Week 25: My "First" Mother's Day

It was quite a new experience having people say "Happy Mother's Day" to me and, that's when it really hit me; I'm going to be a MOM!  It's still so surreal to think that when I hear a child yelling "mom" at the park, that it soon could be mine.  I am going to be one of those people who live their every day for their families.  I will be in charge of a life, trying to raise a child to be a grateful, humble, and productive human being.  The pressure of it is starting to become so real, and so is the excitement!!!

I must say that the one thing that puts my worries about raising a family at ease is my wonderful, amazing, and loving husband.  Though he has his immature and goofy moments, when it comes to family values, he is all business.  Take my "first" Mother's Day for example.  He started the day by making me a breakfast spread complete with blueberry pancakes, and did the dishes.  I also received a "from the both of us" card from him and Addie.  He then gave me a tank top in my favorite color (lime green) and, after hearing me complain about how I don't have a good cookie spatula, somehow he found the perfect one!  I'm in love.

                                                                     

The rest of the day we relaxed, spent time with our animals, and swung on our porch swing until he decided it was time to grill Addie and I some food.  Yay me!  He made the most tender garlic and herb pork loin served with baked potatoes and onions, corn on the cob, fresh picked asparagus, and his signature garlic bread, which is to die for.  I am telling you this meal was AMAZING.  After he cleaned up he joined me on the front porch swing where we read more about Addie's development and becoming "confident parents".

As the reality of bringing a new life into this world comes clearer, I can't help but think about how my mother must have felt when she was about to embark on this same journey.  If she had her fears or doubts, you never would've known it.  She handled every situation with love and confidence.  She is absolutely the best mom I could have ever asked for, and I've told her this before, I wish I would've taken notes on how she did it all.  I can only hope to be as inspiring, loving, encouraging, and selfless with my children as my mother is to me.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

And here I am in all of my pregnant morning glory, haha

25 Week Check-In

Weight Gain: 10 pounds (I'm thinking that last pound was from Sunday's meals alone...I may have over indulged just a tad)

Showing: Ok, this category has got to go.  I'm obviously pregnant as made clear when the secretary at a recent high school visit I did exclaimed, "are you pregnant!?  That's so exciting!!"  There's no hiding it now! 

Cravings:  hmmm

Innie or Outie Belly Button?: Is there and "inbetweeney" option?

Stretch Marks: Nope

Maternity Clothes: Still a mix of both

Nursery Preparations:  Another new category!  With only 15 weeks to go I figured I had better add this to keep me on top of things.  Greg and I did pick some wall art that we like http://www.wall-pops.com/Flower-Power-Kit-Decal.aspx.  Since we can't paint, this will have to do :)

Most Looking Forward To:  Finishing my registry, so overwhelming..

Favorite Moment This Week: Having a stranger notice that I was pregnant and, of course, Mother's Day.

Week 24: "Holy Movement!"

I must say that the coolest (and weirdest) thing about being pregnant is the movement I feel.  I always tried to imagine what it would feel like to have a little baby squirming around inside my abdomen, but nothing truly could've prepared me for what it actually feels like.

I can honestly say that prior to becoming pregnant, I was never excited about feeling the kicks.  It just weirded me out to hear people talk about it.  Recently my sister told me about how she would watch her belly while sitting on the couch at night and see Jr. poke out and move across her abdomen...  Not gonna lie, that kinda scurred me.  I had seen small movements a few weeks ago, but decided to give it a good look last night just to see if I could see some real action since her kicks are getting stronger.

So there I am lying on the couch feeling Adelaide's kicks more than ever.  I pulled my shirt up to expose my belly and started watching TV.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my belly pop out!  I thought, "no way was that really a kick. I must be mistaken."  So, I stared at the same spot, waiting to see if she'd kick again and, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"  I screamed a startled scream and about scared the crap out of my cats who were napping at me feet.  I swear she poked out of my belly about an inch followed by pushing in a half-moon shape around the side of my belly.  After my yell, I immediately starting laughing hysterically and then tearing up for joy.  Can you say "pregnancy hormones on overload"?  It was seriously amazing to me to think that that was really her inside of me moving!!  After the shock/joy/tears subsided, I spent the rest of the night watching Adelaide poke and punch out of my belly.

