Mark and Sally's Munchkins: 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Stole this updater from a friend:

MONTH: 3

WEEK: 15

WEIGHT: 15 lbs, 11 oz as of last week

LENGTH: not sure (checkup next week)

HEAD: not sure

MILESTONES: He's started grabbing things that we hand to him, instead of just finding them by accident.

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Ben with his daddy!

EATING: Breastmilk only. We do wonder if he'll get the ok to start solids soon, but we're in no hurry!

SLEEPING: After fighting off his cold last week, it looks like we're back to sleeping through the night, usually 9:30-6:00 (although the past two nights it was 3 and 4...)

VISITS/OUTINGS: Lots of visits last week for Thanksgiving! Had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa Bennett!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, talking to Mommy and Daddy, pooping.... ;-)

MOMMY FEELS: like if someone said it was ok to stay home and not work, I'd do it in a heartbeat!! There isn't enough time in the day anymore to spend with my little guy!

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Everything! Every day there's something new. I love learning new things about him!

Time flies!

Wow, how times flies when you're busy with a newborn/infant! I've meant to post since he was born but honestly it never crosses my mind. But I promise from here on out I'll try to be more on top of things, especially since I'd like to save this for posterity later!

Ben is now almost 4 months, and has changed so much! He's such a happy baby, while he was NOT at 1 month. We still have him on Zantac, but it seems to be helping the reflux. I do wonder when we should try weaning him off of it to see if he still really needs it, but I'm afraid that he'll be in pain while we're experimenting.

Anyway, other than that he's doing great! He's good and chunky, always has a smile ready for us (but not when I pick him up for daycare, curiously enough...I think he doesn't realize it's me until I get him home!) and is learning all sorts of new (loud) noises. We're falling more and more in love with him everyday, and it seems like he thinks we're pretty awesome too! :-)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

38 Weeks....

2 more weeks, 14 more days!! I still have a feeling this will be happening sooner rather than later, but lord knows I've been wrong before! :-)

How far along? 38 weeks
Weight gain/loss: No idea anymore.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely. Mostly tank tops because it's HOT.
Stretch marks? Yes. Thank you genetics.
Sleep? Nighttime? None. Naps during the day? At least 2.
Best moment this week? Just lots of movement. He's running out of space!
Movement: Moving a lot! He has discovered how to twang my ribs like a guitar string. Very weird and slightly uncomfortable.
Food cravings: starchy foods, cottage cheese with peaches, Reese's peanut butter cups...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Depending on where the baby is, my belly button is either out or flat.
What I miss? Sleep. Fat chance I'll have that any time in the near future!
What I am looking forward to? Meeting my little guy!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

37 weeks -- Full Term!

Ah, so here we are, at "full term" status. What does that mean, exactly? A whole lot of nada. Baby really hasn't dropped, no mucus plug, no real contractions. I have been feeling stronger cramps (very much like menstrual cramps) but nothing at all regular and usually not even once a day. Baby's been moving a lot, even though he must be running out of wiggle room in there. I don't feel like I look 37 weeks (some people have also made this comment) and I don't know what to think. The midwives don't seem to be concerned, and so far I've measured ok, so I guess it's not really something to worry about. JJ's been sticking fairly close but I think that's just him, if the cat starts sitting with me regularly I'll start to think something's up. :-)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

36 Weeks...one week til "full term" status!

Wow, time is just flying by now! I'm pretty much out of projects (although I keep finding sewing projects to make for Bennett to make my days more productive), the baby's room is ready, and we're one week away from "full term"! I'd like him to stay at least a week or two after that just to make sure he gets to cook as long as he needs to. I'm starting to get really really nervous/scared, mostly about the labor and delivery portion. I really want to avoid using an epidural/pitocin as long as possible, but I know that means that I'll experience more pain than if I went with the epidural right away. I'm not ruling out pain killers altogether, I just want to see how far along I can go without it. I'm not a pain med person by nature (I don't even really use anything for headaches or menstrual cramps) so we'll see how that goes....

