14 Weeks! Our Little Lemon!

Our little Lemon is about 1 ounce and 3-4 inches long and has fingerprints!! His chin is no longer resting on his chest because his neck is growing longer and he is busy thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid. He has a thin, downy layer of hair growing all over his body called Lanugo for warmth which will shed before birth.

I am feeling much better and my appetite is increasing as the week progresses. I have had 2 nose bleeds but that is a possible symptom of pregnancy…I’d take that over nausea any day! We are slowly cleaning up the house, one area at a time and I am so excited to find out the gender on August 11! What a great birthday present! After we get the go ahead, we will be busy painting the nursery and staining furniture…I can’t wait to get started! I haven’t felt him since the first couple times and I am anxiously awaiting the next flutter! I have had a lot of nightmares about protecting him while we are out and I think getting some pepper spray might ease my fears…or at least start to. The worry has already begun!

We have our first Midwife appointment next week…I can’t wait! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Hope you have a great week!

Nursery Furniture Move In Day!!

Here we are picking up and moving in the nursery furniture...thanks for all the help Dad, Brad, Mom and Mackie and for the wonderful company and the furniture Tommy and Gloria!

Moving in the dresser...

Isn't it adorable!!

Moving in the bookshelf (the second one is on order).

The crib...not put together obviously...

Ta Da!

The bookshelf...shelves not installed (obviously).

I can't wait to find out the gender and get started on staining or painting it! I can't wait until the nursery is finished and we can enjoy it!

Stroller, Baby Bag and Furniture!

Last night I went to pick up the Orbit stroller and car seat from Lulu! We LOVE it! Here are some pics...you just don't understand it until you see it in person. And if you've ever had to mess with a typical car seat and stroller system you appreciate the wonderfulness even more!

Here's a side view of the car seat on the stroller chassis facing backward (typical stroller setup).

Here's a side view of the car seat on the stroller chassis facing sideways (a signature feature of the system). This allows baby to sit at the table, say in a restaurant for example, without having the handles of the stroller out in the aisle in everyone's way.

Here's a side view of the car seat on the stroller chassis facing forward.

Here you can see the handles of the stroller easily adjust to whatever height you need...very useful for parents of different heights, say 6'3" and 5'1" for example.

Here's a picture of the cup holder and tray for little items.

Here's the interior of the car seat. It is lined in a high grade foam around the entire interior (unlike most car seats which only have it in the center under the baby). This helps absorb any impacts or bumps. It has high sides to further protect baby. The fabric is all removable and can be washed in the washing machine! Hallelujah!

Here's a picture of the Paparazzi Sun Shade which is usually nestled in the sun shade.

Here's the bag that stays nestled under the stroller and removes easily.

Here's the inside of the bag.

Here is the car seat on the car seat base. This base is the easiest base to install, no fireman required (but I will accept inspections if in uniform minus the jacket and a shirt). The car seat can be installed without the base using the seat belt if needed.

Here's the stroller chassis without the car seat. The ring in the middle is the whole key to the Orbit system (get it, Orbit...circular ring...see!). This allows not only the infant car seat but the toddler car seat (which comes about a year down the road), the bassinet seat (which I MUST have) and the toddler stroller seat (not really a must for me when the baby can sit in the toddler car seat). The frame is aluminum and titanium so it is strong and durable yet light. The wheels are foam filled so no flat tires! And each wheel has 4 shocks so it's a smooth ride!

Here's a picture of the stroller chassis folded up. Folding is the easiest of any travel system stroller I've seen. You simply twist and lift up the stroller by the silver bar connecting the handles and the base. Gravity folds the stroller and Voila! It's folded. And unfolding is just as easy. Just undo the clip and it unfolds itself! Amazing!

Here's me demonstrating the soft, flexible handle. Unlike most car seats that are bulky plastic, the soft, flexible handle allows you to hold the car seat close to you without killing your arms and hips. It also keeps you from having to hold the seat way out from your body...another arm saver. See how my exaggerated lean isn't making the car seat sit in a crazy tilted way like it would on a regular car seat.

And last but certainly not least...the Vera Bradley Baby Bag in Slate Blooms!!!!! Isn't it the most beautiful baby bag you've ever seen? Sigh....it brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. Greg made the mistake of suggesting that if it had a cooler I could get it...IT HAS A MATCHING COOLER HUNNY!! :) Which I will be getting in the near future to keep my little one's bottles nice and fresh.