24 Weeks, 16 to go. 

Chewy Granola Bars

My appetite has become more and more ferocious as my pregnancy progresses and I'm always in need of snacks on-the-go.  I used to have "feeding times" around 7:30am, 10:30am, noon, 3:00, 5:30 etc.  In recent weeks, however, my "feeding times" have become closer...and closer.  I am now having them about every 1.5-2 hours, and I'm sure during the third trimester it will be a constant thing.  It never fails that every time someone walks in my office I either have food in my mouth, or on its way to my mouth.  The best is when I have a huge spoonful of yogurt with the cup right underneath my chin for easier shoveling...now that's embarrassing.  Can you say "deer in headlights" look?  The good news is that I think my coworkers are getting used to it.  The bad news is that I'm running out of yummy and quick snack ideas.  Enter Food Network Magazine's "50 after-school snacks" pamphlet.  It was a God-send.

There are so many scrumptious and easy recipes in there, I could just drool thinking of them.  The one that caught my eye right away were the granola bars.  I used to buy the chewy quaker oatmeal granola bars but I have started to become more and more turned off by prepackaged goods and their ingredients.  They just don't taste good to me anymore, not to mention I get nervous when I can't pronounce all ingredients.  So I've been on the lookout for a quick and easy recipe.  These bars and me were meant to be.  

The recipe is SO easy and truly mess free that I just had to share.  I have made two different kinds now, and I will continue to experiment adding little things here and there.  In my usual fashion I have slightly altered the recipe from the original, so that's the one I'll share with you.  Then turn out soft and chewy, but hold up well enough to stay in bar form.  I knew that they were a winner when my husband tried them and requested them in cinnamon raisin form, chocolate chip, and a combination of both. (Sounds like a man pregnancy craving to me)

These are the Oatmeal Raisin Ones

Chewy Granola Bars

Ingredients

2 T butter

1/3 C honey

1/3 C brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 C oatmeal (I used the old fashioned oats)

1 C chopped nuts and dried fruit (I used a trail mix of almonds, cranberries, and sunflower seeds)

2 T flax seed (the recipe called for wheat germ but I LOVE flax seed)

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add honey, brown sugar, and salt, stir to combine.  Take off heat and stir in oatmeal, nuts and fruit, and flax seed.  Press into a very well greased (I use Pam) 8x8 glass dish.  Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool completely then cut into bars.  I then wrap them individually in foil and keep in a plastic bag.

Note: If they aren't baked enough they may be a little too soft and have a hard time conforming to a bar shape without falling apart when you go to eat them.  To remedy, after wrapping the bar in foil, press together on all sides to help solidify the shape.

Alternate Recipes: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and replace the 1 C chopped nuts & fruit with 1 C raisins.  Deeeelicious!  Greg likes this one way more than the cranberry ones I made.  If you want chocolate chip, I would just replace the 1 C nuts & fruit with 1 C mini chocolate chips.  No cinnamon. 

There are a multitude of different varieties you can make with this simple recipe as your base.  Please share if you make one you love!

Have fun!  Change it up!  Enjoy!

Week 23.5, The time has come.

At this time in my pregnancy I am officially over the halfway point and have only 115 days to go until we get to meet little Adelaide!  Yes, we have started the transition from Bobette to Adelaide now since we are 99.9% sure that is what we are going to name her.  (I'm sure she'll be grateful that Bobette isn't sticking, lol) Adelaide is actually a city in Australia, also known as the "city of churches", which I first visited with my family when they came to see me while I was studying abroad in AU.  Upon arrival I had this strange feeling that 'I was home' come over me.  It was so bizarre to think that I was halfway around the world, and I truly felt like I could've lived there my entire life.  It was such a beautiful city, right near the ocean, and I have never forgotten it or that feeling I got while I was there.  I loved it so much that when my Aunt Beth came to visit, I scheduled a visit there into our RV road trip for her to see it as well!  It wasn't until I had returned to the United States that I later learned that Adelaide is an old German name.  I immediately thought, "if I ever have a girl, that's what I'll name her!"  And it really does seem to fit her already.  Luckily for me, Greg loves the name too.  So now  the challenge is figuring out her middle name.  At any given point during the day I can guarantee that if you see me, I have a million middle names flying around my head that I'm trying out.  Let's hope we find one we like soon!

Now, since I am over halfway through my pregnancy, I realize that the time has come to start really taking care of the baby vessel, aka my body.  Since the beginning I've been bombarded with messages about exercising and how good it is for your labor and delivery.  I, however, am not a fan.  So I thought, how can I just ease into this?  After looking at many different websites, I've found that most suggest starting a walking regimen, preferable 30 min. every day, but doing it every other will suffice.  I thought, "I can do that!"  Well, apparently it's not just me that dislikes working out, but my body as well.  After just 3 days of light walking on a tread mill, I could no longer walk up stairs.  Pathetic, right?  That was during the first trimester though and, like I said, the time has come for me to give it another go.  Anything to help with a smoother labor and delivery is worth it I'm sure!  (I see another visit to the chiropractor in my near future....)

