3rd trimester!!

I can't believe it.
Here we are, the 3rd trimester.
Didn't I just take the pregnancy test? Wasn't I just crying in bed from severe nausea during the 1st trimester? Wasn't I just saying that June seemed like a lifetime away?
...and now, I'm writing in disbelief at the fact that I'm entering the last part of this amazing experience.

Last week, I had my glucose screening test. It wasn't too bad! I had to drink 50 grams of the sugar drink (it tasted like flat, orange soda) -- wait an hour, then have my blood drawn. I was nervous to fail because I did not want to have to take the 3 hour test - but low and behold, I PASSED! I was also told I'm anemic so I've been taking iron pills everyday to help with that.

I have my regular doctor appointment on Wednesday, always love those - hearing the heartbeat is the best! After this week, I'll start to go every 2 weeks (instead of 4) -- it's all happening so fast!

Thursday, we leave for Fort Lauderdale and Miami to celebrate the wedding of two our favorite people... Laura & Clay. Laura & I were random roommates our freshman year of college at UCF and within 2 weeks, we were inseparable. We ended up living together all 4 years of college and she is one of my favorite people in the world. Josh & I started dating in November of 2002.. by the following summer, Laura & Clay were together as well. (Josh & Clay are fraternity brothers and also best friends) -- eventually, Josh & Clay got an apartment together. It was perfect - I miss those days immensely! Now, here we are... the week of their wedding and we couldn't be happier for a more beautiful couple! It should be a fabulous weekend and I can't wait to get on that plane!!

Things with the house are exciting -- we are about 90% finished packing. We close on the new house March 23rd, movers scheduled March 26th, close on our old house March 30th - AH! So much going on -- a fabulous and exciting time.

Have a great week everyone - and remember, if you want to donate to the relief efforts in Japan - head to http://www.redcross.org/!



The other side of the belly, haha. Also the last picture I'll take from the old house! AHHHH!



•How far along?: 27 weeks -- the THIRD TRIMESTER! I said to Josh last night..."Ya know, there are NO more trimesters after this one!"  

•How big is baby?: The baby is now around 14 1/2 inches and over 2 pounds.. or the size of a head of cauliflower. Either way, the baby is BIG!

•Weight gain: I gained 1.4 pounds on Friday.. I'm officially up 26.2 pounds. I'm about 3 pounds above where I should be. Wah.  

•Maternity clothes?: All maternity pants, mostly normal shirts.  

.•Sleep?:  On & off insomnia -- I'm getting used to less & less sleep.    

•Food cravings?: Bagels, eggs, cheese, ice cream, chick fil a.  

•Gender?: My darling. 

•Stretch marks?: Bio oil. All day. All night. Keep them AWAY!

•Movement?: Did you see the video below?? My girly is a punching machine! :)  

•Labor signs?: nope!

Belly button in or out?: In but so funny looking. 

•What I miss: I'm feeling good!! I miss having no back pain but otherwise doing well. 

•Milestone: THIRD TRIMESTER!!!!!!! "If born today, baby has an 85% chance of survival..." -- pretty amazing.

Blogging from my Ipad 2!

Yesterday, my fabulous husband waited in line with several other nerds fabulous people to try and grab a brand new, amazing iPad 2. We were 18 out of 20 in line and we were told there were only 20 iPads total at the Best Buy store. Eventually, we scooped up one and bought a beautiful, white 16 GB version -- it's glorious. This will be so fun to use when the baby comes. The possibilities are endless!! Did I mention I also got an iPhone this week? Apparently I want to become the biggest Apple household in Hatboro.

To celebrate our success, we went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant close to our new house. Topping eggplant parm off with a cannoli seemed like the perfect idea.

Fast forward 2 hours and my belly looked like a circus, dancing and shaking and moving. Our darling girl clearly loves sugar! Josh took this video with my phone and I had to share. These moments are amazing and I love the feel of my daughter moving. Enjoy! See you on Monday from the 3RD TRIMESTER!!!

(While I type this, I'm watching horrific video from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This is so scary, so unimaginable. Say a prayer, donate and realize how lucky we are...)

helloooo 26 weeks!

A great week indeed!!