We also ordered our nursery furniture last night...Tommy, Gloria, PawPaw, MawMaw and Uncle Louie purchased it for us...isn't that the sweetest gift! We will have this furniture for a long time and it will never go out of style. Once we know for sure it's a boy we will stain it a dark cherry or mahogany. Anyone like staining because there is a lot to do! A crib, a 10 drawer dresser, 2 book shelves and possibly a toy chest (which needs to be stripped first...anyone?). We will pick it up Thursday, well, all but the 2nd bookcase which had to be ordered. I will post pictures of it in a few days! It's beautiful!

Speaking of the nursery, it's almost entirely cleaned out, all that's left are the dog cages (still deciding where they will go), plastic drawers with their stuff in it and a wooden table. Pretty good huh? Can't wait to get started decorating!

13 Weeks! Our Little Peach!

Our little plum is now a peach at about 2.9 inches long and .81 ounces…they grow so fast! This week our little one is busy growing teeth, vocal cords and even a tongue! Thankfully they don’t work at the moment, only 6 more months of quiet. The intestines are moving inside the body to their final place and little one’s head is only one third the size of it’s body.

SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!!!
Friday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch talking to mom on the phone when I felt a strange flutter in the lower left of my tummy. I dismissed the first flutter as regular stomach movement but as a felt the 2nd, 3rd and 4th flutters I realized I had never felt anything like that before! I told my mom I think I just felt the baby!! It felt just like everyone said it would, like a little butterfly flutter…it was such a wonderful feeling! I felt it once more that night on my right side about an hour later. I know it wasn’t a stomach gurgle because it was doing that very thing a few minutes later and it was up high in my tummy (you know, in the stomach!) and it was a much more pronounced and familiar feeling with an accompanying loud gurgle. I haven’t felt anything since although I have been trying to pay attention. It was such a light feeling, I think I would need to be sitting up in a quiet and non distracting environment to be able to feel it again. I am so looking forward to that day!

Friday night Greg had a boys night with Stephen Scratch and they had dinner at Hooters then headed to Dick’s sporting goods where he bought our little peach it’s first fishing pole (although a bit big for him now he will grow into it!). I was invited to go have a Japanese dinner with Mom and Dad, Mackie, Brad, Frenchy, Kathy, Jean-Luc and a couple of his friends. I was happy to go and enjoyed every minute of my food! Up until I got too full and then felt sick…but up until then I was in food heaven! It was fabulous! I headed back home and talked with Greg and Stephen for a few minutes but it was well past my bed time and I was out like a log as soon as I hit the bed.

Saturday Greg and I headed to Lulu Baby at the Town Center where my friend Sarah (who also did our wedding cake) works. We went to get the Orbit stroller and car seat. She was so great and gave us a demonstration to make sure we knew all the features and she was even nice enough to give us a 10% discount! That was a pleasant surprise! Then we headed over to Tommy and Gloria’s house to pick up my Vera Bradley Baby Bag in Slate Blooms. Gloria had gotten it for me last week. I fell in love with it when I found it in St. Augustine last weekend and she was so sweet to get it for me! It’s the most adorable baby bag EVER! I promise! I’ll put up some pics in the next couple days to show its adorableness! I’m going to get the matching cooler to keep the bottles cold…I am so excited!!

The exciting day doesn’t end there!
Next we went to Wood You and looked at furniture. Our choices are 1) to get cheap furniture that we will have to replace in 3-5 years or 2) to buy all wood furniture (which we thought would be a lot more money) and have it for many years. Our investigation at Wood You revealed very surprising results! The wood furniture wasn’t that much more expensive than the cheap particle board stuff we had been looking at. Sure it’s going to take a bit more work to get it ready (staining or painting) but we will have it for a very long time and we will be able to restain or paint it another color if we want down the road. Also, we wouldn’t be able to get a crib to match perfectly with the other pieces if we go the cheap route because they would be made by different manufacturers. Another great thing that Greg and I noticed was in the expensive baby store the $900 cribs had a veneer finish and we saw how they would chip and scratch…with an all wood stained crib it’s not going to chip or scratch like those kinds of cribs and so our $299 convertible all wood crib find makes a lot of sense to us! The owner also offered us 20% off Monday since he had to close early Saturday…Heck Yeah! So we are going by this afternoon to pay for our crib to secure our 20% discount and the $200 manufacturer’s discount (regularly $499) before it expires. We are going to wait a bit longer on the other pieces because they are always there and we have time. We are going to get a 10 drawer dresser and 2 three-tired book shelves. I’ve already got the whole room planned out in my head (Anyone surprised? Didn’t think so.)

