but of course Baby isn't exactly a soccer athlete quite yet, so he didn't get to feel anything. Hopefully in these next few weeks, he'll get to feel baby kick and be just as weirded out and giddy as I was :) apparently we were both kickers, so I'll probably be a pretty big kicker.

Mike and I ALSO found out this week two of our cousins had their babies recently! Congratulations Megan & Matt on your beautiful baby boy, and Liz & Keith on your precious baby girl! In the next month or so, one of Mike's best friends Adam and his wife Staci are due to have their little baby boy too, and we can't wait to meet him! So many babies :) seriously, there's nothing better than baby overload (except for baby AND puppy overload!)

16 weeks

Apparently hitting the second trimester shot Mike and I into super-productive mode, mainly meaning, we went nuts on our house and preparing for baby.

The Garden

We had discussed building a garden last summer already, but didn't get much further than a few tomato and pepper plants. This year, with a baby on the way, we decided we'd build our garden (as much as we could do for now) so it would be ready for next summer, when Baby is going to be already 5-6 months old and we won't have much time for building anymore.We started with a flat plot of the backyard which once was a garden but had become overtaken by thistles, an invasive species of oregano, and other weeds. We tilled the entire plot last fall and laid weed killer. This spring, Mike retilled the plot, built the beds, and laid weed blankets and chips down in addition to grading the soil for proper drainage. And, voila! End result is a beautiful, delicious garden of arugula, red and green leaf lettuce, kale, broccoli, bell peppers, hot peppers, jalapeno peppers, beekfsteak, roma, and cherry tomatos, zucchini, and cucumbers. We did have carrots and spinach, but we also had a bunny nest that turned up about 8 feet from the garden before we got to placing a fence, so alas, the spinach and carrots did not make it. Oh well, next year!

The Kitchen

So happy to say- we are ALMOST done with our kitchen! Just a few more finishing touches and we're done. We decided to wait on installing the island since we'll be doing the upstairs bathroom yet this month so it's done before it's cold and before the baby comes. But we just can't believe how far we've come, and how beautiful it looks (all thanks to Mike!). For those who weren't aware, Mike made us new cabinets (yes, he actually built the frames and the doors, all with his own two hands and a lot of sawing and routing and noise), tore out the closet and wall and moved the refrigerator to an opposite wall, installed new counters, redid ALL of the electrical (the only original electrical in our kitchen now is our ceiling light), redid ALL of the plumbing, re-routed the dishwasher and installed a garbage disposal, installed undermount lighting in all the cabinets, and installed a wine rack in one of the cabinets. In short- I am AMAZED. And so, so grateful I've got him. Once it's all done, we'll put up pictures. For now, a preview of my husband's epic wood-working skills. It only took us 5 months!

The Stairs

Once again, the Restore was our best friend. The store only accepts new carpeting as donations, and the morning I stopped there they just happened to get a new donation from the local carpet store here for left-over carpeting. And, lucky for me, I found a big 90 sq ft roll of new carpeting in the perfect color for the basement stairs for $20! Yay!

The Nursery

Bisselled the carpeting, painted the walls, decorated with trees and a treehouse with a little black lantern, and it's any baby's dream :) Seriously, we love it. We can't show it to you just yet because it isn't quite done, but it will be soon. Since I have class until December and Baby's due in January, we wanted to get these things done nice and early to avoid having any unnecessary stress later and during the holidays. Speaking of the holidays...

Christmas gifts

I had this incredible epiphany about a month ago while doing the dishes. I was standing there cleaning in our kitchen, thinking about how much more room we'll have to function in our kitchen this holiday season, when all of a sudden it hit me: "Holy beans, I'm term on Christmas Day."