I'm feeling MUCH better post-stomach virus (a full week to recover) and I'm now sporting a lovely cough every few minutes. This cold is annoying but I feel fine otherwise!

Last week, I went to get my bridesmaid dress fitted for Laura & Clay's upcoming wedding (next weekend in Miami!) - I was SO nervous because my body is so different from when I ordered the dress...but Maria, the amazing seamstress, worked her pinning magic and I think it will be okay! I go again on Wednesday for a follow-up fitting and I should be able to pick up the dress this weekend or early next week. We're getting so very excited for Florida next weekend but more on that next Monday :)

Josh & I finished up all the tasks needed to sell our house (a few things found on the home inspection) - with everything complete and our mortgage commitment for our new house ready, everything is flowing along nicely and we should make settlement on March 23rd! (3 weeks from Wednesday). We officially started the packing phase this weekend... I would say we're 40-50% done! It was hard work and by the end, I needed to rest for sure -- I'll be happy when we're packed and ready to go! We hired movers so it shouldn't be too bad. We have about one full week in between the two houses so Josh is hoping to paint a room or two prior to furniture - we'll see!

This week is my glucose screening test on Wednesday - I'm so nervous (I reaaally don't want to do that 3 hour test!) so I'm watching my sugar over the next couple of days. Hoping I pass with flying colors :)

I had a fabulous weekendwith some of my best friends - Friday, Josh & I had a date night - we saw an amazing movie (The King's Speech) and a decent dinner at Longhorne Steakhouse.

Saturday, 4 of us went to see "Swan Lake" at the Academy of Music - it was a beautiful ballet and LJE loved the music!

Sunday was one of my best friend's bridal showers - Shari & Brian are getting married in Mexico on May 13th. Josh & I were booked and ready to go but my doctor told me I'll be too far along to fly international by then :( I am so sad to miss her wedding but I know they will have an incredible time. I've had the honor of being her bridesmaid and was there to help with all the fun games and such at the bridal shower yesterday! :) We have her bachelorette party on April 9th in Atlantic City and I can't wait!

So that's that.... busy, busy, busy month and just in awe that the baby will be here so soon!!!!

BELLY!

•How far along?: 26 weeks. 1-2 more weeks left of the 2nd trimester (there is no exact time but some books state 27 weeks and some state 28 weeks) - and LESS THEN 100 DAYS UNTIL DUE DATE! (98, to be exact).

•How big is baby?: The baby is now a English hothouse cucumber!!  

•Weight gain: Thanks to a lovely stomach virus, I lost 0.4 pounds. Earlier last week, I was down a scary 5 pounds but my appetite made a quick recovery ;)  


•Maternity clothes?: All pants, a few shirts... I wore all maternity this weekend and I have to admit it's a lot more comfortable when the clothes are meant for an expanding belly!

 

.•Sleep?:  Insomnia. Bad.   



•Food cravings?:  Now that I'm feeling better, I'm eating a lot again...bagels, chick-fil-a and fruit are my go-to! AND of course my daily glass of organic soy chocolate milk. YUMMO!


•Gender?:  Lady, despite 2 people recently telling me "Oh, it's a boy!" No ma'm, it's not.

•Stretch marks?: I have a couple on my sides but as a whole, I'm doing okay so far. 

•Labor signs?: nope!


Belly button in or out?: Flat, weird and funny looking.  



•Milestone: Perhaps the LAST WEEK of my 2nd trimester!!! ;)

•What I miss: Feeling healthy - pregnancy takes a huge toll on your immune system - I went from a cold, to a stomach virus and now back to a cold!•Movement?: Lots :) Especially when music is playing.   

25 weeks!

A short and sweet entry because I'm recovering from a stinky stomach virus that took over my body on Friday night. Prior to that, I had a bad cold but otherwise felt okay... then boom, Friday night hit and I was a mess. I'll spare you the details, but needless to say I haven't been able to eat much more then bread and bananas (and a lot of Gatorade). I'm pushing through. Every time I think I'm feeling better, I end up feeling worse a few minutes later.. I'm home from work today sleeping and drinking and sleeping some more.. I hope to get back to work tomorrow. 

