26 Weeks

This post is a day behind, but I took my picture and stats as of yesterday so they'd be accurate!  I'm down to the double-digits in my countdown of only 97 days left.  One interesting thing we read in my weekly pregnancy book is that the baby now weighs 2 lbs and has developed sleep cycles.  I was curious if/when they sleep, but am thinking this explains why maybe I don't feel any movement for a while and then will feel constant movement for a while.

How I'm feeling?  Well, overall it had been good until these last few days.  On exactly my 26-week mark I started feeling really ill after lunch with flu-like symptoms.  I was in the bathroom for 45 minutes after lunch and only at my desk for like 2 minutes, so decided I had to go home.  I hate the feeling of being sick and not being at home-- it feels overwhelming to think how I was even going to get home cause didn't want to leave the bathroom.  I don't know how it came on so fast, but my heart just started racing and I started feeling very over-heated. I thought for sure I was going to throw up and just sat in the bathroom cause was sure it was coming. Well, on the good side I never threw up, but on the bad side I had horrible diarrhea. My husband is awesome and was so busy at work, but I called him from the bathroom and he said he'd walk back home to get the car to get me...perfect!  Only I get a call 10 minutes later that he is home and can't find the keys and thinks they are in my purse....ugh.  I honestly don't know how I did it, but managed then to walk the whole way home, which is about .25 mile and the hubs walked with me.   Once home and spending a little more time in the bathroom, I laid down and fell asleep until Dustin came home from work...and I felt much better.  So hopefully it was just some bug or something I ate.

Clothes:  Only have limited pants I can wear anymore with the belly band....or lots of dresses!  This weekend is labor day, so plan to go shopping and hopefully hit some sales!

Names:  We actually have 2 name books now!  One book is smaller and I was so glad to see Dustin take some initiative and pick up the book-- although he went through all the boy names and didn't find one that he really liked...and the ones he somewhat liked, I vetoed right away.  The other book has over 100,000 names, so I told him we better find something in there!  He has not opened the book, but I've gone through quite a bit of it.  I was up early last Saturday morning and had added some more to a list I started, so Dustin (stalling to not get out of bed) tells me to bring it back there and read it to him.  So he had a few on there that he hated, but some that were possibilities....then I said one name and he's like- "I like that one, that's the best, we're done."  I'm like- "excuse me, we're done?  Just because I wrote down a possibility and you like it, that can't just mean we are done cause was first one we somewhat liked!"  This is prime example of why we don't work well together on tasks like this-- I like to explore all options and hem-haw around....he just wants the quickest way possible.  So I think I convinced him that we need to look a little more, but is good to have a name to compare to.  We still haven't decided if we'll reveal the name once we decide on it or wait.....but no one will ever guess-- when I looked up info on it, it's not even in the SSN database for statistics cause is not in the top 1000 names, which surprised us both a lot.  This has been a great site in researching names: http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/.  Once we come up with a possibility, you can go here and see statistics like how popular it's been over the years, what the name means, but also people post how likely you are to get bullied because of your name and mean/funny nicknames people come up with.  So for example, I put in my name- Amy- I never had anyone make fun of my name, so didn't think there would be anything.  But one of the most common ones was people calling you Lame-y...which I never should have told Dustin cause he calls me lame all the time now for going to bed so early, so now he'll probably latch onto this nickname!  You should go try it out with your name- it was fun!

Cravings:  None

Purchases:  None

Baby To-Do Items: 

• I've been working for several weeks on researching items for the registry.  My plan is in the next week to get that all finalized.  One interesting thing we learned was that I made Dustin go to Babies R Us this last weekend and take the carseat we registered for to try it out in the car.  He was annoyed with me thinking I was nuts, but said he would do it if it made me feel better.  So....fast forward a few minutes and guess who can't get the carseat to fit in the back of our car?!?!  So now we have another headache to deal with-- we absolutely love my car (RAV4) and want to keep it for a few more years....but they are just not ideal with a carseat.  With most vehicles you put the carseat in the middle, but with ours you can't.  So what you have to do is put it on the passenger side, but in order for it to fit the front passenger seat has to be all the way forward with zero recline...not ideal for anyone to sit there, so then your passenger has to sit in the back seat with the baby.  So the point is we can make do for a while, but will be getting a 2nd car pretty fast and may just have to do away with the RAV4 sooner than we'd like.
• I've also done a lot of researching into some nursery options and what color scheme and such we want to go with.  I think I have it narrowed down to 2 options, with 1 being my favorite....but gotta show the hubs and see what he thinks.  I also hope to decide on that this week.
• I've slowly been looking into photographers, but want to just get that booked as many are filling up.  It's been hard cause I don't want to spend much money on this, but want someone good and want someone who will give me a cd with the rights to the pictures.
• Figure out what baby classes we'll sign up for at the hospital and get registered for those.
• Sign up for cloth diapering class at Cotton Babies store.

