Bump Watch 2011: Week 32

This week was pretty normal in preggo-land.  Nothing new to report - Baby T is cooking right along.  We had our 32 week appointment on Wednesday and Dr. Stone is finally back from maternity leave so I was very excited to see her.  She is just so much more personable than the other doctors and I love that we can sit and chat about baby stuff without feeling rushed.  She measured me & said everything looked good & I was on my way.

The nursery is starting to come together and I think it's looking very cute. I'll post pictures when it's closer to being finished. We got the crib put together & set up the recliner/glider chair which is super comfy - I may not mind spending countless nights in it!

Other than that, we attended our millionth wedding of the summer & baby T got some major lovin'.  I love attending my friends' weddings but we finally have reached our much needed break until our last 2 weddings of the year in October & December.  Now I think my weekends are going to be committed to cleaning/organizing the house & resting until Baby T's arrival and I can't wait!  Oh how times have changed... 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 32 weeks

Size of baby: 17 inches & around 3.75 pounds

Total weight gain/loss: 22 pounds

Maternity clothes: I'm living in tunics, leggings, & dresses.

Gender: It's a GIRL!!

Movement: Instead of kicking a lot, little miss has been pushing out above my belly button - it just bulges out & gets hard.  I guess it's getting a little tight in there!

Sleep: Only up once a night.
What I miss: Having an ice cold draft beer on a hot summer night.  I don't want to sound like an alcoholic but that would have been so refreshing this weekend! haha

Cravings:  I've been eating some more pickles & I love anything cold/frozen like ice pops.

Symptoms: I'm getting more lower back pain especially if I'm on my feet a lot during the day.  It also happens after I sit for long periods of time & get up - I feel like an old lady!

Memorable moment for the week:  Putting the crib & glider together.

"I do's" & "Happy Birthday to you's"

"Happy Birthday to you"
July has been packed with weddings & birthday celebrations so I have a little catching up to do before August begins.  We celebrated our nephew Aidan's birthday a little early when the O'Connor's were in town for the 4th of July weekend.  We were at our favorite local mexican restaurant, La Fiesta, and decided that Aidan needed a birthday song in Spanish to kick off his birthday week.  They brought out sombreros & sang happy birthday which he thought was hilarious!   

Nephews & Uncle Scottie

Aidan & Brayden ready to dig into their fried ice cream!

"I Do"
Curt & Heather (Dr. & Dr. Miller) tied the knot on July 9 in a very sweet ceremony.  They both opened a chiropractic office in Rochester & met in Chiro school.  Heather is super sweet & fits in perfectly with our group of friends.  Those guys sure know how to pick 'em!  As always, Baby T got tons of love from her fan club as seen in the pictures below. 

The Millers

Squeezed into a forgiving pre-preggo dress!

Lovin' on Baby T

My girls

"Happy Birthday to you & you & you"
Beth, her roomate Gayle, & Gayle's sister Lynn were also in town that weekend and it was Gayle's birthday weekend so we decided to go out on the lake to celebrate on Sunday.  It was also my mom & Cora's birthdays the next week so we celebrated all three.  We did lots of snacking, drinking, dancing, and floating that afternoon and had a blast!

Gayle, Beth, Laura

I like to call myself "Large & in charge Marge!" haha

The motley crew

We went to Texas Road House for their birthday dinners and Cora & Gayle pretended to ride the saddle that they bring around for birthdays.  The waiters came over and sang happy birthday embarrassingly loud which is pretty much a tradition at any restaurant.  They loved it & it was a great ending to a fun birthday weekend.

"I Do"
We attended the Katzmark wedding on July 23 (Friday evening) and man was it hot!  Both the wedding & reception were outside on the tented patio at the yacht club so I hijacked a fan and pointed it right at our table.  Oh the things you can get away with when you're pregnant!  Chris' now wife Mackenzie is actually due 10 days after me with their first baby girl.  She looked amazing and her dress fit her little belly so well!  The decor was gorgeous, the food was delish & it was great catching up with friends.  Congrats, Katzmarks!  Now it's time to prep for baby - I can't wait to meet our 2 girls!

Cutting the cake

"I Do"

Our summer wedding marathon was capped off with Courtney Bell & Matt Krohe's wedding on the the 24th.  We've known Courtney & her family forever and I met Matt in college at LLCC.  Court looked beatiful & her dress was amazing!  She didn't overlook any detail at the ceremony/reception so everything came together perfectly.  I was also very impressed with the speeches - they were all very heartfelt, funny, & concise.  This might be mean to say, but some speeches go on foooorrrreeevvveerrrr.  Hey, you all know it's true!  haha.  Anyway, Scott & I were both exhausted by the time this wedding rolled around so we left early around 10:30.  I really wanted to stay but getting sleep is becoming more important to me every week.  Cookin' a baby is tough work when you're past the 30 week mark!