We had an ultrasound last week - the baby looked great (weighing a whopping 1 pound, 8 ounces and a heart rate of 150 bbm) - I still have placenta previa so I need to go back in another 4 weeks for another ultrasound. The tech said they'll let me go to 36/37 weeks before scheduling a C-Section so we have about 3 more ultrasound to go, hopefully it'll resolve itself.

Next week, I have my glucose screening test -- hoping I pass.

No news is good news on the home front - carpets are picked out, the tiles for the fireplace are picked out, paint colors are dancing in my head and we're hoping to make settlement on  March 25th. I'm really nervous because I had hoped we'd have 1/3 of the house packed this weekend - I suppose worse comes to worse, we hire packers and avoid the stress and anxiety but I'm trying to avoid that. 

OK..off to drink and sleep some more. 

Hope everyone had a good week!

25 weeks. 

Front view, first time (ignore the messy hair and sick face)

•How far along?: 25 weeks. I keep thinking about how after 37 weeks, I'm considered full term - which could mean that in 12 weeks, Miss LJE could be sitting next to me on the sofa right now.

•How big is baby?: The baby is now an EGGPLANT!  Per my email, she's over 13 1/2 inches. That's huge. And crazy.

•Weight gain: I finally evened out -- I only gained 0.6 pounds this past week. Here's hoping for a few weeks of barely-there weight gains.  

•Maternity clothes?: All pants. I bought an adorable maternity dress for Shari's bridal shower and Laura's rehearsal dinner - I hope I don't look like a house when I wear it.

.•Sleep?:  I can't stop sleeping, thanks to this awful virus.  

•Food cravings?:  Food is my enemy the past few days - just trying to drink as much Gatorade as possible.

•Gender?:  I love my girl.

•Stretch marks?: I search my belly everyday, lol. 

•Movement?: Lots and lots.. it's what keeps me motivated through the aches and pains.   

•Labor signs?: nope!

Belly button in or out?: Still in. Barely. 

•What I miss: Feeling good. I am so nervous I'm going to feel like this the rest of the pregnancy, which I know is insane... i have a virus but somehow can't help but remember the awful 1st trimester.

•Milestone: Making it through my first stomach virus of the 2nd trimester (I also had one the 1st trimester) -- let's pray it doesn't return for the 3rd!

week 24.

Hellooooooo!!!!

Welcome to week 24 - a very exciting time in the pregnancy. I'm in my 6th month and feeling very good. Overall, the heartburn has ceased (knock on wood) - I started to not feel well yesterday (body aches, sore throat) but I am sucking it up and assuming it's just a little cold. 

Baby news - I had my normal doctor's appointment. The baby sounded great (146 heart rate!) and my belly is measuring exactly on time. The doctor was awesome and the whole appointment was fast and easy. Next up is my ultrasound on Thursday to see how my placenta previa is going, in a couple of weeks is my glucose screening test (fun times), followed by by regular doctor's appointment. After the next one, I start going every 2 weeks. EEEEK!

House news - WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!! And not just any house, but the most beautiful, perfect, fabulous house for us!! We decided last week to start the search over - our 5th house was the one. It's brand new construction on a brand new street. We couldn't believe our eyes! We are working this week on getting our mortgage and hope to move in within the next month - I am still in shock and so excited. A little nervous (moving, money, time) but I know it will all work out. Yesterday,we showed the house to Rachel, Jason, Ross & Avi - they all loved it too! I can't wait to show the family... hopefully this week!

Our new home!! 

24 weeks. My shirt reads "Pregnant (Not Fat)" ;)

 


•How far along?: 24 weeks and loving the 2nd trimester!! 112 days until due date, although for some reason I have a feeling I will go prior to that date. I'm thinking closer to June 5th or 6th. No idea why? 

•How big is baby?: The baby is now an EAR OF CORN!  I can't wait to see how much she weighs this week at our ultrasound.

•Weight gain: I gained 2.8 pounds this past week for a total of 24.6 I think). I don't even want to chat about it anymore. I don't get it?! I don't eat bags of chips or plates of cookies for every meal. I had a chat with my doctor about my fear of gaining so much weight at my appointment last week. He was completely sweet and comforting and told me NOT to stress about it. That the whole "25-35 pound" gain is an average but some women need to gain more for baby's sake (lucky me!) and I need to just push forward and know that I'll lose it. His exact words? "Eat all the fruit, veggies, meat, pasta and carbs you want....just don't gain 50 pounds worth of twinkies." Wise words to live by! 

