29 Weeks

I am 29 weeks now!  Babycenter.com says that the baby is growing rapidly right now - All I have to say to that is, "Ya think?"  My belly is getting quite large as well as the number on the scale . . . yikes!  I told Matt that I haven't weighed this much since I lived in Wisconsin.  Matt reminded me though that now I have a real baby - not a beer, cheese and brat baby.  Very true! 

The baby weighs about 2.5 pounds now and is about 15 inches long.  Babycenter.com says this is about the size of a butternut squash.  The baby's muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his/her head is getting bigger to accommodate his/her growing brain.  Also the skeleton is hardening.  This mean's that baby's nutritional needs are at their peak during this trimester.  Which means I should probably try to do better than I have been doing.  I'm still going with the fact that ice cream has calcium in it though :)

This past weekend was filled with lots of cleaning and family time.  I cleaned out the office in the basement.  This proved to be a much bigger task than I anticipated, but it was well worth it!  I'm afraid that it's so clean now, I may never see Matt again.  It's quite the nice "Man Cave" now!  I needed to clean it out because some of the things we used to keep in the extra bedroom (now the nursery) needed to be moved down there.  It feels good to have a place for everything we needed to keep! 

We of course celebrated Easter on Sunday.  We started the day at mass with Rick, Gerry, Debbie and Alyssa.  Alyssa was pleasantly surprised at how much my belly has grown since last time she saw me.  She said that it's baby Alexander in there and that she is going to marry him some day.  We didn't want to get into the whole incest thing with a 3-year-old so we just let that one go.  I did ask her though, what if it's a girl?  She just looked at me like I had three heads and said, "It's a boy!"  Okay then. . .

After mass we went to Rick and Gerry's house for a nice brunch prepared mostly by Matt, Jason and Elizabeth.  Quite yummy!  After brunch we headed over to my parents house to go through the communal Easter basket and pick out our goodies.  Matt got a couple Reeses Carrots and I got some Haribo Easter gummies!  Then we headed out to Uncle Thos's house to meet the rest of my side of the family.  It was fun to hear everyone's predictions as to whether I'm having a boy or a girl.  I think there are more that are thinking boy than girl.  It wsa the first time a lot of the family has seen me with an actual belly. 

And speaking of the belly, here are this week's pictures.  I said I would try to remember what Matt said to me during the photo session and unfortunately this week Matt was pretty silent.  He did however wink at me at one point which of course caused both of us to crack up.  I don't know why it was so funny, but it was!  We were just discussing that I actually have a "legit" belly now.  We have been able to see it for quite some time now, but it seems like strangers are finally starting to really be able to tell.  I get a lot of questions at the grocery store and just out and about in general.  Without further ado, here I am at 29 weeks:

Anyway, that's it for week 29.  I'll be back with more next week!

28 Weeks - AKA Third Trimester

That's right, I've officially made it to the third trimester!  Crazy huh?  This week the baby weighs about 2.25 pounds and measures 14.8 inches head to toe.  Babycenter.com says that's the size of a Chinese Cabbage.  Interestingly enough, the site also said that the big development in the baby this week is in the eyes.  Of course this led Matt to believe that comparing the baby to a Chinese vegetable and focusing on eye development this week is a shot at his eyes.  I doubt if babycenter takes that much interest in our little family, but ya never know!  Anyway though, this development is that the baby can now open and close his/her eyes and he/she now has eyelashes.  Kinda cool huh?

We did more of the usual this past weekend.  Matt worked on the nursery and I ran errands.  I was lucky enough to get some time to stop by Ann and James's house to see Will.  He is so funny lately and it's making me even more excited to have a child of my own (if that is even possible).  He calls me Aunt CC.  James and Ann have been teaching him about the baby in Ann's belly and he was able to make the connection with me.  He pointed to my belly and said, "CC's baby!"  It was very cute! 

And speaking of CC's baby - here are this week's pictures:

Sometimes I wish I had a video recording of these photo sessions.  Keep in mind this takes us all of 5 minutes (tops) each time we do it, but the things Matt says are hilarious!  Typically it is just him making a comment on how big the belly is getting, but it's pretty funny.  I'll have to start writing down quotes from him after each time.