Normal wedding occurrence - someone stealing the microphone from the DJ!

I'm so glad that we could celebrate all of these marriages with our dear friends like they did with us last year.  Hopefully we'll be meeting some new babies in the next year or two from a few of these 2011 newlyweds!  : )  Cheers!

Bump Watch 2011: Week 31

Another week has flown by and can I just say, "HOLY HOTTNESS!!"  Early in my pregnancy I was dreading being preggo in the summer but up until now, it really hasn't been that hard to tolerate...until now.  The temperature this week in particular has been in the upper 90's with heat indexes of over 100 every single day.  Add in some awful humidity and you get a hot and cranky pregnant lady!  I'm usually inside during the week which is ok but walking to my car even seemed like a chore this week.

Scott was off all weekend which hardly ever happens in the summer so we planned to take the boat out Saturday and Sunday.  Lucky for hot, cranky preggo, he went golfing for the majority of the day Saturday so we didn't make it out on the lake until 4:00.  We ended up staying out on the water until almost 10pm after swinging by Island Bay to crash the Tucker's dinner.  We got back out on the lake around 1:00 Sunday afternoon and I did a lot of floating in the water so I didn't get overheated.  As we were getting ready to go out Sunday I noticed how different packing for a day on the lake is when you're pregnant.  Normal packing:  a case of Bud Light and some towels.  Preggo packing:  towels, water, lemonade, pretzels, ice pops, and sandwiches for lunch.  Hahaha and I'm sure it will only get better with children involved!   

Last highlight of the week:  Scott got the nursery painted!  We went with a light green but right now I'm still deciding if it's too bright...  Hopefully once we get the furniture in there it will tone it down a bit.  (Pretty sure Scott's not going to re-paint it though so I better just be content).       

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 31 weeks

Size of baby: 16 inches & around 3 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:  21 pounds

Maternity clothes: I'm living in tunics, leggings, & dresses.

Gender: It's a GIRL!! 

Movement: She has very distinct patterns of movement now.  A lot of times it feels like she's rolling around rather than kicking, which is nicer.

Sleep:  Only up once a night usually.
What I miss:  Having a waistline.  This was the first week that I looked down and wondered, "How much bigger can I get??"  I have a feeling these last few weeks are going to be a slight struggle in the comfort zone.

Cravings:  Nothing crazy or new this week. 

Symptoms:  Still acid reflux on and off and getting more sleepy.

Memorable moment for the week:  Getting the nursery painted!

Bump Watch 2011: Week 30

Woohoo, we're three quarters of the way there! 

Baby T is 75% cooked! 

30 weeks down & only 10 weeks to go!

If you can't tell I'm pretty excited about being this far in my pregnancy.  Back in January, 30 weeks seemed sooo far away so it's hard to believe that we've already made it this far.  And now that we are this far, it just gets more real everyday. 

We had our 2nd baby class at Memorial this week which discussed taking care of yourself after birth & we also got to tour the maternity ward.  I'm not a big fan of hospitals so I was a little nervous about going up on the floor, but I knew it would be good to prep myself for the big day.  It actually turned out fine and we even got to see a little newborn in the nursery!  Then the nurse gave us a tour of the maternity suite and it hit me - I'll be in that bed in a matter of weeks! Aaaahhhh, craziness!  They also brought down the huge light & mirror out of the ceiling like a spaceship which made me a little nervous.  Honestly though, I thought I would be a lot more nervous about delivery at this point.  I'm not saying that I'm not a little nervous, but I think I'm more excited than anything, I just can't wait to meet her!  (If anyone has any delivery horror stories, please keep them to yourself).  HAHA.  We start lamaze class in August so I'm interested to hear what they have to say about the labor & delivery process.   

We also had our 30 week doctor appointment with Dr. Hall.  It was another boring checkup but she said that I'm measuring right at 30cm which is right on target for 30 weeks.  I also asked her if she could tell how the baby is positioned because I think her head is down and her butt is on my right side.  She agreed but said that they don't really worry about it until 36 weeks anyway.  She also squashed my dreams of having another sonogram because I will only get one if something is wrong.  Obviously I don't want something to be wrong but I really want to see her again before the big day & see how she's laying.  Ooooh well, I guess I could have worse problems. 

