33 Weeks: Daddy Vs. Crib

Hooray for 33 weeks! Only 7 more to go until due date! I can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel! I skipped last week because not a lot was going on! I did my first load of baby laundry and put all of her clothes away in drawers or hung them up in the closet!
This week our girl is weighing over 4 pounds and will have grown a full inch by the end of the week! I can definitely tell she is growing. I can feel where she is at just by pushing around on my stomach. She's pretty high up and I'm 95% sure she is sideways...hopefully she'll turn soon. I like to play guess the body part every time I get a poke or a nudge. My feet have started swelling this past week. I have some really cute cankles going on. I've had it pretty easy so far so I guess the real fun begins now that we're in the home stretch
This was a very exciting weekend for Andy and I. Andy put together her crib, which was given to us by Annalise's GaGa, and we finished her room! It took about 4 hours, but it was well worth the time and the effort!

Andy opening the box

Bewildered Daddy looking at the instruction booklet and all the pieces up against the wall

Big Sister Indy wondering what in the world is about to happen from the safety of under the bed.

Progress

Almost finished!

Crib set up complete now we can decorate!

33 weeks and the room is decorated!!!

31 Weeks and Counting! Happy Birthday Andy and a Dr. Checkup!

                                                                                                                                                                   Less then 9 weeks to go! Two months from Sunday until my due date and I cannot wait to meet our sweet girl! We started our 31st week of pregnancy off with a nasty cold and some pictures! I have been bragging to everyone how I had not gotten sick this year, which is a huge accomplishment when you teach preschool all day. Naturally I woke up Saturday morning with a stuffy, runny nose that has yet to go away despite medicine. To feel better I decided to dress in a new maternity outfit and take pictures! In the last week my belly has popped and I thought I'd show it off:

Laughing at my photographer

Andy wanted to see who's tummy was bigger...his is still winning :)

Saturday night we celebrated Andy's birthday with friends! It was a fun night of grilling out, corn hole, and cookie cake!

Andy playing corn hole

Sean and James messing around with Andy while singing happy birthday

Sean cutting the cookie cake

Andy and his cookie cake

Monday I went to the doctor for another checkup! It was a good appointment! Annalise's heartbeat was really strong. I was given the names of some medicines I could take for my cold....so far no good though! I also talked to the Dr. about period like cramps I had been having Friday and was told these were not cramps, but most likely mild contractions and if they became too regular and resting did not help I needed to call and go get checked out at the hospital. I have also progressed from monthly visits to every two weeks! That was exciting!
Monday night Andy and I celebrated his actual birthday with presents and dinner at Ichiban, a Hibachi steak house!

30 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm here! It seems like just yesterday I was getting that plus sign on my pregnancy test! With 10 weeks/68 days to go, I am more anxious then ever to meet my daughter! I think about her birthday constantly and how much greater life will be once she arrives! I just cannot wait!
 Not a lot has changed for me symptom wise this week besides my growing belly, but for Annalise that's a different story. This week she's the size of a cantaloupe about 17 inches long and just over 3 pounds. Her brain is continuing development this week by getting bigger and forming grooves, wrinkles, and indentations. She is now able to regulate her body temperature somewhat.

Me at 30 weeks! Definitely looking pregnant now!

Andy and I had a very interesting week this week. We celebrated Indy's first birthday, had two "snow" storms, and finished up buying the major things for Annalise's room. We decided to not wait until after my baby shower to buy the big things for her room. I'll be 34 weeks at my shower and babies in my family have been known to show up anywhere between 36 and 38 weeks so we (mostly me) really want her room done before then...just in case. Plus...who buys a crib mattress as a baby shower gift?? I wouldn't and do not expect anyone else to either. So yesterday, with coupons in tow we headed out to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us to order her bedding and purchase her crib mattress. It is all starting to come together!
I also pulled off an awesome diaper and wipe purchase yesterday at CVS using coupons! Probably the best one yet! I had $5 in CVS care bucks from a previous diet coke purchase. I also had a $2 off coupon when you buy $10 or more Huggies products from CVS, a $2 off any Huggies diaper coupon, and a .50 off any Huggies wipes. So I bought a pack of 64 wipes for $3.29 and a pack of 32 diapers on sale for $7.99 total with tax was $12.07 and total after extra care bucks was $1.96 and $2.67 after tax! I felt pretty good about that one!

