30 Weeks!

30 Weeks preggers!

Along: 30 Weeks!  Only 8 more weeks until I am considered full term.  Baby B could come anywhere from 8-10 weeks from now.  

Size of Baby:  About 17 inches long and just over 3 pounds.  This weeks most crucial development is Baby B's brain.  His brain is now taking on tasks that were previously delegated to other parts of the body, such as temperature regulation.  It is interesting to me that he is almost the size he will be at birth in length, but not quite in weight yet.  It's funny to think he is just about as long as he'll be when he is born.  No wonder he is taking up so much space!

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep:  Generally still very good.  I hear some bad stories of people who have to wake up several times a night or cannot get comfortable.  Luckily I usually do not wake up at all and can get comfortable almost all the time.  At this point the hardest thing is literally getting out of bed, I have to roll over, the belly is just getting too big to 'pop' out of bed like I used to!

What I Miss:   I'm pretty sure I wrote this in my last blog too, but right now I'm missing being able to fit into smaller places and having a 'normal' sized stomach.  Jimmy and I went out to dinner last night and they put us at a table that was squished in the back.  When we left I had to squeeze in between two groups of people sitting in chairs.  One group of people were very nice, noticed I was pregnant and moved, but the other group did not move at all... I barely fit, and it was not comfortable!  So, just little things like that.  Honestly, it's more other people that bother me than the bump itself!  

Cravings:  This past week I was craving a smoothie.  Jimmy went to Burger King and got me (and of course, one for himself too!) a strawberry banana smoothie!  They were actually really good!

Symptoms:  Pretty much the same symptoms that I've experienced in the last couple weeks.  My upper ribs are feeling much better this past week.  It seems I'll go through a 'growth spurt' where I'll feel some pain in my lower back, lower sides, or upper ribs for a couple weeks, then I'll feel great for a couple weeks.  It's interesting that after I feel those pains you can definitely tell that the belly has grown!

Best Moment this Week:  We took our hospital tour this past week.  We were SO impressed with the hospital and the accommodations.  Every person gets their own private room.  The rooms look like hotel rooms!  Going through the tour definitely made Jimmy and I feel a lot more comfortable with what to expect when the big day comes.  It was actually a little relieving!

As promised, here are some pictures of the completed nursery!

Jimmy searched far and wide for this matching mobile!  We could not find it online anywhere to order and none of the stores had it in.  Pottery Barn Kids finally got one in and he called and put it on hold as soon as it arrived!  Isn't he the best?!

Yes, we finally decided on a name:  Owen!  I found these letters, painted them the same blue as the walls and then attached the ribbon on each letter to hang them.  

View of most of the room.  I'm surprised Lola isn't in the chair in this picture!

Jimmy also found these wall decals at Pottery Barn Kids.  They match the bedding set.  Of course they didn't have them in at the one near us, so he called a bunch of stores and had them shipped from a store in Maryland to our house.  Owen is a lucky little guy to have a daddy like him!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  Today is rainy and cloudy here in Virginia.  I'm kind of enjoying the lazy Sunday weather though.  :)  

Love to all,

Judi and Jimmy

28 Weeks

I'm starting to feel HUGE!

Along: 28 weeks!  I'm officially in the third trimester!

Size of Baby:  This week Baby B is 2.5 pounds and 16 inches long.  His skill of the week is blinking!  He can also cough, suck, hiccup, and take practice breaths.  His lungs are also fully mature now.

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep:  I've been back to sleeping very well.  I often sleep 8-9 hours without getting up once!  I'm soaking it all in.

What I Miss:   I miss my 'old' body.  I can't fit into small spaces or move around as easily as I did.  I also don't have very good balance right now.  Putting on my shoes, or bending over for any reason, is becoming very difficult and leaves me out of breath.  Sometimes Jimmy has to tie my shoes for me!  I'm starting to feel the 'uncomfortableness' of being pregnant that comes with just being bigger.

Cravings:  I still don't have any wild or crazy cravings.  However, last night after dinner I was craving peanut butter on toast with a glass of milk.   I've never had better peanut butter toast!  It's amazing how much your cravings just hit the spot!

Symptoms:  Lately the most uncomfortable symptom has been the pain in my upper ribs.  Being petite and pregnant means this baby is growing into my upper abdomen, pushing my stomach and diaphragm all over the place.  It hurts the most in the evenings after I eat dinner.  My doctor said about all I can do is lay down and stretch my arms over my head to give a little more room for everything!

