We're having a...

GIRL!

Most importantly, she is healthy and doing well...everything measured on track.  

We couldn't be happier!

Week 18

Thank you for your comments on the furniture in my last post.  I'm leaning towards the modern set today, but who knows what I'll think tomorrow.  Ahh hormones!  Please vote on the baby's gender in the poll on the right sidebar if you haven't already.



How Far Along: 19 weeks today, but I'm recapping week 18

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3lbs at my last appointment.  I'm sure Tuesday's appointment will show a healthy gain...and by healthy I mean huge.

Maternity Clothes: I love my Old Navy maternity jeans.  If you have suggestions for other maternity clothes, please let me know.  The work pants I ordered from Gap last week were a huge no-go.

Gender: Tuesday can't come fast enough...

Movement: More and more!  Baby seems to have a dance party at night when I'm laying in bed and after I eat.

Sleep: No complaints.

What I miss: Maybe having clothes (pants, specifically) fit me.  I'm not complaining at all as it is obviously for a very great cause but I'm in between regular/maternity pants.  I have a Bella Band that is helping me through the transition.  But I did walk down an entire hallway at work earlier this week with the Bella Band (unbeknownst to me) up at my waist and my pants undone.  You're welcome for the show, hallway-goers.  At least I learned my lesson to readjust my clothing prior to moving away from the privacy of my desk.

Cravings: Peppermint Ice Cream.  Tis the season!

Symptoms: None, still feeling great.

Best Moment this week: Scarfing down an entire Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit breakfast in 2 minutes flat.  Well, maybe that wasn't my finest moment, come to think of it.  But it was pretty impressive.

Girl or Boy?

***Please make sure to cast your vote for gender on the sidebar to the right!  The poll is open through Tuesday 12/21.***

With our gender appointment exactly 6 days, 22 hours, 4 minutes one week from today all I can seem to think of is girl or boy?  We've said from the beginning that ideally we'd like one of each - so it doesn't matter which comes first.  And, of course, we pray for a healthy baby.  But finding out the gender will set a few things in motion.  First, it will help to shape the identity of this little one, so we don't have to call it 'it' all the time.  Second, we'll be able to pick a name (which if you know us, you'll know that we have a 50% chance of this being an easy task).  And thirdly, we'll be able to start on the nursery!

I was perusing Overstock.com the other day and found some great nursery furniture.  I've always gone to Overstock to look for great deals on things like home lighting or furniture like armoires or buffets , so I figured they had to have some good deals on cribs and changing tables.  I hit the jackpot!  Here are some of my favorites.  I know they are a different style/look/feel from each other but I like them both for different reasons.  What do you think?



Modern 3-drawer Changer





Of course I can't find the actual link to
this crib now, but it is from Overstock.com. 
I hope it's not sold out!





Stasia Espresso 4-in-1 Crib





Sleigh Style Espresso Changing Table
with Hamper and Baskets





And for the exciting part!  Overstock has provided me a discount code good for 10% off all Overstock.com products.  Just enter 121728 at checkout.  Also, for free shipping on electronics, enter 202234.

All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.

Week 17

So Hubs has been on my case for promising weekly updates and miserably failing after the very first one.  I know, I know... In my defense, I was busily working this past Friday to be able to head out of town to ride The Polar Express with my best friend and her family.  Which was awesome, I should add!  So anyway, better late than never, no?

How Far Along: 18 weeks now, but I'm recapping week 17

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3lbs at my last appointment (although I'm sure it will be much higher at next week's appointment - eek)

Maternity Clothes: I love my Old Navy maternity jeans and I ordered a few more maternity pants for work.

Gender: TBD on December 21st!  I opened a poll to the right of my page - please cast your votes!  I can't wait to hear what you all think.

Movement: I'm pretty sure I've been feeling the baby move!  It's hard to tell as a first-time mama, but everyone (my mom, Twitter friends, my What To Expect iPhone app...) is assuring me it must be the baby.

Sleep: Excellent, except for waking up 1-2 times to use the bathroom now.

What I miss: Hmmm, not too much this week.  Maybe still missing beer :)

Cravings: I've been on a Salt & Vinegar chip craze.

Symptoms: None

Best Moment this week: Feeling the baby move around!

Christmas music FAIL

I love Christmas music.  So much so that I've been listening to it since the beginning of November on Pandora.  Now that they play it on 2 local radio stations?  I'm in hog heaven.

One of my favorites is Baby, It's Cold Outside.  Doesn't matter which version...I just love the catchiness of the music and lyrics.  Problem is that I've been singing it wrong for like ever.  Instead of "...at least there will be plenty implied", I've been singing "...at least there will be plenty of pie".

Umm, FAIL.

I've got it down now, thank goodness.  Too bad it took me until now to figure that one out!

xoxo

Week 16

Thank you all for the sweet comments you left on my last post and on Twitter.  I feel so blessed to have such a great community of blog friends to share our good news with! 

The cards you saw in the picture of my last post were what we used to let my family know about the baby.  They each say something different: green eyed or brown eyed, fair skin or olive skin, football player or cheerleader, April 2011 or May 2011.  I put them in plain envelopes and we passed them out to my mom, dad, brother and SIL.  They were a little confused when they opened and read their own cards, but got it quickly after putting them together. 

I'm going to do a weekly recap - please feel free to skip them if you don't want to read them.  I just really want to document this journey.  I am borrowing fellow soon-to-be-mama Megan's format of recapping the prior week.  So, without further ado...

How Far Along: 17 weeks today, but I'm recapping week 16

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3lbs at my appointment last week

Maternity Clothes:  I bought a few maternity pants that I'm mixing into my wardrobe; otherwise, wearing my normal clothes with a Bella Band.

Gender:  TBD on December 21st!

Movement:  I haven't felt anything yet, but my trusty iPhone app tells me it will happen soon.

Sleep:  Excellent, except for waking up 1-2 times to use the bathroom now.

What I miss:  Beer (no joke!) and Wildflower Bread Company's Honey-Cured Ham & Swiss sandwich.

Cravings:  The spiciest of foods, above and beyond my usual penchant for spice.  Thanksgiving weekend I was dipping everything in straight habanero sauce.
 
Symptoms:  None (knock on wood)...I feel really great.

Best Moment this week:  Not much has happened this week, so I'll borrow from last week: we heard baby's strong heartbeat - 155 bpm.

One last thing: while I am so grateful that this is happening to us, I am very aware of others who are struggling.  I guess I just wanted to acknowledge that - and to say that my thoughts and prayers have been and continue to be with you.

xoxo