Howdy

Woah. Where have the past two weeks gone? Between Christmas, New Years, traveling, and life, I seem to have lost track of posting! I'm going to keep up with my updates now that the holiday madness has died down, but I'm going to post over at The Quirky Social Worker. My husband built me the blog a while back and it seems silly to post here and neglect my cute little hubby-made blog. Head on over if you'd like (if anyone is still following this wee blog). See ya on the flip side, ladies!

Pregnancy Update: 23 weeks

23 weeks and my belly definitely resembles Santa's after one too many Christmas cookies!

How far along: 22 weeks, 6 days... a day early because we will be visiting with family for the holidays!
Total weight gain/loss: 15 pounds or so. A pound of that may or may not be brownies.

Exercise: Monday and Tuesday were gym days. Wednesday was RJ's birthday so I didn't exercise. Yesterday we had to do some last minute shopping. I think the rest of this week will be a wash for exercise unfortunately. Does climbing stairs at work count?

Maternity clothes: No changes here!

Stretch marks: I think I have some tiny ones forming on my boobs. Fortunately they are low and on the sides. It could just be that my bra is uncomfortably tight at this point.

Sleep: Still sleeping well. I have had the whackiest dreams. Last night I had a dream about a zombie apocalypse and I was trapped in my office at work. I actually decapitated a zombie in my dream. It was pretty gross.
Best moment this week: Nothing too crazy this week. Celebrated my husband's birthday and two of our close friends got engaged! Now two of my best friends are getting married. Very exciting!

Things you miss: Climbing and running. Sleeping on my stomach/back.
Movement: Little baby is doing somersaults and karate chops in there. Some days she's very, very quiet and it freaks me out, but it's usually followed by a day of nonstop activity.
Food cravings: I love water. I don't drink an excessive amount but nothing else really holds any appeal for me.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: GIRL!
How I'm feeling: The temperature spiked here in the past two days (80+ degrees) and my allergies have flared up pretty badly, but otherwise I'm feeling great. My ankles are starting to swell. Let me explain: my feet have grown. Yes, GROWN. My shoes do not fit. The only pair of work shoes that fit me are heels. I work in a hospital and move around a lot. Therefore, by the time I get in the car after work, I have GIANT ANKLES OF DOOM. I already have beef with my legs (especially because that's where the women in my mom's family carry their weight), but now I have cankles too!
Looking forward to: Announcing baby girl's name! I am trying to decide if I want to wait until I paint the letters for her nursery or find another way to tell the interwebs. For now, it's off to dinner with the family!

Pregnant Update: Week 22

Feeling large and in charge. Definitely miss my pre-pregnancy body this week. Can't believe I have a maximum of 18 weeks more to grow... Kind of terrifying.

 

How far along: 22 weeks, 1 day... about 125 days to go!
Total weight gain/loss: 14+ pounds

Exercise: Gym on Monday through Wednesday; "mall cardio" today

Maternity clothes: No changes here!

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Sleeping better... usually wake up 1-2 times to pee.
Best moment this week: This week was pretty standard... My friend Aimee helped me start our registry and I got to spend time with her adorable daughter, Amelia, who is now 3 and a half months old. So fun!

Things you miss: Climbing and running. Sleeping on my stomach/back.
Movement: Feeling more activity each day!
Food cravings: Water, water, and more water!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: GIRL!
How I'm feeling: My breathing is vastly improved! I'm much less congested, which is amazing! My friend Aimee thinks I'm just used to it, but I definitely feel at least 80% better (some morning are still rough). :)
Looking forward to: The holidays! I can't wait to wear my elf hat to work on Friday.

Pregnacy Update: 21 Weeks

21 weeks and too many holiday treats...

How far along: 21 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: 14+ pounds. My "What To Expect" app says most people have gained between 10-16 pounds by week 22, so I feel a little better about that crazy number.

Exercise: Managed to make it to the gym Monday through Wednesday. Planned to go yesterday but a seriously horrendous case of heartburn basically left me couch-bound all day. Today was spent Christmas shopping. That counts as cardio, right?