The other exercise that ALL websites say is a must is kegels...and let me just say that that is yet another thing I HATE doing.  TMI? :-)  I'm not sure why but to me they are the most uncomfortable things I've ever done.  I know, I know, it will help with the pushing process and recovery thereafter, however, I just can't get used to doing them.  And I can't help but think that every pregnant woman I see may be doing them at that very moment.  The websites make it sound so effortless!  Do it while you're standing in line in the grocery store, at a stop light, during your meetings...seriously?  How awkward is that?  Especially to know that all the other pregnant women around you are probably wondering, "is she doing kegels too?"  So next time you're standing by a pregnant woman...she just may be doing kegels...WEIRD right?!?!

I've also realized that the time has come to start wearing some of those maternity clothes I bought a month or so ago.  As my belly has grown in recent weeks, my wardrobe options have shrank significantly.  I'm still in most of my "normal" clothes but my morning dressing has become more of a chore as I have to go through multiple shirts to find one that fits well and is long enough to cover the maternity band since some start pretty low.  (Note to others who go to buy maternity pants: if you buy the pants with a nude colored full belly banded waist, make sure that the band doesn't start lower than your underwear line.  Otherwise, you're going to have problems...)  There have definitely been days that I have to keep making sure my shirt is pulled down enough so you can't see my hot pink thong peeking through the band.  How embarrassing.  I have a feeling that this summer, dresses and leggings will be my friend. :-)

23 weeks: This would be one of the shirts that
need to be retired pretty soon.  As you can
see, my photographer (aka Greg) is slacking
in the picture taking department, so I have to
do the good ole mirror shot.

23.5 Week Check-In

Weight Gain: 9 pounds

Showing: I have a basketball growing in my abdomen, in case any of you were wondering...

Cravings:  So I may have faked an incurable a pizza craving last night. 

Innie or Outie Belly Button?: Innie
Stretch Marks: Not yet, thank goodness!

Maternity Clothes: I throw them in here or there.  I really need to go through my closet though to eliminate any clothes that no longer fit.

Favorite Moment This Week: Seeing my friends at Beth's wedding and seeing my family during Easter!  Also watching my mom's face, then subsequent teary eyes, the first time she felt Addie give a good kick.

Most Looking Forward To: Figuring out Addie's middle name, it's killing me!

Week 21, almost 22, Am I Missing Something???

When you first become pregnant everyone is eager to tell you about both the good and the bad.  The first and third trimesters are labeled as the most troublesome while the second is often referred to as blissful!  I have experienced the bad of the first trimester, the extreme exhaustion, bloating, nausea, etc. and was fully anticipating the "blissfulness" of the second to take hold before the third hit.  Now, if I read back on my blogs you would think that I'd totally remember all of the "bad" parts of the first trimester quite vividly which would detract me from wanting to go through it again.  However, as I suspected, mommy amnesia has already set in and even as I read my pregnancy history thus far, I wonder, was that really me?  Needless to say I can now see how some people have HUGE families because I believe women are born with this innate ability to forget the "bads" of pregnancy.

I am now a little over mid-way into my second trimester and though I haven't had any really bad experiences, I'm wondering where all of the good ones that I've heard of are.  For example, the big one that I think all women look forward to are the cravings!  How wonderful it would be to have urges to gorge yourself in whatever food you want just because you have this intense craving that won't go away?!  I mean, who in their right mind would tell a pregnant woman not to eat this or that or deny them their weird craving food?!  Well, I wish I had the chance to find out if someone was that brave, however, I have had ZERO cravings.  Yup, zero.  I'm beginning to speculate that maybe pregnant women in fact don't have these crazy cravings.  Maybe it's a secret society or pregnancy pact that women use to have their husband wait on them 24/7?  If so, I think I may be joining soon and start faking it, because darn it, I want to indulge guilt free in some weird prego food! Just don't tell my husband... ;-)

Another blissful second trimester occurrence is the thick movie star hair that you're supposed to get.  Whelp, my hair did get courser which makes for some interesting mornings when my brush gets stuck in my curls and almost hits my husband as it flings across the bathroom after getting loose.  (I'm not sure if he's convinced this is accidental)  And I have gotten more hair...on my belly.  Gross, I know, but hey, ya'll that are not pregnant yet or haven't gotten to this stage, beware.  Baby fuzz will appear, or as I like to say, your happy trail will start to look a little, well, happier.  Doesn't help?  Oh well, I tried.  Needless to say my belly is not looking like all of those beautiful perfect  bellies in all of the pregnancy magazines.  As a result I am strongly reconsidering getting maternity shots of my nekkid belly.

