Yesterday, I decided that I need to be healthier. Not that i'm not healthy.. I've just kind of let things go a little bit when it comes to eating (for instance, I had 2 bowls of ice cream Saturday night). The fact that there's a baby who needs my nutrients is about 75% of the reason. The other 25% is so that I keep healthy habits going throughout pregnancy making it easier to stick to them post pardum.
I've decided to stop eating processed foods and excess sugar except for special occasions. I've also decided to start back to the gym on a more regular basis (perhaps, 3 times a week) just to get my heart rate up a little bit. Yesterday, I successfully did 20 minutes on the elliptical. Granted, I started out faster and ended up slower but I still did it, and I felt pretty accomplished. I was also excited because it didn't make my back hurt like walking on the treadmill does! So I figured I can do 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week and then throw in some yoga on off days if I feel like it. I feel like a balloon filled with water recently, (and i know, i know.. i'm pregnant!!) but if it helps my self esteem even a little bit, it'll do wonders for my day to day life.
Not to mention the fact that I spend my allowance on lunch every week instead of shopping or other things I want to buy. Packing a lunch will help with saving money and eating healthier.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
There's a real live baby in there!
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| Reaching out with the right hand toward us! |
Here's a play by play of our appointment:
I arrived early and they called my name to go back before Alex even arrived. Luckily, as we were walking back he was walking in the door.
Our ultrasound tech Kelsey was the sweetest! She was very social and asked us lots of questions and kept us informed through the whole thing.
It was crazy to see a baby inside there, a real live baby. Since I took Britt's advice and had some chocolate beforehand, the baby was moving around like crazy! Closer to the end of the ultrasound, the baby settled down so that Kelsey could take some final measurements.
Back to the beginning.. May Grant is awesome because you don't have to go to the hospital to have the ultrasound, they do it right in the office. You lay down on a bed and look up at a flatscreen monitor near the ceiling in the room. Kelsey (or whoever) looks at her own machine. Kelsey was busy busy typing as she saw things, she measured lots of stuff. I don't remember all that she said but we saw the stomach, the kidneys, the spinal column, the diaphragm, the brain and of course, the heart and it's 4 chambers beating away. The baby's heartrate was 143 this time around. One of the first things she did was look between the legs. It was obvious to me what it was, but we waited for her to confirm. I wish I had a picture to share of the experience but Alex and I were pretty caught up in the moment to take pictures. We could've stared at the screen all day watching the baby move around.
At the end we got some pictures, including the one shown above. It's going to be hard not to tell our parents the gender until Friday but that'll just heighten it even more. We're still surprised (as we would be with either gender) and it's going to take some time for it to sink in. We just love knowing that it's a little boy or girl in there and that it's healthy, that was the #1 thing. I swear, if there were reviews for ultrasound techs, Kelsey would get a 20 out of 10. She was awesome!
After the ultrasound, I had my normal appointment. Nothing too interesting. We just need to start looking for a pediatrician. We looked at the baby's pictures a lot through the evening. The miracle of life is truly awesome!
Check back Saturday for the reveal!
Nursery Layouts
While thinking about all the things (and making a list of things!) I'm going to need for the nursery. I started to think about the layout.
Things to consider (from what I read):
- Don't put the crib by the window due to the temperature changes. Windows are obviously colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. The sun actually rises on the back of the house onto the only window in the room. While positive for winter, it's a negative for summer. We will be getting great curtains that hopefully retain heat in the winter (and our windows are from 1998 so they aren't inefficient) but we probably won't be putting the crib by the window.
- Don't put the crib by the window because when they grow and can stand in the crib, they could get tangled in the blinds. No brainer.
- Keep the Crib and Rocker/Glider close to one another for grab and feed sessions in the wee hours.
- Keep the dresser and changing table close to each other for 'within arms reach' clothing for necessary changes. We won't have a dresser out in the room, so the changing table will be stocked with essentials.
- Place the diaper pail and a trash container by the changing table. No brainer.
- Put a nightstand or place the bookshelf close to the rocker/glider with a light on it just in case you need to access one quickly in the middle of the night. Or use it as a place to set things when you don't want to get up.
