Random Pregnancy Things...

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, and as I mentioned in a previous post, Matt and I will be going out to western Maryland to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. It has been so long since we've taken a vacation that we're really excited about this little 3-day jaunt. Since I won't be posting again until next week, I thought I'd throw together a list of random pregnancy-related things that you might find interesting, amusing, or just weird. Besides, who doesn't love a good bulleted list?

• My belly hasn't really changed since last week, so I don't have an updated belly photo.
• Matt was able to put his hand on my belly and feel the baby kick for the first time on Saturday.
• The other day my Dad referred to the baby as Mr. Peanut, which is totally appropriate and made me chuckle. I couldn't help but picture the baby with a top hat and monocle.
• I haven't had any cravings for weird foods or food combinations; I craved bagels early on, but the most consistent craving I've had has been for salad (who 'craves' salad when pregnant - why not chocolate?). I think my cravings are boring and need to step up their game.
• Since I became pregnant, Oliver (one of our dogs) has changed the way he snuggles up to me on the couch. Before, he would lie down beside me and smush himself against my leg, but he wouldn't actually be on my lap. Now he sits his butt next to me but lays his head on my belly. He never did that before, but has done it pretty consistently since I've been pregnant. It could very well be a coincidence, but I have to wonder if he can hear (or just sense) that there's a baby in there.
• My two pregnancy complaints right now are back pain and insomnia. The back pain is a combination of sciatic pain and muscle spasms in my lower back. The insomnia is frustrating because I haven't yet figured out the secret to sleeping more than a few hours a night. I can sleep just fine during the day, but they frown on that at work.
• Two people at work were asked to take over my Curriculum and Instruction responsibilities while I'm out on maternity leave. They both declined. I can't say I blame them.
• We still haven't decided on a name for the Peanut. Matt suggested Thor, but I said no.

I'll post again next week. Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!

(Almost) 20-Week Belly

Since I will hit the 20-week mark tomorrow, I'm going to consider these photos a record of the midpoint of my pregnancy. Some days I look like I'm barely showing, and other days I look very pregnant. A coworker of mine has started referring to the baby as a 'turducken,' which made me laugh pretty hard because in a way it's sort of appropriate.

Now for belly photos (courtesy of Mike Scrivener - thanks, Mikey!):

20 weeks and counting!

Me looking 'very excited' about my belly

Everyone has been so excited for us, and Matt and I appreciate it very much. We have such great friends and family and have received tons of support and encouragement. Thank you all for that.

It's a...

It's a baby! Oh, and it happens to also be a BOY! Matt and I went yesterday morning for the anatomy sonogram, and were excited to find out the gender of the baby. More than anything, we wanted to hear that the Peanut looked normal and healthy, but we were also definitely ready to find out whether we'd be having a son or a daughter. While we were in the waiting room yesterday, Matt and I joked that because we had decided on a girl's name, but were having a lot of trouble agreeing on a boy's name, we figured the baby would be a boy just so the boy-name-debate would have to continue. Thankfully, we have several more months to figure it out. It's really nice to know the baby's gender; now I get to spend the rest of my pregnancy getting used to the idea of having a son!

For me, the coolest part of the sonogram was being able to feel the baby move and see the baby move on the screen at the same time. It was a surreal experience, and one I'm sure I'll never forget. The Peanut's anatomy and size all looked normal, which was a huge relief for me, as I couldn't help but be concerned that there might be an issue or abnormality.

I promise the next belly photo is coming very soon; I know I've been slacking on that. But for now, baby boy pictures:

Look at my cute button nose!

This is not an x-ray of a turkey leg. It shows the Peanut's "boy parts."