I read someone else's blog recently who had gone into labor at 36 weeks (and 2 days), and that freaks me out a little bit. I know I have no control over when things start moving along, but that's really early! I haven't had a lot of issues with this pregnancy (thank goodness, I thank my lucky stars every day/night!) so I'm enjoying being pregnant. I know there are lots of changes in the very near future and I'm getting a bit apprehensive! I hope I make a good mommy!!!

How far along? 36 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Around 15 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely.
Stretch marks?Yes and I HATE them. But I knew I was destined to have them. I just hate how ugly they look.
Sleep? Still not sleeping much at night. I'm trying to curb my napping habits during the day but it's not working very well...
Best moment this week? Having Mark see the baby moving from the other side of the couch. When he gets moving, he's really all over the place!
Movement: Moving a lot! Some painful rolling from one side to the other, very strange feeling!
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? Meeting my little guy!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

35/35!!!!!

How far along? 35 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Around 15 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely.
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Not so much at night, making up for it during the day. Bad habit to start, but I suppose the baby will be on the same page!
Best moment this week? Seeing my husband doing his own version of nesting -- insisting on getting rid of our couch, buying a new one at IKEA, and putting it together all in one day!
Movement: Moving a lot! Some painful rolling from one side to the other, very strange feeling!
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? Meeting my little guy!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

34 Weeks! 3 Weeks Til Full Term!

How far along? 34 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Around 10 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Most definitely. Also used the maternity swim suit for the first time last week, probably will use it again if it keeps getting so freaking hot!
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Not so much at night, making up for it during the day. Bad habit to start, but I suppose the baby will be on the same page!
Best moment this week? Washing the baby clothes. Makes it more real!
Movement: Moving a lot! Some painful rolling from one side to the other, very strange feeling!
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? August!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

She's Crafty!

Here is the first sleepsack I've sewn myself. I bought a pattern by Burda and HATED everything about it, including the directions. So I had to do a bit of ad-libbing on the pattern itself. I used flannel fabric and made the 3 month size. I'm tempted to try to tweak the pattern again to make a smaller size, but since I don't have a baby to test-drive them on yet I'm not sure....

Front/Back:

Nursery is 99% complete!

All that we're missing is the crib, my dad is building it and will bring it up when he's finished. Here are the photos of the nursery!

(note: the "crib" in the photo is our bassinet that will be moved to sit next to my side of the bed when the baby comes, it's just a place holder right now while we wait for the crib)

Here are the letters we painted and put up. The swing was a craigslist find, and there's the "placeholder" bassinet. We also put up the wallpaper border ourselves (it has fishies on it if you can't see it clearly).

Since we're in a condo, we have to use the baby's room as our office, so this is the "office" corner, along with the changing table/dresser.

This is the glider and the bookshelf/storage shelf. The blanket on the glider was a gift from my aunt.

And here are the curtains (made from sari fabric) that I put up in place of the white metal bi-fold doors that were the bane of my existence. They were too much of a pain to repair, so Mark took them down. We needed something to hide all the baby paraphenalia that we have hiding back there, so I hung up some old sari fabric I hadn't been able to find a use for in years. If you look closely in the previous photo you can see the remnant of the same fabric covering the bookshelf/storage shelf!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

33 Weeks!

How far along? 33 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Around 10 lbs. It's plateaued recently.
Maternity clothes? Bought a maternity swim suit, but haven't ventured outside in public with it just yet.
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Not so much at night, making up for it during the day. Bad habit to start, but I suppose the baby will be on the same page!
Best moment this week? Realizing we have less than 50 days left til the baby comes!
Movement: Moving a lot, but not so much today. Must be in a growth spurt?
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? August!

Friday, June 25, 2010

New Ultrasound pics!