Okay, that's enough tips. Here are the layouts I designed on babysdream.com.
Okay so, I'm partially not following a rule when it comes to the crib by the window in the top right layout but I still like it. I need to run these by Alex as well to get his favorite. I also like the crib in the middle of the room but i'd probably have to see that in person to get a feel for it. The fact that there are 3 doors in the room (the main entrance is the lower right door, the bottom door goes out to storage and the top right door goes into the bathroom) and two large closets takes up two of the walls already and a large window takes up most of the 3rd wall, leaving only one full wall is challenging. And that's really the big wall I wanted to decorate, so we'll have to see how it goes. I do like the idea of having some living plants in there to purify the air a little bit.
Which layout do you like best?
Things to consider (from what I read):
- Don't put the crib by the window due to the temperature changes. Windows are obviously colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. The sun actually rises on the back of the house onto the only window in the room. While positive for winter, it's a negative for summer. We will be getting great curtains that hopefully retain heat in the winter (and our windows are from 1998 so they aren't inefficient) but we probably won't be putting the crib by the window.
- Don't put the crib by the window because when they grow and can stand in the crib, they could get tangled in the blinds. No brainer.
- Keep the Crib and Rocker/Glider close to one another for grab and feed sessions in the wee hours.
- Keep the dresser and changing table close to each other for 'within arms reach' clothing for necessary changes. We won't have a dresser out in the room, so the changing table will be stocked with essentials.
- Place the diaper pail and a trash container by the changing table. No brainer.
- Put a nightstand or place the bookshelf close to the rocker/glider with a light on it just in case you need to access one quickly in the middle of the night. Or use it as a place to set things when you don't want to get up.
Okay, that's enough tips. Here are the layouts I designed on babysdream.com.
Okay so, I'm partially not following a rule when it comes to the crib by the window in the top right layout but I still like it. I need to run these by Alex as well to get his favorite. I also like the crib in the middle of the room but i'd probably have to see that in person to get a feel for it. The fact that there are 3 doors in the room (the main entrance is the lower right door, the bottom door goes out to storage and the top right door goes into the bathroom) and two large closets takes up two of the walls already and a large window takes up most of the 3rd wall, leaving only one full wall is challenging. And that's really the big wall I wanted to decorate, so we'll have to see how it goes. I do like the idea of having some living plants in there to purify the air a little bit.
Which layout do you like best?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Milestone :: Movement
It's official. There's a real life baby in there.
Saturday in the evening, while enjoying a delicious bowl of Turkey Hill Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt, I felt a thud in the tum tum. Not a normal thud or anything I've ever felt before and since i've been waiting for movement/signs of life in there, I knew what it was. I've been feeling it every once in a while ever since!
Hooray! The baby's limbs appear to be in working order. Of course we'll find out how many fingers and toes in a couple hours here at the ultrasound. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the gender until Saturday for secrecy purposes. Don't be mad ;) I will post a picture when I get it scanned into the computer!
Saturday in the evening, while enjoying a delicious bowl of Turkey Hill Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt, I felt a thud in the tum tum. Not a normal thud or anything I've ever felt before and since i've been waiting for movement/signs of life in there, I knew what it was. I've been feeling it every once in a while ever since!
Hooray! The baby's limbs appear to be in working order. Of course we'll find out how many fingers and toes in a couple hours here at the ultrasound. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the gender until Saturday for secrecy purposes. Don't be mad ;) I will post a picture when I get it scanned into the computer!
New Car, Barnstormers, Friends, and Hurricane Irene
After what was the longest and most tiring work week of the entire year thus far the weekend was finally here. I (luckily) got off work a little after 2pm which was a relief. I was super tired and all the manual labor from the past couple days was taking a toll. I got to relax a little bit before we headed to York to close on the car.
We bought a Honda Pilot. I will post a picture soon. So far, we love it. We don't anticipate that changing anytime soon. It's basically perfect for what we needed (and wanted). Plus, Alex did a killer negotiating job and we got a great deal. (Thanks Apple Honda) Closing on said car took 2 hours. When we got back home, we immediately headed to the Barnstormers game with Matt because I had won tickets the week before. Unfortunately Britt was working and couldn't join us. We left during the 7th inning or so due to sheer boredom and headed to the Cat's Meow where she worked though to visit. Had a good time overall. Ate some yummy soft serve at the baseball game.. mmm.