I'm sure you have all heard about those amazing pregnancy dreams and 24/7 feel good hormones too, right??  Well, let's just say instead of having dreams about some ripped man whisking me off my feet and having his way with me, I instead dream about having a baby that looks like a gnome.  Yup, no sexy dreams for me.  Just gnomes or my baby switching gender 5 times throughout the dream.  The fact that we are having a girl has obviously not sunken into my subconscious yet.  (btw, I would NOT suggest telling your husband about the supposed sexy dreams that you are jealous you aren't having...not good for their ego, and I'm telling you this from experience, oops!  It's honestly not that I want to dream about other men cuz that kinda creeps me out, I just honestly want to dream about better things than gnomes.  Is that too much to ask?)  And those feel good hormones?  Well, let's just say they come and go, hence why I feel that Greg doesn't always think the brush throwing is accidental, haha.  jk.  It's honestly not that extreme but I think I've overinflated the idea in my head that I would be walking around with a "perma-grin" and that nothing would irritate me.  Maybe that's still to come??  Let's hope, because that would be awesome. :-D

Week 21 

Week 20

21 Week Check-In

Weight Gain: Um, I know I was up 8 pounds on Sunday at 21 weeks, however, my relentless appetite this week has probably boosted that up at least a couple more pounds by now.  Next weigh in; Sunday, duh duh DUUHH! haha

Showing: Oh yeah, no hiding it now!  Everyone in the office has commented on my "baby bump" and how you can "really see it now!"

Cravings:  I'm seriously going to start faking it soon...

Innie or Outie Belly Button?: Innie

Stretch Marks: I'm adding this dreaded category because I seem to be growing quite fast now and figure it's only a matter of time.  On a good note, my skin is extremely soft and smooth now so maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones to avoid the stretch marks??  Fingers crossed!

Maternity Clothes: I occasionally wear my maternity jeans but still haven't slipped into the other items yet.

Most Looking Forward To: Not traveling for work anymore so I don't have to haul my pregnant @$$ body in and out of schools/hotels day after day. 

Favorite Moment This Week: Morel hunting!  I know, totally unrelated, but Greg and I have been spending time in the woods and have found close to 300 hundred so far, Yum!  Including two HUGE ones pictured below!

Bobette it is!!!

Well the day finally came when we got to figure out the gender of our baby!  The anticipation was killing both of us but on our way to the doctor's office Tuesday morning, I still totally felt like it was going to be a boy, so I wasn't really excited.  I felt like I already knew!

As we patiently waited almost an hour to see the doctor, I contemplated my impending reaction to either sex.  I wasn't sure how I felt either way about the gender.  To be honest, neither Greg nor I had a preference for the gender, we just both wanted a healthy baby.

As the doctor was pushing the handheld ultrasound monitor around my belly, and subsequently almost pushing the pee out of my full bladder, I noticed that we weren't seeing anything in between its' legs.  She seemed to have her legs closed and was not willing to give us a good look, however, I just had a feeling about it...  I peered behind me at Greg and mouthed, "I think it's a girl."  He mouthed back, "me too."  It wasn't until about 15 minutes in that we got a good shot of her little bottom and sure enough, no penis!  The doctor said that we definitely had a little girl on our way!!!

Now, I pause this cute little story to tell you the most disturbing thing that the doctor ever could have said to me...  And I quote, "Now here are the lips of her vagina."  WHAT?!?!?!  No mom-to-be wants to hear the word VAGINA when she is getting only her second look at her innocent little girl.  MY baby girl will NOT have a a VAGINA!  I hate to say it but if it were a little penis we were seeing on the screen I KNOW my reaction would've been totally different.  It would have been more like, awe, look at the cute little penis!  And I probably wouldn't have been able to resist posting a picture of the ultrasound showing he was a boy on both my facebook page and blog.  However, since our doctor was mistaken about our little girl having a v-word, there will be no pictures posted to verify to you all that we are indeed having a little girl.  So just so the world knows, we are having a little girl but the V-word will no longer be used in the same sentence as her nor at any time around her.  The end.

Now that I got that out, back to all of the fun stuff!  After all the measurements were taken and he recalculated her due date, we discovered that she is right on track on her growth and still set to be born 8-21-2011.  She currently weighs just 9oz but will be right on track to be 7- 7.5 pounds by birth.  If she comes a week early she'll be about a half pound less, and if she comes a week later, she'll be about 1 pound more.  Needless to say I'm praying for an on-time birth.  I cringe at the thought of having an 8-8.5 pound baby come out of my V-word.

Our Little Girl's face with her hand in front of it.

