16 weeks to go!

How far along? 24 weeks! V day baby!

Total weight gain/loss? We have weight gain! Up 4 (Yikes!) pounds from last week to bring me to plus 3.

Maternity clothes? Pretty much everything full time now. I need to buy a swim suit still. Perhaps this weekend. I've been delaying it to see how my belly would sit.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? I wake up about once a night now. Though, I don't always have to get up. However, I'm also now waking up to him kicking me. And, I have to sleep more upright due to heartburn. And, even though it's uncomfortable and not the best thing to do, I have to start out on my back. I have this thing where if I lay down on my side right away, I feel sick to my stomach, and have gotten sick once before from it. So, I have to start on my back first, then right as I'm ready to fall asleep, I can turn to my side. Plus, my hands get numb pretty quickly now too if I sleep on my side, kinda weird, but I heard can be normal.

Best moment this week? Well, there's going to San Francisco and...

Movement? Jason felt him on Sunday! Yay!

Food cravings? I want sweet tea. And white rice with butter. Still all stuff that I would eat normally. Nothing that I either have never had or don't like.

Gender? It's a BOY!

Labor signs? Nope.

What I miss? Sweet Tea. I really want some.

What I'm looking forward to? Going to yet another friend's baby shower on Sunday (she is exactly 5 weeks ahead of me).

Weekly Wisdom: No matter how much you love them, and how much distance there is between visits, your parents will still get on your nerves.

Milestones: Jason got to feel his boy kick!

Emotions: I was really annoyed with my mom almost the whole weekend. I felt really bad about it though, I don't like being in that mood when I visit. I feel like my self centered sister.

17 Weeks to go!

How far along? 23 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss? Flat from last week, down 1 over all.

Maternity clothes? Pretty much everything full time now. Bought 3 pairs of shorts, another skirt, and another dress (and some more tops) this past weekend to help get me ready for those hot summer months that are ahead of me.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? I wake up about once a night now. Though, I don't always have to get up. However, I'm also now waking up to him kicking me. And, I have to sleep more upright due to heartburn. And, even though it's uncomfortable and not the best thing to do, I have to start out on my back. I have this thing where if I lay down on my side right away, I feel sick to my stomach, and have gotten sick once before from it. So, I have to start on my back first, then right as I'm ready to fall asleep, I can turn to my side.

Best moment this week? Invitations were printed and seeing my parents over the weekend

Movement? Yes, I feel him every day now. Now I just need Jason to feel him.

Food cravings? I want sweet tea. Damn caffeine! And, the union at school had the best hot sandwiches. On kaiser rolls and run through like Quiznos, but so much better than them! I want one soo bad but they closed, plus, the school is 2 hours away anyway.

Gender? It's a BOY!

Labor signs? Nope.

What I miss? Sweet Tea. I really want some.

What I'm looking forward to? Going to San Francisco this weekend, seeing my family (including my sister) and going to a friend's baby shower all this weekend.

Weekly Wisdom: Nothing at the moment.

Milestones: Um, I can't think of anything right now.

Emotions: Nothing crazy this week.

18 Weeks to go!

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

How far along? 22 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss? Up 1 from last week, down 1 over all. Doctor didn't seem too worried at my appointment yesterday. Though if I continue to eat a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting, I'm sure that will change very, very soon!

Maternity clothes? Pretty much everything full time now.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? I wake up about once a night now. Though, I don't always have to get up. However, I'm also now waking up to him kicking me. And, I have to sleep more upright due to heartburn. And, even though it's uncomfortable and not the best thing to do, I have to start out on my back. I have this thing where if I lay down on my side right away, I feel sick to my stomach, and have gotten sick once before from it. So, I have to start on my back first, then right as I'm ready to fall asleep, I can turn to my side.

Best moment this week? Wow... A lot of stuff happened again this week. Set up 2 pediatrician interviews, scheduled our prenatal class, found a Peter Pan stuffed animal/doll thing for his room, got my OiOi diaper bag and our Baby Bjorn carrier, saw the design proof for the baby shower invite and gave the ok to send them to the printer... I believe there was more exciting stuff, but I can't remember at the moment!

Movement? Yes, I feel him every day now. I felt him from the outside on Sunday night (or was that Monday night?). Now I just need Jason to feel him.

Food cravings? I want sweet tea. Damn caffeine!

Gender? It's a BOY!

Labor signs? Nope.

What I miss? Sweet Tea. I really want some.

What I'm looking forward to? My parents visiting this weekend and putting together my invites.

Weekly Wisdom: You're going to second guess everything. And, don't get in front of a pregnant lady who is ahead of you in line waiting to order breakfast!

Milestones: Scheduling the interviews and our prenatal class. Next up to schedule, the labor and delivery class.

Emotions: Enough said with my don't get in front of me when waiting to order breakfast!

Let's get back to the roots

Phoenix Suns basketball. I've kinda gone away from the topic due to being pregnant. It had the same affect on my attendance at their games too. But, here we are, 2 games away from finishing the regular season. This is our last season as season ticket holders. It just doesn't make sense to continue being a ticket holder when baby will be here by the time the next season starts. So, that's it. We had to say our goodbyes to our second home for the past 5 years. I was sad last year when we didn't think we were renewing, but this year... It's different. Our life will be different.

But, back to the Suns. They are back in the playoffs. There is still so much to determine in terms of placement seeding and who they will face due to how close 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place are. It was a rough season. They started off brilliantly then came crashing down in December where they stayed on a loosing path until late January. Now, they're back to their winning ways. They are winning, but at the same time, to be honest, even if they get home court, I don't know if they will get out of the first round. The West is sooo good, that it will be very hard to make it to the conference finals, let alone the Finals. But, they did have a good season even if the result is not what fans would want. I just have other things to focus on at the moment, but the Suns will always be my team!

19 Weeks to go!

Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

Instead of continuing the count up to 40, I'm going to countdown to zero. Same amount of time, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel this way!

How far along? 21 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss? Up 2 from last week, down 2 over all. Doctor didn't seem too worried at my appointment yesterday.

Maternity clothes? Jeans I'm in full time. I have some shirts I can still wear though.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? I wake up about once a night now. Though, I don't always have to get up.

Best moment this week? Ordering my diaper bag and hearing my boy's heartbeat are up there, but Sunday was huge!

Movement? Yes! I felt him for the first time on Easter Sunday. I felt him about 3 different times on Sunday and also Monday and Tuesday. No movement today.

Food cravings? Betty Crocker brownies with walnuts. The SuperTarget didn't have them so I had to go with another brand. Let's see if this works. They're cooking right now.

Gender? It's a BOY!

Labor signs? Nope.

What I miss? Sweet Tea. I really want some.

What I'm looking forward to? My parents coming to town next week.

Weekly Wisdom: Be prepared to change your mind about where you want furniture to go in the nursery! I still have no idea!

Milestones: Feeling my boy move!

Emotions: Nothing really this week, no longer in a funk thank goodness!

Gilt sale

Well, I went on to gilt.com for the big sale in conjunction with thebump.com today. I wasn't looking for much, mainly the baby bjorn synergy carrier.

They had it, so after discussing with Jason's email (he was in a meeting), I bought it.

I continued to look around, and came across the OiOi diaper bags. I had looked at these on a visit to Buy Buy Baby before and was curious to see the selection they had. I found one that I liked and my mom said she'd buy it for me. What do you think?

And, lastly, while this is not related to the sale... I'm thinking about changing colors on the stroller. If you saw below, we currently are looking at the green one (green and black I guess is the 2010 color, the 2009 color was green and grey). I like this one, but am concerned with how dirty it will get. Should I stick with the green?