In case you're confused (and most people are) by the difference between my term date (12/25) and my due date (1/14-16), here's a quick explanation:

Babies are considered medically sound, or "term," at 37 weeks. This mainly references the development of the baby's lungs- the last big thing to get done producing the appropriate amount of surfactant ("lung lubricant") and function properly in preparation for birth. Most babies are born between 37-40 weeks, though some might be a little earlier (34 weeks is the actual point when the lungs are done developing, but still not done producing surfactant or learning how to function), or a little later (40 weeks is considered the norm).

A baby's due date is based on the calculation of 40 weeks from the mother's last menstrual period, though conception does not occur until approximately 2 weeks following that initial point. This being said, while an entire pregnancy "cycle" is 40 weeks long, an actual pregnancy, from conception to birth, is approximately 38 weeks long. For medical purposes and because it is deemed more accurate, doctors, nurses, midwives, etc. use the 40-week menstruation-to-birth reference to date pregnancies, though you weren't actually pregnant for the whole 40 weeks.

This being said, hitting my term date on Christmas Day sets me up for a slight bit of inconvenience regarding Christmas-gift purchases. I mean, let's be fair, would a tired, caffeine-deprived hippo on the verge of exploding do well in an over-packed mall of crazy shoppers? Probably not. So Mike and I decided to do the online approach this year, and managed to get all of our Christmas shopping done already :) Not to mention, shopping online is WAY more fun when it comes to finding more unique, fun, and interesting gifts in comparison finding generic things in the store. So there we go: one less thing to cross off our list.

In other news, this past week I had the pleasure of having my first stranger comment on my bump! YES! Sortof... it more or less went something like this...

16 week bump

Cashier: "Honey, do you need help taking your bags out to the car?"

Me: "Oh, no, I think I've got it?" (it didn't really occur to me why someone would ask this since no one has before)

Cashier: "Are you sure? You don't wanna twist the wrong way, it could really mess things up for baby." 

*awkward pause*

Cashier: "...you are pregnant, right? Shoot, I'm sorry..."

Me: "Oh! Yes!"

Cashier: "You're pregnant or you need help with your bags?"

Me: "Oh, yes, I'm pregnant, and I think I'm ok with the bags."

Cashier: "I KNEW IT! HOORAH! PRAISE THA LORD! That is just SPLENDID! How many months are you? Is it a boy or a girl?" (yes, the cashier at Lowe's really went crazy over my being pregnant)

*long stupid pause... what's 16ish weeks into months? crap...*

Me: "Oh, ummm, four? And I don't know yet."

Cashier: "Well ain't that clever! Well, you have a nice day there, honey! Pretty soon you gonna need help with them bags!"

So there it is. A random lady at the hardware store noticed my bump. I am officially pregnant on the outside! Or it may be due to the fact that Mike and I have been to Lowe's almost every day for the past 2 weeks buying or returning items we need or things we found around the house we never used (trust me, it's very awkward when the cashiers know your name). I have yet to have anyone at work notice, or say they've noticed, but that might be due to the fact that 1) I wear surgical scrubs to work, meaning I basically look like a bag of potatoes anyway, and 2) they may just think I'm eating too many donuts on my days off and don't want to say anything. I can respect that. The longer I can go without anyone acknowledging it, the better off I'll feel.

Other than that we are doing great and really enjoying the progress we made on our house, preparing for Baby, getting ready for fall and school and the holidays. Soon I'll be back into the swing of things for my last clinical practicum (in Labor & Delivery, the NICU, Mom & Baby and the Women's Clinic) and can't wait! 

Gender Prediction!

As many of you might have heard, there are quite a few myths (or are they...) out there regarding how to predict prior to the 20 week ultrasound whether you are having a boy or a girl. Below we have listed a few tales, as well as those tests based on medical research (for Mandy's sake, of course) and Mandy will be answering them in accordance to her pregnancy, BEFORE she finds out if it's a boy or girl, at our Gender Reveal in September! Should be a pretty fun and exciting time to hear just how applicable, and accurate, some of these could be!

Old Wive's Tales

Heart rate 140-160 or 120-140?

