Week 27

It's been another busy week! This past Monday I got to go visit my friend Sarah and her adorable daughters, Annaliese and Mary Grace. Mary Grace is just under 6 weeks old, and it was incredible to get to hold this brand new little person. Of course, in looking at the picture of me holding her it is painfully obvious that I am not a natural with babies. Hopefully I will get better with practice, but I had a great time getting to meet this sweet little girl and spending some quality time with her big sister and mom. Sarah is my big sister from my Sigma Kappa days, and I could not ask for a better friend. I'm so glad that we're still so close after so many years!

How cute is her outfit?! She looks like she has on tiny purple shoes!

Ethan was pretty excited to "meet" this beautiful young lady because he kicked her a couple of times. She didn't seem to notice, so he might have to wait awhile to catch her eye. Hopefully he and Mary Grace will be good friends one day, but if he kicks her once he's made his big debut he will be in big trouble!

Over the weekend I went to visit my friend Meredith (another great friend from the sorority days) and got to see her beautiful new home. It feels like a mountain retreat since she is surrounded by trees and huge windows and it was really nice to get to spend some time hanging out and catching up. I know that once Ethan arrives I won't be able to take off and go visit out of town friends quite as easily so I'm really trying to take advantage of the time I have available right now to spend with the people who mean so much to me. We ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom (a HUGE treat since there are no more Mellow Mushroom restaurants in Charlotte), watched some movies, and chatted a bunch. I love our weekends of just hanging out because they are super relaxing. I wish we were able to get together like this more often!

Our cat Holly celebrated her fifth birthday this week. Yes, we celebrate each of our cat's birthdays, and no, we do not allow them to actually eat the treats that we get in honor of their birthday. (They do get special kitty treats and extra love and attention all day long though!)

Holly inspecting "her" cake

Holly with her daddy

My little girl (and remind me not to wear that shirt again - most unflattering!)

Everything has been progressing well on the pregnancy front this week. Ethan's kicks are getting a bit harder and he is getting more active during the afternoons as well. I've started referring to him as my little ninja since I think he practicing karate in my belly. I think I felt him have hiccups once, but I'm not entirely sure. My stomach is expanding at an alarming rate, and it's actually kind of itchy. I've heard that's normal since your skin is being stretched, but it's still not the most fun feeling in the world. So far I haven't noticed any stretch marks, so we'll see if I'm actually able to keep that up for the next three months (doubtful!) I am doing my very best to prevent them from happening though. I've also started getting some leg cramps in the middle of the night. Everything I've read indicates that this is totally normal too, since your legs are reacting to carrying around so much extra weight. (According to my scale at home I'm up 17 pounds, and we'll see what the doctor has to say at my appointment on Thursday.) I have to have the glucose test for gestational diabetes, so cross your fingers and say a prayer that I pass the first test and don't have to go back for the 3 hour test. I'll keep you posted on the results!

Here's the official word on week 27: "This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if he were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode only lasts a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle."

Week 26

I want to start this week's post on a positive note, since I was pretty down last week. I am in love with maternity pants. They are stretchy and there are no buttons or zippers so getting them off and on is breeze. (Any of my pants with buttons, zippers, or belt loops are purely decorative - trust me!) The ability to pull them off and on in a snap comes in especially handy considering how much more frequently I must visit the bathroom these days. Think of the time savings! I think that even after this little boy comes and (fingers crossed here!!) I return to a more normal size and shape I will need to do some serious research and find cute pants with an elastic waistband. I am so not kidding - the person that invented maternity pants is seriously onto something and should begin marketing these things to the masses. I love them!

This past Monday Patrick and I were running errands together and I dared to enter my favorite children's store (which I have been avoiding like the plague since I found out I was pregnant since their stuff is ridiculously cute but also ridiculously overpriced!) I was not disappointed with the selection of beautiful ensembles, and I used all of my willpower to head directly to the sale racks. I am so proud of my finds - I got a sweater that Ethan can wear this winter that was originally $43 for $7!! Patrick was shocked when he saw the full prices on everything in the store since this was his first time in a Janie and Jack, and made me promise that even if we become millionaires one day I will never pay $43 for a baby sweater that will be outgrown in a few short months and more than likely spit up upon many times as well. I assured him that I have more financial sense than that, since I am pretty good at finding great deals. It's hard to maintain control in this store though, because everything is just so cute. I love it! Check out my super sale finds (grand total spent - $20):

I should also add that for those of you that don't know, Patrick loves all things pirate related. (Why you may ask - I have absolutely no idea!) He even dragged me into a pirate museum when we were in Charleston a few years back. I share this, because when he saw this shirt he fell in love and so I have a feeling that Ethan is destined to have an affinity for pirate themed items as well. He purposely liked this shirt because he said it looked tough...sigh!