Date: 8.30.2011
Weight: 144 (up 13 lbs from start)
Belly circumfrence: 35.5 in
Picture:

100 Days Remain!

Well, I officially have hit 100 days remaining until my due date!  In some ways this still feels like a long time to go, but in other ways feels like I'm almost there and is crazy how time flies!  We have a LOT to do in this next 100 days....mainly find a house, move, find a renter for our loft, furnish our new place, and buy loads of baby gear!

Future easy sewing project (DIY burp cloths)

Numerous people have told me not to get the cutesy burp cloths cause they just don't work well.  Supposedly the best absorbant cloths are the Gerber prefold 6-ply diapers, so I'm registering for a couple packs of those.  They are just plain white and nothing fancy...which is fine with me.  But then I saw this super cute idea on Etsy where fabric was sewn just on one side-- I thought it added a cute touch, but then still left the other side all absorbant and plain.  I think I'll get some cute fabrics and give this a whirl...assuming I have enough spare time between getting these and the baby!

Easy DIY baby blanket

I know I've been a bad blogger lately, but hopefully I'll have some good posts coming up here.  For today, I have a new topic/hobby....SEWING!!!

I had seen a really cute idea on Amanda's blog (here) to do a rag quilt, but was skeptical that I'd actually be able to do this.  The only time I have sewn something was back in Home Econ in 7th & 8th grade.  My sewing machine was still in the box from xmas...so I figured I didn't have much to lose and would take a stab at making a really small baby blanket.  And at least if it didn't turn out well, it's not like a baby is going to be too picky!

I looked up some instructions on the internet, but ultimately just kinda made it up as I went.  The instructions I saw all called for the cotton squares on the front and back of the quilt, but you'll see that  I just did the front like that and used soft minky baby fabric for the back.
First step was to go to the fabric store and pick a few items up.  Luckily for me, they had a bundle of blue/orange/brown fabrics already cut to about 6x6...so I bought those since would save me the initial step of cutting down my fabric into squares.  It came in a pack of 20 squares and ended up being a perfect little size.  I also bought some white minky fabric for the back just because I LOVE how soft it is...it just oozes baby when you see and feel it! 

1.  Design your layout. 
First I arranged the squares on our coffee table with 4 squares across each row and 5 columns high...then after way too much thinking/consideration, ended up with a pattern I was pleased with.
2.  Pin and Sew Squares to form Rows
I used pins to pin the 4 fabric squares of each row together.  I pinned at least 1 inch from the edge.
I sewed the pinned seams together to form a row.  I tried to sew about a half inch from the edge.
Repeat this for all of your rows.

3.  Pin and Sew Rows to form columns
Now it is time to pin 2 rows together and sew them.  I started with my bottom 2 rows and just kept working my way up....pinning and sewing.  At this point my blanket looked pretty bad, but trust me that even if you sewed crooked or however, it will probably look fine.  Just sew over seams however you want-- you'll end up cutting these anyways, so it really does  not matter- you can see how caddy-wompous some of mine looked.

4.  Wash blanket
At this point, your entire front should be sewn together and somewhat look like a blanket.  I washed and dried my blanket at this point so that it would shrink to size since it was cotton and I was using minky for the back, which most likely would not shrink.  The edges will start to fray a tad.

5.  Cut, pin, sew backing
I then cut a piece of the minkey fabric just slightly larger than the blanket and pinned on the back of the blanket.  I had read to pin this very well cause he fabric is soft and moves around very easily.  I sewed about a half inch from the edge around the whole perimeter of the blanket.  This was very difficult for me to sew this straight and have it look good, so my advice would be to take it very slow here.  I also learned afterwards that I could have used white thread in my bobbin, which would have looked better on my minky backing and not shown how crooked I sewed.

I then trimmed the backing so that it was slightly smaller than the size of my blanket.  I probably could have avoided this step by cutting the minky to the correct size to start with :)

6.  Rag the quilt
This was the most excruciating step-- with a good pair of scissors, cut slits in every single seam so that it will fray better.  I made my slits probably 1/4 inch.  You can also buy a tool at the fabric store to snip these cuts which probably works a lot easier.

Wash several times to fray and you are done!

24 Weeks

How I'm feeling?  Overall still feel good.  The 100+ temps have worn me out a bit, but that probably would have happened even if I wasn't pregnant!  The baby is definitely very active, so that is just a little uncomfortable at times....I'm sure a couple months from now I'll call me crazy for thinking this is considered uncomfortable!  I've been getting more of an appetite too.

Clothes:  Wearing the belly band more and more often....or lots of dresses!  Still haven't bought anything new and am in my usual clothes though.

Names:  Still slacking and haven't started

Cravings:  More sweets than usual, but nothing overboard.

Purchases:  My mom came to town so we she bought just a few items.  We went to Once Upon a Child which is a resale shop and picked up some cute sleeper outfits for like $2 each.  I also went to a consignment sale Recycled Kids, but only bought 1 super cute blue plush Tigger outfit-- I really don't know what to call this thing cause it reminds me of a snowsuit, but is made of soft material...anyways, it will be warm for the winter!  Everyone has told me not to buy any clothes cause you'll get so many as gifts, but I felt like it didn't hurt to stock up on some of these items since they were so cheap and in great condition.  I also have purchased 5 diapers, which I'll post more about later...so I guess those are officially the first mom and dad purchase!

