Christmas Stocking!

Baby C isn't expected to arrive until after Christmas, but I couldn't resist getting her a stocking. Carl refused to let me get her any ornaments (apparently baby's first Christmas in the womb doesn't count...) but I was determined to get her a stocking. Santa can pay her a visit this year too!

I can't show you her actual stocking because it has her name embroidered on it (now friends, don't come hunting through our house trying to find it, Amy--yes I am talking to you ;)). I can show you the version from the catalog though!

It is from the Pottery Barn Kids Quilted Stocking collection. Carl has the gingerbread man and I have the snowman so we got Baby C the reindeer:
and no, her name is not Sally. Nice try though.

I can't wait to hang it up! and then hide it whenever someone comes over haha. :)

32 Weeks!

It's 5am the day after Thanksgiving and I am posting about our 32 week because Baby C and I have decided to make our way through all the pregnancy symptoms in the book over the past few weeks, including insomnia. Instead of laying in bed unable to sleep thinking about how I really need to update the blog, here I am!

Our long hiatus was due to a. photographer (husband) being in Egypt and b. return of photographer minus camera which decided to hang out at the pyramids for a few more weeks (thankfully someone kindly turned it in and my husband's boss brought it back to us last week). and reason c. we hit the third trimester and have been on a whirlwind of baby/holiday...activities.

The second trimester, like the book says, was very smooth for me. I had a fairly normal, pre-pregnancy amount of energy, and we had limited baby-related things to do. The last few weeks have been quite different though!

First, we started our childbirth classes the day after Carl's return from Egypt! So our nights were filled for 2 weeks with 3 hour classes on birth and infant care. We still have our hospital tour and breastfeeding class to go. So far, the classes have been very good. I reallly liked our childbirth teacher. She filled us in on all the stages of labor, comfort options (natural and medicated), and was good at answering everyone's questions. I feel much more prepared for labor and delivery now, though I am still waiting for someone to reveal the secret 3rd option for how Baby C can make her entrance into the world. Anyone? Anyone?

Another big change over the last few weeks has been in Baby C's movements! She went from rolling around in there and giving me gentle kicks and nudges to some serious poking and proding. Her favorite move as of late is to stick a foot into my right side. You can actually feel a little foot sticking out when she does it. I have to give it a gentle rub to coax it back in there because, while cute, it is not very comfortable. They say by 32 weeks you have maxed out on amniotic fluid so the baby's movements become less gentle because there isn't as much to cushion them. It is very true! Her movements are so strong these days that if you are sitting near me and looking at my belly you can see her move. My friend Cara was in town from Texas and was sitting next to me at Bible Study when she said "did your stomach just move?! was that the baby?" Yep sure was :)

The last big change since we hit third trimester has been in pregnancy symptoms. Other than some nauseau in the first trimester and smell sensitivity I've had a fairly symptom free pregnancy, unless you count craving pickles as a symptom, I just consider that good taste. The third trimester has been very different. As I mentioned at the start of this, we are really making our way through the symptoms now.....leg cramps, backache, insomnia.....oh my! Thankfully, while annoying, they are all normal and the doctor says we are right on track and sailing through with a healthy baby girl.

Now for the pictures and stats!

How far along: 32 weeks and 4 days in the pictures

Net weight gain: 20 lbs

Stretch marks: unless I can't see them because of how HUGE my belly is :) none

Belly button: still bouncing between innie and outie but mostly and outie now

Sleep: haha what's that? wake up 2x a night to use the restroom, sometimes up (writing blog entries) for long stretches in the wee hours of the morning, and hips are really starting to dislike all this side lying
Food cravings: Baby C must be squishing my stomach because I haven't been as hungry lately, though last night I did get a craving for some orange sherbet

Food aversions: nothing

What I miss: pain free sleep

Looking forward to: packing our hospital bags so we're ready just in case Baby C decides to make an early entrance

Best moment this week: finding an Olivia board book for Baby C-I love the Olivia books and have been reading them to her, now our collection includes: Olivia, Olivia Saves the Circus (in board book so Baby C can grab at it, suck on it... to her hearts content), and Olivia Helps with Christmas

Milestones: Baby C has developed her own immune system and is collecting antibodies from me so she is ready for life outside the womb!

the stroller

has arrived! Yay! Why so much excitement about a stroller? Well, this stroller involved lots of investigating, reading, testing and then when we ordered it was on back order so we've been waiting over a month to get it. Not to mention it's one more thing bringing us closer to being ready for Baby C's arrival!


I am pretty pumped about our stroller! We decided to go with the Baby Jogger City Mini in green. Our big priorities in a stroller were: light, compatible with our carseat, and easy to fold. City mini won! It has an awesome one hand fold that I am happy to show off to any interested parties. Here's what it looks like:





The color was a big debate as the orange was pretty cool, more hard core outdoorsy ;), and the green is simply pretty. So, what image did we want to set... hmmm big decisions. In the end the green came in first so we went with that.

Can't wait to actually use it!

29 Weeks!

I'm back! You might be wondering why such a long hiatus. well... I've been without a camera for awhile now and posting without photos just wasn't as much fun. You can all thank my friend Amy for this post. She was ready for a blog update so she insisted on taking a picture for me. Thanks Amy!