After Wood You and the exciting morning we went to Mom and Dad’s and had a wonderful night. Sunday we did house chores in the morning and had lunch with some of Greg’s old friends. We stayed home Sunday night and relaxed. It was a great weekend.

I will probably get the stroller this afternoon (she thinks they have one in their warehouse otherwise it will have to be ordered) so I am very excited. I will post pictures soon!

I hope everyone has a great week!

I'm ready to be a momma...no for real!

I woke up this morning about 5:30 (my new thing for some crazy reason) thinking about Haiden. (By now...if you hadn't already figured it out...we are about 95% sure it's a boy so we are calling him by his name HAIDEN HAYES!) I was thinking about him laying in bed with Greg and me, his tiny little body between Greg's and mine. I was thinking about his tiny fingers wrapped around mine and his tiny kicking legs and his little tongue doing what baby tongues do when they are hungry.

Thinking about that made me almost cry and I was so overwhelmed with joy and love for this little guy who is baking inside me. Seeing him on the ultrasound the other day and my expanding belly makes it more real. I have been ready to be a momma for some time but it hasn't been a real thought until recently. I am ready to hold him and love on him, give him lots of kisses and rock him to sleep every night. I am ready for the hard stuff too...like dirty diapers, sleepless nights and crying for reasons I won't be able to figure out. I am finally ready. I am over the shock phase, the "are you for real" phase and the "oh crap, our lives are gonna change" phase, now I'm on to the "I'm ready" phase. It sure is nice.

I'm certainly rocking the baby bump now...it's a little one but it's mine and I love it! I can understand why pregnant women always hold and touch their bellies now...I do it to. It's a constant reminder that your little one is safe and it's a bonding experience that I never expected. And it doesn't happen until your bump makes its appearance so it was completely unexpected. It is still a bit squishy at the top but is beginning to harden at the bottom...it's so neat! According to all the books and websites I should start to feel him in the next few weeks so I am very much looking forward to that.

The nausea is starting to dissipate and I am loving that! It still comes around when I eat a lot (well, relatively anyway) but I just try to take it easy and it usually passes. Some foods are absolute heaven to my taste buds...one being my morning toaster scramblers! I know, I know...they aren't as good for us as a hearty breakfast of fresh eggs, turkey bacon and whole wheat toast but I am lucky that it's even going down! Just the subtle flavors are a huge step for me and they make me so happy! Last weekend at Benny' at the Landing before Michael Buble I had an appetizer of calamari (which I shared of course) and a side salad...and then Mrs. Kathy's side salad. I just couldn't get enough for some reason and I didn't even get sick! It was so wonderful! The best night!

A few misc pictures I don't think I've shared yet...a cute whale jumper we got from Walmart ($7) and an adorable sailfish onesie...he's gonna be a mini Greg...I can already see it. I can't wait! I love the big one so much I can't even imagine the love I'm gonna feel for the little one! I am bursting with joy and happiness, what a wonderful feeling!

12 Weeks! Our Little Plum!

Goodbye first trimester…and welcome to a much needed second trimester!

Our little one in now a plum and getting bigger by the minute! He’s about 2.5 inches and half an ounce…they grow so fast!  He is now shifting into the growth and maturation stage, almost all of the critical systems are in place. He is very active, wiggling fingers and toes, kicking like crazy and even opening and closing his mouth. The rib cage is beginning to close and the eye lids are starting to shut to protect the eyes.

This weekend was a blast!

Friday night we went to St. Augustine and met up with mom and dad, Tommy and Gloria, Mackie, Sandy and Mary. Steve and Laura, Sarah and the Kesslers were there too but we didn’t get to see them. We had dinner at A1A Ale House…it was excellent. Then we headed to the Tini Martini bar where the drinks looked and smelled wonderful! Saturday we did some shopping on St. George street…we had a great time but it was hot. My new thing is getting too full (so says my stomach anyway…I’m still hungry) and running to throw up but I usually only ending dry heaving a bit so it works out…much better than vomiting every time I eat! I found the cutest Vera Bradley Baby Bay in Slate Blooms…absolutely adorable! We also found a precious baby store with the most adorable stuff! We got a cute little anchor jumper and Gloria got us a sweet romper and a sweater that looks just like something Greg would wear…so cute!! Also exciting news (at least to me!)…I finally got the wallet that I love back! Aunt Kathy bought me a matching Vera Bradley purse and wallet a few years ago…I stopped using the purse because I started making my own (duh!) so I gave the purse and matching wallet to a friend. And I’ve missed that wallet ever since!! Well I got a new one and I’m now in wallet heaven! Happy times!! We headed back Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the night at mom and dad’s house…what a nice day!

