thirty weeks

I fall more in love with this growing belly every single day. I'm starting to feel her move much more often, especially when I'm relaxing on the couch or laying in bed. Sometimes her kicks are a little uncomfortable, but nothing too bad or any "rib kicks" yet.

Doctors appts have been pretty quick and uneventful-pee in a cup, measure the belly, listen to the heartbeat, have a nice day.

I've been feeling really good-I'm still in the "easy" part of pregnancy, I really can't complain about much. I've been trying to eat really healthy and natural & exercise daily, so I can keep up my energy to work up until she arrives! I haven't gained any more weight, I started the pregnancy at 109 lbs, and I'm now usually between 119-121 lbs. My doctor doesn't see it as concerning and says I should pat myself on the back--I still try to eat lots though!

Now just about every single person I run into that I don't know will ask me the three golden questions: "When are you due?" "Is it a boy or girl?" & "What will her name be?" I don't mind at all and love talking to people about pregnancy.

I must say I've been thinking about labor and breastfeeding a LOT lately. I still have dreams about these often, and I'm getting pretty nervous! I'm doing kegel exercises and lots of leg workouts to ensure the easiest labor possible--but I'm sure it only helps so much.

We've FINALLY started working on the nursery, Steve painted the whole room light pink, my mom will be doing a wallpaper border, and we had new carpet installed. Oh, how I LOVE new carpet. So clean and squishy. Steve also installed her crib last night. I started hanging up all her little clothes in order of size on little pink baby hangers. I would post pics of the room, but I'll wait until we get a little more furniture and decorative items.

Basically, my life goes on as usual! This pregnancy has really been dreamy & I can't wait to hold my precious baby Aubrey!

Third Trimester! (27 weeks & 1 day along)

So excited to be in the last and final stretch-it really came so fast! I thought I'd put a little something together about what I've learned about pregnancy thus far: the good AND bad things!

The Good
-There is absolutely NOTHING greater in the world than seeing your first positive pregnancy test, especially after trying so hard. A surreal moment.
-Seeing your baby's heartbeat for the first time flicker on the screen. Tears definitely happen.
-Finding out the gender. Everything starts feeling pretty real from there, you're not just having a baby, you are having a SON or DAUGHTER. Such joy! And more tears :)
-The first time you feel them move! Creepy and wonderful all at the same time.
-The first time someone notices you are a pregnant-a stranger.
-The way you are treated when people see you are obviously pregnant, so happy for you and full of questions!
-When people touch and rub my belly! Some people hate this, I LOVE it! Nothing more precious I'd rather share. I'm touchy feely to begin with :)
-Hello, boob size multiplies by 2! (or more if you are lucky)
-The look on my husband's face when he felt the baby kick the first time. He was so sweet and excited.
-Registering for baby stuff, so fun! All the girl stuff was to die for.
-Getting the best compliment ever: "Your belly is sooo cute!" Flat stomachs are SO yesterday!
-Knowing Heavenly Father is trusting me with a sweet & innocent baby, straight from His arms to ours.

The bad.
or at least uncomfortable and annoying things.
-THE WHOLE FIRST TRIMESTER, lol. Mostly just the nausea, extreme fatigue, and weird pooch belly.
-When people are judgmental about how young we decided to have kids! Ugh. (Back off, we both have good jobs, a home, a loving and healthy marriage, etc!) Rude.
-The constant feeling of pressure in your downstairs! Ouch!
-How you can't eat DELI MEAT. That is seriously one of the hardest things :( (Yes I know you can have it hot, but it's NOT THE SAME!)
-People that try and tell you you aren't having a healthy pregnancy unless you've gained " " pounds. I love my mom- "They're just jealous!" A Moms answer for everything, lol.
-How you have to wait 40 weeks before you have your baby! That's almost a year right there.
-SMOKERS, SMOKERS, AND SMOKERS. The things I do to avoid them are probably considered crazy.
-Having this crazy phobia about breastfeeding! Why does it have to be so hard? I pray my baby latches on like a pro and just eats every few hours or whatever with no problems whatsoever. Dreamworld!
-Lastly, not knowing at all when labor will come or how much it will hurt, etc! The unknown is terrifying.