29 Weeks! Painting the Nursery!

Here we are at 29 weeks! Time is flying and Andy and I are so excited that we are 75 days away from due date! This week baby weighs over 3 pounds and is coming close to birth length! What to Expect says that over the next weeks her weight will come close to tripling! I estimate about a 9 pounder! When we went to our 3D ultrasound last weekend she weighed 2.13 so triple that and she'll be about 9 pounds. Geez! Is it even possible to push a 9 pound baby out? 

This week has come with some unpleasantness for me, but I figure that's to be expected since I'm in the third trimester and also I'm sure it'll get worse before it gets better. Sleeping this week has been super uncomfortable. I finally busted out the body pillow Andy got me for Christmas to help solve that problem. I actually really like it. My acid re-flux has also returned with a vengeance. I think because my stomach is starting to get squished from my growing baby.

On a super happy and exciting note, this weekend we got the nursery painted! Andy painted it and put the border up with a little help from me. It looks FANTASTIC! We have officially become do-it-yourselfers! We decided to go with a ladybug theme and I cannot wait to bring home our sweet little ladybug to her new room! Here are pictures of us painting and the finished product!

Helping tape the walls

Andy painting

Painting

I helped touch up the bottom and the corners

Doing my part

Wallpaper time! Andy measuring and marking where it goes

One wall

Proud Daddy!

It really looks great! These pictures don't even do it justice because it's hard to get the whole room since it's a small room! 

28 Weeks! Helloooooo Third Trimester and a sweet little Valentine!

Well, We made it! Annalise and I have officially entered the third trimester! I can't believe Andy and I are 3/4 of the way to meeting our beautiful girl! This week she is beginning to blink her eyes and enter REM when she goes to sleep!
It has been an exciting week for us! On Thursday I had my 28 week Dr. appointment where I had to do my glucose test. I passed thank goodness! I am so glad gestational diabetes is something I do not have to deal with! I did however, get the "you are gaining weight too fast" talk from my Dr.  for some reason I was not ashamed or embarrassed, I found it quite hilarious actually. It went something like this.
Dr: "What are you doing differently?"
Me: "nothing really" (lie....I eat....ALOT...not always the best things)
Dr: "Drinking milk, lots of juice, soda?"
Me: "Ew I don't like juice, I started eating cereal" (did I mention I eat close to a box a week...the smaller boxes not value size)
Dr. "Well slow it down girl"
Me: "Well before I got pregnant I was running about 10-13 miles a week training for my race. I'm not really exercising now."
Dr: "If you're not running anymore stop eating like you are, watch what you eat, and weigh yourself everyday"
Silly Dr. Street. I watch what I eat...I thoroughly inspect every bite before it goes into my mouth :)

The fun and excitement continued on Saturday...Valentine's Day! Andy and I decided that we weren't going to get each other anything for Valentine's Day this year, but go have a 3D ultrasound to see our sweet girl. I've never been a fan of 3D ultrasounds. I always thought the babies looked like aliens and that it was a complete waste of money. Well, those thoughts went out the window when it was my baby we were going to look at. And let me just say I am so glad we got one. It was amazing. We didn't get that many great pictures, and yep, some are quite alien like, but to be able to see her moving around, wiggling, opening her mouth, eating her little feet, and sucking her thumb was amazing! We weren't able to see her whole face because the little stinker couldn't get her feet out of her mouth. She's literally in my belly with her feet over her head on each side of her ears and she goes from sucking one to the other. Seeing her like that made me love her even more! I can't wait to see her, hold her, and get to know her!
Here are some pictures from our ultrasound!

Half her face covered by her hand and feet

She's got her feet in her mouth!

