Baby Face!

Long time, no blog, eh?
Baby Girl is just days away from the 10-weeks old mark. I can't believe she's been here that long already. Her arrival story can be told in another post, but for today the goal is just putting up some pictures so Husband can share them more easily.  And grandparents, aunts, and uncles can see them too.

Here's just a quick glimpse!
Enjoy!
love, k

It's (another?) girl!

Whew!  What a crazy busy 2 weeks at the Yellow Brick home!  We woke up on the last Saturday of March, planning to spend my birthday in leisure. I was playing a silly game on my phone, still abed, when Husband rolled over with a small gasp.

"They have Lab puppies at the Humane Society," he said. "Black lab mixes."

I looked at the clock, knowing the place opened at 11am, and that the line when they have puppies starts at least an hour earlier. It was 9:15. 

"You'd better go shower," I said. 

It didn't take us long to get ready, including prepping a mug of hot coffee for Husband (I'm still off caffeine for Baby Girl) and grabbing an umbrella. (The day's forecast?  Rain Rain Rain Rain... And did I mention that hour-long wait line was outdoors?) We jumped in my car and made it there by 10:05. 

The line had already started. 

We were third in line, which gave us plenty of time to strike up some conversation with the people around us (puppy shopper #4 arrived onl 1-2 min after us), and to think over the decision. How would we know if it was the right dog for us?  Were we taking on a challenge that was too big for 2 full-time workers (one of whom was about to reach Trimester 3)?  

As is often the case in the "major life decisions" arena, I did a lot of silent praying that morning. In general, I've tried to adopt an approach where I pray (continually), talk about it with Husband (as much as he can bear...I have a lot of thoughts), and then leave the final decision-making between Husband and God. (BTW, so far they're an unbeatable team.)  Seeing husband's conviction that this is right for us is very reassuring-- and has strengthened me to make several life-directing decisions thus far that I may otherwise still be contemplating. 

And when it comes to a puppy... We're waaaay past contemplating. 

Paisley is a now ten-week-old Black Lab/Bassett Hound/Australian Shepherd mix. She is mostly black, with a little white spot on her nose & chin, a white stipe down the center of her chest, some black and white on three paws, and the tiniest bit of white on the tip of her tail. To quote a favorite children's book: She's worse than cute. She's adorable. 

If I thought life was moving fast before Paisley, I had no idea. She's great practice for life with a baby-- up in the night, needing constant help. And now I think I understand why Husband thought we needed this girl in the house. I'm super impressed with his consistency, dedication, and love. He's going to be a great dad for Baby Girl when she arrives!

So blessed and excited for our growing family!!

-K

Kickstarted

Hi again!
We are in week 22!  Baby Girl is now about the size of a spaghetti squash...

Spaghetti Squash image from Ram-Man's wiki post http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaghetti_Squash_700.jpg

 

Yes-- spaghetti squash.  Who decided this was an apt comparison, I do not know, but it's what the baby book says...

What's new in week 2-2?

Foods:
Not much has changed since last week...
Still loving the idea of strawberries.  I even found some on sale this week and have been eating them with lunch.  They're fantastic.
Fish sandwiches.  Yeah...can't think of a good reason why these sound so good.  But they do.  Or maybe they just sound more appealing than fast-food hamburgers when I look at the menu.
Chocolate.  Not all the time, but every once in a while a little bit of plain chocolate sounds really good. 
Zucchini and Yellow Squash with a little onion and garlic.  Yum.
Peanut Butter?!?!  I have never been a fan of PB.  It's not for lack of trying!  However, this week I ate an apple with peanut butter one day for lunch.  It sounded good, and even though I've re-tried this classic food every 5 years or so, this is the very first time I've been able to eat more than a small taste off the edge of a spoon.  This could be because I ate it with an apple, or maybe because it was natural PB with honey...I don't know.  All I know is, it was good.  Which definitely means this baby is influencing my taste buds.

Sleep:
A person might summarize the sleep experience with a quick quip, say, something like, "You try sleeping on a spaghetti squash and see how that goes."  I don't think I can sum it up quite that way, for a couple of reasons.  First, it seems too cynical or snarky or something to befit how easy this stage of pregnancy really is going.  Second, I know that my current situation pales in comparison with the sleepless feeling of new moms, so... I don't feel like complaining is justified.  :)  Check back on that in a couple of weeks. 