There's the good & bad. I just can't wait to have this baby! We are NOT ready yet at all though, we have soo much to get, and we haven't started the nursery yet at all. We still have to paint it and put the wallpaper border up, install the crib, get the carpets cleaned, and soo much more!

new nursery theme.

So I went and TOTALLY changed my mind about our nursery/bedding choice. I really liked the "Daniella" choice (shown in the last post below). I feel like I settled on it though, and it was the only one I liked at the store. After searching online for HOURS for crib bedding sets, I found the most BEAUTIFUL damask print nursery set. I'm truly in love this time :)



It also has matching wallpaper I'm going to get. I think I will paint her room the light pink color. I can't wait until she is here!!

22-25 weeks

I'm going to stop doing weekly posts, because not much happens in a week with me OR the development of the baby at this point. Basically, she is just getting bigger and bigger!

I wish I had more interesting things to write, but we did have some exciting things happen the past 3(ish) weeks.

-Last night we went and registered at Babies R Us! It was the funnest thing I've probably ever done! I was so surprised we were done in less than 2 hours. The list of things you need for a baby is quite overwhelming, but I think we listed everything we need.



We finally agreed on a crib bedding set & accessories-I'm pretty in love, it's so elegant and I love the dusty rose pink color, instead of the typical baby pink. This is what our nursery should look somewhat, just imagine it with a white crib!



-I finally broke 120 pounds! Yay. That's a first in my life, lol.

-Steve's cousin Ronda gave us her kids old pack n' play, a jogging stroller, little kid potties, a diaper genie, & plenty of other goodies and must haves. It's so nice knowing so many people that are done having kids :) Thanks Ronda!

-We've done pretty well about not splurging on baby stuff, but every now and then I'll see a really cute bow or flower and I'll snatch it up.

-Doctors appts have been going well but uneventful, no ultrasounds or fun stuff. Just a quick tummy measurement, urine sample, weighing, blood pressure, and done! No news is always good news however :)

-I may have had my first braxton hicks contraction. I felt a really strong tightening in my abdomen that lasted for a few seconds, then it went away. It happened a few times that day, and sometimes were so painful I had to go lay down. Thank goodness I wasn't at work!

-I think that's all for the past few weeks. My bump is getting quite big, I have some pictures that I will post on here, I will try when I get home from work!

{twenty one weeks}

Hey Aubs,

I officially am the worst baby blogger ever! I have to catch up on 2 weeks, and tomorrow I'll be 23 weeks. Oh well! Happy 21 weeks! You are so big, roughly 10.5 inches! That's almost the length of a ruler. Too crazy. You gulp several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, your taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. I'm quite health conscious, I try to eat mostly whole foods, and not so much stuff out of boxes filled with preservatives. Hopefully you are liking the taste of whole foods, cause that's what you'll be getting growing up! I also learned something shocking this week: Formula's #1 ingredient is CORN SYRUP. Terrible! I barely have the stuff myself. People at the grocery store probably think I'm nuts cause I read every label on every item I pick up! Anyways, my 6-month goal of breastfeeding might just be changed to 12 months after knowing this yucky fact.

So far you've gotten quite a few goodies: Grandma got you your crib, (the cute white one from my post a while back), mom and dad got your car seat, EVERYONE has gotten clothes for you, and grandma also spoiled ME with that adorable diaper bag that I've been drooling over. Your Aunt Sarah has been quite generous and has given you lots of hand me downs from your cousin Grace, and even a changing table! Your room is filling up! Oh, and we also got this amazing leather rocker that is so comfy. That was dad's idea of course. He will probably be in it more than I will! Our next big baby expense will probably be the breast pump, it's pretty much set in stone I'll be working 3 days a week so I will need a good one! The one I want is $300, is it weird to ask for a pump for Christmas? Haha, oh how life changes. :)

Well, little girl, I love feeling your kicks and movements, mostly in the morning and night when I lay on my side. Daddy has yet to feel you, but he's not very patient! Give him a kick in the head next time he lays on my lap, will you?