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 30 weeks

Size of baby: 15.7 inches & around 3 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:  21 pounds

Maternity clothes: Maternity wear rocks!  I've given up on trying to squeeze into normal tops because I want to be able to wear them again without being stretched out.  I still wear normal dresses though.
Gender: It's a GIRL!! 

Movement: She's still flippin' & kickin' mostly in the afternoon and at night before bed.  It's funny to see her kick/punch so hard that it moves my hand on my belly.
Sleep:  My body pillow was just too huge to share the bed with me, Scott, & the pups so I've switched to a normal pillow between my knees which helps a ton.
What I miss:  Having a memory.  My good memory has faded throughtout my pregnancy so lately I've been driving past places that I needed to go or missing turns.  Ugh, so annoying!
Cravings:  I cheated & ate lunch meat last week and now that's all that sounds good!
Symptoms:  I've got the preggo squat down pat now.  Anytime I need to bend over to pick up something off the floor, I spread my feet like a sumo wrestler, squat & bend over.  I'm not so graceful anymore : ) 
Memorable moment for the week:  My girlfriends oohing & aahing over my bare baby belly.  This little girl is going to have quite a fan club when she shows her face & I love it!

Bump Watch 2011: Week 29

Week 29 was packed with plans as we celebrated the 4th of July weekend.  The sunshine and HOT temperatures were a little overwhelming for me but I made it through.  This week also brought a new pregnancy experience - comments on how far along you are - both good & bad. 

Story #1:  I was walking out of work one night and some bum-looking guy said "Ooohhh, the 2nd lady with a baby I've seen today!"  How far along are you?"  To which I reply, "I'm due in September, only a few more months!  : )"  Bum: "Wooooah, you sure are showing a lot, are there twins in there???"  Me:  "Nope.  No twins."  Bum:  "Oh, hmmm, welp, hope the baby is healthy!"  Me:  "Uh huh, thanks..." as I march away.  Seriously, dude?!?!  I wasn't super offended because he obviously had no idea how big pregnant women get before giving bith but still, have a little class.  

Story #2:  We were at Island Bay on Monday and Sue was talking to someone she knew and introduced me and my peanut.  To which the woman replied, "Oh, I didn't even notice you were pregnant, you look great!"  My tankini must have some slimming features, hahaha.  So my confidence was redeemed for the time being.  : )      

This week my assignment was to pick out a paint color for the nursery so Scott could get it painted.  So far, I've gathered tons of paint swatches but still need to decide on the final color.  We also got the crib ordered & it should be here next week!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: 15.3 inches & 2.5 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:  19 pounds

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all maternity wear now because it's sooo comfortable!  I'm loving maxi dresses which I thought I would hate.

Gender: It's a GIRL!! 

Movement: I think we have a little gymnast in there!
Sleep:  I'm only up once every night but I do toss & turn.

What I miss:  I had been really good about not eating lunch meat but Courtney & Ryan picked up Jimmy John's to take on the boat so I had to have a little splurge and it was yuuuummmmy.
Cravings:  I ate pickles twice this week & I've never liked pickles!
Symptoms: Nothing new

Memorable moment for the week:  Letting friends/family feel her moving & kicking which they all thought was very cool.

Happy Birthday, America!

                FRIDAY

As always, 4th of July weekend was packed with plans from Friday evening to Monday evening and this year was no different.  First up on the schedule was a Friday night on the lake for "Rock the Dock."  My sister & her boyfriend Michael got in town Friday and we had some time to kill before Scott got off work at 7.  We decided to go to the Marina (where Rock the Dock is held) and wander around for a while.  This would have worked out great had it not been 100 degrees outside with soaring humidity!  Holy moly, was this pregnant lady HOT!  We were all sweatballs after being outside for 15 minutes so we decided to head home & wait for Scott in the house with the AC.

Scott finally arrived & we loaded up the boat and got out on the water with plenty of time to spare.  The weather seemed more tolerable on the water with a slight breeze but it was still toasty!  The fireworks over the lake were awesome & they even had a smiley face firework!

We went back to our house after the fireworks around 11:30 and we stayed up until 2am!  That's waaaay past preggo's bedtime but I wasn't tired for some reason.  I was up and moving at 7:30 the next morning and made banana bread, did some laundry, cleaned, & showered all by the time Beth & Michael woke up at 10am.  Beth's first remark was, "Ok, seriously, you're such a mom right now."  Hahahah, yep! 

SATURDAY
On Saturday we went to my aunt & uncle's house for some pool time & fun in the sun.  It was another scorcher so I laid in the pool for hours - it was almost unbearable to be out of the pool.  (The temp was in the upper 90's with a head index of over 100).  Hadley entertained us by singing & dancing like Taylor Swift while we socialized in the pool.

