26 Weeks



How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of baby: He is now a pound and two thirds and measures 14 inches long - babycenter.com says about the size of an English hothouse cucumber (I have NO idea what that is)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I have conveniently been avoiding the scale...I'll let you know after my next Dr. appointment :)

Maternity Clothes: Most definitely wearing maternity clothes - I don't like buying them so I try to make sure if I buy something I could still possibly wear it after...we'll see!

Movement: Baby gets more active each and every day.  There are days at the office that people in the other cubicles must think I'm crazy when I yelp because baby kicks so hard it startles/hurts me!  When I lay down at night on my left side baby moves his entire body over to the left side of my tummy and sits his little tush so I can feel him pushing :)

Sleep: While in Michigan sleep was ok, but my hips KILLED me from sleeping on a mattress that was super hard.  Since getting back I have been sleeping like a total log which is good, but these days I feel like I just can't get enough of it!  The worst is when baby is finally calm and asleep and I have to get up and pee at 4am and when I sit down on the toilet baby starts moving all around.  I just sit in the dark with the nightlight on thinking "damnit I woke the baby up!!" haha  After a few minutes of squirming he usually quiets down, but it's hard to go back to sleep when you have an almost 2 pound human inside of you stretching out!

Symptoms: After sitting in the car for 8 hours heading up to Michigan my ankles, feet, and toes were SO swollen I have to lay down and put my feet up.  I tried to stretch out and move my legs a lot in the car, but I guess that didn't help...I'll have to be sure to get up more when we travel to Mexico!

What I miss: Usually when we go up to Michigan we stay out late and hang out with friends, but these days my late is 10pm!  I didn't really miss the staying out late and socializing, but I do miss being able to stay up later than 9 or 10!

Cravings: I really haven't noticed a craving for anything specific.  I am not a donut fan, but while in Michigan I did have to stop by the local donut shop only because they do make some of the best! :)

Best Moment this week: The best moment this week would have to be seeing my grandmother who just a week ago was in the hospital from a heart attack. 

The Best Place on Earth!

Dane and I took a few days off over the holiday weekend to make a trip to Northport Point, Michigan where we both agree it may just be the BEST place on earth! :)  My grandparents have a lake house that they live at full time with my parents currently so we decided to get a little sun, r&r, and family time all in one long weekend.

Looking from our screened in porch :)

We expected that leaving on Friday would be a long drive with everyone heading up North for the Fourth of July, but our usually 7 hour trip turned into an over 8 and 1/2 hour trip!  Being pregnant and sitting in the car for that long is NOT fun, and for the first time in the 6 plus months I've been pregnant my feet, toes, and ankles were swollen when we got there.  We arrived and to my surprise there was an unfamiliar car in the driveway which happened to belong to a long lost cousin that I haven't seen since I was maybe 4 or 5!  My mom's cousin Bruce was in town to see his aunt (my grandmother) and it was amazing to see him and meet his family after over 20 years.  He and Dane hit it off immediately because they are both business men, and Bruce had great advice for Dane.  Unfortunately they had to leave bright and early the next morning, but when I woke up I found a note that my cousin Bruce had left for Dane on the counter.  I immediately teared up after reading his note that gave him an investment website to check out, told him to take care of his beautiful wife, and then said use the $50 (he paper clipped a $50 bill to his business card) to buy that baby a stock in Walt Disney from his cousin Bruce.  I haven't seen the man in 20 years, but it just goes to show that no matter how long it's been family is family and I was extremely touched by his generosity.

After cleaning the entire house on my first day in Michigan the sun FINALLY came out around 4 pm so I was able to sit outside and catch a few rays before the next wave of family arrived.  Dane and I decided that since we were invited to a cocktail party that night we should be social (even though I REALLY didn't want to go), but it was really good to see all my friends that I only get to see once a year up in Michigan. 

The rest of our weekend was spent down at our dock sitting in the sun, wading in the water, and best of all just relaxing!  Dane thought it was a good idea to use 12spf tanning oil the first day even though I begged him to use a minimum of 30spf and needless to say he learned his lesson quickly!

He was begging me for the 30 once the pink started showing up!

Don't worry everyone was using their sunscreen even baby!!

As you can see my belly button is flattening out and baby is really growing!

All in all I was so happy to be up in Michigan for some peace and quiet and to spend time with my grandparents who are getting older.  We hate to leave, and never get enough time up there, but we always hope we'll be back again soon! :)

24 Weeks Belly Update

We are officially 6 months pregnant this week!  I went to our 24 week doctor appointment today and everyone seems to be healthy and growing properly. 

How Far Along: 24 weeks

Size of baby: I just got my update so I can inform you that baby is the size of an ear of corn :) (almost a foot long) and has gained 4 ounces since last week making him over a pound now!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm actually not sure this time around

Maternity Clothes: Now that it's getting so warm out I'm sticking to cotton dresses mostly to stay cool and comfortable :)

Movement: The little man is QUITE the mover and shaker!  He's getting so big I can sometimes feel an arm on one side of my tummy and a foot on the other side.  He's also getting big enough that now after I eat and he gets all rowdy I can see him moving under my shirt...it's very bizarre to see your stomach jumping around!