It was fun getting to shop together for our little guy!! We also finally settled on a paint shade for the nursery, and picked up the paint and supplies this past weekend. That project will be commencing soon, so stay tuned for home improvement updates.

Here's a word of advice for any of you with pregnant friends - even if they look as if they tripled in size since you have seen them last, it might not be in their best interest to share that observation directly with the pregnant person in question. I had this happen to me this past week (the elapsed time was four days) and was told that I definitely looked as though I had gotten bigger in that time. Ummm, thank you??? I'm getting better at not taking things like this personally (especially since I realize that it was not intended to be insulting) but when your self esteem can be found in the toilet some days, perhaps not addressing one's dramatic weight gain would make for a happier hormonal pregnant woman. That's my two cents on that topic for what it's worth!


I helped host a baby shower this past weekend for my good friend Lindsay (who is due with her little boy 6 weeks before Ethan is scheduled to make his debut.) I think that everything turned out really well, and it was a lot of fun. The food was fantastic - we had them prepare a brunch menu and I truly think that I could eat breakfast items for every meal of the day. It was super yummy! Here are a few pictures:

Lindsay with all of her gifts - she got some awesome stuff for her little boy!!

The hostesses and guest of honor - Jennifer (Lindsay's lifelong friend), Allison (3 months pregnant!), Lindsay, and me (I'm counting this as my 26 week pregnancy shot!)

The beautiful mommy-t0-be

Lucky 32 Restaurant

Here's the official word on Week 26: "The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel."

Week 25

I cannot believe that it's already time to post another update! Ethan's activity level has picked up dramatically in the past week. He still remains the most active in the early evenings, but I've been noticing more and more movement throughout the days this week as well. And I finally saw my stomach move on its own. Let me tell you, that was one of the weirdest things I've seen. I looked down, and all of a sudden either his arm or leg gave me a solid punch and I saw the limb hit and push out my stomach. I felt like I belonged in an alien movie and promptly snuggled into a blanket so I wouldn't see anything further. I love feeling him move around (craziness, considering how fearful I was of that before this whole process started!) but I'm not ready to watch all of his antics just yet. Maybe I'll get there...but I'm definitely not there yet!

If I'm being perfectly honest here, this week has been filled with a lot of self doubt. I've just been thinking a lot about how much goes into being a good parent, and wondering if I'll ever be up to the task. I'm so scared to be expecting a little boy, because I have no experience with boys and no idea what he'll need. I want so badly to be a good mother, and there have been so many comments made in recent weeks (and I know that nothing has been meant by any of these, I just have a tendancy to take everything to heart) that have caused me to doubt a lot of the decisions we have been making. For example, we have a bumper for the crib (and I ensured that it has all of the required safety ties, etc.) but I've been told to take it back because it could be bad for the baby. My mother is in shock that we are going to use pacifiers for the first couple of months (my research all says that this helps reduce the risk of SIDS) and sippy cups (evidently she taught us to use adult cups right away and doesn't understand the need for a child to carry a drink around with them) so those are both decisions that I know aren't being looked at favorably. At Easter a comment was made about clothing and how shirts with collars look silly on babies, and I came home to look in Ethan's closet and saw how many of the outfits I have for him have collars on the shirts. None of this is make or break stuff, but in total it's all getting to me and really causing me to wonder if I have a clue in the world what I'm getting myself into. And this is all just little stuff...what happens when we're talking about big decisions?! I know you cannot ever be truly ready to be a parent, but I'm really starting to wonder if the hospital will even let me leave with this baby once he's born.

That's another thing - I'm starting to really stress about having to actually give birth now too. When we first found out that we were expecting, I knew that this would have to happen but it seemed so far off that I tried not to think about it. Now that the day is quickly approaching (we are right at 100 days until our due date!) I'm starting to get really scared. I don't know how I'm going to get through this. I'm kind of a wimp and Patrick's best advice thus far is that we'll just power through. I need a plan (and preferably a doctor to knock me out and wake me up the next day to tell me that it's all over!)

Anyway, other than my stress meter returning (I've been totally relaxed throughout the majority of this pregnancy) everything has been going pretty well. I've been spending a lot of time reading in the sun on our patio in the afternoons (gotta love those 85 degree days!) and I cannot wait for the pool to open soon. I have several maternity swimsuits that my friends have been kind enough to donate to my cause (and let me tell you, I have the best friends in the world because they have totally hooked me up with a fabulous maternity wardrobe!) so I think that I'll be brave enough to waddle over there during the days when the pool is relatively quiet.