•Maternity clothes?: All pants. I am ready to start wearing dresses all the time! 

.•Sleep?:  On and off...I wake up every night for one reason or another. Sometimes I can go back to sleep and other nights (like last night) I'm up, awake and watching shows about girls eating toilet paper and soap. Strange addictions? So bizarre.   

•Food cravings?: I finally realized what my addiction is. It's chick fil a. It's what I eat twice a week. I resist the fries and I can't get enough of their yogurt parfait.  

•Gender?:  Getting ready to pick out pale pink paint this week for her room!

•Stretch marks?: I reallllly want them to stay away!

•Movement?: She is a mover and a shaker. She hates if I don't eat every 2-3 hours!   

•Labor signs?: nope!

Belly button in or out?: Still in. We will see how long! 

•What I miss: I do miss the ability to feel skinny at times... and I miss not being hungry all the time, and perhaps sleeping through the night. BUT....I wouldn't trade this for anything. 

•Milestone: This is a big week - 24 weeks is considered a milestone - if baby is born she is considered viable and should be able to survive (god forbid but every exciting!) - from here on out, every week is a step in a fabulous and successful birth. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Happiest Valentine’s Day!!!!

It's been a fabulous week, minus the continuing house saga. We STILL don't know where we will live come March 30th but we hope to know by tonight or tomorrow. The anxiety was stress of it all was taking its toll on me so I decided to release it all, let it go and just see what happens. I've felt much better since making that decision (yesterday).

I started with a few new fun pregnancy symptoms... the major being heartburn. It's getting worse although it's not bad enough (yet) for me to take any medicine for it. I have been drinking organic soy chocolate milk which seems to help.

This weekend, Josh's sister Sydney visited from South Florida. We had a really lovely weekend - the weather is (finally) starting to warm up and it was nice to spend some time outside! On Saturday, we went skiing along with Kim, Michael, Abbey (who is 3 and an amazing skier!), Melanie & Eric -- I wasn't allowed to ski so I staying in the lodge. I miss skiing a lot and can't wait for next winter to hit the slopes!! We also bought LJE her "coming home outfit" from the hospital - an adorable dress from Target. Josh & I picked it out together and although I'm sure I'll find 100 outfits that I like better, for now -- this is the clear winner!

My mom found our changing table on clearance at Target for $19.99 (down from $80) so she bought us two! I'm so excited to have the nursery put together. We are painting the walls a pale pink and the bedding is chocolate brown and white polka dots with pale pink sheets :)

We have our 4 week check up on Wednesday - always love these. It's so fun to hear the heartbeat!! :)

Hope you all have a great week!!! And feel lots of love today :)



My belly, my love!

•How far along?: 23 weeks.... we're almost at a very good and exciting point in the pregnancy. From here on out, the rate of survival due to pre-mature labor goes up & up! (God forbid)



•How big is baby?: The baby is now the size of a HARRY POTTER BOOK! Hahaha... no joke, that's what a website I read, says. The baby should be around 11 1/2 inches long and weighing about 1 pound. I have an ultrasound next Thursday; I'm excited to see how much she has gained!

•Weight gain: You won't believe me that I am trying to eat healthy and not go crazy but in one week I gained 4.2 pounds. I'm not joking. I don't get it. Apparently I am NOT one of those mothers who only gain 25-35 pounds... I'm coming to terms with this. I'm now up 21.8 pounds. At least I'm being honest with everyone about this, haha. 

•Movement?: My girl is a dancer!! Everyone is getting the chance to feel her move... this weekend I forced my best friend Melanie's hand on my belly and she got to feel a swift kick :) Peanut also had hiccups last week (I think) for the first time... so so cool.  

•Milestone: Entering the last few weeks of the 2nd trimester, I seriously cannot believe how fast time is going!!

 
•Food cravings?: Salads (which give me heartburn), fruit, decaf coffee, orange juice, cheesecake.  


•Stretch marks?: I found my first official this morning. Praying it's the one and only. Perhaps it just got lost and will find its family and leave me.