24-Week Dr. Appt
Date: 8.16.2011
Weight: 142 (up 11 lbs from start)
Blood Pressure: 100/68
Baby Heartbeat: 143
Belly circumfrence:
Fundal Height: 22.5 cm
Description:  We had a long wait for today's appointment, so that is always frustrating...but once we were in, it was all routine and only took less than 10 minutes.  Everything seemed to be going great!  You'll see one new statistic I added was for the Fundal Height measurement.  Fundal height is a measure of the size of the uterus used to assess fetal growth and development. It is measured from the top of the mother's uterus to the top of the mother's pubic bone in centimeters. It should match the fetus' gestational age in weeks within 1 to 3 cm.  So 24 cm would be average target for 24 weeks, so I'm just slightly under but she said that is completely normal.

Picture:

22 Weeks

How have I been feeling? Overall still good, despite the heat that continues with heat indices over 100 degrees.  I have found that doing too much in the heat makes me feel very dizzy and weak and not well, so we have limited doing much at all.

Felt any movement? Yes, finally!!!!  I actually started feeling really faint signs of movement just after my 20-week post.  The last 4 days now it has been 100% noticable and definite that it is the baby I'm feeling.  I actually don't like it at all, but assume I will get used to it or maybe it will grow on me.  It just is uncomfortable and kinda weirds me out-- it's not painful by any means, but reminds me of having an upset stomach almost.  Normally when you have some sort of rumble in  your tummy it indicates bad things may be happening, so I think it's just hard at this point cause is so noticable to me.  Dustin has yet to try to feel any movement cause every time he is around the baby is still...unless it is the middle of the night in which cause Dustin is sleeping while I'm laying there annoyed!

Clothing? Still wearing my normal clothes, although for the last 4-5 days I've worn pants or shorts I've had to wear the belly band to make them more comfortable.  (In case you don't know what a belly band is, it's like a circle of spandex that you stretch around your waistline and it will hold your pants up so you don't have to button them-- see the pic below.  Ya, you feel officially fat once you hit this point!  With it being so hot out, I actually find it a little uncomfortable to wear, but will do for the next few weeks.) 


Purchases:  None

Names:  Still haven't started thinking on this.  Although an interesting topic has been discussed recently, so I'll digress a little into the debate-- why do some people decide not to share the name until the birth?  I really had never thought twice about once we decide on a name or a few names of being open and sharing that with people-- it just didn't make any sense to me to deliberately not tell.  But, A LOT of people choose to do this, so I started asking around about it.  So some people do not tell because they say they want to keep people interested for something after the birth-- which I personally disagree with and would not do for that reason.  It's not like your co-workers or random people are hanging by a thread so interested in your baby name that it needs to be some big secret and revelation.  Other people say they like knowing something and having the power trip to tell someone that they can't be told that information-- which I also personally disagree with.  I actually think that is just rude and un-necessary.  Again, no one really cares about this name as much as the parents...so if I ask someone what the name is and they don't want to tell, but are feeling like it is some power trip-- I really don't think it is cause I'll find out later and not going to lose any sleep over it!  So, then the number one main reason why people said they don't tell is they just don't want to hear people's opinions or negativity about the name.  This actually made me kinda sad to hear that basically they are not telling something just because others can be so rude.  Generally people are not near as open about their negative feelings on the name if it is announced once the baby is here.  I've talked to many people who said with their first child they shared the name and will never, ever in a million years do that again because they all had stories about people saying how much they hated the name, thought it was weird, associated it with xyz, etc.  So now this has made me re-think everything cause the last thing I'm expecting or need is some un-solicitated input from joe blow.  I wish people would just learn to keep their mouths shut and opinions to themselves, but people just don't get it....my husband included.  Several years ago we had some friends who said what they'd be naming their baby, which was a completely normal name....but Dustin did not care for it and flat out told them that name sucked, he couldn't believe they were going to name the baby that, it was awful, etc.  After the couple left I was furious with Dustin and tried telling him how rude that was and I seriously thought he should apologize because I would have got in the car and cried the whole way home if someone had said those things to me.  He just didn't get it and didn't feel like it was rude at all.  So I know if my own husband is capable of this, then at some point we will encounter this with some other moron ripping me to shreds for choosing whatever name.  So....stay tuned for if we'll share or not!  It bums me out actually to feel like I can't share because I'll be hurt by rude comments....but guess that is life!

Cravings: None

22-Week Stats
Date: 8.2.2011
Weight: 139 (up 8 lbs from start- that is 4 lb gain in the last 2 weeks since I started eating the ice cream!  I'm not one that usually obsesses over my weight, but it's a very hard concept to accept to just feel your belly getting fatter and knowing it's okay/normal.  I just feel disgusting and like I should be on a diet!)
Belly circumfrence: 35 inches (I had to use a different type of tape measure today, so hopefully this is accurate, but I swear my stomach has ballooned out like crazy in the last 2 weeks, so think it has grown way more than 1 inch)

Picture (20-weeks is on left compared to my current status on right-- see, definitely more than 1 inch gained around my belly!):