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!

25 Weeks 3 Days: Coupons and a Fun weekend Trip!

Our sweet girl continues to grow! She weighs almost 1.5 pounds and is about 9 inches long in length! Her capillaries are forming under her skin and in her lungs. Her nostrils are starting to open up (apparently they have been plugged up?) and her vocal chords are now functioning! Nothing has really changed for me except the numbers on the scale. :) The past two weeks I've been extremely itchy, but I think it's more dry skin and winter rather than skin stretching!
Andy and I spent the first half of my 25th week attempting to get back on a reasonable grocery budget by using coupons! Over the last two weeks of getting moved in and trying to start ready for the baby I made the following observations:
1. We spend WAY to much money on groceries
2. We don't eat leftovers and end up throwing practically whole meals away sometimes
3. We need to start stocking up on diapers!
I decided that we were going to cut our grocery budget down to under $100 by shopping the sales, going to multiple stores to try and find the best deals, eating all our leftovers, and limit our eating out to one night a week (Friday or Saturday). I was then going to use the money we were saving to start buying diapers and wipes. I spent the whole week looking at the Ads of different stores, printing out coupons, and making a menu for the week. We went shopping Friday and I did pretty well. We didn't get under $100, but we were close! I can't wait to try again this week :)
Saturday we drove up to Virginia to visit Andy's family and to see our sweet niece Caroline get baptized on Sunday. It was such a fun trip, I love his family and enjoying spending time with them. While we were visiting Andy and I were spoiled with baby goodies! Annalise was given some of the cutest clothes, a box of formula, a carrier, and a bouncy seat from her Aunt Abby, Uncle Ben, and her cousins. Her great grandma also crocheted her a beautiful blanket, and Andy's cousin Jessica knitted her a hat and booties! I love how loved our baby girl is already! I can't wait until she's here to meet everyone!
Here are some 25 week bump pictures these were taken in the hotel room before going to Caroline's baptism on Sunday.

24 Weeks: Baby-Do-List

We have reached viability! According to my Ovia pregnancy app. Baby's lungs are getting good enough at breathing that if she were to be born today there is a great chance she would survive! Hooray! Of course we do not want that to happen. She better stay in there as long as possible! This week she is the size of an egg plant. She weighs about 1.5-2 pounds and is gaining weight at a rate of 6 ounces per week. (No wonder I gained so much weight this month!) Her ears are getting even sharper and her face is fully formed complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair! I wonder if she will be blonde like Andy's family or brunette like me? Curly hair or straight hair? And what color will her eyes be? I can't wait to find out!
As baby continues to grow I have started experiencing new symptoms. I am no longer the heavy sleeper I used to be. I wake up at least twice during the night and am wide awake a good 30 minutes before I can go back to sleep. I have started getting leg cramps at night and backaches during the day. I also think there have been 2 instances where I have had Braxton Hicks, although I can't be sure.
Everything went well at our monthly checkup yesterday. The doctor used the doppler and we got to hear her heartbeat! I live for those few seconds! Here is my question about Dopplers: Do they pick up the heartbeat exactly where the baby is, or can the doctor put it anywhere on my uterus and find it? I ask because yesterday I had been feeling the baby kick me a lot on the left. Then when the doctor used the doppler in the middle she couldn't pick anything up. She had to move it all the way to my right side close to my hip bone to get the heartbeat. Was that where she was at the moment? We also began a new routine at the doctor yesterday. She took a tape measure and measured my stomach! I guess that means it's grown enough that it now needs to be documented :)
In other news, Andy and I have officially been in our new townhouse for a week! And let me just say the clutter and the mess is driving me INSANE! I do not know who this clean freak, organization Nazi is but I blame it on the hormones. Or maybe its just that before in our old apartment there was just so much stuff everywhere and I knew we were moving so it just didn't matter. Anyways, there is so much to do it is becoming overwhelming, and everything we accomplish seems to make a mess somewhere else. I spent much of yesterday creating what I'm calling a "Baby-Do-List" Everything we need to get done house wise and baby wise before a deadline of April 1st.  It's not super long and there are a lot of little things on it, but with Andy and I both working full time jobs and living basically paycheck to paycheck it may take awhile. Here is a copy:

As you can see I've already crossed two things off! Buy a couch and pay Dr. bill! We accomplished these two yesterday and WE LOVE OUR NEW COUCHES! Hopefully we'll get a couple more things crossed off by the end of the weekend. But for now, on this beautiful Saturday morning, Andy and I are enjoying finally being able to sit down on something other than the floor and are extremely happy about the the fact that I am paid in full for doctor visits through my 6 weeks postpartum checkup!