Best Moment this Week:  The best moment recently has to be finishing the nursery.  Jimmy found some wall decals that match the nursery bedding exactly (Pottery Barn Kids is awesome - and so is my hubby!).  So over my spring break I put those up.  I also found letters for his name and painted them the same blue as the lower portion of the room and hung some navy and white striped ribbon on them and hung those up in the room.  So now the nursery is complete!  It was really exciting to put everything up and have it all finished!


I hope everyone is having a good start to their April!  I can't believe time is going by so fast.  So sorry this blog is actually almost a week late, so I'm about 29 weeks pregnant now, haha!  I've been so busy, even with a week off of work, just haven't been able to sit down and get this out there!


Love to all,


Judi and Jimmy

26 Week Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound yesterday and everything looks great!  Baby B is on track with all his measurements to arrive on July 1st, so he might be a little earlier than July 4th.  The ultrasound was not as clear as it was at 20 weeks.  There was more shadowing this time because the bones are harder and there is less space for him to move around in, so he was all twisted/bundled up most of the time.  However, we did get a couple really cool pictures!  Check them out...

Here is a side profile picture.

This has to be one of the coolest ultrasound pictures I have seen.  This is his face looking straight at you!  You can see his eyes, nose, lips, and the outline of his head.  His arm is curled underneath his head, like he is resting on it.

Just wanted to post these new pictures in a quick update!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy

26 Weeks

I think it's pretty obvious I'm pregnant now!  Hah!

Along: 26 weeks!  One more week left of the second trimester.  :)

Size of Baby:  Baby B now weighs 2 pounds!!!  This week Baby B's eyes are now opening and closing, he is now able to see!  If a loud vibrating noise is brought close to my belly Baby B will react with blinking and startling.  We went to see The Hunger Games yesterday and Baby B was moving around like crazy!  I could see my stomach moving with his kicks and punches.  I guess he liked the loud noise and vibrations.  :)

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep:  Sleep has been alright lately... I've started to get more and more uncomfortable and have started using a pillow to position myself, which has helped a lot.  I've been very congested and sick this past week, which has made sleep more difficult.  It's hard to sleep when you can't breath!

What I Miss:  With being sick this past week, I miss being able to take whatever medicine I want. 

Cravings:  No new or unusual cravings.  I can't say that I've had many cravings so far that are too weird.  I have had more food aversions than I have had cravings with this pregnancy.  I used to LOVE Mexican food, now I can't even stand the smell of it, and don't even ask me to go to Chipotle!

Symptoms:  I'm starting to feel a lot of lower back pain.  If I'm cleaning the house (which I did yesterday!), I have to take several breaks because my back is hurting so much.  I've also had some pain in my ribs from them stretching.  Sleeping with the pillow positioned just so has helped a little with the back pain... just don't ask me to mop the house, it will take me forever!

Best Moment this Week:  There were a couple cool moments the past two weeks... The first sweet moment was receiving a package from my brother and sister-in-law in Texas!  They sent Baby B a couple baseball onesies, so adorable!  I was really touched by their thoughtfulness!  I can't wait to have the little guy wear them.  

Aren't they cute?!?

Another sweet moment was receiving a package from my Mom!  She sent 7 or 8 absolutely adorable outfits!  One had a shark, another whales, which I love because they match the nursery theme!  Some were larger for when he is about 6 months and were winter clothes, and some were newborn onesies with the cutest little sayings on them!  We haven't bought any clothes yet, so it's so fun to get stuff like this!  Check out some of the pictures below...

That's right!  Haha!  I loved this one!

Jimmy liked the 'Daddy's Rock Star' one!

I have one more week of work until Spring Break, I'm so ready!  I hope everyone is having a good spring so far and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy

Another Home Away from Home

Jim and Cindy have been busy in Virginia Beach making a home away from home for Baby B!  They bought a new crib and set up Jimmy's childhood room as a guest room/nursery for us when we come visit!  They are doing an alphabet theme.  :)  Here are some pictures...

Cindy use this ABC blanket in Jimmy's nursery when he was a baby!

Changing area.

The alphabet quilt was made by one of Cindy's best friends for Jimmy when he was born.

Cindy found these cute alphabet wall appliques to match the theme!

We are so lucky to have family that are SO excited for this little guy's arrival!  It is very touching to see all the work they put into this room.  We are excited to make some visits down to the beach so our little guy can get some use out of this sweet room, and of course to visit his grandparents!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy

24 Weeks

Along: 24 weeks.  I've hit the 6 month mark!

