Husband & Wife: Conversation #5

Jared: You should make my lunch (for work).
Me: I don't really want to...but I would make your lunch everyday if I could be a stay-a-home mom.

40 minutes later...

 

Jared: Do you work the 4th of July?
Me: No. With my new job I don't have to work holidays anymore.
Jared: Your life is so easy...
Me: It's not that easy, I'm growing a baby!
Jared: You don't really have to do anything besides not drink alcohol...it just grows itself.
Me: Hey now! That's not true!
Jared: Oh yeah...you have to deal with a few aches and pains.  It can't be that bad.
Me: If it were easy then men would be able to have babies too.
Jared: It's only hard because Eve made Adam eat a bad apple.
Me: Well that's probably because she was sick of him asking her to make his lunch.

For the record: Jared doesn't think being pregnant is easy. He was just joking...and I really did make him his lunch for work.

Pregnancy: Week #22

• How far along? June 24th: 22w3d

• How big is the baby? 11 inches, and almost 1 pound!
  


• Weight gain/loss? I'm hoovering right around a 20 pound weight gain. From my picture you would probably never guess that when I tell most people I am pregnant they still look surprised...but I think it is a more obvious from the side vs. when you look at me straight on. Plus, I have a tendency to wear loose fitting clothes so I think most people assume I am just overweight. This week, I also think I finally hit the point where my belly is now bigger than my boobs. Jared says I would probably look more pregnant if my boobs weren't so big- and I completely agree with him.
  


• Maternity clothes? I wear mostly maternity clothes now. I am still able to wear some of my non maternity t-shirts but they are getting a little short....and I wore a pair of pre-baby jeans once this week with my belly band, but I probably won't be doing that again.  I also have a pair of running shorts that I use to be too big that are feeling mighty comfortable right now.
  


• Sleep? *Sigh* I bought a snoogle, and I am convinced it is magic. The problem is...my hips. My hips are getting sore from sleeping on my sides all the time. I am usually only able to sleep 4-6 hours comfortably. If I'm not consciously making an effort to change positions frequently I will pay for it in hip pain the next day.

• Best moment last week? This is a little late, but at 21w1d Jared felt the baby kick for the first time...but he thought he was feel gas, lol. This past week he felt the baby kick for the second time, and it was a lot more obvious. I got a "Whoa!" and a big smile from him. That was pretty special.
  


• Symptoms? Just feeling large. My feet hurt if I start too long, and hip pain. I just keep thinking "I still have 18 weeks to go...I don't even want to know how miserable and achy I am going to get by the end."


• Food cravings/aversions? Orzo pasta and grilled zucchini...I also was craving pizza one day which is very, VERY odd for me.
  


• Exercise: I am just trying to make a better effort of moving around more throughout the day, especially when I am not working. Jared and I went for a walk...oh and my new job requires me to wear 30 pounds of lead during certain procedures. Gaining 20 pounds + wearing 30 extra pounds is loads of fun!


• Gender? I had a dream that we had a baby girl, but then adopted a baby boy at the same time. Not sure what that means...but I'm thinking more girl than boy these days.


• Belly button? Depending on my position, the top lip of my belly button sometimes sticks out.


• What are you looking forward to? Giving birth naturally


• What I miss? Sushi. Sleeping without getting aches and pains. Loose fitting t-shirts.


• Mood? I cried after visiting a daycare (more on that in another post), and when I'm tired I am cranky...but I think that is actually pretty typical for me.

• Movement? The baby's movement is a lot more obvious now, but still pretty sporadic and irregular. I typically feel more movement towards the end of my day, before I go to bed.


• Stretch marks? I haven't really looked, but I still think no.


• Labor signs? No...although, I am starting to wonder if maybe I had some Braxton Hicks contractions at 22w5d because there were a few times during the day where my belly got pretty sore and I thought I might be feeling a cramping sensation, similar to when I get my period. I didn't think much of it until the next day when I was ready something about Braxton Hicks...so I guess if it happens again I'll be more aware but at the time just sort of chalked it up to stretching and growing.


• Milestones? Baby is developing tooth buds and looks like a miniature newborn :)
  

First Baby Purchase

I made it to 21w1d before buying something for baby. I'm not really sure if that puts be behind or ahead of the curve, but I definitely feeling like it was about time. After all, I am now more than halfway through pregnancy and I'm sure my days of feeling good are numbered...and I'm not a huge fan of shopping in the first place so I doubt it's something I am going to want to be doing when I big, sore and waddling around.

So here is what we got!

After doing A LOT of research I was really drawn to the Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat...and then when I saw it was rated #1 on Consumer Reports I was sold. The only problem was that brand new, with a second base we were looking at a price between $228-$275. YIKES!

Enter craigslist.

I LOVE craigslist! We ended up getting this car seat AND the second base for only $75!!! Which is less than the cost of buying the second base alone. Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled on this little score and it was worth the 45 minute drive to Hudson, WI and waiting a hour beyond the agreed upon time...

After scrubbing it down and throwing the cover and hood in the wash it looks practically brand new.

Then 24 hours later we ended up with a living room full of baby stuff that one of Jared's coworkers kindly gave us for free! But the kindness of our friends is a post for another day...

HOT HOT HOT!