Saturday, Alex went to work at the farm and I headed up to my parents house to show them the car and hang out for a little while. (I should've been sanding the crib) And when I got home, I took Alex over to the Nowaks for a Fantasy draft, where I returned later that evening to hang out/help Court put away the cutest nursery stuff! What a learning experience. Babies get a lot of clothes at showers, (duh) but really.. a lot of clothes! After all that, we got to check out Laurel's Bachelorette photo shoot images which turned out really great. I'll be sure to post a couple of my favorite on here once I get them from her!
Sunday we slept in nice and long.. Hurricane Irene had given us a slight pounding from 3pm on Saturday and was basically over when we awoke. The hardest rain/wind I thought was from about 11pm to 6am. I think Alex read his parents rain gauge at 4 inches. Anyway, back to Sunday. We had to get ready to head over to the farm for lunch, so we got moving. We got to check out a lot of Nick and Laurel's honeymoon pictures from Hawaii which were beautiful. It looked like they had a great time. I was jealous and wanted to be back there again (perhaps with the body I had in 2009).
We left around 3:30 to get ready to head to Hershey to meet up with Erin and David for dinner. We ate at Houlihan's. It was yummy. Unfortunately, Nicole and Jimmy couldn't make it but hopefully we'll see them soon. It was nice to chat with Erin and David about the upcoming babies (for both of us) and get some perspective on daycare stuff. Erin has a wealth of knowledge since she works at a pre-school. We had a great time, I love the laid back feel of hanging out with them.
When we returned home, we just relaxed before another work week starts. Today we find out the gender of the baby!!!!! We've been waiting 19 weeks for this!
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| The only picture I took all weekend. |
Saturday, Alex went to work at the farm and I headed up to my parents house to show them the car and hang out for a little while. (I should've been sanding the crib) And when I got home, I took Alex over to the Nowaks for a Fantasy draft, where I returned later that evening to hang out/help Court put away the cutest nursery stuff! What a learning experience. Babies get a lot of clothes at showers, (duh) but really.. a lot of clothes! After all that, we got to check out Laurel's Bachelorette photo shoot images which turned out really great. I'll be sure to post a couple of my favorite on here once I get them from her!
Sunday we slept in nice and long.. Hurricane Irene had given us a slight pounding from 3pm on Saturday and was basically over when we awoke. The hardest rain/wind I thought was from about 11pm to 6am. I think Alex read his parents rain gauge at 4 inches. Anyway, back to Sunday. We had to get ready to head over to the farm for lunch, so we got moving. We got to check out a lot of Nick and Laurel's honeymoon pictures from Hawaii which were beautiful. It looked like they had a great time. I was jealous and wanted to be back there again (perhaps with the body I had in 2009).
We left around 3:30 to get ready to head to Hershey to meet up with Erin and David for dinner. We ate at Houlihan's. It was yummy. Unfortunately, Nicole and Jimmy couldn't make it but hopefully we'll see them soon. It was nice to chat with Erin and David about the upcoming babies (for both of us) and get some perspective on daycare stuff. Erin has a wealth of knowledge since she works at a pre-school. We had a great time, I love the laid back feel of hanging out with them.
When we returned home, we just relaxed before another work week starts. Today we find out the gender of the baby!!!!! We've been waiting 19 weeks for this!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Baby Bump :: 18 weeks
This was last Monday. Sorry my days are so messed up, I'll try to do better. Coming soon, a weekend post. :)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Earthquaaake! and other news
Yesterday I felt the 2nd earthquake I ever have in my life, right here in PA. (the first earthquake was 2 years ago, late at night, it felt like a train was going down our street, NBD- no big deal).
I was sitting at my desk after joking with a coworker about something when my cubical started to shake. I asked Kyle if he was shaking my cube, he laughed and said no. But our cubes were shaking. It lasted about 5 full seconds. I could feel the ground beneath my feet moving. It all made me a little dizzy.
