Nesting?

Over the last few weeks, my energy has definitely been returning. Thank God for the 2nd trimester! All the books I've read have said that this is when I will have the most energy to get things done, but I was a little skeptical given how gross I felt for a while. But it's completely true! So, I am definitely trying to take advantage of my bursts of energy.

Some of the projects I've been working on over the last few days include:

• Cleaning out the closet in the baby's room
• Updating our budget to plan for maximum savings to cover my maternity leave
• Sorting through all my clothing into "what I can still fit into" and "See ya later"
• Cleaning off our desk in the guest room so that it looks nicer for guests
• Prepping the dresser in the baby's room for painting
• Separated all of the clothes given to us for our Safe Family boys (still need to buy bins to store them in, then move it all to the basement! Baby steps, people!)

Maybe that doesn't seem like a lot, but considering how little I've accomplished recently, that seems like a BIG DEAL to me!

Some other projects that will begin this week/weekend include:

• Painting the new cabinets in the laundry room
• Painting the large cabinet/"storage thing" in the laundry room
• Installing flooring in the laundry room
• Possibly weeding/mowing the lawn (MAYBE....)
• Possibly putting the door back on the laundry room
• Painter coming on Friday to give us an estimate for painting our kitchen/living room/entry way 

SO EXCITING! Maybe it's just me, but I absolutely love crossing things off my "to-do" list! We'll see how it goes over the next several days!

15 weeks!

How far along: 15 weeks & 3 days

Total weight gain: Still not sure- we will find out at our next appointment on August 7th.

Maternity clothes: Definitely. Looking SO forward to my slouchy sweaters and scarfs once the weather gets cooler.

Stretch Marks: None yet.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well recently. Still getting up 1-2x/night to go to the bathroom

Best moment this week: Being able to see a few college friends & talk baby with them. 

Miss anything: Still feeling pretty content recently.

Movement: None yet- any day now! I am so so so excited!!

Food cravings: Cheeeeeeeese!!! Can't. Get. Enough. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: My food aversions have mostly gone away. Still not a huge fan of red meat or coffee. (Who am I?!?)

Gender: Unknown- I am secretly hoping that they will do an ultrasound at our August 7th appointment. There is a girl in my office who is due the week before me, and she found how that she's having a boy. I am so excited to find out! Rich & my Mom are both dead set that it's a girl though :)

Symptoms:I've had quite a few headaches this past week, which I am pretty sure are just due to the intense heat. I am really not a fan of taking medication for headaches if it can be taken care of by resting, hydrating or using a cold washcloth over my eyes. I've really been trying to stay on top of my water consumption, but some days it feels like I am fighting a losing battle! A girl can only handle so many liquids!

Belly Button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: On

Happy or Moody: Happy! I am just completely in awe of this whole process- more on that later!

Looking forward to: Our next doctor's appointment on August 7th & starting to feeling movement! Eek!

**I know this picture is horrible- only 1 more week until Rich is done with Grad school and can be my photographer. I hate awkward mirror/iphone pictures!

14 weeks!

How far along: 14 weeks

Total weight gain: No sure- we will find out at our next appointment on August 7th.

Maternity clothes: Definitely. Highlight this week- I got 5 maternity tshirts from Old Navy for $40! 

Stretch Marks: None yet.

Sleep: Depends on the day- sometimes I sleep great, other days not so much. But I did get a SWEET maternity pillow to borrow from my sweet friend Kathy, so that's been really helpful!

Best moment this week: Finally starting our second trimester! Also, we got our results back from my blood work. Everything looked great! My blood type is O+, so I am a "universal donor". And I was negative for the Cystic Fibrosis screen, so that was good news too!

Miss anything: I've been pretty content recently. Although I do still miss hot dogs occasionally! 

Movement: None yet- but we're getting closer! I could start feeling flutters as early as 16 weeks!

Food cravings: Cold, fresh fruit! Yum yum yum.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've been a LOT better with food lately. Still not eating anything spicy.

Gender: Unknown!

Symptoms: Definitely visiting the bathroom more often. I have had some pains in my sides, which I heard is basically just "stretching".

Belly Button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: On

Happy or Moody: Happy! Although, I have definitely had a couple meltdowns that were WAY more dramatic than my typical ones. Poor Richard :)

Looking forward to: Our next doctor's appointment on August 7th!

{Above}

 Rich was home this weekend, so I finally had someone to take a picture for me! Not my best, but Rich was getting frustrated after too many attempts, so we settled on this one. At least I'll have no more awkward iphone-in-the-mirror pics.

{Below}

Some of the baby gear we have started accumulating: baby swaddle (from Lauren Cloud), an Iowa t-shirt & Iowa onesie (from Grandma & Grandpa Stiles), a Salty Dog receiving blanket & onesie (from Grandma & Grandpa Spehr), and little baby socks (I bought when we found out we were pregnant).

Registering

Even though it's still early, Rich & I decided to get a jump start on our registry. We knew where we wanted to register (Target & Babies-R-Us). But we wanted to be able to take our time researching different products & brands. It's not like registering for your wedding, where you generally have a basic idea of things you'll need (kitchen items, stuff for the bathroom, sheets, etc.) With baby stuff, we have NO CLUE! So we're starting early!