Style:
My wardrobe has definitely changed in the last week and a half.  For the majority of the first trimester I made it through with my normal jeans...then my jeans with a rubber band through the button hole and around the button.  I eventually (after Christmas) progressed to maternity jeans with what is called a "demi" band-- it's just a thick piece of elastic in the upper part of the waistband of maternity jeans-- maybe about 3 inches wide?  It's meant to fit under the belly, and up until last week it worked great.  Starting last week, though, the comfort level dropped off significantly.  At first, I was thinking that I needed bigger jeans.  Turns out, it was just the band that wasn't liking the expanding  belly.  Same size jeans, this time with the elastic panel that comes all the way up over the belly, and Baby Girl and I are back in comfortable business. 
Also this week I discovered t-shirt dresses at Target.  Total style saver.  These dresses are essentially really long, cotton-stretch t-shirts.  Super simple, and they fit great over the belly without making me look like I'm wearing a tent (or the similarly-styled maternity wear of the '90s as seen in Father of the Bride Part II).  I just bought a size up from what I might have worn pre-pregnancy, put a belt around my waist (above the belly), and threw a long cardigan over top.  Add a pair of tights and some boots, and I have weathered the seemingly endless rain and kept myself feeling reasonably stylish for work.  (I'll post a pic when I wear one later this week so you can see.) 
I finally succumbed to my desire to cut my hair, too.  I knew it didn't want it too short, but it was getting too long to do anything with before work every day.  So I stopped on my way home from work on Friday and found a great place not far from home where I got a wash and cut for $25.  Sweet!  Plus, this guy was knowledgeable and friendly-- and spent the time cutting my hair talking about keeping my hair healthy and about when his son was born and they brought him home from the hospital and how much he had to learn.  This is very unlike the guy at the last place I went for a trim, who spent his time crowing about being child-free and selfish.  (I do think it's good that people know they don't want to be a parent, but it was a little disconcerting to hear someone talk for so long about disliking children and wanting to do their own thing... while holding scissors near your face.  That's all.)

Activity:
Not much has changed for me.  I try to walk for at least 30 minutes a day or jump on the eliptical for a while.  People keep recommending pregancy yoga for stretching and relaxing, so that might be worth a try.
I don't know what exercise plan Baby Girl is on at the moment, but after dinner tonight, for the very first time, Husband was able to feel her kick! I've been feeling the flutters internally for a while, but this was so noticeably strong that he was able to feel it from outside the layers of clothes!  Totally sweet moment.

That's pretty much it!  Hopefully I'll be able to get some pics up for you later this week so you can see how much she's grown!

Also-- I know from a desktop computer it can be tricky to find the place to post a comment (if you have one).  My best suggestion is that if you want to comment on a post, click on the title of the post and that will take you to a new page where only one post appears, with a box a the bottom for adding your comments.  Husband and I tested it to see if it would work, and we think it does! 

Love to all, K

It's a girl!

Here we are...getting ready to start week 21!  Crazy how time has flown by!  Balloon popping was an exciting success, and we're happy to say that the 4 pink confetti-filled balloons were confirmed by the ultrasound picture annotation in the card!  We are now past the halfway mark, and Baby Girl is really starting to make her presence known.  Last week I could start to feel little flutters as she moved around. We're waiting for that first real kick, but as of today, pretty much any time I am sitting up is fair game for baby gymnastics.

