bedding and girl names

i think i have bedding.  i still have to wait.  but, i made a decision.
with help from my mom.

for a boy...

for a girl...

and now i can sleep a little better.

[.....until i change my mind again.]

now, i need a girl name.
help.

drew caroline (or olivia)
parker olivia
rowyn olivia

place your votes to the right in the poll.

...

30 weeks. huh?

sometimes, i really can't believe we are at this point.  call it pessimism, but after having a miscarriage, i was skeptical that this would ever happen.  i really have to remind myself, at times, that this is happening.  but i don't think i'm alone there.  all i know, is that i am so thankful that everything is healthy and we're right on track [i won't even knock on wood].

so, here we are...t h i r t y weeks.  10 [ish] weeks to go and i can't tell if i'm ready for this part to be over in 10 weeks or if i'm a wee nervous.  it's probably fair to say ...both, huh?

clockwise:  side view, mom wanted a front view, and my view looking down.

 inanimate comparison:  no longer a chinese cabbage, but a real cabbage.  ???

maternity clothes:  a necessity.

stretch marks:  still in the clear.  i'm going to tell myself that it's because i lather up with coco butter every night.  but...there are still 10 weeks to go.

sleep:  roll over, up to pee, roll over the other way...repeat.  honestly though, when i get comfy...i sleep pretty well!
 
best moment this week:  hitting 30 weeks.  and my first shower [which was really in week 29, but oh well] [see below].  also, we ordered a dresser!  pics of our work.in.progress nursery to come!

miss anything?:  i can't say that i do.

movement:  yes.  i've been trying to catch a cool video of my belly moving.  stay tuned.

cravings:  i just enjoy sweets... but that's nothing new.

sickness:  gone. 

gender:  50/50

labor signs:  maybe some braxton hicks.  like, one or two a day.  nothing painful.

symptoms:  ok [knock on wood] but the back pain has diminished during the day...for now.  i put heat on my back every night, so i like to think that has something to do with it.  or maybe baby has moved or shifted. 

belly button:  still in!  i thought for sure it would be out by now. 

wedding rings:  i'm down to just my engagement ring.

happy or moody?:  happy.

looking forward to:  the doctor again on thursday.  and lots of special guests this week, including my m o m whose coming in town for my second shower!!!!  ahhhh, yay!  i haven't seen her since christmas...i've put on some weight since then ;)

my work shower thrown by my [SPED] team.  homemade desserts and lots of fun gifts.  and the adorable banner made by a 1st grade teacher.  and!  my mother.in.law and sis.in.law came.  p.s. i've had my poor hair colored since the.  yikes!

 

28 weeks [and 4 days]

inanimate comparison:  thanks to my new iphone app...a chinese cabbage (see pic).

heh.  i wondered too.

maternity clothes:  a necessity.

stretch marks:  none.  i check every day.

sleep:  yes, please.

best moment this week:  officially hitting the third trimester.  so thankful to be at this point.

miss anything?:  i think i don't realize what i miss until i think about this question every two weeks.  i miss not having back aches but they're so second nature now that i barely notice [until they get bad].  i miss picking things up off the floor on the first attempt.  it usually takes 2-3 tries.  but, again...i don't necessarily notice.  jake asked me if having to pee gets old.  and that's another one.  i've gotten so used to the feeling of having to pee, that i don't even think about it.  ya just get up and go. 

movement:  i'd say m&m is on the spunky side, but i have nothing to compare it to.  movement is non-stop and the bumps keep getting b i g g e r.

cravings:  i just enjoy sweets... but that's nothing new.

sickness:  gone.

gender:  GIRL!!  [joke...still a secret]  it's interesting to me that boy has taken the lead on the survey.

labor signs:  maybe some braxton hicks.  like, one or two a day.  nothing painful.

symptoms:  back spasms and rib pain.  a bath is an absolute must each night.  i live for my baths.  it's no joke when they say that the first trimester can leave you icky feeling, the second is a breeze and then it starts to turn when you hit the third.  spot on.

belly button:  still in!  i thought for sure it would be out by now. 

wedding rings:  i'm down to just my engagement ring.  much less annoying.

happy or moody?:  happy and moody.  actually, not moody but tearful.  two nights ago, i just started crying in bed.  there was absolutely no antecedent to this cry-fest.  it just began and then it wouldn't stop.  jake was such a trooper.  i also cried in traffic this evening.  i could n o t be a commuter on a daily basis.  i also just have the most overwhelming feeling to want to be home.  i love home and being home ...and everything in my house ...and my dog ...and jake and i always just want to be home.  is that nesting?

looking forward to:  hearing that sweet little heartbeat tomorrow and piecing together the nursery that i have in my imagination.  update:  today, i want to get neutral bedding.  what the...?

fun with frametastic app. 

...