So as you can see, the baby is getting big!  I am starting to feel a little bit of discomfort.  I know I just need to get used to it since the baby is just gonna keep getting bigger.  For some reason this baby seems to really like it in my upper right side - AKA in my ribs!  Matt was rubbing cocoa butter on me the other night and noticing that the baby was crammed up there (and causing me quite a bit of discomfort) he pushed the baby over to the left a bit.  Well no sooner than he moved the baby, he/she just floated right back in position on my right side in my ribs.  This kid knows what s/he wants!  Like I said, I just have to get used to it!  3 more months to go!

27 Weeks

I am 27 weeks along now and the baby is getting big!  Babycenter.com is comparing him/her to a head of cauliflower, weighing in at about 2 pounds and about 14.5 inches long.  The baby is now sleeping and waking in regular intervals, opening and closing his/her eyes and even sucking on his/fingers.  Another thing that may be happening soon is hiccups.  I have not felt them yet, but I should be feeling them soon.

Things with Matt and I are going well.  Matt has been working on painting the baby's room each night after work.  It's going to take a while since I want all the trim to be white and it is a very dark brown right now.  I've also talked Matt and Rick into putting up some crown molding and a chair rail so as I said, the nursery will be taking a while, but it will be worth it. 

I have had an amazingly strong sweet tooth lately.  Because of this, I have been baking away!  One day I wanted brownies and the next I wanted chocolate cheesecake.  You know you live with a pregnant woman when you have all this in your house at the same time:

Needless to say, I am not looking forward to what my weight gain is after all this. 

Another thing that has happened this week is that we celebrated the one year since my mastectomy (aka one year cancer-free!) on Wednesday.  I wasn't sure I really wanted to celebrate this.  This was just such a difficult time last year and I kinda just wanted to forget about it.  I mean I have a reminder of it right in my chest, it's not something I will EVER forget.  Why would I want to celebrate it?  Matt decided we need to celebrate it though because it is because of that surgery that I am still alive.  And it is because I am still alive that our baby is alive.  So we went out to celebrate my life and our baby's life.  We decided to have dinner at Brasserie by Niche.  The food was ridiculously good!  I tried to get some pictures of us at dinner and of our food, but the flash would not cooperate.  I have a couple pictures, but our eyes are closed in them.  Here is one of me sitting in front of my food.  Like I said, the flash was too bright, so excuse my eyes:

Pregnancy has definitely made the whole mastectomy obvious.  Luckily I just found out that my insurance will cover a prosthetic for my right side to even things out a bit.  From the looks of this picture, I definitely need it NOW!

I love that shirt.  It belongs to my friend Katy (Bayes) Jones.  She has graciously let me borrow it!  I like it so much I had Matt take a picture of me before dinner.  I realized that I have only put pictures of me in the same boring outfit on here to show the growth of my belly.  So here is a picture of me in a different outfit:

I'll try to remember to include more pictures of me in nice clothes!

And now on to this week's belly shots:

That's it for this week.  We still have a lot to do before the baby gets here!  13(ish) weeks to go!

26 Weeks

And the belly continues to grow!  That has been the thing we have noticed most lately.  It is growing at an accelerated speed these days.  Although in a couple weeks I'm sure I'll regret this next statement I'm gonna say it anyway . . .It's kinda nice!  It's nice because I was in such an in between point before it was hard to find clothes that looked right on me.  Now almost all of the maternity clothes I have here work.  The weekly pictures are below.  But now, on to baby!

Along with my belly, baby continues to get bigger and bigger.  He/she now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures about 14 inches.  According to babycenter.com that is about the size of an English hothouse cucumber.  I told Matt that I bet he never thought someone would compare his child to an English hothouse cucumber!  He agreed.  Thebump.com has a new vegetable for this month.  It is an eggplant:

One of the big developments this week has been in the baby's ears.  Apparently the nerve in the ears is more developed so baby is getting even further familiarized with mom and dad's voices.  He/she is also inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid to get those lung prepared for life outside the womb.  There are about 14 more weeks to get them ready.  Pretty exciting!