Here is Andy enjoying reclining on our new sofa this morning!

23 Weeks and 4 Days: All Moved In! And Hematologist Update!

As expected things have been pretty crazy around here! Andy and I are successfully all moved into our new home! The move went smoothly minus a busted pipe and minor flood in the old apartment as Andy was unhooking the washing machine. Nothing of ours was ruined just a couple of soaked boxes and a couch we didn't want anyways. We love our new place! I am having a lot of fun unpacking and making a home with Andy. Indy and Fat Kitty are enjoying themselves as well. Indy has discovered stairs! It's hilarious watching her run up and down them! I can't wait to get our furniture so then we can actually hang up decorations! I look around the living room with it's one chair and coffee table and get a little panicky. We have a lot to do before we bring our little munchkin home. These next few months are going to fly by getting everything ready, not to mention set up a nursery!
Speaking of all things baby, yesterday I had my follow up hematologist appointment with the specialist at Emory to discuss how my Factor 7 clotting disorder would affect my delivery and what needed to happen to make sure I was able to stop bleeding. I was previously told by my hematologist that I may have to deliver at a different hospital that was capable of running the correct tests to check my clotting factor levels before, during, and after deliver. I was also told that a C-section may be a safer option. So Andy and I went into this appointment thinking that we were going to get a lot of information and be presented with a plan for delivering our baby safely. What we actually got was a complete waste of time. It took us almost an hour and a half to get to St. Joseph's where our appointment was and the actual appointment with the doctor took less then 30 minutes. I was questioned about my bleeding history and then told I should be good to go for regular delivery with my normal doctor at my planned hospital. I would get some clotting medicine right after I had the baby and be on my way, no big deal. My other doctor made it sound like what I had could potentially be serious and this doctor was like "eh you'll be fine" The one thing I did learn was that during pregnancy sometimes factor levels increase and so my levels could possibly drop after I deliver so I must follow-up 4-6 weeks after the baby is born. I guess it is good I went though and I am counting my blessings that, as of right now, everything can go according to how I planned it: regular delivery with my doctor.
After I saw the doctor I had to have labs done. I've never in my life had so much blood drawn. 15 tubes is what the nurse took from me! They took so much blood they made me drink two cups of cranberry juice. What they were checking for, I have no idea since the doctors had already established that I do, indeed have a clotting disorder and it really is Factor 7 (for some reason no one believes me)
So that is that, I have another appointment with my original hematologist in February. Hopefully the two doctors will have collaborated by then and nothing will have changed!

23 Weeks: Hello 4AM on a Saturday

Well, this is a new symptom.....not sleeping! Hello crack of dawn Saturday morning! I have literally spent the last hour tossing and turning in my bed trying to get comfortable and get my mind to turn off so I could go back to sleep. Around 5AM however, when the Katy Perry song "I'm Wide Awake" began to make it's way into my brain, I decided enough was enough and I got up to start what is going to be a very long Saturday. I thought I'd watch the news, drink my one cup of coffee, and update this blog. Well guess what? The news isn't on yet! I'm up before the news! I'm not alone though, baby girl is kicking and I have fat kitty to keep me company.

Here is fat kitty sitting with me at 5:30

Well enough about me! What about my sweet baby girl? We are at 23 weeks and she weighs over a pound! I love this encouraging quote from my what to expect book. Andy and I both got a kick out of it (him more so then me) " Beginning this week baby begins to pack on the pounds (which means you will too!)" So encouraging! That's OK, I suppose if it means Annalise is growing healthily inside me I'll take one (or 5) for the team! It also says she has hanging skin and is transparent. Her movements are getting pretty consistent, which leads to me freaking out when I don't feel her move all day. I read it's normal to go some days and not feel her especially if I'm active, but I still like to feel the wiggles and kicks so I know she's doing well. 

Here are some 23 week pictures (22 weeks and 6 days technically)

Today marks the start of a busy weekend/upcoming week for Andy and I. It's moving day!!! We are moving into our Town Home and I couldn't be more excited! I hope everything goes smoothly for us and as planned. We already had a big Oh shit moment when we walked in after signing our lease yesterday. It is more space then we have now, but not as much as we expected. Because of this we are no longer able to take my Nana and Poppie's dining room furniture set. I'm super bummed, but there's just no room. Not to mention, in preparation for the move and the acquiring of the new dining set Andy sold his favorite kitchen table on Craig's list. So now we are without a table. It'll be OK though. We shall make it work! We ended up leaving and coming back with a measuring tape and actually blocked out and measured where everything was going to go, which helped. I am very exited about today and am looking forward to decorating and making a home with Andy. And then in 4 months (time is flying) bringing home our baby girl to live there.