I have to get Patrick to take a picture of me for this week's update, so this will be one of those weeks where the pictures come later (sorry!) In nursery related news, the curtain valences arrived this week and they are ADORABLE! I love the pattern we ended up picking out (which oddly enough wasn't one that either of us looked at initially) and the curtains might be my favorite part of the nursery set. I think we finally agreed on the shade of blue that we're going to paint the nursery, so that will be our project this week. I will definitely take some pictures of the before and after to post. Oh, and we ordered some artwork from Ebay that arrived this week as well. There's a site where they'll send you prints to match your nursery pattern so now I need to find some cute frames for his elephant artwork. It feels like we haven't done much to prepare the nursery yet, but all the pieces are slowly starting to come together. I'll be taking pictures as we make progress!

Here's the official update for the week: "Head to heels, your baby now measures 13 1/2 inches. His weight - a pound and a half - isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair - and if you could see it you would now be able to discern its color and texture."

And in non-baby related news, my Duke Blue Devils are once again NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!! It was a super exciting game (I thought it would send me into pre-term labor I was so nervous) and they ended up pulling off a 2 point victory. Here are just a couple of pics from the Duke game we attended last year (pre-pregnancy, in case you couldn't tell!) I'll have to tell Ethan that I missed seeing this year's national championship team in action since the one game to which we received tickets to attend at Cameron was really early on in the pregnancy and I was too nauseous to endure the 2 hour car ride. Hopefully next year we'll get tickets again (they are hard to come by if you're not an alum which unfortunately I am not) because it really is something special to see this team in action on their home court. It is a great day to be a Blue Devil fan (especially living in the land of obnoxious Carolina fans!) And on a side note, it was fantastic to see our adopted team, the WVU Mountaineers, do so well in the tournament. We were pulling for them up until the day they faced Duke (and then our loyalty had to remain with our own team!)

I cannot wait to see the fourth trophy join these!!

The happiest place on earth!

Week 24

Apologies for posting this late...my mom was staying with us for a few days and now I'm trying to catch back up on everything. We had a doctor's appointment this past Thursday and everything went well. The official weight gain is 14 pounds (although according to the scale at home it's 16 - I like the doctor's count better!) and my stomach is officially out and on display for all the world to see. I know this because while my mother and I were out running errands one afternoon I felt her eyes boring holes into me but I couldn't tell what she was looking at so I finally just asked her what she was staring at. The response was my belly - holy grossness! Ethan's heartbeat was normal and everything was measuring in the right ranges. It was a pretty easy appointment and it's nice to see that everything is progressing like it's supposed to since I have absolutely no idea what is going on with my body anymore!

We went to visit Patrick's family on Easter Sunday after mass, and had a nice time visiting with everybody there. My sister-in-law Brooke had me rolling on the floor with her tale of attending mass in Burlington (totally wish I could have been there, and this one is a classic for all you Catholics out there!) and we got to spend some time with our crazy nephews. They have so much energy and definitely keep me entertained. We got to hide eggs for them to find for the egg hunt and it was so much fun to get to relive this tradition. (We haven't participated in an actual egg hunt in many years in my family!) I loved it!!

My mother-in-law had an Easter basket ready for Ethan, and like the tradition in my family all baskets are hidden and you have to search to locate them. Since I was deemed "Ethan's keeper" I was the one that had to search for his basket. I should back up and say that at my house we came up with some crafty hiding places, so I know how to search for a basket. Evidently, this is not the case here because after I cleared the laundry room, Patrick came up to me and told me that I was being incredibly nosy (jokingly, but still!) because the basket was just sitting in a corner in the dining room. So much for checking the dryer, the closet, and every other place that I was checking off my list of potential hiding spots. I don't think anybody else saw me clear every potential spot in the laundry room, but next year I know just to look around and it will probably be pretty visible. Too funny!

Warmer weather has returned to NC, and I am loving it. It is supposed to hit 90 today, and I am happy as can be. So far I haven't been overly hot throughout this pregnancy, so I am definitely enjoying being able to wear shorts, sitting outside and reading my books and magazines, and just relaxing.

I know I'm leaving out a ton of stuff, but hopefully the 25 week update will be on time and I can fill in all the missing pieces then!

Here's the official word on week 24: "Your baby's growing steadily, having gained 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn) he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

Week 24 - I'm growing steadily now!