We had our last ultrasound yesterday. Baby is measuring in the 61st percentile (meaning he's a little bigger than average) at 4 lbs 11 oz. His heartrate was 161 bpm, which is good and strong. He was sleeping through the whole thing, although he did open one of his eyes for a split second (probably wondering what in the hell we were doing), which was weird. Because he was so cooperative we got a lot of 4D pics:

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

32 weeks!

8 weeks left.....

How far along? 32 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Somewhere between 10 and 12 lbs I think.
Maternity clothes? Very comfy. Still debating whether or not I want to get a bathing suit in the 2 months I have left....
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Back aches. :-(
Best moment this week? Feeling the baby kick so hard it bothered my dog, who was laying at my side!
Movement: He's moving all the time. I'm even starting to notice it when I'm walking around, which hadn't been happening before.
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? Our next ultrasound!!!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

31 Weeks (9 weeks to go!)

Wow, when you really think about it, 9 weeks isn't all that long! And with my luck he'll be a bit earlier than that. I sure hope we can get the baby's room set up and finished soon!

I'm finding lately that my back aches a lot, especially when I'm trying to sleep at night. Feels much better to lay on my back, but I'm not supposed to. :-( It probably doesn't help that I'm sharing my body pillow with the dog, either....

We're in our 3rd week of childbirth classes this week, and we are not impressed. The instructor is very dry and more than a little odd, and we really haven't learned any information I haven't already gathered from watching "A Baby Story" or the internet. We did get a tour of the labor & delivery ward of the hospital last night, so that was pretty cool. We timed it well too, because a new baby was just being admitted and we could see him getting poked, prodded and measured while we were taking the tour. What a cutie!

Nothing else really to report besides a successful baby shower this past weekend. Tons of friends and family came, and we knocked out a lot of our baby registry in the one shower. We had to return some duplicates, but were able to buy a bassinet for the baby with the gift cards we got in exchange.

Another ultrasound next week!!

How far along? 31 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Somewhere between 10 and 12 lbs I think.
Maternity clothes? Very comfy. Still debating whether or not I want to get a bathing suit in the 2 months I have left....
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Back aches. :-(
Best moment this week? Seeing the labor and delivery ward, realizing we're coming towards the end of this part of the journey!
Movement: He's moving all the time. Mostly at night, which makes me wonder if he'll be a night owl just like his mama...
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Mostly out now. My laproscopy surgery scar is making it look a little weird.
What I miss? Being able to sleep on my back!
What I am looking forward to? Our next ultrasound!!!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Almost 30 weeks!

I decided to update this a day early since I went for another check-up today...

Good appointment, no news but good news. Ben's heartrate is at 149, which I'm told is good. My weight is still going up but slowly, and the midwife said that was ok. She was very impressed with my blood pressure (used the word "perfect" to describe it) as well.

The fun part was when the midwife checked Ben's position. Today he was head down, with his butt somewhere on my right side. She said that could definitely change though since he's still got room to move and groove between now and then.

Next milestone? I guess my baby shower, which is on SUNDAY. It's going to be an epic event, I think close to 40 people are coming..! I just hope it doesn't rain!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

29 weeks!

Wow, time really flies! I hadn't realized it had been so long since I updated this! Everything with baby and I is going well, no real complaints besides being exhausted again, and feeling stronger more consistent movement. I just heard from my parents that they will be coming in for a visit a few days before the baby shower, so that'll be really great to have them visit and maybe help us with a few projects in the baby's room. Not sure when the crib will be done, but I hope it'll be ready before he shows up!