Maternity clothes:  Still fitting! Bought some new sweaters from Gap Maternity because they were 30% off.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Sleep is hit or miss at this point. Some nights I sleep relatively well and other nights I wonder how I'm going to survive the next day at work.
Best moment this week: RJ felt his first roll/flop/kung-fu move this weekend! That was pretty awesome. Seeing him hold our friends' baby girl this weekend also made my heart melt. Too cute!

Things you miss: Life before heartburn. I also miss my face! That sounds weird, but my face is so round and chubby! I miss life before chipmunk cheeks!
Movement: Definitely feeling more activity. I haven't noticed a pattern yet. Some days she is quieter than others.
Food cravings: Ice cold water. I'd like to blame my cookie obsession on baby but I don't think that's the case.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs. I don't think this is going to change throughout my pregnancy.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: GIRL!
How I'm feeling: Much better, breathing issues aside.
Looking forward to: Christmas and RJ's birthday on December 21st... We will spend Christmas with RJ's family. After a lot of hemming and hawing, we decided to buy an artificial tree. I was worried about having a real tree, especially with my allergies/pregnancy rhinitis, and we aren't going to be here for the actual holiday itself, so we bought a Charlie-Brown-esque $20 tree from Target. Check it out!

I'm pretty sure there is a cat in there making a big ol' mess of my tree skirt.

Nursery Progress: Take One!

Hubby and I purchased the nursery furniture a few weeks ago. The nursery is very, very small, so we opted for a changing table and a crib instead of a dresser/changing table combo. We simply couldn't fit something like that into the room. The house we are renting has a third bedroom (a normal-sized room), but my dad is giving me his guest room furniture from Ethan Allen and I want to have that room all set up for when our parents visit after the birth of Baby Stanley. Hence why we went with the tiniest room known to man. I figure this isn't our "forever home" and we will only live here while Baby Stanley is an infant.

Anyway! Over the weekend, we painted the nursery because the room was this awful institutional white color with dark trim. Since we don't own the home, we weren't about the paint the trim white. Waaaaay too much work! Instead we stuck with furniture that matched the trim in the room and picked bedding based on the finish of the crib. I would have loved to do a modern, more "grown up" nursery, but together my husband and I picked Cocalo's Jacana, which is sold at Babies'R'Us. I picked out a few of the accessories for our registry but plan to buy artwork off of Etsy and have a few DIY things planned as well.

Anyway, without further ado... here are photos of the nursery so far!

Crib... So easy to assemble and very sturdy!

Changing table. I plan to add some baskets.

Quilt for the crib bedding!

My husband's aunt and uncle gave us their crib mattress, which is in perfect condition.

Some of Baby Stanley's loot!

Pregnancy Update: 20 weeks -- or the half-way point!

Not the best photo since hubby was at work, but here it is! 20 weeks and 14 pounds later...

How far along: 20 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: 14 pounds. Yes. FOURTEEN. That is not a typo. I almost fell off the scale this morning. That brings me from 122 to 136. My OB said it's okay, that I'm doing well, and if I fall too far behind or my weight starts to run away, they won't miss a beat by letting me know. Wow, though. That was a big pill to swallow at 8 o'clock in the morning.

Exercise: I've kept up with 3-4 times a week (with the exception of Thanksgiving week). I'm mostly walking/using the elliptical. I throw in some gentle leg exercises and light upper body weights 1-2 times a week when I'm at the gym.

Maternity clothes: Bought a new pair of jeans since my original maternity jeans are officially too tight. It's probably a combination of washing and (accidentally) drying them and the fact that I've gained 14 pounds, which appears to be concentrated in my thighs!
Stretch marks: None surprisingly.