Caddy discovered the pack n play!

She loved hiding under the changing table part!

Week 23...Pictures!

As promised, here are some pictures for the week (and the camera cord was finally located in my old laptop bag...what was it doing in there?!)

This is what the completed nursery looks like in the store - ours won't be quite this coordinated, but this way you can see the pattern and get an idea of what Ethan's nursery will look like one day

A born sports fan!

Holly could not resist the new best seat in the house (and Erin, I promise that she hasn't been allowed here since this day and everything will be cleaned before Ethan arrives and before I bring this back to you!)

Some of my favorite consignment finds - his closet is full of great deals!

The dreaded bump pic - Week 23

Week 23

So I am obvioiusly experiencing some technical difficulties on this end (our internet router is acting mildly possessed, I misplaced my camera cord to download pictures, and I somehow never posted last week's update - grrrr!) but I'm hoping to redeem myself today. I'll try to combine last week with what's going on this week and we'll see how it goes :) After I post this I am going on a manhunt to find that camera cord, and will hopefully have some pictures up later today. Cross your fingers!!

I've been feeling pretty good lately, with the one exception being that I've been waking up a couple of times a night with aching ribs. Is this normal?! With my increased size, turning over to sleep on my other side is becoming more difficult (but it's the only thing that seems to relieve the pressure on one side of my rib cage or the other.) Perhaps I am falling apart...but otherwise I've felt great. I have tons of energy and have even been making it back to the gym throughout this trimester. I feel like a bit of a slacker at the gym because I haven't gotten back into a running routine yet, so I am either walking or trying the elliptical machine. I used to love when I would run on the treadmill because I always made sure that either my speed or distance was faster or longer than anybody around me and I felt like I was winning some imaginary race. (Seriously, what is wrong with me?!) Now that I can't really run I get so frustrated when I see all the in shape people going faster than me. Hopefully it will give me the motivation I need once Ethan makes his debut to get myself back into shape. Patrick thinks it was absolutely ridiculous for me to "compete" against those around me (not that they ever knew it!) but I told him if it kept me motivated it wasn't all bad. In the interim, I have developed an appreciation for the elderly men that are all at the gym at the same time as me now, because we're all going at about the same pace and it's kind of nice to have a sense of comraderie with them. We're all trying, so that definitely counts!

Ethan has definitely been making his presence known. He gets really active in the early evenings and Patrick has finally been able to feel him kick. The first time was so cute - he looked at me and asked me if I felt that kick. Ummm, yes, I feel every one (even if my hand isn't on my stomach!) Before I was pregnant I dreaded the day that I would feel the baby move (for some reason it just really grossed me out. I always avoided touching a pregnant belly if at all possible because it seemed so weird!) but now that he's moving all around I kind of like feeling him in there. I understand if that sounds totally weird to anybody that hasn't been pregnant before though, because I never would have believed it until it happened to me.

I have also discovered the joys of consignment shopping for Ethan's outfits. A friend of mine introduced me to all the different sales in my area (most are held twice a year) and I made it to four different sales this time around. If you are interested in visiting these sales, I have a couple of tips to help make it a fun experience. First, go with a friend! I went to one by myself and it seemed like a chore, but when I went with a friend we had a great time looking at the clothes and deciding if something was a worthwhile purchase or not. Second, the last day is typically a half price day and I highly recommend waiting and going on the half price day. There is still a huge selection, and there is nothing better than finding a cute pair of khaki pants that were originally only $4 and paying $2 for them. (And I've been finding some quality brands too - baby Gap, Gymboree, Polo - all for a fraction of the original cost!) And third, there is no point to waiting in line just to get in first. I did this at one sale, and the selection was no better than at any of the others. Going at off times means there are fewer crowds to fight off and you can still find everything you need. So although I am obviously no expert and have only made it through one season of consignment shopping, those are my observations for making it fun so far. One of the pictures I'm going to try to post once I locate my camera cord is of some of the outfits I've picked up for Ethan. They are so cute!!

Our next doctor's appointment is going to be next Thursday. I don't think they'll do much at this appointment besides weigh me (gulp! - the official count at home is that I'm up 14 pounds right now, but we'll see what the doctor has to say), check my blood pressure, and check Ethan's heart beat. The following appointment will be the dreaded glucose test. Since both diabetes and gestational diabetes run in my family, I'm a little nervous about this one. Hopefully it will go well!