Matt and I have continued to work on the nursery.  I am happy to say that the room is FINALLY empty!  We are hoping to get some painting done this weekend.  We'll see how it goes!  With the weather getting so nice outside, we also need to start getting the yard in shape.  I have decided not to throw my annual "Take Back the Summer" party this year.  It just seems like too much with trying to get both the nursery and the yard in shape by early May.  And since my main pregnancy symptom has been back pain (that increases when I try to do too much) I just won't be of much help.  It made me a little bit sad that I will not be able to throw my party this year, but in a way I think it's actually a really good thing.  It means that I am moving into a different chapter of my life and way past the whole reason I even started having that party.  To say this baby has made me a happier person would be a major understatement.  I cannot wait to meet this little person who has already changed my life in the most unbelievable ways!

Time for the belly pictures!  As I mentioned above it is growing at a much faster pace these days!  One article I read said it is about a centimeter a week.  I feel like it is more than that - I'll let you be the judge:

Another thing I've noticed about these pictures lately is that my toes are pointed more outward than they used to be.  The ones last week especially!  I have to say that it is the coolest thing ever how the body changes to accommodate this little baby inside me!  I feel so blessed to be his/her mom!  (Someone please refer me to this post when the baby is up all night screaming and I am exhausted beyond belief . . . hehe!)

25 Weeks

I'm 25 weeks along sometime this week.  Something I forgot to mention in the past weeks is that according to my last ultrasound, my due date has changed.  Dr. Bale originally had me at July 11th and has now changed it to July 16th.  According to my conception date (which I happen to know) I have calculated July 14th.  So basically the baby will most likely come right in the middle of July sometime.  Anyway though, at 25 weeks gestation the baby is about 13.5 inches long and weighs about a pound and a half.  According to babycenter.com this is about the size of a rutabaga.  I'll take their word for it.

Two big things are happening right now with baby's development.  First off, he/she is starting to get fatter and is growing inter his/her wrinkly skin.  Second, baby is starting to grow more hair and if we were to look at it, we may even be able to discern its color and texture.  The baby is now considered viable outside the womb which is pretty cool - although I'm more than happy to carry him/her for 15 more weeks.  I think that would be everyone's preference!

Matt and I continue to keep busy!  We started our registry at Babies 'R Us over the weekend.  We still have a lot of research to do on all the products that are offered (which is EXTREMELY overwhelming by the way) but we have a really good start thanks to Staci!  We would have been lost in that store without her!  Another big development is that we have gotten a few more big things out of the baby's room.  The special trash pick-up we scheduled took away both mattresses and box springs from the two twin beds we had in there.  This weekend we plan to take apart the headboards and bring them over to my parents house.  That should take care of all the big things that needed to be removed.  Once that is complete and we get all the other little stuff cleaned out we will start paining (and by we I mean Matt, Rick and my dad ;))

I saw Dr. Bale yesterday and all is going really well with the baby.  Dr. Bale told me I'm doing a great job!  It always makes me happy to hear that my baby is doing so well.  My blood pressure is good, weight gain has been great and I just got a call that I passed my glucose test!  Woo hoo!  Matt has been making fun of me because I thought my weight gain was way too much.  I am at 25 weeks and I have gained 5 pounds so far.  He thinks that is pretty funny!  For the record, I ONLY think it is too much because all 5 pounds have been put on in the past 4 weeks.  But Dr. Bale said that it is fine, so I guess I am doing alright.  All I know is that this baby is just going to keep getting bigger so I better just get used to gaining weight!  Plus my craving for hot fudge sundaes is increasing so I REALLY better just get used to it!

Okay, so on to this week's pictures:

Anyway, I guess that's about it for now.  I'll post again sometime next week with the latest!

24 Weeks

I'm 24 weeks along now.  The baby is now about a foot long and weighs about 20 ounces.  So for now the baby is long and skinny.  Babycenter.com says to imagine an ear of corn.  Within the next few weeks baby will be filling out more and more.  Right now the lungs are developing some more and the taste buds are also continuing to develop. 

