Maternity Pics!

Here they are. We took pictures with our Photographer, with whom we became great friends with after our wedding. He did such a great job on these. We couldn't love him more. Check out his work at www.rephotodesign.com

38 weeks - Update

OK I am really bad at making sure I update my blog. I just realized it's been 2 months!

So I'm 38 weeks. I am officially on bed rest. I went to my normal OB appointment on 4/22 and my Blood pressure was high. Fast forward to two L&D visits...now I am on bed rest to keep my blood pressure down. It's strange because when I go to the hospital my numbers are normal, then in the office it always seems to be high. What gives? I have no idea. This has been such an easy pregnancy until now.

The doctor doesn't think it will develop into preeclampsia, but she is keeping a very close eye on me. I have to see her twice a week, or more if something is wrong or I don't feel well. So I've been out of work for 2 weeks. I have to admit I am getting bored. I am catching up on much needed sleep, but other than that it's boring. Daytime TV is such a drag. Maybe, I need to get into a soap opera?

All of Alanna's things are put together, car seat is installed and the nursery is done. (see pics). We have everything ready...now we just need a baby! Hopefully she will make her appearance soon. We are all really anxious to meet her. And me, well I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore. I am terribly uncomfortable now. SO sweetie, if you are ready...Mommy is ready!

We got maternity pictures taken. I am going to post those later tonight or tomorrow. So stay tuned!

30 Weeks!

I can't believe it! 30 weeks! How did this happen? It has seriously flown by. I can't believe I only have 10 more weeks of being pregnant. And, that we will be able to meet our little girl so soon.

I must tell you that I am not one of those women that will "miss" being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I love feeling this little girl swishing and rolling around inside of me. It is a feeling you cannot describe. You must feel it to understand the sheer joy of it. I WILL miss that. But everything else, not really. This has been an easy pregnancy thus far. No real problems, just minor stuff like carpal tunnel and heartburn that won't quit. But, lately I am really tired and the pressure of the baby just makes it harder and harder to do anything really.

I cannot wait to meet this little girl. Only 10 more weeks! Here is the belly shot. No more bare ones. The stretch marks are so out of control, I can't even begin to describe them!

Nursery is Painted!!!!

Well the nursery is all ready for the furniture. It won't be here for another 3-5 weeks, but all the painting is done. We got the woodworking done over the weekend and the painting was done today. I am SO in love with her room. I just can't stop staring at it! Now we just wait for her furniture to come in!!!!

Here are some work in progress and final pictures.

28 weeks - Glucose Test

We are back from Puerto Rico! We had such a great time. I can't believe we actually debated a babymoon. I recommend it to anyone. It was so nice to get away and have time to ourselves for a few days.

We had our OB appointment today. We are at 2 weeks OB appointments, now which means the end is VERY near! We got to hear the heartbeat. That sounds just NEVER gets old. I asked the OB about why I still felt kicks really low. I had a feeling she hadn't turned yet. The OB felt around and said she is pretty sure she laying across my belly! This could be because 1. She is just REALLY comfortable right now or 2. She is maneuvering herself around a fibroid I have on my right side., which may be getting bigger. The OB says it's not a problem now, but we will probably do an ultrasound to take a look and see what is going on. I am super excited that we may get to have a peek at her again at our next appointment. Crossing my fingers!!!

I had my 1 hour glucose test and passed! My number was 123. She said the cutoff is 135 so she said my number was really good. Whew! I must admit I was really worried. I have gained 35 lbs in 28 weeks! I knew a high weight gain with pregnancy puts you at a greater risk for Gestational Diabetes. But, there is no worrying about that! Thank goodness!

We will be starting work on the nursery and painting soon. I will post pictures soon!

25 weeks and Leaving to Puerto Rico!

Well I am 25 weeks...26 weeks on Thursday! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! So far so good. No real complaints. This pregnancy has been pretty easy so far. Only things I can "complain" about are 24/7 heartburn and carpal tunnel. It has gotten so bad at night that I am wear wrist splints on my hands. Michael thinks I look like a bowler! But, They are totally helping. I was suffering through pain in the middle of the night. I would wake up with my hands asleep. I felt like I could cut them off and I wouldn't feel a thing! Other than that, smooth sailing. No issues. Um except the weight gain. OB says its still fine and she isn't worried. Almost 26 weeks and I have gained 30 lbs! We have some major walking to do this summer. I must go back to WW when she is born. I don't care about the weight gain....it just MUST come off after she is born. No excuses!

We are leaving for our Babymoon on Wednesday morning. We are going to Puerto Rico for 5 nights. Our last vacation alone. Funny, we always talk about how much we can't wait until she's here. We can't wait for family vacations, Disney, sand castles etc. Next summer should be interesting. We plan on taking her to Portugal to visit family!

So off in a couple of days. I will be sure to post pictures when we come back.

Here is my lovely 25 week belly picture. Don't I look further along? And you see those lovely stretch marks? Yeah BS cocoa butter doesn't help. I put it on religiously, and NADA! Still got them!

24 weeks! = We have Movement!

So for about 2-3 weeks I have been feeling this butterfly feeling in my stomach. It's sort of felt like that feeling when someone runs up behind you and spooks you. But nobody is doing that! So I knew it was her moving around in there. But today...24 weeks on the dot I felt my first kicks! I couldn't believe it.

First off I can't believe how low it is. I imagined I would feel kicks right in the gut around where my belly button is. WRONG! Its sooooooo low. I second guessed it for a minute. It felt like a muscle spasm at first. But, when it kept happening I knew I was feeling kicks. My mom has been able to feel it and a friend at work. Every time I try to get Michael to feel it she either stops or he isn't around or asleep. Seems like this little girl is already playing games with her Daddy! For now I will enjoy it and hope he gets to feel it too.

Ordered the Nursery Furniture

So we finally ordered the nursery furniture, our stroller and bedding. This was such a process. There is a small Baby Boutique in town. We went there first and found a set we loved! But it was super expensive. And, when you have a husband who runs a company and is always looking at the bottom line and how to save money...well you know where this is going. He wasn't satisfied with the 10% discount they offered us. So we took the brochures on the furniture and went on our way. We called about 5 other local stores (NY, NJ and MA) to compare what their prices were on this set. Well, this boutique was the most reasonable. They had the lowest price on everything. After 3 visits total, Michael spoke with the owner and got him to agree on a 18% discount on everything we bought! Sweet! Although, this didn't come without a huge blowout. We got into a major fight about it. But it blew over. We got everything we wanted at a price we were comfortable with. And, our mom's agreed to buy the nursery furniture, my mom also bought the custom bedding. Mike and I bought the stroller, glider and ottoman. No we just have to wait about 10 weeks for everything to come in, be delivered and set up. Now to start painting! Well here are the pictures of the furniture, and the nursery we are literally copying. I found it online and fell in love with it. We custom ordered the bedding to almost match it exactly! And, the stroller of course. I have coveted the Bugaboo Chameleon since before we even started trying to have a baby.

Picture #1 is the Stroller (Obviously)
Picture #2 is the Furniture
Picture #3 is the Nursery we are basically copying with a few minor changes.

20 week Belly

Here it is. Against my better judgment I am posting this. But here goes nothing. Here it is in all it's glory!

Nothing much to report except 1. A darn stretch mark appeared this morning. I guess what they say is right. All the cocoa butter in the world won't help you with genetics. My mom got them, and I guess I will too. 2. I have a new lovely pregnancy symptom. My hands are falling asleep while I'm sleeping. I read it's pretty common. But, seriously? It's so annoying. I am hoping this is only temporary.