Sleep: The past few days haven't been my best sleeping days.  I'm finding that I'm not able to stay asleep at night, but I think that's baby just preparing me for late night feedings.  I sleep with a pillow under my head, one between my knees, one behind my back, and a feather comforter to hug...all together that's a LOT of separate things in the bed just so I can be comfortable.  To minimize all of the stuff in our bed I ordered a pregnancy body pillow and I'm very excited for it to come so I can try it out :)

Symptoms: The weirdest symptom I'm experiencing at this point is that my belly button is starting to pop out!  I never thought it would happen because I usually have a deep belly button but it's starting to come out and it freaks Dane out.  Other than the belly button and the big tummy we aren't experiencing too many other symptoms at this point.

What I miss: I miss being able to bend over and shave my legs comfortably in the shower...

Cravings: Still nothing specific yet
Best Moment this week: This week hasn't been very eventful, but I would say the best moment was when Dane put his head on my belly and the baby kicked him in the head!

One more HUGE update is that Dane and I finally got our stuff together and booked a Babymoon!  We are going to Tulum Mexico for 5 nights and we cannot wait to get down there to lay on the beach and relax for a few days.



First Finished Project...Almost

Dane and I have been hard at work on the house the past few weeks.  Dane ripped out the entire bathroom like I've said in a previous post and we painted the entire front living room.  The living room only has ONE window (so annoying but true) so without a lot of natural light the room can not handle a dark color.  You can't tell in the below picture but the color on the walls when we moved in was a dark tan color and just didn't look good.

Before

(I think the flash was on because the color was actually MUCH darker)

After

(This is a light greyish blue)

We are not 100% done with the living room painting yet, we still have to redo all of the trim work because the previous owners were REALLY bad painters.  I will say that even though the textured plaster was such a pain in the "you know what" to paint, it turned out well and we absolutely love the new lighter feel of the room.  Once we get all the trim finished we can get the drapes off the floor and maybe hang a few pictures so that our house starts looking like a home FINALLY :)

Once this room is done we are moving into the dining room, hopefully the kitchen, and when Dane finishes the floors and walls in the bathroom we will move into the downstairs bath to get everything painted different colors (these people REALLY liked bold colors).  THEN once we finish the downstairs we will move up and focus on the nursery...don't worry I've already got a plan for that room but it will be a surprise for a little later :)

Lillian Marie Weigle

One of my very best friends from college had her first baby last week and I want to gush about her as if she were my own.

Lillian Marie Weigle was born June 1st at 10:38 am weighing 5lbs 14oz (tiny peanut)

Lauren and Kris are the first of my friends to have a baby so it's very exciting stuff!  A few of us girls made a trip up to Chicago to visit Lauren a few weeks before baby came to have one last weekend without having to tote the babies around.  We got a chance to help rearrange the nursery and talk about all of the fun pregnancy stuff that women talk about when they get together.  Lauren did go jogging with our friend Abbe which was a little risky as she was waddling the rest of the day, but she managed to make it through Ikea and Target afterward (such a trooper).  Being so close to her due date Lauren was nothing but calm and collected and ready for baby proving that she is going to be the best mom EVER!

Lillian is such a tiny little baby, but she has so many people who already love her and haven't even met her yet!  I wish Lauren and Kris nothing but the best on their amazing journey of parenthood and can't wait to share in the excitement in just a few months!

21 Week Belly Update

We are almost 21 weeks pregnant and since I missed a belly update last week with all of our other 20 week excitement I thought I would post one for 21 weeks.  I have definitely started showing!!

How Far Along: 21 weeks (almost)
Size of baby: Length of a Carrot 3/4 of a pound and 10 1/2 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Only about 7 pounds so not TOO terrible

Maternity Clothes: I bought my token maternity jeans since I wear jeans to work every day I thought I should at least be comfortable!

Movement: Even since my last belly post there has been a HUGE change...the baby has been active for the past 2 weeks but I'm pretty sure we have an olympic soccer player in there!!  I can no not only feel him from the inside but if I put my own hands on my tummy I can feel him kicking from the outside too!Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part (although Dane tells me that sometimes when he comes into bed I yell at him...but I have no recollection of this !  It's only been since we've been in the new house and it's happened twice and I seriously have no recollection...I'm going to say I've been dreaming)
Symptoms: Belly is really starting to pop!  Sometimes I get a good kick to the pelvic bone which isn't very pleasant

What I miss: A nice cold glass of white wine after a long day at work when it's warm out!

Cravings: Still nothing specific yet
Best Moment this week: Since I missed posting last week I'll say the best part of my week was finding out we are having a baby BOY!  I would say that is the best part of Dane's whole life...not just his week :)

House Renovations (already)

We knew when we moved in we would be redoing the downstairs bath, but I never thought it would be within the first week of living there!  When my husband gets something in his head, there is no talking him out of it. 

Needless to say the downstairs bath was gross so while I was at work this Saturday Dane ripped out the vanity, tile floor, and toilet.  I put on the mask and was scraping the 17 layers of paint off the door frame (the previous owners just put paint on top of paint and it was just peeling off).  After ripping out the vanity we realized the owners put a HUGE hole in the plaster that we now have to repair so it has taken us a few days to plot our course of action.  We are also trying to figure out what to do with the walls because the top half of the walls is smooth plaster and the bottom half is textured.  Needless to say, that will NOT do so we have to figure out how to make it uniform.  Between the walls, floor, and door we have our hands full so I am VERY glad we decided to keep the custom tub (we will just have it refinished) because I'm not sure we could have handled one more project in there!

Here is a taste of what we are dealing with RIGHT outside our kitchen: