Week 24: "Ear of Corn"

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

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The weeks seem to be flying by for me, especially with all the holidays coming up. This will be a quick post because we're about to walk out the door and head to Marshfield for Thanksgiving.

Here is my 24 week belly pic...yay for viability!!! :-)

We registered this past weekend, which was fun and overwhelming all at the same time. I will post links on the blog whenever I get a chance.

I had my 24 week appointment with the midwife this morning. All is well and my belly grew 3 inches since my last appointment four weeks ago. My belly is a whopping 23 centimeters! Bebita was moving around a lot so she didn't get an accurate read on her heartbeat, but she said it was in the 130's. I asked if that was okay because at my last appointment her heart rate was in the 150's, she said it fluctuates and that was fine.

Teirney is now home and I need to go, but if I get a chance to blog more in the next day or two, I will. I will be in Marshfield staying with my parents for the entire week after Thanksgiving -- I'm excited to visit with them, but will miss Teirney once again.

Signing off as Teirney unplugged my computer. :-)

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!!!

V-Day!!!

Happy Viability Day, Bebita!!! But you still need to stay cozy and warm inside for a few more months, okay? You have been so active yesterday and today...that always make mommy happy! You've been such a little trooper through all this growing you've been doing. Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you and are so happy you've made it to this big milestone in your little life. So, in your honor, we're going to go celebrate with an ice cream sundae...mmmm, such a yummy treat for you!

Love you mucho! xoxo

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For those of you wondering, 24 weeks equals viability. Meaning, your baby has a greater chance of survival outside the womb...everyday counts at this point.

My weekly post and picture is going to have to wait until tomorrow...I'm going to go celebrate with my two honeys.

Week 23: "Mango"

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she'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 her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her 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 her when she hears them outside the womb. (http://www.babycenter.com/)

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Big news this week -- I saw Bebita dancing around in my belly for the first time last Wednesday! It was so cute! I was sick and just laying on the couch -- I think she was trying to cheer me up (especially because Teirney was already in Miami). Teirney hasn't seen her bustin' out a move yet, but I'm sure he will soon.

Here is my 23 week belly pic...yep, the belly button is still there.

On top of being sick this last week, I had a lot of back pain. I broke down and went to the chiropractor on Wednesday morning to see if there was anything she could do. I had a pain behind my right shoulder blade which was causing me a ton of pain whenever I would take a deep breath. It was the weirdest thing. But when I went in and told her what was happening, she seemed to know what I was talking about. She did a couple adjustments and told me I should be feeling better by Friday, but if not, I should go back in. I felt worse all day Wednesday and part of Thursday, but by Thursday night it felt like it might be getting better. By Friday, it was gone altogether, which I was so thankful for. She said it actually had something to do with my ribs, which was causing a pain in my back, but she said it is common during pregnancy. I still have my tailbone issue, but I don't think that will be eliminated during this pregnancy...alleviated maybe, but not eliminated until I pop this little one out. At least, I hope this won't be a lifelong thing.

I'm so excited that I'm over my morning sickness/all day sickness. I sometimes feel like it might be coming on, but it will usually go away after eating something. I'm told it can sometimes come back later on in your pregnancy...fun, fun.

Crazy thing, we only have 3 free weekends until the end of the year (including this coming weekend). So there is a lot we need to try to fit into those weekends. After Christmas, I'll only have 2 1/2 more months...it's unbelievable how fast this pregnancy is going to me. I've started looking at paint colors for the nursery. I think I found a color that might work, but I'm going to do a little bit more looking before I commit. So one of the weekends, we'll have to paint the nursery -- yay!

To wrap it up, here's a little story for your entertainment from this week...well, at least it was entertaining to me for a few hours of my life the other night. I was on a pregnancy forum and someone posted that Target was selling a Britax carseat (originally $279.00 and a top rated brand) for $42.99. I immediately scarfed two of them up. Everyone knew it had to be a mistake, but no one was going to miss the opportunity in case Target didn't catch it. There were people buying this carseat left and right and it was the talk of message boards all over the place. Some people actually called Target to see if the deal was legit and some people got a "yes" response and some got a "no" response. So there were lots of mixed messages. In the end, I knew I would be getting an email the next day saying "sorry, we cannot honor the price of the Britax carseat..." Sure enough, I got the email yesterday. Major bummer! Oh well, it was worth a try.

My dear darling Bebita -- you are our angel baby! We love you so much and can't believe how fast you're growing. We're so glad the time is going by fast because the sooner we'll get to meet you. We're thankful you were a trooper this week as mommy was sick with a cold. I loved being able to watch you move the other day, it was so precious! Maybe you can show daddy your moves one of these days. :-) May God bless you and keep you, my little one. Love you mucho! xoxo

Week 22: Spaghetti Squash

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. (http://www.babycenter.com/)

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I felt really great this past week. No sickness at all -- I'm beginning to think maybe it has subsided for good (I'm hoping). I am, however, beginning to get some sort of bug I think. I started getting a sore throat this morning and it has gotten progressively worse and I feel quite exhausted -- I can barely keep my eyes open. But with the drastic weather change we've had, it's really no surprise. I'm just hoping it won't get too bad.

Here is my 22 week belly picture (that belly button sticks out more and more everyday...hilarious).

Teirney leaves for Miami tomorrow. He will be there for work until Friday. I'm excited for him to have the opportunity, but kinda jealous I don't get to go (plus, I'm just going to miss him). I'm hoping I feel better because I'm supposed to go up to the Cities this weekend for a wedding reception and visiting Marah. I was planning on leaving Thursday and staying with Josie in Eau Claire that night to break up the trip a little. So hopefully this won't amount to anything.

I'm quite a mess actually because of my back issues. It has helped to go to the chiropractor, but my tailbone still hurts and on top of that I think I pulled a muscle behind my shoulder blade last night at yoga. It is killing me -- so with the sore throat and shoulder pain, I'm not doing so great today. You know you're out of shape when you pull a muscle at yoga. Ugh!

I was supposed to get together with Lisa and Jen today, but Jen was having contractions and is pretty close to giving birth and since I wasn't feeling so good, we cancelled. The next couple weeks are going to be busy ones and I probably won't get to see them for awhile. I'm going to miss the girl time. Jen will have her baby in the meantime, so hopefully we'll get to meet her the next time we get together.

Well, that is all the updates I have for now. If I think of anything else, I'll write again later.

Crib and Combo

We ordered Bebita's crib and combo (dresser/changing table) on Saturday...and I love it!!! Since the crib and combo we were going to order are both out of stock, and JCPenney gave no promises of restocking, I was on the hunt this weekend for alternative options. Instead of resuming my search online, I decided I wanted to actually look at some cribs in person. I had already looked at Babies-R-Us, but I hadn't checked out USA Baby yet. So Saturday, Teirney and I made the excursion to USA Baby and found a crib and combo that we both loved. I'm really excited about it because they're both Munire' (a really great brand in the baby furniture world) and got an "A" rating in Baby Bargains, which is much better than the "C-" rating that JCPenney got (which was mainly due to customer service -- the actual crib we were going to order got really good reviews online).

We got a really good deal on them because they were both on sale, so I'm really happy with the way things turned out in the end. In addition, they will deliver and set it up for us, which was a huge relief to Teirney. He was dreading picking up the heavy furniture from the store, hauling it to our apartment, up the stairs, and then putting it all together (most of the other places, JCPenney included, make you pick up the furniture at the store and put it together yourself). This is a lifetime convertible crib, so we can use it as a toddler bed and as a full sized bed as Bebita gets older -- or we may decide to just use it as a crib for the next baby, either way, we have options. There is a picture of the crib and combo below (however, we did not order the hutch that is on top of the combo).


They won't be delivered until January, which gives us plenty of time to clean out the nursery and paint. We'll pretty much have walking room only in our nursery since that room is so small, but oh well, what else are we going to do? The convenient thing is that I will be able to stand in one spot to take the baby out of the crib and then turn to change her on the combo -- I'll barely need to move...literally. ;-) The more I think about moving into a house, the more I wish we could do it before the baby comes, but I know that won't be possible since our Lease isn't up until February anyway. Oh well, we'll just have to figure it out. That's a whole other subject.

