Slacking

Hi all... I feel like I've been slacking lately and maybe I owe you all an explanation!  I've been wanting to do a Christmas post for a while, but I'm waiting to do that one until after we cut down our tree.  We're going tomorrow for that, so once everything is finally decorated, I'll do a Christmas post, complete with pictures.  I'll give you a preview of the outside of our house:

This week has been crazy busy for me too because I started new hours at work, and I'm having a difficult time adjusting to them.  One of my coworkers started her own maternity leave last week, and while she is out, I am covering her territory, so it's been crazy, to say the least.  I'm hoping that I'm getting the hang of it though and next week will be better.  

I normally work until 6, and then Mark and I make dinner, and spend time together.  My hours are now till 4:30, but I've been working till 6 still, and then we make dinner.  By the time we eat and clean up, it's 7:30-8, and by 9, I don't really have the energy to do much other than park my pregnant butt on the couch.  So I'm hoping that the next few weeks I'll find some more energy and be better adjusted to my schedule so I can enjoy my earlier hours! 

I hope everyone had a great week!  Can you believe tomorrow is December?  This year is flying by, and I just want to make time stand still, so I can enjoy every second of this amazing time! 

22 Weeks

22 weeks: Baby T is the size of a papaya - approximately 11 inches long, and weighing one whole pound!

View from above at 22 weeks!

 How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain: +1 total
Maternity clothes? I bought a couple shirts yesterday, but the jeans were too big, so still just leggings.

Stretch marks? None.  

Sleep: Actually really good lately!
Best moment this week: Hosting my first Thanksgiving!  It was a complete success!  I also felt the baby kick from the outside, which was amazing!
Miss Anything? I really missed mulled wine on Thanksgiving.
Movement: Mostly laying down or sitting still, but occasionally when I'm moving, I'll feel some.
Food cravings: Thanksgiving dinner.  Luckily, we have tons of leftovers, which is my favorite!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really, which is great!

Have you started to show yet? Yes

Gender prediction: I change my mind so much now!  Earlier this week I had a dream it was a boy, and last night I had two dreams that it was a girl.
Symptoms: Back pain.  Round ligament pain.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting shallow!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy and excited!
Looking forward to: Christmas!  It's my favorite holiday!  Picking out things for the nursery and starting to decorate in January.

Things Not to Say to a Pregnant Woman

I'm not sure what it is about pregnant women that makes people forget their manners and the concept of personal space.  It's like people see a pregnant woman and all common sense goes out the window.

I've been reading a lot of baby websites lately, and have seen a few lists of things not to say to a pregnant woman.  I thought I'd pass along the lists, and my thoughts on some of them!

1.  "Wow you're huge!  I can't imagine how big you're going to be at 9 months!" - this should be common sense.  I mean, is it EVER appropriate to comment on how big someone is?  If a stranger says this to me, I will probably respond with "I'm pregnant, what's your excuse?"

2.  "Was it planned, or a surprise?"  - again, another you would think is common sense (actually, probably everything on this list will fall into that category).  This question makes me want to reply with something along the lines of "Were you planned or a surprise?"

3.  "I knew a (insert name) and they were such a loser." or "I hate that name" - really?  Oh, ok I guess we won't name it that then.  And people wonder why we're keeping our selections to ourselves. 

4.  "Are you sure it's not twins/triplets?" - right up there with number one.  Come on people, use your filter.  

5.  Any personal pregnancy/labor horror stories.  I'm already terrified enough without having to listen to your story of a 36 hour labor and emergency C-section.  Please keep it to yourself, unless I ask.

6.  "Are you sure you can eat/drink/do that?" - yes, I'm sure.  Again, if I haven't asked for your opinion, please don't volunteer it.

7.  "Sleep now, because you won't get any once the baby comes!" - Oh, really?  I thought I could bank all that sleep and use it when the baby comes.

8.  Touching my belly.  Unless you're the daddy, or a member of my immediate family, please don't touch unless you ask first.  I'm pretty sure it's considered an invasion of personal space, and I would never rub your belly without asking.  Please give me the same courtesy.    