The belly is growing!  Baby weighed about 11 oz last week, and if the dr's estimate that she would double in size holds, she's about a pound an a half today.  No wonder the bump is bigger!  It's amazing how your body just does what it needs to do, all without mama thinking too much about it.  The growth is slow enough that it's not until I get dressed in the morning and think, "Hmmm...this outfit was not this snug before..." that I really notice the change.  I do know that when standing straight and looking down, I can no longer see my feet.  Apparently bending over to do things without bending at the knees is also a thing of the past (and, let's hope, the future!) since Husband has asked me several times now why I'm sighing...and the answer is only because I bent to reach something and couldn't breathe!  I occasionally forget this volleyball-sized bump might inhibit my ability to just bend from the waist... what a thing to take for granted, huh?  :) 

Speaking of Husband, he's probably got the hardest luck right now.  Even though I haven't once sent him on an errand for a crazy food craving, his sleep schedule is definitely bearing the brunt of things!  Turns out it's completely normal for moms to start snoring at this phase of pregnancy (your nasal passages apparently get the message to swell), and Husband is definitely a light sleeper.  I try to drink a lot of water and use saline nasal spray before bed, so as to discourage any snoring from dryness, but sometimes that doesn't really do the trick.  On nights when my breathing keeps him awake, at least we have the option of sleeping in another room in our house!  Poor guy.  (Don't worry, I'm making sure he's got a comfy bed!)  :)

Other than those pretty minor things, trimester 2 is still going pretty well.  Food cravings are sparse-- although the thought of fresh strawberries (hard to find in February in the Emerald City) is appealing any time day or night.  Last night a fish sandwich sounded amazing, but most days lately I'm happy as long as I have enough protein (egg salad, scrambled eggs, protein salad with chickpeas and wheatberries).  What surprises me most are the things that don't sound appealing.  Most sweet things I could let go-- can you believe I turned down a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's yesterday?-- which is probably healthier for Baby Girl anyway. 

That's the latest! Love, K

Gender Reveal Week

And we're back with some updates!

Yesterday's trip to the doctor yielded us some pretty cool views of Baby's growing limbs. The ultrasound technologist was able to measure both "long bones" (femur, upper arm bones), spine, head, and torso. She was also able to measure the tiny organs-- kidneys, liver, etc. It was pretty cool to see her zoom in on the little heart, and to watch it beating!

Since this was our 20-week appointment, they asked us if we'd like to find out the baby's gender, if they were able to tell. We decided a while ago that we did want to find out-- not only does it seem like a small but meaningful way to help our continentally-divided families to stay connected to what's going on, but Husband says it will take us the next 20 weeks to find a name we both agree on, anyway.  (He's probably not wrong.)  However, we also like the anticipation of not knowing...yet.

I went prepared with a blank note card and envelope, and we asked the tech to keep the secret between her and the card.  Today, we took the card to the party supply store, where they snuck a peek at the card's secret contents and we left with 7 confetti-filled balloons.  Each balloon has either blue or pink confetti inside-- 4:3 blue:pink if it's a boy or 4:3 pink:blue if it's a girl.  Only the balloon-fillers know the contents exactly. 



How's that for suspense?

Obviously, the balloon colors tell us nothing in themselves-- it isn't until we pop them that we (and anyone else) will know if it's a boy or a girl on the way!  We decided that the best way to prolong the fun is to pop one every night at dinner for the next 7 nights...or perhaps fewer if the odds work out....until we know the result!

We popped the first balloon (that green one 3rd from the right) tonight, and the confetti was pink!  Keep following us on facebook for daily updates on the pink/blue tally.  :)

Love, K

Baby Blogging

To say it's been a while since my last post would be an understatement. We've been busy-- I've got a new job, we moved, and we're expecting our first baby in just a few months. Hard to believe, but I'll be to the halfway mark in less than 2 weeks!

That's the reason for the return to the blog-- with so much of our family living far from us, I thought it would be a good idea to keep you posted on things!

A few stats for the week: baby gender is still unknown until Friday. Baby weighs about 1/2 lb, and roughly measures the length and weight of a mango. (Which is funny because just last week I discovered a taste for fresh mango that I don't remember having before.) The doctor says I've gained exactly the amount of weight he wanted to see. That was good to hear, since I feel like people keep commenting on how big the belly looks, and asking if I'm sure it's not twins...it's not-- we've got the ultrasound pics that say otherwise. :)

In general, I'm feeling pretty healthy. Getting up for school in the mornings has been getting harder, but I think that might have had more to do with normal February "blah"s, especially since we've had rainy and cold weather for the last couple of weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to spring and warmer weather so we can walk and be outside a bit more comfortably, but all in all, time really just feels like it's flying by.

That's all for now! Love, k