Love,

Mom

{TWENTY WEEKS!!}

Ohh Aubrey,

20 weeks down. 20 weeks to go. Can this be so? Are we really half way there? Am I really going to meet you in 4 and a half short months? I am SO THRILLED that we are at this milestone. Whenever someone asks how far along I am, I just LOVE saying "Half way done!" SO much better than still being in the "teens".

This week you are the size of a CANTALOUPE. That is...gigantic. Makes me wonder where the rest of my internal organs have gone to make room for you! You are beginning to grow permanent teeth behind your baby teeth. Another milestone: Your genitals have fully formed by this week. :)

Your daddy and I celebrated this week with some favorite things: Dinner, chocolate/white chocolate covered strawberries, and sparking cider in pretty glasses. We are so thrilled to celebrate ANYTHING to do with you!

You had your anatomy ultrasound this past week, and no worries, you are STILL a beautiful little girl. The doctor said all your measurements and weight are text-book perfect! We are so grateful you are developing normally.

We DID, however, have a scare this week. I switched doctors, and my first appt was just looking over my medical records, when my doctor noticed something strange. I have A-negative type blood. (Kind of rare, roughly 10% of Americans have RH-negative..) After you have a miscarriage, you are to get what's called a "Rhogam shot" to prevent RH-incompatibility in your future children, which I had about a week after I miscarried. No biggie right?

Well, he noticed that on my second blood/antibody screening (back in July), I showed a positive result to RH-positive antibodies, which basically means my body could ATTACK my baby's blood if they were to ever mix. (Way to go, Kaiser, for letting me know!) He said if I took another blood test, and it still showed positive antibodies, I would be a high risk pregnancy, and my baby would have to have blood transfusions and all this scary stuff! I would also be sent to a specialist, and possibly would have to have a C-section, pre-term labor, etc! So he ordered the test right away and it came back.....NEGATIVE! Everything is good, and he thinks the Rhogam shot just took a while to work last time. So we're okay, and I'm just a normal pregnancy lady again :) Phew.

Also good news: I found out I don't have gestational diabetes! Woohoo!

Now here's some stats for you, I copied the questions from another baby blog:

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Five whole pounds. My doctor said I'll probably gain less than 20 pounds total, because of my extremely high metabolism. He said it's no biggie, since the baby is growing perfectly. Yay!

How Big is the Baby: The size of a cantaloupe. Humongous, really!

Gender: Princess, angel, GIRL!

Maternity Clothes: Nope, the only thing I can't really fit in is pencil skirts, since they are tight on the waist. Jeans are still ok, but some I have to tie a rubberband around the button.

Best Moment of the Week: Finding out I'm NOT a high risk pregnancy, and I don't have gestational diabetes! Yay!

Stretch Marks: None, please please stay that way? haha.

Movement: Yes, I think she is going to be a little dancer like her mama. I LOVE feeling her move, and it feels nothing like I thought. I never felt the "flutters" or "bubbles", I straight up just started to feel someone moving and turning in me!

Sleep: Just fine all night long..usually in bed and asleep by 10!

What I miss: having an attractive waistline? haha. I don't know, maybe diet coke and cold turkey sandwiches. :(

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my darling Aubrey, my 3-d ultrasound, baby showers, etc!

Symptoms: None really anymore besides my growing belly, and lightheaded-ness.

Food Cravings: candy :)

Belly Button: Still an inny! But starting to surface..

Signs of Labor: Noo, thank goodness!!

{nineteen weeks}

Holy moly you are getting old. This week, a stranger finally recognized I was pregnant. I was excited for this day to come! I was at Steve's work selling gatorade and candy bars at the door, and a lady said "You are having a baby, aren't you?" I smiled really big and said, "So you can tell??" And she said "Definitely". Yay! That made my whole day :)

You have grown so much this week. You are now covered in vernix, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (gross!) that shields you from the amniotic fluid. Youa re very much in tune with your surroundings, too. You can taste the food I eat, touch the umbilical cord and membrane that surrounds you, and sense my emotions. I will do my best to think happy thoughts and continue doing prenatal pilates to keep us both calm and balanced!

I love you so much and can't wait to see how our lives change once you arrive.

All the love in the world,

Mama