Baby C and I are doing well. Baby C frequently gives me nodges and kicks to let me know how things are going. At our doctor's visit on Monday she kept kicking the doctor when she was trying to check her heartbeat. It was pretty funny.

Here is the belly shot. :)

How far along: 29 weeks

Net weight gain: 16 lbs

Stretch marks: none :)

Belly button: in betweenie

Sleep: waking up at least 1x a night and some nights have trouble falling back asleep because Baby C is having a dance party at 3am

Food cravings: pumpkin everything :) (pie, muffins, cookies....)

Food aversions: nothing!

What I miss: sleeping through the night. no back pain.

Looking forward to: starting childbirth classes next week!

Best moment this week: Doctors appointment where I found out Baby C is measuring right on schedule and doing well

Milestones: Baby C's brain is daily now getting her ready for all the stories we're going to read to her :)

25 weeks

Clearly, being behind is just the way it's going to be with my weekly posts.

25 weeks was a bit iffy around here. I've been feeling pretty great most of the second trimester and was prepared to write about how easy things were going until about Sunday when I started having lots of pain. I called the doctor on Sunday evening just to make sure everything was okay. She didn't seem concerned and suggested a warm bath and laying on my side. Both helped and I figured Baby C was going through a growth spurt. Well, things didn't get any better and by Tuesday I decided it was time to get checked for a UTI. Yep, I was right.... just call me Dr. Carter.

A dose of antibiotics later and we are doing much better. :)

On a happier note we have been enjoying fall around here. Last Sunday (before the pain and doctor's visit) we spent the afternoon at a family farm called New Creations Farm. We buy our eggs and pork from them and went to their open house to see where our meat was coming from. It was a great afternoon with great food and company! I love knowing that our meat is grown without antibiotics and growth hormones and not in 'factories'. If you've seen Food, Inc. you'll know what I mean. As an added bonus the family is pretty awesome. They've adopted 6 children and run a children's ministry for kids who've been in foster care.

I can't wait to take Baby C out to the farm. It makes me pretty happy that we can expose her to awesome things like sustainable, humane farming.

On to the belly shot. As the doctor said "she's growing like a weed"

How far along: 25 weeks and 3 days

Net weight gain: 11 lbs

Stretch marks: none that I can find, phew

Belly button: more and more of an outie each week but still not fully popped

Sleep: still waking up at lease 1x a night and having trouble going back to sleep.... also, pretty sure it's time we invested in a king size bed as I kick Carl a lot....

Food cravings: chik-fil-a chicken sandwiches mmmm

Food aversions: nothing :)

What I miss: sleeping through the night!

Looking forward to: more baby prep :) our stroller should be in soon and I ordered some Baby Legs I found a deal on (they are legwarmers for babies :) very cute)

Best moment this week: hearing the baby's heart beat and finding out that she was doing well at my unexpected doctor's visit

Milestones: Baby C opens her eyes this week! She'll turn her head if we shine a bright light on my belly

the beginnings of a C.D. stash...

and no I am not referring to music CDs but rather CLOTH DIAPERS! Woohoo. okay so for real, I get a little excited about cloth diapers. Not sure what that says about me... ;)

This week our first cloth diapers arrived in the mail. For those of you who are thinking cloth diapers? People still use those? These aren't your grandmother's cloth diapers. Cloth diaper technology (that's right, I said technology) has really advanced over the years. They've become simpler to use, more absorbant, and I think, pretty darn cute. They've also retained all the benefits-better for the environment, better for baby's health and better for your wallet.

The one challenge of cloth diapers these days is there are so many choices! After lots of research and pondering the benefits of different types, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered some.

drum roll please...

ta dah! Cloth Diapers! So, what is in our collection: We have 4 bumgenious pocket diapers, 12 prefolds (basically your traditional cloth diaper just without the pins), 3 thirsties diaper covers, and 12 thirsties reusable wipes. That's right reusable wipes! Save $40-$50 a month and avoid all the chemicals and waste of disposable. Sounds like a deal to me! ;)

Our collection isn't complete, we still need reusable diaper pale liners, some all-in-ones, more wipes, and I am debating whether to get more covers and more prefolds. Oh so many decisions :)

24 weeks!

In an effort to catch up I am doing multiple posts today. On to 24 weeks. Wow this pregnancy is going fast ;)

Carl is convinced that my belly suddenly popped this week. I am pretty sure it's been big for awhile now but I'll take his word for it.

I've discovered Baby C enjoys Vietnamese food and lunches with our friend Laura. I haven't normally felt Baby C much during the day but this week, after a yummy lunch at #1 Pho with Laura, Baby C was kicking up a storm. It marked a turning point. Ever since I have felt Baby C moving around during the day. For a few days I was pretty sure she was throwing a dance party in there her movements were so big.

How far along: 24 weeks
Net weight gain: 10 lbs
Stretch marks: none! here's hoping we can make it all the way without any!
Belly button: nothing new in this area still somewhere in between
Sleep: occasional really vivid dreams, still getting up once a night, the other night enjoyed a granola bar at 2am to silence the hunger. apparently I need more midnight snacks.
Food cravings: donuts from the apple farm...so good
Food aversions: nothing :)
What I miss: having more than 4 shirts to choose from....
Best moment this week: feeling Baby C moving during the day!
Milestones:Baby C is starting hear better and can hear loud sounds!