27 Weeks: Quick Update!

Happy Last week of my second trimester! 13 weeks and 89 days to go! Hopefully exactly 3 months from today or sooner Andy and I will be meeting our sweet Annalise!
So, how's baby?
According to what to expect she should weigh over 2 pounds, and is about 15 inches long! Her kicks are definitely getting stronger. Earlier in the week I was in bed and she was performing her nightly kick boxing routine. So, I turned on the light and lifted my shirt. Sure enough I could see my belly move every time she kicked. It was the coolest, weirdest thing ever! Very Alien like. I feel like she is turned sideways with her head on the right side of me and her feet on the left because most of the time I feel movement in either the center or left side.

How's Mommy?
As of this morning I have gained a total of 27 pounds. I've almost maxed out my 30 that you're supposed to gain so now I'm shooting for 40. If I can keep it at 40 I'll be happy. My fingers are crossed. My most frequent cravings have been toast with peanut butter, honey nut cheerios (or cereal in general), and chocolate chip cookies (I try to keep this one to a minimum). I don't even know if you would call them so much cravings, I just really like to eat those things. I've also started getting leg cramps at night. They haven't been too bad though. I just have to flex my foot and they go away.
 I have my glucose test this Thursday so that should be fun....NOT! I'm not really into the whole fasting, can't even drink water type deal. My goal this week is to work some more on Annalise's baby book. I haven't really done much with it since Christmas, and the time is flying by! Andy and I did not do much on our to-do list this weekend. I blame it on the cold I started getting Friday. Next weekend we'll pick that back up and hopefully, FINALLY clean out what will be the baby's room, and get everything ready to start painting! I even found a coupon in the Sunday paper for 15% off paint at Sherwan Williams!
Pretty exciting!

26 Weeks! Conquering the List!

Two more weeks left of my second trimester! 14 Weeks until due date! 96 Days! Holy Crap! Where is this 9 months going! Every time I think about it I get nervous and excited at the same time. There's still so much to do and get ready before we bring home our baby girl!
This week she is weighing about 2 pounds and measures over 9 inches in length! Her eyelids are beginning to open, which means she may begin to respond to bright lights. I hope she's doing OK in there! On Friday one of my kids' parents asked me how far along I am and when I told her 26 weeks she was shocked. She asked me if the baby was just really small because I don't look 26 weeks pregnant. This got me kind of worried. I'm eating a lot. She shouldn't be small. I feel her kicking. My body has definitely gotten bigger, I'm gaining weight. I think I am just kind of spreading out wide ways rather than front ways. My hips have for sure widened out. I plan on asking the Dr. about this next appointment. I continue to itch to death. I have scratched so much I have unintentionally drawn blood splotches to the surface of my skin. Nothing is helping. I have tried extra strength lotion, Aloe Vera, nothing helps.
I wrote a few posts back about making a big To-Do list of things that need to get done before the baby comes. I am happy to report that this weekend we continued tackling items on the list! Andy and I FINALLY bought a bookshelf so we can continue unpacking all the book boxes that are stuffed in the closet, clean out what will be the baby's room, put the things we want to keep but don't want out in the now empty closet, and begin getting her room ready!! We also went to Babies R Us and registered! It was not as bad as I thought it would be. It took forever, we were there about 2 1/2 hours. Andy and I were both exhausted when it was over, but this morning when I woke up and looked over the registry and everything on it, I got super excited about all the awesome things we picked out for our baby girl! Never did I think cribs, travel systems, and pack n plays would get me so excited!
We also continued to test out the waters of coupons and budgets and were able to buy our first two packs of Huggies diaper this weekend! We now have 200 diapers, and I plan on continuing to get a pack or two every weekend! Target was having a great deal where if you buy two of their value packs of diapers, you get a $10 gift card. The diapers were originally $24.99 per box of 100, which isn't really great. BUT I had 2 $2 off coupons making each pack $22.99...better, but still not great. However, with the $10 I would be getting back on the gift card each pack would be valued at $17.99 or (drumroll) 18 cents per diaper! I've already started looking at deals for next weekend! It's actually kind of fun!