 

21 Weeks

21 weeks: Baby T is the size of a pomegranate - approximately 10.5 inches long and 12 ounces!

How far along? 21w
Total weight gain: +3 (this is according to my scale at home; according to the doctor, it's only +1)
Maternity clothes? None really, just leggings.

Stretch marks? None.  

Sleep: Actually really good lately!
Best moment this week: Seeing our wiggly baby at our 20 week ultrasound!  Baby didn't want its picture taken, so we got quite a bit of arms in front of the face and turning away from the camera.
Miss Anything? Champagne.  Thanksgiving mulled wine.  Angry Orchard hard ciders.  Basically booze, especially with the holidays quickly approaching.
Movement: I've been feeling tons of kicks, punches, and little flips, especially when I'm laying down or sitting still.  It's amazing!
Food cravings: Holiday food! Less than a week!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really, which is great!

Have you started to show yet? Yes

Gender prediction: Thinking boy again, haha!  It changes every few days.  Baby T did cooperate during the ultrasound, but we didn't look, so only one person in the world knows what he/she is!
Symptoms: Back pain every few days.  Round ligament pain.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, hoping it doesn't pop out!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy and excited!
Looking forward to: Hosting Thanksgiving, decorating the house for Christmas, and in January, starting the nursery! 

Busy Month

Wow... it's hard to believe it's already November 13th!  It seems like this month is flying by!  The month is already almost half over, and before we know it, Christmas will be here!  We've had a pretty busy November already, and it's only just begun!

Our month started off pretty low-key.  We didn't have much planned the first weekend in November, since I was getting ready for my trip to Boston.  My mom, sister and I did some stealth shopping for Mark's surprise party, which I can now tell you about!  Sunday, we raked and mowed our front yard (filling twelve 30 gallon yard waste bags with leaves in the process) and watched football.  It was a pretty uneventful weekend.  

I left Monday, 11/5 for Boston.  I work remotely from my home, and travel to the office about once a quarter.  It was a great trip.  I missed the election at home, but don't worry, I voted early! ;-)  Wednesday night, we had a pizza party at Jill's house, and I had Lou Malnati's pizza delivered!  It was great!  The area got it's first snowstorm, about a week after the hurricane, so it was a little crazy!  I just wanted to make sure I got home in time! 

 

First snow in MA!

Friday, my flight was at 5:20... I usually leave the office about 2 hours early, since I've never hit any traffic, and security is usually pretty tame.  This trip was a completely different story!  There was traffic the entire way to the airport, and even if there wasn't, I doubt I would have made it through security!  It was INSANE!  I missed my flight (the first one I've ever missed) but luckily got on the very next flight.  Someone was even nice enough to switch seats with me so I wasn't in the middle!

This past Saturday, I had a surprise party planned for my hubby's big 30th birthday!  It was already a busy weekend - we had dentist appointments and our new dining room table was coming.  In addition to that, we had to clean the house and I had to get him out by 5 so my mom and sister could come set everything up!  We ran some errands, then I took him out for dinner.  I had everyone park across the street, so he wouldn't think anything was up.  When we got home, I tried to help carry in the bags, and all he wanted me to do was open the door and turn the alarm off.  I was arguing with him about it, and finally got him in the door first.  He was definitely surprised!!!  I wish I had a good picture of his reaction to share, but the only one is pretty blurry.  I'm glad I was able to pull this off; I definitely couldn't have done it without the help of my mom and sister!

Sunday, after cleaning up the house, we packed up the car and headed into Chicago to tailgate for the Bears-Texans game!  It was awesome!  It was super windy and cold, and then started raining, but we didn't care - we had a blast!  Here are some pics:

  
Even though the Bears lost, it was a really fun time.  We had amazing seats - they were right on the 35 yard line, and we were sheltered from the rain, which was the best part!  It was also pretty awesome to be at the game on Veteran's Day, since my hubby is a veteran.  