I went to the farmers market today and lasted about twenty minutes in the blazing sun before I felt like I was going to pass-out. All I could think about was getting home and ripping off all my clothes. Which of course sounds sexy until you take in account I am nearly 22 weeks pregnant.

Right now I am incredibly thankful that my non-air conditioned home is actually a very comfortable temperature. However, this little incident is making me think that I probably shouldn't go to the Basilica Block Party (a music festival) for my birthday. I'm not sure that the babe and I would last very long if it were to get this hot again...I love to be outside, but I prefer shady, wooded areas vs. direct sunlight.

Pregnancy: Week #19

• How far along? June 4th: 19w4d

• How big is the baby? 8-1/2 ounces, 6 inches from head to bottom.
  


• Weight gain/loss? Apparently I have gained 15 pounds...which is starting to worry my. My weight gain seems to be accelerating and at the rate I am going I am bound to be up at least 40 pounds by the end of pregnancy...which is thought I cannot even handle at this point.
  


• Maternity clothes? I bought a few tops this week but overall, am having a hard time finding things that I like and don't accentuate my embarrassingly large boobs.
  


• Sleep? I miss sleeping on my back...according to everything I've read I shouldn't be doing this any more and by morning my shoulders and hips hurt from flipping from side to side.

• Best moment last week? I thought it was sweet that Jared went shopping for maternity clothes with me.
  


• Symptoms? Nothing significant...a few times I felt very mildly nauseous in the evening but it didn't usually last.


• Food cravings/aversions? I've been enjoying frozen strawberries blended in OJ on almost daily basis.
  


• Exercise: I went paddle boating for about 2-1/2 hours this week...and I'm certain we covered close to 4 miles. That was...fun?


• Gender? Not really sure...and don't really care as long as the babe is healthy and happy.


• Belly button? Still an innie but is much more shallow than it use to be.


• What are you looking forward to? Unfortunately I'm not looking forward to much...I'm busy with work and I feel like I'm still trying to catch up on sleep from the busy weekend.


• What I miss? Sleeping on my back, or being the lay on my stomach for a little while.


• Mood? Pretty normal.

• Movement? Here and there I feel some thumps, bumps and fluttering. I think the baby likes carrot cake and is either a night owl or has been telling me to go to bed because I usually feel the most movement between 9-11PM.


• Stretch marks? Not yet.


• Labor signs? Nope.


• Milestones? The baby can hear our voices now!
  

Pregnancy: Week #18

Not a super great belly picture, but it's all I've got! Actually I'm also a really bad sister and this was the only picture on my camera from her wedding...terrible, right?

• How far along? 18 weeks (May 24th-30th)


• How big is the baby? At our ultrasound the tech told us our baby was 8 ounces. A whole half pound!
  


• Weight gain/loss? Oh boy...I stepped on the scale once this week. At the end of the day...and it wasn't pretty. I'm not going to post an official gain or loss though because it was the very end of the day and my beginning weight was taken at the start of a day- before any food or water intake.
  


• Maternity clothes? I'm very frustrated with maternity clothes. My boobs have exploded...and I was close to tears when I was trying on maternity/nursing bras this week...my sister also got married over the weekend. Lets just say that although it was a beautiful day but my discomfort in regards to my dress/bra really distracted me and instead of being focused on her I felt like all I could think about was how much I would rather be in my yoga pants. The dress I originally ordered had to be returned and I ended up with something TWICE the size, and in a completely different material and style than the rest of the wedding party.
  


• Sleep? I didn't sleep very well the night before my sisters wedding...so on top of feeling super uncomfortable in my dress my fatigue also effected my ability to really enjoy the day. I have also been waking up around 4 AM to go to the bathroom...which has been really inconvenient because I usually can't fall back asleep before I have to get up at 5 AM.

• Best moment last week? We saw the baby on Friday at our 18 week ultrasound!
  


• Symptoms? Just fatigue. Although, I also had a very busy week between coming off of working night shift, cleaning and preparing my house for guests and the wedding...I just don't think I am capable of doing as much as I was probably capable before getting pregnant.


• Food cravings/aversions? Nothing really significant. I will pretty much just eat anything you put in front of me.


• Exercise: Yeah, yeah...I keep telling myself I am going to and I don't.


• Gender? Baby's heart rate was only around 140...but I'm still sorta thinking girl.


• Belly button? Still an innie but is much more shallow than it use to be.


• What are you looking forward to? Unfortunately I'm not looking forward to much...I'm busy with work and I feel like I'm still trying to catch up on sleep from the busy weekend.


• What I miss? Beer. I had a terrible day at work and I would have really loved to go home and have a beer...instead, I had a root beer. It's just not the same.


• Mood? I really didn't feel like myself this past week. Especially at the wedding. I'm not really sure how to explain it...I think on top of being physically tired I have also been emotionally and mentally exhausted.

• Movement? So I actually think I've been feeling the baby more for a couple of weeks now because the ultrasound tech said it feels like gas in the beginning and that is exactly what I thought I was feeling at week 16. This week I am feeling more vibrations and even what I would maybe describe as a occasional thump.


• Stretch marks? Naw dude.


• Labor signs? Nope.


• Milestones? Well, if we wanted to, we could have found out the sex of the baby...and s/he is starting to move more. Which was AWESOME to see on the ultrasound. I just couldn't believe how cool it was to see his/her leg. It appeared so well developed!