Cravings are sweet or salty?
Emotions: Moody or Happy?
Had morning sickness: Yes or No?
Is your skin Soft or Dry?
Side you sleep on: Right or Left?
More headaches than usual: No or Yes?
More Clumsy during this pregnancy? No or Yes?
Mom is carrying: High or Low?
Dad's weight during this pregnancy:  No Change/Lost Weight or Gained weight?
Mom's feet during this pregnancy: No change or Feel colder than usual?
It is obvious to tell you are pregnant from the back: Yes or No?
Summation prediction (Age at conception + Number of Month of Conception): Odd or Even?
Mayan Calendar states Mom's Age & Year of Conception: _______?
Chinese Calendar concerning Mom's Age & Month of Conception: ________?
Needle Test: __________?
Wedding Ring Test: _________?

Tests Based on Medical Research
6-8 week Placental Placement:  Left Lateral or Right Lateral?
12 week Nub test: 180° or 30-60°?
12 week Skull Theory:  Flattened or Prominent?

Oh Baby...

Who would've thought a 4-5 inch long little baby could make your stomach look so darn big?! I have not gained a pound (yet), and somehow my tummy decided it was finally going to look pregnant. I'm thankful- no more of that silly muffin-top looking thing going on, now it's all in the front (boy, maybe?). I've been having a lot of fun painting our nursery, and it's really coming along quite nicely. Birch tree, oak tree, little tiny maple... soon it will turn into a little wilderness or an enchanted forest. The little tree house that was present when we bought the house is becoming cuter and cuter as the nursery comes along. A little lantern, a nook for reading bedtime stories, and shelves lined with books. We've been collecting children's books for a while now... potentially since before we got married, just because we see reading as such a marvelous source of imagination and wonder in a child's life.

Something we also did this week- register! And let me just say, registering for a baby is a thousand times more overwhelming than registering for a wedding. Luckily, Mike and I had a lot of great input from our doctors, friends, family, and did a lot ("a lot" is really an understatement) as to the must-have's and don't-need's for baby. And we STILL had a hard time deciding... do we register for high chair that attaches to any chair with a back, or do we get a fold-away stand-alone high chair? Nevermind the high chairs that they now make that attack directly to the table, and the baby looks like it floating in mid-air. Is that even safe?

I personally never knew just how much it helped to have had experience through my work for child safety and what an infant and toddler does and does not need. Sound spa? Yes please! Mesh container for bottles to go in the dishwasher? Oh yeah! Adorable little outfit with bumblebees on it... I'm sure we're going to get one regardless :) After an hour just at Babies R' Us alone, we decided we'll come back in a bit to go crazy again. Mike had WAY too much fun pushing all the different types of strollers around the store. And the weird part was, no one even gave him a second glance. Nevermind the baby toys and building blocks aisle... I decided it was time to go home when Mike started asking about a demo for the breast pump. Not today, sweetie!

Overall, planning for a little one is probably the most joyful, exciting, and terrifying experience we've ever experienced. We love it, have done hours of research into all the five star rated, crash tested, mother approved gizmos and gadgets, and yet have no idea what we're doing. Have a suggestion? Email it to us! Comment here! Tell us something you loved or hated having when you were figuring out what worked and what didn't. We would LOVE your input! There's no one better than family and friends to help us survive this beautiful whirlwind :)

Oh hello, 2nd trimester!

First trimester: done! And I can't believe how fast that went! Other than a scent aversion to magnolias and some mild dizziness when I got dehydrated, I feel extremely blessed to say: that wasn't bad! We were able to have an amazing time on our trip and, other than not getting to enjoy my favorite glass of wine when we'd go out to dinner, we got to enjoy everything we wanted to without complications :) I did have plenty of virgin piña coladas while down there tho. Yum! And somehow I still managed to lose almost 8lbs over vacation. Don't ask, I don't know. Probably because we were biking and hiking and swimming and walking a lot every day. But doctor says I'm fine, so no worries for now.

