Busy Baby!

Baby Girl has been so active lately! It all started at my Sunday morning church gig. I think she was reacting to the loud organ music. She hears organ music on a pretty regular basis, but this time she went crazy! She was moving so much that you could clearly see it through my clothes. Weird. After I got home for the day, she continued to be super active. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep on my side last night because it hurt too much when she would kick toward the mattress!

I wonder if this is what she's up to in there:




In other news, I'm super freaked out about my belly button popping out. I've heard of people having their belly button kicked out by their baby and all of Baby Girl's dancing has me checking my belly button multiple times a day. My belly button has been getting shallower and shallower by the day an I guess it is only a matter of time now. Honestly, I am more scared of having my belly button invert than I am of giving birth. That sounds so wrong, but it is the truth! I'm totally freaked out!

Nursery Preview #2

I've finally gotten back around to working on the nursery. There is still a long way to go, but here is how it looks today:


The biggest project was refinishing the dresser (which I first wrote about in this post). After much searching, I finally found a dresser I liked on Craigslist. Here is what it originally looked like:


It wasn't in horrible shape, it was just a bit dated and dingy looking. After sanding, priming, painting and changing the hardware it turned out just as I had hoped!


I also finished a little art project for over the dresser/changing table. I wanted some pictures of family in Baby Girl's room and thought it might be nice to have pictures up of all her (current) cousins. After assembling lots of cute photos I ordered hard copies of them all from Kodak.com and arranged them in the frame. I used material that I bought for her closet doors to decorate the middle square. I'm not sure if I'll leave it or replace it with something else, but I like it for now.



The next project will be to hang the nursery curtains (they are finally all hemmed and ready to go!) and I also want to mount these adorable bird cards around the room (thanks Kirsten and Mike!).



We also have this amazing growth chart to hang (thanks Jared and Tara!):



And no, Baby Girl's name isn't "Morgan" ;).

She's Still A Girl!

We had another appointment with the OB yesterday and everything is still going smoothly. We got to hear Baby Girl's heartbeat and they took a measurement of my belly bump. We also found out that I'm continuing a steady weight gain. No surprise there!

After our appointment we ran into the ultrasound technician. At our last appointment with her, she had invited us to stop in on our next visit to double check the baby's sex. We're happy to report that she's still a girl! It was a short ultrasound, but it was long enough for us to see here wiggling around in there. As you can see from the picture, she had her little hands up around her face. Her right hand was touching her eye and her left hand was near her mouth. She is still head down and her legs are tightly pulled up to her belly.

It is always so neat to see her in there. I feel her move almost constantly and am so curious as to what it is I'm feeling: is that a hand? Was that her leg? Chatting with my mom on the phone the other day, she asked if I could feel where her head and other body parts were situated inside me. I tried to feel around, but couldn't tell. Hopefully I will be able to soon!

Nothing But Gas

Every now and then, usually toward the end of the day, I feel so amazingly bloated that it feels like my belly is about to explode. It isn't a great feeling and significantly increases my waddle. My belly gets really hard and standing up becomes pretty uncomfortable. I think I figured out the culprit: Greek yogurt.

It is well known that I am pretty severely lactose intolerant. One dairy product that has never bothered me (or most other lactose intolerant folks) is yogurt. Recently I've been on a Greek yogurt kick and, I have to say, it is the most amazingly creamy and yummy yogurt I've ever had in my life! I've been eating at least one bowl of it a day (usually with fresh fruit on top. Mmmmm!). But now I'm wondering if this Greek yogurt isn't the reason I've been feeling so bloated and gassy. These symptoms seemed to arrive with my first container of Greek yogurt.

While there doesn't seem to be a good explanation for why I can eat regular yogurt, but not Greek yogurt, I do believe it has been the source of my bloatiness. How sad. Looks like I'll have to send the rest of the Greek yogurt to work with Jason. The good news is that I'm looking forward to reaching the end of the day without the bloating and gassiness I've been living with for the past weeks. Maybe I'll feel good enough to start exercising again! ;)

Papaya Baby!

Baby Girl is getting pretty hefty! According to Whattoexpect.com the baby is supposed to double in weight by the end of this month. Yikes! Maybe that's why the doctor told me I'm going to be chubbing up soon as well. Good thing our vacation is sooner than later! If I'm going to wear a two-piece bathing suit, I want to do it while I still feel somewhat attractive. I'm also extremely grateful that I haven't gotten any stretch marks yet and am anxious to get into the two-piece while that is still the case!

Speaking of stretch marks, I've been slathering lots of lotion on the belly and so far it has worked. From what I've read, it seems that the only thing that can really prevent stretch marks is 1. lots and lots of water and 2. good genes. Still, it feels good to rub the belly down and at the very least, it has prevented that troublesome itching that so many women get while preggers! Jason bought me a fancy belly balm that I've absolutely loved using: Mom & Baby Balm from L'Occitane. It is really thick and a bit greasy, but it is super hydrating and really lasts all day. I'm so sad that it is beginning to run out! I'll probably try to seek out a cheaper alternative once it is gone, but I'm certainly loving it while I still have some left!

Spaghetti Squash Baby!

Baby Girl is the size of a spaghetti squash this week. How appropriate for the cooler weather we've been having lately!

All is well in pregnancy land. Baby Girl has been moving a lot! Sometimes when she is really active, I'll pull up my shirt and watch my belly as she pokes around. It is still pretty wild to feel and see!

I still feel really great. I am a bit sleepier than normal as I am up half of the night with trips to the toilet. I had to go five times the other night! Sheesh! Luckily my schedule is flexible enough at the moment that I am able to take naps when I need them.

A New Craving

I never really had many strong cravings (aside from that red meat cravings early on!) but I've been drinking juice like it's going out of style. I realize that juice isn't really good for me and that it really packs on the pounds, but it just tastes SO GOOD! I've tried a number of different juices and try to choose something that is full of good vitamins and doesn't have nasty high fructose corn syrup or sugar substitutes.

Morning Blend by Knudsen was my favorite for a while and then I moved to Mega Green also by Knudsen. They are both tasty and good for me (as far as juice goes) but they are a bit pricey.




While my goddaughter was visiting, we kept some apple juice in the fridge for her. One sip and I was hooked! While grocery shopping the other day, I found that Mott's makes a line of apple juice for toddlers that has 40% less sugar without any funky fake sugars added in.


I feel a bit silly drinking it, but I don't feel quite as badly as if I were drinking the full calorie stuff. I realized that the reason it is so low in sugar is that it is totally watered down! My new plan is to buy some frozen juice concentrate and then water it down myself. Not only will this cut down on the price, but it will also cut down on the waste from the bottles. I'm sure I'll be able to find a nice, healthy brand at Whole Foods.

This is all a very thrilling development in my pregnancy, so I'll be sure to keep you posted. ;)