I ran home & got ready to head to Cody's party for the big Rochester parade which lasts approximately 15 minutes, haha.  He had great food, frozen vodka-lemonades for the adults, and frozen strawberry lemonades for the kids...and preggos.  : ) 

Karen & I trying to stay cool

Hadley & Mckenzie waiting for the parade

Here's Rob & Brayden in the parade representing the Rochester Soccer Club!  Kylie, Delaney, & Sue were also in it but I didn't get a chance to snap their photo.  

After the parade, we started the main event - the hotdog eating contest.  Five guys participated and the winner ate 10 hot dogs in 7 seven minutes!  That made me want to vomit just watching them!  It was a fun day overall but this mama was exhausted! 

Celebration that I missed out on this year, haha

Craig, Laura, Michael, & Beth

SUNDAY
Sunday I was up bright and early again running errands & making fruit pizza for the Tucker party that evening.  The O'Connor's (Scott's sister's family) were in town for the weekend so we all planned to have a boating day until the party.  We loaded up the boats around 1:00 and decided to grab lunch at Sunsetters and also visit Uncle Scottie.  We had so many people that we had to take both boats, 1 for the girls & 1 for the boys!  Here are some pictures from our boating adventure:

Beth & Michael playing on the waverunner 

Aidan & Brayden getting ready to go

Girls boat!

Sue & me in my preggy swimsuit :)

Rob getting ready to drive all the kids back

After another hot day on the lake, we got back to Scott's parents house and finished getting ready for the party.  The big blow-up slide had already arrived that morning & the kids were soooo excited to start playing on it.  

We enjoyed tons of good food, catching up with friends, and watching the kiddos play together.  

The "big girls" were in heaven because they got to play with Hadley all evening and "babysit" her and Hadley was in heaven because she got to hang out with the big girls!  hahaha, a fun time was had by all!  

Ms. 4th of July eating puppy chow

Stunting with Hadley

We got lucky and witnessed 4 or 5 different fireworks displays from their backyard in the distance so we didn't have to go anywhere for fireworks that night.

MONDAY

By the time the actual 4th of July rolled around I was exhausted!  I met Sue at Island Bay at 10:45 so that we could get chairs by the pool.  It was a little cloudy that morning but it was a welcome break from the constant sun & humidity.  

By the time noon rolled around, the sun was shining, the pool was packed with people and there wasn't an open chair.  Kim, Tim, Rob, Christie, and the kids arrived around 1:00 after a morning of tubing on the lake.  We got lunch and the kids fished, swam, and played in the bounce house.  

Fishing

After another long but fun day in the sun we ate dinner at the club and said our goodbyes after an awesome weekend.  There were more fireworks downtown that night but I knew there was no way that I was going to be able to stay awake to watch them so I met Scott at home and I was asleep on the couch by 9pm.     

We hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!  

Bump Watch 2011: Week 28

Week 28 brought a crazy week at work but a relaxing weekend at home.  This was the first weekend in a long time that we had ZERO plans but Scott had to work.  That meant that I got tons of cleaning & organizing done at home but I got really burnt out on it by Sunday afternoon.  It didn't help that it was rainy & cloudy all weekend so pool time was out.  By Sunday I was bored out of my mind which never happens, there's always something that needs to be done!  Oh well, I guess I needed some relaxation time for me and the peanut.  We'll be going full steam ahead every weekend until August 13 and by then, we'll only have 5 weeks left!

This week I had my 28 week appointment and everything looked great as always.  I was only up a few pounds on the scale, thank goodness!  I saw another new doctor, Dr. Bennett, and she was nice and even took time to ask me some questions about delivery, birth control after delivery, etc.  It's nice to get to spend a few minutes with the doctor, rather than them rushing in and out of the room like you don't matter.  I'm still hoping that Dr. Stone will be there to deliver me since she's my favorite!  I also learned that I start going every 2 weeks now which means we're getting that much closer!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 28 weeks

Size of baby: 14.8 inches & 2.2 pounds

Total weight gain/loss:  18 pounds

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all maternity wear now because it's sooo comfortable!

Gender: It's a GIRL!! 

Movement: Lots of kicks especially after I eat.

Sleep:  I'm only up once every night but I do toss & turn.

What I miss:  Nothing major this week

Cravings: Still loving ice cream...hhmm maybe that's why the weight has been packing on so easily...

Symptoms: Nothing new

Memorable moment for the week:  28 week doctor's appointment - hearing her heartbeat again.