Today we met up with some of Teirney's law school friends at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Packer game (which we won't talk about the game). While there, I had this really sharp pain a couple inches to the right of my belly button. It felt like it was on the outside of my skin, not inside. It felt like a needle was being poked into my skin and the pain would fluctuate based on my movements. It was the strangest thing and very uncomfortable...and painful really. I was wearing maternity pants that covered my belly, so at first I thought maybe that was it. But it kept happening even after I pulled the panel down. It lasted the entire game, but went away when we left. I was worried of course, but at least I had been feeling Bebita moving quite a bit all day today, so that gave me some reassurance. It's a mystery what that pain was, but I just hope I never get it back again. We'll see if it happens while watching another Packer game where they're playing bad, then I'll just know it's related to that. :-)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I need to go take my sweet hubby to bed (who has been sleeping on the couch for a couple hours now already).

Finally...Bedding!!!

I have been looking everywhere (and I mean countless hours...literally) for bedding that has gray, chocolate brown, and pink (or green), and I didn't want anything too babyish. Yes, I had lots of criteria, and yes, I'm picky. Believe me, I completely frustrated myself that I knew what I wanted in my head before I had seen it. I actually found this bedding when I found the boy bedding that I posted a picture of awhile ago, but when I showed it to Teirney, he wasn't crazy about it. After being frustrated with not being able to find anything else that I loved, I went ahead and ordered fabric swatches of it. I got the swatches yesterday and I made up my mind instantly that this was it, and I was crossing my fingers that Teirney would think the same after seeing the fabric in real life. Thankfully he put my search to an end when he said "I like it." Yay!!!

It is even prettier in person. The white is somewhat creamy and the gray and pink leaves are actually velvet...I absolutely adore it! I have been wanting to paint the walls a grayish color and we are getting an espresso colored crib, so all the colors should blend nicely.

I just found out today that the crib we were going to order is out of stock and they don't know if they'll be getting anymore in. I was very disappointed, but I'm hoping for the best. It is currently on sale at JCPenney and has free shipping, so I'm sure that is why they are out of stock. I'm just hoping they'll be getting some more in soon. There is a picture of it below, however, the crib in the picture is in cherry finish, ours will be espresso (if they ever get anymore in).

Week 21: "Carrot"

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well. (http://www.babycenter.com/)

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I'm getting bigger by the week! Here is my 21 week picture (my belly button has officially "popped").

We are so excited that we are able to call our baby a "her" -- it makes it so much more real and we already feel like we're starting to get to know our sweet daughter...wow, "our daughter"...hard to believe!

I'm really starting to feel Bebita kick a lot more. As I mentioned in my last post, Teirney got to feel her for the first time on the day of our ultrasound, and he has felt her several more times since. This morning after he felt her kick he said, "she is so special." He is so sweet to his girls and of course that made my heart melt. We both love her so much already and can't imagine our lives without her anymore. We continue to pray God's protection on her. She has especially needed it lately because I've given her a couple sugar highs the past couple days...bad, bad mommy. The other night, we went out to eat and I had a shake at dinner, then we went to a movie and of course I had to get an Icee (it's my favorite thing at the theater), and I ate a half a bag of Skittles on top of that. Oh my, big mistake!!! She was going nuts in there during the entire movie...I've never felt her move that much. I told Teirney to remind me never to eat that much sugar in one setting.

I'm still on the hunt for girl bedding. Nothing has jumped out at me that I've just loved (like it did when I found the boy bedding). I ordered some swatches of a few different patterns, but I'm not convinced I'll like any of them. We'll see. Those who know me well, know that I won't give up until I find the perfect thing -- I frustrate myself. Oh well.

This past weekend we met Teirney's parents in Appleton and did a little shopping for our baby girl. We had so much fun -- even Teirney's dad got into it. I mainly browsed the clearance racks for good deals. We bought some newborn sleepers and several outfits she'll be able to wear this summer. We went to Babies-R-Us and found a great deal on the summer clothes. They had a rack of clearance items with an additional 30% off the marked down price, so I went a little bit nuts there, but I couldn't pass up the $2.00-$3.00 outfits.

I've gone to the chiropractor a couple times now and it seems to be helping. I go again next Monday. I still get a little freaked out hearing my bones crack, especially since I've never cracked anything on my body in my life until I went a week ago. But as long as Bebita is comfortable that is all that matters.

Dear sweet Bebita, you continue to amaze us! Just like daddy said, you're so special and we love you very much! Please keep moving around lots so mommy knows you're okay in there. Love you! xoxo