How far along? 29 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Not sure now, probably closer to 10 lbs. :-(
Maternity clothes? Loving them, but needing more tank tops for summer!
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Haven't been, but more due to a head cold than the baby.
Best moment this week? SEEING movement, not just feeling it!
Movement: He's moving all the time. Lately he has been waking me up at 4 in the morning. A sign of things to come, perhaps?
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? half and half.
What I miss? Being able to sleep.
What I am looking forward to? Our next ultrasound!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

25 Weeks!

I had my gestational diabetes test yesterday. Had a boring hour in between drinking a sugary solution and waiting for them to take my blood, but the test came back within normal glucose limits so that's good. The midwife checked my fundal height for the first time and said I'm at 26 centimeters, which is around where we should be (plus or minus 2 cm she said). She also checked his heart rate with the doppler and said that he's got a good strong heart beat. So far, so good!

How far along? 25 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Up 7 lbs (added 2 lbs this week, uh oh!)
Maternity clothes? getting freebies is awesome!
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? I need a snuggle....
Best moment this week? Feeling Bennett kick strong enough to move my arm!
Movement: He's a dancing baby, no doubt about it! I think he does it a lot when I'm bored, maybe he's bored too. lol
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Still in, but it's starting to pop.
What I miss? Nothing in particular lately.
What I am looking forward to? How far along? 24 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Up 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Needing to buy more...
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Not as easy as it used to be....
Best moment this week? Feeling the baby kicking stronger and more frequent.
Movement: Feeling the baby more strongly. He's definitely stretching out and doing his exercises in there!
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Still in, but it's starting to pop.
What I miss? Besides wine, I'm really loving this pregnancy!
What I am looking forward to? Putting his dresser together, getting Mark to paint the baby's room...
Weekly wisdom: Enjoy every moment!
Milestones: Stronger kicks!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

24 Weeks!

Went in for "quick" visit to the doctor's office today. They recently moved from one office to another (in the same building), so there was a bit of a learning curve at the new building. First of all, it seems they had double-booked the 4:00 appointments because the waiting room was FULL (I've never seen more than 3 or 4 other women there at that time when I'm there). Second, their main patient's bathroom (where you drop off urine samples) was clogged, so they had to send everyone to the opposite side of the office to do their business, and then carry their sample back to the lab. This resulted in a bathroom traffic jam. Fun. After that, we still had to wait 30 minutes past our actual appointment before we were seen, and it was really only a 10 minute appointment.

But other than those complaints, Bennett seems to be doing really well. They found his heartbeat right away (within a few seconds) and told us it was in the 150s, my weight is good (although I've finally gained a few lbs), etc. We didn't have anything else to report, so the midwife was pleased that everything seems to be going well.

Next week: Gestational diabetes test!

How far along? 24 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Up 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Needing to buy more...
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Not as easy as it used to be....
Best moment this week? Feeling the baby kicking stronger and more frequent.
Movement: Feeling the baby more strongly. He's definitely stretching out and doing his exercises in there!
Food cravings: cheese, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Still in, but it's starting to pop.
What I miss? Besides wine, I'm really loving this pregnancy!
What I am looking forward to? Getting the baby's room sorted out, and buying some furniture!
Weekly wisdom: It's just amazing to me how much this baby must be movin' and groovin' in there!
Milestones: Stronger kicks!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

22 Weeks!

Here we are, 22 weeks, and the size of a papaya (according to the website anyway). The baby shower is getting squared away, and I'm getting crafty again and starting another sewing project. School continues to be super stressful but the baby is doing great as far as I can tell!

How far along? 22w1d
Weight gain/loss: Haven't weighed myself recently...hoping it's the same though!
Maternity clothes? I am loving my maternity clothes! So comfy! I need to buy some capris though.
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? About the same, although having a cold this week kept me from sleeping as much as I could have.
Best moment this week? When Mark felt the baby kick for the first time.
Movement: Definite movement now! It's still really light but now that it's been happening more often I can recognize it. Sometimes he even kicks hard enough that it suprises me. :-)
Food cravings: cheese, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? Still in...
What I miss? Zombie Pub Crawl is coming up, and I'll be missing out this year. For a good reason however!
What I am looking forward to? Starting on the nursery! We haven't bought any furniture yet or cleaned out the baby's room. I'd love to get that started ASAP!
Weekly wisdom: It's just amazing to me how much this baby must be movin' and groovin' in there!
Milestones: The baby's moving!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Afghan progress

Here is the star afghan I have been working on for my baby!