This was taken Sunday morning and I feel like
I've doubled in size since then! Haha

19 Week Check-In

Weight Gain: 7 pounds

Showing: It's pretty obvious now that I'm having a baby, in my opinion anyway.  My bump has grown quite a bit in the last couple of days even.

Cravings:  Not really.  I'm not sure if it's that I'm really good at taking vitamins, calcium, and eating a well-rounded diet or what but I haven't really had any real pregnancy cravings.  I'm kinda bummed about that, not gonna lie, but there's still time. :-D

Innie or Outie Belly Button?: Innie, but poking out slightly at the top...

Maternity Clothes: Still not yet.  I am down to about 4 pairs of work pants that I can wear and today I am actually wearing the "bella band" that Leah sent to me so I can leave my pants unbuttoned.  Genius idea I must say.

Favorite Moment This Week: Of course finding out the gender of our baby!

Most Looking Forward To: Picking out all of the baby stuff for her!  It feels so much more real now that we know she's a girl!  So excited!!!

"Stop Squishing Bob" and other weird anomalies of a pregnant woman

As my bump, and other things, have continued to grow, I've noticed more of a connection to the little human developing inside of me.  (sorry, that sounds kinda creepy)  I've noticed an ever-growing connection for the beautiful fetus, little being, bob, hmm, ok, well however you say it is seems to sound creepy, so let's continue.  It seems that as I have grown more fond, so has my husband.  When I'm traveling he still requests updated pictures of Bob, ie my bump, regularly and one of the first things out of his mouth when I talk to him on the phone is, "how is Bob doing today?"  To which I always answer, "Good!"  However, Lord only knows how the baby really is, all I know is that I'm feeling good, so I figure that translates to Bob as well.

Recently this fondness for Bob on Greg's part has also grown into somewhat of a protective role.  While I'm doing dishes he may come up behind me and pull me toward him and away from the edge of the counter for a light hug while lovingly saying, "don't squish Bob."  ...Really?  You think I can squish this thing?  It continues from there.  If my 18 pound cat jumps up on my lap/stomach Greg will walk over and pick him up to "cuddle" him, and then set drop him on the floor....across the room from me.  (ok my cat may really squish Bob but that's beside the point)  Long story short, most things I do causes Greg some concern for our unborn child.  How much candy I eat, what type of food I eat, how much sleep I'm getting, etc.  Which you'd think is a great thing!  Look how much he cares already.  However, I feel like I'm the devil on my shoulder and Greg is the angel whenever I do get the urge to indulge.  Not that he's worried at all about my weight or well-being, just Bob.

Another new and different thing happened when I was working an event a few weekends ago for the university.  I noticed all day that I would catch people not looking at my face but below it. I had a lower cut V-neck sweater on and kept thinking that I must have something on my chest or neck.  When I checked and noticed that nothing was there, I thought that maybe they were looking at the little red bumps that had broken out on my chest, however they were barely noticeable.  Completely puzzled I decided to just ignore it and go on with my day.  When I got home I mentioned it to Greg and asked him if there was something on my chest or if he noticed the bumps.  He very politely responded, "hunny, they are looking at your chest."  DUH!  Not that I am boobilicious or anything but there's more going on there than ever before and I'd never really experienced that.  Naive much?!

And the last pregnant anomaly, the "beer gut".  I've noticed since the "chest" incident that now I have people taking a double look at my belly more so.  I'm to that uncomfortable in between stage of not quite looking pregnant and looking like white trash who enjoys one-too-many brewhas every night.  To illustrate I did take a picture on Tuesday so you all could see what I'm working with here.  And my lovely brother-in-laws have confirmed that it does indeed look like a beer gut.  They're so helpful, aren't they?

Another self portrait at a hotel. It never does stop feeling odd.

In the dressing room at Motherhood Maternity
trying on clothes with a practice bump.

18.5 Week Check-In

Weight Gain: 6 pounds

Showing: Refer to "beer gut" portion on the post

Innie or Outie Belly Button?: Still Innie! 

Maternity Clothes: Though I haven't worn them, while in Fort Wayne I did pick up some essentials such as jeans, work pants, a couple shirts, khakis, and black crop leggings.  You never know when you're gonna pop!

Favorite Moment This Week: Feeling some movement!  I was at my hotel reading in bed Sunday night when I felt a weird feeling, like gas or pressure very low in my abdomen.  It was pretty quick.  It was like nothing I'd ever felt before!  I've since felt it about once a day while I'm relaxing at night.

Most Looking Forward To: Tues when we find out the sex of the baby!  4 days to go!  Not that I'm counting... ;-)