This past week has not been as eventful for me as past weekends have.  Both Matt and I have been sick.  Let me tell you, being sick is no fun - but being pregnant and sick is even worse.  There is just not much one can take to alleviate the symptoms.  Lucky for Matt he was able to take enough to still enjoy his trip to Las Vegas.  Unfortunately we have both still been feeling bad enough that he hasn't had a chance to tell me much about his trip.  We are starting to feel better and sleep better now so hopefully by the end of this week we will be able to sit down and talk about it.

I went shopping with my mom to get fabric for the baby's room.  We found a great print there and just need to show Norleen what I want to do with it so she can let us know how much fabric to buy.  Other than that, I spent most of my weekend resting and watching basketball (Go Marquette!)

In exciting news, Matt was finally able to feel the baby move!  Each time we sit down to watch tv I have him put his hand on my belly.  Of course that is almost always when the baby is sleeping.  But on Monday night as we sat there with his hand on my belly, I felt a big kick and at the same time Matt really perked up.  I looked at him and said, "You felt that, didn't you?"  He just smiled and said, "Well I guess there really is something in there.  You aren't just using this as an excuse to eat Hot Fudge Sundaes and really let yourself go huh?"  It was quite exciting!  I'm glad he finally got to feel it.

On to this week's belly shots:

I'm noticing that this larger belly is starting to make my legs look skinnier.  I'll take what I can get!

This weekend we plan to go register.  To my knowledge, my first baby shower won't be until the end of May, but time keeps creeping away from us!  Plus my good friend Staci said she would help us which is AWESOME!  Thanks Staci!  So that's the plan for this weekend.  Hopefully nursery work will get going soon too!

23 Weeks

I'm now 23 weeks along.  The baby is over 11 inches long now and also over a pound!  Babycenter.com is saying that it is about the size of a mango this week.  Thebump.com is sticking with the papaya for this entire month.

One of the big developments this week is that the baby can now feel ME move.  Matt still has not been able to feel the baby move yet, so maybe I need to get it all riled up right when he gets home from work.  We'll see if that works.  If not, I'm sure it will only be a couple more weeks that he will be able to feel it anyway.  The other developement this week is that the baby's hearing is getting better.  I have been talking to him/her a bit, but I suppose I will start doing it more now. 

We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown this past weekend.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we ended up having a lot of fun!  I forgot my camera, but my sister brought hers so I will post some pictures as soon as I get them from her.  Matt and I had a very new experience at the parade.  Instead of looking around and saying, "Wow, what a nice float!"  Or, "Look at what that guy is wearing . . . hahahaha!"  We kept looking at parents and saying, "Hey, check out that stroller!  "Oooh, look at that Bjorn!"  And of course we had a gem from Matt saying, "We will NEVER do that baby comb over thing to our kid!"  Needless to say we have never been so aware of parents and babies before in our life!  Matt especially liked seeing the dads wearing the Bjorn.  He said to some of the others that were with us, "This year Caitlin is carrying the baby up front.  Next year it's gonna be me!"  He is quite excited about the Bjorn.  As much as I hate to say it, I think I can thank the movie The Hangover for that one!

We have not made much progress on the nursery.  We DID pick out paint colors last night, but apparently we picked some difficult colors because they need the paint specialist to come in and mix them for us.  So we will pick those up tonight, but Matt is going to Las Vegas this weekend so we will have to wait a while to actually get the paint on the walls.  Mom and I plan to go fabric shopping this weekend for pillows, curtains, seat cushions, etc.  So while the nursery is not showing any physical progress, we are making SOME.  Here are the colors we are thinking about right now.  They actually look quite a bit different in real life, but you will get a general idea:

 

The two aqua (they look bluer on the screen and greener in real life) colors will be put on the walls and the orange color will be used as accent.  For the accent I'm thinking of the curtains, seat cushions, pillows and I have a rug picked out too:

We'll see how it all comes together soon enough.  I may have to tweak some of my ideas along the way, but this is just what I'm thinking of right now. 

Anyway, on to this week's pictures:

Baby is getting big!  I could actually SEE him/her move in my belly the other day.  I was SO wishing Matt was home since I know he would have felt it for sure.  All in due time I suppose.  Anyway, I guess that's it for 23 weeks.  Matt's heading to Vegas this weekend and the following weekend we will go register.  Fun fun!