I call this one 'The Thinker'

(Almost) 19-Week Update

I'll be 19 weeks along tomorrow. Almost halfway there! Matt and I have some fun and exciting things coming up, which is actually somewhat rare for us. This weekend we're going out to Oakland, MD to visit with Matt's Uncle Pat and Aunt Barb (we haven't seen them in years), along with Matt's parents and two of his uncles. It'll be lots of fun, I'm sure, and we are looking forward to it. Of course, next Wednesday morning we have the exciting sonogram where we should find out the baby's gender. Next Friday is Mirah's 12th birthday (I can't believe she's 12 already!), and also my cousin Lindsay, her husband, Jeff, and their son, Deacon (who we haven't met yet), will be in town so we'll all get to celebrate Mirah's birthday together. Then, over the long Labor Day weekend, Matt and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary (which is September 1st) by going out to western Maryland and staying at a bed and breakfast called The Castle (see photos below for the reason we wanted to stay there).


Looks quiet there, doesn't it? We're looking forward to getting away, even if it's just for a 3-day weekend.

Pregnancy-wise, things are good. The only challenges I have right now are back spasms, sciatic pain, and difficulty sleeping. I wouldn't have thought I'd have to deal with the back spasms and sciatic pain until later in the pregnancy when the baby is bigger and I have more weight to carry up front, but I guess I'm special because I get to experience it now. I just keep trying not to think about the fact that when I do actually have more baby weight to carry, this pain could get (much) worse. I'm sticking my head in the sand on this one.

I recently got another crib recommendation - for another Ikea crib. I didn't realize I knew so many people who had cribs from Ikea, but their feedback has been wonderful. I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd like to use either a mini crib or a very simple standard crib in the nursery. I certainly haven't decided on anything yet, but I do like this Sundvik crib from Ikea (it's simple and streamlined, which I love, especially since it will be going into such a small room):

I think a trip to Ikea to check it out in person is warranted. (A number of Ikea cribs have been highly rated for safety.) Oh, and I did go to the store to look at the mini crib I liked, and it was nice (again, pretty simple, though not as simple as this Ikea crib); the only thing I didn't like about it was that the whole crib is lower than a standard crib. It's only a difference of 4-5" in height, but the mini crib seemed really low in person. So, since I've heard only good things about Ikea cribs, I plan to grab Matt and go on an Ikea shopping trip soon. There's also a simple low dresser there (in the same finish as the crib) that looks like it would make a perfect dresser/changing table, so I'd like to check that out as well.

I don't have much else to report at the moment, but check back next week for a new belly photo and the gender announcement - I'm really excited to find out whether the Peanut is a boy or a girl!

Nursery Musings

In recent years, it seems like the trend for creating a nursery has been to excessively design the room, making it an elaborate production that often epitomizes form over function. Look through a magazine and you'll see massive cribs, huge wall murals/stencils/decals, and ridiculously overdone themes (often the baby's name is on a wall somewhere, too). And I'm not just talking about celebrity nurseries; 'regular' parents are putting in the time, effort, and money to create over-the-top nurseries. Yeah...I'm not doing that. Need an example of what I'm talking about? Here are two.

Oh for crying out loud.

I understand wanting to prepare the baby's room and make it comfortable, and that decorating the nursery is an exciting and emotional process. I also understand wanting to create a space for the baby that is soothing and calming, yet also engaging, inspiring, and stimulating. But it seems like parents-to-be (especially the moms) feel that not elaborately decorating their baby's nursery must mean they don't care enough. It's as if they need to prove to other people, to themselves, and/or to their future child just how much of a caring parent they are, and they feel that the nursery they provide is a reflection of their love and dedication. Are these super-fancy nurseries cute? Sure, but really, how much of the nursery's decorative merits are actually judged - or even noticed - by a baby? And how much time does a baby actually spend in the nursery when he/she isn't sleeping? I'm not suggesting that there's something wrong with decorating, I just think the "norm" had shifted to an excessive level.

Because a nursery just isn't complete without A CAROUSEL.

But lately I've noticed that many people seem to be getting on board with the idea that a fancy or elaborately designed nursery isn't a yardstick by which to measure how much you love your baby. It looks as if parents are now becoming more focused on creating a highly functional space that is still comfortable and provides visual stimulation for when baby is awake. This approach resonates with me. I'm pretty sure my attention and affection will matter more to my child than whatever hangs on the walls of his/her room.