Last weekend, Rich was home from Grad school. Our plan was to head to Babies-R-Us after church to look at car seats & strollers. That was our main objective. We wanted to take it slow so that we didn't become overwhelmed.

We got a quick little run down from the Registry people when we got to the store. They were AWESOME and not at all pushy or overwhelming. Plus, we got a sweet swag bag with coupons and free samples! After a few tips from the pros, we were off! Rich loved getting to use the "gun" again. I don't think he let me hold it the entire time...

So here is what we found:

Here is our stroller!

It is called a "travel system", which means that the car seat can snap into the stroller for when the baby is still little. Some of the things we liked most about this stroller in particular: cup holders, reversible seat so that baby can face us or face outward, one-handed fold for storage (super easy!) & large wheels!

Here is the matching car seat!

We registered for an extra base, so that we can have one in each car. I'm sure that the grandparents will be getting one for themselves too!

 And the matching pack 'n play!

We decided that we didn't want to buy a separate bassinet for the baby, since they don't even use them for that long. Instead, we wanted to find a pack 'n play that had a bassinet included. This one also has a changing table too! Plus, it matches the car seat & stroller. 

Overall, our visit was a success! We did end up picking out a few more items than just the stroller & car seat, but we left as soon as our energy started to fade. We want to make sure that this is a POSITIVE experience for both of us, not an exhausting one. Next weekend we plan to head to Target to start our registry there too!

Pregnancy dreams

I had my first pregnancy nightmare last night. I don't remember much, but here are the highlights:

-I went into labor. It wasn't "normal" labor with contractions & everything, but I guess I knew it was happening.
-I have no idea where Rich was. Bummer! But I was with my parents & my sisters.
-My doctor was not on call. I had some stranger come in & check things out.
-My sisters & Dad were making a HUGE scene at the hospital. They were dressing up in doctor gear & being ridiculous. ((That sounds about right, actually))
-It ended up being a false alarm.

Pretty exciting, huh? It was really weird and felt very real while I was dreaming. I've always had very vivid dreams & sometimes have a hard time the next day. Does that make sense?! Sometimes they are wonderful dreams. Other times they are scary & it takes me a while to let go of whatever it was I was dreaming about.

Anyway...here's to many more weird dreams over the next several months!!

13 weeks!

How far along: 13 weeks

Total weight gain: I still don't think I've gained anything- and I might have even lost more.

Maternity clothes: Always in my maternity pants these days. A BIG "thank you" to my friend Megan who recently gave me several pairs of jeans & one pair of pants to wear to work! You are wonderful!

Stretch Marks: None. 

Sleep: I still wake up every morning around 5:15. I go to the bathroom, and then go back to sleep for another hour or so. Annoying, but at least I can still get back to sleep!

Best moment this week: Finally starting our second trimester! Also, we got our results back from my blood work. Everything looked great! My blood type is O+, so I am a "universal donor". And I was negative for the Cystic Fibrosis screen, so that was good news too!

Miss anything: Margaritas. Definitely.

Movement: None yet.

Food cravings: Fresh mozzarella. And cold watermelon. Yummmy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've been a LOT better with food lately. Still not eating anything spicy.

Gender: Unknown!

Symptoms: My trips to the bathroom are a lot more frequent, that is for sure! And I drink SOOOO much water!

Belly Button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: On

Happy or Moody: Happy! I cannot wait for January!

Looking forward to: Starting our registry this weekend while Rich is home. We're going with Target & Babies-R-Us. Since there is a lot to figure out, we're going to start with just 1 or 2 "bigger items" and research. There are so many brands & options, and we want to make sure we're making an informed decision!

12 weeks!

How far along: 12

Total weight gain: I've lost 2 lbs since our first appointment

Maternity clothes: Yup. I am in LOVE with my maternity jeans. I might never stop wearing them...

Stretch Marks: None. 

Sleep: I slept a lot better this week, but Rich was home for 2 days, so that could be why!

Best moment this week: Having our unexpected ultrasound at our appointment & getting to see the baby! Also  sharing our news on Facebook & seeing all the well wishes.

Miss anything: Margaritas & fruity drinks- especially in this hot weather.

Movement: None yet.

Food cravings: Still craving fresh fruit (especially when it's cold) and lots of bread!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Things are getting better, but still not a fan of red meat.

Gender: Unknown!

Symptoms: Nausea is definitely getting better. My energy is coming back a little bit too. Yay!

Belly Button In or Out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: On

Happy or Moody: Happy! I am so excited to meet this baby.

Looking forward to: Getting to the point where it's obvious that I'm pregnant, not just awkwardly chubby only in my uterus region. {sorry if that was too graphic, Dad!}

 Maybe it's just the insanely hot weather, but I swear my bump got HUGE this week!

{Also, I'm ready for Rich to be home so that he can take my weekly photo instead of having to do the awkward mirror pictures}

{Above: This is the dresser that we are going to update & use as our changing table/dresser}

{Below: The rest of the baby's room. The bed will obviously be leaving soon!}