Sunday we were lazy and didn’t get going until 12. I had to find some flat black shoes to wear to the concert so we headed to the Avenues. I found luck in the first store! Don’t you just love when that happens! I got some cute back flats and a pair of inserts (that happen to match the lining of the shoe…crazy good luck huh?) for $29…great day! We walked around for a bit and grabbed some lunch…a whole slice of pizza and not one sign of nausea or gagging! Lovely! Then we headed to Tommy and Gloria’s so she could give us her recent purchases…some super sweet and soft baby blanket, an adorable turtle hooded bath towel and a super cute layette piece with an adorable matching doggie bib…I can’t wait to see him in it!

My feet were killing me so I decided to let Greg drive to Target (he was helping me learn how to drive the Explorer…it’s so BIG!) where I had to get a few items. I switched to my new shoes because my feet were killing me from the wedges I had on (though they were super cute). He dropped me off at the front and while I was sitting there waiting for him a lady complimented me on my shoes! What a great feeling! I had luck with finding my purchases and we headed home to get ready for the concert.

The concert was absolutely fantastic! What a show! Can’t say enough good things about it! The only bad part was the long walk to the car in the rain with painful feet and a full bladder…oh well. We had fantastic seats…second row and at times it looked as if he was singing right to us! What a great night!

This weekend was just about as wonderful as it can get and I hope yours was too! I hope the week will be just as wonderful too!

Our Blob looks like a Baby!!

Today we had our 2nd doctor’s appointment and it was so neat!

We headed into the ultrasound room and began immediately. Guess what…? Our blob looks like a baby now!! How exciting!!

He was very active…he wouldn’t sit still! He kept kicking his feet and wiggling, it was the neatest thing to see! We got to see his cute little nasal bone, a stomach and a full bladder. We also saw what the technician believes to be a boy part! We will confirm it in a few weeks. He was very active…it was so neat to see that…I wish we would have taped it, don’t know why I didn’t think to do that! We also heard the heart beat for just a few seconds…it was very fast…178 beats per minute but the tech said that was very good! I still can’t believe there is a little life growing inside me and he will be here in 6 months! I am so excited! It’s so awesome!

The second part of the appointment was not so fun. I called the day before to see if they would be doing any blood work and they said no they don’t do blood work in the office. What I should have asked was ARE you gonna be taking my blood…because that answer was a screaming YES! I was going to have my mom take me to the appointment and bring me back to work since I’m not to keen on needles and blood and all but I told her it wasn’t necessary because they wouldn’t be doing blood work. Luckily I had my wonderful husband (I am still giddy when I say it!) with me to hold my hand. He got me some juice and we headed to the nearest gas station to get a protein bar which helped a lot. We then went back and got my car and I followed him to the sushi place we love for some to go lunch (don’t worry I didn’t eat any raw fish). Greg headed back to work and I headed home to eat and relax for a few minutes before I headed back to work.

It was such a neat experience and I can’t wait to see him again! Once we have another confirmation ultrasound the walls will be painted blue and the buying will begin! I can’t wait to hold our little pumpkin in my arms!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day and a nice short week…good news! Tomorrow is Friday! We will be headed to St, Augustine for the night and to see Michael Buble on Sunday. We also have an appointment to meet the midwife tomorrow so of course I’ll let you know how that goes!

11 Weeks! Our Little Lime!

Our little giant strawberry (prune just sounds bad) is now a lime!

The baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. It is about 1.6in. long and weighs about .25oz. Fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming. He can swallow and kick and in another month or so, I should be able to feel him.

This weekend we were at the river with Scott and Amanda. Although it rained the whole time and we weren’t able to go on the boat much we had a good time. Amanda is 22 weeks and is able to feel her baby move all the time, I was even able to feel it! I can’t wait until I can feel that he’s really in there!

I had been feeling much better, up until Sunday night that is. All the sudden I didn’t feel well at all and after laying down with severe nausea for about 10 minutes I had to run to the bathroom. (Here’s where it get’s a bit graphic so skip ahead if you don’t want to know.) It wasn’t a pretty site but it tasted like the graham crackers I had eaten a few hours earlier so at least it was sweet! The nausea went away but I was still in pain. I eventually fell asleep and felt better the next morning.

The rest of the weekend and this morning I haven’t felt very good. I’m ready for this part to be over!

We have a doctors appointment Thursday where we should get another ultrasound so I hope we can get another picture!! Maybe this one will look more like a baby!

Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and has a great rest of this short week! Yay!

I’ll let you know how it goes!