Mike and I went in for our first trimester screening this past week and got our 12 week ultrasound: and Baby now really looks like a baby! Eee! 

We were amazed (Mike's jaw literally dropped) by how much Baby has grown in just a month! He/she was sleeping when we first arrived (jealous... we were there at 6:55am, I should've been sleeping too!), but once the sonographer started pushing on my tummy it woke right up and started kicking it's feet like crazy and decided to do a big stretch (or wave:) for us (and for those wondering- nope, no kicks yet, you can't feel that until about 16-18 weeks). And they said by the looks of it, Baby is two days ahead of the game right now for growing, but that number can move back and forth throughout the pregnancy. But who doesn't want to hear their kids ahead of the game before they're even born? What a champ! So we had a blast watching the baby wake up for a couple minutes then go back to sleep. Now it's starting to sink in :) that, and my shorts are getting very, very uncomfortable.

Other than that, we're welcoming the 2nd trimester and praying it goes as smoothly as the first! We'll be welcoming the 3rd trimester in October :) 

Hiking. Pregnant.

Not to self: if you're going to go find a waterfall in the middle of a national forest while pregnant, take note of the difficulty of the trail  before you're halfway down the trail. 

Not one of our finer moments, but when you plug directions into your iPhone and it tells you the only way to the trail is to "park your car and walk 1 mile to trailhead," and it's all you can get before you totally lose all reception, well, that's what you do. 

So, out we went. One and a half miles into the hike, Mike pauses and asks me "Did you know this hike is rated difficult/challenging?"

Um, no. If I did, I wouldn't be standing here in my flip flops. "Where did you read that?"

"It was posted on the little map at the trailhead. It also said there was a road we could've driven to get to the falls instead of  hiking. Or we could've stopped at this rest site with the car and then walked instead."

Silence.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" I puffed. (if you've had pregnancy exhaustion, and can appreciate that I honestly only go legit hiking every couple months and rarely in 95+ degrees, you can probably understand that my face looked something like a mix between Violet Beauregarde and a beefsteak tomato).

"I'm sorry... I thought you knew."

Nope.

But on we went. I wasn't about to stop now, I already felt like I was going to die, and turning around and just hiking right back up the cliffs would be a thousand times worse. So, 4 miles later, I was very ready to head back to the pool. And probably just spend the night on my floatie there with an oxygen mask on, too.

The almost 70 foot high Brandywine Falls was beautiful, though, and well worth the hike. I highly recommend a visit to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park if you ever happen upon Ohio, though as Mike and I both observed it very much so resembles the forests of Wisconsin (however the campsites are MUCH more secluded). Mike of course jumped the railing to climb down to the base of the falls, after literally forbidding me to go because of the steep climb and moss-covered ledges (probably a good idea for the pregnant gal, in hindsight). I was very jealous, but it proved for a great picture. And he got to cool off in the cold water of the falls. Again, jealous.

We also went to The Arcade (the oldest mall in America, built in the 1880s) which was absolutely stunning. The intricate detailing of the mall was impressive. At the time of its development, the building of the Arcade in the 1880s cost $875,000! That's a lot even today, so that gives you an idea of how rich this mall really was. We also took a quick walk down the strip to the Fountain of Everlasting Life, a 35 foot high memorial to veterans who lost their lives in war. We also went to Lakeview Cemetery to see the historical masonry of the gravestones there, and the intricate tomb of President Garfield- the only presidential tomb open to the public. Again, beautiful. Something interesting to us both, was the similarity of Cleveland to Milwaukee. The cities are so strikingly similar in their architecture and placement- both on a Great Lake, both within a half hour to a massive forest/reservation, both with the same types of buildings and look downtown, both dotted with the markings of a nearby Big Ten university. And both surrounded by farmland. Mike and I both agree- of all the states we've been to so far, Ohio seems to be the most like Wisconsin (but it's no where near as awesome, obviously).