Since the nursery I'll be decorating is very small, my focus will be on organization and keeping it as simple as possible. I plan to use either a mini-crib (normal crib, just smaller dimensions) or a very simple and streamlined crib in the space (I'm still debating which I'll end up with). A low dresser will serve double-duty as a changing table, and rather than a massive glider and ottoman in the corner, I'd rather have a simple, clean-lined (perhaps a bit modern) rocking chair for those middle-of-the-night nursing sessions. The walls will likely be gender-neutral - probably green, beige, or gray (though I already have a lot of gray in my house since it's my favorite color, so gray might get tossed from consideration) - and I plan to provide visual interest by choosing some great art for the walls, an area rug to cover the hardwood floor in the middle of the room, and some fun curtains. Other than the crib, dresser, and chair, the only other furniture will probably be bookshelves for storage (and books). There won't be an adorable hamper with woodland creatures on it, just a couple of small plastic laundry baskets that will live on the floor in the closet. Speaking of the closet, I plan to use some organizing products to get things as neat as possible, and put a disc light in there so I'll be able to see.

At this point, those are my ideas. Basic, yes, but I hope to make the nursery a functional space without too much furniture or unnecessary stuff packed into it. Going forward I'll report back to let you know if I have accomplished any of this successfully!

17-Week Update (Feelin' Groovy), Nursery Planning, & Flicky Spasms

I am incredibly grateful for the second-trimester respite. While I still get tired even faster than I normally do, I have much more energy now; I'm able to juggle more things, which is good because there's a lot to do before the baby comes. In fact I decided to take a break from classes while I'm in my second trimester so I will have time to get things done while I'm feeling good and not yet the size of a walrus. But I do plan to take one more class before my due date, just to knock out another 3 credits.

The future nursery is still full of random stuff - it looks more like a storage room right now than a bedroom (because that's basically how we've used it for the past 3 years). The nursery is also VERY small, so I'm planning to try to be creative in how I furnish and organize it in order to maximize the space we do have. For instance, I'm putting a lot of thought into how to organize the small closet so that fewer things need to be stored out in the room itself. I have the feeling I'll be glad to shut the closet door and hide a lot of things like clothes, laundry baskets, etc. - for me, the more I can hide away, the better. Too much stuff/clutter stresses me out. (I know, I'd better get used to it with a baby coming, as babies tend to require a bunch of stuff.) I'll be posting more specific ideas for the nursery soon.

According to BabyZone.com, this is what the Peanut looks like right now (he/she is about 5.5" long):

I can totally understand why the baby would start playing with the umbilical cord; it must get pretty boring in there. And claustrophobic. In fact, I'm surprised I wasn't born mid-panic-attack as I fought to get out of what surely was a claustrophobic living environment; I'm sure my "plump" size didn't help matters - I was over 9 lbs so there couldn't have been much room to spare in there. As cool as it is to see these kinds of progress photos and drawings, my first thought when I see them is, "Oh man, it's getting bigger. And bigger. And at some point it's going to have to come out of my body." Seriously, you guys, it's terrifying.

I recently began feeling Peanut moving around in there, which is a very cool experience. I've read all sorts of descriptions of how it feels when you first feel the baby move, and it's clear that it's very difficult to describe, and also it seems that the feeling is different for different people. For me it feels sort of like a tiny muscle spasm in my abdomen, or like I'm being flicked from inside my belly. Other people describe it as popcorn popping, bubbles, or butterflies in the stomach, but I think for me the best description is a tiny muscle spasm. If that kid really is flicking me from the inside, I fear I may have an ornery, Dennis the Menace type on my hands. Time will tell.

16-Week Belly

This will have to be short, but I wanted to post a 16-week belly photo. I promise I'll try to get better belly photos in the future, but for now this is what I have. It may not look like there's much difference between my 15-week photo and 16-week photo, but I assure you, that bump is definitely bigger!

Monthly visit tomorrow morning with my midwife, and some blood work afterward. I'm still pretty antsy to find out the gender of the peanut, but that appointment isn't until August 22, so I've got a few more weeks to wait.