Monday was my hubby's actual birthday, so we both took the day off, and had our 20 week ultrasound and checkup scheduled.  I made his requested birthday breakfast and we got ready for our appointment.  We didn't find out the gender, and even the doctors don't know, so it will truly be a surprise for everyone! 

Last month, we found out I am a carrier for the Cystic Fibrosis gene, so at our last appointment, Mark had to have some blood work done to find out if he is a carrier too.  The test results are supposed to take 2 weeks to come in, and we still hadn't heard anything before our appointment, so we were pretty anxious.  If he was a carrier, we would potentially have to have an amniocentsis done, and the baby would have a 25% chance of having CF.  It took a while for the nurses to track down the results... but we got some great news back, and he is not a carrier!  What a relief!  

I'll leave you all with some pics of Baby T... we didn't get very many.  It seems like Baby T already takes after momma and does not like to have its picture taken!  Every time the ultrasound tech tried to get a good picture, Baby T turned away from the camera, or ended up with its arms in front of its face!  It was pretty hilarious, to be honest.

I hope everyone has had a great past few weeks, and is having fun getting ready for the holidays!  Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?!  Crazy!      

20 Weeks

20w,1d: This little Bears fan is 10.5 ounces and 10 inches long head to toe - about the size of a banana!

How far along? 20w, 1d
Total weight gain: +3
Maternity clothes? Still just leggings.  I've been rocking the hair-tie around the button of my jeans too, but I don't think that's going to last much longer.
Stretch marks? None.  

Sleep: Good, just keep having to get up and pee alot.
Best moment this week: Coming home from my trip and seeing my hubby.  Pulling off a surprise 30th birthday party for him!
Miss Anything? Really just sushi, and sleeping well!
Movement: Lots of movement lately! Baby T is definitely a Bears fan!
Food cravings: Holiday food!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat

Have you started to show yet? Yes

Gender prediction: I go back and forth.  Today, I think it's a girl.
Symptoms: Really just back pain.

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy.
Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound tomorrow!  The Bears game tonight.  Celebrating my hubby's 30th birthday.  Eating tons at Thanksgiving!

19 Weeks

Baby T is the size of a large mango!

How far along? 19 weeks
Total weight gain: +2
Maternity clothes? Just leggings.  Most of my shirts are still working.
Stretch marks? None. 

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good, despite all the weird dreams I have.
Best moment this week: Dressing up for Halloween and scaring some kiddos!
Miss Anything? Sleeping through the night.  Fitting into my clothes.  Sushi.
Movement: Little flutters every few days!
Food cravings: Gingerbread cookies.  Burgers!  Anything sweet.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat

Have you started to show yet? Yes

Gender prediction: Boy.
Symptoms: Back aches.  I've started to get some pain in my hips too.

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy.
Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound... 9 more days!  Celebrating my hubby's 30th birthday all next weekend: dinner, Bears game, making his requested birthday breakfast, and Five Guys after our ultrasound!  Hosting my very first holiday, Thanksgiving dinner!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a good Halloween, and you all got rid of your candy!  We were not so lucky, and are now stuck with a FULL bowl of candy.  We were fully stocked and ready for all the little witches, ghouls, and vampires, but only had 5 trick-or-treaters!  Three huge bags of candy, and only 5 kids showed up.  I was pretty bummed.  Since it's the first year in a house, I was really looking forward to seeing all the kiddos in their costumes.  I even dressed up myself!

We ended up going out for burgers for dinner, because I've actually had a craving for them recently.  I haven't been feeling like meat at all, so this was one craving I definitely didn't mind indulging in (even though it was a Five Guys burger).  It was so good, and I'm ready for a second one SOON!  We came home and I started working on our large bowl of leftover candy, while I waited for pumpkin seeds to be done!  Here's how much we have left:

 

Anyway... now that it's November, that means it's time for CHRISTMAS MUSIC!  I can wait to decorate our house, but I do not wait for after Thanksgiving to start playing all my favorite holiday music!  I've been putting all my Christmas CDs into iTunes this afternoon, to get them all onto my phone so I'm always ready with some festive music!