I've started working on the nursery, and we have the pattern picked out and are deciding on paint colors now. Patrick likes one shade and I like another so we have the swatches hung on the walls and once we come to an agreement we'll start painting. I ordered the chair for the nursery this week. It was my big spluge - this chair is fantastic!! It looks like a big arm chair, glides, and has a hidden latch in the cushion to turn it into a recliner. I am already in love with my chair, and it won't actually arrive until the end of May or early June. I had a moment of guilt after ordering the chair because we're not really in a position to be making any big purchases right now, but I justified it by knowing that I waited until I had a 20% off coupon to order it. Oh, and if anybody recently got the coupon to Buy Buy Baby and isn't planning to use it, a friend of mine is waiting to order her chair until she has a coupon and for some reason they never sent her one. If you are willing to part with your coupon, I think you may have made a new friend for life! As soon as we paint and start putting things together I'll take some pictures of the room (but for now it's just relatively empty.)

This weekend my sister and I are driving up to Virginia to visit my aunt and cousins. I'm really looking forward to getting the chance to visit with them (and for some time with my sister too!) We're meeting up at the halfway point where our routes converge and riding the rest of the way together. It should be pretty fun!

Here's the official word on Week 23: "Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango) you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now - such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner - probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb."

My Blogging Return

So under threat from several sources (you know who you are!) I am returning to the world of blogging. I'm not sure why I took such a long hiatus, but in the interim there have been many changes going on around here. The biggest such change is that Patrick and I are expecting our first child in July. We are sooooo excited! My goal is to post a picture and pregnancy update every Friday until our little baby arrives since that is when I officially make it to the next week of pregnancy. This week I'll be posting the 22 week update. Pregnancy so far has been fairly easy on me. I had several days of what I refer to as the "yucks" (all day nausea) early on, but fortunately they didn't happen all in row and seemed to subside around week 10 or so and since then I've been feeling great. I never had any vomiting (and for those of you who know me well, you know my feelings about that one and what a huge blessing missing out on that experience has been!) and since I've been in the second trimester my energy has totally returned. I remember when one of my good friends was pregnant with my adorable goddaughter several years ago and she was fantastic about posting pictures, updates, and everything in between so that even though I was far away I felt like I wasn't missing anything. I have been horrible about returning that favor, and am therefore going to try to keep all of you updated regularly from now on.

That said, here's the exciting news for this post - Patrick and I found out that we're having a boy! Shocker, I know, considering that we both come from families full of women. We had been debating back and forth if we even wanted to find out the gender, and finally I decided out in the parking lot of the doctor's office that I officially did not want to know. Little did I know that this baby had other plans.

Everything went well with the ultrasound, although the baby was extremely uncooperative. All he wanted to do was nap, and the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting all of the measurements that she needed. And let me tell you, there were a million measurements she needed. I had no idea how involved this process was, and was completely unprepared for the fact that we were going to measuring the distance between the eyes, drilling down to examine all chambers of the heart, etc. etc. She had to jiggle my ever expanding belly several times in order to get him to move so that she could get what she needed. That was definitely not my favorite part. I was thinking that by the time she got down to the area that would tell us if our baby was a boy or a girl she would ask if we wanted to find out the gender (since I couldn't tell what was what by looking at the screen - I thought the cord looked like gas bubbles at one point!) I was just watching foreign objects float by on the screen when all of a sudden I saw her type a b and an o. What?! We are really having a little boy!! I was floored, and am definitely nervous about taking on the task of raising a little gentleman. I'm really excited about this too, because growing up with sisters, female cousins, aunts, etc. I was never exposed to the world of trucks and karate and climbing to hide on top of the garage (ask my neighbor about that one!) This is going to be a whole new world for me, and I'm sure we'll have many ridiculous stories of me trying to navigate the world of little boys in the coming years.

Since our little guy was so uncooperative during the ultrasound, we unfortunately do not have very fabulous pictures of him (I was hoping for a cute profile shot or something!) but he may be turning out to be stubborn just like his mother. My mom warned me that one day I would have kids just like me. Yikes!! The clearest pictures are from when we were in 4D mode, although I have to admit they're a little freaky looking. He looked right up when the tech was taking the first picture, which totally scared me. We're naming him Ethan Burgess (Burgess is Patrick's middle name, which was also his mother's maiden name) in honor of her memory.

Our little alien - he's kind of scary looking right now

His daddy sleeps in this exact same pose!

So anyway, I realize that there is a lot to catch up on and I have barely scratched the surface today, but I promise to try to get back into the habit of posting pictures (I have several ready for Friday's 22 week update, including the dreaded bump watch!) updates and keeping everybody up to date on things around here.