Sleep: I sleep really well from about 9 or 10 at night until 4 in the morning. By 4 am, I can't breathe very well and need to move around. I usually get out of bed around this time, use the restroom, and sit straight up on the couch until I pass out around 5:30... only to wake up 30-60 minutes later.
Best moment this week: Seeing Baby Girl on the ultrasound this morning and the fact that my very generous boss granted me a last minute day off today, especially since yesterday SUCKED at work.
Things you miss: Sometimes I select the random song shuffle on my "work out" iPod in the car and I hear army cadences (which I like to sprinkle in between the LMFAO and Black Eyed Peas)... and I really miss running. I also miss a good work out, plain and simple.
Movement: Definitely feeling movement! During the ultrasound, Baby Girl moved so not only did I get to feel her move, I saw her in action! It was pretty frickin' awesome!
Food cravings: Food in general. I never feel full. I am constantly eating something, which isn't really all that different from pre-pregnancy... except I'm not working out 5-6 times a week lifting heavy weights and running around downtown Jacksonville for an hour anymore! Whoops? I can also put away some chocolate milk (lowfat, organic chocolate milk). I drank a half gallon in 48 hours. Yes, a half gallon. All by myself with no help from hubby. YUM!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs. They smell and look disgusting. Yuck!
Have you started to show yet: If I'm not showing, it's a food baby (a very real possibility at this point).
Gender: GIRL! They verified that she is indeed still sporting a hamburger at our 20 week anatomy scan this morning.
How I'm feeling: I felt so much better last week as far as breathing goes, at least during the daytime. I even thought things were on the upswing... WRONG. So wrong. It could be the bipolar Florida weather (60 degrees, 80 degrees, 40 degrees, 90 degrees... MAKE UP YOUR MIND, FLORIDA!), or it could simply be pregnancy rhinitis. My OB basically told me to suck it up and it will resolve postpartum.
Looking forward to: Proper respiratory function, building the crib and changing table, the holidays, my next glass of chocolate milk...

Pregnancy Update: 19 Weeks

Oops! I missed an update last week. Between working, cleaning up the house, entertaining the in laws and my dad, and hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our place, I lost track of time.

19 weeks, 0 days.

How far along: 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Last week at the gym, I weighed a solid 8 pounds over my starting weight! Granted, that weigh in was last week, so it's probably closer to 9 or 10 pounds by now (Thanksgiving probably didn't help).

Exercise: This week I exercised a total of ZERO times. Hoping to get back to the gym tomorrow. I usually squeeze in two or three 30 minute cardio sessions per week. Sometimes I do some light weights to maintain (ha!) some tone in my arms and legs. Honestly, I'm afraid to exert myself too much and risk hurting myself or overheating. Needless to say, I'm not at my previous fitness level but at least I'm attempting to be active.

Maternity clothes: Still rocking maternity clothes full-time. Definitely have plenty of room to grow.
Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Sleeping so-so. I toss and turn frequently because I have trouble breathing at night all the time.
Best moment this week: Spending time with family for Thanksgiving and purchasing the crib, changing table and baby bedding today!
Things you miss: A real, sweaty, honest-to-God work out. Running the Jacksonville bridges downtown.
Movement: I think I'm starting to feel little pops (kicks?) and bumps in there.
Food cravings: The usual: black beans and rice. Oh, and ice cold water!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Officially able to stomach yogurt and peanut butter again. Hoorah!
Have you started to show yet: I think so!
Gender: GIRL!
How I'm feeling: Not going to lie... Physically, I feel cruddy. My allergies/congestion are really starting to affect my mental state. Breathing is difficult and I get winded easily. I have these crazy sneezing fits that last for 6-10 sneezes. My nose is brighter than Rudolph's. My eyes itch and water all. the. time. My throat is scratchy. It's driving me bonkers. I guess I'm one of the lucky 25-30% that has worsening allergies during pregnancy. Yay me! Aside from the total lack of control over my allergy symptoms, I'm feeling great. I wish I could sleep better and breathe properly, but baby girl appears to be growing!
Looking forward to: So many things! My next ultrasound on December 7th, being half-way through my pregnancy, painting the nursery, Christmas, and the list goes on and on.

Question for any pregnant readers out there: How do the weeks work exactly? As of today, I am 19 weeks, 0 days. Am I in my 19th week or 20th week? I can see the logic behind either! What To Expect says I'm in week 20 while BabyCenter says I'm in week 19. I never know what to tell people when they ask.