21 Weeks (tomorrow, technically)

Slowly but surely, we're moving our way towards 40 weeks!

How far along? 20w6d (21w tomorrow)
Weight gain/loss: Bouncing back and forth between 2 lbs and 3 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. Very proud of that!
Maternity clothes? Yes, they are super comfortable but hard to find things that fit a short person like me!
Stretch marks?Unfortunately, yes.
Sleep? Some, but not as much as I would like.
Best moment this week?Feeling what I THINK is real movement!
Movement: Possibly, see above.
Food cravings: cheese, Reese's peanut butter cups, Reese's puffs cereal, ice cream...
Gender: BOY!
Belly button in or out? It's in, but I see that it will pop soon!
What I miss? Wine was tasty.
What I am looking forward to? Having Mark feel the baby move!
Weekly wisdom: You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' nose. :-)
Milestones:Feeling what I think is real movement!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

IT'S A BOY!!!

Well, we hadn't expected this, but it turns out our baby is a boy! He is measuring exactly on time, weighing 11 oz. He has all of the necessary parts and everything looked good so we're very pleased that it looks like he'll be a healthy baby. He was moving around a lot and had hiccups, which made us laugh even though we felt sorry for him. :-) He also did a lot of thumb-sucking and relaxing with his hand on his tummy. What a charmer!

Here are some photos of our little guy!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

19 Weeks!!!

I can't believe we've made it this far already!

Nothing terribly impressive to report, however. No real fetal movement detected, although I might just be missing it. :-( Belly's getting bigger, now it looks more like a pregnancy belly than just fat.

Next week is week 20, which means a few different things:

20 week ultrasound!!! (Boy or Girl?)
Half-way point through the pregnancy!
Spring Break! :-)

So what's next, you may ask?

Keep working on baby registry (to be posted soon!)
Make official notice to the school district about my maternity leave intentions
Get baby shower logistics figured out

Will keep you updated...... :-)

Saturday, February 27, 2010

15weeks, 3 days

I just realized that, while I've made adjustments to my blog, I haven't actually updated it! Silly me!

Nothing really new to report. Belly seems to be getting bigger, and seeing as I'm still not gaining any weight, I suspect it's baby belly and not bloat or fat.

We go in for more blood work on Monday, and I'm hoping that the midwife will do a quick heartbeat check, just so I'll feel a little better since nothing else seems to be going on. I hate this in-between time! I know I'll feel the baby at some point, but being 15 weeks and knowing that most women my size don't feel the baby until around 19 or 20 weeks, it's a long wait ahead!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

13 weeks

So here we are, at 13 weeks, in the 2nd trimester! The first part of the sequential screening went great, at least as far as the ultrasound is concerned. I have not heard back from the doctor's office on the bloodwork, but I figure no news is good news with them (although it won't stop me from calling next week if I still haven't heard anything).

Mark has started writing a letter to our little peanut, to be opened when she/he turns a certain age. The cutest thing about it is that he doesn't want me to read it either, he wants it to be a special moment for all of us when he/she opens it. Very cute!

As far as symptoms go, I don't really feel any different. I went off my prenatal at the suggestion of the midwife since it seemed to be causing me problems, although I still take a separate folic acid. Morning sickness is gone, but I do have a few food aversions left (still with the veggies!). I'm convinced my belly is starting to show but I'm probably just looking fatter. I know I'm still 5 lbs down from December, when I had my first appointment with the midwife, so that's good I guess.

I shared my news with my boss this week, and have slowly been coming out to the rest of my coworkers. It feels weird to volunteer the information though, so I usually wait until someone asks.... :-)

Next appointment March 3rd. No ultrasound though, just bloodwork.