•Gender?: Little lady.


 •Maternity clothes?: All pants. I am in my best friend's wedding on March 19th and tried on the dress yesterday for the first time... I ordered it literally 4 sizes bigger than normal and I'm glad because it's huge everywhere BUT in the belly area!! It's almost fitting me perfectly and it's still a little less than 5 weeks until the wedding. Fingers crossed it fits! 

.•Sleep?:  I was up from 3-4 AM last night thinking of everything. But all in all, not too bad! 


Belly button in or out?: Seriously waiting for this to pop. 


•What I miss: Knowing where I'll live after March 30th (ha - not funny).


•Labor signs?: nope! 17 weeks to go!



The week of the house.

This week has been insane.
Pregnancy-wise, it's been fabulous. I am feeling great and looking forward to the 3rd trimester which is only a few weeks away!!
However..
it's been extremely stressful as far as the house-hunt is concerned.
Here is the story....

• Josh & I fell in love with two houses.
• One had a (slight) edge over the other so we bid on it one week ago.
• By Thursday, they countered our offer with a number we didn't want to pay. We decided the other house was ours and we placed our bid on that Thursday morning.
• By Friday, we hadn't heard from house # 2 yet, however we heard back from house # 1 saying they DO want to sell and are willing to come closer to our offer price. Josh & I, confused, decided to wait to hear from house # 2.
• (Are you with me so far....??)
• By Friday night, we heard from house # 2 who countered with an offer a bit higher then we expected and we decided we would go back to house # 1. We put our counter-offer in and waited.
• By Saturday/Sunday, we find out that house # 1 is again unsure and may not want to sell for the price we want...they continue to play mind games with us to this very moment! By last night, with no solid answer in sight, we decide to give them an ultimatum. They have until 12:00 PM today to decide if they want to sell, otherwise we will be accepting House # 2's bid and moving forward.

UHHHHHHH.

This has been hectic, frustrating and overall not very fun... in addition to dealing with selling our current home, inspections, changes and more... it's all very insane! We also need to pack our entire house and figure out when we will move into the new house. Did I mention we sell our current house on March 30th? Did I also mention it's already February 7th?

holy moly.

  

(And when I get so overwhelmed and pregnancy hormones take over and I cry into my mommy's lap like I did last night prior to having 15 people over for the Superbowl) - I look at this and it makes me happy)

October 8th - our big fat positive pregnancy test!!!!!

hahaha.. clearly it's 6:00 AM in this picture and I'm sleepy and fake smiling. 22 weeks!



•How far along?: 22 weeks! Very bizarre how fast time is going this trimester (opposite of last trimester!) I am in my 6th month now which is so confusing, still. haha.

•How big is baby?: The baby is now a PAPAYA!! So cute!!! I can't wait to see how much she weighs at her next ultrasound on February 24th!

•Weight gain: The biggest anxiety I've felt thus far is related to weight gain. I'm now up 17.6 pounds which is the HIGH end of the chart -- I'm basically just on track to gain the higher end of the weight spectrum. I gained another 2.8 pounds this week. I don't know why this is happening but there is nothing I can but continue to make healthy choices. I started my pre-natal yoga DVD finally and really enjoyed it. I can't exercise otherwise so this will have to work. I really want to find a class to join - looking to start that ASAP!  

•Sleep?:  Feeling pretty good in this department. I still wake up often to pee and think about various things (nursery, house buying, packing, money, vacations, food...) - haha.  

•Food cravings?: Still hungry all the time. I crave orange juice, grapes, meat, Chick-Fil-A sandwiches. Nothing too weird.  

•Gender?: Girly bits. 

•Stretch marks?: So far, so good.

•Milestone: I think Josh feeling peanut move is a milestone!!! :) 

Belly button in or out?: Still in. We will see how long!

•What I miss: I miss being able to exercise. I also miss not gaining weight every week. There, I said it.

•Movement?: LOVE THIS! Josh FINALLY got to feel her yesterday.. as I type this, she's moving all around:)  

•Labor signs?: nope!

Maternity clothes?: All pants. When I'm in lose shirts, no one can tell I'm pregnant which is annoying (haha). So I've been wearing more fitted tops and feeling better about myself!