And we have a crib....

so after months of searching and researching...we finally have a crib for this little m&m. thanks again to the book baby bargains (if you're pregnant, it's a must read) because it saved me from purchasing a crib with an f rating. luckily, I found something almost identical, for cheaper with an a+ rating!!! don't you love when you find exactly what you're looking for, for cheaper?? me too.

we ended up with this crib from the graco lauren collection. i wanted to go high end on a mattress (for safety), which is why we wanted to save on the crib.

oh! and check out this pic quality. Yep, that's because I finally got my iphone!!! no more crappy blackberry pics. good riddance. This phone is uh-mazing. ...but that's another post.

still can't really capture the true paint color in a picture.  also, the crib is darker than it appears here too.

on another note: i completed my glucose tolerance test today. cross your fingers that I pass. the drink wasn't as bad as sitting in an uncomfortable chair for an hour. baby m has really set up camp under my right rib, which makes sitting tricky.

28 weeks tomorrow.  holy moly.

i guess that's officially third trimester.  

i suppose i was a week premature when i mentioned that last week.

stay tuned for bump pic.

how is it april?

april 1, 2011 | i played an april fool's joke on jake.  he called me on his way home from work to ask if aunt flow had come to visit that day.  i said, "yes...unfortunately".  he said, "next month". 
a p r i l f o o l s.  when he got home, there was a positive pregnancy test waiting for him.

i think fondly of that little heartbeat and wish that we could have made it to where we are now with this m&m...and beyond.  but, i have to remember that there's a plan in there somewhere.  what a difference a year makes.

27 weeks today.  helllloooooo THIRD trimester?  what?!?  how?!

also...

we ordered a crib!!  in espresso.

and don't worry...i think i've changed my mind on baby girl bedding again.

**and thank goodness for the book baby bargains.  because the crib i almost bought got an F rating!!!  yikes!  this one gets an A+.
...

26 weeks and random events.

no chalkboard pic this week.  we'll have to settle for this mirror pic because jake just wasn't around when i needed the pic.

 

14 more weeks of growth?  i'm scared.

 

inanimate comparison:  i couldn't find this info. any more.  i guess the baby has outgrown the size of any common vegetable.  but, he/she weighs about two pounds now!

 

maternity clothes? oh yes.
 

stretch marks? none yet!  please...stay away!
 

sleep: lots of tossing.  lots of turning.  lots of peeing.
 

best moment this week:  coming home to a perfectly painted nursery!!  and also seeing family for my grandma's 80th.  she gave me a little something special for the nursery [see below].
 

miss anything? bending.
 

movement:  non stop and very low.
 

food cravings:  nothing specific.
 

anything making you queasy or sick:  not lately.
 

gender: still a surprise.  the survey has favored girl up until now.  boy is winning.
 

labor signs:  i would not consider them labor signs [i hope] but i get some sort of charlie horse feeling really low every now and then.  or...maybe that's a contraction.  these are questions for my doc on thursday.

 

symptoms:  my back hates me.  see the picture above and the dip in my lower back?  ya, i think that's why.
 

belly button in or out?  in.  for now...teetering on being out.
 

wedding rings on or off?  on...but sort of bugging me lately.
 

 happy or moody most of the time: happy, with moments of tearfulness.  mainly because i just want to be a home-body lately.
 

looking forward to: hearing a heartbeat on thursday.  working on the nursery more.  putting together a crib!! 

here are some pics of the nursery and other random events...

oh, p.s....congrats to mr. menz on his promotion at work!! 

 just in time for baby.  super proud!

the pic doesn't show the true paint color.  there is more green to it.  this shows up very gray.

my mom gave me that hope chest for my graduation.  trying to decide if it stays in the nursery.

my grandma had this handmade rocking horse in one of the rooms at her townhouse for as long as i can remember.  we used to play on it and when i was there for her birthday, she offered it to me.  i l.o.v.e. it!!

another angle.  not sure of the room set-up yet.

my gorgeous aunts and my dad with my grandma.

'80 reasons why we love you'.  the cutest book, created by my aunt gigi.  and that woman, my grandma, does not have a mean bone in her body.  she's the sweetest lady in the world.  no joke.

yep.  i parked there...for the first time.

i had my first o'doole's on the trip.  it tasted like beer.  i can't say that i really miss beer.

 

scooch on over organs...baby on board

i took a road trip with my parents this weekend to visit MI for my gramma's 80th bday [another post later].  the 9 hour car rides and lots of walking  brought on some interesting new aches and pains; particularly in my ribs and back.

so, on my car ride home today, i decided to google what exactly happens to our organs as the baby grows.  i came across this interesting link.  it really is pretty amazing.  no wonder we feel full, always have to pee, get heartburn, can't breathe and have general aches and pains!! 

....but, we'd do it again!

[i can't help but think of my friend abbey over at life treasured, who had three in there...or kate+8 with six!]

26 week post and pics soon!