Need current mothers thoughts

Ok, so this may be weird, but I have this thing with breast feeding. It kinda creeps me out. Actually, being pregnant kinda creeps me out too. Knowing that something is growing inside of me, feeding off of me for survival... Same with breast feeding... Knowing that someone is eating me (more or less) for their food and nourishment. The whole thing just weirds me out.

With that being said, I understand that breast milk is very good for babies. I am considering still pumping everything for my baby that way he still gets those nutrients. But, how much would I really get him before we have to supplement with formula? Does it make sense to get a nearly $300 pump to give this to my baby if I'm constantly supplementing with formula too? Especially once the baby starts to eat more than 2oz at a time... How much should I be expecting to provide? We're trying to decide if it makes sense to go this route (or renting a pump first) or if we should just skip it all together and go the formula route.

Thoughts? Know anything I should be prepared for?

Don't have the will power

So, for reasons that I do not know, I have nearly always been one to under achieve, do just the minimum, find the shortcut. School, I did just enough to get by (high school and college). While I was in college, my dad (who got his degree in music performance and now is one step below VP for a major computer networking company) would tell me, all that matters is getting the piece of paper at the end. So, as long as I got the piece of paper with my degree, I put in the time to get it and that would suffice. So, when I was debating on yet another new major, I chose the major of "folding towels and washing pots and pans", otherwise known as Hotel and Restaurant Management. Sure, this meant some added business classes, but nothing was too hard. So, I did just the minimum for a degree, then did just the minimum for those classes.

I finally came across something I was interested in. Accounting. I had heard it was hard, very hard. So I was prepared to work and not get behind in the class at all. I loved it. I was one of the best in the class. My teacher tried to get me to change my major to accounting. I now wish that I had.

Back in my marching music days, I was in a drum and bugle corps group. I was also given a baritone part for a trio that included a soprano (trumpet) and a mellophone (marching French horn). Due to the placement of myself on the field after the trio, it made it nearly impossible for me to get to that spot without running like a bat out of hell, they made it just a soprano trio. As this was my first year in the group, I nearly quit. Well, technically, I did quit. I just never left the school where practice was going on. I learned that if that was the only reason I was staying in the first place, then I was not welcomed there. I didn't want to be not welcomed.

I stayed with that group for 2 years. The next 2, I continued to try to march with "the big guys", the real championship contenders. I would audition in November, make it, and come to practice in December, and find excuses to leave early, like catching my flight back to AZ. I would never go back for January. I would quit. So, my age out year at age 21 comes up. I make it in November, and am told with the rest of the hornline, if you made it and were an out of town member (not from the bay area of CA), you do not have to be here for December. Great, my family was leaving for a cruise the following day after the camp, so I would not go and just start with January. I was, after all, technically an out of town member. I had to fly in from school in AZ to attend the camp, even though my permanent place of residence was in the bay area. But, I had to fly in just like everyone else. I would skip the December camp with their blessing as it caused me so much trouble, and join in January and march my last year.

While on the cruise, I got an email from the director saying I was cut. I have no idea why. I had every intention on marching that last year and to this day, I hate him. Thankfully, he is no longer director of that group.

Why all this? Well, my friend Vanessa just posted about having a home birth. I know it truly was nature's way for us to give birth until medicine advanced and there are these "shortcuts" now. But, that, yes, our bodies were made to be able to do this. I don't judge people that choose this option. I had a good friend attempt this option with her first child only to have to have a c section at a hospital over 24 hours later. I don't think that they will regret this decision or wuss out or anything, because, we were made to be able to do this. I however, don't feel that I have the mentality to do this, thanks to my "do the minimum" mentality that has gotten me next to no where.

I really don't understand where it came from either. Both of my parents are very hard working, do the most, kind of people. Perhaps it was their parenting. Well, especially when you think about my dad's "just get the piece of paper" comment. I don't want my kid to be like me in that regards. I want him to reach for the stars and do what it takes to get stuff done, not just the minimum. I regret not having the will power for these things.