Size of Baby:  Baby B now weighs 1.5 pounds.  He is about the size of a standard letter.  He is gaining about 6 ounces per week now, really packing it on!  He now has a complete set of eyelashes and eyebrows, and even a good sprinkling of hair on his head!

Gender:  It's a boy!!!

Sleep:  Sleep is still wonderful.  I sleep well almost every night and often don't even wake up once!  I feel very lucky!

What I Miss:  Other than wine and margaritas, nothing!  I don't like sushi, never cared much for lunch meats, so it's all pretty good so far.  I don't feel like I'm missing much.

Cravings:  Yesterday I was craving egg salad something fierce!  Luckily I had a ton of eggs in the fridge and whipped some up.  :)  And no, I didn't even put it on some bread, just ate it right out of the bowl!

Symptoms:  I'm feeling Baby B move around so much.  I'm now starting to distinguish between a kick, punch, and full on summer salt!  It's the sweetest thing!  My hands and feet are starting to swell a lot now.  Besides my wedding rings, I can't wear most of my other rings, or it will depend on the day whether the ring fits or not.  I'm looking forward to wearing flip flops so I don't have to squeeze my chubster feet into closed shoes anymore!

Best Moment this Week:  The best moment this week has to be when one of my students brought me a little gift.  She comes in first thing in the morning and places this gift bag on my desk.  I'm intrigued, "What is this?  Is this for me?!?"  She says, "Yes, open it!"  I open it and find two adorably cute baby boy outfits!  One had puppies on it (my students know I have two dogs and love dogs) and the other had cars and trucks on it.  I was SO touched.  It was the sweetest and most thoughtful thing.  She told me she went with her mom and she got to pick out the outfits.  Besides Molly, she's only the second person to buy an outfit for Baby B!


Another sweet moment... Jimmy finally felt the baby move for the first time!  He thinks it is the coolest thing.  I'm excited he can finally share those moments with me.  :)


Well, spring has definitely spring here in Virginia!  I know I'm really looking forward to the nice weather and wearing flip flops and dresses again!  


Enjoy the beautiful spring weather everyone!


Love,


Judi and Jimmy

22 Weeks

Along: 22 weeks.  I can't believe I'm 5 1/2 months already!

Size of Baby:  Baby B now weighs a whopping one pound!  He is about 10 inches long.  He has begun to grab the umbilical cord practicing his strong grip.  He can now hear the sound of voices, the dogs barking, loud music, and my heart beating.

Wight Gain/Loss:  8 pounds since I last weighed myself. 

Gender:  It's a boy!!!  The reality of having a boy has now set in... I'm day dreaming of snuggling with 'my little man' and of all the other special moments between a mother and a son.  I'm also so happy Jimmy will get to have those special moments shared between a father and son.  He is so excited! 

Sleep:  Sleep is still great!  I have no complaints, so I'm soaking all this in while I can!  I haven't even had to use any special pillow yet!

What I Miss:  Still miss wine... happy hour... margaritas! 

Cravings:  I really don't have too many odd cravings.  I'm still craving sweets a lot, and lucky for me my girl scout cookie order just came in!!!  Haha!

Symptoms:  I'm feeling Baby B move around ALL the time now.  I feel him in the middle of teaching, when I'm resting, literally ALL hours of the day!  He seems to be the most active a little while after I eat.  It really is one of the coolest things in the world!   

Best Moment this Week:  The coolest thing has to be that I have started to feel him move around so much.  It's so amazing!

Another cool moment is that we got the nursery put together!  In my last blog we had just painted the room, but now we have all the furnuture put together and situated in the room, all the bedding is washed and set up too.  The only thing we have left, as far as nursery decor, is to add some things on the walls.  I'm still searching for some cute items that will match!  If anyone sees something cute, e-mail it to me!  Here are some pictures of the nursery so far...

Crib with his bedding!

I'm in love with this lamp, it has a built in night light at the top of the base!  Thanks Momma T for the awesome find!

Lola hopped up here while I was taking pictures... I think she's ready for Baby B!

My Great Grandmother made these dolls for me when I was growing up.  They are very special to me and I had been looking forward to adding them to the nursery!  Jimmy also got me the bears every time he went out of town while we were dating.  So they are special to me/us as well!

Well, I can't believe another two weeks had already flown by and I'm finishing writing another blog.  I can only imagine how time is going to fly once he is actually here.  Enjoy all the special moments everyone!

Love,

Judi and Jimmy