We didn't know at the time but we assumed it was an earthquake. The epicenter of the one two years ago wasn't even a mile away and so we used our brains to make an assumption. Little did we know, the earthquake was a 5.8 in Virginia. Thank you facebook (and cousins) that broadcasted that and the US geological survey website confirmed it.
It was very eventful. I'm sad it did not make us lose power though (what a selfish thought) for then we would've been released from work (maybe).
In car shopping news..
We've completely changed gears (haha, get it?) and are now about 99% sure that we're going with the Honda Pilot. Yep, you read that correctly.. this was a car that wasn't even on our original list!! Monday during work, Alex mentioned it. I said, I didn't like it due to the serious boxiness and the fact that it looks like an elongated Ford Escape. BUT.. it does have a flip up 3rd row seat if we needed it, it comes with 4WD at a decent price, it comes with a tow package, the cargo space is frickin' huge when that 3rd row seat is hidden, and it rides like a dream boat (basically). We still have some time but if we get a price we are comfortable with, we might ride up to Harrisburg tonight to test drive it and maybe even ride home in it (i don't know if that's possible, it depends on the dealer, as some don't have the LX in stock).
Does everyone hate it that I constantly switch from using a capital I to a lowercase i within the same paragraph?? I (i) do but I don't feel like fixing it.
Anyway, in other news, we had our friends Matt and Britt over for dinner last night. We made turkey breast, baked garden potatoes and grilled garden zucchini and eggplant. Britt made delicious chocolate/pb special k squares which were awesome and we got to keep the leftovers (woohoo). We had a really great night, the time just flew by! Britt is a few weeks ahead of me (pregnancy wise), so we always catch up on what's going on with that. It's really really nice to talk to someone who's 3 weeks ahead (or even behind) because it's nice to hear another person's point of view (that I'm not reading about on the forums).
I slept like a baby last night with the window open, my favorite weather to sleep in (chilly). It was a dream, literally.
I was sitting at my desk after joking with a coworker about something when my cubical started to shake. I asked Kyle if he was shaking my cube, he laughed and said no. But our cubes were shaking. It lasted about 5 full seconds. I could feel the ground beneath my feet moving. It all made me a little dizzy.
We didn't know at the time but we assumed it was an earthquake. The epicenter of the one two years ago wasn't even a mile away and so we used our brains to make an assumption. Little did we know, the earthquake was a 5.8 in Virginia. Thank you facebook (and cousins) that broadcasted that and the US geological survey website confirmed it.
It was very eventful. I'm sad it did not make us lose power though (what a selfish thought) for then we would've been released from work (maybe).
In car shopping news..
We've completely changed gears (haha, get it?) and are now about 99% sure that we're going with the Honda Pilot. Yep, you read that correctly.. this was a car that wasn't even on our original list!! Monday during work, Alex mentioned it. I said, I didn't like it due to the serious boxiness and the fact that it looks like an elongated Ford Escape. BUT.. it does have a flip up 3rd row seat if we needed it, it comes with 4WD at a decent price, it comes with a tow package, the cargo space is frickin' huge when that 3rd row seat is hidden, and it rides like a dream boat (basically). We still have some time but if we get a price we are comfortable with, we might ride up to Harrisburg tonight to test drive it and maybe even ride home in it (i don't know if that's possible, it depends on the dealer, as some don't have the LX in stock).
Does everyone hate it that I constantly switch from using a capital I to a lowercase i within the same paragraph?? I (i) do but I don't feel like fixing it.
Anyway, in other news, we had our friends Matt and Britt over for dinner last night. We made turkey breast, baked garden potatoes and grilled garden zucchini and eggplant. Britt made delicious chocolate/pb special k squares which were awesome and we got to keep the leftovers (woohoo). We had a really great night, the time just flew by! Britt is a few weeks ahead of me (pregnancy wise), so we always catch up on what's going on with that. It's really really nice to talk to someone who's 3 weeks ahead (or even behind) because it's nice to hear another person's point of view (that I'm not reading about on the forums).
I slept like a baby last night with the window open, my favorite weather to sleep in (chilly). It was a dream, literally.
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